blog.eliduke.com

it’s really hard to believe that it’s already been a month. can you believe it? because i can’t. i absolutely can’t. i’ve tried so many times to wrap my mind around the past 30 days and i can’t. so much of it is a blur, yet so much is perfectly clear, like it happened yesterday (some of it probably did).

over the course of this month i have grown to absolutely LOVE this place. i wake up each morning and i’m so glad because it’s just one more beautiful day in paradise. be it sunny or snowy, windy or calm, cold or “warm”, i can always find a way to be in love with where i am and what i’m doing.

i love my job, i love my coworkers, i love my friends, i love my dorm, i love the bands i’m practicing and playing with, i love volunteering in other departments, i love being outside even when it’s crazy, i love taking pictures, i love hiking, i love exploring the station, i love 24 hours of daylight, i love so much about this place that i already know i’ll be coming back soon.

for the past 2 weeks the Today Show has been here at McMurdo as part of their Ends of the Earth broadcast series. i was surprised to find out how small the crew was (only 6 people including Ann Curry), and how much control they had, which was quite a bit.

the morning of the broadcast meredith and i woke up at 2:30am and walked next door to the chalet (head office). on our way over we heard cheering and arrived to see about 100 people already gathered, along with musical equipment (drums, bass, guitar) lightly dusted in snow.

there were 3 members of the crew outside: communication guy, camera guy, and ann curry, that’s it. ann was really funny and communicated very well with the crowd as far as when we should do certain things and for how long. they gave hand signals and made every effort to put the spotlight on us. the band played and we danced and cheered and sang along and i was surprised at how much i got into it. tasha said she saw me on TV!

the first segment of the broadcast was over around 3am and we were told there would be another smaller one at about 4am. i didn’t have to be at work until 11am so i decided to stick around. when 4 o’clock rolled around most people had gone home so there were only about 10 of us. this time i decided to stay out of the crowd and go up next to the camera guy and take pictures.

fast-foward a few days and rumors are floating around that NBC was going to buy drinks for everyone at gallagher’s because they were leaving soon. i had band practice that night, but meredith and i stopped by around 8:30 and found the rumors to be just that. on my way home after band practice the weather had gotten seriously bad and i was loving it. in an effort to prolong my time out and about, i decided to stop by gallagher’s again. it was about 11pm and they were closing soon, but i couldn’t think of anywhere else to go.

when i walked in it looked pretty dead… only about 15 people or so. as i wandered toward the back to get a glass of water i noticed ann curry and the film crew. almost instantly the camera guy (mike) recognized me from the broadcast and said he was impressed by how proactive i was about getting pictures that morning. he loved the shots and then called ann over. they both gave me their email addresses (to send them the link) and mike even said that NBC might buy some of them if i was interested (and they were good enough)!

just then the phone rang at the bar: the weather had turned even more for the worse, it was now officially Condition 1, and we weren’t allowed to leave the bar until it passed. this was so awesome, i was so excited.

along with the phone call warning us of inclement weather, all pagers got the message as well, and i borrowed someone’s pager and took a picture of it. ann liked the picture so much that she insisted on taking one herself, but she needed a little guidance. a few days later she told meredith, “your boyfriend taught me more about manual settings than anyone ever has before.” hilarious.

anyhoo, we continued to hang out that night until the Condition 1 subsided. over the course of the next few days i kept running into the crew and chatting with them. meredith says i’m on a “high-five basis with ann curry.”