Carol Bontekoe

This blog has been keeping track of my adventures since 2004. The stories and the adventures have come from my college dorm room to Uganda, Peace Corps Kyrgyzstan, learning Dutch in the Netherlands to living in the wilds of Homer, Alaska. I went back to school in Amsterdam to study Theaterwetenschap (Theatre Science) at University of Amsterdam. And now my adventures as a Fruit Fly, a Sexy Unicorn, and creating a movement with Team Sparkle in Chicago.

Saturday, January 31, 2009

Thanks Mandy!

I generally don't like Peyton Manning, but this is too funny! Thank you Mandy for suggesting it. I have to recomend it to all of you to watch now. You won't regret it, even if you ahve to wait for it to buffer like I did.

Friday, January 30, 2009

name your children well.

Everyone likes to talk about how crazy celebrity baby names are. They do give their children some odd names. I would like to point out that they aren't the worst at naming their children. The worst are Hippie/Potheads.
Homer is a hippie friendly area. There is even a yurt dealer in town because they are so popular up here. Today I met a little girl with Dreadlocks. She is five years old, and she matched her mother's dreadlocks, home-made clothes look.
Her name:
Raindrop Tigress.
yeah........
Don't act like that doesn't make Coco and Apple look a lot better. I can only imagine why her parents would name her that...
..."raindrop because water gives life and she is a drop in this life. And Tigress because it it powerful and strong."
I have never smoked pot but I guess if I did I would want to name my child Vapor Lioness.

Mountain Dew

Today I saw the best Mountain Dew commercial. I didn't see it on TV, I saw it live. They weren't filming a New Mountain Dew commercial up here, but they should have.
To get to my house from town it is necessary to drive slowly on a long and winding road. For my lowland up-bring one part is particularly terrifying. It is a turn that is next to a drop-off, with no guard-rail, and makes a 180 degree turn in a short amount of time.
I follow the instructions the signs give me and go around the turn at a mellow 20 mph. Today as I came up the Mountain and as I approached the turn I saw it. The perfect Mountain Dew Commercial. It forced me to slow down and move over to the right to give it room.
What I saw was a Ford F250 come sliding around the turn. Tokyo Drift style. Going extremely fast. It looked like he was about to slide of the edge. The back end of the truck hanging over the edge. Just as the truck as about to go over the cliff the driver regained control and than shot down the mountain at an accelerated pace. Just as he passed by me he cracked open a Mountain Dew and took a long swig and smiled.
Perfection. I couldn't have come up with a better Mountain Dew Commercial if I had tried.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Mid-western Politeness in Alaska

I'm very polite.
Well sure, no, I mean obviously not if you know me.
I meant I'm very polite in a store, out in general public kind of way.
Ya know, that Midwestern kind of politeness.
I can wait in line patiently.
I can do the chit-chat with cashiers if necessary.
I love doing that whole, "have a nice day thing." However, this Midwestern politeness makes me look like a total A##hole sometimes. It mostly comes at the end of a transaction, if the cashier isn't as polite as I am.
The cashier will just hand me my receipt and say, "Here's your receipt." That seems to be the norm up here in Alaska. The problem is I have it programed in my head not to just end there. I try to just take the receipt and walk away, but my brain clicks and turns. The final result ends up being me ticking and nodding as I take my receipt, or more often than not it goes something like this:
"Here's your receipt."
"Thanks, you too."
????????-all across the face of the cashier.
My trigger response isn't so weird if the cashier says, "Have a nice day."
That ingrained polite trigger response just makes me look like a goon.
Note to self:
work on a proper response to, "Here's your receipt."
Maybe, "Thanks. I will file this, under "D" for donut."

