Wednesday, May 30, 2007
names names names
for everyone reading this i am bad with names and flip flop in between when witting them. So with that said all Pete(s) shall be Perry. he he, lol. umm ya
snow fight
Today was quite the venture. Dave took us out to the ocean just to give us a feel for what we will have to endure out in the field. This was to be quite the expedition, so like any good amature I over layered and threw on my rubber boots. You would think being out here there would be a problem keeping warm but I'm afraid that isn't the case here. Aside from the little things, walking over the ocean was refreshing. Evey here and there your foot would plop down in the water through the ice. It wasn't like life threatening or anything just slowed you down. After about 40 min of walking around we came to this large hill of snow, this would soon turn out to be the most epic battle of our time...
Me and Santanu began making a snowman like little kids you know. Amorita and Pete were down the shore next to a pool of water just checking it out, while Dave was fiddling around with the GPS. So while we were making the abominable snow man it was just natural to begin chucking snow balls at people. So of course everyone began tossing snow back and forth, returnig
to the kid inside. I had made my way up the hill of snow, purely for adventurous purposes then
found it to be quite the advantage point from which I could smite my foes. We exchanged blow after blow until everyone got tired. After we walked along the beach some more then headed back to the station for the night and for some reason I had the munchies so I grabbed some cake with a coke and chips to tuck me in for the night.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Buy fair trade coffee---see movie
Black Gold
Went for a stroll down the arctic roads here seeking adventure and wonder, but what I mostly found was snow and more snow. It was like a winter ghost town, very quiet and your visibility disappears into the clash between sky and earth. Very peaceful though, up here there is not a care in the world, and I wouldn't care to get lost in a white cloud.
Everything new and fresh. Little niches every where you go, filled with awe and wonder hoping to find something of a razzel-dazzel quality.
The walk was a nice get away though, not that its crazy here or anything but it refreshes my mind and clears my thoughts. It makes you feel free from the world, from work, or just worries. Feeling like your in the middle of nowhere is like the ultimate freedom from everything.
over lunch today I got to talking about anime with Perry, it seems he is a Japan fan as well. It made me think of my favorite manga TenjhoTenge. haven't read it in a while I really want to read the newest vol that came out. Something about Japanese Art are that just draws me to it...he he get it get it draws me to it..ha you just can't make this stuff up. But I believe cultures are important over all, especially tolerance. America is called a melting pot but isn't is really a bunch of diluted cultures constantly being conformed by major cooperations. We think we have variety but do we really, the tomato you buy at the store has been cloned and harvested to a particular shape, color, taste, and growth. Where is the diversity? I don't know why I think of these things at a time like this, but I just do. There is after all so much BS out there its hard to ignore it. for one of my blogs i'll direct it all to the BS of anything.
coffee
woke up right on time today trying to make it in time to get some breakfast. I arrived to an empty room, it seems like i'm not the only one who likes to sleep in. anywho Amorita and Perry arrived shortly and we had a nice little breakfast.
life here still feels a bit like Alice in wonderland, or being trapped in an eternal snow globe. I'm still hoping that the sun will eventually set and that euphoria will occur naturally.
Right outside my window you can see pipes raised at least 20 ft above the ground which is roughly 6.09 meters for those who love the metric system. This is done because well you don't want you water to freeze up. Around here you'll see many modifications to everyday things, even the houses stand 2 ft(.6M) above the ground on pegged legs. Maybe I could use some modifications to?.....maybe a snowman perhaps.
ok ok
Today was fairly eventful , I got to catch up on my blogging and just need to do today. But this ain't just any blogging, its cut throat competition. It seems the thing to do here in the lab is blog and every time someone takes a picture its bloggerific
Today was great because it doesn't matter what time you get up, the sun will always be shinning the same, so the procrastinator always has enough light to get the job done. Anywho I learned a very important lesson today...never get a big plate in the cafeteria, because the server will pile high in all directions regardless of reason. I also came to learn the food isn't quite that tasty but good enough to scarf down.
I could really eat some chicos right about now...
We ventured off to the grocery store to pick up some goodies for our tummies. Walking in we there was a local artist selling small sketches of whales and Eskimos (which by the way I got to try blubber today and you could call it zesty sushi). In the store there was a diversity* of stuff ranging from snowmobiles to diapers. We grabbed fruit, granola bars, and a small monkey...we didn't but I like to think we did. Their winter stuff was really cheap but really bad cause they didn't have my size. afterwards we took a mini adventure into the arctic which was just like half way to where one of our sites is located. Along most of the roads or the town in general you'll see these snow fences, and their purpose block snow. Yes its a pretty straight forward concept but it works. You'll see mounds of snow on both sides and the effect is really noted where the fence ends and there is a thicker layer of snow everywhere. We pranced around a bit until it got too cold and headed back to the station.
