Yep....back in the Mac

     Arrived back at camp around 1 am this morning. I thought I worked at 8 am, but something made me call down to the front desk when I got in and check. No, I was to start @ 6 am. So needless to say, I didn't get much sleep last night! And my room was WAY too warm. I don't know who cranked my baseboard heater up, but I guess it's not really cold right now (only -17, or 0 F) compared to when I left (-30) so maybe it was just catching up. It's a real ghost town around here. Only about 400 + people at camp right now, compared to usually at least 2,000. The dining room is 2/3 blocked off, with everyone sitting in just the center section, and that's not even crowded. This morning, from the time I came in at 6 until about 10, I think I had 6 people. And wow, our staffing looks way different. Of the people in the picture I posted way down below, I think there are only 3 of us still here. Lena has left, Amanda B has left, Hilary is gone, Joanne is gone, Little Katie is not coming back, Thelma left today, and is coming back in a different role, not front desk, our perky little Aussie rec director Hannah is gone. I know it's the nature of the place for people to come and go, it just seems really weird that of 10 housing associates, I started Aug 31 and am 3rd on the seniority list. Personally, I'd like to see more attention paid to retention of staff, but then what do I know, haha.
     Well not much has changed around the camp. No trailers are in use, not needed. All the Christmas decorations are still up. There are no lines in the dining room. I'm just glad to have a few days to catch my breath (Amanda S left this afternoon on her days off, so I'm reservations again) before ramping up. I keep hearing that the sites are going to be really expanding in January, so it will be busy busy again within the week. Aimee comes in on Wednesday, and everyone that is here now (almost all of the ESS staff) that were here for Christmas are going out on Wednesday, and everyone that was home for Christmas are all coming back on Wednesday. Apparently there will be a "fancy dress" New Year's Eve party. I brought my new heels!
     We have some new front desk staff, one started last week, one starts tomorrow, another one next week. I'm apparently going to be the "trainer" for the new staff. That's ok, we're developing a formal "training manual" and I'm helping with that too. At least things will be more standardized for when the many new staff start, haha.
     So we just passed the shortest day of the year, the winter solstice, on Dec 21 so now the days will start to get longer. Right now:
     Stratford sunrise:    7:55 am
                    sunset:     4:54 pm
     Fort Mac sunrise:   9:01 am
                     sunset:    3:51 pm
It was lightly snowing today, making the roads a little slippery for people driving in. OK I am off to unpack!

Only 4 sleeps til Christmas!

     It's been a busy turnaround for me, but wow have I been enjoying my days off!! I said I wasn't going to do much shopping, only stockings for my brood, but stockings for 11 can be quite a task! I spend some time in Listowel with my good friend Julie, and of course, did some baking. It's not all done yet, I'll be baking for another couple of days. Sure makes my usually empty house smell good.
     I am sitting here at my kitchen table, watching out the patio door, and I cross-country skiers just zipping by. There are city-owned trails out behind my house, and people are putting them to good use! I don't see this many people in the summer, when it's walking trails. I remember those days of cross country skiing. I wish I had the ambition to do that again.
     Well Aimee arrived home last night, and tomorrow is the start of the rest of the family arriving. Thursday is our Big Day. I think it's been well over a year since all my kids were in the same city, in the same house at the same time. I can't for the life of me remember when it was??? I'm thinking the last time was the Christmas in St. Marys, when I found out I was going to be a grandmother.
     Well the temperature is just below the freezing mark the last couple of days here. I do believe that this damp Ontario cold is "colder" than the dry Alberta cold. This just kind of creeps into your bones. I think it may be time for a hot chocolate! Then, back to baking and making preparations for the influx of revellers.

31 Below and Falling....

     Oh ok, it's not falling. It's actually supposed to warm up, to a whopping high of -17 by Monday. With the wind chill factored in, it feels like -44 right now. Now that I'd actually know, LOL. I have managed to avoid going outside since my shopping trip into town last week.
     Last night was the Albian Village Christmas Party at the lounge. The guy that was supposed to play his guitar and sing to entertain us got laid off this week, so Christmas Karaoke was the fill in. I had to work until 8, and then get back to my room and pretty up so barely got to the lounge before last call at 8:45. Luckily Aimee got me a couple of spiced rum & eggnogs, because the line was right across the bar for last call. It was nice to see everyone dressed up. I only got the picture of our youngsters dressed up at the tree, because I only had my phone for a camera and it doesn't have flash. Too dark in the bar. And to get a chance to dress up. However, the dress shoes I brought to go with my dress are past their "best before" date, unbeknownst to me". Ok, I probably did beknownst it, but with my memory, I'd forgotten. They are strappy black "kitten heels" and I really like them, but the one strap that actually holds them on my feet is stretched out beyond hope, so after shuffling like an old granny for a ways, I finally took them off and walked in my stockings to the bar. I'll tell you, I have class, man!  And I must apologize to Aimee for making her wait around thinking I was actually slotted in to sing. I would think you'd know me better. I guess you didn't really expect me to wear my Christmas goose vest to work either though, did ya?
     Well there has been a bunch of guys getting laid off for a few weeks, so lots of check outs this week. And the temp has been so cold with the wind chill that the mine has been shut down early several times this week.
     I really scored this week, was offered a few fridges from guys that didn't know what to do with them when leaving. One I gave to Amanda, and another I told I'd store it until he comes back from lay-off at the end of January. And another guy gave me a $2 winner lotto ticket (I should cash that in tomorrow, and get another ticket) He said if it won over $1000, I would have to split it with him, haha. And I got a nice pen from some guys' company. Tis the season, I guess!
     Did I mention that it's really COLD here??? I mean, I do like to keep my room on the cool side, because I sleep better in a cold room, but this is nuts! I don't think the furnace is kicking in at all, so just using my little baseboard heater. It's right under the window - which, by the way, has about a half inch of ice build up inside it right now - so it seems most of the heat coming off it is getting sucked right up to the non-thermal non high efficiency windows. Now it's also just under the desk, so everything that is in my desk drawer is nice and toasty warm. And when I am sitting here at the desk, I put my feet on the heater so they are mostly warm, but boy oh boy the bed is COLD. And I just went to the cupboard to get my pajamas and they are FREEZING! I opened the desk drawer to put my pj top in to warm up, kinda like a warming oven, haha. The pj bottoms I just spread over my lower legs as they are propped up on the heater. As soon as they are warmed up, I'm jumping into them and into bed.
     Ok, I just checked the weather network and yes indeed, the temp did fall another degree, it is now -32. Cheers!!

Yep, Christmas has finally come to Albian Village

     It seems very strange, because in the "real" world it's been Christmas since Halloween! But the decorating has been done over the weekend, thanks to a very ambitious, dedicated and hard-working general manager. Thanks Katy! I'll get pictures of the trees in the dining room and the lounge sometime today, maybe. It's going to be a busy day. Many arrivals, not enough rooms, same story.
     So a trip into town yesterday morning was in order. The weather was quite strange, it's like it wanted to be foggy, but it was so cold it was just freezing. I didn't get a picture but everything was coated with a thick white frost. It was about -20 yesterday morning when we were heading in, so try and imagine fog in that temperature. Yikes!
     Anyway I have to go to work, but I wanted to get something new up for my faithful readers! Tomorrow will be a better blog!

22 Days until Christmas??!!!????

     My goodness it feels like my life is flashing before my eyes. Well I had a challenging time since I've arrived back here. Morale seemed to be at a very low ebb for everyone, not just me. And that stuff feeds on itself and seems like the malaise spreads. However, the last couple of days have been better as I've decided to take on the world, or at least this company, or at least this camp! I have ideas about procedures and processes and just all kinds of things that I've decided to take to a hirer level and see where it goes. Anyway I'm feeling motivated and full of ideas to make things better and I've tasked myself with some projects and there's nothing I love better than a special project :)
     There seems to be a lot of colds and flu going around camp too. I very rarely get sick these last few years KNOCK ON WOOD!!!!! so I am hoping to weather the sickness storm unscathed.
     Here's today's comparisons for temp and daylight hours...
     Stratford
          Temp is -5C or 22F
          Sunrise is 7:37 am
          Sunset is 4:48 pm
     Ft. MacKay
          Temp is -21C or -6F
          Sunrise is 8:38 am
          Sunset is 3:50 pm
     It's very strange to look out the window at 8 am and see PITCH BLACK. And dusk setting in around 3:15. There hasn't been a whole lot of snow, just some new fluffies every day to keep things nice and clean. I haven't been outside in a few days, but will for sure the next while. I just worked 7 days of 7 am - 5 pm, then 1 day of 4 am - 2 pm, then I'll have 8 days of 2 pm - midnight, 1 day of 10 am - 8 pm, then another 4 am - 2 pm and I leave that day in the afternoon. Then I will be home for 13 days! Will feel very strange indeed.
     I guess possibly this weekend they will be bringing out the camp Christmas trees and decorations. I'm game for doing some decorating and trying to get into the mood. Very different than in the "real" world, where you've been getting bombarded with Christmas almost since Halloween. And it's very strange that I have 24 hours off between shifts! I finished at 2 pm today and don't go in until 2 pm tomorrow. I remembered to turn off my alarm (I would have been REALLY cranky had I forgotten and had it going off at 3:15 am!!). I remembered to put the Do Not Disturb sign and Please clean after 2 pm signs on my door. Now I'm hoping for a nice sleep-in and relaxing morning tomorrow!!
     At dinner tonight Lena and I were talking to a gentleman from Houston Texas who is here working. I asked if he'd ever been here in the winter, and he said yes once, just briefly. He said the temp was -40 (which by the way is exactly the same for Celcius and Fahrenheit at that temp) and he was outside on a clear, calm day and decided to take a picture. He said he took off his glove for a few seconds to snap a picture and couldn't believe how cold his hand got in those few seconds. Apparently frostbite will set in within 10 minutes for exposed skin at that temp. I think I disagree with that, and I think it may even be quicker than that. Anyway, he will be here in camp through the winter and is really looking forward to experiencing a Northern Alberta winter. Haha.
     Anyway, take care all, I'm calling it a night!

