Ice Journal

Off Season travels: Feb '04 - Sept '04

New Zealand, California, Chicago, Colorado, Montana, Seatle, Idaho, Kansas, and much much more!!

Photos from the Northern Hemisphere. If you just go to the first one (Catalina to Weiser), you can get to the others...

1. Catalina to Weiser....2 . Weiser to the Beartooths....3 . Beartooths to Massage School..

..4. Kansas with Sam to Bass Repair....5. Leaving Montana

May, 2004

Flew out on Feb 12th, and found myself in Christchurch New Zealand, with no scheduled plane ticket home. (I had one reserved, I just had to go into the travel agent's office sometime to tell them when I wanted to go home). The first words out of my mouth when I stepped off the airplane were, "It's so warm here!"

I found my friend's dispersing quickly in New Zealand, and in some cases, I didn't have a chance to say goodbye. I quickly was hit by the reality of the real world: $$$ MONEY $$$ - - Things cost money. That was weird. And, if you know me, you know that I don't like to spend money. A place to stay cost money, tranportatioin cost money, food cost money - etc... I found that the best solution to those problems was to get a car. And so, I got "Sunny", she was a White '88 Nissan Datsun Sunny Station Wagon. My first travel partner was Jasmine... though we were only traveling together for a few days, they were an eventful few days. Two girls, set free from Antarctica, driving the country side of New Zealand. She ended up buying a car and traveling with Chris, and I traveled with Mark, who were both still on the Ice when Jasmine and I traveled together. Driving in New Zealand was so much fun! It was an adventure learning to drive on the left side of the road, but that's part of the fun. "Sunny" came with a real nice stove, so we did pretty much all of our own cooking... and you could sleep two people nice and comfortably in the back - It was an ideal situation. Mark was a great travel partner, skilled in many ways, good to have along. We just sorta bummed around for a few weeks and did things like search for hotsprings, go on hikes, camp on the beach, explore caves, and pretty much just relax. Went to a fun music festival in the mountains, called "Destination Music Festival", and that was awesome. By then we had the car all decked out. There were a bunch of Ice people there, and they all seemed to congregate around my car - and that was SO MUCH FUN! We cooked really awesome meals together, played music, and just had an all around good time. The music at the festival was much like that of a rave, and I hardly spent any time at the main stages. It was in an excellent location, and we spent lots of time just hiking around, exploring the area. It was nice to see Ice people off the Ice, and I made some new friends that way. Traveling in New Zealand was fun, 'cause around every corner you were bumpnig into someone from Antarctica - and in the most random obscure places.... I guess we're all attracted to the same types of places. I have great memories of hanging out on the beach with friends, sea kayaking, hiking, and just goofing off. Didn't do a lot of tourist type stuff, so it's hard to tell people where I really went - I just kinda went all around the South Island of New Zealand.

