Activities

Just to begin my post, my neighbour Jim Furlong asked some questions that I can answer here (as if I replied in the comments, most people likely wouldn't see them). All the electricity for the Station is from diesel generators. Obviously, there are failsafes, because a loss of power this far North in the cold would be life threatening. I believe that there are always two generators running, while there are backups as well for all the individual buildings that are tested regularly. The heat from the generators is also used to heat the water, so overall it's a pretty efficient system. There really isn't that much wildlife up here, as there is no vegetation, and it's damn cold, so while the foxes, hares and wolves are technically native, the SIZE of the wolf pack is inflated due to the availability of food here. It's likely that if they continue to grow in size that they'll have to be "relocated" (to be politically correct...if they ever bit someone, they'd be "relocated" pretty quickly). Days are getting longer up here too....there is a faint glow on the horizon now for a few hours around noon, and it's definitely getting stronger.

For this post I was thinking of talking about the activities that are done up here. Every night of the week has something scheduled going on, and there's lots of pick-up stuff that happens as well. The schedule is:

Monday: Euchre
Tuesday: Darts
Wednesday: Pool
Thursday: Bowling (picture below)
Friday: TGIF (i.e. Drinking)
Saturday: Trivia/Poker (i.e. Little less drinking)
Sunday: Bingo

So far I've done everything but Poker and Pool, but I've played enough pool now that I'm getting back into the swing of things and I'll likely give it a go this Wednesday. All these activities have prizes available, and so far I've won $25 at bowling (high game: 173), $21.50 at Bingo (haven't won the $50 grand prize yet), $10 at euchre (we were tied for the lead, and had to do a play-off, where we got some nasty cards) and a LOT of free drinks from trivia.

As well, lots of the time people will talk throughout the day about doing something, and a note will go up on the whiteboard that Badminton or Floor Hockey will happen at 1830, so that's always a fun time. Hadn't played floor hockey forever, and after about 5 minutes I was feeling my lack of fitness :) Had a great time though, and will be adding it to my rotation of things to do. (Picture of the main gym right)

Sundays are usually sports tournaments, where there is no real cash prize, but teams can be self-chosen and they're more competitive. Two weekends ago was doubles Badminton, which I WON!! with my partner Josh...who coincidentally is one of the best players on station :P Last weekend was blind volleyball (sheet over the net, not over your eyes as I originally thought....and wondered about) which was fun too.

In honour of the Super Bowl tomorrow, the activity is going to be flag football.....outside!! We'll likely only play for 15 minutes before we start to freeze, but should be a fun time. As well, Mike and I just discovered a mat, clubs and balls in the gym, so we're going to head over to test out our golf games later this week. I'm just starting to get that mid-winter itch again :)

If anyone has any questions about what goes on up here, please leave a comment, and I'd gladly answer it in my next post. Picture suggestions are welcome too.

Miss you all,
Graham