A Trip To DHMC

Today I made my way over to DHMC to start the PQ process. I have to say I thought it was going to be a lot worst. They did all the normal things like "read the bottom line, follow the light with your eyes, height, weight..." After all the normal things were done, I got to start the fun tests. For those of you who don't know, I really don't like needles and today was filled with them. It's been 9 years since my last tetanus shot so we started with that before they sent me "down stairs" to have four vials of blood drawn. Typically when I go to APD (the other local hospital where Stryker typically sends us) it takes them a few tries to get three vials of blood. I wasn't sure this was going to be easy, but moments later I was walking away and I didn't even get light headed (yeah). I then was sent "next door" to have my first EKG. I have to say that was really cool. They stuck about 9 little patches all over my body including legs and arms and hooked them up to the machine. I felt like some horrible science experiment. However ten seconds later they were plucking the wires off and I was ready to go. I don't think I have ever had such a complete physical but it's nice having a clean bill of health. Because of the weekend, I'll have to go back again tomorrow to start the TB test. I have to do this for Stryker every two years. If you haven't had one done before, they put a lump of TB solution under your skin (yup with another needle) and then check in 48-72hrs to see if the lump is gone. I just had this done a year ago so I should be clear to go. Next week I have my dental exam and then I'll be done with the PQ process, I hope.

This summer I won't be updating my blog much, but I just ordered a few books about Antarctica and hope to post short book talks about them. I'm getting very excited and I'm sure the next few months will go quickly. For other good news, my house is under contract so with the closing in August, I'll be ready to head south. I'll try to make a posting with the "lump" under my skin over the weekend.

Getting Started

I have spent the last year preparing myself for this journey. My time and dedication has paid off and in five months I'll be traveling south to march with the penguins. It hasn’t been easy, but I have had a lot of help increasing my odds of being 1 of 700 new candidates picked from the pool of 35,000 applicants.


Talking with Amber I realized that to increase my odds of being selected I would need to travel to Denver CO to visit the Raytheon Headquarters. To prepare I created employment packages including: Customized Cover Letters, Resume, Curricula Vite, 3 great reference letters, and topped off with a Vermont Maple Candy. The picture to the left shows the great amount of work that went into the preparation. I have spent the past year preparing, accelerating my schooling, and pestering Amber, so I wanted to take every precaution needed to successfully be selected for an opportunity of a life time.


The Job fair was a little crazy. I showed up around 9 in the morning on Friday the 13th of April and spent a total of about 8 hours at the Raytheon Polar Services Headquarters. Shortly after arriving I had the pleasure of meeting Cori Manka, Amber's roommate last year in McMurdo. Although Cori was very busy, she was able to answer a few of my questions and point me in the right direction. Cori is very cute and nice and I'm hoping she deploys again this year. I am guessing that there were a total of 2000 people that showed up for the job fair. However I got many rave reviews for my organized employment packages (a few people thought the Maple Candy was a bribe) and I feel that I was able to make an impression. With so many applicants it is very important to make an impression and stand out from the others. I think the maple candy was a great touch to help remember "Kevin from Vermont."