Before I start in on today's post, just a quick message to let you all know that the rest of the Polar Plunge pics (and video) will be up by later this afternoon. All are work-safe and mostly child-safe (some mild cursing may be present).
Now, then. Yesterday the NavCHAPS came in. As did the Kiwi Army cargo handlers. Combine this with field camps emptying out over the next 2 weeks, and you have the station at beyond max capacity. And evidently, they aren't generally fed, because they were reportedly lined up outside the galley at 4:45 pm, when the galley doesn't open till 5pm. At 5 minutes after 5pm last night, I walked into the galley, and it took all my self-control not to turn around and walk out again. The place was swarmed. I have never seen that many people in the galley at any given time EVER. And the seating area was nearly completely filled. I was lucky enough to grab a seat at an upper table with some other firefighters, but if I had been a few minutes later, I wouldn't have had a seat. If it hadn't been so cold outside, and my food wouldn't have been ice cold by the time I got there, I would have made myself a platter and gone straight back to my room to eat.
Now I know how the winter-overs feel at Win-fly, and how the Win-fly people feel at Mainbody. And it's not even all the people. I mean, the 1200 people that are normally here at max capacity isn't exactly a small amount. But they are people who at least look familiar. Even if you don't know the names, after 4 month you know most of the faces (some of them may be unfamiliar since they've been at field camps, but at least you saw them for a few days before they headed out). Now there are a bunch of people here who's faces are totally unfamiliar, and there are TONS of them. It's very disconcerting, and enough to give the majority of us here the willies. I know several people who took trays of food up to a friend's room upstairs from the galley, or to the closer dorms to eat rather than brave the hordes of people. And of course, with the hordes of people, you have an increase in sound. I didn't think it would bother me too much, but the increase of people noise in the galley is just as bad as the hordes of people.
So yeah. There are now way too many people here, and they are here for 2 weeks. After that, things will empty out quite a bit, since we will be starting to send people home. Not that I'd complain. Most of the people I've talked to have had a similar reaction to the sudden influx of people over the past day.
Yeah, I'd definately be one of those anti-social, hide-in-my-room-for-a-week winter-over people at the end of winter. Not sure if I'd come close to stabbing someone with fork for making me wait in line, but I definately would not be a happy camper.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Monday, January 28, 2008
More ships in town
The tanker ship has docked, and is filling the fuel tanks on station with more fuel for the year. It should take a few days to do. The ship is pretty big, and the Palmer is docked up next to it, while the Oden continues to break up ice in the channel so that the tanker can get back out (the Palmer has a reinforced hull, so it doesn't have as much of a problem in the ice). The freighter comes in next week sometime.
My friend Rose leaves today for home. She's the one who lives not far from my mom, so when I get up there to visit when I get home, I'll be calling her for a visit.
I will be calling my phone company later today, since they have decided to charge me $100, even though my phone has been shut off since October 5th, and I was supposed to have been charged $15 in October and $15 in January. Someone has some explaining to do, and it's not me.
We had an unplanned power outage this morning at around 6:30. I got to go home last night, so I was in bed and was woken up by the fire alarm panel's trouble alarm. After determining that there was no issue, I went back to sleep. The fire tech set the alarm off when he was resetting the panel after the power came back on, which woke me up again, but other than that, I slept till 10:30 when it was time for me to get up so I could say goodbye to Rose.
I need to go to Scott Base tonight to hit the store and get a Polar Plunge patch. They won't be open on Thursday since some of their government big-wigs will be there (they don't want a bunch of rowdy Americans running around I guess), so I want to go over today to get it. I also need a new lanyard, since mine broke this weekend.
I did line-handling for the Palmer on Sunday. They made a big deal out of nothing, really. The crew on board throws the leader line, which is attached to the actual mooring line, and you pull it to pull in the mooring line (which is really heavy). The mooring line goes over the bollard, and they pull it tight from on board ship. Nothing to it. I honestly thought it would be much more organized from the way they were going on about it at the 'training meeting.' Later on Sunday, I went down there with Rose and took a tour of the ship. They didn't have a whole lot of nifty lab stuff, since evidently this is a fairly light cruise for them, science-wise. Evidently they base out of Chili, and do cruises of anywhere from 3 weeks to 2 or 3 months. But it was neat to see the bridge, and I saw some whales out in the open water (through the binoculars though). There is a lot more open water now that the Palmer and the Oden have broken more ice up. And today is an absolutely gorgeous day, finally, so the sun should melt a good bit of the ice as well.
Tomorrow is a Station 2 day, and then I have my Kelly day, though on Thursday and Friday I have class from 9am till 11am. The head dispatcher is giving us an EMD (Emergency Medical Dispatching) familiarization class. It'll look good on my resume. Next week we are getting a CPR class, which I need, since mine is expired. The cards will be sent to our houses, so it'll be there by the time I get home.
Counting the days...
My friend Rose leaves today for home. She's the one who lives not far from my mom, so when I get up there to visit when I get home, I'll be calling her for a visit.
I will be calling my phone company later today, since they have decided to charge me $100, even though my phone has been shut off since October 5th, and I was supposed to have been charged $15 in October and $15 in January. Someone has some explaining to do, and it's not me.
We had an unplanned power outage this morning at around 6:30. I got to go home last night, so I was in bed and was woken up by the fire alarm panel's trouble alarm. After determining that there was no issue, I went back to sleep. The fire tech set the alarm off when he was resetting the panel after the power came back on, which woke me up again, but other than that, I slept till 10:30 when it was time for me to get up so I could say goodbye to Rose.
I need to go to Scott Base tonight to hit the store and get a Polar Plunge patch. They won't be open on Thursday since some of their government big-wigs will be there (they don't want a bunch of rowdy Americans running around I guess), so I want to go over today to get it. I also need a new lanyard, since mine broke this weekend.
I did line-handling for the Palmer on Sunday. They made a big deal out of nothing, really. The crew on board throws the leader line, which is attached to the actual mooring line, and you pull it to pull in the mooring line (which is really heavy). The mooring line goes over the bollard, and they pull it tight from on board ship. Nothing to it. I honestly thought it would be much more organized from the way they were going on about it at the 'training meeting.' Later on Sunday, I went down there with Rose and took a tour of the ship. They didn't have a whole lot of nifty lab stuff, since evidently this is a fairly light cruise for them, science-wise. Evidently they base out of Chili, and do cruises of anywhere from 3 weeks to 2 or 3 months. But it was neat to see the bridge, and I saw some whales out in the open water (through the binoculars though). There is a lot more open water now that the Palmer and the Oden have broken more ice up. And today is an absolutely gorgeous day, finally, so the sun should melt a good bit of the ice as well.
Tomorrow is a Station 2 day, and then I have my Kelly day, though on Thursday and Friday I have class from 9am till 11am. The head dispatcher is giving us an EMD (Emergency Medical Dispatching) familiarization class. It'll look good on my resume. Next week we are getting a CPR class, which I need, since mine is expired. The cards will be sent to our houses, so it'll be there by the time I get home.
Counting the days...
Friday, January 25, 2008
Well, I took the plunge
Yes, I took the plunge. The Polar Plunge that is. I will be picking up my patch on Thursday when I go to Scott Base for American Night.
No, I didn't go naked...I was wearing clothes. Shorts and a T-shirt in fact. Even though it is actually warmer to go naked (the wet clothes start to freeze when you get out of the water), I wanted to make sure you all could (and would want to) view.
I got someone who owed me 4 hours of shift to cover for me from 3pm till 7pm. So I headed over to my room, packed shorts, a t-shirt, towel, dry undies and my Crocs and headed over to meet the ANG guys who were nice enough to take me with them so I didn't have to wait on a shuttle. I wore my flannel pants and a t-shirt over, and had brought a sweatshirt, in the thought that if I acclimated to the cold air, the water wouldn't be so bad.
So we got there, and I changed into my shorts and T-shirt and got in line to go. Yes, there is a line. Most of the Kiwis had already gone, as had the firefighters who went over to do the standby. There was a huge hole in the ice, about 10' x 6'. I could see the bottom of the hole, and there was a couple of starfish down there. There was a ramp from the dirt over the interface of land and water/ice to a platform above the water with a ladder. They put a belt around your waist so that they can clip a carabiner and rope to you, in case you freak out and can't climb the ladder, they can pull you up.
So there I am, in line with a bunch of naked firefighters wrapped in wool blankets, and other people in various states of undress. I got the belt on and went down the ramp, and got the rope clipped on. I remember standing there thinking If you don't jump now, you never will. I held my nose (holding my nose makes it easier to remember not to breath in through my mouth) and jumped. I remember thinking, while I was underwater, that it wasn't that cold, and then I broke into the air. And then I realized just how cold it was. It was really hard to catch my breath, and I was shaking as I climbed up the ladder. My T-shirt started freezing just standing there. Once I got the belt off (at the start of the ramp) I headed straight for the hot tub they had going and climbed in. My fingers and toes were immediately tingling when I got in, and I stayed there for a few minutes to thaw out. Then I climbed out and went into the trailer to change into my dry clothes.
My Crocs actually had the honor of being dipped in McMurdo Sound not once, but twice. I let another girl borrow them since she only had flip-flops, and the liklihood of those staying on your feet is pretty slim. We hung around a little longer and then I headed back to shower and change back into my uniform to go to dinner and back to work.
