Indy Telecom & Industrial Media

I love the cold. I love snow and ice. I hate hot weather with a passion. And I have been to parts of the world where thermometers do not mean much (mostly because they would crack and break, of course).

Given this and my penchant for adventure, I had given my name for an expedition to the Arctic. I was put on the waiting list since it was quite obviously an expedition that was much in demand. What more, it was in the winter — just who wouldn’t want to be in the Arctic in the winter, with the Northern Lights, polar bears and the simply gorgeous weather with all that snow?

So, last evening I get a call from the Earth Watch Institute telling me that a position had opened up in the expedition and asking me if I would be interested in going. The only downside of course would be that it would put me back by a good chunk of money (you know, all that equipment and doing things up there costs money).

And here I am, with my snowy dilemma. To freeze or not to freeze? At the end of the whole thing, it would be about two weeks out there and I would be more than a few dollars poorer.

On the other hand, I get to go to a place where few people have been. The downside of course is the age old conundrum between desirability and affordability, as Akshay puts it.

So, my dear readers. Do I spend money to spend days out in the snow, at -50 c, freeze my sorry ass, work on some interesting but tiring stuff, watch the northern lights but wake up at unearthly hours — or do I just give in and hope that something else comes along in the future?