Are we there yet?

Just about done for break-up. What does that mean? (some might not know, I am getting a few readers from other parts of the world) Well break-up happens in the spring after a long frozen winter. The ground is thawing out, its wet and muddy, the oil industry has some very heavy loads to move from site to site. The thing is that if we are not lucky enough to move those heavy loads before the road-ban weight rules come into effect, right around the 1st of April, then the drilling stops and everyone goes home for a few weeks (sometimes a couple of months, until the country dries out and and the road-bans come off). Roads get destroyed by heavy loads during freeze thaw cycles...just look at the spring pothole crop in any northern city, or the twin ruts in the slow lane of Hwy #2 between Edmonton and Calgary.

I am due for a break and I am looking forward to it. Same old story: I have had 5 days off since Christmas. It has been an interesting time. I am getting a ton of debt off my shoulders and I am still buying physical silver. This is good and I am happy. I have one phone call to make and I am so looking forward to it. American Express is going to get my version of a F**K YOU, take your card and shove it, I AM CANCELLING! They are paid off as of a week ago. I also paid off a Credit Union Mastercard, but they won't get a nasty call, they have always been good to me. They were the first card I ever got and it helped build my credit rating when I was starting out. I am cancelling that one too though. Don't need it. A word to the wise from someone who was stupid: Stay away from money you don't own, being in perpetual debt is not fun, it limits options you have for  personal freedom and the choices you can make.

So I am hoping to be done soon, my oldest best friend is losing his mom to cancer and I want to see him. maybe if things work out I can drive him back home

It comes and goes...

I wonder if I mean winter? That would be the simple explanation right?

Its April the 3rd 2011, I am back at the motel tonight after running around most of the day, chasing down contractors, humming along to a schedule I had a hand in writing but seems illegible, glad I can do it blindfolded most of the time. I am starting to miss the good old days... when spring meant a break. This winter has been long and with no end, I feel like I have been head down tail up for too long. But that is also good in a way...keeps me from thinking, lets me concentrate fully on the meaningless-ness of the daily work slog. The wait don't stop and actually think, don't let my focus light on real life for even a minute.

I did that today...for one brief moment. I didn't like it. Why should it affect me now? That's all water under the bridge, or so I thought, why should it matter.

Well the jobs have been going good enough, we are just about finished one location, but just starting on another goddamn water pit. During this upcoming 2 weeks there will be a total of 2 pits to deploy liner in. The supplier called and I should be taking delivery of the liner rolls in the next few days. I am hoping they send it on a truck with a good driver, the last couple really made me appreciate a real, honest to god, Canadian off-road, oilfield truck driver. I don't know when this stint will end for sure...I really want to help an old friend on the 19th if I can, but with the way this spring is going I might have to head down to Lethbridge and get that well from earlier this winter cleaned up before the farmer starts seeding. The snow is going fast and the frost is coming out and making things muddy like a mofo.

Hard Asset in Hand...

and what you see in my dirty hand is a 1oz, "4 nines" pure, Canadian Silver Maple bullion coin.

Well they came in finally after a 2 week wait. I bought from a great dealer called Gatewest Coin located in Winnipeg. If I were to eliminate the dealer mark-up and just told you the spot price for silver, I would say that this one coin alone has accrued nearly $2.50 since purchase.  It is very exciting for me. I feel like I am finally doing something for my future. If you were to read back in the blog you might see some vague hints at some terrible life decisions. I have some catching up to do, the next couple of years is very critical.

I am not going to harp on an on or try to prosthletize, but I encourage everyone to look around the world we live in and be cognizant of the financial danger that looms in the very near future. Look at the state of the world economy, get educated. Do you understand what "Quantitative Easing" refers too? It is basically the USA printing money out of thin air, backed by nothing and pumping it into the system to pay for their bills. It is phony and economic suicide.

 Did you know that during the Great Depression, President Roosevelt made it illegal for citizens to hold gold? He bought it all for $20 oz and later sold it for $34 to fund the government. Don't think it will happen again? Right now if you look on the Gatewest website you will find that they are required to report the social security number of any American that buys more than $2000 in precious metals to the Department Of Homeland Security...legislation is just one too many crisis' away.

 Debt and deficit is the killer of empires, since my last post on the subject US debt has risen to 16 TRILLION dollars. The deficit (Interest servicing costs of the debt) will be somewhere in the neighbourhood of 3- 4 trillion dollars this year. Do you think that Japan, who is one of the largest buyers of US debt ( Treasury Bills and Federal Reserve Notes), will be in the mood to fork over that money now when they have massive rebuilding to do in the wake of the latest earthquake and tsunami? The European Union is dealing with default and bail-outs for Iceland, Ireland, Portugal, Greece and Spain... The Middle East now has multiple hotspots of strife and revolution, what do you think that will do to the price of oil? How will any economic recovery happen when oil is $150-200 a barrel? Remember the last time it hit $140...yeah, that was 2007-2008, the economy shut down. Foodstuffs and basic commodities are starting the inexorable march towards rampant inflation. When the US dollar loses value, as it is doing right now, those dollars buy less and less.

I am buying silver and gold, I am buying it now and into the future...it is real money, not some paper promise

The election results are in...

So there is a Canadian election in the offing. I used to be proud to vote, but I think as I get older the apathy sets in and I find it pointless. The Conservative option for me was the only choice, if only to cancel out just one whacked out Liberal/Socialist/Traitor block vote. I have no options now that the Federal Conservative Party has watered itself down to appeal to the Toronto-Montreal corridor vote. There is no Libertarian/Liasse Faire choice for me to make. You know...the kind of option that rewards hard work, keeps the government bureaucracy out of my pocket and lets me decide whether or not to support the useless, lazy and stupid in our society. Why should it be my responsibility to support your version of social activist agenda? I probably agree with very little that you, my hypothetical liberal-enviro-nazi-cradle-to-grave-hypocritical-diaper-wearing-parasite, reader believe in. (That is... if you are indeed one of those types)

Maybe I should keep my thoughts to myself, who knows what kind of laws could be enacted if an Iggy/Taliban Jack/Traitor coallition were to get in and run Parliment Hill. I will say that if that were to happen, I will be one of those calling for a free and separate Alberta...does that make me a traitor? I actually admire the Separatist faction in Quebec, the principle that is. I do, however, despise what it has turned into: A constant irritant in the side of Canada that uses its' position and threats to extort more and more from the rest of the country. Its big business now, they can't afford to separate, they are a joke yet the feds still kow-tow to them. And thats the difference....a separate Alberta can afford to go out on its own, it doesn't suck the Ottawa teat in the hope that transfer payments will be increased. Alberta IS the transfer payment.

