Saturday, July 9, 2011

Two more days...two more days....

The last four or five days I am on the rig become a mantra of counting down. If I worked in this field long enough, eventually Stockholm Syndrome would take over and I would become like the old timers out here. They frequently state that they have spent so much time on rigs that they feel more comfortable out here, than they do at home. They also have generally broken down families, so I can see why that would also be the case. However, I have not reached this stage, so when I have less than a week left on a rig, it becomes a chant that grows with excitement every time it is stated. Going home!! It is the best feeling to get on that helicopter and know that when it lands you have the freedom to do whatever you want, wherever you want. Eat at any restaurant, go shopping, jogging...heck, even doctors appointments aren't so bad :)

Not much has happened life-wise since I last posted. Most of my bridesmaids have ordered their dresses. I did a workout my brother advised and now my entire upper-arm/chest area is extremely sore. I started trying to eat healthier. Both easier and more difficult than I thought it would be. I watched Mamma Mia and hated it. Watched Indiana Jones and realized why I still love those movies!

I haven't started resume fixing yet. Everytime I am about to start, I get distracted, or realize I am just lazy. Hopefully I'll get more of that done either tomorrow night, or in town this week. Also goals while in town: go to dentist and eye doctor, start furnishing my apartment, and work out every day! Get internet installed in aformentioned apartment.Yeah, that one's a bit important as well. Anyway, we'll see how it goes :)

And now it is time for some fruit. I believe they still have strawberries in the galley, so here I go!

Love you guys,

Becca

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

My 2nd 4th from a Rig :)

Happy Independence day from the Gulf of Mexico!!

I wish I could say that I did 4th-y things, but that is not the case. Instead I am celebrating my 24th Independence day in the Gulf of Mexico. It hasn't been all that sad, since this is a rig, and a European one at that, they don't really recognize national holidays such as July 4th or whenever Canada Day was (seriously, just a couple days before, I think). And as no one is truly celebrating it, it seems as if it never happened at all. However, there was some excitement that went on. We had a power outage during the middle of a test that we needed power for, and so the test failed. This was the impetus for about 4 hours of retesting, failed tests, and some fun troubleshooting. And unhappy geologists of course. I feel like geologists are perpetually unhappy people (at least the ones I work with). 

The highlights of my day were:

1) Getting off-tower after 16 hours of work
2) Having a short and fun date with Adam over skype.
3) Sleeping!!
4) Having pretty much nothing to do on tower this evening, so I got to spend  more quality time with Adam as well as my friend Aly. It was nothing short of awesome!

I have come to a decision as well. Not a dramatic or anything, but since it will affect my life and thus, I'll want to write about it, I thought I'd share. I have decided that I am finally tired of being unhealthy and tired when doing activities that I used to do easily. I am also tired of making excuses for my bad eating habits, sporadic exercising, and non-motivation. If I don't focus on trying to become healthy now, it will be that much harder when I am 26, 30, or 35. So I was talking to my friend Aly the other night, and we decided that we would have a bet, since we a both competive and lose a specific amount of weight in the next 4 months, with the winner being given a 100 dollar gift certificate to the place of their choice by the not-so-winner. The actually winner will be decided on the percentage of their goal weight lost, as well as the number of days within that time frame that a consistent workout took place. I think it sounds like fun, a challenge, and something that is entirely do-able, so...game on!

This hitch is passing pretty quickly, actually. I am making less mistakes than I was and still learning a lot. I still know this job isn't for me for a long time in the future, but I am not as unhappy all the time when I feel like I am doing better. I work with some interestin characters, which helps. Our DDs are completely different. I have worked with there men from southern Lousiana who are all quite different.  They talk pretty slow, but are quick to jump on you if you don't know what you are talking about. One chews tobacco and is a perfectionist, one is an ex marine, and the last is just a life-long oilfield guy who says, "It'll get done when it gets done." The final DD is from Columbia and is one of the most pleasant people I've had the pleasure of working with. He always has a smile and is extremely good at what he does (and very calm).  The engineers I work with are varied as well. The first one I ever worked with drinks coffee like it is going out of style and is extremely energetic, no matter when I have to wake him up. He is early to get on tower, and always late to leave. The second main guy I work with is originally from  Russia and he always has interesting stories about his homeland, as well as comparisons between there and here (apparently Americans are friendlier). Besides them, most people are pretty pleasant. They've finally started joking around with me after 3 hitches, which means they feel more comfortable with my general presence.

Lets see...wedding front! Adam and I are discussing honeymoon stuff and I am excited!!! It will be warm and fun and wonderful time! I wanted to skip the wedding part and elope, but Adam says that I have to stick it through now and can't just skip to my honeymoon. Plus, there is always the delicious wedding cake to look forward to. :)

I am also really looking forward to going back to town next Monday because there are so many cool things to look forward to! I am going to buy stuff for my new apartment; specifically bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen stuff. Tanya and I are splitting the livingroom costs, so we'll  figure that out when she gets into town later on that week. Also, I get to spend some more time with Adam! And....(drumroll)...The final Harry Potter movie comes out!! It is oddly bittersweet because it is like a signifier that my childhood is "officially" over. The first books came out when I was about 11 or 12 I think, and now, 13 years later the final movie is hitting theaters. I know a lot of 24-28 year olds that are pretty excited about this movie. I am going with Tanya and Adam to see it on opening night, hopefully.

Other things: I am in the middle of crocheting a colorful blanket, I am interested to see what will happen for the rest of this week, and I have realized that I don't need coffee to stay awake when I am working.

And with that, I think it is time to head off tower and go to bed.

I love you all and hope you had a wonderful, colorful, fun, and delicious day. Miss you guys!

Becca

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Overload!

So, it feels as if I just blogged like 3 or 4 days ago, however when I checked the date of my last post I found out I was wrong. Apparently "3 or 4 days" is actually about 20. What has been happening that time span? Everything and nothing.

My hitch ended with very little fanfare, but a lot of hardwork as we were preparing for the next run with a new set of tools. I am having to remember everything I thought I knew and then apply it with varying degrees of success. Sometimes I'll get a process right the first time, and other times I completely mess up and have to have it retaught or explained by my cell manager again. One of the things I have noticed since coming to this rig is that the people that whereas every other group that works on the rig has some kind of backup, mine does not. There are just two of us. Occasionally one of us has to lose sleep to be up early and help the other, but that is only if it is a pretty big deal. Most of the time we do everything unsupervised and without someone else to double check with. It is a little bit intimidating at times because quite a few people rely on the services we provide and the technical information we give.

My days off were wonderful. I ate sushi, bought and cooked most of my own meals (something I really miss when I am on a rig), ate all the fresh fruit I wanted, signed the lease to my new apartment, signed up for a gym, and went to the dentist. Adam got to come in on Friday on his way through to Houma, so I got to spend a couple days with him and that was so much fun! We went on a swamp tour, sized his finger for a wedding ring (woot!) and went to see Green Lantern in theaters. Actually a pretty good movie. I forced him to watch several sci-fi movies in a row and he watched them relatively gracefully with minimal complaining. Now he is interning in Houma for the rest of the summer which is so incredibly close compared to how far apart we've lived! From half the world away to an hour and a half drive. I am excited :D

My new roommate in Lafayette is a girl I originally met and liked in Abu Dhabi. Her name is Tanya and I am definitely looking forward to living with her. She is fun, likes to cook, agrees that frozen yogurt is awesome, and is always enthusiastic about a conversation. She was originally placed in Angola but has been recently transferred back to Lafayette with me. Our new apartment is just the right size, cute, and is about 40 feet from a pool! It is bottom floor which is awesome for moving stuff, and is not in a super crowded part of town. Also, it is a block from the gym I joined!

Oh yes, one more thing. When I went into town I did my grade 9 promotion review! So now my salary is a bit higher and I can start making bonuses. Woot! However I still feel like this job just isn't the job for me anymore. It asks me to sacrifice to much of the stuff that I love in order to make money, and that just isn't the type of person I am. I am pretty sure I will start job searching soon :)

However, weeks off must end and now I am back on the rig. We are drilling with tools I've never seen before, so I am a little intimidated, but I will learn. Hopefully it will all go smoothly and I can come out the other end with some decent experience. This time around the internet has been a little better, so I can be on skype with more success. Its really nice to get to talk to Adam every day when I wake up and before I head to bed.  And that, as they say, is that.

Now I am going to get off, send in some paperwork, and finish doing other things that cannot wait until another time. I hope that however you are spending your night, it is enjoyable!

I love you guys.

Becca

Thursday, June 9, 2011

The Blocking Mechanism of a Rig

So, I promise I like to communicate. As you guys know, if you give me the chance to start talking I will never stop. So, though I am enjoying my time on this rig for the most part, I find it frustrating how much I am conversation blocked on a daily basis. However, I have decided that even if I am super busy or falling completely asleep, I will at least type a paragraph. However my goal tonight is to write something a bit longer and maybe even give you a legitimate update on life before I get off tower at 6 am tomorrow.

