Stay Frosty
-C
28 December 2010
Finally working again! Ah what a good feeling!
So I started my new job today. I have been in Spain for only a few days and I can already see that I am going to like it here. The people do not speak as much English as I was led to believe but if I believed all the smoke that was blown up my ass I would have it coming out my eyes, nose and mouth. So like every other contract style work I have done before I was told one thing and come to find out there is a whole lot of fine print but like I say “Don’t sweat the small stuff”. I have been assigned to A shift which would make 4 out of 5 A shifts that I have assigned to, group 3 being the outcast. I am currently living in a hotel which used to be a brothel, interesting to know, and I looking for a place to live since I have to start paying for the hotel myself after 10 days so the clock is ticking. Currently I am the newest fire fighter here and all the other guys have roommates that want them or none if they don’t want any so I think this is going to be an exhausting search. The good news is that I am getting new uniforms, bad news is that they are coming in January not right now. C’est la vie! Well I have to cut this short since I am going to bed now.
Stay Frosty
-C
Written on the 5th of December
Stay Frosty
-C
Written on the 5th of December
Travel part duex
So I am in Atlanta and it is really nice. I finally made it down to the newly renovated E Terminal of the Atlanta Airport. It is really nice although not the nicest I have been in now that I think about it. I would have to say that Detroit Airport is nicer. But neither are by far the nicest in the grand scheme of things but they are the nicest I have visited. So after walking around for a bit I grab some dinner and a brew and on my receipt I find the password to the wireless internet, how nice of them. So I log on and Voila! I am surfing the net. That makes the time go by and it is where I begin to write my last blog entry and the reason I had to cut it abruptly off, it was time to board. But not I am flying on the aero plane and it is dark and I don’t have my charger plugged in so I guarantee that this entry will be cut short as well.
So I was lucky enough to have no one else in my middle row with me but because the plane was only half full people were allowed to seat swap and I have 1 person in front of me, who I guarantee will abruptly lean their chair back and bump my computer during this flight. But it is nice either was since I am on what could turn out to be the adventure of my life, but let’s not get ahead of myself just yet. All of the flight attendants, I think that is correct vernacular anyways speak both Spanish and English which I am assuming would be a requirement since they are flying to Spain, but who knows. Oh it is dinner time so time to go.
Yum Lassssaaaaaagggggnnnnnnnaaaaaaa! Bugger! She just bumped my computer and doesn’t speak English so I cannot tell her to piss off, politely of course. So I am watching the inflight movie and the guy sitting across the aisle from me is laughing hysterically at the same time I am laughing so it makes it more funny and probably making the people trying to sleep around us annoyed. Well the flight is good so far. It hasn’t been bumpy which is good and it is night out so everything is dark which makes the light coming from my laptop screen even that much brighter. And as I look around I imagine that people are staring at me with daggers in their eyes and steam coming out of their ears because they forgot their eye covers. But I only have a little battery left so I am going to continue and they can deal with it.
I am really excited to get over to Spain. It is going to be a whole new experience that I am really looking forward to plus the fact that I get to start working again. Work is coming that I need to do. I began working when I was 15 years old, maybe 14 but who knows. But now that I think about it I know I was 14 since I have tax records from 1996 which would make me 14 but tomatoes/potatoes it really doesn’t make a difference. What I wanted to say is that I have worked a lot and it is something that I feel comfortable doing. It gives me purpose. What kind of purpose I haven’t quite figured out as of right now but I have it. I also have figured out that I am beginning to define my life by my working not but who I actually am but it is difficult since who I am is related to what profession I am currently in. I mean you don’t get into firefighting to make a boat load of money. You don’t work on an ambulance because you really like to health insurance and retirement. You get into it because you want to help people; you want to make a difference. I mean no one ever says thanks for doing a good job until they need you or something happens on a national level and people attempt to justify their own existence by donating food … You know what I am not going down this road. It is a huge issue with me and not one that most people will understand. And plus my battery light is flickering and the pop up window is telling me to plug in my computer or it will shut down. So until later
Stay Frost
-C
So I was lucky enough to have no one else in my middle row with me but because the plane was only half full people were allowed to seat swap and I have 1 person in front of me, who I guarantee will abruptly lean their chair back and bump my computer during this flight. But it is nice either was since I am on what could turn out to be the adventure of my life, but let’s not get ahead of myself just yet. All of the flight attendants, I think that is correct vernacular anyways speak both Spanish and English which I am assuming would be a requirement since they are flying to Spain, but who knows. Oh it is dinner time so time to go.
