black seadevil
I wouldn’t exactly call these 10 stories “bizarre”, but at least they were interesting and about a few of the interesting things going on out there on/in the water. 🙂
I just stumbled across this post and thought I would share. If I had more time to spend online, I’m sure I could find things a LOT more “bizarre” than they chose to write about here…
10 bizarre ocean stories from 2014 – GrindTV.com.
Good ideas for more posts later I guess. 😉
Looks like I’ll be leaving soon after all. I was not expecting this at all. Not that I’m complaining. It’s always nice to be getting off work and going home. 🙂
I’m now busy trying to get everything done I need to do before leaving here. I have a room-mate so I can’t get in my room til he gets out tonight. I need to get in there to get my seamans books to have the captain sign me off.
I’ll have to get up (even more) early in the morning to pack. I have to put away my hard hat and coveralls somewhere in case I come back here. There’s no way I can fit that stuff in my carry on bag which is all I brought with me this trip (due to helicopter weight limits here).
It seems I always have too much to do and too little time. I’m already making plans for my time off (or trying to- it’s very hard to plan anything much when I don’t know how long I’ll be home for).
I’m really hoping to be able to get down to Panama this time. 🙂
Here’s some nice, mellow music to start the new year. It’s an instrumental by Songs of Water. I don’t usually listen to this kind of thing. I really like the stories they tell in some songs. I prefer songs with someone singing words I understand- which eliminates most rap songs and opera. 😉
But this is nice and it fits my mood lately. 🙂
I got that cool ‘Year in Review’ email from WordPress about my blog. I see in my reader that a lot of other people are posting about how their blogs did through the year. I’ll probably make a post like that too. I thought it might be a good idea to post a review about some of the things I did this last year and what I’m hoping to do next year.
I got off the DS-5 Jan 9 and had a couple of weeks at home. As usual, I spent most of my time at home catching up with paperwork and projects around the house. I also had to take care of some medical things.
I had recently signed up as an ‘energy consultant’ with Ambit Energy (I’m always trying to find SOME way to earn a living without having to spend time at work), so I went for some training in Houston with my friend and sponsor. I still haven’t managed to actually sign anybody up myself yet (I don’t know many people who live in Texas that I can talk to about it and I usually forget to bring it up til it’s too late). Contact me if you’re in Texas and want to save on your electric bill! 😉
Ensco DS-5 (ex: Deep Ocean Mendocino)
I got to relax a little bit and visit with some friends but then it was time to get ready to go back to work. I left for the DS-3 on Jan 29. I got off there earlier than planned (more on that in another post later) and got to go home for 1 night. Left the next day to join the Ocean Alliance.
Ocean Alliance
That was nice. I got to see a lot of old friends from when I used to work direct for Oceaneering on the Performer. I wrote a little bit about that hitch earlier. I really loved that job and the people there. I wish they would have kept us all overseas. We really were like one big happy family.
When I got off, I had almost 3 weeks at home. I made good use of it. Besides the usual catching up on paperwork and household issues (restock groceries, pay bills, fix sink, fix toilet, etc.), I got to go to a few interesting events. Other than my usual Tuesday night Campaign for Liberty meetings, I went to a Sail La Vie meeting and then went out sailing with them the next weekend. I made it to the Houston Rodeo. I found the Houston Maritime Museum the next morning. It’s small, but definitely worth a visit if you’re in the area.
We dealt with the rain at Surfsides St Patricks’ Day Parade. Everybody got soaked but we all had a good time anyway. Plenty of green beer and Irish whiskey helped out with that! Texas A & M in Galveston had a WISTA meeting where they had a nice presentation and the cadets were full of questions about working with DP. I stayed in Galveston overnight and went to Moody Gardens before heading home the next day.
I was aboard the Deepwater Pathfinder March 26th- April 7th. Then home a few days to get ready for my trip to Korea for another travel writing and photography workshop (with GEP).
That was a fantastic trip! I met so many wonderful, interesting people. In the workshop and before, when I was wandering around on my own from Incheon to Busan to Geoji to Seoul. The only thing that could have improved the trip was if the Sewol disaster had never happened. It was a very sad time for everyone in Korea.
I got home from Korea May 15th and immediately started getting ready to go to work for Ocean Rig. I really preferred working for the agencies as I had been for the last few years, but with Obamacare fixin’ to screw me royally if I didn’t bow down and buy into that humongous scam, I had to suck it up and take a regular job. I’m still not sure I did the right thing. I just hope I can find a way to move out of the US SOON, so I can escape that trap!
