Well, at least we have a white Christmas here! It is unseasonably warm, for this part of Alberta, there must be a chinook :) All is calm and quiet at the village these Christmas days. Population dropped from full house (around 2300-2400) to less than 500. Yes, most people are home with their loved ones for the holidays. There have been a few special touches for the staff here; hot lunch on Friday, then drinks in the bar last night for Christmas Eve. A few of us tried to sing some carols in the bar, but it apparently rubbed a few people the wrong way and we got shut down. This morning it was so quiet, it was almost spooky. I was talking to my camp attendant, and he said he only had 5 people in this whole dorm. That means 37 empty rooms in this dorm. And, as a cost saving measure, the maintenance people have been shutting down furnaces where there are a lot of empty rooms. My room is as warm as it ever is, but the arctic corridor over here....well, let's just say "Arctic" is an apt description! Our generous AGM gave everyone short shifts today and tomorrow (Boxing Day) which made everyone very happy, since most of the people here (except us) are union and hourly workers, so they are cleaning up big time over the holidays. I was all set to sleep in this morning, and when I got back to my room yesterday, there was a sign on the door coming into the dorm that said the water was going to be shut off at 7:30 am until 4 pm today. Great. Now I had to get up early anyway, just to be able to have a shower. So, alarm went off at the regular 6:30 time, I had a shower (after a momentary scare when only COLD water was coming out of the shower), and figured I might as well go have breakfast, since I was up anyway. Then, I figured I might as well work, since I was dressed, showered, fed, and downstairs anyway. I put in more hours than I had to, but it was slow and relaxed. I talked to all my kids, and later on, mom and dad. They had a lovely turkey dinner, and had the usual array of desserts and also gingerbread cookies.
I have to admit I was feeling pretty homesick last night. It all sounded good in theory, being here for Christmas, leaving for home on the 27th and having our family Christmas on the 30th. Now I keep thinking, when I go to do my Christmas shopping after I get home, all the stores will have out their Valentine stuff. Sigh.
All in all, being here wasn't so bad. I mean, everyone else is in the same boat, away from family and friends and loved ones. Everyone tries to be extra nice, and keep each other's spirits up.
Oh, by the way....my old goose Christmas sweater vest won me a second place tie in the Ugly Christmas Sweater contest. Somewhere out there is a picture....but maybe that should stay lost :)
Merry Christmas to everyone!
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Time just flies....
Holy smokes, time does fly. I arrived back at camp (in my running shoes and a hoodie) to -20 degrees (celcius) and 6 inches of snow on the ground. Finally found the car, which had my coat and boots in it, and drove back to camp, with the temp dropping all the way. My room here was FREEZING cold....and even though I cranked my baseboard heater it took days to get it even semi-warmed up.
Since getting back, I've started in my new role as Guest Services Supervisor. The department is not fully up and running yet, but I've been assuming some of the duties, anyway. I spend a lot more time on my feet, and running around checking room status, which is a good thing. I was spending too much time sitting on my butt!! Now I can have that extra cookie and not feel guilty. Shell was passing out pedometers, and I took one, and the first day I logged about 3 miles from lunchtime to the end of my day at 6 pm, and a couple of days I actually surpassed 7 miles. And stairs!!! I refuse to take the elevators, unless I have to because my hands are full, and I have been up and down stairs so many times I can't even begin to count. Also, the flooring is still underway and some corridors are blocked off. When I got back, the 3rd floor corridors were blocked off, so if I had to check rooms on 3rd floors in different dorms in each pod, I would have to go up and down the stairs for each dorm, rather than going to the 3rd floor and checking all the 3rd floor rooms. I am counting on having buns of steel in a few months! Oh, and in my role of managing the room status, I've started enforcing the camp policy (i.e. you must check out or put your room on hold when you leave) and locking out people who are on the "No Sleep" list. I lock the rooms out and put a reminder memo that they must put their rooms on hold before going on days off. It just means that when they get back, they have to go to the front desk and get their key re-activated. Well, turns out I locked out some Very Important People. When I got the phone calls the evening that some of them returned, and asked an explanation, I said...they left on days off and didn't put their rooms on hold. I have to admit, I was a little nervous going in to work the next day, wondering if someone was going to be looking for my head on a platter, but so far...they all seem to have gotten over it. I mean, rules are rules, right?
Anyway, I'm almost at the end of this rotation, heading home Friday night to a whirlwind week off. I will be spending Christmas at camp this year, but home for New Year's. Last year it was the other way around, I was home for Christmas and at camp for New Year's.
The weather got above freezing for a day or two, but is back to snow again today.
Since getting back, I've started in my new role as Guest Services Supervisor. The department is not fully up and running yet, but I've been assuming some of the duties, anyway. I spend a lot more time on my feet, and running around checking room status, which is a good thing. I was spending too much time sitting on my butt!! Now I can have that extra cookie and not feel guilty. Shell was passing out pedometers, and I took one, and the first day I logged about 3 miles from lunchtime to the end of my day at 6 pm, and a couple of days I actually surpassed 7 miles. And stairs!!! I refuse to take the elevators, unless I have to because my hands are full, and I have been up and down stairs so many times I can't even begin to count. Also, the flooring is still underway and some corridors are blocked off. When I got back, the 3rd floor corridors were blocked off, so if I had to check rooms on 3rd floors in different dorms in each pod, I would have to go up and down the stairs for each dorm, rather than going to the 3rd floor and checking all the 3rd floor rooms. I am counting on having buns of steel in a few months! Oh, and in my role of managing the room status, I've started enforcing the camp policy (i.e. you must check out or put your room on hold when you leave) and locking out people who are on the "No Sleep" list. I lock the rooms out and put a reminder memo that they must put their rooms on hold before going on days off. It just means that when they get back, they have to go to the front desk and get their key re-activated. Well, turns out I locked out some Very Important People. When I got the phone calls the evening that some of them returned, and asked an explanation, I said...they left on days off and didn't put their rooms on hold. I have to admit, I was a little nervous going in to work the next day, wondering if someone was going to be looking for my head on a platter, but so far...they all seem to have gotten over it. I mean, rules are rules, right?
Anyway, I'm almost at the end of this rotation, heading home Friday night to a whirlwind week off. I will be spending Christmas at camp this year, but home for New Year's. Last year it was the other way around, I was home for Christmas and at camp for New Year's.
The weather got above freezing for a day or two, but is back to snow again today.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Random musings...
Things at Albian have been hopping this last couple of weeks. The winter drilling program is starting to get ramped up, and although it won't be fully underway until the ground freezing, preparation is beginning and of course, occupancy is increasing. The winter drillers go into the muskeg to drill, and they can't get equipment on the land until it's frozen, as it's like swampland when it's not frozen. The beaver dams were blown up and the Athabaska River has carried all the occupants of the now defunct lake into the new lake. I'm sorry, I don't have the names of these lakes, but the beaver dam was the last relocation. The second floor arctic corridors are now open for A pod and B pod, and closed for C pod. I did some room checks this week, and forgot about the C pod 2nd floor closure, so that required lots of climbing up and down stairs, since I couldn't move from dorm to dorm along the corridor. In order to do the second floor rooms, I had to either go up to third or down to first to move over. Good exercise though! I managed to get in two Zumba classes and I hope I'll be able to make 3 times per week when I get back from vacation.
Now for the pictures...at one of the other camps that is about 35 min driving distance from here, someone showed up for work at their job trailer (I think it was Thursday morning) and discovered a black bear had decided to try an office job. Looks like he was checking the paper stock, taking inventory of the supplies, and maybe trying to fax or copy a letter, it's hard to see. Oh, and the last picture looks like he's just on his break, or overwhelmed with the duties. No word on how they got him out of there.
So I am off to San Francisco today. The weather looks like it will be decent, around 14-15 degrees most days (mid-high 50's) and very little precipitation for the days we'll be there. Last day there looks very nice, about 16 and full sun. I don't expect I'll be coming back with a tan, but sounds great compared to Calgary here, where they had their first snowfall (that accumulated) yesterday morning. When the plane was coming in, all I could see from the air was a nice white blanket. I visited with Aimee here in Calgary last night, and am flying out this afternoon.
When I get back to camp, my role at work will be changing, but I will post those details on my return when I see how the department is progressing. I am not sure I'll have internet access but will try to get pics up when I can.
Now for the pictures...at one of the other camps that is about 35 min driving distance from here, someone showed up for work at their job trailer (I think it was Thursday morning) and discovered a black bear had decided to try an office job. Looks like he was checking the paper stock, taking inventory of the supplies, and maybe trying to fax or copy a letter, it's hard to see. Oh, and the last picture looks like he's just on his break, or overwhelmed with the duties. No word on how they got him out of there.
So I am off to San Francisco today. The weather looks like it will be decent, around 14-15 degrees most days (mid-high 50's) and very little precipitation for the days we'll be there. Last day there looks very nice, about 16 and full sun. I don't expect I'll be coming back with a tan, but sounds great compared to Calgary here, where they had their first snowfall (that accumulated) yesterday morning. When the plane was coming in, all I could see from the air was a nice white blanket. I visited with Aimee here in Calgary last night, and am flying out this afternoon.
When I get back to camp, my role at work will be changing, but I will post those details on my return when I see how the department is progressing. I am not sure I'll have internet access but will try to get pics up when I can.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Now snow is in the air...
Nothing sticking on the ground, but definitely snow in the air. We had a fire alarm a couple of days ago, and it was very windy, and also there were snowflakes in the air. Sigh...oh well, it IS the end of October, as compared to the first snowfall in mid-September last year.
Replacement of the arctic corridor flooring is underway. The 2nd floor walkways over to the core building were sealed off on Wednesday. That means when I go to work, or back to my room, or to any other rooms for other reasons, we have to go outside. Not bad, really, unless you happen to be lugging stuff from one place to another. Hopefully, another week and the 2nd floor walkways will be open. The first and third floors don't connect to the core building anyway, so you always have to use the 2nd. I guess they figured they would get that one done before the weather got too bad.
I heard something interesting today. They are going to be digging a new hole, or mine, I guess you'd call it, soon and in order to do this, they had to move a. the road in from Highway 63, and b. a lake. Move a lake???? I guess environmental people have been here the last 6 months moving creatures over to the new lake. Every single fish, and anything else that would life in a lake had to move. How do they move fish from one lake to another? They stun them, with a cattle prod in the water, they float up, they scoop them up, record the species etc, and dump them into the new lake. In about 15-20 minutes, they come to and swim away. The last critters to be moved were the beavers, and they blew up their dams this week and either have or will be now draining the old lake. The beavers will move on down the river and find a spot to build their new dams. NO, no beavers were harmed in the course of this relocation.
Speaking of wildlife, there was an interesting picture in a Shell newsletter that I saw floating around camp. Because so much of northern Alberta was destroyed by wildfires this summer (over 1,000,000 acres) the bears and other hibernating animals had to travel farther and wider to stock up for their winter sleep. That's the reason there have been so many sightings (100+ last year, 400+ this year) of bears closer to human habitation (in camps, in garbage bins etc). Well one of the little guys went into a pit on site, and then couldn't get out of the hole. Workers placed a ladder in the hole and sure enough, Yogi figured out how to use a ladder and rescued himself out of the hole.
One of the camp attendants here has started a Zumba exercise class. I finally made it to one last night. It's so much fun! I will be sure to get my exercise in 3 times a week with this! It's like a dance aerobics class, high energy with Latin/African sounding music. Sort of like learning a line dance. But a lot of fun.
Only 5 more days of work for me, then I'm off to San Francisco for vacation!
Replacement of the arctic corridor flooring is underway. The 2nd floor walkways over to the core building were sealed off on Wednesday. That means when I go to work, or back to my room, or to any other rooms for other reasons, we have to go outside. Not bad, really, unless you happen to be lugging stuff from one place to another. Hopefully, another week and the 2nd floor walkways will be open. The first and third floors don't connect to the core building anyway, so you always have to use the 2nd. I guess they figured they would get that one done before the weather got too bad.
I heard something interesting today. They are going to be digging a new hole, or mine, I guess you'd call it, soon and in order to do this, they had to move a. the road in from Highway 63, and b. a lake. Move a lake???? I guess environmental people have been here the last 6 months moving creatures over to the new lake. Every single fish, and anything else that would life in a lake had to move. How do they move fish from one lake to another? They stun them, with a cattle prod in the water, they float up, they scoop them up, record the species etc, and dump them into the new lake. In about 15-20 minutes, they come to and swim away. The last critters to be moved were the beavers, and they blew up their dams this week and either have or will be now draining the old lake. The beavers will move on down the river and find a spot to build their new dams. NO, no beavers were harmed in the course of this relocation.
Speaking of wildlife, there was an interesting picture in a Shell newsletter that I saw floating around camp. Because so much of northern Alberta was destroyed by wildfires this summer (over 1,000,000 acres) the bears and other hibernating animals had to travel farther and wider to stock up for their winter sleep. That's the reason there have been so many sightings (100+ last year, 400+ this year) of bears closer to human habitation (in camps, in garbage bins etc). Well one of the little guys went into a pit on site, and then couldn't get out of the hole. Workers placed a ladder in the hole and sure enough, Yogi figured out how to use a ladder and rescued himself out of the hole.
One of the camp attendants here has started a Zumba exercise class. I finally made it to one last night. It's so much fun! I will be sure to get my exercise in 3 times a week with this! It's like a dance aerobics class, high energy with Latin/African sounding music. Sort of like learning a line dance. But a lot of fun.
Only 5 more days of work for me, then I'm off to San Francisco for vacation!
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Fall is in the air...
Not that it's cold or anything, and certainly we didn't get snow in September, like last year, but you can tell winter is approaching. Right now it's somewhat mild, at around 10 degrees C or 50 degrees F, and expected to stay around there for the next week. Stratford, by comparison, is looking sunny for the next week, with temps in the 70's, or low 20's. Up here at camp the days are shorter by about 20 min or so, but the difference will be increasing quickly now.
As far as camp life...well, the maintenance people have started into the new flooring project, in which all the carpet has been ripped out of all the arctic corridors (the hallways that connect the living quarters, or pods, to the main core building). Carpet was a really bad choice for that anyway, and they were really in bad shape, even a safety hazard, as the carpet was bunched up from being repeatedly shampooed and cleaned. So we're walking on plywood floors in all the hallways. Feels like we're in the middle of a big construction project, haha.
Pretty much since the beginning of September, the camp has been overbooked and other camps have been taking in the overflow. Since these other camps are not near as nice as this one, it's like back in the day when we had the trailers, and guys crying and whining, wanting to get into Albian. There will be some big changes coming to camp, but until an official word is out....my lips are zipped!
As far as camp life...well, the maintenance people have started into the new flooring project, in which all the carpet has been ripped out of all the arctic corridors (the hallways that connect the living quarters, or pods, to the main core building). Carpet was a really bad choice for that anyway, and they were really in bad shape, even a safety hazard, as the carpet was bunched up from being repeatedly shampooed and cleaned. So we're walking on plywood floors in all the hallways. Feels like we're in the middle of a big construction project, haha.
