Author Archives: J

Obviously this one isn’t about Antarctica. This is about me and the discovery of the pup scene and why I chose to become a part of it.

Years ago I discovered pet play online and watched a few videos. I though (and still do) that it was really really weird. It took me giving up my life in Montana and moving to Pennsylvania to realize that while I was right, pet play is weird, it’s also very fun and a great form of unplugging for me. Better than turning to self-destructive methods like most people do to cope with the stresses of life.

In 2020 amongst the BS of the COVID scare, I left the comfort and familiarity of Montana to help my dad. He’d just fallen down the stairs and was in the hospital for about a month. Upon his release he needed someone to help him recover. He was also living alone in a house too big for him to take care of.

What I was hoping to be a six month (give or take) event ended up taking two years to complete. While I was there I had to try to find new friends and acquaintances, not an easy task for me. I ended up taking a job as a ride operator at Kennywood, where I met some great people. But I wanted something a bit more than just friends and acquaintances. I wanted to feel something a more emotionally. I started searching and was told that maybe pup would work for me.

I instantly rejected the idea because of the video’s I’ve seen previously. Looking back now though, I think I disliked the video because of how it was presented not what it represented. The video was far too serious about the persons transition from human to pony headspace. It was almost corny/cheesy in my opinion. And I wonder how I’d feel about the video watching it again!

So, I looked for and found a pup hood. I also took a long time after getting the hood to have a place to wear it. I met another new pup in Pittsburgh and eventually found a large number of people into the scene. I dove deeper and explored more.

My turning point and interest grew at a pup event in Pittsburgh at a bar. It was a gay bar, my first gay bar! I realized that I was way more comfortable being the person I wanted to be through pup. I was too embarrassed to be myself, I supposed from a lifetime of shame about being gay.

At the bar the group of pups were dancing and having a great time. I went to get another drink and saw the people on the opposite side of the bar. Sitting side by side not talking just stating off or at their phones. “Lonely in a crowded room.” I felt that would have been me under normal circumstances.

Additionally most pups and pup groups are very very accepting. In my life going from gay, pretending to be straight… for far too long, back to being gay. I found that most cultures, especially the gay culture is extraordinarily judgmental. I’m not into that. Another segway there!! Back to…

The normal me would have been the quiet one looking, waiting for someone to be interested. I would have been one of those lonely bastards looking across the bar at the pups having fun and judging them. That’s when I realized that I was having the fun I always wanted to have. So, Pneuma emerged and became a part of my life.

Another aspect I found really interesting is that I didn’t feel other’s judgment. I was able to compartmentalize and separate that from my normal life. Being out in public as Pneuma, I know people look and point and whisper, and none of that bothers me. What does bother me is that people judge rather than asking questions. So, for those of you that take the time to read the sh*t I write, this post is the explanation!

Deeper than that, however, is that Pneuma is fun. It’s like an actor acting out a role. I bet they think some roles are fun. It’s great to be silly and unwind and take photos and make videos. It’s all about having fun.

Another quick segway; pup for me is not sexual like it is for some folks in the scene. It’s also not a gateway into bestiality. At least for the majority. Yes, there are people that use the scene in that manner, but I’m not one of them. I enjoy the platonic and innocent interactions the most. I also like to try to present the platonic side of the scene to help promote the pawsitivity.

Ultimately for me pup is an outlet. It’s a creative outlet in which, for short periods, I get to escape the stresses of being an adult. I escape when I think about shirt designs and making them, a new hood design, or the next cool thing I can do to make Pneuma look more unique!! Like painting my own hoods rather than buying a custom, or adding the EL wire for Pneuma-Glow… It’s a fun and harmless outlet.

I could have chosen drinking or drugs and doing things that are more harmful. But I realized that was all hollow and unfulfilling. Pneuma became a part of me and I a part of him. However, I know that it’s just for fun and pretend. AND that brings me to another question. Why do we have to stop pretending as an adult?

Pretending could benefit everyone. We should all find a much better outlet for our frustrations. Pretending to be a dog is a pretty fun one. Just be mindless, exploring your immediate surroundings. Nothing outside that area matters. Not bills, or government, or foreign affairs. Just the flowers to sniff, the rocks to explore, the trees to hide behind. A really simple way to escape from the world for a little while. And harmless!

So, my lesson learned; ask rather than judging. And I wish more of us would do that. Ask questions to understand. Because you never know where you’ll find something that’ll work for you. Float tanks and Pneuma have been my therapy for some time. And I feel that it’s been working quite well. I’m well adjusted!! Ba-hahahahahaha!!

Hope you guys learned something here and if not ask those questions.

