caffeine & codeine [vol. 2]
12 tracks for when I don’t know how I feel or what I want. Chill but with a beat or some punch. Including music by Beirut, Dimes, and Freelance Whales.

One difference in my winter season, as compared to last year, was my involvement in open mic nights. I have been tempted in previous seasons to do some small performances, play piano pieces, but I just never did. The nights would fill up, or I wouldn’t have anything practiced and ready to perform, or I would lose my nerve… for whatever various reasons, I’ve never performed at any of the various music events over the years, either playing piano or singing. (*Disclaimer: karaoke, of course, does not count.) Apparently, most people weren’t even aware that I played piano or that I had any skill to speak of – I was scolded afterward for not letting people know that I was able and available for keys in band projects. Oh well.

So my first milestone was putting together a last-minute song with Jen and Josie to sing at an acoustic jam/open mic night in March. We got a great response and it was a lot of fun to sing. Mark was our time keeper, slapping his knee to give us a beat. Way to be, Poobacca.  It wasn’t a big deal, just one a cappella song, but it was the first time I made any serious attempt to sing in front of an audience.

Key of Q (as in "questionable") performing at Open Mic Night. (photo by K. Nelson)

The song was “Didn’t Leave Nobody but the Baby” (from the Oh, Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack). Sorry, I don’t have any recording of our version, but you can hear can hear Alison Krauss, Gillian Welch, and Emmylou Harris sing it if you’d like:

So that was the first step. The next was to polish up some piano-only pieces to play at the wine tasting (more on that to come), and then finally to put the two together – to play the piano and sing at (get this) the same time!

That’s right. It really took some crazy hand-eye coordination exercises to prepare, but in the end I came through and did my first play-and-sing performance for an audience. I was a nervous wreck, but I did it. I played the piano for “Hallelujah” (the Rufus Wainwright version), which the girls from Key of Q (Jen, Josie, and Emily) performed with me. I forgot to ask for a light to illuminate my sheet music, so I was having a hard time starting that one off, and in my squinty attempt to sing the first verse actually sang the word “hallelujah” promptly followed by the expletive “GODDAMMIT!” So, yes, I’m still a blasphemer. But immediately after that gem somebody brought me a light and I was able to read my music and made it the rest of the way through the song with fewer comic expletive stops. After that one, I did a Fine Frenzy song – “Almost Lover” – by myself, playing and singing. Like I said, it was nerve-wracking, but I had a lot of fun. Go me.

This whole album is good, but I am in love with this song:

You can listen to most of his albums and purchase music from his website. Enjoy!!

Establishing routines is important to the Winterover. Our routines are an important part of what keeps us at least relatively sane during the months of darkness we’re about to undergo. Plus, making sure you’re involved in something helps ensure that you don’t turn into a reclusive lump sitting in your room (eating Cheetos and watching donkey porn in some crazies’ cases… but we won’t name names).

One very important routine that I was eager to get back into the swing of was (drumroll….) Pants Optional Radio!

Wayne Deer sans pants, as is the requirement for the DJs of Pants Optional Radio.

That’s right, Wayne Deer and Barb Dwyer were back at it for a second season. Every friday night, Wayne (Brooks) and I would settle in for two hours of pantsless musical awesomeness, as well as our usual self-entertaining commentary. Here’s a link to download the kickoff show (until it expires).

Then there are just the things we do that characterize *Winter*. Our traditions. Our habits.

Such as the kickoff of Prank and Practical Joke season. Things are a little more lax around here in the winter, so we feel a little more comfortable screwing with people. Harmless fun, really, and we need to get our kicks somewhere. Roo-Roo (some of you may know him as Jeff) is a master:

Jeff thought MC might be bored and so brought him a year's supply of movies. Or... I guess on winter time, it's a least a week's supply. (photo © J. Urbaniak)

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Jeff figured the office needed some redecorating. Yes... sometimes we have some time on our hands. (photo © J. Urbaniak)

And the Kiwis can always be counted on to join in, taking our hi-jinks to an international level. We had a Delta break down right at the bottom of the hill by Scott Base, and the Kiwis did this:

The boot that the Kiwis at Scott Base put on our broken-down Delta. They also stole the steering wheel. (photo © G. Sorbello)

Horseshoes. A monthly tradition for us winterovers. On the Saturday of our one two-day weekend each month, the Heavy Shop hosts a BBQ and horseshoe tournament in their shop. Good friends, good food, and a good excuse to drink beer all day.

