it’s been 3 days since we got off the ice. shane got here last night, and we’re finally getting our shit together and getting the hell out of dodge (christchurch). our plan for the next 6 days involves hitching, hiking, camping, beaching, and whatever else comes our way. we’ll be working our way down the eastern coast of the south island from christchurch to dunedin, with our final destination back up in wanaka (26 march - 3 march).

after that we’ll drop shane off at the airport, and then meredith and i will check out the north end of south island for another 2 weeks before heading to australia for 1 week. after sydney and the surrounding area, we’ll fly back to seattle for 2 days (23 march - 25 march) before leaving again for a month in thailand (26 march - 25 april). after that, i’ll be back in seattle for another week before heading to denver to record with the legendary beep beeps for a month. from there i’ll hitch home to indiana for about 2 weeks and then hitch back to seattle by the 1st of july.

needless to say, i’ll be pretty damn busy for the next 3 months, and i won’t be blogging or flickring very much (or at all). so, the best way to know what i’m doing RIGHT NOW is with twitter. check it out!

twitter.com/elisfanclub

or, you can give me a call on my new cell phone. incoming txt and calls are completely free for me, so txt me or ring me up anytime and i’d be happy to chat.

the first 2 numbers are the NZ or Thai country code, the next 2 are my area code, and the following 7 are my local number. i’m not an expert on making international calls, so your guess is as good as mine as far what you need to do on your end.

I’M BACK IN THE STATES!! so now i have a new “local” US number (bookis’ old number from utah), so feel free to call or text all you like. i’m still getting the hang of the “slide”, so if i hang up on you just call back.

801 953 7114

i hate goodbyes. i’m horrible at them. all my emotions come flooding out all at once. it’s uncontrolable. i start crying and i can’t stop, and then i see another face that i’ll miss and i start crying even more. i try to speak and i can’t. i try to tell the people i’ve shared my life with that it was amazing to meet them and that i’ll miss them, but i can’t.

just tears.

and then i distance myself even further because i know that if i get any closer i’ll completely break down and start sobbing, uncontrollably. then i won’t even be able to see their faces one last time because my vision will be clouded with tears. so, i say what i can, hold back the rest, and hope that it’s good enough for them.

* * *

last night, just before bed, i saw the sun set again for the first time in 117 days. it was only for a few seconds, but it was exactly what i needed. i watched it glide past Mt. Discovery, swinging low on the horizon, as meredith and i climbed Ob Hill once last time. it hugged the edge of Black Island, as it swept south of the station. then, all of a sudden, it disappeared behind the tallest peak right in the middle of Black Island. for a moment it was gone, for only a moment. i tried so hard to remember all i could at that point, to remember everything about this place and why i love it so much. and then, before i even had a chance to think, it poked it’s head around the other side. i won’t see another one of those for a long time.

* * *

we’re all packed, our room is in order and we have a shuttle to the airfield in about an hour. we just ate brunch for the last time, and right now i’m sitting down in the computer kiosk on Highway 1 for the last time. all day yesterday we kept talking about our last “this” and our last “that”. our last dish and our last crap… in Antarctica.

i really hope to come back here again next season, hopefully in the Carp Shop, but maybe somewhere else if that doesn’t work out. i hope that my friends make it back as well.

i really enjoy twitter. it has been especially helpful during my time here in Antarctica because of how quick and simple it is to use. sometimes i don’t have the time or energy to post to this blog and sometimes the bandwidth here at McMurdo won’t allow it. twitter is the perfect replacement. it’s quick, it’s simple, and it’s to the point. if you haven’t been following me on twitter, you should start now.

anyhoo, when i was back in the states i used twitter almost exclusively with my cellphone, sending updates via text message. since i’ve been down here in Antarctica i’ve been interacting with twitter through a web browser a lot more. as a result i’ve become much more familiar with how their web interface works, but also how it doesn’t work. one area in particular that i was getting frustrated with was the @replies.

