11 hours to go.
I have had an awesome week off, but I am ready to get back to the slope. I have been extremely active, but also, for 2 days straight I slept until noon. Most of Wednesday I spent picking up the apartment, washing dirty clothes, and packing. In the evening I met up with fellow intern Kirsten who was just getting in from the slope. I went out to dinner with her, her mentor and her mentor's husband, and another well services engineer. We ate at the Peanut Farm, which has really good food, and some really intoxicated people who laugh loudly in public. Lets just say I will hopefully never laugh like that lady at the table next to us. Shrieking laughter is amusing though, I cannot lie. At dinner Kirsten and I decided that we wanted to see the movie Wanted, and the other people enthusiastically decided to join us, so off we went. It was actually pretty good. Lot of blood though. And swearing. And violence. Hmm...in retrospect...maybe it's good movie qualities are questionable.
Now my clothes are clean, the apartment is relatively clean, and my suitcase is halfway packed. Now all I have to do is go to bed, and then wake up at 8 am and frantically pack and clean so I get to the airport to catch my flight. A time tested method that works wonders!! Oh, and incase you were wondering, It has been raining all day here. Weird. The most rain I've seen since leaving Kansas. It's probably one of the things I've missed the most. We have the most glorious storms at home! Thunder, lightening, torrential rain, flooding, etc. They have a soft rain that picks up occasionally and is kind of steady in general. I've only seen lightening once, and that was on the north slope. Apparently I had a real treat because thunder and lightening storms are rare in Alaska, and even rarer on the north slope, which is classified as an arctic desert.
This next hitch will be full of doing stuff. I am having an interview with my FSM (field service manager), finishing my project, writing a 3 to 5 page paper about my internship experience, going out on jobs, and hopefully helping one of the engineers with an environmental project. And going out to rigs, as it would be my job if I actually worked for this company. We'll see! Iam looking forward to it so much!!!! I am not sorry to say this, but I really do not miss Kansas or college.
Have a great Thursday people who I love!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Saturday, July 12, 2008
In which I summit a mountain, glide through water, and generally have a rockin' time
Ok. So I will attempt to update you on what has been going on. I have had an intense week in terms of busy-ness. On the 5th of July I went on a wireline job. And then again on the 7th. Wireline is the section of Schlumberger that deals with all that happens in a well after it is drilled. They check for leaks, blow holes in the exact right places so oil will flow upwards, etc. I am not really sure about all they do, but it doesn't really matter because I like D&M better anyway! The jobs were ok, but there was a lot of waiting around on one of them because one of the computers an engineer was using would upload what he wanted. On Tuesday, I was up and ready at the usual time to go out to the rig, but Eddie (the engineer I have been shadowing since Jamie left) was already gone. Accurate depth tracking is kind of important in our job, and we were getting readings that were 20 feet off of what the depth was supposed to be. So Eddie went out 2 hours earlier than his shift started because he is the senior engineer on the rig, to try and fix it. He thought he did, but right after I got out there it happened again and then continued to happen with greater frequency as he was troubleshooting. 14 hours after I got out there, at 9:30, we finally headed back into camp with a temporary fix in place. Apparently the ASAP, a thing that controls all the sensors that are read from and that everyone sees on their computer was failing. I tried to help Eddie troubleshoot as long as possible, though I know nothing that is helpful. I mainly just ran around for him. Brought him food and such. Then, when 2 more engineers and 2 techs from the shop came out I left the engineer's unit entirely and hung out with the roughnecks (we had stopped drilling at this point so they were bored) in their meeting room on the rig, so I wouldn't be in the way. I don't feel like I did a lot during that day, but I learned so much about how to troubleshoot, and what perserverance really means. Eddie, at some points, was clueless about how to solve the problem, yet he didn't stop or give up or say it was impossible so he was going to quit. Granted, in the oil field that isn't an option, because every hour we are not drilling is costing BP a lot of money. Like, in the range of 100,000 dollars. And he may have gotten really frustrated, but I respect him way more now because he is awesome at handling pressure. Yup. I don't think I've ever done any job for 14 hours before. I love my job/internship!!!!!!!!
