21 Days in Antarctica

 

The Cross at Hut Point

    It's hard to believe that I've already been here for three weeks, its about time I upload some photos and tell you all about life here in Antarctica. 

    First a quick note about my problem, my bosses have managed to delay my flight off ice by two weeks - more time to get things figured out. I should have a good idea of where I stand next week. I'll keep you all informed. 

    But for now, happier times and happier things. 

       I love this place, this harsh, cold, and fierce continent. There is a magic here, a dangerous beauty that is impossible to explain. One can really see the artistic hand of the creator, who ever they may be, at it's most dramatic and passionate. 

    My life here is a strange duality. On the one hand I'm living in the most incredible and indescribable countryside I have ever seen, on the other my day to day life is relatively simple and uneventful and my work is mundane, rewarding but mundane. 

    I live in building 155. The Central dorms + galley, offices, laundry, and several other things. I get up between 5:30 and 6:00am every morning. We work Monday through Saturday, and I like to do my laundry early Sunday morning. I'll get up and have a slow morning, I'll go online and message some people as my early morning lines up nicely with midday back home. The Galley is open for breakfast at 5:30 so I'll go grab a bite to eat. Wednesdays is biscuits and gravy, Saturday is pancake day. My two favorite breakfasts. I usually don't pay much attenition to what's being served elsewise and typically just grab a breakfast sandwich and some hashbrowns. 

    

Less than a quarter of the Carp (carpenter) Shop. Not including the Paint Barn and GA shack out buildings, plus the hundreds of storage units and 'Mill Vans'. Our trade has the biggest footprint on station. 

    7:28 or you're late! I aim to get to the shop a little after 7. It's a good 5 minute walk up the "Cow Path" to the building. Our shop, 191, sits at the top of the hillside the main station is built across. It's an old Seabee shop. 

    We start our day with out morning meeting, followed up with 15 minutes of stretches. Then we break out into our different teams and go about our day. The really cool adventures haven't started yet, it still is winter (the official last week) so we're still doing work around town. There are currently two teams of carpenters, Sustaining and Projects. 

    Sustaining are kinda like handymen. Fixing broken locks, patching a hole in a dorm, replacing ceiling tiles, that sort of work. I'm on projects. We've been doing a refresh on Dorm 206, as well as the two clubs, Southern Exposure and Gallaghers. In practice it's been patching and painting. 

A few shots inside Southern, from when we were working on it last week. We finished last Friday.

Some shots inside Gallaghers, where we're working now. It's a lot bigger than Southern and I haven't taken many photos in there. 

    We work till 5:30, with an hour's lunch at noon, and two breaks at 10 and 3. After work I like to go have dinner, and then on most nights I relax for about an hour before going to the gym and doing 30 minutes of cardo. My nights are pretty quiet, I spent a lot of them reading, or playing pingpong or hanging out with my carp buddies. I don't go out to the clubs very often, maybe I should. There's events at them all week. Latin dancing or karaoke, heck there's events going on all over base. It's impossible to get to all of them! I do like to go to the knot tying club on Tuesdays though. I have been making an effort to get out to that one at least. "The Frayed Knot Club" Sometimes I go hide in one of the smoke shacks and practice my dulcimer, sometimes I've been in those smoke shacks until 12am drinking and laughing with a few other carpenters, trading stories and just having a good time. It's never the same every night, but it's a lot slower, and less "plugged in" than what I'm accustomed to. And I like it that way, it's refreshing. I'm normally in bed between 9:30 and 10:00pm, unless hooligans get up to being hooligans.

Around town, a small sliver of town, the big blue building is 155. 

    Weekends, eg Saturday night is far different. Work hard, play hard. There's parties everywhere and they last all night! And that is all I'll say on that! Sunday is the ever needed recovery day for many, but is usually quiet. I enjoy the down time, I can't say I get up to much on Sundays. We have a big fancy brunch and an early dinner. It's a good day to get caught up on things. I worked last Sunday, volunteered to come in. So I've only had one proper Sunday since getting down here. 

    

    This weekend is the annual winfly party, hosted by the carpenters at the carp shop. No cameras allowed. I look forward to it, as it's the first big station wide celebration I'll be going to. It makes the end of winfly and the start of mainbody, it also marks the end of winter and the transition towards summer. It should be a heck of a good time!

    Is it cold down here? Yes. But it's not like winter back home. I don't even think "winter" when I go outside these days. It's hard to explain, I don't really think I can. The intense dryness changes it, changes how you feel it. I've been in weather as cold as -61F and it's an indescribable sensation, not pleasant in the least, but how do you tell someone what that feels like? I just can't. On average it's between 0 and -25 but I've acclimated. It hit a high of 7F today, dang near hoodie weather. It's crazy to see people in shorts, but they're out there on days like today. Not for long, but they're still out there. I'll go out on my smoke break in my base layer shirt with just a tee over it and be fine for as long as it takes to smoke. It's surreal. 

    I'm really enjoying myself down here. I'm not ready to go home yet. Life here is busy, it's tough. The days are long, the week is long, but it's also flying by. It's also simpler and I really like it, I'm very happy to call McMurdo Station home for the time being, and I'm honored to have the opportunity to live and work in Antarctica. 

    That's all for now. To those of you up north, be well and stay warm!