Fun times. I have a couple pictures of me, some of the people I was with, and of the group of ANG people who I went with. There are more pictures, and even a video that the 1st Sgt took. I'll post those once I get them, either tonight or tomorrow. All of the firefighters who went went mostly naked. The other female firefighter was wearing a skirt of some sort (not that it mattered once it got wet). I was the only one fully clothed, but I take solace in the fact that ALL the ANG guys wore clothes, and that now you can see my pictures, where as the others can't show their pictures past their significant others.
Here's a couple, just before I jumped in and I think that's me jumping in.
Just before I left for the Plunge, we started doing a drill called the Denver Drill. Back in 1992, a firefighter in Denver was killed in the line of duty after getting caught in a confined office space. The 2 other firefighters couldn't figure out how to get him out of the area and out the window in time, and he suffocated. Someone down here built a drill box, that simulates the space the firefighters then had to work with. There isn't any specific way to get the person out, but it's good to try out different ideas. I didn't get a chance to do it, but I got some pictures.
Earlier today, we did inspections, and we had to do the greenhouse, so I finally got some pictures. Here's only one of the several trays of...something. I think it's either basil or cilantro.
No, I didn't go naked...I was wearing clothes. Shorts and a T-shirt in fact. Even though it is actually warmer to go naked (the wet clothes start to freeze when you get out of the water), I wanted to make sure you all could (and would want to) view.
I got someone who owed me 4 hours of shift to cover for me from 3pm till 7pm. So I headed over to my room, packed shorts, a t-shirt, towel, dry undies and my Crocs and headed over to meet the ANG guys who were nice enough to take me with them so I didn't have to wait on a shuttle. I wore my flannel pants and a t-shirt over, and had brought a sweatshirt, in the thought that if I acclimated to the cold air, the water wouldn't be so bad.
So we got there, and I changed into my shorts and T-shirt and got in line to go. Yes, there is a line. Most of the Kiwis had already gone, as had the firefighters who went over to do the standby. There was a huge hole in the ice, about 10' x 6'. I could see the bottom of the hole, and there was a couple of starfish down there. There was a ramp from the dirt over the interface of land and water/ice to a platform above the water with a ladder. They put a belt around your waist so that they can clip a carabiner and rope to you, in case you freak out and can't climb the ladder, they can pull you up.
So there I am, in line with a bunch of naked firefighters wrapped in wool blankets, and other people in various states of undress. I got the belt on and went down the ramp, and got the rope clipped on. I remember standing there thinking If you don't jump now, you never will. I held my nose (holding my nose makes it easier to remember not to breath in through my mouth) and jumped. I remember thinking, while I was underwater, that it wasn't that cold, and then I broke into the air. And then I realized just how cold it was. It was really hard to catch my breath, and I was shaking as I climbed up the ladder. My T-shirt started freezing just standing there. Once I got the belt off (at the start of the ramp) I headed straight for the hot tub they had going and climbed in. My fingers and toes were immediately tingling when I got in, and I stayed there for a few minutes to thaw out. Then I climbed out and went into the trailer to change into my dry clothes.
My Crocs actually had the honor of being dipped in McMurdo Sound not once, but twice. I let another girl borrow them since she only had flip-flops, and the liklihood of those staying on your feet is pretty slim. We hung around a little longer and then I headed back to shower and change back into my uniform to go to dinner and back to work.
Fun times. I have a couple pictures of me, some of the people I was with, and of the group of ANG people who I went with. There are more pictures, and even a video that the 1st Sgt took. I'll post those once I get them, either tonight or tomorrow. All of the firefighters who went went mostly naked. The other female firefighter was wearing a skirt of some sort (not that it mattered once it got wet). I was the only one fully clothed, but I take solace in the fact that ALL the ANG guys wore clothes, and that now you can see my pictures, where as the others can't show their pictures past their significant others.
Here's a couple, just before I jumped in and I think that's me jumping in.
Just before I left for the Plunge, we started doing a drill called the Denver Drill. Back in 1992, a firefighter in Denver was killed in the line of duty after getting caught in a confined office space. The 2 other firefighters couldn't figure out how to get him out of the area and out the window in time, and he suffocated. Someone down here built a drill box, that simulates the space the firefighters then had to work with. There isn't any specific way to get the person out, but it's good to try out different ideas. I didn't get a chance to do it, but I got some pictures.
Earlier today, we did inspections, and we had to do the greenhouse, so I finally got some pictures. Here's only one of the several trays of...something. I think it's either basil or cilantro.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Windy Days
It is very windy today. 23 knot winds (about 26 mph) with higher gusts means that every time I go outside I end up chewing more volcanic ash and dust. Yesterday down at the airfield it was so windy we had a ground blizzard. A whole new blanket of snow and none of it fell from the sky (well, at least fell from the sky yesterday). Every time I went outside, I looked like a frosted cupcake. But you could look up and see the sky...some of it was even blue. And at least the high winds are blowing all the broken ice out to sea, finally. There is actually open water near town. This increases the number of seals we see, and people are seeing Adelie penguins just about every day. A lot of people have seen whales, but I hear that most of them are seen with binoculars (something I would bring down if I came down again). If it wasn't so windy, I would go up Ob Hill today to get some nice panoramic shots of the water, but it's blowing so bad, I'd probably get blown off the hill.
I think the tanker ship is waiting till the wind dies down, because I haven't heard anything about them needing line handlers for it. Which means it'll likely come in tomorrow, when I'm working. It would be neat if it came in on Sunday, since most people are off work then, and the whole town can turn out to see it and take pictures.
The store and the bars close down next week when the vessel gets in for supply. The store shuts down so they can do total inventory and so they don't have to worry about the NavChaps buying beer. The bars shut down so the NavChaps don't drink beer either. So every one is buying beer to stock up for the next 2 or 3 weeks. Especially since it's Super Bowl next weekend.
NavChaps are the Navy Cargo Handling and Port (I think) guys. They get shipped down here to help off-load the supply ship, and from what I've heard, they caused some major issues in the past...getting drunk, vandalism, theft. In the main dorm (the one with the galley), some of the rooms are inside, with no windows. It gets pretty warm up there, so a lot of people will move the tiles in their ceilings to give the heat somewhere to go. One of the things I heard was that people should put their ceiling tiles back, because in the past NavChaps have been known to climb through the ceiling to other people's rooms and steal stuff. I've heard they've been known to steal from people if they're rooms aren't locked up, and that you should put all your valuables away so they aren't sitting out. I've heard that in the past, the NavChaps have gotten drunk and started fights, vandalized things, bothered the animals, etc. So because of all that, there are no open bars and no open store for the duration of re-supply. Doesn't really bother me much...I don't drink, I don't live in a dorm that has ceiling tiles, and I lock my door all the time anyway. My only complaint is that there will be no Burger Bar for that time.
I haven't been out to Pegasus lately, but if the C-17 gets delayed enough tonight, I might be out there tomorrow. They are evidently waiting on a part that as of this morning was still in Aukland. Currently, the ETA for the plane is 1800 tonight, but that was as of 11am. I've heard it's been delayed further. I've been told (and I've done some research on the subject) that Emperors molt for several weeks, and they molt between end of January and beginning of March. So the 2 that were out there on Tuesday will likely be there for some time (they don't move much when they're molting), and there may be more coming. For some reason, they like to hang out near the runway lights. I saw some pictures of them molting, and they look very mangy. Smooth feathers in some places, big bunches of fluffy feathers coming out in others. Kind of like when smooth-coated dogs blow their coats in the summer and they get all those tufts that can be pulled out. They also evidently shed the bottom part of their beak (weird). At any rate, with the amount of time I'll be spending at Pegasus come February, I should see one. I hope.
I am hoping the weather stays good for most of February. The first sunset is on February 20th, the day before I leave, and it'll likely be early in the morning (around 2 or so, I think) and last only about an hour. I plan to stay up to see it the night before I leave, so I can sleep on the plane. That is, unless it's overcast, in which case I won't get to see a sunset. It's already starting to get a little darker at night. Not like twilight (which will be about what the first sunset will be like, not true dark), but just a little darker, so you can tell the sun isn't as high as it was.
I mailed out another package today, the second to last to be mailed from here. It won't get in the bag to go out on today's flight, but it'll go out on Tuesday. It's mostly clothes and books. The last one is waiting for a few more odds and ends to be added, and then it'll be sent out end of next week, to go out on Friday's plane. After that, what I have is what I have until I get to NZ and ship off another box of stuff that I won't need there, like my uniforms and cold weather gear.
I can't believe how much time is flying.
I think the tanker ship is waiting till the wind dies down, because I haven't heard anything about them needing line handlers for it. Which means it'll likely come in tomorrow, when I'm working. It would be neat if it came in on Sunday, since most people are off work then, and the whole town can turn out to see it and take pictures.
The store and the bars close down next week when the vessel gets in for supply. The store shuts down so they can do total inventory and so they don't have to worry about the NavChaps buying beer. The bars shut down so the NavChaps don't drink beer either. So every one is buying beer to stock up for the next 2 or 3 weeks. Especially since it's Super Bowl next weekend.
NavChaps are the Navy Cargo Handling and Port (I think) guys. They get shipped down here to help off-load the supply ship, and from what I've heard, they caused some major issues in the past...getting drunk, vandalism, theft. In the main dorm (the one with the galley), some of the rooms are inside, with no windows. It gets pretty warm up there, so a lot of people will move the tiles in their ceilings to give the heat somewhere to go. One of the things I heard was that people should put their ceiling tiles back, because in the past NavChaps have been known to climb through the ceiling to other people's rooms and steal stuff. I've heard they've been known to steal from people if they're rooms aren't locked up, and that you should put all your valuables away so they aren't sitting out. I've heard that in the past, the NavChaps have gotten drunk and started fights, vandalized things, bothered the animals, etc. So because of all that, there are no open bars and no open store for the duration of re-supply. Doesn't really bother me much...I don't drink, I don't live in a dorm that has ceiling tiles, and I lock my door all the time anyway. My only complaint is that there will be no Burger Bar for that time.
