Brief Update

Things are happening so fast, and I'm so busy right now that I don't have time to do this right, but I'll come back and put in all the pics and give you a better narrative of all I've done in the last couple weeks...

I came home to start the moving project. Scott and I took a 4 day trip to Denver to check things out and we found a nice townhouse to rent. We came back home for a few days and then we went to spend a few days in San Francisco. We went to a Giants game and a huge 3 day concert at Golden Gate Park. (Lots of pics to add!) Now I'm home again, but Scott left today for his 1st day at work tomorrow. I'm tackling the house moving project with my mom. The movers come pick up our cars on Friday and come pack up the house and take everything away next Tuesday. 7-10 days later my boyfriend, my car and all my stuff will be in Denver, so I'll have to go there too I guess.

April, May, June, July...

Okay. So, I’m getting ready for a big change and things have been changing all along and I haven’t even updated you past March and here it is August. So, I’m going to have to give you the quick version to catch you all up so I can get to where I’m going next.

April 2008- Still in Houston. Moved to nicer hotel without construction. Love the shopping. Best shopping ever. Shopping on Westheimer near the fabulous Galleria Bought way too much stuff, even a big silver belt buckle with a lone star that says 'Texas'. Love it.

Went to an Astro’s game...

Saw Barbara Bush. Or that's what some season ticket holder in front of us told us. "See that lady on the other side of the stadium with white hair?" We totally believed him.

Went country dancing at the Big Texas Dance Hall & Saloon with Barbie and Jennifer and Jennifer's mom Had some guys who looked pretty normal (none wore really tight pants or huge belt buckles) show me the two-step and the half-step and some other kind of step that I couldn't do now if I wanted to.

Editorial Review for Big Texas Dance Hall & Saloon- by Joshua Hinsdale (from citysearch.com)

Despite the strip-mall exterior, it's "Always a big time at Big Texas!" With plenty of cacti, rustic wood and pioneer-town memorabilia, the unique decor provides ample visual entertainment (as if the roaming people weren't enough). The dance floor fills up fast on weekends. A separate area with pool tables keeps the two-step challenged entertained, as does live music most Thursday nights.

My mom flew out to see me for a few days because I found out I was being sent to Pennsylvania and I wanted her to see Houston before I left. We went to a crawfish festival and didn't eat any crawfish. We couldn't stand to pull their little heads and legs off, but we listened to music and soaked in the Texas atmoshpere. She went to the museums while I was at work and we had a different Texas culinary experience every night. She loved it and it was fun to have her there. I flew back to Cali with Mom.

May 2008- Had to fly home to change my Houston summer wardrobe to a Pennsylvania summer wardrobe only I flew into Buffalo, NY the 1^st week in May and it was not summer at all. We were in southern New York and northern Pennsylvania. I had to buy warmer clothes and a jacket and a hat and closed toed shoes. It still was below freezing some nights and we were lucky to break 70 degrees on most days. I asked a local when it started to feel like summer and he said about Fourth of July. It was cold and rainy and depressing. It was beautiful country, but it didn't feel like summer. Pretty green rolling hills.
To top it off I had Scott calling me from our palm treed backyard telling me what a beautiful day it was in Sacramento as he floated in our pool. My new home was in this shabby little town and my backyard did not have palm trees. View from my hotel of the local auto detail shop
There was not much lazy sunbathing going on where I was. One guy we talked to laughed when we told him we were looking forward to going to the lake later in the season and laying out to catch some rays. He said we'd freeze out butts off even in the middle of July. We did have a Wal-mart just 10 minutes from the hotel though! Of course, the only kind of entertainment in the town was going to Wal-mart. But I was in a good place for my job right in the middle of East Coast oil and gas country.Pennsylvania oil refinery

I have to say it wasn't totally awful because I met and worked with some great people, which made summertime away from California bearable. (Kristen, "Mike", and Me)
(Other cool people that need honorable mentions, Bill, Jackie, Wes, Steve, and Sylvia, because I don't have pics of them and they helped make my on-the-road time a lot more fun and I'd tell you all about them, but I'm trying to keep this a brief update :-)

A couple more highlights from PA.-

When I was flying into Buffalo I noticed all the houses were shaped like boxes. As I drove through to northern Pa, I saw more of the same. I wished I'd stopped to take some more pictures because I thought it was strange. The small houses looked like monopoly houses. The big houses had 2 stories and maybe a square little attached garage. The apartment buildings looked like monopoly hotels. Square little 2 story monopoly house.

