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. 

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!

I Want It To Be October, Right Now

I’m currently addicted to cherries.  

Cherries and popsicles.  

Specially cherry popsicles

Today’s Exploit:

I decided, finally, that it is time for me to move.  

I even forced myself to leave my nice, cool apartment with the fully stocked kitchen to look for another one closer to where I work.

Since my old manager got a new job and I started working for my new manager I work mostly in south Texas.  This means that I have at least an 8.2 hour drive to get to any particular rig.  Mostly it’s more like 10.6 hours.  

But I digress.

I left my comfortable, air conditioned lair to drive around the cities of Texas in the blistering heat looking for a new place to live that wouldn’t eat 62% of my paycheck.  One that I was still willing to live in.  

And I found one.  

It’s new.  

Brand new.

It’s so new it’s not even finished being built yet.

But it will be delightful and shiny and modern.

And the best part?  

It has a gas stove.  

I’m so excited.

It also has granite countertops and stained cement floors.  

But the important part is the stove.  That’s why I chose it.  

Just kidding, but I’m really excited about it.  I’ve wanted to have one for soooo long.  

It also will get sunlight, especially in the winter.  And it’s close to a park with running paths and it’s close to downtown with live music and fun events (because it’s in a college town).  

I’m so excited.  Let me just jump up and down a few more times.

Cowgirl Dreams: Achieved

I have strep.

I thought you were supposed to outgrow this disease at the same time you outgrew high school.  Along with useless homework and catty popularity cliques. 

Today’s Exploit:

I went to see my sister when she was in Abilene, for a fire.  

Our first item on our agenda was to get haircuts.  

We both forgot, again.

But we did go shopping.  For cowboy boots, naturally.  

I think Cupcake tried on 832 pair.  And I looked for some steel toes with red sequins, like Dorothy’s Oz shoes.  But alas, Cupcake was more successful than I.  She found some super-duper-fancy boots with pointy toes, just like she always wanted.

After dinner we went for a walk so that she could be a cowgirl.  It’s what she wanted to be when she grew up.  

Abilene is sidewalk challenged, just like Oklahoma City.  So we walked on the road and in the dirt and stickers and around a sketchy neighborhood.  And it was 947 degrees out.  

So we had to go back to her hotel and get Slurpees.  I love Slurpees.  I’ve been living on them.  They’re the only thing I want, along with popsicles, when it’s this hot out.  

The Cheesy Vampyre Series

I’m being lazy.

All I’ve done for the last 3 days is buy books and read them.  

Today’s Exploit:

I went to San Antonio the other day.  

I wanted to go to a book store for another book in the series I’m reading.  A cheesy series about teenage vampyres.  It’s one of those books that has to use old English spelling because it makes them seem more mystical.  

At any rate it’s entertaining.  And I wanted another.

Naturally that was the only one in the series that the bookstore didn’t have.  

Therefore I had to find 8 other books to make up for it.  

I got some big kid books, like, a biography and something about hedgehogs.  I also got some fantasy books, because they’re the best.  And I decided to be nice and buy the next two books in the cheesy vampire series that my sister is reading.

I asked her which ones she needed, and when she didn’t answer I asked my mom, because she’s reading them too.  

My mom answered.  I found the books and checked out.

Lucky for my sister, she was 32 seconds late in telling me not to get them.  

She claims she might need to get them for her fire trip.  The one she was supposed to go on last Wednesday.  

Wahahahahahaha.

Too bad, so sad.  Now you HAVE TO WAIT!

Walking Three Miles in New Sandals = Blisters

Yesterday someone stopped and asked me for directions while I was out running.  I was lucky they narrowed the options down to continuing on this road or going back to the last intersection.  

I have no idea where HWY 77 is.  Sheesh.

Today’s Exploit:

The other day was a casing break for me.  All I had to do was wait on the rig to finish installing casing, cementing and testing.  

So I went to Corpus Christi to explore a bit.  I found a pop-out shade for my window.  Betty-Boop.  I think Starla likes rocking the Betty-Boop look.  They even wear the same colors.  

I also walked along the bay.  They have a nice long path along the water.  I was tempted to join, but it was 11:30 am and 562 degrees.  And I only had sandals.

It was nice enough, with a Slurpee, that I walked for about 2.13 hours.  Naturally I ended up with a few splotches of sunburn where the sunscreen wasn’t up to the battle with the wind.  