First off : My week off was both wonderful and busy. It was a quick trip into Kansas for a car pick-up and marriage counselling session (talking about Adam to anyone is pretty fun for me!!) with Pastor Tom, then driving with Adam down to Jenks, Oklahoma for my Schlumberger mandated driving class. The power point portion of the class was incredibly boring, however, the practical part (commentary driving and driving under extreme conditions) was pretty fun. I've never purposely 360'd in a car before so getting asked to do it was awesome! My favorite part of the week though, had to be getting to spend the time after class with Adam and my new friends from the school. The one adventure I didn't anticipate last week was having to get some major repairs done on my car due to a brake line seizing up right before we reached Jenks. However, it was really nice to have Adam there to share the adventure with. I am looking forward to having a million more adventures with him! I think life will be fun :)

Next: So the last part of my week ended with a 9-ish hour car drive that was aided unhelpfully by Google maps. However, having a phone with a GPS in it is sweet!! I was introduced to the app by my awesome fiance and I feel like I will be using it quite often in the future. AFter getting in and spending Sunday relaxing, I jetted off to the rig and sent Adam on his merry way back to Kansas.

The Present: Since then I have been back on the my rig and working away. It is much less stressful so far, just because I am more comfortable with the rig and how this particular job works. I am also feeling more confident in my ability not to completely fail at life this hitch. A fun link about my rig and the job we are on is below. It is so neat to be a part of something with such a large scale!!
ExxonMobil Oil Find

Well, I hope you are all having a wonderful day where you happen to be. And what do you know? It is 5:54 in the morning and I have a blog!

Love you all,

Becca

Friday, May 27, 2011

The Learning Curve

I am tired. If for no other reason than that I am learning all the time. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as I generally enjoy learning new things. However, not only am I acquiring new knowledge right now, I am also learning about all the things that I've been taught by other engineers (and even in ENG-1) that are wrong. So I have decided to create several rules for myself.

1. Always ask how they do it on THEIR rig. Procedures that should be basic seem to be completed in entirely different ways in different parts of the world (even though we all work for the same company).

2. Never listen to a newer engineer who is on the verge of quitting. They will be wrong. A lot.

3. Drink a lot of water.

4. Always wake up the senior engineer if you have any doubts as to how a part of a job should be done. They are getting paid reduced crew bonus when you are there anyway.
5. Finally: It is an excellent thing to have a former pastry chef from a cruise ship be the head chef in the kitchen of your rig.

One thing I both like and hate about this rig is the stairs up to my unit. I hate them because I am always out of breath by the time I climb them all (and they are winding, so they are also disorientating). I like them because since I sit on my rear end for most of the evening, my trips up and down the stairs make me feel like I am not a completely sedentary person.

My days generally feel pretty short and I only have 3 nights left to work after tonight and then it is civilization again!  Also, Adam is going to help me drive down to Lafayette and I am pretty excited about that.

Wedding planning is standstillish because it is difficult to corral people on things when you work an opposite schedule of them. However, I do have bridesmaids dresses picked out and I am feeling pretty positive about getting other things accomplished when I am within cell phone service of other people next week.

Speaking of which, next week will be so hectic! I am going to fly into Kansas, hopefully have a marriage counselling (sp?) session on Tuesday morning, then pick up my car and drive to Wichita. The next day I am going to be heading to Tulsa where I have a Schlumberger mandated driver training class for 4 days. Finally on Saturday Adam will be accompanying me from Tulsa to Lafayette (9.25 hrs....) and then I am flying him back probably on Monday morning after I head to the rig. Woot! should be a good/busy/interesting, potentially tiring break. But I am happy I'll get to see Adam before his internship starts.

Also speaking of which...Adam's internship location got moved to Houma, LA which is only an hour and 54 minutes away by google's standards. It is so exciting!!!! It means I might be able to get to see him once or twice in the next 2 months. I know that sounds kind of sad, but it is so much better than we have previously gotten, so I'll take it.

I adore the fact that this rig has wireless internet. It is so nice to be able to not have to wait in line for the phone or to go into my room and just call anyone I would like on Skype. It may die sometimes and this may be a little frustrating, but it would be so much more frustrating to have little to no contact with the people I love.

Hmm...lets see. I've started going to the gym out here in the morning. It's a little difficult to get the motivation after working for 12-13 hours every day, but I've figured out that I actually feel a lot better after jogging for even 15 minutes. So now I wander in, do some exercising and wandering out in enough time to call a couple people and fall asleep. Usually there are only one or two other guys in there with me and they leave me alone, so I feel very comfortable going.

The desserts here are incredible, but I have also had to cut down/limit the amount of desserts I put into my life. Mainly because my  job is very sedentary and I cannot exercise as much as I would like. So I have begun forgoing the berry pies, icecream cakes (made from scratch!), mousses, muffins, and cookies in favor of the fruits. I don't miss the pretty desserts too much, but sometimes...*sniff*

And that is pretty much most of my life in a nutshell. Working on a rig is kind of like being in the movie Groundhog Day, and the movie ends when that helicopter flies in on Monday morning!!

I hope you are all have a really excellent Friday!

Love you,

Becca

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Every Day is an Adventure

I adore quotes. However, I feel like walking around using them, or even putting them in my blog all the time might seem kind of weird, but I think I might start putting a them in once or twice a week anyway. They are fun! For today I saw a quote by G.K. Chesterton (no clue who he/she is) that said, "An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered." Which is simple and slightly redundant, but I love it! I especially have a problem with this, and as my mother says, I am her up and down daughter. One moment I am in love with life, adventure, fun, happiness, and all the wonderful things in between. Then some sort of inconvenience wanders through my path and the world is in shambles and might never be right again. I am not bi-polar, but instead I am incredibly reactionary. I often don't realize I am doing it, actually until someone points it out and I can forcibly try switching over my attitude/viewpoint. I have so much practice with it at this point that it has become a skill set of sorts. However, I feel like I need to take the pompous-sounding Chesterton's viewpoint on adventure a little more often. I need to embrace both the positive AND negative inconveniences in my life a little more equally.
I was thinking about the above subject today because though I am enjoying my new adventure on the rig, I am already dealing with some un-fun inconveniences in the form of clashing personality/work styles with another engineer on the rig and it causes some severe frustration while I am working and it increases the stress of situations where I am trying to submit logs and deal with higher-ups and this person at the same time. Though it started getting a bit better this morning, I know that I have not been facing this small form of adventure with the right attitude and I can do a bit better now that I've realized what I am up against. Hopefully :)

I am getting more used to this particular rig and how things are done on it, however. Every rig is made up of rig, cleaning, cooking, drilling co, and multiple service co crews. Therefore, any given rig I will ever go on is going to be different than the last one because there will never be the same combination of crews on the same rig. So every single time I go to a new job I have to figure out how I fit in with the new crew. Is the geologist going to be knowledgeable or just pushy? What are the co men like? How helpful are the roughnecks? Have the drillers worked with my company before or do I have to explain huge amounts of information to them? Anyway, it is kind of fun and kind of a pain (er...adventure!) so I at least my job is relatively dynamic.

However, since I have decided I need a little more positivity after the last couple days, I am going to make a list of the of all the things that I am enjoying about being here:

- How quickly days on my job actually pass by. I always have something I can be doing and once I get going a 12 hour shift only really feels like 6 or so hours.
- The food. There is so much of it and it is generally pretty tasty. However it is easy to turn it down so I don't have to be airlifted out of my room on the rig at the end of my hitch.
- The interesting characters on the rig. There are 19 yr old roughnecks, up to 60 yr old geologists and company men. They are from countries all over the world and always have had an interesting history.
- The way disagreements are resolved. Yelling, swearing and storming off might occur, but at the end of the day I have never seen a disagreement end unprofessionally and the next day it is like the encounter never even happened.
- The tv that is watched. It is usually either sports or some kind of news channel (generally CNN or Fox). I don't love the sports channel, but I like it that they enjoy watching the outside world too.
- The data. So freaking cool...
- Other rigs. We get to watch activity on rigs and drilling ships in the distance from our own. The most recent cool thing was our semi-sub neighbor burning of excess gas coming from the well. FLAME!!! Bwahaahaha...
- Friendly people.

And that is it!!

I hope all of you are having a great Wednesday as mine is winding down. Time for sleep :)

Love you,

Becca

Monday, May 16, 2011

A Bit Ridiculous

Hello peoples,

Promise this won't be a rant, but this is a little frustrating. I have tried starting to write this same blog post about 7 or 8 times in the past week. I always get about halfway through this post (and it is actually pretty long) and then I get called away to do something, my computer dies, or I have to open another program that mandatorily (is this a word) shuts down my internet windows. So to some degree I feel like this particular post is cursed. Also, I am getting tired of writing the same thing over and over again only to have to think about writing it again.

So I have given up on giving you all the details. Instead I will write random sentences about my weeks without all the details and if you would like to know more, you are welcome to email, facebook, or post a comment and I promise to respond with all the details you would like.

