Saturday, July 7, 2007

Polar Plunge and 4th of July Celebration

Well, it seems that no one really got pics of me or the rest of the BAS C crew dancing, and, well I was dancing so I couldn’t take any myself. I was so engrossed in the on goings that I didn’t even think to take a lot more. Sorry folks; but there are some things that you should know. (The following information was completely ripped off from Sandra's blog...evil laugh laugh laugh): The drums used in the ceremony were made from whale liver and a drum was made for each whale caught...pretty interesting. Now on with the adventure:



Dave after a long day of dealing with Sandra and I bugging him


So, what do you get when you have many many stressed out scientists working long days and going insane?

Well, I'll tell you: You get a group of 20 freaks ready to go jump in the Arctic Ocean on a cold, windy, foggy day! That's right folks, we chose to take the plunge on one of the worst weather days here in Barrow (by the way, today was sunny with a temp of about 65 degrees Fareinheight, nice!).


Sandra, Perry and I returned from Brower's Cafe only to hear that there was a polar plunge planned for the evening, 8:00 sharp. We had a few people in the field still, and they hadn’t heard the news. Sandra and I looked at each other in disbelief. All day the sound of wind was howling at the windows, and the fog covering the town of Barrow thwarted several photons of light that tried to travel to the surface. In other words, the weather was bad; it was foggy, cold and windy. to find that the GVSU (Grand Valley State University...Michigan crew...work on plants with ITEX) wanted to go jump in the ocean that very day since one of their crew members was going to leave that weekend. Word went around, and a group of about 17-20 people were rallied. All were ready to take a much needed break from computer screens, data, data, more data and field work. Rob and Santonu were the first to prepare; Rob entered the lab with a sun hat, sunglasses, a towel and sunscreen ready for a day at the beach. All seemed well, spirits were high and Santonu claimed to be "Champion of the Polar Bear Swim," and I quote "Last year I made it all the way to Russia!" We'll see.....





We all congregated in the cafeteria at 8:00pm ready and willing to take the plunge. I decided to go ahead and sport my shorts since it was the beach. It may have been foggy, damp and windy, but what difference would that make if I was just going to jump into some freezing cold water anyway. So after psyching myself out the ambient temperature wasn't that bad to me, it felt warm in my head. Hiroke (SDSU group, and probably mispelled) decided to bring a "surf board" that was constructed of a rectangular piece of plywood. The philosophy of the lemming was set in strong the day of the polar plunge; we were all going to jump in the ice-cold liquid together!





We were stuck waiting for Perry for a while; he was in his room preparing for his big performance. I drew his "fox logo" on his back, and "polar bear club" on his bum. Once we were all gathered we piled into three trucks and headed out towards the point. We decided to go north since the sanitation plant's settling pond is right near town and the current washes it south (ewww). We stopped at an area just before "Duck Camp" and took off to the grey shoreline. I had to sit and psyche myself a little more; everyone delt with the reality of the cold in their own way. Rob laid his towel out and decided to treat the event as if it were Myrtle Beach in June.



We were all shocked when saw Adrian already in his trunks sprinting toward the sea. He dove right in, flipped and got out, got dressed and ran to the truck in no time. Santonu was second to submerge, and was in and out just a speedily as Adrian. After that, everyone kind of jumped in at different times in a fashion that would parallel the sinusoidal motions of the waves; a few here, a few minutes later another few and so on. A group of three nudes ended up in the salty waters cheering in victory. Perry jumped in wearing only his bunny boots (military grade white snow boots). We all laughed. The other two nudies: Mai and John from SDSU.









Adrian "The Shark" smiling and drying off after his speedy plunge






Santonu, #2 in the polar plunge, in and out in 1 minute...so much for the "Champion"....Russia?!




All of the nudists are to the left, it's odd how they all massed in one area.




Hiroki running out of the icy cold water


I jumped in a while after several people went in; I was laughing taking pictures and enjoying the reactions to the arctic cold water. Sandra and I decided to go in together (misery loves company). I had my swimsuit with me luckily (which was a little snug after a month of cafeteria food...too snug) and unrobed. We both sprinted to the sea, my feet felt the frosty cold water first, and then I decided "oh well" and dove right on in. I freestyled out a way, flipped, and swam back. I could feel the shock of the cold water immediately, you kind of take a short breath in. I wanted to stay in the water longer, but even my ironclad mind was no match for my physiological responses; I had to get out. I kept thinking "4 minutes, 4 minutes." It takes 4 minutes before your body's muscles will contract and remain imobile in the given conditions. Anyway, I swam to the shore with gusto and sprinted onto the beach. My toes were stinging from the cold and pebbles on the shore. I looked down and saw that they were still nicely colored, so I didn't worry too much. I got to my three towels and dried off, threw on my hat first, then my socks, then my sweater and pants. The air felt warm after being in the water. My legs stung a little when I was pulling my pants on. Rob was running around with his state flag (South Carolina) and even jumped back in, as did Hiroki.


Sandra was standing there for a while shivering, so I threw the big puffy goose down jacket I brought on her. I told her to cover up and get in the truck (we left it running with the heater on), but she said she couldn't move. Everyone moved quick to get her warm and got her into the truck, Santonu especially. The next day she was sick again (she was ill the previous two weeks). :( Since then, we have refered to her as a chihuhua.


