An Excerpt from the Field Book
Sep. 10th, 2008 05:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hertinknessMonday, September 8: 0900, arrive on site. Mobe to Plant A for site specific training. Find that they are blasting on Tuesday and Wednesday. Regulator is coming but will not arrive until 1100. Go to gauge wells while he is on his way. Discover we have only one set of keys for the well site, and hook it to truck keys.
1000: Hike through waist-deep soybeans to reach a well. Ford a stream and hike through more waist deep soybeans to find the other one. Get a call from regulator halfway there- he is waiting at the quarry and wondering where we are even though he said he wouldn't be there until much later. Take a deep breath and mobe to quarry.
1045: Sign in at quarry. Try to convince regulator that removing the barricades fencing off the unstable highwall and driving to sampling location is A Very Bad Plan, and you should just take the bucket along and walk it instead. Finally get him to agree, to infinite relief when you find cracks in the roadway indicating slumping. Draw the short straw and stand under spring, getting even more water in boots.
1130: Finally get done sampling. Regulator goes for lunch while field crew finishes gauging wells. Set up at Well 8 for purging and sampling. Take samples from clean bucket so that regulator can do his split samples.
1230: Regulator comes back from lunch. Find out that we were supposed to wait for him to sample. Oops.
1300: Purge and sample Well 5. Regulator leaves to meet courier.
1600: Set up to purge Well 3.
1605: Pump short-circuits and must be rewired. Pack existing samples for shipping and mobe to drop off, dinner, and hotel.
1900: Discover that the two other members of the field crew did not follow directions when booking their rooms. One booked through Travelocity, the other through the corporate travel agent. Neither got the correct rate. Persuade hotel to readjust their rates to correct rate.
1930: Send member of field crew to Philly Suburb office for replacement pump. Take two ibuprofen for brewing headache.
Tuesday, September 9, 0700: Meet crew in lobby. Pump successfully retrieved. Mobe to site.
0800: Set up to purge Well 3.
0845: Just barely get stable parameters when thunderstorm strikes. Pack all necessary equipment in truck. Mobe to gas station to feed the generator.
0900: Storm appears to be letting up. Mobe to Well 1 and 9.
0915: Set up pump to purge Well 1, prepare to bail Well 9.
0917: Thunderstorm comes back with a vengeance. Everything soaked. Cover and abandon all nonessential equipment and wait in truck.
1010: Finish fourth sudoku puzzle. Both other members of field crew asleep. Start on crossword.
1045: Electrical portion of storm lets up. Still pouring. Regulator arrives on site.
1100: Begin purging Well 1 and Well 9.
1130: Pump stops flowing. Call Equipment and Supply for tech support and continue to bail and sample Well 9.
1230: Nothing E&S suggests fixes the problem, but finds control unit to be at fault. Send one member of field crew back to Main Office for replacement while remaining two sample with regulator.
1300: Sample Well 3.
1330: Regulator takes remaining equipment to Well 7 while field crew walks because only state personnel can ride in state vehicle. Discover that well keys are still hooked to the truck keys, which are now on the way back to Main Office.
1400: Successfully break into Well 7 with negligible damage to self, tools, and well. Begin purging. Listen to regulator rant about his car for a half hour.
1430: Sample Well 7.
1445: Non-state personnel can not ride in state vehicle, but can apparently cling to the outside. Against better judgment, ride back of tailgate back up to Well 3. Almost lose samples twice, and lunch at least once.
1500: Regulator peels out of site. Field crew on site decide that they have had enough of this bullshit, and mobe to bar across the road.
1530: After sufficiently long walk, field crew discovers that bar across the road does not open until 1600. Mobe back to Well 3 to wait.
1600: Spider crawls up pantleg. Bites three times on ass before little bastard is finally removed.
1630: Third member of field crew calls, and gives ETA of fifteen minutes.
1700: Walk down over hill. Scream, cry, pitch a fit from here to Bethesda, and wish ferrets into the pants of the E&S employee that quality-controlled this equipment.
1715: Third member of field crew arrives on site. Decide to pull pump from Well 3 and make shipping deadline. Mobe to shipping center and hotel.
