Sleeping in the Rain

I used my new stove for the first time yesterday.   It was amazing.  

I made french toast.  

Now I need to come up with something that it might actually make a difference for.  Like caramel or custard or clotted cream.

I also might need a copper sauce pan.  

Today’s Exploit:

I took my friend Kevin, who doesn’t like to be called Kevin, to Wyoming.

We went to the cabin for a weekend with the madness that is the typical Naylor/Hepner/Kalberer get-together.

I like to sleep outside, so he decided to be brave and try to handle the “cold” as well.

When we went to bed it was gorgeous and clear and the fire was quietly fading.  

Unfortunately some time later clouds came in the rain started.  At first it was just spitting at me.  But it woke me up.  

I didn’t want to be wet so I woke Kevin and told him it was raining.  

He gave me a disgusted look and told me it wasn’t.

I told him I was going to move to the porch anyway and he could get wet if he wanted.

So I gathered my cot and sleeping pad and sleeping bag and toted it to the  porch of the bathhouse.  Good sense kicked in and Kevin followed me a few seconds later.  

We got re-situated and 82 seconds later it started really raining, but we stayed nice and dry on the porch.  And it was still nice and cool.

When we got back to Texas his family asked how it went.

Kevin:  She made me sleep outside in the cold and the rain.

Me:  ... (Incredulous look)

Family:  ...Oh?

Kevin:  Fine, she actually made me wake up and move out of it.  Even though I didn’t want to.

You Should Ask For Help

I got to sleep in the rain, and the next night it frosted.  Brr.  It was amazing

Today’s Exploit:

Yesterday I got a delivery of some new tools.

But the delivery guy didn’t tell me that they were here, so I spent half the morning tracking them down.  When I finally found them I had to drag them 57.2 feet to my box.

I was at 49.7 feet when two of the roughnecks came to help.

Joe:  Here, let me help.

Bob:  I’ll take this end.

Me:  Fine. Here.

Joe:  Where do you want it?

Me:  I need it moved another 8.1 feet.

Bob:  Ok, there you go.

Me:  Thanks.

Joe:  You know, you can ask for help.

Me:  I know, but you were busy and I am able to move my stuff.

Bob:  But you should ask for help.  We’ll help.

Me:  Ok.  Sure.

I’m Worth Two

My favorite song today:

I need you like another broken heart

and a hole in my head,

I need you like a six foot grave

and a high speed train wreck,

I bet you find it hard to believe 

but I miss you like a bad disease.

-Schuyler Fisk

Today’s Exploit:

I was up for ages the other night.  We got all our computers running and the cables routed to the proper places and the tool built and programmed.  Then all that was left was to wait for the rig.  

I waited until 4:30 am.  

We finally started picking up the pieces of the assembly.  I had my tool ready to hook up to the winch and was waiting for my cue.  

I watched the driller and the DD talking, occasionally looking at me and pointing once or twice.  

I ignored them.

Then Rick, the DD, came over to talk to me.  

Rick:  I was asking Hector how many guys he had on his crew.

Me:  How many?

Rick:  He said 6, including himself.

Me:  Oh.

Rick:  Then he told me that I counted for one and you counted for two.  

Guess I’m pretty important, even though they don’t let me work.

No Really, I Was Listening

An update on the sunshade:

George:  I looked for a pretty pink unicorn sunshade, but I couldn’t find one.

Matt:  It’s a good thing.  I’d have wadded it up and stuck it up your tailpipe.

Today’s Exploit:

I got an email yesterday about when I’ll be able to leave the rig.  The guy replacing me will be out sometime this afternoon.  So I thought I’d let the DDs know so they don’t get too much of a surprise.

Yesterday:

Me:  Chad will be out tomorrow afternoon.

Matt:  Ok.  I wonder how his last job went.

Today:

Matt:  So, Chad will be here...

Me:  Sometime this afternoon.

Matt:  Oh, really?  I thought he’d be coming tomorrow sometime.

I Like Those

Eat a cupcake today.  Or some pie.  Or a baked apple.  

Also have some pasta with clam sauce.  Ask my mom if you want a somewhat sketchy almost-recipe.

