I guess I should be glad I’m a Browns fan- I have developed the ability to be optimistic and pessimistic simultaneously.

We did our bag-drag last night for a double-shuttle to CTAM. A double-shuttle means the same plane would do two flights- first it would take John, Devon, Vinciane and Brian to CTAM, then it turns around, flies back to McMurdo, picks up the rest of us (Ralph, Shannon, Ryan and Christine) and takes us to CTAM. We knew we were a low priority (3 other missions ahead of us) and that double-shuttles can be hard to pull off, but CTAM is a good-weather place so we felt pretty good about our chances to fly.

the situation we woke up to is decidely different. Evidently someone with symptoms of a stroke was evacuated to Christchurch in the wee hours. There was a plane scheduled to fly to CHC this morning anyway, but it had to leave much earlier than planned so the whole schedule has got to change to accommodate new constraints on aircraft and crew availability. Right now we’re still a 3rd alternate, but now the schedule calls for a late-day flight, leaving McMurdo at dinner time. That could mean arriving at CTAM after midnight for some of us, if the flight goes.

So for now we wait, trying to be patient, trying to be calm.  A nap would be good.