Obligatory Captain Spaulding Xmas Commercial for this year....

One of the perks of returning to McMurdo for my second winter is that I know what to expect so I can plan accordingly. I know what I need to bring with me, I know what I don't need and I know what I need to purchase beforehand. I know how much free time I will have and I know that for much of that free time I will be exhausted and anxious for sleep.

Most of the things I will "need" are already down there. I left a bunch of stuff before I left, mainly clothing and bulky personal items that I collected over the course of my year. My backpack that I had been using for travel, along with the items inside (such as boots etc) was mailed down there last week. I discovered that it would be cheaper to mail 33lbs of stuff to Antarctica than it would have been to check it on Alaska Airlines for my return flights to NY.

Having done a season I know I don't have to bring any hair or bodycare products as I can simply collect unused bottles from departing residents (I had over 30 bottles of bodywash last winter that I stored for this winter). Any basic clothing that I need I can get there. Unlike my first season where I didn't bring any cold weather clothing down with me I am bringing some this time around. USAP gives us adequate outdoor clothing but having experienced the cold I know I would enjoy some other items. So I am buying a decent pair of warm gloves (gorgonz, I think) and a hat/baclava/neck gaitor to supplement what I am given.

Of course what this means now is that I am bringing a lot of extraneous stuff down with me, things that go beyond the necessities. There are an excessive amount of DVDs heading down there. I got a new computer. I am thinking about getting a Kindle. Part of me considered getting a TV projector (or a nice LCD one) or picking up a second hand version of the original NES. I am now packing less for an "adventure" and more for life, for moving in. Which I suppose is an accurate perspective. Among some other things I am planning on bringing down: hand held ice scrappers (amazingly there are no small ice scrappers on station at all. Last season I had to use small plastic welding eye shields), soft lighting for my room.

One of my goals for the winter is to read the complete works of Shakespeare. I figure I can accomplish this over the course of 10 months or so. Of course I don't have ready access to a book of his works so I need to buy one. Can anyone recommend a good version for me? I would like one with some commentary if possible. Also, does anyone know where I can buy cheap versions of his plays in pamphlet format? I am thinking about organizing a "read aloud" event and so would be interested in picking up 10 or so copies of certain plays.

I am very interested to see how it feels to return to McMurdo, to see it with "seasoned" eyes. In 28 days I will know.

Hawaii has been great and there is more coming... but for now to teaser images from an amazing day:

Alice

Marilyn

Last night, while standing on a balcony attached to the Sydney Opera House, I watched fireworks erupt in the sky as I waited for the 2nd intermission of The Sleeping Beauty to end. Shortly after a stream of bats flew across the sky, across the harbor, as ferries and pleasure boats negotiated their way through the water.

It was at this moment, as I thought about my present and my immediate past, that I realized just how lucky I have been, just how many awesome experiences I have had. Less than a week ago I was swimming with manta rays and now I was attending a performance of an amazing ballet in one of the world's most iconic buildings. Tonight I am flying to Hawaii for 4 days where a rented convertible waits for me to explore Oahu. It will be my first time in the US in 463 days.

This has been an interesting past few months that have brought me to a lot of places with an obscence amount of flights. Unlike my time in South AMerica though it definitely felt more like a vacation than a journey. I have an exact end point in mind. Most of my itinerary was carefully planned beforehand. Try as I might it couldn't compare to SA. In most cases the travel portion was so easy, so civil, I didn't feel like I was traveling at all. There was one moment though, when I was on a bus traveling to Kota Kinabablu in Borneo, that I truly felt like a traveller. About an hour into my trip the bus attendant put on a Steven Seagal movie. As far as I can tell SS has starred in more "straight-to-bus" films than any other living actor (with the possible exception of Jean Claude Van Dam). No matter where you are in the world there will be a bus playing his movies. I swear his canon is included with the bus owners manual. For me it was the quintessential travel moment.

I did find out that my date that I am due to arrive in McMurdo has been pushed back to Jan 19th (so, sadly, no DA) which means I now have an additional 11 days to play with in the US. Unfortunately I will be in rural SC with my folks for most of this time and need to figure out something to do. I am considering New Orleans for New Years and have been mapping out all sorts of possible road trips in my head. Of course I might just decide to enjoy the free food and lodging and company of my folks and decompress a bit.

Financially this trip has totally blown past my arbitrarily set budget. Indonesia, which was supposed to be my budget stop gap turned out to be more expensive than New Zealand. Rather than spending 20-30/day I was routinely over 60-70.

I feel I must say again how much I love Sydney. It's just a great city, with a bunch of beautiful people and an agreeable climate.

I woke up this morning to discover a girl sleeping (with a guy from my room) in the top bunk across from mine. I didn't hear them come in or engage in other activities. But I have been wondering what kind of girl (fairly attractive) agrees to be taken home to a hostel? To a dorm room. To a room filled with 5 other guys. And then spends the night.

If I had a warning label, what would it say?