25th
i’mlikeonacruise…
… without the alcohol, the rock climbing wall, pools, oh and the opposite sex. plus i’m stationary and not on a boat. okay well maybe it’s not like a cruise, but i do get free food, lodging, i’m in the middle of the ocean and i’m getting paid. a lot of people wonder what i do, what my job is, what i could be doing for 10-16 hours a day at ridiculous hours of the day/night. as of now, i’m sitting on an oil platform off the coast of santa maria, probably 10 miles or so. it’s not far enough where i can’t see land, which i guess helps keep me sane. i just finished another 12 hour shift (7th day…supposedly 23ish more) and i lay here in my bunk figuring i should update my blog. so here i am. i’m rereading lines and i can’t tell if i’m making sense or flowing or whatever. but to be honest, i’m tired and i frankly don’t care. did i really just use frankly?
okay, so i guess i’ll try and explain what i do for all those inquiring minds. technically i work in industrial construction and my craft is classified as instrumentation, i am an instrumentation technician. there are instruments in refineries and power plants and paper mills that regulate pressure, flow, levels, temperature, etc. i help calibrate, mount, troubleshoot…basically we make these things do what they’re supposed to do. pressure and flow for pipes or process lines, levels for tanks, temperatures for anything that needs it’s temperature checked. i realize that i may not have explained that all too well, oh well screw you. another aspect of my job is electrical. for electrical, we run conduit for wires, pull wires, terminate instruments, terminate junction boxes, blahblahblehblahblah.
still confused? oh wellllll. i’ve done my time in an office and i hated it. miserable. it may be for you…more power to you…but at the time it surely wasn’t for me. having to dress business casual for 5-6 days a week for 8-10 hours and trying to make numbers selling highly priced insurance to people who wanted cheap priced insurance but with awesome coverage…oh and on full commission….i hated it. so i quit. now i work outside and with my hands…i screw, i drill, i punch holes in metal, i get electrocuted, i pull wire, i hammer, i turn wrenches, i wear coveralls, hardhats, safetly glasses, steel toe boots, i operate man-lifts, scissor lifts, i climb ladders, i work above grade 10-100+ feet, over concrete or over the ocean. i work outdoors in the hot, the cold, the wet, the dry and i actually think i love it all. an added bonus is working outdoors helps get over a hangover reaaalll quick.
i don’t know what the purpose of this blog was and i think i’m gonna leave it now. i think it’s probably unfinished. but as of 7:20am, it is bedtime to get ready to do it all over again. maybe the next blog will be better or something. or something.
p.s. - i eat 5 times a day, 3 meals and 2 snacks in between. for some reason i’m actually worried my metabolism is really going to be tested.
p.p.s. - i want to see a whale. supposedly they come out in the day. too bad i work at night. i’ve seen sea lions though….they’re loud and annoying.