Pretty much since the beginning of September, the camp has been overbooked and other camps have been taking in the overflow. Since these other camps are not near as nice as this one, it's like back in the day when we had the trailers, and guys crying and whining, wanting to get into Albian. There will be some big changes coming to camp, but until an official word is out....my lips are zipped!
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
A resurgence of summer...
Yep, we're having a heat wave here. 27 degrees (or 81 F for my American family and friends) at 7:30 pm. I haven't hardly been out of the building, except for yesterday. Just when you think your day can't get any worse, there's a fire alarm! On the bright side, it was not the middle of winter, -15 degrees and 3 a.m. I was just really busy and was chomping at the bit for the all-clear sign. We had to be standing outside for at least 40 minutes. Nice bright sunshine, I think I even got a little burn on my face.
Got some really bad news last week. Our beloved rec director Ed is leaving us. *Insert crying face here*. Today was his last day. He'll still be staying at camp here, but with a different company and doing an outside labourer job. We will miss him sorely. Sara the baker made a great dumbbell cake, which I will get a picture of tonight when we say our farewells to him at the bar.
We are hopping at the village the last few days. Back to the old days of being out of rooms and running like crazy. It's kind of funny, as none of the front desk staff (well, maybe one that started last November) have ever seen camp this full and crazy. There will be no more complaints of boredom for a while. When those slow days do come around, you definitely enjoy and take advantage, after a stretch like this. I just think of it as job security, haha.
I am on my wind-down here, only 5 more days to work and I go home again. It's been a busy one, and I don't think I've been to town yet. I'm kind of disturbed that I don't remember if I've been to town....but I'm pretty sure not. Will be heading in tomorrow with Jen though.
So I thoroughly embarrassed myself at karaoke the other night. Yes, I have been dodging that bullet since I got here. Playing along when people start bugging "are you going to sing" I always say yes. I pick out a song, pretend to fill out a request form, then I sneak out before the inevitable. However.....this last time, with the "help" of a "friend" who actually filled out the request form, then physically held me down so I couldn't leave....I had to sing a duet with one of the young H&S guys. We gave them "Something To Talk About". It was bad, and when I looked around all I could see where cameras and iphones recording the event for posterity. Yes, it was bad. Oh well. It's not like I'll ever run into any of these people at home!!
Got some really bad news last week. Our beloved rec director Ed is leaving us. *Insert crying face here*. Today was his last day. He'll still be staying at camp here, but with a different company and doing an outside labourer job. We will miss him sorely. Sara the baker made a great dumbbell cake, which I will get a picture of tonight when we say our farewells to him at the bar.
We are hopping at the village the last few days. Back to the old days of being out of rooms and running like crazy. It's kind of funny, as none of the front desk staff (well, maybe one that started last November) have ever seen camp this full and crazy. There will be no more complaints of boredom for a while. When those slow days do come around, you definitely enjoy and take advantage, after a stretch like this. I just think of it as job security, haha.
I am on my wind-down here, only 5 more days to work and I go home again. It's been a busy one, and I don't think I've been to town yet. I'm kind of disturbed that I don't remember if I've been to town....but I'm pretty sure not. Will be heading in tomorrow with Jen though.
So I thoroughly embarrassed myself at karaoke the other night. Yes, I have been dodging that bullet since I got here. Playing along when people start bugging "are you going to sing" I always say yes. I pick out a song, pretend to fill out a request form, then I sneak out before the inevitable. However.....this last time, with the "help" of a "friend" who actually filled out the request form, then physically held me down so I couldn't leave....I had to sing a duet with one of the young H&S guys. We gave them "Something To Talk About". It was bad, and when I looked around all I could see where cameras and iphones recording the event for posterity. Yes, it was bad. Oh well. It's not like I'll ever run into any of these people at home!!
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Sunday, August 28 2011
I know, it's terribly uninspired of me as for a title. So since I've gotten back, we've had a Hawaiian theme night at the bar on Friday night, and Shell Family Day on Saturday.
The Hawaiian theme night was fun, even though attendance wasn't very high, people did seem to enjoy getting "lei-ed" as they came in. Well, most did. Some party poopers absolutely refused a lei, however most were willing to at least pretend to play along :) Our rec director Ed was in fine form, keeping the Hawaiian/beach party music going and running the games. The kitchen brought down Hawaiian pizza, chicken wings and meatballs and pineapple upside down cake for dessert. Ed had a limbo contest, a hula-hoop contest and a relay where each team had to take the lei, coconut bra and grass skirt off their teammate, run across the bar, do 6 hula moves, and run back. The bartenders served drinks in fancy glasses and I saw lots of smiles around.
On Saturday, Shell had their family day even. Shell employees were allowed to bring their families in, and for a few hours, there were no security stops at the gates. They had jumping castles, an ice cream truck, goodie bags, balloons and Shell toy trucks for the kids and also live music. ESS provided a lunch of hot dogs, hamburgers, grilled cheese, fries, salad and drinks. They were expecting around 750 people, but I never heard what the final tally was. It was very strange to see people and especially children and babies freely wandering about. It kind of made us workers feel like zoo exhibits, ha ha. Oh, I almost forgot...there was a guy set up in the parking lot to release foam "balloons" into the sky. The foam is pumped into a form, and when it's filled, the guy would pick up a Shell logo shaped from foam and release it into the wind. This "balloon" is made from soap and water, basically, and lasts 30-40 minutes and can rise up to 4,000 feet in the air before it just dissipates, just like bubbles. It's the "environmentally friendly" answer to balloons.
Today there is a big tented area set up right in the lobby across from the front desk where maintenance are going to be working for a couple of weeks. They are making some electrical upgrades or something. Anyway, the area is taped off with the Danger tape, and if anyone goes into the taped area, they will lose their site priviledges (meaning they are out of a job!). I hope everyone heeds the tape and we don't lose anyone!
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Shorter days and bears
Yes, the days will be growing shorter very rapidly. Right now, sunrise at Albian is 5:51 a.m., and sunset is 9:06 p.m. In Stratford, sunrise 6:27 a.m. and sunset 8:28. By the end of this month, sunset here will be 8:30. I only know this because it's on the dining times for the Ramadan meals :) But in the month of August, sunset will be over an hour early from the beginning to the end of the month.
The weather has been nice this past week. Not that I get out much, the mosquitos and other small flying insects are brutal. Mosquitos are still bad inside, but nothing like they were a couple of weeks ago. Either that or we are getting used to them, haha.
We just about had a bear in the village today. He was spotted with his nose pressed against the glass at the front entrance doors. Was also spotted by the kitchen area (garbage and grease bins) and just outside one of the B pod back emergency doors. Yep, I don't think I'll be venturing out for a casual stroll any time soon. And no pictures....not allowed. We were going over what the plan of action would be if a bear actually made it inside the doors into the village...since I sit in a back office, I said every man for himself! I'm closing the door, locking it and hiding out ha ha.
Other than that, there is not much new and exciting happening in my rotation. Aimee has arrived in Calgary with her new car packed full of her worldly good and is starting on her new adventure. I have two more days to work after today and I'll be on my way home for my August days off.
The weather has been nice this past week. Not that I get out much, the mosquitos and other small flying insects are brutal. Mosquitos are still bad inside, but nothing like they were a couple of weeks ago. Either that or we are getting used to them, haha.
We just about had a bear in the village today. He was spotted with his nose pressed against the glass at the front entrance doors. Was also spotted by the kitchen area (garbage and grease bins) and just outside one of the B pod back emergency doors. Yep, I don't think I'll be venturing out for a casual stroll any time soon. And no pictures....not allowed. We were going over what the plan of action would be if a bear actually made it inside the doors into the village...since I sit in a back office, I said every man for himself! I'm closing the door, locking it and hiding out ha ha.
Other than that, there is not much new and exciting happening in my rotation. Aimee has arrived in Calgary with her new car packed full of her worldly good and is starting on her new adventure. I have two more days to work after today and I'll be on my way home for my August days off.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Dog Days of Summer...
I was home for 11 days, and it was nice to have that length of time off, but it was SO hot and nasty that I pretty much just hid out in the A/C, haha. Funny how people that are from this area think that they are having really humid weather. Come on!!! I just look at them like they've got two heads. You haven't seen humidity until you've been in Southwestern Ontario in the summer.
It's strange thinking that it's almost a year since I came out here. I didn't imagine at the time that I would still be here and yet, here I am! Aimee has gone, her last day was last week. Her leaving has certainly left a large hole, as she was very well liked and respected. Funny I have had a couple of people that just found out I am her mom, haha. I don't know how anyone could miss Chef's big booming voice calling out "Hi Jomama!" in the hallways, and maybe wonder WHY he's calling me Jomama. Aimee has called me that for years and it sort of picked up and spread here.
The days are starting to get shorter, sunset is around 9:41 today. The reason I know this is that Ramadan starts today. There is a fairly substantial number of Muslims here that celebrate/observe Ramadan and I've been asking questions and learning a bit about it. For those observing, it's sort of like a month-long lent. They will not take anything by mouth, not even a sip of water, from sunrise to sunset. At sunset, they have a meal. The kitchen has planned/prepared special meals for the month, with the dining room opening up at 9:30 pm. All are invited to join in, if they please. I would love to but it's too late for me, since I get up at 5 am. Maybe I will suck it up and stay up later in the month when sunset is a bit earlier :)
I haven't heard any recent bear or moose or even coyote stories since I've been back, maybe they have the holes in the fence plugged up, ha ha.
It's strange thinking that it's almost a year since I came out here. I didn't imagine at the time that I would still be here and yet, here I am! Aimee has gone, her last day was last week. Her leaving has certainly left a large hole, as she was very well liked and respected. Funny I have had a couple of people that just found out I am her mom, haha. I don't know how anyone could miss Chef's big booming voice calling out "Hi Jomama!" in the hallways, and maybe wonder WHY he's calling me Jomama. Aimee has called me that for years and it sort of picked up and spread here.
The days are starting to get shorter, sunset is around 9:41 today. The reason I know this is that Ramadan starts today. There is a fairly substantial number of Muslims here that celebrate/observe Ramadan and I've been asking questions and learning a bit about it. For those observing, it's sort of like a month-long lent. They will not take anything by mouth, not even a sip of water, from sunrise to sunset. At sunset, they have a meal. The kitchen has planned/prepared special meals for the month, with the dining room opening up at 9:30 pm. All are invited to join in, if they please. I would love to but it's too late for me, since I get up at 5 am. Maybe I will suck it up and stay up later in the month when sunset is a bit earlier :)
I haven't heard any recent bear or moose or even coyote stories since I've been back, maybe they have the holes in the fence plugged up, ha ha.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
13 down, 5 more to go
NOT that I am counting or anything, haha. It's been too long since I was home so I'm anxious. I confess I haven't felt very inspired to blog since I got back, but yesterday I was able to go on a tour of the mine sites (well, as much as we're allowed to see) that was very interesting.
There are two separate mine sites, one is called Jackpine Mine, or the JPM site, and the other is Muskeg River Mine, or the MRM site. The JPM site is the newest one, the expansion part of Shell Albian Sands. The administration building is right across the walkway from the village here, and they do some refining at this site. ESS has a small cafe in the admin building, food is for purchase, and the medic office is over there as well. Then the MRM site is about a 10-15 min drive from here. It's not actually that far, but the roads are pretty bumpy and uneven from all the heavy equipment traffic, but the graders are out every day trying to keep them smooth and passable. This is the big mine, huge. It's an open pit mine so there is nothing underground. To try and get some perspective, take a look at that giant dump truck that we're standing next to. I saw a lineup of them in the mine waiting to dump their loads into the crusher, and they looked like little Tonka toys. So all day and all night the big giant shovels scoop up the earth, dump it into the trucks, and they drive to the crusher (in the mine) and dump the earth in there then drive back to pick up another shovel full. Once the earth is in the crusher, it gets, well, crushed, haha. Then it goes along a conveyor into another building where it is crushed further and the big rocks and stuff is filtered out. Not sure what all the processes are there, but at the MRM site there is a huge amount of piping and scaffolding around the piping. At some point the bitumen has something added to it, it's sent by pipeline to the froth plant where they do some further refining, and then it comes back as crude petroleum where it sits in those giant silo things until the pipeline can take it away to Edmonton or wherever the final refinery destination is. There are only 2 silos that I saw, as they don't store it for long. Over at the MRM site is where the majority of guys that stay at our camp work. They have great need for maintenance on the heavy vehicles, so that is non-stop. At the site ESS also maintains a cafeteria that sells limited hot meals and snacks for breakfast and lunch. Some of the workers there live in town, so don't stay at camp and therefore are on their own for meals. This is what we checked out on our tour, the actual kitchen/cafeteria building. Of course all the buildings on site (except for the JPM admin building) are trailers. They connect them up together like building blocks and there, you have an instant office/cafeteria/maintenance shops. When the oil is all sucks out of the earth, the big dump trucks take it out to the big dirt hill that surrounds the mine. I would have to say when I first got here the dirt pile has grown at least 2-3 times it's size. They used to drive on top of it, but they can't now. So the long-term plan for the big huge open pit mine is in 20 years or whenever they figure they've gotten all the oil it they will put all this earth back into the hole and the area will be just as it was. We also saw a bear trap along the way, as the camp apparently still has visit now and then from the bears. I guess they have gone right into the truck shop on site, and even into a ware house when the door was left open. They get really spoiled when they've eaten garbage and human food, and they prefer that instead of their normal diet. I guess it's like getting hooked on McDonalds, haha.
It's still daylight until at least 10 pm, and the sky is still light past 11 pm, even though the days are now getting shorter. You can tell by the angle of the sun, but still bright skies.
Yes, Aimee is leaving Albian. She tendered her resignation a couple of weeks ago, and her last day here will be July 26. She's packing up and moving to Calgary to explore some options there. Just finally had enough of camp life after almost 3 years and ready to get back into the "real" work world. It will be strange to not have her here, although we hardly see each other even though we work AND life together, haha.
Oh my, it's only 7:30 pm and I am SO ready for bed. Worked 13 hrs today and I'm pooped!
