A whole lot of, sad really. Oh well.

The following is a work of fiction 😉

 I Know What Happened.

Its been 15 Years, Wow. But now I know.

There’s this date, 15 years ago, Dec 23 2008, maybe you know it too, although, with what I finally figured out, maybe it never mattered to you at all. For a long time that date was everything to me.

I know what you did.

The bio on your company website, 

2005? 

TWO-THOUSAND-AND-FIVE??

Part owner? Owner? What? WTF! In 2005, That's kind of a problem. I guess that information wasn’t important enough to mention to me.

Ownership indicates buy-in and investment. With who's money?

Maybe you remember the constant drain on my bank accounts, I was doing it for you out of what I thought was love, but you? Help me understand. So the $8,000 mortgage down payment for your mother was? What happened? Did the "Partner" need quick money to fund the business?  Or maybe the newest snake-oil gadget dropped so let's call up the mark and give him a sob story? And the monthly deposits I made for years were for? Startup-overhead-inventory? What? 

You know exactly what you did to me. I was so deep in debt; it took years to dig myself out. I was collecting spare change to get to work, I was sleeping in my vehicle to save money. Eating out of gas stations. Borrowing from friends. Stressed the next call would be from the CRA to garnish or even seize my accounts. My father had a stoke back then and I didn't have the money to travel up and see him. I was too ashamed to ask anyone for more help.

The worry that I heard in your voice, fall of 2008, when I told you I had to concentrate on debt and wouldn't be able to fund you and your lifestyle {and apparently your "Company"} It wasn't worry for me, no, it turns out you were worried that the free money was coming to an end. Did you know that on Dec 23 2008 I gave you the last money I had that month? I put you ahead of my family, at Christmas, I wanted to surprise you, make your holiday better, but it would seem all I did was  cover  some "company" expenses?

But hey, it's all fine, I got really good at making deals with creditors, talking my way out of trouble. You gave up too soon. You could have wrung a few more years out of me, kept me hanging on, waiting.

The only thing I believe anymore is that maybe you did feel a little bad for me and that's why it stopped. Maybe there was a spark of something good in you that finally kicked in and ended my suffering. After Dec 23 2008 sadness turned to relief that you never called again. If you ever wondered the answer is 2 weeks. After 2 weeks I never once considered contacting you ever again.

But Holy F*ck! You actually did those things to me and I finally get it. While I'm not the fastest on the uptake, have to admit this made me laugh. My friends, my family, were right, I should have got away from you in the 90's when they told me to. I guess you’ll just have to believe me when I say that every single friend and family member that knew told me to shut you out. But I would always tell them they didn’t understand, this is different. But…

Such is the fool, I must have deserved it. You and JC probably had a good laugh. I’ll never know for sure, but was it for the entire time since 1996? The confidence scam I mean? Or did it just slowly happen over time?

Read through this blog, or don’t, it doesn’t matter. But this is you. This is what happened to me...After you. 

No worries, I’m not mad, I never was. I just wanted you to know that things turned out better than I ever thought possible and your part in any of my success is only as a hard earned lesson. I did good, do very well and found happiness despite wasting so many years of my life.

From: Me

To: Alana 

That thing I said I wrote...

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107 shifts

It has been a long time.

Truth be told I haven't missed this blog. That's weird hey? "Well why even leave it up?"

I don't know. Memories maybe...its not that old, but it does document some turbulent times, some eye opening times.

So what is new? Some may ask that. Quite a bit actually.

Family:

My folks are getting older, I'm worried about that. I have a family of my own and I worry about them too.

Job:

Switched employers reluctantly. I always said I like the junior oil guys, not so big, but just the right size. The people I have been with for the past 8 years treated me very good.

Well look at me, working for a major now. Been very busy, the money is unbelievable, I sleep in my own bed a night, but have a lot more responsibility. I can’t include so much work content online anymore and maybe thats for the better. Best I can do now is pictures on instagram @cdncatskinner

Maybe...




 

Apologies needed...

I haven't posted since May 2014, its now November. I thought about it from time to time. Lost interest...just like I lost interest in youtube. Several million views, but I’m moving on. If any are interested I am on instagram quite a bit now, look me up there. Same name, same attitude :-) @cdncatskinner

 

Might as well do some news: I am now a bonafide BC resident again, bought a house and everything. Just working out the drivers license changeover and that sort of thing. Couple of instigators in that decision. We were going to be evicted from our condo, the landlord wanted to do renovations and have us reapply at a higher rent. And the job that I was doing in Edson AB ended when the oil company sold out. They did however keep their BC lands and I am now working for the same people under a new name...45 minute drive from home...can't beat that.

 

I don't know if I will continue with the blog, I like the timeline feel and the interest some have, I see a lot of repeat readers. I want you to know that I appreciate that and I do apologize for disappearing.

Carefull what you wish for...

It has been a nightmare month. All I wanted was a good month off, work was really getting to me. It was so busy this last year. My tax return tells me so. I got the time off, then I got sick. Another bad infection deja vu 4 years ago repeated, not quite as bad as back then but still scary and concerning. It required surgery, endless IV antibiotic drips, numerous pokes and prods that left any dignity I might have regained, lying in the dust. I'm on the mend, slowly, with an extra hole that was not there before.

I am going back to work in a few days. Not feeling rested. Trying to organize the next jobs but I really don't feel like it. I need to get my own invoicing from last month turned in so I can get paid. Hoping I can find the energy this afternoon. Surgery kicks the shit out of me, I forgot about that. Tried going out for dinner a few times, half way through I'm sweating and tired, wondering why I even went in the first place. Yeah it sucks.
 

The blog post that wrote itself...