Poobacca, Johnto, Keith, Jen and I. (photo © C. Wilson)

And then there was drinking. Let’s not sugar-coat it: winterovers drink a lot. I think I did better this year and didn’t spend nearly as much time at the bar – which is good both from a liver and a wallet standpoint – but there was definitely some partaking. And what winter featuring Mark *Poobacca* Scowden and I would be complete without…

Mind erasers!!!

The Mind Eraser tradition was born last winter between Jack, Mark and I. Ol’ Man Krick did not join us this winter season, so the Mind Eraser may not have been quite as prevalent as last year, but Mark and I could still be relied upon to be ever so slightly irresponsible when it came down to it.

Unfortunately, in the midst of kicking off our winter and re-establishing traditions and routines, there also occurred a series of events that set the precedent for a general mood or theme for the rest of the season: Shit Went Wrong.

Right around the time we were sending off the last flights, on February 22, there was another catastrophic earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand. Not only did that have the direct effect of halting air traffic in and out of the city (including the C17 flights that were supposed to leave from CHC to come get the last summer people out of here), but it also had a hugely sobering effect on most of the people here. Christchurch is like a second home to people who have been coming down here for numerous seasons. We travel through the city twice every year on our way to and from the Ice. We stay in the same places, we visit the same pubs and restaurants, we shop in the same stores. We know people there, people who take care of us and treat us like friends instead of tourists when we pass through. Watching them suffer and watching their city fall apart around them was not a happy time for anybody. Luckily, none of our close friends, program workers, or family members (in the case of the Kiwis that work here) were seriously injured, but we still mourned the loss of life and the destruction of the city.

The iconic cathedral in Christchurch, afer the big earthquake that toppled the steeple. (photo © B. Mellott)

We also had a ton of Ice people in the area since all the summer people were redeploying, and some winterovers were still incoming. Again, luckily they were all okay, but many of them had some big scares.

Once the airport in Christchurch was cleared and we were able to resume flights, we had further problems. The massive breakup of the sea ice extended farther back to the ice shelf than it ever had, and we became concerned about the road out to Pegasus Airfield. There were significant cracks running along and across the road. For the very last flight, we were actually ordered to convoy back so that we could ensure everybody made it across the cracks safely. Thus, the need for a new Pegasus road became evident and was added to Fleet Ops to-do list for the winter.

Satellite image of the Ross Sea ice break-up. The red line is the road - it was a bit of an adrenaline rush to be driving on it!

Then there were the Norwegians. The Norwegian yacht Berserk sailed into McMurdo Sound in February with a crew of five, two of which set out across the continent in an attempt to commemorate the centenary of Amundsen’s South Pole expedition. On tracked 4-wheelers. In late February. You know, because it’s a fantastic idea to sail a yacht into Antarctic waters and attempt to cross the continent at an unstable time of year when the summer is ending and weather is hugely unpredictable. So it came as a big surprise when the yacht sent out a distress signal during a storm at sea and disappeared on February 22 (yep, the same day as the quake). New Zealand search and rescue efforts were unable to find any trace of the yacht, and the expedition received international criticism for not obtaining proper permits and following Antarctic regulations. The two Norwegian crew members that had attempted to set off across the continent (and of course did not make it) had to catch a ride on our last flight out. The ATVs were left behind, as a physical reminder to irresponsible and ridiculous behavior in Antarctica:

This is the ATV the Norwegians thought they were going to drive to the pole. Yep. Oooo-kay. (photo © G. Sorbello)

It has to be said, there is some comedy inherent in a lot of this. The ridiculousness of the Norwegian expedition. Our scramble to shuttle people to Pegasus before the road broke apart underneath of us. The things that happen down here that just baffle you, make you shake your head and ask “what the f*#k?!” But then there are the parts that aren’t funny. People dying because they didn’t have enough respect for the environment they sauntered into, not fully prepared. People down here get sick of hearing that annoying expression “it’s a harsh continent.” Or they say it tongue-in-cheek. But then something like this happens, and you know it’s true. This place can kill you at the drop of a hat, and that shouldn’t be forgotten.

So yeah… it was a rough start to the season. And that was just the beginning. Things continued to go awry throughout the winter, but I’ll save the rest for later posts. I am, after all, trying to keep all of this sequential. And I’m really not trying to be a Debbie Downer. There were good things that happened too and I will post about them in order too. But, as I’ve previously warned, I’m not going to eulogize this winter. Things were up and things were down, and these are all the things that happened right off the bat.

More to come. Hasta,
Ceds

I am trying not to let that flavor my posts too strongly. I am also trying not to paint some false positive picture. I don’t want to eulogize the winter and pretend that it was better than it was. But I don’t want to forget the things that were good about it either. Because there were good things, the things about this place that do make me want to come back. And one Antarctic truth that never goes away: Antarctica is beautiful.