Anyway, I got put on the payroll May 26th and then started running around with more errands for work. I had to do some things before they’d allow me to actually go to work for them. Shots, paperwork, photos, more paperwork, etc.
They sent me to the Basic Safety Training course (again!!- I’ve been certified to teach that course) and wouldn’t listen at all when I told them it was NOT required and they were wasting their money and my time. Since I hadn’t even stepped aboard one of their ships yet, I figured I had better just suck it up and go to the class AGAIN. USELESS! AS ALWAYS!!
A total waste of their money and my time, just as expected. But, I figured I should at least give them a TRY before I quit. So, I had to suffer through one MORE class that I’ve had (more than once) that was totally un-necessary. They sent me all the way to Aberdeen Scotland to take the lifeboat course. I’ve been a lifeboatman since 1979! NO need to re-take that course, but they insist. In fact, I’ve found out that they insist that we all re-take these courses every 2 YEARS!
I’m wondering just when, exactly, are we EVER going to get the time off we are all working offshore to earn?
So I left for Aberdeen on June 28 and went straight to my first Ocean Rig vessel as soon as the course was over. After a couple of days on the plane, I made it to Luanda and then flew right offshore to my ship. They sent me home on my birthday, so that was a nice present. 🙂
I got home July 31 and left again for another ship Aug 12! Not much time to even catch up on sleep, but that’s pretty much all I tried to do that time. I did make Shark Night at Moody Gardens and my Tuesday night political meetings. 🙂
Skyros from Aug 12-Sept 12. Not a bad hitch. Nice ship, nice crew. I was still glad to get off tho. 😉
I got home from the Skros Aug 12 and since I was due to have approx 28 days off, I scheduled a couple of things. I finally got to work on one of my rental houses. We’ve been trying to get the rotten wood and siding changed out for about 2 years now. Termite damage. I’ll have to tell you about the major project that’s become! I spent a week with my maintenance gal and another helper cutting out the damaged wood and replacing it with new. Now there’s only 1 more side of the house to do and it will be finished. At least that part of it. 😉
When that job was done, I left for the Fast Track Your Retirement Overseas conference in Las Vegas. I left a little early so I could have an actual vacation for a couple of days before the conference started. I love to learn all they have to teach us about how to move and live overseas, but it does get a little overwhelming sometimes. I like to have a little time to just chill out, hang out at the pool, play the slots, etc.
I got home Oct 6th and due to dept for the Olympia Oct 7th. I was ready to go (barely) but for once the gods smiled on me and my visa was delayed for days. Yes, I was ‘on call’ and checking my email constantly, but I got to spend a whole extra week at home! 🙂
I left for the Olympia Oct 14 and spent the next month aboard. I got home Nov 7th and spent the next few days arranging appointments I needed to renew my USCG documents. Then I had to go to the fast rescue course required by my company, so I spent a couple of days in Galveston. Hit the eye doctor, dentist and hairdresser before the weekend so I could leave again Sunday for another course.
I spent the week of Nov 16-21 in Baltimore at MITAGS for the Leadership course. It’s newly required by the USCG to keep my license due to STCW 2010 amendments. It wasn’t a bad week, it just gets old spending so much of what is SUPPOSED to be my vacation time taking redundant (VERY expensive) courses that never actually teach anything useful.
I got home again about 0300 Saturday morning but too tired to do anything that entire weekend but hang around the house and catch up on mail and email. I was hoping to be able to go sailing, but just couldn’t motivate myself enough to get out of the house that day. 🙁
I heard from work that I was requested again on the Poseidon, so I got a little extra time off. I used it to go to New Orleans for the Workboat Show. I was in New Orleans from Dec 2-7. I got home after midnight Sunday and so had to catch up on sleep again on Monday. I had that whole week to just hang out around the house and rest before leaving on the 15th for the Poseidon. I’ve been here ever since. 🙂
So, now you’ve got a pretty good idea of how I spend my time. At least, the kinds of things I do when I’m not at home. Which is most of the time, as you can see from this post. 😉
AP PHOTOS: Dramatic New Year’s moments worldwide
I’m stuck out here on the ship for at least another week, so I missed all the festivities going on at home. This article was the best of what I saw for the worldwide celebrations of New Years Day.
I hope some of you got to see some of these fine fireworks. Does anyone have any good stories or photos to share?
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2015
It’s almost dinnertime here on the ship, but I think I must still be in time to wish people Happy New Year before the big celebrations are over all over the world.