HOME
- Family picnics rock. Everyone should have a picnic for their birthday. And...Happy Birthday TORI!!!!
-I suck at croquet. If you would ever like to have your ego boosted, then you should play croquet against me.
- Every daughter should get to spend one adult day just hanging out with her dad. Especially if her dad is pretty cool.
- Equal time should get to be spent with her mom, and even if she doesn't get the exact same time it will probably be pretty incredible regardless.
-It should be noted that when one's mother says, "Let's look at bridesmaid dresses." It is really an evil plot to make one try on fluffy white ones instead.
- Seeing all the important people in my life is actually kind of stressful scheduling-wise, but very much worth it.
- A list of all the people I got to see : Adam, Mom, Dad, Helen, Raegan, Ross, Amanda, James, Tori (and Tori's family!), Brutus, Tracy, Sara, Ginger, Caitlin, Dana, KIM!, Chrishelle (sp?), Nakayla, Rachel, and there may be more. I got so much good people-time in :)
- Mom food = Amazing. Still. I am sure it always will be.
- Getting to go on an actual physical date with Adam is so much fun! I hope to have them more often than once every 5 months from now on. :)

LOUISIANA
- Warm, good food, friendly people, semi-quiet town, a lot of alcohol everywhere. However, the fun music festivals make it a good place to hang out.
- Will I ever live someplace that isn't flat??? I feel like I only live in flat places now. I really do love rolling hills and mountains!
- Shopping was weird at first because there were just so many choices!
- Realized I needed summer clothes because I am so used to covering up more body parts in Malaysia.
- It is nice to not be stared at anymore (except on the rig, but then, that is just normal).
- Getting used to the office here is weird. I am not used to going into the office being an optional thing.
- I can't wait to go to my defensive driving course so my car can come down here and I can go do things on my own! I am excited to have control back over certain portions of my life again.
- Best part : both of my new roommates are friends I've made previously in foreign locations. There is Tanya who worked in Africa and another Rebecca who worked in China. They are both pretty nice.

THE RIG
- HUGE. Really. Really. Big.
- Excellent food. Every meal is a crazy exercise in self control.
- Fun rig crew. Nice MWDs.
- Semi-sub, so we are always moving just a little bit. I haven't gotten sea sick, but I do feel a little dizzy sometimes.
- Comfy rooms, wireless internet, tvs, nice break rooms, and a sweet gym!
- No Cinnamon Life cereal, however, I came prepared and brought my own!!
- Possible actual schedule if I stick with these guys. I am excited about the potential for a semi-life if I work here.

And what will be an updated thing from now on...WEDDING STUFF!
- It is happening people! Oct 22. Unless something crazy changes.
- Outside, unless the weather is horrible.
- A delicious cake will be in attendance, which means I will also be in attendance.
- I have bridesmaids. And now power! Lots and lots of power! I am excited to abuse it.
- My goal is to freak out less than 5 times throughout the entire process. I have already done it twice so wish me luck.
- Even though I will be on rigs, I cannot wait to work out more details with my mother and sisters. This is also the prime time for James to get favorite sister status if he wants ;)
- I cannot wait to get to marry Adam! No, I will not start counting down yet. That is for later.

That is all for now. Sorry this was so long. I promise now that I have gotten over the 1st-blog-in-awhile-hump that they will be more regular from now on.

Have a marvelous, wonderful, sunny-yet-not-too-warm Monday.

I love you all.

Becca

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Louisiana, Food, and Readjustment

Ok! I am finally writing. Everytime I start writing I get distracted or I fall asleep. This is due to (a) the amount of stuff I have to get done/prepare to do and (b) trying to get over some severe jet lag. However, I am sleeping all the way through the night and I can handle all the random things that I have to do, so life is pretty good.

My plane flights back were a little hectic due to baggage issues, and a little crazy until I hit the longest flight which was from Singapore to Houston with an hour layover in Moscow (to refuel and such). I've never had a 22 hour flight before, but I've gotta say that beside the butt-numbing-ness of it, the flight was actually pretty peaceful. I got a little bit of sleep, and had a seat between the other person that was sitting near me, so I counted myself as pretty lucky. And I was so excited to cross into the United States again! I didn't even mind waiting in the Houston airport in the security lines. They actually went quite fast. I didn't remember how fast American airport lines tend to move. However my opinion may have been affected by my happiness.

I have very much enjoyed being back in the US thus far. I love being able to watch tv, go running in my gym at my apartment complex, and have so many choices when I go to the store! My favorite purchase so far has definitely been Honey Bunches of Oats! I could just eat that and be completely happy with my life, however, I know variety is probably needed, so I try to branch out. I also had my first legitimate barbeque in quite a long time, as of...yesterday! It was absolutely delicious and I am glad I live in such a bbq-y place.

The people here are just like I remember them. Friendly, and full of nicknames. Gotta say, my favorite nickname thus far is "Boo", affectionately labeled by the main receptionist in my building. 

I can't wait to come back up and say hi to all of you! I really do miss you guys and knowing you are so close is so exciting!! Hopefully it will be soon, but if not, just remember that I am thinking of you :)

I hope you are having a wonderful day!

Love,

Becca

Thursday, April 21, 2011

My last post from Asia (at least for the forseeable future)

I am currently sitting at a panini shop in the Singapore airport and this is a wonderful thing for a couple of reasons.

1) I am not in a moving vehicle of some kind
2) I am not expected anywhere for at least an hour and a half
3) I just had a panini and it was delicious.
4) It came with Snapple. Also delicious.
5) I have free internet, I am warm, and though I have a massive tired-headache I know I will be able to sleep once I get on my flight.

Sorry about the silence on my end, again. This week has been massively stressful and very busy. I had an inventory to help with at work, a couple projects to finish, packing to deal with, figuring out how to get my stuff to America in a way that Schlumberger would reimburse me for, and saying goodbye to all my friends in the base. Normally, there are no engineers there so this wouldn't be a problem, however 6 or 7 just happen to be there this week, so there were a lot more goodbyes. My maid cried when I gave her a hug goodbye. I am not sure if it was because she was sad I was leaving, or relieved I wouldn't be baking anymore in the kitchen. Either way, I am glad that she felt something towards me. She introduced me to her husband who was there to pick her up, and told me "Happy Marriage" because Adam (who she met over skype once) is "very very handsome."

I will miss several friends I have made at work, and several more that I never actually got to say goodbye to. Cathy and Zhuzhu have worked with/around me for the past 8 months and both are were on rigs when I left. They are good friends. Even when we are all yelling at each other because we are trying to explain technical concepts to each other through massive language barriers and we are frustrated. They are good peoples though. I hope the diversity of the people in the Louisiana base is similar to the diversity here.

I am finally excited to be coming home!!!! At first it felt kind of surreal and I didn't believe it would actually happen. Then after it started become a reality, I was going 100 miles a minute and was too tired to be super excited. Now it is full force (through my on-going exhaustion, of course)! I cannot believe that I am only a plane flight away from being in the United States and bbq! And all of you, of course :)

If nothing else I will be excited to be in the same time zone as most of you, so I can call you and you can call me! Hehe. Even as I am speaking, Helen and I are playing facebook tag, because she keeps typing something and leaving the room, and then I respond and then get off of facebook....

I have American money again. It was so much fun to see the old grouchy looking presidents on the backs of our boring green bills. They are quite pretty, actually. I want to spend it on something!!!!

OH! And here are my flights :

LBU to KUL - Apr 21 - MH2609 (1720 to 1940).............2 hours and 20 minutes long
KUL to SIN - Apr 21 - MI 0339 (2145 to 2240)..............55 minutes long
SIN to DME (Mother RUSSIA!!) - Apr 22 - SQ 0062 ( 0230 to 0910)........10 hours and 40 minutes long
DM to IAH - Apr 22 - SQ 0062 (1040 to 1420)..........12 hours and 25 minutes long
IAH to LFT - Apr 22 - CO 2902 (1740 to 1832)...........52 minutes long

Total time flying : 27 hours and 12 minutes
Total time traveling : aprox 38 hours.

Am I ready to be done with it? Oh yes :) Wish me luck! Hopefully I will be finishing a blanket I am crocheting, getting some sleep, and watching some inflight movies I haven't seen yet. I promise I will stay safe, hydrated, and relatively sane. If I lose a bag though...hehe. No, going crazy. I'll just consider it Malaysia's kiss goodbye. At least Malaysia didn't give me the dengue or some strain of hepatitis!

There have been some not so positive parts of my moving process, but I may tell though stories later. Right now I just wanted to let you know where I was and what is up (sidenote: I will be up soon!) :)

One more positive thing : I have been with Adam for a year as of today, exactly!! It has been one of the most incredible, fun, exciting (and sometimes painful) years of my life and I am so thankful for it.  I remember in the beginning I told him (and everyone else) emphatically that I was breaking up with him at the end of the summer, and that was that. I am not sure I will ever be able to say how happy I am that he got me to change my mind.  I could go on and gush for awhile about his wonderfulness, but, instead if you want to you know you can call me on my new phone number (when I get it) and ask me!

I hope you are all having a good almost-Easter and I cannot wait to hopefully see you all at some point in the near-ish future.

Love you all.

Becca

Monday, April 11, 2011

A Myriad of Things

Ok, time to blog again! It is harder for me to find time because I am not sure what you will actually be interested in reading about my life when I am actually on an oil rig. To be honest, it is interesting and I am learning an incredible amount, but at the same time every day is relatively repetitive. I wake up at 10:30 pm, eat breakfast and watch tv for an hour. Then I wander over to my office on the rig, which is called the MWD Unit. Once there I set up my computer and find out what happened in the 12 hours since I was last there. From there on, my night is an open book. I may go to the rig floor, geoservices unit, or work on something in my own office. I do have several reports that need to be sent every morning so that always keeps me busy for a little while. And when I run out of productive things to do I start learning again. There are an endless (it seems) number of things to learn on an oil rig. Whether it’s about well control, rig systems, safety procedures, my job, other 3rd parties and the important things they contribute; the list could go on for awhile. Then of course, when the anomalies or interesting (as in things go wrong) things happen, it is hard to describe them because they are kind of technical and their explanation could take awhile.


