On a lack of Inspiration…

I was recently talking with a friend about my blog and the fact that I haven’t written as much lately. I blamed it pretty thoroughly on a lack of inspiration. I’ve been thinking about that the last few days and wondering, where did my inspiration go?! For a while I thought, well I’ve been here in Mexico for a long time now, over two and a half years… Have I stopped experiencing new things? Is everything boring and the same old thing all the time? Maybe. Then I realized that I haven’t stopped experiencing new things; I just haven’t been fully recognizing everything I’ve been doing as the exciting and fun adventures that I used to when I was a new trainee. So, in an attempt to bring some inspiration to my life:

New things I’ve done in the last 4 months.

I watched and wondered if my computer would explode.  

Part of my job is programming my tools. To do that, I need to connect to my tools using a computer, a box, cables, and adaptors. Usually the computer and the box are inside and the cable goes outside the trailer and connects to the tool. The computer is safe and sound inside. The tool is outside and it’s tough so it doesn’t matter. Recently though, we encountered this problem: see picture on the left. My tool couldn’t move close enough for my cable to reach. So we went to plan B and brought the whole set up outside. It was great. Until it started to rain. What you see on the right is my computer covered in a rain jacket. I’m far away hiding (and taking pictures) under cover waiting for the whole damn thing to start sparking and fry my computer and my tool. Luckily, it didn’t. I did have a great safety report though.

Vacation!

You might have noticed this depressing little pie chart I put up on facebook a while ago. In the process of

gathering my work data for taxes I threw together this very telling chart of ‘Where I spent my life in 2013’. You’ll notice I spent 53% of my year on the rig last year. That’s a lot and also not so much. I had some training time in there, which was nice. And most magnificently, I also had quite a bit of vacation/days off. Why do I subject myself to spending 53% of the year on the rig? For my career? Obviously. To gather valuable experience? Clearly.  For the money? Well of course. To earn enough days off so I can take a month long vacation? Bingo.

This year I agreed to work Christmas and New Years and then take off the entire month of January. I pitched it to my boss as though it was coming from a deep rooted need to help out in a time when we were shorthanded, but actually ticket prices were significantly cheaper by waiting until after New Years and I was able to do a lot more travelling.

A 2013 Roundup

I’m having a hard time believing that 2013 is coming to an end. I still write 2012 on things about half the time. Clearly last year I was in denial that another year had come and gone. This year I’m determined to meet the New Year with a little more acceptance. My tactic? A classic 2012 2013 wrap up.

Things that happened in 2013:

Four of my best friends got married to each other. (in pairs, don’t worry...)

I was very blessed to be able to witness the marriages of first Robert and Melinda in May and Alison and Will in October. Robert and Melinda had a small, beautiful wedding in the mountains that was probably the most fun weekend I’ve had all year. Alison and Will gave me a beautiful picture of what marriage means in God’s Kingdom. Even as I’ve been struggling to keep God in my day to day life amid this crazy life, Alison and Will always manage to remind me what life looks like following Jesus and why it’s worth such a wild ride.

Alison, Melinda and I all met freshman year of college and bonded over various adventures that have no place being written down. I’ve loved having these two ladies in my life even as I’ve moved very far away to Mexico. I’m also so proud to say that I can call each of their husbands true friends. I can’t wait to see how marriage treats them all and the lessons I can learn from them going first!

I travelled. A lot.

One of the reasons I chose to work in Mexico is because it would give me the opportunity to travel more. Luckily I’ve been able to take advantage of that more this year (and hopefully a lot more next year!) I started my year off taking a cruise with Katelyn who works for SLB as a wireline engineer in North Dakota. We started in Miami and sailed for a couple of days before getting off in St Thomas, then US Virgin Islands and Jamaica.  It was great! We relaxed by the pool, had some very tasty food, spent some time at the spa and did some shopping.

On Job Frustrations

A Note: This is a continuation from my post last week. I began to write this, depressed myself, wrote the other one to cheer up, and the returned to this one to finish it. This is about the hard moments that come between the triumphs. 

My job gets harder when my voice gets silenced by (well meaning) coworkers who speak for me. My voice gets silenced usually because I don’t speak Spanish enough to completely keep up with everything.  On every rig is someone(s) who gets upset with having to repeat things even once. Many find it easier to just go around me; to ask my secondhand (who often has far less experience than me) for things, or ask my coworker to ask me for things (often relayed from Spanish to Spanish) or to just refuse to talk to me completely. When this happens it frustrates me to no end. 

Frustrates might not be the correct word. It kills me. It absolutely destroys me each and every time I receive indication that I am not competent to do my job. I love my job. And I’m good at it. I know this because I work hard at it. I am competent to do my job, in English and in Spanish. And every time I receive signals that I’m not… it hurts and I feel more silenced.

I have more than the language working for and against me.  This may be a surprise, but women are not treated equally in the oilfield. It’s a fact, a truth that no one who has been on a rig or platform anywhere in the world will debate with you.  The debate centers around whether that makes it easier or harder to be a woman in the field.  Do I always have help picking up heavy things? Yes. Do I always have a rig hand helping me do the most mundane task like measuring the drillpipe joint? Yes. Does this make my life easier? Sure. 

However, I’m still not convinced the advantages outweigh the benefits.