Tuesday- it's the new Wednesday!

     At least it is here and at the front desk! With the shift from the bulk of the guests being in the construction side to being in the operations side. Construction arrivals are on Wednesdays, but they will probably all be gone by the end of the year, if not before. It's just craziness now on Tuesdays. And of course, the darn subcontractors just can't get together and we still have the problem of hundreds arriving on Tuesdays, and then hundreds of others departing on Thursdays. So of course on Tues and Wed there are more people arriving than rooms inside so.........yep, checking them into the trailers.
     On another topic, Tom and I went into town yesterday. I was telling people that I was going to go in and asked if they wanted anything. That gave me quite a list of things to pick up for other people, as well as my own list. We made good time in though, got the shopping done quick and Tom decided that we'd go over to the Newfie Club for dinner. I think it's actually called the Newfoundlander's Lounge and Dining, or something like that, but affectionately known as the Newfie Club. I had a down-home dish of pan-fried cod with scunchions, peas and mashed potatoes. I don't normally eat much fish, but this was delicious. And scunchions - well....first off they look about the size of half of a crouton. They are very crunchy. What they are is fatback - or like cubes of a thick cut of bacon that is fried with the fish to give it flavour, then piled on top to eat with it. Now I'm sure that's not very good for you (hahahaha) but very tasty. Apparently they like to eat that for breakfast too.
     Aimee arrived back at camp today. She left London in the pouring rain, and got back here to -13 degrees and snow. At least she didn't get the -30 that I came back to! Speaking of temperatures....on the ride to town yesterday, Tom was telling me that he heard the winter was supposed to be like last winter here. I said...and what's that like? He said not bad, kind of like this weather. Last year they only got to -40 and only for a short time. ONLY -40. He said when he first came here it was in the -50's and for a couple of months. Had to shut the whole site down due to the temperatures. But he said -40 out here is like -20 at home. Well -20 is pretty darn cold to me!! Yes I am so looking forward to experiencing that!
     The new meal access cards take effect tomorrow. Those little tiny card that's about 1/4 of the size of the regular room keys. Everyone will be required to scan in to the dining room now, and the lunch room. I think it's a good thing, it will keep people who are not staying at the village from getting "free" meals. Nobody likes change though, so sure to be lots of complaining going on!
    
    

Grey Cup Sunday!

     OK, the only reason I knew this was because of the flyers around camp advertising for the Grey Cup party in the bar this evening. They were bring up pub food for the occasion and I thought what the heck, I'm up for a little grease lol. They had battered zucchini and mushrooms, jalapeno poppers, several different varieties of chicken wings, onion rings, pizza, nachos and of course, fresh veggies to round it all out :) Sarah had 3 cakes, one was an awesome replica of a football, and the other two were even more awesome replicas of the opposing teams' helmets.
     Had a fire alarm this afternoon. People were heading into the gymnasium and some of us thought rather than fight the crowd to get in there, we'd go outside, it looked like a fairly nice day and it stopped snowing. As soon as we got outside though, the H&S guy came out and herded us back to the gym since it was -15. That's the cutoff temp for having to go outside. That killed about a half hour until we got the all clear sign to go back to what we were doing.
     So I changed rooms again. LOL I haven't even been here a week yet and I've been in 3 rooms. I think I explained why I moved the first time (can-mate with the 6 or 7 alarms to get her up starting at 2 am since she's on the 4 am shift) and I moved into the adjoining room with Amanda, which was great. Then on Friday a fire warden room in C became available. It's right across the hall from Lena's room so now we can have our tea (some day when we're not on opposite shifts again) and fireside chats and not have to travel too far to get home :)
     I really can't believe I packed up all my stuff twice, and unpacked and settled in three times in 5 days. Oh boy. At least now I will be able to keep this room for up to 14 days when I'm off. I've already got a shopping list starting of some little things that will make this more convenient (like a plastic drawer bank and some dividers or baskets for the shelves in the cupboard. And this room is a little bigger than the last 2 I was in. Not real big like my favourite E319 room, but not bad. Only problem is the guy that had this room for the last 4 years was a smoker and I'm sure he smoked in this room. So I had to air out and Febreeze and I got rid of the duvet and the pillows and got new ones and I talked to the maintenance guy today and they are going to run the ionizer to clear the air when I go home next time. Next I'm going to try to switch out the curtains and the desk chair. Look at me go!
     Everyone seems to be in a kind of downer this week. I want to get something going to bring up the spirits. Not sure what yet, but I love a challenge!
     So if I had to guess, I'd say we have about 6-8 inches of snow. A nice white blanket over all the dirt makes it look great, and of course on all the evergreen trees is very pretty too. I'll try and get a picture in tomorrow.
Sunrise and sunset comparisons:
Stratford -      Sunrise 7:33, Sunset 4:50
Ft. MacKay - Sunrise 8:31, Sunset 3:54
So we are down about 2 hours of daylight here so far.
     It does feel nice that I sort of have a "room of my own" even if I have to battle out the stale smoke smell for a while! I know people....I'm sure I can sweet-talk some of them into helping me out, LOL.

If it's Saturday....it must mean prime rib

     OK, some things are predictable. But there are always some nice surprises thrown in for dining choices at Albian. It seems like there is always someone who likes to complain about the food at any place, but I think our team here does a great job for the number of meals they have to serve!
     The weather has moderated for a few days here, with the temperature not far below freezing. I see from the forecast that we are in for some LOW temps coming up next week though! Still not much snow, just a light covering. It's nice though, covers up the ubiquitous red dirt when you look outside.
     Well, I changed rooms Thursday. My can-mate told me that she was starting 4 am shifts and needed about 6-7 alarms to wake her up, since she was such a heavy sleeper. Hello! I am a very, VERY light sleeper and that gave me a moment of panic. Luckily, Amanda had just told me that her can-mate moved out and that room was open. So, me and the luggage cart made a few trips down the corridor from E3 to G3 to the new room. Another small one, but closest dorm to the main core building is nice. I did well, and got everything unpacked and put away by Thursday night. Then, guess what!!??!! Lena came to me yesterday and said the fire warden room across the hall from her is available! So, I asked the big guy if I could take the room, and even offered to do dishes and maybe even wash towels to make up for the extra cost of TWO room transfers and he gave me the go-ahead (no laundry or dishes necessary :)) So as soon as the new room is vacant and ready for occupancy, I'll be moving it all again. Hopefully, this is the last time, as having a fire warden room allows you to keep it up to 14 days when you are away!
     Amanda left yesterday for her days off so I am in the back on reservations for this week. We had 2 new people start on front desk this week, so staffing is much better! However this also means I'm working 7-5 every day, and I won't get gym time. However, I did anticipate this and bring a yoga mat and my exercise ball and weights so I can actually work out on many of my assigned exercises right in my room. Oh, the reason I won't go to the gym is that after 5 pm the gym is full of guys working on their muscles and frankly, I feel a little uncomfortable. I figure if I can get some walking in on the track and some of the other exercises in my room, that's way better than nothing!
     Lena and I are on opposite shifts right now, so we don't get much of a chance for chit-chat. I sure miss that! Especially when I am having a frustrating day and just want to vent. For some reason my first few days back I was really kind of cranky and a lot of things were getting on my nerves. I was so happy that Lena was back as she is such a light-hearted person and always gets me laughing. That's great for the endorphins that make us human beings feel better. Nothing like a good laugh to chase away the crankies!
     Since it's Saturday today, things will be a lot more relaxed and I am determined to make it a good day! After all, I will be moving rooms for (hopefully) the last time for a while!

Always an adventure....