I am too young to be outraged by what the Liberals under Trudeau did to the west, but I know what the result was. The NEP and the generational effect it had on those of us who grew up during that time. Old wounds are not forgotten, sometimes they fester just under the surface. I came of age in the 90's, it was Cretien then. The little thug who turned out to be probably the biggest lying despot this country has ever produced. I won't forget that brand of Liberalism...GST lie, 2 billion dollar Gun Registry , Adscam. HRT debacle, Public Works/Alphonse Degalliano, Shawinigate and the Grand Mere Golf Course Swindle that lined Cretien's slimy pockets...

Now Iggy and Taliban Jack want to "fix" whats wrong with Canada...Duceppe just wants money...that shrill enviro-nazi Elisabeth May (whose eyes loll around in her head like a cow going to slaughter) just wants a chance to shut down the economy for the good of everyone concerned...and Harper, well Harper just wants votes in Ontairio, fuck the rest of us and what he originally stood for.......Like I said...I have no choices now, the result has already been decided.

What if...

    I Have been thinking about something quite a bit lately. What do we do to ensure our security? Does a person rely on society behaving properly, do we trust our governments to make the right decisions?

    I read a friends observation posted to Facebook the other day. The jist of it was "1/3 receive government benefits, 1/3 work for the government, and 1/3 of us actually work and pay taxes to the government". That disturbed me because its true. The question I have is how long does it go on before that house of cards collapses? The US has a 14 trillion dollar debt, see it for yourself, just search for usdebtclock.org

Nobody really mentions that very much. Everyone is concerned about the deficit, the interest paid to service the debt. You know if I miss bill payments or renege on my obligations I am bankrupt. What happens to a country that goes bankrupt? Who holds the US debt? There are conspiracy theorists that claim central bankers and shadowy families hold it...I have a hard time believing that. There is, however, evidence that China and other growing economies hold a very large portion of it. What happens when they get tired of the "west" living high on the hog at their expense? They call the loan, shut off the tap, whatever you want to call it, it will be bad. Oh so you say: "That is not us, we are not the USA" If the elephantine neighbour to the south collapses on our mouse of a country...it is US.

    Well I have rambled on long enough, I don't want this to be some sort of economic diatribe on my part that shows how little I understand...The answer for me though is Hard Currency, something with value, that is mine, that irresponsible governments can't legislate or tax away when it suits them. I will hold it and it will have value.

    Time to get on with the plan.

Oh Wow...

...what a machine, I love it! The new quad is scary fast, 70mph and will catwalk with very little weight transfer. I have had other "utility" ATV's, but nothing like this one. I don't want to do anything too crazy before I get to know it better. This is one machine that I don't feel comfortable riding if I don't have a helmet on.

The last quad I owned was a 1998 Honda 450 Foreman that I sold to a friend 2 years ago. It was a great work quad and Honda is known for making dependable machines, but that one doesn't come close to this new one. I really can't believe the power and suspension travel, its like riding on a cloud and the front wheels are off the ground more often than not. I haven't even had an excuse to lock in the 4x4.

So I shot a little video on my GoPro Hero helmet cam...finally figuring that out too.

Small mind racing...

Well I finally stopped working...does that sound right? Time-off sounds better so lets go with that. I travelled home the other day. Sad to say the Ford had some teething problems, one day I hopped in it and when it started it sounded like the mice in the flywheel were having a sword fight...so the same old story...my ever loving bias against the dealer in Ft St John meant I was willing to drive out of my way 400 extra kilometers and get it fixed in Rocky Mtn House. I booked it in Thursday morning, but it turns out there are no starters to be had in all of Canada and I was looking at a 3 day wait for one to come out of the States. Luckily the service dept. manager found out and had one taken out of a truck in Edmonton and it was shipped down so I could leave on Friday. I heard they want me to pay for the freight...we'll see if that happens. I seem to remember when I signed the papers, a little service plan was included that cost me over $2000, says I don't pay for ANYthing up to 120,000km's.

I have a lot of thinking to do in the next while, it might be good to get away from everything for a bit and do it somewhere else. A person close to me has offered a new job opportunity, but I am really conflicted over whether or not to take him up on it....It is a really great offer, not quite what I am doing now, but close. I think I am warped though, one of my unbendable requirements is that I get to stay around heavy equipment daily...god I am simple.

Oh and I bought the quad! Yeah! Have not ridden it more than 50 yards yet, but it was great, can't wait to ride it some more. The nice thing about the whole deal is zero payments...yep its ALL mine, got a cashiers' cheque and paid for it all. I didn't bring it north with me, it is snug in a garage in Edson. I did get it registered and insured. My broker asked me if I wanted collision..."Why would I need collision?" I asked her. Well she says: "If it falls out of your pickup thats collision"....hmmm, good point, I should get the collision coverage too.

Never Endings

So it is February 7 2011...halfway into another job. I know one day soon I will be looking back to this post and wondering when the next job will start, but right now I am wondering when this will end. Unlike my old friends and some relatives I don't do long stretches well. 25 days to a month is all I can do of bush work without any breaks. Time off is normal for anyone and I'm not in this to set any records...I haven't been home since Dec 27 2010, what's that? 42 odd days or something and before that was almost 3 straight months since September. Who knows? Math is not my strong suit. I do know that my motel bill is well over $2000 right now. Oh the joys of being self employed.

I have been thinking it would be more logical to get an apartment in Edson Alberta where I am working at the moment. I just don't want to move in and then find I am working in a totally new area, then what do I have? No friends anywhere, a stranger alone in a strange town. I think my original plan of moving back to Rotten Monkey House is much better, at least then I have a few good friends in the area. I have been trying to make the best of bad situation with the move last year back to Ft St John BC, but more and more I realize that I absolutely hate that place with a passion and its better for everyone involved that I limit my time there to one visit a year. We should have some sort of fondness for the place we were born and raised, I don't. In my head it could be any number of things, from the Provincial politics (which is communist and it turns out my accountant from Alberta agrees), to the people in general that I don't want anything to with ever again. The only ones I respect anymore are my parents, brother and sisters and a few that I work with at a contractor I know. Other than that...well I could go on but I won't. Let sleeping dogs lie...and I really do mean dogs.

Anyway back to the job thing: 42 days with another week to go and its very possible that I could stay working in the Republic of Alberta right through and beyond break-up which is fast approaching...then clean-up season starts and I still have to stay one lease ahead of this rig and its going to be here until next fall. Never Ending...