On youtube I am subbed to a man that does commentary on various things, mostly precious metals, but also other topics like the Keystone pipeline debate, that is raging in the environmental media down south at the moment...I haven't been commenting much lately, unless it is just a "well done" or some other positive support I can make. I haven't been causing fights on Youtube is what I am trying to say. I don't agree with this mans point of view, but I am glad we could have a conversation. Below are the comments back and forth between the two of us.

CDNcatskinner 17 hours ago

No offence intended but it sounds as though you have bought into the latest Hollywood funded environmental scare of the day....you know something for the really wealthy like Elaine from Seinfeld to really get behind and support, because she is oh so concerned about the environment unless it is her ox being gored of course (you know her dad is one of THE largest refiners in the US right?) So the Keystone is horrible, I get it. What if we changed the name to something else? Like I don't know..."Enviro-protect line". Would that suffice? Because as I am sure you are aware, there are 55,000 miles of trunk crude oil lines and another 40,000 miles of feeder lines in North America (not too mention an equal or greater number of natural gas lines) ...funny nobody seems to know the names of all those lines. Not that I have heard anyway. I take exception to your assertion that the Athabasca Oil SANDS is the largest environmental disaster...Fukishima and Chernobyl have no place in that standing? What about New York City? Paved over and visible from space it is an abomination to me. The source for your assertion is I am sure the environmental groups published lie that The OIL SANDS are larger than Florida or Great Britain...yes and? Of course they never elaborate that that is the size of the deposit and not the mineable area...Most of the deposit is too deep for surface mining and they must use other methods. I don't know where you got the idea that this product is only good for car diesels. When it gets to your refineries it is refined into any petro chemical product you can imagine. Damn it must suck to be an American with all those nasty refineries visible from space providing jobs and products that produce other jobs much in excess of the 800 you stated...I wouldn't mind having a few more of those refineries in Canada...sadly the NIMBY's got here first. Again no offence intended...I don't like MY ox being gored.

Read more (18 lrocky315w

15 hours ago

a  good deal of my information about the tar sand comes from employees. Yes I understand that a lot of this is gotten from underground. But they require chemicals and water and heat to extract it and that is where most of the pollution comes from.  Untill we realize that there is about 30 years supply known, what then.Well of course lets use up every drop and destroy more territory and then only find that we are then going to go to renewable sources. No not not a follower of whoever you think. I can produce articles I wrote in 1970 about our necessity to get off of fossil fuels.  And yes I'm aware of gas and petroleum pipelines crisscrossing America and of some of their failures.  Why not climb on the back of British Columbia. they don't want it and neither do I.

CDNcatskinner

2 hours ago

+rocky315w Look into it a bit farther Rocky. British Columbia isn't the utopia some believe, I know because I live there. BC isn't against pipelines, a line called the "Gateway" will be built for natural gas export to China or whoever wants to buy it. And no they aren't against an oil sands line, the stalemate is that they want a % of the royalties from the product flowing through the line and Alberta told them to get fucked. So why is the Gateway line going to be built? Because North Eastern BC, where I am from,has some of the largest untapped or barely tapped natural gas reserves in the world. It is huge. We support the rest of this wreck of a liberal fantasyland called British Columbia. So is the extraction of natural gas any less of an environmental risk than the Oil Sands? Land area used? I can tell you the answer is probably not. Those chemicals ect used to lighten up the oilsands to make diluent...some of them come from BC...they are mainly higher fractions in the hydro-carbon chain like condensate. and they don't get spilled out of the pipeline at jouneys end and wasted, they are refined and sent back or made into other products like maybe those packing peanuts in the unboxing videos or even the keys on your keyboard. So who is the evil doer? The consumer or the producer? Like it or not the oil industry is one of the last industries that pay a good wage and drives the GDP of both of our countries.

rocky315w

1 hour ago

if your a resident of Alaska you get a check every year because of the pipeline. Why wouldn't BC want a cut of the pie, its their streams etc that will be effected if something happens. Same for every state the keystone goes through they should all get their cut.

A little reminiscent...

Travelling down memory lane a bit lately. Been thinking about past work, finding that things have changed SO much. I miss it. Maybe we all long for the simpler, informative, learning periods of our lives. My memory is a timeline, everything I know, every experience is a reference back. Its why I like history so much, order in the chaos, only makes sense when looking back.

I had a weekend job working on a farm while in high-school, but work started for real in 1990. Fresh off the graduation ceremony an uncle took me on to do labor work in oilfield construction. I owe that man so much, he was a great teacher. I remember being picked up by a parts runner and driven far away to a bush camp located in Northern British Columbia. Still just a kid, I didn't know much about construction, but for some reason I always loved the heavy yellow iron. Me and my labor partner Kenny from Saskatchewan; hand pumped fuel into machines, wrangled cloth underlay in muskeg, towed culverts out to crossings with a tongue and dolly contraption, cleaned tracks at night and did lots of other things I have since forgotten. 90-90 was the number of the crew truck we drove, it was the ninetieth pick-up purchased by that contractor and the year was of course 1990. It was remarkable for one thing: It was basically the only truck that survived, intact, through the summer and into the winter on that job. So many were destroyed and broken, amazing in retrospect, it was wild. The job I first went out on was big. 120 kilometers of high grade road and a plant-site built for Canadian Hunter, an oil company that doesn't exist anymore. Its strange that the story I most repeat from that time is about the dirty consultant that worked for that oil company...few I have seen since have matched that mans penchant for crookedness, though I must admit that one just a few years back beat him by a longshot, maybe I will write about him one day. Their exploits taught me more about what not to be than anything else I have ever been witness to.