Then on Wednesday I went out to the rig again, but ended up having to go back to camp and pack frantically for a plane ride I didn't know I was taking back into Anchorage! I thought my days off started on Thursday, but I wasn't paying enough attention, I guess, to the schedule. The shop guys had to pick me up an hour and a half after they had dropped me off at the rig. Which is another story in itself because they had an epic rock/paper/scissors battle in order to see which of them got to take me out to the rig in the first place. I have it on video. :D
Sidenote: the righands/roughnecks love me because I bring them stuff. I gave one of them a green schlumberger hardhat, because he (like all roughnecks) collects them and I also brought them a lot of mountain dew for the rig, which they don't get at their basecamp. Oh, and I let them have my race day pictures. So yeah, we get along pretty well, and they help me out if I need it. Or they just don't mind if I hang out with them and they'll come over and say hi if I am doing stuff on the pad.
Back to the real story. So I flew home to Anchorage, surprised Robin who didn't know I was coming back on Wednesday, and then proceeded to sleep for 12 hours straight (AMAZING). The next day we rented a car, did some walking around town, and just relaxed in general. Oh, and we also went in search of stuff to make chocolate martinis, because they sound awesome, but I have never had one. It was a failure, as none of the liquor stores we went to had all of the ingredients we needed. :( Oh well, I guess I will have to save that experience for another time.
FRIDAY:
Woke up really early. Picked up our rental car which turned out to be a PT Cruiser. Oh well. You can't win them all. Then we finished packing, hit the road, and drove the 110 miles down to Seward. This trip to Seward was waaayyyy better than my last one. Right after we hit Seward, we went to the Sea Life Center. Robin and I petted starfish and anemones, and watched sea lions and seals swim around and frolick. Sea lions are huge. If I EVER met one in the water I would just cry and hope to die quickly because regardless of their agression level, they are super scary and could squish me like a bug. Next we went to a Greek restaurant where we both order these awesome pizzas and took the leftovers back to the place we were staying overnight. It was actually really inexpensive, but was cute and had a fridge, freezer, microwave, toaster, sinks, dishes, tv, coffee maker, bed, couch, huge closet and sweet bathroom in it. I guess it was kinda like a one room apartment. We then left and walked down 3 blocks to the base of Mt. Marathon. Mt. Marathon is the location of one of the most messed up races I have ever heard of. These people race up 3020 feet to the summit of a mountain and then back down again. The winners can do it in 45-50 ish minutes. After hiking it, I have no clue what kind of beastly strength they have to be able to do it. Robin and I hiked up the race trail (after getting lost for a bit) and it took us about 3.5 hours. Both of us are in pretty good shape, and we didn't ever take a lot of breaks. It is just brutal. The inclines on the majority of the trail are about 60-75 degrees. Over half of the trail we had to climb using our hands and crawling up because standing up was just not really a safe thing to do. And every time we thought we were getting close to the summit, we would get over a rocky outcropping and realize that we had a LONG way to go. The last 1000 feet or so was on an extremely steep mountain side covered with loose rocks. I don't think I have ever appreciated flatness so much in my entire life! But it was totally, entirely, 100 percent worth it. It was probably harder than my half marathon (at least i had trained for that), and I have some of the coolest memories that I could ever have!!! Are you sore, you might ask me. My response is HA. Yes. Very, very very sore. Everything from my waist down hurts today. A lot. But I already am looking at trying to summit a 6400 foot mountain that is north of Anchorage! Just as soon as my body forgets what the first on was like. :D
This morning we got up (soreness and all) and went on our second adventure. We kayaked out into Resurrection Bay. We went out with a guide and 4 other people. 2 parents, and their kids Eric and Scott who were Robin's and my age. The boys didn't seem that thrilled to be on vacation with their parents. Who knows, we might be wrong. Maybe whining is their way of showing affection. :) We kayaked 4.5 miles out in the bay and then at a really good sack lunch and did a 5 mile round trip hike (OUCH to the already sore lower body) up to a fort that was built during WWII that is no longer used now. They used to have 2 huge guns in it, and it is built entirely underground. The only reason existed was to support those guns. Very cool. Working there in WWII? Well, that might not have been so cool. More like boring, I would think. They only ever shot off the guns twice. Once to test them, and another time in order to scare the postman into telling them ahead of time that he was coming, because apparently he wasn't so good about that before. The 4.5 mile kayak back was not bad at all, because the wind was at our back and we got to ride in on some awesome swells (I think that is what they are called). Robin got really wet at one point because one actually broke over our kayak. It was sweet. Oh! And the water. I have never seen water so beautiful ever. It was all these different shades of blue and green. Kind of like it was made of gemstones. Pictures of my trip will never really do it justice, but yet again, oh well!