Yum Lassssaaaaaagggggnnnnnnnaaaaaaa! Bugger! She just bumped my computer and doesn’t speak English so I cannot tell her to piss off, politely of course. So I am watching the inflight movie and the guy sitting across the aisle from me is laughing hysterically at the same time I am laughing so it makes it more funny and probably making the people trying to sleep around us annoyed. Well the flight is good so far. It hasn’t been bumpy which is good and it is night out so everything is dark which makes the light coming from my laptop screen even that much brighter. And as I look around I imagine that people are staring at me with daggers in their eyes and steam coming out of their ears because they forgot their eye covers. But I only have a little battery left so I am going to continue and they can deal with it.
I am really excited to get over to Spain. It is going to be a whole new experience that I am really looking forward to plus the fact that I get to start working again. Work is coming that I need to do. I began working when I was 15 years old, maybe 14 but who knows. But now that I think about it I know I was 14 since I have tax records from 1996 which would make me 14 but tomatoes/potatoes it really doesn’t make a difference. What I wanted to say is that I have worked a lot and it is something that I feel comfortable doing. It gives me purpose. What kind of purpose I haven’t quite figured out as of right now but I have it. I also have figured out that I am beginning to define my life by my working not but who I actually am but it is difficult since who I am is related to what profession I am currently in. I mean you don’t get into firefighting to make a boat load of money. You don’t work on an ambulance because you really like to health insurance and retirement. You get into it because you want to help people; you want to make a difference. I mean no one ever says thanks for doing a good job until they need you or something happens on a national level and people attempt to justify their own existence by donating food … You know what I am not going down this road. It is a huge issue with me and not one that most people will understand. And plus my battery light is flickering and the pop up window is telling me to plug in my computer or it will shut down. So until later
Stay Frost
-C
05 December 2010
From PBI to the ATL!
So I started my travels off today, 29 Nov 2010, by waking up to pitter patter of rain drops on the outside of my windowsill and upon taking a deep breath I am re-vitalized with that fresh clean smell of morning dew on wet grass. As I roll over, onto my back, I can hear multiple sets of four pads landing on a wooden floor chasing another set of four but with what I can only assume is claws out before jumping onto a counter or table to get away, it is 4 dogs each weighting at most five pounds against a cat that weights fourteen. As I am rolling over I sneak a peek at my alarm clock to find out that I am six minutes earlier than the alarm, sweet I can go back to sleep for a few moments, I think to myself too bad all the dogs are female and the cat is male, he will never win. As I lay on my back looking up into the white-ish stuck-o ceiling I am thinking of what I have to do before I leave for the airport to my destination of Spain, for a year, in just over 90 minutes. I have to finish cleaning my room and then take care of the few things that I have strewn out throughout the house, eat breakfast, shower, brush my teeth (which I will eventually forget only to remember about 15 miles from the airport), play with the dogs (anticipating that they will want to be played with and not sleepy as that is their usual routine) and then pack all my stuff out to the garage where it will most likely be stored.
So I get up and just right into the shower and get dressed. I open my bedroom window more so I can get a big whiff of the rain on grass smell, clean and bag the trash in my room, and move my boxes out into the dining room. I heat up my oatmeal, which I truly dislike but since it is good for my heart, cholesterol, blood sugar with the peanut butter and immune system with the honey I eat it, then go back to collecting my stuff that is strewn around the house. Dad calls and lets me know that he can pick me up instead of me at the house instead of driving to his work and going from there so now I have a few extra minutes, which is good since I just am barely getting done with my breakfast. So I am outside collecting the garbage cans from the end of the driveway as dad pulls up, about three minutes later would have been perfect timing but “say la vie” or however it is said.
Now I am in West Palm airport waiting in line for security and I see that they have the infamous body scanners. So I patiently wait for when it is my turn to give my passport, since I never give my drivers license to the I.D checkers, and boarding pass to the “gate keeper” before getting into a security line. I take my shoes off and I am good to go (I am smart enough to put everything that I would have to take out of my pockets into my carry on already so I only have to take off my belt, shoes and get out my baggy of liquids) and the screeners asks me to just into the regular old metal detector line. Well I kindly told him that I really eagerly wanted to go thru the body scanner.to prove that it less hassle. So after about a second and a half in the scanner and about 15 seconds awaiting the results I am good to go. Done! “Easy peezy lemon squeezey!” So after getting me shoes back on along with my belt I make my way to the gate just to find out that I will be awaiting the arrival of my airplane from Atlanta just to have it fly be back to Atlanta. I would later find out that there was a power outage in Atlanta that delayed getting my plane to West Palm and thus causing my plane to take off 58 minutes later than it should have but again “say la vie”. So I pull up to the Sam Adams restaurant for a pint of Sam Adams Winter Lager and they “don’t stock it”. I say to myself “self that is crrrraazzyyyy!” but I give in and order a pint of Bud Light and yes it is only 10:45 in the morning.
