Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Day 11

Spent the better part of my morning in the Pot Room with "Red", as I have resorted to calling him, talking about all sorts of different things. And While the conversation was nothing short of interesting the part that moved me the most started with a conversation about my intent to return next season. While I could not whole heartedly answer the question, it put into motion an entire conversation about the experience as a whole...the job, the social life, the scenery...everything. I spoke of how much I really do love this place and how much I appreciate it (even the second time around) but I also mentioned how ready I was to leave when the time came...but above all how QUICKLY the time came to leave.

Once that sun comes up for good the days run together and the only way you can tell the difference between Wednesday and Saturday is what was served for lunch; And you'll know a week has passed because its time for your day off again. You can't remember what you did 2 nights ago because there is no more night...There's not even a waxing and waning moon to guide you through a month...and before you know it your life has turned into one long day...but as the old adage goes, once the day ends, you find it wasn't long enough.

And here I am again, in a pot room at Winfly, and I'm preaching to someone else what I should in fact be preaching to a mirror...for now the sun is still rising and setting but the tide is changing quickly and my "one long day" will be here again before I know it.
I haven't even taken pictures yet which I find just a little miserable, and so I think the time has come to change my "sophomore" ways and feel what it feels like to be a "freshman" again. A place like this deserves to be appreciated and reveled in.

I'll take my own advice on this one, and just as I wrote on September 15, 2010 (on my first trip down south), I'll appreciate the little things in life, the everyday things...the things that may seem normal now, that will seem like gold once they're gone.

Stats for the day:
(Today was the 7th or 8th day of "Condition 2" weather out of the last 11...translation-Crappy[but still beautiful] weather)
Temperature: -12°C/10°F
Windchill: -23°C/ -9°F

Visibility(miles): 2 in snow and blowing snow
Wind(knots): SE @ 11

Sunrise: 9:38am
Sunset: 4:12pm

Population: 470


Sunday, August 28, 2011

Day 9

So, of the 2 planes that they had intended to land on Saturday, only one of them made it. We're waiting on the other plane as we speak, that has been continuously delayed due to weather. The window of time that they can fly these planes to the ice is closing rapidly as the agreement between the NSF and the air force states that the C17's can be used for transport up until August 31st. The mad rush begins... :)

On a happy note, they have found an ice breaker!! For those who have not followed the icebreaker conundrum, the Oden which has been the icebreaker for McMurdo for many years now, backed out this year due to economical issues. The icebreaker is crucial in the running and maintaining of the station as the vessel and the fuel tanker can not make it into McMurdo Sound if it is not escorted by an Icebreaker.
Russia has apparently decided that they can help us out! The press release can be found on NSF's Website


Stats for the day:
Temperature: -14°C/7°F
Windchill: -20°C/-4°F

Visibility(miles): Unrestricted with ice crystals
Wind(knots): light and variable

Sunrise: 9:57am
Sunset: 3:54pm

Population: 362

Friday, August 26, 2011

Day 7

The wheels are up!! This plane just might make it...Better a week late than never!

Stats for the day:

Temperature: -11°C/12°F
Windchill: -19°C/-2°F

Visibility(miles): Unrestricted
Wind(knots): N @ 11

Sunrise: 10:18am
Sunset: 3:35pm

Population (if this darn plane finally lands): 464

Now I am gonna go enjoy some sunlight while I have the chance...Whats more, I'm gonna go enjoy the peace and quiet while its still available...

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Day 5

The second flight of winfly that was supposed to have arrived on Tuesday has been delayed for the third time in a row due to weather. I must say though, as much as I want to see the people on the next plane, I love it when McMurdo looks like this. White and dim just like a winter day :) Weather like this is not as common as one would think, and there is something about it that is EXTREMELY peaceful... unfortunately I will have to walk home in it...that won't be quite as peaceful.


Temperature: -13°C/ 9°F
Windchill: -26°C/ -15°F

Visibility (miles): 1/8 in snow and blowing snow
Wind (knots): SE @ 26 gusting to 38

Day 4

We landed on Saturday (Just barely though). I thought for sure that we were going to get boomeranged on account of mechanical issues, but thanks to the beauty of technology (the load master was using his iPad to sort out the issue) we landed at 1:32pm. It was -37 degrees outside which seemed balmy considering last season greeted us with scary winds and heart stopping temperature of -76.

This whole experience, the second time around, seems oddly and almost frighteningly familiar...almost a sense of home, even though home is 8,000 miles away.
Many things seem familiar, and unfortunately not all of the good things. For example, when I left last season my ability to speak in full sentences, and make sense, was so obviously absent, as was my ability to think complete thoughts... I am sad to report I have picked up right where I left off. However, on the plus side, I am not currently as fried as I was after the last season so instead of my jumbled words being greeted with my own irritation, they are instead a source of comedy...(hopefully my cheerfull disposition over my inability to communicate will stick, because I can't imagine it is going to get better :)
Quite frankly everything from the moment we landed up until now has seemed familiar. I almost don't feel like I ever really left...

 I was concerned that the familiarity would make the experience far more mundane, but it hasn't. I may have taken fewer pictures upon arrival but I think all-in-all, round two has actually made me appreciate the experience more. Its given me a comparison for the feelings I remember so fondly from last season...the anticipation, the excitement...the terror.

I feel like it was just yesterday that I hung my Big Red up in the hallway in front of the Galley and felt so lost and so intimidated.This time around I didn't really have time to sort out what I felt, if I felt anything at all, because I was too busy catching up with familiar strangers and pointing others in the right direction. But, regardless of wether or not the feeling is excitement or anticipation or nerves or whatever else might be there, I definitely feel something. Thankfully, however nostalgia is NOT one of them. I catch myself thinking about last season now and then, and its hard not to when you're surrounded, completely, by remnants of the year before, but the memory of what has already come to pass actually puts into perspective how "big" the big picture really is. No matter what we do with our time here, that time will eventually end and with you or without you this program will go on...

It also confirms what my father has always said, "You can go back to the place, but not the time". It also adds truth to my mother's old addage about the friends who come and go...some are meant to be in your life forever and some are only meant to come into your life for a short time, affect you in their own way, and leave.

I look forward to what this season will bring :)

Stats for the day...

Temperature: -18°C/ 0°F
Windchill: -29°C/-20°F

Visibility (miles): 3/16 in snow and blowing snow
Wind (knots): E-SE 20-35 gusting to 45

Sunrise: 10:53am
Sunset: 3:01pm

Current Population: 248
Estimated Population Tomorrow by Dinner Time (if this plane lands): 363