Community: The Plot Thickens

 The white board: where we receive important daily announcements. 

When I first got here, it took a few days to learn names, nicknames, positions, routines, etc.  But not only do I know who where's the pants around here and which unlikely pairs sleep in the couples' rooms, now I know who has style.  In other words, I feel like an insider.  This sentiment also comes with the mindset that I live here as opposed to just being on an amazing vacation.  With the inside scoop comes new appreciation for the individuals, the community as a whole, and the things they do here to make it through the season, mental health intact.

       Every morning people enjoy breakfast alongside neatly printed and stapled copies of the NY Times Digest.  And of course, with the news comes the crossword puzzle!  Will Shortz has quite a following here and I have eagerly joined in the fun.  Alice and I consistently rock mon-wed and manage to scratch through the others at lunch.  On Sunday mornings, you have to put earplugs in so as not to hear answers generated from the "regulars'" table - a group of four to five of the men who don't leave breakfast until it's finished!  During the weekday, a completely different clique of males grabs a plate of food and hurries to the tv lounge for an episode of Battlestar Gallactica or Star Trek, every day. 

      Other Palmer traditions relate more to evening and weekend activities.  The lab manager creates a unique cocktail to accompany Saturday night appetizer dinner.  Art in the Bar, Sunday Cartoons, and Chick Flick are all popular weekly events.  The bar hosts billiards and ping-pong tournaments, and Mr. Hyde's transformation pales next to some competitive spirits here.

       I did not expect to become attached to the people here, but this whole experience has been much more personal than I had imagined.  I have become privvy to inside jokes and the butt of others (see Horses, below).  Speaking of funnies, radio communication at the station is also fuel for laughs.  While completely professional in nature, I can't help but chuckle at the radio chatter from groups out on the water or those working in logistics.  Just as everyone knows when the "A-Team" arrives back on station, we get to hear when the "WuTang" divers get into the water or when the "Friday Warriors" search for krill.  I thought it would be nutty to work, live, eat, and play with the same group of forty people, but I haven't been compelled to seek out alone time and I can see that nobody else is too bothered by it either.  All in all, it continues to be a great experience!