Then, one day, my relaxing life turned hectic... for the next month, I wasn't in one single place for more than 3 days at a time. (all that I'm about to explain was preplanned) Mark dropped me off on the side of the road, with my backpack, and he took Sunny (the car) up to the North Island. The next day, I tracked down some friends of a friend, John & Lizzie, and their daughter Briar... Luckily, Mark dropped me very close to where they live. They were wonderful hosts, and it was nice to be at a real house, after living out of a car for 5 weeks. I had a couple of days to figure out how I was going to get to the trailhead, for a hike planned since last July. I ended up with a combination of hitch hiking (very safe & easy in NZ), taking a boat, and shuttle. And then I met up with Doug & JoJo from home in Gardiner, MT. We spent 3 days hiking the Routeburn Track, one of the great walks of NZ. It was beautiful! Reminded me of the beaten path of the Bearthooths, from East Rosebud to Cooke City, the hike I had done just before deploying to Antarctica, last summer... Only, New Zealand is much better known for it's hikes, especially around Queenstown (where the Routeburn was near), and so there were people from all around the world there. There are like 10 great walks in NZ, and they are so super crowded, unlike some of the hikes I'd already been doing around New Zealand. We stayed in shelters that slept 48 people per night, and there were nearby shelters that held 24 per night, campsites for 24, and the huts for the guided walkers, for 24. The guided walkers paid like $1000 to hike this, and get everything carried and catered for them... AND, this walk is already prebooked, with a waiting list. We made our reservations back in July, and it was now March.... SO, it was quite busy, almost like a single file line walking down the trail. A different hiking culture than I'm used to. It was fun, though... I saw Ice people, NZ friends I'd met elseware, and met more friends. It was a social hike. At the end, I was glad I had Doug pre-arrange a shuttle back to Queenstown... the hitch-hikers were having a hard time getting a ride, and it was pouring rain (still)... Anyway, it was $45 for the ride back to Queenstown - ouch!!! I spent more money in my week away from the car, than I did in the other 5 weeks combined - it was rediculous!!! It was a quick night, with barely enought time to get my stuff out for a few minutes to attemp to dry my gear, pack up my stuff I'd left in Queenstown, and get ready to catch a super early bus the next morning (the first day of my bizzar sleep schedule about to begin)... Took the direct (expensive) bus to Cristchurch, which took me straight to the airport (where the Antarctic Center is, and hence my storage unit, computer to download photos, etc....) Did a bit of re-aranging, and off to the YMCA, where I always stay in Christchurch. The next morning I got up at 3:45 am to catch a 4:00 shuttle to a hot air balloon ride. The balloon co. donates 1 free balloon ride per year to the Antarctic Program, and Mark won it through the Recreation Department at Casino Night (which I missed 'cause I was on my birthday cruise). We tried a couple times to go together (we'd split the difference of one person to go), but balloons are picky about weather, and cancel quite often... He never had the chance to use the coupon, and gave to it me, in case I had a chance... well, this one morning was my one chance to go, and if it was cancled, there was not another oportunity. LUCKILY, on this, my last attempt to fly, the weather was beautiful, and I was able to go on a wonderful hot air balloon ride... It was a beautiful morning... That afternoon, I did some last minute shopping, and took a nap. The next morning, I was up early (by now my body was getting used to it), and headed up the the CDC (Antarctic Center by the Airport)... I did my final re-aranging. I had my stuff all spread out, figuring out what to leave there until next year (heavy things that are hard to fly with, that I owned duplicates of back home, but were hard to get ahold of at first in NZ), what to send directly home, and what to travel with for the next couple of weeks (which had to all fit into a hand carry bag)... I was a little stressed, 'cause I couldn't just send my stuff directly home, 'cause our APO privilages had expired (that gives us use of a US Post Office), and I had to figure out how to send it home from LA once I got there. And technically, we're not supposed to leave anything at the CDC once we leave New Zealand, BUT, everyone does it anyways, so I'd planned for it... Well, guess who gets caught trying to do that? ME! and then being stressed out about what to do with my other stuff once I got to LA - I was a stress case... So I went next door to email a bunch of potential employers, so that I could ensure a job on the Ice again next year. While in the computer room working on that, I get an email from Mark, he's in Aukland trying to sell the car, but is having a heck of a time - the market just wasn't what we'd heard it to be. He didn't know when he could get out of there and catch a flight to LA, and it wasn't sold before he had to be back to California to teach, he'd have to ditch it, and we'd take a loss.... Well, I'd been the one who shelled out the $$$ for the car, and I was not happy about taking a loss... Anyway, these couple of hours in the CDC were quite stressful... Well, then I found someone else who would check in the rest of my stuff to store there, so I got that taken care of, and I took my two remaining bags (the one to send home once I got to LA, and my hand carry for the next couple of weeks), and dashed over to the airport to catch my flight to Aukland. In Aukland, I walked from the domestic terminal to the international terminal, went through security a couple more times (including the more strict US security gates), and found my gate for my flight to LA. Well, guess who happened to be sitting there waiting for me? MARK!!! Turns out that since he'd emailed me that morning, some buyers came into the car market to look at cars (the only buyers in days)... They had notebooks, and were skilled car shoppers... they looked at all 30 cars at the market, and decide on Sunny. Their selling points were the same ones that sold me on the car, and now I'm glad I had paid a little more to get Sunny. The paperwork was taken care of quickly, and they asked Mark where he wanted to be dropped off, and he said he'd like to go to the airport... Once he was there he was able to get on my flight, standby, and then an actual seat, and there he was.... It sure did suprise me, but I was happy we'd gotten Sunny sold, without much of a loss... cost us NZ$450, which was NZ$225 each or roughly US$150 - not bad for 6 weeks of free transportation, and housing. So, we