I haven't been out to Pegasus lately, but if the C-17 gets delayed enough tonight, I might be out there tomorrow. They are evidently waiting on a part that as of this morning was still in Aukland. Currently, the ETA for the plane is 1800 tonight, but that was as of 11am. I've heard it's been delayed further. I've been told (and I've done some research on the subject) that Emperors molt for several weeks, and they molt between end of January and beginning of March. So the 2 that were out there on Tuesday will likely be there for some time (they don't move much when they're molting), and there may be more coming. For some reason, they like to hang out near the runway lights. I saw some pictures of them molting, and they look very mangy. Smooth feathers in some places, big bunches of fluffy feathers coming out in others. Kind of like when smooth-coated dogs blow their coats in the summer and they get all those tufts that can be pulled out. They also evidently shed the bottom part of their beak (weird). At any rate, with the amount of time I'll be spending at Pegasus come February, I should see one. I hope.
I am hoping the weather stays good for most of February. The first sunset is on February 20th, the day before I leave, and it'll likely be early in the morning (around 2 or so, I think) and last only about an hour. I plan to stay up to see it the night before I leave, so I can sleep on the plane. That is, unless it's overcast, in which case I won't get to see a sunset. It's already starting to get a little darker at night. Not like twilight (which will be about what the first sunset will be like, not true dark), but just a little darker, so you can tell the sun isn't as high as it was.
I mailed out another package today, the second to last to be mailed from here. It won't get in the bag to go out on today's flight, but it'll go out on Tuesday. It's mostly clothes and books. The last one is waiting for a few more odds and ends to be added, and then it'll be sent out end of next week, to go out on Friday's plane. After that, what I have is what I have until I get to NZ and ship off another box of stuff that I won't need there, like my uniforms and cold weather gear.
I can't believe how much time is flying.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Of flight dates and commercials
Well, after a lovely round of email tag with the redeployment people (which is still on-going, as I have another question), barring bad weather or an over-booked flight, I will be leaving here on February 21st, and I should be in DC sometime on February 25th. I have to clarify that if my flight gets bumped a day or 2 I will still stay 4 nights in NZ (about the time I figure I need to get done what I want to get done), or if the 2/25 date is the concrete one. Stay tuned...I know you are all waiting with bated breath.
One of the guys at the firehouse has TiVo, and he has the special thingy that allows him to watch actual TV on his computer. Yes...that's right. He gets real TV, with commercials. So last night I was watching Mythbusters over his shoulder, and we were ooh-ing and ahh-ing over the commercials we haven't seen yet. There sure are a lot of them. You don't realize how often they rotate commercials till you haven't seen any for 5 months.
This important finding means that he will be recording the Super Bowl, including commercials, so we can watch them. The bonus of it being on his laptop means that it can be connected to the projector in the training room and watched on a large screen. We are very excited.
There were emperor penguins at Pegasus runway yesterday. No, I don't have pictures because A) they were 1000 feet off of the far end of the runway and B) I wasn't there. No, I was offered to switch with Cassidy, but I decided to be responsible and stay in town to work on my secondary duties (pre-planning buildings). Granted, some small bit of headway was made in this adventure with Visio, but I would have rather been out seeing penguins. On the other hand, no one really got any good pictures cause they were so far away. Not to mention that they are molting, which means they just kind of hang out for a few weeks while their new feathers grow in. So I have a bit of time, provided I can get close enough for a picture. I really want to see an emperor.
Today I spent the whole morning in the clinic fixing Major Rose's computer so it would play music. See, she plugged her iPod into her computer (which didn't have iTunes) thus erasing everything on her iPod. I gave her a bunch of my music, but it didn't organize quite right, so she couldn't access any of it. So I fixed all that for her, and then showed her how to use Windows Movie Maker. She is excited. Tonight is Burger Bar, and then I think I might go up to the greenhouse for a little smell therapy. It's so nice being in someplace warm and humid and smelly (of something other than diesel, that is). It smells of dirt and green things, and is lovely and warm and has a hammock. I'm thinking that will be my evening destination tonight. We'll see.
The fuel tanker is getting close. It's supposed to dock Friday or Saturday. I hope it docks Friday, since I'll be off work, so I can do the line handling thing and actually see a ship dock. The freighter is due in next weekend. Then we will have 2 weeks with no bars and no Burger Bar while the NavChaps are in town off-loading. I have heard horror stories, but some say they aren't too bad. We shall see.
One of the guys at the firehouse has TiVo, and he has the special thingy that allows him to watch actual TV on his computer. Yes...that's right. He gets real TV, with commercials. So last night I was watching Mythbusters over his shoulder, and we were ooh-ing and ahh-ing over the commercials we haven't seen yet. There sure are a lot of them. You don't realize how often they rotate commercials till you haven't seen any for 5 months.
This important finding means that he will be recording the Super Bowl, including commercials, so we can watch them. The bonus of it being on his laptop means that it can be connected to the projector in the training room and watched on a large screen. We are very excited.
There were emperor penguins at Pegasus runway yesterday. No, I don't have pictures because A) they were 1000 feet off of the far end of the runway and B) I wasn't there. No, I was offered to switch with Cassidy, but I decided to be responsible and stay in town to work on my secondary duties (pre-planning buildings). Granted, some small bit of headway was made in this adventure with Visio, but I would have rather been out seeing penguins. On the other hand, no one really got any good pictures cause they were so far away. Not to mention that they are molting, which means they just kind of hang out for a few weeks while their new feathers grow in. So I have a bit of time, provided I can get close enough for a picture. I really want to see an emperor.
Today I spent the whole morning in the clinic fixing Major Rose's computer so it would play music. See, she plugged her iPod into her computer (which didn't have iTunes) thus erasing everything on her iPod. I gave her a bunch of my music, but it didn't organize quite right, so she couldn't access any of it. So I fixed all that for her, and then showed her how to use Windows Movie Maker. She is excited. Tonight is Burger Bar, and then I think I might go up to the greenhouse for a little smell therapy. It's so nice being in someplace warm and humid and smelly (of something other than diesel, that is). It smells of dirt and green things, and is lovely and warm and has a hammock. I'm thinking that will be my evening destination tonight. We'll see.
The fuel tanker is getting close. It's supposed to dock Friday or Saturday. I hope it docks Friday, since I'll be off work, so I can do the line handling thing and actually see a ship dock. The freighter is due in next weekend. Then we will have 2 weeks with no bars and no Burger Bar while the NavChaps are in town off-loading. I have heard horror stories, but some say they aren't too bad. We shall see.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Not much of note
And for that I apologize. There just hasn't been much newsworthy info to write about these days. I did get out of work early yesterday, as repayment for coming in on my K day, and helped Major Rose download iTunes and get her iPod situation straightened out, but then I went home and popped in a movie, had some popcorn and hot chocolate, and went to bed. I woke up around 2am, coughing my fool head off, but a bit of water calmed things down. I'm still slightly congested, but things are much much better than before.
I slept in a good bit, so I'm feeling pretty well rested. I dusted and vacuumed my room this morning, and laundry is in the process of being done. Laundry is irritating these days, since somehow the water lines have gotten a little screwy, so when I push the button for cold wash, hot water comes out. If I push the button for a hot wash, cold water comes out, but it rinses in hot water. I'm just hoping it doesn't fade out or shrink my clothes. I also got to the post office to send out the last of the gifts that are being sent out. Later this week, I'll send out a box of odds and ends and clothes, and then the last box will be sent out next week, which is the last week to send stuff out. It's kind of hard to figure out what I should send, since I don't leave for another month. But I'd like to fly from here to NZ with just a couple of sweatshirts and T-shirts, and my uniform stuff. Once I'm in NZ, I'll send home all my uniform stuff, fire stuff, station boots, winter clothes, and sneakers, and basically keep a pair of hiking socks, my jeans, a few T-shirts (both long and short sleeved) and a sweatshirt, and my hiking boots and some other sundry items. Everything else will be sent home, so I can live out of a backpack, or one small duffel bag, since the large red one will be sent home. I may wait a few days so I can send home the gifts and stuff I get while I'm in NZ, but that'll depend on if I get a backpack or not.
I figure that there isn't much I'd like to do in NZ if I'm by myself. I'd like to go on a day hike somewhere...maybe just for a few hours hike a few kilometers to get some nature. I might try to find a beach to lay on for an afternoon if it's close enough. Someone told me about a 12 hour train-ride that takes you all through the mountains, which might be very cool, depending on how much it costs. Other than that, I plan to veg-out for a few days, watching the giant chess board, and the buskers in Cathedral Square. Of course, these plans might change.
30 days left here. I think I'll climb Ob Hill this week, now that I'm feeling better, and providing that no bad weather comes roaring in. Tonight I'm going out to Hut Point with Rose to look for whales. One of the other firefighters said he saw about 42 spouts the other day.