However, with that said, this particular well is interesting because we are experiencing difficulties with it and the length of time it’s going to be until the well has finished has just been increased by at least one week. However, even though we won’t be drilling during that time, I will still be on the rig. It’s almost like a free one week vacation on a rig. To be honest, I could think of better places to vacation, but it will be ok. The food is good, and I still have a gym and cable, so I think I will not go crazy.

Fun fact about when I am on rigs: when I’m out here it feels like I am not in the business of oil, but rather the business of collecting bruises. I work around mostly metal and there are always corners to walk around or a low lying beam to dodge or something heavy to move around. Due to this I have been adding small bruises to my body every day. I’m not particularly upset about it, but I do think it is funny. If I was in the US and around Adam, people would think he was abusive. And I may bump into things normally, but the more tired I am, the more I bump into things or forget where all the edges of my equipment are.

My coworkers on this rig are super nice. My cell manager is very laid back and extremely knowledgeable. Every time I think I know something, he just shows me how much I really don’t know about how to work in the field. However, he is very nice and patient so as long as I soak it up and truly seem like I care, he doesn’t mind explaining processes and procedures. The night engineer I work with is also laid back. He and I joke around a bit more, but he is also very helpful. He allows me to do a lot of hands on stuff and rarely gets involved unless I have a question for him. Also, the management on the rig is quite patient with me as well. One of them gave me some books about the systems on oil rigs which has been incredibly helpful, and another gave me positive feedback for my participation in the safety program on the rig. OH!! And every week they give out an award for the best STOP card, best Obsvervation, best Intervention (all with regards to safety) for the week. I got the best Intervention this week!! And they announced it in the Sunday meeting (while I was sleeping :D ). I was very proud. I get a certificate, but I need to go pick it up from the safety officer’s office.

I don’t feel ready for work today as I had a really long shift last night and my head is pounding right now (yes, mom, I took Tylenol AND ibuprofen). It’s ok though, because it should be a slow night and I might get a chance to grab a nap somewhere in there. If not, I’ll just chug more drugs and make it through somehow.

As far as I know, I’m still on for coming back to the US around the 23rd of April. Probably tomorrow or Wednesday I’ll call my manager and ask her what day she wants me to fly off the rig. Then I’ll let you all know!

I almost forgot to tell you : I saw the moon tonight. It’s a bit funny because I when I glanced up, the song “Talking to the Moon” by Bruno Mars popped into my head. I was walking from the accommodation to my unit and usually the sky and water are pitch black (it is cloudy a lot here). However, tonight the clouds parted and there is a gorgeous crescent moon outside. Just the type of moon that you could sit on the edge of while you throw a fishing line off of, or maybe even curl up in for a quick nap. It was sitting in the sky right above another oil rig in the distance which looked really cool. The little lights on the rig twinkled, but the moons brightness totally blew them away. Below the moon there was a pathway of light on the water leading from the skyline directly to me. I couldn’t help but stop and watch it for a little bit. I feel so privileged that I get an opportunity to see beauty like that in such a unique location. It seems so soft and…friendly, almost, in comparison with my usual surroundings which are a bit stark and rigid.

Maybe I’ll talk to the moon a little bit tonight. If you guys get the chance to see her tomorrow in Kansas or wherever you are, stop and look at her, because I’m passing along a message through her: I love and miss you so much. I hope your nights are as nice and beautiful as mine has turned out to be.

Becca

Thursday, April 7, 2011

My Internet Redefines the Concept of "Slow"... :)

Seriously. This page, just to load, took about 5 minutes, but I am grateful that I have internet to use occasionally. I just hope it doesn't take as long to upload!

I am sorry there has been a bit of a dry spell in my communications (skype, facebook, phone calls, blogging) with you all. My week has been hectic, random, and both incredibly long and short at the same time. This week has also been a week of many firsts!


Number 1: Helicopter ride

It was so cool! Just getting to the helicopter was neat. We (a barge engineer, roughneck, and I) were led by an airport worker into a glass-encased area where we quickly ran our bags through a machine, weighed our bags and ourselves (so they could make sure the helicopter could hold us all and they could distribute weight properly if they needed to), and then followed them up to a general waiting area. Then we went from that area with a couple more workers to another waiting area in a relatively empty hallway full of different gates. Finally went through another gate and some more security then we walked down to a van. The van took us through a windy road to another part of the airport where we sat in a room and were given earphones and a life vest then we had to watch a 15 minute video about helicopter safety and what to do if it crashed. There are a lot of steps. Then we finally got to go over to the helicopter. Of course at this point in time a rainstorm came through so we had to wait 15 minutes until it passed. While we were waiting a little tractor pulled us out on the tarmac, then they did some random checks and testing, Finally we were ready to go! Lifting of fin a helicopter is kinda weird, because it feels like the back half is going to come up, and then when the bottom half does lift up and we initially start moving up, the nose goes down. And also, at first when it gets turned on the whole helicopter pulsingly vibrates and so do the passengers which feels really weird until it starts rotating fast enough, and then it is ok.
Probably my favorite part of the ride was being so close to the ground. I loved getting to see how Brunei is laid out, and all the cool jungle, neighborhoods, and even the palace laying below. The water was pretty cool too, though slightly freaky because I kept on thinking about what crashing would be like.
The ride took about 20 minutes and then we arrived and landed on the helipad of the rig. Then workers from the rig then made a human path outside the helicopter for us to follow so we didn’t actually wander into the path of the blade’s radius.
All in all, a cool experience.
Number 2: Off-shore rig= So neat!! I am

I am on a jack-up rig, which is a rig that sits on stilts that connect to the ocean floor. This means that the rig doesn’t move up and down with the waves (thank goodness, because I get sea sick!). However, the cool thing about this rig is that most of the walkways are made of corrugated metal so wherever I am I can look down and see the ocean moving below me. Also, every single direction I look the ground is moving. I keep on looking for wildlife, but haven’t seen any fishes yet.
There are not a lot of places to go since it is a confined area, but I am not going stir-crazy yet. At the moment I am just trying to get used to my schedule, which was supposed to start as a midnight to noon, but for the first couple of days was definitely not that because my cell manager wanted me to make sure I would be conscious for action on the rig when it happened. However, I have finally started, and I am enjoying myself. Also, as far as working locations go, this is a really nice one. We have friendly coworkers, ok food, a gym (which I am often too tired to use), and tvs in our rooms.
Also, in other news….I have found out that I am being transferred back to America to work! The opportunity came up a week ago and I told my manager that I would be interested in the opportunity, and so now I am supposed to be in Lousiana around the 23rd of April! Am I excited?! Yes. I will definitely let you guys know more when I know more. Pretty much we will finish this section of the well and then I have to pack, and will be on my way back! Woot!!!!
With that, I feel like I should go because my shift is about to start. I love you and miss you all and I can’t wait to hopefully see you guys soon!!!
Have a wonderful, awesome, relaxing Thursday!
Becca

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Brunei

If you ever go to an offshore rig, there is always some kind of intermediary point. This point may be a base, a helicopter pad, or, in  my case, a town. This town for me is in Brunei, only a 50 minute ferry ride from Labuan.

What is the town's name, you ask? I don't know. I have been in so many towns and they all have weird names, so at this point I am forgetting them. Plus, I didn't really bother to learn this town's name as I thought I would only be here for 2 days. However, plans change.

Due to a previous job on the rig not being finish, the drilling has been pushed back to Tuesday, and my presence on the rig (because they have to be able to have space for the lone woman..woot!) has been pushed back to Monday, which is fast approaching! Tomorrow at 1 pm I will check in to the helicopter desk at the airport, and then leave an hour later with my offshore and book bags to go to the rig. An offshore bag is just a big duffel bag that is made out of water resistant material. Which, to be honest, I really appreciate because salt-water soaked clothing is uncomfortable.

My manager will be taking me to the rig, and I will be leaving this lovely hotel with its cable, internet, and gym that I've been lounging in for the past couple of days. I did a little bit of walking around, ate at some really good restaruants, watched my first movie in theaters in 4 months, and just had a relaxing good time.

Oh, for the record, Brunei is basically just like Malaysia. However, here you can see Probiscis Monkeys in the wild. I wanted to go on a tour to see them, but you had to have at least 2 people to take the river raft tour thing. Oh well! They weren't particularly cute anyway.

In the past couple days I've seen quite a few movies just because I could. I saw Sucker Punch in theaters and it was extremely depressing, though it had cool action scenes. I also watch Steven Seagal in "A Dangerous Man." I can't say I loved it, but I love how monotone and emotionless he is! I want to watch more of his movies, if only so I can laugh. There was also the new Star Trek movie (always good!), and then my favorite of the 4 days : Invictus. I am not really a huge fan of movies about politics or sports and this is rife with both. However, I think (and you can completely disagree with me) this movie is incredibly, moving, and so exciting!!!! Also the All Blacks (from NZ) doing the Haka at the beginning of the championship match...I'VE SEEN IT IN NEW ZEALAND!!!!! and it was totally cool to know what it was when I saw it in this movie.

