Second, Congratulations to Laura, who has just signed a winter-over contract at the South Pole. She may leave as early as December 14 from here! Brrr...and wow, it's going to be dark! Better she than I!
Since taking on the dayshift I've had more opportunities to drive the big vehicles. I prefer vans, but the Deltas and Terra Bus are a unique experience all their own. I've become accustomed to adopting a cynical attitude with some of my passengers. One morning, I took Ivan the Terra Bus out on an LDB (Long Distance Balloon) run. This picture is of the LDB facility out on the sea ice. This group of folks includes quite a large number of important scientist who head out the direction of Willie Field. They like puncuality and they like to get to their workplace quickly. In fact, they time each run and try to tell the drivers to go faster to beat the existing speed records. On this particular morning, I was still waking up and in no mood to take any jabbing from my passengers, so after they were all loaded and ready to go, I gave a speech: "Good morning, my name is Andrea and this is my first LDB run with Ivan. I've heard y'all are a wiley bunch. So, at the first mention regarding my speed, or the time it takes to get there, I will drop the Terra Bus into the next lowest gear, and that is how fast we will get there. Feel free to test the system. It will only take one day for you to know how serious I am." I did not hear a peep from anyone, so when we arrived, I followed it up with, "I had Ivan's peddle to the metal on Willie Field Road. Thank you for your abundant patience. I'll give a good report back to the shuttles office." This was greeted with some clapping and a lot of laughing. And, it was memorable. Some of those passengers have mentioned the trip since.
The ANG (Air National Guard) takes an unusual amount of patience at times, too. Most of the crew pick ups go without incident, but there was the introductory run I did a week into my work here when I was using the restroom facility on the Ice Runway, radioing the Mission Controller about a crew pick up. I walked outside no more than 2 minutes later to find that the crew had already walked off the flight ramp, found my van, and drove it all around Ice Town to pick up their own crew and baggage. I receieved a personal apology from the Commander the next day.A week or so ago, I loaded a flight crew into my van. Four of the Guard were smoking prior to the shuttle back and buried their cigarettes in the snow. Now, down here on the Ice, leaving anything on the ground is an original Antarctic sin. So, I noted that fact when they got in my van and the attitude they exuded made for an awkwardly silent ride back into town. They compared the pollution of their cigarettes to that of my van. I was so incensed after their comments that I couldn't come up with any sly come-backs at the time. However, the following day, I had an exceptionally great crew pick up. On the trip back to McMurdo I candidly mentioned the incident to these folks. They looked back at their planes and commented on how much pollution the planes they fly create in comparison to my van. I told this crew that next time there was a littering situation, I would have the offenders chew their cigarettes out of the ice before getting in the van. In regards to my van pollution, I would pull the keys and start walking back to town. They could follow if they wanted with all their flight gear on their backs. This crew assured me the litterbugs would experience plenty of prodding that evening.
Most of the time, I do my best to run a tight agenda. And, most of the time, people respect the job and the ride. However, once the rules are bent, people will press until they are broken. I am in favor of arriving at the other end of the rule on a straight line down here. No exceptions, just a flexible personality. Other women, especially, in the office are finding that to be the best way to operate.
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