Well it has been a few days since I have posted anything so I figured I would try to write a little bit about a typical day working in Antarctica. In the morning I basically get up, and grab some breakfast in the galley before walking over to the electrical shop and starting work at 7:30am. Before we head out we check the weather report to make sure it is safe to go outside and to determine what type of gear we need for the day.
In the morning it is a requirement that all the shops have a daily safetly meeting before work and also that we all go through a series of stretches to get the blood moving and stay warm etc. After that is done we are told what the plan is for the day and we are sent out.
There are currently a total of 8 people in my crew. We have four Journeyman electricians, three apprentice electricians and a general helper, at this point I am the youngest in our group by a couple of years. So far our group has been working on one main project, running conduit for a NASA satellite, however we are also responsible for all of the service calls around town. Today myself and another guy were in change of the service calls. We ran around town (literally), with our list of work orders and did things like repair lighting, outlets, inspections, etc.
Today I found out a couple of things, the first is that I am scheduled to attend "happy camper" school sometime soon, which is a type of survival training where they send you out into the ice and you build your own snow trench shelter and spend the night in the freezing temperatures. Some people are dreading it, but I am actually looking forward to it. The second thing I found out today is that I along with another Journeyman are being deployed to set up a science field camp approximately 500 miles away from here on WAIS (Western Antarctica Ice Shelf). We are scheduled to be out there for two weeks, so its going to be pretty tough, it has been getting down to around 50 below out there so hopefully it will be bearable by the time we head out.
Other than that, not too much going on down here. I hope everthing is going well for everyone back home, I will write more when I get more info.
Ooh, an ice trench. What a lovely, cozy spot to spend the night.........Not! Sounds cold and icy and frigid and, well, damned cold! Speaking of which when you're out working on conduit or running down service calls, how long can you be outside before you have to get into a heated space like a vehicle or building? I'm just trying to get my head around being in single digit and minus digit temperatures. Makes me shiver and my jaw tighten up just to hear about it. Brrrrr. Stay warm!
ReplyDeleteLynn