December Catch-up and Holiday Time.

Howdy,

It's been one busy month, this December. So much so that I've had another drought on this blog.

One bit of new involving my days in Nevada was that an article that I'm a co-author on did get published. I'm excited for that. Now, if I had the time and the resources to finish the article that I'm the lead author on...

Also, our Meteorology Department was awarded a safety medal for working so safely on the station. I believe that this accomplishment was mentioned in an Iowa news station somewhere, I think Sioux City. As for the South Pole itself, it has been warmer than normal, but yet there have been plenty of clear to partly cloudy days, which is a little unusual with this combination.

Christmas has come and gone, but I still want to make sure that you and your loved ones enjoy your holiday season.

Until next time.

Time to stop and smell the....glycol??

Hello again,

I hope things are going well for you wherever you are reading this. I just want to take some time to remind you to enjoy life a little bit, take advantage of what's around you and don't wrap yourself up in a myriad of mini-tasks. I maybe feeling that way with things on station and things that I have yet to begun. So, instead of rushing off to other odd tasks after work, it would be better to have a good conversation with some friends or plain not just worry about the world for a while. That's the little bit of wisdom that I have to share.

FYI, glycol is the coolant that is used at the Pole to make sure nothing mechancial freezes. Have a rose on me, everyone.

Dome sweet...Dome...?

Salutations,

Things are still going quiet and smooth during the night shift. I'm getting plenty to eat at Midrats and I still have time to get my work done.

However, the big event that's going to be happening this year at the Pole is going to be the demolition....uh.., I mean deconstruction of the Dome. The dome was the home for scientists, construction workers, galley hands and everyone else for over 3 decades at the South Pole. The dome itself was meant to house 33 people when initially built.

Over time, the population during the austral summer has grown to 250 people another facility was needed to house most of them. After the new station was built and dedicated in 2008, the old dome hung around but it wasn't as bustling as it was most likely back in the day. For my two seasons here, the dome has been used as a storage for the food on station. I also help out on occasion with the weekly food pulls from the dome to the galley.

For me, I probably won't miss the dome much compared to some the people who worked here for years and years. Still, it's always nostalgic when an important structure gets taken apart.

Take care everyone and if I don't write again soon, Happy Thanksgiving!!

Taking care of some business...and some pleasure.

Howdy,

Well, a little more than a week has passed and now I'm beginning to feel acclimated to the Pole. It was a rough first couple of days, but I managed to pull through. Now this means that I have to actually work now (swipes snapping finger hand). The night shift is moving quickly and quietly and I have gone and have done some workouts in the gym, taking it easy of course.

In the not too distant past, I did partake in the McMurdo Halloween party when I was over there longer than expected. I had a great time there. A little further in the past in February when I was in Christchurch, I attended a rugby match.

So these are some examples that everyone can have their moments when they work hard and play hard.

Cheers.

Better late than never. Made it to Pole.

This post it to let you know that I've made it as far south as I can go. I arrived yesterday and I kind of forgot how altitude plays a role in the Pole. I've been instructed not to do too much strenuous labor for the first couple of days. Last year, I didn't notice it as much, since I feel that I was on adrenaline over there. Now, maybe the physical and mental aspects are becoming a bit of a factor. I just have to remember to drink lots of water and not try to do wind sprints while I'm here.

Also, seeing some of the winterovers did give me a prespective on some before and after shots between vists. Some changes were very small, others were quite drastic.

That's all I have right now for my grand reappearance at the South Pole. I bring you up to date on any changes.

Back to our regularly scheduled program....of sorts.

Hello everyone,

It has been a couple of months, but I'm back into the blogging fold. I'm heading back to the South Pole for a couple of months doing weather observations yet again, but this time, things may feel a little different the second go around. Most of the novelty of the sense of adventure has worn off, but I'm always ready for new experiences.

For example, I decided to try out another part of the Emergency Response Team. I would be on the first response IF I get to go to Pole, which leads me to my other main experience thus far. Currently, I'm at McMurdo Station waiting to go to the South Pole, but weather in the area is making that trek a little more difficult. I'm staying in one of temporary housing units in McMurdo in Bldg. 166, a.k.a, Hotel California (Eagles Reference), a.k.a., Man Camp. Yep, a bunk house with 30 other guys. It kind of reminded me of my first couple of days over in Marine Corps Boot Camp...