Well, that is about it. I am here. I am heading to the rig tomorrow and (sorry) I will have limited internet and communication abilities. However, I will probably be heading off the rig around the 20th of the month, hopefully having learned many many things and having had a really positive experience.

Some things I hope : That Raegan says "Becca" soon. That it gets awesomely warm in Kansas soon and you can gad about in t-shirts and shorts. Also that to all the people I know who are approaching finals (Adam, Tracy, James, Tori, Ginger, Erik), that you rock'em out!

I love you all. I miss you all. And I hope you are having a wonderful week.

Becca

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Trip Part Dos!

So, part two starts out, actually with a trip to a museum of some kind, but for some reason (plus, my pictures are in Labuan right now, but more about that later), but I do not remember a whole lot about it, however, it was probably a blast! However, after the museum we took a trip to the zoo!!

My friend Tracy, who previously lived in Europe, told me that it was a huge zoo and would be a good idea. As Adam and I both like zoos, we decided to check it out. It was incredible! The layout was fun and wander-y. The little food booth where we had lunch had menacing pigeons waiting eagerly for unwary visitors who left their trays for more than 12 seconds. The exhibits were attractive and it felt like if I was an animal I would actually enjoy living in one of them. Also, there was such a variety of animals!

Some of my favorites :
1) The vulture that does a creepy wing/dracula thing when it is intimidating others. Just the thought of the creepy hunch-walk just gave me the shivers.
2) A cheetah that was feverishly pacing the fence area where he could best attempt to stalk the numerous rambunctious 7 yr olds running rampant in the grass near his cage.
3) The exhibit-house for ton of different types of tiny monkeys. They were so adorable! Also, apparently I am not allowed to use flash in there...oops.
4) The hippos! There were two different exhibits for them and they were so close. And friendly. I want one!
5) The elephant, of course. My favorite animal ever. :)

It was such a good afternoon, but our feet were pretty sore, so we headed back to the hotel, relaxed for a bit, then headed to dinner. For dinner we walked for about 15 minutes looking for a cafe that looked just right, and happened upon a cozy one that had both spanish/english/catalan translations in menu. Woot! We lingered over some sangria, pizza, and lasagna, but eventually decided against a club and ended up going back to watch Big Bang Theory instead. There, after watching several hours of Big Bang Theory, as most of you already know,  Adam surprised me by getting down on a knee and asking me to marry him!! It was a awesome moment, in the perfect place, and the ring fit perfectly even though I've never told him my finger size. :) It is crazy because I feel like the realization of this is still just hitting me. And though it may sound cheesy, I never expected to be this happy with someone, regardless of where he and I are located and I keep on waiting for this to be just a dream. However, life rocks because I know that it is not!

Ok. Done gushing. I know you don't actually read this blog for the gushing, so I really do try to keep it to a minimum :)

Anyway, the next day we got to do one of Adam's favorite things of the trip : Take a cable car up to Castle Montjuic! However, there was only one problem...when we got off the metro, there was no cable car tower in sight. I did see one about 3/4 of a mile away, so I dragged Adam toward it. It was not the right one. However, we did see some cool supposed-to-be-there graffiti on a wall along the way. We gamely turned around and walked back, changing our strategy slightly to involve asking for directions at a hotel. We found out that there was a metro car in the very metro station we came in, that would take us to the cable car station on the side of the mountain. It was my (and I believe his as well) first cable car ride! So fun!!!

The castle itself was gorgeous. There were gardens, a drawbridge, ramparts, cannons, a high walls, arches, and stairways. The view from the top of the castle was inspiring and beautiful, and we took way too many pictures of everything. I'm not sure it would it be the coziest place to live, but it would be pretty incredible. The people we saw all around were interesting as well. There was a soprano sax player who played a lovely rendition of Auld Lang Syne. There were also some men illegally selling scarves that the Catalan police had to chase down as they ran away with scarves trailing behind them. The joggers impressed me the most, as I am pretty sure they ran from the bottom of the trails up to the top of the mountain.

Next we went to the National Museum of Art, which not only was huge and had some incredible art, but also included  A LOT of steps going to the top. There was a lot of art directly regarding saints, but this makes sense, considering the history in Spain and the time-periods that the art came from. I don't adore art museums, but this one was actually really  nice. By the end we were both ready to give up on the feet business. So sore!!! After 2 or 3 days of constant walking everywhere, our out of shape feet needed a rest. This was highlighted even more the next day, when I some how got an incredibly painful ingrown toenail (another first!) and we spent that afternoon packing stuff up, downloading pictures, and getting ready to head off for our respective destinations.

So, an amazing week, in a great location, with a wonderful traveling companion, and now.....my fiance!!

And now, I am in Brunei waiting to head to my first rig! Things happen pretty fast in my life sometimes (after months of going slow), and I am enjoying the change of pace. We'll see how it goes :)

Love you guys,

Becca

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Back from Vacation

It is difficult to find the right people to vacation with. Once I went to New York City on spring break with a friend from Massachusetts. Longest 3 days of my life. She complained about walking about, visiting museums and libraries, and had a creepy obsession with wanting to visit a museum dedicated to sex toys. I mean, NYC was a great place, I just went with the wrong person. Same with a mission trip I went on in Mexico over Christmas one year. My poor brother (only 15 or 16 at the time) got to be traumatized by people who basically yelled in tongues and would wake him up by praying over him with a Bible and flashlight in the middle of the night. We definitely drove straight home after they dropped us off in Oklahoma, turning down their offers of an extra place to stay (to be honest I was also afraid of spontaneous exorcisms occuring). 

Sometimes we vacation with people who like outdoor activities and want to be constantly moving, other times we find friends who want to lay on the beach. I find my parents have one of the funniest/adorable vacationing relationships I've ever seen. When we went to Florida as a family, I distinctly remember that they would both get up early for a walk on the beach, then dad would do things like reconaissance on the bus routes in Florida, while mom would come back out to the beach after breakfast and soak up sun for most of the day. Also amusing : the fact that dad would get up so early and then take morning and afternoon naps. This might not be an accurate re-telling, but this is always how I will remember it in my mind. For the record, I absolutely loved that vacation. Getting to spend so much time with my family was absolutely wonderful!

However, this is not about NYC, Mexico, or Florida. This is about Barcelona. :)

Barcelona was my first trip to Europe that I actually remember. And though I would love to go back to Germany with my parents and do some remembering there, I've gotta say that Barcelona left an amazing first impression! To begin with, the city is so clean! There was a bit of trash here and there, and some graffiti in random places, but overall I was surprised at how tidy it was.

It was also fun to get lost in. My parents and Adam can both attest to how stressed out being lost causes me to be, but it wasn't so bad there. There was always a metro close by, and it was laid out in such a way that it was generally not bad to find your way to a known landmark if you are patient enough. Also, people were quite helpful whenever we broke down and asked them. Adam can also do N/S/E/W pretty well, so he was pretty good at keeping us on track. I know being bad at directions is an annoying stereotype to fit in, but in my defense, the gene for being good absolutely skipped me. What happened G'ma and Mom??

Also amazing...the food!! Even the "fast food" from a restaurant called Pan or Pans was pretty good. I love sandwiches and the bread at every place we stopped at was very good. I liked eating at completely random shops and cafes because undoubtedly no matter what you ate would be delicious (and sometimes a surprise as we couldn't decipher some of the Catalan/Spanish menus). Also, the sangria in Barcelona was amazing. Pretty much tasted like carbonated grape juice. Our favorite restaurant was run by a British guy and it was called "Ben." We happened upon it right before visiting the National Museum of Art (soooo much ART!!) and came back the next day because the food was incredible.

I don't even know where to start on the site seeing. We saw the Aquarium which was fun, winding, and full of interesting fishes. There was even a huge shark tank (you can take a dunk for 400-ish Euros) and a sting ray tank that you can look down into and watch stingrays swimming a foot from your hand. We tried to go to an IMAX theater nearby, but it was closed, so we braved a Spanish shopping mall instead, which was pretty nice. We tried on fun (and crazy looking) clothes, Adam found a nice shirt and I found a cute pair of shoes to wear.

On Tuesday (I think) we went on a  4 hour tour of Barcelona starting at 11 am. We were supposed to meet the guides in a plaza in the city center, but as we had never been to that part of the city before (and a lot of places in Barcelona have plaza looking areas!) we got a little lost and had to ask directsion twice. However, we did eventually find our guides, got bikes (no helmets, though there is a city law about wearing them) and then we were off (but then, you knew that...). It was actually the first time I'd ridden a bike in about 5 years. Took a little getting used to. We then proceeded to bike everywhere! We looked at historical buildings such as the Sagrada Familia, Opera House, several war memorials, city walls (which are pretty cool if they are hundreds of years old), and some neat fountains and parks. Our tour guide was an Aussie who was fun and told stories in a interesting way. He had dreads and spent the entire tour, when not socializing or telling stories, hitting on a French girl who was also on the tour. It was awesome to watch! At the end of the tour we stopped at a bakery down by the beach and had lunch. The beach is SO windy!! There were a ton of people windsurfing and parasailing, but they were all in wetsuits because it was also extremely cold. Ok. Maybe only 40 F, but that is still cold! We had spinach lasagna, focaccia (sp?) bread, and a pitcher of sangria. All were delicious, and I am actually salivating remembering them now.

Anyway that is all for now. I will add pictures to the next blog post about the last half of our trip which includes : (a) a castle, (b) a proposal, (c) some fun museums! Oh,and a movie adventure.