So as I am getting onto the plane bound for Atlanta it is a different configuration that I am normally used to. It is a Boeing 757-300 and when you enter the business class turns left and the economy turns right. I shouldn’t say that I am not completely unfamiliar with it since that is how the 747s and A-330s are set up but this is a domestic flight not an international flight which is where I encountered those. So I make my was to my seat and since the flight is full and I am in the last group that boards there is no space for my carry on. So I have to go all the way back to row 32 when I am in row 20. Hot a huge hassle but still. So I prepare to do my usual, pass out before the safety briefing is done, but this time I am sitting on the window of a 3x3 which makes me extremely uncomfortable. So as we take off I am just getting to sleep which is really nice since I don’t feel the pressure change or anything and I snooze until the landing gear hits the ground again, with the only exception being woken up to see if I wanted a refreshment…. Sorry but nope.
So Atlanta is really nice. I have been in and out of Atlanta a lot lately since that is the airport that I connect thru when I fly to Boston. I will be going to the E terminal this time which I have not been to since it is the International Terminal and the last terminal in a row of five… Well I must go so there is more to come.
Stay Frosty
-C
So I get up and just right into the shower and get dressed. I open my bedroom window more so I can get a big whiff of the rain on grass smell, clean and bag the trash in my room, and move my boxes out into the dining room. I heat up my oatmeal, which I truly dislike but since it is good for my heart, cholesterol, blood sugar with the peanut butter and immune system with the honey I eat it, then go back to collecting my stuff that is strewn around the house. Dad calls and lets me know that he can pick me up instead of me at the house instead of driving to his work and going from there so now I have a few extra minutes, which is good since I just am barely getting done with my breakfast. So I am outside collecting the garbage cans from the end of the driveway as dad pulls up, about three minutes later would have been perfect timing but “say la vie” or however it is said.
Now I am in West Palm airport waiting in line for security and I see that they have the infamous body scanners. So I patiently wait for when it is my turn to give my passport, since I never give my drivers license to the I.D checkers, and boarding pass to the “gate keeper” before getting into a security line. I take my shoes off and I am good to go (I am smart enough to put everything that I would have to take out of my pockets into my carry on already so I only have to take off my belt, shoes and get out my baggy of liquids) and the screeners asks me to just into the regular old metal detector line. Well I kindly told him that I really eagerly wanted to go thru the body scanner.to prove that it less hassle. So after about a second and a half in the scanner and about 15 seconds awaiting the results I am good to go. Done! “Easy peezy lemon squeezey!” So after getting me shoes back on along with my belt I make my way to the gate just to find out that I will be awaiting the arrival of my airplane from Atlanta just to have it fly be back to Atlanta. I would later find out that there was a power outage in Atlanta that delayed getting my plane to West Palm and thus causing my plane to take off 58 minutes later than it should have but again “say la vie”. So I pull up to the Sam Adams restaurant for a pint of Sam Adams Winter Lager and they “don’t stock it”. I say to myself “self that is crrrraazzyyyy!” but I give in and order a pint of Bud Light and yes it is only 10:45 in the morning.
So as I am getting onto the plane bound for Atlanta it is a different configuration that I am normally used to. It is a Boeing 757-300 and when you enter the business class turns left and the economy turns right. I shouldn’t say that I am not completely unfamiliar with it since that is how the 747s and A-330s are set up but this is a domestic flight not an international flight which is where I encountered those. So I make my was to my seat and since the flight is full and I am in the last group that boards there is no space for my carry on. So I have to go all the way back to row 32 when I am in row 20. Hot a huge hassle but still. So I prepare to do my usual, pass out before the safety briefing is done, but this time I am sitting on the window of a 3x3 which makes me extremely uncomfortable. So as we take off I am just getting to sleep which is really nice since I don’t feel the pressure change or anything and I snooze until the landing gear hits the ground again, with the only exception being woken up to see if I wanted a refreshment…. Sorry but nope.
So Atlanta is really nice. I have been in and out of Atlanta a lot lately since that is the airport that I connect thru when I fly to Boston. I will be going to the E terminal this time which I have not been to since it is the International Terminal and the last terminal in a row of five… Well I must go so there is more to come.
Stay Frosty
-C
27 November 2010
What to do? What to do?
So while I am downloading my medical packet for Spain I am searching for jobs in Massachusetts. Not a big deal to me but then I see Worcester Airport. I got excited since 1) It was in Worcester, my home state 2) it was at an airport, which I really want to work at and 3) it hadn’t closed yet. So since it required just a resume I put my download on pause and began to update it. I then submit it and begin downloading my medical forms again, waiting.