I hope this year is a good year for everyone and even better than last year! 🙂
Cheers!!
Thanks for sharing! This is absolutely the truth! We ALL need to work together against our common adversary. It’s a real shame how easily they tear us apart over the silliest things (race, religion, etc). Time to wake up and reclaim OUR power and OUR lives!
I think this is a eally good question from Jason over at his Harsh Reality blog. I think its a good one for posting this time of year. People tend to think more about how they would like things to be and how to make it so around New Years Day. I posted my answer in the comments on his blog. If you’re really interested, you can go there and read it. 😉
Lots of other people made some very good comments too. 🙂
I’ve been following Cee’s blog for a while, but this is the first time I’ve seen this particular challenge- Share Your World. I usually see the photography ones. I decided to try this one out today. 🙂
Would you prefer snowy winters, or not, and why? I like to PLAY in the snow, but I don’t think I would like to deal with it on a non-optional basis. 😉
So, you’re on your way out and it’s raining. Do you know where your umbrella is or do you frantically search for it all over your apartment/house? I don’t think I have any umbrellas (I took this photo at a market in Busan Korea). I don’t really mind getting wet – except for my glasses. I HATE it when my glasses get wet and I can’t see anything!
Do you prefer your food separated or mixed together? I prefer my foods separate. Unless it’s something that goes really good together, like peanut butter and chocolate, or beans and rice, or cake and ice cream. Then I might mix them up. 🙂
What is set as the background on your computer? I have a beautiful scene of a small fishing boat harbor in winter. It shows a few bright red boats against the blue water and crisp white snowy background. If you click on the photo, it’ll open up very large! That’s what it looks like on my desktop. 🙂
(It’s not my photo, I found it online somewhere, free background photos, maybe National Geographic? They have some GORGEOUS photos!).
Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up? I’m grateful for our camp boss who made our Christmas day dinner special. You can see some pictures I took of it I posted on my blog here. I’m looking forward to getting off this ship and going home in the week coming up. I’m told I’ll be on the chopper on the 7th.
We had our doubts that Santa would find us out here. All the way out in the middle of nowhere. Offshore Angola, actually. It’s a long way from where most of us call home. But, even tho Santa may have encountered a few problems along the way, he DID finally show up. 🙂
We should be finishing up this well sometime tonight and probably getting underway tomorrow. That means I’ll be even more busy (with less time to blog) than usual.
I’m not used to these drilling rigs yet. I’ve only been doing it off and on for the last couple of years. I’m a mariner, not a driller. 😉
I do find it amazing how fast they get the job done on these rigs over here in Africa. In the Gulf of Mexico (GoM), I seem to remember it taking many months to drill a well.
Here it seems to take them only a few weeks. I’m sure part of the reason is that these ships are the latest and greatest (so far)- 6th generation dual derrick drill ships. They can use both derricks at once, that saves them a LOT of time.
Ocean Rig Olympia
I hear this next job will only take a week or so. That one is only putting down the ‘top-hole’, it’s not the same thing as drilling a well.
This kind of work keeps me MUCH more busy than I usually am offshore. I’m learning a lot, which is always good. I just hope it doesn’t get too stressful (it’s ALWAYS stressful when we’re moving).
It should only take us a couple of hours to get there once we finally get underway. The new well is only about 12 miles from where we’re at right now. What takes time is getting underway and then getting set up again once we reach our new location.
Our drillers and subsea guys have to pick up all the riser and the BOP. We (DPOs and ROV guys) have to pick up all our transponders and then secure our transducer poles for our acoustic reference system. All that can take quite a while.
When we get to our new location, we have to do all that in reverse. We will also spend a lot of time and effort to calibrate all our equipment so that it all works as well as possible.
I’m looking forward to the move, but a little nervous too. :-/
PS- I was on the Olympia last hitch, but these are not my photos, (I got them from googling “drillships”)
I made it to the rig by Wednesday afternoon (I left home around 1330 on Monday). I managed to stay awake long enough to finish my first watch. Since then I’ve been trying to catch up on sleep. It takes me a week or so until I feel halfway normal again after a long trip like that. 🙁
It’s the weekend so we have a little bit of a change of routine. Today we had a nice BBQ out on the bow. The cooks did a great job (as usual with the BBQ). They had ribs, chicken, sausage, roast beef, hamburgers, shrimp, salad, corn and all the fixin’s.
There was even a choice of sodas and (near) beer!
The weather was nice, it was already getting dark and there was a nice cool breeze. The clouds had started clearing up (for some reason it’s always overcast here), we could see some stars. 🙂
The weekly BBQ is something we all look forward to.