1800: Discover that phone was in pocket during thunderstorm. Discover that phone is not waterproof. Discover that phone is now a spiffy paperweight.
2000: Explain to parents over bad connection on hotel phone Why You Haven't Called. Fall into bed, which oddly enough, is more comfortable than bed at home. Consider getting a new mattress.
Wednesday, September 10, 0700: Mobe to site. Pray for a better day and working equipment. Sign in and set up at Well 1 to purge.
0845: Miraculously, nothing goes wrong. Regulator even shows up on time. Sample Well 1.
0900: Regulator must leave to be in Jim Thorpe in an hour. Wonder how he will make the two hour drive in time. Plan to finish split samples next quarter.
0915: Set up to purge and sample Well 6.
1015: Parameters stable. Prepare to sample Well 6.
1016: Generator runs out of gas. It's OK, field crew still has one bailer.
1030: Finish sampling. Two field crew members clean out truck while third goes to repair Well 7.
1100: Mobe to Well 3M to complete repairs. Casing needs to be cut level.
1130: Figure out how to use casing cutter.
1145: Finish cutting casing. Cleaning up.
1146: Step in groundhog hole. Sink in up to knee, and lodge toe of boot firmly in place. Remove boot from foot in order to free self.
1200: Sign out at quarry and mobe to Main Office.
1400: Arrive at main office. Discover that all the work that you did previously for Oil and Gas Drilling Co. is now invalid because jackass water suppliers oversold their allotment. Resist impulse to cry. Explain groundhog hole incident to line manager in case an injury has occurred.
1430: De-tool at equipment and supply. One member of field crew is getting truck on Thursday, so don't even bother to fill it with gas.
1500: Drop samples off at lab. Mobe to beer distributor.
1530: Mobe to wireless store. Purchase new phone. Still not iPhone.
1600: Eat dinner and mobe to kennel to pick up dog.
1630: Dog appears to have gained ten pounds in three days. Has gotten into garbage again.
1640: Dog throws up in car. Is green.
1645: Arrive home. Clean canine vomit out of car. Clean three days worth of mail out of mailbox. Shower.
1840: Finish blog entry on awful three days. Realize that generator is still out of gas and E&S will charge an arm and leg for it. Cannot bring self to care.
1000: Hike through waist-deep soybeans to reach a well. Ford a stream and hike through more waist deep soybeans to find the other one. Get a call from regulator halfway there- he is waiting at the quarry and wondering where we are even though he said he wouldn't be there until much later. Take a deep breath and mobe to quarry.
1045: Sign in at quarry. Try to convince regulator that removing the barricades fencing off the unstable highwall and driving to sampling location is A Very Bad Plan, and you should just take the bucket along and walk it instead. Finally get him to agree, to infinite relief when you find cracks in the roadway indicating slumping. Draw the short straw and stand under spring, getting even more water in boots.
1130: Finally get done sampling. Regulator goes for lunch while field crew finishes gauging wells. Set up at Well 8 for purging and sampling. Take samples from clean bucket so that regulator can do his split samples.
1230: Regulator comes back from lunch. Find out that we were supposed to wait for him to sample. Oops.
1300: Purge and sample Well 5. Regulator leaves to meet courier.
1600: Set up to purge Well 3.
1605: Pump short-circuits and must be rewired. Pack existing samples for shipping and mobe to drop off, dinner, and hotel.
1900: Discover that the two other members of the field crew did not follow directions when booking their rooms. One booked through Travelocity, the other through the corporate travel agent. Neither got the correct rate. Persuade hotel to readjust their rates to correct rate.
1930: Send member of field crew to Philly Suburb office for replacement pump. Take two ibuprofen for brewing headache.
Tuesday, September 9, 0700: Meet crew in lobby. Pump successfully retrieved. Mobe to site.
0800: Set up to purge Well 3.
0845: Just barely get stable parameters when thunderstorm strikes. Pack all necessary equipment in truck. Mobe to gas station to feed the generator.
0900: Storm appears to be letting up. Mobe to Well 1 and 9.
0915: Set up pump to purge Well 1, prepare to bail Well 9.
