The Atwood Eagle

Sorry its been so long.  Obviously I've been on my days off.  Nothing much to report other than me and Nana have been working like crazy on the yard.  We got a cement patio poured on the back of the house.  We've planted Rhodendrums (spelling?), Clematis, Honeysuckle, Lilacs, Peonies.  We also got an Aspen grove, a purple lotus and a honey lotus tree, but they didn't make it into the ground before I left.  We transplanted the rose bush and I don't think Its going to make it.  We also built an elevated rock garden and filled it full of herbs.  Gardening is hard work.  I bet we've made 30 trips to Lowe's and Home Depot this month.  Ridiculous.  Its looking good though!  I left Nana to put in the trees in the ground and also plant the pumpkins and tomatoes.  Oh, I almost forgot... I went to Haggerman, ID with Kassie, Emily, and Jason for Kassie's birthday.  We spent the night at Miracle Hot Springs in a space dome.  It was totally amazing.  On my way home I had a brilliant idea that I would buy some land up there.  I looked into two acres by the river.  Around $200,000.  I think I'll wait on that.  I can't wait to go back there though!

It just dawned on me that I haven't written anything about the rig from my last hitch at work!  I wasn't planning on visiting the rig but my stay was extended so I went out there.  

I was going out to the Atwood Eagle.  Late, the night before I was to arrive, a girl working for a service company had her finger smashed while trying to remove a lift nubbing off of one of her MWD tools.  It crushed the tip of her finger and as we got to the rig, they flew her in the next morning and she had surgery on her finger.  Not a good way to start of a hitch!  She had her finger worked on and she is ok.  I think she lost the tip (about 1/2 of her nail).  So, a bunch of VIP's had come out on the same flight as myself to investigate.

The Atwood Eagle is a cool little rig.  Its an older rig and not very big, but I really liked it.  The people on the rig were pretty cool.  There were only 3 Americans on the rig.  Terry - the head company man, Joey - a toolpusher from Louisiana, and Ripply - a driller from Louisiana.  Ripply had an orange beard on his chin that was really thick and trimmed just so it was on the base of his chin.  It reminded me of a scrub brush.  I liked it.  I like beards.  There was an ET (electronics technician) named Viko I think.  He looked like a vampire and he even had fangs.  Ripply told me he was from Transylvania but I think he was Armenian.  I don't know.  Joey was from Northern Louisiana I think, but omg...  total coon ass.  He was hysterical.  He said I was a Yankee and I replied "No, I grew up in Montana...   We are Pioneers."    He said  "Oh God girl, are you kidding me?  Pioneers!?!?!?!?!?!   Hell no!"   I love people from Louisiana.  We also had a fight about KFC vs. Popeye's Chicken.  I think that you can't beat Popeye's chicken.   I actually don't think I'd ever even had fried chicken from KFC.  I got some when I got home and it was actually pretty good.  I still think Popeye's is better though.  

Towards the end of my time on the rig, we got to a coring point and we had to make a couple coring runs.  That means a ton of geologists like to come out to the rig to watch them core.  One of the geologists was Clay.  Isn't that a great name for a geologist... Clay.  Clay was really cool, and since I've only seen coring once, i learned a few things also.  I left just as they got the core to surface so I don't know how successful they were with the first run.  I guess I'll find out when I get to Perth later.  So, Clay was a really cool guy.  He asked me if I had ever done a Tim Tam straw.  I was like huh?  So, after the grocery box arrived at the rig, he got a box of Tim Tams from one of the catering hands.  (All the Tim Tams before that had been eaten and we had to wait like 3 days for the next grocery box to arrive so we could get some Tim Tams.)  I was lucky enough to experience the Tim Tam straw with the whole galley watching.  It changed my life.   Oh, I also have to mention my new friend Sophie!  She is amazing!  She has just graduated from college and come to work for Chevron.  Her title on the rig is Field Engineer.  She's very smart and nice and I really like her!  Maybe someday I'll get to bring her to the states and everyone can meet her!  

My last day on the rig something awfully happened.  A guy got his hand crushed.  Two of his fingers were degloved down to the first knuckle.  (Degloved = all the skin and flesh was removed leaving just bone.)  I don't feel like talking about this very much right now.  It was a terrible thing.  He was life flighted into Barrow Island and then a jet took him immediately to Perth.  He had surgery on his hand and I think they were able to reattach his middle finger and save his ring finger.  He is ok, but will have a long recovery.  In fact, I don't really feel like writing anything else at the moment.  I better go get ready to catch my flight.  

I've been writing this from the Quantas Business Lounge in Sydney airport.  I had FOUR pieces of toast with Vegemite on them.  Gaw I love Vegemite toast.  I've also been downing free pop and apple juice, but they give you such a small glass you have to get a refill every 5 seconds.  Next time I'm bringing a big drinking jug.  

Ta Ta for now folks.  Leave me some messages on here so I don't get lonely.   

Love Mitzi