Tomorrow should be drill day. We look forward to those too, but not in quite the same way. 😉
(the pictures are from another BBQ, not tonights)
I just got in from my regular Tuesday night meeting. Lately we’ve been going to the Mediterranean Gardens, a local Greek/Cajun restaurant. They have the best gyros in town (and really great French Dip sandwiches). Also, the baklava is really good.
But I don’t actually go there for the food. I go there for our weekly Campaign for Liberty meetups. I go there to get my weekly political fix. I can go out, have a good meal and talk politics with people who (mostly) agree with me. That’s a nice change. 😉
We talk about all kinds of things… The history of the United States, the proper function of government, the role of the Federal Reserve, the situation with our money/dollar/debt, who’s running for office (local, state, national) and do we like their plans or not…
Then we try to come up with projects to work on and things to do to increase our membership. We started a community garden (pesticide and GMO free), we’ve shown a couple of movies (Behold a Pale Horse, Atlas Shrugged), gone to a few rallies, etc. It’s really hard to do much if you don’t have a very large group of people involved. People are just so busy trying to survive now, they don’t have the time to get involved.
It’s a catch 22 situation. People are too busy to get involved, but if they don’t get involved, things will only continue to get worse and they’ll have even less time to do the things they would really like to. Instead they’ll be working harder and longer to pay the bills (and TAXES).
I have to admit. I don’t have the ability to do as much as some of the people that go. I just don’t have the energy, but I sure am glad that those other people are working so hard to keep it all going.
I wish more people really understood and took to heart the founding documents of our country. We are unique in the history of the world. These principles, that the government is made to serve US and NOT the other way around, are what made this country special. The Declaration of Independence says it perfectly…
http://calibloom.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/DeclarationOfIndependence.jpg
I love this quote, it is SO true! Wake up world!! We all need to govern ourselves and forget about the rest of it!
Here’s another randy, dandy, old sea shanty. 😉
“Good Ship Venus“, also known as “Friggin’ in the Riggin'” is a little nasty, so if you’re easily offended, you might want to pass on this one. But it’s one of my favorite drinking songs.
I didn’t know this til I looked up the lyrics to post here, but this song was done by the Sex Pistols and actually got to #3 on the charts in the UK. Anthrax also did a version. Somehow, I don’t think it would make the charts here in the US (probably would be censored- love that freedom we have so much of here).
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Good Ship Venus- Loudon Wainwright
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We sailed upon the good ship Venus
By Christ you should have seen us
The figurehead was a whore in bed
The mast an upright penis
The captain’s name was Lugger
By Christ he was a bugger
He wasn’t fit to shovel shit
From one ship to another
And the second mate was Andy
By Christ he had a dandy
Till they crushed his cock on a jagged rock
For cumming in the brandy
The third mate’s name was Morgan
By God he was a gorgon
From half past eight he played till late
Upon the captain’s organ
The captain’s wife was Mabel
And by God was she able
The crew, those shits, nailed her tits
Right to the mess room table
The captain’s daughter Charlotte
Was born and bred a harlot
Her thighs at night were lily white
By morning they were scarlet
The cabin boy was Kipper
By Christ he was a nipper
He stuffed his ass with broken glass
And circumcised the skipper
The captain’s lovely daughter
Liked swimming in the water
Delighted squeals came when some eels
Found her sexual quarters
The cook his name was Freeman
And he was a dirty demon
And he fed the crew on menstrual stew
And hymens fried in semen
And the ship’s dog was called Rover
And we turned the poor thing over
And ground and ground that faithful hound
From Teneriff to Dover
When we reached our station
Through skillful navigation
The ship got sunk in a wave of spunk
From too much fornication
On the good ship Venus
By Christ you should have seen us
The figurehead was a whore in bed
Sucking a dead man’s penis
At first I thought it said movement, but then I saw it was really moment, but the assignment (Day 13) is still to play around with blur and movement. I think there are a lot of ways to interpret this one. 🙂
I’m still stuck in class all day and it’s way too cold out here for me to go out (and I have no transportation either), so I’ve been picking out old photos to try and illustrate the themes for the challenges.
Here’s a photo I took in New Orleans last winter. I loved watching this couple dance and listen to the band play in the street. New Orleans is really great for this kind of thing. 🙂
It’s not really blurry, but I hope you can get the idea of motion anyway. The couple was really dancing up a storm (swing, jitterbug, etc.), the musicians were all tapping their toes and swaying to the music and everyone was having a great time.