Work Ethic

Imagine you were working in the Alberta oil patch, you have a job less than 15mins from a small city. You get $140 a day to find a motel room and feed yourself. If you are smart you get a buddy to share the room and pocket some easy money. You get to take a taxi to and from the job site, no cost to you. You work 12 hours a day and after 8 you get paid time and a half. Your only responsibility is to get out of bed, get into the taxi and do your job. Don't show up late and don't arrive at the job site with alcohol on your breath. There is room for advancement, here is the latest wage schedule that a Drilling rig worker gets per hour:

 Driller $40.20

Assistant Driller $35.00

Derrickhand $34.00

Motorhand $28.50

Floorhand $26.40

Leasehand $24.00

In less than 4 years you could be the guy at the top of the pile. And you can get this wage with little more than a high school diploma, sometimes not even that is required .Wouldn't you think that was a great opportunity, wouldn't you think you would do everything to protect your job, do it well...do it on a rig that has guaranteed work for the next year under the exact same circumstances that I just described?

Well apparently not. The drilling rig I am building all the sites for lately just had 3 guys walk off their shift because one shit disturber couldn't wake up on time and showed up drunk more than once. These guys have an attitude and very poor work ethic...it will be a good one to reflect on when they are flipping burgers at McDonald's real soon.

Better things,

So this is that global warming...oops I mean "Climate Change"...(have to get my politically correct euphemisims in order)...that everyone including one Dr "insert foreign model two-wheeled mode of transportation" has been ranting about? Strange, seems like winter to me. Wasn't it just a few years ago that 'El Nino was everything the future had in store for us....I don't know, sure looks like winter and we have been getting a lot of it lately

Can't remember...

It’s 2010, 2 years from the last time, I remember the call. 

I answered and we talked.

Trivial stuff, that burnt down the time,

 before the real subject was reached.

But that never really happened, did it?

The call ended with obligatory words of affection.
Never heard your voice again. 

Tell me I don't think of you, every single day, and I would call you a liar.

I am older and more cynical now, my trust is gone.

I wish you had spared me,

in the beginning.

All that time... lost now.

Used and abused in a special sort of way.

No anger, but you knew.

2011 Edit

another year passed and I wish you could read this. 

Maybe I wrote it with a vague idea that you might one day.

It will tell you that I hurt, but I will be fine.

2012 Edit

4 years on and
You are still haunting the back recesses.
of my mind.
I wonder why you said the words
That made me hope.
 Cowards way out said so much that wasn't,
But I was just as guilty. I should have...

You burned me out, but I forgive.
There is no reason to remember the good times,
 Few and far between weren't they?
I was left empty and alone

2018 Edit

Its been a long time,

10 years hey?

Do you ever wonder? 

I like to think, hope, that

 maybe you've found this blog somehow

Maybe you read a few stories, 

maybe it put your mind at ease

If it was troubled, I don't know.

I probably stopped writing here because

 the past is just the past

 and I...

Don't owe it or anyone, including you, anything.

The people I love are here and doors need to be shut,

Some things are better left behind. 

2023 Edit

Maybe I made it so that you would be able to read this. I haven't decided whether I will or not.

 Just know that if I did direct you here Its not to hurt. or to hate, It's Just a return to sender, 

Life is good.

~ Alana 

ummm...ya okay...so that worked out great

Been on the job since December 27, this has been a busy run so far. I don't know if I have another week or another month to go, but surprisingly I'll just keep going as long as it lasts, that's the mindset I am in at the moment. I don't care.

I had to re-new some safety tickets last week, I don't know if I am stupid or just honest, but I didn't charge my time out even though I still came out in the morning and again after the course was over in the afternoon. Still did the paperwork at night and was still responsible for everything. I just feel that if its not a full days work that its wrong to charge for it. So ya I guess I'm stupid...3 days lost to courses. I had to take Standard First Aid Level A with CPR and on the 3rd day I had to take H2S Alive, all good courses and mandatory if you work in the oil and gas industry. My next ticket to expire is Ground Disturbance Level 2 but that's not until October of this year.

The Youtube channel and the blog has been getting a little bigger, I signed up for Adsense last summer and Youtube has offered to revenue share 4 videos so far. I made my first $114 cheque back on December 17 and since then have accrued another $70, not bad for a month and like they say its better than a kick in the teeth. Adsense pays out once $100 is reached or monthly if its more than that. I have been tracking it and it seems like for me anyway that a potential $1.50-4.00  a day is possible right now. Its not much and some of the big partners are able to quit their day jobs. Well almost, where would the content come from if it wasn't for work?

I am still feeling a bit lost, like I mentioned in the previous post this job is not enjoyable right now, I hate the water hole aspect of things. The timing and the process is stressful and aggravating. It all combines and overlaps into every other part of the job. I really don't know if the input equals the output... on my life that is. Financially this is the best its ever been. I know this is the way out...hopefully its worth it.

Go big or go home...

I hate water, I hate holes, I hate water-holes.

I can't believe the trouble and intracacies that such a simple thing like a water pit can create. They have to hold water...simple...no? It has to be clean water, so throw a liner in it...oh there are different thicknesses, there are different textures to the liners? And that hole you are digging is frigging huge...estimate the price, but the volumes change and every pit is a one-off  custom deal. Make sure the pit doesn't fail, make sure there is no ground water coming up from the bottom, and if it leaks you are in big trouble because you supervised the installation...something goes wrong, do you think the installer can be reached or even return your call after the fact...think they would show the slightest bit of interest in your dilema? Probably not...you are on your own...don't you wish you had a simple job that paid well and there was no responsibilty or phone calls at the end of the day? Are you even able to put it out of your mind? Or does it hang on the edge of your being until the year is up and you finally get reclaim and bury the damn thing forever. Only 10 more holes to go...give or take.

Days end, years end

Its the 31st of December and I guess this year only has a few more hours to go.

We have decided to work this new year weekend. The Foreman says most of his guys are from BC anyway and they won't have much to do so they want to work it. makes no difference to me I hadn't planned on doing much myself.

Crazy, my online friend is in the hospital at Edmonton having her first baby, I wish the best for her and I am glad her mother told me. I was worried I would not be able to send anything on the stat holiday, but this worked out well. I sent her an Edible Arrangements bouquet that is made up of a whole lot of fun shaped fruit made to look like flowers all stuffed into a little pink elephant glass piggybank keepsake. I got something similar (not the elephant though) when I was ill this summer, sadly mine was huge and I couldn't eat it fast enough...but the thought was nice.

I have some plans for a major purchase in the next month or so and I am hoping to get a good deal. Feel the time is right to get a new ATV. I am stuck between what I really want and what I actually need. The Can-Am 800 Renegade is what I want, but the price is obnoxious at $13,000...its big and fast, but for my line of work its overkill. The Yamaha Grizzly 700 seems more reasonable to me and I might be able to buy a past model year that is still brand new for less money. I used to be a diehard Honda fan because they are bulletproof and last forever but I am tired of the stiff buckboard style ride.

