I think my back is broken...

So today was an extremely long day - I think we worked on logistics planning from about 7am to 10pm, nonstop. This included Environmental Safety training in the morning, meeting setup and grabbing some lab space in Crary Lab to acid wash bottles to take into the field. Word of wisdom to those coming down to Antarctica for the first time - request lab space ahead of time! Kind of got a lot of dirty looks as I ran around frantically trying to get all of our supplies together.

We then had a briefing at Mac Ops (McMurdo Operations) on how and when to radio in from our field camps. We will be required to check in every morning before departing for field work...really neat place to work...you hear all sorts of things over the radio....enough said there.

We then had to return to our cage at the BFC (Berg Field Center) to test out our Scott tents, which we will be camping out in while in the field. Unfortunately one of the tents had a minor problem at the vent hole, so, as the tallest person, I had to crawl between the two layers of fabric while the tent was up, stand on two boxes, and more or less blindly try to tie up a flap in the middle so we will have proper ventilation. Literally took over an hour but it is now fixed. We then had to weigh and carry all of the tents to our equipment pickup area...I think my back is broken or I am getting really old...

We have more or less now successfully completed the majority of our logistics planning. Tomorrow, 3 of us (Dr. Brenda Hall, who is accompanying our field party is in her 19th season here..yes 19th!...so does not have to retake the course) will attend a 2 day Snowcraft I School (aka Happy Camper) to learn basic field training/safety. Part of the course includes building an igloo, which we will then sleep in...may be the only time in my life I will sleep out in an igloo in the middle of Antarctica....pretty cool...or stupid, haven't figured out which yet...:)
The weather has cleared up this evening (it is still bright as day outside even though it is nearly 11pm here); hopefully it will stay that way or we may actually be participating in Snow School during a Condition 1 (pretty much a whiteout)...

So the big news around McMurdo is that Sir David Attenborough will be arriving tomorrow as the BBC is producing a documentary about Antarctica (I think it is going to be called Frozen Tundra but don't quote me on this...). We were on the same flight down to McMurdo as some of the BBC guys who will be filming the documentary...pretty awesome. Maybe I need to rethink my career path in life...

Had lots more to write about but am calling it a night...hopefully I survive Happy Camper, and we can possibly depart for the field by helicoptor on Thursday...