I slept in a good bit, so I'm feeling pretty well rested. I dusted and vacuumed my room this morning, and laundry is in the process of being done. Laundry is irritating these days, since somehow the water lines have gotten a little screwy, so when I push the button for cold wash, hot water comes out. If I push the button for a hot wash, cold water comes out, but it rinses in hot water. I'm just hoping it doesn't fade out or shrink my clothes. I also got to the post office to send out the last of the gifts that are being sent out. Later this week, I'll send out a box of odds and ends and clothes, and then the last box will be sent out next week, which is the last week to send stuff out. It's kind of hard to figure out what I should send, since I don't leave for another month. But I'd like to fly from here to NZ with just a couple of sweatshirts and T-shirts, and my uniform stuff. Once I'm in NZ, I'll send home all my uniform stuff, fire stuff, station boots, winter clothes, and sneakers, and basically keep a pair of hiking socks, my jeans, a few T-shirts (both long and short sleeved) and a sweatshirt, and my hiking boots and some other sundry items. Everything else will be sent home, so I can live out of a backpack, or one small duffel bag, since the large red one will be sent home. I may wait a few days so I can send home the gifts and stuff I get while I'm in NZ, but that'll depend on if I get a backpack or not.
I figure that there isn't much I'd like to do in NZ if I'm by myself. I'd like to go on a day hike somewhere...maybe just for a few hours hike a few kilometers to get some nature. I might try to find a beach to lay on for an afternoon if it's close enough. Someone told me about a 12 hour train-ride that takes you all through the mountains, which might be very cool, depending on how much it costs. Other than that, I plan to veg-out for a few days, watching the giant chess board, and the buskers in Cathedral Square. Of course, these plans might change.
30 days left here. I think I'll climb Ob Hill this week, now that I'm feeling better, and providing that no bad weather comes roaring in. Tonight I'm going out to Hut Point with Rose to look for whales. One of the other firefighters said he saw about 42 spouts the other day.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Videos up!!!
I have managed to put up most of my videos (minus the really really big ones) on my web album site.
http://picasaweb.google.com/gnomishcat
The album is Antarctic Videos.
NOTE***** Some of the videos have inappropriate language. Nothing horrible, but probably about PG to PG-13. I have marked these videos, so you can choose to view them or not.
(truthfully, you'd hear worse language watching a movie, or HBO, or even elementary school these days, but I'm giving fair warning to those with young kids...)
http://picasaweb.google.com/gnomishcat
The album is Antarctic Videos.
NOTE***** Some of the videos have inappropriate language. Nothing horrible, but probably about PG to PG-13. I have marked these videos, so you can choose to view them or not.
(truthfully, you'd hear worse language watching a movie, or HBO, or even elementary school these days, but I'm giving fair warning to those with young kids...)
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Day off? Not really...
Though I shouldn't complain too much. I did get to sleep in till 11 this morning, and I will only have to go into work for a few hours tonight. Maybe. If the C-17 gets off the ground. Currently it's supposed to be off-deck at 5pm, which gets it here by 10pm. So I should be only needed from about 7:30 till about midnight. AND I do get to sleep in tomorrow. So it's not a big deal.
Last night I went with Major Rose (ANG nurse) to Scott Base, where she shopped and then we went to the lounge to hang out. I got to see a bunch of ANG guys (and one Kiwi builder) do a Shot-Ski (pictures forthcoming), and met a cool guy from Alaska who's down here to shovel snow for one of the science teams. I got back not too late, went to bed and stayed up till about midnight watching TV. We walked the 1.5 miles there, a lot of uphill travel, against the wind. But it was good to get out and exercise, which I haven't been able to do for a while because of the snow. It also help clear out my sinuses a bit, which was also very good. I was able to get pictures of the signs on the Scott Base Road, which I had been wanting to do. Now all I have to do is go out to Castle Rock, and climb Ob Hill. I have 5 weeks to accomplish this.
Yesterday I also went to the clinic to get some stronger decongestants than the Tylenol Cold I've been taking. They gave me REAL sudafed. This makes me happy. I took the first one today (didn't want to take any before bed), and I can already feel things drying out. It is good.
I had planned on going to Burger Bar tonight with Major Rose, but there is no Burger Bar again tonight due to flu. Very sad. She leaves on the 29th of January, and I want to make sure she gets Burger Bar before she leaves.
Any way, not much more going on around here. There are a lot of trucks on the road, with everyone getting ready for the vessels, which come in a few weeks. They are moving all the mill vans with the trash and other stuff down to the Ice Pier. The trucks they use for the moving are from the 50's, and this is all they are used for. It's strange to see the normally empty road to Hut Point filled with mill vans. Sad too. Ruins the pictures.
Last night I went with Major Rose (ANG nurse) to Scott Base, where she shopped and then we went to the lounge to hang out. I got to see a bunch of ANG guys (and one Kiwi builder) do a Shot-Ski (pictures forthcoming), and met a cool guy from Alaska who's down here to shovel snow for one of the science teams. I got back not too late, went to bed and stayed up till about midnight watching TV. We walked the 1.5 miles there, a lot of uphill travel, against the wind. But it was good to get out and exercise, which I haven't been able to do for a while because of the snow. It also help clear out my sinuses a bit, which was also very good. I was able to get pictures of the signs on the Scott Base Road, which I had been wanting to do. Now all I have to do is go out to Castle Rock, and climb Ob Hill. I have 5 weeks to accomplish this.
Yesterday I also went to the clinic to get some stronger decongestants than the Tylenol Cold I've been taking. They gave me REAL sudafed. This makes me happy. I took the first one today (didn't want to take any before bed), and I can already feel things drying out. It is good.
I had planned on going to Burger Bar tonight with Major Rose, but there is no Burger Bar again tonight due to flu. Very sad. She leaves on the 29th of January, and I want to make sure she gets Burger Bar before she leaves.
Any way, not much more going on around here. There are a lot of trucks on the road, with everyone getting ready for the vessels, which come in a few weeks. They are moving all the mill vans with the trash and other stuff down to the Ice Pier. The trucks they use for the moving are from the 50's, and this is all they are used for. It's strange to see the normally empty road to Hut Point filled with mill vans. Sad too. Ruins the pictures.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Just call me Lauren Bacall
Well, the cold/allergy attack/whatever it is has truly taken hold in my sinuses. It's not as bad as it was yesterday, when I was definately walking around looking like one of those drugged up zombies. Thankfully, my nose is now running like a faucet, and the meds I'm taking are having a decent effect. I'm still coughing though, and currently it's that painful deep chest cough. It should go away by Saturday, I hope. I doubt my voice will be back by then though.
Sadly, we have a ton of people out sick. 2 people on my shift are in quarantine, and one is out with a bad back. The flu is closing in on epidemic proportions down here right now, with both Flu A and Flu B making the rounds. The clinic reported 9 new cases of flu yesterday alone, and the galley is down 11 people as of 3pm yesterday.
So because we're so short on people, I will have to come in tomorrow to cover for the Pegasus flight. Currently, the C-17 is broken, so the earliest they will be off-deck is 1pm tomorrow, if they get off-deck at all. I'm hoping they don't so I can have my full day off, and be able to fully get better.
It didn't help that I had to be up till 2am this morning. We had a medical call last night and the person involved will be getting a medevac home. The patient had to stay over night in the hospital, and because the medical staff here is on a town schedule, they had to have one of us stay to baby-sit the patient. I drew the midnight to 2am shift. Not so bad, but I could have used more sleep.
And now, because I finally remembered to write it down, and because I'm slightly obsessed withe volcanos, here is the link to the Mt Erebus website. It has some streaming video of some eruptions....
MEVO - Mt. Erebus Volcano Observatory
Sadly, we have a ton of people out sick. 2 people on my shift are in quarantine, and one is out with a bad back. The flu is closing in on epidemic proportions down here right now, with both Flu A and Flu B making the rounds. The clinic reported 9 new cases of flu yesterday alone, and the galley is down 11 people as of 3pm yesterday.
So because we're so short on people, I will have to come in tomorrow to cover for the Pegasus flight. Currently, the C-17 is broken, so the earliest they will be off-deck is 1pm tomorrow, if they get off-deck at all. I'm hoping they don't so I can have my full day off, and be able to fully get better.
It didn't help that I had to be up till 2am this morning. We had a medical call last night and the person involved will be getting a medevac home. The patient had to stay over night in the hospital, and because the medical staff here is on a town schedule, they had to have one of us stay to baby-sit the patient. I drew the midnight to 2am shift. Not so bad, but I could have used more sleep.
And now, because I finally remembered to write it down, and because I'm slightly obsessed withe volcanos, here is the link to the Mt Erebus website. It has some streaming video of some eruptions....
MEVO - Mt. Erebus Volcano Observatory
Sunday, January 13, 2008
End of a long haul
First of all, a picture of the Oden from the other day. They docked Saturday morning while I was at Pegasus, gave tours yesterday while I was at work, and left this morning. I am upset that I didn't get to see it close up, or go on it. Rotten timing.Today is the last day of my 3 day work stint. I am glad, because I am tired. I need to make myself go to bed earlier.
Friday night I got an email that said I had to be ready to leave Station 1 for Pegasus by 0730. The flight that was supposed to come in Friday afternoon (full of congressmen for the South Pole Station dedication on Saturday afternoon) was postponed due to bad weather down here (the tail end of the system that dumped all the snow on us), so it was coming in first thing Saturday morning.