Finally, after having a 2 day, full body work out, Robin and I were tired and ready to come back to Anchorage. So we ate at a seaside restaurant and I downed a lot of coffee in a very short time period, and then we were off!!! Now we are back, we uploaded some pictures, talked a lot, retured the car, watched Batman Begins, and Robin just headed to bed. I think that is where I am headed as well. I am honestly kind of afraid to move. But I will be brave and make the 20 foot trek to my bedroom because I am not a fan of couches when I can use my bed! :D
Have an awesome, awesome Sunday guys!!
Then on Wednesday I went out to the rig again, but ended up having to go back to camp and pack frantically for a plane ride I didn't know I was taking back into Anchorage! I thought my days off started on Thursday, but I wasn't paying enough attention, I guess, to the schedule. The shop guys had to pick me up an hour and a half after they had dropped me off at the rig. Which is another story in itself because they had an epic rock/paper/scissors battle in order to see which of them got to take me out to the rig in the first place. I have it on video. :D
Sidenote: the righands/roughnecks love me because I bring them stuff. I gave one of them a green schlumberger hardhat, because he (like all roughnecks) collects them and I also brought them a lot of mountain dew for the rig, which they don't get at their basecamp. Oh, and I let them have my race day pictures. So yeah, we get along pretty well, and they help me out if I need it. Or they just don't mind if I hang out with them and they'll come over and say hi if I am doing stuff on the pad.
Back to the real story. So I flew home to Anchorage, surprised Robin who didn't know I was coming back on Wednesday, and then proceeded to sleep for 12 hours straight (AMAZING). The next day we rented a car, did some walking around town, and just relaxed in general. Oh, and we also went in search of stuff to make chocolate martinis, because they sound awesome, but I have never had one. It was a failure, as none of the liquor stores we went to had all of the ingredients we needed. :( Oh well, I guess I will have to save that experience for another time.
FRIDAY:
Woke up really early. Picked up our rental car which turned out to be a PT Cruiser. Oh well. You can't win them all. Then we finished packing, hit the road, and drove the 110 miles down to Seward. This trip to Seward was waaayyyy better than my last one. Right after we hit Seward, we went to the Sea Life Center. Robin and I petted starfish and anemones, and watched sea lions and seals swim around and frolick. Sea lions are huge. If I EVER met one in the water I would just cry and hope to die quickly because regardless of their agression level, they are super scary and could squish me like a bug. Next we went to a Greek restaurant where we both order these awesome pizzas and took the leftovers back to the place we were staying overnight. It was actually really inexpensive, but was cute and had a fridge, freezer, microwave, toaster, sinks, dishes, tv, coffee maker, bed, couch, huge closet and sweet bathroom in it. I guess it was kinda like a one room apartment. We then left and walked down 3 blocks to the base of Mt. Marathon. Mt. Marathon is the location of one of the most messed up races I have ever heard of. These people race up 3020 feet to the summit of a mountain and then back down again. The winners can do it in 45-50 ish minutes. After hiking it, I have no clue what kind of beastly strength they have to be able to do it. Robin and I hiked up the race trail (after getting lost for a bit) and it took us about 3.5 hours. Both of us are in pretty good shape, and we didn't ever take a lot of breaks. It is just brutal. The inclines on the majority of the trail are about 60-75 degrees. Over half of the trail we had to climb using our hands and crawling up because standing up was just not really a safe thing to do. And every time we thought we were getting close to the summit, we would get over a rocky outcropping and realize that we had a LONG way to go. The last 1000 feet or so was on an extremely steep mountain side covered with loose rocks. I don't think I have ever appreciated flatness so much in my entire life! But it was totally, entirely, 100 percent worth it. It was probably harder than my half marathon (at least i had trained for that), and I have some of the coolest memories that I could ever have!!! Are you sore, you might ask me. My response is HA. Yes. Very, very very sore. Everything from my waist down hurts today. A lot. But I already am looking at trying to summit a 6400 foot mountain that is north of Anchorage! Just as soon as my body forgets what the first on was like. :D
This morning we got up (soreness and all) and went on our second adventure. We kayaked out into Resurrection Bay. We went out with a guide and 4 other people. 2 parents, and their kids Eric and Scott who were Robin's and my age. The boys didn't seem that thrilled to be on vacation with their parents. Who knows, we might be wrong. Maybe whining is their way of showing affection. :) We kayaked 4.5 miles out in the bay and then at a really good sack lunch and did a 5 mile round trip hike (OUCH to the already sore lower body) up to a fort that was built during WWII that is no longer used now. They used to have 2 huge guns in it, and it is built entirely underground. The only reason existed was to support those guns. Very cool. Working there in WWII? Well, that might not have been so cool. More like boring, I would think. They only ever shot off the guns twice. Once to test them, and another time in order to scare the postman into telling them ahead of time that he was coming, because apparently he wasn't so good about that before. The 4.5 mile kayak back was not bad at all, because the wind was at our back and we got to ride in on some awesome swells (I think that is what they are called). Robin got really wet at one point because one actually broke over our kayak. It was sweet. Oh! And the water. I have never seen water so beautiful ever. It was all these different shades of blue and green. Kind of like it was made of gemstones. Pictures of my trip will never really do it justice, but yet again, oh well!