were on our way to LA... I didn't sit with Mark, and then we went seperate ways once we got to LA. I had a shuttle arranged to take me to the post office nearest the ferry terminal I had to be at. I was the last person on the shuttle, and the driver said he'd wait for me, and then take me all the way to the ferry terminal. Score!! so, I mailed my large bag home, for $30, and was left with just my hand carry (oh, and laptop)... The ferry only usually has one ferry a day to the harbor I was trying to get to, the smallest harbor on Catalina Island: Two Harbors... I was 4 hours early for that fairy, but I checked in anyways.... well, turns out there was a special group being picked up there, so they had a special ferry, leaving right when I checked in... I got on that, and as the only passenger out there, I slept the whole way.... Now, Doug, my friend on Catalina Island, was supposed to meet me there 4 hours later, once he go off work... This had all been set up over email, and I didn't have his phone number or address.... SO, I started asking around, it's a small neighborhood (actually reminded me of a lot of the towns I'd been hanging out in in New Zealand).... I got pointed in the right direction, and then hitched a ride, and they dropped me off at the camp enterance (Doug works at an Outdoor Ed Center similar to the one we'd both worked at in Ohio)... I asked around the camp, not even sure if thats the one he worked at, but got pointed in his direction... I walked into the kitchen, just as Doug was serving dinner, and blew his socks off, I was 3 hours early, and he knew I didn't know where he lived. It was nice to catch up with an old friend! After a day and a half of beach volleybal, BBQing, snorkeling & chit-chatting, I cought the ferry back to the mainland, where Mark picked me up.... The next day I went to Magic Mountain (a big roller coaster park) with Mark's family... Then Mark and I had to sit down and figure out financed (I'd bought the car, he'd sold it.... it had been in NZ$$, but now we were working in US$$... we'd shared other stuff while traveling together, and now was the math day)... Then I had 24 hours with my California Relatives, Clarke & Estelle, their kids, and grandkids... Then to the airport again to catch a flight to Chicago. I got to my gate just as they were doing the final boarding call for another flight to Chicago, and I asked if I could get on that one instead, and they let me, so I got to Chicago early... It was April 1st now.... I landed at 2:00, and cought a 2:15 bus (which only leaves once an hour), and took that to my dad's cousins' house: Dolly & Jerome.... (dad has lots of cousins... I spent a day and a half there, emailing with potential employers, shopping for little things and getting ready for the big party... Then they took me to my Great Uncle Nick's, the only surviving brother out of 10 kids in my Grandpa's family.... Rose, my Grandpa's & Nick's sister had just died while I was in New Zealand.... It was real nice to catch up with Uncle Nick, and I got another tour of his recording studio, and got to listen to his latest recording.... Then he and his son, Ron (another one of my Dad's many cousins) took me to my Grandma's 90th birthday party. Now, the only people attending the party who knew in advance that I was going to be there, were Nick and Ron... I don't think they realized the severty of the conspiracy they were helping with.... Anyway, I blew everyone's socks off when I walked into that party.... I hadn't been emailing my parents much, and as far as they knew, I owned a car in New Zealand and wasn't going to be home for quite a while... The first person I saw was my Grandma Sylvon, and she screamed so loud that people thought she was hurt... Then my mom saw me, and I think she had the biggest suprise in her entire life, EVER, and will never have one again to compare to this. She screamed for 10 minutes straight, and doesn't even remember that. I didn't recognize my dad right away, he was clean shaven, nice haircut, and was wearing a TUXEDO!!! Dad in a TUX, can you believe it? Until I had arrived, Dad in a TUX had been the suprise of the day.... I actually didn't outdo him in the shock factor very much... For the next couple of days, his mom talked more about how suprised she was to see him in a TUX than how suprised she was to see me.... Anyway, the party was at this amazing place, and it reminded me of a fancy wedding, it was so nice. There was a standup bass in the corner, and the first thing Dad and I did was grab my cousin Peter (guitar player), dad grabbed his fiddle, I picked up the bass and we started playing it.... That was the one thing I'd missed a lot in Antarctica: playing a real bass, and not my standup stick, electric thing.... We played a couple songs, and then food was served - wonderful food!! There was a full bar (at 90 my Grandma can still outdrink & outdance everyone)... And the band was AWESOME!! it was a wonderful night. My mom and her mom, my Grandma Francis, tried to take me to the East Coast for Passover with the family there, but I was still on a tight travel agenda (that nice little hand carry, stowed under a table at the party)... So, I spent a couple of days with my Dad's family, before catching my next flight. I was unable to re-route my Antarctic ticket through Chicago, since Chicago was PAST Montana... So, what had ended up being the cheapest, was to purchase a round trip ticket out of LA while I was on my LA leg of my layover.... So, I had my return ticket to LA, then I got on the plane and flew from LA to Salt Lake (where cooincedently my dad had purchased his TUX, can you believe my dad owns a TUX?!), and then from Salt Lake to Bozeman. I had left myself some extra time for the whole security mess in LA, since I was switching airline carriers and stuff, but I got through all that quicker than expected, so I was able to catch earlier flights the whole way.... So, I called my ride, which was a good thing, 'cause she was off a day in picking me up, and was going to be 24 hrs late... Anyway, I got to Bozeman and Erin picked me up, with a McKenzie River Pizza in hand, and drove me straight to my parents house.... I spend a day there, re-aranging, and then picking up my car, my bass, my skis and my climbing equipment... Then 1/2 a day in town getting my car re-registered, re-insured, new oil, and the works.... Then I drove straight to Boulder Colorado, so that I could be there in time to Easter with my best friend, Sara, and her Dad, Whitey.... Went telemark skiing on Easter, closing day at Eldora ski area.... I hadn't been to an area in a long time, and I think I forgot how to ski... My muscles were quite confused.... So, that was my busy hectic month.... from the Southern Part of the South Island of New Zealand, to Boulder Colorado...