I didn’t think to buy a CD from this band, I wish I remembered their name. But I did get one from another one that was playing further up the street. Here’s a post I did about that one. Check it out, the music’s worth a listen. 😉
I posted previously that my internet was down at home.
I got home from the FRC course last night and it was working again. It seems I had a phone line down somewhere outside my house, I got a call from the repairman while I was in class the other day. I’m still on dial up. Mostly because I use Juno as my internet provider and they’re cheap. Also, I really don’t want to have to change my personal email address. I’m terrible about stuff like that.
I was glad to find out that at least my phone was working again when I got home. 🙂
So, I was hopeful that my computers would be all nice and back to normal. But, noooooo, neither one of them is working normally now.
I took the Apple to the shop today. It seemed like it might be the easier one to fix. Basically what it was (is) doing is not staying connected to the wi-fi. It connects up but then drops off after only a minute or 2. I can’t get online with that one any other way than wi-fi, so it’s not much use to me now.
Actually, the guy told me I ought to take it to the Apple store. We don’t have one of those here so it would take me a minimum of 2 days to get that one fixed and probably not worth the price. What to do? I went and got a new one. 🙂
I did buy the Geek Squad protection on it this time. Not that it helps a whole lot when you travel as much as I do and you have to send it off, but I’m hoping they’ve got local expertise there on the Apple stuff.
As for the other computer. Still not working right. I will try taking that one to the shop in the morning and hopefully it can be fixed in a couple of hours.
In the meantime, I’ll have my new Apple to set up and play with. 🙂
Today is the last day of FRC class.
A cold front came through Galveston yesterday and dropped the temperature at least 20 degrees.
That’s not too bad when you’re sitting in a nice warm room, cuddled up in a blanket. But when you’re out on the water, running around in a tiny little speedboat, it’s a different story.
I had a pretty good time on Monday playing around with the boats. Today we have to go out again and practice search patterns. I’m not looking forward to getting cold and wet today!
I hope it all goes quickly. I’ll try to get some decent pictures to post here later. 🙂
No internet!
I got home last night after spending the last couple of days in the air.
I was so glad to get home. I was SO tired.
But there was a HUGE pile of mail inside my door. I could hardly get the door open. So, once I shoved my way inside and then got my luggage in the house, I made a cup of tea and sat down on my couch to just chill out.
I picked up a pile of mail and started sorting. While I did that, I turned on my computer so I could see if I got any emails (of COURSE I did! I usually get at least 100 a day!). My computer turned on and it said it was connected, but ‘no internet”.
WTF???!!
So, I’m at the library trying to catch up. No place is open to call about my problems at home and I’ll be stuck in the FRC course until late Wednesday. So, I might not be able to get back online til Thursday EARLIEST.
Do I know now how addicted I am to the internet? YES! 🙁
I tired to vote on election day. I always try to (even tho I seriously doubt it does any good). Since I knew I would be at work on the ship, I filed for an absentee ballot. I sent it in. I even checked off the box for EMAIL. I had some slim hopes that the mail would deliver my ballot in time for me to vote in this election.
It seems they can’t get an envelope from Texas to Angola in 3 weeks, never mind that I never would have been able to mail it back to them in order to be counted before it was too late. So, NO, I did NOT get to vote in this election. 🙁
I am very disappointed, mostly because in contrast to the people who constantly tell me I’m wasting my vote by choosing to vote Libertarian, I am NOT wasting my vote at all. In fact, my vote counts 100 times more than theirs will.
By voting 3rd party, I am making my voice heard. I am emphatically stating that the way things have been going for the last 100 years is NOT acceptable!!!
I try not to pay any attention to politics. My friends will probably disagree with that statement. Especially since it may seem like that’s all they ever see me posting about on Facebook.
Sometimes I get carried away with it in personal discussions. Some have even accused me of ‘ranting’ on certain issues.
Yes, I have to admit, it’s almost impossible to avoid the politics any more in the USA. I have come to envy certain people. I really don’t know how they manage to do it. To completely ignore everything that’s going on in the world around them.
They’re happy to just live in their own little world and ignore all the continual and constant additional rules and regulations being piled upon us every day. The constant violations of our ‘god-given’, or as I prefer to call them, natural rights.
It helps to be retired, or otherwise not concerned with a job. It helps to not have to leave the house. I think even if I could live that way I would still be bothered just by the fact that any time they want, the government could choose to destroy you personally (KILL YOU on a WHIM, read up on the PATRIOT ACT and/or NDAA) and everything you’ve ever worked for in your life (Google asset forfeiture).
