Dog Days of Summer

11-14-11

We lost a shuttle driver today...Brian had a bad slip out on the ice runway and hurt his knee quite bad. X-rays here showed he had chipped his patella. He got medevacced on the next flight out to Christchurch for and MRI. We're still waiting to hear if he will be coming back or not.

Went out for a little walk near the obtube to check for seals coming out of the ice. I got really lucky and heard some heavy breathing. I followed it over to a hidden hole (hidden under big chunks of ice) and saw a cute little seal poking his head out, with icicles on his whiskers, getting some air.

11-15-11
6 new drivers arrived on the C-17 today. This is our last group of new drivers, unless Brian can't come back in which they will send out for one of the alternates. Today I was training Allanah, a geologist/chemist from New Mexico.

Tonight was volleyball, and we had just an amazing set of games. It was one of those times when you have a lot of good players and the teams are evently matched and each game is intense. Typically volleball is from 7 to 8:30, but last night we played from 7 to 10:30 (the bedtime I aim for is 9!) b/c it was just so good. Missed out on spanish too, but the v-ball was just too fun.

Today was the first day it went above freezing. A whopping 34F. It's crazy, 34 degrees right now feels so incredibly warm. It's easy to just walk around in jeans and a t-shirt and still be warm. Probably in part b/c the air is dry and the sun intense, a lot like Colorado. But not expected to be above freezing the rest of the week.

11-16-11
Busy day after work. Pickleball, basketball, and trivia, led by Dan.

11-17-11
They want to build this bridge outside our building that goes over some fuel pipes so that it is safer and we don't slip on the pipes. Right now though it's all covered in snow, but the kiwis who are supposed to build the bridge are leaving soon, so it needs to be done before the snow all melts. Shuttle Bill sent out some of the new folks to go dig it out, but after 15 minutes he came in over the radio, and said "nah, it's not gonna work, we'll have to hope mother nature helps" But in the afternoon, he came into the office and said, "Hey junior, grab and pick and a shovel and get out there" He sent me out for an hour b/c I had driving to do, but then after an hour he came out and told me he got someone to cover my next 2 and a half hours of ice runway shuttle. By the end of the day I was pretty exhausted, but I had managed to clear out most of the huge drifts and snow around the pipe.

Went to the coffee shop for an open mic night that had some pretty good bands and musicians.