Well... so long, Well.ca!

This morning, after placing another order on one of my favourite websites, Well.ca, I received this disappointing message:

"Starting October 12th 2011, we have to implement a shipping charge on orders to remote locations. The charge is going to be $14.99 on orders above $300 and $29.99 on orders below $300.

Let me tell you that I really did not want to do this. I want to offer free shipping on all orders, especially for you in remote locations, but the math did not work. When we ship a $20 order, we were sometimes paying $50 in shipping and we can’t continue to operate our business that way. Our customers in remote locations are very important to us (you are some of our favourites!) but we are getting more and more orders for these areas. Unfortunately this is costing us a lot and as a small business we cannot continue losing money in this way."

The message was followed by a coupon code for one last order with free shipping before we're cut off. I suppose we're not actually "cut off"... but I am not interested in paying $29.99 to order my hygiene products, nail polish remover, shampoo and conditioner. I could buy a whole lot of overpriced items here or in Inuvik without going over that $30 shipping cost that Well has implemented!

I do understand where they're coming from... my order this morning was for six 1-litre bottles of hydrogen peroxide. And a bag of ginger candies. An explanation is probably required here- the peroxide is for soaking our polar bear skull to finish its cleaning regime. As you may know, peroxide is dirt cheap ($2.99/1-litre bottle), so my order came to about $30 including the candies. However, I'm sure the total weight of 6 litres of liquid was pretty heavy, and thus, my cheapskate order would have probably cost them more to send than the value of the products themselves (I know this from shipping hundreds of boxes back and forth since moving up here). So... I can't blame them, and I guess all good things must come to an end.

A similar situation happened with Costco.ca, wherein they used to ship virtually all of their products from their online store to the Arctic for free (there were a few exceptions, such as REALLY BIG TVs). During this period, we ordered a plethora of furniture, including our sectional couch which came in 4 individual pieces. We chose this specific one because no one else would fly a couch to Tuk. However, each piece of the couch retailed at about $299. When each piece arrived, a freight waybill was attached to them with the cost of shipping written on them. To get each piece from Yellowknife to Tuk was approximately $800. That doesn't include getting the pieces from the warehouse to Yellowknife by ground shipping. So our couch that retailed for approximately $1,200 had shipping fees of well over $3,200 associated with it, which Costco absorbed. Needless to say, soon after, Northerners could no longer order anything of significant size or weight from Costco!

Lets hope that we're not "cut off" by anyone else in the near future. All we've got left is Old Navy/GAP/Banana Republic, Amazon/Chapters/Indigo (all of the aforementioned have minimum order amounts to get free shipping), and some Costco products.

Whatever Wednesdays- Some mid-week humour

Wednesdays will now be "Whatever Wednesdays," the day on which I'll blog about whatever I please. Today, I thought that I'd share with you a comic that was in our local newspaper a few weeks ago.

I found the comic to be quite fitting, and I've expressed my opinion in the past about the airline service to Tuk here.



I like to think that this is a comment on the speed of our airline, as opposed to a comment on the runner needing to run fast to escape the northern elements.

The comic references the fact that there is a runner who is planning to run from Inuvik-Tuk on the ice road. I think it's pretty crazy, and I wouldn't want any part in it. I saw the runners when they got to Tuk last year, and their feet were as large as footballs, with swelling. Some had frostbite. Not my cup of tea. I understand that people like to do things that are unique, and "extreme," but I personally wouldn't want to sacrifice my health to complete such an activity.

Oh how your perspective changes...

I literally laughed out loud at lunch today when I heard on the news that Toronto has issued an extreme cold weather alert. Apparently the temperatures might drop to -12C tonight.

I laughed because today it is -43C with the wind chill, -32C without. Tomorrow, the wind chill will be -44C. We don't seem to have an "extreme cold weather alert."

I understand that Toronto's warning is to prepare the shelters for an influx of homeless people needing shelter for the night. I still couldn't help but find it funny that -12 is considered "extreme cold."

On another note, we're now into the season when the weather forecast shows all moons and starry skies for the upcoming week, and the sunrise and sunset are both at 12pm. There's a bit of twilight around the noon hour, but other than that it's night time all-round... and I love it!

p.s. 30 days of photos will continue shortly, I'm having internet issues with my laptop, and currently can only really use it for blogging (with photos) at hotels.

Rations...

So I've been in the North for nearly two years, and Deon has been here for over two years. Before we moved North, we each took advantage of the fact that our employers would ship our belongings north, up to a certain dollar amount in freight charges. Knowing that the cost of provisions in the North is unreasonably high (and it seems like this is especially the case for items "essential" to survival), we each stocked up on items that we knew would last a while, and would be difficult or expensive to acquire in the North.