Anyway, I'll do my best to catch up with you along the way with new experiences during this season, as well as what happened to me since the previous post since February.

In the meantime, take care everyone.

One way to go but North and many, many people.

Howdy,

I'm a little late in writing this, but I did finish my summer season on the ice and I made it back to Christchurch, NZ late Friday night. After some days getting adjusted to the real world to things like grass, night, kids and rain, I think that I'm getting back into the fold.

Also, as much as it's has been about myself on this blog, there are plenty of friends along the way that made this trip a lasting experience. When I got first here in Christchurch in October, I ran into these guys at orientation in Denver. Moving from left to right, we have myself, Jason then Justin who both worked at McMurdo Station, Flint Hamblin in Cryo, Craig Wheeler the Greenhouse Tech and Shelby Handlin the DA turned prep cook. The last three all worked at the Pole.

The next set includes the group that had to have spent the most time with me, the Met office crew. From left to right, Tim Markle, my supervisor, myself, Krissie Shiroma, Mike Carmondy, the Met coordinator, and Bob Bedner.

The last set includes my roommates at McMurdo while we were all heading to Pole. I got close to all of them, even though I was the last to come and the first to leave. From left to right, we have Aydin Christmann, Daniel Jablonski, Monty "Big Sexy" Myrtle, Derek "Storm" Schott and Damien Henning.

I hope this shows the type of social interactions and friendships I built over the past four months. In the meantime, I'm looking forward with my time off and chillaxing on the lower half of the world before heading back home on the beginning of next month.

Cheers.

February Update.

Hello again,

It's been tough to get back to this blog as of late, since day shifts are not too kind with the internet connection down here. However the two notes I will mention are that last weekend was my first real weekend here for sometime, i.e., I didn't have to work Saturday night and all day Sunday. I had a blast then. The other big thing is that in a couple of hours, we'll have our first large block of summer people leaving the ice. It's just another sign that the end is near and that my turn to leave the ice is coming. I'll keep you updated about what's going on, and oh yeah, more pictures next time.

Later

A January update and....who...me?

Greetings once again.

Things are beginning to change around here once again, for me personally now I'm on the day shift, which means that it may be more difficult to get a hold of you to tell you of my tales. Also on the winds of change front, I received word on my tentative departure date, so the end is closer than I think.

Another note, since our supervisor was going to be at McMurdo station for a week for R&R before he begins his winter shift, he dubbed me to be in charge of the meteorology office while he was away. Personally, I don't think much will change with my job. I might be the focus of attention more, but that always seems to happen with no matter which job I work. I'm certain that things will go smooth for the next six days and I won't crash the Met department into a C-130.

That's the major updates that I have for now. The picture is of a Kelvin-Helmholtz wave cloud, or at least before it began to dissapate. These clouds are somewhat rare to capture, but it's a little more special to see them in this part of the world.

Take care until next time.

One year down, another to go.

Hello again and Happy New Year,

I'm not too much of a guy that recaps everything that happened over the course of a year, but 2008 definitely has been one worth noting.

The notable highlights were that I finished up my Master's degree after 3 years of work. I also headed back home to Colorado to accept some contract jobs, one at Sun Microsystems for a couple of months and the other from Raytheon to do work in Antarctica.

Other times when I have been by myself, I tend to think about how can I improve myself better and how to do it by actions instead of by mere words. This maybe an ongoing theme as I discover some more things about myself about what I'm capable of doing as well as respecting and making the people around me feel better about themselves.

There is also uncertainty as well, since at times I always find myself in the same trap of worrying about things that are non-essential and not caring enough about my short and long term goals in which I need to succeed. As long as my brain doesn't become toast in the next month and a half, I should have a better idea what do I need to get things done, so I would have a better 2009 for myself and the people around me.

Also, the picture above is of a set of sun globes. We use these at the Pole to measure how much sunlight we received during the day by reading the burn marks on the cards. Also, the smell of burnt sun cards drives the ladies wild....

Late.