I spent about a month in Colorado, doing a lot of relaxing, but t was more like worrying, as I didn't yet have a job on the Ice for next Austral Summer. I spent the first week in Boulder getting my resume ready for the job fair, and get mentally prepared. Then I went to the annual Antarctic Job Fair in Denver. It was a nice reunion to see Ice people, but it was also nerve-wracking to be there trying to get a job, competing with all the newbees who'd never been to the Ice. Although I had been down there before, and had that advantage, I found it to be more difficult to get a job than I had expected. I feel that I was the second or third runner in several jobs, but not the first runner up in any one particular job. That first week after the job fair was crazy. I tried relaxing after all my travels, but I only had one thing on my mind, "I HAVE TO GO BACK TO ANTARCTICA," and the only way to do that was to get a job. I paced back and forth across Sara's apt., sometimes too nervous to call any hiring managers. I tried going out to play music and to dance, but I had this fear in the pit of my stomache that if I wasn't sitting by the phone, I would miss that one important phone call that would be a job offer. It was hard to write professional emails to perspective employers, when I knew them on a personal basis, and had probably done something to totally embarrass myself at some party down on the Ice.... but at the same time, it was hard to be casual, when I wanted to be professional and perfect. I was a mess. Anyway, on the second week, as I heard word of many jobs filling up, and of Ice people telling me that this was one of the most difficult and competative years, I finally got some good news. I was able to get myself a couple of job interviews. I think it helped that I was in the Denver area and could come in in person. I ended up being offered, and took a job in the Supply department. I will be working at the VMF (Vehical Maintainance Facility), aka: The Heavy Shop, or building 143. I was very excited... I still am very excited. Of the different jobs I looked at, I feel this is the one that fits my skills the best... It's not a field job, and it's not at the BFC (a town job I would totally love - but I've known all along is very competative) - but it's the next best thing. There are doors to good future opportunities, that are now open. No job will be as good as being a GA, my job from last year, but I had realized that after about one week of being a GA. In one sence, I'm going to miss all the fun and glamour, but in another sence, I am so happy to be reporting to the SAME workspace everyday. Being a GA was nice for the variety, but I hated the fact that everyday was the first day on the job. I never felt like I did anything very well, 'cause I was just getting the hang of it when it was time to move onto something else. I know I will a better job, since it will be an actual job, and not a "temp agency" job. I'm hoping to get a higher level of evaluation, and hence a higher bonus, for next year. I wouldn't give up my GA year for anything, but it was the "Freshman in College" sorta job... Now it's time to pick a major and start growing up. Anyway, I'm very relieved to have a job, and happy to have a good one... I'm just gonna miss things like all the interaction with scientists, driving around on the sea ice in a Piston Bully, and getting to go on cool trips. BUT, I get to go home to Antarctica, and that's all that matters.... OK, so I'd verbally agreed to the job, but there was still so much to do, and it was a good thing I was at the Denver Headquarters. I had to sign my offer letter, and this went quicker than last year, 'cause I just went in and signed it in person, and then filled out my HR paperwork on the spot. The paperwork ways about 10 lbs, and has a ga-gillion things to fill out. Just as last year, I'd signed on the wrong line of some form deap in the pile, but since I was sitting in the HR dept, they were able to catch it on the spot and I could fix it right then & there. Then I had my physical (PQ, as we call it... a verb meaning "Physically Qualify"). They took 1/2 the blood out of my body for blood tests, and I had to go to the Dentist, too. Last year, when I went to the Dentist, I had to have him fill out all this paperwork, and then send my exam results & x-rays to the Denver office, where they passed them onto the PQing Dentist, who looked them over and decided which teeth needed fixing.... the message got back to me, and I had to schedule more dental appointments, and send the stuff back... it went on and on and on last year, and I finally was PQ'd in August. WELL, this year, I went straight to the PQing Dentist in Denver, and she told me right on the spot which teeth needed fixing, and as it turned out, she had cancellations that day, and was able to do all my dental work right at that instant. I didn't have to worry about reciepts and re-embursment forms... they just billed my employer directly (though I had to pay for the dental repare work - YUCK). Anyway, it took me a week in Denver to get my PQ stuff all taken care of. Much better than having to stay close to home (where they send all that stuff) all summer, like I did last year. NOW, I'm all done. And then I had one week in Boulder, where I was done with everything, and could FINALLY relax. I played music, I danced, I went out, I climbed a 1600 ft. wall - and I didn't sit by the phone anymore. On the day I got home to Montana, after all that, I got the official, "You're PQ'd" email - and I was so excited. Now all I have to do is wait for my airline tickets. I'm scheduled to leave on October 1st (give or take a little).

