New Year's Eve seems to be the biggest holiday of the season here. Everyone has been living hard for the past two weeks, with three big parties packed into two work weeks, and TWO days off instead of one each week. In true Antarctic style, each one involved copious drinking, dancing, and unexpected outdoor sports.
The first party of the holiday season was the FEMC barbecue, two weeks ago Saturday. FEMC stands for Facilities, Engineering, Maintenance and Construction and is one of the biggest departments here, and the one I work for. The party was hosted by the science carpentry shop, which is in one of the Jamesway tents. The carpenters carefully locked up all the sharp and dangerous tools, spread out a tablecloth with a fine spread of munchies and Raytheon-provided beer, and invited all 50-100 people who work for FEMC. The two biggest draws were the ice luge and the sledding. The ice luge is a giant block of 2000+ year old ice, hauled up from under the snow, and carved with a drill to create a tunnel through which adventurous polies pour hard liquor, directly into their mouths. Apparently drinking through a chunk of ice that was here when Jesus was but a child is quite a thrill - but I was pretty tired from a long week of work, so I stuck to the beer.
Right outside the party was a large-ish pile of snow that the heavy equipment operators stacked up as they were removing snow from nearby buildings. As the evening progressed, quite a few partygoers dragged sleds amd even a sofa up the hill, only to tumble back down. I took a few runs, since you're never too old for sledding.
The first party of the holiday season was the FEMC barbecue, two weeks ago Saturday. FEMC stands for Facilities, Engineering, Maintenance and Construction and is one of the biggest departments here, and the one I work for. The party was hosted by the science carpentry shop, which is in one of the Jamesway tents. The carpenters carefully locked up all the sharp and dangerous tools, spread out a tablecloth with a fine spread of munchies and Raytheon-provided beer, and invited all 50-100 people who work for FEMC. The two biggest draws were the ice luge and the sledding. The ice luge is a giant block of 2000+ year old ice, hauled up from under the snow, and carved with a drill to create a tunnel through which adventurous polies pour hard liquor, directly into their mouths. Apparently drinking through a chunk of ice that was here when Jesus was but a child is quite a thrill - but I was pretty tired from a long week of work, so I stuck to the beer.
Right outside the party was a large-ish pile of snow that the heavy equipment operators stacked up as they were removing snow from nearby buildings. As the evening progressed, quite a few partygoers dragged sleds amd even a sofa up the hill, only to tumble back down. I took a few runs, since you're never too old for sledding.
In the pictures above, you can see some sledding action, my boss enjoying the ice luge, and one of New Hampshire's Finest South Pole Science Carps, the esteemed Chris Rice, parading through with some bloodied steak, fresh off the grill.
Four short days after that night, we celebrated Christmas Eve. My shift took Wednesday and Thursday off, and ate our fine Christmas dinner on Wednesday. The galley served beef wellington and lobster tails, and like Thanksgiving it was a fancier event that everyone dressed up for and enjoyed.
For New Year's, the gym here was transformed into a stage and dance floor and decorated. Several bands played a variety of music, including bluegrass and some danceable favorites from the 70s and 80s, and a good number of people got creative with their costumes. I had a great night mingling on the dance floor and getting to see some good friends on the day shift, who I no longer work with. Sometime after midnight, the bands closed it down and some friends and I headed out to the competing party hosted by Ice Cube. The drillers at Ice Cube had taken their hot water drill, which is normally used to dig deep cores into the ice, and used the hot water to create a gigantic hot tub in the snow. It was big enough for around 40 people and included a waterslide! After a couple hours in the tub, we were wrinkly-fingered and sleepy, so Jeremy, Trudy and I hit the leftovers fridge in the galley for a late night snack and wandered back to bed. It was certainly a memorable night. I hope that everyone enjoyed the start of 2009 as much as I did.
I have some great pictures of all these events, but the computers are acting up. Stay tuned for visual aids another night!
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