Never take your friends shopping...

Yesterday was...boring. We spent the morning presenting our findings on wind energy knowing that the oil/gas team was going to slay us. Good news is, when you put me in a corner I come out swinging. We did a good job and our class was reasonable and since our moderator didn't insist on sticking to the unanimous decision (or any well defined decision for that matter) we never officially lost. We spent the afternoon in a "round table" and doing "one on one interviews" which translates into we spend a good three hours just sitting in our classroom sporcle-ing and napping.

We came home and I got a nap in before making shake-and-pour pancakes for Jennifer and I. Those things are tastier than they sound. We then spent time trying to round people up for a night at the Dusty Dog. We got several people interested and were going to be on our way when we were informed we had to wait for birthday cake in honor of Eric's 21st. Once we all made it to the Dog there was some drama over people not quite as old as Eric (was going to be in 30 minutes from when they ousted him). Finally everything was fine and we had a grand time buying him drinks and carousing with the middle-aged clientèle of the establishment. Things were great until we went to go home and some guy had parked literally touching my car. Good news was he somehow managed to touch it but not put any kind of dent in it. The "mark" was deemed so slight that we could buff it out with some turtle wax which Kevin helped me purchase this morning. That is on tomorrow's agenda. Special shout-out to Kevin for being the ringmaster of our little drunk circus and being a super sport about everything including dealing with the guy who can't park his car.

Today was shopping with the girls. It was deadly. When you take your friends shopping they can help you justify every purchase you consider. I finally have a swimsuit (which I needed because it's HOT as all get out here) but I also have a couple of skirts, two shirts, a pair of sandals and a new set of Sperry's (those were on sale and I've always wanted them and I assure you I thought that one through thoroughly and the fact that Kayla and Jennifer were also buying Sperry's had NOTHING to do with that choice). We also went for cheesecake at Cheesecake Factory. Amazing as you would imagine. I can now personally recommend the White Chocolate Carmel Macadamia Nut Cheesecake. It may have changed my life.

The plan for tonight is line dancing. We were going to go to a rodeo but found out we missed the boat by a day. But for those of us who want a good "midwestern" experience, line dancing is the next best thing. I'm pretty excited about it. I need a reason to wear my new clothes anyway...

Oh wireline...

Today was day one of wireline. We're doin' this all week. Wireline is the method of gathering data about a well (and more specifically the geology below the well site and many facts about it's properties). This data is gathered by lowering any number of tools down a borehole on a length of wire--hence the name wireline. We spent the day with a guy from Trinidad who had the best accent. He was lots of fun (as are most of the teachers and employees) and I'm sad we don't get him all week. He told us all kinds of things about wireline and then trotted us down hill to see some stuff. Thankfully it was rainy today so we didn't sweat our butts off in our PPE. We also got to talk to a couple of wireline operators of sorts--not engineers but the guys who rig up and run the equipment--and they seemed fun. They told us that we were entering the field at a good time because things were just starting to pick up after a slump. I couldn't help but think that it feels like the worst time what with the situation in the gulf but whatever...

After class today I learned a new word from my friend Kayla. She's Canadian (from Alberta--the only rat-free province...only rat free place really) so we teach each other slang words. The word of today is keener. I guessed on the spelling but keener means someone who is overeager. Think the extra credit whore in class who sits up front and tries to butter up the teacher. Can also be the kid with 20 colors of pens and lots of tabbed folders and all kinds of sticky labels for things. I like this word. I got it in exchange for janky (or jankity as I sometimes use). Even trade I'd say. PS here's a picture of Kayla(she's between Jennifer and I). I like her lots. She's fun. In this particular picture we are displaying our excitement about the circus we are about to see.