They made really good time, so at 0545 on Saturday morning, I got a page saying that we had to be ready to leave by 0630. I rushed to get ready, and was at the station on time, and left with Cassidy to do a truck switch, since Red 5 had been at the shop. We got to Station 2, and found that Red 5 had developed a coolant leak. We threw some pads under it, and he took Red 1, and I took Red 6. Red 6 has a transmission issue where it overheats if you go too fast. Saturday I discovered that if you go slow but the snow is too deep, you have the same problem. There is a temperature gauge in the cab so you can watch the transmission temperature, and if it gets too high, you need to stop and let it cool down. I had to stop 3 times. I finally made it out there, and we had to chase a penguin off the runway, which was barely accomplished before the C-17 came in. They flew over the runway and made a second approach, which sent the penguin scurrying for the open water.
All the congressmen (we call them DV's for Distinguished Visitors) got off the plane, pressed as much flesh as they could find, and in general bummed around looking cold until the LC-130 landed for them to go straight to the Pole. It's always surprising when a LC-130 and a C-17 are next to each other. You just don't realize how big the 17 is until you see it in comparison to something else you view as big.
After the DV's left, the medevac that had come from the Pole late Friday night was flown out to the airfield by a helicopter, and was loaded onto the C-17 along with all the other people heading home. The 17 took off and we headed to Station 2 for a late lunch, and were finally back in town by around 2pm.
I basically just bummed around the rest of the day, taking advantage of no truck assignment to take a quick shower and thaw out my toes, which had gotten a bit of frost-nip. I ended up getting assigned to go back out to Pegasus for the late flight, which was due in around midnight. The clouds were finally breaking up, and the sun was shining through with an orange hue, making the ice on the mountains sparkle. The pictures don't do it justice.
I got some sleep on the later flight, and finally got to bed around 0330 or so. We got woken up again shortly before 6am for a hydraulic fluid spill. It was a big spill. Because we can sleep late on Sundays, when we got back, I went back to bed for a few hours.
Sunday was my A shift day. I covered for one of the guys playing rugby, and though I was supposed to go to provide standby coverage, I got bumped and had to stay at Station 1. We did a few chores, and that was really it. I tried to go to bed early, but I just couldn't sleep, and ended up staying up till 1am. We had a call at about 6am this morning, and then another one at 0745. Now I'm at Station 2, and plan to catch a nap or 2. Got to get caught back up on sleep...flu is going around again.
I am a bit congested, it started last night. I can't wait to get to my room tomorrow and get some meds. I've started a nasty tickle in my throat, and I don't want it to turn into something else.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Snow!!!
Well, it has finally stopped snowing. It snowed for about 3 days, on and off, with the heaviest snow coming yesterday. I'd say that all told yesterday we got about a foot, but it's hard to tell, what with all the wind blowing the snow and making drifts and such. I can say that at times yesterday when we were doing inspections, I was climbing through drifts that were up to my knees. The snow was a heavy wet snow too, which is unusual for down here, where it's usually a lot drier. However, the deep heavy snow did allow me to do something I've been wanting to do since I landed here...make a snow angel. Which I did at about 1am this morning after coming back from watching a herd of penguins by the Ice Pier and a skua try to eat someone's boot.
Here's some of the penguins. There were about 30 of them below the road to the sea ice, near the Ice Pier.
The skua decided that a group of humans must mean that there is food around, so he stuck around us. Then he decided that one of the humans was wearing food, and started eyeing up a boot. He munched on the shoelaces a bit, then decided that the upper body looked more appetizing, which is when the human moved, rather quickly. (For the record, it wasn't me who was being chewed on by a giant seagull bird.) And for those of you wondering how big a skua really is, I took a picture of him next to a traffic cone.
It was snowing pretty good when we were out, but it was also really windy. I almost got blown over a couple of times. Here is Hut Point in snow.
We went back and I uploaded pictures to the computer, and then went to bed. I slept on the couch last night cause the bunkroom was about 80F, and it was cooler downstairs. Still didn't sleep great, but at least I wasn't baking.
I went to a meeting this morning to learn about being a line handler for the ships coming in. Unfortunately, the first 3 projected arrival dates happen on days I'm working. There is talk of allowing on-duty firefighters to be line handlers, but the ice breaker is supposed to be here Monday, and I'm at Station 2 on Monday. So much for getting nifty video of the ship coming in, huh? Though, they were supposed to be here today, and the captain wants to stay out breaking up ice longer, so I guess he could postpone it another day. I'm kind of hoping he does. I've noticed that around here, whenever there is extra duty to be done, and there aren't enough volunteers, they come to the fire dept. We're like the jack-of-all-trades backstop for anything that needs doing. Need something shoveled, and Fleet Ops is busy? Call the FD. Need help unloaded cargo for the galley? Call the fire dept. Not enough people to do line handling? The fire dept will help out. I'm not complaining though. It's fun, and you do get to meet different people and do different things.
Other than that, not much going on. A lot of people are starting to hit the 'wall' as it were, and are ready to go home. I'm finding myself occasionally in the same position, but in general I'm still having a good time. I might get to do some fun things, and I'm trading a FD shirt for a AF shirt and patches, so things aren't that bad. I have some vague hope that I might get out earlier than planned (like the 10th or so), and that mom can meet me in NZ, but the chances of that are very slim, so I'm just chilling.
Here's some of the penguins. There were about 30 of them below the road to the sea ice, near the Ice Pier.
The skua decided that a group of humans must mean that there is food around, so he stuck around us. Then he decided that one of the humans was wearing food, and started eyeing up a boot. He munched on the shoelaces a bit, then decided that the upper body looked more appetizing, which is when the human moved, rather quickly. (For the record, it wasn't me who was being chewed on by a giant seagull bird.) And for those of you wondering how big a skua really is, I took a picture of him next to a traffic cone.
It was snowing pretty good when we were out, but it was also really windy. I almost got blown over a couple of times. Here is Hut Point in snow.
We went back and I uploaded pictures to the computer, and then went to bed. I slept on the couch last night cause the bunkroom was about 80F, and it was cooler downstairs. Still didn't sleep great, but at least I wasn't baking.I went to a meeting this morning to learn about being a line handler for the ships coming in. Unfortunately, the first 3 projected arrival dates happen on days I'm working. There is talk of allowing on-duty firefighters to be line handlers, but the ice breaker is supposed to be here Monday, and I'm at Station 2 on Monday. So much for getting nifty video of the ship coming in, huh? Though, they were supposed to be here today, and the captain wants to stay out breaking up ice longer, so I guess he could postpone it another day. I'm kind of hoping he does. I've noticed that around here, whenever there is extra duty to be done, and there aren't enough volunteers, they come to the fire dept. We're like the jack-of-all-trades backstop for anything that needs doing. Need something shoveled, and Fleet Ops is busy? Call the FD. Need help unloaded cargo for the galley? Call the fire dept. Not enough people to do line handling? The fire dept will help out. I'm not complaining though. It's fun, and you do get to meet different people and do different things.
Other than that, not much going on. A lot of people are starting to hit the 'wall' as it were, and are ready to go home. I'm finding myself occasionally in the same position, but in general I'm still having a good time. I might get to do some fun things, and I'm trading a FD shirt for a AF shirt and patches, so things aren't that bad. I have some vague hope that I might get out earlier than planned (like the 10th or so), and that mom can meet me in NZ, but the chances of that are very slim, so I'm just chilling.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Busy day, Busy night
Forgive me, readers, for I have slacked. It's been 4 days since my last post.
No offense to those of you of the Catholic faith. I got 3 hours of sleep last night, and I'm a bit punchy.
But, you may ask, why only 3 hours of sleep? You were at Station 2, the slowest station in the whole world! And you would be correct. Except for yesterday.
Yesterday, we had 3 calls, and a penguin alert. The first 2 calls were nothing, one was an active spill that was so active, by the time we got toned out, it was done being active, and there was nothing we could do about it. The second was an automatic fire alarm at the LDB site (mentioned in my last post) that was caused by a bunch of scientists BBQing inside the shed. (Just goes to show that advanced degrees don't necessarily bestow common sense on anyone.) We got canceled from the auto alarm as well, but several of us tooled out there in a truck just to check things out.
The penguin alert came not long after dinner. Someone popped their head in the station and alerted us that there was a penguin down near the cargo line, at the end of town. Just hanging out there, she said. Some of us wandered down there to take a look anyway. Sadly, the little guy wasn't looking too good. Just laying in a tire rut looking worn out. He didn't even turn his head to look at the group of gawkers coming to stare at him and take pictures. His little eyes could barely stay open. Definitely not a well penguin. I didn't even take pictures of him. He seemed like he was dying, and it just seemed wrong to bother him. I stayed long enough to make sure no one really harassed him, and then everyone got bored and wandered back. This morning 2 of the big-wigs on station came to the station looking for a shovel. They had a plastic bag with them, and they took him somewhere for a proper burial or something. He died overnight, snuggled up against the cargo dunnage.
Early this morning, about 0130, I was woken up by people going in and out of the station. I hadn't been sleeping well anyway, and there was a lot of radio traffic (the radio was turned up pretty high). Seems that an LC-130 on it's way back from the Pole lost it's number 2 engine (as in it stopped working, not that it disappeared) and had to declare an in-flight emergency (known as an IFE).
Now, as has been explained to me several times by several different people, Hercs can take a lot of abuse and not crash, or break up on landing. Not only that, but the pilots have a check-list they use when something goes wrong, and many times this checklist says to 'declare an IFE.' With 4 engines, having one conk out on you isn't a huge deal...it really just makes the flight longer because that non-working prop creates a lot of drag on the plane. Considering that they declared the IFE about 3 hours from Willy Field, and it takes about 3.5 hours to fly from Pole on 4 engines, I'd have to say it wasn't that serious an issue for them.
