Half Done... or Half Left?

Midwinter was officially last Friday, which means our winter season is half over and the sun is on its way back up. I sent out a bit of an update via email, but here is how the weekend went:

Prior to the weekend, we took our Midwinter picture which is sent to all the other stations around the continent, inviting them to our midwinter dinner. It was fun to see who and where everyone else is and how diverse this continent is. Some pictures we received had grass and water, another was of the residents in a snow cave, one of four very odd looking men and a giant frog, McMurdo opted just for an aerial shot of town, and in Palmer's picture people were playing in the dusk-lit snow in hooded sweatshirts (you're weak Dan, very weak). We took ours in the Old Garage and Shops arch which was demo-ed this year, and it turned out great once the fog from our breath rose:

Friday night, we had an all-hands meeting in gym (we look like quite a few people all spread out like that) and then got ready for our midwinter dinner. While we were all ironing our clothes for the first time since the States, the cooks were slaving away in the kitchen whipping up an incredible meal. Francie, Neil, and Michael got quite the applause for this one:

Our four course meal:

So, what is there to do after midwinter dinner? Absolutely nothing. At least at the sunset dinner we could watch the sun go down, but now we can only watch eachother, so we all just sat around and talked until bedtime.

And, just like every occasion, we took an all girls picture:
So, that's half the season. It doesn't feel much like half, since I have already stayed the summer and I think the last 4 months are going to go by very quickly. On Monday morning when we showed up to stretching, Lynette, our safety coordinator gave her safety talk on how rough July is for people in Antarctica regardless of location or stint of their contract. Something with the dark season and depression that go so well together. It wasn't the best way to start 'Part 2' of the winter, but I suppose its good to know what we're up against. It seems like I will be up against a lot: the phrase 'Cry in July' has been coined for next month, and somehow I am the prescripted target of the most nortoriously insensitive tactless antagonists on station. We'll see how it goes. I'll take it as a compliment insult that I must appear stable, confident and cheerful weak and therefore, pose the biggest challenge to them the easiest victim.

(Pictures from Robert and Sven)

Backtracking to the Beach

Oops, Midwinter came and went, and I'm a bit behind. So, to backtrack a bit to the weekend before when we decided it was time to celebrate some birthdays and also time to go the beach: Travis' mom sent him a bunch of tropical decorations and we brought in lights, surfing videos, and I made up some fake palm trees:

It was Bruce, Katie and Andy's birthdays that week, and somehow we managed to pull it off as a surprise.

It turned out great and was a lot of fun for everyone. Andy has been teaching salsa dance lessons on Tuesdays, so we played a chunk of salsa music and it was nice to dance 'for real', instead of for practice. Paul and Kari dancing:

I think it was a welcome opportunity for people to wear their Hawaiian shirts and sandals for a change.

(Pictures from Robert)

Well, I got to hand it to my mom. She told me how to fix the heavy duty sewing machine here and moments after I did what she said, I was back in action. After awhile I tried a leather glove, and the machine didn't like that. After several attempts my patience wore thin, and I had to walk away. Anyway, pretty good, mom, for troubleshooting it 10,000+ miles away.

And speaking of my mom, I guess some of her creativity spilled over, since my design won for the South Pole Marker Contest. Each year the winter-overs make designs for the post that will mark the Geographical South Pole for the following year. The station votes on them, and then it is made by the machinist, Derek, and then presented on January 1st. Here is the lastest version of the design I submitted. Have fun, Derek!

Trash Day

I emptied the trash in my office today... finally.

Considering that the bottom layer was paper towels from when I cleaned my office when I first moved in (in February), it was rather like going through a time machine.

From my archeological research, I had the following eras this winter:

First, my powdered Gatorade phase (Lemon-Lime and Riptide Rush only, of course). Then the Diet Coke phase, from back when there was some decent diet sodas still around. Then a layer of microwave popcorn bags. An astonishing amount of Go Fast, followed by a time when I must have not drank anything at all, because I had so many Kleenexes stacked up. All my wire clippings and other work debris had fallen into the bottom and obviously my means of reminders is Post-it Notes, because there was plenty of those. And then a huge amount of hand and footwarmers from our day outside in the dome.

Since we organize all of our trash by certain categories, to get the motivation to go and sort it into burnables, non-recyclables, mixed paper, batteries, food waste, etc. takes about.. um... 4 months.

I also managed to go through 3 tubes of chapstick (nearly unheard of anywhere else) and a heck of a lot of German candy.

Hmmm.. interesting material today, Laura. Maybe I'm just getting bored. I had a nice restful weekend, but for the first time I found myself walking the halls yesterday, thinking, "Wow, it would really be nice to 'go do something'." I also picked up my New Zealand Lonely Planet guide for the first time since I got the Prime Minister to sign it in January, and read up on some places I've thought about surfing or hiking. It's going to be a while yet though until I get out of here with time on my hands and money in my pocket.

Horseshoe Tournament

Last weekend we had a horseshoe tournament and bar-b-que in the Garage and Shops on Saturday. It was interesting to see the wide range of horseshoe skills. Thankfully I had a bit of a leg up on the rest since I've actually played in the last year in Canada. Our foreigners faired the worse, since they don't play much in New Zealand, Sweden or India, although they have their own random yard games. Our shining star was Jamie, whose played his fair share growing up in Arkansas.

Our fearless grillers, Tim and Dan P.:

No ringers for me. But a few solid tosses:

Horseshoes = Great Idea
BBQ Indoors = Not Such a Great Idea

A good afternoon overall, and a nice events for our two day weekend. Next up: midwinter. Lately everyone keeps saying that the "J's" are coming up. No, not Jack, Jim and Johnny, although maybe some will be turning to the bottle soon. The J's are 'June and July' and from what I gather (and am feeling) they are tough ones to get through, especially once we pass the Mid-winter mark in a couple weeks. I think the following picture catches the atmosphere around here lately:

Picture credit to Terry E, Dan M, Terry and Dan P.