After I left Cork I headed to Killarny, which was I nice small sized place to chill out for a couple days. I went on a tour of the Ring of Kerry, a scenic drive around one of the wesetern penninsulas. Amazing! It just reinforces the fact that I need to come back here on a bicycle and investigate things properly. The annonying American students on my bus would not have been an issue if I had my own transportation. I have been in Galway for the past 2 days and have spent most of the time drinking in pubs.
When I first got to town I found a hostel and in my dorm were a couple of gals from Vancouver who I got along with right away. With a bag of free beer in tow we had a little party down in the common room and then went down to the pedestrian street and it's numerous pubs. Made it back to the room by 3 am or so; the morning was a bit rough, so I went for a stroll, ending up at the King's Head Pub for some fish and chips and some hair of the dog. Turns out there was a rugby match (Ireland vs Wales) coming on so the pub filled up quickly. I had gotten into rugby a bit when I was in Australia so I stayed to watch. Ireland lost, unfortunately, but the couple I was sharing a table with invited me to hang out with them for the evening. And I drank some more- finishing up at an early 1 am this time. I have every intention of actually exploring the city today and perhaps catching a bus tonight. My hostel reservation in Dublin is for the 15th so I probably have time for one more stop before I go there. Sligo or Donegal or Belfast.... I have no idea. Maybe I will just show up at the bus station and see what is leaving next. No beer today, though, I think.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Feeling Green on the Emerald Isle
I didn't make it out of Bristol until Monday morning (long story mostly involving a lot of drinking). I crossed on a ferry yesterday landing in Rosslare Harbour in the southeast of Ireland, and once again had a very entertaining ferry crossing. A fellow who got on my train when I transfered in Cardiff ended up on the same ferry as me and boy was he drunk. He managed to maintain this state right from about 10:30am when I first saw him until we docked at 6pm. Very impressive. Apparently he had not been back to Ireland for 25 years or so and thus required a coping mechanism. He started chatting up an older lady who was sitting near me in the bar area of the ferry. After he left I got to chatting with her. Her name was Mary Murphy and she had her brother in her suitcase (in the form of ashes)- he had passed away around Christmas time and she was bringing him back to be spread around the river near New Ross. A very nice woman. We also chatted about the drunk fellow who ended up falling down the stairs on the ferry but in the way of a capable drunk, he got right back up again.
The man-way to get off the ferry was broken so we had to get on a shuttle bus to take us to the terminal. Once on the bus, the drunk man started singing Bob Dylan. Another drunk man sitting closer to the front thought this wasn't very patriotic so he started singing an old irish tune. If you can picture it, I was sitting next to Mary and her dead brother while two drunken Irishmen tried to outsing each other as I finally made landfall in Rosslare. Mary and I looked at each other and burst into uncontrollable laughter. What a welcome!
In other news caught a bit of a cold in Bristol which is now growing into a sinus-consuming beast so after spending the night in Wexford, I caught the bus to Cork this morning to hunker down and recover for a day or two. On the agenda is hot whisky and Australian soap operas, which seem oddly popular out here. I recognize all the shows from when I was working in the outback and would finish my morning shift at 1pm in time for the afternoon heat. The best way to cope was air conditioning and bad television.
Hopefully I can be on my way in a day or two- not sure where yet- perhaps Killarny or Limerick...
-A.
The man-way to get off the ferry was broken so we had to get on a shuttle bus to take us to the terminal. Once on the bus, the drunk man started singing Bob Dylan. Another drunk man sitting closer to the front thought this wasn't very patriotic so he started singing an old irish tune. If you can picture it, I was sitting next to Mary and her dead brother while two drunken Irishmen tried to outsing each other as I finally made landfall in Rosslare. Mary and I looked at each other and burst into uncontrollable laughter. What a welcome!
In other news caught a bit of a cold in Bristol which is now growing into a sinus-consuming beast so after spending the night in Wexford, I caught the bus to Cork this morning to hunker down and recover for a day or two. On the agenda is hot whisky and Australian soap operas, which seem oddly popular out here. I recognize all the shows from when I was working in the outback and would finish my morning shift at 1pm in time for the afternoon heat. The best way to cope was air conditioning and bad television.