Well seven days after I put my resume in I get a letter from the City of Worcester saying, to interrupt what I think it is saying, thanks for your resume but don’t call us we will call you. So I continue to do my medical requirements for Spain while I await more information from Worcester. So I am done with all my medical stuff and just about to fax my stuff off and I get a missed call on my cell phone. Not a huge deal since I have really crappy reception at my dad’s house, so I finish faxing and then I check my voicemail and low and behold who is the voicemail from … Worcester Airport calling to set up an interview.
So then I look for plane tickets for the time frame they gave me for the interview days, Tuesday happen to be cheaper so I book a Tuesday up and Thursday home with hopefully a Wednesday interview, hopefully. So I try and call but it is Veterans days and I have to wait until tomorrow to schedule my interview. So I call at 10:15 or so and there is an appointment for Wednesday afternoon, perfect! So I pack my bag and fly up there. My older brother is putting me up for the 2 nights that I will be there and letting my use his car for the drive so I am good to go.
The morning of the flight I fly in tan slacks, a nice button down shirt and my favorite tie just in case the airline loses my bag that way I have something to go to my interview in. Fast forward to the day of the interview, I take Sean to work and then I have a few hours to kill before leaving from Quincy for Worcester. So I stop by my Aunt’s work, who is also my God Mother, which is all of 1/3 of a mile from Sean’s apartment and chat her up for about a half hours or so. Then I go for a run around the “neighborhood” which consist of a semi-busy two lane road over and back over Interstate 93 and then thru the back of a Home Depot back to the apartment building for a shower. I get dressed, looked online for directions and then I am ready to go. So I just on I-93, which I just eloquently ran over about an hour before, and drive up into Boston to catch “The Pike”, a.k.a. I-90, west to Worcester. On the way out I swing by my cousin Rob’s gym that he is at in Natick and chat it up for a bit before grabbing lunch and continuing to Worcester. I am out in the parking lot making sure my suit is all nice is pretty before going in.
So I make my way up to the office and they have me doing some paperwork before the interview. I get that done and then have to wait a few minutes before going in. So I am sitting there and I am being asked questions, pretty standard interview type questions, and I get asked what should be a simple slam dunk but I completely botched it since I couldn’t think of the answer to the question. Now I am interviewing for an Aircraft Rescue Firefighter position with duties that also include security guard work for the airport and the question is “define and give examples of the fire triangle.” Now about 15 seconds, which felt like 2 minutes, passes and I explain that I know it is a basic question that they ask on the first test of firefighter 1. It is then quiet for a few seconds again felt like 2 minutes and then I ask if there was another follow up question that I could answer to explain that I do actually know what I am talking about. So I answer that question to what I would believe was satisfactory and finish the interview.
So now is the waiting game. I am leaving for Spain on Monday, 3 days from now, and I hope that Worcester calls me for a follow up interview. The problem is that I would have fly from Spain back to the US, which isn’t a problem since I have 4 days off every 2 weeks.
Sorry for those who wanted to see my ARFF video but I should next time up next time.
Stay Frosty
-C
Well seven days after I put my resume in I get a letter from the City of Worcester saying, to interrupt what I think it is saying, thanks for your resume but don’t call us we will call you. So I continue to do my medical requirements for Spain while I await more information from Worcester. So I am done with all my medical stuff and just about to fax my stuff off and I get a missed call on my cell phone. Not a huge deal since I have really crappy reception at my dad’s house, so I finish faxing and then I check my voicemail and low and behold who is the voicemail from … Worcester Airport calling to set up an interview.
So then I look for plane tickets for the time frame they gave me for the interview days, Tuesday happen to be cheaper so I book a Tuesday up and Thursday home with hopefully a Wednesday interview, hopefully. So I try and call but it is Veterans days and I have to wait until tomorrow to schedule my interview. So I call at 10:15 or so and there is an appointment for Wednesday afternoon, perfect! So I pack my bag and fly up there. My older brother is putting me up for the 2 nights that I will be there and letting my use his car for the drive so I am good to go.
The morning of the flight I fly in tan slacks, a nice button down shirt and my favorite tie just in case the airline loses my bag that way I have something to go to my interview in. Fast forward to the day of the interview, I take Sean to work and then I have a few hours to kill before leaving from Quincy for Worcester. So I stop by my Aunt’s work, who is also my God Mother, which is all of 1/3 of a mile from Sean’s apartment and chat her up for about a half hours or so. Then I go for a run around the “neighborhood” which consist of a semi-busy two lane road over and back over Interstate 93 and then thru the back of a Home Depot back to the apartment building for a shower. I get dressed, looked online for directions and then I am ready to go. So I just on I-93, which I just eloquently ran over about an hour before, and drive up into Boston to catch “The Pike”, a.k.a. I-90, west to Worcester. On the way out I swing by my cousin Rob’s gym that he is at in Natick and chat it up for a bit before grabbing lunch and continuing to Worcester. I am out in the parking lot making sure my suit is all nice is pretty before going in.