A few years and many jobs later it is the mid 90's. I am now working for a different construction contractor. ( great outfit, still much respect for them). Same type of work, away from town, staying in camp. I was running a brand new Champion 780 Series 4 road grader. Didn't mind it, a good machine if looked after. 

It was also at this time that I had started a long distance relationship with a girl I met and who would almost be the end of me (skip ahead 12 years on that mind timeline), if only I had known how it would end... (But that's history, this post is about work memories). Anyway I was opening line. It’s kind of like getting roads and trails ready for traffic before the drilling starts. All bush work, way out there. I liked it. Well one day the consultant comes up and says "We need you and the grader 100km's east by morning, here is a sketch I made that shows how you can get there cross country" So off I go into the dead of night, highballing, or high blading if you will, into a tunnel of darkness lit only by my floodlights. To show  how old I am (And its important to this story) I was listening to a mix cassette tape that misery timeline girl had made me from the club she worked at in the big city. Actually it was two tapes. Somewhere way down that cutline I stopped and got out of the machine to stretch. It was probably a couple hours later that I reached over to change the tape and...it wasn't there! I cherished those tapes, it was a connection that I had with the girl so far away, I was out of my mind. I wanted it back and the only possible answer to where it had gone is that I dropped it getting out of the grader way back down the line when I took the break. Young and dumb what do you think I did? Yes... I turned around and went back for it. Graders don't travel that fast, maybe 20 or 30 mph on a good road...this was a bush line, rough and windy with momentum killing hills through the wilderness. I got back to the place I had stopped and kicked around in the snow looking for that tape. I didn't find it. I get back in the grader and now there is a really good chance I will be late, any thoughts of a nap or breakfast are thrown out.

I got to the job in time. Had a splitting headache by the end of the day and...found the missing tape in my coat pocket where it had been all along

Almost there, but where

I came up with a new plan last month. I have gotten a little bored with the silver accumulation in the last half year. I still do it don't get me wrong, it would be monumentally stupid of me to divert my attention when prices are so low. If it was good enough for me to buy when it was double today's price, why not now? Little jaded I guess, I follow several silver channels on youtube and opinions abound on what makes the best precious metal investment. There are pure bullion stackers and there are numismatic people that collect the rarer or the potentially rare coins. Within these two factions are a multitude of subgroups and combinations of them both. That's my particular problem. I love what I buy, I like variety. I see the advantage of pure uncollectable bullion, but I also see that some plays in the numismatic or collectable world could be well worth the money down the road if they were to appreciate in value. The trouble is the conflict in paying more but not accumulating as much. So I am doomed to settle in between...or maybe not.

I remember 25 years ago thinking about having gold. I wanted it in my hands. I wanted the security, I wanted the metal. Back then I never did anything about it, as a typical young adult, I spent my money on consumer goods and things I really could have lived without. I spent foolishly as previous posts can attest. I racked up unsecured debt. If only I had started buying back then, prices were at historical lows. Hindsight is a bitch. Well starting on October 1st of this year I decided to purchase 1 ounce of gold per month in the lowest cost form that "I like". You know what I will have in one year? That's right: 12 ounces of gold, (well more than that because I already had some). I think this is attainable. To think that I used to spend double that per month trying to keep my credit cards afloat.

The Royal Canadian Mint 1oz wafer bar is 24ca (.9999). It is a bullion product I won't mind liquidating when the time comes. It is guaranteed savings, as in: I am actually putting money away, I know that PM's are volatile. The price could go down more and possibly stay down for many years...but ask yourself this: Does a dollar buy what it did 5 years ago or how about 20? The mainstream media and the banks like to report that inflation and interest rates are stagnant or non-existent. Really? I pay more money for smaller packages of food. I pay almost triple what I paid for a liter of gas than I did 20 years ago. Taxes have gone up, housing goes up every year. I could go on, but what is the point. If I put $1400 into the bank and expected to make a return on investment in 20 years would I have made any money? No. Its as simple as that. My dollar will be worth less. If I have gold and silver what do I have in 20 years? I have exactly the amount of gold and silver that I bought.

Some will think this foolish, I don't mind. Some of those same people lost more than half their net worth in the 2008 banking debacle and it wasn't just the banks, it was all that the banks did and were involved in...and that is everything.

I am now better off than most of the population because I am saving something. Many don't do it and expect the next generation to fund their lives. How much longer can debt spending last? What is the magic number where those that are owed the money say this is enough, this is unsustainable? Don't believe me? Well the USA just about went into default this month, the politicians kicked the can a few months down the road and these events are getting closer together with every new crisis  The currencies we have now will not be around in twenty years, there will be a settling of accounts and it won't be pretty.

 
 
 
 
 

 

 

Up, Up, anyways.

Whoa!? I last posted in May? It has been awhile. No life altering facts to report, no major milestones achieved. Just working away...away from home with little break.

 Home for the odd weekend, but not much down time despite the terrible summer weather we have been slogging through. Yes the broken record continues to play. So tired of it. Occasionally I dream of a different career, or no career at all, maybe go bottle picking...yeah that's going to happen. Not.

I have been working in a central area of Alberta, only had to leave twice to work in other parts. Nice not to have to travel so much this year...other than driving back to BC when I can.

Actually I lied, I did achieve a milestone this summer, well two when I think about it: One year smoke free and I went to the dentist for the first time since I was thirteen. I continue to take Nicorette gum (seems no matter what I still need a vice to deal with the addiction). And the dentist said I have a couple of cavities that need attention, all in all not too bad for such a long absence.