The worst part of December,

it's Christmas day and I'm trying to relax. Its been ok so far, just quiet time with my family. I think I may have spent too much.

On Thursday, while travelling through Grande Prairie on my way back to Ft St John, I stopped at Fountain Tire and broke down and bought a full set of winter tires. Like them a lot. Feels like I have the 4x4 locked in when I don't. Never had proper winter tires before, but I have been worried about all the driving I have to do and figured it was time to do things right.

My Christmas shopping was easy, maybe I punked out, but it was mostly all gift cards this year. I feel bad about that, but it was all I could do; people in my way walking the aisles, drivers who for whatever reason can't comprehend what a 4 way stop means, ignorance in the parking lots....it all just gets on my nerves and I want to be alone.

Saw a few old friends again so that was nice, I wish I felt more sociable, but its not me right now. Just want to get back to work and I will...on the 27th.

The beat goes on

...and on and on. I told my boss the other day that I would work until the 24th and come back as soon as he wanted. He said I should make sure to get some quality time off. I really don't care that much about the holidays anymore, getting so jaded with everything in general...

Its been a hard few months...  In my mind I've given up on a few things some would say are essential but day by day I accept more and more that it's just the way it has to be. Its been a 20 year run to get to this point...what is the prize? Still looking.

I'm at Edson Alberta for work again, Ask me if I am stressed...nope.

...the thought that has been going through my head:
"Ready to go? Yeah, ...I'm ready" :-{

I've been called worse...

"YOU F*CKER!" Was what my friend Jay said to me this afternoon. "Hehe!" Was all I said back,

I have been working down by Lethbridge for the last week. It was another one of those ambiguous job starts, not really knowing when the location had to be done by, but knowing from past experience that it is always prudent to err on the side of "Get the damn thing built A.S.A.P.!"

So hard to find a contractor in the extreme south of Alberta that even knows how to build a lease anymore. The industry had for the most part gone to minimal disturbance drilling. A whole lot of accumulated knowledge has been lost. I wonder if the industry realizes this? I called a handfull of contractors I found online or in the yellow pages, the answer was always the same: "Nope, can't help you, haven't built one in 15 years and only have a few old-timers on the payroll that even know how anymore".   I have to admit I was hoping for a bit more interest, but can I really blame them? With the stroke of a pen government regulators and industry decided minimal disturbance was best. The unintended outcome was many companies left the field and pursued other earthmoving activity or went out of business entirely.

Well what do you know? An oil company decides to drill with oil based mud down here and we are left with the only option of actually protecting the soils and surrounding land, by building a real honest to god lease. And that brings me back to Jay.

I met Jay when he worked for me up north around Rocky Mtn House a good 10-12 years back. Sometime ago he left that part of the country and took a real cowboy job on the Birdseye Ranch which abutts Waterton National Park. I found him again about 3 years ago when we drilled a few wells on the ranch. He knows what he is doing and the ranch had some equipment so he built the sites for me. Anyway on this latest job near Lethbridge I got Jay back yet again.

In my own defense we started construction on Saturday and I didn't know for sure until Monday that the rig wasn't coming till Thursday...the only problem was I told Jay when we started that it was coming on Wednesday. You know I hate deadlines, but for once it was nice to make someone else think the heat was on, and they work so quick, but I get called a fucker! Oh well, I can take it, and now Jay has the whole day  to himself tomorrow to make everything look pretty with no pesky rig move happening around him. Its good to be the boss sometimes...

 ROFLMAO!

It scares me...kill it with fire.

Darn... woke up this morning at 2:42am and been up ever since. I had a dream, don't normally remember them and this one is fading already. What to mention on a blog that is read by others, not much, but suffice to say it had to do with a girl 2 years in the past...when does it end?

Hey the title of this post was just a funny line I heard on the radio this morning (say it with a southern accent), by no means should it be morphed into having anything to do with the statement above.

I have been working out of Whitecourt Alberta lately. Its unchallenging work ..."take this dirt, haul it over there". Kinda boring and its been too cold to walk around comfortably, but I know I should have anyway. Watched a news report on diabetes and the ever increasing waistline of North Americans...turns out the best way to keep the pounds off is to eat raw vegetables, apparently they take work to digest and keeps you feeling full longer. I can attest to that, been losing a lot of weight the last the last couple of months, the rabbit food works.

Got a little bad news on the job front. Plastic liner trouble in Edson, some failures delayed a frac and the new one we finished a week ago may not be holding water. These friggin liners will be the death of me yet! We are probably going to a different supplier and installer for the next ones or change the approach entirely.

Got some advice from crazy the other day, I love it, she keeps me sane sometimes, she seemed to get really upset when I told her I changed some ``personal`` paperwork...I know, I know is all I could reply, but its the way I feel...I wonder if the dream was brought on by that exchange.

Got the GoPro cam, here is the first video:

Goodbye Jimmy

Jimmy Musil
July 2, 1970 – October 28, 2010

Last month I lost a friend. I met Jim when I was an equipment operator in BC during the mid 90's. My fondest memories of him are from the job where these pictures were taken. We were working "behind" Pink Mountain at Mile 143 of the Alaska Highway, not many can say that.


 It was such an adventure, the term "bowler" will forever have a new definition known only to me and him, one of those private jokes that cement friendships and make them last a lifetime... come what may.

Rest now Jim,
the mountains will always be there,
and the marks we made,
will show them you were here.

Thanks to rancholosmalulos for showing me how to properly embed the videos from youtube...this is probably the coolest thing about the rigs (in my opinion) rig move day is always exciting.

Back to some sort of normal

Some may have noticed that I took a break from all this online stuff, most probably did not. Afterall this is just my thing to vent and I like it that way...although everyone is welcome to read.

Been busy and actually had the best month I have ever had in this business, but you know it still seems like a fine line that I have to tread and that gets tedious. I'm just finishing a liner install job in Edson Alberta. I absolutely hate the can't do's of this world...I am going to keep the contractor anonymous, but have to say that rarely have I been in the presence of a company mentality that can figure out so many ways in which to do so little. This friggin liner has been a nightmare from hell and guess who gets the brunt of it when nothing gets done and money is still being spent?