There are two separate mine sites, one is called Jackpine Mine, or the JPM site, and the other is Muskeg River Mine, or the MRM site. The JPM site is the newest one, the expansion part of Shell Albian Sands. The administration building is right across the walkway from the village here, and they do some refining at this site. ESS has a small cafe in the admin building, food is for purchase, and the medic office is over there as well. Then the MRM site is about a 10-15 min drive from here. It's not actually that far, but the roads are pretty bumpy and uneven from all the heavy equipment traffic, but the graders are out every day trying to keep them smooth and passable. This is the big mine, huge. It's an open pit mine so there is nothing underground. To try and get some perspective, take a look at that giant dump truck that we're standing next to. I saw a lineup of them in the mine waiting to dump their loads into the crusher, and they looked like little Tonka toys. So all day and all night the big giant shovels scoop up the earth, dump it into the trucks, and they drive to the crusher (in the mine) and dump the earth in there then drive back to pick up another shovel full. Once the earth is in the crusher, it gets, well, crushed, haha. Then it goes along a conveyor into another building where it is crushed further and the big rocks and stuff is filtered out. Not sure what all the processes are there, but at the MRM site there is a huge amount of piping and scaffolding around the piping. At some point the bitumen has something added to it, it's sent by pipeline to the froth plant where they do some further refining, and then it comes back as crude petroleum where it sits in those giant silo things until the pipeline can take it away to Edmonton or wherever the final refinery destination is. There are only 2 silos that I saw, as they don't store it for long. Over at the MRM site is where the majority of guys that stay at our camp work. They have great need for maintenance on the heavy vehicles, so that is non-stop. At the site ESS also maintains a cafeteria that sells limited hot meals and snacks for breakfast and lunch. Some of the workers there live in town, so don't stay at camp and therefore are on their own for meals. This is what we checked out on our tour, the actual kitchen/cafeteria building. Of course all the buildings on site (except for the JPM admin building) are trailers. They connect them up together like building blocks and there, you have an instant office/cafeteria/maintenance shops. When the oil is all sucks out of the earth, the big dump trucks take it out to the big dirt hill that surrounds the mine. I would have to say when I first got here the dirt pile has grown at least 2-3 times it's size. They used to drive on top of it, but they can't now. So the long-term plan for the big huge open pit mine is in 20 years or whenever they figure they've gotten all the oil it they will put all this earth back into the hole and the area will be just as it was. We also saw a bear trap along the way, as the camp apparently still has visit now and then from the bears. I guess they have gone right into the truck shop on site, and even into a ware house when the door was left open. They get really spoiled when they've eaten garbage and human food, and they prefer that instead of their normal diet. I guess it's like getting hooked on McDonalds, haha.
It's still daylight until at least 10 pm, and the sky is still light past 11 pm, even though the days are now getting shorter. You can tell by the angle of the sun, but still bright skies.
Yes, Aimee is leaving Albian. She tendered her resignation a couple of weeks ago, and her last day here will be July 26. She's packing up and moving to Calgary to explore some options there. Just finally had enough of camp life after almost 3 years and ready to get back into the "real" work world. It will be strange to not have her here, although we hardly see each other even though we work AND life together, haha.
Oh my, it's only 7:30 pm and I am SO ready for bed. Worked 13 hrs today and I'm pooped!
Monday, June 20, 2011
Bears and now coyotes....
Yes, Aimee ran into a coyote the other night. It was late, full dark so after 11:30 as it's still light until after 11, and she went down to her car and in the parking lot, wandering around, was a coyote. Scared her a little, I think. I think I might be scared if I ran into a coyote too.
The smoke situation was on and off last week, but has been clear the last few days. We're pretty sure we've seen the last of it, as the big fire (which has grown steadily bigger) is moving north east towards (or maybe even into already) Saskatchewan. We had rain a few days, not steady rain for 4 days like we needed, but a good amount of rain. The grass actually started to green up around camp. It is still dry, but not that moisture-sucking dry that it was before the rain.
Camp is not full, but at a better capacity than we've been for a while. There were changes since I left, the front desk area has been re-painted and re-arranged. We all got new uniform shirts. The lunchroom changes are fantastic, and we sure here lots of positive comments about those. And today, I am taking the new shuttle service to the airport. I'm leaving on my days off today. I know it seems crazy that I have only been here 8 days, but whenever you are away for extra days, when you come back you fall into your same rotation, so....I am on my days off again. I am flying to Calgary, meeting up with Thor, and we are driving to Vancouver through the mountains. I'm pretty excited, since I've never been to B.C., and I am looking forward to seeing the mountains again, and the ocean. The weather doesn't sound fantastic, but I'm prepared. I will be checking in with pictures!
The smoke situation was on and off last week, but has been clear the last few days. We're pretty sure we've seen the last of it, as the big fire (which has grown steadily bigger) is moving north east towards (or maybe even into already) Saskatchewan. We had rain a few days, not steady rain for 4 days like we needed, but a good amount of rain. The grass actually started to green up around camp. It is still dry, but not that moisture-sucking dry that it was before the rain.
Camp is not full, but at a better capacity than we've been for a while. There were changes since I left, the front desk area has been re-painted and re-arranged. We all got new uniform shirts. The lunchroom changes are fantastic, and we sure here lots of positive comments about those. And today, I am taking the new shuttle service to the airport. I'm leaving on my days off today. I know it seems crazy that I have only been here 8 days, but whenever you are away for extra days, when you come back you fall into your same rotation, so....I am on my days off again. I am flying to Calgary, meeting up with Thor, and we are driving to Vancouver through the mountains. I'm pretty excited, since I've never been to B.C., and I am looking forward to seeing the mountains again, and the ocean. The weather doesn't sound fantastic, but I'm prepared. I will be checking in with pictures!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
P.S.
After some watering, my orchid has recovered beautifully and the bamboo as well. And I did do the walk on Sunday, but only 3 km. We couldn't walk outside as the smoke had rolled in, and after 36 laps around the track, we were getting a little dizzy. I did feel slightly out of breath for a while after, which I attributed to the smoke, since I wasn't even pushing it like I usually do when I'm walking laps.
Well, it was clear
Yep, when I got in Saturday, the air was clear. Smoke was back a bit on Sunday morning. Cleared out. Back again today more than Sunday. We did get rain here though today....not enough, and I heard that lightning started 3 or 4 new fires, but that they were reported and extinguished before too much damage had occured. I read that one of the smaller fires joined up with the great big one, and now the total size is 571,000+ hectares, or 2,262 SQUARE MILES is burning. They have been successful at containing it around the "values at risk" as they call it, to the south which is where we are. The fire growth is to the north and east.
On the positive side, the air conditioning in my room is REALLY working. It's almost cold in here and I've had to stack books on my vent. I feel really bad, because there are a lot of people complaining that their rooms are too hot and the a/c is not working....so I just shut my mouth and put on a sweater when I get back to my room!
There was a lunch for all ESS employees today, with some VIPs from the organization in attendance. The occasion was 30 incident-free days (meaning no reportable accidents or injuries). Actually it was 55 days, but I guess that is not one of the "milestone" numbers. Chef put on a nice lunch though, bbq'ed hamburgers, chicken breasts and all the fixin's and coleslow, potato salad, pasta salad, steak fries and the famous Albian Village cupcakes too.
I have to say I am finding it very disorienting to be going to sleep when it's still full daylight out, and getting up when it's full daylight out. I don't see any daylight when I am in my office though, as there is no window so it doesn't really make any difference during the day, and I don't go anywhere near windows much either. I do like to sit by the windows in the dining room though.
Apparently the bears have moved on, there hasn't been a sighting in a few days now.
On the positive side, the air conditioning in my room is REALLY working. It's almost cold in here and I've had to stack books on my vent. I feel really bad, because there are a lot of people complaining that their rooms are too hot and the a/c is not working....so I just shut my mouth and put on a sweater when I get back to my room!
There was a lunch for all ESS employees today, with some VIPs from the organization in attendance. The occasion was 30 incident-free days (meaning no reportable accidents or injuries). Actually it was 55 days, but I guess that is not one of the "milestone" numbers. Chef put on a nice lunch though, bbq'ed hamburgers, chicken breasts and all the fixin's and coleslow, potato salad, pasta salad, steak fries and the famous Albian Village cupcakes too.
I have to say I am finding it very disorienting to be going to sleep when it's still full daylight out, and getting up when it's full daylight out. I don't see any daylight when I am in my office though, as there is no window so it doesn't really make any difference during the day, and I don't go anywhere near windows much either. I do like to sit by the windows in the dining room though.
Apparently the bears have moved on, there hasn't been a sighting in a few days now.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Clear air....
Arrived back at camp this afternoon to a beautiful, clear day. Very strange coming in on the plane, the skies had some big fluffy clouds, but there were clear areas, and because I had a good vantage point (window seat on the side of the plane facing north) I was able to see some of the fires from up high. Of course, I really couldn't place which fires they might have been, but still very interesting to see them from above. It was certainly not the massive, huge fire but there are still many fires burning in the province, almost all of which are now under control but still burning.
It has been almost 3 weeks since I've been here, and I have to admit it feels good to be back to work. I had a nice relaxing day today (I know it won't last). Got in around noon, picked up Trish's truck which she left at the airport yesterday when she flew out, stopped at Wal-Mart for a few supplies and arrived back here around 2:30. My room was still the way I left it, although my beautiful Mother's Day orchid is in sad shape, and my bamboo had NO water in it at all, but is still green. I unpacked, visited around a bit, grabbed a rice krispy square and headed back to my room to doze a bit, and read. Had dinner and visited around a bit more, then came back to my room to finish my book, shower and now catch up on blogging.
Tomorrow morning I will be walking with Amanda around camp....she was supposed to walk in the walk for a cure for Juvenile Diabetes tomorrow back home, but she ended up staying longer in camp and has to miss it. I said I would join in the 5 km walk tomorrow morning.
Camp is still not back up to full capacity yet, but I imagine as the week rolls on we'll have more people returning. The dining room was pretty empty.
The drive up was nice, being daylight hours and all. Speaking of daylight hours....
Stratford.....sunrise 5:43 and sunset 9:03
Fort MacKay...sunrise 4:34 and sunset 10:15
I have to admit I like the extra daylight and was missing it when I was back home. Ok, I don't really miss the sunrise at 4:34, but I do miss the late sunset. On the drive back, it was apparent where fires had burned through, and it is amazing to see the regrowth already started. It can't hide the tall burnt tree trunks though. The good news is there is a 60% chance of rain on Thursday.
So apparently the bears are just getting smarter, it wasn't that people were leaving the garbage out in the open. Bears have been seen opening up the bear-proof garbage bins and just pulling out bags. Also, lifting up the door to the grease trap and just diving in. Yummm....kitchen grease.
Anyway, I just have 8 days to work and then I'm on my days off. OK, I have to sorta smile at that thought . Of course I do have the grace to feel slightly guilty about it.
It has been almost 3 weeks since I've been here, and I have to admit it feels good to be back to work. I had a nice relaxing day today (I know it won't last). Got in around noon, picked up Trish's truck which she left at the airport yesterday when she flew out, stopped at Wal-Mart for a few supplies and arrived back here around 2:30. My room was still the way I left it, although my beautiful Mother's Day orchid is in sad shape, and my bamboo had NO water in it at all, but is still green. I unpacked, visited around a bit, grabbed a rice krispy square and headed back to my room to doze a bit, and read. Had dinner and visited around a bit more, then came back to my room to finish my book, shower and now catch up on blogging.
Tomorrow morning I will be walking with Amanda around camp....she was supposed to walk in the walk for a cure for Juvenile Diabetes tomorrow back home, but she ended up staying longer in camp and has to miss it. I said I would join in the 5 km walk tomorrow morning.
Camp is still not back up to full capacity yet, but I imagine as the week rolls on we'll have more people returning. The dining room was pretty empty.
The drive up was nice, being daylight hours and all. Speaking of daylight hours....
Stratford.....sunrise 5:43 and sunset 9:03
Fort MacKay...sunrise 4:34 and sunset 10:15
I have to admit I like the extra daylight and was missing it when I was back home. Ok, I don't really miss the sunrise at 4:34, but I do miss the late sunset. On the drive back, it was apparent where fires had burned through, and it is amazing to see the regrowth already started. It can't hide the tall burnt tree trunks though. The good news is there is a 60% chance of rain on Thursday.
So apparently the bears are just getting smarter, it wasn't that people were leaving the garbage out in the open. Bears have been seen opening up the bear-proof garbage bins and just pulling out bags. Also, lifting up the door to the grease trap and just diving in. Yummm....kitchen grease.
Anyway, I just have 8 days to work and then I'm on my days off. OK, I have to sorta smile at that thought . Of course I do have the grace to feel slightly guilty about it.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
A map of the fire
Finally someone posted a map of the big fire with place names on it. Keep in mind this is just the portion of Northern Alberta that is known as the Bitumen Complex. http://www.industrymailout.com/Industry/Home/5321/22967/images/Bitumont%20South_June%207-11.pdf This link will open a page that shows the big Richardson Fire MWF007. Look for Albian Village near the middle of the map. According to the scale, the actual fire looks to be about 7 km or so north of the Village, and about the same to the west. Looks like the river is holding the fire so far. As you can also see, there are other camps that are being directly threatened by the fire itself, and a lot of the fire-fighting is surrounding those areas to build firebreaks and keep the edge wet down. The smoke is really bad again in the area, but according to a smoke forecast map I found, it should clear out as the winds will be changing again after tomorrow, and blowing it northeast. As for the size of it, I wasn't sure exactly how large a hectare was, so I googled a conversion tool and 1 acre = 0.4 hectares. So when they speak of this fire being over 415,000 hectares large, I guess you can double that, plus some, to get an idea of how many acres are burning right now. That puts it over a million acres just in that one fire. Again, around Albian Village there are a couple of big mines, and by mines I mean they strip mine, so trees, brush, vegetation is gone. Notice some of the camps like CNRL and Joslyn Creek have fire right at their doorsteps. I just wish it would rain!!! I'm afraid, judging by the size of that fire, it would need to rain for days on end to make a dent in it.
Anyway, as far as I know now, I will be heading back on Saturday.
Anyway, as far as I know now, I will be heading back on Saturday.
Not so fast...
Of course, situation changed again and smoke rolled in pretty thick yesterday, so I am home for a few more days. I wish it would rain and rain and rain there and put that big fire out for good.
Aimee comes home today, it will be strange having her here the same time I am. Oh wait, she will only be here overnight as she has a few days away planned with a friend. I will pick her up at the airport tonight, and she will be off again tomorrow.
Congratulations to Caitlyn and Ryan who got engaged on the weekend. We had cake yesterday (also to celebrate Ryan's birthday).
Aimee is bringing home her laptop which I will be able to work from for a few days while she's away anyway. I will finally be able to really catch up on the things that I normally do at work.
Aimee comes home today, it will be strange having her here the same time I am. Oh wait, she will only be here overnight as she has a few days away planned with a friend. I will pick her up at the airport tonight, and she will be off again tomorrow.
Congratulations to Caitlyn and Ryan who got engaged on the weekend. We had cake yesterday (also to celebrate Ryan's birthday).
Aimee is bringing home her laptop which I will be able to work from for a few days while she's away anyway. I will finally be able to really catch up on the things that I normally do at work.
Monday, June 6, 2011
And back to work I go....
Not that anything has changed with the fire situation, it's still out of control and nearby, but the area has been smoke free for a few days now so those of us working from home have been summoned back to work. I have been ready to get back, it's frustrating trying to do some things from home because I'm missing parts etc. So now I have to get to work eating up all the perishable groceries I bought last week, haha.
So last week at camp a bear found a way inside the fence and was helping himself to the garbage outside one of the dorms. He was right near one of the back exit doors of one of the dorms. Some surprise that would have been for anyone coming out that door. Oh, hello bear! Excuse me, I think I'll just go back in and maybe stay inside until you leave!
Will update once I get back to camp.
So last week at camp a bear found a way inside the fence and was helping himself to the garbage outside one of the dorms. He was right near one of the back exit doors of one of the dorms. Some surprise that would have been for anyone coming out that door. Oh, hello bear! Excuse me, I think I'll just go back in and maybe stay inside until you leave!