     Oh yes, it seems I always have a story to tell, especially on travel days. So this is the story; I left home about 5:45 yesterday morning. I pretty much had everything packed, so it was basically just throw the suitcases into the car and take off. Oh wait! I forgot to get gas on Sunday, so I didn't leave enough time for that. I thought....I have to stop and get some. None of the gas stations I passed were open that early. When I got to London, I went past the airport looking for a gas station, as I didn't want to leave Aimee's car for Aimee to pick up (half hour after I was leaving) with no gas. I almost turned around, then found a gas station open. Ok, get gas. Now to airport. I was already checked in, so just had to drop off bags. Flight to Calgary is 4 hours long, so I want to pick up breakfast, but now I'm really cutting it close. I stopped at the little restaurant before going through security, and ordered a breakfast burrito to go. This woman working took the LONGEST TIME EVER to put this burrito together. So long, that I had no time to eat it. I stashed it in my purse and headed through security. Then I had to explain to security why I had a breakfast burrito in my purse. It wasn't a liquid, so they let me take it through, and just in time to board the plane. So now my burrito is sitting in my purse until we take off and I can get into my stashed carry on baggage. It was still warm though, and I'm sure made my seatmate jealous, since I was eating breakfast and he wasn't. Then the captain gives us updates on the weather in Calgary. BRRRR!!!! It was something like -27 degrees in Calgary, maybe colder, and LOTS of snow. Now when I left London it was quite balmy at 6 or 7 degrees and a light rain. I left my winter coat at camp here because I didn't figure I would need it at home, so now I'm thinking wow, I'm really going to be cold once I get to Ft. Mac and have to drag my luggage out to the parking lot to find Aimee's other car, which she left at the airport for me. I also knew I'd need boots, so I wore those on the plane. I also remembered to bring warm gloves. However I only had a spring jacket on. About halfway to Calgary I thought I'd better get my gloves out, and lo and behold, but if I didn't lose one somewhere along the line. So now I only have 1 glove, my spring jacket, and my winter boots. Oh yes, my warm hat was left at camp too, although I did bring a scarf. I had a 1 hr layover at Calgary airport, then a short hop to Edmonton airport for a 2 hour layover, then finally the short hop to Ft. Mac. I thought well, 2 hours in Edmonton, surely I'll be able to find a shop there that has gloves. Well once in Calgary, many flights were delayed and/or cancelled, because of the very cold weather, and also lots of snow. So had to sit and wait and wait until my flight was finally called. Good thing I had a 2 hour layover in Edmonton! Ok so we get on the small Dash8 plane to Edmonton, and once everyone is on and seated (oh yes, small plane, you walk out on the tarmac to board. Did I mention I had a spring jacket and only 1 glove??? Also that it was almost -30???) and the captain makes an announcement that the plane doesn't like the extreme cold, and it wouldn't start and not to worry, maintenance crew was on their way. Doesn't everyone want to hear that?? Wow, so now I'm really starting to get nervous that I'm going to miss my connection to Ft. Mac. I asked the flight attendant, and she said I SHOULD be ok, and that if it's really close I can probably just run through the tunnel to get to the gate in Edmonton. I have no idea what that means, but ok. The mechanics arrive, get the plane going and off we go. Once in Edmonton, (again, small airport, get off on tarmac -30 here, spring coat, 1 glove) I run to my gate and find out that flight is delayed. And some earlier ones were cancelled and they were offering ground transportation by bus to Ft. Mac to those people. I'm thinking---fantastic! If I have to take a bus that's another 5 hours! I wandered around the shops while waiting for word on my flight and went into this Great Canadian Outdoors store for gloves. Well, you'd think a store called Canadian Outdoors would have gloves. Nope. They had some on order. Hmm. Ok, actually the flight was only delayed by half an hour so now I'm on another Dash 8 to Ft. Mac. We get word it's -30 in Ft. Mac. I get my luggage and then have to drag my luggage (with only 1 glove) out to the parking lot, find Aimee's car, and pray that it starts since she didn 't have a cord to plug it in. It started, thank goodness! I thought I have to stop at WalMart before I go back to get some gloves! I was driving with my gloved hand on the steering wheel, and when I needed my other hand I had to put my jacket sleeve over it because the steering wheel was SO COLD!! I drove to the Wal-Mart, and on the radio I heard that there was an accident on Hwy 63 North (that's where I had to go) and both lanes were closed until wreckage was cleared. I thought OK, I'll kill an hour in Wal-Mart, that should give them time to clear it up. When I got out, radio said the road was open again but slow because of backed up traffic. Well, from the time I (tried) left the parking lot at Wal-Mart, until the time I hit Hwy 63 (which is 3 blocks away) it took almost a half hour. Then another half hour or maybe more until I finally got out of town and on the way. So it was 7 pm when I pulled into the camp parking lot. There was not one place available close to the doors so I could drop my luggage off, so had to park WAY in the back lot (good thing I stopped at Wal-Mart for those gloves!), and also I couldn't reach ONE PERSON that I could leave my luggage with so I could go to the front desk to check in and get my room key, so I had to drag ALL my luggage from the very back of the parking lot, all the way through A pod, into the core building to get my key, then drag it all the way back to E dorm and up to 3rd floor. THEN I had to run down to Lena's room and get the stuff I left (my work clothes and shoes) as I had to work at 6 am today. THEN I realized that my badge was nowhere to be found. I had it to get through the security gate, but by the time I got to my room it was not anywhere to be found. I figured I'd just deal with that today. Needless to say, I felt it was a Murphy's Law kind of day. And thank goodness it wasn't windy, because as it was with the windchill it was feeling like -38. If you were converting that to Fahrenheit, it would be almost exactly the same. Darn cold!!!!! Frostbite within 5-10 minutes. Oh and I also realized I left my cell phone charger at home! Ugh...however today I found a couple of people that had the same type and they said they'd loan to me. I use that as my clock and my alarm so I really need it!
Anyway, I worked a split shift today (6-11am, then 5-10 pm) and again tomorrow and I know I'm rambling but such is my life!!

Welcome home Ryan!

     Yesterday at the airport I started chatting with a nice young gentleman and found out he was just returning home to Windsor area from Afghanistan. I really wanted him to feel welcome and know that there are people out there that appreciate the sacrifice he's made to be there for 8 months. It still makes me so sad and furious whenever I read about more people killed over there. I was very happy that he was returning home to his family and was also remembering young men coming home from other wars that were not warmly welcomed when they got back. No hero's welcome for some and I hate to think that would happen in this day and age. Just wanted Ryan to feel welcome and appreciated and also know that we are all glad you made it home! I hope your adjustment goes well and everything works out for you.
     So the wait at the airport wasn't all that bad. I wandered around to see what choices I had for dinner without leaving the secure area and having to go back through security again. I settled on a restaurant right at the gate where I came in, haha. Had some spring rolls and dumplings then found out there is free wi-fi. I found my gate for the Windsor flight and went online only to find the wi-fi may be free, but not all that great! I had a book so settled in with that, sent a few text messages and also met and chatted with Ryan. Found my car (used the remote starter to pinpoint it, lol) and was at Tina's by 12:30-ish.
     I got to catch up with Caden for a few hours, now Tina and I are going out for lunch and going for a pedicure.
Oh wait, I do have to describe my ride to the Ft. Mac airport yesterday. Mark the driver was supposed to take me in, but he was running late from his earlier errand so the company ordered a cab for me. Well, first of all the cabs are not allowed to drive into the camp so I had to drag my luggage down the dirt road from the core building to the security gate. Also, I didn't bring my big winter coat because I wouldn't need it here yet. So I was in a sweater. It was snowing. Ok, so luggage loaded in the cab and off to the big city, haha. Well this driver was a very nice man, difficult to understand because of his accent, but nice. However, he was the worst, absolutely worst cab driver I've ever come across. Weaving all over the road and ALMOST rear-ended another vehicle. It was a very very close call, he slammed on the brakes and skidded around the truck, but scared the life out of me (and himself, I think). It didn't scare him from plugging in his i-phone and had it sitting on his lap, ear phone in, and wandering over the center line....I finally just closed my eyes. I figured if I'm going to be in an accident, I don't want to see it coming. I actually gave him a tip when we got there. Not much of one, but I was glad that he didn't kill me.
     Anyway, I'm home now and scheduled very tightly so may not get another change to check in until I'm back in camp!

Going home tomorrow!

     Well, going to Windsor tomorrow, but that's like home. It's family! Can't wait to see my grandbabies.
     So I got to work at 4 am this morning, and not too long after, a guy comes to the desk and he locked his key in his room. I ask, "What's your room number?" He says "II12". Now II trailer is the 2nd farthest place from the front desk, and he had ID on him so I could just give him another key that he can bring back later. The trailers have doors with regular locks that require a hard key, not the swipe kind that the indoor rooms use. I check the keys, and there is only one left for II12. We can NEVER give out the last key. So guess what, that means I have to go out and unlock his door. I did come prepared with my coat, hat and gloves though. It was cold, but not windy at all and I thought quite nice. Then we get to II trailer, the 2nd furthest one from the front desk, way out in the back 40, and his room is on the far end of the 49 room unit. OK, I open the door for him and head back. Well, heading back by myself I started to think maybe this really isn't a wise idea to have a woman out there in the pitch black night, by herself, in a camp full of men and the occasional wild animal. And what if I slipped and fell and hit my head? I had a radio, and my cell phone, but things can happen! I get back to the desk, put my coat, hat, radio, keys and etc away and another guy comes to the desk. He left his key in his room. No i.d. What's your room #? I ask. JJ37. OK, now that one IS the farthest away from the front desk. Lo and behold, no i.d. on him and also only one hard key hanging in the key cabinet. Oh well. Suit up again and head out. Then the same potentially scary trek back by myself to the front desk. Then we had several bathroom lockouts, and also calls about alarms going off in someone's room. I took some, Hilary took some, and I got all the cardio I needed before 7 am today. I spoke to the Health & Safety people about going out to the trailers in the pitch black night alone, and was advise to get security to accompany me next time. I thought, hmm. Security always has a lot of staff, why can't they do the lock outs??? I may have to pursue that when I get back.
     So I am just about to head to bed. Almost everything I am leaving here is safely stowed in Lena's room, just waiting for towels in the dryer. Tomorrow I'll work 4-10 and the driver will be leaving about 10:30 for town. Almost every minute of my week off is scheduled somehow, but I haven't seen my house in 2 months so should be nice!!

Civil Disobedience cat, hahahahaha

     I thought that picture was so funny, as a former cat owner who's tried to put a harness on one. Teehee. Sorry, I'm going home in 2 days so getting a little goofy.
     We are starting to use what's called a MAC - or Meal Access Card, on Dec 1. It's just a small card with a bar code that everyone will have, and to get into the dining room you'll have to scan it, and also when checking in it will just have to be scanned to bring up the person. It will make life easier, and also stop people that aren't living at the village (only working here) from accessing meals. As there is no cost to guests for meals, if anyone helps themself to a steak or prime rib dinner, it's costing the company money. Anyway, the point of my story is that two gentlemen came to get their new cards issued. I got them scanned up and entered, and one other front desk staff tried to give them the booklet we printed out to explain how they work and why we're implementing them, but the one guy wasn't interested. I said the most important thing is that if you lose it, it's $25 to get a new one. He started walking away, saying "I'll tell you something, the food in this kitchen is not worth $25, I'd rather have starvation". Well, first I was stunned, and the other guy looked embarrassed, but then my protective instinct kicked in and I called after him..."Excuse me!!" but he kept walking. I wasn't done yet and if I'd have had one of those flip up things to get me out from behind the counter quickly, I would have been after him to pursue the matter. I thought maybe I'd like to take him to give his opinion to our head executive chef Brian....I would have LOVED to have witnessed that conversation.
     Another interesting thing that happened was when I went to the gym this afternoon, who came in but Sarah the baker. Running on the treadmill. I thought, aHA!!! Now I know how she keeps so tiny. She told me that she runs anywhere from 5-10k every day. Made me feel a little better when I enjoyed a piece of her scrumptious cheesecake at dinner tonight. I don't know WHY that made me feel better, but it did.
     Weather is still pretty nice here. I got in this morning at 4 am, and shortly after, I had to do a room lock out over in the trailers. And I didn't bring my coat down when I came in. I told the guy I'd meet him over there, but had to go grab my coat first. So I had to run up the stairs to the 2nd floor walkway over to A pod, go to F dorm, up another flight of stairs to get to 3rd floor, run down to my room, grab coat, gloves and hat, then down to A dorm, down 2 flights of stairs to first floor, and out the back door of A to cut across the parking lot to the trailers. But my shortcut back in to A dorm door was locked so I couldn't slip back in that way, but it wasn't windy or anything so I decided to walk all the way around the building and go back to the front desk through the front doors. So I had a nice morning workout before 5 am. I need a nice warm scarf though, to go over the face. I can't imagine what that journey is going to be like at -40.
     Only 2 more sleeps.....can't wait to see Caden and Kylee!!!