[for those of you that don't know, here is an example: if i wanted to reply to a tweet (an individual post on twitter) that my brother posted i would begin my tweet with @n8duke.]

the annoying part about @replies is that you have to type in “@username” each time you want to reply. sometimes the username is long and annoying, sometimes you might misspell it, and then the reply won’t go where it’s supposed to.

i had an idea, so i sent twitter an email:

From: eli
Date: Sun, Jan 27, 2008 at 12:11 AM
Subject: i hope this is alright…
To: Twitter

Twitter,

i emailed you a while ago about an api question. remember me?

well, i have a suggestion to make about twitter, and i didn’t know who else to turn to and i figured that you’d be as good a person as anyone. i imagine that y’all get all kinds of “really good suggestions”, but i truely believe that this is a good one.

so, here goes…

i enjoy @replies just as much as the next guy, but i hate (i know that’s a strong word) having to type the “@username” into the field every time i want to reply. that would be like having to type in someone’s email address every time i wanted to reply to an email. ridiculous, right? we just click “reply”.

why not implement a feature that would allow you to click a tweet-specific indicator (a “reply” link, maybe?) which would automagically insert “@username” in the text box above? you could easily slip that in right after the {star} icon…

or, is this idea like so last week and you already have it in the works?

eli

i got a response back from twitter a few days later saying that they had not heard that idea before and that it would be submitted to the team. then, lo and behold, a few days later i noticed this:

do you see that little arrow after the star icon? that’s me, baby! that’s all me!

i’ve got 1 week, 7 more days, and i can’t believe it.

i know that my departure date has been changed twice now, but this time i truly believe that i’ll be leaving on the 17th. lots of dates have been switched for a lot of people, but things have settled down a bit around here. that said, i won’t leave until i leave, so don’t go getting your hopes up.

people do leave, though…

morgen left two days ago, and alex leaves tomorrow.

it’s weird to think about actually leaving this place. so many things that aren’t normal have become normal since i’ve been here: i can’t imagine not washing dishes 6 days a week for 10 hours a day; i can’t imagine seeing darkness and stars and the moon, seeing sunsets and sunrises, eating sushi, holding and peting an animal; i can’t imagine walking barefoot with grass poking up between my toes, paying for food, paying rent, or talking on a cell phone.

but leave i will, and leave will my friends, so many friends. i’ve met so many amazing people down here i have no idea how i’m going to keep them all straight. sure, i’ll get email addresses and phone numbers, but…

there’s still over 1,000 people living here right now. in the next 12 days they’ll all be shipped out and replaced by the “winter-overs”. it’s getting colder, the sun’s getting lower, and it’s gonna set again (for the first time in 4 months) in about a week. that’s gonna be weird.

i’m tired. like, really tired, and i’m rambling.

this past tuesday and wednesday i was given 2 days off work for my boondoggle (vacation off-station) and went to Happy Camper. for a lot of people on station (those going out to field camps), Happy Camper is not a boondoggle, it is simply part of the training for their job. but for those of us that have no business ever being off-station, Happy Camper is welcome release from the daily grind.

i woke up around 7:30am, finished packing my gear, and got some breakfast. the 10 people in the class (all janitors and dishwashers, plus N8) all met at the SSC (science support center) at 9am for an hour of class time with danny, our instructor. from there we all loaded into a Delta and drove out to the campsite. we had a bit more classroom time out in the field (learning how to use the camp stoves) and then it was time to start digging and digging and digging.

we set up a scott tent, two mountain tents, a quinzhee, built a wall out of snow bricks, and used the snow brick quarry as a kitchen. we also had a few helicopters give us a show by “buzzing” over our heads, only 20 feet off the ground.

the quinzhee was a lot of work. it’s sort of like an igloo, but instead of using blocks you just make a huge pile of snow and dig out the inside. by the time we were done with ours (around midnight), it was the biggest and baddest quinzhee of the entire season. it easily slept 5 people (with room for at least 2 more), and had a kick ass staircase-entrance that went 5 feet down into the snow and then back up into the floor of the quinzhee, like a beaver dam.

at some point during all the digging we took a break for dinner. everything was dehydrated so all we did was boil a shit load of water. we had hot drinks (cider, hot cocoa) followed by hot soup (black bean, tomato, clam chowder) followed by bag dinners (black beans and rice, chilli, beef stroganoff). overall, it was pretty good. unfortunately, while nate was hydrating his dinner he burnt his hand (2nd degree) with the boiling water and had to go back to station. bummer. he’s OK now though.

that night, after everyone else had retired, i spent some time by myself walking around and taking pictures. it was incredibly quiet and bright and peaceful. i slept in the trench that nate was planning on using, and i stayed very warm despite the -15C low. just as i was lying down for bed i heard another helicopter approaching, and i popped my head out of the trench just in time for it to buzz right over my head. after that, i pulled my hat down over my eyes and put my goggles on to keep the light out.

we woke up at 9am the next morning and broke camp. we did a few field exercises (someone lost in a white out, plane crash) and talked with the South Pole using an HF radio. we got back to town around 3pm and i went straight back to the room and passed out. i’d never been more tired during this entire trip.