Here we are, finding ourselves in 2026. Did you ever think you’d see this year? Thinking back in my life, 2026 seemed like a future so distant I’d never see it. To think I started the year in Antarctica, even crazier! But here I am in the blazing hot (30ish°F) Antarctic summer, in a tee shirt enjoying the sunshine and snow… mostly.

I’m also dedicating myself to diet and exercise and a better version of me. Inspired by a quote from the television show M*A*S*H,

“It’s too big a world to be in competition with everybody else. The only guy I have to get better than is the guy I am right now.” Col. Potter.

I started the year strong hitting the gym everyday and eating far less. I downloaded an app to count calories and track my fitness. This is a plan I’ve made every year and by weeks end failed. This time, I’m not going to fail. Because this time… that whole paragraph is bullshit!! Ba-hahaha!!

I’ve been working on a song, and if it works out I’ll post it. But as of now, it’s sucks. I know I’ll get it right at some point. But it’s about being an absolute shit heel for the next year, so that 2027’s New Years Resolution is just being “normal” again. Making achieving that resolution attainable!! Sounds funny to me, just need to work the details out.

On the Antarctic work side of things; upper management, who aren’t even on the Ice, are in a panic that we will not have the runway ready by the end of the gap.

If I haven’t explained, I will now!! We have two air fields: Phoenix snow runway for wheeled aircraft and Williams ski way for skied aircraft. During the summer months Phoenix closes so we can level town (move the buildings and build up the snow under them) and do some maintenance. It also gets too warm to maintain proper compaction on the runway. Think about putting your ice cream in the fridge rather than the freezer, it softens. Then squeezing it to try reforming it. It just oozes around your fingers. That’s what the runway does if we take the weight cart out. Our lightest car is 37,000 lbs. and we work up to 167,000 lbs for max compaction. So, in the summer months our ice cream runway can’t support that much weight. However, what upper management fails to think about is the temperatures will lower and we will get compaction back. From what I’m told, year after year this has been the case. And year after year it still comes back together. And year after year, upper management panics!!

Every company I’ve worked for, there seems to be middle or upper management that creates chaos where it doesn’t need to be. In our situation, we are following the guidelines established by scientific study. Science shows that there is a max temperature at which the weight will not help but hinder. We are waiting to get back to that temperature. If we do create damage… To recover a 3” deep break in the surface it takes a minimum of 6 days. So, premature compaction puts us back almost a week.

Alright, enough bitching!! It’s a new year!!

More about McMurdo life, with photos!! And at the end, a magical moment!

First, Ice Stock. In my opinion a bit of a letdown. But I think I had too high expectations and I also haven’t been into drinking and partying. Some of the music was good, some terrible. But that’s the life when people do their best! What I really mean is here, we have people doing their best, and that’s great. And when they sound terrible, it’s real. It’s not over produced studio music. They practice a few times together then perform. Not doing take after take to get it perfect, no producer or sound engineer, no autotune. Just real and authentic sound. Some people should perform, some should not. But the reminder that the “real world” isn’t even real. It’s formulated and produced. But again, it was and interesting event. The costumes people brought or ordered or made. And the coffee from “Sawbucks”!! This will probably be the last year for that, hard alcohol sales will end in February this year. Sawbuck was making coffee and Bailey’s drinks for everyone free of charge! And see below for the hilarious stir…

In a shift, (sorry if this post is a little more chaotic) Mother Nature seems to never stop blowing my mind. It’s amazing how the immediate surroundings change. From sunny and 36°F, everything melting and soft to freezing fog and lack of sun and everything frozen again so quickly. Our waterfall went from flowing quite a bit to solid overnight. I know what you’re thinking; night time is colder. Yes, but just barely here. The sun is still up 24/7 and just circles the sky from north to west to south to east and back to north. But yes, it cools a few degrees at night but not enough to stop the waterfall. The freezing fog sure did!! Cooled everything down, which is what we need!

Now for the photos:

And one point of “housekeeping” please don’t send anything to me here. More than likely, I’ll be leaving before anything arrives.

In the real world it seems as though humanity has been on the path of bigger is better. A competition of sorts between cultures. Who has the biggest building, biggest roller coaster (yep, had to add the coaster wars!!), biggest… fill in the blank. A world wide ego flex.

I also believe we all buy into it to a point. Participating in the race or watching it. It’s not all bad, but when does it stop? When will we realize that bigger isn’t always better?

I’ve been able to unplug more than normal here in Antarctica. Or at least it’s been easier to unplug! Those of you that know me, know that I’m a bit obsessive over things and have little self control! So being here, where not everything is readily available has been another great aspect. It’s basically real world adjacent here.