My "team" at the clinic wanted me to go because teeth are really important to overall health, I went because I was tired of making excuses to them and my family. I got put on a new drug at the last checkup. Its injectable and that kind of put me off, but its not so bad. Barely feel it going in. I think I could even manage insulin if they decide that route in the future. In my mind, however, that would be a failure. The long term goal is to be off the meds completely through diet and exercise. I hope to do better and the new injection med has the potential to achieve the goal. Never feel hungry, how's that for a side effect? Well it slows down the digestion and helps regulate the release of sugars or something like that...I researched it a bit, understood it, but can't explain it. I do know I feel kind of like I have always eaten fully when I haven't at all?!.. weird.

 

My freedom day

So it turns out that May 3 is my hypothetical "Tax Freedom" day. I signed my e-file papers at the accountants, got the slip that told me how much I owed for 2012, went out to my pick-up...and SCREAMED! No not really...I knew how much I was paying, actually I fired up the laptop, logged into my bank account and decided I could pay it out. It feels good and bad. Good that I won't have the Rev-Can Mafia calling about payment, but bad that I had to pay out so much. Watching the news this week I found out that Revenue Canada is owed something like 30 BILLION in delinquent tax. In a related story apparently Canada can build a new Naval ship for 280 million when Norway can float the exact same design, to the same standard for 90 million...Way to go Canada! So much corruption and incompetence.

Didn't get much of a Spring Break-up "break" this year. Of the 2 weeks I did have, I was sick with the flu for half of it. That is the 3rd time this winter and I got a flu shot last November...not doing that again. I am back in Edson Alberta, we are building 900m of road and a 2 well pad. The managers want to get it built so they can get the drilling rig off the last location and start fracing. Just got another well license and I have to get a bid sheet together and off to the contractors for that one...it sounds like this "pre-build" will turn into a continuous work routine on into the summer...well at least I am free. A good portion of this summers cheques will be going towards the house down payment fund.

SweaterBear will be happy to know I was thwarted this morning trying to buy more gold online :-) Can't put more than $1500 on a credit card order and I was too lazy to get into the bank and set up a money order. $1500? WTF? that's not even an ounce...so I gave up and traveled an hour to get my taxes paid.

I will just have to be satisfied with gold silver porn for a little while.

Pomeroy Inn & Suites...terrible but,

That’s just fine, my shadow will never darken your doorway again.
I booked a room online recently; My family was going to meet me in Dawson Creek B.C. I thought:  Well I stayed in almost every motel chain known, why not try Pomeroy Inn and Suites and see what they are like.

I googled Pomeroy Inn and Suites, followed the link for Dawson Creek and filled out the information. I booked a king suite with adjoining bedroom for the kids. Days later I show up and try to check in. I waited in a line-up of one, consisting of myself, for 10 minutes while a disgruntled former employee quizzed the front desk clerk about her pay cheque. Finally I make it to the desk only they have no record of a reservation. I check my confirmation number, turns out the online link has checked me into the Grande Prairie version of Pomeroy Inn and Suites (I know this because the Dawson Creek Pomeroy Inn and Suites front desk clerk looked up the confirmation number). The front desk clerk informs me that I can have a double queen room for the same price as the king at the Grande Prairie Pomeroy Inn And Suites…I am not happy but oh well its only one night. While we are walking to the room on the 3rd floor a pair of large dogs, behind a door two rooms from ours, decide to bark…loudly…oh well ,its just for one night I am sure the owners will quieten them down.  We drop our things and head out for the night…the dogs… they start barking again when we walk down the hallway and again when we come back to the room at midnight…actually they bark every FUCKING time someone walks down the hallway.
I leave early the next morning to go back to work, the family will follow later. At 9:30 am I receive a call from the Grande Prairie Pomeroy Inn and Suites informing me that I will be paying for the room that was booked in Grande Prairie that I did not stay in…following this? The call took a decidedly downward turn as I informed the Grande Prairie Pomeroy Inns and Suites manager of what a shitty overall operation they run…when she had the gall to ask me where I would like the invoice sent I ended the call, filled with expletives up to that point, with a final: FUCK YOU!
I make no apologies…after I had calmed down I phoned the manager of the Dawson Creek Pomeroy Inn and Suites…I re-iterated, without using foul language this time why I would never be staying at any Pomeroy Inn and Suites anywhere ever again. I told them that I know I am a nobody but I do spent $10,000-$15,000 a year on motel accommodation when at work. I said your chain doesn't seem to appreciate that but what you will appreciate are the bad reviews that show up online when something is tagged correctly and starts appearing in searches
…I happen to know how to do that “Pomeroy Inn and Suites”… see what I did right there? Wonder why I mentioned the full name umpteen times already? And this is just on my little blog, wait till I have time to visit the motel review sites…I read reviews…do you? Pomeroy Inn and Suites? If I was a journalist this would be called a hatchet job...just glad I could provide you with the same service you provided me...Pomeroy Inn and Suites.

Sad...

Haven't published a blog since December of 2012. Not good I know.

As a group our company received the worst news last week. One of our Drilling Engineers, the guy that I was directly involved with for the last 3 years, lost his life in a horrible farm accident. My thoughts and condolences go out to his family. The oil industry will miss him. That is a strong statement in a job that gives little thanks and is only concerned with what have you done for me "lately", but in his case it is true. We are less without him. Rest in peace Lyle.

I'm going to cut this one short, anything else I write, on any other subject, diminishes the memory, its Lyle's day. His funeral is this afternoon.

Slammed...

I am going to make a call soon...like this afternoon. I will be phoning my Drilling Manager and putting forth a case for me to take the 16th and 17th of December off. I will need to find a replacement. I will need to pay the replacement out of my own pocket (How many jobs require that?).

Need the time off to attend the Little One's dance performance and a show that her choir group will be putting on. I promised and promises are hard to keep in this business, but this one will be kept.