Hopefully I can be on my way in a day or two- not sure where yet- perhaps Killarny or Limerick...
-A.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Gypsies!
Well it has certainly been a busy week. After London (saw the real crown jewels!), I took a train through the channel tunnel to Paris, only 2 hours and 15 minutes away, and settled into the city of love for a couple days. I can say that I love Paris but I am not in love with Paris, primarily because of the gypsies continually trying to creatively separate me from my money. The first trick someone tried on me involved a young woman "finding" a ring on the ground and asking me if it was mine; then when she had my attention and distraction she asked for money. First of all I saw that the ring did not come off the ground but out of her hand. Secondly, if she had legitimately found this ring, and because I did not claim it, the logical thing would be to keep it and pawn it for money, so again, obviously a scam. The same scheme was attempted on me near the Arc de Triumph. That poor man had barely got the ring out of his sleeve before I rebuffed him rudely. The funniest part was it was an identical ring.
I have to admit that they did catch me once though. I was heading to a food stand under the Eiffel Tower and hadn't eaten all day because I tend to forget about nourishment when I am traveling. Tired and starving, I was approached by a "deaf" woman with a clipboard who indicated by pointing that she was raising money for a deaf charity. Now in my defense I have encountered real deaf people actually raising money in a similar fashion in Canada. I took the clipboard and filled out a space beneath the others already there and as I was handing over the 20 pound note I had left over from the UK, I noticed that all the other names had been photocopied. My brain was a bit slow to react so it took a few extra seconds for the synapses to fire and by that time she was long gone. Alas. Suffice to say the woman aggressively begging beside the food stand got a particularly dirty look from me after she refused the fries I offered her.
The rest of Paris was amazing, but the Louvre was my absolute favorite- it really helped that I was there in the low season so I wasn't completely overwhelmed. Much of the museum is practically empty compared to the chaos in front of the Mona Lisa and to a lesser extent, the Venus de Milo. What really bothered me though was the people who walk up to the painting, take a photo, check their display to make sure they got a good shot and then walk away. Kind of defeats the purpose of coming to see the real thing, don't you think? I took a photo but ended up deleting it because it just didn't do justice to the actual painting (the numerous Mona Lisa postcards, mousepads, notebooks, etc at the giftshop would have done just as well anyway). Even behind glass I couldn't take my eyes away and probably stared at it for a good 15 minutes and still came back for another look before I left the building.
I left Paris on March 2, showing up at the train station to see what might suit my fancy. The next train to Caen (in Normandy) was leaving in 15 minutes so I hopped on that and transferred to a small local and ended up in Bayeux, home of a very famous medieval tapestry dating to the 1060's detailing the Battle of Hastings and rise of William the Conqueror (first king of all England). I was also hoping to take a bus to Juno Beach yesterday where the Canadians landed at D-Day but it is some sort of school holiday right now so there was only on bus per day and I wanted to catch the ferry last night. I was originally going to take a ferry all the way to Ireland, but that crossing was seasonal (and 21 hours!) so I opted to go back through the UK and then get a Sail and Rail ticket to Dublin. Plans changed again when a man had a heart attack on the ferry just as we were leaving port so the departure was pushed back an hour and I didn't get into Portsmouth, UK until 10:30 at night. Luckily for me, an older couple and their adult daughter that I was visiting with in the bar invited me to stay at their friends' place where they were also staying. The daughter's husband picked us up from the ferry terminal and that is how I ended up in Bristol this morning. There is a birthday party I have been invited to tonight so I will be checking that out and then moving on tomorrow.
The plan is to take a train to Fishguard from Bristol and then ferry to Rosslare in southern Ireland. But we will see how that turns out. Hurray for random wanderings!
-A.
I have to admit that they did catch me once though. I was heading to a food stand under the Eiffel Tower and hadn't eaten all day because I tend to forget about nourishment when I am traveling. Tired and starving, I was approached by a "deaf" woman with a clipboard who indicated by pointing that she was raising money for a deaf charity. Now in my defense I have encountered real deaf people actually raising money in a similar fashion in Canada. I took the clipboard and filled out a space beneath the others already there and as I was handing over the 20 pound note I had left over from the UK, I noticed that all the other names had been photocopied. My brain was a bit slow to react so it took a few extra seconds for the synapses to fire and by that time she was long gone. Alas. Suffice to say the woman aggressively begging beside the food stand got a particularly dirty look from me after she refused the fries I offered her.
