Biggest Loser - First Weigh In

Today was our first weigh in for Biggest Loser - Antarctica. There are four other women in my category all determined to win that big money pot. There is the baker who runs six days a week and has no desire to eat what she makes for the rest of us. Instead she "kindly" displays those calorific delights at every meal to sabotage the weak. There is the cook who's favorite dish is oatmeal and is the leading pound shedder as of our first weigh in. There is the Green House Queen who supplies the nutrients to us all but has the inside track to keeping up the vitamin D with the sun lights she works under. There is the Gym Goddess who works out everyday, has a personal trainer that keeps her constantly moving, and has an intolerance to gluten. And then there is me, the blue shirted kitchen help training to be a Marine Dog Musher with a sugar addiction.

I lost two pounds by scale standards. Small but I have five more months to go and several more push-ups, pull ups, sit ups and miles to run before I'm done. Oh are those cookies . . . . .

Jane Eyre

I’ve just finished reading Jane Eyre. I’ve never read it before and really enjoyed it. It had so many words that I had never seen before that you could really learn one new word a day for a week just in one chapter. I see why Mary enjoys it too. I can’t imagine why I hadn’t read it before. It has conflict, drama, mystery, sexual tension and a happy ending. Hamm . . . Now I’m not so sure Withering Heights holds such a positive outcome. You know the Bronte sisters were all writing around the same time under different names and their father never knew it. I don’t think they told each other either, but I can just imagine the conversations they had once it was revealed they were all writers.

Now I’m not sure what the next book will be. Someone let me borrow Winterdance, a dog sledding book they said I would enjoy and I may take that one up next, or one on reading body language. I can’t decided but I’ve got plenty of time . . . .

Dog Mushing

Now I mentioned a while back about my goals for the winter, and one was to get in shape to be dog musher. Let me elaborate on that for anyone who was curious. At the end of the winter I want to apply for a job in Colorado to be a dog musher. Why? Well several reasons. . . .

1. I get to work around dogs

2. I get to learn a unique skill

3. It is probably one of the most physically demanding jobs that you can do and still enjoy

Now there are several different opportunities to be a dog musher, mostly in Alaska that one can pursue. Why Colorado? Well, it is what I call the Musher Marines. When I was looking at different positions, most listed: must love dogs, cold weather, be in good physical shape. Right. I could do that. But when I came across a certain one I stopped in my tracks. It had a list, a set of specific requirements that you had to be able to do even before you could apply. No more fluff and cuddles, this was hard core. Once you applied, you had to go through a 2 day boot camp, and then you might be offered employment. If you were, you were given three days to accept and the job started a week later.

What a challenge, what a thrill, what a crazy and insane thing to work toward, but what better place then here to do it. I’ve contacted them to see when I should apply, and I have till September to flesh out my application with those necessary requirements. What are they? Well . . .

1. Minimum 40 push ups in a minute (I can do 10 right now and the last three are a real struggle)

2. Minimum 40 sit up in a minute (I can do 30 - total)

3. 12 fully extended pull ups (Yep that a big 0 on that one)

4. Run 2.5 miles under 25 minutes at 8500 feet altitude (can do it 33 minutes without altitude)

5. Run a 50 yard dash in 7 seconds (haven’t attempted)

6. Demonstrate mental acuity under stress and physical exhaustion (ummm yeah working on that)

Think I can do it? I have 23 weeks to work toward it and I’m terrified. I’ve never attempted anything so physically ambitious before. All the jobs I’ve applied required a worked up resume, not a worked out body type. I’m not the most physically active, the idea scares me of failing, but I’m thrilled by the challenge. I have a goal for the winter, a motivation factor with a possible employment pay off. Can I do it? I don’t have a choice, I’ve told people I’m doing it so now its not just in my head.

I imagine myself getting off that plan in Colorado in the best physical shape of my life and I smile. I see myself pitted against the guys and being able to pull through with them. I see me doing it, and I get excited. I attempt a pull up and I get depressed. All I can do is try, and that’s what I am doing. With monthly check in with friends, I’m working toward the most physically ambitious goal I’ve ever set myself up for. There is no coach to report too, or team to rely on. Just me and the determination that I want to be a dog musher. So, here it is for all to see. Come September I’m sending my application off, with a full body picture and a list of the requirements and what I can do. I hope I can beat them. I know I can.