This last run has been very busy. Since I came back almost a month ago the oil company has decided to bring in another drilling rig. We have to keep ahead of two again. Not so easy when the average drill time is around 25 to 28 days. Every month a new site must be ready for each rig. Thankfully the build we finished last week will have 2 wells drilled consecutively on the same pad. This will give a bit of breathing room. Unfortunately the other rig we brought in last month will need a home before Christmas. I am scrambling now and have just started the build today...right when I thought I would be done and homeward bound.

In addition to lease site preparation the oil company has thrown a bunch of new survey requests out. (this  is adding to the backlog of sites that we already have plans for). I have been up to Red Earth and down here in Edson with survey crews trying to get them all completed (That reminds me that I did not submit a construction cost estimate for the Red Earth job yet, I normally refuse to estimate without a survey plan in hand, but the plan came in on Friday). I wish I had my tracks on the quad but the dealer put installation off until the 17th, I have a friend that will take the quad in that morning. Tracks would have been very useful this week. Did I mention I rolled the darn thing off my pickup while unloading? No? Well my Facebook friends were treated to the shin injury photo. I will save the details and the picture for there. Will be nice to bring my ramps down when I come back in 3 days, the borrowed ones shit out on me which is why the quad rolled. They will need modification. The tracks will make it a lot longer...have to figure that out another day 

Nervous habit

I came back to work after too little time off. Had fun with PG and the kids, did some Christmas shopping. Excited about it, mostly done, just put myself in cruise and wait for it to happen now. That is a new one for me, I'm usually the one that is out a few days before x-mas, spending too much to make up for the lack of my thoughtfulness. This time it was good to think about it and do some careful research for once.

PG and I bought something together that is going to help out a whole bunch: Purchased a sea-can. 20-footer, brand new. Had it hauled out to my folks place and put it by the barn. Its going to be used for storage. In lieu of a house of our own it is the best thing for right now and will help get organized. Already hauled some stuff over and its in use.

Today is not the best. I traveled down yesterday, took my time because of the icy roads, also slow because I was stopping constantly to send email or make phone calls for the new job that I kicked off today. I really don't know how I get things done sometimes...no plan, just make a few calls. For some reason unknown to me they seem to be in order. I was able to bid the job out to four contractors on short notice and the prices all came in today. I got some appointments set up with TransCanada Pipeline and Talisman reps and those normally take 72 hours before they will even talk. I got my logger taking down the wood, the labourers were out to get the wire fences down and the contractor is coming tomorrow to start moving dirt. Wow I can't believe it, something isn't right....

Yup...looked at my email today, another prog came out and Junior Oil Company wants to scout and survey a new location in Red Earth. Some say its the armpit of Alberta, (the Asshole position is currently held by Rainbow Lake or Fox Vegas depending on your point of view)...I just say F&*K!! I do not want to do it...I do not want work there, travel there or any other there you can think of...I had a hard and fast rule once that I don't work north of HWY 43. Last year Slave Lake was enough of a pain in my ass...Red Earth is just that much more. Farther out, living in camp, mosquitoes and rain in the summer...desolate winter and all that comes with it when civilization is 3 hours away by fast car... and that only gets me back to Slave. The problem is I only told the outfit I work for about my rule...they have nothing to do with Junior Oil Company...Junior don't know about my hang-ups. Damn this is going to suck. I found myself reaching for a non existent cigarette pack this afternoon...must be nervous stress.

So I went out and bought some tracks for my quad today, going to need them to travel around with surveyors in the snow. Can't get them put on my quad until late next week and that will probably be too late...have to rent a snowmobile in the mean time.

I got the Tatou 4S system, from what I have read they are a good contraption, usable all year long and cost less that the Bombardier Apache tracks. We will see.

Testy...in all things subliminal.

Early morning Test Flare, West Central Alberta

I am expecting a slow down, (hopefully). We (the oil company I work for) have 2 drilling rigs going in Alberta, one will be leaving soon and a 3rd has already been released from a location in British Columbia.

It's hard to stay ahead of them and still have a reasonable amount of ...well "Life". I will be glad to get a month or two to wind down. Just chill...I don't know if it will work that way, I know it wouldn't hurt my feelings any.

Somehow we seem to put our worth in the job we do, how busy we are and how much or how little we sacrifice to make money. I know I have said it before: The oilfield life is hard for others to understand. The time away from family and friends...heck I can't even say I have many friends outside of work. My family understands because I grew up with a father that was away from home just as much if not more than I am now. New family not so much. It is very hard on relationships, and its hard for those that grew up in a 9 to 5 home to have to say goodbye for weeks or even months at a time. Its foreign, its alien.

I had a milestone birthday this past summer and some questions I have been secretly asking myself have been on my mind more than ever. Is this worth it? Am I greedy? Is there any life change I can make that will allow a "normal" life? Can the oilpatch survive and do my job without me? I say that last one tongue in cheek because I already know the answer. That's what it all boils down to though isn't it? If I say no to the next job...I want to take a month off, I want scheduled days off, I want to be able to plan a better life...won't I just get replaced and loose my place in line by some other schmuck who will do it better and with less demands than I would make?

I hate... I absolutely loath some of the people that do the same work as I do. They are greedy...and egotistical. They will stab you in the back to get a step ahead. They will slag your work. Whiny small minded bitches that like to brag.

I hate that I am becoming that.

Doing something because it's hard...not easy

In case some were wondering I am still plucking away on my Banjo "Lonesome". I'm learning a bit more every time I sit down with her. It has been a difficult yet interesting experience so far.

