Frozen Dishes : life after the ice
Friday, January 30, 2004
I sat down with the best of intentions today to post some pictures. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the images to reduce enough to fit. I'll get it figured out and pictures of penguins, the ice cream machine, my hair situation and some other random shots will grace my page soon. This week I've been trying to get my room arranged for the winter. I've made a little progress, but have gotten distracted lately. People keep inviting me to watch good movies. Today's screen demon is Slapshot. A classic and although I've already seen it a few times I'm still going to watch it today. Truth be told I'm a procrastinator by nature and almost any excuse is usually good enough to pull me away from what I was planning on doing. Tonight was a pretty decent work day. I made yogurt for the first time. Won't know if it worked out until tomorrow morning though. The ice cream machine started the evening like a champ and then it kicked the bucket. Our talented tech has a new plan in the works. He is having the holes in the air orifices enlarged. Sounds like a winning plan to me.
Monday, January 26, 2004
The film festival was awesome. There were some very creative projects shown. The honey bear flick made a strong showing. Lots of laughs, especially during the sex scene. The martinis were quite tasty as well. After the second showing of the films I went dancing at the bar. Good way to end the night. I was a tad sleepy today at work, no surprise there. This too may not come as a surprise, the ice cream machine was giving frozen grief today. Chocolate was dispensed, but vanilla was not.
Friday, January 23, 2004
Tomorrow after work we are havnig a toga birthday BBQ to celebrate my birthday and the birthday of a fellow night shift worker. Should be a fun, albeit chilly event. Couldn't get out of the weeds tonight no matter what I tried. A long day, but I survived. After three weeks of no mail we finally received some yesterday. I got some music I had ordered a while back. Very excited to have new tunes in the kitchen. We'll be working to the smooth sounds of Dee-Lite tomorrow and that promises to be a good night. The "Bullit" soundtrack will also be spun. News from the ice cream world is grim. Today it froze up and started to sound real bad. The vanilla might be down again.
Thursday, January 22, 2004
Can't wait for Saturday. That's when the film festival happens. Rumors of a martini bar are floating around. That would be yummy. There are two showings and if I can wake up in time for the first one I'll attend both. I want to see if people laugh at my flick. I like it so in the end I don't really care what anyone else thinks. Of course I truly want everyone to love it. The people that have seen a sneek preview have enjoyed it, so I think it will be well received. Something that hasn't been well received lately has been our buddy the ice cream machine. Two days now it has sat empty. The fearless and dedicated tech is keeping it empty until he can give the winter-over techs a lesson on how to maintain the beast. He leaves in three weeks and must now pass on his knowledge. People are anxious for the frozen love, but meanwhile our talented baker is keeping them plenty full of other dessert treats.
Tuesday, January 20, 2004
Well, I'm back from my vacation in the big city of mcmurdo. Lots of fun was had there. Even got to make out with a beautiful girl on my birthday. Definitely the highlight of my trip. Some friends threw me a surpirse birthday party and I was indeed clueless about it. A good time, especially when I got to kiss the girl I've had a crush on for a while. Did some quailty partying there and the improv show turned out great. Lots of laughter from the crowd. I did a guest radio show and it was awesome to be back on the air again. Apparently I've been slacking on answering some questions, sorry about that. Alright, here come the answers: Howard: in the deer photo I'm the guy wearing the brown jacket third from the right. I first heard of this program from a friend who had a friend coming down here. From there is was just a matter of applying and pursuing the job. It took me a few tries to get here, but once you're in you've got a good chance of returning. You asked why I thought of coming here, mostly for the adventure of seeing somewhere new. Had to come here and see what it was all about. Plus, the travel afterwards was quite appealing. Once a person completes a contract here they get dropped off in NZ with an open ended free ticket home. A pretty sweet deal that I just couldn't pass up. Tickledspirit: you asked how I ended up selling ice cream at the south pole. I don't actually sell it, I just help maintain the machine that dispenses it for our hungry diners. If I did sell it I'd be retiring a rich man for sure. Likewise: how do we keep from getting lost outside? This isn't a big problem. There are certain times you have to check out, carry a radio and go with a buddy, but only at mcmurdo is this true. Here at the pole we can't really go on any long walks that would require a buddy system. Although we do have to carry a radio on certain trips. Also, I will soon take a picture of the beloved ice cream machine. Demonicangel: you asked if I had seen any penguins. I just saw my first ones whilst I was on vacation. Soon I will post those shots too. Mycorner.motime asked when the moon shines here. Currently we are in 24hr daylight. The sun will set sometime in late Feb or early March. Then we will see the moon. A lovely sight for sure. Then the sun returns in late October. Soon the hair growing contest will start up. I finally took a current picture and will post the bald shot and the new one in the near future. Just got to download the ole camera. Thanks for all the great welcome messages from everyone as well as the birthday regards. I'm happy to report coming home to a fully functional ice cream machine. Tomorrow it's getting a light overhaul too. That should make it run smooth for quite a while or at least that's the plan.