Anyway, after everyone took the plunge and was dressed we all headed for the warmth of our trucks and headed back to BASC. What a day! I wasn't over though, we didn't have enough so we put on a slide show of the whole event, then called it a day. I was dead tired after the jump. I guess the Nalukataq, lack of sleep and cold took it out of me and I knocked out. The next day I was still tired, but was happy. I survived the POLAR PLUNGE!



Mai doing well after the plunge















Rob on his 1st, 2nd or 3rd swim, we don't know which.














Dave running for his towel...Run Dave Run!





Just after our plunge, Rob wants a pic with the ladies for a complete day at the beach.






I don't remember exactly when, but sometime between the polar plunge and Perry's b-day, Santonu cooked some awesome curry. He and Adrian added a few jalepenos to add a little spice and flavor...mmmmm. We went to one of the SDSU huts to eat and share the food, and Mai made a good dish too. Jason brought some wine that I enjoyed as well.

















July 2nd was Perry's birthday, so we went out to eat that evening at Osaka's. We are all aware of Perry's obsession for Japanese culture, and especially his beloved Shiba Inu. I made him a really cool birthday card that consisted of a cardboard cutout of Japanese icons and a shiba that said "Happy Birthday." I was surprised at how it came out. I began just making the sun and playing around, but it turned out pretty good. I think he liked it :) Dinner was awesome; I have really come to enjoy eating at Osakas as a break from the usual cafeteria food and Pepe's we have stuffed ourselves with. I'm sure we will be eating there more often since we learned you get reimbursed if you eat out. Yay!








HAPPY 4th OF JULY!!!!! Well, it's that time of year again when we remember our "independence". Anyway, Barrow is crazy around this time; the whole town seems to be on a continuous holiday with the Nalukataqs, seal hunting and so on. The 2nd was "Founder's Day" in which the North Slope Borough was established (the seat of government). All public offices were closed, there were lots of cookouts, and we got some free stuff. (Duffle bag, gloves, patches, stickers...) It made it very difficult to get the permit for Atqasuk filed. The 3rd everyone was off too (by everyone I mean the townspeople and natives at BASC, not us); the 4th of July games begin. Every year they have races, games and a parade that lasts for three whole days! A few of us decided to make a float for the parade, Jason from FIU put the most effort and time into it (many couldn't help...work). The theme: a play on BASC "Barrow Arctic Surf Club", catchy. I designed a polar bear surfing and Chico helped me out. We worked the next day drawing, sawing, painting, and hammering the darn thing. Jason and John made a very nice wave with a sun on it, and a palm tree. Jason and Santonu cut out lettering for the "Barrow Arctic Surf CLub" sign. I didn't like the way all the huge blocks of wood showed, so I thought it would be a good idea to add a bowhead wale tail on the back; it turned out pretty good.


The next day our float was unveiled and I decieded to wear my shorts and sandals for the occasion. It was cold, but I braved it out after seeing Rob wearing only his swim trunks. The parade progressed through the town and we threw out candy to all the people. The elder women were nuts for the candy and were yelling at us to throw it to them. I think we had the only float really; all the other people in the parade were on cars and boats with signs on them. The locals really liked our work and said they never had anything like it before. Some people rode on 4-wheelers in our group, and the shorebird group taped bird pictures onto the machines. I hope we raised their parade standards :) After the parade we all went to Pepe's for lunch. Rob and Hiroki ran in a little race; 9 miles. Rob took first, Hiroki 3rd (Hiroki ran in his socks!).







































































We all headed back to work at the lab with our belly's full and minds completely useless. I tried to get some work done, but I was not very successful. I decided to shower and do some laundry until the BASC barbeque began. There were lots of burgers and really good deserts. We were at the "theater" right next to the beach. After stuffing our faces yet again, a few people headed out to the point and took another polar plunge; I decided to stay at the party and play some hackey sac.

Later that evening (9 or 10 pm) Sandra, Perry, Chico (VECO Polar), Marina (archeology group), Erin (SDSU), Jason, John and I headed to the beach for a good ol' fashioned bonfire. We took the 4-wheelers on the beach, and Sandra was joyous! We saw a jellyfish and some other kind of invertebrate in the arctic waters. It was a beautiful evening, and it almost looked like sunset (but the sun never set). The reflections of the light off the sea was quite picturesque.


























5 comments:

Anonymous said...

That last shot of the ocean is stunning! And on your last post the pics of the whale bone arch and benches are really good too. So I'm doing good recovering very nicely but Del just injured himself yesterday. He was using a belt sander and sanded off the top of his middle finger. Don't get to too worried it was the top not the end. But it took off the entire nail. YOu should give him a call if you get the chance I know it would mean a lot to him.

Anonymous said...

Hey matt! good to hear from you. I will be sure to give him a call tomorrow with Perry...We miss you guys!

-A

Anonymous said...

I'm beginning to believe you guys aren't doing much work at all--it looks like you're just busy having party after party! Where do I sign up?? Beatiful pics and impressive creative artwork in the float and Perry's birthday card...

Thanks for making my summer entertaining!

free erotic cartoon comic sex stories said...

And when he had her looking right into his eyes, he reached down and took a handful of her plump womanhood through the damp crotch of the pantyhose. I wanted somedowntime.
lesbian aunt and sister sex stories
beastiality short stories
mom son fuck stories
free forced bondage stories
animal sex lover stories
And when he had her looking right into his eyes, he reached down and took a handful of her plump womanhood through the damp crotch of the pantyhose. I wanted somedowntime.

Anonymous said...

http://medassist.org/media/buypropecia/#18792 propecia best results 2 years - propecia 4 month shed