Boomerang
The weather took a turn after my last entry. It has been snowing lightly for a few days. It is hard to tell what is new snow and what is just being blown around. Last night it began to clear up. They say were are gaining 15min every day. Last night at 11:30 it was still light out. We changed the time last night and because here in the southern hemisphere it is actually spring, we “sprang forward”. I have quite figured out how that works. I know one thing; we certainly have no lack of daylight.
This morning it was clear but the wind picked up by mid-morning. Even a slight wind here is exponentially greater out on the sea ice runway. We have been expecting a flight with fresh food and workers for days. Today they boomeranged 20minutes from landing and returned to Christchurch. One of the winterovers (who was supposed to leave on that flight) said that he boomeranged 5 times when he deployed last year. I guess we were lucky to make it on the first try.
Work has been tough. I am still somewhat jet lagged from our trip. Plus, loosing an hour didn’t help. I will be working 8, 9hr days in a row before I get a day off. I am getting frustrated because I still haven’t gotten into the flow of this kitchen. My supervisors keep cramming “SAFTEY” down our throats. I am starting to gag on it. It makes sense here as there are no real medical facilities and evacuation is expensive but they take it a little far in my opinion.
I was carrying a pot of milk the other day and a sup. told me to use a cart because it is safer. So I have been carrying only very light weights around the kitchen. Today a different sup. told me that I should carry more sheet pans of sausage to the oven at a time “think about multi-tasking and being efficent”, he said. “great”, I thought and threw some cream cheese in the cuisinart. When the sausage was done I left the machine to do its work while I went to take out the sausage; multi-tasking, right? Wrong! Unsafe! Aya! YETFAS, YETFAS!
We have been able to get out a little despite the cold weather. There is a climbing cave, a sewing room, a thrift shop, several bars a library and even a bowling alley. It is a regular little Sim-City type town.
For reasons of safty, regular activities are given a different name. For example, last night (saturday) I went to a 5o’clock saftey meeting before dinner and then after luci got out of work we went to a social at hotel california. Which in un-safe terms means: I went to drink beer with a bunch of the carpenters and welders after work and swapped dirty jokes then when luci got off of work we had another beer at one of the dorms and played foose-ball. There is a whole plethora of these safe terms that we are going to have to learn so that we don’t get hurt and/or sent home and if we expect to get a generous bonus at the end of the season. Bizarre is the only way to explain it.
No pictures today. The bad weather and work have not been condusive to picture taking. later. -Luke
Luke
This is the greatest blog I have ever read….!
nice! great reading. what is the extreme weather gear your wearing there?
sean