Given the amount of papers I had to sign promising confidentiality, I'm thinking there's not a whole lot I can safely divulge about my new job... Except that I really like it, the guys are super nice to me; they are horrified by the idea that I walk to work and the staff sergeant has taken to picking me up in his truck in the morning. I've learnt an awful lot, and I have been able to finally APPLY stuff that I learnt in my criminology studies. There is a chance that I may never have to work retail again.

Also (and this may explain the silence of the past little while...) I have quit smoking again and it seems to be sticking this time. I must be insane, I guess, wait until I start a new job and then quit smoking but although I've been quite tired I haven't been grumpy.

Roy and Robyn, my wandering brother and sister-in-law, have returned from Peru. They went to Macchu Picchu and I'm jealous. Graeme and Rae, my other brother and his soon-to-be wife are in Tasmania. (Me, I'm still in the Arctic, and yeah, it's still good-and-cold, thanks for asking.)

The power in our neighbourhood was on low this weekend. One of the transformers in town was shot and we came home to an orange note on the door saying that we should keep our power use to a minimum as the "crew" was in another community and the power wouldn't be returned to normal levels until they returned. Strange; not enough power to give us much light, most of the fluorescents wouldn't even turn on, microwave just hummed and didn't heat up food, the water pump whined all weekend, but: it was the perfect excuse not to do housework. So I didn't. Well, no, I cleaned bathrooms and tidied up but skipped the vacuuming and laundry.

I re-read The Magic Army this weekend. I can never resist reading bits of it to whoever will listen. Bad habit, that.

I also read Lawrence Osgood's Midnight Sun, which is about a fictitious village in the Arctic. He gets it right, the life up here, if you get a chance to read it.