So I make my way up to the office and they have me doing some paperwork before the interview. I get that done and then have to wait a few minutes before going in. So I am sitting there and I am being asked questions, pretty standard interview type questions, and I get asked what should be a simple slam dunk but I completely botched it since I couldn’t think of the answer to the question. Now I am interviewing for an Aircraft Rescue Firefighter position with duties that also include security guard work for the airport and the question is “define and give examples of the fire triangle.” Now about 15 seconds, which felt like 2 minutes, passes and I explain that I know it is a basic question that they ask on the first test of firefighter 1. It is then quiet for a few seconds again felt like 2 minutes and then I ask if there was another follow up question that I could answer to explain that I do actually know what I am talking about. So I answer that question to what I would believe was satisfactory and finish the interview.
So now is the waiting game. I am leaving for Spain on Monday, 3 days from now, and I hope that Worcester calls me for a follow up interview. The problem is that I would have fly from Spain back to the US, which isn’t a problem since I have 4 days off every 2 weeks.
Sorry for those who wanted to see my ARFF video but I should next time up next time.
Stay Frosty
-C
30 October 2010
From Antarctica to…. Spain?
So as some of you might know I have left the great polar desert of a continent of Antarctica and put my trip to and thru Europe on hold. I had the opportunity to get something that I have been wanting for a long time, this time for real. I had the opportunity to get my ARFF certification. For those that do not know ARFF stands for Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting, an “Aero plane Saver” instead of a “Baby Saver” like the structural firefighters are. The reason I said this time is because I had a chance to get it back in August of 2009 but due to a rivalry of sorts between certifying agencies, I could not. So it put me in a unique situation in the firefighting field. I had the experience of ARFF work but not he certification. Normally to get the experience you need to have to certification. It is the typical evolution of schooling; get the degree to get the job to get the experience, well I managed to foul that all up and do it backwards.
Now the job I was hoping for was supposed to be bringing me to the wonderful and exciting, ancient and mysterious, elegant yet war torn country of Afghanistan. However, due to an alignment of the stars I ended up getting an job offer for working in Spain instead. So I am in the process of getting all my medical requirements done so that I can send them to my future employer so I can go to Spain. It should be fun. The job is on an military base in the Andalucía region of Spain.
Look for my next post about ARFF training. I have a video that I am working on from the 90+ minutes of film I took during our live burns. Sorry no picture this time
Stay Frost
-C
Now the job I was hoping for was supposed to be bringing me to the wonderful and exciting, ancient and mysterious, elegant yet war torn country of Afghanistan. However, due to an alignment of the stars I ended up getting an job offer for working in Spain instead. So I am in the process of getting all my medical requirements done so that I can send them to my future employer so I can go to Spain. It should be fun. The job is on an military base in the Andalucía region of Spain.
Look for my next post about ARFF training. I have a video that I am working on from the 90+ minutes of film I took during our live burns. Sorry no picture this time
Stay Frost
-C
16 August 2010
Name Change!
Hello All my faithful readers,
If you haven't noticed I changed my blog's name. It is the same title just rearranged into something more fluid. I hope it doesn't mess anyone up. I also put in a little synopsis of what I am attempting to accomplish with this blog. Well I hope this helps.
Stay Frosty
-C
If you haven't noticed I changed my blog's name. It is the same title just rearranged into something more fluid. I hope it doesn't mess anyone up. I also put in a little synopsis of what I am attempting to accomplish with this blog. Well I hope this helps.
Stay Frosty
-C
Winter Fly In a.k.a. Winfly is officially “open”!
Well here I sit after 2 oranges, 2 cherry tomatoes, 1 BaF carrot, 1 apple, 1 mini banana and 1 bowl of Orange Chocolate Chip ice cream plus a 16 ounce can of Red Bull and my stomach is feeling “awesome”. I just got back from the airfield after the 1st of 7 flights, 4 of which are NVG or Night Vision Goggle flights. The flight was supposed to come in on Friday but after a 24 hour mechanical delay, followed by a 19 “weather” delay it finally left this Sunday just after 1pm Christchurch time. On the flight were 7 fellow firefighters that were gracious enough to bring 1) a shopping bag with cherry tomatoes, grapes, oranges and mini bananas 2) big as f*** (BaF) carrots 3) apples and 4) a BIG bag-o Nuts. Oh how gracious my fellow firefighters are. While we received this group of returning firefighter we, more importantly I, lost 2 firefighters (Scott and Peter) of which I am glad to call my friends. They both went home due to family problems which is extremely unfortunate.
