Pot Room Physicist...Day 33ish

Interesting morning in the pot room today. The more time I spend in there the more I remember last year, and the many Sundays spent scraping the primordial goop off of walls and out of corners...and how greatful I was when I realized that it was a job I could deligate to others (terrible, I know). Nowadays though, I spend so much time in front of a computer that I often long for that contemptible pot room. I will suit up in the appropriate garb and send away other DA's so that I can have my sweet alone time with the heinous grime that builds up on the never ending stacks of pots. And while it is a job I now enjoy, it is still and always will be disgusting.

I was reminded today why it is that being a DA is actually, in its own right, a skilled labor. It is crucial that you have some understanding of basic physics, a strong stomache (a desensitized gag reflex), and above all else, a fabulous, almost twisted sense of humor. After retasking Michael this morning so that I could romance the pot room by myself, I prepared myself as though I were entering a nuclear war zone. Green Rubber gloves that reach to my elbows, saftey goggles that make me look like a mad scientist, and an industrial strength apron to protect my oh-so-delicate skin and clothes from whatever scary residue may come crawling off a pot. Is this neccessary you ask? ABSOLUTELY! There are actually days I wish I could put on a body suit and wear an oxygen tank to ensure complete protection from the smut you can not help but encounter. Unfortunately, that is not an option and this is where a basic understanding of physics comes in. There are many different shapes and sizes of pans that find their way into the pot room and there is a specific science to how each and every one should be cleaned to avoid showering yourself in crusty, leftover, tuna caserol or frothy pig blood. Anything square and flat needs to be pointed away from you to ensure that when a high powered stream of water hits it, it doesn't ricochet back towards your chest or face. There are the deep, stainless steel squares (probably the safest of all culprits) that you will typically catch no rebounds from as long as you are standing a safe distance away so as to dodge any rougue splashes. There are the huge plastic lexans-of course never used in the preparation of something appealing, like granola or some sort of mouthwatering dessert. No, of course not. Rather there is leftover juice from the 100lbs of beef that spent the night thawing inside of it (and here's where that desensitized gag reflex is handy...I fear mine will never be desensitized enough for this job). These lexans are so big that for someone as short as myself, the only logical way to clean it is to quite literally crawl in- I typically have to immerse my entire upper body into the scary cow-residue filled compartment in hopes that not only will I NOT get any of the nastyness on me, but also that I wont puke...that would only be a larger, slightly more gnarly mess. You would think that such a daunting container would be my least favorite to clean wouldn't you?? Well it's not. In fact the vessel on station that scares me the most, both in the pot room AND in the dish room...drum roll please...BOWLS!!!! Or really anything round for that matter(like ladels, which are quite possibly the absolute worst). While I have said from the start that a basic understanding of Physics is crucial, most moments that involve any sort of round container, and a high powered water hose, leave me further convinced, that not even Einstein himself could predict the trajectory with which the water that has hit the bowl, will then leave it...in lamemans terms: More often than not, you can expect a huge stream of water mixed with any amount of crusty remnants to come flying out of said bowl at high speed, usually headed directly for your face. And apparently I am at the perfect height to get a nice facefull, typically spaning from my forehead, all the way down to my mouth. Now, after more than a year, I may not have learned which angle is safest  for bowl washing, but I have learned that if you cant dodge the wall of water that seems to have targeted your face, the only option is to close your eyes and your mouth as tightly as possible to, ...This is were I often find myself with a bit of a dilema. Once a capable DA, now temporarily blind and mute. I can remove my gloves and paw my way to the nearest paper towel dispenser, in hopes that it has recently been stocked with, what may be, my only source of relief, or I can patiently wait for a fellow DA, or a cook in search of clean pots, to enter the lonely pot room and help me out of my ridiculous state. I typically prefer the first option as opposed to the latter, since most people who find you in this state usually end up laughing uncontrollably at your expense. And while I may sound bitter, I assure you I am not, as I too laugh hysterically if I am lucky enough to find someone else in this same state I so often find myself. We have all been there at least once, and probably will be there again many more times, but at least we're all in it together.

After a morning of scrubbing out pans, climbing into lexans and attacking the never ending battle of the "bowl trajectory", I took my pot room "costume" off and paused for a moment. I took a look around at the remnants from DA's past that could be found permanently drawn onto walls, etched into corners, and written onto the ceiling (the word "Gullible" is actually written on one of the ceiling panels, Im sure, often used to prank a fellow DA) and I realized, once again, how small I really am in the big picture...how many people came before me and how many people will come after me, but also how proud I am to be apart of that bigger picture. There may be a million DA's...but at least that makes each of us one-in-a-million ;)

Stats for the day
Temperature: -33°C/-27°F
Wind Chill: -49°C/-56°F (Also refered to as F'n COLD)

Visibility(miles): Unrestricted
Wind(knots): E @ 16

Sunrise: 6:50am
Sunset: 6:47pm

Population: Holding at 456 since we have had no planes

Nacreous Clouds, The Library, and Auroras...One of these things is not like the others

Day number 17 is ending rather fabulously. I have finally found a place on station where I can escape and plan to be, for the most part, alone! Yay, for libraries!! I will be volunteering at the McMurdo Library 2-4 times a month for the next 26weeks and so far in my volunteering experience I have had all of 5 patrons (two of which don't really count because they were coming to see if I was interested in coming out with them later...they had no immediate interest in books) So perfect peace is what I have found...and a pretty large expanse of books...Well large considering where I am.
And while I cannot yet say that the population is getting to me, I can only imagine how long it will be before my inability to get away from people will start to wear on me. Better that I find solace now. Along with the Library the chapel has turned out to be a sanctuary in itself. I cannot pretend that I am using it for religious reasons, but I am using it for reasons of solitude...and as dramatic as it sounds, sanctuary. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday find me in the Chapel for Yoga at 6:30. I may not be reading a bible, but in Jessica's world there is little else more spiritual for me than watching an amazing sunset over an unbelievably large expanse of ice while I forget about the stress of my work day...and that's what I find in the Chapel three times a week (BUT, no matter what anyone tells you, Yoga is NOT relaxing. Its hard...and it hurts...but its still great)

Other news for the day is the Nacreous clouds that have finally decided to show themselves. It seems so late in the season for them to just be showing up now, but I suppose everything that has happened this year has seemed later. And even though that can be very easily attributed to our late deployment this year, I have still found it a little unsettling how quickly winfly is becoming a thing of the past. After sunset the light lingers a little longer and I didn't see it coming last year, but I'm prepared for it this year and I know that on of these evenings that sun will NOT be going down.

That being said its stargazing/Aurora hunting time! A nice long walk under the beautiful bright moon in search of some astronomical phenomena is how I plan to end day 17...


Stats for the day

Temperature: -25°C/-13°F
Windchill: -25°C/-13°F

Visibility(miles): Unrestricted
Wind(knots): Calm

Sunrise: 8:46am
Sunset: 5:01pm

Population: 457