Everyday we go or do something new, like today was the store and going to the gym. The gym is about a 2 min walk from the lab just down the road. It doubles as a gym and a weight room. It was actually very neat because there was so many things to be distracted with: ping pong, weights, basketball, climbing stuff, soccer, table soccer, air hockey, punching bag, and just bunches of fun. We were there for like 2 hours running from one thing to the next like little kids but seeing as how I haven't been to the gym in ages, my body will thank me properly in the morning.
sloppy sloppy sleepy sleepy...damn i have no sense of time at all.
Being a procrastinator I should have known this blog thing was a bad idea from the start
oh and to the right thats me being all tuff like arnold my idol. he he
ok time to turn in for the night-
--^_^
oh and just so you know i am here-------------->
Today was great because it doesn't matter what time you get up, the sun will always be shinning the same, so the procrastinator always has enough light to get the job done. Anywho I learned a very important lesson today...never get a big plate in the cafeteria, because the server will pile high in all directions regardless of reason. I also came to learn the food isn't quite that tasty but good enough to scarf down.
I could really eat some chicos right about now...
We ventured off to the grocery store to pick up some goodies for our tummies. Walking in we there was a local artist selling small sketches of whales and Eskimos (which by the way I got to try blubber today and you could call it zesty sushi). In the store there was a diversity* of stuff ranging from snowmobiles to diapers. We grabbed fruit, granola bars, and a small monkey...we didn't but I like to think we did. Their winter stuff was really cheap but really bad cause they didn't have my size. afterwards we took a mini adventure into the arctic which was just like half way to where one of our sites is located. Along most of the roads or the town in general you'll see these snow fences, and their purpose block snow. Yes its a pretty straight forward concept but it works. You'll see mounds of snow on both sides and the effect is really noted where the fence ends and there is a thicker layer of snow everywhere. We pranced around a bit until it got too cold and headed back to the station.
Everyday we go or do something new, like today was the store and going to the gym. The gym is about a 2 min walk from the lab just down the road. It doubles as a gym and a weight room. It was actually very neat because there was so many things to be distracted with: ping pong, weights, basketball, climbing stuff, soccer, table soccer, air hockey, punching bag, and just bunches of fun. We were there for like 2 hours running from one thing to the next like little kids but seeing as how I haven't been to the gym in ages, my body will thank me properly in the morning.
sloppy sloppy sleepy sleepy...damn i have no sense of time at all.
Being a procrastinator I should have known this blog thing was a bad idea from the start
oh and to the right thats me being all tuff like arnold my idol. he he
ok time to turn in for the night-
--^_^oh and just so you know i am here-------------->
Monday, May 28, 2007
long long trip
We began our departure on sat may 26 at 9 pm. It would be me, Amorita, Santinu, and Pete traveling together. Our connecting flights were from las Vegas to Seattle to Anchorage to Barrow. We ran into some minor complications with airport security, because Amorita was carrying our data loggers which were shaped like little metal test tubes. So security flipped out and said no, but I somehow lucked out and managed to smuggle one aboard, not that it was just dangerous or anything, they just didn't know what they were. After that everything was going fine except that we had 2 hour lay overs at every stop and a 5 hour stop in anchorage, which we decided to take advantage of by touring the town. We hitched a ride on the bus and headed downtown to just check things out. It seems we arrived just in time to see the whaling protest going on, they had a bunch of whale costumes spread out over the ground.
From then on we searched the city for food, a journey which took a very very long time. All of us were full of our carry on luggage trying to make it to a restaurant. We managed to walk to about 4 that were all closed, thus creating a greater hunger. And when we fou
nd one the prices were ridiculous, not that it was a suprise because we were told that they would be. But who am I to worry, all the food for this trip is being covered. So after poking it for 3 hours more or less we headed back to the airport when all of a sudden I was attacked by a bear. This picture only shows partially what I had to face, the rest is much too graphic to post. So we hoped back on the plane to barrow, which by the way had an amazing view. On our way there we also met some very nice people from
barrow on the place, which we would later discover everyone from Alaska is friendly. We met a guy named Anthony who doesn't live in barrow but visits his grandma who owns a restaurant there named Okinawa. He gave us the down low on barrow and what to expect. So we finally arrived safely after about 20 hour travel time(6:15 pm on Sunday). We were almost immediately thrown off by the 24 hr sunlight here in barrow, so its like almost impossible to have a sense of time here. The terrain was all mud and snow. Because of the permafrost the roads are always moist. They have no asphalt roads here just gravel. The cold wasn't as bad as I was expecting, it was actually very refreshing to step out side because they keep the buildings well heated. And of course I was only out a few minutes at a time, but in due time I'll be spending hours out in the cold.
