6 October, 1998

Compared to the other days today was rather uneventful. I had to go to drivers school this morning and get my driver's license to drive the "sprite." If you saw the movie of X-files this summer than you have seen a sprite. It is the tracked vehicle that Fox Mulder was driving across the snow near the end of the movie. It is a slow and noisy mode of transportation but one of the best ways to drive to get around on heavy layers of ice and snow. Driving around McMurdo can be dangerous. Everyone realy has to be on the alert for people on foot. The weather is so cold here that people walk around in their hooded parkas. It is hard to see and hear with the hood over your face. Drivers of vehicles here have to be very careful of pedestrians for that reason. The rest of the day I worked in the lab practicing the procedures I will be using to test the salt concentrations of Antarctic fish. Dr. Petzel's team is trying to work out how Antarctic fish can change the salt concentration of their blood with changing air temperatures. I am going to have to cut this journal entry short. I can hardly hold my eyes open any longer. Bye for now.