Room Exchange

So you get your own room over the winter, which is an amazing luxury since over the summer I had three roomies (all were wonderful and I thank God for that blessing). Now I wanted to stay in my current room to cut down on moving. Why move when you don’t have too? But seniority trumps want. Based on your amount of time on the ice you get more pull. Since I’m new, no points, no seniority, hence I get moved. My room 208, is on a quiet corner, with a window and easy access to the Gerbil Gym. What else do you need and as you can see it is popular, so I was shuffled out to a smaller inner room in building 155 (the main building so I didn’t have to move far). My new room 219, was a two person room and I had no idea they existed in this building. After arranging the furniture in as fung shi way as possible, I’d made peace with my living quarters and was content. I had a couch, tv, cable, a bed and two wardrobes to store all my stuff. I didn’t need anything else. Although I did miss my window, being able to see out and watch the changing of time, my new room was quiet - With the exception of the wind storm vent, that continually blew. It was like living in a tornado, but at least it was consistent and often drowned out all the noise. There were times the hallway was quieter, but its like the washer going when you take a nap, you get used to it, and if it were to stop you’d wake up.

So I lived in 219 for up to two weeks and like I said, I’d made peace with my room, I was content, but for reasons unbeknownst to me, God gifted a blessing. My old room opened back up. It’s occupant wanting to move to the party hallway, and also out of a dead zone for wireless, offered it back to me now strings attached. I was shocked. I’d get my window back and everyone would be happy. Still, I hesitated. I liked my new room, I knew what the neighbors were like, I knew what to expect. I had no idea what had changed in the corner with new people at 208. Still, the draw of the window, and now a real work out space won out and I moved again. Twice in two weeks. I’m not settled back into my new/old room and I can look out the window to my hearts content. I've got more space than I know what to do with, but I’ve made sure to keep my stuff in the same compartments so I don’t expand and end up with more stuff at the end of winter. I have to remember I’m sending most of this stuff home and that can get expensive.

Coffee Career

Now you all know how much I love coffee right. How I drink it all the time, love the taste, the smell, the warmth that it plays across my tongue. Right? - Wrong. I can’t stand coffee. I have enough addiction to sugar I don’t need to add coffee too it. So I stay away from the stuff. Here it is like a drug that people should really have done intravenously the way they consume it. Regardless of my opinion, being a barista can come in hand in future employment, so I’ve volunteered to become one in the Coffee House here on station. Imagine that in a interview:

“So have you ever worked as a Barista?”

“Yes, but it was a small coffee shop in Antarctica.”

Do you think I’d get the job? Anyways, I’m learning the finer art of espressos, cappuccinos and mochas. I think of you, Luke and Robin, coffee connoisseurs that you are. When I visit, I’ll have to make you an espresso now that I know how. I’m still really shaky on the foaming milk, I think I’m burning it too often, but people are too nice to say anything.

I had one quick over the counter training session in the beginning and then was turned lose. I know I’m not doing it right, but learning by trail and error is still learning. Most of the time the Coffee House is quiet, no one really stops in on my shift. Without customers, I get to blast my music on a wonderful sound system and surf the internet, while sipping Licorice tea (found out its good for inflammation and with working as often as I do, it’s good for the joints - no to mention is an intriguing aftertaste). I like doing it, and I’ve made a few espressos and mochas so far. I’m learning, or at least people are tolerating what I’m making, and I’ve even made a few tips. Again something to build the resume and a skill to impress friends and family when I get home . . . . should we ever get an espresso machine or I work for Starbucks that is.

Video Vixen

I’m getting paid to do the Video Counter this winter. Two hours every week I help with inventory, folding and checking out videos. I like it. It fills in the time and I’m less likely to fill in the hours with sluggish habits. I meet a lot of the community outside of the Galley and find folding clothing meditative. I often think of you Mary, working at Kohl’s folding all those clothes from the changing room. Difference is, there is not time frame for mine. No pressure to finish it. I just do as much as I can in my two hours and then leave it for the next person. So that’s one job I’m doing over the winter for a little extra travel money and socialization.

Volunteering in the Library

I get to continue volunteering in the Library over the winter. I’m so pleased. It is one of the few places where I walk in and immediately relax. It is warm, I know what I’m doing, and most of the time there are only a few quiet people doing puzzles, reading, or surfing the internet. Low stress, low demand, low noise and the place is all mine for two hours. Again, something productive to do over the winter, and to keep me in a routine over the winter. That and I get great access to all the books, and there are tons. I’m not sure where I’ll start, but I now I won’t run out any time soon.