Photos: Happy Camper

my last post was definitely the bad news. this is the good news.

my life in antarctica has been amazing: i’ve met amazing people that i hope will continue to be in my life for years to come; i’ve seen and done amazing things that i will never forget; and i know that next season will be even better (if i get that carp shop job). i consider myself lucky in that regard; others certainly have not had it as good as i have.

it’s been almost 4 months, and i’ve only got 3 weeks left.

one of my friends down here (shuttle joe) is the oldest person on the continent, and he’s 78 years old. he and i got to talking one night at gallagher’s (the non-smoking bar) about how fast the time flies around here, and that was only after 3 weeks. i told him that the first 3 months would fly by just as the first 3 weeks, and sure enough, they did. when i told him that we’d hit the 3 month mark he said, “and do you wanna know the craziest part? before you know it, 60 years’ll’ve gone by.” nice, joe. real nice.

but the next 3 weeks are gonna be jam-packed craziness. Oden, the swedish ice breaker, is here. it’s job is to break a channel in the sea ice from the open ocean to the McMurdo loading dock. it arrived about 2 weeks ago and it’s been chugging back and forth clearing out the sea ice. the oil tanker and the supply vessel will follow, bringing with them a years worth of fuel and supplies; once it’s been unloaded (know as “off-load” around here) it will be re-loaded with a years worth of trash. during this entire process (about 2 weeks) the town goes a little crazy because no alcohol can be sold and the bars are closed. i guess there were too many fights in years passed.

my tentative re-deployment date is feb 11th 13th 17th, the second third fifth flight out at the end of summer. i absolutely love this place, but the thought of leaving excites me. the thought of NOT washing dishes 6 days a week excites me. the thought of lying down in a field of green grass and feeling the warmth of the sun all over my body almost brings me to tears. i know i’ll be crying when i get on that plane.

but those will be tears of sadness and joy, for it will be the beginning of the next stage. it will be the beginning of my summer travels, which are going to jam-f-ing-packed! here’s the super-duper-simple break down (obviously, subject to change):

• mid february to mid march - south island, new zealand
• 3rd week of march - eastern australia
• end of march to mid april - thailand
• end of april - seattle / portland
• most of may - recording in denver
• first half of june - indiana
• 2nd half of june - hitchhiking from indy to seattle

all of that makes all of this worth it.

i’ve found myself wishing i had an online copy of this recipe more than a few times, so i’m posting this more as a reference for myself than anything else. this time around i wanted the recipe because alex just got a shit load of nutritional yeast sent to him by his mom (from seattle all the way to antarctica!), and we need to make some now. props to shane for emailing it to me.

i first discovered this recipe in the New Farm Vegetarian Cookbook, and you will not find a better recipe for vegan mac & cheese. enjoy.

——————–

vegan mac & cheese

1. cook 3.5 cups of macaroni, strain, and set aside.
2. in a large sauce pan, melt 1/2 cup margarine on med heat, then add:
• 1/2 cup flour - mix til smooth and bubbly
• 3.5 cup boiling water very slowly
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1.5 tsp garlic powder
• a pinch of tumeric
3. cook until thick
4. add the following very slowly:
   • 1/4 cup oil
   • 1 cup nooch (large flake nutritional yeast)
5. mix with noodles
6. pour in casserole
7. bake at 350 for 15 minutes

usually i double the recipe and that seems to fit really well (with a bit left over for snacking while cooking) into a regular-sized rectangular casserole dish.

this past friday we had to say goodbye to christine (on the left), one of our fellow dishwashers (DAs). we’ve worked really hard together for the past 3 months, and it caught just about all of us (aside from management and a few of the “more experienced” DAs) off guard when she was “terminated” on friday.