They have some regional food that none of the people I know from Texas had ever heard of – a Texas Hot. Nothing but a bland chili dog, but they have entire establishments named for them. I don't understand it.
Texas Hot Diner

I got to see one of the Great Lakes, Lake Erie. It was big and looked like the ocean, but it was, of course, cold and rainy and windy when I was there.
Lake Erie

June 2008- I got to go home at one point and soak up some sun. I wish I'd been able to use my pool and backyard more this summer. I’ve been home a few times. I’ve seen a lot of airports. Minneapolis-StPaulAirport was pretty
I leave stuff behind at hotels a lot because of the luggage and luggage weight restrictions. I hope the housekeepers are enjoying my exercise balls and the clothes that were too big for me. I left some liquor a few times. You know they enjoyed that.

I came back to PA mid-June and it still didn't feel like summer. Pennsylvania Wildlife

We got moved to a town even smaller than the last one. This place was 45 minutes to the nearest Wal-mart. We were only there for a few days and I didn't see much outside my hotel, but I did get pulled over by a Pennsylvania State Trooper for speeding. So I got to experience law enforcement in another state. I had never been on that road before and didn't realize what the speed limit was (I think it was 50 or 55). 'Well, it's not 68', he told me before he wrote me a warning ticket. He was nice.

Shortly after that we were told to go to the Pittsburgh area. We were in that area for just few days before our job was ended and everyone was told to go home, so I only got a couple pictures.
Street in Pittsburgh a cafe we ate at
Oh, I guess I should say everyone else was told to go home. I was told to go to Houston. At least they were keeping me working and, Yay, warm weather in my home away from home. Finally some sunshine I was happy that it felt like a sauna there, but really just wanted to be home.

July 2008- Started off in Houston, then was told they needed me back in Pennsylvania. But, I needed a break and was able to be home just in time for 4^th of July. I got to go to San Francisco with my mom. We took a ferry from Vallejo to the Ferry Terminal Pier, shopped for a little while and then went back.

Bay Bridge Ferry Building

I also got to go to SoCal with Scott. We spent a nice weekend in Ventura. It was beautiful. View from Ventura Hotel
I got to see my fabulous friend, Allison, while Scott went and played golf. Allison, who is a hair stylist, did my hair, which was cool because I looked pretty good for this crazy corporate party Scott had been invited to. I sprained my knee riding a mechanical surfboard. There were also model/stripper/cocktail servers (guys and girls, never actually stripped, but looked like they might), a video game room, psyhics, temporary tattoo artists, a bungee jumping contraption, and other assorted carnival type activities for adults. It was quite an experience. That's the kind of party I'd throw if I had a ton of money.

Then I had to leave :-( So I'm back in SoPen now (not NorCal or SoCal) with Kristen and Wesley and Bill and Jackie and Steve and Sylvia, so it's not so bad. But, wait! Scott calls the other day to tell me that he got an offer for a job in Denver that he couldn’t refuse. He’s taking the job and wants me to move with him to Denver (or at least he wants to move my stuff to Denver since I'm actually living in a hotel in PA). He wants our home to be in Denver. Holy Moly. It was a totally unexpected offer at a totally unexpected time and now I have to figure out, from Pennsylvania, how to move my Sacramento house to Denver in a month. Thank goodness the company Scott is going to work for has a relocation program because otherwise I’d be extremely overwhelmed. They arrange movers to pack and ship everything and they make housing recommendations, but there's still a lot that the relocation helpers can’t do. Thankfully we don’t have a house to sell and a new one to buy. Scott thinks it's going to be a piece of cake and can't figure out why I'm stressing out. I think he's in denial and just excited about his new position. I'm going to have to take a few weeks off work and I think I’m going to have to really look into getting a job around Denver. By the way, I’ve never been to Denver before. I know it gets cold in the winter and it’s a mile high (so the stadium says) and that’s about it. Scott will be permanently there starting August 26^th (maybe in a hotel at first) and I will be there as soon as I can. We haven’t scheduled a mover yet. We don’t know where to live. We’ll be taking a go-see trip in a couple weeks to check things out. It’s pretty exciting, but pretty scary too. I’ve never lived so far from my mom and this is kind of a big step for me and Scott. It’ll be fun to explore a new place together. I hope I’m not in Pennsylvania while he’s exploring our new neighborhood without me. I’ll keep you all updated…

March 2008 - Houston

July 3, 2008, 8:00AM- I missed my flight home and now have to wait 7 hours to wait and see if I can get a seat on the next flight to Sacramento. What a perfect time to update my blog. I have a lot to catch you up on!

…While Scott and I were in West Texas, Scott got recruited by an oil and gas company based in Denver. They also have an office in Southern California, but Scott would be able to work from home doing landman work in the Sacramento valley. He thought and thought and thought about it and asked what I thought and I thought he should do what he thought was best for him. There was a lot of thinking. He decided to accept the job offer. It kinda sucked that Scott and I had finally learned to work together well and now we wouldn’t get to, but at least we had the experience. Unfortunately, our Houston broker, Randy, was expecting us, as a team, to go back to West Texas, so phone calls had to be made.

