Happy days in wonderland!

So I just learned that today we have 12,000 pounds of package mail on the C-17 coming down today!  It was delayed by nearly a week and people are going spastic around here waiting for our mail!   All the mail that we missed, is finally coming in! yea.  Some of us have been waiting 7 or so weeks to get this stuff…  Now this is Christmas. 

On a completely different tangent, I thought I might inform you of the strange place that I work in.  I like to take this time to remind you that I go to work in jeans in a tee-shirt, and normal wear around here is Carhartt bibs and a Carhartt jacket or some sort of rugged comfy clothing.  To spice things up though people do weird things like our HR assistant has a sign in her window that tells people to bring by their costumes and she’ll wear them… This window also includes pictures of her as a clown, as a fairy princess, a butterfly, a Mexican cowboy, etc., etc.  So people are funny around here, including me. 

I was cleaning out my new office, and happened upon a pair of rabbit ears.  Naturally I put them on and wander to break and sundries places with them on during work.  I doubt I’d have done that at home, nor would I be wearing wool socks in Tevas (it’s now to warm to be wearing boots and shoes all day long), jeans, a tee-shirt, and a wind breaker around to work.  I love this place, it’s totally a home right now. 

Which is why it’s such a shock to me to hear about people that are getting kicked off the ice for fighting.  It’s happened twice this season and it’s not uncommon unfortunately, but it is rather strange to me that people loose control enough to get into a fight.  Alcohol seems to be often involved, which has lead many around here to suspect there is a conspiracy of management to "create" and alcohol shortage.  This isn’t true as if you ask management and those who ordered it about it they’ll tell you it was a inept manager, but none the less like any small town a rumor about a fight seems to make gossip a sport around here. 

Back to the fighting, I do drink.  In fact I can get drunk and have been drunk here.  My birthday was a bit of a bang, and although it wasn’t intended, I did drink to much.  I did NOT hall off and slap someone at the Christmas party though, which I guess one of our plumbers did.  In retaliation he was beaten enough to go to McMurdo General by 4 people at the Vehicle Maintenance Facility.  Now even if the plumber hadn’t provoked it all 5 people would have had their contract terminated and been booked on a flight back to LA (you must book it from there if it’s and early termination).  This flight that’s bringing the packages is being called ConAir given that I think someone is filing charges.  (Remind me or Bill to recount the incident of the hammer when I get home)  Does anyone else think this is wacky that we are 9,000 miles away from the US and yet people dumb enough to act retarded just like we are at a hole in the wall bar at your local campus. OY!

Needless to say the packages are a warm welcome to this blustery day on this island.  Perhaps it’ll keep our minds happy in light of the idiotic happenings of late.

Rich

P.S.  (No this is not my state of mind, it’s just a random news event I though you’d all like so really life is happy and wonderful around here.  I have my new job and lots of fun stuff going on.  Oh, and speaking of which I’ll probably have some pic/video of me in a helo sometime soon as we are going to be shooting all sorts of stuff for the NSF soon.)