I'm coming at it from zero musical ability. I'm not even sure if I am doing anything right, I could even be tone deaf, I just don't know. The sense of satisfaction when I finally learn a lick or a short tune is good though and makes my happy. I know a bit of dueling banjos, I learned the G Lick enough to do it eyes closed and I know most of the rolls; finally cracking the secret of the alternating thumb roll last week made me ecstatic. If you understand what I just related you will find it very odd that I know the G lick yet don't know the very basic finger picking patterns. And that is why:

I need lessons. Even on my own I have had to beat out some bad habits that started almost immediately. One example is that I had read or heard that the little finger on the right hand should be anchored...well the bottom of the bridge seemed like a good place for the bugger to stay. Turns out that is wrong and will mute the full sound of possibilities. Trying to relearn what I had learned with a different little finger position set me back a long ways but its good now. I really do need lessons, scheduled one on one would be great but is impossible with my current job.

 I got a beginner lesson book when I bought Lonesome but found that it can only take me so far if I can't hear what it is supposed to sound like. My next source of learning material was Youtube, and that works to a degree, but little things such as exercises, proper hand position ect....are not always taught properly. Though there are some very good instructors on Youtube, what I have found was that most of the them will only show a little as an enticement to get me to buy a lesson or program. I ended up buying some online lessons. I settled on the Tony Trisckha School of Banjo. It is an online program that could take me from beginner to more advance playing if I wanted. It seems alright so far, there are video lessons with tabs, then when I feel up to it I can record my playing on webcam and have Tony or another teacher actually critique it and give me pointers on how to improve.

Of course as with anything worth doing well, it takes perseverance and practice to get better. That is what I am lacking the most right now and it is disappointing to me. I am happy in the sense that I have not given up, but there are gaps when I just don't pick Lonesome up enough, in my opinion.

As I sit here at work watching the equipment move dirt back and forth there seems like no time like the present to set a few more goals, so here s one: In 6 months I want to know a whole song...not some simple little tune, but a substantial song that shows some progression.

Boo F**k*n Hoo

I got another comment from a hippy on youtube today. Another know-it-all brain washed piece of .... Said he was unsubbing, called me ignorant, said I should show some respect for "Mother Earth" Oh yes the mantra of the unwashed... Used as if it is a holy phrase, used like a curse on those they feel do not show as much feeling and concern for the planet as "they" do.

I have a problem with that type of thinking. I have a problem with the environmental movement and the creeping way it has of becoming mainstream thinking. It's because I have some pride and a little bit of self respect. I am not a hypocrite  I live in a western society and realize that there is the real world and there is the fantasy guilt ridden enviro-hippy world. That fantasy world isn't just populated by the stereo-typical dirty acid baked loser anymore. With the advent of massive culture swindlers like Al Gore and David Suzuki that profit from the environmental guilt of others, it seems that anyone can now be a hypocritical enviro-hippy. 

These are the people that tell you to recycle but fail to mention the energy put in is more than the energy saved. These are the Prius owners smug in their sh*t-boxes that fail to realize the damage done to exploit rare earth minerals found in the battery, and fail to mention the toxic mess left behind when the battery is worn out. I have a problem turning my lights off for an hour every year like it somehow helps to raise awareness of the electrical toll our western society puts on our "environment". Yes like that makes a difference especially when the diligent modern enviros then turn the lights back on and microwave their hot pockets for a late night snack. Padding back to the bedroom on heated floors to sleep until they awake the next day to visit Wallmart way out in the suburbs, save a few bucks buying Chinese merchandise, never giving a second thought to the rampant slave labour, over population and environmental destruction that is occurring at an exponential rate overseas.

I have to laugh whenever I am criticized by the holier than thou environmentalists. I laugh because these keyboard commandos comment back to me using a keyboard ...get it? It is made of plastic, where does plastic come from dumbass? PETRO-CHEMICALS. There is simply no argument that can win once that fact is realized. Should not the church of Mother Earth forsake all modern convenience? If they do I will never hear from them...and viola the hippy dilemma is solved and the point is moot. 

No I'm not a hypocrite, not a hippy. Just someone that realizes all too well how the real world operates and tries to make a living like everyone else no matter how high the bullsh*t is stacked in front of me

Back on track...

VE Brandl 772GP JD Grader at the Sunrise job

Been awhile since I posted anything to my blog, I do believe I missed the entire month of August. Things going along the same for the most part. Had a run in with a new love...grader love, as in a brand new 772GP John Deere that I was allowed to run for 5 days when my old contractor friends in BC won the latest location bid that I had to construct up there. "Up there", what does that even mean? Means I'm working in Central Alberta for the most part with the odd trip back "Home", only this time it was for a job that I was supervising for Junior oil company. Loved that grader so much that I wanted to stay, take a cut in pay go operate to be around family for once in the last 15 years. I joked with my bosses a few years ago that if they bought a G model John Deere grader I would quit what I was doing and come back as long as I was the only one to sit in the seat. The joke almost became a reality, but I have no reason to go yet. I'm not pissed off, jobs are going relatively well for Junior Oil Company and I still want the consulting money. So nice to have choices in this job environment, not everyone has that.

Mystery character?

I had my brother start on some character work for the idea I mentioned in the last blog and this is the very early beginnings of what we have planned. The little guys name and occupation have yet to be revealed. Some may have guessed, but I'm still letting the premise percolate for a time before I reveal everything. Its a good start. 

Catskinner comes to life...

I don't know what I can say about the weather that doesn't make me sound like a broken record...and we did break some records. The rain has been unbelievable in June and July. Work a day and a half, shut down for three.