Monday, January 26, 2009

A Video about the Eagles in Homer, Alaska

I made the video. Totally Geeking it up but I wanna show ya all of Alaska here.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Support your Local Brewers


I just want to take a minute and recommend Homer Brewery's Broken Birch Bitter. It is a great beer. I like to say, "Travel Globally, Drink Locally." It also works with with food, "Travel Globally, Eat Locally."
I support supporting local companies. I think it helps the economy and helps an area retain it's character. I have tried most of Homer Brewery's brews. I personally like Broken Birch Bitter the most. I has a great hop/citrus taste.
If their is a brewery in your area and you haven't checked them out yet, go ahead and try the whole selection. Worked for Tom and I at Squatters in Salt Lake City. It only takes one afternoon to try them all.

A Stinky and Expensive Habit

It's not my stinky habit. I have a lot of friends who "just need to" do it pretty much every day or at least every other. It leaves you stinky, it ages your skin, and empties your pockets of any extra money you have.
No, I'm not talking about smoking. I'm talking about tanning. As in going to a Tanning Salon. My friends and acquaintances who are addicted to tanning say things about their addiction without a flinch of irony: "I'm super busy. I gotta go shopping, get lunch, and I HAVE to go tanning.", "No, seriously I have to go tanning. NO, seriously I am a light brown and I really NEED to be a dark healthy looking brown.", or "Yeah I think I might have skin cancer... but what can ya do. I gotta stop off at tanning salon later."
This idea that you NEED to go tanning I find ridiculous. Especially when in an excessive amount it seems to age skin at the kind of warp speed that you only see with chain smokers. It's kinda gross.
I went tanning today. I'm like one of those people who only smokes when they are drunk. They know it is bad and unnecessary but they do it anyway. I tan when I am extremely pale. I have only ever gone tanning at two other periods in my life. Once because I won two free coupons and John Fyolek and I went tanning together at the end of high school. Then again to get ready to go to Honduras, because I had gotten talked into being afraid of going to a sunny location with no prep.
I decided that it would be okay for me to go again since I rarely see the sun. I am starting to turn transparent. I also found out if I get really pale I start to look pretty sick, and not "sick" being used as slang for hot, no just sick.
The thing is, now I'm remembering that I didn't just stop because it's unhealthy, I stopped because you stink afterwards. There is that specific post tanning smell. My friends who are addicted to tanning don't seem to notice their distinct smell anymore, but it's there, lingering. While I never say anything about their post-tanning smell I'm quite taken aback by it lingering on my skin.
I have to go put some perfume on before I got to the bar and have my skin absorb in the second hand smoke. For once I won't mind it, the stink of a cigarette is a step up from the stink of a tanning salon.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Go Daddy

I decided to look at Godaddy.com to see whether I should go ahead and buy the name carolbontekoe.com to make it easier on you-the dozens of you that read this blog. I figured you could than just type in my first and last name throw a dot com at the end and find me Carol Bontekoe.
Shockingly carolbontekoe.com was still available. Since I am the only one in the world, or at least the only one that comes up when you google my name(using google as a verb not a noun is super cool, also you should facebook me sometime). I didn't appreciate Go Daddy trying to talk me into a bunch of other names. Names it felt were better than carolbontekoe.com.
carolbontekoe.asia-for some reason costs as much as .com
Go Daddy even went so far as to suggest maybe I might want carolynbontekoe.com or carolinebontekoe.com
How insulting! That's not my name don't call me that! It's bad enough that I saw in a baby naming book once that said, "Why name your baby Carol when there are nicer more elegant versions like Carolyn and Caroline?"
First it was books suggesting that my name wasn't good enough now it is the Internet. Who does that? Who goes, "yeah, your name is alright but you see how adding three letters to the end makes it that much better?"
At least my last name is okay for getting a domain name.It keeps the price Low. I feel sorry for a Carol Morris, Carol Myers, Carol Gibson, Carol Hill, Carol Kennedy, or Carol Hunter. Because of their painfully common last names their names will cost them between 700 to 4,000 dollars for a domain name. Carol Bontekoe is worth 10 dollars. Wait! That just made me sound like a low end hooker...
In the end I decided not to pay for a domain name. Not because Go Daddy had insulted me by suggesting I might be better off with Carolyn or Caroline as my first name. No, I decided not to because except for a handful of people no one knows how to spell my name. I'd be like, "oh, Dude you can check out what I'm doing by going to my website it's just carolbontekoe.com"
They would talk to me a few days later telling me that they couldn't find anything when they typed in my name. I would then find out that they tried:
caroleboniko.com
carrollbotko.com
carolbontico.com
carolebonetko.com

