The Whole Wide World

We had a gnarly storm yesterday, the wind chill took us to -98F. Crazy. I only experienced it as I ran across to the gerbil gym and back. Down here, it’s the wind that gets you. It is unlike any other wind I’ve ever experienced. All I have to do is run between buildings periodically throughout the day, but there are people who have to work outdoors down here and my hat is off to them. When it is this cold, there is always a chill in the air, even indoors so I put an extra layer on today. I also try and keep my mouth shut about the weather. It’s cold. Always. Sometimes it’s extra cold, but it is always cold. I have a cushy indoor job and no room to talk about the weather.

There are more layers to me and the weather. In the non frozen world, I can’t stand talking about the weather. Small talk. I don’t care for it. Obviously it is necessary at times, but the weather is my least favorite topic to make small talk about. When I do get caught in a ‘nice day out today’ exchange I immediately hear background music in my head. A line from a Dave Matthews song called So Much to Say starts on a loop. T-t-talk about the weather yeah yeah yeah…speaking of Dave Matthews (my favorite band since High School) our station manager, Erin, knows him. I’d heard a rumor this summer that the winter station manager had met Dave in an REI, so when I met Erin it was one of the first things I brought up. He confirmed and shared that they text each other on occasion. Fan girl over here. Needless to say, when Erin and I see each other, Dave is our small talk topic, not the weather. Much mo’ better.

While I don’t like to talk about the weather, I was excited by our -98F windchill day yesterday. We all were. A nice bonding of the adventure we are all in together. After all, it’s part of the thrill of experiencing an Antarctic winter.