SO, that was the headache of getting back to my home in the South.... Now I've got the northern hemisphere's summer to PLAY. I'm at home in Jardine right now, and then I will be heading to the Folklife Festival in Seattle - one of very most favorite festivals in the world. After that I think I'm going to go to California and visit some friends.... Then on to Weiser, ID, for the National Oldtime Fiddler's Contest - another one of my favorite festivals, and then back to MT for the 4th of July, and my familie's annual party. The rest of the summer isn't all that planned yet - but I know it'll be busy.

September 2004

So, after a month in Colorado, getting everything squared away for the next season on the Ice, and spending time with Sara & Brianna, I went home to my parents' in Jardine, MT. After a week or so there of rearanging my belongings, and getting things ready for my hectic summer, Dad and I were off to Seattle for the Northwest Folklife Festival. It was another wonderful festival this year, with lots of music being played, and lots of different cultures being explored. Saw a handful of Ice people, and that's always nice. Music festivals & hot springs seem to be the best places to find Ice people.

After the festival, Dad went back to Montana, and I stayed in Seattle for a day or so, and went sailing with my friend Christa. Then, a quick stop in Portland at my friend Phil's (had a nice jam session that night - thanks Phil), and then I got my bass worked on in Eugene (fingerboard needed planing - I'd warn grooves in it from playing so much). I rushed through Oregon so that I could get to San Fransisco for LaVonne's party. (LaVonne is a good friend of my mom's from back in the 60's, and was also my neighbor down in Antarctica).