I’ll never understand how so many people just continue to totally ignore that fact and just go on with their lives like everything is perfectly fine.
It’s NOT. 🙁
I’m going to try again to participate in one of the Blogging University’s challenges. This one is Photography 101. A picture a day to challenge us to improve our photography. I HOPE I can keep up with this one, but I’m already a couple of days behind.
I’m due off the rig and will start traveling home tomorrow morning (if all goes well). So I’ll probably have even less internet access than I’ve had here on board. I’m also stuck without my good camera here and can’t take any photos here anyway (I have to get a hot work permit to use the camera on deck).
Anyway, here’s my photo for ‘water’.
water- 3 kinds- clouds, rainbow, ocean
I’m out on the rig right now. A different one than the one I took that picture from. I was working in the Gulf of Mexico then. The water is pretty much the same here off the West Coast of Africa. So far, it hasn’t even been rough yet. I’ve been surprised at how calm it’s been here.
It’s also been very overcast since I started working here in July. I wonder what the reason is for it always being so cloudy. Just the last couple of weeks it’s started clearing up off and on. I hope that continues. I much prefer clear blue skies and starry nights to dreary, grey overcast days.
I take a LOT of pictures of water, that IS where I spend most of my time. 😉
If you want to see more, you might like to check out some of these earlier posts (or just search my blog for “water”).
I’m going to try again to participate in one of the Blogging University’s challenges. This one is Photography 101. A picture a day to challenge us to improve our photography. I HOPE I can keep up with this one, but I’m already a couple of days behind.
I’m due off the rig and will start traveling home tomorrow morning (if all goes well). So I’ll probably have even less internet access than I’ve had here on board. I’m also stuck without my good camera here and can’t take any photos here anyway (I have to get a hot work permit to use the camera on deck).
Anyway, here’s my photo for ‘street’.
This is a photo I took last time I was down at the beach. I say beach cause the name of the town is ‘Surfside Beach’ (Texas).
I used to live down there for a while and most of my friends still do. If I go out when I’m home, this is usually where I go. I don’t actually spend much time anymore on the real beach like I used to. I just like to hang out with my friends and catch up on all the local news and gossip.
I really only stopped to take the photo because of the huge thunderstorm on the way. Notice the big black clouds in the background. The weather is usually pretty nice there. It’s especially nice in the summer when there’s always a good sea breeze. The winter is my favorite time to go to the beach there, there’s nobody else around and you can drive all the way to Galveston right at the waters edge. 🙂
PS- the featured image for this post was taken right around the corner from the one I chose for this post. I took it at the St Patrick’s Day Parade last year (it was raining, but that didn’t stop the parade). 🙂
Let me know which photo you like better (and why), it will help me improve my photography, which is part of the reason I’m doing this challenge.
Thanks! 🙂
I’m going to try again to participate in one of the Blogging University’s challenges. This one is Photography 101. A picture a day to challenge us to improve our photography. I HOPE I can keep up with this one, but I’m already a couple of days behind.
I’m due off the rig and will start traveling home tomorrow morning (if all goes well). So I’ll probably have even less internet access than I’ve had here on board. I’m also stuck without my good camera here and can’t take any photos here anyway (I have to get a hot work permit to use the camera on deck).
Anyway, here’s my photo for ‘home’.
This is a picture of my living room/library/bar. I spend a lot of my time on the couch there when I happen to be in town. I use my laptop there and it’s pretty comfortable to work there.
I’ve been trying to pack up my library and have made some progress, but it’s taking me a long time. I hate to get rid of my books! I don’t know if you can tell from this picture, but a few of the shelves are now (almost) empty. Before I started weeding them out, every one of them was stuffed full and books all over the furniture and floor too!
I LOVE to read!
This room also has a bar (notice the bar stools on the right of the photo). My dad made those barstools for me. 🙂
I fell in love with this house when I saw this room. It’s perfect for me to hang out. It also looks out through a sliding glass door onto a screened in porch. There was a big, old oak tree right next to it. I could watch the squirrels chase each other around all day. 🙂
That tree fell on my roof a couple of times, so I’m glad I finally found the cash to allow me to have it removed. I still have a couple more in the back yard, I just can’t see them from my living room couch.
I got the house cheap. Mostly because of that tree. It had fallen on the roof and caused a lot of damage. I spent a couple of months cleaning up the mess. I do a little bit of improvements whenever I have the time and the money at the same time.