By the time I got back to Starla, it was so hot I had to go find an ice cream shop.  And I had to sit outside to eat said ice cream.  Of course I ended up with half the ice cream in my hair and splattered across my face from it getting in my hair.  And dripping down my arm.

And that was my excitement for casing break.  

No Soup Today Friends

Thought of the day:


Using Microsoft’s Outlook is like sticking a fork in my eye. Then turning it, for good measure.

Today’s Exploit:

When I woke up today I was really excited to go into town and get the 3.2 things I need to make some soup. It sounded really good when I was telling Cupcake about it last night.

So I got up early and did my workout and took a really fast shower. (Really fast showers are getting more and more difficult. Long hair is a pain in the foot.) Then I got dressed and brushed my hair – not something that happens often – and grabbed my keys.

I hopped down the stairs and skipped over to my car to discover a truck.

A truck with a nice long trailer parked in the middle of the road.

He was just in the right spot that if I was able to inch out of my slot I still would have had no chance of getting by on either side of him. Specially with the forklift loading and unloading drilling collars.

I looked at Starla. Then I looked at the truck. Then I looked at the space between the trailer and all the other trucks.

Then I pouted and went back inside to eat a bowl of Cheerios.

I waited and waited and waited.

The truck driver left just in time for me to not have enough time to make it to town and run into the market for my 3.2 items.

I’m sure he was laughing all the way home: NO SOUP FOR YOU!

Zamboni

Things to laugh at:

1. Found this at ‘i am your canadian boyfriend’

2. And this lovely gem about driving. I heart number 4. Please read.

Today’s Exploit:

You remember that time? That time when I was in Dallas for that super-awesome dance? It was fun. But in order to be there for the dance I had to spend 10 hours doing other stuff in Dallas.

So I went to a mall. That sounds fun, right? Not so much when I remembered that I hate clothes shopping (I did find a spatula store, though) and I hate crowds.

Thus, after wandering around the 4 stories of the super-giant mall, I got bored and decided I wanted to ice skate.

Texas is kinda crazy and has ice skating rinks in most of the shopping malls I’ve been to. I don’t understand it. But I find it rather perplexing to see regular people skating in shorts and tank tops, I mean other than the Olympics. But even then they have to wear sweatpants and jackets on the sidelines.

I kinda wanted to go out on the rink and lay down, and hug the ice. Because it’s only March and it’s already at least 92 degrees outside. In my opinion I should still need a down jacket in March and I am not getting used to summers, even though this is my third one here. I Hate it. Capital H.

But I digress. I wanted to ice skate, so I went to my car for socks. Naturally I was wearing sandals because anything else would have caused a massive heat stroke. (During this trip my dad had his phone die while he was talking on it for the very first time. He asked me why the mall kept beeping, I had no idea.) But, naturally, by the time I got back to the ice rink it had been taken over by 567 6th graders. Who had probably never seen ice before, except during the last Super Bowl when they got 8 inches of snow.

So I sighed a super-ginormous sigh and went and got some French fries. Then I sat and watched the kids totter and fall and drag themselves around the ice by the handrail. It was tragic.

Until the mini-zamboni came out.

This is what I want for Christmas.  Or maybe Grandparents' Day.  It would be a good Grandparents' Day gift.

That was super-awesome. I am in love. And my dad wants one. I think he’d try to zamboni the lake with it. It would be so much easier than trying to shovel the durn thing.

The Bird is Really Fat

Shawn told me about a new radio station yesterday. It plays Frank Sinatra, Lena Horne, and other such musicians. I listened to it in my car on the way to get groceries.

I can’t get it in my apartment. Stupid radio.

Today’s Exploit: A list

I can’t find my painting of the dancer. Still. It makes me sad.

I made bread this morning.

I also made Tiramisu.

I went shopping for groceries at 2:02 am.

I need a serrated bread knife.

I am going to make Bruschetta this afternoon.

I want a Mac. Probably the extra thin one.

I will practice my dance 18.7 times today.

I want a puppy.

It’s ONLY supposed to get up to 77* today.

I want to plant an herb garden.

I have a bird nesting on the porch light that is about to fall off the wall.

I’m not going to report it until I know the babies have hatched and flown away.

Accordions and Hula-Hoops

I was going to post about Starla today, and my adventures with her. But the story wasn’t finished, and I have not motivation. So, instead, you get a random story from 6.7 months ago.