Will update once I get back to camp.
Friday, June 3, 2011
And back to camp they go....
So apparently whatever they were expecting to possibly happen last night did not happen, and everyone was "recalled" back to camp. The weather has cooled, and they actually had...yes, you are seeing it right...SNOW last night and in the early morning. Not a lot, of course, but snow in June. I don't think there was any in May, but other than that, there has been snow there every month since September.
I am expecting to possibly get a call back myself in the next day or so. Will update.
I am expecting to possibly get a call back myself in the next day or so. Will update.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Meanwhile, back at the ranch.....
OK, back at the camp....I had word that yesterday and the start of today were beautiful, smoke-free, clear skies. I was starting to wonder if I'd get the summons to go back to work, then next thing I hear...they are evacuating the camp. I guess the fire is close (within 2-3 kilometers, or about 1 mile, 1 1/2 miles), and the winds picked up to 40km hr, and they made the decision that everyone had to get out. I'm not real sure exactly what's happening with everyone, but I know that Aimee is going to another camp about 45 minutes away, and the hourly (union) staff are being bussed to Edmonton or Calgary. The buses were leaving tonight. I am eternally grateful that I am not there right now, and have the opportunity to keep working from home. I'm updating procedures and things that need to be up to date, and I can do that from anywhere. Just one of those things that keeps getting put off because nobody can find the time to do it, so it's perfect to keep me busy. Aimee starts her days off on Sunday so she just has a few days of the evacuation to deal with. It is just so crazy that they can't get the last couple of fires under control. With the wind picking up, of course it is not helping at all. Most of the fires were contributed to natural causes (lightning) but there are a few that have been traced to humans.
Anyway, my thoughts are with those back on site and hope everyone is safe and in a safe place!
Anyway, my thoughts are with those back on site and hope everyone is safe and in a safe place!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Working from home...
I am trying to get a routine going. Today hardly counted, since I didn't get my materials to work on until 11 am. However, I was able to work right through until 5:45. I didn't even stop for a break or lunch. I had a "working lunch" up at my computer. I hooked up another screen and a keyboard with a number pad to my laptop and away I went. One small problem is that my keyboard for some reason wanted to be French, and if I typed any " or ? they came out as e with accents on them. However, it appears that all is U.S. English now. When all else fails, re-start :)
There are a couple of us that have been given the approval to work from home until the air/fire situation improves. The fire is even more massive, and apparently the south edge is within 10 km or so from camp. One of the camps appears to be totally surrounded, and there is quite a controversy right now, as people have been sending pictures to the press and making claims that may or may not be true, but will definitely shake up the employer.
Basically what I am doing right now is data entry. Transcribing numbers from a PDF file into an Excel spreadsheet. There are a lot of numbers. Also, the spreadsheet has formulas in it so I can check as I go if I've got all the numbers right. Not terribly exciting, but I am grateful for the chance to be able to work from home so I've told them I'll do anything, just send it over.
Anyway, since all I'll be doing is sitting at the computer...I'd better leave it alone for now!
There are a couple of us that have been given the approval to work from home until the air/fire situation improves. The fire is even more massive, and apparently the south edge is within 10 km or so from camp. One of the camps appears to be totally surrounded, and there is quite a controversy right now, as people have been sending pictures to the press and making claims that may or may not be true, but will definitely shake up the employer.
Basically what I am doing right now is data entry. Transcribing numbers from a PDF file into an Excel spreadsheet. There are a lot of numbers. Also, the spreadsheet has formulas in it so I can check as I go if I've got all the numbers right. Not terribly exciting, but I am grateful for the chance to be able to work from home so I've told them I'll do anything, just send it over.
Anyway, since all I'll be doing is sitting at the computer...I'd better leave it alone for now!
Monday, May 30, 2011
Happy Memorial Day!
Yes, I'm still at home. The air quality has only gotten worse since I left on May 23, and my doctor has advised that going back before it improves is "not wise" due to my asthma. So I am waiting to see if I will be able to work part time from home or what the story is. In any case, I will be here for a while. The weather forecast shows rain June 8-9, so hopefully that will put out the fires! The really big fire is north of camp, and that is the one that is dangerously out of control and the smoke is affecting Albian. I have seen pictures that people have posted on Facebook or emailed to me and it's worse than when I was there for sure. I hear they have installed charcoal filters on the big rooftop units and it has improved the indoor air quality, but I know that with the offices right near the main front doors there is just no way to keep it all outside. One of the other big camps was evacuated - twice - but are supposed to be going back today I think. The second time was actually because of fire danger, but a fire break was constructed and held the fire back. I am going to try and post a picture that was emailed to me, it is very tiny so not sure how it will show up, but it is basically the same location as the one I posted earlier from the A pod parking lot.
We had a terrific lightning/thunder/rain storm last night. Incredible lightning show and monsoon-like rains. Well, at least it is what I think a monsoon would be like. The air was so dark with the heavy rain that I could not see the trees back behind my lot. Wish I could send this wet weather to northern Alberta! Nothing but sunshine in the forecast for weeks there, even though the sunshine is not getting through the smoky air on many days.
I will update!
We had a terrific lightning/thunder/rain storm last night. Incredible lightning show and monsoon-like rains. Well, at least it is what I think a monsoon would be like. The air was so dark with the heavy rain that I could not see the trees back behind my lot. Wish I could send this wet weather to northern Alberta! Nothing but sunshine in the forecast for weeks there, even though the sunshine is not getting through the smoky air on many days.
I will update!
Saturday, May 21, 2011
On a clear day....
Finally....a break in the smoky air. Well, the air looks much clearer, but that smell just won't go away. Or maybe it's just in my nose and hair and clothes and will take forever to get rid of. The last couple of days were just nasty. The a/c in the buildings here was not working in some areas, so people were leaving their windows open. Well that just brought in the smoke and ash. Some of the big rooftop units pull in outside air, so the hallways and stairwells were very stinky. Even the bathrooms, because of the exhaust fans. Population at camp is sitting around 950, that number including ESS staff. I went outside a couple of times just to see what it really looked like, as the windows are so dirty it's hard to really tell...and yeah, it stinks worse out there. OK, so much for my complaining. Oh wait...one more thing, there was an e-mail that was supposed to be posted up around the building that explained the official position, and it said that the particulate in the air was not a health danger as the ash pieces were too big to be inhaled. What??? Also, the acceptable level of air quality is higher here because the general population levels have to take into account children, the elderly and those with health problems. So it's acceptable for people out here working to be exposed to more dirty air. Oh well. I do choose to be here for the paycheque. The fires are NOT out, they are still burning away, it's all in the direction of the wind. The best chance for rain is Monday, at 40%. Other than that, there has still been no rain. And we are getting almost 2 full hours more of sunlight here than back home. Sunrise here is 4:57 am, in Stratford, 5:54. Sunset out here is 9:46 and 8:47 in Stratford. We are also the warm spot in Canada, the past week we've had temps in the high 20's, or over 80 for you American folk :)
I head home tomorrow night, on the redeye. Haha, that's funny, because my eyes are already red! I can't wait to smell clean air. I bet all my belongings stink too. Yuck!
I head home tomorrow night, on the redeye. Haha, that's funny, because my eyes are already red! I can't wait to smell clean air. I bet all my belongings stink too. Yuck!
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Just when you thought it was safe...
....the wind changes. I went to bed last night it was clear as a bell, no smoke to be seen. Woke up this morning in a cloud of smoke. Could barely see the sun. Which of course gave rise to all sorts of rumours, one of which I was guilty of. All ESS staff were called to a manditory meeting 8:15 a.m. to be told that Shell was pulling all their non-essential staff out (ESS is considered essential staff) and that anyone with respiratory problems or any women that were pregnant would be put on a bus. To where? They had no answer. It sounded kind of like an evacuation to me. Anyway, turns out it is business as usual for us, although some staff flew the coop as soon as they had the chance. I could have myself, as I have asthma, but I am not really feeling any effects and plus I checked flights, and to get a flight out of Ft. Mac today - cheapest way out, to Toronto, was going to cost $1400. I have my inhalers and if it does get worse, I can always bum a ride out with someone. I did not want to get on a bus to some unknown destination so decided to wait it out. It is not a fire danger, only air quality because the wind changed direction. For a while it let up today, and it looked almost clear, but tonight it's back again. Stinks something awful. The sun is an orangey-pink ball. A lot of guys left today as they are "non-essential" but otherwise, work goes on. There will be a few service interruptions (the bar is closed as the big exhaust fans are pulling in the smokey air) and no Menu Express tonight because we don't have a delivery person. A couple of our staff left so we are short staffed, I'll be putting extra time in today. The eyes burn a bit now and then, and I had to insist that security stop people from propping the front doors open (duh!) as the front desk was catching it every time people are going in and out anyway....let alone keeping the doors open. I went out to take a picture but there really is nothing interesting to see, it just looks like a light fog. And of course the orangey-pink sun. If anyone has read Stephen King's "The Dome" you will know what a creepy feeling that is :)
So that is where things stand at the moment. Hope for a change in the wind direction!
So that is where things stand at the moment. Hope for a change in the wind direction!
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Danger is passed
Well for the moment anyway. Woke up to clouds, and thought maybe we'd be lucky enough to get some rain, but no such luck. However there was NO smoke visible from any of the windows I looked out today, so they have taken off in another direction. We didn't have one call today to see if we were evacuating. The mood was a little lighter around here, which was nice after a tense few days. Now I can really count down my sleeps until I go home. Only 4 counting tonight.
Not sure if I mentioned the changes in the lunch room but it's really been pimped up! Funny the things that get you excited some days. Chicken caesar salad and corn pops....(not together of course). It is a big hit with all the guests and staff. Want a can of smoked oysters or sardines? No problem, pick them up in the lunch room (blech). I do appreciate the individual yogurts, packaged fruit salads and individual cereal boxes and cartons of milk though. I always did like a bowl of cereal for a bedtime snack :)
So I will be going home, where it has been raining almost nonstop for almost 2 weeks, from this dry dry dry air and dusty ground, to what sounds like a rain forest in my backyard. I may have to go buy a machete to muscle it under control. They water the road around camp here several times a day to keep the dust down. Watch out if you are walking around though....it has no mercy and will sprinkle anything in it's path.
So mom, here is the picture of my "office". My desk. My 2 computer screens. My water bottle, bulletin board with Caden calendar, picture of Kylee, my Hero award for my "Constant Drive and Passion". That's about it.
Not sure if I mentioned the changes in the lunch room but it's really been pimped up! Funny the things that get you excited some days. Chicken caesar salad and corn pops....(not together of course). It is a big hit with all the guests and staff. Want a can of smoked oysters or sardines? No problem, pick them up in the lunch room (blech). I do appreciate the individual yogurts, packaged fruit salads and individual cereal boxes and cartons of milk though. I always did like a bowl of cereal for a bedtime snack :)
So I will be going home, where it has been raining almost nonstop for almost 2 weeks, from this dry dry dry air and dusty ground, to what sounds like a rain forest in my backyard. I may have to go buy a machete to muscle it under control. They water the road around camp here several times a day to keep the dust down. Watch out if you are walking around though....it has no mercy and will sprinkle anything in it's path.
So mom, here is the picture of my "office". My desk. My 2 computer screens. My water bottle, bulletin board with Caden calendar, picture of Kylee, my Hero award for my "Constant Drive and Passion". That's about it.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Fire, fire everywhere
In the immediate area, there are 4 fires, 3 of which are out of control. The first picture on the right was taken from our parking lot. I can see this plume of smoke from my window. Last night, the smoke was barely visible on the horizon. The 2nd picture was taken on the access road off the main highway from Ft. Mac. It doesn't really show it, but that is the biggest fire, the one that is threatening the CNRL site. Conditions have not changed, except the wind has died down, which is good, but no rain and still warm. Last night the power went out here for about 6 hours. Diesel generators kicked in within the minute, but it meant no air conditioning, then all the breakers for ALL 75 laundry rooms had to be re-set, and all the 300+ furnaces (for the a/c) We still have not been called on to take any evacuees, although we are still on alert because the threat has definitely not passed yet. If anyone has seen the pictures of Slave Lake, that community has been decimated. I've heard in all there are over 100 fires burning in Alberta right now. The air quality is poor, of course, and some of the smaller communities have closed day cares and senior homes and moved the people in to Ft. Mac until the air clears. We looked at the area from a satellite map this morning, and it's scary to see how large the fires are, and how close they are. There are big mines all around us, which mean no trees. The tree line around the actual camp is not very wide, and apparently Shell says with the equipment they have, they can take all the trees out around us (for a complete fire break) without 2 hours. I heard from my friend Lena, she is at a camp about 60 or so km from here, and she said they have been taking in evacuees from other camps, and that the fire has jumped the river near them. I haven't heard of any other evacuations yet. We drove into town tonight (just to get out) and yesterday, where fire and lots of smoke were visible from the highway, it was clear. You could see how the fire raged quickly through though, as the tops and trunks of the tall trees were scorched and black, but the lower, new growth was basically untouched. Nasty smell though. Sure didn't smell like a nice bonfire! Will update with any new developments.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Yes, there are wildfires in northern Alberta...
I thought I had to make a quick post as I see the wildfires in Alberta are in the news. Yes, there are many wildfires, most of them out of control. It's dry, it's warm, it's very windy. Yes, Slave Lake has been evacuated and many of the buildings there have burned. No, we have not been evacuated. There was one news report that I found today that said Canadian Natural Resources (CNRL) and Albian Sands site have been evacuated. They have not. We were making preparations last night to take in some people that were evacuated, but it never happened. Right now everyone is on alert in case as anything can happen with forest fires out of control. Last night I could smell smoke in the wind, but I haven't yet today. I didn't take the picture I posted, I pulled it off a news website. One of our girls was in town yesterday and could see the smoke and the water bombers and took some pictures, but I don't have them. Just wanted to make sure if anyone sees any of the reports, we are all safe and sound and no flames are threatening us just yet anyway! Will update later.
Monday, May 9, 2011
It really is Monday today...
Every day is a Monday in this world. Except the last day of work before your rotation. Then it's Friday. Sometimes it's hard to keep the days straight. I would be lost without my cell phone, which always has all those details handy.
I went to "the barge" for a BBQ with Aimee and friends on Saturday night. I guess this is a frequent activity in suitable weather; a night away from camp - food, beverages and no work topics allowed. Luckily it was early enough in the season that there were only a few mosquitos, but I hear it's horrible once they come out in full force, being in the middle of nothing but trees and muskeg. On the drive over from camp (it's about 15 min drive) I saw my first bear! We saw him/her foraging just out of the trees and pulled the car over to get a picture. The bear noticed the car of people staring at him/her, and started to lumber over, probably hoping to get a snack. At that point Jen decided it was time to go....especially since she was sitting on the side of the car with the open window - closest to the bear. I'm not really sure why they refer to the bonfire area as "the barge", as there were no barges in sight, nor did it look like any kind of landing. The procedure was obviously down pat, from setting up the BBQ to starting and keeping the bonfire burning. It was still a bit chilly for me, but as long as I hugged the fire, all was good.
