Candy Corn...Even in Alaska

When first getting here, my craving for candy corn kicked in to high gear. It was the weirdest thing ever. I normally don't really crave it until the end of September until about Thanksgiving. But, oh man. It was all I could think about. Every time I would go to a store-grocery store, gas station, etc.- I was unable to find it. I would walk out discouraged thinking that Alaska is missing out on so much. Until, one day I came back from orientation and there were TWO bags of candy corn waiting for me from a dear friend. And that mis amigos, is how my five bag streak started (and keep in mind, it's only been about a week and a half since the initial 2 bags). It's actually pretty disgusting. It's been a huge part of my diet these past few days. Breakfast the other morning? Candy corn and yogurt. Dinner last night? Candy corn and pretzels. Snack after class? Candy corn and chocolate frosting. Seriously. It's not healthy. I probably should join Candy Cornaholics Anonymous. And now that Halloween is drawing near, stores are slowly beginning to stock up on the oh so delicious candy that makes everyone's teeth ache (with no regrets, of course). Just the other day I was in Joann Fabrics shopping for supplies for an upcoming event we had and there was a whole section of candy corn items: hand-towels, candles, welcome mats, wreaths, lights, etc. It took all my will to not buy any of it. It's even pretty weird that I'm dedicating an entire blog post to it in the first week or so of September. It would make more sense to wait a few more weeks, but it's literally been consuming my mind. There's just something about it. I even wrote a poem about the candy for my English class last year (it's weird. I know. No judgement giraffe, please). It's called Candy Corn:

September slowly morphs into October

and stores begin stocking up

on Halloween candy.

I don’t go for the chocolate.

Or the gummies.

I go for those white tips

orange middles

and yellow bottoms.

The candy that when you eat it,

you can literally feel your teeth

rotting and screaming in agony.

The candy that when you taste it,

you can literally taste the crisp

sweet fall air.

A multi purpose candy.

Substitute for real corn.

Vampire teeth.

Nose plugs.

Traffic cones for your toy cars.

A candy that brings you back

to your childhood.

A candy where one bite is not enough.

But two bites is one too many.

There are probably better and cooler things I should be telling y'all about, but this is a huge part of my life at the moment. Is it a crisis? Maybe. Residents in the building will see other staff members walking around with a handful of it and ask where they got it. Then, they'll see me sitting and working at the desk and say, "Oh, that's where they got it. Makes sense." Seriously, I'm a candy corn freak.

Anyways, I guess I could update you on other aspects of my Alaskan life. Classes have officially started about a week ago and I really enjoy all of them. Granted, I've only had two classes (Biology and Children's Literature) but they are really great. Children's Lit starts off with everyone sitting on the floor and one of us reading one of our favorite childhood books. My textbook list for that class for this semester includes Harry Potter, The Golden Compass, Shiloh, Little House on the Prairie, A Wrinkle in Time, and so many more! And well, Biology is is biology. I also am enrolled in a Sea-Kayaking class but that doesn't start until next week and I have a few online classes as well, which don't really deserve praise. At least not yet.

What else?

ROLLERBLADING. It hasn't happened a lot, but the few times I've gone, have been well...interesting. The first time I thought I was taking a shortcut to the other part of campus, and well, it was...for a mountain biker or person traveling by foot. It was unpaved (which I had forgotten about). I was hiking up a hilly gravel road in my rollerblades, too stubborn to turn around, and then when I had to make the next turn of said short cut, I was hiking through the forest: tree branches, mud, leaves/brush, and rocks. Also, it was raining. So I just kept sliding backwards and falling... It was not good. I eventually made it to my destination but probably just looked like I came out of a cave. I at least got a good story out of it.

Other things: The sun has been shining for the past few days which truly is incredible. The mountains look as perfect as a mountain can look (even on those cloudy and foggy days) and Auke Lake has just enough sparkle and shimmer to it. The other night we jumped into the lake around midnight. Man oh man, was it freezing. Probably 40 degrees, if not, colder. And then standing in the cold air. It was a nightmare. But actually really wonderful. I'm still pretty sleep deprived, mostly because I'm out being social or (not) working on homework when I should be sleeping (but am staying up until 3 AM watching Les Mis). Or, I'm pounding on doors having people evacuate the building because of fire alarms that go off at 2 AM, 4 AM, or even 5:30 PM due to burnt popcorn. Seriously. We've had five go off within the past two weeks. The rest of this week entails classes, waffles, desk shifts, duty, Brew Fest, and probably other spontaneous things.

That should hold y'all over for a while. Much love being sent your way!

-A