This hitch I was switched to a new rig. It's an exploratory well. Which means we are far outside of Deadhorse. And this is a well drilled to see how well this particular area produces, hence, exploration. Since I am a contractor, working on a different rig means working with different companies. So a bit of a different routine and change in paperwork. Which means it is taking me a bit to catch up and reorient myself. Additionally this means I am working with different mud engineers. So far they have been laid back, nice, and very helpful. However I don't ever work at the same time as any of them, so I won't get to know them as well as my old night engineer buddies. Luckily my old engineering mentors are often working the same time as me and don't mind a middle of the night inquiry about something mud related. Also, the rig layout is totally different than my previous rig. Luckily, this rig is a lot easier to get around. It is much smaller and has less stairs and confusing turns. All the third party contractors are in there own little buildings. Now that means I am alone in my little office/lab building a lot of the time. I still go wander around especially when we are busy and I need to be checking up on things and communicating with everyone but the majority of my time is in my little box. Its probably 20 ft long by 8 ft wide. The width is just long enough to hold a bed at one end of the lab. I don't sleep here though, it is just a leftover from the times when just one engineer worked on a well. They would sleep on site when they weren't working so they would still be available for the important things. Now that there are two engineers on duty, sleeping is frowned upon. The rest of my box (I would call it a cubicle but it isn't technically a cube. I might call it a boxicle because it sounds more fun. Technically, it is a rectangular prism. I suppose I could call it my prism, but that might cause a misunderstanding and imply I am in prison. But it is a funny pun....I will decide what to call my boxicle prism later. Apologies for getting carried away with this parathesis.) is my desk along one wall with my mud testing equipment lined up against the other. I even have a window, however it looks out at a different little box and is covered with a blanket for added insulation. So I still don't see much of the sun, and I wouldn't even if I had an open window with a view as the nights are still dark. I do get to see the sun when I arrive and leave work. It still is a tad bleak, more flat and white and ferociously cold than anything else. So sometimes I take a few Vitamin D pills and sit in front of my space heater and dream about being on a tropical island. I did hear there are 4 (!) women on this rig. I haven't met them all, I believe a couple work during the day. But it surprised me since that seems like a lot comparatively. But it was exciting to hear that. My least favorite part of my new rig....no cell service whatsoever and no internet except at work. Which means not only am I bored out of my mind at camp, but it's also lonely not being able to stay in regular contact with my family and Travis. I am working on emailing everyone during slow times when I have a break. But that is always an unpredictable method of communication. And it also means I can't add a picture to this blog post. I'm hoping that's a fact my readers can forgive.
And for not rig news....Travis and I are expanding our little family by one! We are excited to add a sure to be adorable little one after the wedding. Not sure if it will be a boy or girl but either is fine with us, we are just happy to be getting a little bundle of joy and happiness. I'm excited to announce we are....not pregnant. I hope I fooled at least someone for a second. But we are planning on getting a puppy after the wedding. In fact we were second in line to get a female Leonberger puppy but the litter was so small, we didn't make it high enough on the list which made me very sad. This was our top breed on our list we were considering but they are a rare enough dog that we probably won't get another chance at one for a while. They are massive dogs that look like lions, but they are know to be really sweet. We planned on naming one Mufassa or Nala. Since Leonbergers aren't likely to happen for us soon, we are looking instead at Mastiffs (our joint second pick), Newfoundland (my personal pick), and Saint Bernards (Travis's pick). We plan on chatting with breeders of these three dogs and seeing who has puppies available in the near future. And whichever of these works out is just the dog we are destined to end up with. When in doubt, let the universe decide.
