Now it's November. Gah!
I've finally been adjusting to the change from Winfly to Main Body, so it must be time to leave. I've been offered a job as a radio operator at the Pole from early December through end-of-season in mid-Feb, so all I have to do now is learn how to be a radio operator. No problem!
What it's going to be like - about 220 people in a base designed for 50. Eating in shifts, living in a Korean-War-era tent. The base has 3 bathrooms and showers are 2 minutes twice a week.
What I'll be doing: Talking to lots of people - ok I do that, on a radio - well that's new. I've got some time to train before I go. I'll be talking to field parties, airplanes, construction groups, you name it. Also, since there are so few staff people at Pole compared to here, I'll be responding to fire alarms, providing PC support, filling in logistics paperwork... Pole comms people do what 3 different departments do here.
It'll be busy. They're building a new dome so there's construction traffic, you get extremists skiing in, more whackos sky-diving on New Year's Day (BYO body bag please, stocks are limited), all kindsa stuff. Not to mention, the Pole is at 9,000 feet but since air is thinner at the poles it's the equivalent of 10,000+. Everything is more extreme: colder, dryer, windier. I hear the food's pretty good though. People claim they go there just for the baked goods.
In the meantime, life here is running just fine. Sometimes the weather is good and planes get in and out, sometimes it's been stormy and people sit around and fret. Now it's been good weather for a while and everybody's getting caught up on their schedules. The first skuas have shown up, big brown seagulls with an appetite for anything that vaguely resembles food. There are more seals lying about and a few penguins have trundled past the Ice Runway. Next sunset is Feb 21.