Randy was very gracious and, even though Scott was leaving him, he told me he’d be happy to keep me working. There was no work in California, however and I would still have to go to Texas if I wanted to keep working. I’d be without Scott, but other landmen from CA were also headed to Texas. I had my reservations, but told myself to buck up and go. Since I don’t have a trust fund, it would be stupid of me to turn away from a decent paying job in an industry that’s in demand with an employer offering to keep me working as long as I’m willing to travel, especially in this economy. In addition Randy said that I’d be able to fly home every 4-5 weeks to be home and see friends and family and, of course, Scotty.

My mom’s birthday was coming up, but I was expected in Texas, so I booked a flight to Amarillo and started to pack. I was upset about missing mom’s birthday, but hoped I could make up for it. She was very understanding. 2 days before I was supposed to be in Amarillo I got a call from the Sacramento project manager, Diana, saying that they wanted me to come to Houston instead. I’d never been in Houston before. Scott is from Houston though and Scott’s family still lives in Houston. I also found out that a girl I’d worked with in California, Jennifer, was also headed for work in Houston. I’d be going to the Cinco offices and seeing Diana and Randy and other people I’d met before. I felt better about not being so isolated in rural Texas.

When I flew in to Houston the 1^st thing I noticed was how green it was. West Texas was brown. Granted, it was February, but I didn’t see many trees and I imagine, with the exception of agricultural crops, there is still not a lot of green and I bet West Texas has never been called lush. Because I had prepared myself for West Texas and more of the same, I was delighted to see all the green and all the homes and buildings. It was a completely different world than West Texas. I arrived at George Bush Airport (Don’t laugh Katie), picked up my bags and rental car and headed to my hotel. By this time it was dark out.

Houston, I’ve heard from proud Houstonians, and have yet to verify because I don’t really care, is something like the 4^th largest city in America. There are a lot of freeways and a lot of signs to read and I was trying to read my directions, but as soon as the big city skyline came in to view I was distracted. I love cities and city lights and skyscrapers. Cities are so shiny and I’m easily distracted by shiny things. Houston is really pretty at night. Even with the distraction, I was able to navigate myself to my hotel through and around the crazy freeways, without any incident.

(View from my hotel @ night)

(View from my hotel the next morning. Yay, Construction!)

I didn’t mention in my last post how different the Texas freeways are than anywhere else I’ve ever driven. Thank goodness I had my 1^st experience with feeder roads and underpass u-turns and left lane freeway on-ramps with Scott, an experienced Texan driver, in little bitty Amarillo where traffic was sparser and slower than in Houston. Scott can correct the following if I’m not remembering this right: A u-turn had to be made in Amarillo from a one way feeder road on one side of the freeway to a one way feeder road going in the opposite direction on the other side of the freeway by way of a freeway underpass. I was trying to figure out what lane was what and read a sign showing me how to make this strange left u-turn that, legally, should be to the left of the oncoming traffic lane, but that didn’t make sense to me so I swung the car right, but I don’t think I was right enough to be in the correct lanes. I think I ended up driving the wrong way. All I remember is Scott yelling, “What are you doing!?” I was just trying to move quickly to get where I was supposed to be and I don’t remember seeing any cars coming my way, regardless, we were safe. I have to say, as complicated as this sounds to those of you that’ve never been to Texas, with the exception of driving towards oncoming traffic, this underpass u-turn thing is totally normal for Texas freeways and I’m sure covered in Texas driver’s ed classes, which I’ve never taken. Scott completely did not understand why I was so befuddled at every underpass and on-ramp. I have to note that after just a couple days with this strange traffic routing, I think the Texan freeway engineers are brilliant. I wish CA did the feeder roads and underpass u-turns and left lane freeway on-ramps. I’m certain that if anyone has ever moved from Houston to Los Angeles, they think our freeways are retarded. You have to drive it to believe it.

So now I’m in Houston. Everyone at the Houston office was very nice. Of course, everyone in Texas is friendly, but there it was no different. I was going to be filling in for a girl who was going on vacation, so was asked to do office work and spreadsheets. The work portion of this part of my travels is extremely boring, so I’ll leave that out. The exciting thing in Houston the week I got there was the Houston Rodeo. I was asked several times in my 1^st few days if I was going to the rodeo. I’d tell them I didn’t plan on it and they’d gush, “YOU GOTTA GO!” The Houston Rodeo, I’ve heard from proud Houstonians, is the biggest rodeo in the world! Okay, maybe I’ll go. When is it? It lasts for a whole month? Really? Why? I guess everyone goes and there are concerts every night after the official rodeo activities and some really big artists perform. Several people told me a list of “big name artists”. Not being a huge country music fan, I didn’t recognize but a few. Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Fergie, and Hannah Montana were some and no, they’re not all country singers.

