Antarctica Bound!

I'm leaving for Antarctica in 2 days.
In the corner of my bedroom is a pile of clothes, toiletries and miscellaneous odds and ends that I plan on bringing with me to the South Pole. There is no chance in hell all these items are going to fit in my suitcase. In addition to the stress of packing, paying bills in advance, finding someone to care for my plants and making sure the subletters have all the emergency contact information, I have been having very strange dreams. Every night they are becoming more and more bizarre (last night involved aliens and biological experiments).

My travel itinerary goes like this:
Tues. October 17th Leave Chicago for Denver
Spend 2 days in Denver for training and filling out forms (most likely involving signing away any right to sue in case of accident, dismemberment or death)
Thurs. October 19th Leave Denver for Los Angeles to Aukland, New Zealand to Christchurch, New Zealand (17.5 hours total air time)
Wait around in Christchurch for the call to leave for the Ice (Antarctica).
This wait can be anywhere from 1 to 5 days depending on the weather.
Then from Christchurch to McMurdo base to the South Pole (another 8, or so, hours).

Yesterday, my husband and I sent a package to ourselves at our South Pole address filled with treats which we thought we might appreciate when the package arrives a month from now. The package consisted mostly of dark chocolate, tea, cocoa and cigarettes. We considered sending ourselves some good whiskey, but with the trouble of mailing liquid items and the extra weight, we decided against it. Besides, we figured that the South Pole was most likely well-stocked with liquid refreshment. After a 9-10 hour workday, the employees would surely riot if there was no beer to be had. Plus, any wise employer knows that a well lubricated crew is a happy crew.

Check out the
South Pole Web Cam

Oh, by the way, the current temperature (with windchill) is -85F
crap.