I always have lots of projects to do when I’m home. 🙂
I heard from my personnel coordinator that I’m due off here on Thursday.
I’m waiting to see my travel arrangements before I make any plans.
It looks like they usually send flight arrangements earlier than this, but since I’m still in the pool, I’m not sure exactly what to expect. I’m definitely looking forward to crew change!
I think I’d better send a reminder tomorrow morning. 🙂
Have you ever been so happy and excited one minute, only to be plunged into the depths of despair the next?
That’s what I saw happening here a couple of days ago. It was supposed to be crew change day. The 18 happy people who were due to get off after spending 4 weeks at work here were wandering all over the bridge in excited anticipation.
When the chopper finally arrived (at it’s usual time), they rushed to get their life jackets on and finish their turnover with their reliefs. As the minutes passed by, I saw more and more anxiety on the faces of those who were supposed to be leaving.
I had the forward camera zoomed in and aimed at the chopper. There was a problem. It was swarming with orange coveralls. Our crew, trying to track down the cause of the trouble. The pilot had noticed an oil leak on landing.
We do have some VERY skilled men on board here. They’re experts in what they do. Plenty of good engineers, hydraulic techs, electricians, electronic techs, etc.
Within 5 minutes of the arriving crews disembarking the chopper, our ships crew was up there with the helicopter pilot, looking everywhere for the source of the leak. I’m not sure what they found (I’m just a DPO here and not ín the loop’), but the decision was made to fly the chopper back to Luanda with only the pilots on board.
What disappointment I saw then. So many happy faces were now completely turned around and sad now. 🙁
We had hopes they would send another helicopter that afternoon to pick up our departing crew, so people were still hanging around with their fingers crossed, but 2 hours later the word came that the replacement helicopter was cancelled. (They have a rule that if they can’t be back at base by 1700, they will not leave).
AARRRGGGHHHHH! 🙁
Now we would have to find someplace to put all those extra people for the night. Not such an easy thing. We’re already almost always running fairly close to capacity for bunk space (just like every other rig). We just managed to find room for everyone without having to sleep together. 😉
Everyone at least got some rest before going home. The leave-takers were in a better mood after a few hours of sleep. In the morning we got the good news that there would be an early flight. The chopper (NOT the same one) would come out just to get those people they had to abandon here the day before.
YES!! The smiles were back!! Everyone managed to get off and new flights were arranged to get them home from Luanda. Hopefully everyone got home OK and their plans were not too badly disrupted.
It’s bad enough to spend 3-4 days of your owed time off traveling, which is the way things normally work. It’s really bad to have to spend any extra time at work. Most of us work offshore for the scheduled time off, not for enjoyment of the job itself. It’s hard for us to accept losing even 1 day.
I guess most people would think we’re so lucky (and we are, really). They see we work 28 days on, then 28 days off. They don’t really see that we are stuck here and working 12 hour (minimum) days, 7 days a week until we’re due to go home. Most people are pretty run down by the time they’re due off. Because of that, most companies have limits on how long you’re allowed to stay offshore before they force you to go home.
I’ve tried to figure out which schedule is better, working out here with a month on/month off schedule. Or the typical American schedule of an 8-5 workday (not including a couple of hours-unpaid- driving time), with weekends and holidays off. Lucky to get a weeks vacation once a year.
It seems to me we still have the better deal out here, but it’s not nearly by as much as you would think.
7 of America’s Most Haunted Bars | Liquor.com.
Some interesting stories here. Looks like something to look for if I’m ever in one of these towns.
I love all this kind of ‘scary’ stuff, haunted history, etc. Last time I was in New Orleans I actually went on one of those walking tours. New Orleans is a great city for that kind of thing.
I have actually been to Lafitte’s before. One of my first times passing through New Orleans. I must have been around 18. I never noticed anything ghostly at the time. But that could be because I was sloshed at the time. Ya think?
Halloween Treats Recipe Slideshow – Photos | Epicurious.com.
I thought you all might enjoy some of these special Halloween recipes. Yes, it’s my favorite holiday. Yeah, I know it’s getting kind-of late, but you can always eat any leftovers later (along with the candy).
Some of them are cute, some are silly, some look really good, some I would take a pass on. Something there for everyone I guess.
Here are a few shots from the article to whet your appetite (there are over 40 more). 🙂
Halloween Cocktails | Food & Wine.
I’m stuck offshore again this year for Halloween. It’s my favorite holiday (other than St Patrick’s Day- I hate to miss the parade and all that free green beer!).
