And the skies opened up, and God said...

People rejoice for there hath been a miracle! When we arrived for our 8am yard time (praise be it was so late!) we found out that today (not tomorrow) was our last day of frac! Knowing that it was in fact my last day made today a lot more bearable. We were rigging up (night crew rigged down after we left last night) which is a long, rough day. Fortunately, little of the equipment had been moved when we got there so we didn't have too much work to do. We ended up taking a lot of good breaks which helps a lot. There was also a good breeze most of the day (See? God exists and he loves me!). To top it all off the crew we worked with (all new guys minus Justo and Leelund) was pretty fun. Citizens of Francie, brace yourselves--one of my new favorite guys is John Stevens. He's an older guy, native to Arkansas and he cracks me up! I can't tell you some of his catch phrases that have become common to the crew (words unfit for civilized company) but they get me every time. I also had a heart to heart with Leelund today while we soaked up a bit of air conditioning. He told me a little about his life--he's my age but married three years with two little girls. I finally met the infamous duo of Flower and Daisy. People talk about them as a set (because they have the same shift schedule) and so I've been waiting to meet them. Flower got his nickname because he's "a bloomin' idiot" (seems nice to me) and Daisy started with him and they couldn't both be flower... these two are good guys and Daisy even told me on the ride home that he appreciated having us there and that we should skip out on coil tubing and stay with the yellow crew (at least for rig ups anyway). Nice thing to say. And best of all, I met a fellow Wildcat today--Mike is a recent grad of K-State (Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering) and he's been with the company only since the beginning of the year. We agreed that there is no place like Manhattan and he misses it. Also best of all because we were rigging up and didn't need to wait to be relieved, we got home around 7:30. AWESOME!

Tomorrow we're going to go in and help with maintenance of the coil tubing equipment. Tommy (the guy in charge of coil tubing) said that if we get it all done he likes to give his crews Sundays off. Furthermore, because these crews don't have shifts and they go out and stay until the job is done, meaning a few days at a time, he would probably put us on the crew that he was sending a trailer with. That goes out most likely on TUESDAY!!! So much time not spent working (or at least not like we've been the past week) and it's not even my birthday... This morning was just full of great news. Probably another reason my day seemed so much less painful than it should have.

Right now I am eating pizza I had delivered by Papa Johns. It tastes like possibly the best pizza ever. Maybe because I haven't eaten normally all week. Maybe because it is the best pizza ever. The world may never know.

It's Thursday I think...

So the days are running together again... we had a discussion this morning before leaving the yard and someone had lost a week of their life... they thought it was the 15ht or so and this came to light when they checked their phone because they didn't believe it was Thursday.

Today was another day of staging the job. I planned my day a little better and spent my morning outside and my afternoon in the FracCAT. I didn't really do anything at all today. Just watched and listened. Towards the end of the day I did go sit next to Justo who runs the 13 pump trucks on location from the FracCAT and he kind of taught me his job. It was pretty interesting and intense. Basically, if sh!t hits the fan, it's kind of his head on the chopping block. No pressure. He let me prime up the pumps on our last stage of the night. Very thrilling. ;) We also ran into Brendan today finally. The wireline guys are there and between stages they set plugs and perforate. We assumed we'd have to see Brendan on one of these crews eventually and it finally happened today. He has yet to work a weekend and he just works when he wants to. It made me want to punch him a little bit.

Our day didn't end until 9 or so because we were late arriving this morning (had to wait for the rig relocaters... the people they hire to drive us around when we're out of vans or drivers) and on our drive home Jose (the engineer), Anjelica and I fell asleep in the back of the pick-up. This meant that the driving supervisor and Leelund (an operator) decided to mess with us and pull the ol' drive over the rumble strips, swerve and yell obscenities trick. Needless to say that was the highlight of their day.

I forgot to mention a couple of things I am thankful for. A couple of the non-tangibles...

* Notes from my mother who remind me of the closet of last summer and how awful that job was and how much she loves and misses me. Thanks Momma!

* Notes from Emily that say things like please quit your job and come back immediately or I miss you. It's nice to know I'm missed by people besides my Mom (no offense Mom, but you're a given and I love you for that!)

* Texts from Kyle that say things like you'll be alright, and hang tough. Though they kind of irritate me at the time it's only because I know he's right and I do need to just woman up already. Sometimes you just need to hear it.

*Bananas. I know it seems random but last night I didn't get cramps in my calves in the middle of the night and I'd like to give at least half of the credit to the banana I ate that morning. The other half goes to stretching. Cramps in the middle of your 6 hours of sleep suck big time. Potassium for the win!

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!

Frac Orphans

Today we arrived for our 6:15 yard time and were orphaned by the Yellow crew due to a lack of space in the van. Anjelica and I weren't sure what to do with ourselves and Andrew of the Red crew adopted us (so we got to hang with Nick). We didn't leave until approximately 9 am so I took a good 2 hour nap on a desk in the break room. Both crews were rigging up today and both crews had some issues getting the equipment transfered from sight to sight so it was a sort of slow day. We helped change out valves in the fluid ends of the pumps and general setting up of the site. It was nice that we weren't covered in sand but it made for a lot of sitting around. The good thing was everyone was sitting waiting for equipment to arrive so we didn't look like too much extra dead weight. It was another crazy hot day and again I succeeded in hydrating adequately and not having to pee at the sight. Win for me! I also acquired a couple new nicknames from Cody (a frac'er): Toto (you have no idea how many Dorthy/Kansas jokes I've endured...I've lost count) and Sam-I-Am. They pair up nicely with Jay's "Red." All in all, it wasn't a terrible day. I'm still counting down the days until frac is over though. Sorry Chetsi.