I'm hard to find if you don't know how to spell my name. I do know at least one person who knows how to spell my name, Caitlin Joy Dobson. I have been looking for adjectives to describe myself and I liked how she used my name(correctly spelled) to describe me.
C - aring
A - dventurous
R - owdy
O - ver-the-top
L - ovely

L - oud
Y - oung-at-heart
N - ice
N - ever late

B - rave
O - pen-minded
N - octurnal
T - rue friend and true to herself
E - nergetic
K - ick ass (no really, she could kick your ass!)
O - utgoing
E - veryday people

It may not be a domain name, but it's all spelled correctly and not trying to make me jazz up my name. That means alot to me.
:)

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

My shiny shoes

"Hey do you have a small pair of shoes I could..."
"Oh, I.."
"OH.MY GOD!!!"
The twelve year old who was going to ask to borrow a pair of my shoes had suddenly gotten a glimpse of my bright green shoes. Yeah, "Oh my God" probably is the correct response. I smiled and we both agreed my shoes probably weren't going to fit her.
Ya know the "Oh my God" response would be a lot nicer and more fun if it were to lets say, my breasts. But alas it is only for my feet.
oh, and my hands.
well and if you are next to me in a plane-my shoulders.
okay, I guess I'm just an "Oh My God" kind of Girl.

Wanna see if I can actually get a free macbook

Hey All
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They're giving away the MacBook Air!
Click here: http://www.freemacbookair.com/?referral=1koe8pc
Thanks!

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Grievances

How Life is...


I saw 5 moose today! Oh, and one more tiny lil thing... Today is Bush's last day!!!!!!!
Free at last free at last THANK GOD almighty we are FREE AT LAST!!!

Sunday, January 18, 2009

How to beat an addiction...

I'm not unique in my addiction to Diet Coke. Practically every woman I know is either currently or has been addicted to Diet Coke. I have finally beat that addiction, thanks all to not being able to afford Diet Coke. At almost 3 dollars for a 2 liter of Diet Coke it is well out of my reach. So, thank you Alaska for being to expensive for me to afford Diet Coke.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Kom op Konijntje

If you have seen me since I got back from the Netherlands or you saw me in the Netherlands you have probably heard me singing the song konijntje. It is a great song.
The chorus part literally translates into, "Come on Bunny, wiggle it, wiggle it." Feel free to enjoy a touch of the ridiculousness of Dutch culture.




* Found the lyrics to this amazing song and have traslated it the best I could:
Ik zie mensen wiebele
I see people wiggling

Kom op konijntje doe maar wiebele, wiebele
Come on bunny do more wiggling,wiggle
Kom op konijntje doe maar wiebele, wiebele, huppel
Come on Bunny do more wiggling,wiggle, skip
Kom op konijntje doe maar wiebele, wiebele, huppel
Come on Bunny do more wiggling,wiggle, skip
Doe maar huppele alsof je in het bos bent
Do more skipping as if you were in the forest

Kom op konijntje doe maar wiebele, wiebele
Kom op konijntje doe maar wiebele, wiebele, huppel
Kom op konijntje doe maar wiebele, wiebele, huppel
Doe maar huppele alsof je in het bos bent

Kom op konijntje doe maar huppele, wiebel
Come on bunny do more skipping, wiggle
Wiebel met je oortjes, laat ze heen en weer wiebele
wiggle with your ears, let them go ahead and wiggle
Kom op konijntje, doe je ding, doe je dansje
Come on bunny, do your thing, do you little dance
Kom op konijntje, ah
Kom op konijntje, ah

Ok konijntje, het is je dag vandaag
ok bunny, today is your day
Ik zing een liedje en ik doe het een beetje traag
I sing a little song and I do it a bit slowly
Voor jou alleen, voor niemand anders
for you alone and for no one else
Konijntje, omhoog met die handen
Bunny upwards with the hands

