A break from office work

I meant to post this on Tuesday, Jan 18, but the internet was down. Anyway, here it is.

It has been a busy year. At work, I have been working on several projects at three different platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. Besides engineering and construction, these projects have other logistical challenges. Mother Nature has her days. I was stuck all day Monday at New Orleans airport as helicopter could not fly us out to a rig because of dense fog. So, I flew back to Houston wasting an entire day. When the seas are rough, our supply boat cannot ride out with material and people. You pay for the boat regardless for standing by in bad weather. Everything cost a lot more offshore compared to that onshore. Even if a simple thing is missing and you have to fly it in or send it by boat, the transportation cost can be overwhelming. Obviously, when you have people in the middle of the ocean, you have to think about their safety, food, lodging, water, etc. On top of that individual personalities of the workers come into play. Some like to whine, some like to boss around, some don’t like offshore or being away from the family, and so on. So, you manage the best way possible to get the project done. The cell phone rings seven days a week. In any case, we have made tremendous progress and we are shutting down for the holidays. The crew is glad to go to the beach and head home.

I am ready for a break too. Our house will soon be full and humming with people. Our older daughter, her fiancé and his parents, the younger daughter, her boy friend and his parents, and my niece’s family will be arriving soon. We are planning to have a little celebration at our house. It’s time to count our blessings, enjoy the holidays with friends and families, and bid adieu to 2006.

Let there be peace and happiness on earth.

To the hoop

I finished the book, “To the hoop” by Ira Berkow last night. He talks about the hoop, the moves, the drives, the dunk, playing basketball with a brace on his knee, but in reality he talks lot more than just the hoop. He talks about his youthful crush on a pretty girl who did not care much for him, life, death, aging, and reconnecting with his ailing brother who died of cancer. He talks of his Roosevelt University coach, Ed Turner not being allowed on the Golf Course to follow his team because he was black. He gets a lesson on human machine and aging from Dr. Tuchman. Dr. Tuchman, an Auschwitz survivor who yearned for skiing while at the concentration camp, climbs mountains and skis at 75.

We are never too old to do the things we want to do. However, the machine may not perform like a brand new car no matter how well you maintain. We must live the life we want to live taking care of this amazing machine and knowing that the time to live is now, not tomorrow.

Riding the bus

After 30+ years I started riding the bus to work. It has been a whole new experience. Then again my Company pays for the bus ride. With rising gasoline price, my wife's urging, and my car nearing 100,000 miles, I guess it makes sense. No, I am not trying to save the green earth. It’s selfish economics. However, there are also down sides to riding a bus.

Sometimes as I get close to my “park & ride” place to get on the bus, the bus will drive off. It’s not the driver’s fault. I leave home cutting too close to the bus schedule. Then I have to wait in the windy, cold weather for the next bus. Obviously, you don’t know who will sit next to you. People come in all shapes and sizes. With my luck, I have not sat next to a pretty girl yet and I am not a dirty old man. Some people take one and a half seats. Fortunately, I can still fit in 1/2 a seat. Some times the person next to you will be coughing and you wonder if you might come home sick. After work, as I rush to get to my bus stop to ride back, at times the light will turn red at the crossing at the perfect moment stopping me to get across to the bus. The bus will have the green light. You can raise your arm to get the attention of the driver to no avail. Obviously some are cold and some are always hot inside the bus. The driver fools around with the a/c to satisfy the complaining rider(s) with not much success. I try to doze off in the bus. It’s not easy. You can hear stories relayed through the cell phones about personal romances, business deals, nasty divorces, ailing old parents in nursing homes, kids’ basket ball games, etc. If you have the creative writing skill you could possibly come out with an interesting fiction. It won’t be the story of the Orient Express or the famous Selma-Montgomery bus ride, albeit it will be an interesting story.

I think I am slowly getting used to the ride. The bus announces (a recorded female voice), “The next stop is Milam at Lamar”. I automatically pick up my stuff, thank the driver and walk a block to my destination on the 14th floor of a pink high rise in down town Houston.