I mentioned in a previous post all the wildlife that was around at the beginning of the winter and the expanse of open water in the sound. I thought it would be good to share some more images of that time. You can’t deny that this place is beautiful in a way that nowhere else quite is.

Sunset over the open water of McMurdo Sound. (photo © J. Urbaniak)

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Marching Emperor penguins... how stereotypical! (photo © L. Romero)

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Waves on the "beach" by Hut Point. (photo © DJ Jennings)

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Seal peaking through a tidal crack. (photo © L. Romero)

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Cruise ship visits McMurdo Sound. (photo © DJ Jennings)

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Adélie penguin with some specially selected rocks. I don't know what he's planning to do with the nest he's buidling since they don't nest here. (photo © C. Miller)

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Sun getting low on the horizon in March, setting through the mist at Hut Point. (photo © C. Moore)

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Seals taking advantage of the sun while it's still around. (photo © C. Miller)

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This guy looks like he's having a rough time. (photo © C. Miller)

Antarctica… you can be a cruel bitch. But you are beautiful.

Love,
Ceds

Many people think that the lack of sun might be depressing and hard to deal with. And yes, it can be. Our sleep patterns get disrupted without the usual environmental triggers telling us when we should sleep and when we should be awake; we’re constantly fatigued; the lack of sunlight means that our vitamin D levels are deficient and our energy levels are drained; and we are at incresed risk of seasonal affective disorder. So yes, the dark takes some getting used to and some effort to combat its effects.

But the lack of sunlight lets you see some pretty spectacular things here in Antarctica. No matter how fed up I might get with this program at times, no matter how much I might miss green grass and rain, no matter how much I crave sushi and draught beer… there’s no denying that Antarctica is beautiful. It’s beautiful year round, but I think it’s especially so during the winter months. Cold, dark, isolated, eerie… and amazing.

The Moon over Ob Hill. (photo by D. Su)

You know what I mean?
-Ceds

Denver friends Audrey & Jordan, me and my co-deployment pal Justin.

Me with Denver-based friends Danny and Robyn, and my co-deployment companion Josie.

After Denver, it was the standard travel marathon to get to the Ice: fly Denver to LAX; then to Auckland, NZ, crossing the International Dateline along the way and thereby completely skipping over a day (RIP January 22, 2011); then down to Christchurch for a two-night stay in order to get our ECW gear issued; and finally a 5-hour jaunt by military C-17 cargo plane to McMurdo Station. I arrived on station on January 25. Somehow it was like I never left.

Pretty much immediately after I got here, the resupply vessel made it into port and I spent 5 long days working 12-hour shifts until it was all unloaded. I worked the Galley Pad, which meant I was unloading and checking in all the food for the next year (and then some) as it came off the ship. It was long, exhausting work but we made it pretty fun – the Kiwi Defense Force crew working with us really helped in that arena:

Ben, one of the Kiwi helpers, "lifting" a 40-foot refrigerated milvan. Yeah... we unloaded a LOT of food.

Matt & Laura (Kiwi helpers), Bamma and I taking one of many jumping pictures in the Galley Pad during vessel offload.

While I was hoping to have more time at home and not come back to station until late February, there were some perks of getting here when I did. I got to see the Nathaniel B. Palmer research ship come in…

…I got to watch all the ice break out of McMurdo Sound (something that hasn’t happened in the last 11 years, and never to the extent it did this year)…

Sea ice breaking apart in McMurdo Sound.

Sea ice breaking apart near Scott Base.

Open water in McMurdo Sound.

…and I saw lots of wildlife (more on that coming soon to a blog post near you).

Visiting with some Emperor Penguins. They were hanging out near our airfield while they molted.

And of course, during the overlap period between when I got to station and the last of the summer people left on March 5, the main focus of mine and other winterovers’ time was hanging out with our summer friends – people we wouldn’t see for at least six months.

My summerover friends, Robin & James. We were all DAs together in 2007-08.

Sharon, me and Cameron. We were all MidRats together in 2009-10.

Carlie and Jack, my summer Fleet Ops buddies.

So… yes. There was a lot of this during those socially-active few overlapping weeks:

Empties.

What can I say? We McMurdians are perfesshunals, if nothing else.

Anyway, the last C-17 flew out of here on February 26 – slightly delayed due to all the earthquakes in Christchurch, NZ. Then the actual last flight – an Australian-operated Airbus – took off on March 5, tipping its wings to us as it left in salute. That would be the last (planned) plane we would see for close to six months (spoiler alert: plans changed, but that’s for a later post).