Meaning while we have modern means; heat, electricity, indoor plumbing (most places!) and many other modern conveniences people still do things to entertain themselves and others. As I’ve mentioned many times before there is a group or event for almost anything here. If you want something, many others probably want it too. It’s also a great place to explore other things, things you may not think about in normal life.

In the real world there are too many distractions. That is rather unfortunate. Here that can also be the case, but most of us unplug part time. I’ve changed (probably just temporarily) my online habits from doom scrolling social media to focusing on the music I’ve been promoting. It’s a current obsession that’ll overwritten by a new one at some point. But for the time being I and creating rather than consuming meaningless drivel. Ba-haha, now I’m creating meaningless drivel!!

Anyway, the little things here are many and pop up in random places. As I said, humor here is huge. While I hate the term and concept; meme’s are huge here. Many departments create something hilarious to overcome the stress when it happens or just be funny. Poking fun is a great past time and other departments poke back. Case in point; LDB (NASA’s Long Duration Balloon) had some setbacks due to weather and equipment failures. This took equipment from the other two ice shelf facilities: Williams Skiway and Phoenix Airfield. This put both locations in peril of failing for incoming and outgoing flights. But, true to nature a department created a meme about all the working equipment being taken by LDB and the other areas suffering. The posted meme had retaliation by LDB by putting their own sticker on the meme! This was indeed hilarious.

Additionally stickers here are huge. Apparently, those who come to Antarctica don’t get past the sticker phase of life, it’s just becomes mature. Example of a ban sticker: “Get your rocks off at the beat off station!” The story behind that is we have a place at the transition (where the land and shelf ice meets) that we must stop at and clean off our vehicle so we don’t drag rocks and dust onto the shelf. The rocks and dust melt the snow faster. So the vehicle clean off station has a nickname like everything here; the beat off station. And here we are getting our rocks off… making sure we get as much grime off the vehicle as we can.

Walking around station there are examples of the humor almost everywhere. Especially stickers and some graffiti. I posted the photo of the bathroom stall with “Beware the limbo champion.” The next stall over has “Beware the pole vault champion!” at the top of the door!

My humor has been a couple songs: “Ban from Antarctica” and “McMurdo Madness”  both with some truth and some fiction as entertainment. There will also be stickers made at some point. As of now I don’t know what to make!

The scenery, while very monochromatic is still amazing. The day I arrived and saw the mountains for the first time all the way until today; spectacular. Everyday the weather is different and so are the views. Clear days and sunny; 360° views for miles and miles. Snow covered mountains, bare mountains, flat ice on the Ross Ice Shelf… Cloudy days, still great visibility, but everything is flat light and the texture is gone. Low clouds of fog, we are in our own little world miles or light years away from everything. The mental games are fun to play when one can’t see more than a couple hundred feet! Storms blow through, sometimes intense and sometimes they skirt entirely. Mt. Erebus venting its steam or acid cloud, beautiful to see. When the wind is calm the rising steam climbs. Most of the time there’s a breeze and it’s being blown off to one side and fading into blue sky. The changing snow pack, currently slowly melting from McMurdo running down the ditches back to the ocean.

I’m still waiting for the sea ice to melt and more wildlife to come. Hopefully orcas! I really want to see the orcas! On the horizon in the sea ice a few icebergs appeared last week. I’m going to see if I can find a better vantage point to see them and take some terrible photos! I did find a better vantage point. They look smaller!! Weird! From ground level and further away the looked tall as ships on the horizon. Must have been the Fata Morgana making them look taller.

The constant change is awesome and I enjoy seeing all of it for the first time. Today, we have a waterfall coming down the rocks near the transition. It’s New Years Day, 2026. It’s so warm it’s almost resort weather. Tomorrow we have Ice Stock, our New Year’s celebration of bands playing for twelve hours into the evening! I’ll post again soon about that event.

Whether you celebrate or not, doesn’t matter. I’m hoping that this holiday season you have a grand time doing what it is you do! Traditional, new age, occult, nothing at all… whatever!! What I decided to do was roam around station and find some of the holiday cheer McMurdo has to offer. So here are the results:

If anything there is an abundance of humor here. Non-Christmasy, here’s a little humor from McMurdo:

Happy holidays friends and pups!!

Woof!

So ya, really quick… maybe!!

Creating the pages and post here in Antarctica is a little more complicated than in the real world. At times I am able to use an actual computer connect to the satellites connected to the rest of the world to post. Like right this moment… No not while you’re reading this, but earlier. Good lord I feel like I’m in the Spaceballs scene where the video is available to rent before the movie is finished being made!! If you have no idea what I’m talking about you now have an assignment: watch Spaceballs!

