A New Year

Well it's a brand new year as well as a new decade (unless you're Roman in which case your new decade starts next year...). A year ago, I was hoping to be spending this recent New Year's back in McMurdo. After dealing with several issues regarding my school, distant learning, and the sheer fact that I was attending Virginia classes online in Antarctica, I felt it necessary to put McMurdo on hold for a while until I'm done with school. It was incredibly painful then while I was down on the ice knowing that I wouldn't be coming back the following year. It was especially painful throughout the entire fall reading blogs and facebook status updates of friends who were heading back down there. Such is life though. I figure I can dream and research cool things to do here, around this country, and around the globe but for now I'll definitely live one day at a time.

I've been told that I've been offered a job with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) Fire Department by a chief there who retired on the 31st. My being hired then was in preparation of the subsequent promotions to fill his spots and the spots that would open up underneath him. This, my friends, came as bittersweet excitement: I am totally stoked that I am working for MWAA's fire department. I really am. They have everything I look for in a fire department sans a wildland program: Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF), a haz-mat team, a technical rescue program, a marine program, etc. At the same time, the prospect of settling down for however long in a permanent job scares the shit out of me. Fear aside, I really can't complain. I'll be working in a fire department job with benefits, I'll be receiving a decent paycheck, and I'll be receiving some excellent training and experience. I'm hoping to continue working for PTS on a part-time basis as well as picking up a part-time job with Patagonia in Georgetown (outdoor clothing and climbing equipment is expensive!). So for now, I'll be living in the DC area for a lot longer than I expected...