Took a good hard fall the other morning coming out of the motel at 5:00am. I swear it looked like damp parking lot...it wasn't. Out the feet went and BAM!! Right on my back, computer case landed 10ft away and skittered across the pavement. I tucked my head in so that didn't crack, but my elbow and shoulder blades took a real shit-kickin...just started to notice my left thumb is sore and have no idea how that happened. Here is my shameless plug of the day: That laptop that went across the pavement? Well it was snug as a bug inside a Pelican protective briefcase, I highly recommend that if you have a laptop that you get one. Another one of the best purchases I ever made.

Speaking of new purchases, I have become entralled with a new camera and I am thinking very seriously of ordering it online as soon as I finish this blog entry. It is a High-Def, wearable and fully water proof cam called the Go-Pro Hero. From what I have heard and seen on youtube it is truly amazing, the possibilities for me are seemingly endless. I am getting tired of my low def, un-high tech cam that cost so much just a year and a half ago. For less money I can get the Go-Pro, have 1080p, 170 degree field of view and mount it anywhere. That is awesome to me.

Wasting time

Can't say the job has been going great...some of those feelings from last year of just packing it up and doing what I like have come back. Its very nice to have that option. I guess we will see what happens, but I have that old conflict where I see the work ahead and the money to be had and I bite my tongue once again. It will be busy and I am ready for it as far as my health goes, scars are doing good and all that.....just checked my email and have another 5 sites to spot so the total to build this fall/winter sits at 8 and believe me that is a busy build program with more to come...lots of companies promise big programs but they always seem to fall short.

I was disappointed when I started smoking after the hospital stay, but I got on a Champix perscription and it seems to be really kicking in, the need isn't there anymore, but the habit and needing my hands be busy remains. I don't find it enjoyable anymore, I try not to think of it in numbers but I am down a lot and would say its around half a pack or less a day. Some of the stress from work in last month really kicked my ass and I will need to work on that...smoking is not the answer. One good thing is that I won't be turning to food, the diabetes prevents that...no sugar and constantly watching the labels has me eating much better. It is hard, never realized how much crap I used to eat because it was easy and convenient.

Its nice to not worry about money so much, I knew this would be the outcome, but I still miss her every now and then, wonder how things have turned out for her...but it was a messed up situation and I was to blame because I enabled it for so long. It will be 2 years in December. Maybe another year and my future is wide open...

Not for those with a weak stomach....

Well its not that bad...its officially been a month since they cut me. I took my own dressing off at home because it came off almost by itself in the shower. This time I actually looked and have to say I got a little dizzy and almost puked. It was a shock to say the least, I felt really let down, up to now I was relying on what I heard from the nurses said and it always seemed more and more positive everyday. I guess they see this stuff a lot more than I do. .I just didn't realize how big the site was and how much they took from me. Its not a deformity or anything drastic like that, and the nurses assure me that it will even out and flatten down eventually and be almost scar free. I am talking about the wound on the inside of my leg, I just realized that imaginations could run wild if I didn't clarify that.

I have been driving to Grande Prairie every 2 days and I know I have mentioned something similar before but I have to say it again: There are so many friggin retards in BC and they all seem to drive in front of me. Or beside me, cutting me off in the passing lanes when I am already going 10kmph over....Mini-vans seem to be the worst and I have no idea why. I had one stupid bitch pull slowly past me right when the lane ended then look at me like I'm the idiot. I'll tell you I have never used the middle finger more in my life. WTF!? I'm not going to get mad if someone can at least do the speed limit when conditions are good, but I watch them text, talk animately with  passengers, wander in and out of their lane and drive for miles with a tail of traffic 500m long that can't pass because...well just because BC and its drivers and its road system suck. JUST GET OFF THE F***IN ROAD ALREADY! Ohhh and one more thing....the road construction at Tomslake. What a brainwave, they put in wider pullouts for exiting traffic, but those pull outs are now 250m of solid yellow where no passing is allowed. Multiply that by 4 pullouts and thats another kilometer of road where no passing is allowed. With all the traffic its now getting so dangerous with long lines of nose to tail traffic that in my personal opinion there will be even more deaths because of impatient drivers passing when they get fed up.

an odd thing happened.....

On the way to work on Monday afternoon I was just about to Valleyview going east when... BANG! My drivers side window on the pickup blew in and covered me in glass. Surprised is a word I didn't use. I stopped on the side of the highway and tried to figure things out. I was so close to Valleyview that I thought just for the heck of it I would make out a police report. I thought maybe someone was shooting at cars with a pellet gun, but I wasn't sure. I talked with my friend Dave the other day and he said in their company alone its happened 3 times. When the glass is dirty and mud hardens on the window sometimes it gets scored when the window goes up and down, all it takes is the pressure differential when a semi goes by to make it shatter. Makes sense to me, but I could have sworn that the semi had not gone by me when it broke....

So I went to work on Tuesday to survey those wells, it was good to get back. I went back to Grande Prairie on Wednesday to get the wound vac dressing changed then  drove all the way back to Edson to complete the surveying....and then, you probably guessed....Drove back to GP on friday to get the wornd vac changed again.

Funny thing about the Wound Vac. On Friday I decided to do it sans the drugs, big mistake. It seems the nurses decided that one place was healed a bit too much and had created a fold. They then decided it would be a great idea to burn it down with silver nitrate under the dressing....Sensitive area on the body and I could feel that ...and feel it ...and feel it some more like the dial on a stove being turned up, its a friggin day later and I can still feel it. Next time the drugs are going down BEFORE the change.

Anonymous rambling

Been getting out more and more...it feels good. I feel like I am shaking that feeling that I think we all get when we are not ourselves, for whatever reason. For me of course it was the sickness of last month. I keep thinking back to the first night in recovery and the poor guy next to me that was looking at 6 months in there and I only had to do half the month (and a bit of annoying out-patient work)...that kid was broken up and it was a bad scene.

On to other topics: I have to laugh, online life is a hoot sometimes...1+1 doesn't always make 2...the paintbrush  only hides so much. Positivity is good only if its true and you can back it up. This will only make sense to me and a really good youtube friend, but hey a laugh is a laugh and I'll take all I can get. Thanks for everything Janet.

Had a good talk with an old friend. Ken ain't computer savy and will never read this, but all the same it was good and he really seems to get the best out me. I was surprised that he wasn't surprised. It seems the oilfield really is such a small world, I will always be glad for the friends I have there...might be time to realize I don't live in a bubble and all the friends I need are already there.

Been thinking a lot about futures, me in particular, house design to be specific...Underground, south facing, ranch bungalow from the front view, mini-donkeys eating grass off the roof from the back view. That of course brings me to work and making it all happen. Wouldn't that be cool? 

Made the call, to the surveyors, and it seems I will be back at things on Tuesday after Labour Day. Three more wellsites to plot and that will eat up a good portion of my winter, woohoo! I like//love to be busy, now more than ever. I think I am way past drag-assing and complaining about work for a long while to come.

