I am a Lone Star...

My parents have gone and I'm finally moved into my apartment. Now what? Well here's what I did today:

~Breakfast at Paris Coffee Shop

~Groceries at Tom Thumb (not kidding...check out the twitpic from that trip!)

~Rearranged the living room furniture

~Made sangria

~"Worked out" (a little... at least I TRIED!)

~Skyped Kyle

~Drank Sangria

All in all it was a productive day! More exciting news to follow once I start working. At least I hope so! ;)

Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah

I am here at...Rocheport Missouri...rhyming is overrated anyway. We arrived in Missouri Wednesday night after stopping off in Kansas City for dinner. We met Kyle and Chris (Scarlett's friend who is having her do website work) at Winstead's. If you've never been to one, go. It's cute. Very 50's diner-esque and tasty cheap burgers. Also the best onion rings I've had in a long time. Possibly ever. Bold statement, I know. But anyway...

We're staying with Scarlett's aunt and uncle in the tiny berg of Rocheport (population 208) which is comprised primarily of cute homes, b&b's, and antique shops. It's right on the Katy trail (the purpose of our trip) so it'd be an adorable place to stay if you were doing the Katy trail thing. Also it's close to Columbia and Booneville if you need to go shopping or anything of that nature.

Our trusty steeds courtesy of Chuck's Bikes in Booneville.

An OLD grain bin on the trail. A perfect chance to take a break. Hi, Scarlett!

A shot of the trail... super straight for a long time. But nice just the same... :)

Yesterday (Thursday) we biked from Booneville on rented bikes (thanks Chuck's Bikes!) back to the bridge just outside of Rocheport. We would have gone all the way "home" but the trail bridge is under construction. The trail is long and flat and for most of the portion we rode it was also straight. It's a nice easy ride and if the weather were nicer I could have rode longer than our two hours.

Scarlett looking up the mileage of our ride. Should've been about 13.5 miles but with the bridge out it may have been more like 10.

Stopped at Snoddy's after our ride to pick up a few things for breakfast. This is quite the convenience store. All kinds of goodies including decent wine!

Unfortunately the weather isn't cooperating so we are seeking other things to occupy our time. Today we walked down to the main drag and looky-loo'd through the antique shops and general store. I feel in love with some tiny little glass globes you put votive candles in and hang from the ceiling. I don't know where I'd put them so I didn't buy them... yet.

Now we're over in Columbia getting some Dunn Brother's coffee and mooching some free wireless. We are children of the computer era...we can't be disconnected for too long or we start to have meltdowns.

On the agenda for tonight: all we can eat fish dinner! Lent is not without it's perks. Unfortunately I'll probably go meat free again tomorrow because I forgot and had scramble this morning with sausage and bacon. Woops. Throw in a Hail Mary for me today, Mom.

We'll be heading back to Manhattan tomorrow "morning." On this trip morning has been whenever we roll out which tends to be near lunch. We'll see what that means tomorrow.

She LIVES!

I have survived! I came through finals ok and I made it through "NonTrad Christmas/Marin Road Trip 2011" virtually unscathed. I did make a few idle threats on my sisters' lives but who wouldn't? That back seat got a little small there near the end.

I have started my intersession class (roughly 1/2 done!) and I'm thinking back on the good time I had New Year's Eve. Time for a list!

2010, thanks for...

...MSDA. It was hell-on-wheels while we were in the middle of it but in hindsight it was a great experience and it brought me closer to so many of my classmates. I love togetherness!

...Paper Conference in San Antonio. Again with the togetherness! So many good times...

...the most epic pub-crawl we've ever seen. I may have coordinated it...I only wish it was something I could put on my resume.

...the summer in the oil fields. I know nobody saw that coming but it really was an adventure and I made some great friends. Can't complain about that!

...my wide travels. I've never felt so grown up as when I've been terrified that I would be lost, and then wasn't. I never got really lost and I did it all without Garmin SanDiego!

...Kyle. He's kinda cool. I sorta like him. But seriously he's fun and sometimes you need more fun in your life. :)

2010, what the hell?!...

...Susan & Mahjabeen leaving. Uncool. I'm going to be bitter with you about this for a while.

...Simulation. I knew it had to come around eventually but it was PAINFUL.

...The financial-aid-scares: the 2010 edition. Seriously I'm about on a first name basis with the graduate school and the financial aid people who have to do their black magic to get me my money. This is ridiculous.

2011, I'm excited you're here. Kudos on starting things off right. Always important to make a good first impression. Here's to hoping you and I have a good run!

Zombie story

So...It's been roughly a century since my last installment. I blame Simulation. I have spent nearly every night in the lab since then and a couple of those nights turned into mornings. I just woke up from a five hour nap...the first sleep I'd had since getting up for church on Sunday. I woke myself up because I didn't want to further mutilate my sleep schedule and wake up at three in the morning ready to meet the day.

