Surviving the Monsoon

Yesterday a roughneck asked me if I was on a diet, because I looked skinnier.  

How can they tell these things when I wear a monkey suit that could almost fit 2 of me?  

Today’s Exploit:

After my trip, I cut Myrtle back to 3.2 little-bitty sprigs of green.  I checked on her all the time and fussed like a mother hen.  My poor chickies were jealous, but they’re tough.  They’re still alive, right?

She was hanging in there, maybe getting a smidgen bigger.  And I was relieved.  I finally started to relax a bit when the storm came.  

It was a Thursday night, I was getting ready to go dancing when it started sprinkling.  It was nice.  It’s been dry for ages.  So I mostly ignored the fact that it was raining and went to the studio, where everyone complained that I didn’t bake anything.  Spoiled brats.

While we danced it rained more.  Someone noticed that a real storm with lightening and thunder had begun; they opened the blinds so that we could see.  

The next time I danced around it was POURING and gushing and there was water everywhere.  

I’d forgotten about Myrtle and the chickies.  

I went home in the rain and got drenched when I ran into the supermarket for a snack.  After watching the lightening for a while I went to bed listening to the thunder crack.  

I’ve missed real thunder storms, with lots of rain and big booms and flashes that make you glow if you don’t look away.

The next morning was sunny again.  I went outside to soak up the rainy smell and wake up.

And there was Myrtle. 

Drowning.

She had 2.72 inches of water above the dirt level in her pot.  I tipped her a bit so that the water in the base could run out.  It didn’t help.  So I, very carefully, tipped her so that the water in the top could drain some. 

Then I put her in the sun to dry out a bit.  

But the sun was still soggy from all the rain.

And then I got the call.  I had to go to a rig.  10.62 hours of driving.  Poor Myrtle.

We got to the rig and I stuck her in a nice window, but the box is rather cool and doesn’t have much air-flow.  

She was soggy for another 7.3 days.  

But she made it.

That Myrtle’s one tough cookie, I mean mint.

According to TJ

I ran this morning.  For the first half of the run the wind was at my back, so it felt like no wind.  And I was sad.

But the amazing thing was that I had sweat dripping down my face.  Gross.  I’ve never had that happen before.  Like tears without crying.  

It tickles.

Today’s Exploit:

I have friends on this rig.  

So when I’m not confined to my box I wander around the rig and harass them.  I can spend most of the day talking to them and getting in the way, and sometimes learning a little bit more about the rig.  

The company man working last week seems to be the suspicious type.  He regularly made comments to the roughnecks about sneaking off to some secret place, or giving us a tarp for some privacy, and such.  

This made me laugh, because whomever he made these comments to would tell me.  And I’d chock up another “boyfriend”.  Then I’d go talk to someone else. 

After not having anything to do for 4.3 days I had 5 boyfriends.  

Amazing, huh?  That’s the whole crew.

Now We Are Thirteen

I woke up early today.  Then I decided that I’m going to procrastinate and do my workout this evening. 

Naturally I can’t go back to sleep.

Today’s Exploit:

Yesterday morning I got to sleep in, and putter around doing a lot of nothing.  We’re still on casing break; therefore my entire day consists of being lazy, baking and/or harassing the roughnecks.  

When I finally got myself moving and went to the rig I was greeted with a series of guys asking me if I’d gotten a note.  

I had no idea what they were talking about.  

After asking a few more times to make sure that I really didn’t know what was going on they told me the story.

The night before the cement crew had been out to cement some casing into the well.  Cement crews are like a hive of ants, swarming all over the place and building their nest (or in this case, lines to spew cement into the well from their delightful trucks).  

Apparently after my run one of these cement guys had been watching me as I talked to “my” roughnecks.  (I refer to them as mine because they are my friends.  Therefore no one else can have them.)  And when I went inside he approached “my” roughnecks to ask about me.  

They thought it was hilarious and immediately told me that “all those cement guys want to holla at you”.  

Thanks for making me self-conscious, guys.  Love ya.

At the end of the night this particular cement guy wrote a note to me (Aww, memories of 6th grade).  He told me that if I ever had “half a mind to call, here is my number.”  Then he asked one of “my” roughnecks to relay the message.  

Unfortunately, while everyone else on the rig read the note, I never saw it.  Chris believes that if you can’t ask for a number yourself, you don’t deserve to be called.  I guess he decided that I might call this guy, so I wasn’t allowed to have it.  

So now they all tease me about my fifth boyfriend.