What??

     The whole week went by without a new post?? I guess I just get caught up in the day to day stuff and forget. Yes, time flies when you are having fun. I started to pack things up to leave for home on Monday. Now that my friend Lena has a fire warden room that she can keep while she's out, I can keep the stuff I'm leaving behind here. ESS staff were given first crack at taking the fire warden rooms that were empty, provided they promise to take the fire warden training when it comes available, so people were snapping them up. The perk is you can keep your room up to 14 days so never have to pack up, unless you'll be gone for longer than that. I was tempted to, but all the "bigger" rooms were taken, and I didn't want to be permanently in a smaller room, so I thought I'd just bide my time and see if something comes up. Also, I wanted to stay here in A pod, and I really like E 3rd floor. Not that I'm picky or anything, haha.
     The word from security this morning was there were a couple of wolves on the premises. According to the girl on night staff, one of the security guards came running in looking for the bullhorn to make noise and scare them off. I miss all the fun.
     I've heard that the northern lights have been seen around midnight or so, but I am never up at that time to check it out. Hopefully at some point this winter I'll get to see them. I've only seen them once, and that was in Zurich, in the winter, and it was an incredible show. Oh wait, I saw them one time with Thor driving back to Winnipeg from Victoria Beach, but it wasn't as big of a show as the one in Zurich.
     Speaking of winter....the sunrise & sunset times are as follows:
Stratford    
Sunrise:     7:13
Sunset:      5:02
Ft. MacKay
Sunrise:     7:58
Sunset:      4:19

The temperature hasn't been too much different, although it is pretty cold at night, around -11 and sometimes -15. I took a walk out to the trailers for room checks yesterday and my face was frozen! I'll have to get a balaclava to keep the frostbite off it!
     Well I am on the 4 am shift now until I leave, so it's definitely early to bed, early to rise!!

Monday, Monday

     Well really, the days of the week don't mean too much here, haha. Unless it's Tues-Wed or Thurs. :)
     Had a bit of a snowfall today. Enough to cover the ground, maybe an inch. It did last through the day but I think it was mostly slush by suppertime. I checked the sunrise/sunset times for comparison again today....

Stratford sunrise 7:08 am
sunset 5:06 pm

Ft. MacKay sunrise 7:50 am
sunset 4:26 pm.

     Haven't really got much to report, just plugging along. One week until I go back home, well actually to Windsor :) Then to Stratford for a couple of days, then to Michigan, then back to Stratford for 1 night and fly out of London at 7:30 the following Monday morning. Whirlwind days off again.
     It's slowing down a bit (theoretically) in camp here. There were some layoffs of the kitchen and housekeeping staff. They are still trying to forecast what the holiday season will be like. Some companies work right through, some shut down. It will be hard to say at this point how it's going to work out. Right now I am scheduled to be at camp for both Christmas and New Years, but I think they will be giving me vacation days to stay until Dec 27.
     I have been enjoying a cup of mint tea in the evenings before bed. And of course, having to get up to use the bathroom every couple of hours. So tonight will just be half a cup, see if that makes a difference. I just had to buy that big 18 oz mug haha. In case you are wondering, I just walk to the end of the hall where the water cooler is, it dispense cold and boiling water. Not allowed to have electrical appliances in the rooms here. I guess a fridge doesn't count as an electrical appliance :D
     Well our rec director Hannah is back from her rotation today. Of course now I feel guilty because I haven't been following her carefully and personally crafted exercise plan. Tomorrow I get to sleep in a bit as I don't start work until 9 am. Of course, I'll be missing breakfast but I'll tell you, that certainly won't hurt me!! I am really starting to enjoy the scrambled egg whites, I never thought I would. Oh well it will have to be a bagel at Timmie's if I sleep in!

Saturday, Nov 6

     That is unbelievable. My life is flashing right before my eyes! Soon the U.S. Thanksgiving and Aimee's birthday will be rolling by. Oh speaking of birthdays, my grandmother is going to be 97 in a week or so. Sorry gram, to give the secret away, but I am so lucky, proud, and blessed to have you in my life! A remarkable lady. Miss you!!!
     Well the week of being so busy and so short-staffed has been taking it's toll. Lena and I got into the giggles the last couple of days. You know, when EVERYTHING is funny. My word, people will be thinking we're nuts, or in one guy's case, thinking we've been hitting the bottle heavily. We were just heading in a door, he was just coming out, and we had the giggles about something or other. It was obvious what he thought the next morning when he ran into Lena at the front desk and asked her how she was feeling now. Of course, that turned into something really funny too. What's really making me giggle is that Amanda is back tomorrow to come back to work on Monday. That means I can get off my butt at the computer all day and start running around again. Maybe even get outside. I have gotten outside a couple of times this week, but I'm ready to put my apron and running shoes on and get moving!
     So apparently there is a national poppy shortage, and we got poppy stickers to wear instead of the traditional. Hmm. I'm not quite sure about this. On the plus side, no straight pin to be poking you or always falling out. However, how many times I can take this sticker on and off my shirts is another story. I'm thinking by Remembrance Day it will just be a memory :)
     I really can't believe the weather we're having here. It's been unseasonably warm. Many days, warmer than back home. I had one guy check in and he was telling me that he had been working here for 3 years to the day. I think it was on Nov 2. He said his first day here 3 years ago, it was -40 when he arrived at camp. It's been staying above the freezing mark, into the double digits some days. I looked at the forecast for next week and I see lots of days with snowflakes on them though. Winter will soon be upon us. One of the girls here lives north of here in an isolated communi, and all summer can only fly home, but once winter sets in, the ice roads are available and then she can drive home. That was pretty confusing for me, but apparently there are lots of rivers and no bridges, so there is no road until everything is frozen over. How crazy is that?? I told her I expected to see her on that tv show about ice truckers.
     So I'm off to work, hope everyone has a great day!

Spectacular Sunrise

     Wow, it was a beautiful one the other morning. Thank God for Lena calling attention to it, or I'd never see the great skies! It was just spectacular skies. The colours had faded a bit (it changes so fast!) by the time I got the idea to run outside and take a picture, but I thought the pictures turned out ok.
     So another Wednesday has come and gone. More of the same. Funny story today...I wanted to throw some laundry in during the day when the machines are usually available and I had no more clean work shirts...so I went running up to my room and there at the end of the corridor is the drug dog making her rounds. So how does this look......kinda like I'm running to get to my room before the dog! I quickly grabbed my laundry basket and headed down to the laundry room so they could see I wasn't trying to hide anything before they got there.....and I was so fast I left my key in my room. Great. Now I have to ask them to open the door for me, which they were almost to my room anyway, so they opened the door and let the doggie in to have a sniff around before I went in. She didn't find anything interesting in there so I was safe for the day :) A few guys weren't so lucky however, and got packed up and sent home. You have to be clean to stay in camp! Everyone knows that before they get here, during orientation, and by example. Don't know why some of the guys have to mess up their opportunity here. Oh well.
     So extra short staffed for another day yet. And getting a little goofy. Someone found 3 balls that are squishy like hacky sack balls, but round like maybe you'd juggle with them. Anyway, I claimed them and started using them for stress relievers. Like you throw one as hard as you can at the door, or the wall. It blows off steam really well, doesn't bounce very far or do any damage and if you ACCIDENTALLY happened to hit someone in the head....wouldn't do any injury! I demonstrated to a few people (just on the door and wall, not any heads) Chef liked the idea so much he asked if he could have one. Of course, I need to stay in his good books (you get special treats when you're in the good books) so I let him have his pick.
     Other than that....it was warmer here today than it was back home. They had the furnaces going full blast in the corridors and it was too hot. I wanted to open the windows, but after the last time I did I thought I'd better restrain myself.
     That's it for today!

Day 6 already???

     Holy smokes time flies when you're having a blast! Have I mentioned that I really love being busy like this? I truly mean that, the adrenaline just runs.
     I really wanted to get into the Halloween spirit, but just had a few moments of jocularity. Lena and I went into "town" last night and I picked up a clown wig and nose. I didn't keep them on, working in the back room seemed kind of pointless, but I did put them on and pop out the door whenever I heard people being happy and say "Who's clowning around out here?" It was good for a few laughs. Lena bought a witch hat with bright pink hair attached to it, and we got it on a Former Ess Employee Who Now Works For Shell Yet Shall Remain Nameless. Picture is included :)
     We had a great time in town last night. Went for dinner at McRays, which was delicious. Toodled around Wal Mart for a bit and got some supplies for the next week or so (I have the fridge again for a few days yet - got yogurt!) Picked up some Halloween treats for the front desk and yacked and yacked! We didn't get lost, which is a great bonus. I keep worrying that I'll miss one of the turns into camp (the roads are named, but no signs that I could see!). The signage is pretty good, but at night....I worry I'll end up in the Northwest Territories haha.
     Aimee sent me some picture messages today, one of Caden in his big boy underpants, and one of Caden in his costume. I was showing everyone, and had to add them to the slide show screen saver on my cell phone. I do miss my grandbabies!!
     I checked the weather network tonight, and actually it's 3 degrees (celcius) warmer here at camp than it is back in Stratford. It's 4 degrees celcius here, and 1 degree in Stratford. Sunrise in Ft. Mac is 8:32, sunset is 5:44. In Stratford, sunrise is 7:57 and sunset is 6:16. So we are getting just about 1 hour less of daylight right now.
     Chef set up a beautiful dessert table for Halloween. Candy apples, special decorated cupcakes, some yummy looking chocolate cake....trifle, jello in a clear glass (different colours). The camp Halloween dressup party was on Friday night. I was way too tired to go so did not see the costumes. I heard a good time was had by all haha. Some of the kitchen employees were all dressed up in the dining room, and we got talking to one of the ladies and she said that they got to leave an hour early if they dressed up. So there were skeletons, witches, mummies, etc picking up trays and cleaning tables. Albian Village does know how to put on a good party. Fort Mac was really busy last night, I guess there were a lot of parties and the stores were busy. They must know how to party in St. Mac too haha.
     I am going to bed early tonight and will try and get back into the posting routine!

