Halloween…. McMurdo Style.

So it is safe to say that like any Halloween that doesn't involve following kids around to make sure that they don't get the apple from grandma with a razor blade in it, Halloween here is all about not being ashamed of what you are wearing. The secret to this is not in what you wear but that you don't care.. Or at least I keep telling myself that.

So you are now wondering what exactly I was wearing to come up with this theory about not being embarrassed. Well I am sure the pictures will appear at some point but this is not the place at least not while I am writing. That and Dan said he would kill me if I put them on the web... this lets you imagine what Dan was wearing (think pink lycra that was tight on Stacy.) For me there was a leopard print involved... Stacy was a unicorn... Dr. Chaos Conlan was a sludge worm (complete with parapodia and a sign that says "Eat Sludge Yum!").. Aaron we don't really know, but darn funny (but I didn't say darn)... And Oliver... well Oliver was asleep missing out on the joyous events.

So lets back step a little. The day started out in the usual way, two dives a piece, we set out the time lapse camera at turtle rock, set out the experiments and just got done before we all ran out of air or bottom time or both. By running out of air I mean we surfaced with 600 psi which is what common sense, Rob Robbin's (the dive safety officer) common sense (which when it comes to diving is better than our own as long as it is more conservative), and what the NSF requires. The day was productive but infuriating.

The slope at turtle rock is very steep. When setting out a tripod with a camera attached on a really steep slope in sixty feet of water and extra cable spooling on the sea floor (this last part was the fault of us on the surface) the term frustration comes to mind. Just ask Aaron. Thankfully all of his troubles were on camera, the one he was trying to set up. This meant constant entertainment for us watching the live feed. You would see Aaron working away and then "TIMBER" the whole tripod would come crashing to the sea floor and we would get a view of mud. Apparently what we couldn't see was that Dan and Aaron kept on tripping on the camera cord causing the spills. Then came time for the enrichments (also on film.) This involved putting down a large ring of plastic and pouring enriched sediment into it. Again the slope came into play and as soon as the bucket was dumped the sediment would roll onto the down hill side and send the ring flying. This was repeated many times. Again, pure entertainment for the peanut gallery on the surface. The rest of the dives were not quite as funny but still the slope was very apparent.

This leads us to dinner and finally the party. So the party was held in the gym. Rather than go into detail on the costumes I will say that some people have too much free time. The party raged until one. Dan and Aaron had to run and fill the generator at one in the morning so that was the end of the party for them. The sunset was spectacular though (see the picture.) Cathy bailed early, but stacy and I hung out with friends until the lights came on and we were sent home. A great party and it wasn't even too bad the next day.

So after all of this I avoided talking any more about the costumes. Rest assured that the pictures will rear their ugly heads in the future. No doubt at the worst (or best if you are in the audience) time. And we would all regret them except for the laughter they instill.

Do I have your apatite wetted for pictures of us yet?

Aloha,
andrew