Yester/today was brutal. We went in at one in the afternoon feeling fairly good about where we stood with the project but then we just kept finding things wrong with our model and had to keep troubleshooting and before we knew it we were just trying to crap out a paper by the deadline. It's not gonna be pretty.

I'm trying to think of things I've done since last I wrote but all I have in my head is the IMSE lab and simulation... poor Ed had the worst partner ever too. I tried to help but he is just way more dedicated and basically built our model by himself. I tried to hammer out the paper but he had to help because he knew more about our model than I did. Somehow he doesn't hate me, thank goodness.

Last weekend I visited Kyle in Kansas City. We went to the casino and I learned to play 21. Well I learned in the safety of his kitchen and then wasn't brave enough to play for real but I watched and I'm thinking maybe next time...if I have any disposable dinero. We'll see.

Oh! Mahjabeen got herself a blog too! It's about dang time! We have been waiting for some desi NYC adventure stories since she said "peace" to Kansas... check her out! She is the chutney to my samosa and I miss her but this will help a little. It's off to a "slow" start because she too is a busy graduate student but between the two of us we may update weekly! ;)

I don't know what else to tell you... I'm basically a zombie right now. I'm still going to go over to hang out with the guys and whoever is still alive... I want to hang out with these people and NOT talk about Simulation. I can barely believe I'm saying that considering I spent the past 24 hours with these folks. We got kinda close being so tired we were basically drunk... why not go be actually drunk! :)

Hopefully I'll get back to a real life this week before the next project gets crazy and if we play our cards right I may even write about it...

I live to simulate another day...

So SIM got done Friday at 9:10pm and I promptly went to get my fun on. Power hour at Brant's is always a good way to start the night. :) Actually before that I took a break to have Birthday dinner with Kyle. He took me to 4Olives which is swanky-er than I knew. It was AMAZING. He also brought me flowers. Very pretty ones...

See? :)

He's a nice boy. Anyway, the rest of the weekend was pretty much engulfed by sports. The cats won but I didn't see it live because of the crazy weather and my wimpy outlook on said weather. But it was ok because watching it at Leslie's over pizza sitting on a couch was much more enjoyable than sitting through the end of the cold and then through some steamy heat and burning sun to watch my cats play like a high school team and just pull out the win in the end. Anyway I digress. We spent some time with Preston (Kyle's BFF) and his family that evening and then some more time with friends in Aggieville. Today we watched the Chiefs game at Tubby's (again with Preston and his girlfriend Alex) before Kyle left for home. They won too. Which is good because I figure Kyle would be crabby if they lost. He'll be in fine gloating mode since my Broncos lost too. Awesome for me. Anyway. I digress again. This evening I went to play flag football for my department. It was double header night and we just couldn't pull out a win to save ourselves. But true to our unofficial name, we will show continuous improvement (team Kaizen!). Football is always fun even when we lose.

We get our next SIM project tomorrow (it's technically posted now but I'm too scared to look at it) and I have to knock out a quick CAM lab report tomorrow before class so tomorrow is shaping up to be super fun. On the bright side, Stacey brought me cookies tonight for my birthday so I have those to look forward to...

PS Chicago pictures are uploading and I'll try to pick out highlights to post soon. I'm just too tired to do it now.

Holy AWOL Batman

So I've been effectively ignoring this sucker for a while. My bad. It's not like I have such a whirlwind lifestyle that I can't update, in fact it's more the opposite. I am doing nothing worth talking about and then when I do I am busy doing that thing and can't tell you about it. I also usually forget to tell any good stories after the fact. Blogging may not be my calling...

Things I think that might be worth mentioning (sorry if I'm wrong):

Robbie got an office... mine! We are now office mates! It's gonna be awesome. By awesome I mean we'll get nothing done. Oh well. It'll be fun.

I learned a new recipe: eggplant bruschetta... it's amazing. Like life changing. I had never really eaten much eggplant so I was just feeling adventurous and it turned out phenomenally. If you want to have your life changed please see one of my new fave food blogs: smittenkitchen.com specifically http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/08/eggplant-salad-toasts/print/ . Hang on to your butts people. It's gonna blow your mind. Also see http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/11/mustard-roasted-potatoes/ if there's anything left of your brain... these will polish it off.

I visited Kyle at the end of August for a wedding and I have now been to Power and Light! It's pretty fun... basically an upscale version of Aggieville. Good times.

This past weekend we put a tally in the win column for the Wildcats... always a good time. I had forgotten how much I missed gameday... tailgating before hand, standing in the sun while I get burnt to a crisp, cheering for the cats and telling the refs how to do their job... ahh... so glad it's fall again.

