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