So they called in as originally going to Pegasus, so Station 1 (in town) grabbed a crew and all the Renegade trucks from Station 2 and headed out to Pegasus. That left us with the giant crappy trucks that don't move more than 10 mph (if that).
Long story short (I know, too late), they ended up landing at Willy Field after all. It was very very strange to see the plane fly over with one prop not moving at all with the blades feathered (turned perpendicular to the wing to create less drag). It just didn't look right.
So, a bit of excitement in an otherwise boring time. Tomorrow I'm in town, Saturday I go to Pegasus for the flight (which will hopefully have some mail for me on it), Sunday when I cover for Jared I'm at Station 2, and Monday for my own shift I'm at 2 as well. Whee...
In other news, on Sunday we had to do a standby in the Power Plant. They have a huge set of generators and engines that they have been working on for years as a backup to the power and water plants. This is all so that they can take the water plant off-line this winter to do some work on it (I believe they are expanding the capacity). So lately they have been working on the fire system in the backup room, and installed some infrared sensors. They put shrouds over them so that they wouldn't be tripped by stuff like sunlight, but they wanted to test the shrouds to make sure they hadn't built them too restricting. To test this, they light a pan of diesel and gasoline in various places under and around the sensor to make sure it's working and isn't too sensitive or not sensitive enough. Because they're dealing with live-fire, they had to call the fire dept to come do a stand-by. So we rolled out there, had to gear up, pack up, stretch and charge a hoseline, AND stand inside with a fire extinguisher. All for a fire that was in a 1 ft by 1ft pan with about 4 inches of fuel in it (that would have gotten knocked over by the extinguisher, let alone the hoseline.
Still, it gave us something to do on a normally quiet Sunday.
Also, B shift finally has a captain again!!! Lt Bragg was promoted to captain yesterday. I doubt it'll make much difference now (only 6 weeks to go) but at least it gives our shift a voice again. Not that the other captain was throwing us under the bus, but there were some communication break-downs, and hopefully now there won't be.
And that's all for now. The ice breaker should be in tomorrow. Later today I'm braving the cold and extreme wind to walk down to Hut Point and see how far in they are.
So I leave you with this question we were pondering this morning on the way back to town. If it's so dry in Antarctica, and we get a fair number of storms, why is there no lightening? I plan to ask the meteorologists, as soon as I can find one...
No offense to those of you of the Catholic faith. I got 3 hours of sleep last night, and I'm a bit punchy.
But, you may ask, why only 3 hours of sleep? You were at Station 2, the slowest station in the whole world! And you would be correct. Except for yesterday.
Yesterday, we had 3 calls, and a penguin alert. The first 2 calls were nothing, one was an active spill that was so active, by the time we got toned out, it was done being active, and there was nothing we could do about it. The second was an automatic fire alarm at the LDB site (mentioned in my last post) that was caused by a bunch of scientists BBQing inside the shed. (Just goes to show that advanced degrees don't necessarily bestow common sense on anyone.) We got canceled from the auto alarm as well, but several of us tooled out there in a truck just to check things out.
The penguin alert came not long after dinner. Someone popped their head in the station and alerted us that there was a penguin down near the cargo line, at the end of town. Just hanging out there, she said. Some of us wandered down there to take a look anyway. Sadly, the little guy wasn't looking too good. Just laying in a tire rut looking worn out. He didn't even turn his head to look at the group of gawkers coming to stare at him and take pictures. His little eyes could barely stay open. Definitely not a well penguin. I didn't even take pictures of him. He seemed like he was dying, and it just seemed wrong to bother him. I stayed long enough to make sure no one really harassed him, and then everyone got bored and wandered back. This morning 2 of the big-wigs on station came to the station looking for a shovel. They had a plastic bag with them, and they took him somewhere for a proper burial or something. He died overnight, snuggled up against the cargo dunnage.
Early this morning, about 0130, I was woken up by people going in and out of the station. I hadn't been sleeping well anyway, and there was a lot of radio traffic (the radio was turned up pretty high). Seems that an LC-130 on it's way back from the Pole lost it's number 2 engine (as in it stopped working, not that it disappeared) and had to declare an in-flight emergency (known as an IFE).
Now, as has been explained to me several times by several different people, Hercs can take a lot of abuse and not crash, or break up on landing. Not only that, but the pilots have a check-list they use when something goes wrong, and many times this checklist says to 'declare an IFE.' With 4 engines, having one conk out on you isn't a huge deal...it really just makes the flight longer because that non-working prop creates a lot of drag on the plane. Considering that they declared the IFE about 3 hours from Willy Field, and it takes about 3.5 hours to fly from Pole on 4 engines, I'd have to say it wasn't that serious an issue for them.
So they called in as originally going to Pegasus, so Station 1 (in town) grabbed a crew and all the Renegade trucks from Station 2 and headed out to Pegasus. That left us with the giant crappy trucks that don't move more than 10 mph (if that).
Long story short (I know, too late), they ended up landing at Willy Field after all. It was very very strange to see the plane fly over with one prop not moving at all with the blades feathered (turned perpendicular to the wing to create less drag). It just didn't look right.
So, a bit of excitement in an otherwise boring time. Tomorrow I'm in town, Saturday I go to Pegasus for the flight (which will hopefully have some mail for me on it), Sunday when I cover for Jared I'm at Station 2, and Monday for my own shift I'm at 2 as well. Whee...
In other news, on Sunday we had to do a standby in the Power Plant. They have a huge set of generators and engines that they have been working on for years as a backup to the power and water plants. This is all so that they can take the water plant off-line this winter to do some work on it (I believe they are expanding the capacity). So lately they have been working on the fire system in the backup room, and installed some infrared sensors. They put shrouds over them so that they wouldn't be tripped by stuff like sunlight, but they wanted to test the shrouds to make sure they hadn't built them too restricting. To test this, they light a pan of diesel and gasoline in various places under and around the sensor to make sure it's working and isn't too sensitive or not sensitive enough. Because they're dealing with live-fire, they had to call the fire dept to come do a stand-by. So we rolled out there, had to gear up, pack up, stretch and charge a hoseline, AND stand inside with a fire extinguisher. All for a fire that was in a 1 ft by 1ft pan with about 4 inches of fuel in it (that would have gotten knocked over by the extinguisher, let alone the hoseline.
Still, it gave us something to do on a normally quiet Sunday.
Also, B shift finally has a captain again!!! Lt Bragg was promoted to captain yesterday. I doubt it'll make much difference now (only 6 weeks to go) but at least it gives our shift a voice again. Not that the other captain was throwing us under the bus, but there were some communication break-downs, and hopefully now there won't be.
And that's all for now. The ice breaker should be in tomorrow. Later today I'm braving the cold and extreme wind to walk down to Hut Point and see how far in they are.
So I leave you with this question we were pondering this morning on the way back to town. If it's so dry in Antarctica, and we get a fair number of storms, why is there no lightening? I plan to ask the meteorologists, as soon as I can find one...
Friday, January 4, 2008
LDB projects
So, one of the science projects of fairly great importance down here is the Long Duration Balloon project. These guys have the worst schedule of any scientist down here, I think. They have to wait till December for the perfect window of weather. Basically, there can be very little upper level winds, and very little ground wind, and few clouds, the list goes on. Essentially, weather conditions that rarely exist here, and could occur at any time of the night or day, so they have to be ready 24/7 during their 'window.'
They had 3 payloads to launch this year, CREAM, BESS, and ATIC. These payloads are huge, and the power cells (typically solar panels) can cost upwards of $10,000 each. They can easily weigh 5000 pounds as well. They are carried through the upper atmosphere by balloons that are easily 250 feet tall, if not taller, and expand to HUGE proportions. It was particularly neat for me, because one of the payloads is from Goddard Space Flight Center, which is in Greenbelt, MD, and home to one of NASA's many programs.
While I missed out on every launch (the first one I could see from Pegasus, but I wasn't up close, and the other 2 were launched at 4am and 3am, respectively), I snagged some pictures from the general drive, where everyone puts up their pictures.
Here's some of them. You can see how large this thing is, by comparing it to the big forklifts on the ground. Compare the payload size to the scientist on the ATV.
The entire production of the launch.
The payload (I'm not sure which launch this was). Check out how many solar panels there are, and remember each panel cost upwards of $10,000.
Here's the balloon lifting off.
These balloons are filled less than a quarter of their full capacity on the ground, so that they can follow the laws of physics and expand in the atmosphere where the pressure is lessened. They expand big enough that at 130,000 feet up, they can still be seen from the ground.
The other neat part is that the payloads are outfitted with GPS devices (so they can be recovered when the balloon goes down). This also allows the teams to track the progress of the balloons around the continent. The websites also give information as to speed, time, and position. It also tells you what the payload is carrying. I was talking to one of the scientists who worked on CREAM. They are studying background cosmic radiation, trying to figure out where in the universe it's coming from.
Here's the CREAM website. http://www.nsbf.nasa.gov/map/cream.htm As you can see, CREAM is already on it's second tour of the continent.
The BESS website. http://www.nsbf.nasa.gov/map/balloon1/balloon1.htm
And the ATIC site. http://www.nsbf.nasa.gov/map/balloon7/balloon7.htm
From what I understand, the balloons are carrying by some sort of cyclonic wind stream, that only occurs around December. The balloons will stay up as long as the winds keep going. I don't understand all of it, but last year, one of the balloons went around the continent 3 times before going down.
