Turf in Antarctica?: December 2014

So this season our night shift decided that it would be fun if we had some sort of theme for our weekly Day Bar get together. To bring everyone up to speed, the night shift has what we call Day Bar down here on our night time which is actually normal day time for everyone else down here when one of the bars is open for us to enjoy a few alcoholic beverages responsibly. Having a theme every week has given us something to look forward to but to also show case everyone different personalities. This week our theme was "Science", I found this theme to be perfect for where we are at. We are all working down here in the support of science and all the research that goes on not only at our station but at the other stations and field camps across the continent.

I am fascinated to always hear the different thoughts and beliefs of what we are truly doing down here and why anyone would want to work in this environment. In the end of every season reports start to come out from discoveries made down here or some break through in scientific research. I feel very fortunate to know that in the end I have had my hand involved in this success working in the department that I do. I look forward to preparing science samples to be flown north to the final research destination and know that I did my job correctly when I hear about the discoveries. I am also fascinated that the individuals who come down here are so concerned about some of their equipment being handled correctly that I am beginning to think that maybe there is a job opportunity out there for me to be employed by the very research groups that I help down here make sure their equipment makes it safely here based on my knowledge of the transportation logistics down here.

We have had one piece of cargo sitting in our bay now for almost 3 weeks wanting to get onto a flight to the South Pole, this piece we have had to keep plugged in to keep the electronics running. I realized that there is no way for us or even the scientist to check and make sure that it is being powered correctly the day it arrived here. I would hate to find out that the equipment isn't working because of a simple thing in the design of the shipping package was missed. I know we have done our best to handle the cargo correctly and in the end it is our responsibility but we will only know once it gets to the south pole.

Other than normal work we celebrated Thanksgiving last weekend. The food we had at dinner was great and the company shared even better. My team enjoyed a nice 3 day weekend after working 4 different sets of 3 days straight of work. I am extremely happy with my team this season in knowing that the work that comes our way will get done and that we all work well together. I have learned from my previous season being a senior to make myself a better senior this year. We have about 3 more weeks left of working nights than we all make the transition to days right at Christmas. It is hard to believe that 2 months have gone by and I have 3 more to go before I have the long ride home on a LC-130 at the end of February. More research will happen between now and than, more good times had and many goodbyes to along the way. I hope you enjoy this weeks update and photos. The Ob Tube came back and I was able to spend some time in it under water listening to seals and watching fish and jelly fish swim by.