Enjoying Christchurch

I received a surprise this morning when I saw my
friends, Dave and Kelly. Not a surprise that they
were staying in the same hotel as I am since I saw
them the evening before. No, their presence meant
that their flight had been delayed and as a result,
my flight is now delayed since I'm on the flight
after them. Woo Hoo! I had a pretty uneventful
morning as I headed out to the Clothing Distribution
Center (CDC) to pack up a few boxes to send home
and spend some time on the internet before being
issued my Extreme Cold Weather (ECW) gear.
I exchanged some things, which for some reason
the size I was given would have fit me when I was
about 10 years old, but I got my Spring Jacket
(Little Red) which Lynn I discussed whether I would
get this year or not, so everything went smoothly.
I got back to town at about 2pm and it had turned
into a really nice afternoon. Lots of flowers around
since it's Spring here. I enjoyed another meal of
Indian food and called it an early night, but it's nice
knowing I won't have to get up early in the morning
since I know I won't be flying!

I'm in New Zealand

After a very long trip, I'm in New Zealand. More precisely, I'm in
Christchurch. This is my 8th trip flying from the States to New
Zealand and I'm getting ready for my 10th season on the Ice.
Lynn won't be with me this season as she's taking the season off,
staying in Grand Junction. However, I'm sure I'll be very busy and
it will go quickly. As usual, it seems, it's very rainy and cool in
Christchurch. I'm sure that the weather here won't affect the
first flight going out tomorrow, but weather on the Ice might.
I've checked into the Hotel Grand Chancellor. It's a very nice
place and I have lots of room, my own bathroom and television.
Things you definitely can't take for granted in some of the hotels
that are offered when we stay in Christchurch. I went to Countdown
this afternoon and picked up some goodies that I'll want on the
Ice and managed to keep it down to a reasonable price since
everything is very expensive. Blame the stock market on the bad
dollar exchange. When the stock market does well, the dollar does
poorly on the international (and NZ market) Tomorrow is
ECW (Extreme Cold Weather) clothing issue day. It should go
smoothly.

SBN-DEN-LAX-SYD-CHC

After 21 hours of in-air flight time, we made it
to Christchurch. Another summer on the Ice for us.
Sleep was the key word for us as we went to bed at
the Camelot on the Square at 7:30pm and woke up at
6:30am. All is well as we get our small amount of
Extreme Cold Weather gear this morning and then
head out to enjoy as much of Christchurch as we can.

Bring Your Own

We've been informed that starting at WINFLY this
season, the US Antarctic Program will no longer
be issuing the following gear to us:

Extra Socks - Only 2 pair will be issued
Extra Lightweight Underwear
Water Bottle
Sunglasses

All of this is in an effort to cut costs. For one,
I think this is a good idea. I don't work outside
so I don't need the 10 pairs of socks that I would
normally be issued and I only take one pair of long
underwear with me anyway. I take the water bottle
and sunglasses but the last time I used the issued
bottle, I filled it with laundry detergent, and I'm
a bit of a sunglass snob, so I wear my own. What
I do worry about though are brand new folks coming
down for the first time. Most don't have a clue about
what gear they'll need (I remember how I wore my
sunglasses all the time during my first week on the
Ice because I had heard about the ozone hole and thought
it would wreck my vision...old age is doing that on
it's own). I guess it will be a wait and see but
since I don't have to take ten pairs of socks anymore,
I can fill one of my orange bags with something more
useful...like freshies or cheese!

That's Hot

No, this doesn't have anything to do with an overused
phrase by Paris Hilton (who?). It all about Shaun's
parka that caught on fire today. Shaun is a GA (General
Assistant) that today was working on the Water Plant
project. Someone was welding and a spark travelled down
an I-beam and landed on Shaun's Carhartt Parka (Big Brown
to some) while it was lying on the ground. Luckily he
wasn't actually wearing it at the time. It instantly caught
on fire. Apparently our ECW (Extreme Cold Weather) gear is
not flame retardant. It caused a minor hubbub in the Plant,
but the fire was eventually extinguished. His goggles
even melted in the pocket. Luckily there are extra parkas
available. Otherwise Shaun would be starting fires every
day just to stay warm