Ah Wednesday.....

     If you read this blog, you know what Wednesdays mean. Yikes!! Yep, back at camp and into the thick of things. I arrived in Ft. McMurray yesterday at 7:15 am. Aimee flew out of Ft. Mac on Monday at noon and left her car there for me to bring back to camp. She sent me a text msg of the parking spot # and where exactly it was. I had no trouble finding the car, but once in noticed that it was in spot 261, not 231 like she told me. I quickly sent her a text msg and she replied that she was lucky she didn't get a ticket. Then I actually checked under the snow on the windshield and there it was. $85 ticket for no proof of payment. After a trip inside to talk to security, they assured me that they would void the ticket once she provided proof that she paid for the other spot. Then the drive to camp. I was a little nervous, since it's kind of confusing as there aren't really any signs with road names once off the main highway. However, I did find my way back without getting lost once :) As I stepped out of the car, I realized that the rain/snow mix I had driven in was actually freezing rain, and there was a layer on the car as well as icy conditions on the road. Hmm, I guess it's a good thing I didn't know that while I was driving? Must be good tires on that car! I got my room key, lugged all my bags up to my room and collected my work clothes from my friend Lena's room and looked at the clock; 9:30. Just enough time to dig through bags, find my work clothes, have a shower and be to work by 10 am. I like living on the edge, haha. We're short-staffed again right now so will be a whirlwind few weeks!
     The days are quickly shortening here, I compared. In Stratford right now, sunrise is at 7:52 am and here at camp, 8:23 am. Sunset back home is 6:22 pm and here it is 5:53 pm. The difference will grow now until the December equinox. I was really amazed looking at the weather back home, it's been so unseasonably warm! I guess it is here too, as on the radio yesterday they were commenting how it's the end of October and still no substantial snowfall.
     Well I am off to finish my laundry and get ready for work. Big flight day today, lots of people checking in!

Missed the mountains....

     Yep, we drove into Calgary today and wow, after being away from big cities this was just too much hustle-bustle. And we did miss the mountains! So we drove the 1 hour out to Canmore, back near the entrance to Banff National Park and got a beautiful room here for the night. Check out the pics, it's a fantastic find, again. The town is a lot like Banff and Jasper, little shops, restaurants, micro-breweries and wineries. Not too much open, since it is a Sunday night, but we did take a tour around before deciding on Wood Lounge for dinner. Great little place with a fireplace and cozy black leather armchairs around the tables. Not to mention the mountain scenery out the windows. This is another place that's nestled in the mountains so you get a beautiful view no matter which direction you look. I feel so fickle, since I loved the ocean so much and now I think it must be jealous of my mountain raving :)
     Tomorrow is my last day of vacation. And we are headed back into Calgary. We have a room by the airport, since my flight back to Ft. Mac is leaving at 6 am on Tuesday morning, and have to be at the airport at 5. Well I think I'm going to turn the fireplace on for a few minutes before bed, love it!

Back into civilization....

     Saturday night in Red Deer, like we never left home lol. If you look on a map, Red Deer is midway between Calgary and Edmonton, on the main highway #2. We're leaving for Calgary this morning, and hope to spend the rest of today touring around the southern part of the city, and tomorrow night staying near the airport in the north end so Monday will tour around that part of the city. I'm really noticing the shorter days now, I guess I'd better get used to it, only going to get shorter for another couple of months! Oh well all in all I think we've had a fine fall, except for that minor blip of snow on Sept 16 haha.
     We decided to take in a movie last night, but got lost trying to find the movie theater and missed the early showing, and just weren't up to staying for the late one. Red Deer has one long, long main street (which we've toured several times getting lost!) and I'm sure there's more to see, but the main street is very interesting and has everything you could want. The road divides around the center of the city, and both ways have an access road to reach the businesses along the way. The city looks very modern, even the "historic" downtown has a modern feel to it. I'm not sure the age of the city, but definitely has sprung up fairly recently.
     Oh by the way, Thor spent a good hour (maybe more) searching that animal that I have the picture of (having the late breakfast) and it is definitely an elk. We saw herds of bison on the drive as well, but were too far away to get good pictures.
     Well looks like we're in for some cloudy/rainy days here, and just above freezing. I think I'm glad most of our driving is done! Glad it's done in the mountains anyway. We sure had great weather for that part of the trip, even though I was cold and wished I had my boots :)

Banff here I come!!

     OK so I do have to work today, but I'm already practicing my "departure dance". People are so happy on their day to go home (after 21 days in a row, sometimes more) that they are singing and a few started a happy dance on the last day. Well, of course if it's not YOU leaving, the happy dance is very annoying! But when it's your turn, haha! Look out. I decided my departure dance would be done to "New York, New York" today. You know, "start spreading the news......I'm leaving today...." etc. Big big smiley face inserted here.
     I do work today, then fly out of Ft. Mac at 7:20 tonight to arrive in Calgary at 9:30. Unfortunately there is a stop in Edmonton, otherwise it would only take a bit more than an hour to get there. OH well, I don't have to get off the plane, it's just a short stop to exchange passengers.
     So far the plan is to spend the night in Calgary, pick up the rental car and head out to Banff. It's only an hour or so drive from Calgary. I was surprised, I had no idea it was that close. We'll go to Lake Louise and then figure out our route from there. I've heard so much about how beautiful it is that I'm very excited to hit those mountain roads!
     Last night I moved much of my stuff to Lena's room for storage so today will just have to bring a few last minute items (shampoo etc) over and check out. My feet are pretty excited I'll tell you!! I will catch up with pictures this week.

Saturday already??!!??

     Wow. What a week. We had an even crazier than normal crazy few days here. 'Nuff said about that. Oh I have two HUGE blisters on left foot toes. I want to pop them so bad, but I don't have any antibacterial ointment or cream or anything here so I think I'll just leave them. It was so nice to have a somewhat quiet Saturday, ahhhh.
     You can sure tell that snow is just around the corner. (again) I actually need a little bit of heat on in my room. I'm usually so hot from running all the time I didn't have it on and always opened my window, but the other morning was only about 15 in my room and I was shivering! Not in bed, since Tom found me a brand new comforter to put on my bed. It's nice and puffy and keeps me warm as toast.
     Well camp is as full as I've ever seen it since I've been here. Even the trailers outside, all 10 of them filled to capacity. I feel sorry for the guys coming off their day shift, as the lineup for food is right out of the dining room. Tensions were very high this week as there was a problem in the trailers and there was no water for about a full day to any of the trailers. Let's just say there were a lot of very frustrated, angry, tired and complaining men. Then in the middle of all that, one guy came to the counter, very angry, complaining about what a lousy, awful lunch facility we have here. Now you have to understand, the lunch area is open and available for people to make their own lunches in the morning and again in the evening. There are numerous sandwiches already made up, from pb&j to summer sausage, roast beef, turkey, chicken, veggie, cheese, egg salad, chicken salad, ham salad etc and leftovers from dinner are packed up, and burgers, pogo sticks, pizza pops, then there's apples, bananas, pears, sometimes plums. Then over in the next section you can make your own sandwich, with white, wheat and 12 grain bread, pitas, bagels and all the lunch meat, cheese slices (real cheese not Kraft singles) tomatoes, onions and other various garnishes you could ask for. Plus cut up cheese cubes, hard boiled eggs, pasta and potato salad to pack up, all kinds of drink boxes and fountain drinks. Oh and did I mention the treats? Always pastries, danish, muffins, rice krispie squares, different types of breads like banana bread, lemon loaf and cookies, chocolate, chocolate chip, oatmeal. And of course carrots, celery, cauliflower, broccoli and packages of dressings, dips, mayonnaise, cheese whiz, cream cheese etc etc etc. You get the picture. Anyway this guy is complaining (with his huge packed full lunch bag) about how lousy the lunch room is, and at other camps you get hot dogs (which we sometimes have too!) and he didn't even want to go to work!!!!! I just stared at him unbelievingly and calmly handed him the camp suggestion form so I wouldn't burst out laughing in his poor, spoiled little face! That was definitely my most ridiculous moment of the week.
     Anyway just two more sleeps and I'm off for 7 days. And staff are starting to arrive back from their vacation/days off so we're not so short anymore so I expect things to be a little easier the last two days I'm here. It's been a challenging three weeks this time!!

Wednesday - used to be hump day....

