Movie night was a success. We got together with the FIU (Florida International University) group and watched "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels." We had a screen and put black material on the windows to block the light. Everyone really enjoyed the flick after working hard.

Sandra, Craig, Adrian and Alex went out to the field early in the day (Saturday). It was a hell of a day for them. The generator got wet, Sandra fell into the water, the dike was leaking and everyone seemed stressed. It was nice to let them decompress with a good movie and R&R.

Sunday morning, our day to sleep in, I got up and went to shoot live ammo from a shotgun. We each got to shoot two bullets. I have heard from everyone who was here last year that George Bush let them shoot 15, and that he was quite affectionate with his weapon. We ended up driving by the point and shooting at a piece of plywood with Lewis Brower (no official targets or anything). The kick on the gun wasn't too hard, or at least it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. But then again, I only shot it twice. My shots were accurate and precise (you all remember the difference I hope, hehe). Steve O. shot the bullseye dead on. Sandra and Alex ended up sleeping in instead of going. I kinda wished I had done the same, but Santonu, Perry and I were sure to make it sound like an awesome experience :) teehee (they'll read this blog anyway and find out).

Lewis Brower has been whaling since he was 9 years old. He told me that he went to his father's boat and tied himself in because his dad told him he was too young to go. He pointed out a seal that must have been maybe a mile off the coast with his hunter eyes. I could barely see it. He told me about all of the animals he has caught and eaten. Walrus, seal, whale, goose, duck, caribou, and so on. He's an interesting guy and very kind. He also likes to talk and tell his tales. Santonu was joyous about seeing a seal and continued to look out the window the entire way back, "there's one.....there's one." Lewis would stop the van every time, but we never did see another one.

After shooting, Perry and I went to eat and decided to go check out the climbing wall in town. Rob also came with us, but Dave stayed and worked. He was tempted, though; I'm sure it pained him to see Perry and I with our climbing shoes heading out the door for a couple of hours. Santonu dropped us all off at the gym, which was a very nice facility. The climbing wall was only $3, which at my calculation is one of the cheepest things to do in Barrow. We had a good time and climbed all of the walls. I lept from hold to hold like a galiant gibbon! My forearms missed the burning feeling. There were 90, 45, 30 and 60 degree walls about 25-30 feet high. Plastic is nothing like rock, but I was happy to be climbing after two weeks of withdrawl. The movement on plastic is different, and the holds do funny things to your tendons than rock does. The last wall we climbed had a 60 degree overhang, and was a little tougher than the rest. The last hold on the climb was shaped like an upside down human skull, and you had to grab on to the maxilla.

Santonu picked us up and we returned to the lab. I joined Steve O., Paulo, Rob and Dave in some LI-6200 training upon arrival. This is a device that uses and IRGA (infrared gas analyzer) to take measurement of photosynthesis by detecting differences in gas concentrations. Dave, Paulo and I will be using the 6200 to take measurements here on the tundra. This device will be strapped to my back on a metal frame as I will perform the dreaded diurnals; 24 hours of straight measurements. Anyway, I saw another lemming as we played with the device outside. They always make me smile for some odd reason.

A few odd things have happened:

I went back into the lab after playing with the LI-6200, and some guy from New York popped his head in randomly. He asked what I was doing here and what I was studying..."we aren't the cause of all that global warming stuff," he said. I didn't reply, instead I offered him some of the whale we had left in the freezer. There's an excess and we need to get rid of it. I found out a bus-load of tourists had come to the research station to see, I don't know, the scientists I guess. It was weird; I felt like a zoo animal when the tour guide said, "there's some scientists in their lab." Maybe they should put cheetos and soda outside the door and label it "scientist chow."

Dave found a ladybug in his salad.

The weather over the past 4-5 days has been very very nice by Barrow standards. The sun has been shining, and the temperature in the upper 40's. Today I got up to see fog and wind. It was still warm though, and I rather like being in the tundra amidst the fog. I woke up late today, and Adrian had to come knock on the door to get me up. I hurried into the lab, Craig wasn't too happy. He told something to Alex, who has woken up late everyday we've been here practically. Poor guy must be really tired, or doesn't hear his watch alarm. Craig was a little stressed this morning, but seemed happier this afternoon, especially after I played the ukulele for him after dinner at Pepe's.

I have learned a little more about Barrow. Apparantly the Inupiat name for Barrow, Ukpiagvig, literally translates to "the place where we hunt snowy owls." I finally saw one today at the ITEX site. I must have been about 35 yards away and the thing was huge. I tried to get close, but it flew away :( I've been wanting to see one for some time now.

Today is Dave's birthday, and I told him I would sing for him with my ukulele. He's joyous about that since I have such a beautiful voice (sarcasm). Either way, I will sing, oh yes, I will. There will be a lot of birthdays up here in Barrow this year: Adrian's was on the 31st of May, Dave's the 11th of June, mine on the 26th, and Perry's on July 2nd. I look forward to cake! Santonu was jealous, so we gave him a fake birthday on June 30th. Since we gave him one, we had to give Alex and Sandra one; the June 28th and July 6th, respectively. We went and ate at Pepe's and they brought out a cake for Dave with a pretty red flower on it..awww. After dinner we all went back to the lab and I played some ukulele for everyone. Craig loved it when I played "Spiderman." (Sarcasm once again).