The last flight leaving McMurdo for the winter. So long for the next six months, world. (photo by K. Nelson)

Thus began my second austral winter spent at McMurdo Station, Ross Island, Antarctica. Bring on the crazy.

-Ceds

If you read my previous post (A Year in 3:18) and watched the video, you may have gotten an idea of some of the places I went and the things I saw. But I’m going to take you a little more in depth.

We landed in Christchurch, New Zealand, pretty late in the evening, as per usual when redeploying form McMurdo. By the time we dropped our ECW gear at the CDC
(remember to refer to the glossary for Ice-lingo you aren’t familiar with) and got checked into our hotel rooms, there wasn’t much left open as far as dinner options went. But that was okay – we just headed to our favorite Antarctican watering hole: Bailie’s in Cathedral Square. (*I would like to point out that this was all before the severe earthquakes that wreaked havoc on Christchurch. Earthquake tracking available here.) Please excuse the debauchery you’re about to witness:

We spent a few days decompressing in Christchurch, catching up on all the stuff we’d missed out on – mainly beer on tap and good food:

The #1 thing I was craving.

Justin was pretty excited about these burgers.

We also used the time to visit doctors, radiologists and dentists in order to complete our PQ process for next winter. Then several of us piled into a rather cramped van and drove to Queenstown for some good ol’ fashioned adrenaline rushes.

Jumping off the 134-meter Nevis Highwire in Queenstown, NZ. HELL YEAH!

After my adrenaline fix, it was off to Oz. I spent a few days exploring Sydney…

Standing in front of the Sydney Opera House.

Sydney Skyline

Inside the Sydney Opera House.

…made a new friend – Joey, the Canadian-turned-Bangkokian…

Me and Joey.

…and took him out on the town with Brooks and his Aussie friends…

Out on the town with Brooks, his Aussie friends, and my new friend Joey

…and then Marika and I rented a car and headed north up the coast. We stopped at a Koala Hospital along the way:

A rescued koala.

Our plan was to take in some scenery and visit the Irwin family’s zoo (RIP Steve). And it just so happened that Byron Bay and our good friend Jackie were en route. What we originally thought was going to be a quick overnight stay turned into a few days of sun-soaked bliss as we gave in to the charm of that laid back surfing town. Thanks for the good times, Jackie boy!

Gorgeous Byron Bay - not a bad place to unwind for a few days.

The Byron Bay routine.

Justin was visiting too, and Jackie took us all on a road trip to Nimbin. Great times!

Jackie, me, Marika and Justin on our Nimbin road trip

Best business hours I've ever read.

After we left Byron Bay, Marika and I chilled with some wildlife at the Australia Zoo, owned by the late Steve Irwin’s family…

Australia Zoo

Me & my new wallaby friend.

Kangaroo at Australia Zoo.

…and then I put Marika on a plane back to Sydney and continued my northward journey solo. I planned to get up to Airlie Beach and book a trip out to the Great Barrier Reef. But alas, the weather was against me. I spent most of my time reading trashy brain-candy books (only because I could pick them up for bargain prices at used book stores, I swear) while listening to the rain beat down on my campervan. While I was bummed that I didn’t get to see the reef, I can’t lie to you: after all those months on Ice with no rain, I was rather content.

I did see some nice sunsets (you know how much I like those):

After my somewhat uneventful road trip through Queensland, Australia, I jumped on a plane to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. WHAT a place. I don’t mean to be uncharitable or ignorant or anything… but I tell you what, if you were blindfolded and put on a plane, taken somewhere without any clue of your destination, you would know you were in SE Asia when you stepped out of the airport and took your first breath. I have never been inundated with such an overpowering mix of sweet and wonderful with putrid decay. All blended together and fermented in a nice bath of humidity. Of course, at having shared this observation, I’ve been told that I’ve obviously never been to India…

Anywho. I spent a couple days taking in the bustling city sites of KL and visiting the Batu Caves…

Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur.

Entrance to the Batu Caves outside Kuala Lumpur.

Monkey outside Batu Caves.

…then it was onto the train for a journey north. Thailand, here I come! First, though, I had to stop off in Panang to sample their world-famous cuisine. I don’t have any pictures of that… I was too busy eating! But I did visit the Kek Lok Si temple while I was there – the largest Buddhist temple in Southeast Asia:

Kek Lok Si

Candles and offerings at Kek Lok Si.

I got to Thailand without much of a plan for my first few days, so I decided to beach bum on Koh Phi Phi.

Long Beach, Koh Phi Phi Don, Thailand.

