Tons of snow

Okay, so apparently I have carpal tunnel after all. It isn't worrying me too much, though, since it doesn't seem to be getting worse, maybe even better. This is in ADDITION to something else I have too. At least I got carpal tunnel from work like hammering and shoveling instead of something like computers. I don't use computers much in a day. Sometimes just long enough to check email and failblog.org and notalwaysright.com, or I'll bring my computer down to the kiosk and do all that, plus chat online and upload photos and write these blog entries for an hour or so.


The other day my supervisor asked me to go check on the NASA moon habitat to make sure it wasn't ripped or broken or anything. Kinda neat. There weren't any warning signs around it, like "NO PHOTOGRAPHY" or "NO ENTRY" or "GO AWAY" or anything, so I poked at it and eventually went in. The thing is VERY firm, I supposed that is so it doesn't collapse, since it is just a large inflatable tent. As I could see no damage or any loose ropes from the outside, I went in. Getting through the door is awkward, since it is like a big, thick padded quilt. You unzip it and it kinda goes limp and you wrestle with it while climbing in. Later I noticed their zippers do not appear to be air-tight, so I suppose that isn't being tested in this prototype yet. Then there is ANOTHER door like the first to climb though. I noticed the place had lots of cameras. I guess they keep track of who comes and goes. The room was set up with a heater and computer equipment. I looked around, didn't touch anything, and left. But not before getting a few photos. Job well done!


The other day we headed out south past the Kiwi base to set up the I-Hut for Happy Camper. We had to unpack a large stack of parts by hand, since the fork was broken, and then assemble a tent structure thing on a large berm of snow. Partway through this I looked south towards White Island and Black Island, and remembered people having told me that if you ever see a storm down there, you had roughly one or two hours before it hits you.
Sure enough a couple hours later during lunch, the storm hit. We had to stop grilling our turkey or peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches and run outside, strapping down the large things and putting away the smaller ones either in the little red apple hut or into a Pisten Bully.

I had a little too much fun in the storm. I wound up cackling as I ran back and forth through the blowing wind and snow. I was told it was a Condition Two, but it kinda felt like a Condition One towards the end when it was really blowing and you could no longer see the nearby mountains or even Scott Base up north. I was warm there whole time, absolutely no chill anywhere at all.

Afterwards I wound up back at town. The weather tends to be better in McMurdo than it is down on the sea ice since we're somewhat surrounded by hills and such, and the ice is just big, flat, and open. At one point I was back shoveling off a winter's worth of snow from a large storage deck behind the Carp Shop. I had been working on that off and on for several days in between other tasks. I stopped and stared at it later, and realized I had probably over a ton of snow. All moved by hand, with a couple shovels and a broom. All by myself. Kinda a neat accomplishment. In that photo above, the pile is deeper on the left end where the ground slopes down into the other cargo boxes. Shoveling that much snow will keep you warm.


Yesterday I didn't go back out to help with the I-Hut, since I finally had my turn at Dining Attendant duty. Since mainbody isn't here yet, we don't have the full compliment of DAs and Janitors, so everyone gets to take a turn or two or three or four at DA duty and House Mouse (dorm cleaning). I've had House Mouse twice now. Well, since I couldn't go back out to the I-Hut, they sent me down to work at another shop during the day, which I found weird since I could have spent the day shoveling off new snow from the previous day's fall and painting an outhouse or two. Down at the UT shop I found out that apparently I was being scheduled to work there for TWO WEEKS and no one bothered to tell me. Oh well. I wound up helping the people in Main Supply inventory all the used motors that wound up on shelves during the winter. Not back working in there, and I'm about halfway through that task, but today I had to throw on a mask so I would stop inhaling dust and sneezing constantly, and later on I found out my face was filthy from all that dust, which was saturated in oil and grease from the motors. With luck I can wind up working in there permanently, its a cool place.


I found out that one of the guys I had DA duty with, and who is in the UT shop, is from the Czech Republic, which is cool!


Speaking of mainbody, they are not here yet. The first flight was supposed to be Monday, but weather caused them to turn around (boomerang). Then I think they canceled it three times now. Hopefully they get here tomorrow, since I want to see the new people (and not have to have House Mouse again). They're also backed up, second flight is already waiting. Since they can't fly down, they get to wait in Christchurch, expenses paid by Raytheon.