We took a short drive along the coast line that was completely frozen over. It was one of the most beautiful things I've seen. It was covered with snow for miles it seems, that was such a crisp white. It was like a dream almost, just so calm and serene. The sky surrounding the frozen water was amazing too, the clouds were pure white until there was open water where it turned a dark Gray. You could look out in some parts and it
was like the sky and ground combined with a thi
n line separating them. We then arrived at our research station/home shortly to get settled in. They had a rectangular like building with all the dorms set up for everyone, I would get to have my own room which was very nice actually. And when we walked in the building they had the heaters blasting down the hallway. We then got all our paper work set up so we can drive the vehicles (hopefully the snowmobiles) , our meal cards and other stuff. We then headed of to Pepe's which is the only Mexican restaurant here. I ordered the rib eye which was pretty good, and once again the prices were ridiculously expensive. After eating I felt just really "weird" because it was so bright outside yet the time was like 10:00 pm. I feel like I'm going to be saying this the whole trip but its just so weird. My body is just like when is the sun going to go down, hey when is the sun going to go down and I'm like hell don't ask me. So we then headed back to the dorms to go unpack and then sleep, which I really needed because I can't sleep for crap on those planes. I slept and woke up for lunch, cleaned up the lab and stuff, and just trying to get caught up with this blog which I'll try to post everyday, knowing me that won't happed.
From then on we searched the city for food, a journey which took a very very long time. All of us were full of our carry on luggage trying to make it to a restaurant. We managed to walk to about 4 that were all closed, thus creating a greater hunger. And when we fou
nd one the prices were ridiculous, not that it was a suprise because we were told that they would be. But who am I to worry, all the food for this trip is being covered. So after poking it for 3 hours more or less we headed back to the airport when all of a sudden I was attacked by a bear. This picture only shows partially what I had to face, the rest is much too graphic to post. So we hoped back on the plane to barrow, which by the way had an amazing view. On our way there we also met some very nice people from
barrow on the place, which we would later discover everyone from Alaska is friendly. We met a guy named Anthony who doesn't live in barrow but visits his grandma who owns a restaurant there named Okinawa. He gave us the down low on barrow and what to expect. So we finally arrived safely after about 20 hour travel time(6:15 pm on Sunday). We were almost immediately thrown off by the 24 hr sunlight here in barrow, so its like almost impossible to have a sense of time here. The terrain was all mud and snow. Because of the permafrost the roads are always moist. They have no asphalt roads here just gravel. The cold wasn't as bad as I was expecting, it was actually very refreshing to step out side because they keep the buildings well heated. And of course I was only out a few minutes at a time, but in due time I'll be spending hours out in the cold.We took a short drive along the coast line that was completely frozen over. It was one of the most beautiful things I've seen. It was covered with snow for miles it seems, that was such a crisp white. It was like a dream almost, just so calm and serene. The sky surrounding the frozen water was amazing too, the clouds were pure white until there was open water where it turned a dark Gray. You could look out in some parts and it
was like the sky and ground combined with a thi
n line separating them. We then arrived at our research station/home shortly to get settled in. They had a rectangular like building with all the dorms set up for everyone, I would get to have my own room which was very nice actually. And when we walked in the building they had the heaters blasting down the hallway. We then got all our paper work set up so we can drive the vehicles (hopefully the snowmobiles) , our meal cards and other stuff. We then headed of to Pepe's which is the only Mexican restaurant here. I ordered the rib eye which was pretty good, and once again the prices were ridiculously expensive. After eating I felt just really "weird" because it was so bright outside yet the time was like 10:00 pm. I feel like I'm going to be saying this the whole trip but its just so weird. My body is just like when is the sun going to go down, hey when is the sun going to go down and I'm like hell don't ask me. So we then headed back to the dorms to go unpack and then sleep, which I really needed because I can't sleep for crap on those planes. I slept and woke up for lunch, cleaned up the lab and stuff, and just trying to get caught up with this blog which I'll try to post everyday, knowing me that won't happed.
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