Sunday, September 9, 2007

Daily life








I wanted to include some photos of things that I get to see daily that at first were very funny, but are now just the norm. Hopefully, they will be funny to you as well. The first one is a sign in the bathroom. Everything that gets thrown away has its own place; bio waste is just one of the many trash containers we have that the janitorial staff has to empty. You don't want to screw up where you put things, because it makes sorting all the stuff a disgusting pain in the butt. The second is the United States Antarctica Program(USAP) symbol. It is on everything. It is still pretty cool. The third is a little piece of art that is on someone's door. The rumor mill, is exactly what McMurdo is. People having nothing to talk about other than their job and what other people are doing. It is pretty crazy. Lastly, I threw in a photo of myself at a superhero-themed party. I went as FDX man. FDX are the big boots that I have on my feet. My power was to keep peoples feet warm.

To a certain degree all is quiet on the southern front. Work starts at 7:30 and goes until 5:30 and the normal work week is Monday through Saturday. It doesn't leave a lot of time in the day to do stuff, and the weekend, Sunday, is spent recovering from the work week and Saturday night. Work has been going well. I have been getting out onto the sea ice and trying to do some measurements to make sure we can put in a road. I say "try", because twice now, the expedition has been thwarted by vehicle malfunctions. Everyone just says "it is part of being down here", "Antarctica is a harsh continent", but those just kind of seem like excuses to me. Coming from NOLS, it is hard for me to see the value in going out to do a job, and just having to turn around and come back, accomplishing nothing with the energy I expend. On an expedition, everything has a purpose and a pretty direct outcome. The rewards seem so tangible. I wonder whether I need to shift my thinking to, "this is just how things run down here", or if it's possible to make changes in the system. Chao

1 comment:

Isabel Aven and Sylvia Harper said...

should send you some more paper bags for all of your condoms then?

;-) blair