I feel like I am on a mission, the goal is very clear and socializing will take a distant backseat to everything else I do. LOL! I'll be like a robot...in addition to making the money and lots of it, I am going to be very selfish, if that can be a good word in this context. My goals and dreams come first, I don't need to explain myself to anyone...its very liberating. For too long I have been willing to give up what I want for others and their wacked out thoughts/personalities.

I have such a big advantage over others...I remember a talk some teacher I had said once: "You need to do (this and that), because the world is so competitive now" How untrue, take 10 classmates, 3 will be born losers and never rise above gas jockey and welfare, another 2 won't make it past 30 because the road was icy, 2 more will loose their minds and be chemically dependent  for the rest of their lives because a Dr told them they have problems instead of looking after themselves. That leaves just 3 people to compete for success. Well I know the other 2 and they have pursuits and careers so foreign to me it doesn't matter anymore. Hey I'm a realist, the oil biz and guys like me probably only have another 25 years, but I'll make mine in the meantime

Good day

Well its a good day. Happy to be out and about and very thankfull for my health which seems to be taking a turn for the better...I like being optomistic its so much better than dwelling on things that can only drag me down, things that I can't control.
We only live one life...Better to live for the good parts, I can't be bothered to sink into depression about very much (except the hospital stay, that sucked)...and for that I am glad.
So I am still doing the out-patient thing, need to get the wound vac changed every 2 days, just need to commute down to Grande Prairie for it...the home care nurses were very understanding and have done so much to accomodate me. For a service that I knew very little about it has been a godsend.
Feeling pretty upbeat, parts of my life have been topsy-turvey lately, but thats all done and my life seems to be going in a direction that I like. Can't wait to get back to work and make it all happen.

Saw some of my best friends on the trip up...funny how an illness makes time that I thought I didn't have.

ohh...and the lesson for the day is: Pride...always mean what you say and stick to it, I live by it...some would have had questions or begged...I don't, when its done its done.

so far so good so what?

Still in the Royal Alex...but there is a chance I will be discharged before the weekend or on the Monday after. They want to send me out with a $40,000 wound vac and seem unsure about my reliability. They seem to think that I am indigent and homeless because I live in my RV close to wherever the work is in the summer, even had me chat with a social worker... All the while I am thinking "WHAT THE FUCK!?" How do you tell someone " Hey...in a good year I can make more than any Dr. at your Hospital" but I don't do that because that would be uncouth. Sometimes I feel like screaming, these people, Dr's and nurses all, still have absolutely no clue who is paying the bills in this province. Like it or not its us in the oil industry that make the money and keep the economy going... I had a conversation with a male nurse this afternoon, good enough guy but had no clue about the problems in this province...a news story on TV about whether or not Alberta should have a PST prompted the response "Well they should get all the royalties they can and THEN bring in a PST" I didn't respond, but I was flabbergasted....he has no idea how much money left this province for good the last time they tried that, and then to make Alberta even more uncompetitive by bringing in a PST? Wow!

On a completely unrelated note: One good thing to come from the Hospital stay is that this is my 14th day free from smoking. So yah for me.

Royal Alex

Blogging from my hospital bed, with another couple of weeks on the horizon. So that infection that I told you about earlier and was getting treated in Edson turned out to be a lot worse...I was sent to Edmonton and operated on that night. Turns out the abscess on my leg was a close relative of flesh eating disease....the Dr told me right off the that that there is a chance a testicle or 2 has died and may need to be removed...flash forward, that never happened, Thank God, but I did go through 2 more operations the next 2 nights for deep cleaning and debriding. As of right now am getting the wound dressings and packing replaced twice a day, in room. I am on morphine 2 to 3 times a day depending on the pain level. It looks like I will be here for a long while yet...very strange, I feel so alone. Thats good right?

ummm....

Well a short update is in order:

Came down with a massive infection, have an IV in my hand and have to go into Edson hospital every 8 hours to get an antibiotic drip...I don't know if its helping much. the pain is intense, the only good thing so far is I could do the junkie thing if I had to...I thought I was afraid of needles, don't feel a thing...or the nurse is just that awesome.

So the bad thing about this is that I can't leave Edson, even though the job is mostly done, until I get this under control. So in addition to the whole scaring the shit out of me, its costing me over a $1000 a day in lost wages...I hope it gets better soon, I don't like this at all.

BC really sucks,

So I get to travel around a lot, hey 19,500 KMs in a little over 2 months is nothing to sneeze at. Anyway lately, due to the move last year, I seem to be in and out of BC and the difference between it and its more responsible neighbour Alberta is mind-boggling. Sometimes I get mad enough to write a letter to the editor, in this case the Alaska Highway News based out of Ft St John BC. Here it is, they printed it last week, I'm not looking for an award, I just get mad enough to write letters:

Dear Editor,

On a recent trip back to the province I was once again appalled at the state of the road system in Northern BC.
I see so many signs proclaiming the Government line that they are helping northern communities through infrastructure spending. That’s fine and good but not nearly enough compared to the amount of money taken out through resource revenue and taxation that disappears into southern bureaucracy coffers.
I would like to ask who in the applicable Ministry believes that none to one road slopes are adequate and safe. When the grass can’t be mowed by self propelled mechanical means they are unsafe. I see some mowing along the Alaska Highway has been done, I wonder if the Ministry has a special danger pay allotment for that type of work. Residents of Ft St John seem to think that the recent four-laning through town is a good yet all I see are 6ft ditches that will total any vehicle unfortunate enough to enter them. They are a mess and embarrassing to look at. Since when is the Ft St John plateau considered a flood area requiring such major and intensive drainage measures? I recall some shoulder widening that took place a few years back. The method of construction was to dump gravel over the shoulder then check the crown slope with a “special” 16 ft 2x4. Totally unacceptable and recent construction activities involving tendered southern contractors (using Ministry plans I will admit) are hardly any better
It shouldn’t take 3 hours to go from the Alberta border to Ft St John, yet that is what it sometimes takes. The Highway is overcrowded and well past its carrying capacity. Compounded by regulations that require some semi loads to be piloted here and not in Alberta it seems like the Government would rather create jobs through onerous regulation rather than safe infrastructure. It must be daunting for a professional truck driver to come into BC and have to deal with frustrated drivers, unsafe passing and abominations such as the South Taylor Hill and the scale at Mile 54. The Taylor hill has been a menace for more years than I have been alive and at the Mile 54 scale, drivers’ need to pull back onto a major artery with little traffic control and inadequate site lines on a hill. Northern residents deserve more. There should be a divided four lane highway from the border to Mile 55 and it should have been done 20 years ago
Yes the Government is really looking after northern residents, makes me wonder who is responsible I would like to thank them.

