They may have won the battle….

Well…here’s the short version.  
 
I’ve been doing the job of a power plant operator now since Dec 1.  I was supposed to be just an assistant, but due to shortages, I’ve been doing the job 100%….new schedule, new responsibilities, completely unsupervised, and I’ve even been training in the next generation of power plant operator (another GA).  Things were going pretty well. 

I had attempted to get the pay of a power plant operator, because I’m doing the work, but only getting payed a GA’s wage (half that of a power plant operator).  So, I tried my best and was basically shot down because I’m a GA and I apparently can do anything around here, but nothing at the same time.  It doesn’t make a lick of sense.  The next idea was to try and weasel my way into the title of power plant operator without the pay increase, then when they give me the title, BAM, pay increase. 

After trying to for weeks to get someone in HR to talk to me and give me a straight answer, I finally got a meeting with the head of FEMC (the department I’m working for).  Basically the guy wouldn’t listen to me….just kept repeating the same lines over and over. 

I made my point logically and explained how I was unsupervised (he pretended this was the first he’d heard of it even though he’d gotten emails weeks in advance), how I was training other people to do the job I was doing, and how there were no other people on station to take this job.  I’d proven myself as being a competent operator by dealing with several emergencies (some all by myself) but he just wouldn’t listen.  And then he got angry with me for “going over his head” even though I’d been told by my supervisor to go to HR.  He ended the meeting by saying that it didn’t really matter anyway because I was being moved out of the power plant to do some sort of plumbing nonsense and the other GA was going to be taking my spot.  This does not solve the problem of a GA doing an operator’s work at all, but it gets me out of the way. 

So I’ve resigned to do as little to no work as possible until I get to leave this shithouse.  I’m so frustrated with the whole thing, and there’s no way in hell that I’m coming back next season.  

Fuck RPSC. 

On top of that, Christine, one of the absolute nicest, most caring DAs on station (she works with Eli and Mere) was fired for a slue of bullshit reasons in a witch hunt to try and get rid of her.  She is supposed to be flown off the ice tomorrow.  We’re trying to do all we can (get her another job, find ways for her to stall), but basically morale is WAY down, & it doesn’t look like we’ll succeed.  What I think she should do is just refuse to show up for her flight….I mean, what are they going to do….fire her?  Take away her bonus?  She’s got nothing to lose.  I’m really just fed up. 

I don’t know if all/any of this makes sense to those of you off the ice, but it doesn’t really matter…I’m furious at the whole debacle, and I’m ready to get the fuck out of Antarctica….but not until we show ‘em they can’t screw with ‘the little guy’ without repercussions. :)

Year in Review

Eli recently did a year in review on his blog, and I thought that sounded like a great idea, so here it is!

* I finished up my 365 days project (click on any of the archived months from 2006 to read all about the awesome stuff I did that year).

* I took out my tongue ring after having it for nine years (I think).

* I started to really learn how to play the guitar by trying to learn a new song every other day. This was a tough project, but I kept at it for several months.

* I had to say goodbye to Nick and Gabe Boldon as I was going to Portland, OR. It was tough, because those guys have been a huge part of my life. I miss them and they miss me. Gabe and I are pen-pals, and Nick and I are email pals (except he never writes me back). One of our last hurrahs was dressing up like characters from “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and then going to see a sold out showing of “Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation” which was amazing on just about every single level I can think of.

* (as I said before) I moved to Portland, OR. I love it there and I cannot wait to get back!

* I only need 25 more NES games and I will have a full U.S. collection. And of those twenty-five, I only need one to have a full licensed U.S. collection. That’s madness.  And if you’ve got any of those games, let me know! 

* I went on a pretty massive road trip. I flew out to Minneapolis to work with Nick and Gabe for a week and train in the new lead PCA as well as hang out with friends (Big E, Emily, Emily, Emily (yup, three of ‘em), Franklin, etc). Then I drove to Chicago to do some more visiting (Sean, Matt, Teresa, 11, David, Mandy), which included my awesome Auntie Ellen (LN). After meeting up with Eli, we made our way to Pentwater for some relaxin next to Lake Michigan and living it up kids’ style at the cottage. Next Eli and I made our way to Noblesville for some quality time with the fam and the rest of the jokers who call Indiana home (Ian Weed, Andyman, and others that I am totally forgetting). then Eli and I packed up my car and drove out to Portland making our one scheduled stop at Car Henge. Amazing.

* My amazing grandmother died.

* I swept the NWCGE2K7.

* I finally got a job in Antarctica!

So that was 2007 in a few minutes. What a year. 2008 is going to kick its ass, though.

CrimethInc and more photos.

A while back I ordered the new CrimethInc book, which I’m really enjoying. The fine folks at CrimethInc were pretty excited to send some books down here to Antarctica, so I sent them some photos and they posted a nice little blog entry. Check it out.

Here’s a photo of me playing my homemade drumset in the abandoned nuclear power plant. Is this punk rock or hippie? I’m going with punk rock even though I’ve got that crazy ass beard.

Shortly thereafter I became Don Quixote (or Captain Morgen or Baron Munchausen, or whoever).   Feel free to check out my other new photos too! 

More 2008 photos

Eli posted some photos from our awesome new years party. There are some good ones of me being ‘disrespectful‘. Check ‘em out!

Weather Balloon & 2008

OK, lots to report, but I’ll narrow it down to two major things.

1) I was heading back down to the power plant one day after lunch when I noticed a building that’s normally locked up tight was standing wide open. I poked my head in and saw a man filling a large balloon with helium. It turns out that the man, a scientist named Ed, does two balloon launches a day from that location and I had just never been there at the right time. Ed told me that the device at the end of the balloon takes temperature and wind speed readings (as well as others) while it climbs to 60,000 feet. That’s insane. Unfortunately after it reaches that height, the balloon bursts, and the equipment just falls to the ground (or ocean). Bummer for what ever creature tries to eat that. I hope to check out a few more launches, and maybe even fill the balloon next time. That would be great.