Today’s Exploit:

When I visited home, not the last time but the time before, it was summer. And Laramie had the weekly Friday Farmers’ Market.

I forced Cupcake to go with me, and we saw lots of dogs, and bought fruit that I had never tried before (and still haven’t. We forgot about it and it mouldered in the fridge), and we Hula-hooped. We used giant hoops, and made fools of ourselves. We had great fun and scared all the kiddies that wanted to play. It was the Wellness booth, and we played with all their games.

When we decided that we’d swiveled enough we started wandering some more.

That was when we discovered the busker. He was playing the accordion. Cupcake was immediately enamored. She’s still on her European kick. And the accordion reminded her of France.

We stood there and listened to the music for a very long time. Cupcake even requested a song, and he knew it. She would have stood there until he finished if I’d let her.

But finally I told her I had to make dinner, and she had to come with me. So she tipped him and told him she loved him, and we trundled along about our business.

Right now I am listening to some music that Cupcake gave to me, the soundtrack from Amélie. So I am remembering standing in the sun, surrounded by people listening to the accordion. And imagining sidewalk bistros and the smell of bread wafting from patisseries. And the Eiffel Tower.

This music makes me want to travel.

They Were Closed For Bad Weather

I was really excited about only missing 4 days in January. It was almost like work, with one day off a week. Except that all the days were consecutive. So maybe it was more like a vacation.

Anyway, I was going to do even better this month. But that went out the window the day that I drove home. Also the week that I was in class where lots of funny things happened, but I was lazy and didn’t write about them. And now I’ve forgotten.

Today’s Exploit:

Thursday night I thought it would be nice to go have dinner and maybe a drink. And find some place to dance. Then I could meet people and maybe pretend to be a normal person for an evening.

I did some research in the form of reading a binder that the hotel had compiled about local restaurants. I found one I liked, and set out to see if Timmy, my GPS, could tell me how to get there.

When I arrived, after a slight mishap with Timmy, I only saw one car in the lot. I thought this a bit odd, but it was late for dinner. I walked up to the door to find a sign saying they were no longer seating guests.

I went to another place down the road to find a similar sign saying they were closed due to the weather. After one more stop and one more sign I tried a convenience store with the same results.

By this time I was rather irked. The entire town appeared to be closed for cold weather. Not rain, not snow, not ice or some other form of water that may cause dangerous conditions. The town was closed because the temperature had fallen below freezing. I estimate the temperature was 31.4 degrees when I was driving all over looking for one place that might be open and serving food.

I ended up going back to my hotel and eating an overpriced and tasteless salad that they happened to have in the “store”. My other options were ice cream, frozen lasagna or a hot pocket.

I was not very impressed with the local dining experience.

Mattress Adventure

I went through some boxes, at my parents’ house, of things saved for me. They had saved some things from when I was younger and some of my grandparents’ things that they thought I might want. Among the items were an ice cream maker, an American Girls doll, a woven blanket and a wooden plate with a hummingbird painting. Most of the stuff I understand, but the plate? And the blanket? I’m not sure why they ended up in my box.

I also went through some boxes that were for my sister, looking for a particular piano book that is still unaccounted for. In her box I found a book that I had requested. I was a little huffy, and took the book. I got it home to my Oklahoma flat and discovered that she had somehow found another copy of the same book. Now I have two copies, and I feel rather sheepish for taking her book.

Today’s Exploit:

Today I went furniture shopping. My main goal was a mattress. Mine is about as heavy as a large elephant, and it is older than my sister. This equates to way too many years of use, considering all the commercials I’ve heard lately suggest maybe eight years.

I looked at a couple styles at the first store I went to, and was rather shocked by some prices. They were a teensy bit more than I expected. I sat on some beds and wandered around the other sections of the store trying to avoid both crowds and the overzealous sales people that mob me when I enter. They somehow never seem to understand that I’m more likely to spend money if they give me some space.

Finally I gave up and went to another store hoping for fewer customers. I was lucky and told the very chatty salesperson that I was looking for mattresses. She took me to them and told me about a few between telling me about her shoes, the weather, having a tall family and calling me Miss Lady. She called me Miss Lady even after I told her my name. She was funny. She spent most of the time telling me that I am not short.