We begin the airfield shift by waiting outside of town about ½ mile as to not cause to much exhaust induced fog over the runway and apron since the C-17 pilots are landing using their night vision goggles. As I sit there, in the driver’s seat of Red 3, a 2005 Ford F-550 4x4 with an ARFF package on the body, I am explaining to my fellow firefighter, whose is ironically named Corey as well, what our specific role and response will be if something should arise. (See Corey and Peter along with Grant arrived on the truly last flight of Mainbody on the 5th of March 2010. The last few weeks for them have been a learning curve to get up to speed on the workings of the ARFF vehicles and procedures. Peter however was just lucky to get pictures since he already knew that he was going home on the 1st flight.) Now with the procedure and response explained I showed him how to use the wonderful joystick that controls the front turret. The turret can spray both firefighting foam and dry chemical extinguishment agent. It is pretty slick if I may say so myself, which I may since it is my blog. It reminds me of the movie character named Jar Jar Binks from Star Wars episodes 1, 2 & 3. With his 2 protruding google-ly eyes and long snout it looks just like the turret on the front of our rig. We sit outside of town until the planes calls 100 miles from airfield. That way we have enough time incase something is going to happen to get set up and still we are not there long enough to cause to much fog over the airfield. Then when the plane got to 25 miles or so the pilots asked to have the airfield runway lights shut off. Now this was absolutely amazing was to have the airfield completely light free and then have the C-17 swoop in like a “bat out of hell” and land with just enough background light to illuminate it. After the plane lands it has to turn around and taxi down to the apron, where we are staging and where it will get off loaded, in a slow stalking … no lurking pace. Just as the plane becomes visible in the dark of Antarctic night “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns-N-Roses comes on the speaker of my Ipod. I, we actually-we the 2 Corey’s-, believe this is completely fitting since it is a winter “jungle” here after the plane stop flying.
Once the plane is down and beginning to offload we are able to get out and greet our new McMurdoians as well as the few Scott Baseians that come off of the flight. They all come off with the same look, or what I would assume is the same look, that I had when I got here on the 26th of August 2009 or a mere 355 days ago for whose who weren’t counting. They are, for the most part, here until February when they will be replaced by winter over’s, like myself, who will bear the cold dark hard winter. The lucky few will experience a whole year down here consecutively like I have. This will truly give them an appreciation of the new blood, the infusion of happiness, of giddy, of eagerness to get the job down, just like me.
About the picture:
This is a picture of me getting my Antarctic Service Medal with my Winter Over bar. It is fairly significant, to me at least. I know I am blurry but what can you say, it is hard to get an accurate view of my swaggah!
Stay frosty
-C
We begin the airfield shift by waiting outside of town about ½ mile as to not cause to much exhaust induced fog over the runway and apron since the C-17 pilots are landing using their night vision goggles. As I sit there, in the driver’s seat of Red 3, a 2005 Ford F-550 4x4 with an ARFF package on the body, I am explaining to my fellow firefighter, whose is ironically named Corey as well, what our specific role and response will be if something should arise. (See Corey and Peter along with Grant arrived on the truly last flight of Mainbody on the 5th of March 2010. The last few weeks for them have been a learning curve to get up to speed on the workings of the ARFF vehicles and procedures. Peter however was just lucky to get pictures since he already knew that he was going home on the 1st flight.) Now with the procedure and response explained I showed him how to use the wonderful joystick that controls the front turret. The turret can spray both firefighting foam and dry chemical extinguishment agent. It is pretty slick if I may say so myself, which I may since it is my blog. It reminds me of the movie character named Jar Jar Binks from Star Wars episodes 1, 2 & 3. With his 2 protruding google-ly eyes and long snout it looks just like the turret on the front of our rig. We sit outside of town until the planes calls 100 miles from airfield. That way we have enough time incase something is going to happen to get set up and still we are not there long enough to cause to much fog over the airfield. Then when the plane got to 25 miles or so the pilots asked to have the airfield runway lights shut off. Now this was absolutely amazing was to have the airfield completely light free and then have the C-17 swoop in like a “bat out of hell” and land with just enough background light to illuminate it. After the plane lands it has to turn around and taxi down to the apron, where we are staging and where it will get off loaded, in a slow stalking … no lurking pace. Just as the plane becomes visible in the dark of Antarctic night “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns-N-Roses comes on the speaker of my Ipod. I, we actually-we the 2 Corey’s-, believe this is completely fitting since it is a winter “jungle” here after the plane stop flying.
