summerish…

February 2022.

Sunday 27th.

Russia has just invaded the Ukraine and pushing towards Kiev. Footage of a Russian tank purposefully pursuing and running over an old man in a civilian compact sedan and the “Fuck you…” audio from the doomed Snake Island border guards are doing the rounds on the interwebs.The international community is outraged and the UN stamps it foot while the US sanctions Putin personally.

On a lighter note, New Zealand is in the midst of the Omicron pandemic, nearing the crest of the wave taking it further and further away fro the original goal of eradication. We’re living with it now, most of the country is triple vaxx’ed and apart from some rabid anti-vax nutjobs demonstrating around the country, NZ seems to be heading in the right direction.

Currently sitting in a little cafe called Truffle in Papanui (which could well be Maori for ‘fit, old and rich’ – not really) sucking back my second long black for the morning and contemplating the day.

There was an opportunity to get a permanent IT job in AntNZ that I was keen to explore, but as it turns out couldn’t even get an interview for (which is mildly annoying seeing as I’m doing most of that job already) but as things with me lately seem to happen for a reason, it’s probably for the best. I was getting grumpy and annoyed on a daily basis as echoes of a life spent in IT work stirred and we all worked from home remotely (removing the only part of that job that i actually enjoyed – the daily people contact and some social interaction).

This summer down South seems to be the way things will go and although it sucks now that i have ties here, it’s only for a short while and then I’m going to have a big break from Antarctica work (or at least from travelling down long term). Do some work on becoming a normal human being again, put down some roots here and make a life.

Let’s see how that works out – theres still a few months to decide. So much can go wrong so have to remain agile I guess.

Apart from that it’s been pretty cruisy here. Physical and mental health have bounced back, Isabel will (hopefully) be coming over for a visit in April/May, personal life is settling down and normalising, adjusting to coastal weather and enjoying the fuck out of Christchurch.

I do miss my McMurdo crew a little (Scott Base crew, not so much) but Ill see them again soon.

All terribly normal.

Thats good, yes?

I haven’t felt normal for ages.