The biggest thing I run into is transferring photos or music and whatnot. That eats a lot of data and is the biggest complication. We cannot connect directly to a computer, so everything has to be uploaded and downloaded, ugh!!

So much for quick!! What I’m getting at is that some posts are easy to create and upload while others take a computer. When using my phone, I am using the limited 2.5G per week that I have. So, I will be uploading some photos and another post soon with photos and other things… I can’t spoil the surprise!! But what I want you all to know is that I changed the Music page and added a song or two… I can’t remember how many!! I also changed the song about Roller Coaster Enthusiasts, to what I think is a better version. Anyway, I hope someone listens and gives feedback. In truth I am creating songs for me and hope that others like them!

I will be adding more music soon. I ran out of time today. But I have some more interesting ones that I let Suno take most of the control over. But they turned out great in my opinion!!

IN SHORT: photos and a post coming soon. Music comeing later.

Love you all and hope you are having a great life. I’ll be seeing everyone soon… In March 2026!

Clear as mud?

Since this place is so incredibly isolated and mostly cut off from the outside world… let me try that again.

The culture built here came from isolation and being cut off from the outside world. In the recent years internet has become more available and given those here a connection to things not Antarctica. Even with the limited connection we have things here hold some traditional value.

Meaning, people here intertwine in unique ways. Some of us work closely together. Some of us live closely together. These two groups generally don’t cross over. As an example, I work for Fleet Ops. We have about 30 people in our department working in several different locations. We have main town which is just called town; McMurdo. Several people operate loaders, motor graders, cranes, etc. for what is needed in town. Road maintenance, ditch maintenance, snow removal, water mitigation, ice pier construction, container movements, and the list goes on. Out in the shelf Fleet Ops has a few locations; Phoenix Airfield, Williams Ski-Way, and LDB (NASA’s Long Duration Balloon). We also do random other things on the shelf and the sea ice.

Those of us roomed together don’t work directly together. I don’t believe by design, just by happenstance. But I’m not 100% sure on that. I am grateful I don’t live with the people I work with. My roommates however are from different departments. One is a “fuelly” he transports and delivers fuel to various places on station and the shelf. Another is a “carp” Carpenter. He does Jesus’s work!! Ba-hahahahaha!! The other is a kiwi. He’s from New Zealand and works for a kiwi contractor that’s been building the new dorm building. He’s a painter, but apparently does other drywall stuff. Kiwis sound like Australians but talk with a slightly different accent and so fast I need a translator!! Think of an Aussie auctioneer!!

For social activities there are plenty of things to get involved with. People put on forma l and informal classes. The scientist and outdoor people will talk about outdoor survival, local wild life, do tours of the sea ice, etc. The informal stuff is put on by people working here. There are sewing classes, yoga, weightlifting, volleyball, witchcraft, Sunday church, etc. basically anything you can think of someone puts on a class or group for it. Even underwater basket weaving. There was only one of those classes. They all froze to death! Just kidding!!

There are dozens of social activities each week. So, not meeting people has been my own doing. I still don’t have the desire!

BUT, I did go out last Friday night to one of our bars. The station has to bars, but since some people can’t behave, it’s all BYOB. They sell mock tales and NA beers/drinks but the alcohols sales have ended. AND soon hard alcohol will no longer be sold here because people still can’t behave themselves. The few ruin it for the rest; happens here too.

I went out because one of my coworkers plays instruments and it was his last time playing before leaving here shortly. Musically talented people here puts band together and play. From what o heard that night, event the musically non-talented play and sing!! Think full band karaoke night!! Some wrote their own songs. Others play covers. The two bands I listened to were a mix of entertainment and unbearable noise. From my perspective anyway! One played parody covers. They used well known songs to play Antarctica specific music. One was about Ivan the Terror Bus that was retired last year. I have been told a little bit about this bus but I have not seen it. It was apparently on the continent for about 30 years transporting people around station. I’m assuming mostly from town to the shelf. It’s rumored to be in Christchurch. I’ll snap a photo if I see when on my return home. Long story short this band played a number of songs that people who’ve been here a number of years could relate to. Another of their songs was about the birds here called Skua. Apparently they get bold, like seagulls and will dive bomb if they think you have food or if you are near their nests. I heard someone talking about a Skua that years ago that attacked someone and they hid under a vehicle until the bird went away!

The other band with an unknown name played loud and obnoxious punk music… I left!! Not because punk is bad. But the mix/levels of the instruments was bad.

Come New Year we will have “Ice Stock” the annual summer party where many of the stations bands play. I’m excited for that; Pneuma will party again!