Saturday, January 17, 2004
Well today I turn another year older. The wiser part of that saying is still up for debate. This is the fifth time I've rung in my birth day at lovely mcmurdo. As always it will be nice to be with so many good friends. I thought for sure I'd be at the pole this time around. Tonight might be a long one if I'm not careful. Got to keep an eye on me booze intake or at least the speed of said imbibing. Good news: this past Wednesday I got the joy of seeing my first penguins. A heard of 22 were walking on the ice just outside of town, a short hike away. Cool little creatures. Pictures to follow once I get back home to download them. Earlier tonight at the bar I played some shuffle board. A favorite antarctic game of mine. Good to toss the pucks around again. Last night was the improv comedy show. Turned out to be an awesome time. I was rusty compared to the group members that had been practicing all summer, but it was still fun. The audience seemed to really enjoy themselves, so the laughter was flowing easily. The ice cream machine here continues to hold strong & I haven't even seen a tech tickling it with tools yet. I can't help but wonder how the old gal back at the pole is doing. When I left it was once again giving out chocolate and vanilla. Which of course means the ever so popular twist flavor is back in the rotation. Smiles everyone.
Thursday, January 15, 2004
Hola all. I arrived yesterday at marvelous mcmurdo station to begin my glorious vacation. So far not too bad. Just hanging out with some old buds and enjoying not working. I'm a little nervous because tomorrow is the improv comedy show & I've been roped into doing it with the group. I performed with the the group last year and had a blast. But, I'm rusty and not feeling overly confident in my abilitly to be quick and whitty. Always good to make an ass out of yourself every now and then. Tomorrow is an excellent oppurtunity for me to do just that. I celebrate my birthday this Sat. I must admit I love having the big day fall in the weekend. A shame to be away from the pole for my b-day, but the lovely girls I work with in the galley back at the pole have said we'll have a belated party once I get back. A good deal pour moi. I haven't tried any ice cream here yet. Although it seems like the main machine is working fine.
Monday, January 12, 2004
Let me tell you, I woke so happy knowing my movie is in the can. What a good feeling that is. Kind of a long day today though. I got burned while making the bagels. Nothing too serious, but those three fingers still smart. Then I ended up working an extra half hour. Guess what I was doing...Yep messing with my good buddy the ice cream machine. I couldn't get to the cleaning earlier in the night, so I had to do it this morning. Well, I forgot about it until 20 minutes before I was to leave. So, really it was my own fault and that certainly didn't help. The lovely thing is sparkling clean now and once again it sits empty. The chocolate side went down during dinner. So, our fearless tech is going to operate today. Good news though, tomorrow I leave for my r&r in mcmurdo. Can't wait. One more shift tonight than I'm out the door for a week of debauchery. I've got heaps of friends there (I've spent four previous seasons there) so I should have no problem keeping entertained. They have two ice cream machines there. I wonder if they are as big of a pain in the arse as the beast here. Somehow I know they are.
Sunday, January 11, 2004
Last night after work I went to the bar to smoke a celebratory cigar, celebrating the completion of my movie. All the scenes were in order, the editing done complete with some smooth transitions and it looked good. I still needed to add the soundtrack, but figured this would be an easy as pie thing to do. So, I spent the night boozing & smoking thinking all was well in movie land. Well, turns out I still had about 6 hours of work ahead of me today. Fear not though, I am now 100% done and completely relieved. It turned out good if I do say so myself. Speaking of movies, watched "Cool Hand Luke" the other day while I procrastinated working on the honey bear movie. Definitely one of the best flicks ever. I ordered the soundtrack once I found my way to a computer. Sorry to report the dreaded ice cream machine is still only giving out chocolate. Maybe when I clean it tomorrow I'll put vanilla in the working side.