Last night we went to watch Fiddler on the Roof...on the roof of Fiedler Hall. Yea. I know. A laptop, a projector, and 70 ft. of extension cord require an epic venue. Mission accomplished.

So all in all it's been a semi-eventful couple weeks. Hope you don't feel cheated by not getting this info live. Trust me...it wouldn't have been much more interesting in multiple installments.

Gone Rogue

So I've been AWOL for a while again... sorry about that. I've been enjoying what summer vacation I get. Kyle visited me in Manhattan when I got back which meant I didn't sit down and type up anything. I then journeyed to exotic St. Francis (SFKS as I've been known to call it...) where I have hunkered into the buttery soft leather couches my parents put in our living room and realized I left my laptop cord in Manhattan so blogging has stayed by the wayside. Woops.

Manhattan is LOVELY... I just missed it SO MUCH! Kyle and I visited his friends...in Aggieville, and Pillsbury Crossing (I've never been so I can cross that one of the ol' bucket list). We also went and saw The Expendables (because as girlfriends go I am fantastic) which was pretty good (Kyle might have LOVED it) and saw Kate and Dad on their way to (and from) Atchison. All in all it was a pretty stellar weekend.

I came home Sunday (sans laptop cord) to hang out with the fam and meet our new dog Jackson (who we call Jack, naturally) who happens to be the cutest, most awkward dog ever. I love him already. The family is pretty busy living their lives so I sleep in and bond with the couch but I do get some face time with Aly...by visiting her at work. She's across the street at the "St. Francis Aquatic Park" (if you want to see the reason behind the sarcastic quotes, I'll show you on google street view why it's so ironic) where I used to "work" (best gig ever). I've tuned up my "tan" and even reconfirmed that I can still do a "one and a half" off the diving board (kind of... I think I may bruise a little from my less than graceful entry).

Last night we also went to dinner at Big Ed's just because I requested it (my family loves me...and steak). Tonight I made them Pioneer Woman pancakes so I think we're about even. On tomorrow's agenda is mani/pedi's for Aly and I (a late birthday present...) and then I think I may head back east. Mom's trying to talk me out of it (which I respect) but I have stuff to do in MHK so it's anyone's battle at this point. We'll see.

For now I close with this: I have been told that this blog shouldn't die with my internship ending. Should I chose to keep this up, a problem arises: what do I call this after I'm not having intern adventures? I'll probably keep the URL (to make my life easy) but the title should probably get a facelift. I'll be thinking on this as you should be dear reader(s?). If you have any wicked ideas please feel free to post them in the comments section and help a sister out. I can only be so creative on my own.

Peace, Love, and Chicken Grease, Sam

Happy Thoughts

Today was eons better than the past two days. We are done rigging up and are now actually running stages. We also followed Jose, the on site engineer to see what an engineer does on one of these jobs. Turns out being an engineer on a frac site is much less miserable. We spent the first half of the day in the FracCAT (Fracturing Computer Assisted Treating) which is air conditioned and only kind of dirty. They monitor all the pumps, densities, rates, and downhole conditions from computers in the FracCAT and call the shots or "treat the job." It's kind of boring to watch, especially since we can't hear what all the guys on site are talking about over the radio but it was much nicer than roasting.

The second half of the day, we wandered outside to look helpful. I didn't do a whole lot but I went to sit and watch Jimmie run the POD and after a bit he let us interns run it. It was kinda fun. After that we wandered around and "helped" fix one of the pumps. We didn't do much since when you are pumping the job, things are set unless something breaks, so when it does EVERYONE kinda dives on it.

Since I've been whining so much (since we started) about frac, and since today was unusually smooth, and since we have a 10 hour night and thus a "late" yard time of 5:45, and all of this puts me in a good mood, I'm going to make one of my "famous" lists of things I am thankful for:

1. Showers, soap, loofah's, and shampoo. As a team, these things can erase a really bad day. Love you all.

2. "Underarmor" and all things like it. Special shout-out to Wal Mart and Starter for giving me access to this miracle fabric at an affordable price.

3. Fruit. Even when you are hot, sweaty, smelly, and generally disgusting, and when food doesn't even sound good, fruit still does.

4. Baby wipes. These little guys can get you just clean enough to enjoy some fruit after a long day on site. They get the grime and dirt off your face and hands but don't burn if you rub your eyes with them. Praise be to the Lord in heaven.

5. Gatorade. Orange specifically. Regular or the low cal version. Great stuff.

6. Beef jerky. When you are starving and you've eaten all your fruit, beef jerky makes you feel like you've really eaten something. For realz.