POC of Gear Issue

Do you ever do something and then wonder if you should have? Well, I did that with Gear Issue. Now you all know I was working it over the summer, one hour a week right. Now I’ve asked, and been granted, the position of Person Of Contact (POC) for Gear Issue. In short, I’m running it over the winter. Not sure what I was thinking, but now I’ve done it. The place is a mess, things were just shoved to the back with the close of summer, and now I have to go organize it. Not that I made that part, the problem is there is just too much stuff and not enough space. Even my minimalist self is being tested and nothing is ever removed. We have bike helmets from 1987, games from the 1970’s, and broken equipment just lying around. I’m the worst person for this job because I would just go through and remove, but there are channels to follow, people to contact . . . . So I’m doing that this winter, forming a crew to run the shifts, so it can be open to the community, monitoring return dates and gear movement. I’ve spent the last several weeks just trying to clear a path through the ski forest, but I’m seeing carpet now so there is hope.

Surrounded by Icebergs

The permanent ice shelf has not turned out to be so “permanent”. Remember the pressure ridges, the beautiful formations that are created where the sea ice meets the shelf, well the ice has melted beyond that. It has not melted that far in over 10 years. It has melted so far that our road the runway has cracks and they have to talk a detour around them. What if it melts entirely away so we can’t access the runway people thought. People worried.

Regardless, giant icebergs have continually floated by McMurdo, back out to the major ocean, and to see them is amazing. Such straight edges, like they were cut with a laser. Like puzzled pieces that will fit back together once they bump back into each other. They look like floating platforms that you want to jump from one to the next, like lily pads. You don’t dare, slipping into the water would be deadly, but the child in you longs for such fun. Even our old ice pier has floated away, you’ll see black and red flags on a single iceberg as it floats by and realize that you were probably walking on that piece not too long ago. It is mind boggling how quickly things change, shift, and break away here. One day open water, next day 5 foot think ice skin that you driving a Delta on.

Another stark lesson that proves life is not permanent, and neither is anything around it. Makes you thank God that he allows us each and every day. Because you never know when the solid ground you’re standing on is going to give way and float away or melt beneath you. Nothing is solid except his hold on us, and even then we are the ones that sometimes push him away preferring to leap from iceberg to iceberg in fear, instead of standing on solid ground in his care.

Adeles in Residence

A group of Adele penguins have decided to take up residence not too far outside of McMurdo. I went out today to watch them waddle around and molt, squawk and shake. I staid till I got cold, but enjoyed watching them as they continued their normal routine within my view. I think the novelty of zoos is going to be hard to over come when it comes to Antarctic wildlife. I’ve enjoyed watching God’s creatures without the glass or the bars. Without the tourist traps and cement walk ways. Even in Costa Rica, with the howler monkeys and the vibrant lizards, just watching them move while you stood beneath them, reminded me of what the Garden must have been like. What early man must have experience living among all that was created, great and small. Such awesome respect was give to us, such responsibly for us to look after them, and here I see that. Don’t harm, don’t harass, just watch and admire. Just leave them alone and you’ll be able to witness the beauty of nature. Man does not need to get involved in everything, because there is already a perfect plan in place.

Stranded

Standing out in the cold, surrounded by chattering voices, holding crystal glasses up bubbly, we all waited. Straining to see the runway in the distance, the buildings no more than small specks on the horizon. The time was 1pm and we had gathered to toast the last flight out. This was it, no turning back now. Our last chance to leave was taking flight, and we were all glad to see it go. No more waiting for the winter, it had started. Now the base, filled with 151 people was complete, these were the inhabitants of the island for the next seven months. Friends, foes, crazy, sane, loud, quiet, no matter the personality they were going to be my community for the next 28 weeks and it was thrilling. I was staying the winter. No more doubts about passing tests, losing contracts, or changing minds. Things were settled. Finally.

Suddenly over the radio, a voice broke through “The plane has lifted off.” Silence blanketed the crowd as we all turned and saw a small pill raise into the sky. The Airbus was taking off, and a sit made it’s ascent across the sky, we raised our glasses, and with laughter and good cheer was toasted it away. Good by Summer, hello winter. And now it’s back to work.