You might know Koh Phi Phi from this little movie called The Beach that they partially filmed there. No, you say? Yeah, well, it was pretty indie, so I’m not surprised. That probably explains the total lack of tourists there…. (If you can’t detect the sarcasm that is practically running off the screen, I’m sorry, you’ve been disqualified and are hereby banned from my blog.) Met an awesome German girl there – Frauke – and we had some fruity drinks and watched fire spinners (no shortage of those in the Thai islands), and then went on a beach bar hopping spree with a high-energy Israeli guy we’d met that day:

Me and Frauke with some fruity concoctions.

Fire spinner at Carlito's Bar.

After Phi Phi it was off to meet Mother Dearest in Bangkok. What an acid trip of a city that is. There are some amazing things to see, the temples and the markets, but it’s just too big, too busy, and too much for me.

Guardian at What Phra Kaew, Bangkok.

Mom at What Phra Kaew, Bangkok.

What Phra Kaew, Bangkok.

After a couple days in BKK, and one LONG night in the gay nightclub scene, courtesy of my new friend Joey (the one I met in Sydney)…

Bas, me, Joey and Mom. Mom was shocked when she realized it was after 2 a.m. and we were still there

…we hopped a short flight north to the much quieter, much more peaceful city of Chiang Mai. We made it just in time for the Loi Krathong festival.

Sending off lanterns for Loi Krathong in Chiang Mai.

Mom and I sent off a couple lanterns of our own.

We also played with some elephants at Elephant Nature Park…

Hope is a "naughty elephant" (a little mischievous apparently), so he has to wear a warning bell.

Me and my new hungry friend.

…and took a zip-line tour of the jungle.

Mom on the zip-line.

Then it was southwards to visit the ruins of Sukothai and Si Satchanalai, which we toured on bike. SO peaceful and gorgeous!

On my bike, riding through the ruins of Sukothai at sunset.

Mom riding her bike at Si Satchanalai.

For the final stage of our journey together, I returned to Koh Phi Phi with Mom in tow and we got our Open Water scuba certifications. PS: I love diving!

Dive site at Koh Phi Phi Leh - the actual cove/beach where they did the filming for The Beach.

Mom and I parted ways, as she had to return to Heathen Gulch while I still had a week before my return plane ticket home. I headed over to Koh Tao in the hopes of earning my next diving certification in a place where accommodation prices were a little lower. Sadly, I got into a bit of a motorbike wreck. Yeah… no diving for me after that. At least I made friends with a kickass German couple staying at my dive school and whiled away the days drinking 40s of Chang and eating Chinese BBQ.

Chinese BBQ in Koh Tao with some new friends.

Louie and Aaron were also in the area, so I got to hang out with them. While I really wish I could have done some more diving, at least I had good company.

Louie, me, and Aaron drinking some buckets on the beach in Koh Tao.

Then it was home, just in time for some snowboarding and Christmas chaos. What a whirlwind that was. I only had four weeks at home, and in that time I had a season pass at 49 to use, a trip to Denver to do my psych evaluation, Christmas, New Years, a trip to Seattle to get my passport renewed and to visit my wonderful Seattle friends…

Alysse, me and Jeremy. How am I THAT pale when I just came from SE Asia and they've been in the middle of a Seattle winter?!

…and of course lots of hockey games to attend.

It went by in a blink, and then it was right back to the Ice for my second winter (which is where I still am, for a few more weeks).

So, that’s the off season. PHEW! At this rate I’ll be caught up in no time.

Until the next post, I remain, toastily yours,
Ceds

This is probably my favorite social media-type site yet created. Its tagline is “handcrafted internet radio.” Basically, you get to create online mixtapes from the music on your computer. Tag them with a few genres, give them a description, and share them with other musically-oriented internet addicts! It’s great. You can browse recently uploaded mixes, browse by genre, or search for a particular artist and get a list of mixes that include said group. AMAZING! You don’t have to listen to cheesy ads like you do on Pandora, and it’s a little more tailored to individual taste, so if you find someone that has similar taste to yours, you have the potential to discover a lot of new music.

Some of my mixes:

Softcore Stimulants – musical motivation for a planned day of productivity

Caffeine & Codeine – mellow music with a beat for when I don\’t know how I feel

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Some friends’ mixes:

- w-i-n-f-l-y by Brooks

in bed past noon by cailin -

Bear with me. This is the first video I ever put together, so it’s a little rough. And the recording was done with the “voice memo” feature on my iPod. So it’s a far cry from professional cinematography. So sue me.

Without further ado, I present to you a whirlwind summary of my last year of traveling through Antarctica, New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, and Thailand. Soundtrack song played by yours truly (“Jessica’s Theme” from the movie The Man From Snowy River). It’s a little sunset heavy… what can I say? I like sunset.

Enjoy,
Ceds