it was obvious that the management in the galley didn’t like christine from the beginning. early on they made lists of all the tiny little things she did wrong: arrived to work a few minutes late, socialized too much with others, loaded bowls into the dish machine incorrectly, etc. the problem is that every single DA does exactly those things on a regular basis.

so, they fired her with about 3 weeks left in the season. they could have just let things slide, but they didn’t. they could have just completed her contract and sent her home early, which we all probably would have been perfectly OK with, but they didn’t. instead, they “terminated” her. they took away her bonus, they took away her travel funds, and they (possibly) took away her ability to ever return to this continent.

after getting the specifics of her termination she even went back to management with very well-reasoned rebuttals and a “please reconsider” letter from one of the military flight surgeons, and they still shot her down.

she stood up straight and tall and took it like a champ, and it’s hard for me to imagine being more proud of her.

but the thing that irks me the most is the bureaucracy of it all. management said that they have very specific “policies and procedures” that required them to terminate her. apparently they had gone through all the steps and the only thing left to do was to get rid of her.

but what did this accomplish?

morale is at rock bottom and everyone is pissed. we’ve all completely lost faith in our superiors and are finding it much harder to get through the day. even if i believed that christine deserved to be fire, she definitely didn’t need to be fired. whatever “problems” she was causing when she was here are nothing compared to the shit storm they whipped up by terminating her.

why do “policies and procedures” trump common sense?

this past year was definitely one for the record books. i actually sat down the other day and ran through it in my mind: oh, the memories! i’m not going to go into horrific detail, but for the most part i:

• celebrated New Years 2007 in downtown Seattle;
• worked as a Game Tester at Nintendo from mid Jan through mid May;
• took the next 5 months off in which i
  • maxed and relaxed in seattle;
  • did quite a bit of dog/cat/house sitting;
  • got laser eye surgery;
  • mourned the loss of my grandma and slater;
  • flew back to the midwest where i
    • hung out in chicago with some friends and family,
    • relaxed on the beaches of Lake Michigan in Pentwater,
    • celebrated ben & kat’s wedding and my 25th birthday on the same night,
    • went on a hot air balloon ride with meredith;
    • road-tripped back to the west coast with my brother;
  • moved out of the HotBox;
  • lived at the Mountain Homestead in southern Oregon for 3 weeks;
• lived and worked in Antarctica for 2 1/2 months;
• and counted down to 2008 on top of a mountain in Antarctica.

and i’m even posting this recap from Antarctica (with another 6 weeks to go)!

every so often, when i’m “surfing the web”, i peruse my blog stats. wordpress does a pretty damn good job of showing how people are getting to your blog and where they’re going when they leave. they also have a good plot-line graph that shows your traffic per day, week, or month. i’m always curious how things are going in that regard.

anyhoo, about a week ago i noticed a HUGE spike!

i poked around in the referrer section and found that i was getting about 99% of that traffic from stumbleupon.com. i looked into it and found out that a friend of mine from nintendo posted a link to my site on that site. apparently the traffic immediately started flooding in and continued to do so for about 24 hours. i continue to get about 1 or 2 hits a day from there, but nothing significant since. it’s weird how stuff like that happens.

on another nerdy/computer related note, meredith was transferring some video files from my external hard drive to her laptop the other day and was bothered by Apple’s time estimations, like, “about 1 minute.” she said that computers aren’t people and they shouldn’t act like they are. i completely disagree. i love it when computers “say” things like that. a few days later i found another good example of that sort of thing from flickr. i was testing out the new “edit” feature and received the following message after i canceled the edit.

nicely done, flickr. nicely done.

in antarctica news, things are still going really well, but it’s pretty obvious that we (the galley crew) are all getting tired. it’s been well over 4 months for win-fly and just about 3 months for mainbody, and that’s a long time to scrub the same dishes and mop the same floors. we’ve got about a week until xmas (which will be just as crazy as thanksgiving), followed by the cargo ship off-load in the middle of january. soon thereafter people start leaving, and we will probably be on some of the later flights out around the middle of february. i have no doubts that we’ll make it out alive, but we’ll never be the same. ha ha!

also, i just uploaded a new batch of photos.