The rest of Paris was amazing, but the Louvre was my absolute favorite- it really helped that I was there in the low season so I wasn't completely overwhelmed. Much of the museum is practically empty compared to the chaos in front of the Mona Lisa and to a lesser extent, the Venus de Milo. What really bothered me though was the people who walk up to the painting, take a photo, check their display to make sure they got a good shot and then walk away. Kind of defeats the purpose of coming to see the real thing, don't you think? I took a photo but ended up deleting it because it just didn't do justice to the actual painting (the numerous Mona Lisa postcards, mousepads, notebooks, etc at the giftshop would have done just as well anyway). Even behind glass I couldn't take my eyes away and probably stared at it for a good 15 minutes and still came back for another look before I left the building.
I left Paris on March 2, showing up at the train station to see what might suit my fancy. The next train to Caen (in Normandy) was leaving in 15 minutes so I hopped on that and transferred to a small local and ended up in Bayeux, home of a very famous medieval tapestry dating to the 1060's detailing the Battle of Hastings and rise of William the Conqueror (first king of all England). I was also hoping to take a bus to Juno Beach yesterday where the Canadians landed at D-Day but it is some sort of school holiday right now so there was only on bus per day and I wanted to catch the ferry last night. I was originally going to take a ferry all the way to Ireland, but that crossing was seasonal (and 21 hours!) so I opted to go back through the UK and then get a Sail and Rail ticket to Dublin. Plans changed again when a man had a heart attack on the ferry just as we were leaving port so the departure was pushed back an hour and I didn't get into Portsmouth, UK until 10:30 at night. Luckily for me, an older couple and their adult daughter that I was visiting with in the bar invited me to stay at their friends' place where they were also staying. The daughter's husband picked us up from the ferry terminal and that is how I ended up in Bristol this morning. There is a birthday party I have been invited to tonight so I will be checking that out and then moving on tomorrow.
The plan is to take a train to Fishguard from Bristol and then ferry to Rosslare in southern Ireland. But we will see how that turns out. Hurray for random wanderings!
-A.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Mummy Dearest
I don't know why I ever think that I am going to get any rest on a red-eye. Fatalistic optimism, I suppose. I did have the first row in economy class so the leg-room was spectacular, but the tiny thin blankets and the screaming baby counter-acted any thoughts of shut-eye. I watch 127 Hours and instantly felt better about my situation. At least I have two arms, right?
I arrived in the mother country at about 9 am local time (2 am for you Albertans) and since I couldn't check into my hostel until 2pm, I navigated the warrens of the London Underground well enough to make my way to the British Museum (free all day every day!) and spent the afternoon wandering through sarcophagi and bronze swords. One thing you can say for a colonial empire- they collect a lot of stuff along the way, including the mummy of Cleopatra!. With more marble columns and gold filigree than you could shake a stick at, the highlight of the afternoon was definitely the Rosetta Stone. The archaeologist in me was giddy while the practical traveller in me wished it wasn't a Saturday afternoon. There was a crowd of people 4 deep around the case, but I waited patiently along the edge like a good Canadian and eventually got my hieroglyph fix.
With the jet lag catching up on me, I dragged myself through the rain to my hostel (things would have been quicker if I had looked up the address before leaving home) and passed out in my lovely curtained bunk for the rest of the day. Tomorrow is old building day and I plan to seek out the London Bridge which I briefly managed to glimpse on the approach to Heathrow, along with all the other good stuff like Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, British Parliament, etc. Hopefully I will be less of a zombie tomorrow.
-A.
I arrived in the mother country at about 9 am local time (2 am for you Albertans) and since I couldn't check into my hostel until 2pm, I navigated the warrens of the London Underground well enough to make my way to the British Museum (free all day every day!) and spent the afternoon wandering through sarcophagi and bronze swords. One thing you can say for a colonial empire- they collect a lot of stuff along the way, including the mummy of Cleopatra!. With more marble columns and gold filigree than you could shake a stick at, the highlight of the afternoon was definitely the Rosetta Stone. The archaeologist in me was giddy while the practical traveller in me wished it wasn't a Saturday afternoon. There was a crowd of people 4 deep around the case, but I waited patiently along the edge like a good Canadian and eventually got my hieroglyph fix.