It’s pretty much a toss up over free green beer and free candy for Halloween, but since I don’t go trick or treating anymore and I’m the one who has to buy the candy now, I have to give St Patrick’s Day the prize for my favorite holiday. 🙂
That Barm Brack looks pretty tasty. I wouldn’t mind one of those Pomegranate and Tequila cocktails either at the end of the day.
They’ve even listed a couple of cocktails that sound especially good for a sailor gal/pirate like me.
Take a look at the Dark and Stormy Death Punch, the Philadelphia Fish House Punch, and the Dark and Stormy. When the Navy Officers invented that one, they described its ominous hue as “the color of a cloud only a fool or dead man would sail under.” Oooohhhh. 🙂
I hope you all can enjoy some of these. I’ve still got at least a week to go til I can get off this ship. 🙁
To follow up on yesterdays post, can anybody justify this situation?
I would really like to hear from people. Please give me your reasons for why you think women should be treated as worth less than men are.
Why are they still denied a full education in so much of the world? Why are they still considered as property of some man in so many places? Why are they still not allowed to make basic decisions about their own lives in so many cultures?
I’m especially interested to hear from people with Muslim influences. Just because it seems to me that the Muslims are the worst offenders at this point in time. If you don’t think they are, can you please explain why you don’t think so, who’s worse?
I would also love to hear from people of all religions as to how they reconcile their ideas of justice and basic fairness with a god who supposedly says they should treat some people with less respect than others.
If you do worship a god who you think says that kind of thing, WHY do you continue to worship it?
Just thinking it’s past time we (the entire world) start to discuss this situation and CHANGE it. I think first we need to get to the bottom of the reasons people claim it needs to be this way in the first place.
I don’t think it’s justified, at all. For any reason.
Now, who’s up for a good argument??? 🙂
Women of the Early 1900s Rallied Behind Beautiful, Wartless Witches | History | Smithsonian.
Check out these cool Halloween cards. I thought the history mentioned in the article was pretty interesting.
It’s hard for me to imagine how different life must have been for women in the past. Of course, for most women in the world things are still very different than they are here in the USA (not that we’re perfect yet).
Women in many countries around the world are still treated like second class citizens. They’re still denied the opportunities and options that men have, simply because of their gender.
As an American, growing up as an American girl, I can hardly imagine what it must be like. How does a girl from somewhere like Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, or even India or Africa or South America manage enjoy life, or even to get through it all without the options we have here?
I imagine they must only be able to bear it when they don’t know about any other options. Maybe they just don’t think they can live any other way. I don’t really know. It amazes (and disgusts and infuriates) me that in this day and age we STILL have not managed to create a society where women can live their lives as THEY choose.
It’s hard for me to imagine how I would be able to stand a life like that. That I would not have any choices. I wouldn’t be able to go to school. I wouldn’t be able to LEARN about so many things. I wouldn’t be able to decide what kind of work I would like to do. To choose who I would want to marry or IF I would want to marry at all. To be able to choose when I want to have sex, or with who, or IF I want to have sex at all. To be able to choose to have children, or not to have any.
SO many choices taken away from me, just because I happen to be female. What must that be like?
I read a book- Infidel- by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. It really opened my eyes. I have to say I admire her strength and courage to do what she did. She grew up in Somalia, was raised a Muslim, and then grew disillusioned with the life she had. She moved to the Netherlands as a refugee, eventually became a member of Parliament there. Her story is really encouraging. I hope more people (especially young girls) will read it and take hope.
I can see from the Smithsonian article (and even from my own life), that we have made some progress in the USA.
I remember when I was young and I chose to work at sea. I had to fight so hard for every job I ever got. It was ALWAYS a struggle to get hired. Yes, just because I was a woman. No one wanted to have a woman on board. 🙁
Now, (30-40 years later), it is not nearly as much as a problem (tho, yes, it IS still a problem). I see more and more women working at sea. I even see other women in positions of authority. They are no longer delegated to the stewards department, they can work at other jobs and be more than just cooks and room stewards!
I happen to be the only woman on board this ship, (1 out of 178) but on my last one there were women working as geologists, mud engineers, fluid engineers, etc. I’ve seen quite a few other women DPOs lately and even a couple of other captains. 🙂
I hope to see more women from other countries able to take advantage of all the opportunities the world offers. I was very encouraged to hear about the Italian livestock carrier who had female master and chief mates.
Hopefully sometime soon women from all over the world will have the same rights and opportunities that men have always had. It would be wonderful if everyone everywhere had the chance to live their lives the way THEY choose to.