Watch Out! I'm psycho...

My officemate, Pam, made the comment today that I'm getting a lot weirder. Now, this came as a surprise to me. Not that I'm weird, that much pretty much anyone can see. What surprised me was that she felt my weirdness had changed. I don't feel much different this week than I did 3 weeks ago but she insists I'm different. So...why...

Explanation #1
I'm hyper about going to Montana and it's starting to show. In half an hour I'm outta here to go home and pack, load the car, drop of Nevin's dry cleaning, pick up the volleyball net, and pick up my friends downtown. I'm actually bouncing in my chair right now but that could be more due to #2.

Explanation #2
Coffee! I don't drink a lot of coffee but I've had one pretty much every day this week. Usually straight black (except for today's Mocha). It could be affecting my system.

Explanation #3
I've changed my sleep patterns this week. My plan was to get to bed early every night, show up at work at 6:45-7:00 and get some real work done on these presentations. Instead I've been finding thigs to do until 12:30 and not getting to work until 7:45-8:00. That and I've been kicking ass on the presentations so...what's the rush?

Explanation #4
The problem isn't me...it's Pam. Maybe she's just suddenly noticed my quirks. Although...Andrew and I have been joking a lot this week. Maybe it's finally getting out of hand.

Anyway, I have to go now. My boss and I are going to take a look at coring tools before I go. Peace y'all. Have a great long weekend!

I need a break...

Although, a Kitkat bar wouldn't exactly hit the spot right now. My stomach is kind of gittery, probably from sipping on my cold coffee. I don't care if the Kalispell forecast is for thunder showers, I can't wait to go to Montana. I think my hightlight is going to be the drive down. There's just something great about the peaceful drive TO your vacation spot; knowing that all of your fun is ahead of you and your stress is recently behind you. Actually...I think my favorite time is when you decide at work that "you're done". This week it will come sometime Thursday morning (I'm taking the afternoon off to get the car packed). Around 11:30 I predict I'm going to lean back in my chair, put my hands behind my head, turn to Andrew and Pam and say "Yup, I'm done". The initial feeling of ALL that weight coming off or my chest will carry my spirit through the rest of the weekend. I'll then shut down my programs, turn off the computer, put on my jacket and shoes, and leave.

I've decided that I'm going to become some kind of event coordinator when I get a full time job in some oil and gas company. I just like the planning and organizing. It also means that I'll be included in most of the events...possibly for free. I might have the problem of getting too involved in that "side job" and not getting anything done in my real job. It would also mean I have to work for a big O&G company that has the numbers and money to do those kinds of things.

Goals for the weekend:
Land tantrum, tantrum indy, full wake 180, full wake 360.
Attempt heelside back roll, blind 180, raley.
Oganize food successfully for 20 people over 5 days.
Swim across the lake.
Come back to Calgary early enough on Tuesday to relax.

Thank you Apollo...

Finally some freakin' sun in this town. After our SECOND flood it's finally starting to dry up. Calgary got it bad this time. You probably saw on TV some of the damage. They were building dykes of dirt on major roads in downtown Calgary, people were evacuated from the nice homes on Elbow Drive, our bike pathway to work was closed down. It was crazy here for a while. The water is still high but I think it's going down.

I'd really like to say more about the weekend and the week so far but I'm super busy and just don't have time. Here's the condesed:
Sunday: Wakeboarding, water is still freakin' cold.
Monday: Rode to work, went to gym, played hockey with the Blades, body is in pain.
Tuesday: Rode to work, went to gym, played baseball (won 22-3), body nearing death.
Wednesday: No bike, no gym...body just might make it.

Here's some pictures from our May long party to make you laugh. I still have to get the good ones from Ben. Peace.







Quick explanation: we needed the lawn mowed, I drove the tractor down but I'd had too much beer to operate it (also explains my barbecue apron), Peter took over for me, Lucas jumped on me (no beer, he's like that stone sober). Luke and I may look funny but I think Peter's serious expressions are priceless.

The Man Diaper...ready for retirement...

Okay, it's Wednesday and I finally have time to talk about my weekend. The lunch and learn ran short so I'm even doing this on my own time...probably a first! So, what is a man diaper you ask? I don't know exactly but I'm sure it'd look like this.



Nope, can't get them any higher.

I'm not sure what came over me but it seemed like a good idea at the time. This was out at my grandparent's cabin on Wabamun Lake, just west of Edmonton. It's been a while since I was out there for a nice summer day...and I'm still waiting for one of those. Saturday morning was nice but the storm that hit in the afternoon was incredible. Poor Dan was out cooking hamburgers for the rest of us in the rain. Hey Dan, did anyone pay you for the food? I paid in beer!



Grandma always has a full stock of freezies at the lake.

Oh, and I just have to put this picture up. Brendan is always commenting on how I pick the best pictures of him to post on my site. I don't think I can catch a better side of him...although I haven't taken a picture of his ass yet.