Later.

Love you!
Becca

Friday, March 25, 2011

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm engaged!! Though I am sure you have heard about this already, I needed to repeat-tell you because I am so excited!! Best vacation ever! I have had incredible food (every. single. meal. ), wonderful sites, fun adventures, an incredible amount of walking, and now I also get to marry someone who I absolutely love and cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with. :)

There are not enough words...

I promise to tell more soon.

Love you.

Becca

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Hola!

So I cannot promise length with regards to this post as I am super tired right now. We just got back from watching Adjustment Bureau (we think!) in the theaters  and it was awesome!! We weren't  sure (a) if it was going to be shown in English or (b) if it was going to be worth the trip over to that side of the city. It was both! It was in English with Spanish subtitles, and it was such a good movie. :) Also, I am beginning to think that the adventure is just worth the adventure, regardless of the ending. I loved riding through the metro rails and getting a bit lost on our walk through the city. Also fun was having to ask for directions to the cinema, deciding on which of the random restaurants with menus we couldn't decipher we were going to eat from, and simply spending a fun relaxing evening having what felt like the most normal date possible (this is exciting for me because I don't get to have a "normal" date very often).

Anyway, the entire vacation so far has been so much fun! We've visited the aquarium, been on a long and super fun bike tour, figured out the metro and bus systems, had amazing food and gelato, and gotten lost our fair share of times. Adam has taken the role of "protector from potentially scary things and people", as well as "direction figure-outer," and done a remarkable job. I always hate figuring out how to get to where I want to go, and he is quite good at it, and doesn't get upset when we get lost occasionally. Also, he is very good about getting us un-lost again!  We both love the metro, and I cannot think of a reason I wouldn't want to ride it every day! It is clean, and doesn't smell. There are also very few creepy people on it.

The aquarium was very interesting. There were, of course, fishes and other sea animals from all over the world, and the entire set up was very flowy and relaxing. At one point there was a huge tank that was full of sharks and other huge fish that was surrounded by a slow moving path we could stand on. This path is probably mainly there to help the flow of traffic, but it was so much fun to get to stand on while taking video of the sharks and rays passing by the glass. There were a lot of children at the zoo that day, which is completely fine. Little kids yelling in European languages are way less annoying than little kids yelling in a language from Asia or America. Not sure why...Anway. After the aquarium we went to see if we could watch a movie in the IMAX theater next door, which sadly wasn't open. Instead we wandered over to the adjoining mall to do some window shopping and hopefully find an adapter that would work with Malaysian computer cords. Success was found!

This morning we went on a bike tour that took us all over the old part of Barcelona. It was long, fun, and definitely felt really nice to be out and about. We saw cool historical sites, cathedrals, the Sagrada familia (a story in itself), and other fun sites. We learned that Barcelona is actually a part of Catelonia (sp?) which has its own completely different and unique culture from Spain. Consequently, because it is so different, it has hundreds of years of rulers trying to squash that uniqueness out using death, torture, laws, bombings, etc. It is so interesting! Our tour guide was Australian, and near the end of the tour he took us to the beach and told us to drink, eat, and drink. We did exactly that, and had cheesecake (not as rich as American cheesecake), lasagna, foccacia bread, and a pitcher of sangria! Deliciousness :)

On the subject of food....it is all SO GOOD! The desserts, the pastas, the sandwiches, the gelato, and....everything else is absolutely wonderful. :) Especially all the breads! I wish we had bread like this in Malaysia. I would be so large they would have to airlift me from my house.

And as for tomorrow? We are going to try to hit the zoo and several different museums/sites of interest. Wish us luck! Hopefully there will be more gelato in the future....

Love you all!

Becca

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Bored in KLIA Post :)

So, it came to my attention today that I don't know a lot of basic Malay words. So I looked some up and decided to share them with you.

Family Terms!!!

Mother = Ibu
Father = Ayah
Sister = Saudara Perempuan
Brother = Saudara
Aunt = Bibi
Uncle = Paman
Niece = Keponakan
Grandma = Nenek
Grandpa = Kakek
 
 I am a Bibi!!! And I have a keponakan.
 
And because I there is a lot of English overlap within the Malay language : I give you the months of the year.
 
January = Januari
February = Februari
March = Mac
April = April
May = Mei
June = Jun
July = Julai
August = Ogos
September = September
October = Oktober
November = November
December = Disember
 
And all of the above are pronounced phonetically, so they will be easy for you guys to learn (cause I know it is a top 10 on your list of things to learn today!).
 
And now onto other things!
 
Becca
 

Friday, March 18, 2011

Pre-Vacation Post

Here we go, folks, as of 7:30 am tomorrow morning, I will start my next travels. This time they are from Labuan to Barcelona, by way of Kuala Lumpur and Singpore! And since Singapore is yet another country I've never been to, I get to add that to a list! I will try to remember to take pictures from the airport windows :) I am about to start packing right now, but I am currently waiting on a batch of cookies to finish cooking. It seems like I might've needed to add a bit more flour than I originally did. We'll see if I can fix it. If not, well, I'll just have to deal with it.

I gave my work computer to my boss today before I left the office. We are encouraged to do this (or put it in the company safe) as SLB computers have a way of disappearing while employees go on vacation, whether they take them with them, or leave them in the house. Plus, it is so heavy! I definitely don't want to lug that to someplace that is supposed to be enjoyable.

Update : 3/19/2011
I started packing then fell asleep, so I epically failed at finishing the post. Currently I have made it through my first flight and am now in KLIA waiting on some Roti Canai (sp?) and Chicken Curry. And, in honor of Amanda....Ice Blended Mocha! I will take a picture of the gloriousness of it all. Then I am going to go to a spa in the airport and get a manicure because they are awesomely affordable in this part of the world (get on the ball, America!). Now if only I could get my skype to start working....

There we go. Working.  I think after the manicure I will spend the next 6 hours watching tv shows and movies on my computer, possibly buying a book from a shop, and working on word searches. I considered going out into KL, but it takes an hour to get into and out of the city on the train. I also am not familiar with KL at all, so I feel uncomfortable running around there by myself. Especially with a huge bookbag and my purse. Snatch theft on foot and on motor bike is very common in this city and I would rather not have that experience to my the beginning of my vacation not-so-fun.

I just callled Adam and he is all packed too! He is also bringing me yarn (thanks Aly!). I was going to bring him homemade m&m cookies, but due to my not accounting for the humidity in my part of the world they turned out kind of..flat. And not very pretty. I refuse to give people sub-par cookies, so, no cookies for the boyfriend.

Now for plane flight schedule :

Malaysia to Kuala Lumpur. 7:45am-10:05 am, MH 2633
KUL to Singapore, 8:30 pm-9:25 pm, SQ 0119 (Singapore Airlines)
Singapore to Milan Malpensa, Italy, 11:45 pm to 6 am, SQ 0378....Some kind of stopover (I think to refuel)
Milan Malpensa, Italy to Barcelona, 7 am-8:45 am, SQ 0378 ................WOOOOOHOOOO!

I hope you all have a lovely weekend.

Love you

Becca

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

More Evacuations

I decided this afternoon that if I didn't realize how connected the world was before, I certainly have a better idea of it now. It seems like every major world event directly effects who I work for. Today my company is pulling out all the expats from both Japan and Bahrain, as well as encouraging the home country employees to not go to work. I believe in Japan they even closed all the offices, and in Bahrain they suspended all drilling operations (due to unrest and martial law being imposed). This comes after over two months of continual updates about unrest situations all around the world and the evacuation of employees from at least four or five other countries. Is the world just going crazy, or has this been happening continually for my whole life? Maybe I just lived in a lovely "me" bubble for that time period (which is probably the case), or maybe it has always been a little like this.

Whatever it is, it is definitely interesting.

On a happier sidenote, even though the business in Japan is so sad, I am glad that they found that little 4 month old baby girl still alive!! The fireman's smile while he is holding her is absolutely heartening.

I'll write more tomorrow. Love you all.

Becca

Sunday, March 13, 2011

My experiment in picture posting

In order to combat my unreasonable fear of mixing pictures with words, I have decided to post a picture heavy blogpost. It will range around a favorite topic of mine...FOOD! So let us begin. I have run into many interesting food things here, and they can be categorized in 3 ways : Food I Love, Food I've Made, and Food I Will Never Eat. Let's start with the former!

Food I Will Never Eat :
There are actually many things in this category. However I feel this can of flower-flavored drink best personifies the entire business.  Flowers should stay as flowers, and should not become drinks. I believe that everything has a place in life and it should not cross it's boundary unless there are extreme extenuating circumstances. So, flowers should not cross the line towards the food category, and chunks of meat shouldn't be worn as clothing (Yes, Lady Gaga, I am talking to you).

Fish O's at KFC. I shake my head in sadness at this business. With chicken, this sort of thing is acceptable. Fish is like that sad little sibling that tries to copy everything their older sibling is doing. And they are failling miserably at it. Yes, I judge you o acceptance yearning Fish O's...



Food's I Love!
These are so good! Way back when Hari Raya (Muslim holiday) was going on, there were cookies and treats galore hanging around the office. They were all shaped like pineapples and hearts and stuff. However my absolute favorite were these strawberry ones. I have been searching for the recipe for them for thee past 5 months and have yet to find it, but when I do....



