Missy Bliss: January 2006

the heart of me

I am attempting to test a new form of loading pictures so that I don't use up all the space on my free blog.

Can anyone see me ?

Moonlight on the Mountain Tops

Last Friday night my friend Amy Y. and I went to the top of Pillar Mountain in the 19 degree weather to take night pictures of the mountains. The moon was at its fullest point and the sky was clear. For the 1st time since I got to Kodiak, I thought that I just might freeze to death on that mountain...all for the sake of art! Gracious me.

This is a shot from looking away from town towards Monashka Bay. The mountain furtherest to the right is Monashka, and the other 2 peaks are 2 of the Three Sisters. The photos were taken with a Nikon D-50 with the shutter open for 30 seconds.

Tequila from Mexico: Trouble in Magaritaville resolved

Tequila from Mexico: Trouble in Magaritaville resolved
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER
AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — It took two years, but the trouble in Margaritaville has
been resolved.

The United States and Mexico signed an agreement Tuesday that will allow
continued bulk shipments of tequila from Mexico into the United States.
In 2003, the Mexican government issued a proposal that would have banned
bulk shipments and required that all Mexican tequila bound for the United
States be bottled in Mexico.

U.S. liquor companies cried foul, saying the proposal was a violation of
international trade rules and ran counter to general practices in the liquor
industry worldwide. In 2004, 74 percent of the tequila imported into the
United States was shipped in bulk form.

The rule never went into effect as negotiations began to resolve the
dispute. Under the agreement signed Tuesday, the Mexican government said it
would not limit bulk shipments of tequila into the United States.
The agreement was signed in Washington by U.S. Trade Representative Rob
Portman and Mexican Economy Secretary Sergio Garcia de Alba.
‘‘We have resolved this important trade challenge in a way that ensures U.S..
bottlers will have continued access to bulk tequila,’’ Portman said in a
statement.

He said Mexico’s proposed ban would have threatened huge investments made by
American companies to build bottling plants and develop brand loyalty.
Peter Cressy, president of the Distilled Spirits Council, an American
lobbying group, said the deal would ‘‘protect the interests of Mexican agave
growers and tequila producers as well as U.S. bottlers and importers.’’
Propelled by the popularity of magaritas and tequila shots chased with lime
and salt, tequila is the fastest growing liquor in the United States. The
industry said tequila sales volume rose by 8.3 percent in 2004, with retail
sales reaching approximately $3.3 billion.

The agreement calls for establishment of a tequila bottlers registry to
identify all approved bottlers of tequila in the United States and creation
of a working group to monitor implementation of the agreement.

1 Year Ago

This morning when I woke up I couldn't help of remember what I was doing a year ago.

At 730 am I was rattled awake by the ringing phone. It was Ricky and Molly telling me that they were going to have a baby. Yes, I was shocked, but so excited!! (I was going to be an aunt...well, okay, really a cousin, but close enough!) Oh, how I miss the precious baby (and her parents too).

And then it was 4 hours later that my phone started ringing again while I was out to brunch celebrating with the family. It was Marcia. She was calling to let me know that Aaron's boat had rolled in the Bering Sea (the day before the crab season was to start) and he was missing at sea.

Now, 12 months later I have found myself living life to its fullest on a small rock off the coast of Alaska.

Oh, that's just Kodiak for ya

Why is that phrase said to me on a daily basis? Well, because there seems to be something 'special' in the air here on this tiny, emerald island.

Yesterday, my friend Keith and I were off to grab a quick lunch to go from the Safeway and take it back to my house. An innocent little trip, we never thought for a moment that something interesting could happen.

At this moment I must have forgotten the fact that I am in Kodiak.

We emerge from the doors of Safeway, to find a black Isuzu Rodeo stopped in the middle of the lane. Yes, it should be moving forward, but it is not. Why, you ask? There is no one in the car. At this moment, we stop, stare at each other, and then stare at the car, and then back at each either. Saying the whole time, 'God, I wish I had my camera!' (We even ran over to a co-worker's car to ask him if he had his camera with him.) We were sure that the driver must have had an emergency that just didn't warrant pulling into the empty parking spot, which was located directly in front of the car. For instance, maybe the driver was going into diabetic shock and had to get food immediately, leaving no time to properly park the car.

Slowly we walked away from the random car and just hoped that the driver and/or passenger would come back before we drove away.

Sure enough…
Two blonde women came running from the store, laughing and carrying on as if they owned the whole parking lot.

And what came out of Keith's mouth…
'That's Kodiak for ya.'

my personal daemon

What Is Your Daemon?

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DOG - Your daemon may be a dog if you are loyal and caring, and like to know what is expected of you. You probably are very family oriented, and have a small group of friends that you are very close to, rather than a large group of acquaintances. You dislike confrontation, but you will stand up and fight for the people and issues that you really care about. You may prefer someone else to take the lead in a situation, although you would rather take the lead yourself than have the situation fall apart. You probably enjoy routine and order, but that doesn't mean you don't like to have fun. If anything, your friends probably know you for getting intense, child-like pleasure in the small things in life.
Take this quiz!http://quizilla.com/redirect.php?statsid=17&url=http://www.quizilla.com/users/wolfcaroling/quizzes/What+Is+Your+Daemon%3F">quiz!
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