7. Dr. Sholls heel supports. Steel toed boots are rough and tough, but these guys make them less rough on me.

8. My PPE (I know... I know... I also hate it but hear me out here). Those blues are one big napkin and it's kind of a badge of honor when they stop looking so blue. That hard hat has sheilded my head from countless encounters with corners and edges of trucks, pipe, and valve wings--bless that thing. And my RedWings...I've dropped enough heavy hose and pipe on them to really know what it means to love steel toes. I've also used them to kick countless things that would have annihilated my feet. Love you guys.

9. Sunscreen. As a ginger, sunscreen is my religion. My nose may be a little pink and kind of peeling but I can't imagine the state I would be in if I hadn't worn sunscreen. Like Kyle said, I burn like a cheap pizza.

10. Toaster strudel. Starting your day with one of these does things you wouldn't believe for your morale. I only have one left so I may have to make a second post-job-Wal Mart run tomorrow so people can look at me funny as I stink up the aisles. They're that important to my day.

11. Microwave dinners. When you get home at 8 and you first and foremost need a shower, being able to eat 5 minutes after you set foot in the kitchen seems like the stuff of fairy tales. And the box says LEAN Cuisine so it's good for me (please don't shatter this illusion, it keeps me going).

I have a dozen other things and those are the things that keep me from hiding under the sand chief in the middle of the day. I can't think of everything just now but I'll keep you posted if I remember any other really good ones. You know, besides the standards (I don't have cancer or AIDS, I have never been shot at, I am not a starving child in Cambodia being chased by a tiger...).

The hottest day ever

Today we hung out with Reggie who maintains the iron. He is in charge of making sure that each piece of piping, chicksun (I guess how to spell that every time), and valve gets taken out of rotation for inspection at the correct interval and he also tests the equipment (trucks with pumps and so forth) before they go back into the field after they come in for maintenance. Testing of the iron is done at FMC (we were told this stands for Food Manufacturing Company... a company that has expanded beyond it's beginnings obviously) which is just down the road. Reggie drives over there to pick things up and drop things off daily. That's what we did this morning... except that he left us there for 30 or 40 minutes to help the big guy running the forklift organize the old jumbled iron sitting outside. Yep, we spent that time team lifting very heavy lengths of 3' and 4' pipe onto pallets and shuffling chicksuns from pallet to pallet so they were more organized. I sweat more than I have sweat so far this summer. Partly from the lifting and partly because today we were under a heat advisory and doing all this lifting in the morning sun. I know that I was ripe by the end of the day.

On a fun note we ate at a place named Holly's today for lunch. It's a place where a group of women just make what they want to make and you file up cafeteria style and just pick out a main dish and two sides and then pay at the end of the counter. I was good! Like having mom cook for me... miss you girl!

We (Anjelica and I...Nick's on his three day weekend) spend half of tomorrow with Reggie again and the second half we have to clean out the cabs of ALL the trucks in the yard. I'm not excited about this but I bought ForceFlex trash bags tonight for the cause and I plan to sneak some rubber gloves from the lab before we start tomorrow. Saturday we are to "inventory the trucks" which means we need to know what trucks are in the yard and what they all do. We also have to be able to diagram all the workings of a cement truck by the end of Saturday. Should be interesting.

Sunday begins frack. We'll call in Saturday night to find out our yard time and on Sunday we ship out for a 12 to 16 hours and then come home for a shower and brief nap before doing it again the next day. I don't think this will be my favorite part but I don't think I can get out of it. I've begged Kyle to come kidnap me and he refuses. He told me to be tough and that I could do it. It's like he talked to Dad. Suspicious. Anyway, Reggie used to be a fracker so he had some advice for us today. We went to Wal Mart (a theme of my life these days sadly) and got not-UnderArmor, Gatorade, and fruit. He assures us that these will be much needed items for the coming week. We are grateful to have had this talk with Reggie.

On an unrelated note I've eaten Toaster Strudel for breakfast for the past couple days. I haven't had those things in years and I've missed them. Mom wasn't one for random junk food but she did let us do the Toaster Strudel thing. Thanks, Mom!

Oh yea... it's PAYDAY!!!! My favorite day of all... something good on the hottest day ever.

Independence Day

I had this past weekend off so I got to leave Conway and go get a drink of something besides the blue kool-aid I've been sippin' on for a month. I chose to drive (6.5 hours) up to KC to visit the boy and Carrie who's interning with Honeywell in KC. I had been hoping to see some others but a three day weekend ain't much to work with. C'est la vie.

As is custom on 'Merica's birthday, we blew up plenty of fireworks. There was grilling and some beer and even a pool. All in all, a good weekend best summed up by the exchange between Kyle and the guy who sold us our fireworks:

Kyle: The fourth of July is my favorite holiday. Grilling, drinking, the lake...

Fireworks dude: ...and you get to spend it with who you want!

Haha.