Thursday, January 08, 2004
In case you didn't know today is Elvis's birthday. In honor of the big day, myself and a few fellow night shift workers this morning dined on jelly donuts, root beer floats and fried peanut butter & banana sandwiches. I had to abstain from the float, because I gave up sodas after leaving the states on my way here. I'm posting a photo of my new home. I live in the silver dome and the other building is the new station being constructed. The dome is being buried under drifting snow, so a new pad is needed. The new station is being built on hydraulic stilts that will keep it above ground for many years. At least that is the theory. Worked on the honey bear epic last night. Editing is going to be a slow process for sure. I'm shooting for completion this weekend. That way I can party guilt free. Per suggestion from a buddy of mine I've started to conduct short interviews at the dish window. Today's question: How's it going? The most popular response was "pretty good, but I'm tired". (10 hour, six day work weeks tend to do that to people) Got a few "looking forward to r&r" from some winter overs. And one guy said "well I haven't killed anybody yet". A good day indeed. Tumultuous ice cream machine update: Still no vanilla love. It's been a few days now, but the chocolate treat is keeping the savages at bay. Once the chocolate is lost, so will be all hope.
Tuesday, January 06, 2004
Tried to watch Trainspotting after work, but my flick got cut short by a meeting held in the same room as the VCR. I lost out in that power play. Probably a good thing though, because I should be working on editing the honey bear movie. It's due in a week. I downloaded it onto my computer a couple of days ago and have been procrastinating ever since. I made sure to allow myself the ability to edit in my room. Merely to save the people in the computer room the agony of watching me struggle. Plus, now I can curse like a sailor when things go north. Speaking of going north, I'll be traveling about 820 miles north next week for rest & relaxation. Anyone spending the year here gets a week of r&r to get ready for the winter. Our vacation spot is another research station called mcmurdo. Mcmurdo is a much larger station than pole, so entertainment is more bountiful. Not too mention it's a lot warmer there. I heard talk of +40 recently. Some of the amenities offered in that big city: a few hikes to be hiked, 3 different watering holes, new people to meet and a shower every day if desired. People here are allotted 2, 2 minute showers a week. Scary but true, some people turn down this golden oppurtunity for a trip out of town. Believe you me I will not be one of those folks. McMurdo is not paradise by any stretch, but a week off work sounds pretty good to this camper. There is a group heading out today on for their r&r. That was the meeting that interrupted my movie. That room was full of smiles. Sorry to report there were no such smiles at the ice cream machine tonight. Vanilla was knocked out of the game early. Freezing up despite the valiant efforts of our faithful tech. Now there's a guy that deserves r&r.
Monday, January 05, 2004
Happy 2004 to all. This past weekend we celebrated the year new with a grand party. The best part about the engagement was the live music that tickled our ears. A scarce thing around these parts. Two bands played. Both were excellent and got the crowd dancing. Sangrias were enjoyed at a pre-party thrown by one of the work centers near the party. Very tasty, dangerously so if you catch me drift. We have a boy scout here at the moment and to the delight of all he sung a few tunes. He is a true rock star. If there truly is a rock star merit badge, and I hope to God there is, that evening he earned his with flying colors. I dressed up as a Den Leader for the party. The truth of the matter is we desperately needed a corrupt scout around to offset his good nature. A few days ago I rang in the official new year at the pole with about 20 other people. Some were, like myself, on breaks from work and others were of course coming from the bar or other parties. Intoxicated or not everyone was festive. Around 11:30 one of my co-workers decided to make party hats out of cardboard and tinfoil for the night kitchen crew. Be assured we were the envy of all with our cool lids. I hope the new year has greeted everyone better than it has our beloved south pole ice cream machine. When I arrived at work tonight I discovered a machine that was turned off. A bad sign indeed. Gave it a go at dinner, but it didn't last long. After only a few patrons had drained some of its' frozen cargo, it gave up the ghost and had to be shut down. I left it devoid of all product after cleaning it tongiht. Is there anything sadder than an empty ice cream machine? I hope not. Tomorrow the heroic tech will perform surgery yet again. It had a few days where it was graciously dispensing frozen love in the guise of ice cream, but alas that run has ended. A bad start to the year for the machine. That my friends does not bode well for the ice cream business in 2004.