Gahhh Frac

So far Frac is my least favorite. The days are crazy long and as an intern who isn't qualified to do anything we just stand around and watch people do things...when they do them. Sometimes we stare at eachother doing nothing. It was also approximately as hot as the surface of the sun.

We had a 5am yard time this morning meaning we arrived on the job sight around 6:30 or so. Anjelica and I were then assigned to follow our new friend Chetsi (a new hire who lives in an apartment upstairs from us). She's a super green hat also so none of us are really qualified to do much. This is where a lot of the standing around originated I think. That and we were there for 14 hours and you can't possibly be busy for 14 hours straight. As far as I'm aware we completed about four stages on the two wells at the site. It could have been five because I wasn't sure exactly what was going on when we arrived that morning. When we got there they were fixing the POD (truck that mixes the sand and water for the job). At the end of the day they were having problems with the PCM (precision continuous mixer). In between there we frac'ed four or five segments of the wells and wireline guys set plugs between them. That was the day in a nutshell.

I learned a little more about the plug and frac interaction, the set up of the job (where the PCM and the acid trucks get into the sequence etc...), and the general atmosphere of a frac job. I also operated a shovel and was allowed to carry empty buckets back to the chem transport truck. I also learned that when everyone disappears they have gone to the tractor cabs to cool off and we were allowed to do the same. And we did. A lot. I also reaffirmed my ability to fall asleep sitting up and or standing propped against a truck. I didn't mean to but you can only watch sand fly into a slinger from a sand cheif for so long before your brain shuts down and your eyes and body follow suite. Woops.

Overall the day was kind of miserable. There is sand EVERYWHERE... all over everything and all over you. I can't imagine that anyone working as a frac'er would ever agree to go to the beach. It would be too much like work. On the plus side I drank just enough fluids to keep properly hydrated but I never had to use a port-o-potty (yea I sweat that much). Thank the Lord in heaven for that. I hate those things.

Tomorrow's yard time is 6:15 so that will be a bit better but I imagine that just means we'll be back a bit later. I hope not but I'm assuming the worst. We'll spend the day rigging up because we were just finishing the job when we left (it had started on Tuesday of last week and each well needed 13 stages which takes...well until Sunday night) and it is being rigged down tonight as I type this up. It's going to be a long day tomorrow and a long week. I'll try to remain faithful to you dear readers (Mom, Scarlett, and...well you may be it) and post nightly but I make no promises. If you don't hear from me, know that I am probably fine just really sweaty and sandy.

Accidental day off...

Today has been AMAZING. We went in at 9 and spent half an hour drawing up cement job layouts and when we were through there was no one around to tell us if we'd done a good job or what else to do so we went home. We stopped for a treat at Starbucks (no coffee pot in the apartment...not ok) and then we realized, WE HAVE THE DAY TO OURSELVES!!! I did something I haven't done in a while...I went to the gym. I know crazy days we're living in. Working this kind of schedule is changing me. I'm doing crazy things. To balance my craziness I then spent a little time pool side trying to iron out the weirdo tank pattern I've been rocking from the Fourth of July parade. Hopefully I made some progress. Time will tell.

I'm showered and dressed (again!) like a real person. I'm going to put on some makeup (gasp!) and go to evening Mass tonight since we'll be leaving for frac in the morning (not sure exactly when but it will be EARLY PANTS!). When I get back Anjelica and I have decided to go to Los Potrillos for mexican food and margaritas to give ourselves a last hurrah before we give our lives to frac. I'm going out in style! I keep acting like I'm being sent away to Siberia permanently... I'm so dramatic sometimes.

Frac Approaches

I have been spelling it wrong I think. I believe I should have stopped at the c (frac seems to be how everyone abbreviates it). Oh well... I'll press on.

Today we were supposed to have the morning with Reggie but he didn't have much to work on so we cleaned trucks early and helped him when we were done. We watched him test a truck and fix it and test it again. Actually we went to lunch in there (Taco Bueno which is my new favorite!). After lunch we also got Reggie to explain to us all the frac trucks and the basic set up of a frac job. That was our task for the afternoon--figuring out all the trucks in the yard (name and purpose). We also went through the coil tubing trucks with Eric (a coil tubing guy obviously). We're saving cement for tomorrow because we kinda know it already and tomorrow we have to diagram a job anyway.

Because it was a slow morning and we worked ahead we got to leave at 3:30. This meant we were home during daylight and we went to the POOL! I have been swimming precisely twice this summer which is horrifying considering my history with aquatic activity. it was a much needed swim. To top it off we ate Pioneer Woman pancakes again. Those things can change lives. For serious they are amazing. PW, I love you. After we ate pancakes (from heaven) we went to see Inception. Spoiler alert: It's AWESOME. Ok kidding about the spoiler part but not kidding about the awesome. (Dad, you would like it a lot. Go see it please. I'm sure it will come to Francie eventually. Do it. ) And the best part? I put on REAL CLOTHES for this. We're talking, JEANS, and NOT A T-SHIRT. I even wore MASCARA! Big night on the town! I haven't worn mascara in...weeks. I wear almost exclusively athletic shorts and t-shirts (don't even talk to me about a real bra...). Getting really dressed was kind of amazing in itself. Listen to me... I'm going slowly crazy.

Tomorrow we get to diagram the cement job and make sure we know about the cement trucks (that we already know so intimately... sleeping in them will do that). This shouldn't take long so we're going to treat ourselves to sleeping in and going in a little later than 7 and we're thinking we'll be out early again as well. Not sure what we'll do with our extra time but I'm sure we'll try to make the most of it. Frac starting Sunday is like a mini death sentence--you have two days to live and then... they own you. But it's only for a week and if this internship is teaching me anything, it's that I can go with the flow and tough it out for a week. Wish me luck!