Monday, June 8, 2009

A Year in the Life

(This post is more for my own personal record-keeping than for anyone else's entertainment or education. Sorry, and please indulge me on this one.)

So, as some of you may know, I recently celebrated a birthday. I am now a seasoned 23 year old. I had a lovely Alaskan birthday and definitely felt the love - from home, from my co-workers, my community, and my Bethel friends. It was a really nice day filled with friends and good food, and laughs.

Anyway, I spent a lot of time this weekend reflecting on the last year of my life and I realized I had a lot of firsts. So, I decided that I would list them here - essentially because I want to document them, but also because I think they're interesting things. Enjoy.

Firsts for Maura Toomb in the Past Year

-graduated college (OK, that wasn't in the "calendar year," but bear with me)
-went to Central America (hopefully not the last time!)
-drove from New Jersey to Ohio without my family
-rode some of the biggest roller coasters in the world at Cedar Point
-went to DisneyWorld without my family
-became a godmother
-flew cross country by myself
-entered the Jesuit Volunteer Corps
-moved to Alaska
-learned how to catch, gut, filet, wrap, and freeze fish
-learned how to make my own preserves (from berries I picked)
-jumped into the Kuskokwim River
-frolicked on the tundra
-camped on the tundra
-was in a jail
-came to look forward to visiting a jail
-traveled in the front seat of a 6 person plane
-was in a native Alaskan village
-became a certified voter registrar
-ice skated on an actual frozen lake
-went on a business trip
-cooked a turkey
-drove on a river
-went to midnight mass on Christmas
-celebrated Russian Orthodox Christmas (Slaaviq)
-went to a sled dog race (and another, and another)
-worked at a sled dog race
-walked over a mile in windchills of negative 60*F
-had my own radio show
-was in a wedding party
-drove a snow machine
-crashed a snow machine (oops...)

-went to a native dance festival
-jumped over a fire to celebrate Azeri New Year
-went to an Easter Vigil Mass
-worked on a high school play that I was not acting in
-went to a folk music festival
-got a tattoo
-wrote a cover letter (and another, and another)
-learned to drive a stick shift
-ate moose, caribou, elk sausage, agutaq, seal oil, black bear, rabbit, goose eggs, tundra tea, smelts, tundra berries, and brussel sprouts
-traveled to Anchorage, Juneau, Wasilla, Girdwood, Upper Kalskag, Oscarville, Napakiak, Napaskiak, and Kwethluk, Alaska
-saw snow stick to the ground in October
-saw snow stick to the ground in May
-met an Alaska Supreme Court Justice
-learned how to hold my own in an office full of lawyers
-spent every Thursday and Friday morning with a bunch of people labeled as felons and loved it
-spent the majority of every other day talking to people labeled as addicts and abusers and loved it

-learned to love the challenges and rewards of living in intentional community (did we really just spend a half an hour weighing the pros and cons of honey vs. brown sugar?)
-was "ruined for life"

There are probably a lot of other things I'm forgetting, but that's the bulk of it. All in all, a pretty solid year, I think!

4 comments:

Kevin said...

You have a tattoo? Why wasn't I told?

Ah, I think I know why. It's a picture of me, isn't it....

Anonymous said...

You should be so PROUD of all your accomplishments. I know your family is proud of you. As for myself I think it's the greatest thing!!! Laura

Anonymous said...

I can't believe you wrote about being a "Jersey Girl" volunteering at the K300 and didn't give props to the Jersey Girl that is the K300 Race Coordinator (who also finished 7th/8th in the K150 that year!

Common on man!

Maura Toomb said...

haha, Casie, you deserve all the props in the world! i can only check, i could never mush.

good luck this weekend, i hope goes smoothly! i'm sad i won't be there.