2) New Years Eve was fantastic. Around about 11pm we started to bundle up in our ECW and head out to Ob Hill. There were about 15 of us all together. It’s important to note that there was a decent blizzard blowing through town as we were making the climb. Snow blowing around, wind howing and creating little cyclones, and cold temperatures…but that didn’t stop some people from going in short sleaves. when we got to the top we broke out the funny hats, party poppers, noise makers, and the booze for those that wanted it (not me…yuck). Eli brought his iPod and some speakers, so we hooked it up in his backpack and had a little dance party up there. It was great. We counted down the new year and yelled and screamed and danced. things got a bit out of hand with people slipping on the snow and climbing up and hanging on the cross….lots of fun. We realized that as the sun began to very faintly shine through the snow, that we were the first people to see the sun in 2008! When we’d had enough of the cold we started climbing down (or in some people’s cases, falling down), but realized there was still some dancing left in us. We decided it would be a great idea to break into the abandoned nuclear power plant warehouse and continue the dance party. We were right, it was a great idea. People were dancing on boxes, shelves, and anything else they could climb up on. I had a ton of fun, and then, of course, Captain Fall-down struck again when I tried to hop up on a box and fell face first on the ground….I have a nice sized swollen welt on my right wrist.

Oh, and I can finally kidnap a woman, tie her to the railroad tracks, and laugh maniacally. A life long dream.

Karl’s Photos

My roommate takes some good photos. Here are a few for you to check out, but feel free to look at the rest of ‘em:

Me (w/ an inappropriate comment…Karl…what would your mother say…)

Our room (and my feet)

Our room again (no feet this time)

Here we are on the flight down in the cockpit, and on the blown up version….

You can see my beard pokin’ out under the guy in the green shirt’s arm pit!

Well, it’ll be 2008 in about seven hours. Say hello to the future!

My Top 3 Albums of 2007

Hey all.  I’m sitting here in the power plant in Antarctica doing absolutely nothing, so I thought I’d write up a little review.  Here are my top three albums of 2007:

3.  Between The Buried And Me – Colors

BTBAM is one of my favorite bands.  They are absolutely amazing live, and they are amazingly tight.  This album is pretty great in that it is essentially one long song with no breaks.  They are really doing some amazing things musically.  The main reasons this one was not number one on my list is that the track breaks are just too damn long (11 minute songs?), and they seems to throw in country & other styles just to show that they can be done.  I’m all for changes and trying new things in music, but I just think those don’t really work. 

2. A Wilhelm Scream – Career Suicide

Holy crap I was excited to hear this album.  I got to see these guys open up for Strung Out in Portland, and they completely blew me away.  I absolutely love “Ruiner” (the album before this one) and Career Suicide just takes it up several notches.  Every song is fast and fun and singable.  Great lyrics, amazing breakdowns, and beautiful harmonies.  AWS is only getting better.  I can’t wait for the next album!  Also, I should be back in Portland to see them again in April.  Eeeeeeeee!

1. Smoke Or Fire – This Sinking Ship

When I first heard this album, I thought it was pretty good.  However, after giving it a few more listens, I realized that it is tottaly fuckin’ rad.  I have fallen in love with it….and I thought I liked “Above the City”!  It’s fantastically great.  It rocks really hard, and the lyrics really struck a chord with me (having been in a band on tour and especially when leaving for Antarctica).  If you want an album with heart and the ability to make you drop what you’re doing and rock out, this is the one for you.

Honorable mention:

See You Next Tuesday – Parasite, They Might Be Giants – The Else, Full Blown Chaos – Heavy Lies the Crown, A Life Once Lost – Iron Gag

I’m sure there are more, but I’m blanking…maybe an update later. 

Antarctic Bar Fights.

Click here to read about the jackasses that got into a bar fight at the South Pole on Xmas eve over a girl (from what I’ve heard). I’ve heard that the flights to pick those two up, bring them to McMurdo, and then on to Christchurch cost somewhere around $325,000.  The guy who got his jaw broken is a pretty important computer tech (designed much of the software used at McMurdo and the South Pole).  He was supposed to help set up the new power plant’s computer component this next week. I guess we’ll have to delay that, huh?

Polar Plunge!

I’ve been meaning to post this one for a while….so here you go….finally!

A few days ago I got to do something that I have wanted to do since before I left Portland….a polar plunge! I was going to do it when I was dive tending, but a) the heater in the dive hut was busted and b) I forgot to bring a towel. I thought my dream would never come true.

Eli and I bumped into our friend Tom who told us about a polar plunge he had done with night before, and if we wanted in all we had to do was track down Nick (our friend who controls the dive robots with an Xbox controller). Around 9:45 we all met in MMI (my dorm). There were eight of us. It’s important to note that RPSC does not like people to do polar plunges….go figure. We had to plan a covert op. We snuck down to the dive hut in pairs so as not to raise suspicion. Nick and I got there first and prepared the hole in the ice (clear away any ice that had built up over the last few days and hook up the ladder for getting out of the water). There were tiny little ice angels floating (some alive, some dead) around in the water.

After everyone arrived, we all started to strip down to our birthday suits. Into the hole in the sea ice I went! The antarctic ocean is about 28 degrees, and believe me…it was COLD. When you’re only in it for less than a minute, you can definitely deal with it. However, EVERYONE who jumped in squealed and shouted various swear words while coming back out. It was invigorating. I did it twice.

Muffin Monster! Update

Please click on the following links to watch ‘Antarctica’s number one metal band’ play their first show!

Part one!

Part two!