Not sure if I mentioned it last post but another cool thing that I haven’t done is the “Ob Tube” (and didn’t do before the ice got too thin). A tube put through the ice into the sea water below so people can climb down and see what’s below. I have seen photos of what was seen under the ice!

There are a number of very cool things available here. And the isolation helps people get creative and do different things and think differently. It’s like going back in time before everyone stared at their phones.

But, I have recently started creating music. More specifically taking ideas I’ve had and putting them into various LLM sites to help write lyrics then plugging those into another LLM to help write the music and put it all together. So basically I’m the spark and prompt writer. So far I have a few bangers!! Once they are polished I’ll see if I can share them here. As a forewarning; they will be adult themed and funny (for me anyway)!! And that’s for the most part. I might include some more personal things; but humor is my goal. As a hint I’ve created a song about how I got ban from Antarctica. I’ll let your noodle bake on that for a while!! And once I have the ability it’ll get posted! And if I can’t post I’ll try to link. If I can’t link then sucks to suck!!

It is interesting though how this place is in modern times but also still has aspects of the past (especially the equipment!). Meaning our limited internet lets us connect to the outside world. And that limit also forces us to do things differently than the rest of the world. An almost village mentality where we create our own entertainment rather than sitting in front of the television and rotting our little brains!

While I remain anti social I still talk to people and get to know them and have wild weird conversations, and I like them. Maybe that’s why I don’t talk to many people down here. Many of them seem rather timid to my humor and personality. So, no sense in making people dislike me!! Especially in such a small community.

Very soon, December 16 marks my half way home date. Meaning I’ve got my half way point for being on the Ice McMuado. But, I’ll elaborate on that soon! My travel home may include a few days in New Zeland for personal recovery and a slow integration back into the real world. And if possible a stop in Texas to get my PQ (Physical Qualification) done for next year. At the moment, I’m planning on returning for another summer. There are more factors that may change my mind, so I’ll keep you all apprised as things move forward.

This website isn’t only about Antarctica though. I’ll have to post some other Pneuma in the future!!

I’ve gotten feed back on a few songs from one person. I’m glad she enjoyed some of them. I’m going to continue “prompting” because I am making stuff I like! Very selfish I know!!

I’m posting a link here because I want you all to know about the page and give some listens. I also don’t know if the page shows up anywhere else to make it easy to navigate to! Lack of internet to work on these things is interesting. But where there’s a will, there’s a way.

The genre are all over the place, but I hope you guys enjoy!

Pneuma’s Antarctic Music

AND, I know I said photos next, but those are delayed. I was so close to getting a good Emperor photo!! Soon, I promise!!

The snow is melting. In town (McMurdo) the temperatures are generally ten degrees higher than on the shelf. But, even when it’s still below 0°F the snow everywhere is melting. Still in the negatives on the shelf and we have melt. That amazing power of the sun. Shining from millions of miles away, 93 million to be exact… ish, and yet able to melt snow in subzero temperatures.

Okay okay. 93 million miles is an average because the earth doesn’t orbit in a circle. It’s elliptical, therefore at its furthest, also known as aphelion it’s about 94.5 million miles away. And at its closest, also know as perihelion it’s about 91.4 million miles away. But anyway…

A new challenge we face on the shelf is the snow pack falling apart. Most of us know what it’s like when snow pack on roads starts to soften. Big ole snow pot holes. We will have the same here as the snow softens. Since wheeled planes use our runway it’s going to be a challenge to maintain and repair throughout summer. The runway does the same thing as all the surrounding snow. We will still be running the 65,000 lbs weight carts on it. So, that’ll creat damage that’ll need repaired. If we don’t, those soft spots continue to be a problem year after year.

Everything on the shelf stays white though! So much white here. Going outside without sunglasses is a terrible experience. I’ve done it a few times and regret not just going back to get them! All white, mostly flat, and now potholes!! Shelf life is indeed interesting. Just like back home, just way more sun and way more white! Oh, and on cloudy days. In flat light, you cannot see the pot holes, or the drifts after a storm; which we had another! Drifts up to four feet tall by the buildings and probably 6”-8” on the roads. It’s four days after the last storm and we still haven’t been able to fix the roads!!

Another mindf*ck is when I’m hand shoveling out on the shelf and I wonder when I’m going to hit dirt. How far do I have to dig to hit dir… oh wait. It’s snow and ice then ocean!!

And one more; being out in the shelf and looking at the mountains in the distance. The dark areas remind me of the mountains back him in the winter. Lots of snow; the white and then dark, generally trees. And I wonder to myself; why doesn’t anyone live here? Then quickly remind myself that that is just rock and snow in the distance. One would have to live on penguin and seal blubber alone. And I also wonder; what would those taste like?! What would a penguin omelette be like?! Use the seal fat for butter… I bet it all tastes like fish.

