dantarctica

Due to some extenuating circumstances, I spent about 3 months at McMurdo Station on Ross Island…ANTARCTICA. During that time I attempted to write my first blog to capture what I was experiencing, please enjoy those posts below.

quick aside: I am not being elusive about the “extenuating circumstances” it is just that I have outlined them in embarrassingly gruesome details on a post from the archived blog: antarctica:

I have changed sites and largely abandoned that blog, but I’ve pulled along the content ever since. In this most recent endeavor, I have even gone through to clean up the links to photos and attempted to use higher resolution photos that I had not posted previously. I, mainly, left everything untouched (even some blatant typos) but did update a few thing here and there so it is not exactly the same, but pretty darn close.

I took a picture of myself every day because one of the things I was doing was not cutting my hair or beard. I’ve probably had a dozen beards since then, but that was my first. It is chronicled here:

New Zealand

I made it back to New Zealand. It is almost 9pm here and I can’t wait to get to sleep in a comfy bed and for as long as I want, but I have to find some food first.

(emotional roller coaster)

I know I signed off and maybe no one will read this, but I am still in Antarctica. I was supposed to leave this morning. The flight I was supposed to be on was put on a 24hr delay from Christchurch.

signing off

Leaving Antarctica is going to be… bittersweet

travel plans

Well, I won’t be in front of a computer very much more in the short time that I am down here. So this is going to probably be one of my last posts.

short timer

The American Tern left today. I had to get up at 6:30am on my last day off to fulfill my duties as a line handler. Remember how I said it’s feeling colder to me, well this morning was a great example of that.

boring

I don’t have a lot to say about today. That seems to be a recurring theme, you didn’t think this would be interesting the entire time did you? (OK, I might have thought that too…) Things are really winding down and I’m having to start thinking about my departure and what needs to happen.

not much

It has seemed cold the last few days. Colder and colder. I have to wonder if this is the beginning of the winter weather returning or if it’s just another temporary cold spell.

dook blue

I don’t know if you noticed the color of the building in the picture from yesterday, but most buildings here are a similar drab color. Lots of different earthy, brown tones.

list

I thought you should know that McMurdo (MacTown, that’s what us cool locals call it) made it on an infamous list: Worst Cities to Work in IT: International Edition. I honestly don’t think it’s all that bad here.

quality

Sorry to leave you hanging again. But once again, I don’t have a lot to report. The ship is here and offloading now which means trucks, tractors, graters, loaders, lifters, cranes, etc are rumbling around 24hrs a day.