On another note, the icebreaker Odin has arrived at the ice edge. Last night (according to Lizzie who has a friend who is directly in touch with the crew), they were making 4 knots, and the ice was only 6 feet thick. They expect to break through to town tomorrow. Supposedly the Odin is a special kind of ice breaker, from Sweden or Norway (I can't remember which), that is built much differently than the Coast Guard ice breakers we used to have come down. The Coastie ice breakers are have a sharp, reinforced bow, and powerful thruster that ride up on the ice, and then the weight of the ship breaks the ice. From what I understand, this is how ice breakers are normally built and operated.
The Odin on the other hand, (from what I'm told) has a fairly blunt bow (still reinforced), and has some sort of jets in the bow that shoot out water. The water lubricates the ice as the ship rides up, so it can get up farther. The blunt, wide bow pushes more of the ice chunks out of the way so it breaks a wider channel.
After the Odin breaks up some of the ice around town (not too much, since we're right on the edge of the permanent ice shelf), the research vessel Nathanial B Palmer will come in. I'm not quite sure what they will do, but we might be able to get moral trips out on her. During the summer down here, they travel around the continent doing studies on marine life and oceanography.
The open water also means that the end is near. We start redeployment meetings next week, and should know our flight dates by January 19th. I'm both relieved and saddened.
They had 3 payloads to launch this year, CREAM, BESS, and ATIC. These payloads are huge, and the power cells (typically solar panels) can cost upwards of $10,000 each. They can easily weigh 5000 pounds as well. They are carried through the upper atmosphere by balloons that are easily 250 feet tall, if not taller, and expand to HUGE proportions. It was particularly neat for me, because one of the payloads is from Goddard Space Flight Center, which is in Greenbelt, MD, and home to one of NASA's many programs.
While I missed out on every launch (the first one I could see from Pegasus, but I wasn't up close, and the other 2 were launched at 4am and 3am, respectively), I snagged some pictures from the general drive, where everyone puts up their pictures.
Here's some of them. You can see how large this thing is, by comparing it to the big forklifts on the ground. Compare the payload size to the scientist on the ATV.
The entire production of the launch.
The payload (I'm not sure which launch this was). Check out how many solar panels there are, and remember each panel cost upwards of $10,000.
Here's the balloon lifting off.
These balloons are filled less than a quarter of their full capacity on the ground, so that they can follow the laws of physics and expand in the atmosphere where the pressure is lessened. They expand big enough that at 130,000 feet up, they can still be seen from the ground.The other neat part is that the payloads are outfitted with GPS devices (so they can be recovered when the balloon goes down). This also allows the teams to track the progress of the balloons around the continent. The websites also give information as to speed, time, and position. It also tells you what the payload is carrying. I was talking to one of the scientists who worked on CREAM. They are studying background cosmic radiation, trying to figure out where in the universe it's coming from.
Here's the CREAM website. http://www.nsbf.nasa.gov/map/cream.htm As you can see, CREAM is already on it's second tour of the continent.
The BESS website. http://www.nsbf.nasa.gov/map/balloon1/balloon1.htm
And the ATIC site. http://www.nsbf.nasa.gov/map/balloon7/balloon7.htm
From what I understand, the balloons are carrying by some sort of cyclonic wind stream, that only occurs around December. The balloons will stay up as long as the winds keep going. I don't understand all of it, but last year, one of the balloons went around the continent 3 times before going down.
On another note, the icebreaker Odin has arrived at the ice edge. Last night (according to Lizzie who has a friend who is directly in touch with the crew), they were making 4 knots, and the ice was only 6 feet thick. They expect to break through to town tomorrow. Supposedly the Odin is a special kind of ice breaker, from Sweden or Norway (I can't remember which), that is built much differently than the Coast Guard ice breakers we used to have come down. The Coastie ice breakers are have a sharp, reinforced bow, and powerful thruster that ride up on the ice, and then the weight of the ship breaks the ice. From what I understand, this is how ice breakers are normally built and operated.
The Odin on the other hand, (from what I'm told) has a fairly blunt bow (still reinforced), and has some sort of jets in the bow that shoot out water. The water lubricates the ice as the ship rides up, so it can get up farther. The blunt, wide bow pushes more of the ice chunks out of the way so it breaks a wider channel.
After the Odin breaks up some of the ice around town (not too much, since we're right on the edge of the permanent ice shelf), the research vessel Nathanial B Palmer will come in. I'm not quite sure what they will do, but we might be able to get moral trips out on her. During the summer down here, they travel around the continent doing studies on marine life and oceanography.
The open water also means that the end is near. We start redeployment meetings next week, and should know our flight dates by January 19th. I'm both relieved and saddened.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
I love Kelly Days
Today is the start of my Kelly day. I do not have to be back to work till Sunday, when I go back 2 hours early to cover for a friend who is running a race that day and needs to sign in.
I desperately need to sleep in tomorrow. I haven't gotten a lot of sleep lately, and last night was the last straw. I generally like my shift, but I can't stand inconsiderate people, and that's what they were last night.
But I went for a run today, and made it down the hill and up to the hut without stopping. I walked up to the edge to see if there were any seals, but I didn't see any, so I just stretched out and walked back down to the hut (where my iPod died from low battery). I started running on the way back, but it was hard to concentrated without the Pod, and I didn't do as well. I did manage to get in some interval training though.
It's hard to run down here, cause even when it's nice out (like today, 32F), it's still cold, and it freezes my lungs and makes me get out of breath even faster than normal. I'm debating going to the gym this afternoon...I may just go back and start some laundry and sleep. We'll see what happens.
Tomorrow, Mandy, one of the dispatchers, and I are going to hike up Ob Hill, which I haven't done yet. It's supposed to be gorgeous weather tomorrow (something the weather people said about penguins wearing sunglasses), but weather is subject to change at a moment's notice, so you never know. I've been wanting to go up, but it's usually bad weather, or I can't find anyone to go with me. Supposedly, you can see open water from the top. That'll be cool. The ice edge has made it to the Dellbridge Islands (Inaccessable, Tent, Big Razorback and Little Razorback Islands) which means about 10 miles from station now.
Yesterday was a bad day. I got sent to Station 2 at the last minute so I had to scramble to get my stuff back together, I had to drive the ambo back (it was in the shop), and refuel it, and spilled diesel on my glove, and didn't get a bottom bunk (so it was the couch for me), and got sent to Pegasus. I was supposed to leave at noon, but then the LC-130 guys decided they wanted to do touch-and-go's at Pegasus, so at 10am I got a call that I had to leave in half an hour. When we all got out there, we got the word that they would not, in fact, be doing touch and go's at Pegasus, but instead would be doing them at Willy Field. It wasn't all bad, I got some other pictures taken and stuff, and we hung out in the Fleet Ops shack and had a small lunch. The C-17 came in and there were a bunch of DV's (Distinguished Visitors) coming off. They were all congressmen and staffers, here for the new South Pole Station dedication next week. According to the captain, they got off the plane and immediately started shaking hands and (if there had been any) kissing babies. He was amused by it all. I was more amused by the people getting off the plane all decked out in ECW gear, Big Red's zipped up, and there were cargo guys walking around in their Carharts and short-sleeved T-shirts, and our captain meeting them at the plane in uniform pants, regular boots and a fleece jacket over a t-shirt. It was warm and sunny yesterday.
Anyway, I got back and was tired, and wanted to go to bed early, but I couldn't since I was on the couch. We played a bit of Outburst, using new rules (half the pieces of the game have been lost), and then at 1130pm, the guys decided to start Monopoly. I wanted to go to bed, so I went in the other room (where the TV is) and took one of the couches. They were pretty loud in the beginning, but I managed to fall asleep until about 0330, when I was woken up by the TV. They decided to watch Rome on TV, and it was LOUD. I was particularly irritated cause 2 of the 3 guys who were watching TV had snagged the bottom bunks, and it was nearly 4am. I moved into the other room after asking them to turn the TV down a hair, and I still couldn't sleep. Once on the other couch I slept ok, though I had some bizarre and bad dreams.
So today is laundry day, and tomorrow is sleeping day, and hiking day (I won't run tomorrow cause the hike will be enough cardio for me, though I might still go to the gym). I might even go to the gym today.
I desperately need to sleep in tomorrow. I haven't gotten a lot of sleep lately, and last night was the last straw. I generally like my shift, but I can't stand inconsiderate people, and that's what they were last night.
But I went for a run today, and made it down the hill and up to the hut without stopping. I walked up to the edge to see if there were any seals, but I didn't see any, so I just stretched out and walked back down to the hut (where my iPod died from low battery). I started running on the way back, but it was hard to concentrated without the Pod, and I didn't do as well. I did manage to get in some interval training though.
It's hard to run down here, cause even when it's nice out (like today, 32F), it's still cold, and it freezes my lungs and makes me get out of breath even faster than normal. I'm debating going to the gym this afternoon...I may just go back and start some laundry and sleep. We'll see what happens.
Tomorrow, Mandy, one of the dispatchers, and I are going to hike up Ob Hill, which I haven't done yet. It's supposed to be gorgeous weather tomorrow (something the weather people said about penguins wearing sunglasses), but weather is subject to change at a moment's notice, so you never know. I've been wanting to go up, but it's usually bad weather, or I can't find anyone to go with me. Supposedly, you can see open water from the top. That'll be cool. The ice edge has made it to the Dellbridge Islands (Inaccessable, Tent, Big Razorback and Little Razorback Islands) which means about 10 miles from station now.