I had a very horrendously terrible time driving in San Fransisco, and am amazed that I made it out of that situation alive. I was just hoping that this party was worth it. The party was at the Yatch Club where LaVonne keeps her boat. The plan was for Mark and I to sail to the party, as he keeps his boat in the San Fransisco Bay as well. WELL, he never got water directions, he only had the driving directions... I figured he must know the area, and it would be OK. Oh, and he didn't have very good charts from the side of the bay where LaVonne keeps her boat. To make a long story short, we got lost and then bottomed out. We had to sit there and wait for the tide to rise, and we didn't get free until 2am - long after the party was over. It wasn't the best of nights. But all was well because John & Rachel (mom's old roomate from the 60's) took good care of me, and then we all went over to LaVonne's a few days later and had dinner on her boat. It was just frustrating to miss that party. I would have spent more time in Washington & Oregon before going to California (or even have just left California out of the plan alltogether) if it hadn't of been for that darned party. Then I went wine tasting in Napa Valley with Skye & Sean, friends from college. Then I visited my friends in Sacramento, and Duane took me to an Old Time Fiddler's gathering, and then to Grass Valley Music Festival. I had been saying that I would never come back to California (the driving there SUCKS), but Grass Valley helped redeme the state.

This is when my month strait of playing music everyday, around the clock started.... From Grass Valley I went straight to Weiser (10 hr drive, jammed in Grass Valley before I left, and started jamming again 10 hrs later in Weiser). I really enjoyed Weiser this year. I mostly played swing music, and am really falling in love with that style. I hardly played any bluegrass or old time music the whole two weeks I was there... and I never even made it to the contest. I made a lot of new friends in the swing community, and even got to see a handful of them later in the summer, in the off season from Weiser. After Weiser was over, I jammed my way home and got there just in time for our annual 4th of July party. After the many days of jamming and socializing, I actually worked for a day... A Wednesday to be exact, as I wasn't really done partying from the weekend until Tuesday, and then I was leaving again on Thursday. That weekend Dad and I joined our friend Jim and went to Hamilton for a bluegrass fest. And that's when my summer (or at least July & part of August) schedule started: Go to Montana area festivals & music campouts, Thurs-Tues, and then work on Wednesdays. My Wednesday schedule was as such: first thing in the morning, before work, soak in the hot pots with Chelsea... then go to work (same old job taking pictures of the rafters), after work give a bass lesson to Jeff... and on the next morning, get up early and pick the Peas in Martin's garden. Sometime's I would work on Thursdays, or Tuesdays, just depending on what festival was going on that weekend. Had a wonderful time at the Fiddler's picnic this year, and then actually worked an entire week, at one time.

By this time with all my running around, I really needed to get out into the wilderness and just relax. I was so lucky that my friend Larissa was able to join me for the trip. Larissa is one of the twins I stay with when I'm in Seattle. She was a great hiking partner. We spent a week in the Beartooths, at the Lake Plateau and had an AWESOME time. Some people thought I was crazy to take a 10 year old in the wilderness for so long, but it worked out wonderfully.

I meanwhile had been thinking about going to massage therapy school for some time now. The plan was to go during the summer of '05, but somehow I found the school that was perfect for me to attend during the summer of '04, and the next thing I knew I was going to massage therapy school. Even though I had said I didn't want to go back to California, that's where Ahern's Massage Therapy School was located. It was near Yosemite National Park, so that made it OK. So, after hiking with Larissa, I got in the car and headed to Lake Tahoe to visit Mark, and then to Yosemite to go hiking with my friend Jen, who just happened to be a massage therapist, and then off to school.

The school was amazing, absolutely amazing. It was a 200 hr. course that took 15 days to complete. There were 8 girls in the Class, and they are all the most wonderful people. Tom was a great teacher, and it's amazing what you can learn in two weeks. I made some wonderful friends and feel like I am such better person after this experience. I have this new path of massage, and it is so perfect. And an interesting thing about the school was that there was this little park with a stage just outside our back window. There was live music all the time, and on several occasions I was able to sit in with the bands and play. It was neat to be able to tie playing the bass and doing massage in together... It makes me really be able to see my future, and how these important things are tied together. I know massage is going to be a big part of my life, now that I went to massage therapy school.

