We spent today seeing sights around Juneau. We were a bit late getting into port, and we were delayed further by a lunch that took too long in the Summer Palace restaurant, but we made it outside in time for our tour. Our first stop was the State Museum, which really should combine forces with the nearby City Museum - it would enhance both their collections.

Our next stop was a salmon hatchery, which utterly horrified me. It might have been better if the description hadn’t been so tarted up. The guide said the sexually mature salmon go into a “dream box” where they are touched with “a DC current” that “makes them go to sleep” and “they don’t ever wake up from that sleep.” Translation: we zap ‘em dead.

I enjoyed the Glacier Gardens much more than the salmon hatchery. There are no roller coasters in Alaska, but the ride up and down the mountain was pretty damn close! I really enjoyed the rain forest and the view from the top.

Our final stop was the Mendenhall Glacier. We walked out on the mud flat and took some pictures before heading back into the visitor center. Unfortunately, we were only in there for five minutes when they announced it would be closing shortly. Our driver didn’t come back for another 30 minutes, by which point everybody was waiting and we all piled onto the bus.

I asked the driver to drop me off in town because I had some errands to run; several other people got off the bus with me. My first stop was the Patsy Ann waymark, which I created after my first trip to Alaska a year and a half ago. I recorded the proper coordinates - I’d guessed wrong using a map, which resulted in running a quarter-mile the wrong way to find my own waymark! Fortunately someone in a jewelry shop got me headed the right way and I was able to take a couple of pictures and record the proper coordinates. Then I set off running for my next stop, the Alaskan Fudge Company. Time was short because our tour was so long, but I had time to buy fudge and race over to the shuttle pickup point. (We were parked at the AJ Dock, unfortunately.) But with a lot of running, I got all my errands done and made it back to the ship a full 30 minutes before all-aboard time.

My afternoon was fine; I did a lot of shopping. I covered most of the main tourist drag in Juneau at least twice, and bought gifts for almost everybody. I highly suspect I won’t have time or inclination to shop in Haines because I’ll be working there, and I don’t want to plan to shop in Ketchikan just in case I do get onto a kayaking trip. I was surprised to find the stores closest to the pier in Juneau had the best prices.

When I got back I was feeling antisocial, so I had dinner delivered so I wouldn’t have to eat around other people. Afterward I interpreted for the very funny Amy Armstrong; I struggled a lot in the beginning but after I took a break (during which M replaced me) I got more into the groove. I think tonight I will probably stay in. I have a bottle of hard lemonade I could work on. Maybe I will peek in at the PJ party briefly, we’ll see. I don’t especially care to see lots of men in their underwear.

Oh, another think that bothers me about J is how often she gloats about having lost 42 pounds recently. Yes, it’s an awesome achievement. Yes, she looks great. But I’d rather not hear about it five times a day.

I’m having lunch now in Juneau and I figured this would be a good time to write about my feelings rather than just what’s been happening. I feel quite comfortable around pretty much all of the deaf clients, but I don’t really around my co-terps. It’s mostly just J, really. She is an extremely assertive person, probably bordering on aggressive. She dominates all conversations and I get the feeling that she always has to be right. She also has very strong opinions about the role of an interpreter, and she won’t accept that any way but her way is allowable. I am tempted to let the interpreter coordinator know that not all terps are as angry and aggressive as J. I am just trying my best to get through this week. I know I don’t have to be friends with her, and I certainly won’t be. She admits that she bonds better with guys so maybe that is why she is so buddy-buddy with M, the other terp. Of course it helps (them) that they are also both smokers, and I make up excuses to leave when they light up. (If they were both drinkers, I could stick around and just order a soda or something, but something like smoke I can’t stick around for.) I think M has been pretty nice to me though; he complimented me last night on both my earrings and my dress. J is just so aggressive I can’t stand it.

I miss A a lot. I know she misses me too, but she has lovies around her and I am all out on my own. I feel lonely a lot of the time. If I had the opportunity to interpret on a cruise again, I’m not sure I would. It’s just not enjoyable without her. If she could come with me I would do it, but the chances of that seem slim. When I didn’t order a drink at the party last night, one of the deaf guys asked me why. I said it was because I was saving for when I could go on vacation with my partner, and that seemed to be an acceptable answer. Yeah, I think if the opportunity should come up to do this again, I might not take it, and I won’t seek the opportunity out either.

To my great dismay, the “Glacier View Sea Kayaking” trip in Juneau was canceled. Instead I took the $2-all-day shuttle into town (the Radiance of the Seas beat us to the downtown dock) and I am just wandering around. I am presently sitting in the Triangle Club, where for $3.50 I got a rum and diet coke (small but strong) and 20 minutes of free internet time. I have already walked through the entire tourist area and a little bit beyond; I called home and left a message and also called my mom and spoke to her briefly. I think I have to pay for roaming out here but I told home they could call me back if they were so inclined. They’re four hours ahead of me now! I have poked my head into the main tourist shops and a few smaller, more specialized shops; I haven’t bought anything yet because I figured I’d comparison shop. I saw several things I think I would like to get, particularly an Italian charm with the Alaskan flag. I am probably not going to bother going back to the ship for lunch even though it would be cheaper (given that food is free on board), because it would be too much hassle to get back down to the lower dock and then back up to buy stuff. So I am just going to eat up here in town; there’s a McDonald’s and a Subway plus other spots like the Red Dog Saloon and the El Sombrero Mexican Restaurant. There isn’t a whole lot to do really…so I’m not sure what I’ll do all day.

I was really upset about kayaking getting canceled, but I had them put me on the list for any kayaking in Ketchikan. I can’t do anything in Haines/Skagway because that’s when I’m interpreting, but I’ve decided that money is no object anymore - I just want to paddle in Alaska! If the only space that opens up is the expensive one, so be it.