Aimee surprised me with a beautiful orchid plant for Mother's Day. I'm going to try keeping it on my desk at work, since I'm there most of the time. However, as the room is window-less, it may not work. And I hope all the moms out there had a wonderful Mother's Day yesterday.
We had a lot of arrivals yesterday, so occupancy today will definitely be boosted. I'm working noon-10 pm for the next few days, so back into the swing of assisting guests. There were a lot of new hires, first time to this camp yesterday. It's refreshing, because so many seem impressed with the size and amenities at this camp. There are a lot of small, older camps around and this one is newer and does offer much more than some of those. It's a nice change from the ones that complain about everything, makes for a much easier shift. Working a later shift gives me opportunity to get some laundry done (machines are ususally available during the day) and also I can still get in a morning exercise class!
I went to "the barge" for a BBQ with Aimee and friends on Saturday night. I guess this is a frequent activity in suitable weather; a night away from camp - food, beverages and no work topics allowed. Luckily it was early enough in the season that there were only a few mosquitos, but I hear it's horrible once they come out in full force, being in the middle of nothing but trees and muskeg. On the drive over from camp (it's about 15 min drive) I saw my first bear! We saw him/her foraging just out of the trees and pulled the car over to get a picture. The bear noticed the car of people staring at him/her, and started to lumber over, probably hoping to get a snack. At that point Jen decided it was time to go....especially since she was sitting on the side of the car with the open window - closest to the bear. I'm not really sure why they refer to the bonfire area as "the barge", as there were no barges in sight, nor did it look like any kind of landing. The procedure was obviously down pat, from setting up the BBQ to starting and keeping the bonfire burning. It was still a bit chilly for me, but as long as I hugged the fire, all was good.
Aimee surprised me with a beautiful orchid plant for Mother's Day. I'm going to try keeping it on my desk at work, since I'm there most of the time. However, as the room is window-less, it may not work. And I hope all the moms out there had a wonderful Mother's Day yesterday.
We had a lot of arrivals yesterday, so occupancy today will definitely be boosted. I'm working noon-10 pm for the next few days, so back into the swing of assisting guests. There were a lot of new hires, first time to this camp yesterday. It's refreshing, because so many seem impressed with the size and amenities at this camp. There are a lot of small, older camps around and this one is newer and does offer much more than some of those. It's a nice change from the ones that complain about everything, makes for a much easier shift. Working a later shift gives me opportunity to get some laundry done (machines are ususally available during the day) and also I can still get in a morning exercise class!
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Pizza lunch!
Pizza arrived for lunch today, courtesy of the kitchen. Speaking of lunches, things have really improved on that front lately. I always thought the choices were pretty good, but yes, you do get tired of the same old thing every day. Well, now they have added more "leftover" choices, and also some new pre-packed salads, with hard boiled egg and cold meat, also yogurt parfaits, more fruit, also a selection of different yogurts. It is just a nice change from the sandwiches and sometimes-if-you-get-there-at-a-good-time leftovers.
Wow, sunrise right now here is 5:25 a.m. Sunset is 9:19 p.m. Back in Stratford, the sunrise is 6:09 and sunset is 8:32. Approximately 90 minutes extra of daylight here. It's strange how this works, and how I am in my 50's before I ever really experienced the difference in length of daylight in relation to your position on the globe. I have always wanted to be all the way up north and experience the "midnight sun" and "30 days of night"...well, OK after THAT movie came out, maybe I don't want to experience that. One or two days would be enough.
Strange thing today, I was checking flights, and found that I can fly from here to Kitchener airport, but I can't fly from Kitchener back here. Hmm. I guess those planes only fly one way. (?) Everyone seems to be planning vacations right now. I'm thinking maybe September. Not sure where or for how long, but yes, I think a vacation is in order.
As far as camp news...occupancy is down right now, but this week should be picking up again. The gym is being painted, and I tried to do my laps but it was too stinky. I don't like the treadmill either. I am taking advantage of stretching class whenever I can, and also the core classes (on the fitball) which are now being held in the racketball court. Ed says we can look forward to some walking trails outdoors soon, which will be quite nice. Ed also is starting movie night tonight, in the auditorium with popcorn and drinks. Kind of funny, he made up flyers advertising exactly that, movie with popcorn and drinks. Ran around placing them all around then had to reprint, and re-distributing them as some people expected ALCOHOLIC drinks and he had to clarify that it was SOFT drinks being supplied. Some people, haha.
I'll miss the first movie night, as I am going with Aimee and her friends to the barge. I'm not sure exactly what this place is, but I know they go there and have campfires or bbq's. I will see if I can get some pictures, although I seem to have misplaced my camera so if it's light enough, I'll get some with my phone.
That's it for now...check in later!
Wow, sunrise right now here is 5:25 a.m. Sunset is 9:19 p.m. Back in Stratford, the sunrise is 6:09 and sunset is 8:32. Approximately 90 minutes extra of daylight here. It's strange how this works, and how I am in my 50's before I ever really experienced the difference in length of daylight in relation to your position on the globe. I have always wanted to be all the way up north and experience the "midnight sun" and "30 days of night"...well, OK after THAT movie came out, maybe I don't want to experience that. One or two days would be enough.
Strange thing today, I was checking flights, and found that I can fly from here to Kitchener airport, but I can't fly from Kitchener back here. Hmm. I guess those planes only fly one way. (?) Everyone seems to be planning vacations right now. I'm thinking maybe September. Not sure where or for how long, but yes, I think a vacation is in order.
As far as camp news...occupancy is down right now, but this week should be picking up again. The gym is being painted, and I tried to do my laps but it was too stinky. I don't like the treadmill either. I am taking advantage of stretching class whenever I can, and also the core classes (on the fitball) which are now being held in the racketball court. Ed says we can look forward to some walking trails outdoors soon, which will be quite nice. Ed also is starting movie night tonight, in the auditorium with popcorn and drinks. Kind of funny, he made up flyers advertising exactly that, movie with popcorn and drinks. Ran around placing them all around then had to reprint, and re-distributing them as some people expected ALCOHOLIC drinks and he had to clarify that it was SOFT drinks being supplied. Some people, haha.
I'll miss the first movie night, as I am going with Aimee and her friends to the barge. I'm not sure exactly what this place is, but I know they go there and have campfires or bbq's. I will see if I can get some pictures, although I seem to have misplaced my camera so if it's light enough, I'll get some with my phone.
That's it for now...check in later!
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
An extra day for me!
Well, ok, I have an extra day only because I didn't realize that my flight back was on May 4, not May 3 until I went to check in online! That resulted in a frantic call to my boss to request a vacation day....but could not reach her! Could not reach anyone at camp! Come to find out, there was no phone or internet at all at camp, as the communication line had been cut somehow. Good thing for cell phones... So I am sitting here with an unexpected surprise day off...but let me back up a little
My flights home were almost the worst lineup I've had. Left Ft. Mac at 8:40 pm on April 23. Flew to Edmonton, arrived shortly after 9 pm. Sit in Edmonton airport until ten after midnight. This is the long red-eye to Toronto. As luck would have it, the flight was FULL and I was assigned an aisle seat near the back of the plane (even though I checked in 24 hours earlier!!). In the middle seat was a man...not an overly large man, but a man-size man. In the window seat was a young mother with a child in her lap. I discovered that people in the middle seats are entitled to the armrests, since they are stuck in the middle seat. And if you are in an aisle seat, you can't really have that armrest either, as there is a lot of traffic down the aisle, especially if you are near the back of the plane. That's where the bathrooms are, and also the carts for the flight attendants. To say the least, I did not get any sleep time at all. Then arrive in Toronto, around 5:30 a.m. local time, April 24. Another wait in the airport...about 2 hours. By this time, I was having trouble keeping my eyes open, as it had been over 24 hours since I had slept. Flight left Toronto at 8:10 a.m. for London. That flight is only about 35 minutes long, and I fell asleep on that one, finally. Then arrive in London just before 9 am and had to drive the 45-50 minutes to Stratford and home to my own bed! I had a couple hours of sleep, then went to start calling my family to say I'm home and Happy Easter. What? No dial tone on my phones. Just a message flashing that said "Check TEL line". And what? No internet either. A call to the service line at my phone company assured me that someone would be around the next day (Monday). Monday comes and almost goes, still no sign of repair guy. Another call to phone company. Oops, Tuesday is their usual day to come to Stratford. So now I spend another day waiting for repair guy. Actually he did show fairly early on Tuesday, only to discover it was not THEIR problem, it was a problem with the Bell line. Anyway, in the end, it was Wednesday afternoon before my service was restored. And it has rained every single day (wait-I don't think there was any rain yesterday) I have been home. I did manage to get my front lawn trimmed and cut but that's all.
Kylee spent the night with me last Monday night. We watched "Bumbo" and ate popcorn in my bed. Julie spent the night with me last Thursday night. We watched the Royal Wedding and drank tea and ate cinnamon rolls in my bed. Spent some time with Tina and family, had belated Easter dinner with family in Michigan. It has been an eventful time home. As I was expecting to be leaving for camp today, I had everything ready to go so today really is a free day! Even if it is unseasonably cold and definitely raining, I intend to enjoy every minute of it.
My flights home were almost the worst lineup I've had. Left Ft. Mac at 8:40 pm on April 23. Flew to Edmonton, arrived shortly after 9 pm. Sit in Edmonton airport until ten after midnight. This is the long red-eye to Toronto. As luck would have it, the flight was FULL and I was assigned an aisle seat near the back of the plane (even though I checked in 24 hours earlier!!). In the middle seat was a man...not an overly large man, but a man-size man. In the window seat was a young mother with a child in her lap. I discovered that people in the middle seats are entitled to the armrests, since they are stuck in the middle seat. And if you are in an aisle seat, you can't really have that armrest either, as there is a lot of traffic down the aisle, especially if you are near the back of the plane. That's where the bathrooms are, and also the carts for the flight attendants. To say the least, I did not get any sleep time at all. Then arrive in Toronto, around 5:30 a.m. local time, April 24. Another wait in the airport...about 2 hours. By this time, I was having trouble keeping my eyes open, as it had been over 24 hours since I had slept. Flight left Toronto at 8:10 a.m. for London. That flight is only about 35 minutes long, and I fell asleep on that one, finally. Then arrive in London just before 9 am and had to drive the 45-50 minutes to Stratford and home to my own bed! I had a couple hours of sleep, then went to start calling my family to say I'm home and Happy Easter. What? No dial tone on my phones. Just a message flashing that said "Check TEL line". And what? No internet either. A call to the service line at my phone company assured me that someone would be around the next day (Monday). Monday comes and almost goes, still no sign of repair guy. Another call to phone company. Oops, Tuesday is their usual day to come to Stratford. So now I spend another day waiting for repair guy. Actually he did show fairly early on Tuesday, only to discover it was not THEIR problem, it was a problem with the Bell line. Anyway, in the end, it was Wednesday afternoon before my service was restored. And it has rained every single day (wait-I don't think there was any rain yesterday) I have been home. I did manage to get my front lawn trimmed and cut but that's all.
Kylee spent the night with me last Monday night. We watched "Bumbo" and ate popcorn in my bed. Julie spent the night with me last Thursday night. We watched the Royal Wedding and drank tea and ate cinnamon rolls in my bed. Spent some time with Tina and family, had belated Easter dinner with family in Michigan. It has been an eventful time home. As I was expecting to be leaving for camp today, I had everything ready to go so today really is a free day! Even if it is unseasonably cold and definitely raining, I intend to enjoy every minute of it.
Monday, April 18, 2011
On the countdown...
Just six more days to work and I'm on my way home! Wow, it's been crazy here, just crazy. Well in my little world, anyway :) Occupancy was unexpectedly high, then unexpectedly lower again. Short staffed again. Tim Horton's has no coffee for at least a week due to safety issues with the pots. They've had 3 pots in the last little while explode with hot coffee in them. Yesterday's caused a visit to the medic, as the staff got some splashed on her. She's ok, but no more coffee or steeped tea for at least a week until they can get all new pots in. You want to see cranky people.....yikes. Of course the tea made with bags and hot chocolate and ice caps and of course all the baked goods are still available, but let me tell you, when I went by this morning on the way to the gym, there was nobody there. Usually the line stretches right down the hall almost to the gym door.
Speaking of the gym...Ed has started a cardiovascular tracking program. Those of us that walk/jog/run/bicycle can track our progress to the Ft. McMurray airport. 100 km from here, or 1,200 laps. Considering I'm doing 38 whenever I go (usually 5 times per week), it will take a few weeks to get there. From there....who knows how far I'll go hahaha. I think I'm finally feeling a difference in my pants. My shoulder is much better, although still not 100%, but improvements overall. Still haven't made it outside to walk yet. The road is so mucky and plus after the nice weather, we did have some snow again. Nothing like Calgary and Edmonton this week though. They got slammed with a big snowstorm this week.
I guess what I"m looking forward to this time home is seeing the babies, getting some sleep, and catching up on world affairs. Counting down!
Speaking of the gym...Ed has started a cardiovascular tracking program. Those of us that walk/jog/run/bicycle can track our progress to the Ft. McMurray airport. 100 km from here, or 1,200 laps. Considering I'm doing 38 whenever I go (usually 5 times per week), it will take a few weeks to get there. From there....who knows how far I'll go hahaha. I think I'm finally feeling a difference in my pants. My shoulder is much better, although still not 100%, but improvements overall. Still haven't made it outside to walk yet. The road is so mucky and plus after the nice weather, we did have some snow again. Nothing like Calgary and Edmonton this week though. They got slammed with a big snowstorm this week.
I guess what I"m looking forward to this time home is seeing the babies, getting some sleep, and catching up on world affairs. Counting down!
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Finally....a moose
Well ok, I didn't personally see the moose, but one of the guys did and got this picture. I haven't been outside since I got here, just looking at the beautiful spring weather through filthy dirty windows. If I wasn't so tired out from all the exercising...I would consider trying to pull the windows out and wash them! I'm sure that would be an exercise in futility though....given the dirt around here.
The weather has been lovely though, except all the dirt is blowing around again. It was very windy the other day and it looked like we were in the dust bowl.
Aimee heads home tonight, then on to Las Vegas to the wedding of Sara (the baker) and Mike (kitchen helper). I'm sure that event will be one for the books, and am looking forward to pictures and stories of that. I miss my babies back at home and will be anxious to snuggle up to the grandkids. Hmm, I still have 13 days yet to work. Speaking of work...the weekends are definitely a bit of a break. No constant barrage of reservations to fix up and room transfers and memos and reports and forecasts. Back to the pressure cooker tomorrow though. New staff arrived Friday, and I think will have completed their training at the end of the day today, will just have to get the Shell orientation for their badges. Can't work without a badge! It's one of those unbreakable rules. No badging available on weekends either.
I'm proud to say in the last week I've done FOUR of Ed's classes....3 core classes (using the exercise ball and also on the mats) and 1 boot camp. OK, I'm a wuss and I can't do everything, but I think I'm getting better. Still doing my laps in the morning. Now that it's nice I'd like to try the road around camp, which is something like 1.6 km I think. One of the Shell guys across the hall gave me safety stripes if I do decide to walk, because Safety First!
