Frozen Dishes : life after the ice
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Tonight I'm meeting with a few friends to practice sign language. I learned a little my first winter here, but have done nothing to further my knowledge since. So, I figured it was time to pick it up again. I was hoping to learn Swahili this winter, but I did not have the book & tapes I thought I had packed. A bummer as I am thinking of heading to Africa after this winter. My volleyball team also takes the court tonight. So, I've got a busy night ahead, but that is good. Keeps me off the streets and out of trouble. Tomorrow night we bowl again too. I don't know the other guys on this team very well, so my subversive note posting has been limitied to a minimal effort. This Friday night we are hosting a free calzone deliver night. The chow is free, but donations are encouraged. The cash will go to a childrens charity in NZ. So, "it's for the kids". That is one of my favoirte sayings to use while I am here. Everything can be for the kids. I'll be making the calzones instead of delivering this time. I always enjoyed telling people when they tipped, come on it's for the kids can't you give a little more. But, my good buddy will be cooking next to me, so it will undoubtedly prove to be fun. We are meeting in my room for a pre-chef warmup meeting. Just to get us in the proper mind frame to "cook for the kids". Today is a windy one. Good day to work on inside tasks.
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
My actions at this past Sunday's poker game proves that I am no oracle. I had better hands, but not better than one other hand in every hand. Not good. I bowed out early and was home around 10. I'm pretty sure reading and getting some solid sleep is not an even excahnge for the $25 bucks I left on the table, but it didn't hurt. On Friday my bowling team won our match. I ended up crawling over 100. Which wasn't a big shock when I realized I had only 10 pins at the close of frame 2. Not my best work. The other team was flipping us just as much flack as we had given them all week. Throughout the week various signs appeared about the station that foretold of a certain victory by my team. Per usual when mischief is about my name gets dropped. Naturally I was implicated in this sign posting scheme. Not a good overall team score for us. It turns out that I was merely the second worst bowler on my team that night. I managed to get 112. I edged out the low bowler by a few pins. Then that same guy, following our game turned around in the next match, bowled on another team and threw a 192. Alas, my stray cats doo didn't quite pan out. I ended up with a pretty good spike facing straight out which I liked,but the tip of it wouldn't hold . It's time to try another approach as far as the goop I put in my hair. We bowl again on Thursday. Looks like I've got plenty of time to work out that pressing hair issue. Saturday was a grand day. Work went smooth and I would venture to call it productive as well. Later that night the Kiwis hosted a polar plunge party complete with an amazingly tasty barbeque. The Kiwi base is where the hole in the ice that people jump into resides. Also by the hole is a waist harness, tied to a rope and the hole even has a ladder for use to when rapidly exiting the cold water. So, it feels like a relatively safe thing to do, maybe a bit risky and obviuolsy quite cold. Shoes are required, but anything else is your call. Nudity has historically seemed to be the best way to plunge as some articles of clothing might freeze during the dash back to the changing hut. I didn't go swimming this time around. I like to take the mid winter dip. It seemed quite a few folks did jump that eve though. They all looked exhilarated and a tad frozen. After the delicious meal I caught a shuttle and cruised back over the pass. I made my way to a party the galley was throwing. Lots of fun to be had at that shindig. Although at one point the team of girls beat the good guys in a game called battle of the sexes. Close game, but that mattered not at the end. A bit later some of us made our way to the bar to play some darts. My aim was poor and I ended up making only a few decent shots. Good thing my teammate was throwing well. After last call we returned to the galley party for a mellow close to the night. Took it easy Sunday afternoon before eventually making my way to the poker table at 8.
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Whilst in the shower last night I experimented with new styles for my hair. I think I've got a good Stray Cats look going on if I choose it. Perhaps that will be my bowling doo. On this past Sunday I helped out the DA's for a few hours in the dish room. It was a tad busier than my pace at the pole, but I kept ahead of the game for the most part. Later that same day a few of us gathered to play poker. I lost $30. Not a great start, but next time I'm sure my cards will be better.
Saturday, April 16, 2005
The mohawk turned out fabulous if I do say so myself. I was surprised about how long it took to get it right though. I had a friend do the clipper work and I did the fine tuning with the razor. I didn't find any hair gel, but my friend's girlfriend had some hair wax that seemed to be good stuff. I put a ton of it in my hair & all it did was make it heavier than it already was. It would not stand up. True, I was getting a sweet ass Flock of Seagulls look, but not was I was after. I rubbed some of the wax out and luckily my neighbor had some hairspray. That with the wax did the trick. It stands a little over six inches tall. I got a few shots of it last night and will work on getting them posted. People like it and I'm glad I decided against the mullet now. Of course I can't wear the mohawk during the day because my hat wouldn't fit. I can already feel the difference heat-wise on the shaved sides of my head. I'm keeping this look for a week and then cutting it into varous shapes until the eventual head shave. Someone suggested that I cut just a few thin strips and make a comb over. That is sure to look horrible. My bowling team won last night and we had a really fun team to bowl with. I rolled a 125. Not bad, but I'm hoping to get a bit higher in the next match.
Friday, April 15, 2005
Tonight is a big bowling match. I work with one of the opposing teams players and I've been leaving him subversive notes all week. That has been quite fun. My team always meeets up in my room for our pre-match team meeting. We meet there for a number of reasons. One it is close to the lanes, two it is a spacious room and three I'm the only single guy on the team. So, it is the perfect spot for us to gather for a few cocktails before heading to the alley. I'm planning on shaping my mop of hair into a mohawk today at 3 o'clock break. Currently, after my year of growing at the south pole, my hair is shoulder length. So, I figure it will make a wicked tall mohawk. I don't have any hair gel, so I'll be hunting for that stuff later today. I also plan on getting some egg whites at lunch to help it stand up. Good thing I've got connections in the galley.
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
Trimmed down to the pencil thin stache last night. It didn't go as well as I had hoped. I ended up chopping off the ends more than I would've liked to. So, the stache now doesn't even reach the corners of my mouth. It's coming off tonight. I think this weekend it will be time to shave the head again. Time to start anew with the hair. The only bad thing is now my head might be a tad chilly on the windy days. My digital camera is not working at the moment, but I do have a polaroid, so if I can track a scanner down I'll get some photos up soon. Volleyball game tonight. Hopefully my team will get into a good rhythm tonight and we will be able to do some bump, set & spiking instead of the second hit over play.
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
No winner has been declared in the moustache contest as of yet. I didn't have time to bust out the pencil thin variety, so I just went down to the cop or narc style. I'm planning on shaving into the pencil thin tonight though. Then it'll be time to cut this mop of hair again. My bowling team got beat last week. Not by much, but it still sucked. We have another match this week. There was a disco party this weekend at the bar. Good times and it was fun to dance again. Unlike the pole people don't really dance at the bar here unless there is a band or a dance party. It was good to see the ladies out on the dance floor getting down. I've got my radio show tonight, but am feeling quite unmotivated.