Rain out

Well I got the weekend off and a few days besides. Hectic very hectic, just never know what this job will throw at me. Got the Edson job done and am now finding out that it may not be drilled at all...doesn't matter to me, but its a shame just the same, really want to see the oil company do well or there is no future work.

Moved on up to Grande Cache and just about completed two abandonments before we got rained out. I love Grande Cache, pretty little mountain town, one of the few in Alberta. They have this annual event called the Canadian Death Race, some sort of ultra-marathon through the wilderness....I want to get the front license plate with the skull for my truck, because I can do that because I don't have a front provincial plate in Alberta unlike communist BC.

Anyway on rainout day last Friday I got an email to go view a site at Valleyview that needs 500m of muskeg pad road built before the 15th of July. I have to say one of THE best purchases I made this year was a $700 progran for my GPS. Its called Patch Map from Skybase Mapping. It lets me enter any LSD and will drive me right to that site, came in very handy this time. When I think of the old days (Like last year) and using my map book or calling the survey company for Lats and Longs, this is just so much easier.

Like I said its been hectic, I also had a job up at Smoky Lake again, moved a rig in on the 12km road that we built last year. What a nightmare....the road hasn't been used or maintained all year and then all this heavy traffic really f@cked things up....I am dreading getting the final report in order because we had to spend some money and all the rain really didn't help things.

Talking (chatting) with a good online friend tonight was nice, she reads the blog and I always look forward to chatting with her...so good advice Crazy, I will be sure to try and do it.

New Canadians

Just when I get discouraged about my lot in life, (not really much to complain about) I run into a situation that shows just how good some of us have it.

I was driving across Alberta to another job last night when I started to pick up radio chatter on Lad 4, for those that don't know the CB is virtually unused in Canada and most industrial endeavours use a VHF radio with assigned company channels. The Lad channels 1-4 are common frequencies that everyone has. Well these two brand new immigrant truck drivers were talking (I could tell by what sounded like an Eastern European and maybe an Asian accent) about their lives so far in Canada, What was amazing to me was they were speaking in newly acquired english and I don't even know one language :-)

These guys were working out of Edmonton, in high priced rented and probably illegal rooms with no close family. Through broken sentences and somewhat broken understanding they were passing on advice to each other about what they had learned so far. One guy wanted to bring his girlfriend from overseas but something went wrong and she had broken off the relationship. The other talked about his roomates and what it took to get along. I had to laugh when they started to discuss how to pick up Canadian girls from the bar or the poolhall.

if there is a new way...I'll be first in line

Finished the latest job, well almost anyway. Need to go back on Monday and put a plastic liner in the big water pit built beside the location in the picture.

So here I am, sitting in my trailer in Edson, in the rain, wondering which way to turn next. I have jobs to do but the weather has stalled them.

Got some alone time. Normally alone time is good, hell I am usually my own best company, but this is starting to suck. I have been thinking a lot lately about work and life and really wondering if the path laid out is the one I want to take. On one hand I get to be fairly independent and travel all over the Canadian oilpatch, and the money is very good....but I really have to ask if its worth it anymore. The guy that brought me into this current position, did it so he could take a job closer to home. I think he made the smarter decision. The money....money... is it worth having failed relationships and relatives that treat you like long lost friends? I don't know, it hasn't been all that good to me.

The oilpatch is like this: Live away from home for weeks or even a whole season, live camp to camp or motel to travel trailer, basically itinerant labour in your own country. If you have a family, make damn sure they are behind you or it will only end badly, a bitter experience that makes for difficult new beginnings. Time to shit or get off the pot so to speak. I can bitch and complain, and do it as good as anyone, but it's not helping. The question that goes through my mind again and again is: Do I want a family of my own and not be around to be a part of it?

I have an opportunity to work much closer to those I want to be around, but the lure of the current job is hard to break, I have been doing this aspect of my working life for 12 years now and I am more confident in it and my ability to do it well than I have ever been. I am good at it, I like it. But its making me dead inside. I have a hard time trying to care about anybody. Maybe the bitterness of my first go-around has not left me yet, probably only time and a few hard decisions will make it go away.

So far so good...so what?

Its been awhile and I have some èsplainin to do for not posting a single blog in the month of May. My bad...just got busy and it seemed like all the same sort of work as before.

Anyway I built a location up north, close to home for me and it was very cool. I got to hire some old friends. I also picked up the new pickup. And I pulled the travel trailer 793kms south to start another project near Edson Alberta.

It rained so much when we finally moved the drilling rig that if I could I would kiss my own ass for a little fotuitious foresight...I hummed and hawed over trucking in a scraper and finally did just that. Those wonderfull rubber tires made all the difference between a nicely packed lease and one that could have turned into a gigantic muddy mess when the monsoon came.

The new pick up is nice even for me. Its got the new 6.2l ford gas motor and that seems allright, would you believe I have already put 8000km on in a little over 2 weeks? It has heated and air conditioned seats, rear diff lock, a rearview camera and just about power everything else. Very nice...but I did test drive the new ford diesel and OMG!!! that thing has to seen to be believed...power like you know what, but just a bit more than I was prepared to spend.

Well pulling the trailer down was an adventure, the F250 can pull it at 120kmph but the mileage is just disgusting, about 8 miles to the gallon....on the other hand when not pulling a boat anchor it is very respectable and has a cool little mpg real time gauge that is definitely having an impact on my bad driving habits....awesome tech they have these days. I did have 1 blow out on the trailer so that was fun...I wondered why I could not get past a 100kmph and why was there all that smoke behind me...

Well thats about it this time around...The Edson job should last another week and then its either a job in Smoky Lake or I will head west to Grande Cache and start a few cleanup projects...looks like a very busy summer ahead

Lotsa Fun

Well still working....just finished up close to 4 weeks of operating and a little bit of fill in foreman for Shell south of FSJ. Good job but my knees really took a kickin this time around and I got the weekend off to recuperate...well that and I came in early on Friday afternoon to get my own vehicle out of the shop, it had been down for 3 weeks after the motor (V10) calved and the whole right bank basically needed to be replaced. Well I came in on Friday and wouldn't you know that Fort Motors the local Ford dealer wants a certified cheque before they would release it to me. Bad enough that it will cost $8800, but then to say it will be done at 5:00pm on a Friday AFTER the banks are closed....real nice....so here I sit on a Sunday still without my truck. I am even related to some of the people that work there AND I was born and raised in this town....now I am not saying that deserves better treatment, but maybe someone could remind them down at the dealer that some of us will NEVER buy a vehicle from them if thats they way they like to treat people....for myself, never have and never will deal in this town if I can help it, say goodbye to another sale bound for Alberta. Because you know thats what I plan to do next, buy new....I only fix things once, already dealing on another.