Huppel huppel konijntje, huppel en wiebel
skip, skip bunny, skip and wiggle
Huppel huppel konijntje, konijntje wiebel
skip skip bunny, bunny wiggle
Doe maar wiebele en huppele en wiebele
do more wiggling and skipping and wiggling
Beweeg die oortjes heen en weer
move the ears back and forth

Friday, January 16, 2009

Perfect Timing

Today I witnessed the most perfect timing on a fart that has ever existed. The only one I have ever seen come close to the one I saw today was in 6th grade. I was doing sit-ups and just as I came up I let one rip right in Neele Nedvad's face.
Today however was better for the sheer fact that I'm an adult and they shouldn't be as big of a deal.
Tonight was open gym volleyball. Most of the people are middle aged. One of the older men from the group was serving and right as he hit the ball he let out a huge fart.
You would think... I mean really YOU WOULD THINK that grown adults would ignore it and play the ball out. we couldn't. It seemed that after that moment the ball was suspended in the air. There was time enough to hit it. Instead of hitting the ball we all just stared at each other. When the ball hit we all just lost it and start giggling like 5 year olds. We would almost gain composure and than we would lose it
again.
Mature, eh?
The man who did the serve/fart turned bright bright red. I have never seen an adult get that red from embarrassment.
I was suprised by how hard I was laughing. I hate fart jokes. I think fart jokes are a last resort at humor.
We eventually were able to play again. While we were playing I kept running it through my head why I had laughed so hard. I eventually realized that it was because of timing for the fart. So, while I hate fart jokes, I love perfect timing.

When warm weather is bad...

I like that in Alaska they cancel school because of warm weather. They said on the news today, "All this wamr weather causes school cancelations for tomorrow."
What a weird place this is...
Love it!

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

My World


My World
Originally uploaded by carolspacelynn
Made yet another video. Last one was about me and the world. This one is about how I see the world.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Why I Travel

One of the main reasons I keep this blog is to keep track of my adventures. The other other reason is to hopefully inspire the reader to travel. It worked with Shawn... She came all the way to Friesland... So, I'll keep doing this. However, not that long ago I introduced photos into the mix. Now I'm hopefully introducing video. This is just a short little video of why I travel. Hope it works and I hope you enjoy.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Water in the ear...

I went to church this morning. I figured on top of the whole spiritual aspect it would be a good way to meet some people. I got a little welcome gift for coming: a jar of home-made raspberry jam. This made me way too happy. It is a little jar, however I thought it was so cute that I snatched it and admired it for a minute. I then came to my senses and put the little jar into my Kermit the Frog bag.
There was a good chance for me to put myself out there but I panicked. It was that period where new people can stand up and introduce themselves. I was clearly the only new person. I looked down, than realized that wasn't enough of a commitment. I engrossed myself in my church bulletin.
There was a long punctuated pause.?!.!???(I don't know which punctuation makes it in punctuated pause-wait is that even a real thing?)
You would think by just being me I would be used to that weight that sits on your back when people are just staring at you. Some how on a day to day basis I can ignore it but in the house of the Lord it seemed extra heavy. I powered through and kept reading the bulletin, as if I no interest in the new people.
At the exact moment I broke and started to raise my hand the minister start talking again.
Thank you God.
The service was pretty typical until the very end. The did a renewal of baptism. The minister went around splashing water all over the place. He warned a head of time that some might get on you but that was a good thing. I sat right next to the center aisle, he flicked some high over a bunch of us as I managed to get it right in my eye. He than walked up right be side me and forcefully flicked a bunch of water right into my ear. It was hardly the scattering he did the rest of the time. It seemed almost like he was through baptism water saying, "Don't make a fool of me again, when I give you the chance to stand up and talk about yourself you better darn well do it!"
I hit my opposite ear to knock the water out of my ear and made sure to do everything perfectly through the last bit of service.
At the end of service the old lady brigade immediately came up to talk to me. They always find me. I chatted with them trying to appear interesting and like someone they should talk with more. I also tried to make it as clear as possible that I know no one here and have nothing to do. I have knitting circle date for Feb 2nd. At least it's something.
After meeting so many old ladies that I will never remember any of their names, except for Caroline-she was so close to having a nice name just three letters too long.
After I got done with church I drove down to check out the water plane landing area. In the winter it is used for more than water landings. They use it for racing cars. Yep. Went and watched a car race on a frozen lake. I try to avoid frozen lakes, I think I saw Little Women a few too many times.
It was a nice warm day today- 20 degrees. I don't understand why so many people just sat in their cars to watch the races. I got out and enjoyed it. The race I watched a 17 year old girl named Heather won it. I really enjoyed that. I'll cheer a girl on in anything where you would assume a guy would win, like ice racing. Heather didn't just win but dominated the field. The best part was that on the side of her car it said, "HEATHER" in big letters. There is no more insulting name to men for a girl to have while she whoops their butts... well maybe Tiffany.
I didn't chat with anyone out there but I went on a frozen lake. Baby steps.
IT'll still be a while before I make some friends, but I not going to let that keep me from getting out and about.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

