Last Flight Out

Having spent the entire Summer season in Antarctica before my first Winter, when it came time for that last plane to leave, I wasn't sure what to expect. As you may recall, I was somewhat expecting a profound sense of isolation. As it turned out, it was one of the most interesting, stable and community involved times of my life.

It is interesting to note the difference in my expectations for this Winter. Like most winterovers, I was somewhat relieved to be settling in with the final crew. I am more than ready to wrap a security blanket of darkness and solidity around my shoulders and hunker down into my own little winter world.

Still, this Winter holds it's own possibilities, mysteries and new experiences. And that is definitely something worth toasting.

At 13:30, the Winter crew gathers at the Chalet
to sip some bubbly and wave goodbye to the
final flight out of McMurdo for the next six months.

The NSF Station Representative gives the toast.

Shandra pours and hands out the champagne.

Fellow winterovers, awaiting a visual of the plane.

Justin and Jen sippin' on the bubbly.

Jenn - nervous? excited? or just practicing her penguin puff up?

Clay, whose smile tells us he's quite happy that some people aren't wintering.

Janette. Doesn't she make carhartts look so ski-lodge-chique?

Ahhh yes, me with my Wookie gloves (Beaver)
that Bamma leaves me for the winter.
Nothing goes so well with champagne than Wookie.

Kris rocks the Jackie-O glasses.

Kelli with those sassy safety
glasses that we all know and love.

"Oh really," Larry seems to say.

No wonder Shandra volunteered to pour!

Cathy, Ryan and Brooks looking chill.

Sean and DJ clad in brown are mellow dudes about the town.

Todd, Jonathan and A-Con.

Zachary wonders exactly what he might be getting into
while Larry stands by amused by it all.

Troy and Amanda are about to lose it...already!

Cara got a heads-up fashion tip on proper
"Last Flight" attire from the aliens last night.

Karen, Keri and Kris are excited for summer people to leave!

Poo-Baca is already off his rocker.

Bye Bye plane!

Larry takes a moment to reflect and raises a glass to Winter!

And now...we're in the capable hands of these folks.

Welcome to Winter.

Same Continent, Same Town, Same Room

My main pad while in McMurdo was in B155, Room 127. Which is where, by some miracle and a little blessing from the Housing Gods (ha!), I landed upon arrival. I did, however, have a few (2) less-than-excited roommates I would be sharing the room with for a few days before they departed.

Surprisingly, these less-than-excited roommates actually went down to the housing office to complain about my presence as they needed the THREE EXTRA BEDS in the room to pack. TO PACK! Because they were leaving in two days. Really? Thankfully, when I went to housing to discuss this ridiculous issue, they agreed that I should not and did not have to move. WHEW! There is nothing I'd rather do less than schlep my 150 lbs. of crap all over station after just having travelled half way around the world. Anyhow, I was relieved I was able to stay in my winter room.

After my less-than-excited roommates left station, I was more-than-happy to clean up and have the room all to myself. I had the foresight to take before pictures and will, of course, post the final pictures once I have everything set up.

This is my temporary bed, covered in all my crap, above and below!

The other beds, filled with more
of my crap and my lovely fake plant that Bamma
kept for me over the summer season!

More beds and a wee bit of homemade shelving.

The wardrobe, refrigerator and desk. Glamorous, no?

The desk. However, the most important item in this photo
is the iPod player, which was the first thing I set
up before I started cleaning and moving furniture around.

Wow, I really do have a lot of crap!

I turned two of the beds into a couch, the patchwork pillows
were made and loaned to me by Bamma!

Furniture moves and stacks!

The Bed. These mattresses are about as comfortable as those
sleeper sofas with the metal bar right in the middle of my back.
However, I will be borrowing some extra mattresses from MC from
his upstairs room, which happen to be much nicer.

Sometimes crap piles just migrate from one side of the room to the other!

Bamma came over for a dinner date!
All in all, I am very lucky to have gotten directly into my room AND to have my roommates leave so soon. Sadly, some winterovers are still waiting to get settled. For now, I'm still unpacking and trying to decide what home will be like for the next eight months.