So as most of you know, I am not new to blogs. Although I am new to this blog, I began blogging a little over a year and a half ago when I first started traveling. This is a way for me to keep in touch with my friends and family without having to write a million emails and send a thousand pictures. In the past I have been really bad about keeping up on the blog, I was using a site not everyone could get to and it was not user friendly. So here I am, I figure its time to try something new and it will help force me into keeping up to date on things. So its a wild ride, if you are new to my journey it all started about 2 years ago.
Every event has a back story, its hard to think back and remember how it all started or what event happened that got the ball rolling. It took me a long time before I was able to think back hard enough to realize how it happened for me. It took a girl by the name of Shelby to make me remember. Shelby was at South Pole this summer and she had this thing about finding out why people were there. She hounded me enough about it, and she wouldn't take a bullshit answer either so I had to sit down and think long and hard about the root cause. What was it that started the chain reaction to put me on the path I am on now?
So I had the life you are suppose to have, I graduated trade school with a degree I had the good paying career path job that others were envious of. I had a nice place to live in a upscale part of town, a girlfriend that was living with me, the works. Well I am fogging on how it all began to fall apart, but it had something to do with me working 70-80 hours a week and living comfortably then I gave up my field service truck and went in the shop so that I could pursue more education. When this happened all my overtime disappeared and I was down to 40-50 hours a week. When you are young and dumb you don't realize right away that when you loose income you need to adjust your style of living. Well I found that out soon enough as the bills began to pile and rent went up, the economy went downhill and the girlfriend left. That's the moment where I realized its time for something new. Its time to throw it all away and start fresh, I could stay and try to fix the problem or I can cut my losses, learn from my mistakes and move on. So I did, I began to look for jobs in Colorado. I just happened to come across an ad online while I was looking for jobs, a Diesel Mechanic position at the South Pole. I applied after my folks said they didn't think it was a good idea and then never pursued it. I then went out to Colo. and interviewed for another job and it was very promising, so I began to make plans to move. When I get a call from a company asking me if I was still interested in working in Antarctica. Well how many people get to say that they have been to Antarctica? Very, very few so I said sure and after a crazy medical process, 3 weeks after the call I was on a plane bound for New Zealand.
New Zealand is a whole different story I could talk about for pages and pages, but it is already getting way to long and drawn out so here is a quick finish. Since this journey has started, it hasn't stopped. I have worked at The South Pole, I have gone to New Zealand, Australia, Hawaii, Utah and Arizona all in the last year because of this job. I have gone to Chile and taken a Ice Breaker ship through the Straits of Magellan and across some of the roughest seas in the world The Drake Passage to arrive and work at one of the most beautiful and amazing places in the world, Palmer Station. I have gone back through Florida and Colorado and back to New Zealand where I returned to The South Pole and I am now at McMurdo Station experiencing another change in seasons in Antarctica. This amazing ride has allowed me to start over, pay off all my debt, put money in the bank and grow into the person I have always wanted to be. This is the journey I have started, this is the journey that has no end. I have told you how I got here, now lets see where I take you next.....
So as most of you know, I am not new to blogs. Although I am new to this blog, I began blogging a little over a year and a half ago when I first started traveling. This is a way for me to keep in touch with my friends and family without having to write a million emails and send a thousand pictures. In the past I have been really bad about keeping up on the blog, I was using a site not everyone could get to and it was not user friendly. So here I am, I figure its time to try something new and it will help force me into keeping up to date on things. So its a wild ride, if you are new to my journey it all started about 2 years ago.
Every event has a back story, its hard to think back and remember how it all started or what event happened that got the ball rolling. It took me a long time before I was able to think back hard enough to realize how it happened for me. It took a girl by the name of Shelby to make me remember. Shelby was at South Pole this summer and she had this thing about finding out why people were there. She hounded me enough about it, and she wouldn't take a bullshit answer either so I had to sit down and think long and hard about the root cause. What was it that started the chain reaction to put me on the path I am on now?
So I had the life you are suppose to have, I graduated trade school with a degree I had the good paying career path job that others were envious of. I had a nice place to live in a upscale part of town, a girlfriend that was living with me, the works. Well I am fogging on how it all began to fall apart, but it had something to do with me working 70-80 hours a week and living comfortably then I gave up my field service truck and went in the shop so that I could pursue more education. When this happened all my overtime disappeared and I was down to 40-50 hours a week. When you are young and dumb you don't realize right away that when you loose income you need to adjust your style of living. Well I found that out soon enough as the bills began to pile and rent went up, the economy went downhill and the girlfriend left. That's the moment where I realized its time for something new. Its time to throw it all away and start fresh, I could stay and try to fix the problem or I can cut my losses, learn from my mistakes and move on. So I did, I began to look for jobs in Colorado. I just happened to come across an ad online while I was looking for jobs, a Diesel Mechanic position at the South Pole. I applied after my folks said they didn't think it was a good idea and then never pursued it. I then went out to Colo. and interviewed for another job and it was very promising, so I began to make plans to move. When I get a call from a company asking me if I was still interested in working in Antarctica. Well how many people get to say that they have been to Antarctica? Very, very few so I said sure and after a crazy medical process, 3 weeks after the call I was on a plane bound for New Zealand.
New Zealand is a whole different story I could talk about for pages and pages, but it is already getting way to long and drawn out so here is a quick finish. Since this journey has started, it hasn't stopped. I have worked at The South Pole, I have gone to New Zealand, Australia, Hawaii, Utah and Arizona all in the last year because of this job. I have gone to Chile and taken a Ice Breaker ship through the Straits of Magellan and across some of the roughest seas in the world The Drake Passage to arrive and work at one of the most beautiful and amazing places in the world, Palmer Station. I have gone back through Florida and Colorado and back to New Zealand where I returned to The South Pole and I am now at McMurdo Station experiencing another change in seasons in Antarctica. This amazing ride has allowed me to start over, pay off all my debt, put money in the bank and grow into the person I have always wanted to be. This is the journey I have started, this is the journey that has no end. I have told you how I got here, now lets see where I take you next.....
It seems everyone has a long strange path that they follow to Antarctica. Great Palmer pictures! I'm heading back next week.
ReplyDeleteThanks Neal, I hope you have a great season this year, I am hear at MacTown. The longer I am away from Palmer the more I want to go back, I'd like to go back next winter. We will see.
ReplyDelete