0917: Thunderstorm comes back with a vengeance. Everything soaked. Cover and abandon all nonessential equipment and wait in truck.
1010: Finish fourth sudoku puzzle. Both other members of field crew asleep. Start on crossword.
1045: Electrical portion of storm lets up. Still pouring. Regulator arrives on site.
1100: Begin purging Well 1 and Well 9.
1130: Pump stops flowing. Call Equipment and Supply for tech support and continue to bail and sample Well 9.
1230: Nothing E&S suggests fixes the problem, but finds control unit to be at fault. Send one member of field crew back to Main Office for replacement while remaining two sample with regulator.
1300: Sample Well 3.
1330: Regulator takes remaining equipment to Well 7 while field crew walks because only state personnel can ride in state vehicle. Discover that well keys are still hooked to the truck keys, which are now on the way back to Main Office.
1400: Successfully break into Well 7 with negligible damage to self, tools, and well. Begin purging. Listen to regulator rant about his car for a half hour.
1430: Sample Well 7.
1445: Non-state personnel can not ride in state vehicle, but can apparently cling to the outside. Against better judgment, ride back of tailgate back up to Well 3. Almost lose samples twice, and lunch at least once.
1500: Regulator peels out of site. Field crew on site decide that they have had enough of this bullshit, and mobe to bar across the road.
1530: After sufficiently long walk, field crew discovers that bar across the road does not open until 1600. Mobe back to Well 3 to wait.
1600: Spider crawls up pantleg. Bites three times on ass before little bastard is finally removed.
1630: Third member of field crew calls, and gives ETA of fifteen minutes.
1700: Walk down over hill. Scream, cry, pitch a fit from here to Bethesda, and wish ferrets into the pants of the E&S employee that quality-controlled this equipment.
1715: Third member of field crew arrives on site. Decide to pull pump from Well 3 and make shipping deadline. Mobe to shipping center and hotel.
1800: Discover that phone was in pocket during thunderstorm. Discover that phone is not waterproof. Discover that phone is now a spiffy paperweight.
2000: Explain to parents over bad connection on hotel phone Why You Haven't Called. Fall into bed, which oddly enough, is more comfortable than bed at home. Consider getting a new mattress.
Wednesday, September 10, 0700: Mobe to site. Pray for a better day and working equipment. Sign in and set up at Well 1 to purge.
0845: Miraculously, nothing goes wrong. Regulator even shows up on time. Sample Well 1.
0900: Regulator must leave to be in Jim Thorpe in an hour. Wonder how he will make the two hour drive in time. Plan to finish split samples next quarter.
0915: Set up to purge and sample Well 6.
1015: Parameters stable. Prepare to sample Well 6.
1016: Generator runs out of gas. It's OK, field crew still has one bailer.
1030: Finish sampling. Two field crew members clean out truck while third goes to repair Well 7.
1100: Mobe to Well 3M to complete repairs. Casing needs to be cut level.
1130: Figure out how to use casing cutter.
1145: Finish cutting casing. Cleaning up.
1146: Step in groundhog hole. Sink in up to knee, and lodge toe of boot firmly in place. Remove boot from foot in order to free self.
1200: Sign out at quarry and mobe to Main Office.
1400: Arrive at main office. Discover that all the work that you did previously for Oil and Gas Drilling Co. is now invalid because jackass water suppliers oversold their allotment. Resist impulse to cry. Explain groundhog hole incident to line manager in case an injury has occurred.
1430: De-tool at equipment and supply. One member of field crew is getting truck on Thursday, so don't even bother to fill it with gas.
1500: Drop samples off at lab. Mobe to beer distributor.
1530: Mobe to wireless store. Purchase new phone. Still not iPhone.
1600: Eat dinner and mobe to kennel to pick up dog.
1630: Dog appears to have gained ten pounds in three days. Has gotten into garbage again.
1640: Dog throws up in car. Is green.
1645: Arrive home. Clean canine vomit out of car. Clean three days worth of mail out of mailbox. Shower.
1840: Finish blog entry on awful three days. Realize that generator is still out of gas and E&S will charge an arm and leg for it. Cannot bring self to care.