This should be under it's own category of "Favorite Malaysian Meal". This is Kway Teoh Goreng (Kway Teoh are the noodles, Goreng is "fried") with chicken and prawns. My favorite version of it in town comes from the Food Park in the mall. With it is Teh O Ice(sp?) (Tea with sugar and ice in it). I would recommend it to anyone who ever came to Malaysia. Make sure to ask them to leave out the fish cake (yeah...you again, o pathetic weird fish...).

Food I've Made
I am especially proud of this meal because I had been craving chicken soup for so long! I got the recipe from Helen and then crossed my fingers and it turned out so well! The biscuits are simple drop biscuits that actually cook pretty evenly in my oven. Since then I've made cheese and garlic biscuits as well. Plus a lot of cookies (which, sadly, I keep forgetting to take pictures of!

I am really happy about these wontons because not only did they tast awesome, but they were made from scratch! Ma Jing (my housemate)'s mom was here a day after she went to the rig, so she made me dinner when I got home. I asked if I could help and she showed me how to make them! I can't wait to get to do this again (aka, have the guts to try it without parental supervision!).


 Finally, this is not a food, but I am very excited about it! A square of my first blanket I've made since last spring. I have missed crocheting so much, and I am sooo happy about the yarn showing up. Here it is, a KSU themed blanket, btw, which you can hopefully tell from the square.

I hope you are all having a wonderful Sunday, and I love you all!

Becca

Friday, March 11, 2011

Tsunamis, Pineapple Tarts, and Yarn

Hello peoples of not this part of the world :)

First, I would like to say that, yes (if the thought crossed your mind anytime in the past couple days), Labuan and I are both safe. I feel sad for the people in Japan who were owned by the 30 foot tall waves from tsunami, though. It reminds me (on a much smaller scale) of the 2004 tsunami that killed hundreds of thousands of people in ten countries, around here, the majority being from Indonesia.

Last year I took a Geography of Natural Disasters class and we discussed how something became a "disaster" because volcanos, tsunamis, earthquakes, mudslides, tornadoes, and massive forest fires occur every year and there is nothing that we as humans can do to prevent them. We came to the conclusion that a "disaster" only occurs because humans are involved. WE are the ones that cause disaster, not the random 70 mph tornado. We choose to build our homes on the banks of rivers, edges of oceans, sides of mountains/volcanos, in flood plains, and near active fault lines. Then we are shocked and devastated when our houses, belongings, and family members are lost in them. Is this preventable? To some degree, if you can actually choose to live someplace else, I would say yes, it is your own fault if you choose to build your house on the side of a mountain and then it is destroyed in an eruption or landslide. It is also your own fault if you don't heed warnings from weather and government officials telling you to evacuate until it is too late. However, my goal here is not to say that the people in Japan deserved to be part of a tragedy, because this isn't true. They were raised and have lived there for many years without horrible things happening. The same is true for many tragic situations. And a lot of people in this part of the world especially are extremely poor and are trying to live in severely overcrowded situations. They really don't have a lot of choice about where they live, and what they live in. Also in poor countries people are afraid to leave their houses due to the fear of looting, or the fact that tsunami shelters in Muslim countries might not have separate sleeping or bathroom facilities for men and women, so the women stay home. It is always a complicated and multi-faceted situation. However, going back to disasters : sometimes I think how funny it is, that if no one lived on that island, those huge waves and tremors would be just that; a really cool natural occurrence. It's too bad.

On another note, the reason you will never need to worry about me being swept away by a wave in Malaysia is because Malaysia is naturally protected. I believe this contributes to the country being so politically and economically stable. Malaysia is protected from the surrounding open oceans and active tectonic plates there by Indonesia, Philippines, and Southern mainland Asia. It's like we're the small kid in the middle of a bunch of other kids, protecting us from the bullys on the outside. This means that these countries also act like barricades, taking the brunt of any massive natural hazard, and often losing a lot of  people in the process. There are also no volcanoes, or tectonic plates in Malaysia, so we can feel tremors from Indonesia sometimes, but very rarely. Due to the blessing of being protected, the most we were expected to have after the tsunami was elevated seas and some rough water. Plus, Iive on the highest point of Labuan, so I'm good. :)

Ok, Pineapple Tarts!! The Chinese shop keeper across the street had random recipes that his supplier (a hotel) gave him, and yesterday he photocopied it for me and let me have it. I am so excited because it contains a pineapple tart recipe that I've been searching for since last fall. Hopefully I will not ultra fail while trying to create them this evening. Also, it is a huge recipe, so I'm going to have to do some cutting down to start with. I will try to take pictures and post them, but I am still not sure how to do that on here. Wish me luck!

Finally, I got my yarn on Thursday and have been crocheting madly ever since. I can't help it! Crocheting is therapeutic and relaxing. I really really miss getting to do it and I am so glad I found that Hobby Lobby ships overseas. Currently I am working on a granny square quilt that is made of squares that have layers of purple, gray, and black in them. It is for my friend and former (awesome!) housemate who lives in Chicago. I will try to take a picture of my progress there and post it as well.

I hope you are all sleeping well.

Becca

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

In Which Some Events Transpire, and Other Events Do Not

First I promise: this post will be decidedly more upbeat than the last post.

To paraphrase a John Wayne phrase: To the rat killing!

So some things are new: I now have a vacation for the 19th through the 26th of March!  A couple of weeks ago I was talking to my manager and requested (since we will be busier in April and May) to have 7 days of vacation over Adam's spring break. He said that was fine, depending on where I would be (ex: if I went to America, no vacation). And as America fell tragically through my fingers and it seems I am now staying here, I brought the subject back up earlier this week. I asked for his advice on whether it was still advisable to buy plane tickets for the event, since I am supposed to be going to a rig sometime this week. He said, "Why not? It's a land rig, and they'll be drilling til the middle of May, so you've got time. Go ahead and order your tickets." So I excitedly shared this with Adam the next morning (his time) and we set about deciding where we wanted to go. Tropical is fun, but I already live in tropical, neither of us wanted cold, and we both think Africa is a bad idea for the time being. So, we looked at European countries. After considering the Ukraine, Germany, and Greece, he suggest Spain and it just clicked! The weather is nice, it has good food, history stuff, and is relatively warm. Then we looked at cities in Spain and Barcelona seemed like it would be so much fun!! So we booked hotel, his ticket, (and finally today!) my ticket. I am pretty excited :) I don't remember Europe from when I was a baby, so it will be fun to officially visit it as an adult. And, along the way I get to fly through Singapore :)  As for activities, we are looking at a bike tour of the city and visting a castle that has been turned into an art museum. Promise, pictures will be taken.

The rig business has not changed. I was supposed to go out on Monday of this week, and then possibly Thursday, and "definitely" by Friday, but there is nothing confirmed yet. And regardless of when I go out, I am definitely coming back next Friday in order to fly out Saturday morning. Its kind of a convoluted mess, however, they have had 8 months to get their business together so at least it is a convoluted mess that isn't my fault.

While waiting for life to sort itself out I have been busy. I have made several batches of cookies and given them to the techs, my other coworkers, my managers, and the Chinese shop keepers across the street. Though they are not amazing, they are much better than Malaysian cookies (which tend to be hard and crusty) so I think if this job doesn't work out, at least I can open up a cookie shop here. I will be rich!

Also, in the last week my the video and wireless cards in my Dell Malaysia computer have completely gone out causing me to be unable to access the internet/skype from it. I am currently waiting on a Dell Malaysia employeed to get to Labuan so he can work on it again (he previously replaced the LCD screen/cable 1 week ago).

I am also having fun being kind of pushy (My catchphrase:I want to speak to your manager. NOW.) to the Post Malaysia (postal service) and Customs employees here. I am waiting on a package containing yarn and it is currently in no system that anyone knows of, but we do know that it has gone through customs. So I talked to several managers today and said that they need to stop blaming the other organization for their inability to know where it is, and that it needs to be found. NOW. I am supposed to get an answer from the manager in Customs, tomorrow morning, and Post Malaysia, on Friday.

Update : I just called the Post office 5 minutes ago and the package has magically appeared in Customs computers again. However the guy in the office won't answer his phone. I will prevail! Or just alienize those working the public service sector.

Next up: I have ordered an iPod Touch. "Why?" you ask. Well, because it can access iTunes as well as skype, so as long as I have a wifi connection I can skype on that instead of dragging out my PC, which is currently not working. It should be here between the 11th and 16th. I am pretty excited for its potentially getting here!

Tonight we have another calibration, I think, so that should make life interesting. We are not sure when/what time it will occur, but I am hoping for sooner rather than later. I hope it goes smoothly! Or else, I will still be up at 1 pm your time :)

Have a good day guys.

Becca

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

The Unpleasant Business of Waiting...

Some things in my life are worth waiting for; Adam, plane flights to exciting places, revolutions, ice cream cones, cookies that are baking, and rainstorms. However, there are so many things that I feel are not. Opportunities that I have already worked for, information that has been promised, and the chance to actually start my career after working in a company for 7 months. Yes, I have worked for SLB for 7 months and I am still stuck on this island in Malaysia doing very little related to my actual job.  I was thinking about it today, and I don't think I am upset because I am waiting to go to rigs. I am upset because I uprooted my entire life and everything that I've previously known because I was promised a job opportunities and the chance to accelerate my career by working internationally.  These things haven't been fulfilled in the slightest yet. They said the JOB would be a challenge. The job, is not a challenge right now. And even living here isn't that much of a challenge anymore. I've found meat, cheese, dishes I can eat. I know how to get most medicines and clothes I need. I have conquered the fear of running outside, and I am even learning squash.


