Hey there Steemians. Surly Kyle here to introduce myself. Excited to be here!

Greetings folks, the name is Surly Kyle.
I've been reading Steemit posts for the past week and you know what, my interest has been piqued. I think it's about time to start contributing in my own way to the community, and I’m really looking forward to becoming more involved. You can expect a wide variety of posts from me, covering things such as: daily northern living, my travels, art/crafting, poetry, and pretty much anything that interests me.

I go by "Surly Kyle" because I'm known for my dry humour. I can be funny but can also be serious as a heart attack. I'm a flight attendant by day and a creative soul/gamer by night. I am doing my best to have fun while I figure out this game of life.

I live in the land of the midnight sun, in the Northwest Territories of Canada. Our short summers are spectacular, with long hours of daylight, warm weather and nature surrounding us. There's plenty to do in the North if you enjoy outdoor activities and pubs. The Winter is quite the opposite and can be punishing. We don't get a lot of daylight and it's really cold for months on end. Today we’re experiencing a balmy, almost spring like, -21 Degrees Celsius with a wind chill of only -38.

I work as a flight attendant for a local charter company, travelling around the North. We get a very wide variety of work and most of it isn’t as cushy as one would expect. We fly to mining camps and smaller northern communities for the most part. Work has brought me to a lot of interesting places like Iqaluit, Whitehorse, Greenland, and Eureka. If you haven't heard of Eureka don't worry, not many have. It's the third most northern permanent research community in the world. If you've ever watched Alien vs. predator, it's kind of like that ...minus the deadly tunnel.

Living in the north can be a bit of a challenge, there’s decent work to be found and the lowest of wages aren’t terrible. But that’s often countered by the exorbitant cost of living. I live with two room-mates and pay around 1200$ per month just for a place to sleep. Things here are expensive and it only gets worse the further north you go. I was once in a small community in Nunavut where they had an auction for a 12 pack of coke that sold for 112$. Cheap eh?

For all my complaints about the cold, I was born and raised here and love our unique little city. We are surrounded by beautiful lakes, we have the best fishing imaginable, and it's a city with a small town vibe: very welcoming and chill(y).

We get a front row seat to some of the most spectacular northern lights over the winter and there's a lot of unique places to visit such as old town with eclectic artisans and buildings. You'll also spot year round house boats where the residents are able to avoid land tax by floating their homes on the lake. It's quite ingenious and a nice way to "give the finger to the man".

There is also the famous Snowking ice castle which hosts concerts and events every weekend. I'll definitely share some photos when I make it out there later this month.

This here beauty is my ride, she has no heat, and therefore she is more of a "summer ride". In the winter I have to keep the windows open to stop them from freezing which is less than ideal at minus forty. Picture driving while wearing a full face cover, a parka, and thick gloves while using an ice-scraper just to drive down the road to work. Its been a rocky adventure of ingenuity just to get to work. It's actually probably illegal.

I enjoy gaming, I’d like to think my father is the one who started me on the road as a gamer, but the Yellowknife weather has definitely kept me inside long enough to keep it going. Throughout the years I’ve built up a group of friends who share my interests in gaming. Whether it’s a newer system such as a PS4 or an older box like the Atari or N64, we find enjoyment in playing games together while staying warm and comfortable indoors.

Don’t get me wrong here, it’s not like I stay inside all the time, just mostly during the winters because I’ve gotten sick of the frostbite and frozen eyelashes. As I’ve mentioned before, we can get crazy 24x7 days of sunlight. This means summer in Yellowknife is a two month celebration, where everyone crams in as much excitement as possible, before the cold comes back. One of these such celebrations is called “Folk on the Rocks”. It’s a music festival, with performers from all over the world. I’ll do a post later in the year detailing my experiences at this festival, as it’s a much better story when told fresh.

I’m also a bit of an amateur artist and crafter, I find my passions tend to go towards making something new with my hands, or with my words. I spend my days bouncing in and out of a creative mood, which causes my projects to be equally all over the place. I would like to find my niche and become a craftsman, it's the type of work that makes me happiest. I'll be posting some of my projects once they are finished.

Well, that's my life in a nutshell. There are plenty of details that I’ve left out about life in the north, so if you stick around you’re bound to find out what you’re missing. I am in a strange place, by choice, but I don’t regret my decision to be here. There is a whole world outside in the snow, I just have to jump outside to find it. So I hope you’ll all stick with me to see what we can find.