     Back in the real world, where hump day exists. Here, every day is pretty much the same. Well, except for Tues-Wed-Thurs are noticeably busier and crazier than the other days of the week. I really have to get a pedometer to see how many miles I put on in a day. That's in addition to the one mile I walk for my personalized fitness program :)
     I added a picture of the World Famous cupcake, imagine taking the time to decorate cupcakes like that when you're making them for 2600 people!! There were several different designs too. I forgot to mention yesterday Sarah the baker brought in some treats for the office staff, chocolate raspberry trifle. Garnished with fresh raspberries. She was delivering them around, came in to see me and said "I KNOW you will want one!". Sigh, my sweet tooth reputation precedes me.
     My pet peeve of the day is.......people that call the front desk from their room and ask for their call to be transferred to another room. And they do it  A LOT. Makes me absolutely crazy, when we are busy, the phone is ringing off the wall, and it's someone saying "can you connect me to Bobby Orr's room?" I just want to scream at them READ YOUR WELCOME PACKAGE AND FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS TO DO IT YOURSELF!!!!! Of course, it would take longer to do that than to actually transfer the call, so I end up doing it. It is a little confusing but the directions are clear....I figured out how to do it!! Plus...each room's phone has a direct line number. You can call it FREE, just dial the number. Sometimes I don't mind when the person doesn't know the room number and I have to look it up, but when the same person calls for the same room more than once I start to lose my patience. In fact, I notice my patience gets shorter the more days I'm here, LOL. This time I am here 22 days instead of 21 as my rotation changed by 1 day to allow me to take advantage of Monday flights, which are generally cheaper than Sunday flights.
     Oh and by the way, the new pictures I've added of the skies and cupcake were taken on my cell phone. It has a memory card. Have you ever seen a memory card for a cell phone? It looks a lot like an SD memory card for a digital camera, except it's 1/4 of the size. Yes, it's that tiny. I dropped mine today and I felt like I was looking for a contact lens on the carpet it's that small. It comes with an adapter, which is like an SD memory card with a slot to slide the wee little one in. Sorry, sometimes small things amaze this small mind :)
     Anyway, I made a point NOT to nap this afternoon, as yesterday I could not get to sleep after I finished at 8:15 and was up way too late. I will be in bed by 8:15 tonight for sure!!

The joys of split shifts....

     Actually, I don't mind it! I work 4 am - noon, then again 6 pm - 8 pm. In between, I worked out (thanks Hannah, for my personal fitness program), had a nap, finished a project, had dinner and then went back to work for a couple hours. I had a nap, so I am able to stay up past my 8 pm curfew :)
     Another week of confusion on Tues-Wed. I found one of those Staples "easy button"s and to keep some humour in the situation, I will push it to get the "That was easy!" message whenever some guy was just asking for a towel or had a question or something easy like that. Most of them have a sense of humour.
     Weather has continued to be nice, but it is starting to get cooler. I was still working up a sweat doing bathroom lockouts today. All over the map. And going as fast as I can, thinking of how I've had to call because my bathroom door was locked and you know, when you need in there, you need in there!! I had to leave my can-mate a friendly reminder as I've been locked out twice this turnaround!
     The dishwasher broke down in the kitchen last night. Well, actually it caught fire. Imagine hand washing dinner dishes for about 2600 people. I guess the dishwashers worked all night cleaning it up. Difficult because of health & safety standards...the water has to be a certain temp, plus the sanitizing. This morning for breakfast it was all disposables. It was fixed by dinner time tonight though, good thing! Imagine the garbage from disposables for 2600 people!
     Well I do have to hit the hay...3:30 a.m. comes awful early :)

Sunday, Thanksgiving Eve :)

     Wow, the week flew by! Amanda got back on site yesterday, and she was greeted with a huge bear hug from me. Even though she is contagious with a cold/flu. She'll have to spend days getting things back on track, I'm sure.
     Well today was turkey dinner night. It was quite yummy too. The turkey was juicy, not dried out. The dressing was almost like Erb's, potatoes and gravy both good. Only thing missing was squash, turnip or sweet potato (or all three!) and pumpkin pie. There were some beautifully decorated cupcakes (the cupcakes are legendary here - fantastic buttercream icing and moist chocolate cake) I did get a picture but I'll post that another night.
     The beautiful weather has been continuing on. I've got outside most days, just to marvel in the warm autumn air and think about how the days will be growing shorter very quickly.
     I won't be going home on this rotation, I will be meeting Thor in Calgary. I've only ever been to the airport in Calgary, I've never seen the city. We'll rent a car and probably drive to Banff in the mountains. I'm quite excited about both seeing Thor after a couple of months and also driving through the mountains. I've heard such wonderful things about Banff and the mountains and how beautiful it is there. There are quite a few people from British Columbia that work here so can give the "ins" to seeing the area. What not to miss and stuff like that.
     I'm not doing Lena's 4 am to 2 pm shift while she's gone since Amanda is back. That means setting my alarm for 3:30 am. And yes, it is busy at 4 am. I had two bathroom lockouts to do. The second one, I got all the way over to H, the furthest dorm from the main building, and no sign of the guy with the lockout. He never did come back or call so not sure what he did. The nice thing about being off at 2 pm is the laundry is generally available and also the gym. Hannah the task master is back tomorrow so I'll beg for her help in getting me back on the exercise track.
     It was really nice to see Aimee again after 3 weeks. At least I'll have one family member around for Thanksgiving day tomorrow! The weekend has been fairly quiet. I remember my first weekend here and it was dead slow and I kept thinking I would be struggling in another job that had me watching the clock drag for a whole boring 10 hours. That's really funny now, as I can't wait for the weekend slowdown to catch my breath again. I make things harder on myself too. This afternoon for instance. I came back to my room from the front desk, threw a load of laundry in, went to exercise a bit in the gym, then came back for a shower. Oops, my towel was in the wash machine. Back down to the front desk to get a towel. Back to my room. Back down to give Aimee a shopping list (she's going into town tonight) and have dinner. Back up to my room. My mouse is dead. Back down to the front desk to get a battery. (That wasn't the problem, unfortunately. I guess I need a new mouse). Back and forth to laundry a few times. Now I'm looking at my bed (with the brand new comforter on it, fresh out of the bag. Thanks Tom!!) and can't wait to crawl in so I can get up at 3:30 again!

2/3 of the way through

     Not that I'm counting down or anything :) Today was a bit better than yesterday, ok a lot better than yesterday but I'm still counting down. I'm kind of anxious to see Aimee again, she'll be back on Saturday. I haven't seen her for.....well, except for meeting briefly at the airport when I got in on Sept. 27, I haven't really seen her since I left on Sept. 19.
     Well I forgot to mention that we have some beautiful gerbera daisies in wonderful colours brightening up the place here and there. After the "big function" last week they were available for the taking. The front desk has a couple, my room has a couple. One is for Aimee when she gets back, I'm not being greedy. They are especially nice when you don't get outside for days at a time. And they are lasting beautifully. Change the water every couple of days and they're still looking nice.  Tomorrow I will get out again for some fresh air.
     So my friend Lena left today on her rotation. I will really miss her Cape Breton sense of humour and straight talking. Of course she's always feeding me, so maybe I'll lose some weight this week :) It's a different way of life, people coming and going all the time. You spend the vast majority of your time with the ones you work and live with, and then "vacation" with your family. Sometimes it's good, sometimes not so good. I think I would be having a harder time handling it if I had free time. With not much free time, you don't have much opportunity to think about what you miss. That's how I'm seeing it right now anyway. I have not been following Hannah's exercise plan, she'll be so disappointed in me when she gets back, haha. But I did walk the mile in the gym tonight. With 5 pound weights in each hand. And I actually RAN two of the laps. Definitely in better shape now than when I got here!!

Day 3 of 6

     Or is it 7? I'm just not sure when Amanda is back. I guess I'll plan on 7 and be really happy and surprised if she's back in 6 :)
     I cannot believe the beautiful weather we've been having. And Alberta skies are beautiful. I'm going to try and get some new pics today. Some outside shots (if I don't get caught!) The skies have been a beautiful blue and the loveliest wispy, smudgy clouds. And the sunsets and sunrises are just incredible. Just as a comparison, today is supposed to reach a high of 17 (63F) here and sunny. 18 tomorrow and 20 on Friday. Sun rises at 7:36, sets at 6:48. In Stratford, high of 14 (57F) and rain. Sun rises at 7:25 and sets at 6:57. The difference in daylight hours will really start to increase now, as the days will grow shorter in a faster manner than back home.
     Well Lena and I got out for a nice walk around camp for some exercise. We stopped in the back area to do some stretching, which of course is going to cause anyone to notice. We were both doing some calf stretches on a very large concrete block and some guys drove by in a truck and told us we'd have to push harder than that to move that block. We all got a good laugh out of that. Made it in to the management gym, which is smaller, not as many machines, but there were a few guys in there. Just enough to keep me from getting down on the floor to do Hannah's plan for the day. And I'm learning to put blinders on when picking up my breakfast and dinner for the day. And even lunch. I was hoping that would happen, lol.
     So yesterday I needed to get off the computer and out of the back windowless office I'm sitting in (just this week!) and volunteered to deliver a whole bunch of memos in B pod. All dorms. All floors. I tied on my new apron and put each floor in a pocket and away I went. I had on my "winter shirt" which has long sleeves, and was moving at a pretty good clip when I realized I was way overdressed for the weather, haha. The hallways in the pods were hot as blazes so of course my face goes beet red in a flush and I look like well, like I'm having a hot flash :) I thought why the heck aren't they opening the windows in the hallways, it's a beautiful day, there's a nice breeze. So every floor that I had to go close to the end (any rooms past about the 30's (e.g. 130, 230, 330 and up etc.) I would just finish the walk to the end where the window is and open it. So I'll say I opened 80% of the windows. Then I got back to the office and told my supervisor that I couldn't believe they didn't have the windows open, no wonder they keep calling in complaints that it's too hot. Then he informed me that they can't leave the windows open, it's a fire hazard. Oops. I said uh-oh, I'll bet people are going to be cursing me. Apparently housekeeping staff can open them while they are on the floor cleaning, then have to close them again when they leave. Oh well, security makes several rounds per day and they would just have to close them all. I've opened windows in the walkways from the pods to the camp as well when it was a nice day. So I guess if I see notices around asking people for their help in catching the notorious window opener, I will have to turn myself in. I didn't understand about the fire hazard part, but it's because if there was a fire, the fresh air from open window would just feed it.
     I'm off to start my day, hope everyone is having a good one!

Made it through Monday.....