Oh and news from the job: The Groundbirch hillbillies struck again...we got ripped off one night, just like we did last summer. Some thieves stole about 500gals of diesel, 3 two way radios and a sat radio out of the machines....I hate thieves so much...My suggestion was to have someone lay in wait one night with a rifle...shoot out their block and have them hitch hike out of the bush...that way the RCMP should, well might....ummm...well maybe it would be easier for them to catch them....no guarantees of course it is the RCMP after all. But Shell won't go for it, some rule about firearms on the worksite or some such bullshit.

Working , just plain working

So I am back working in BC, operating equipment. Went out to a job near Stewart Lake. Huge site (For me anyway), its 240m x 140m with at least a 15m fill on one end. Got 3 627 cat scrapers 2 D8s and 2 155 Komatsu's, I was running a 155, but now I am filling in for the foreman who went on vacation. The 155, what to tell? Well it was rough. Was stuck in a hard rock borrow pit and all I can say is that I felt really beat up at the end of the day. Leaving at 4:30am and walking back in the door around 8:00pm doesn't leave much time for socializing or rest.

I'm an idiot

Well it had to happen...all my talk of road rage and being a great driver (in my own mind) went out the window.

The first instance happened last week while driving with my brother, I was pulled up behind a car turning right at a stoplight, I was busy talking to him, saw the car move and folowed it....only thing was that I went straight through a red light....no crash, no accident, just lucky. The worst part of all is that I have Alberta plates and this was BC...My brother and I have an ongoing war over which province has the worst drivers. I just let Alberta down, won't happen again...or?

Ya it happened again just the other day, but in my defense it was a new stoplight for that intersection and I had only been traveling through it for a couple of months, my learning curve is rather shallow. Well I pulled up to this redlight,which I really didn't see, looked both ways and pulled onto the highway....ooops! that was a red right....lucky again!

The Oops Effect

Got the last of the Alberta work done, the drilling rig is up on the Edson well and the Pembina well is ready for its rig.

Pembina was fun...got a call from Calgary one day, shortly after what we all thought was the end of the Pembina construction. I remember a conversation after we had surveyed saying something like: `The survey had to be ammended to get it 100m from a dry dugout to avoid trouble with the EUB and licensing`...OK....3 weeks go by, I build the site and a week after that the surveyors arrive to restake....OOPS!! and hence the reason for the call. The site was built in the wrong spot and we have tresspassed....Its the very last thing anyone in my position wants to hear. Things weren`t all bad and in the end everything was fixed, but its one of those things that happens that make the stress meter go off the dial.

The Edson location turned out very tight for the size of the rig and the fact we have a 5000m3 pit alongside, not the optimal conditions, but with a little tweaking and an early cleanup of the surface shale pit, they may have just enough room to operate the rest of the drilling program...fracing when the rig is gone will be another story...I have a sneaking feeling that I will be back soon to modify the site some more...attached is a video of the 2 sites

The waiting game

I finished up work on the Edson Alberta location. It was a good job, little challenging with the large water pit excavation that had to be incorporated onsite. and its going to be a tight fit to get the drilling rig moved on now....found out we are getting Patterson #53 and its a triple...jeez if I had known that....but oh well hindsight is always 20/20. I got the rig plan emailed and with the dimensions given it should fit, but only just. The contractor was good and I think we got all the room we could squeeze out of that hill.

The water pit was something else....Over 10 guys needed to drag and lay the liner (along with the excavator), and its the biggest one I have ever done. The idea is to make sure we have impermeability so the water stays in the pit. The water will be used for drilling activity, but its main function will be at completions time when they frac. An immense amount of water and sand will be pumped downhole all at once to open up the formation and let the gas out. Of course with the way my luck runs, it had to be the last hour of the day and someone gets hurt. One of the field tech hands from the liner company fell from his ladder when the pin supporting it pulled out of the ground. Turns out he suffered a strained ankle and didn't need medical attention, but it generated a lot of paperwork and me having to report and explain everything to many people I don't normally need to communicate with. Thank god he wasn't hurt bad, and I mean that for his sake, not because of the paperwork.

So anyway tomorrow I will be going back to that site to set the conductor with a rathole company and then shortly after that we will need to drill a water well and start filling the pit. In the meantime I have had a few days off but I didn't go back home because the drive is long and I would have had to almost turn around and come right back. Been staying at a local motel and making the calls to start another location in the coming days, hopefully I will have all the paperwork in hand by tomorrow and be able to start the day after.

Ravens

A short post this time.

I like to watch the ravens that frequent the jobsites...they are probably the smartest bird we have...I remember once when I was just a little catskinner I was operating a D7G In the winter, no cab, but if it was tarped in with the fan on suck and working hard it would boil you alive. Anyway...I was so thirsty and I only had 2 small drinking boxes of grape juice. They were also boiling so I thought it would be a good idea to bury them in a snowbank and come back for them later on. Around 3:00pm I returned and found a beak sized hole in each and all the juice sucked out. WTF! That dirty Sh&t hawk! The raven had come back and taken my badly needed juice....I ended up having to suck snow.

My Grader Life

An Internet friend (coalsmoke) asked me what I liked about running equipment and the grader in particular, I had to think about it a little bit, do what you love and love what you do sums it up for me. All you equipment operators out there know that there is sometimes a bit of ego and a lot of pride that comes along with the profession....and I am no exception, so here is an edited version of the note I sent back to him:

Well "S" the grader thing and me go back a long way....I have run the other stuff and am a fair hand at dozer and scraper although due to my size I will never be good at hoe, I just can't run the pedals and the joysticks safely at the same time without my legs being in the way. I was taught the grader by an uncle who was in my opinion one of the best. Its more than the clowns on highways do with them ( bunch of blade draggers ) For me its about straight tracks and perfection, I used to level locations just by feel and would get mad when someone brought out the transit or laser, don't know if i will get that good again......There is just so much the grader can do....If it doesn't roll or get stuck it should be able to do it....the fun is taking the machine to the absolute limit and getting a little scared....besides my tracks are usually the finished product and there is no better bragging rights than taking down a slope better than the dozer or even the hoe (And not leaving even a single tire track on a 100ft slope) At one time I was going to buy one. I am back in AB doing the supervision thing, hope to get some time in and bank some money for taxes, if it wasn't for that I really do think I would say F&ck the oil companies and just go back to working for a wage.....