The next week most of us went on to Tulsa to attend safety and light vehicle training on the Kellyville campus. I don't have any pictures of the stunts they had us doing, but if I get some, I'll post them. We really put their Crown Victoria's through their paces, though. It was just like Blues Brothers, only much safer ~_^ We learned how to control skids and spins, how to safely drive a car into the ditch to avoid oncoming traffic, how to recover if you drop a wheel off the pavement, and other more tame sounding defensive driving skills on their driving course and in the classroom. On the last day, I didn't have class, but went into campus with those who did anyway, to get my computer fixed. It was early in the morning, but while I was waiting for someone from IT to come in, me and a classmate found a little black kitten behind the pop machine beside the classroom. I pulled her out, and carried her around with me all morning. She was SO bony and hungry and had the most obnoxious voice that I had to find something for her to eat. I finally settled on creamer and hot water from the coffee maker, because I couldn't find anything better. She was so hungry that she and I both ended up splattered in creamer. While I was feeding her, one of the veteran Schlumberger guys, Dave, came in looking for the cat that was making all the noise. He was afraid she'd gotten into the ceiling. He found some ham slices for her, which she loved, of course. Anyway, when I went in to see IT, one of the guys there said he had a brother who'd take her in. So I found a home for her!
Now I'm here in Artesia. I've been working with the survey crew all week. We're finding and marking the spots where the vibe trucks and geophones ("jugs") will be placed. In otherwords, I'm actually getting paid to roam over the Chihuahua Desert on Kawasaki Mule. Its so beautiful, here. I'll try to take some pictures soon so that you can all see. The survey crew are contractors, and their based out of Montana. The guys are all really closeknit, and they've been gracious enough to include me in their little family while I'm working with them. If you can't tell I'm having a great time. And yes, Mom... I'm eating my veggies. Sheesh.
