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!