Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Merry Christmas to all....



Merry Christmas everybody. I'm just enjoying the end of a nice long Christmas Eve. Everyone is trundled off to bed for a couple of hours now, and being that I am still on somewhat of a night-owl schedule, I'm the sole sleep-survivor. I have to admit it is just nice to sit here in the quiet dark of the living room with only the glow of the tree in the corner keeping me company. Peaceful. I took the above photo just now, trying in vain to capture a bit of that peaceful solitude, but I doubt it comes across the same. No matter. Know that after a hectic fall & early winter, it feels nice to just sit back and relax, and reflect.

I'm grateful for a wonderful family. I really have it good in that department. 2008 really brought Agi & I closer together in ways we'd previously glossed over or grown far too accustomed to. She's my ultimate Rock. Couldn't have made it without her this year. Tonight we had a very traditional Hungarian CHristmas dinner of her stuffed cabbages and homemade bread, and just sitting there looking around at all the kids' animated faces and listening to their excited chatter, I realize that this is it--this is the only real important thing in life--the people gathered around this dinner table in this house. Ultimately, Nothing. Else. Matters. I'm blessed to have them, and I'm blessed to be their Dad and Husband.

We are looking forward to closing the books on 2008 and jumping in to 2009. I'll wrap up my final stages of training in the first quarter and get into a regular Asia/Australia/Middle East rotation by May. I'm excited for that. Also looking forward to FINALLY knocking out those last 2 classes at BYU.

We love Nephi. We love the quiet. We love the long hikes in Salt Creek Canyon & Nebo Loop with the dogs. We love the little solitude that being down here affords us.

Grateful for my new job. I love that it lets me go out and see all different parts of the world in all its cacophoneous glory, and then come home to quiet and rest. Seriously cool.

Ahh heck. I'm grateful for a lotta stuff. Right now though, I'm grateful I can go get a couple hours of sleep before getting roused out of bed by the kids.

Merry Christmas everybody.

Aaron

Monday, December 22, 2008

Sunday, December 14, 2008

OK this is funny...

Stay out of the doghouse this Christmas....

Thursday, December 11, 2008

I can see the light at the end of the Hitch....

Just a quick update from my rig work. I'm now on the downside of my two-week hitch in California. I'm all done by Tuesday night, and fly home Wednesday. Just in time for about two months off (theoretically)--which is a welcome respite after working 4 out of the last 5 weeks. Before anyone says "awwww, poor you! didn't we ALL work 4 out for the last five weeks?" I say ha. My weeks were 12 hours a day, 7 days a week :-) SO yeah. I'm looking forward to this time off :-)

I'm still amazed at the whole process of oil extraction. I always had vague ideas of the process (rotating pipe into the ground while pumping in fluid to flush out the debris created from the rotating drillbit). But man. I'm in awe at how complicated it really is--there are a hundred different variables affecting another 1000 different moving parts, all MASSIVE in size, and all vitally important to ensuring that the other parts work together in harmony, to ensure that this round hole gets deeper and deeper, moving through layers of strata that can be punishingly hard to drill through.

Its fun just to be up on the floor, 70 feet or so above the ground, and watch it all unfold. All those metal stairs are great exercise too :-). I was leaning over the railing the other night, looking at the mud below. Speculating with one of the guys how soft the mud would be in the event we fell off, and how many bones would break. Then we looked up at the guy on the "monkeyboard" (the platform at the very top of the derrick) which sits another 90 feet or so above us. Now THAT guy would be messed up if he fell... And he's up there wresting with 90 foot lengths of 4500 pound pipe stands....

These guys are a different breed up here--typically easy going, fun to josh around with, and all aware of the fact that if something breaks and flies off, someone can lose a limb or head, in an instant. Everybody has their stories, and some of them are pretty hair-raising. It is just interesting to be a part of. Also THE most un-judgemental people I've ever seen. So freaking different from anything else I've ever done.

But anyway. That's that. Looking forward to getting home and just being home for a while.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Life in Taft, California...

Spent my first shift on a actual rig last night. My crappy Blackberry camera really can't do it justice--this thing is MASSIVE.

Its been an eventful month since my last post... IN short order I (or we, as the family case may be)...

1. Finished up my classroom training after returning from Scotland.
2. Went right into a 2 week hitch (14 straight 12 hour days, with rig pay...) at our 'command center' in Provo, learning the ropes of monitoring systems from rigs around the globe
3. Spent 4 fun-filled days in Menifee, CA with jared and Emily for Thanksgiving
4. Started my current 17 day stint in Taft California at our test/training rigs with Oxy.

Couple notes--Thanksgiving was a blast. Spending time with Jared & Emily only served to remind how much we miss them. Hanging out with them is like meeting up with your best friends from old high school days, only better. The kids had fun too--although Ashton's infatuation with all things Nintendo WII now has me a little concerned... He went a little notes over it, for an eight year old. Ali craves time with her girl cousins (I wonder why????) and Aidan added to his growing collection of infatuated little girls vis a vis Natalie. His so good with them. I chalk it up to his gentle nature and kind demeanor. that, and the chicks or all ages just dig the guy. I am worried about these boys of mine.... Both of them had older girls hitting on them in Hungary--reason #2435 that it was ultimately a good idea to come home to Utah....

I don't miss movie prices in California--no 4.50 early matinees there--we all went out one night to see BOLT, in 3-D, and while the movie was pure throwback fun to classic Disney flicks of the past, I felt a little violated by good 'ol Cali at having to cough up 77 bucks for 6 tickets. GAAAAAH! And Holly wood wonders why people are going to the movies less and less--HMMMM 3 guesses, you Mensa geniuses...

We headed back to Nephi pretty early on Saturday, in order to beat the Zoobie hordes who would invariably return to campus either Saturday or Sunday. This, in hindsight, was a wise move. Sunday night, in looking off at I-15 from our upstairs window, it was BUMPER TO BUMPER TRAFFIC, MOVING AT 35 MPH. In FREAKING NEPHI. We saw nothing but tailights as far as could be all the way north. And all those cars didn't come from Scipio or Fillmore, which tells me traffic was heavy like that probably to Cedar City or St. George.

The original plan was to come back late Sunday afternoon or even on Monday, as I still had a full week off from work (I love this two week on/two week off schedule) but that was shortchanged when my hitch to California was moved up from February to now. So, after only a week off, I had the unenviable situation of driving back from Menifee on Saturday, only to get on a plane to Burbank early Monday morning.

THAT flight was fun. Not. Here I am with a million Delta miles, upgrades up the wazoo (ie I haven't flown in coach on a domestic Delta flight in about 3 years...), and I get STUCK ON SOUTHWEST! OUT OF A DELTA HUB IN SLC!. That's what I get for having a last minute ticket, I guess.. To make matters worse (in addition to the standard Soutwest cattle call seating cluster%$^&*...), I had to fly to Phoenix first. Making a 70 minute flight to Burbank a 5 hour odyssey. Heck, I could have driven from Nephi in eight hours, and that would have been more relaxing.

But I digress. I am finally out on a rig. My two compadres and I went through the one-day California rig safety training, required of everyone--from the engineers to the first-time roughnecks-- who will go onto any rig in the state. So. I finally a good idea of what prison school must be like. Bwaha.

I'm now on a schedule from 530PM to 530AM. Until 16 December. SO lucky me, I get to spend my 37th birthday (man 37 sounds OLD!)

On the plus side, I'll have about 4 weeks of time off waiting for me afterward....

I'd post something political, but I am still in denial over this whole Obama thing. Maybe later....