The weather has been lovely though, except all the dirt is blowing around again. It was very windy the other day and it looked like we were in the dust bowl.
Aimee heads home tonight, then on to Las Vegas to the wedding of Sara (the baker) and Mike (kitchen helper). I'm sure that event will be one for the books, and am looking forward to pictures and stories of that. I miss my babies back at home and will be anxious to snuggle up to the grandkids. Hmm, I still have 13 days yet to work. Speaking of work...the weekends are definitely a bit of a break. No constant barrage of reservations to fix up and room transfers and memos and reports and forecasts. Back to the pressure cooker tomorrow though. New staff arrived Friday, and I think will have completed their training at the end of the day today, will just have to get the Shell orientation for their badges. Can't work without a badge! It's one of those unbreakable rules. No badging available on weekends either.
I'm proud to say in the last week I've done FOUR of Ed's classes....3 core classes (using the exercise ball and also on the mats) and 1 boot camp. OK, I'm a wuss and I can't do everything, but I think I'm getting better. Still doing my laps in the morning. Now that it's nice I'd like to try the road around camp, which is something like 1.6 km I think. One of the Shell guys across the hall gave me safety stripes if I do decide to walk, because Safety First!
Thursday, April 7, 2011
The rude awakening...
Yep, that's what you call it at 5:30 am on your day to sleep until 6 am and the fire alarm goes off. Now, I am in a fire warden room, but haven't yet had my training. That's next week. After that, when the fire alarm goes off during the night, it means I have to don the vest, hard hat and flashlight, grab the clipboard and stand in the hall and yell "EMERGENCY!", then take attendance at the muster point. I don't think very many actually even left the building this morning, which would have really made me cranky, had there been a fire and had these people burned up in their beds.
It's only day 6 of 22 today. I already feel like burnt toast, this is not going to be good. Camp is burgeoning again and I've been putting in 12, 13 hour days :( And I've also been subjecting myself to Ed Cotter's exercise classes. Only 2 so far, but I'm thinking those evening classes will give me an excuse not to get up and walk/run at 5 am. The first class was a core class (meaning working the core muscles front and back, the deep muscles under the abs). I found it tough to get through, feeling like a wuss and whining alot, but I did my best. I figured I wouldn't be able to move the next day, so I was very pleasantly surprised when I hardly felt the effects the next morning. The day after THAT, however, was a whole different story. I couldn't wait for Ed to get in (he is sharing office space with me right now) so I could tell him how much I hated him. Then he had the gall to LAUGH at me about it. Then that happened to be the day that deliveries had to be made to every room in the village. What, no staff available to make the deliveries? Oh, I guess that meant Amanda, myself and Trish. Off we went with a luggage cart full of Shell sponsored guest survey packages, and also the pamphlets and envelopes from Election Canada (so everyone gets a chance to vote in the Federal election, even if they are away working in an isolated location). Each of us took a floor, and did dorms A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O. 44 rooms per floor. Open every door and put in the required materials. Took almost 4 hours of sweat-inducing labour. We decided at that point not to do C pod, which would have been P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, and Y. Someone else could get those done! I was apparently much slower than the other two, as we pretty much all finished at the same time, and on 3rd floor dorms L, M, and N were pretty much vacant. But I used my advanced age as an excuse, I mean I am old enough to be the other two girls' mom! I've been pulling the age card a lot lately, it seems :)
Camp is pretty much full again. Of course, we did not have advance warning about it, and because camp had been so empty last week, there were layoffs of camp attendants and kitchen workers. Plus for some reason again the front desk is short staffed. Argh!! We have two new people starting this weekend, but it will take a few days to get them trained and ready to go, so we have to endure this for about another week yet.
The weather has been great here. Much warmer than at home I see. This morning when I checked it was -7 in Stratford, and right on the freezing mark 0 degrees here. And here is the latest sunrise/sunset info:
Stratford sunrise 7:20
sunset 7:40
Ft. Mac sunrise 6:39
sunset 8:16
Yep, we're galloping on to those long days.
It's only day 6 of 22 today. I already feel like burnt toast, this is not going to be good. Camp is burgeoning again and I've been putting in 12, 13 hour days :( And I've also been subjecting myself to Ed Cotter's exercise classes. Only 2 so far, but I'm thinking those evening classes will give me an excuse not to get up and walk/run at 5 am. The first class was a core class (meaning working the core muscles front and back, the deep muscles under the abs). I found it tough to get through, feeling like a wuss and whining alot, but I did my best. I figured I wouldn't be able to move the next day, so I was very pleasantly surprised when I hardly felt the effects the next morning. The day after THAT, however, was a whole different story. I couldn't wait for Ed to get in (he is sharing office space with me right now) so I could tell him how much I hated him. Then he had the gall to LAUGH at me about it. Then that happened to be the day that deliveries had to be made to every room in the village. What, no staff available to make the deliveries? Oh, I guess that meant Amanda, myself and Trish. Off we went with a luggage cart full of Shell sponsored guest survey packages, and also the pamphlets and envelopes from Election Canada (so everyone gets a chance to vote in the Federal election, even if they are away working in an isolated location). Each of us took a floor, and did dorms A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O. 44 rooms per floor. Open every door and put in the required materials. Took almost 4 hours of sweat-inducing labour. We decided at that point not to do C pod, which would have been P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, and Y. Someone else could get those done! I was apparently much slower than the other two, as we pretty much all finished at the same time, and on 3rd floor dorms L, M, and N were pretty much vacant. But I used my advanced age as an excuse, I mean I am old enough to be the other two girls' mom! I've been pulling the age card a lot lately, it seems :)
Camp is pretty much full again. Of course, we did not have advance warning about it, and because camp had been so empty last week, there were layoffs of camp attendants and kitchen workers. Plus for some reason again the front desk is short staffed. Argh!! We have two new people starting this weekend, but it will take a few days to get them trained and ready to go, so we have to endure this for about another week yet.
The weather has been great here. Much warmer than at home I see. This morning when I checked it was -7 in Stratford, and right on the freezing mark 0 degrees here. And here is the latest sunrise/sunset info:
Stratford sunrise 7:20
sunset 7:40
Ft. Mac sunrise 6:39
sunset 8:16
Yep, we're galloping on to those long days.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Wow - it's April?
I can't believe how time is just whizzing past here! Spring is really trying to land, and actually much of the snow is melting away. That shows the dirt though....ew. The rotten snow banks in the ditches and whereever snow was piled up are black with dirt, you can barely see there is snow/ice underneath. Oh well, at least my window thawed out and can be opened now for some fresh air.
Well I had a blast on my days off. We drove to Fargo for some shopping. I guess that's the place to go because there were more Manitoba and Minnesota license plates than North Dakota ones in the parking lots. I tried out and bought my e-reader. I chose the Nook, mainly because I liked the bottom screen and of course the option to borrow books rather than buy them. I am able to get lots of free and very low-cost (.99) books on it though, from the Barnes & Nobles website. I bought so much stuff I had to borrow a duffle bag of Thor's to get everything back.
Busy busy here, just like I figured, the subcontractors are getting back to work. And short staffed again, I'm doing front desk and reservations for a couple of days. And I'm on Day 2 of 22 so we shall see how this run goes....
Well I had a blast on my days off. We drove to Fargo for some shopping. I guess that's the place to go because there were more Manitoba and Minnesota license plates than North Dakota ones in the parking lots. I tried out and bought my e-reader. I chose the Nook, mainly because I liked the bottom screen and of course the option to borrow books rather than buy them. I am able to get lots of free and very low-cost (.99) books on it though, from the Barnes & Nobles website. I bought so much stuff I had to borrow a duffle bag of Thor's to get everything back.
Busy busy here, just like I figured, the subcontractors are getting back to work. And short staffed again, I'm doing front desk and reservations for a couple of days. And I'm on Day 2 of 22 so we shall see how this run goes....
Friday, March 25, 2011
8 day weekend!
Yep, today is the first day of my 8 day weekend. I'm sitting at my second airport of the day (Edmonton, having left from Ft. McMurray at 12:15 today) having some lunch and a Margarita. :) I figure I deserve it after 20 days working. I'm off to Winnipeg to visit my "spousal equivalent" for the week. I haven't been to Winnipeg in well over a year....year and a half maybe? Too long, anyway. I'm hoping to get down across the border to check out the e-readers before I make my final purchase. I have it narrowed down to two models, one of which I have seen and tried out, and seeing the other one is my mission. Right now I am loaded down with two heavy books to keep me company on my flights and airport waits. I was so excited to get this lime Margarita and now that I taste it it's not even that good :( Oh well, I guess that means it doesn't count and I can treat myself once more on this trip, haha.
Staffing is at an all-time low this week that I'm away, and I'm almost feeling guilty. Ok, I am feeling guilty. I know it's nothing for me to feel guilty about, but I just think of the few that are taking on the whole burden and feeling very sorry for them, and if it was me left behind how sad I'd be. Ok, it will probably BE me in a week when I get back so I will get over it, haha.
Still even lower occupancy as companies are laying off. I am not sure if it has to do with the time of year, as I know some are going to be back next month, or May at the latest. It is eerie, not quite as deserted as Christmas time, but still quiet. The Menu Express service is hot! People like to have nibbles delivered to them, even for a fee. I think the poor delivery girl needs a Segway, or at least some roller blades! Poor girl is sweating buckets whenever I run into her in the evenings.
Funny how smells trigger memories. Carpet cleaning is underway in A pod (my room is 3rd floor A in A pod) and they were cleaning carpets when I first arrived at the end of August. As soon as the smell hit my nostrils I was immediately taken back to the first walk down the "green mile" way back then. The corridor from mail building to A dorm in A pod is long, and one of the guys made a comment that he calls it the Green Mile and it kind of stuck.
Speaking of fitness....I thought Hannah was a task master....wow our new guy Ed makes her look like a nursery school gym teacher (no disrespect to Hannah whatsoever!). No messing around with Ed, he makes you work! He just wants to help you, he says with his innocent looking face. A Newfoundlander with all the Newfie jargon (think "yes boy" - only the boy is pronounced Bye), he wants us all to be fit and healthy. No pussy footing around. He's getting me set up with a new and improved fitness plan, and I am going to join the Core class on Sun and Wed nights. This old granny is going to get fit if it kills me! I'm not doing too bad though, up to 30 laps in the a.m. (that's about 1.5 miles) then my gym routine which takes about 15-20 minutes. He's got the same days off as I do, so I can't use the excuse that he's not there for me to skip classes. He does have a lot of people involved so it's very good. He can also carry the load on open mike nights and Karaoke at the bar. He left last night on his first turnaround and he was so excited to see his family he was pretty well dancing all day, lol. When I go back I am in for 22 days so I will definitely need something to burn off the crispiness. Once you hit about day 18...I tell ya, you can sure feel the difference.
I had an interesting drive in this morning with a couple of the camp attendants heading to Cape Breton. We all laughed so hard we were all hurting. The poor driver got his eyes opened I'll tell ya, as we let loose. He's used to seeing the professional side, haha. I know he couldn't wait to get back and tell Aimee what a bad influence her mother is LOLOL.
Well, I should make my way to the gate and get comfortable!
Staffing is at an all-time low this week that I'm away, and I'm almost feeling guilty. Ok, I am feeling guilty. I know it's nothing for me to feel guilty about, but I just think of the few that are taking on the whole burden and feeling very sorry for them, and if it was me left behind how sad I'd be. Ok, it will probably BE me in a week when I get back so I will get over it, haha.
Still even lower occupancy as companies are laying off. I am not sure if it has to do with the time of year, as I know some are going to be back next month, or May at the latest. It is eerie, not quite as deserted as Christmas time, but still quiet. The Menu Express service is hot! People like to have nibbles delivered to them, even for a fee. I think the poor delivery girl needs a Segway, or at least some roller blades! Poor girl is sweating buckets whenever I run into her in the evenings.
Funny how smells trigger memories. Carpet cleaning is underway in A pod (my room is 3rd floor A in A pod) and they were cleaning carpets when I first arrived at the end of August. As soon as the smell hit my nostrils I was immediately taken back to the first walk down the "green mile" way back then. The corridor from mail building to A dorm in A pod is long, and one of the guys made a comment that he calls it the Green Mile and it kind of stuck.
Speaking of fitness....I thought Hannah was a task master....wow our new guy Ed makes her look like a nursery school gym teacher (no disrespect to Hannah whatsoever!). No messing around with Ed, he makes you work! He just wants to help you, he says with his innocent looking face. A Newfoundlander with all the Newfie jargon (think "yes boy" - only the boy is pronounced Bye), he wants us all to be fit and healthy. No pussy footing around. He's getting me set up with a new and improved fitness plan, and I am going to join the Core class on Sun and Wed nights. This old granny is going to get fit if it kills me! I'm not doing too bad though, up to 30 laps in the a.m. (that's about 1.5 miles) then my gym routine which takes about 15-20 minutes. He's got the same days off as I do, so I can't use the excuse that he's not there for me to skip classes. He does have a lot of people involved so it's very good. He can also carry the load on open mike nights and Karaoke at the bar. He left last night on his first turnaround and he was so excited to see his family he was pretty well dancing all day, lol. When I go back I am in for 22 days so I will definitely need something to burn off the crispiness. Once you hit about day 18...I tell ya, you can sure feel the difference.
I had an interesting drive in this morning with a couple of the camp attendants heading to Cape Breton. We all laughed so hard we were all hurting. The poor driver got his eyes opened I'll tell ya, as we let loose. He's used to seeing the professional side, haha. I know he couldn't wait to get back and tell Aimee what a bad influence her mother is LOLOL.
Well, I should make my way to the gate and get comfortable!
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Crazy week at Albian!
It seems it's always a crazy week at Albian. Things just can never stay settled. We had a full complement of staff....well that didn't last. People leaving on their days off and sick leave and holy smokes....we're at the other end of the scale again. Menu Express is getting off to a great start, seems people want room service and are willing to pay for it! However it takes one staff out of our front desk mix because that person is delivering. And I just didn't have time to update the blog while I was working.
Occupancy is sort of low, but it doesn't seem to ease up the workload any. I haven't been out all week either. I was going to try and get into Ft. Mac one night, but just couldn't do it. Not with my 5 am wake up. Yes, now it's 5. I'm doing more walking/jogging so I need extra time. It's going well though, I'm feeling strong! (ok, that may be an overstatement) It seems that more people are getting on the fitness bandwagon, but at 5 am there aren't too many on the walking track or at the gym :)
I was just sitting here and realized that I look into the next dorm. I mean, I've always known that, but I thought how nice it would be to have a view out a window that doesn't look into another window. Oh well, I like my cozy room. My camp attendant has been very nice and I washed my sheets yesterday and just put them on the bed to make up later after work, and she did it for me! I know she would normally have to change the sheets on the bed anyway on Friday, but I figured since I had my own that was like a "stay off the grass" type sign.
Wow, international events are going crazy. I normally try and keep my head out of the real world while I'm here, but I am overhearing lots of people talking about Japan, and Libya, and closer to home...the fire in Listowel that destroyed a downtown building and took the lives of 2 firefighters. That happened this week. So tragic for so many people in the world.