The Strathcona job finished drilling and I was asked by a manager to dry the site out then be on-hand for the rig move. Oh goddammit! I don't want anything to do with rig movers other than  floating around to take pictures of their cool trucks. Rig moves are dangerous, the last thing I want to be is the guy that the hammer falls on when an incident occurs. Thankfully it went well...except for one thing: We knew the truck pictured above might need some help around a few corners. As it turned out the bed truck that could have done the pulling was behind and had no way to get in front on the narrow road. The truck push comes up and asks if the dozer could be out front, I said yes but that I would prefer that he did not go past the gate. About an hour later I got a call from the contractor manager and he is quite IRATE. The point of the phone call is to find out if I sent the dozer out onto the county gravel. I said I never but I'm behind the rig and can't see what they have done. Turns out the truck push did walk the cat over the texas gate and out onto the county road. Apparently the county has informed the contractor that they are now looking at a $20,000 fine for having a track machine on one of their roads. YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! I know how they found out: Our resident landowner (remember ol' greedy gopher guts from a previous post?) Had to be him. He called the county and like the rat he is ratted on us. I'm mad. The contractor is mad...the truck push is in shit. Everything turned out OK in the end. I had to get a grader out pronto to fix 10m of barely visible tracks.

I got 2 days off once things calmed down to just one rained out job (that is 2 weeks behind schedule and 26 days long so far). I went home, that was nice but way too short. I had one thing to arrange before I went: I have had a young friend on youtube that has wanted to meet up with me for a few years now. Turns out that another friend of his that I also know from youtube was out visiting him from Newfoundland. They would be in Grande Prairie when I come through so I texted him and set up lunch. It was nice meeting Nigel and Tyler they are equipment fanatics just like me so we had lots to talk about...check out their youtube channels:

http://www.youtube.com/user/heavyhauler16
http://www.youtube.com/user/WesternStar4900SA

Another eventful thing worth mentioning is forgetting my laptop when I came back to work, oh well I hated the long drive back, but I got to spend another day with PG and the kids. ;-)

I have this idea that I am trying to flesh out...youtube has offered me a "store" button on my catskinner channel. I thought why not, if the product is good and people want to wear it or drink from it...why not have some fun branding the name and a character, it'll be an adventure and a new hobby for me. Got to warn you though, the things I find funny usually fall on the side of vulgarity and very poor taste. I expect nothing less and if the ideas I have down on paper so far are any indication....

The reneged deal

This is a hard entry to write and for that reason no companies or people will be named. Like the last post mentioned, June has been a tough month. The pressure is building to get things built at work and the weather has not been cooperating.

I have a certain job that needs to be done and for a variety of reasons it is not a good one. I'm required to get competitive quotes from three contractors and despite the language in my bid sheet, low cost bid "usually" trumps all other considerations. In the bid I describe what I want, what is expected and what the conditions are. To be honest the quote I put out was not worded or explained as well as it should have been, however personal phone conversations I had with each of the bidders were used for further clarification before the job was awarded. That is an important point as you will discover later on.

The job consisted of half a kilometer of road and a lease location to be padded with hauled fill from a "borrow" pit on a muskeg (low-ground northern swamp) Due to some environmental concerns with the local wildlife I could not use the "borrow" pit I had selected and had to designate another not so suitable area for this purpose. There was some confusion because the eliminated "borrow" still appeared on the survey plan the contractors were using to bid from, but that had been cleared up.

Onto the job: The contractor involved was one I had a history with and I trusted them. The lead catskinner was one I know...I get along with him, but to put it simply he has a union mentality that doesn't go over so well in the oilpatch. We get started on the job. It's wet as expected and even wetter because of the recent rains. The material in the borrow pit is silty the first foot or three, gets better and then runs water as the hard shale layer is reached. Its not an easy problem to solve. I call the companies manager who happens to be the owners son, (I'll call him Junior from here on in). I tell Junior two days into the job that maybe he should come to the site and have a meeting. I'm concerned, I'm not out here to break contractors or see that they loose money, but in a competitive bid world you take your chances. I could see that if something wasn't done they could loose big time. We have the meeting, discussed things heatedly and found what I thought was a solution. It involved me paying for an extra machine, labourers and water pumps to help them stay ahead of the water infiltration while they dug for fill. Junior approaches me later and asks me if I would consider doing the entire job by the hour, I tell him that I don't like that idea, you bid the job, I'm willing to help but that's it. It's strange to me that the extra $100,000 Junior thinks they might be out would have put their bid in second place on the original bid list. I get a call from Lead Catskinner towards the end of the day, despite the meeting everything is impossible to him. We have another meeting between the two of us and I reiterate the plan that will work but he just can't envision it and continually tries to champion his plan that won't work without going by the hour.

That night Junior sends me a letter on their company letterhead. For the most part it outlines why they will not honor their bid. He had someone at head office help him write it. The language is very respectful but with a threatening undertone. The letter was bad enough. Not honoring the bid is strike two. The part that got me worked up enough to throw them entirely off the job was a little paragraph describing the procedure to de-water the area and what environmental authorities should be contacted beforehand. Seems logical right? Seems benign right? Just a helpful suggestion... No. I read between the lines. What I see is a contractor trying to bully me into hourly work. I see a contractor threatening to report me if by chance they don't continue to do the work by the hour and I go with someone else. It tells me that they will come out like a thief in the night and tattletail. De-watering was never a concern of mine. There are steps to follow. I don't need to be schooled by Junior (who worked on a job of mine just after graduating from diapers).

So I have been threatened...the reasons for reneging listed in the letter are false and only used to make their case for hourly work seem better than it is. What can I do?

I think about it for an hour and calm down. I inform my manager of the situation and write the following response email to their letter:

 Please email field tickets for my signature reflecting the machine hours worked over the last 3 days along with subsistence costs, mob demob and travel time the operators may require.


You may demob your equipment at your convenience, weather permitting. Please abide by the 30kmph speed limit when driving past the residences on the gravel road.