Before each of us left, we spent weeks (well... in my case I only had 2 weeks to prepare for the move!) scanning the flyers to find the cheapest deals on toilet paper, kleenex, laundry soap, Brita filters, canned and packaged goods, and other non-perishables. Our families also helped out in their respective areas of expertise- my mom and grandma prepared a thorough sewing kit (including my graduation gift of a sewing machine) and kitchen essentials, my gramps prepared all of the pharmaceutical and drug store items, and Deon's mom did a heck of a lot of grocery shopping.

At any rate, before I ramble on much further, the purpose of this blog post is to say that we have officially used up our first (that's right, first) package of toilet paper that we shipped to Tuk. To those who don't know our situation, this might sound just disgusting... 1 pack of toilet paper in 2 years?? However, the simple explanation is that we both travel a lot for our jobs, and during our travels are able to collect the "extra" rolls that are left in hotel rooms. So until about a month ago, we were living on collected TP from across the Arctic, Edmonton and beyond. Our travels have slowed as of late, and we're having to dig into our rations. No need to be alarmed however, by my last count, we have fifteen or more 24-packs so we should be okay at least for a few more months!

Looking at our cupboards, we have finally almost exhausted much of the food that we sent up, while there are also some items that we have an excess of. Just for the interest of those who helped us pack up to come North, here is an account of what is left after 2 years:

-Laundry detergent (2 big jugs, 3 small ones) ~$6 down south... $30 up here
-Dishwasher detergent (3 boxes)
-Diana Sauce (3 jars... we just don't have that many ribs up here!)
-Instant mashed potatoes (we still have half a cupboard shelf full of them)
-Hand and Body Lotion (a large variety)
-Toilet Paper $3 down south (we get them on sale at Shopper's)... $30 up here
-Paper Towel (2 8-packs) ~$3 down south... $30 up here
-Saran Wrap (lots!)
-Garlic Powder (how did we end up with so much!!)
-Rice (again... how did we end up with so much!!)
-Canned vegetables

Things that we're out of or almost out of that does/will burn when having to buy them at the store:
-Kleenex (almost out, don't want to even think about how much it will cost when we have to start buying it)
-Cooking spray
-Ziplocs
-Pasta 99 cents down south on sale... $5 here
-Pasta Sauce 99 cents down south on sale... $4.50 here
-Canned tomatoes 69 cents down south on sale... $4 here
-Canned soups and chilis... $4 here

Looking back, almost two years after moving to the North, my advice to those considering their own moves would be to stock up on large, bulky items, and ship them North if your employer is going to pay for it. People tell you that the prices are higher up here, but you really don't realize it until you do some calculations. Take for example, our toilet paper. The 15 packs have approximately a $45 value down south, when purchased on sale, while up here they have a $450 value. INSANE!

For those Northerner's who haven't discovered it yet, Well.ca is a great online store based in Guelph that will ship most items for free, and there are a lot of (healthy) foods available. They also have cleaning supplies, which sure beats paying Northern prices. In general I find the prices to be a bit more expensive than in grocery stores down south, but still by far cheaper than up here, so it's still some savings. You can order crackers, snacks, and lots of drug store type items (shampoo, etc) which is a great relief from the selection and prices at the Northern store.

A follow up to my tip of the day...

WARNING: This post is not for the faint of heart. Also, I'm hiding the picture so that only those who want to see it can do so, at their own discretion.

For those of you who wondered what cooking a polar bear head on your stove looks like, and how it works... here's a picture of the sucker in our (relatively new) pot, on the stove. Click HERE if you'd like to see.

This kat describes it best:



As an update on the whole "PB" situation:
-The PB head is in an undisclosed location, with its flesh being decomposed by Arctic insects (ok- lets be honest, they're maggots. but I really can't stand the word maggots. I'm shuddering typing the word.)

-A PB rug is the answer to the guessing game I put forward to my readers in February. I just got an email today from the taxidermist saying that the rug is "almost ready," so we should expect to receive it in the next month or so, I'd think. Where to put it, where to put it...

It's midnight in Tuk...

I can hear children laughing, yelling, outside playing with their friends. I look out the window and see a man walk by, coming home from somewhere, and a lady greets him, saying "hello" from her front porch. The seagulls are hooting and hollering, as they hang suspended in the sky... A dog lets out another long, never-ending howl.

The sun beams in on me, bathing the couch in sunlight, like the 2pm sun I used to know. If I didn't have a watch, it may as well be 2pm. No one else seems to realize that it is midnight in Tuk. The sun will continue nourishing the earth, energizing the people, and causing me to feel off kilter for the next few months. And for the next few months, I'll yearn for darkness... the chance to finally feel like I can sleep.