With the jet lag catching up on me, I dragged myself through the rain to my hostel (things would have been quicker if I had looked up the address before leaving home) and passed out in my lovely curtained bunk for the rest of the day. Tomorrow is old building day and I plan to seek out the London Bridge which I briefly managed to glimpse on the approach to Heathrow, along with all the other good stuff like Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, British Parliament, etc. Hopefully I will be less of a zombie tomorrow.
-A.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
U-Turn
As my services are suddenly no longer required at my previous position of employment, the universe has once again made a decision for me. The peril of contract work is that sometimes you don't get the luxury of notice. It is a good lesson for me if I want to keep doing what I do, as mining is not the most stable of industries on the grander scale, particularly with junior companies. Like a pop band with a hit single, one day you are on top of the charts, and the next day your cd is in the bargain bin at wal-mart. I am already working on my comeback, but it was certainly a shock to the system.
I don't really believe in fate or any grand plan, but all month I have had an on sense of foreboding that I couldn't quite shake; I chalked it up to the February blues and a touch of vitamin D deficiency. When I heard my dad got rather badly hurt after losing a fight with a hot water tank, it felt like something I was anticipating finally happened, but that anxiety I had still didn't go away. Now that my week from hell is complete, there is almost a sense of relief. I think it was that things were going far too well for too long and I was subconsciously waiting for the other shoe to drop. I was making good money at a job I loved and working with people I liked and everyone around me was healthy; perhaps it's because of my history with illness, but I am always suspicious of too much good fortune. Don't get me wrong, I am not a pessimist by any means, as when things are good I relish every second, but I don't like to assume that it will continue in a never ending nirvana of awesomeness. Without the lows, the highs aren't as impressive.
So long QR Mine- it was a blast! (mining pun!)
-A.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
A Day in the Life
It's been about 4 months since my last post and most of the reason for this is laziness, but a small fraction is due to simple lack of time. Through a battle of attrition and stubbornness I have ended up as the most senior geologist on site at QR Mine. It sounds like fun on paper, but mostly involves me asking a lot of questions of everyone to know what the heck I'm supposed to be doing. The stress level is certainly up from when my only duty was to log core in a timely manner. It sounds cliche but 90% of my job is not geology but dealing with people. It is amazing how much you can get done with some friendliness and compromise. It may also help that I am female- asking nicely seems to do the trick most of the time.
A lot of people seem to see geology as this mysterious vocation and I am constantly getting questions about what my job entails. From my accountant to the woman who sold me my phone, everyone is curious. Woman are particularly interested in how I manage living and working in a place that is 95% men. I found this a surprising question at first since I had never really considered it before. Everyone is generally polite and respectful to me and there are rules on sexual harassment and discrimination should I ever be concerned, but it has never even come up. There is the odd stupid joke in the morning safety meeting about wives and the like, but nothing particularly offensive, as far as I'm concerned.
My standard day starts off at 6:30-6:45 with the morning safety meeting where the mine shift foreman goes over a particular safety topic and then we discuss the schedule for underground work for that day. I consult with my underground drillers and tell them where I need them to be working and then I head up to the geology trailer to talk to the other geologist(s) on site (if any) about what are plans are for the day. At 7:45 there is a main meeting with the Mine Manager, and the other department heads (mine, mill, geology, environment, surveying). After that I go underground to map the geology, check on the drillers and take samples. In the afternoon there is usually more office stuff and core logging to do, as well as check on the surface drill and sample the rock that has been brought up out of the mine that shift. On a quiet day I finish at 5:00 and go for supper. If we are nearing an ore body or lagging behind in core logging, I might not get out of the office until 6:30 and then have to come back after supper (one of the downfalls of a 1 minute commute is how easy it is to get back to the office in the evening).
As I said, not the most glamourous of occupations, but I love going underground and walking THROUGH the geology; sure beats working in a cubicle! And gold mine is not all that dangerous compared to a coal mine- no gasses or explosive dust to deal with. I promised my mom I would never work in a coal mine and I don't plan on it, especially after what happened in New Zealand. I am sure that I will end up at a desk all day at some point, but probably not until the osteoperosis kicks in.
