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