tasty...

My first Mooseburger!

How do you make friends?

I just realized after typing in my title you can't ever write/say the three words "how do you..." together without following it up with, "solve a problem like Maria?"
That's a good song. I should watch Sound of Music more often... but I have issues with watching any Nazi movie more than every few years. Yes, Sound of Music is a Nazi movie... not a Nazi propaganda movie but a movie about/dealing with Nazis. In case you didn't know Nazis are scary, they aren't people to go sing with about your age in a greenhouse.... I'm 24 going on 25 and I would tell any girl who is 16 that singing Nazis should be avoided.
Wait
Why did I sign on to blogger?
Oh, yeah...
My grandpa likes to call me his vagabond grand-daughter, which is fine and some what true. The only problem with being a "vagabond" is having to make new friends all the time. The thing is one of the best parts about moving around all the time is getting to make new friends.
See what I did there?
I'll explain.
by changing the word "having" to the word "getting" it becomes an opportunity, not a task for survival.
I haven't decided yet whether I will have a negative outlook on making friends or a positive one... all depends on if I make some friends.
I don't know how to make friends... not in life in general... it's more of a Homer, AK specific thing.
More of a me in Homer, AK specific thing.
I chose to move here without knowing anyone. I also work at a job where I have no co-workers. I'm not taking any classes. I live alone.
So, how do you make friends when there are no natural outlets for making friends?
I signed up and paid for open gym basketball. I am middle aged at the open gym. I'm also the only female. And I seem to be the only person there who doesn't think they are God's gift to basketball. I'll keep going for the exercise, but I don't think it will be a great open door to new friends.
I'm hoping to get out of work early on an occasional Monday.
why?
There is a knitting circle from 3-5 on Mondays... Fingers crossed I can meet with the gals at that and have them teach me to cable(knitting term, don't feel bad if you don't know what it is-it just means you aren't as hip as me) Oh, yes- I have never been to a knitting circle but I can imagine.
I tried something I knew nothing about and have had to quickly throw away my naivety. I posted a little blurp on Craigslist under "strictly platonic" saying I was new to the area and was just wondering what there was to do. I also said if people wanted someone to hang out with or to show me the city I was up for going out.
The responses I got weren't proportional to what I put out there. I won't mention them here.. some of you couldn't handle it. Those of you who can, I have already told. I feel not responding to an email is a bit rude but I know no polite way to respond. And since I'm getting recognized on the street from my photos I attached to it, I think any response to any email would be the talk of the town.
I'm going to keep trying to go out and meet people and make friends. There is a good chance this will end in failure. I promise to document it here. I would like to say that if you have any suggestions for ways to make friends with no connections I am all ears. I'll let you know if you suggestion works. :)
I got nothin' to lose.

Friday, January 9, 2009

some more of Homer

















Thursday, January 8, 2009

Snapshots from Homer Alaska