This is 49 Tango signing off...

Today was my last full day of work here down south.  We took it kind of easy, compared to earlier weeks of insanity.  Visited our field sites one last time - they looked somewhat naked, with all of our meteorological gear gone and pin flags removed.  Still very familiar, but different.  Like they can finally settle down for the winter (or maybe that's just how I feel).  We collected one last errant data point, then did a little sight seeing, visiting a bunch of low spiderwebs coated in dew from the fog, examining low growing mistletoe, and generally wandering around.  Ate lunch outside (wearing my HAT); it was easily 70 degrees out.  Not at all what it'll be like when I return north...

After lunch we packed up the last few boxes, fiddled around, and eventually settled into a bit of data analysis.  I'm still seeking the quintessential contour plot to show our data to best advantage.  Made one this afternoon that looks pretty snazzy, but apparently they would prefer that I use a different program so they can avoid licensing issues.  Shrug.  Ended up working late, as we were waiting until dusk to take some staged pictures of our 'fieldwork techniques' for potential presentations and publications in the future.

Given the way things work down here, chances are good that unless I go to a particular grad school I applied to, probably I won't ever see these places again where I've been working the last three months.  Adds an unusual sense of finality to it all, that I haven't experienced despite having left behind a number of places in the past year.  I'll get to see lots of my coworkers again though, and that's been the best part all along, the people I get to spend time with.

Ok, my dinner is at an end (quick meal of leftovers - Chickpea Artichoke soup, easy garlic bread and a spinach salad w/ poppyseed dressing, broccoli, sunflower seeds and feta).  So now as I promised myself, I have to stop writing and get my act in gear.  Tons of things to get done before I hit the road tomorrow afternoon/evening...  When I'm finally settled in again back home, I intend to write a post reflecting on this job from a distance :-)

As for now, 49 Tango (my radio call sign down here on the job) is signing off.