Flagging

Current Conditions
Temperature: -2F
Wind Chill: -35F
Wind Speed: 65mph
Condition 1

First, allow me to apologize for my lack of concern for timely blog posts. It coincides beautifully with my lack of concern for anything else. Apathy is biting down hard. My thoughts are miles away from this place. I'm over it. And now I'm sick, too (damn new people). But, it's Condition 1 outside and I have nothing better to do until the wind dies down a bit.

So, I've just been reading Andre's blog (the siren song of the anti-bears), and it is so bizarre to see pictures of my fellow winter-overs back in the real world. It's like they're out of place; it's like they don't belong there. I think I've just been seeing those faces for so long in front of the same white backdrop. And upon further thought, It's hard to imagine myself back in those "real world" settings. I immediately keyed in on several things that are so distant in memory, and some will seem strange to you: animals, railings, trees, concrete, open water. But one thing really stuck out: Wade's hand is in the grass. It appears laid-back, nonchalant, normal. But I know, he's not just touching that grass, he's feeling it, absorbing it. It's haunting. I'm almost there, four more weeks (3 weeks, 6 days).

OK, that was uncanny, I just got an email from Wade.

Anyway, It seems that my apathy only applies on this continent, because my attention is very much focused on what's next. I've been collecting gear at discounted prices (because having an Antarctican in your gear is good advertising) in preparation for a lot of traveling. I'm hoping to do a lot of backpacking, so in order to save my precious knees, I'm studying up on ultralight camping methods. I'm hoping to have a traveling pack that weighs under 20 pounds. That will include all my camping gear, clothes and camera. I figure 5 days of food and fuel will add about 10 pounds while actually backpacking. I remember when I was a boy scout and anything under 50 pounds on your back was light. No more. The travel plan is still loose, but the gist of it is: New Zealand, Australia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Nepal, Tibet. This will put me back in the States, oh... I don't know... April? No sense in going home for winter, had enough of that racket.

Actually, that's not entirely true, I guess. Yesterday I went on a boondoggle (this is a leftover military term used here for basically any trip out of town) to Cape Evans to reflag the road for the coming season. The boondoggle was offered to winter-overs only and they gave us snow machine (snow mobile, skidoo, whatever you want to call it) training for it. Here's how it worked: Someone sat on top of a pisten bulley, throwing out a flag every 50 feet. Two snow machines followed, leapfrogging, stopping to drill a foot deep hole in the ice to place each flag. It was a calm, warm day (often the forecast of doom, and again this time) and we had a blast out there. It is always so refreshing to get away from town.

I spent most of the day on one of the snow machines, only riding in the pisten bully to eat lunch. Brody and I rode a machine together for the second part of the day, and we took every opportunity to go fast. Ok, we created a few opportunities, too. Brody "accidentally" dropped a glove, and "realized" it many flags later. We left our drill and sped back to the glove. 50mph. It occurred to me that the last time I've traveled at that speed was coming to a stop on the runway here last October. On these dirt and ice roads, the speed limit is 25mph out of town and only 15mph in town. And it's not the 15mph you ignore in the Safeway parking lot, because it's truly unsafe for all the peds if you go any faster. I get away with 30 to 35 on my way to Arrival Heights, but that's it. So 50mph was downright exhilerating!

On our way back, we also got a fairly close up look at one of the seals that has been tagged. There is a science group here now that is placing instrumentation on seals in order to study their habits. The sensors are sort of glued to the seals back, and they measure all kinds of stuff: depth, light, temperature. I think they even mount small cameras.

In other news, it is light out when I wake up now, and the sun sets around 8, officially, right over the mountains to the west southwest, but the long sunset lingers for a couple more hours. The southern sky clings to that twilight blue all night long, as the sun swims just below the surface of the horizon. The first flight of mainbody comes in on Tuesday, only 3 days away. Then the madness begins.

Congratulations Brett & Andrea!

I have a sister!! I've never had a sister. Andrea, welcome to the Nelson clan. Maychance you can bring some sanity to it. Either way, we're ecstatic to have you! Brett, what can I say, I'm so happy for you! I want to give you both a big joyous hug.

I'm so sorry I'm not there with you guys. It seems so silly for me to be here on another damned fool adventure when I should be celebrating with the family I love. Hmm, it must be warming up here, my eyes are a little sweaty today.

I feel I should say more, but it's hard to put into type, and I don't feel that this is the place for it anyway. So simply: Congratulations. I love you both.