     OK, it was only Day 1 of my stressful week, but I survived the first round. Lots of problems of course and I kept thinking....wait a minute, I don't remember signing up for this!! Amanda comes back on Saturday and I will be throwing my arms around her as soon as I see her :)
     I did the "upper body boot camp" last night. Little Hannah, who is probably 5 feet tall and 80 pounds soaking wet, and has strawberry blonde hair up in pigtails and this cute little Australian accent turns into one of those drill sergeant types as soon as class starts! LOL, no, not really, but it was a real workout, not just an excuse for an exercise class! I finished the class, but couldn't do all the laps around the gym in between the exercises. And half the time was for boxing. We had to pair up, and of course being the only female I was sure the guys were all wanting not to be stuck with a weakling, but one guy finally jumped in to offer to be my partner. He put the pads on first, and I punched. It was a great workout, I loved it! Then it was my turn to put the pads on. Well, I'll say this....holding those pads up and with enough force to match the punches was WAY HARDER than actually throwing the punches. My arms and shoulders were killing me. Not to mention the fact that I was a little afraid to see those big gloves coming at me at face level with just me and the pads stopping them! But all in all, I was very proud of myself and determined to keep it going. Now Hannah went home today so no classes until next week. But she made me up my own personal fitness plan and demonstrated all the exercises. I did a little bit tonight, but I did not want to go to the workout room in the evening as it's full of men. I tried to lasso another woman to go with me, but I had no takers. I don't think I could have done any of the weight or machine exercises anyway, my muscles are so sore. I did do the stretches so hopefully tomorrow I won't be totally seized up! It's a little unnerving as there are windows in the upper part of the gym that are along the hallway and guys are always stopping to watch, but I just figured you want to look...go ahead! I am determined to get fit anyway!
     Well camp is really full again, a ton of people showed up last night - no reservations. And a ton more coming in tomorrow and Wednesday. No idea what we're going to do. No more incidents of wild animals showing up at camp. Maybe they lost the security pass lol.
     I am finally getting assertive enough to keep those people on the serving line to stop loading on too much food! Played some darts again tonight. It was busy at the Albian Village Lounge tonight. Last time I played darts we were the only ones. This time every board was in use. I still haven't had my tour of the kitchen again, I'll have to ask the Food Services Manager Bill again.
     That's it for tonight....Ciao!

Wild Life at Albian

     Haha, I really meant wildlife, not the wild life! Yesterday morning when I got in to work, everyone was talking about the bear that wandered into camp. I guess it was a cub, and it came right up to the front doors. Security tried to scare it off, and they succeeded, except it ran right through the smoking tent and probably got disoriented and didn't know where to go. I heard that they called the ministry and they came down and got it tranquilized. This was about 3:30 in the morning, I didn't hear a thing. Then this morning, after I got in, security came to the desk and said there was a big bull moose out front. The H&S guy went out to investigate and I was trying to get him to take my camera for a picture....but he said it was gone by the time he got out. So it seems the wildlife is coming in to see what the heck is going on here. Or maybe they just smell food. The joke around here was that they probably got ahold of one security badge and were just passing it around so each species could get in and have a look around.
     Speaking of looks around...I bit the bullet and drove into town last night. I offered Melissa a ride home (she lives in Ft. Mac and takes the bus in and home every day) so she could be my guide and Lena accompanied me as well. We just wanted to get away from camp for a bit and visit the Wal Mart. So we drove 1 hour into Ft. Mac, Melissa took us past the Wal Mart so we knew where it was, then we dropped her off at home (actually Wood Buffalo, which is a suburb of Ft. Mac proper) and headed back to Wal Mart. Might I mention that Lena is no better at directions than me (so she said) and we were worried about getting too far off track, so we ended up having dinner at the McDonald's in the Wal Mart! Next time we'll do it up right. It was great to spend 20 minutes zipping around and picking up a few small items. I bought a pkg of individual yogurts for my room since I have a fridge in here right now. I figured I should make use of it a little. We had a great time, like a couple of kids out past curfew. I thought we should let Melissa know that we arrived back at camp safe & sound, but Lena had a better idea. She called Melissa and asked for her address, told her that we stopped in at The Keg and had a few too many, couldn't drive back and needed to crash at her place for the night. And we were bringing the open wine plus the guys we picked up :) Melissa was a little taken aback for a few seconds, until she realized she'd just been "punked". Poor Lena had to work at 4 am today and we didn't get back here until almost 10 pm. My alarm went off at 5:30 as usual, and I thought I wanted to sleep for another half hour so I reset the alarm for 6 and went back to sleep. I opened a corner of my eye and realized it was sort of light out, which shouldn't be happening at 6 am, so I jumped up and saw that I forgot to SAVE the alarm (I use my cell phone as alarm) and therefore it didn't go off. It was 6:53 and I had to work at 7. Yikes! I was a couple of minutes late but obviously missed breakfast. Good thing I had those yogurts in my fridge!
     So Amanda left me all alone in her job today. I'm sort of in denial about all the things that could go wrong this week, just trying to not think about it. Mid afternoon I asked one of the other ladies if she wanted to go for a smoke break. (neither of us smoke, but the ones that do always get smoke breaks!) So we went out for a walk around the camp for 5-10 minutes and what a beautiful day! The temp was up to 18 degrees today (64 for you Americans) and such a gorgeous, glorious blue sky. It was breathtaking, really. Only had it for about 10 minutes but what a pick-me-up that was.
     It's almost 6:15 and I told Hannah I was coming tonight to do her fitness class at 6:30 and she said she'd write up a personalized fitness plan for me. Here I go!! I actually went and bought a sports bra for the occasion :)
     Take care all, and enjoy!

5 o'clock mornings....

     I was never a morning person and look at me now, up at 5 every morning. OK, please don't mistake that for enthusiasm, hahaha.
     The other night, there were two incidents of people setting off fireworks just outside two of the pods. One of them mine. HELLO!!!???? This is an oil sands camp!!! There is a refinery just across the street. How stupid can people be??? I was quite upset to hear about that, thinking about these buildings we sleep in, which are essentially modular buildings stacked on top of each other, and how quickly they would go up in flames and got very angry at the recklessness of someone doing that. Ok, that's my rant for the day.
     I did make it outside yesterday, it was beautiful!! I was squinting like a mole of course, not having seen sunlight since Sunday. There wasn't much going on, I didn't see any monster equipment. There's been no rain for a few days so the dust is all over again. The rain was kind of nice, wetting everything down and keeping the dust down.
     I am still anxious to get into town, but just haven't had the chance. Maybe tonight or tomorrow night.
     Last night was "open mic" night at the lounge. I was hoping to go for a bit, but again, these 5 am mornings have me wilted by 7 pm. I just want to crawl into bed after having dinner and getting back to my room. I have been telling Hannah, the rec director, every day that I would be coming to see her to get my workout plan. Then by the time I'm finished my dinner, I'm skulking back to my room hoping I don't run into her.
     Well today is my last day training with Amanda, she leaves tomorrow. I feel pretty confident about most of the things, but I know that next week when the crunch comes I'll be cursing my life, haha. The big problem here is that on Wednesdays we get about 300 people arriving. On Thursdays we get a bunch leaving. That means when they come in on Wed, we are in a room shortage situation. The powers that be are trying to work out a solution to this problem, and I wish I could just change the system, but I can't. After working for a "root cause" man for 7 years, I just want to fix it for good! It just sounds like it's been happening this way since this place existed, and nobody wants to take the initiative to get everyone involved on board and put some policies in place. Oops, I already had my rant for the day and there I go on another one!!
     OK I'm off for breakfast and to get an early start on the workday. Enjoy!

TGIF

     Still have not been outside to enjoy the beautiful fall weather since I got in. I tried yesterday, but then I was told the outside doors of the dorms were locked, so I had to take the inside route anyway. Oh wait, I ended up not going at all to deliver a memo, someone else did. Wow, I've really been locked in!! I hope I can at least get out for a quick runaround today.
     The special VIP guests should be gone today, and hopefully things get back to normal for pete's sake. I was so tired yesterday and so tired of listening to guys complain I was ready to lose it on somebody! I hate when I get like that. I stayed out of the line of fire as much as possible. I'm like the hulk....you wouldn't like me when I'm angry :c)
     Hopefully today I will FINALLY get going on the cross-training, as Amanda now leaves Sunday. I've done nothing but put out fires for the last three days. Not literally, of course. haha!
     Sorry this is a disappointing short post, but my mind is on getting to the job. Hopefully can check in later with some newsy chat!

Last day of September???

     Where has the time gone?? And I really should get rid of those nasty snow pictures, the weather here has been beautiful the last few days. Looks like indian summer time. Not that I've seen it, except from the window. I've been like a mole. I have not poked my nose outside since I got here, I'm hoping to get a walk around in sometime today, just to make sure I remember what outside air smells like. It has just been SOOOOO busy this week it's crazy. All I can do now is hope the weekend will be quieter so we can get sort of caught up. Rooms have been in short supply, and we've housekeeping has been working overtime like mad to get rooms turned around so we can put bodies in them. Even had to turn people away the last two days. Amanda has postponed her days off for a week, thank goodness, although I feel terrible that she had to do it.
     I forgot to mention that I found out what the little explosion sounds that I've been hearing are. There are what they call "tailings", which look like a pond, around the process sites. Even though they look like a nice pond, good spot for a drink and a rest for various wildlife, they are not. There's a layer of water and underneath is bitumen. I'm not totally sure what the process is from there, although I know the area does get reclaimed (cleaned up) as I've seen it passing by other camps. Anyway, it does look inviting to wildlife and if they get in there, they die. So there are water cannons continually going off to scare them away. Now that I know we're not under attack, I can rest easy :)
     I worked 12 1/2 hours on Tuesday, and 13 yesterday and I've been awake since 4:30 am thinking about things that I didn't get done and have to do. I'm going to go in at 6:30 and hopefully get a half hour undisturbed in (hahaha - just won't be possible but can always hope!) before I'm actually on duty. I'm expecting to hopefully get it back down to regular hours today, after the initial extra half hour haha. I have definitely come to look forward to "slow" times!
     Well I've sure seen all sides of people this week. Unfortunately, the unhappy and angry ones are the loudest and easiest to remember. However it sure makes our day when someone gives us good feedback. We all appreciate it! Makes me realize how important it is recognize someone for positive things. It seems to take extra effort to do that, but I know that service people, and anyone for that matter, love getting an unexpected pat on the back or an acknowledgement that what they do is appreciated. I will be making an extra effort from now on to do just that!
   