One of our front desk staff, a very nice young lady, is en route to her birth country of Ethiopia right now, for a 3 week visit. She's been so excited, hasn't been there for 7 or 8 years I think she said. She's with her father (who hasn't been back in 15 or so years) and her best friend. She's anxious to connect up with family and tour the country. I told her she should do a blog of her trip, as many people are anxious to hear about it. Bon Voyage and safe travels, Tigist!
I have decided to purchase an e-reader. You know, an electronic book reader. I was so against them, I always said I needed to feel the book, and turn the pages and I would NEVER switch over. Then Tina got one for her birthday. I held it, read a page, turned the page and I was hooked. How convenient for my travels! I won't have to lug 2 or 3 books in my carry-on luggage to keep me company on the plane and in airports. Also, the model I am looking at allows you to borrow library books...any time, any where! And books to purchase are very reasonable...new releases usually go for under $10. You can carry hundreds of books around with you in a device the size of a notepad. Half full. Anyway, that is my mission and my gift to myself!
Sunrise sunset times are almost exactly even. Stratford - sunrise 7:29 am, sunset 7:34 pm. Ft. Mac - sunrise 7:30 am, sunset 7:36 p. It will swing around until we are getting 2 or more hours of sunlight more than back home by June. Take care all!!
Occupancy is sort of low, but it doesn't seem to ease up the workload any. I haven't been out all week either. I was going to try and get into Ft. Mac one night, but just couldn't do it. Not with my 5 am wake up. Yes, now it's 5. I'm doing more walking/jogging so I need extra time. It's going well though, I'm feeling strong! (ok, that may be an overstatement) It seems that more people are getting on the fitness bandwagon, but at 5 am there aren't too many on the walking track or at the gym :)
I was just sitting here and realized that I look into the next dorm. I mean, I've always known that, but I thought how nice it would be to have a view out a window that doesn't look into another window. Oh well, I like my cozy room. My camp attendant has been very nice and I washed my sheets yesterday and just put them on the bed to make up later after work, and she did it for me! I know she would normally have to change the sheets on the bed anyway on Friday, but I figured since I had my own that was like a "stay off the grass" type sign.
Wow, international events are going crazy. I normally try and keep my head out of the real world while I'm here, but I am overhearing lots of people talking about Japan, and Libya, and closer to home...the fire in Listowel that destroyed a downtown building and took the lives of 2 firefighters. That happened this week. So tragic for so many people in the world.
One of our front desk staff, a very nice young lady, is en route to her birth country of Ethiopia right now, for a 3 week visit. She's been so excited, hasn't been there for 7 or 8 years I think she said. She's with her father (who hasn't been back in 15 or so years) and her best friend. She's anxious to connect up with family and tour the country. I told her she should do a blog of her trip, as many people are anxious to hear about it. Bon Voyage and safe travels, Tigist!
I have decided to purchase an e-reader. You know, an electronic book reader. I was so against them, I always said I needed to feel the book, and turn the pages and I would NEVER switch over. Then Tina got one for her birthday. I held it, read a page, turned the page and I was hooked. How convenient for my travels! I won't have to lug 2 or 3 books in my carry-on luggage to keep me company on the plane and in airports. Also, the model I am looking at allows you to borrow library books...any time, any where! And books to purchase are very reasonable...new releases usually go for under $10. You can carry hundreds of books around with you in a device the size of a notepad. Half full. Anyway, that is my mission and my gift to myself!
Sunrise sunset times are almost exactly even. Stratford - sunrise 7:29 am, sunset 7:34 pm. Ft. Mac - sunrise 7:30 am, sunset 7:36 p. It will swing around until we are getting 2 or more hours of sunlight more than back home by June. Take care all!!
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Sorry...to my faithful readers...if there are any left!!
I think what the problem is about is now that I am full time reservations, I am on a computer all day. So when I'm not working, I don't want to be sitting at the computer some more! I came up with a great idea....I will update my blog while I'm at work and on a break. Sounds like a win-win to me.
This past week has been a whirlwind, with trying to jump into the new role, deal with my cross-shift person not being here (*sad face*) and moving to three different desks and having the new office painted so having to move out all together for a few days....wow.
The back room has been completely cleared out and now there is a whole end (large cubicle size) that is my area for Reservations. Hopefully there will soon be another full time reservations person, because it is too much for one person and we're always scrambling to catch up on one thing or another. Amanda has been promoted to Housing Manager - good news for her too!
Albian has launched a new service - room service for pizza, wings, fries, chicken fingers, burgers, soft drinks delivered right to your room in the evenings. For a fee, of course. Well, no fee for the delivery, but items are for purchase. Selected items have been offered for free trial at the lounge the last couple of nights, and the actual service will start tomorrow. So if someone has the munchies after the dining room closes at 7:45 pm and before 10 pm, just pick up the phone!
The weather has still been darn cold! Went into town one night last week....Thursday maybe? and it was -24. I mean, come on already....-24??? That's -11 Fahrenheit, in case you were wondering. I hadn't been out since I got back, so it was a surprise to me. And come on daylight savings time! I went to dinner late tonight, just before 6 pm, and it was still bright out. That part I like. Except it is still the dead of night at 7 am again. Boo! Just checked the sunrise/sunset for here and sunrise is now 6:46 am and sunset is 6:23. In Stratford, sunrise is 6:40 and sunset is 6:28. (ok, apparently 7 am is not the dead of night.) We're almost equal, and soon Albian will surpass Stratford in terms of hours of daylight. And on the 14 day forecast, the temperature is moderating into more seasonable numbers.
One funny thing I have to mention....one of the companies cancelled work for their night shift last night, and their day shift today. Why, you might ask? They had no fuel. That may not seem really funny until you think about the fact that we are in the oil sands, working for Shell. I suggested maybe they run down the road to Syncrude and maybe borrow a bit of theirs, haha.
Well, I am finally headed back to my room and hopefully make up for that hour of sleep I lost last night!
This past week has been a whirlwind, with trying to jump into the new role, deal with my cross-shift person not being here (*sad face*) and moving to three different desks and having the new office painted so having to move out all together for a few days....wow.
The back room has been completely cleared out and now there is a whole end (large cubicle size) that is my area for Reservations. Hopefully there will soon be another full time reservations person, because it is too much for one person and we're always scrambling to catch up on one thing or another. Amanda has been promoted to Housing Manager - good news for her too!
Albian has launched a new service - room service for pizza, wings, fries, chicken fingers, burgers, soft drinks delivered right to your room in the evenings. For a fee, of course. Well, no fee for the delivery, but items are for purchase. Selected items have been offered for free trial at the lounge the last couple of nights, and the actual service will start tomorrow. So if someone has the munchies after the dining room closes at 7:45 pm and before 10 pm, just pick up the phone!
The weather has still been darn cold! Went into town one night last week....Thursday maybe? and it was -24. I mean, come on already....-24??? That's -11 Fahrenheit, in case you were wondering. I hadn't been out since I got back, so it was a surprise to me. And come on daylight savings time! I went to dinner late tonight, just before 6 pm, and it was still bright out. That part I like. Except it is still the dead of night at 7 am again. Boo! Just checked the sunrise/sunset for here and sunrise is now 6:46 am and sunset is 6:23. In Stratford, sunrise is 6:40 and sunset is 6:28. (ok, apparently 7 am is not the dead of night.) We're almost equal, and soon Albian will surpass Stratford in terms of hours of daylight. And on the 14 day forecast, the temperature is moderating into more seasonable numbers.
One funny thing I have to mention....one of the companies cancelled work for their night shift last night, and their day shift today. Why, you might ask? They had no fuel. That may not seem really funny until you think about the fact that we are in the oil sands, working for Shell. I suggested maybe they run down the road to Syncrude and maybe borrow a bit of theirs, haha.
Well, I am finally headed back to my room and hopefully make up for that hour of sleep I lost last night!
Friday, March 4, 2011
Back to work...
Hi all. I'm wondering if anyone is still reading. Six months I've been doing this and thinking it's got to be boring to read my ramblings after all this time. However I like to write and ramble so I'll keep on rambling! So I'.m sitting in the airport in Toronto waiting for my flight to Ft. Mac. Flights have been horrible this last couple of months. Too expensive and bad times. When I came home last Friday, I had to leave at 6:30 in the morning on my first day off (I like to fly out either late on my last day of work, or the redeye that leaves at midnight so I don't waste my whole first day off travelling!) plus I had TWO stops (always have at least one, but two with waits in between is so tedious). Seems like the times and prices improve in May....sigh.
I did get some good news while I was home. A call from the GM to tell me when I get back I will be full time reservations. That's a good thing. More money. Regular shifts (always 7-5). Fits well with my date with gym (5:30 a.m.). I'm still undecided as to how long I will be staying, but right now I'm thinking I'll finish out this year.
I am Jomama to most of the people I know there. That's ok, I'm old enough to be their mama :) It does feel like family, because it feels like everyone is living together in the same large house. It's amazing how quickly the days are getting longer. Right now in Stratford, sunrise is 6:55 am and sunset is 6:18 pm. In Ft. MacKay sunrise is 7:04 am and sunset is 6:04 pm. Very soon there will be more hours of daylight there than at home. Camp had been pretty full when I left, so I'm anxious to get back at it and jump into my new role with both feet.
I am really getting tired of airports though. I should have counted how many airport visits I've had in the last six months, but maybe it's best not to know, haha.
I did get some good news while I was home. A call from the GM to tell me when I get back I will be full time reservations. That's a good thing. More money. Regular shifts (always 7-5). Fits well with my date with gym (5:30 a.m.). I'm still undecided as to how long I will be staying, but right now I'm thinking I'll finish out this year.
I am Jomama to most of the people I know there. That's ok, I'm old enough to be their mama :) It does feel like family, because it feels like everyone is living together in the same large house. It's amazing how quickly the days are getting longer. Right now in Stratford, sunrise is 6:55 am and sunset is 6:18 pm. In Ft. MacKay sunrise is 7:04 am and sunset is 6:04 pm. Very soon there will be more hours of daylight there than at home. Camp had been pretty full when I left, so I'm anxious to get back at it and jump into my new role with both feet.
I am really getting tired of airports though. I should have counted how many airport visits I've had in the last six months, but maybe it's best not to know, haha.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Still trying to hang on to vacation mode...
It may be -35 outside, but as long as I don't have to go out and I keep looking at my pictures of tropical islands....I can forget that, haha. I miss the warm moist air I tell ya. Here, as soon as you step off the plane all the moisture gets sucked right out of your skin and hair....dry dry dry! I can't keep enough moisturizer around. There was a small humidifier left behind in someone's room, and I said I'd take it! Very sad though, I filled it and ran it all night and not a drop of water came out. No wonder they left it behind :(
So, the rest of the islands were all beautiful, although I think St. Kitt's and Dominica were my favourites. I had never even heard of Dominica before we went on this cruise. There are many many islands in the Caribbean, that much I found out. It just all fades so fast....sigh.
It's been crazy here at Albian Village. We had a couple of weeks of arrivals like crazy, no rooms, then back to normal on the weekend. The expansion trailers have gone, saw a few of them headed down the road this past week. I haven't even been over to that side of camp to see what it looks like, with all of them gone.
We seem to have lots of front desk staff now. I guess this is up to normal, but it hasn't been since I've bene here so it seems strange to have full coverage, lol. Hard to believe that next week I'll have been here for 6 months. I've been here longer than 7 of the front desk staff (out of 8) and 5 of the management staff (out of 9). That's just in the front offices, not including the other departments. Seems crazy!
I have also turned over a new fitness leaf, and have now settled into a 30-40 min workout everyday. Believe it or not, folks, my alarm goes off at 5:15 every morning and I'm in the gym by 5:30. I know, I can hear the disbelief but really, it's true!
On that note, 5:15 rolls around early, so I'm in to bed early!
So, the rest of the islands were all beautiful, although I think St. Kitt's and Dominica were my favourites. I had never even heard of Dominica before we went on this cruise. There are many many islands in the Caribbean, that much I found out. It just all fades so fast....sigh.
It's been crazy here at Albian Village. We had a couple of weeks of arrivals like crazy, no rooms, then back to normal on the weekend. The expansion trailers have gone, saw a few of them headed down the road this past week. I haven't even been over to that side of camp to see what it looks like, with all of them gone.
We seem to have lots of front desk staff now. I guess this is up to normal, but it hasn't been since I've bene here so it seems strange to have full coverage, lol. Hard to believe that next week I'll have been here for 6 months. I've been here longer than 7 of the front desk staff (out of 8) and 5 of the management staff (out of 9). That's just in the front offices, not including the other departments. Seems crazy!
I have also turned over a new fitness leaf, and have now settled into a 30-40 min workout everyday. Believe it or not, folks, my alarm goes off at 5:15 every morning and I'm in the gym by 5:30. I know, I can hear the disbelief but really, it's true!
On that note, 5:15 rolls around early, so I'm in to bed early!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Vacation Eve
Yes, tomorrow I set off on my winter vacation. Ft. Mac to Edmonton, switch planes, Edmonton to Toronto, switch planes, Toronto to Windsor, get picked up in truck, drive to Detroit. Detroit to Orlando, switch planes, Orlando to San Juan. Then aaaahhhhhhh.Weather has been very odd here, the temp hovering around the freezing mark and rain/freezing rain all day. Then tonight the temp started plummeting, and by tomorrow morning should be around -16, a bit of snow and wind. Ok yes, I'm STRESSING about getting to the airport because this itinerary is like dominoes, if one tips a little....the whole chain will crash. But I'm optomistic! I'll be feeling the warm Caribbean breeze by Saturday night :)
Camp has gotten a lot fuller this week, and things seem more back to normal. Dining room is hopping and lineups for dinner and the lunch room. Luggage room is busy with people coming and going. We have a good team at the front desk and aside from some flu bugs going around, all seems to be right here in Albian world.
The refinery seems to be running full tilt....just by the steam coming out of all the chimneys. Cranking out the diesel that will power up a nation....and then some. Of course I know there is controvery over the oil sands development, and then I read objection to wind turbines, and objections to electric cars, and objections to solar power, and objections to nuclear power, and I can't help but wonder how do people think they are going to fuel their vehicles, heat and cool their homes, and power their communication tools, tv's and other energy users?
Anyway, some food for thought for another blog....I will catch up when I can, will likely be at least a week. Check back after Feb 5!
Camp has gotten a lot fuller this week, and things seem more back to normal. Dining room is hopping and lineups for dinner and the lunch room. Luggage room is busy with people coming and going. We have a good team at the front desk and aside from some flu bugs going around, all seems to be right here in Albian world.
The refinery seems to be running full tilt....just by the steam coming out of all the chimneys. Cranking out the diesel that will power up a nation....and then some. Of course I know there is controvery over the oil sands development, and then I read objection to wind turbines, and objections to electric cars, and objections to solar power, and objections to nuclear power, and I can't help but wonder how do people think they are going to fuel their vehicles, heat and cool their homes, and power their communication tools, tv's and other energy users?
