Winfly

Current Conditions
Temperature: 3F
Wind Chill: 3F

Well, they're back. Our five months of isolation is over. About 170 of them so far, and another 50 on the way today. They're tan, refreshed and energetic. They're annoying and intrusive. The first flight doubled the population here and they outnumbered us immediately. I was initially excited to see new faces and old friends. I had a blast catching up on that first day. But Andre was right; he said to give it three days.

That was three days ago.

Now I realize more than ever that I'm toasty. I'm tired, grumpy, distracted, unmotivated and easily annoyed. I'm annoyed with myself for being annoyed; it's annoying. I'm apathetic. No, apathy isn't quite right; it's more like I just don't give a shit. For example, with other winter-overs, I openly discuss my general grievances about the newcomers, even if they're well within earshot. I have no filter. I avoid the galley, or at least refuse to sit at a table with no winter-overs, or even sit at a table other than the few I've been using all winter. I'd rather take my meal home and be antisocial. I feel a strong bond to anyone who's been here with me through the long dark, whether I knew them well or not, and no desire to meet new people. These are the traits I was told I would have, but didn't believe it, even just a week ago. I also have a headache, but I think that's unrelated. Unless one of those bastards brought some sickness here and my lethargic immune system has also been overrun.

Ethan came in on the first flight (not my brother Ethan, of course, but my co-worker and friend* from the summer here). When we got to his office, he wrote on the dry erase board: "29 days to go." At the time, I had 51. *Bastard. I actually found this extremely amusing and told several friends. Not surprisingly, it made it back around to Ethan, but with more agitation. What irks me is that I can't be sure if I subconsciously added the agitation in the retelling, or if someone else did.

Ok, ok, so it's not all that bad. I won't say that I'm exaggerating, because these are my true feelings, much to my surprise, but they are not all feelings that I am proud of, or feelings that I would normally have if I wasn't so T3'd and institutionalized. It is a taxing effort, on top of a fatigued body and psyche, to accept this huge change in a longstanding routine with willingness. It's a huge rush for the mind to keep up with this new pace of simple conversation without taking repeated zone-out moments to catch its breath.

Still, I'm really excited to see a lot of returning friends (and even mere acquaintances, providing they have a signed and stamped seal of approval from a fellow winter-over), and many of them brought things like strawberries and pineapple to win us over. It is amazing to me how wonderful fruit is right now. I can't even describe it. I had dinner at Hut 10 with several winter-over friends and a bowl full of sliced bananas, apples, oranges, pineapples and strawberries. Every one of us was moaning at the taste of these long forgotten delights. A passer-by would have thought we were having an orgy in there. I don't even think the sounds were coming from my throat; I think it was the joy of a hundred thousand taste buds jumping up and down, screaming for more. Soon Joselyn will be here with a couple of avocados!
Oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy!

Along with all these new folk come queues. Wait in line for a plate, wait in line for food, wait in line for drinks. I guess it's what most people are used to here, but I've spent twice the time here at low population than I have at high, so I remember the lines for everything, but only with resentment and annoyance, of course.

On the plus side, these changes mean that my time here is finally coming to an end. I have seven weeks left (not that I'm counting - actually, its 47 days) before I re-enter the real world and start doing strange things like forgetting to pay at restaurants, or looking for the proper waste bin to throw something away, or spending unnatural amounts of time staring at fruit stands, or wondering why the sun is directly overhead. Then, several weeks after that, I'll once again be a regular citizen of the world, only changed a bit by experience. Until then...

Embrace the Insanity!!