Moving right on along…
July! With July we started getting lighter skies. No, silly, not the evil day star (see “sun” if you’re checking out a dictionary for THAT definition), just a lighter hue off on the horizon during different times of the day. But before I saw light, I saw some of the most amazing auroras above town. Pictures will be posted below.
So, during July, and I’m regretting not blogging when the things first happened, but during July, some cool things happened.
Like, various bouts of T3. Winter over syndrome. Fun stuff. From Wikipedia.com –
The winter-over syndrome is observed in inhabitants of research stations in Antarctica who “winter-over” throughout the Antarctic winter. It consists of a variety of behavioral and medical disturbances, including irritability, depression, insomnia and cognitive impairment.[1]
Possible contributing causes of winter-over syndrome include stress, social isolation, subsyndromal seasonal affective disorder and polar T3 syndrome.[2][1
It also makes you do fun things like:
- Forgetting to put on a shirt underneath your Big Red before heading to work
- Confusing your toothbrush and your hairbrush (including after putting toothpaste on your hairbrush)
- Standing outside of the bar that had been closed all season wondering how on earth that much snow had accumulated in front of the door in one day
- Laughing like a maniac for absolutely no reason
Yeah, T3 is interesting. And it varies for everyone. Some people aren’t affected while others stare off into the distance while sitting in the galley and you begin to wonder if there has been a zombie invasion… yep. Fun stuff.
Also during the beginning part of July, I went on another tour of Scott’s Discovery Hut. I’ve never been more cold than I was that day. It was cool though, because Matt Nelson, the tour guide, had recently found/discovered some new and interesting stuff in the Hut. There were initials carved into the walls and different things written on the walls with names and dates. He has started doing research on the potential people that the initials match up to by comparing initials and dates with ship logs. So Rick and I spent about an hour with Matt as he pointed out different things and gave us the information that he knew. My feet started to get cold since I didn’t plan on spending an hour in the hut, and so I told Matt that I’d have to go back to the van to start warming up and Rick stated he was cold as well. The three of us shuffled back to the van, the wind battering us all the way there.
I was so cold. So dreadfully cold. Miserable. I couldn’t feel my fingertips. I got into the van and I was crying due to my hands being in so much pain. I ripped off both pairs of gloves and my hand warmers and thrust my hands into my armpits trying to warm them quickly. I think I worried both Matt and Rick. By the time we got back to the Firehouse to drop off the key to the Hut I was starting to get feeling back in my fingers. By the time I got back into my room in 155, all feeling hand returned to my hands. That was the most relieved I have ever been.
That evening, Rick and I hung out in the hot tub room so I could completely thaw out. We also started talking about plans for once we leave here, and that was when the brilliant idea of traveling to Scotland and England really took hold. More on that later. First, here are some pictures!
Victoria In Victorialand 