After massage school, I drove strait east, headed for Kansas. After a quick stop in Colorado, I got to Manhattan Kansas, where my good friends Matt & Amanda live. Four months previously, they had acquired their first child - Sam, who is the cutest baby boy. I spent several days there, doing some shopping for things I needed before heading back to the Ice, and hanging out with Sam & his parents. Then Amanda, Sam & I headed down to Winfield Kansas for the Walnut Valley Festival, an awesome time of jamming and experiencing lots of good music. It was a good festival, but then tradgedy struck. The neck of my bass got broken. That was pretty upsetting, to say the least. I had it laying on it's side on the edge of a jam, in a Teepee. Uneven ground, folding wooden chair not quite set right, and someone who'd had a few drinks.... You put the pieces together. I wasn't there when it happened, which is probably a good thing. When I came back to to the Teepee, my good friend Mike (my campmate from Weiser) was there, and he did a smooth job of breaking the news for me, and making me feel better. Of course I cried like a baby and was quite upset. The next day, Mike passed the hat, and a lot of generous people donated money, which made it possible for me to get my bass fixed by one of the best luthiers. Another supportive group was the massage team. I didn't have all my insurance papers lined up to be able to work with the massage team at the festival, but I made good friends with them anyway. I did my first solo perfromance on the bass for them (before the bass broke), and they really appreciated it. They also helped me out financially, and that is very very much appreciated. During the festival, after my bass broke, Wally Kay from "A Bass Place" leant me a bass to use. Thank you Wally - it was nice to be able to still experience the festival by playing music.

On Monday morning, after the festival was over, I went to Leo Posch and he did a wonderful job fixing my bass. He came highly recommended, and I would now highly recommend him to others. By Tuesday my bass was pretty much back to normal (well, an estimated 90% of it's original strength back). That was a huge relief. I wanted to make sure I got attiquite playing time in before I abandonded my dear friend for six months while I dissapear to the ends of the earth. So, since I knew I was going back through Boulder, CO to visit Sara, I lined up a jam there. Turns out Bruce & Emily (friends from Weiser, Winfield & other mutual friends) live right accross the street from Sara. I was able to have several nice jams with them, and learn more and more about swing each time. There's still so much out there to learn.

From Boulder, I stopped in Billings, MT to catch up with friends I've been too busy to see since I've been back from Antarctica. Then, back to Mom & Dad's to spend a week packing before heading back down south again. I leave on Tuesday, Oct 5th, which is perfect timing because the ballots for absentee voting aren't ready until Monday the 4th. If I wasn't able to stop in and vote in person (like say if my flight left on the 3rd or before), then they were going to have to mail me my ballot to Antarctica, I would have to fill it out, and mail it back so that it was in their hands by ellection day. Now, that would just barely work out, if all went well, BUT what if there are bad storms in Antarctica (been known to happen) and flights can't get in and out, and therefore the mail doesn't go? That's quite frustrating during an important ellection time like this. I've been able to set up everything else over the internet (bill paying & all that business type stuff), but voting is not there yet. This is not only an important federal ellection, but there are also some really important local issues I need to vote on. SO, bottom line is, I'm glad I am leaving on the 5th, and not before. Even though I'm excited to go to the Ice, and I really wish I was on an earlier flight, so I can get down there, see my friends, and start earning some money - it's nice to have the voting thing work out.

I've realized something..... I made as much money this past year in 4.5 months as I was used to making in 9 months. Now that would seem perfect, right? I know I can live off of that ammount of money over a 12 month period, but I didn't account in ennough for what I would be spending in the offseason. I knew I would be spending more, but didn't quite realize how much. A larger paycheck this year will be quite nice. It's late in the off season, and I'm really looking foreward to that nice steady paycheck again. I'm probably looking most foreward to seeing all the wonderfully awesome people who work in the Antarctica, and I can't wait to get back into the swing of things in McMurdo. It's an interesting culture down there, and I absolutely love it!