On Ross Island, the home away from home, the snow is melting and refreezing just like back home. Even though the sun is up 24/7 the temperatures still fluctuate to melt during the day and freeze at night. I figured it would just melt and stay melted, but apparently the suns angle changes enough. For the temperature change. It can also be felt. While in a machine working during the day it gets hot inside, even with the heat off. Toward the end of the shift the temperature in the cab starts to drop. That greenhouse effect in action!

This is creating wet and mud during the day and ice at night; which is still day!! Here, there is heat tape in the culverts to melt them out for the daily running water. Each culvert has a generator sitting there warming the heat tape melting a path.

The landscape is also slowly emerging. A reminder that this is an inhospitable place. It feels like the moon emerging from the snow. All volcanic rock and dust and no… no vegetation or wild life! I’ll post some photos soon. Maybe the moon landing was filmed here! Ba-hahaha!

Sure there’s the occasional skua, penguin, and the seals just lounging about. But the penguins and seals are mostly on the sea ice. The skua, two (make that four) that I’ve seen, just fly over and disappear. It’s desolate here.

Again a reminder of why not much really lives here. Because life is damn near impossible here. Plants, mosses, struggle through the very short summer season. I have been told that there are a few places that moss grows here. Maybe I’ll see some! But probably not. That would require a hike and I don’t have the proper footwear… or the ambition!

It’s mostly the ambition to go for a hike. But I will at some point for more photos of the area. There are vantage points that give another view.

Reminds me of Robin William’s character, John Keating, in Dead Poets Society when he stands on his desk and asks the students why he’s staring up there. His answer, “I stand upon my desk to remind myself that we must constantly look at things in a different way.”

And, similar but different, Frank Lloyd Wright when he presented his idea to the Kauffman family for the house at Bear Run, famously known as Fallingwater. His idea was to build the house atop the waterfall rather than facing it. And asked why; this is a paraphrase of course. Because if you have a view of the waterfall from your house you will eventually take the view for granted. The house on top forces the family to hike from the house to look back, thus keeping the appreciation of the waterfall.

Antarctica as I have said over and over is very beautiful. Like everywhere else in the world we have weather. From bluebird sunshiny days to windy cloudy days. We’ve had actual snow a couple times. And if you haven’t read my previous posts. Antarctica is a dessert or is it a desert?! Either way snow is rare and seeing it is magical. Most of the snow here has blown in. From where, I have no clue!! But it blows like the sands of a sand blaster. I bet you thought I was going to say desert!

Similarly the Royal Society Range, when the sky is clear, is magnificent!

Yes, this is an abrupt ending, but maybe it’ll keep you in suspense as to what will be posted next… oh wait. I said some photos. Well, that ends this post and the suspense!

We, here in the south, are in the season when the sun does not set. I was asked what it’s like; what the psychological effects are of being in 24 hours of daylight. The next sunset is February 20th 2026.

The truth is; I mostly don’t notice. The dorm room I’m in is an inner room, no outside walls and no windows. It’s an off white box with grey carpet and blue cabinetry. Sleeping is way easier here, even with roommates than it was at home. I sleep pretty solid through the night since there is no light.

The biggest effect I have noticed, is the work day seems to fly by. The sun does move throughout the day but it’s always the same brightness… unless of course there are clouds!

But it makes the work day seem short. I’ll look at my watch and realize it’s lunch time. And then look again later and realize we have worked more than our hours for the shift. But I feel like I can just work and work without getting terribly tired.

Unlike being at home with the day changing like it’s intended!! I felt constantly tired there. Maybe be it wasn’t the day and night changes. It could have been the elevation. Here, I’m not exactly at sea level, but I am working on top of the frozen ocean!! I’ll have to see if I can find the sea ice elevation!!

Another couple weird phenomena I didn’t expect, my compass points south rather than north. I believe I mentioned that already, but I still find it interesting. Things also look much closer than they really are. I’ll have to do some research, but the islands and mountains surrounding us look very close. But they are not. This seems magnified here, more so than back home. There is a book about an early explorer who thought he could walk across the ice shelf to one of the islands and return in the same day. He walked twelve hours and didn’t feel any closer so he turned back.

When we drive out to the airfield it’s about 11 miles, but about five as the crow flies. From the rock, Ross Island, it looks very close. Same with Williams Air field, which we approach as we are driving out to Phoenix Airfield. Williams will look like it’s about a mile away when it’s about six miles away. I think to myself that I’m close to the turn to Phoenix, but I actually may be half way to Williams. It’s very strange, that I’ve driven this road many times and still think I’m further than I really am.

