11 December 2008 Everything Has To Be Returned

Stacy told us we could come in at 9:30am. Of course, Francois arrived at 7:30am, I arrived at 8:00am and Scott (the newest sick child) arrived about 9:15am. It's time to start returning everything and pack up. The first thing we did was make piles of things to be returned. These included drill flights, generators, field gear, and pee bottles. Scott and I loaded up the Pisten Bully four times and made deliveries. We took the generators back and they used a forklift to get them out of the Pisten Bully. Wish we had one of those.

Then we returned the rest of the gear. The heavy things were the four survival bags that were on top of the Pisten Bully. You can't just throw them down. After all this loading and unloading, Scott and I had very sore backs.

This had taken all morning. After lunch Stacy got a call that we needed to clean out the Tomato and move it. Stacy and I jumped in the Pisten Bully and headed for the Tomato. If you don't know, a Tomato is a portable building that is used by divers. It is moved so that it sits over a dive hole. This way the divers have a warm place when they exit the water. It is called a Tomato because it is round and red.

Stacy had me back up the Pisten Bully while she attached the Tomato. I had forgotten my sunglasses and I had to squint because the sun was so bright. I think that is why I nicked the wood on the skis of the second Tomato when I parked the first Tomato.

Luckily there was no damage and Stacy and I kept right on working. After we unloaded the Tomato and moved it, then we went to Cape Armitage to collect flags. We decided to collect flags all along the way back to McMurdo Station. Some of the flags had been out in the wind for a long time.

Stacy was a real he-woman and lifted a "cookie". This is a foam cover for a dive hole. I did help by chipping the ice around the edge and loosening it up for her. I also managed to step into the only hole in the area. The strange thing is that both Stacy and I had already walked in the area and yet I suddenly found myself knee-deep in snow. I didn't injure myself but I wonder how long my luck will last. Maybe it is a good thing that I am leaving next week.

We returned to the lab and started on some paperwork. We also had some work to do on the computer. After dinner I worked in the lab for a short time and then I went to my room to work in a little more comfort. I actually had some time to do a little of my personal work. Woo hoo! I am still fighting with this sickness. I keep coughing, especially at night so I better go to bed early. Good night.