James Brown Bingo and more

Last night was the first James Brown Bingo night of the season. It was a nice change from the usual Saturday night parties in summer camp. James Brown is one of the chefs here, and while he's no King of Funk (picture a short, buzzcut, tightly wound white man in chef's clogs- he kind of reminds me of the crazy Vietnam-vet chef from Wet Hot American Summer), he makes a great bingo caller. I've never played bingo before, but I had the impression it was the domain of grandparents gambling away their social security checks. Not at the South Pole. For only $1 per card you can buy into a fiercely competitive game with great prizes like cash, gift certificates to bars in Christchurch, and outdoor gear. Since it was Saturday night, the crowd worked their way into inebriation and got progressively more crude and more loud. I didn't win any prizes, but I'll definitely play again.
Today I am playing the first round of a Scrabble tournament. The only people who signed up for this tournament are the serious Scrabble players, so it should be very competitive. My opponent, Laura, is good. But if I lose the first round, there's a chump bracket too. After our game, I'm hoping to write some postcards, perhaps go skiing, and generally relax.
It's been a good work week- I am feeling a lot healthier. We have worked a lot for the Ice Cube project, laying the cable that connects their underground sensors with their lab and computers. This involves pulling the cable off of a gigantic spool and dropping it into a 8" wide and 4' deep trench, and then shoveling snow back into the trench to cover it up. It's always cold over at Ice Cube, since they are more exposed to the wind, but I really like getting to see how they set up their system. Their research is studying a subatomic particle called the Neutrino, by burying photosensitive sensors in an array under the ice.
In other exciting work news, yesterday all the GAs got trained to drive the shuttle van, which I will be doing once a week for the rest of the season. I also learned how to drive a snowmobile, which turns out to be entirely idiot-proof. Not surprising, when you consider the population of drunken rednecks who enjoy snowmobiling (that comment is for you, Uncle Paul).
One of the most exciting moments of the week is when the mail arrives. It usually comes once a week, and everyone envies the people who receive mail regularly. So, if you are inspired, I would love to receive mail of any sort, and will definitely send back a postcard with a penguin stamp. The address here is:
Molly Anderson, RPSC
South Pole Station
PSC 468 Box 400
APO AP 96598