And, the snow here sound like styrofoam walking or driving across undisturbed snow and it squeaks like styrofoam. It’s a fun sound, something you don’t hear much in the mid north!! I bet closer to the North Pole, it sounds the same as here! Since the snow here isn’t like back home, falling snow, it’s generally much harder. The snow blows in and drifts, and drifts in tight. I can feel the difference when running the dozer.

As of late I have been working on pushing out the pile of winter snow that has accumulated around Phoenix town. Over winter, they move the snow away from the buildings and pile it up. Over the summer we have to push that pile out flat to make room for next years snow. For the last week I have been pushing this snow.

But it also drifts around the piles of snow. I have been running a Cat D8 and I can feel the difference when trying to push through drifted snow. The machine struggles and most of the time starts to slide as it tries to break through the drift. The snow that’s been pilled is much softer and easier to push through. Nature is so cool!

The sea ice will be melting soon and more wildlife will be coming close!! Once I get an opportunity to take some better photos you’ll get to see too!!

Life here in Antarctica is the same as at home but different. Same because it’s daily life. All the same things; work, home, sleep. What makes it different?

For me the difference starts with routine. While for me a routine at home in the States was necessary, it was only an inconvenience if I forgot something. A day without music or podcasts if I forgot my headphones. Here it could lead to physical injury, or death. Remember the gloves, the extra gloves, the beanie, the under layers, the extra under layers, the down jacket (known here as Big Red because it’s big and red!), etc. Oh, and most days sunglasses. Good lord it’s bright when the sun is out. Forget anything and the day can be very very bad. It’s been consistently below zero, so climbing in and out of a machine; the exterior is at ambient temperature. No gloves and you grab metal that’s below zero. Forget the beanie and your ears freeze if you’re out for more than a few minutes.

Think about all the things you need in subzero temperatures to stay warm and safe for hours. It’s not often that we (my department) are outside, but breakdowns can happen and the rescue team could be hours away. Meaning you have to stay warm until they get to you. This is, of course, worst case scenario… Okay, let me say that again.

When working near town you could be out in the cold for a few hours. When out on a traverse or remote camp, it could take days to get rescued. So like a Boy Scout, preparation is key.

Bringing this back around to me, because that’s what this is all about… ME!! But I must have routine in order to make sure that I collect all the gear I will need for the day. I work at Phoenix Airfield, which is about a 30 minute drive away. We do have buildings to get into if needed, but If I am out on the runway and break down it could be up to a two mile walk to get to airfield town. Out on the ice shelf the wind is almost always blowing, so there’s almost always a windchill. And, it’s amazing how quickly it takes the heat out of you.

All that said my day starts differently than it used to. I am no longer interested in checking Facebook or Instagram or emails, or texts first thing. My focus is on the routine of showering and getting ready for the day. The most important thing is checking the temperature and windchill along with the weather forecast. Weather here is like weather anywhere, just colder! Things can change quickly, however we have miles and miles of sky to look at to see what’s coming. This gives us 30 minutes to an hour to prepare. But again, the morning prep is the most important. Having extra socks/gloves and under layers. Making sure I have my baclava, beanie and hand warmers (Thank you Shawn & Will). Making sure I have my sweatshirt, light jacket and Big Red. Making sure I will be okay for a few hours in the elements if need be. Chances of that happening are slim, but there is always a chance. Oh, and I forgot… goggles, having goggles just in case. They help block the wind/protect skin and they keep the dust out of the eyes. Yes, there’s a fair amount of volcanic dust being blown around.

To me, the morning routine is the most important part of the day, where I must focus. Because, any distraction can take me out of the process and I’ll overlook something. Could be as mundane as no headphones, or as detrimental as forgetting Big Red. While I don’t wear that coat often anymore, I might need it for a long walk one day.

After the shower and dressing and making sure all my gear is in my pack and head to breakfast. The galley is pretty good for food service food. I have only had a couple meals that were meh. For the most part there is great flavor and variety. To make you jealous (okay, it won’t make you jealous because you have all the meat you want) we will be having ribeye for brunch today. Sunday brunches are something to look forward to!! But the regular breakfast is generally scrambled eggs, a typical breakfast meat, over night oats, potatoes, canned fruit, etc. There is also a section where we can get eggs made to order, but that line is generally long and I don’t give myself the time. After breakfast and a cup of coffee it’s a phone call with Ruffles. We discuss… haha, I’m not telling!

After the phone call I wander my happy ass to work. About a 1/4 mile walk up to the Fleet Ops shop and wait for the morning meeting. This is a chaotic discussion about the days events. Most of it, like most meetings, does not pertain to to us out at the airfield. Then we make the 30ish minute drive from “the rock”, Ross Island, out onto the ice shelf to the air field.

