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.