The other night a woman was being interviewed on the news about the GM plant in Ontario rehiring 800 layoffs. She was really hoping that she would be one of the rehires because her savings was running out and she had two kids. Boy did I feel like a shit for complaining about my job. I am well paid, doing what I love, and NOT in a factory. I'll shut up now.
For those of you who do not have the privilege of owning a Jeep, you might not be aware that, similar to the VW Beetle Wave, Jeep people also have one. The enthusiasm tends to vary with model, but if you encounter another Jeep on a 2-lane road, there is probably a 65% chance you will get a wave, 80% if you wave first. The percentage also increases with decreasing population or when you are near good off-roading terrain. There is also a hierarchy in the Jeep community. Usually, the older and more beat-up your vehicle is, the more cred you get. I think I even saw a points system on an online forum once.
CJs (1944-1986) are at the highest level and drivers basically deserve a salute for keeping their vehicle roadworthy. The YJ (1987-1995) is second, though this is a somewhat controversial topic for some because of it's un-Jeep square headlights. TJs (1995-2006) used to be considered the "yuppie jeep" and an object of scorn until the much maligned JK came out in 2007; the round headlights were back, but there was much less metal in the body and the switch form leaf springs madefor a smoother ride. The argument against the JKs was that if you want 4 doors on your Jeep, get a Liberty or a Compass and leave the Wranglers alone. And as far as cred goes, most folks believe that if you are driving a JK, Liberty, Compass, or a Cherokee (also known as an XJ) made in the last 15 years, you don't deserve a wave. You also lose points for having an ugly lift, bad paint job or any kind chrome.
Please note that these are not necessarily my views, just what I've learned. Though I still think that a 4-door JK looks way too much like a mutant baby Hummer.
On the topic of Jeeps, my poor little 20 year old beast has seen better days. There is an alarmingly loud ticking sound when the engine is running, probably caused by the lifters and/or rocker arms. Instead of tearing the engine apart, my dad figures we should just put in a new engine. At $2000, the repair is most assuredly more than what the whole vehicle is worth, but frankly I don't care. He may be noisy, drafty, bad on gas, and a rough ride (gotta love leaf springs), but my little beast has never left me on the road (except for the time I found out my gas gauge was broken). Not to mention I got him for free! I figure it's like a heart transplant on an old man. It may not extend his life by much, but if he survives, it's still totally worth it.
- A.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
...WANT... TO... SMASH....THINGS...
I am SO FRUSTRATED right now I am near tears. I have really been enjoying my job so far and I actually look forward to logging core. The problem is that the man who hired me and the man who is the head geologist on site are polar opposites and it makes it VERY hard for me to do my job. The head geologist is a PhD and has an extremely... academic approach to logging core to the point where I am measuring changes in quartz vein intrusion level down to the inch.
I was originally trained how to log the core by Arnie, the guy who hired me and he has a very pragmatic approach to logging core. Basically, if it won't help to find gold, I didn't need to put it in the log. In school I was trained to log to a detail somewhere between these two extremes. This rant may be a little obscure to non-geologists, but what it boils down to is that I have to re-do 576 feet of core which took me two days to log in the first place and has already been logged once before, simply because I didn't write down where between the 2.5ft intervals the quartz increased or decreased. That 2.5 ft of leeway will not make a difference! I just have to do it because The head geo thinks that more information is always better. Is that really the case if I have to spend another 2 days doing it? ARRRRRRGHHH!!!!!!!
I was originally trained how to log the core by Arnie, the guy who hired me and he has a very pragmatic approach to logging core. Basically, if it won't help to find gold, I didn't need to put it in the log. In school I was trained to log to a detail somewhere between these two extremes. This rant may be a little obscure to non-geologists, but what it boils down to is that I have to re-do 576 feet of core which took me two days to log in the first place and has already been logged once before, simply because I didn't write down where between the 2.5ft intervals the quartz increased or decreased. That 2.5 ft of leeway will not make a difference! I just have to do it because The head geo thinks that more information is always better. Is that really the case if I have to spend another 2 days doing it? ARRRRRRGHHH!!!!!!!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
There's Gold in Them There Hills
Five days in and I still like it so that is a good sign. According to Wikipedia, Wells has a population of about 236; apparently this is a generous summer estimate as the current population probably sits somewhere near 50, including all employees of Barkerville Gold Mines. Kind of like Enilda with a better view for you High Prairians out there.
I've been pretty busy so far learning the ropes and such. Turns out I'm a the resident GIS software expert, which isn't a surprise since I am pretty sure that 75% of the people I work for were alive before the invention of television. The first person I met that didn't have gray hair was Holly the core tech. It's funny because everyone kept telling me how tough she was, hauling these 50-80lb boxes of drill core around(20 ft of core in 5 ft lengths about the diameter of a Red Bull can all in one box), and when I meet her, instead of some big butch lady, there's this freckled redhead who is smaller than me and around my age. I only managed about five of those boxes before my muscles gave out on me.
This place has been explored and mined for gold for decades and there was even a running mine back in the 30's which had to shut down due to lack of manpower because of the war. I've been sorting through old maps trying to find info on the area we are drilling and have come across everything from 70 year old mine plans to the route of the annual sled dog race that used to be held around here. Crazy stuff. My main job is helping to inspect the core being drilled and though it sounds dull, it's nice to get my brain working again. My own office, good pay, and a company vehicle don't hurt the situation either.
My boss is this older fellow named Arnie, and I don't think he could be more of a character if he tried. He's a good teacher, which is a surprise because he comes across initially as one of those old school hard ass field geologists. He is a heavy-smoking diabetic who listens to classical music in the office and often spouts off about how the world has gone to crap and there are never any good movies or TV anymore. I keep waiting for him to say "I'm too old for this shit" to complete the cliche. That said, he is definitely one of the better bosses I've had, even if he does insist on smoking in the core shack.
-A.
I've been pretty busy so far learning the ropes and such. Turns out I'm a the resident GIS software expert, which isn't a surprise since I am pretty sure that 75% of the people I work for were alive before the invention of television. The first person I met that didn't have gray hair was Holly the core tech. It's funny because everyone kept telling me how tough she was, hauling these 50-80lb boxes of drill core around(20 ft of core in 5 ft lengths about the diameter of a Red Bull can all in one box), and when I meet her, instead of some big butch lady, there's this freckled redhead who is smaller than me and around my age. I only managed about five of those boxes before my muscles gave out on me.
This place has been explored and mined for gold for decades and there was even a running mine back in the 30's which had to shut down due to lack of manpower because of the war. I've been sorting through old maps trying to find info on the area we are drilling and have come across everything from 70 year old mine plans to the route of the annual sled dog race that used to be held around here. Crazy stuff. My main job is helping to inspect the core being drilled and though it sounds dull, it's nice to get my brain working again. My own office, good pay, and a company vehicle don't hurt the situation either.
My boss is this older fellow named Arnie, and I don't think he could be more of a character if he tried. He's a good teacher, which is a surprise because he comes across initially as one of those old school hard ass field geologists. He is a heavy-smoking diabetic who listens to classical music in the office and often spouts off about how the world has gone to crap and there are never any good movies or TV anymore. I keep waiting for him to say "I'm too old for this shit" to complete the cliche. That said, he is definitely one of the better bosses I've had, even if he does insist on smoking in the core shack.
-A.
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