Once the plane is down and beginning to offload we are able to get out and greet our new McMurdoians as well as the few Scott Baseians that come off of the flight. They all come off with the same look, or what I would assume is the same look, that I had when I got here on the 26th of August 2009 or a mere 355 days ago for whose who weren’t counting. They are, for the most part, here until February when they will be replaced by winter over’s, like myself, who will bear the cold dark hard winter. The lucky few will experience a whole year down here consecutively like I have. This will truly give them an appreciation of the new blood, the infusion of happiness, of giddy, of eagerness to get the job down, just like me.
About the picture:
This is a picture of me getting my Antarctic Service Medal with my Winter Over bar. It is fairly significant, to me at least. I know I am blurry but what can you say, it is hard to get an accurate view of my swaggah!
Stay frosty
-C
03 August 2010
Under the Pale Moon Light
As I sit here up on the road to Crater Hill I look out onto the miles of ice that is McMurdo Sound, into the desolate black that is the forefront of Antarctica, and I see water! Profound I know, but the water I see is the water of Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire, Boston Harbor (also called Cape Cod Bay or the “North Side” when on Cape Cod) and the Atlantic Ocean (or the “South Side” when on Cape Cod) all rolled up into 1 big frozen ice block waiting to be explored. It reminds me of a simpler time when I could relate the moon to a perspective.
I see the bright, brilliantly clear, off-white moon shining down on the calm, clear, picturesque (if I had my camera that is) day and it brings me back to Philmont, where I went hiking multiple times as a Boy Scout and eventually as an Eagle Scout. I am imagining myself back on top of Mt. Castilla (I think at least but could be Costilla, Castillo, Costillo or some variation similar to that) as the star-filled sky and the full moon begin to illuminate my walking path down off the mountain. See, we (the scout group and I) had hiked up from our campsite, about a mile away, when it was sunshine and happy times. Then after dinner and some good conversation, we sat there talking, and getting to know each other, counting shooting stars, satellites, planets (when there were 9) and constellations before having to head back down. However, there on top of the mountain, I realized that there is something more to the sky than just the stars, satellites, planets and constellations. It brings me to realize that, looking up into the sky I have found an awakening feeling in myself. It feels liberating knowing that I am the only person in my immediate family, and even extended family for that matter, to look at the stars -- these stars to be specific -- from this specific vantage point. I mean anyone can look at the stars but there will be no one in my family that will even be in the same section of the country to look at these particular stars. In fact, I know this now but I assumed it then, that I would be the only one in my family to even be in this part of New Mexico, on these Sangre De Cristo Mountains in the Northeast corner of New Mexico on an early August night. Some of my friends will and have experienced them as I do and they will be able to understand my feelings, but most will not. The most that they can compare this to would be sitting on a beach. I know I make it sound humble saying “a beach” since Cape Cod really does have a phenomenal collection of beaches but it still puts it into perspective. But seriously, the best they can do is under a full moon with a slight breeze looking up at the stars but never the same ones, never from the same angle, never being this isolated from the world where there are no house lights for miles or sounds other than primal. The only thing that they will ever see that compares to this would be the same moon just at a different time, different orbit, a different phase, a just plain different personality.
When I look up at this moon and onto the ice, which is the ocean of McMurdo Sound, I am again back to this same feeling. Of knowing that I am going to be the only person in my family that gets to see the moon from this vantage point, and as humble as everyone knows me to be, I am content with having these few singular memories that are all my own. Hopefully, someday I will be able to share them with my family, but maybe this time I am the teacher instead of the student.
About the picture:
This photo was taken near what we call derelict junction or DJ for short. DJ is the “bus stop” in McMurdo where you where you get dropped off after getting here for the 1st time in the season and where you wait for the shuttle to bring you to the airfield or to Scott Base. It looks back onto building 155 on the right in the blue and up into the “business district” of town with Crater Hill just being visible in the far background. There is a road, on what would be the right of the picture, and that is where you can see the crystal clear skies, ocean, and off-colored moon when it is visible.
