I'm not dead yet!

Ugh. What a week. I've been stupidly busy trying to learn all of our QA/QC procedures down here, in addition to familiarizing myself with the equipment we use for the large jobs down here that are virtually nonexistant in Canada. It's going quite well - the first day was chaotic but I think I've got most of the details pegged now.

The brutal part about the week has been the cold that I came down with on Tuesday. I should have probably expected it, but it still took me by surprise. Long days (typically getting back home no earlier than 8 pm) combined with little sleep were doing wonders for my sanity. I spent the weekend inside to recover. While this would normally be a sensable precaution, a severe lack of entertainment options nearly did me in. The only books I had were for the APEGGA exam - dry reading at the best of times, which the weekend was not. No internet access (otherwise I would have updated this sooner) left me with little else to resort to but daytime television.

The horror.

At least the Food Network down here hasn't resorted to showing restaurant renovation shows for 90% of their content. Between that and Discovery channel I was able to survive - barely.

So here I sit in the lab at work. We can't work until later this afternoon, since that's the soonest we'll have fluid samples for tomorrow's well. This morning promises to pass by very slowly...

im in ur country steelin ur jobz

Gah.

I'm actually in Denver now. To give you some idea of how shocking this revelation is supposed to be, allow me to run you through yesterday:

12:00: Arrive at Calgary International Airport for my 3:15 flight. I arrived early because I had no idea how long it would take to process my work visa.

12:15: Clear check in. Notice that the flight is delayed by 20 minutes. No big deal.

12:45: Get my work visa processed. That was quick!

1:00: Clear customs.

1:15: Notice that flight has now been pushed back to 5:00. Sigh. It was to be expected, since everything was going so well.

2:30: Notice that flight has been pushed back to 5:45. Get irked.

3:00: Flight is pushed back to 5:55.

3:30: Informed that our plane has just left Denver. They hope to land by 5:30 and take off by 6:00.

5:30: Plane lands in Calgary.

6:00: Board plane.

6:30: Plane departs Calgary.

8:35: Plane lands in Denver and promptly remains on the runway since there isn't any place to park it.

9:20: Plane actually docks at the airport.

9:45: Pick up luggage.

10:20: Finally get a cab (first time in my life I've exited an airport and there isn't a cab to be found). Too bad the cabbie has no idea how to get to Longmont, where my apartment apparantly is.

11:30: Finally get to my apartment. Dispite my misgivings, I don't think that the driver took my on a cross country tour. It took a fair amount of time for me to get back into downtown this morning.

Will post more soon (hopefully), but I'm now awash in a new environment with many new things to learn.

On My Way

And, with visa papers in hand I'm ready to start the next leg of my journey. Hopefully customs will be somewhat obliging to processing everything and I'll actually make my flight.

Actually, I should probably be more concerned about getting back to Calgary in February. I have a history of problems returning to Canada from the US on business with my company. Some of you may remember such memorable tales as "Stuck at the Coutts border on a holiday." and "Snowed in for two days in Denver."

On a more serious note, some of you may have noticed me seeming somewhat out of sorts over the last few days/weeks. Suffice it to say that I've had a lot on my mind with this move coming up. None of it has really come up to the surface yet, so it's just been bubbling away in my subconscious. The end result has been me being more than a little distracted to everything, and I just wanted to thank you all for all of your support since I first thought about doing this...

...and also for the copy of Deliverance from the guys at work. If I didn't have enough reservations already...

CMHPG and Zirconium and Borate oh my!

My brain is full.

I've spent the last two days getting a crash course on our U.S. chemical systems. Granted there are less of them than we use up here, but it was still a lot to take in since even the Southern versions of the systems I'm familiar with are tweaked. Fortunately, it's not like I'm expected to memorize them, just become familiar with them.

I managed to get a little more info on my expected duties in Arkansas as well. Essentially, when something goes wrong, people will be looking to me. Not for solutions, just for someone to hang.

Okay, it's not really that bad - I won't be completely isolated, but I've still been left wondering if I'm making the right choice.

Things About Calgary I Will Not Miss #1:

The Drivers.

From the first day I got my drivers license I've been shocked by the incredible depths of stupidity that they sink to on a daily basis. After 15 years driving here you'd think that I'd be used to it and not be able to be surprised, but sure enough every time I go on the road (and most times I'm walking) somebody pulls some stunt that puts them on my list of people that must be eliminated from the gene pool (along with their offspring) for the good of humanity.

Ciao.

Well, Siochain's moved up to Edmonton officially now.

Take care of yourself up there.

Buttery Goodness

It's amazing what one can do with 1.7 pounds of butter, 3.3 cups of sugar, 1.25 cups of rum, 16 eggs, some various other ingredients and a half-decent kitchen.

The result (pictured left) is a Frankfurter Kranz - AKA a Frankfurt Crown, AKA a Frankfurt Heart Attack - that I baked for my mom's birthday the other day.

That's right. The boy can actually cook. Try to get over the shock please. All you ladies of the Great White North had your chance. You could have had a piece, but you all decided that you were too good for me. Well, it's too late now! The Rocky Mountain Polar Bear is packing up and moving down South! The ladies of Arkansas get to sample his kitchen! Who's laughing now?

Errm. I mean, Happy Birthday Mom.

Merry Christmas!

To all those celebrating the Orthodox Christmas, Merry Christmas.

Just finished the traditional 12 course meal at my folks house. It was scaled down, of course, since it was just the three of us.

Still, I was surprised to learn that salt and pepper count as a course each...

I want my Beebe back, Beebe back, Beebe back... ribs

Well, everything seems to be moving along quickly. I start doing a little bit of chemical training here on the 18th, then after a couple of days I head down to Denver for a month of field training and familiarization with the software, equipment, and people. Finally, by the 19th of February I move on down to the location of our new district office - beautiful Beebe, Arkansas (Population: 5000). Located just 30 miles Northeast of Little Rock, Beebe is noted for having more churches (18) than fast-food restaurants (17). Sounds lovely right? Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that it's located in a dry county?

What the hell am I getting myself into?