Finally, after having a 2 day, full body work out, Robin and I were tired and ready to come back to Anchorage. So we ate at a seaside restaurant and I downed a lot of coffee in a very short time period, and then we were off!!! Now we are back, we uploaded some pictures, talked a lot, retured the car, watched Batman Begins, and Robin just headed to bed. I think that is where I am headed as well. I am honestly kind of afraid to move. But I will be brave and make the 20 foot trek to my bedroom because I am not a fan of couches when I can use my bed! :D
Have an awesome, awesome Sunday guys!!
Friday, July 4, 2008
UPDATE
Our boat got 3rd or 4th!!!! We are not sure which. It had a pretty good showing and we had about 10-12 boats in all. It was pretty sweet. We are going to try to get t-shirts made. Enjoy your fireworks!
Happy 4th!!!!
I hope that everyone is enjoying the fireworks and hotdogs and homemade ice cream. Also, if any of you happen to have taken pictures of fireworks or family fun, please send them to my email address at mariankaus@yahoo.com and I would be eternally grateful!
I am working today, but that is a given. If you are on the North Slope, you work, for that is the only reason it exists. We do not have fireworks up here. I doubt it is an environmentally friendly, and we have 24 hours of daylight, so we really couldn’t enjoy them very much. However, it’s a fun day up here anyway. A lot of guys are wearing little American flags on their jumpsuits and the food is phenomenal, of course. For lunch we had ribs, grilled chicken, hot dogs, cream cheese stuffed jalapeno peppers, deviled eggs, 2 different types o potato and pasta salads, chili, and for dessert there was a 2 layer chocolate cake with amazing icing and strawberries and blueberries on it in the shape of American flag.
We are also having a boat race today! The directional drillers, company man, roughnecks, drillers, the engineers (that would be Jamie and I…consequently, the only 2 women on this rig besides the cook), and the cook have all built little sailboats. Ours is really cute, about 2 feet long, 8 inches wide and 1.5 feet tall. It looks like a Viking boat and is made out of cardboard and covered in Schlumberger tape! We even added pink tassels on it because we wanted to make sure the guys knew whose boat it was. :D I am going to at least take pictures, but I might even video the race and try to upload it on here. We will see. The fork lift operator (who is in charge of the proceedings actually just stopped by the MWD unit to tell us they would be meeting soon for group pictures and then the competition begins! We are pretty excited. It will be the highlight of this 12-hour shift. The reason all these guys can stop what they are doing and participate in the boat race is because we just hit the point at which we put casing in the hole (we are not finished drilling entirely) and so all we are doing right now is circulating the pumps to clean out the hole and everyone is not really needed for that. Plus, the race won’t take very long. It is windy today.
Speaking of weather, it is gorgeous outside today. It is about 56 degrees (our warmest day yet!!!) and with very few clouds and a ton of sun. The mosquitoes are out in force, but it is windy and they cannot just swarm in one spot. That is one thing I cannot just get over. I have never seen a cloud of mosquitoes before. It is kinda scary and definitely gross. I have become a mosquito killer extraordinaire! I was just bitten on the side of my wrist this afternoon. That entire side of my wrist swelled up. Kinda weird.
