Frozen Dishes : life after the ice
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
Last night at improv rehearsal we were only four strong. We decided to plan out the show. After checking a calendar we noticed that we only have two more practices until the show. The show is scheduled for Oct. 16th. We are pretty much ready, we just need to get our timing down a little better. Currently some of the games just drag on. Everyone is getting excited for the show and perhaps a tad nervous too. This weekend is a two day weekend, the last one of the winter. A birthday party on Friday and a hot dog eating contest on Saturday. Should be loads of fun.
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
Opened the dome door today and was greeted by 28 knot winds. Even though my walk to work is a relatively short one it seemed long today. I chose to wear my glasses today, so those were instantly coated with a layer of frost. Semi blind I stumbled on stopping occasionaly to appreciate being here. I lost my garbage man dish room morning help last week and that has cut into my cooking making time. It's getting close to opening, so he needs to get his poop in a group. But, luckily a few others have been helping out so that I'm not totally swamped when I get here. We had our redeployment meetings last week. Those are just basically meetings to fill out departure paperwork and find out your fly date. My date is Oct. 29th. Not too far off now. The first planes are scheduled to land on the 22nd or 23rd. Usually they get delayed due to weather. Now that people have their departure dates they are getting more anxious to leave. Tuna melts today, historically those have been pretty tasty. After a rough end to last week, the ice cream machine has started this week smoothly.
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Good improv practice last, even with two folks missing. The show is now about a month away. I think we are basically ready. It'll be fun no matter how bad we are though. I know at least we will make each other laugh. But, I think the audience will be entertained too. Talk like a pirate day was fun. Mostly a lot of "arrghs" were muttered. Tonight I am getting together with a few friends to welcome the sun back. Should be a mellow good time. We'll be hiking out to the "sugar shack" to relax and laugh together. {the sugar shack is a cabin like building a bit off station} Today it is -95, -131 w/c, but only 8 knots of wind. So, it feels like a nice day. A great day to take a hike indeed. Tomorrow is the birthday of a guy and people are gathering in the pool room / library to hang out. His girlfriend told us to let him win at pool, naturally we laughed at that. He is pretty good so he will probably win some games anyway.
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Saw a sliver of the sun yesterday evening. The snow in the distance looked like it was on fire. Lovely.
Friday, September 17, 2004
Went for a short hike last night. The sky is getting amazing. Saw a small orange glow on the horizon and some lovely purples on the opposite horizon. It was a calm night, so I was able to stand out there staring at it for a long while. This morning was clear too, so I got to see more gorgeous colors in the sky. I took some pictures and will attempt to post them. Everyone is excited for the two day weekend. There is going to be a BBQ tomorrow night, should be tasty. Don't really feel like working today, but that has been a common theme for me as of late.
Thursday, September 16, 2004
Lost $20 at poker last night. I was up then down and finally down in the end. The cards weren't the best, but I think I could've bet smarter too. I need to get out of hands faster instead of chasing cards that usually don't come around. I still enjoy playing, but I need another winning night to boost my spirits. Almost the weekend. Should be fun. Nothing really planned and that is nice. Today it finally cleared up after weeks of storms that hid the light from us. It's very bright out these days and we are seeing some nice colors on the horizon as well. The sun is due up on the 21st. I hope I can find my shades in my room before next week. Perhaps that will be one of my projects this weekend. Talk like a pirate day is this weekend too. My friend & I are going to be Frnch pirates. We were in a band together during out last winter in mcmurdo (ukulele & theremin magic) and had purchased french sailor shirts as part of our act. Naturally we both brought our shirts with us to the pole. I bought some makeup kits before leaving home and a few of them were pirate kits. So, I've got two eye patches, two pirate-esc hoop earrings and fake mustaches. My friend already has a beard, so I guess I'll have a spare fake mustache.
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Ahh burger day. And this is a true hump day too. A winning combination down here at the pole. The ice cream machine has recovered from its illness and is once again dispensing frozen love of all flavors. I made some of those yummy chocolate cracker treats for dessert today. (made from the recipe Hookmeup sent me) Tasty times ahead for the hungry masses today. We about a week away from seeing the sun now. Everyone seems excited for that. It's already quite bright out. It seems like a long time ago that I saw a star. With the new light you can see what you're tripping over now. Improv last night was a good rehearsal. Almost everyone showed up. We marked off what we think the stage will be so that we can get used to the confinement. We've been talking about how the show will go. It's coming along nicely. Back to the grind for me.
