White Elephant Interns

Another day of maintenance in coil tubing. When we arrived this morning we sat around for about half an hour before they doled us out to people and their projects. I was so lucky as to be paired with a guy helping change filters, and fix a c pump on one of the pump trucks. First he showed me around it pointing out all the highlights. Then we propped the cab up (it's an over engine style tractor... old school) and looked around... then we put it down because we determined...well I dunno I think they may have just wanted to pawn it off on the mechanics. Either way we decided to wash it. That meant I stood around and waited my turn because they gave me the task of rinsing. The rinse hose has a small range but lots of water so you get soaked trying to do anything with it. I think they gave it to me because I'm the ignorant intern and they knew it was the worst part. Whatever. Anyway, they moved it into the shop afterward and I watched them change filters. I held one so it didn't spill diesel everywhere. Big day.

Before lunch we noticed that a couple guys were unloading watermelons onto the lawn in the yard--free for the taking! So I took one. Afterward I realized that I couldn't find my Clay (there are two, Anjelica was paired with the other Clay) and I was informed he probably just went to lunch. Awesome. So I did too. We ate and Slim Chickens (again) a place we LOVE. It was AMAZING as usual. We went ahead and took our time since everyone else seems to.

When we got back we were still ahead of everyone, so we visited the bulk plant. After killing some time we went to talk to Russel and Ryan about what to do with our afternoon. Unfortunately we were told just to head back to the boom truck with hydraulic problems that had been giving them fits since Saturday. We can't really help with this so we just stood and watched at a distance. Super boring. I think they forget we're around... again whatever. I wandered off to tell Russel and Ryan this and they were going to give us something else to do after they finished their paperwork but then the truck was fixed (finally!) and we had nothing to do. After a discussion of what to do with us it was decided that them spending time inventing tasks was a waste and we'd go home and work on our videos and papers. We got to leave early because we are basically inconvenient at this point. Oh well we got a short day and I'm not complaining.

After work we went to best buy to deal with Anjelica's sad camera and then we watched When In Rome... a predictable and super cheesy romantic comedy. It was cute. We also went to Wal Mart again for travel sized shampoo bottles for when we finally go out on a coil tubing job. I'm now trying to write my paper. It's been a pretty vanilla day really. Tomorrow morning we're going to go with Russel (who is the cell leader and a cool guy) to see a job site (all rigged up) for a quick tour to keep us from feeling so lost when we go...which seems like it will be Wednesday. Today wasn't a very inspiring day...sorry if this reads as boring to you (Mom, Scarlett, Nomi, Heather... possibly other people...) as it does to me. Hopefully tomorrow will be more exciting.

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...).

How is it only Tuesday!?!

Another day rigging up for frac. This time with yellow crew. Our location was really pretty if you stood on the edge and looked away from all the equipment...

It was another HOT day. Ridiculously hot and sweaty we helped hook up hose and fix fluid ends. We also helped clean up a spill on site which amounts to using a pickax and shovels to dig up the ground that is contaminated and put it in buckets to take back to the yard to be properly disposed of. I also got to hear stories from on the of the mechanics that would have made sailors blush. That kid is a piece of work. Good times.

While I'm getting quite proficient at drinking exactly enough water throughout the day, I've failed at eating. We stopped at McDonalds this morning on the way to the site for breakfast so that helped tide me over but all I ate for lunch was one of those little single serving cups of applesauce. I just can't eat when I'm that hot, sweaty, and dirty. Once we call it a day and get in the truck or van to go back, I use those baby wipes to mop up my face and hands at which point I realize I'm starving and I tear into the food I brought and didn't eat all day.

Speaking of food I was out of milk and rather than come home and shower before going to the store, we went to Wal Mart in our disgusting blues. It was nasty of us but we are not the first ones to do it. We got some funny looks and the kid that rang me up and I had an interesting exchange:

Kid: "How are you doing?"

Me: "Oh I'm just SUPER" dripping with sarcasm I smile so he get's it... "I smell and I'm ready to go home."

Kid as I grab my stuff: "Enjoy that shower." He smiled so I don't think he was being a douche.

Me: "OH I WILL!" He laughed. It was just kind of a funny/sad little exchange.

Tomorrow's yard time is 4:30 so again I try to remain optimistic about getting home before the sun goes down. We just barely made it today. The good news is that we are rigged up so for a couple of days we will be staging the job which means we interns don't do much (besides sweat profusely and get coated with sand). And now begins the countdown to the end of frac week: 4 days left!

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.