-A.
A lot of people seem to see geology as this mysterious vocation and I am constantly getting questions about what my job entails. From my accountant to the woman who sold me my phone, everyone is curious. Woman are particularly interested in how I manage living and working in a place that is 95% men. I found this a surprising question at first since I had never really considered it before. Everyone is generally polite and respectful to me and there are rules on sexual harassment and discrimination should I ever be concerned, but it has never even come up. There is the odd stupid joke in the morning safety meeting about wives and the like, but nothing particularly offensive, as far as I'm concerned.
My standard day starts off at 6:30-6:45 with the morning safety meeting where the mine shift foreman goes over a particular safety topic and then we discuss the schedule for underground work for that day. I consult with my underground drillers and tell them where I need them to be working and then I head up to the geology trailer to talk to the other geologist(s) on site (if any) about what are plans are for the day. At 7:45 there is a main meeting with the Mine Manager, and the other department heads (mine, mill, geology, environment, surveying). After that I go underground to map the geology, check on the drillers and take samples. In the afternoon there is usually more office stuff and core logging to do, as well as check on the surface drill and sample the rock that has been brought up out of the mine that shift. On a quiet day I finish at 5:00 and go for supper. If we are nearing an ore body or lagging behind in core logging, I might not get out of the office until 6:30 and then have to come back after supper (one of the downfalls of a 1 minute commute is how easy it is to get back to the office in the evening).
As I said, not the most glamourous of occupations, but I love going underground and walking THROUGH the geology; sure beats working in a cubicle! And gold mine is not all that dangerous compared to a coal mine- no gasses or explosive dust to deal with. I promised my mom I would never work in a coal mine and I don't plan on it, especially after what happened in New Zealand. I am sure that I will end up at a desk all day at some point, but probably not until the osteoperosis kicks in.
-A.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Tunnel Vision
Tragedy! When did my blog turn into a monthly affair? Seems about the same time I started at QR Mine. I believe my job's awesomeness has been distracting me. I've had a sort of promotion- no raise but more responsibility; a good thing, I think? I will be cross-shifting as the site underground geologist. It may sound kind of creepy, but it is actually pretty bad-ass. Any geology map, by necessity, is in 2D thanks to the limitations of paper. When you walk through a drift (a.k.a. mine tunnel), you are surrounded by the rock and every structure and contact that crosses through is visible in 3D. It's a great way to get a handle on what the hell is going on beneath what you see on surface or in cross-sections. It doesn't hurt that underground geologists are in fairly high demand internationally. How do you say "Welcome to Brazil" in Portuguese?
On the topic of travel, my original plan for the year was to work through to the fall and then take off somewhere that requires a passport, preferably before Halloween. I had narrowed it down to Cambodia, Russia or Western Europe. As things look now, I will probably be here until Christmas, so some adjustments are in order. Both a blessing and a curse, since I will have to hang around Canada a little longer, but will have more funds in the end. I am already getting itchy feet, though; it's already been over a year since I got back from Australia. Winter will be a nice time to travel since it is way less touristy. My new new plan is to get an apartment in Ireland for a few months and maybe work a bit there until another geo contract turns up. Staying put for a while is a great way to meet people and get a proper feel for the culture (and maybe check out a pub or two along the way!). For now I will have to satisfy myself with chick flicks set in Ireland and Pogues albums to get me through.
-A.
On the topic of travel, my original plan for the year was to work through to the fall and then take off somewhere that requires a passport, preferably before Halloween. I had narrowed it down to Cambodia, Russia or Western Europe. As things look now, I will probably be here until Christmas, so some adjustments are in order. Both a blessing and a curse, since I will have to hang around Canada a little longer, but will have more funds in the end. I am already getting itchy feet, though; it's already been over a year since I got back from Australia. Winter will be a nice time to travel since it is way less touristy. My new new plan is to get an apartment in Ireland for a few months and maybe work a bit there until another geo contract turns up. Staying put for a while is a great way to meet people and get a proper feel for the culture (and maybe check out a pub or two along the way!). For now I will have to satisfy myself with chick flicks set in Ireland and Pogues albums to get me through.
-A.
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