Stay Frosty
-C
I see the bright, brilliantly clear, off-white moon shining down on the calm, clear, picturesque (if I had my camera that is) day and it brings me back to Philmont, where I went hiking multiple times as a Boy Scout and eventually as an Eagle Scout. I am imagining myself back on top of Mt. Castilla (I think at least but could be Costilla, Castillo, Costillo or some variation similar to that) as the star-filled sky and the full moon begin to illuminate my walking path down off the mountain. See, we (the scout group and I) had hiked up from our campsite, about a mile away, when it was sunshine and happy times. Then after dinner and some good conversation, we sat there talking, and getting to know each other, counting shooting stars, satellites, planets (when there were 9) and constellations before having to head back down. However, there on top of the mountain, I realized that there is something more to the sky than just the stars, satellites, planets and constellations. It brings me to realize that, looking up into the sky I have found an awakening feeling in myself. It feels liberating knowing that I am the only person in my immediate family, and even extended family for that matter, to look at the stars -- these stars to be specific -- from this specific vantage point. I mean anyone can look at the stars but there will be no one in my family that will even be in the same section of the country to look at these particular stars. In fact, I know this now but I assumed it then, that I would be the only one in my family to even be in this part of New Mexico, on these Sangre De Cristo Mountains in the Northeast corner of New Mexico on an early August night. Some of my friends will and have experienced them as I do and they will be able to understand my feelings, but most will not. The most that they can compare this to would be sitting on a beach. I know I make it sound humble saying “a beach” since Cape Cod really does have a phenomenal collection of beaches but it still puts it into perspective. But seriously, the best they can do is under a full moon with a slight breeze looking up at the stars but never the same ones, never from the same angle, never being this isolated from the world where there are no house lights for miles or sounds other than primal. The only thing that they will ever see that compares to this would be the same moon just at a different time, different orbit, a different phase, a just plain different personality.
When I look up at this moon and onto the ice, which is the ocean of McMurdo Sound, I am again back to this same feeling. Of knowing that I am going to be the only person in my family that gets to see the moon from this vantage point, and as humble as everyone knows me to be, I am content with having these few singular memories that are all my own. Hopefully, someday I will be able to share them with my family, but maybe this time I am the teacher instead of the student.
About the picture:
This photo was taken near what we call derelict junction or DJ for short. DJ is the “bus stop” in McMurdo where you where you get dropped off after getting here for the 1st time in the season and where you wait for the shuttle to bring you to the airfield or to Scott Base. It looks back onto building 155 on the right in the blue and up into the “business district” of town with Crater Hill just being visible in the far background. There is a road, on what would be the right of the picture, and that is where you can see the crystal clear skies, ocean, and off-colored moon when it is visible.
Stay Frosty
-C
21 July 2010
Haz-Mat Slide
Hello All,
Well I know it has been a little bit since I have posted but I have been pretty busy here. The sun isn't up yet but we have twillight around noon time everyday and it is getting longer and longer. Last weekend, the 17th and 18th of July 2010, McMurdo os the host of the International 48 Hour Sub-Antarctic Film Festival. This is for all the station that are below 60 degrees south latitude. Basically all the stations that are in the Sub-Antarctic area have been invited to film and submit movies. The movies are supposed to be filmed with in the 48 hours and then submitted here to McMurdo and then judged and the winners are announced next week on the 24th of July. The neat thing this year is that the 5 items that have to be in the movie weren't actually picked by McMurdo like normal. They were picked by other stations. The year 2008 was the first year that McMurdo invited the Sub-Antarctic stations, since it was a tradition between Scott Base, South Pole and McMurdo since 2000 or so. Apparently the 1st year there were 5 international movies and last year 18 so I can only imagine how many this year. I will keep you informed once I get to view them.
Anyways the video below are the "bloopers" from the video that I filmed and starred in. We actually filmed this before the film festival started to see if we could do some of the things that we wanted to do. This video is 2.5 minutes long and the one we submitted for the film festival is 4.5 minutes. I think it is funny since it was fun to film. So take a look and tell me what you think.
Stay Frosty
-C
Well I know it has been a little bit since I have posted but I have been pretty busy here. The sun isn't up yet but we have twillight around noon time everyday and it is getting longer and longer. Last weekend, the 17th and 18th of July 2010, McMurdo os the host of the International 48 Hour Sub-Antarctic Film Festival. This is for all the station that are below 60 degrees south latitude. Basically all the stations that are in the Sub-Antarctic area have been invited to film and submit movies. The movies are supposed to be filmed with in the 48 hours and then submitted here to McMurdo and then judged and the winners are announced next week on the 24th of July. The neat thing this year is that the 5 items that have to be in the movie weren't actually picked by McMurdo like normal. They were picked by other stations. The year 2008 was the first year that McMurdo invited the Sub-Antarctic stations, since it was a tradition between Scott Base, South Pole and McMurdo since 2000 or so. Apparently the 1st year there were 5 international movies and last year 18 so I can only imagine how many this year. I will keep you informed once I get to view them.
Anyways the video below are the "bloopers" from the video that I filmed and starred in. We actually filmed this before the film festival started to see if we could do some of the things that we wanted to do. This video is 2.5 minutes long and the one we submitted for the film festival is 4.5 minutes. I think it is funny since it was fun to film. So take a look and tell me what you think.
Stay Frosty
-C
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