I have made progress on my project. I have done all I can with it on the rig, and now I have to go back into the shop and ask the guys for their input as well. I have also found out what the maximum time period I can spend in my boots is without being in pain, that cold is an entirely relative concept, and that even the most intimidating looking/sounding person can be really nice. Oh, and do not eat cream cheese stuffed jalapeno peppers. Not even on a dare. That is all.
As for you question, grandma, we talk, read up about a lot of stuff that relates or deals with ANWR up here. It is an extremely hot subject in Alaska. You can imagine the oil field’s opinion about it, and I tend to agree with them after being up here. Both of our potential presidential nominees are against drilling in ANWR, but I seriously doubt either one has really readup on what’s up here, the latest advances in the oil filed or that either of them has visited here, because that definitely changes your opinion as well. I think they should drill ANWR for many reasons, and I can write another post about why if you want. If so, or if you have any specific questions about it, just write on my wall. Also, please forward me those forwards cause I would like to see them.
I will try to get out to Denali on my next off hitch, Mary, but I am not sure if I will make it. I might be going on a fishing or rafting trip instead.
Be safe everybody!!!
I am working today, but that is a given. If you are on the North Slope, you work, for that is the only reason it exists. We do not have fireworks up here. I doubt it is an environmentally friendly, and we have 24 hours of daylight, so we really couldn’t enjoy them very much. However, it’s a fun day up here anyway. A lot of guys are wearing little American flags on their jumpsuits and the food is phenomenal, of course. For lunch we had ribs, grilled chicken, hot dogs, cream cheese stuffed jalapeno peppers, deviled eggs, 2 different types o potato and pasta salads, chili, and for dessert there was a 2 layer chocolate cake with amazing icing and strawberries and blueberries on it in the shape of American flag.
We are also having a boat race today! The directional drillers, company man, roughnecks, drillers, the engineers (that would be Jamie and I…consequently, the only 2 women on this rig besides the cook), and the cook have all built little sailboats. Ours is really cute, about 2 feet long, 8 inches wide and 1.5 feet tall. It looks like a Viking boat and is made out of cardboard and covered in Schlumberger tape! We even added pink tassels on it because we wanted to make sure the guys knew whose boat it was. :D I am going to at least take pictures, but I might even video the race and try to upload it on here. We will see. The fork lift operator (who is in charge of the proceedings actually just stopped by the MWD unit to tell us they would be meeting soon for group pictures and then the competition begins! We are pretty excited. It will be the highlight of this 12-hour shift. The reason all these guys can stop what they are doing and participate in the boat race is because we just hit the point at which we put casing in the hole (we are not finished drilling entirely) and so all we are doing right now is circulating the pumps to clean out the hole and everyone is not really needed for that. Plus, the race won’t take very long. It is windy today.
Speaking of weather, it is gorgeous outside today. It is about 56 degrees (our warmest day yet!!!) and with very few clouds and a ton of sun. The mosquitoes are out in force, but it is windy and they cannot just swarm in one spot. That is one thing I cannot just get over. I have never seen a cloud of mosquitoes before. It is kinda scary and definitely gross. I have become a mosquito killer extraordinaire! I was just bitten on the side of my wrist this afternoon. That entire side of my wrist swelled up. Kinda weird.
I have made progress on my project. I have done all I can with it on the rig, and now I have to go back into the shop and ask the guys for their input as well. I have also found out what the maximum time period I can spend in my boots is without being in pain, that cold is an entirely relative concept, and that even the most intimidating looking/sounding person can be really nice. Oh, and do not eat cream cheese stuffed jalapeno peppers. Not even on a dare. That is all.
As for you question, grandma, we talk, read up about a lot of stuff that relates or deals with ANWR up here. It is an extremely hot subject in Alaska. You can imagine the oil field’s opinion about it, and I tend to agree with them after being up here. Both of our potential presidential nominees are against drilling in ANWR, but I seriously doubt either one has really readup on what’s up here, the latest advances in the oil filed or that either of them has visited here, because that definitely changes your opinion as well. I think they should drill ANWR for many reasons, and I can write another post about why if you want. If so, or if you have any specific questions about it, just write on my wall. Also, please forward me those forwards cause I would like to see them.
I will try to get out to Denali on my next off hitch, Mary, but I am not sure if I will make it. I might be going on a fishing or rafting trip instead.
Be safe everybody!!!
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