However, this is not the challenge I wanted. If I wanted a lifestyle challenge I could've gone on a mission trip to Ghana for 2 months. If I can't be on rigs for this long, why didn't they just leave me in the US? Then I could talk to my family in their own timezones, visit my baby niece once every two months, and spend time with my boyfriend that is not strictly over skype. I could save a ton on shipping stuff over here, and at least whent he technicians discuss stuff in the shop, I would be able to understand them because they would be speaking English.


Yesterday we had a visit from the VP of Personnel who works in Paris or something. She asked questions and requested that we answer them as honestly as possible. I was incredibly honest. In response to, "Are there a variety of activities to do in Labuan?" I replied in the negative. Also mentioned that there was very little to do unless you felt comfortable watching blatant sex trafficking in clubs in the evening. In response to, "Does the inside of the book match the cover you were shown by the recruiters," I also said yes and no. And then I told them about never going to rigs, and that, honestly, I am basically just waiting until my first year is up so I can quit. Not because I can't leave before then, but because I promised myself one year. If something doesn't drastically change in the next 4 months, I will just pay off my student loans and come back to America.


So, I do apologize for my negativity this evening, but I am just so tired of waiting and being at the mercy of these random managers and their managers and their associated personnel people that seem to not care because I am trainee and no matter how politely and forcefully I push....I seem to get not-very-far.


Updated News :
As of today Total (oil company) has given me permission to come to their rig in Brunei, now we just have to wait on my visa to come through. This could be 1 day, or this could be 4 days. However, as the permission was suppose to have come through last Tuesday, lets just say that I am lacking some faith right now.


America? Well they are still being silent. The personnel manager for Malaysia called my manager today and talked about them/me with him, but I have heard nothing. I asked him what she said and he replied that she was supposed to call me this afternoon. Obviously, did not happen or else there would be other news here.


So, that is where we stand. Cross your fingers for me, and we'll see what happens this week.


Love you all.


Becca

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Post 100...Accomplishment?

I believe, unless my math is mistaken, that this is my 100th post. I feel like this is kind of impressive for someone has thrown away countless diaries given to her by well meaning relatives because writing down events and things were just too tedious to spend time on.

However more interesting is that 100 is close to the number 103, which is the name of the camp that Schlumberger employees (and some contractors) are currently holed up in someplace in the desert in Libya, trying to wait patiently for evacuation by whatever method(s) the Crisis team for their country is currently cooking up.  If you haven't been able to keep up with the news, the Eastern half of Libya is now taken over by anti-Ghadafi rebels and they are gunning for Tripoli (where, yes, more of our employees are staying in houses).  One recent report from an engineer recalls how he booked a flight out of Libya on Sunday because his friends in East Libya told him to evacuate. Overnight while they were waiting before going to the airport they could hear machine gun fire less that 500 m from their house. Then when they were headed to the airport they were stopped by men with automatic weapons who pointed the guns at him and his wife until they realized they had small children in the car, and allowed them to leave.

It's kind of incredible that we get to be witness to this much history being made! Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, Iran, Libya...who's next?

In other news, I was told my my manager earlier this week that I might be going to Brunei

 http://maps.google.com.my/maps?hl=en&tab=wl&q=Brunei

later this week, but I haven't heard anything from him since Monday, so I will just be patient and see. We've heard nothing more from America about when/where I might be going, so I am still wonderfully stuck in limbo for the time being.

I am really bad about remembering to give my address to people who ask for it, so, if you would like it and do not have it :
Rebecca Burns
Schlumberger Asian Supply Base Ranca-Ranca Industrial Estate
Labuan, Malaysia 87008

I had another culinary success this week, which is helping me become incredibly more confident in my abilities to use my oven here. I've always wanted to make lasagna from scratch, but have always been too chicken. So when I found ground (minced!) beef in a market, a small bag of shredded cheese, and pre-cooked lasagna noodles, I thought, "why not?!" Since finding ricotta or cottage cheese is not a possibility here, I looked up recipes that didn't include them. Also, to replace them, I put carrots and green peppers in my filling. Awesome choice because it was delicious!! I made biscuits along with them, and have been taking it to work for lunch which definitely makes my lunches a little wonderful. I also found a chocolate drop cookie recipe that is a success with the technicians and I can't wait to make for you guys sometime.

I had an unexpected guest this week. Ma Jing (my housemate who I rarely see) had some days post-Chinese New Year and pre-rig, so she brought her mom back from China with her to visit. Her mom is a physics teacher in China and a really nice lady all around. She also cooks much more than her daughter. However, Ma Jing had to leave for the rig a day and a half early while her mom stayed in our house. Which, is totally fine, except....her mom speaks almost no english. I definitely speak no Chinese (though I do know how to say "I love you").  The first evening was pretty awkward, but we muddled through with hand gestures, pictures from the internet (THANK YOU INTERNET!) and friendly silence. She taught me how to make won-tons and I taught her how to make chocolate cookies. The second day I came home from work with a headache and she went out to swim, and so there was less interaction, but it was still enjoyable to have her around. She was an incredibly nice person.

Anyway, I should probably start working.  I am so tired though! I just want to sleep :)

Hope you all have a warm relaxing sleep this evening.

Becca

Sunday, February 20, 2011

The Chapter in Which the Heroine has an Adventure

Well, a couple actually. I have debated chronological order vs. importance, as both are legitimate listing methods. However, my opinion of something's importance undoubtedly differs from yours (I tend to be dramatic, however, you probably already knew this), so I have decided that chronological order is best.

1) America Status
2) The Five Hour Calibration that was actually Eleven Hours
3) Shredded Cheese!!!!
4) Town Adventures (aka...why I don't like Malaysian Clowns)
5) Rain Runs!

1) No update, actually just thought I'd get this one out of the way. I am crossing my fingers for information this week. We will see!

2) How to even start? Well, in the morning, I guess. If you ever want me to explain what a radioactive calibration is, I can do this in detail that would hopefully not make you fall asleep, but that is definitely not for here. To be succint, every time a significant portion of our tools that use radioactive sources is serviced (or every 3 months...whichever is first), we have to recalibrate the tool with the radioactive material to make sure that the readings we get downhole on a job are not wonky. The set-up for a calibration takes 3 to 4 hours depending on tool size so we do it the day  before. Then the cal. itself is supposed to take max about 5 or 6 hours. A significant number of things went not-quite-right, resulting in my longest workday here thus far. It started at 8 am and ended when I got home at 11:30 that night. I was definitely exhausted but it was actually a pretty fulfilling day. It is the first time I've gotten to do what I was hired to do and that feels pretty nice. Also, we got to do part of it in a rainstorm, and you all know how much I adore precipitation :)  High points of the day included eating popcorn on the floor of the radiation shack with the 3 other engineers and laughing about language barrier issues. Also, when the calibration finally passed! Low point was probably the 3rd or 4th hour we spent trying to troubleshoot the issues the tool was having that were resulting in its not passing.

3) During that day we did head to town briefly to get lunch while the electrician was fixing one of the issues we couldn't. In that time I went to a market called "Utama Jaya" and found popcorn in bags, lasagna noodles, and shredded cheese! In a bag! It was an awesome moment in my day. Also, I realized that "minced" beef that I have never tried because no one here could explain to me what minced beef was, is actually ground beef! New meat source is now in existence for me and I am pretty darn excited.

4) As I wondered through town today I found a pineapple in an open air market and a bottle of wine in a duty free shop. Carefree and happy I passed a group of tents selling drinks for one ringgit so I got some Milo (kinda like chocolate milk). Then as I was only 200 feet from the "mall" I saw him; The Malaysian Clown. I will be honest, I liked clowns until I was about 9, and afterwards thought they were a little creepy. Then I saw Supernatural episode with a clown killer. Now, I am just not a fan. I tried to signal politely to the clown that I didn't want to play and instead of nicely taking the hint, he decided to block my way instead. Either side of the sidewalk I moved to he wouldn't let me pass. And it didn't help that this non-clowny buddies (about 5 or 6 of them) were egging him on. So when I was about 2 feet away I leaned forward and said, "You really don't want to do this today." He looked surprised, then sad, then he moved on. I felt momentary guilt for making a clown sad, but then, I expressively and silently indicated I did not want to be interacted with, so I blame it on him :) Also, I am glad there was a peaceful resolution. I really didn't want to lose either my pineapple or bottle of wine from throwing it at him.

5) Finally, I got to run for the first time today in a Malaysian precipitation event! Usually I catch the sprinkles beforehand or the dark clouds and breeze, but never the rain itself. Now I can officially say I have done it!!! I am a Malaysian Rain Runner! And it is so much fun. The rain is not cold, but not hot, and it falls in just the right amounts.  So, all in all, it was a wonderful run.

AND, all in all, my weekend was a success! It contained sleep, work, adventure, and a fun date with Adam, so I can go to work this week and be excited about doing things again (or so I hope!). 

Have a wonderful Sunday and I wish an adventure for everyone!

Love you

Becca