Last night, I had to sleep in the everlasting daylight. The contractors were not quite finished putting in our new windows, and there was no point in covering the bedroom window, only to uncover it the very next morning. Instead, I found rest underneath a makeshift sleeping mask of fabric tied around my head. Maybe I'm crazy, but I needed my sleep.

Tip of the day...

Never cook a polar bear head on your stove. It'll stink up the place...

Welcome to my Garden...

One might think that Arctic gardening would be difficult, if not impossible. And I must say, when I started my plants in February, I didn't have much faith that they would someday flourish. I knew one thing I would definitely miss by moving up to the Arctic was taking care of my plentiful flowers (especially my dear orchids). However, as of lately with nearly 24 hours of daylight, and dutiful watering on our behalf, my plants are coming along very nicely. Soon enough I'll have a harvest of fresh herbs and vegetables (mind you, it might be enough for only one meal).


The windowsill, aka my garden.


At this rate, I might have a pepper by October!


My herb garden that Deon picked up for me for a pretty penny in Iqaluit. Rosemary, Basil, Cilantro and Chives. Rosemary is being a bit stubborn.


Some "just in case" tomatoes, I planted after my other tomato plant had it's unfortunate *incident.*


My almost fully grown cherry tomato plant. It might produce some tomatoes this month by the looks of things!


And... My hydrangea that was waiting for me upon my return from Ulukhaktok. An arm and a leg from Northern, but Deon knows how much I appreciate a living flower! Plus it really did need rescuing... the remainder of them now lie dead on the store's shelf.

Spring has sprung... Well, Arctic spring at least!

Spring is in full swing in Tuk. This means temperatures hovering near zero and sometimes rising above, and the sun doesn't really set much at all anymore. This makes for long days that are perfect for being out and about on the land. Most of the locals have high tailed it out to Husky Lakes to do fishing and camping and hunting, while we without the means to do so stay in town and work. Nonetheless, as soon as 5pm rolls around, everyone is outdoors soaking up the warm weather and sun.

Spring in Tuk means:


Natural beverage coolers in the snow...


Making campfire pits in a snow drift...


Having campfires in the snow drift... (Me, Amanda and Christine)


And ravens laying their eggs...


Uhhh... that's a pretty big nest.


Even Little Bear is celebrating spring's arrival...

Finally, winter is nearly done, and I can start working on my Arctic tan. Soon enough it will be bug season, so best enjoy spring while it lasts!

What don't you understand about "HIGH ARCTIC"!!

The Culprit

My replacement Virgin Mobile phone arrived today, after my previous phone was recalled. In the box came an envelope with a bill of lading for Purolator, meant for me to return my old LG phone.

After spending an hour on hold, I finally talked to one of the Virgin Mobile employees, who obviously are instructed to follow along with the company's "cool" or "hip" branding, and answer the phone like this "Heyyyy, thanks for holding! What's uppp?" Shoot me now...

At any rate, the conversation unfolded as follows:

Me: Hi, I have received my replacement phone and see that I'm supposed to return my old phone via Purolator. The area where I live is not served by Purolator, how would you like me to return the phone?

Annoying Employee: Sure, you just put it in the envelope and call up Purolator, and they'll come and get it.

Me: I live in the high arctic, I don't think they'll come and get it.

AE: Please hold...

*holds again*

AE: Hello, thanks for holdingggg! I have just talked to my supervisor, and he says to take it to the nearest Staples Business Depot, and they'll look after it for you.

Me: We don't have a Staples in the HIGH ARCTIC. We have Canada Post, is there an option for that?

AE: Please hold...

*holds once again...*

AE: Hello, thanks for holdingggg! I have exhausted all of my options. You will have to call Purolator and arrange for a pick up.

Me: Okay, thank you. I guess you won't be getting your phone back.

AE: No, you have to call Purolator at 1-888-blah blah blah blah blah....

Me: Okay, goodbye.

AE: Can you repeat that number for me please?

Me: No thanks, I got it... Bye.

*click*

Scratch that plan...

Today involved flying from Tuk to Aklavik to Inuvik to 15 minutes towards Sachs Harbour, back to Inuvik, having some lunch, finding out my flight to Sachs was cancelled, hitching a ride back to Tuk with Nate, and arriving home just before the plane would have got back to Tuk.

A fun day of Arctic travel was had by all.

A few points of interest during my day of travel (3 of 6 communities in one day, not bad!):


The treeline is very apparent here... The nutrients of the Delta provide essentials for the trees, whereas up the hill a bit, they cannot survive.


The beautiful mountains by Aklavik. You can see the ice road on the large channel in the picture.


My view for much of the day... Inside the twin otter



A relatively rare black fox. They are half silver fox, half red fox.