Was that really Mark Twain?

When I moved from central Texas in Fall 2004 to San Francisco, one of my friends said something that has stuck with me since. He didn’t know the authorship but being in the Navy and stationed there back in the day, he certainly agreed with it.

“The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.” It’s been claimed Mark Twain said this as he suffered from hypothermia on his visit to San Francisco. Others claim Will Rogers or Robert Louis Stevenson author of this quote. I still am quite unsure and I whole-heartedly agreed with this statement when I lived in San Francisco… the season never changed. The weather was always a constant. That summer in SF, I truly did miss the Texas heat and humidity…my comfort warmth for the past 7 years of my life.

Now that I’ve been living in Antarctica, the coldest driest place on Earth, I think that statement is highly inaccurate. I am going to change it to a place more appropriate - something more truthful on my part. “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer at the South Pole.” Yes, that makes more sense. Down here at Pole, the season is opposite of the States. I arrived in Antarctica in October 2006 and made it to Pole, Nov 1. I'm scheduled to stay here at Pole through February 2007 – the summer months for this part of the world… and constant 24 hr daylight. If anything I’ve learned, I’m glad I came in the summer! Those winter months get even colder - way colder. I thought I knew cold. I thought I knew what it meant being cold…but no, in perspective that was nothing. The current weather is -22F with a windchill of -45F which is not bad today...it's kind of warm out.

I'm not sure where my next seasonal gig will be. I've already applied at some interesting places but somehow, they are all cold places. What's wrong with me? Perhaps I will find some warmth but I suppose anywhere would be warmer than Antarctica, eh? Warmth defined by above 60F weather and preferably in the 80F range - that would be perfect. The attire – shorts, t shirt and flip-flops. Hmmm, I'll have to research some new seasonal jobs.

In the meantime, I was going to add my Ice Cube pics to the blog from the other day as with my adventure with snow stakes - but I forgot them at work. Sorry folks. If I remember, I'll bring it home tomorrow.

Yeah, interesting enough we have wireless internet in our tents. I don't know about you, but I am impressed - you know, living in a tent but have wireless. It's an interesting concept for sure. And as you must know, for me living without the internet would be a personal crime. What did people do before the internet anyway? It's hard to imagine.