Saturday, September 11, 2004
Bad news from the galley: I just returned from hanging a "no chocolate" sign on the ice cream machine. It started to act up Thursday, but I thought I had solved the problem. Well, obviously not. Today it was squeeling like a stuck pig. I had left the chocolate side off all night to thaw it out and earlier this morning it looked that might've done the trick. But, as the day progressed I could hear that sickening noise all the way in the back of the kitchen. It's been a heck of a run for the ole machine though. I'll clean it out tonight and see what happens next week.
Well, it's Sept 11th today down here. I must admit I will not miss all the TV coverage today. I am lucky to have not lost anyone close to me that day. Love you mom. Tonight there is a special dinner for some folks that helped out on a science project a few months ago. I got invited as a guest of one of the people being cooked for. Should be yummy. Yesterday I hit a new booze low. I tried to mix Vermouth and Baileys together in a drink I was going to name "vaileys". It immediately curdled, like a cement mixer. Quite nasty. Why would I try something like that you might ask. We are almost out of all types of booze down here, so new drinks are being concocted every day. One lad is enjoying Jim Beam & Peppermint Schnapps. The only hard booze one finds on the shelf these days is Jim & his friend Jack. I think there are 7 bottles of Jim left. Since I don't drink Cokes anymore, Jack & coke is out for me. The last of the red wine was sold yesterday, we have a little white wine left. Baileys & Kahlua reamin pretty well stocked and we have plenty of Peppermint Schnapps as well as some peach. On a positive note, we do have enough beer to last the rest of the winter, so not all hope is lost. That does me little good as I'm not a big beer drinker anymore. Perhaps Vermouth on the rocks will be the next big rage. Things down here are pretty grim booze-wise.
Wednesday, September 08, 2004
Glorious burger day down here. Some folks are getting tired of having burgers one day a week, but I'm still liking it. So, I got a seat at the poker table for the high stakes game. Ended up losing $80. Not good, but at least I had the control to walk away and not stick around on a bad night to eventually lose $200. Couldn't get any good cards and if I did I ended up splitting the pot with someone else. It was still a fun night though. Sunday we had a nice small brunch for a gal's birthday. Then a few us hiked to a hut a bit off station and hung out with her. It was nice, just chilling drinking vino. Overall a grand weekend. Last night at improv practice there were only four people total. Still managed some laughs, but it would be better to have everyone show up. Show time is rapidly approaching.
Friday, September 03, 2004
Today is a real Friday, as this is a glorious two day weekend for us. No big plans this weekend for me. Probably take a hike on Sunday. Saturday night there is another high stakes poker game, so I might try to get in on that. We've been out of brown sugar for a few weeks up here in the kitchen, but at last it was located out on the storage lines and earlier this week the tractor brought some to the dome. You can't drive the tractors when the temps are -80 or lower, so it takes some planning to get things. Especially considering brown sugar is not a priority compared to building materials. I carried some up from the dome a few days ago and made some cookies today. I was a tad rusty, but they came out good. Made the realiable chocolate chip variety. Hey if anyone lives in a town where Modern Drunkard Magazine is available, check out the latest issue. There is an interview with a chap down here that is hilarious. And there is even a picture of Boozy in the article.
Thursday, September 02, 2004
The clown party / urinal crawl was a huge hit. 16 clowns attended. We even had theme music playing as we toured the dome and new station. The clowns in attendance were: Lucrisious, Bill, Tactical Ninja, Swarthy, Skip the Manager of La Taqueria, Roger, Tickles, Spencer, Demonial de Los Andes, Bangles, Dr. Somethingakoff, Dogman, Coincidence, Honey the Destroyer, BamBam and Boozy. We visited 10 urinals and made a loop back to the bar to watch "Shakes the Clown" and enjoy some BBQ. A good time was had by all. Nobody tried the homemade makeup, but if we have another clown party we will be forced to as the white is now out.
