Work work work (part 1)

So I have a total commute of 2 minutes to work. Would be shorter but at 430 am I move only at snail speed. But all that aside, here is a look at my morning.....

Out the door and down the hall....

One of the more creatively decorated doorways. Seems like every room is totally different. Strange?

Moving on down the stairs, and past the trash cans...all of them.....I'll touch on the recycling at McMurdo later, its a story of its own. Very serious.....

Then on to Highway 1. It is the main hallway through building 155, which is where I live, work, eat, and so on. It houses just about all the basic necessities here. It has most the offices such as housing, recreation, finance, and the store. It even has a place to sign out things such as; skis, instruments, even costumes. And it even has the only ATM in Antarctica.





But back to work. Down the hall/ highway to the main galley entrance..

...and then down the final corridor, into the buffet area. Pretty interesting stuff to look at in this hall, pictures and memorabilia. Guess if I ever have to wait in line I can see it all....but that'll never happen, one of the perks of working in the kitchen; we eat half an hour before everyone else; then back to work to serve the population. I almost said general population, but that gives off a prison vibe...

Oops, I forgot a picture of the buffet line. Well if you've been to a college buffet or in the military, insert your mental picture here. Onto the kitchen.....here is the main kitchen....

...and the dry storage.....

 ....and salad prep area...

..this is called the "Thaw Box". It's where things are stored to, quite obviously, thaw out. Takes a long time here. Basically it houses all the meats, hundreds of pounds at a time...for now....more to come... This picture is only about one third of its total size. It's pretty big.



This is the "Freshie Box" It stores all the fresh food delivered by planes. Currently it is empty, but we got a large load when I came, and it was gone quick! Freshies are like gold here, see cigarettes in prison. We also have quite a selection of cheeses her, which I was very excited about until I tied to cut said previously frozen cheese. So, what I should say is we have a nice selection of cheese crumbles...

....and then the freezer...uh...yeah, probably the most cost efficient freezer in the world. I don't know if the fans do anything more than blow outside air in. Big! Probably about the size of a two or three car garage. I guess?

And finally, the loading dock. All the coolers have a back door that leads out here. It has a garage door for the Sysco sled? Haven't seen this in full swing but that is why this is part 1. There are also food warehouses that I've yet to explore.

The two white doors in the left part of the picture are trash doors. Open, throw, close quickly! Doesn't matter snow still blows in. Not the place to hang out and shoot the breeze like most kitchens.

Oh I forgot where I work....sometimes...omelet station. Everyone gets a chance to work out here. It's different. I always wondered when I was in the Army, "how do they make so many omelets?" Now I know....

That's all for now. "Cooking on Ice"....I think that may be how I finish each post. Mostly because Looney Toons is probably trademarked.....