Building Showers Can Be Quite Entertaining

I’ve been invited to feed alligators by hand.  

I think I might have to decline.

Today’s Exploit:

We reached the desired depth for this section of the well, so yesterday I didn’t have much to do.  So I harassed the roughnecks for most of the day, in addition to making some bread.  

I went to the floor and bothered the driller for 87 minutes and the floor hands for 5.28 hours.  They kept trying to get me to do their work, but I stuck with supervising.  Supervising is way more fun, you get to boss people around without having to do any actual work.  

Then one of the rig hands was told to build a shower.  I was curious about this so I went to bother him.  Turns out it was a safety shower for hazardous chemicals.  One of those that you pull a tab and freezing water gushes out at 47 gallons per second.  In this case I suspect it might be hot water, considering the outside temperature.

I ended up telling him how to put each piece together because he couldn’t read the schematic.  Also, he spent half the time bolting it to the floor just to have to remove the bolts.  

I was quite entertained for all of 45 minutes.  

Then I got bored and went to bother someone else.  

I don’t know if he actually finished the shower.  

Sweet Tooth

Sourdough bread was a success.  It’s the best flavor and texture of bread I’ve achieved so far.

Today’s Exploit:

I made the sweetest cinnamon rolls in the history of the universe the other day.  I could barely get through one small one they were so sweet.  

The roughnecks working that night managed to go through 18 of them.

They complained of having to go to the dentist after eating them, but it didn’t stop them from having another.  

I get all day today to play with other baked goodies because we are tripping pipe again, slowly.  And Mark is watching very strange movies.  

Myrtle Goes Home

I think I may be creating a sourdough starter soon.  The DD is really excited to have homemade sourdough bread.

Today’s Exploit:

Myrtle survived the ride back to my flat in Oklahoma City easily.  It was hot, but not enough to make her wilt.  And after being cut back, then plopped in the sun for a couple weeks she had turned into a nice healthy bush.  

Being in the sun she decided to grow out more than up, so she was pretty fat for a while.  She lived out on my porch, catching the sun and getting watered every day.  She was as happy as she could be.

Until the day I went on holiday

I situated her so that she was most protected from the wind, but could still catch the water from my upstairs neighbors when they watered their plants.  I though she would truck along like she had been while I was watching her.

I was sorely mistaken.  When I returned from Washington after a few days Myrtle was a skeleton.  

The soil was damp, but only a handful of leaves were still green.  

I cried 47 tears for her, then cut back all the withered leaves and stems.

I watered her every day and watched closely for improvements.  I think she hates the heat as much as I do. 

Or perhaps she was just depressed that I left her at home while I had fun.

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.  

Supermaaan! Whoops, Supertuurrrrtttllleeee!

I just finished week 7.  Wahoo.  

While I was dancing one of the guys asked me what I do.  

Me:  I work on oil rigs

Him:  I thought you looked like you had strong shoulders.

Actually it’s the P90x, but thank you.

Today’s Exploit:

At the zoo, our almost-very-last stop was to see the tortoises.  I am amazed at tortoises.  They’re so huge.  And lumbering, and huge and green.

Also, the flamingos were in the same enclosure, quacking at us.

But this turtle.  He knew how to live right.  He ignored the others drawing attention in the corner, and the ones curled up together by the fence.  

He was superman.  Tanning, no flying.  Yeah.  It must have been a pretty amazing dream.

A kindred spirit for Cupcake.  She did that a lot while she visited me.  I cooked while she baked herself to a crisp.

But I sometimes sleep like this, too.  When I forget to turn the AC down, or when I’m at the rig where the AC is turned to full-blast-freeze-your-toes-off during the day and to bake-at-350 at night.  Seems counterintuitive to me.  It also means that I don’t sleep much.  And the sleep I get is spent like this, with weird dreams.

The Fly Capital of the World

Whew, this is three posts I’ve written today.  I’m worn out.  I think I need a nap.

Today’s Exploit:

This place is the fly capital of the world, I think.  I shoed 7 out the door, killed 10 and still had 17 buzzing around my head and landing on my cinnamon rolls.  

Gross.  

And that’s inside.  

Outside...

Mostly it’s ok because the wind is blowing at a hurricane force gail most of the time.  It’s nice because it’s some movement of the air in this incessant heat.  And it keeps most of the creepy-crawlies away.

But,

In front of our trailer, the one that is hiding behind the other crew trailer.  There was a sewage leak, and the other trailer shelters it from the wind.  

The flies gather in swarms.

Gross.