What up good-lookin'?

So yeah, the nice sunny weather dissappeared in a flash of lightning (actually about 50) and we had rain and cloud for the rest of the weekend. One cool new thing: Nevin was at Sylvan Lake all week and still had his Husky equipment with him, a projector and laptop computer. We put a white bed sheet up on one wall and watched some super big screen movies. The sounds was a bit lacking but you hardly noticed. I really liked "Life Aquatic". It's a different kind of humor but I get it. I also think that their wetsuit uniforms are definitely Halloween worthy. What do you say Lucas?

We were planning to leave around 3:00 on Sunday but boat troubles stopped us there. During a short joyride the boat died. There was nothing, no sign of life at all. It wasn't the gas or the battery. We're not sure what actually. Anyway towing it to the dock wasn't too hard but getting the prop up so we could put the boat on the trailer was tricky. Jeff spent a lot of time in the water with a wrench in one hand and my uncle on the cell phone in the other. I took pictures, drank beer...and took pictures.



I'm freezing my gigantic balls off!
(True words)

We finally towed the boat over around 7:00. Mikaela was driving the small 10 horse power boat while I held onto the ski handle attached to the big boat. She hadn't driven a boat like that before and we probably went twice the actual distance with her weaving back and forth. My shoulders were killing me. It was like slalom skiing for 20 minutes straight with no break. On shore Nevin must have thought we were drunk. Anyway, got the boat out, switched vehicles and made it home to Calgary at 1:00 am. Yeah...great weekend.

So last two things. Jeff bought a sweet new mountain bike, a Giant, that kicks the ass of any bike our family has owned. Top of the line parts, click in pedals, sweet bell. Jeffs only had it a week or two and he's managed to give himself a couple of scars. The one on the neck is a beauty. Also, I got an email from my friend Kristi Easton. She's traveling right now, in Melbourne, Australia at the moment, but was in Thailand not too long ago. I'm planning a trip there after I graduate with a few friends. She has been putting pictures up on her site so that we at home can see the fun that she's having. I'm motivated. Those beaches are damn nice. I think if we go there for 3 months we should spend a whole month at one of those bungalos on the beach. Just surf, play guitar, and sun tan all day. Thanks Kristi. Have fun with the rest of your trip.

It's sunny again...

Finally the blue sky poked out of these clouds. I guess they did Saturday morning too, but that's a story for another entry when I have my pictures downloaded from my camera and Luke's camera. (Ooh, we have some doozies for Dan)

Anyway, if you need help concentrating on work, like I do, then I recommend going to this special site. I guarantee that you'll get your work done in no time. Pictures of Dan's "dinner face" next episode.

FLOOD...FLOOD...FLOOD...

Fortunately no sandbags were needed at our house in Nanton but it's the closest we've ever come. My dad had to watch as the water rose over the back yard though, never done that before. It's been raining pretty hard the last week, especially in the mountains. I think Alberta's already got it's years worth of rain. I don't know the exact height the creek rose but it's normally 2 feet deep and I think it got up to 12 or 14 feet deep. My mom was out taking some pictures and got a few during the crest of the flood. I don't have any pictures of the yard before so if you havent been there just know that in most of these pictures you can't even see water normally.



The corral, wood pile, and tree farm.

Here you can see our house in the background. This is from the other side of our property. This is all dry land and a small small creek winds its way in behind the horse shed. All under a lot of water.



The gazebo and water well.

The water from our house comes from a well under this gazebo. The flood filled it with dirt and silt so my dad had to shut off water to the house. No toilets, showers, or laundry....that sucks. Whitney is having her wedding out here in two weeks, hopefully we can get it all cleaned up.



The drawbridge and playhouse.

This is where the creek normall runs but it's very small. We often get floods in the spring when the ice starts to break up and back up the water. My dad put in a drawbridge so that he could pull it all out of the way of the ice flows that used to take out our other bridge every year. The brown playhouse got lifted up by the water but fortunately didn't float away. Instead it just tipped forward and scared everyone.



The shed.

This is the shed at the south end of our property. The water almost made it in. It did manage to take out part of the fence that my dad and brother, Jeff, built a couple years ago. Dad says he's just going to leave it at it's new length. Apparently he doesn't try to fight with mother nature. Such a momma's boy. Everything in the shed was pulled up onto our driveway in front of the house.

So, scary times in Nanton. Someone knew this was all coming though. I didn't know this but sometimes geese will actually nest in trees at the beginning of summer instead of building their nests on the ground like they usually do. They did this year and in 1995, the year of our last flood. Somehow months before the flooding happens, they know it's going to be a wet year. Also, two days before the flood our neighbour's horses started running, stomping, and getting all upset. They also knew that something was coming and pounded around the field for hours. It's actually kind of cool to see that. It makes me think that eventually we'll be able to predict weather much better. When we figure out how they do it we could probably predict if it's going to be a dry or wet summer. We'd know about severe storms way before they happen. Cool hey? Maybe I should switch over to meteorology. Hmm...maybe not.

