Lazy weekend

Saturday, March 27: High:18F Low: 5F
Sunday, March 28: High: 29F Low: 25F

It's too windy on Saturday and the airport is closed on Sunday, so we take the weekend off. I'm glad for the chance to catch my breath and get caught up on the work.

Saturday is also the First Light Festival. Since there's total darkness here from November through February, the base has a party when the sun returns. The party has a western theme, and they serve a free dinner with ribs and corn bread. At one of the hangars on the base, they have a cash bar and the band Clazz plays mostly classic rock and roll, and they aren't half bad. Because of the theme, they attempt to play what they called "country", but you could tell they were a rock and roll band. There's also a contest for the best western costume, and they sell chili to raise money for the local Greenlandic children. I have a couple of beers and enjoy the band, but they allow smoking in the hangar, so I have to head home after only about an hour.

The bunch of the crew is hanging out in the common room. We watch the end of the Butler/Kansas State game, and I'm shocked to see little 'ol Butler go to the Final Four. I'm betting Indianapolis was a zoo Saturday night. I talk to several of the crew including one of the pilots. This really is a fun group of people, and I feel lucky to be hanging out with them.

The days are long here, and in fact, it never does get really dark this time of the year. The sun sets around 9pm but it never gets dark enough to see stars. It rises at 6am and the day is getting 15 minutes longer every day. By the time we leave in April, there will be 24 hours of daylight. I was hoping to do some star gazing, but not at this time of the year. In fact, probably not any time of the year around here because by the time they reach astronomical darkness, it's probably too frigid to be outside. Maybe when we get to Fairbanks, I'll be able to do some star gazing.

Sunday is a slow day. I finish up all my backups. I also move my access point around in order to cover the hallways the best I can. I find a good spot that seems to cover just about everybody. Everyone tells me how well it's working. Like one of my managers at work says, "the easiest way to make friends is to provide a good networking service."

It's really warm outside compared to the previous week. The warm weather is due to the storms that have popped up. These are mostly wind storms, but it does spit snow here and there. Greenland can get up passed 60F in July, and when everything thaws, the base gets super muddy. I come to realize that March in Greenland may be the best time to visit. All the other times seem to be filled with frigid cold, total darkness, 24 hour sun, or mud.

During the Sunday briefing meeting, it's thought that we may go to Fairbanks on Monday. So, again, I pack up our equipment and my luggage. I try to head to bed early so I can get up early enough to see if we are indeed going to Fairbanks. However, my sleep has been thoroughly disrupted and although I go to be at 10:30pm, I don't fall asleep until midnight.