1 wk. down

Well, though it has only been one week since we've closed, those few days have been so jam-packed with work that it seems like a long time since the summer folks departed. I've had to deal with a number of pretty serious break-downs of my science projects, which has made for some rather hectic days in the lab.

The sun is, of course, lower, but it by no means getting dark yet. The sun won't set for another month or so, and even then we'll have several weeks of twilight as we progress towards full night. The temperature is lingering in the low -40s to -50s F, which feels colder than summer, but will feel pretty warm in a few months' time.

Last weekend, upon closing, we got a bunch of fresh food. There was a pretty big effort on the part of (most of) the station to get that all carried inside and stored. Included was a rather impressive amount of pre-oiled eggs. The oiling process helps preserve the eggs throughout the duration of the winter. In "08 we had to oil the eggs by hand, which made for a fun little social event, but this year we've been spared that tasking.

With only 47 people here now, it definitely is quiet. Mealtimes are surprisingly quiet, too. It is no surprise why it is so jarring an experience to have planeloads of new people show up and fill up the place after such an extended period of quietude. I like the quiet, especially after the frenetic conclusion to the season.

So, as the next week rolls on, we'll continue to transition the station to its winter mode. Some outbuildings will be sealed and go cold. Flag lines are going up along the main thoroughfares. The fuel line between the flight deck and the fuel arch will be wrapped up and put into storage. Most of the laundry from the departed summer folks appears to already have been done. It's definitely a busy time before the (hopefully) more sedate routine of winter kicks in. I just hope my projects behave themselves and work properly for a little while before the next major breakdown occurs.

All in all, things are fine here. It's good to be employed and back in this bizarre, alien place that feels so much like home.

“Humankind periodically goes through a speedup of its affairs, thereby experiencing the race between the renewable vitality of the living and the beckoning vitiation of decadence. In this periodic race, any pause becomes luxury. Only then can one reflect that all is permitted; all is possible.”
~Frank Herbert (The Apocrypha of Muad'Dib)