Thursday, October 28, 2010

As the ice turns....

Well we are rapidly approaching the big Halloween party here. I have yet to attend one in all of my years working in Antarctica. Call me crazy, but I'm a little paranoid about being in a huge building that only has two fire exits and no fire supression system. *shrug* The other side of the coin is a huge crowd, and drama llamas. So I suspect that I will likely be found in our coffee house playing some cribbage with a few friends and drinking some wine.

Things are motoring along here. I'm trying to get my head wrapped around travelling down here, and getting from field camp to field camp. I am actually exceedingly lucky this year to have a position that lets me do that. I have only gone into the interior of Antarctica once, over to Beardmore Glacier area. This year I'm slated to hit South Pole Station, Wais Divide, Byrd Surface Camp, and those will happen with LC130's. Then by helicopter to Marble Point, Black Island and the Dry Valley areas. Yep, colour me excited. I also have to manage all of that, with the work I have here in town. Fortunately I now have some flying monkeys at my disposal to help with my tasking.

I have also received word that my work/personal travel schedule is going to be more hectic this year than last. It looks a lot like this:

Leave Antarctica for New Zealand in late January.
Spend a few days in New Zealand and head to Denver.
Maybe head to Arizona from Denver and back again.
Leave Denver to Hawaii and back again towards the end of Feb for a week.
Leave Denver to Port Hueneme California for work and back again end of March straddling into the begining of April. Maybe take some side flights up the coast to Oregon and Washington.
Leave Denver to Punta Arenas Chile for work, around the middle of April.
Leave Chile to take a research vessel to Palmer Station Antarctica, and back again to Denver, around the begining of May.
Leave Denver to take a honeymoon. Africa? Spain? Japan? Not decided yet. Back again in May.
Leave Denver to go back to Punta Arenas to work for a month or two around June. Back again in July.
Maybe leave Denver to go to Georgia and back again July.
Maybe leave Denver to go to Vegas and back again July.
Leave Denver to go to Arizona and back again in August.
Leave Denver to come back to McMurdo Station in August.

I'm stoked for sure, but it is going to kick my ass. I really wish the science types would get a teleporter working. It sure would shave some time off in airports.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

lazy susans....

Well I'm back on the ice. Already off and running, and over complicating things that I probably should not.

Ah well.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Trap door spider....

It seems to me as if this blog sits in a dusty corner. I come across it from time to time, like a old cookbook to peruse through, and put away.

I have been working like a mad woman, getting more and more frequent flier miles. Currently I'm sitting in my hotel in Punta Arenas, where I will be wrapping up a two month stint of work on July 20th. Immediately following is a weekend in Vegas to thaw out, and then off to Antarctica in early August. This is my second trip to Chile this year.

New word of the day, Antiopdal. I haz it.

Anyway, things are motoring along. I'm engaged as of my trip to Iceland, though only heaven knows when we will get the time to actually get married. This time back home, I think he and I have only really seen each other...maybe 2 months. We have both been traveling so much. I definitely do not see next year going down this way, but you never know. Though I know it is said absence makes the heart grow fonder, I really wonder if that statement is true. I certainly believe that it makes me harder to deal with when I get back home. Independence may be a good thing, but sometimes it can take the shape of overbearing.

Hm. I wonder if I had a point to make. All arrows point to no.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Timing...

Is everything.

Iceland was epic, and I left before the eruption. Just like Tonga last year. I'm one for leaving places with eruptions.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Oh yeah...

T-minus seven to leave here.

T-minus twelve to Iceland.

Oh yeah.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Food...

I am such a food porner.

Granted, much of it is my current location, but as you can see from the list of who I follow, I'm really, really serious about my food porn. As the end of the season here on the ice draws to a close, I'm getting worse and worse. I take comfort in the fact that I'm not the only one that does it, but when you factor in that I'm sending recipes to myself, and that I'm already a cookbook junkie when at home....yeah. I have a problem.

I think I'm going to need intervention.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Is it just me...

But has anyone else noticed, that recently in the light of the Haiti earthquake, celebrities are flooding in with donations?

What I want to know, is where were they with those donations, BEFORE this happened. Where were their funds, to help mitigate the problem?

Someone said it very well down here, that safety is an after thought to the accident. I think that sums it up rather well.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Long days night...

For my Greek friend:

Αγαπώ τις παλαιές φωτογραφίες, ιδιαίτερα των παλαιών ημερών της εξερεύνησης εδώ στην Ανταρκτική. I' μ που λειτουργεί ως συντονιστής φορτίου για το στρατόπεδο επιφάνειας Byrd, ποια μέσα, εγώ παίρνουν το φορτίο και το προσωπικό σε και από το μακρινό στρατόπεδο τομέων. Είμαι έξω εκεί ο ίδιος, και είναι, στο μυαλό μου, ένα από τα πιό prettiest μέρη εδώ στην Ανταρκτική. Κατόπιν αυτού, πραγματικά δεν έχω κάνει πολύ να ταξιδεψω εδώ. Εν πάση περιπτώσει, Byrd έχει μια μεγάλη ιστορία, και εάν έχετε οποιοδήποτε ενδιαφέρον, μπορείτε να ελέγξετε έξω το άρθρο Wikipedia ότι έχω τοποθετήσει τη σύνδεση με. Σκέφτομαι ότι έχω μια μικρή συντριβή σε Richard Evelyn Bryd. Εκείνο το άτομο είναι πράγματι όμορφο σε έναν ομοιόμορφο και καλύπτει κάτι ότι δεν μπορώ ακριβώς να βάλω ένα δάχτυλο επάνω. Παλαιοί εξερευνητές. Έχω βεβαίως ένα μαλακό σημείο στην καρδιά μου για τους.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Evelyn_Byrd

Translation for the English folks:

I love old photos, particularly of the old days of exploration here in Antarctica. I'm working as a cargo coordinator for the Byrd Surface Camp, which means, I get cargo and personnel to and from the remote field camp. I have been out there myself, and it is, in my mind, one of the prettiest places here in Antarctica. That being said, I really have not done much traveling here. Anyway, Byrd has a long history, and if you have any interest, you can check out the Wikipedia article that I have posted the link to. I think I have a little crush on Richard Evelyn Bryd. That man is indeed handsome in a uniform and encompasses something that I just cannot put a finger on. Old explorers. I certainly have a soft spot in my heart for them.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

The not so frozen Tundra

Well, the weather certainly has been warm this year. Warm and wet. Not nearly as chilly as in previous years, but life is like that sometimes.

The icebreaker Oden has finally made it in. Much to our delight penguins, both Emperor and Adelies are close to town. I need to take a walk out to roll cage Mary, but my health has been less than optimal.

This year has been bad for me, as far as a crud season goes. Oh sure, normally I fall really bad once, get the crud briefly, and it's all over with. Not this season. Far from it. I've not only fallen multiple times and badly, I've also had various infections multiple times, simultaneously. I'm a hazard to my own health right now, and so not amused. The good news is, we are coming up on the end of the season. The bad news is, I'm still freaking sick. And preparing to travel internationally. Not a good thing. I have found traveling when you're sick is hard on a body. Ah well.

Other than that, just getting excited for the trip to Iceland. Here's to hoping I'm well for that!

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

hell yeah

And the count down starts...

As of tomorrow, it's 30 days, and I'm out.

Tickets to Iceland are purchased.

The difference between Ice people and the rest of the world...

I tell an Ice person I'm going to Iceland for my vacation. They say Oh COOL!

I tell someone at home I'm going to Iceland for my vacation, they say, what the hell? Shouldn't you be on a beach somewhere??

Just something I noticed.