Round 2 has begun!

Wow, a year has come and gone since I quit my full time job to come to Antarctica and work.  What was an adventure into the unknown has lead me down a path that I never thought my life would lead.  I have been able to see a part of this planet which not very many people actually get to see in real life, I have been able to spend time in countries I thought about going to, I have been on the grounds crew for a major league baseball team that had been labeled as both the best dressed and best grounds crew in the Major Leagues by 2 umpiring crews.  What more could I ask for, I have been happier over the past year, I have made new life long friends and I am back in Antarctica again.

This summer in Antarctica is going to be different from last year from the standpoint that there is a new contractor running the show and the National Science Foundation had made some changes as well.  The biggest change is that staffing sizes are smaller this year from last year so some of my friends and coworkers from last year were not able to return.  I am living in a new dorm with only one roommate and in a smaller room.  Getting down here this year was harder than it was last year from getting qualified to come down, to the flights we had to take to finding out I even had a job.  The day we left Christchurch, New Zealand I was able to check my e-mail and found out that I had received a promotion for the season.  I am happy that I have a new position from last year as it will be the same work I did last year but with a little bit more pay.  I was able to work a Kiwi C-130 flight Friday night, it felt good to get behind a plane and work the loaders again.  Today we found out our teams for the season.  I will be working the night shift to start again but will be working with 3 other people on my team that I haven’t worked with before.  I am looking forward to working with them and sharing stories about our lives back home off ice and why we choose to work in this crazy place. 

Having been here before, I find that I am not taking as many photos as I did last year.  I hope that I can start up again and get some good shots to show everyone.  So I have attached a few from my time in Christchurch and the few that I have taken here in McMurdo so far.  

A Year Later!

So as I am writing this I am taking a break from last minute details to go back to Antarctica for a second season.  I have been reflecting on the past year and all the fun that I have had and the places I have seen and been.  I have been asked why go to Antarctica, well in all honesty why not.  To be able to tell someone that you have been to a place where few people have gotten a chance to go to and see animals up close that you would have to pay to see at a zoo from behind a glass wall.  I have made friends for life and most of all I got a chance to work with the best grounds crew in all of Major League Baseball (Jim Joyce told us this).

So I can say I am happier now then were I was a year and a half ago when I first applied to work in Antarctica.  I had a few struggles this year with getting qualified to go back because of some lost paperwork but I am glad to know that I wasn't the only one.  It has been a trying season for all my friends and myself to get cleared to go.  I hope that next season the qualification process goes a whole lot easier for everyone.  I am glad to know that I am going back and will be working with and seeing most of my same friends from last year.  Knowing the process of getting to McMurdo, where things are and how things run will make getting started a lot easier to.  I will be working in the same department as I did last year, hopefully have one of my old roommates back but we will be living in a different dorm than last year, so we will see how that goes.

Saying good bye this time around has been easier for me, since I know that I can call home whenever I want, e-mailing is easy and sending mail out is easy to.  So home isn't as far away as it seemed  a year ago.  This time it has been a staged goodbye for me with my family.  My sister Joan and her husband Matt and their two girls took a trip to visit family in Germany and won't be back till after I leave.  I couldn't believe how much my niece Orly grew while I was gone, but she got to know me this summer while I was home so hopefully when I get back in the spring she isn't scared of me like she was when I got home back in March.  My dad left 2 weeks ago to continue on with his cross country bicycle ride so I got to say goodbye to him before he left.  I am looking forward to raising a drink to him with my friends at McMurdo when I find out that he has reached the Atlantic ocean.  I wish I could be there with him to ride the last day of his long journey with him, but I know that we both will be proud of each other for our accomplishments even though we are thousands of miles apart.  Tonight I get a chance to say good bye to my sister Eva and her family over dinner.  I will miss Breandan and Elsa her two kids while I am gone, but I know that Breandan will remember me and Elsa will get even bigger while I am gone, but I will have all next summer to spend time with her.

Well that is all for now.  If you would like to send me something via mail you can send it to the address below.  If you do choose to send me something as much as I would like alcohol, that is a big no no for us.  But food is always welcome.

Tim Schunck, ASC
McMurdo Station PSC 469 Box 700

APO AP 96599-1035 

Hope this finds everyone well and hope you all enjoy this years blog.

Orly playing

Breandan at his first Broncos Game (We were playing the Raiders)

Elsa and her mom

 Andy on the right, Orly on the left

Coors field after a game with the moon 

I borrowed this shot from a Rockies player

 My dad on his ride last week

Joan, Matt, Andy and Orly on a ferry on the Danube

Andy and Orly at an amusement park in Vienna

 Opening Day 2012

Getting the field ready for the season

My mom with all her grandchildren that will keep her busy while both my dad and I are away.

 Breandan and I at Lakeside

 Breandan playing in Lake Estes