Anyway, some food for thought for another blog....I will catch up when I can, will likely be at least a week. Check back after Feb 5!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Long time no post!!!
Wow, sometimes it just gets away on me. Time, that is. Weird weather!?! Today it was +3 this morning. That translates into 37 degrees F. And -21 in Stratford, which translates into -6 degrees F. I thought I was looking at the weather reports in reverse! Although now the temperature has dropped all day and is now -14 C, or 6 degrees F. Very strange day. I have not been outside since I got dropped off by the taxi last Friday night. We had a fire alarm one day, but it was cold enough we went to the gym, not outside.
Camp is still eerily quiet. I keep waiting for a sudden influx of guests, as we keep hearing about expansion, expansion, expansion. We are running at about 2/3 capacity right now, around 1700 guests, and room for 2,500.
We have almost all new staff at the front desk now. Weird to feel like the veteran after only being here for 5 months. Almost. I still miss my friend Lena very much. She's not too far from here, working at another camp now. Although there's no visiting at other camps, security is just too tight. I believe I am old enough to be everyone's mother now. All but one. It's all good though, everyone is nice and the team works together well.
I've been trying to eat sparingly this last while, in preparation for my cruise holiday. Only 5 more sleeps and I start that journey. It is going to take me 5 flights to get to San Juan. Ft. Mac to Edmonton. Edmonton to Toronto. Toronto to Windsor. Drive to Detroit Metro. Detroit to Orlando. Orland to San Juan. Board the ship and 5 islands in a row. That forecast looks a pretty steady sun and 77 degrees. Yummy. I plan to soak up enough vitamin D to last me the rest of the winter.
I don't plan on bringing my laptop so I will be out of reach for a couple of weeks. I'll be sure to get pictures and keep a travel diary to share when I get back.
Meanwhile, I had better get my towels out of the dryer and maybe watch a little TV before bed!
Camp is still eerily quiet. I keep waiting for a sudden influx of guests, as we keep hearing about expansion, expansion, expansion. We are running at about 2/3 capacity right now, around 1700 guests, and room for 2,500.
We have almost all new staff at the front desk now. Weird to feel like the veteran after only being here for 5 months. Almost. I still miss my friend Lena very much. She's not too far from here, working at another camp now. Although there's no visiting at other camps, security is just too tight. I believe I am old enough to be everyone's mother now. All but one. It's all good though, everyone is nice and the team works together well.
I've been trying to eat sparingly this last while, in preparation for my cruise holiday. Only 5 more sleeps and I start that journey. It is going to take me 5 flights to get to San Juan. Ft. Mac to Edmonton. Edmonton to Toronto. Toronto to Windsor. Drive to Detroit Metro. Detroit to Orlando. Orland to San Juan. Board the ship and 5 islands in a row. That forecast looks a pretty steady sun and 77 degrees. Yummy. I plan to soak up enough vitamin D to last me the rest of the winter.
I don't plan on bringing my laptop so I will be out of reach for a couple of weeks. I'll be sure to get pictures and keep a travel diary to share when I get back.
Meanwhile, I had better get my towels out of the dryer and maybe watch a little TV before bed!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Happy Day....
I never thought I could get so excited to see a suitcase....it finally arrived yesterday afternoon. Meanwhile I had borrowed shoes, socks, work pants, and yes, even underwear. Being in my own clothes and shoes today will be a real treat. Ah, the simple things in life.....haha.
It's starting to warm up here. Well, relatively speaking. It was only -23 this morning, as opposed to -36 yesterday morning. I actually had to get another comforter for my bed. The windows have a thick coating of ice INSIDE. When I look out my window across to the next dorm, you can see people have drinks etc in their "window fridges" lol. And of course the days grow longer...nice to see dawn starting to break shortly after 8 now.
I decided I need to take advantage of the fitness facilities here. Yesterday, I shot baskets in the gym. That's a pretty good workout for someone who doesn't move around enough. Worked on a few of the upper body machines too. Today, a couple of the girls and I are supposed to meet in the gym and do some boxing. Hey it beats being bored on the treadmill! And I love to punch things :)
One of the big contractors here was shut down for a safety violation, so all their workers have been sitting around for something like 4 days with no work. They were supposed to go in last night, but that was cancelled and they were just gradually finding out last night. Then they started leaving in droves. The expansion trailers out at the back are being de-commissioned and will no longer be in use. That takes 490 rooms out of our allotment, so the big influx this week should be interesting!
Well it's off to the gym I go. Only 10 more sleeps till I fly out for the sunny south!
It's starting to warm up here. Well, relatively speaking. It was only -23 this morning, as opposed to -36 yesterday morning. I actually had to get another comforter for my bed. The windows have a thick coating of ice INSIDE. When I look out my window across to the next dorm, you can see people have drinks etc in their "window fridges" lol. And of course the days grow longer...nice to see dawn starting to break shortly after 8 now.
I decided I need to take advantage of the fitness facilities here. Yesterday, I shot baskets in the gym. That's a pretty good workout for someone who doesn't move around enough. Worked on a few of the upper body machines too. Today, a couple of the girls and I are supposed to meet in the gym and do some boxing. Hey it beats being bored on the treadmill! And I love to punch things :)
One of the big contractors here was shut down for a safety violation, so all their workers have been sitting around for something like 4 days with no work. They were supposed to go in last night, but that was cancelled and they were just gradually finding out last night. Then they started leaving in droves. The expansion trailers out at the back are being de-commissioned and will no longer be in use. That takes 490 rooms out of our allotment, so the big influx this week should be interesting!
Well it's off to the gym I go. Only 10 more sleeps till I fly out for the sunny south!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
-33 and no luggage....
Yep, arrived back at camp late, after being on a plane FULL of people and lots of crying children. Many flights had been delayed and cancelled because of weather, so they filled this one to the rafters. We got in to Ft. Mac about 40 minutes late, and then half of the luggage didn't make it. What a procedure that was. After we realized that there was no more luggage coming on the carousel, it was a mad dash to the Air Canada counter to report missing bags. After a phone call (in lieu of standing in line to report) I discovered my bag was still sitting in Toronto. They advised it would be here the next afternoon, which was Saturday. So now it's Sunday night and still nothing. The web tracer website only says it's en route to the forwarding airport. Calling the "delayed baggage" hotline number gets me to a call center in some country where English is not the official language, and I cannot understand most of what's being said. What I did understand is the last two times I called, someone was supposed to call me back and didn't. So...in the meanwhile, I had to borrow shoes, borrow pants for work, buy deodorant at the camp store (for $6), and scrounge for shampoo, conditioner, moisturizer and only hope it will show up soon! Oh, and did I mention it was -33 degrees? That's without any windchill factoring in. However, on the bright side....on Jan 29, we will be on route to San Juan, Puerto Rico for our 7 day southern caribbean cruise! Sounds like I just won a prize on a game show, haha.
Before I forget....Dee, if you are reading this...thanks for the card!! It was only my second piece of mail up here so I was quite surprised and what fun! It got lots of laughs as I shared it with everyone around.
So...other than not having luggage, and the cold weather, there is not much new here. Some new people starting at the front desk, so hopefully up to a full complement of staff. Not sure how long that will last, as one more of the people that was here before me is leaving at the end of the month.
I must sign off now and rinse out my unmentionables....again.
Before I forget....Dee, if you are reading this...thanks for the card!! It was only my second piece of mail up here so I was quite surprised and what fun! It got lots of laughs as I shared it with everyone around.
So...other than not having luggage, and the cold weather, there is not much new here. Some new people starting at the front desk, so hopefully up to a full complement of staff. Not sure how long that will last, as one more of the people that was here before me is leaving at the end of the month.
I must sign off now and rinse out my unmentionables....again.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Things are not always what they seem....
Well the position could only be temporary, as the head office people wouldn't approve it, as it's a "conflict of interest" to have an employee reporting to a family member, no matter how they tried to spin it. So it's back to the status quo of front desk and reservations. I also gave up my nice private bathroom as I couldn't justify why I would have that, I was hearing through the grapevine that it was making for hard feelings. I have heard from my friend Lena, and it seems there are many opportunities at the camp she is now working at, so I may pursue that.
My time at home has gone way too fast, and it seems that it took me days to recuperate from taking the red-eye home midnight on Friday night. I had all kinds of things to do since I won't be home my next rotation. That's my vacation cruise/stay in San Juan leaving on Jan 29. I had to renew my driver's license (needed a new picture), my license plates (needed an emissions test), prescriptions, get my property tax amount (notices haven't come out yet and will be due before I'm home again), get a mammogram....now I have to pack for my cruise vacation and bring with me out to camp since I won't be coming home before that. Oh, I think I just had a brainwave on that one.....ok, well I've got to get to it. I will catch up again once back in camp.
My time at home has gone way too fast, and it seems that it took me days to recuperate from taking the red-eye home midnight on Friday night. I had all kinds of things to do since I won't be home my next rotation. That's my vacation cruise/stay in San Juan leaving on Jan 29. I had to renew my driver's license (needed a new picture), my license plates (needed an emissions test), prescriptions, get my property tax amount (notices haven't come out yet and will be due before I'm home again), get a mammogram....now I have to pack for my cruise vacation and bring with me out to camp since I won't be coming home before that. Oh, I think I just had a brainwave on that one.....ok, well I've got to get to it. I will catch up again once back in camp.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Surprise, surprise
Yep, yesterday brought all kinds of surprises. Seems the position of Jr. Accountant opened up, and I got asked if I was interested in working with my daughter. Took me by surprise, but of course!! I don't know how much she'll be able to take of me, haha but we'll now be working in the same office :) The other surprise of the day was the offer of a management room. Yes, a private room! With my own bathroom!! NO toilet seat wars!! And a REAL shower! I can shave my legs again!!! Yes, all very exciting. See the pics on the side. It's a bigger room, has a huge recliner, bigger tv, a fridge, queen size bed, and a larger desk with drawers. I am so excited about a real shower, with a seat. LOL, funny how these things make a person's day.
Well another new person starts tomorrow. Another one of us that have a few years of life experience under our belt :) I just realized I have not been outside in a whole week. I have noticed the days starting to get a bit longer, and it's been clear, so a glimpse of the sky now and then. And things are starting to pick up, I think we're up to around 800 in house now. By the end of the week, we'll probably be up around 2,000 again so you can imagine how busy it's going to be, and running on a skeleton crew.
I'm still trying to make sense of the way these dorms are lettered. It doesn't seem to make any sense, so I've come up with little tricks to remember the dorms that are closest, and furthest from the core building. In B pod, closest dorms are O and K, so OK, that's easy. The furthest dorms are H and L, so High and Low. In C pod (my new home) closest are T and Y, so Thank You...and the furthest are P and U. I could have thought of UP, but I thought PU was funnier.
Take care all, and I'll check in again soon!
Well another new person starts tomorrow. Another one of us that have a few years of life experience under our belt :) I just realized I have not been outside in a whole week. I have noticed the days starting to get a bit longer, and it's been clear, so a glimpse of the sky now and then. And things are starting to pick up, I think we're up to around 800 in house now. By the end of the week, we'll probably be up around 2,000 again so you can imagine how busy it's going to be, and running on a skeleton crew.
I'm still trying to make sense of the way these dorms are lettered. It doesn't seem to make any sense, so I've come up with little tricks to remember the dorms that are closest, and furthest from the core building. In B pod, closest dorms are O and K, so OK, that's easy. The furthest dorms are H and L, so High and Low. In C pod (my new home) closest are T and Y, so Thank You...and the furthest are P and U. I could have thought of UP, but I thought PU was funnier.
Take care all, and I'll check in again soon!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Happy 2011!
Hi all! Hope all my friends and family had a safe and happy transition into 2011. Here at camp a handful of us rang in the new year with a toast and the traditional greeting. As everyone lives in a different time zone, there were happy new years all evening, starting at 8:30 (midnight in Newfoundland). Yeah, I never could figure out that half hour difference for Newfoundland time, but the Newfies in the group were all calling 8:30 the new year.
It's been very quiet, which is a really good thing, as we have only had 4 front desk staff (including myself in the reservations role right now) to hold down the fort these last few days. And one of those people just started on Tuesday! The next week will be crazy, because of the reservation system, we really don't know how many people are arriving and when, but we know we'll pretty well be up to full steam by the 5th at the latest. That means probably 1200 or so people arriving over the next 4 or 5 days. Hahaha! Oh well, there are over 800 rooms on hold, so we know all those people coming back will have a room, and that makes it easy.
There have been a lot of changes in housing, but I think it will really be a good thing, as some of the things we were doing needed updating and streamlining, so it feels like "out with the old, in with the new". Myself, I like to move the furniture around. Since I can't really do that here, I started cleaning out the back room. We have recently done it to accommodate another desk back there, but I think more would be beneficial. We need more storage space, and we need to quit moving around things that are no longer needed (outdated or redundant). A good clean sweep is always uplifting! Speaking of sweeping....the luggage room A is very dirty and dusty, so maybe that will be on the agenda for today, lol.
Chef had a lovely dinner last night, there was a seafood casserole (not for me, I'm not a seafood eater) but everyone was exclaiming how delicious it was, with lobster, scallops and large shrimp in a cream sauce. There were also roasted Cornish hens, beef short ribs, pizza, spaghetti, wild rice, various vegetable selections, roasted potatoes, gravy. All very yummy.
I am off to breakfast, then start work at 7. Temperature here last night was -25. I haven't poked my nose outside since I arrived here last Sunday, so I wouldn't have known! I did notice though that at 8:30 you could see that it was almost dawn. Nice to see how quickly the days will get longer.
It's been very quiet, which is a really good thing, as we have only had 4 front desk staff (including myself in the reservations role right now) to hold down the fort these last few days. And one of those people just started on Tuesday! The next week will be crazy, because of the reservation system, we really don't know how many people are arriving and when, but we know we'll pretty well be up to full steam by the 5th at the latest. That means probably 1200 or so people arriving over the next 4 or 5 days. Hahaha! Oh well, there are over 800 rooms on hold, so we know all those people coming back will have a room, and that makes it easy.
There have been a lot of changes in housing, but I think it will really be a good thing, as some of the things we were doing needed updating and streamlining, so it feels like "out with the old, in with the new". Myself, I like to move the furniture around. Since I can't really do that here, I started cleaning out the back room. We have recently done it to accommodate another desk back there, but I think more would be beneficial. We need more storage space, and we need to quit moving around things that are no longer needed (outdated or redundant). A good clean sweep is always uplifting! Speaking of sweeping....the luggage room A is very dirty and dusty, so maybe that will be on the agenda for today, lol.
Chef had a lovely dinner last night, there was a seafood casserole (not for me, I'm not a seafood eater) but everyone was exclaiming how delicious it was, with lobster, scallops and large shrimp in a cream sauce. There were also roasted Cornish hens, beef short ribs, pizza, spaghetti, wild rice, various vegetable selections, roasted potatoes, gravy. All very yummy.
I am off to breakfast, then start work at 7. Temperature here last night was -25. I haven't poked my nose outside since I arrived here last Sunday, so I wouldn't have known! I did notice though that at 8:30 you could see that it was almost dawn. Nice to see how quickly the days will get longer.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)