As a side note I received a call from the owner a day later (He was out of the country). I got an apology. He said the letter should never have been sent. I said our friendship was still intact, I valued him as a friend, but the chances of ever working for this particular oil company again were over. Its sad, I hope Junior learned a lesson.

Stress reflection

June monsoons' have arrived...as June always seems to do. Its predictable and unpredictable in the most unforgiving way. I am normally a calm, take it as it happens type muppet, but the rains and delay to my work are starting to eat away at any confidence I might have had before. Its like this every year.

I have 4 locations to do before the end of June, we have had very few days this month without rain...not good. I don't think I have ever had 4 (substantial) jobs that had to be started at the same time. My pick-up or "office" is a mess as I try to correlate files, make the proper notifications, phone the people that need to be phoned and try to plan ahead.

I freak myself out sometimes trying to second guess my cluttered mind. "Did I do a first call?" "which one is the drilling rig going to first?" "Did I tell this landowner I want to start work?...no dammit that's the other job...you know...the one you haven't started because you were waiting for something to come over email" Leaving messages for people that don't seem to be tied to the phone like "YOU" are.

And then the rain...when it rains you are shut down. The equipment is parked...and you wait. The forecast says its going to be a couple of days before it clears Wish you could go home but that 4th job, you know the one with the extra special greedy landowner that wanted his entry cheque early? Smart you went and planned on Tuesday to take it to him on Friday, maybe kill 2 birds with one stone, get it over with so that proper preparations could be made. Seemed like a good plan. Rain...so here you sit when you could have been travelling home. Can't break an appointment and rile up ol' greedy gopher guts. No he wants his money NOW! Even got your cell number and called to see when he could have it. Not the way its supposed to work, but oh well...

RAIN! and its Wednesday...no way to travel home 700km's that way for 2 days when you are supposed to be 300km's the other way...bright and early...Friday in the AM.

FML ;-(

I got bad gas and the sound that came out was "FORD!"

Maybe I will get a few snarky remarks from friends, maybe I will get some weird looks from family, but I don't care, I am going to say it: Ford sucks, but I can't change brands. I've driven all the other makes, the only one that works in the bush consistently is Ford... for better or worse.

The number one grievance this time around is the fact that I bought an extended warranty policy that is almost useless because I can't afford to book an appointment 1-2 weeks in advance. I never know where I will be or what dealer I will be closest too. Ford states that the warranty is North American wide, but just try to book at any dealer other than the one you bought from and see how you get treated. I feel like I am always low on the totem pole of priorities when I try to get work done.

I came home from the latest job the other day. I have taken to going different routes, trying to find the fastest most direct road with as little aggravating traffic as possible. So this time I came through the Alberta BC border at Baytree, and like always I try to fill up in Alberta so I don't contribute or pay into any socialist British Columbia tax hole and their ongoing green-hippy-bullshit adventures in fleecing the evil motoring public. Anyway I stop at Baytree for what I thought was a good deal, hey $1.14 per liter as opposed to $1.25 in communist BC is a good deal or so I thought. Wrong. Starting my pickup the next day proved troublesome. I got some bad gas. I should have known better...little podunk gas station out in the middle of nowhere with few customers equals slow turnaround and stale water logged gasoline.

And that brings me to the number two grievance against Ford...the dealer in my hometown called Fort Motors. A look back in this blog will show just one instance of how they fucked me over, you will have to take my word that that wasn't the only time. Service is not job #1 there. It pisses me off that in a time of need not even my shadow will darken their doorway. Maybe it's my fault that I have some scruples in who gets my hard earned money, but even if it hurts me in the end it makes me happy that it will never be this dealer. I am proud of the fact that I have never bought a vehicle from them and never will.

I found a private mechanic to scan the codes...misfire on all and random cylinders along with the story and symptoms came to the conclusion of bad gas, I was told to get some fuel conditioner and run the tank out. Its still not 100% but getting better all the time...special thanks to Walts Automotive in FSJ for taking time out of their morning to give the answer I needed.. And to the dealer mentioned: See what I did just now? bad customer experiences are never forgoten or forgiven, only now its online

Half way through 2012...no Mayans to be seen

I haven't posted for almost a month. But I am back working at Edson Alberta again. Had to go into an eye clinic yesterday and they dilated my eyes to take pictures on the inside...cool huh? Made for a very bright world.

I did indeed get some time off finally. It was a good 3 weeks. Didn't do an awful lot, hung out with PG and the kids, went to Avengers, bought some Mothers Day gifts and hurt my fingers learning banjo (I know the "G" lick now, just can't play it fast enough yet). All in all it was good to relax and do nothing.

Went online and bought some gold, much to the chagrin of PG...it's only 5 quarter ounce coins I tell her...and gold is gold! Yeah right..."Its not helping the house down payment fund now is it?" You just never know, maybe it will...but she knows me too well. Knows that I only buy the ones I love and covet. Prying them from my miserly grasp is going to be hard.

We have been actively watching the local MLS listings. Some good houses out there but it seems like there are very few with what we want for less than $400,000. That's a tough mortgage to get my head around. To get even 20% down we need to round up $80,000 and even then it is still a $2,500 payment each month. I need to get it through my head that I need to treat it like an investment opportunity, that no matter what we cannot lose and the money is not going down the drain.

The small city we are looking at (my home town) has a very bright future I believe. With ongoing big oil and gas activity some forestry and the kicker is a multi year dam project the will probably get built (though I am totally against it). I think it may hurt even more to not buy now and then watch as housing prices go through the roof...but the question is: Do I really think I can get at least a 20% return when I go to sell the hypothetical house...if we ever do? And what if we are just now entering the biggest depression the world has ever seen and the plunge of 2008 was just a popcorn fart in the whole scheme of things?

These are the questions going round and round in my mind.