Things Forgotten & Things Ahead

Current Conditions
Temperature: -13F
Wind Chill: -13F

The days are getting back to normal again. Sunlight for about 11 hours today, with the sunset and dusk extending well into the evening. I haven't been taking many pictures lately. I guess the sights have grown familiar, just like I don't take pictures of Mt. Hood back home very often anymore. My thoughts are elsewhere anyway: warm places. So I've riddled this post with pictures from my New Zealand trip last year that have nothing to do with the text around them, but represent the constant background hum in my mind.

Te Paki sand dunes near Cape Reinga, Northland. Oh man, that looks so warm!

That aside, I'm settling into this increased population thing now. It was much more stressful than I expected it to be, if you couldn't tell by the last post. I still find myself avoiding the crowds and trying to sit with winter-overs, but I've accepted the new noise level somewhere in my sub conscience. I've even enjoyed meeting some of the returning folks, although I do try to avoid actual FNGs because they're still a little too excited for me. My energy level remains extremely low, and this deficit is pronounced by the newcomers.

Punakaiki, West Coast. Look at that greenery! I can't wait to float down a river!

Despite the languor, my schedule remains as busy as ever. Monday volleyball, Wednesday travelogues or burger bar, Friday soccer. Tuesdays and Thursdays end up filling with personal events like dinner at Hut 10, racquetball, making pop can camping stoves (I'm currently on an ultra-light backpacking kick, thinking about travels to come), or band practice.

Botanical Gardens, Christchurch, Canterbury. The smell of flowers is only a vague memory.

You may recall that I've been in a band over the winter, McBand. We were gigging every other weekend for a while. We even went international and played at the Kiwi station. It was getting to be too much by the end, and I have to admit that I was a little relieved when two of the primary members, Kish and Jimmy, left at Winfly, thus ending the tour, not that they won't be sorely missed. It was just a lot of work to be a roadie, a soundman, recording engineer, and a performer all at once. We had to set up and tear down the entire sound system for each show: PAs, mixers, monitors, amplifiers, microphones, cabling, etc. Between McBand, E Minor's Daughter (my folk duo with Jen), and my solo acoustic act, I think I've played every venue on the island now: the Carp Shop, the MEC, the Library, Gallaghers, the Coffee Shop, the Tatty Flag, Derelect Junction, the VMF, the Galley, the BFC. Holy crap!

Mt. Maunganui, Bay of Plenty. Surfing!

Anyway, I swore not to get involved in another band here, just to have more free evenings, but now I find myself joining an Irish punk band complete with fiddle player. Well, at least it's a change. And it should only be a few tunes, specifically for "Winstock" in a couple weeks, our winter/winfly version of "Icestock".

Somewhere between Wanaka and Haast, Otago. Camping!

It occured to me that a long time ago I intended to put some McBand recordings on Surlyjam. Well, I finally did it. I've put some of the better takes up, as well as my version of the Gourd's version of Snoop Dogg's "Gin and Juice", which was a big hit this winter.

French Pass, Marlborough Sounds, Marlborough. Rolling green hills!

It also occurs to me that we had a continent-wide winter film festival that I've failed to document here. Traditionally, McMurdo and Scott Base do a 48 hour film festival over a long weekend in winter. This year, for the first time, the invitation went out to all the wintering residents on the continent, and we had film submissions from many stations: Casey (Australia), Halley (U.K.), Mawson (Australia), Neumayer (Germany), Rothera (U.K.), and SANAE (South Africa), as well as several from McMurdo and Scott Base. The first International Antarctic Film Festival. Most of them were surprisingly good.

Rotorua, Waikato. Huck! (No mom, that's not me... winking emoticon)

The films had to be done within a 48 hour period, and several randomly-drawn requirements had to be included. This year's requirements were a cardboard box, an FNG or new guy, a bodily noise that is not speech, and the line "What do you mean you want a day off for Mid Winter?"

Antz, who has spent several winters here, wrote a bunch of funny lyrics about the initial allure of Antarctica and the rapid decline to the state we're in now, much assisted by the fact that we all have to do dishes every few weeks. With the help of McBand, it became a song and music video in the film festival. It doesn't seem to want to post here, so it, too, is on Surlyjam. Sidenote: Antz is a Kiwi, so don't expect to understand a word he says.

And I'll leave you thinking about my favorite New Zealand location:

Wharariki Beach, near Puponga, Tasman. Oh, to sit on a beach!

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!!