Goodbye, Fort Mac

Well, I'm writing now from Vancouver. We finished the project the day before yesterday, and I was happy to fly home. I get to relax now for over a week, then return to work at the office the following Monday. I'll definitely have to visit my friends and family in Victoria in there somewhere.

Looking back on this experience, I have to say it was an extremely positive one for me. I learned a ton during my day-to-day job, and feel like I went from knowing nothing to having a hand in almost everything in the project. The people I worked with were so helpful to me, willing to teach me everything, willing to answer my often silly questions, and willing to give me a chance to prove myself.

I'll definitely miss certain aspects of this job: having three meals a day provided, along with as many snacks as you can eat; the dry winter season; the northern lights; but most of all I'll miss the people. I made some good friends at this job, and I intend to continue some of those friendships now that I'm back at home.

There are certainly things I won't miss: the smell of tailings ponds; the feeling of guilt that I'm working, although indirectly, for the devil; the scarred, clearcut landscape; and the bitter cold.

I'm finding myself in a position now where I want to share my experience and everything I learned about the oil sands industry, but somehow I just don't feel that I'll do it justice. Perhaps I'll just refer you readers to a book I read while I was in the Mac. It's called "Tar Sands: Dirty Oil and the Future of a Continent" by Andrew Nikiforuk. I picked up this title on the ferry to Victoria, of all places. It's a David Suzuki Foundation sponsored book, so you can probably guess what he might be preaching. If was very informative though, and made me consider things I would never have thought of.

On my last day on the job, I finally got to do what I've been dying to do this entire project: run an excavator. It was not as hard as I thought it would be, but I'll definitely need more practice! They are pretty neat machines, and the skilled operators who really know how to use them area even more incredible.



Trying out the Linkbelt 350

So, you may be wondering, would I do it all again? Absolutely. In fact, this week I'm moving out of my apartment, putting my stuff in storage, and living a transient lifestyle for a while. My Dad has agreed to look after Molly for a while, which was really nice of him. I think she'll enjoy the farm lifestyle. I think I'll just spent the next chapter of my life hopping from site to site, and staying in hotels or with friends and family while I'm home. You can expect some more blogging on the next one.

Bye for now! 

The end is nigh

It's really starting to feel like the end of this project. Well, I suppose it is getting to be that point. If all goes to plan, we should be out of here in two weeks or less. If it doesn't go to plan, well, I may be stuck here FOREVER... or just a few extra days.

Stress levels are fairly high on site and in the office with everyone bustling around trying to get everything done. I'm busy as can be, and the days are just flying by.

We managed to have time to get together for a group photo though. You can spot me because I'm the only one with a green hard hat (lame).

The usual suspects

Although this picture unfortunately turned out blurry, I still like it.

And as an added bonus, here's me in an excavator

One day I'll learn how to run one of these

Moose and Dave Grohl

Ok, NOW it's starting to feel like winter up here. We've only had one day of snow, but for a west-coaster like myself, that's plenty for October.

Boreal forest with the first snowfall of the year

I think I can say that there's also been more moose activity lately. They must like the cold weather. The bears are gone and must be hibernating or something, but the moose are lively! Here are some pictures of a moose fight today on site.  Unfortunately, I missed this, but a coworker managed to snap a few pics.

On the 25th and 26th of October, I flew home to see the Foo Fighters. Unfortunately, I didn't get more of a break, but it was totally worth it. You see, I cover for me while I'm away, and I do a crummy job of covering for me while I'm not in the office, so I try not to stay away from the office for too long.

I decided that if I was flying two days in a row, I might as well have the best concert experience possible. I spent all day finding floor tickets to the show, and selling my seat tickets. I showed up 4 hours before the Foos were on, and got right up to the front of the stage. Here's what I saw:

Dave Grohl is my favourite musician. Ever.

Ever!

Just for the record, I'm not normally so lead-singer obsessed. In fact, I often appreciate bands that have singers that act more like instruments. Tool is a great example of that, with Maynard standing in the back of the stage near the drums. Dave Grohl is the exception here. He is amazing, and the Foos wouldn't be the same without him. Nor Nirvana, Queens of the Stoneage, NIN etc. etc. etc.