Anyway, the water is receding and the cleanup can begin. I'd really like to help out, mom and dad, but I have to go up to Edmonton this weekend. Sorry. Have a great weekend everyone.

How far is Heaven...

The Los Lonely Boys don't know but they're asking "you that's in a higher place". I really like this song for a few reasons. One: the guitar is freaking sweet. Think Santana. Two: it's increasing my desire to learn Spanish, therefore increasing my desire to go to Spain...the place that started it all. I'm going to look at some of these Learn-Spanish computer programs when we go to Costco tonight (volleyball will probably be cancelled). The more I think about going the more scared I get but I think that's because subconsciously I know more and more that I'm going to do it. If deep down I knew that I really wasn't going to go through with it then I wouldn't be so scared right now. What if I like it too much? What if I find someone there? Kingston changed my life, not a lot, but definitely had some influence. I'd say that most of it was good. Spain would be a super life changing experience and I don't know what that means or what will happen...scary.

Anyway, haven't told you guys about last weekend yet. I was going to wait until I had pictures...that just took a couple extra days. So, went to Montana to build a beach volleyball court. Got there Friday night and started shoveling off some of the top soil. Didn't take long to realize that this was going to take forever so we quit, played poker, and drank beer. Saturday the real work got started when Shlagel (sp?) showed up with his big tractor. We just ran around trying not to get in his way.



Work really starts Saturday morning. Thankfully there's lots of nice dead trees lying around.



Sunday morning we almost had the whole place level but hadn't spread any base gravel yet.



Yup, hard at work Sunday afternoon. Didn't know you could do this while drinking beer.



This I did know you could do with a beer. Hey, someone has to use the laser.



This is pretty much how we left it. Level, gravel spread, ready for posts, carpet, and sand.

My dad was down there too. He had his own project to work on but seemed to be helping us out a lot. Had to go explain to the neighbours that we weren't building the foundation for a cabin right in front of their place. Volleyball they're fine with.



Every good work team needs a foreman.

Of course that's not all we did the whole weekend. We made two canoe trips out to the island. Lucas and Jared had to learn how to use the foot-powered kayak the hard way. "Oh, you can attach the back of the seat. I thought you were just supposed to look painfully awkward.



Fast canoe.



Slow canoe.

We did eat pretty well while we were down there. Pancakes, eggs, and sausage for breakfast. Double cheese burgers for lunch. An amazing barbecued pork loin for supper with sliced potatoes. Ah, so good.



Jared eats sausage. I KNEW IT!!

So we have a little bit of work to do when we get down there June 30th but it should be up and running by Saturday, July 2nd. Depends how fast the cement sets. Going to Edmonton this weekend to the other lake. Party it up with Jeff and try to get away from this dreary Calgary rain.

The "hard shit"...

That would be refering to formation I'm basing my term project on. Nikanassin rock aka "hard shit" is found in many of the deep wells drilled in the foothills. This formation is really thick in the Grande Cache area (kind of where Alberta's border with BC goes from jagged to straight north). It can be a kilometer thick out here and we can usually only drill 1 or 1.5 meters an hour. Very, very slow. It's super hard, especially at the bottom, and can have other hard elements in it (called chirt) that just chew up bits. Sometimes we'll use 40 or 50 bits to drill one well. Wells in the prairies use 2, maybe 3 bits.

Anyway, it's going to be my job to sift through the wells that we've already drilled out there and find out what has worked good. You'd think that a company would already know that but it's a newer area, technology is always changing, and it's the perfect job for a student. I learn a lot and they don't have to waste their planning time on a side project. Every student at Talisman has to pick one special project to do a presentation on in August. This could have a huge impact on future wells so I think it's going to be worthwhile. Basically, it has the potential to save us enough money that if I do a good job and find some kind of trend, big people are going to notice. Luke may not be the only student with a presentation on Buckey's desk (although I doubt this would get much beyond the big people in the drilling department). The CEO doesn't care how we drill them as long as they get done.

So my hard work ethic is paying off this week. I've been super tired all week but I've pushed through it with motivation and the odd coffee. I was here at 7:10 this morning and in Jim's office at 7:15 getting work for the day. My drilling program is coming along nicely and Yvonne needs some time to review it so for the next few days I'm all Grande Cache (the well for Yvonne is in the Ferrier region, southeast of Grande Cache).

Anyone else find this exciting? Probably not. It will be a lot of computer work but I'm going to expand it to looking at the rock properties (talking to geologists) and new bit technologies (talking to Baker sales people next door). If things work out I should have a kick ass presentation ready for August and a good chance for rehire next year.

Tomorrow is a half day. Lucas, Nevin, Jared, my dad, and I all leave for Montana to build the beach volleyball court. Anyone know where we can get a decent net?