East side of building 155 in mid October (snow).
West side of Building 155 in late November (mud).
Building 155 is the social hub of McMurdo. It was recently painted a bright blue and is located in the center of town. My work building, 140, is just across the road.
The first floor contains the HR, Housing and Finance offices, the ATM, barbershop, the general store, the craft room, gear room, Recreation room and offices, laundry rooms, dining room and kitchen, library, weight room and computer lab. The computer lab is where I am right now. The T shaped hallways that dissect the building are called Highway 1 and Highway 2. This building is the social center of the base, and besides the bars, where many people hang out.
There are 4 coat rooms at the entrance to the dining hall for all the “Big Reds”. These are the huge parka’s we were issued in ChCh, NZ and are part of our ECW gear. The building is metal, like a warehouse. Since McM started out as a US Navy base, many of the names and customs come from the military. The dining hall is the galley, we get free haircuts and sometimes the bathrooms are referred to as heads and the floor, the deck, etc.
The upper floor contains the dorm rooms, one of which I share with 3 others. The bathrooms are down the hall. Also upstairs is the TV lounge, pool table and game room.
The Craft Room.
One of 4 coat closets for "Big Reds" our winter parkas.
The computer kiosk with internet access.
At the entrance to the Dining Room, a daily schedule is posted.
A snow pile against Big Blue.
The recreation info board on Hwy 1 in building 155.
There are always things to do.
The door behind the Palm tree is to my room.
