Well here we are again after a lengthy hiatus from blogging. I'm sure some of you are already aware (not that it would stop me), but I took a break from Antarctic recently to try something new. I spent 14 months contracted to an Army base on an island in the South Pacific (Kwajalein), which was quite an experience in its own right... but I will discuss that more in the next post. For now, I would like to focus on my return to McMurdo.
I have been here for a month now and I can safely say that it feels great to be back. There are a lot of new faces around (not necessarily a bad thing) and it is starting to get crowded as the season ramps up, meaning that things should shape up to be pretty interesting (i.e. hectic) this year. A new company has taken over the contract and, much like the change in employer, I have decided to switch things up as well. I have taken the opportunity to return as a "Load Planner" this year, meaning that instead of building pallets of cargo outside and putting them on aircraft with a forklift, I build pallets of cargo in a computer and put them on aircraft with a mouse. It is a balancing act (in more ways than one) but I am enjoying it overall thus far.
A few weeks ago I was given my first (see: 'only') boondoggle of the season which was a welcomed gift. I had the opportunity to travel 1.5 hours by hagglund with two Marine Biologists (from Portland, OR no less) to a location called "Inaccessible Island," although "Moderately Accessible" would be a more appropriate title. Once there, we drilled holes in the sea ice in order to fish for live specimens to take back. After spending an hour drilling 8ft holes, we armed ourselves with child-sized fishing poles and the hunt was on!I was fortunate enough to make the first catch of the day and, after removing my gloves to take out the hook (and subsequently dropping them in the water), I made the decision that I had earned a little warm-up break. I raised my hands to my mouth and blew into them in an attempt to get some feeling back (a standard move for any half-decent outdoor enthusiast), neglecting to take note of the fish slime all over them... I gagged... I cried... I looked around to see if anyone noticed... I realized that I was so cold I just didn't care anymore. Regardless of my laps in dignity, at the end of it all, we walked away with our heads held high (when not in the wind) and a bucket filled with about 30 fish... for science!