Once there we fire up the equipment we need for the day. And the days vary from runway maintenance to helping other departments with their tasks to road maintenance… As an example we had to move some sleds, about the size of a short tractor trailer, because they were still buried in the snow from the storm. They were going to go to the cargo department to transport car from the airfield to town. But they were in a hole about two feet lower than the surrounding area. They can’t just be pulled out, the skis freezing to the ground. So they have to get dug out by machine and hand and then “popped” out of the ice before they can be pulled. Multiply that process by six sleds. After they are moved the holes have to be filled in and smoothed. Otherwise someone is going to drive into it during a moment of flat light.

If you have never experienced flat light, it’s when the sky is overcast and you cannot see any contour of the land/snow. You can be driving down the snow road and hit a massive drift you could not see. Everything looks flat, which is probably where the term “flat light” comes from! That’s my guess, because we humans either make up a crazy weird term for something or the most boring term ever!!

After nine hours out at the airfield either maintaining or supporting flights we return to town for dinner and for me, bed. Most people here socialize and do evening events. As I said in the previous post, I haven’t met people I really want to hang out with yet. I also haven’t tried. I’m also curbing my alcohol intake, it’s been 21 days. I had my last drink in New Zealand and I have been just fine with it! The bars here used to serve alcohol but have since stopped. They now only have NA drinks and each person has to bring their own alcohol. 

Funny thing is they are trying to limit the amount some people drink, because you know… those individuals that can’t control themselves. But the alcohol in the store is cheaper than buying back in the states. The NA is even cheaper. I say, if you want to limit drinking make it expensive!!

There is an Alphabet Mafia (my term not theirs) movie night here, however I am supposed to be changing shifts, meaning I won’t be able to go to it or any event event during the week. Sucks to suck!!

But, that is a typical day.

As I’m writing this I am in a bar, called Southern Exposure, which is currently serving coffee. Great thing, the coffee is free. Even specialty foo-foo drinks I like mochas or whatnot. What makes this place different is the people who volunteer to help out. So today, the barista is a kiwi named Cody. He makes a great mocha with the limited resources. Biggest thing is the lack of milk here. So they make these mixed drinks with powdered milk. It’s indeed different, but still good!

That’s another thing about here. Everything is everyones job. Stairs need some shoveling, do it. Cup try in the galley is empty, take it to the dish pit, floor needs a vacuum, vacuum it. Trash needs taken out… take it out.

It’s also Sunday, a day almost everyone has off. It’s the day everyone wants a washer and drier!! It’s the day everyone sleeps in because they partied too hard last night. Here, apparently, we work hard and play hard! God only knows what time my roommates came in last night. I was passed out by 9 PM and woke at 7 AM. I was able to sleep in, so that’s my win and reward for the week!

Here is my little slice of heaven on the bottom of the Earth:

I was the last of the four in this room, so I got the bunkbed. Thankfully I’m not number five or I would have gotten the top bunk and a room full of guys that hate me for the number of times I have to get up to pee!! None the less there is very little space here. Three drawers and a large upper cabinet and a small night stand with three small drawers.

As you can see I made it more home with Ducky and Lamb Chop and of course a frame with Ruffles and I. Seeing him here with me every day is so amazing. Of course this does not mean the rest of you are less meaningful, just a different meaning! He has captured my heart and I really enjoy that. So, he is here with me in spirit and in photo form!! The rest of you are in my thoughts more than you know. I also created a little cave with extra sheets to block out the light while I sleep.

Not an ideal situation but I have had much worse roommates in the past. And much worst neighbors in employee housing. There was Valleyfair where the three asian boys I shared a room with took over everything; the mini fridge filled with five gallons of milk and the rest of their groceries in the middle of the floor where they remained until used. And the couple in Montana that beat the crap out of each other and destroyed their room in the process.

All things considered this is a great place overall. Not great for everyone. I would not want to live like this long term, but for a few months… for five months, it’ll be a-okay. And, next year I get better housing. This is the “newbie shit hole housing” that’s much better than I anticipated. The showers are hot and the water has so much pressure it’ll rip your skin off!!

Speaking of the water, have I mentioned it’s salty? Our potable water is desalinized ocean water, but still has a slight salt taste to it!

The top bunk will be filled during vessel, when the ship comes. I feel sorry for that guy and myself when that happens. Hopefully that’s a short time.

Bonus, the mattress is very comfortable. Double bonus, any bed bugs and the mattress just goes outside for a couple days and they’re all dead! I have not had any bed bug problems. Another bonus, there are no bug here whatsoever!!