Second to last post

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This will be the second to last post for this blog. I leave the South Pole today weather willing, the plane has left McMurdo and will be here in about 3 hours. I have almost everything packed and ready to go. I've mailed off the majority of the items I need to get back home, the rest of the little things that Krissie and I have we will be giving to Ben to send home once the Summer post office opens down here.

I'm not too sure how I feel about this, I am so ready to be out of here for my sanity's sake, but aside from that fact I don't want to leave. I love it here. I have had the greatest time of my life while down here. I met the girl of my dreams, I had an amazing job during the summer, in an insanely awesome location. My job during the winter was not the most fun, but it didn't matter I was spending the winter in Antarctica, the South Pole to boot! It was an absolutely surreal experience every time I stood outside and looked up at the sky. Something that can not be matched anywhere in the world, if you want to argue that point please come spend 6 months down at the south pole during the dark period. Then we'll talk. Only days ago I was lying in bed thinking about the past year of my life, how awesome it was and how much I will miss the place and people. I began to tear up. I've never been attached to any place like that before. I left family and friends without blinking an eye to come down here.

It didn't bother me at all that I would not see family or friends for potentially a year. But the thought of leaving this place, and potentially never seeing it again, or never seeing the people I spent the past 9 months with brought me to tears. I was pretty flabbergasted to see how much this place meant to me. I do hope that the people I would call friends keep in touch. Even if it's just an email here or there, or maybe just a facebook message (man I hate facebook). I hope I can keep it together when I get on the plane. You know gotta be manly and all (50's manly not the new age kind ;} )

The winter season is not for everyone. There was a group of people who would love to tell you how horrible it was down here, but they are wrong, and well whiney babies who just felt like pouting all winter when things didn't go how they felt they should go. Sorry but it's true. The majority of the people who were complaining and having such a horrible time down here were the folks who had either wintered before at the Pole or McMurdo or just worked at either location during a summer. They wanted it to be like "insert year of prior deployment here". I got so sick of hearing, well last year, or at McMurdo we did this. We didn't do it like that last year, etc. They apparently were unable to understand that this is not last year, this is not McMurdo. This is THIS year, this is South Pole Winter 2009. It can not and will not ever be the same as years before. You need to be able to accept that and move on. Enjoy the time, not dwell on how, possibly, better it was before. If you do that then you are setting yourself up for a large disappointment. You have to enjoy yourself now, and stop living in the past. And for those of us who did do that, well we had a good time. And that rant has gone on long enough, sorry.

Krissie and I will soon be beginning a slue of adventures off ice, though I can't imagine anything EVER topping a winter at the South Pole. However, these adventures might get a bit more interesting since Krissie is now currently in bed sick and was most of yesterday...stinking new people getting my little lady sick before we start our vacation!!

Now, I also wanted to say to all of you who have taken the time to read this blog, THANK YOU! Thank you very much for finding my little story down here interesting, and for those of you who have left comments I GREATLY appreciate it. It was really nice to know that there were some people who were interested in what I was doing. I may not have responded to all of them (I didn't I've been horrible about it) but I did read them all, and they all meant a lot to me. Thank you from the bottom of my frozen heart; not frozen in the bad way but, you know South Pole, cold, alright not funny.

Oh and anonymous, your respects have been passed on.

gotta go finish packing now