Back to work for a rest??!!???

     Not a chance. I had MAYBE 5 minutes, possibly less, to arrive for work at 7 am with that rush of being refreshed and ready to tackle things when I was told that I was cross-training for another job, actually for Amanda in reservations, and Amanda is leaving for her days off after her shift on WEDNESDAY. So, yes folks, I am allotted a total of 3 days to learn a job that actually has responsibility (haha) and changes all the time at the same time as the week from you-know-where is happening! There is some kind of top-secret VIP function happening this week - important guests that are so important I'm not allowed to know who they are - plus the fact that the front desk is short-staffed because of people on days off AND this place is overbooked by many rooms and as of yesterday, nobody had a backup plan. Welcome back!!!!
     Of course, I have always loved a challenge and this time next week....it will all be a bad memory. :)
     So my days at home were a blur; running all over the place and putting many kms on Aimee's new car. I told her not to be too distressed when she looked at the odometer. It was great to see my grandbabies!! I miss them, and they are just changing so quickly. Caden is just talking up a storm, and quite precocious I might add, an unbelievable computer whiz at just 3 years old. Kylee is really beginning to talk now and smart as a whip as well. We had fun for the short time I saw them!
     I arrived back here after 12:30 a.m. on Monday morning. My shift started at 7 a.m. so not much sleep for me, not that I ever get much anyway. I had already been checked into my room, and it was the same room I left! That was a nice surprise, I like this room. I also had lots of stuff waiting for me. Aimee and friends left for their days off (actually we crossed paths at the airport in Ft. McMurray, me coming in, them going out). Aim asked if it was ok if they stored some stuff in my room, so one side of the under bed storage is totally full, plus I have a fridge! They'll be gone for 2 weeks so I can have cold drinks and snacks in my room until they're back :) Also, Lena had put the box of stuff I had stored in her room in there for me already so all I had to do was unpack. That didn't happen until after work yesterday, of course. And I couldn't believe it when my ten hours were up, the time just flew. Of course, I am in panic mode here, thinking of the next few days....but I will survive, like that 70's song.
     Anyway, I'm off to get some breakfast and dive back into the day!

Home for a rest....

     Ha Ha Ha! My schedule is so tight for the week I'll be home, I'll be coming back to work to rest up! It's a strange feeling, I'll tell ya, to be heading home. These three weeks have passed by so quickly it makes my head spin.
     I have been meaning to share the dining room rules here; they amuse me.
    
     No headgear
     No coveralls/overalls
     No bags/backpacks
     No muscle shirts
     No bare toes
     No laptops
     No cell phones
     No workboots without booties
     No dirty work clothes
     No outdoor coats
     Be Courteous to others

     So there you have it. I may have forgotten something, but that's basically it. Funny thing is, I've never seen anyone "enforcing" the rules, yet everyone abides. I do see the odd cell phone, but I can't say I've ever heard one ring. I particularly like the "no muscle shirts" one, hehe. And be Courteous to others. With a capital C.
     People come and go. One of the girls was cleaning up one of the desks and found a phone list from 2007, and we only recognized one or two names on it. Just a handful of long-timers. Aimee's one of them and she's been here just over two years. I did meet one of the camp attendants who has been here since this place opened, around four years ago. She said she knows "everybody". She was quite astonished to find out that Aimee was my daughter, and said she already loved and respected me :) Aimee is quite a highly thought of individual here. When someone tells me that, I always say "Yeah, I kinda like her".
     I'll start my journey back this evening, leaving Ft. Mac airport just before 11, get to Calgary around midnight, leave Calgary just before 1 am and get to London just after 6 tomorrow morning. I'll sign off now, and check in again when I get back. I'll be sure to give the verdict on whether the first turnaround is hard!

Freaky Nature

     OK, apparently it was just a freak storm yesterday. Today was sunny and blue skies. There was frost, but no snow. Maybe that's it for a while!
     It was slower at the front desk today, so the catch-up started. I was still going like mad, trying to get the mail caught up and all the confirmations. It was nice not to have a long lineup of people waiting to check in/out/complain/threaten to quit etc.
     I can't believe only two more sleeps and I'll be on my way home. When I first thought of 21 days in a row of 10 hour long days, I was a little scared, thinking how am I ever going to be able to do this? But it went by so fast. Now I can't imagine not being here for a whole week. And I have so much to do in my week at home.
     So there is work going on 24 hours a day out in the camp. I hear the trucks moving around and some sort of banging, not sure what that is, sounds almost like little explosions?? Far away and muted. Sort of like there's an active war zone within a few miles, haha. I'm sorry, that's nothing to joke about, please excuse.
     Yes, there are church services here. I saw a notice posted listing several different denominations. I think that the different companies provide the services for their employees, but I'm not entirely sure about that.
     There was entertainment at the Albian Lounge, some fellow who was really impressive at karaoke. I guess management offered him a gig for a few hours. I only heard him sing one song, and it was good, but he was really good on the harmonica. He would jump in on the musical interludes for other people singing with his harmonica, and was quite entertaining. I was going to go for a listen, but I was too tired and had a nap instead.
     OK, I think I bored everyone enough for one night!!

Yes.....September 16

     Still officially summer. Yes, that is snow today in Albian Village. When I came out the end of August, I didn't bring any winter gear because I would be home before winter set in, and could bring back the coat, boots, gloves etc when I came back. So here I am with no coat or boots, and snow on the ground!! Most of it melted away and it turned to rain as the day wore on, but those pictures were taken about 1 pm.
     So I got to see some of the camp and some of Ft. McMurray yesterday. Unfortunately, it was from the back window of an ambulance. I had some nasty heartburn happening, and it was actually incapacitating, so I had to go to the medic. I had Aimee and the GM accompanying me in the pickup truck over there. They of course assume a possible cardiac episode, and did as much testing as they could there, then transported me via ambulance to the main camp medic area where they have a doctor, and he decided even though the EKG was fine, I needed more testing, so again via ambulance into Ft. Mac. I objected, as by that time I was starting to feel better, but they had me captive by then so away I went. Spent a few hours with more testing and everything turned out good so they sprang me. Except now I was in Ft. Mac, all by myself, no money, no cell phone!!! I called Aimee and said HELP!! So she sent a taxi to pick me up and bring me back to camp. The driver was very nice, very chatty. He had to stop for gas and wanted to get a drink of juice, and asked if I wanted one, and I told him I had no money or anything, so he bought me one. Very nice gesture, I thought. Then he said he'd put the value x 20 on the company's tab, haha.
     Getting around the camp is very bumpy. VERY bumpy. I was strapped to a stretcher, but wow, good thing I wasn't having a baby or something like that...it would have been a ride to remember! I was treated very nicely, and I think they were just bored and over-reacted but it did give me the first ambulance ride of my life.
     Other than that....we had almost full capacity here at camp, meaning almost all 2,950 rooms were full. People were coming in droves that didn't have confirmations or reservations, and we were putting them wherever we could. So the next few days will be straightening out the mistakes. Some of the men will be very happy, (the ones in the trailers that are supposed to be inside) and others are rather irate and threatening to quit their jobs (inside and have to move to the trailers). Wah wah. It's not us that decide where they have to go, it's an agreement between their company and Shell, but they don't want to hear that. They just want to hear that we really made a mistake and they are really supposed to be inside.
     Well, three more sleeps and I'm heading home. To pack my winter coat and boots, haha!

The Big Day

     Well, it was for some of the Albian Village ESS Dene West staff. Not us peons, but the managers were all a-flurry. Things did look very nice, even all of us front desk staff in our ironed matching blue blouses. There were even fresh flowers at the front desk. Chef prepared a very nice luncheon, which was delicious, so I heard. We never really saw the head honchos....they passed by the front desk area, and one of the men did walk around a bit, but the rest toured the place minus our area. Oh well. After all that preparation too. At least the whole place got a good sprucing up.
     We had another ton of people checking in that had no confirmation of reservation. The reservation system is complicated, outdated and not user friendly. Hopefully they'll come up with something better soon. There were also quite a few people expecting management rooms, and we had none available. Some of them were really good about it, but others were quite irate and wanting to demand something be done about it. That type of person really gets my blood boiling. It's like they think they are better than everyone else and it's going to KILL them to share a bathroom for one night. We told them that they should come back to check today, and if rooms were available we'd transfer them in. One of the gentleman came by tonight and I found his confirmation, and transferred him over to a management room. He was very kind and appreciative. Actually he saw me at the Tim Horton's getting a tea and an oatmeal raisin cookie, and paid for my order. Then there was the woman that came down to the desk at least three times to ASSERTIVELY stress that this situation was UNACCEPTABLE and she demanded that she be able to voice her complaints with the RIGHT PEOPLE. Made me a little embarrassed to be the same gender. Oh well, all in a day's work. Then there are the guys that were used to be housed in the trailers and are now "in the village" as the lingo goes, and they are so happy. Then there are the ones that showed up a day early, no confirmation, no record of them, and we put them up "in the village" only to find out they were supposed to be in the trailers. So the co-workers that showed up today were put in the trailers, and were jealous and upset because their buddies got to be in the good rooms. *insert eyeroll here* Some of the men that have been in the older camps are really impressed with this place. They walk in and say it looks like a shopping mall, haha. All in a day's work.
     When I said the heat had been turned on earlier, I was wrong. I guess I was just having hot flashes. The heat has NOW been turned on though. Right in time for the official start of autumn in a few days. It's eerie how quickly the days are growing shorter!