Yesterday was a bad day. I got sent to Station 2 at the last minute so I had to scramble to get my stuff back together, I had to drive the ambo back (it was in the shop), and refuel it, and spilled diesel on my glove, and didn't get a bottom bunk (so it was the couch for me), and got sent to Pegasus. I was supposed to leave at noon, but then the LC-130 guys decided they wanted to do touch-and-go's at Pegasus, so at 10am I got a call that I had to leave in half an hour. When we all got out there, we got the word that they would not, in fact, be doing touch and go's at Pegasus, but instead would be doing them at Willy Field. It wasn't all bad, I got some other pictures taken and stuff, and we hung out in the Fleet Ops shack and had a small lunch. The C-17 came in and there were a bunch of DV's (Distinguished Visitors) coming off. They were all congressmen and staffers, here for the new South Pole Station dedication next week. According to the captain, they got off the plane and immediately started shaking hands and (if there had been any) kissing babies. He was amused by it all. I was more amused by the people getting off the plane all decked out in ECW gear, Big Red's zipped up, and there were cargo guys walking around in their Carharts and short-sleeved T-shirts, and our captain meeting them at the plane in uniform pants, regular boots and a fleece jacket over a t-shirt. It was warm and sunny yesterday.
Anyway, I got back and was tired, and wanted to go to bed early, but I couldn't since I was on the couch. We played a bit of Outburst, using new rules (half the pieces of the game have been lost), and then at 1130pm, the guys decided to start Monopoly. I wanted to go to bed, so I went in the other room (where the TV is) and took one of the couches. They were pretty loud in the beginning, but I managed to fall asleep until about 0330, when I was woken up by the TV. They decided to watch Rome on TV, and it was LOUD. I was particularly irritated cause 2 of the 3 guys who were watching TV had snagged the bottom bunks, and it was nearly 4am. I moved into the other room after asking them to turn the TV down a hair, and I still couldn't sleep. Once on the other couch I slept ok, though I had some bizarre and bad dreams.
So today is laundry day, and tomorrow is sleeping day, and hiking day (I won't run tomorrow cause the hike will be enough cardio for me, though I might still go to the gym). I might even go to the gym today.
Happy New Years!!!
Well, it is now 2008. Happy New Year to everyone out there!
I had to work New Years Eve, and we rang in 2008 by trying to wake up 2 of the guys on shift, one by banging a pot and spoon in his face (he was already awake, since he had to cover mid-rats for the dispatcher), and the other guy we tried to wake up by dropping a mattress on him...but he was too light a sleeper and woke up.
Other than that, our New Years Eve was quiet. Yesterday, our New Years Day (your NYE), we celebrated several of the different time zones in the US with champagne and wine toasts. There was a party, but I was tired from going to bed late and getting up early for a couple days, so I stayed away, and hung out in the firehouse talking with the dispatcher. She wanted to snag some pictures from me anyway, so I had to drop off my hard drive. I ended up hanging out with A-shift in the kitchen, where they were deep-frying anything they could. Mini burritos, tortilla shells, an English muffin, even a cookie got deep-fried. By the time I got back to my room, I reeked of grease and oil.
However, I did also get packages yesterday. A Christmas card from Anna and Art, and a package with a T-shirt and hot chocolate from Mom, and one with some flannel pants and t-shirts and COOKIES from Nana and Papa. As one of the A-shift Lt's said, grandma cookies are best. And because they got here so fast, they are still pretty fresh. And yummy.
I'm about to send out a package of clothes I'm not wearing and some other stuff. It should be the largest load I'm sending home, and there will be another one shortly. I'm hoping that the second one will be the last, with the rest of the stuff I'm sending home. That'll be sent out later in January, probably sometime in the last week.
My roommate doesn't leave for the Pole until January 14th now, which means she won't be back till the second week of February. So basically, I'll have my own room until about a week before I leave. Not a bad deal, actually.
It's funny. Now that the holidays are over, EVERYONE is talking about when they're going to leave, and what they're going to do and where they're going once they get out of here. Even the people who come back year after year are doing it. My Lt (who's been down here on and off for the past 10 years) says that around now, all the conversation you hear will be people speculating about when they're leaving. In about a week or so they'll start redeployment meetings, where they tell us all we need to know about getting back to the real world and going home. We'll pick the hotels we want to stay at the first night back, and learn how to deal with the travel office to schedule our days home. Supposedly you can make Fiji a stop-over point, and stay up to a week for free. Maybe I'll stay a day...I don't know.....There's so many choices. I think a lot depends on what my actual date of departure here.
The more I think about leaving, the more excited I get. But I also feel sad. This place has truly taken a piece of me and held it here. It will be nice to see color and vegetation again. And to be able to smell things other than humans and diesel fumes. But I will miss the sheer expanses of nothing but white, and the blue and green ice, the snow, the white and purple striated mountains. The way the new snow is so light and fluffy and fills all the spaces in the rocks on the hills, accenting the black and brown rocks. Waking up in the morning and seeing snow falling. Walking down towards town, and seeing the Royal Society Mountains across the ice, and how the sun highlights the glaciers and the striations of rock and ice on the peaks. Walking out of Station 2 and seeing Mt Erebus and Mt Terra Nova and Mt Terror, looking like they are a days walk away, when it's really a several hour helicopter ride. The plumes coming out of Erebus, being changed by the upper level winds. I love standing near the runway at Williams Field and looking out, and all there is to see is flags, and then nothing but snow, all the way to the islands to the south. It's amazing to be able to walk up to a wild animal, and all it does it look at you, and then lay it's head down and go back to sleep. Or to have an completely wild animal walk right up to you and look you in the eye, and it has absolutely NO fear of humans.
It is beautiful here, in a cold and distant way. Whoever knew there were so many shades of white? You can look out across the Ross Ice Shelf and on a clear day, as far as your eye can see is nothing but sparkling ice. And I'll miss that beauty when I leave it.
I had to work New Years Eve, and we rang in 2008 by trying to wake up 2 of the guys on shift, one by banging a pot and spoon in his face (he was already awake, since he had to cover mid-rats for the dispatcher), and the other guy we tried to wake up by dropping a mattress on him...but he was too light a sleeper and woke up.
Other than that, our New Years Eve was quiet. Yesterday, our New Years Day (your NYE), we celebrated several of the different time zones in the US with champagne and wine toasts. There was a party, but I was tired from going to bed late and getting up early for a couple days, so I stayed away, and hung out in the firehouse talking with the dispatcher. She wanted to snag some pictures from me anyway, so I had to drop off my hard drive. I ended up hanging out with A-shift in the kitchen, where they were deep-frying anything they could. Mini burritos, tortilla shells, an English muffin, even a cookie got deep-fried. By the time I got back to my room, I reeked of grease and oil.
However, I did also get packages yesterday. A Christmas card from Anna and Art, and a package with a T-shirt and hot chocolate from Mom, and one with some flannel pants and t-shirts and COOKIES from Nana and Papa. As one of the A-shift Lt's said, grandma cookies are best. And because they got here so fast, they are still pretty fresh. And yummy.
I'm about to send out a package of clothes I'm not wearing and some other stuff. It should be the largest load I'm sending home, and there will be another one shortly. I'm hoping that the second one will be the last, with the rest of the stuff I'm sending home. That'll be sent out later in January, probably sometime in the last week.
My roommate doesn't leave for the Pole until January 14th now, which means she won't be back till the second week of February. So basically, I'll have my own room until about a week before I leave. Not a bad deal, actually.
It's funny. Now that the holidays are over, EVERYONE is talking about when they're going to leave, and what they're going to do and where they're going once they get out of here. Even the people who come back year after year are doing it. My Lt (who's been down here on and off for the past 10 years) says that around now, all the conversation you hear will be people speculating about when they're leaving. In about a week or so they'll start redeployment meetings, where they tell us all we need to know about getting back to the real world and going home. We'll pick the hotels we want to stay at the first night back, and learn how to deal with the travel office to schedule our days home. Supposedly you can make Fiji a stop-over point, and stay up to a week for free. Maybe I'll stay a day...I don't know.....There's so many choices. I think a lot depends on what my actual date of departure here.
The more I think about leaving, the more excited I get. But I also feel sad. This place has truly taken a piece of me and held it here. It will be nice to see color and vegetation again. And to be able to smell things other than humans and diesel fumes. But I will miss the sheer expanses of nothing but white, and the blue and green ice, the snow, the white and purple striated mountains. The way the new snow is so light and fluffy and fills all the spaces in the rocks on the hills, accenting the black and brown rocks. Waking up in the morning and seeing snow falling. Walking down towards town, and seeing the Royal Society Mountains across the ice, and how the sun highlights the glaciers and the striations of rock and ice on the peaks. Walking out of Station 2 and seeing Mt Erebus and Mt Terra Nova and Mt Terror, looking like they are a days walk away, when it's really a several hour helicopter ride. The plumes coming out of Erebus, being changed by the upper level winds. I love standing near the runway at Williams Field and looking out, and all there is to see is flags, and then nothing but snow, all the way to the islands to the south. It's amazing to be able to walk up to a wild animal, and all it does it look at you, and then lay it's head down and go back to sleep. Or to have an completely wild animal walk right up to you and look you in the eye, and it has absolutely NO fear of humans.
It is beautiful here, in a cold and distant way. Whoever knew there were so many shades of white? You can look out across the Ross Ice Shelf and on a clear day, as far as your eye can see is nothing but sparkling ice. And I'll miss that beauty when I leave it.
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