I ordered my favorite mattress to be delivered tomorrow morning. Then I went shopping for new sheets for my new mattress. I made my selection and got home very excited for the morning. I walked into my flat and realized that it is a disaster and must be cleaned before the mattress delivery people arrive.

This proceeded to entail cleaning, moving furniture and organizing all of my rooms. In the process I began looking for a painting. And a photograph. I have looked on every surface and gone through every box several times but they are nowhere to be found.

I’m beginning to think that someone broke in while I was on holiday to steal these two items. Everything else I own has been accounted for in this process. I am miffed about where the two pieces could be. I know I saw them several times each day I was home before my holiday.

I also just realized that I still have a large pile of junk near my door that must be dealt with sometime soon.

Please send me positive wishes that I did not throw my painting in a dumpster inadvertently!

PS Dad: Tonight you should make Ground Beef Gyros

Getting the Boot

This morning I went to breakfast with some rig hands. Not the ones that invited me to buy theirs. We went to a little Mexican place. It was very good. I got some Eggs Rancheros. And I even ate the eggs. And I ate some amazing salsa hot sauce. (I've been informed that salsa is a dance, if it has peppers in it its hot sauce)

When we were leaving one of the guys told me that the waitress recognized him from a year ago, and remembered his name. So, for some reason, he decided he had to tell her that I am his wife. Apparently she made him a little nervous.

Today’s Exploit:

When I got to this rig they were tripping pipe, so I didn’t have much to do until late at night. It wasn’t until shortly before I really needed them that I discovered that one of my steel toed boots was missing. So I faked it. I wore some other boots I happened to bring with me. And I hoped really hard that there wouldn’t be too much mud. Or that someone would notice that they didn’t have steel toes.

The next morning I ran to Wal-Mart, the most torturous store in the universe, to find some replacements. The smallest size they had was men’s size 7. I probably wear 5.5. They also only had slip ons. Sorta like cowboy boots, but not as cool.

So now I am tromping around in boots that are 3 sizes too big and not legal according to the company I work for. I am lucky I haven’t ended up on my nose about 53 times.

Please cross your fingers that my right boot is at home on my floor, waiting for me to go back and find it.

Also, I have some crocs that I use inside the trailer. I had them outside to make changing a little easier. Now I only have one. I’m pretty sure the rig dog stole it. The upside is that she stole the left shoe. Now I can wear the right one with my left steel toed boot.

Revelation

Today I had to break down and go to WalMart.  Not an ideal expedition at the best of times, but it was the only place I could go for a printer.  Sadly I needed to get a printer for the job I'm at right now. 

By the way.  I'm back in Gill, Texas.  Population: approximately 4.7.  This makes those itty-bitty Wyoming towns look charming and high class.

But back to my story.  I needed a printer, (don't forget the usb cable that the printer MUST have, but is not included) some extra ink cartridges and food for a few days.  I made it safely to the checkout line where Jewel asked me 5 times if I wanted to sign up for a WalMart credit card (Um, you know you wore me down...where's the form?). Then she proceeded to tell me a very longwinded story where the magnet at her checkout stand kept resetting her watch (I kept wondering if it ever occurred to her than an analog watch would work, but knew better than to ask).

I finally made it through and was out the door. 

Oh, I forgot to mention that I've been up since 5:00 am, driven 7 hours and rigged up at the wellsite only to find that they won't be ready for us for who knows how long, AND I only got 2 hours of sleep last night.

I got to the nasty road that poor Starla HATES because she could bottom out on EVERY bump if I'm not amazingly careful, when I realized...DUN Dun dun.  I FORGOT THE USB CABLE.  Without this cable I cannot use my printer.  AAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHH!

I made a point of calling and telling them I forgot my stuff and would be in the NEXT morning. RAWR!

Today's Exploit:

I was walking through the store, for the second time.  I'd found everything I needed and was headed for Customer service to "check out".  (Really the lady just demagnetized the stuff and put it in a bag taking about 23.2 seconds.) 

I was looking at the people and being amazed at some of the things people wear out of their houses.  Yikes.  I happened to notice a man walking past with a Texas Longhorns sweatshirt.  I looked for a minute trying to figure out why the color looked so familiar.  Finally I looked down and realized that I was wearing that exact same color, sans logo. 

Picture from College Bowl Tickets

Sadly I will continue wearing this sweatshirt, at least for a while.  I will switch it out as the one I wear to work, so that I can save the Fire one, which I like.