Today’s Exploit:

Book List:

Dealing with Dragons - Patricia C. Wrede

Sunshine - Robin McKinley

Silas Marner - George Eliot

Wicked Appetite - Janet Evanovich

Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

Alanna - Tamora Pierce

Sabriel - Garth Nyx

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson

Anthem - Ayn Rand

Family Honor - Robert B. Parker

Elegance of the Hedgehog - Muriel Barbery

The Princess Bride - William Goldman

Game of Thrones - George R. R. Martin

The Black Rubber Dress - Lauren Henderson

Rosemary and Rue - Seanan McGuire

The Time Machine - H. G. Wells

Track of the Cat - Nevada Barr

The Jungle Book - Rudyard Kipling

Love Walked In - Marisa de Los Santos

It Wasn't Heat Stroke

"Colors"

My skin is kind of sort of brownish
Pinkish yellowish white.
My eyes are greyish blueish green,
But I'm told they look orange in the night.
My hair is reddish blondish brown,
But it's silver when it's wet.
And all the colors I am inside
Have not been invented yet.

~Shel Silverstein

Today’s Exploit:

Today Matt discovered the reason the computer on the rig floor keeps doing the freak-out.

It works happily until he goes to slide, or change the direction of the well.  Then “KA-BAM”.  The screen locks up and the mouse stops working and the keyboard says, “Nuh uh”.

So we have to restart it and let it get running and open its programs.  

Then we can send the screen he needs.

First we thought it was the heat.  

It’s really hot.

So we propped it up on a giant bolt to allow air to circulate underneath.

It seemed to work for a while, until the next time Matt had to slide.

After re-sending the screen a few times this morning Matt called to tell me he’d solved it!

The computer works just fine, until he sets his iPhone next to it.  

Who knew?  A phone can shut down a computer just by being in the same air space.  Not even the fancy-schmancy programs that let you start the car or turn on the burglar alarm from far away.  

All it took was being within a couple feet of each other.

Technological magic.

The Search

Cabin? Cabin.  Kay, good.  I hope it gets cold tonight.

Today’s Exploit:

Searching for steel toed boots is a cinch.  

Searching for steel toed boots that will make as big an impact as my hideous pink ones is almost an impossible task.  

1. The same ones: 

Hideous.  And every one wants them.  Everyone.

B 1/2. The pretty ones:

They’re not quite so horrid without the blue.

Green. The Camo ones:  

Eh, they’re kinda boring.

C. The CATs:

They make me think of elementary school when everyone wanted Doc Martins, but settled for whatever looked closest.

Triangle. The Flowery ones:

The only ones I found that actually had any red at all.

O. The Moon Shoes:

Holey Freaking Awesome!  I would definitely wear these.  If they were slip-ons.

Purple. The Not-Boots:

They actually sell steel toed Hush Puppies.  I don’t think they’d let me wear these.  They don’t look like “real” work shoes.

Final. The Ones I Want:

These are amazing.  The only thing that would make them better is if the studs were rhinestones.  Too bad they’re Steel Shank instead of Steel Toed.  Turns out that’s a pretty big difference. 

Moving Day

I want my next steel toed boots to have red sequins all over them.  Red sequins are way better than pink with orange and blue stitching. 

It’ll be difficult to find something more gaudy and heinous than the ones I have.  But I’m going to try.

Sadly, so far the closest I’ve found is some red daisy vine-y things stitched on the sides.

Today’s Exploit:

I’m moving right now.

No, really.  

I’m packing all my junk into a really big truck, I’m loading Starla onto a dolly to pull behind it.  And then I’m hitting the road.  

I’m driving 7.2 hours, at least, in the hugest truck anyone’s ever let me drive.  

Scary.  The only other big truck I drove was an small engine at the Forest Service.  And I only got to pull that out of the garage.  I drove it a whole 16.7 feet.

And I can’t see behind me.  I don’t like not being able to look in the rearview mirror.  I don’t trust those side ones.  They always tell you they’re morphing things out of perspective, and then expect you to know exactly what’s going on.  

Wish me clear skies and light traffic, so that I can make it on time to get my key.

Really? You Can Make Those?!

"Beep beep," Vroom!

This place has lots of road runners.  

They’re not as blue as I remember, they’ve never, beep beeped at me and they fight over the best patch of dirt.  

I guess it has the best bugs?

Today’s Exploit:

A conversation:

Me:  I’m running into town to go to the store, do you need anything?

George:  Oh, man!  I was just thinking when I woke up that I needed to make a list, I had something in mind that I really wanted and now I can’t remember!

Me:  I hate it when that happens.

George:  I know!  Something you can get.  You probably won’t find it here, but some No-Bake cookies.

Me:  You’re right, I probably won’t find them here, but I can make them.

George:  Really?  You can make those?!

Me:  Yes, they’re probably the easiest cookies ever.

George:  No way!

Popeye’s Retirement Village

George jumped on the running bandwagon today.  

I’ve now gotten 62.3% of the people out here running and/or walking.  Lindsay doesn’t count, she was running already.  She told me she ran 12 miles one morning on her last run.  Kinda makes me feel like a wimp to be proud of my 4-5 miles each day.

Today’s Exploit:

I am in the “Spinach Capital of the World”.

I’ve got proof!  I took pictures.  

And now for the history lesson: 

Hard to imagine that anything could grow here when it’s 592 degrees out, but I guess they grow it during the winter, along with carrots and tomatoes and peppers.

And they grow onions in the spring, but spinach is better because it means they get to have a statue of Popeye the Sailor Man.  They put it up in 1937.  

His picture is on the water tower also.  

The town hero.  He is credited with growing the spinach industry 33% from 1931 to 1936.

Next stop: His home town, Victoria.

An Epic Baking Moment

George says we can’t work together very often.

That was after he ate 6 pancakes.  

Today’s Exploit:

Yesterday I had an epic moment in my baking career. 

I made up a recipe.

I didn’t have one there and just ignore half the directions.  And I didn’t have one in mind that I just wanted to tweak a bit.  

It’s the first time I didn’t use another recipe as a reference.  At all.

And it almost turned out the way I expected.  

Not quite, but almost.

I almost jumped for joy when it was actually edible.  I thought for a while that it just might be tricking me into thinking it worked because of the almond and cinnamon smells.  

Matt and George were really excited about it.  Matt took pictures while George stood and watched over my shoulder as I assembled it into a shortcake/layer cake creation.

Later George asked if he could have some.  When I said to help himself, he took full advantage of that and took nearly a quarter of it.  

Matt alternates between telling me I can cook and experiment as much as I want, and telling me I’m mean for making things that tempt him while he’s trying to be healthy.

Remembering

Will we remember the way life was, the way it used to be

The way children frolicked about playing happy and carefree
Will we remember the way spring was, blooming wildly with flowers
The way we'd jump and play in puddles following its rain showers

The way the summer sun beat down on our backs, sweat glistening on our skin
The way we retreated into the shade as our faces were cooled by the blowing wind
The way the fall days grew increasingly cooler, leaves falling to the ground
The way the leaves changed their colors becoming more and more brown

-Cindy Sargent

You Run Too Much, Eat A Taco

Just thought you should know this is post 301.  

That’s a lot of pointless stories.

Today’s Exploit:

I went to the rig floor this morning to get pipe lengths for my depth tally.  Naturally they had just made breakfast tacos. 

Driller:  You want a taco?

Me:  Um, maybe after I get the tally.

I went about getting the lengths and comparing depths to those that the driller and the DD had.  When I got it all figured out I started back down the stairs.  

Roughneck: Micka, Micka!

Me:  Yes?

Driller:  Your taco.

Me:  Oh, I forgot.

Roughneck:  I make it.

Me:  Wow, thanks.

Driller:  You run too much, you have to eat tacos.

Makes it sound like I have a disease, and breakfast tacos are the cure.  

The Unicorn Sunshade

I’ve started a fad out here.  

No one’s used a bowl for their ice cream since I used a glass for mine.  

Today’s Exploit:

Today George is going to Walmart.  He asked the rest of us if we need anything.  

Matt wants a sunshade for the windshield of his truck.  The one he has is falling apart from being baked daily for the last 8 years.  Pretty impressive for a sun shade...

When George asked if he had a preference for the style Matt said he didn’t as long as it was reflective foil.

George:  I’m going to get him a pink unicorn one. 

Lindsay:  A unicorn, huh?

Me:  I think you should try for Tinkerbell.

George:  Or a heart.  I’m going to find the most feminine one I can.  I’ll get a plain one too, but I just want to see if he’d actually put something like that in his truck.  But don’t tell him I said that!