Anyhow, one day Diana tells me she has free tickets to Friday night’s rodeo and she’ll take me if I want. I totally fell for the hype and was actually very excited. I know I grew up in small town Grass Valley and I know rodeos have happened in towns near and around me, but I’d never been to a rodeo. From movies and TV shows and advertisement pictures I’d seen of these rodeos near and around me, I had a picture of what they were like. I knew they were in a dirt field of sorts with white painted fencing in a big oval shape with wooden bleachers to sit in and lots of horses and bulls and cowboys in chaps. Are you all on my same page? So, Diana picked me up and as we’re driving to the rodeo she tells me to keep an eye out for the exit. I saw to the right of the freeway these big bright stadium lights like you’d see at a ballpark and asked if that was the rodeo. She asked if I’d ever been to a rodeo and I told her what I thought they were like. She laughed and said I was in for a treat. The lights I’d seen did end up being a group of baseball or softball fields.

As we followed the signs to the rodeo all I saw of the event were acres of parked cars and trucks- lots of trucks- lots of trucks with silhouettes of Texas longhorn heads. We found a spot to park and followed the migration of people to a pedestrian overpass. When I climbed the steps and saw over the crest, I’m pretty sure I my eyes widened and I probably said something like, “Oooh”. To the right were ferris wheels and other midway rides whirling and twirling around covered in colorful neon and flashing lights. This carnival midway covered a huge area, but I didn’t get to look too much because Diana pointed to an enormous many storied glass and concrete building and said, “That’s a rodeo.” It was indoors! I was amazed. Apparently this is the stadium that the NFL team, The Houston Texans, play in. It’s like a 5 story complex and we went up several flights of escalators before we got to our floor and we walked into a special lounge type skybox area where there were big windows overlooking the stadium. It was impressive. The whole football field area was covered in dirt and the stadium was packed with people. Honestly, way too many men in excessively tight pants and ridiculously large belt buckles. Also, way too many women in rhinestones and fringe. By the way, I’d asked Scott what I should wear to the rodeo and he told me not to go out and buy what I thought was “western wear” because I would look like a tourist. I don’t think the belt-buckled, fringed people were necessarily tourists, but I was happy to see mostly “normal” people there.

Diana is late for everything and the rodeo was no different. By the time we got our 1^st glass of wine and got to our seats, the rodeo part of the rodeo was over. I saw the last bull rider on the TVs in the skybox when I was in line for my wine. But we sat down in our seats while they brought a big rotating stage to the center of the arena. Toby Keith was performing that night. His name was familiar, but I didn’t know quite who he was. When the show started it was a regular rock concert, except with a country twang.
(They had fireworks indoors!) I actually knew a bunch of the songs from the time I’ve spent in bars with Karaoke. Karaoke singers must be big Toby Keith fans. Now I know why. With songs like, "Should've Been a Cowboy", "Beer for My Horses", and "I Love This Bar", he was fun. He sang all about getting drunk and skanky country women and partying with Willie Nelson. I still haven’t bought his CD, but I might.

A few nights later I met a couple through Jennifer. Jennifer has a friend in Southern California who is dating someone in Louisiana. Through those people Jennifer met J.C. and Josh because they are friends with the SoCal girl’s boyfriend. Got it? Josh and J.C. live in Houston. Jennifer let Josh and J.C. know she was in town. J.C. was out of town, but Josh offered to meet up with us. Josh is from Louisiana. He has a fabulous low drawl that I can barely understand sometimes. His girlfriend, Barbie, came to meet us. Yes, she's blonde(-ish) and pretty and skinny, but nothing like Malibu Barbie. She’s more like Rock Chick Barbie with a country twang and a NYC haircut. I could go on about how much I liked Barbie and Josh, but they might read this and get big egos. (Barbie, Me, and Jennifer) Anyhow, I really liked them when they said they could take us to Rodeo! Yes, I wanted to go again. I hadn’t got to see very much the 1^st time.

I don’t remember what Jennifer or I was doing that got us there so late again, but we missed the rodeo event and just saw the concert again. It was some guy named Clay Walker. I didn’t know any of his songs and he was one of those guys that wore his jeans too tight. The other ladies in the audience seemed to like him though and squealed with delight when he wiggled his ass at the audience. He was not as Rock-n-roll as Toby Keith so I got bored pretty quickly. I was happy when Jennifer told me they had a “dance” after the concert and we decided to head that way. It was in the old Astrodome. There was a country band performing. We mostly waited to dance until the band took a break and they'd put on DJ club music. This is more like what Jennifer and I are used to, but it was a little surreal to be dancing to Ludacris, Lil Jon, and other hip hop artists and then look across the floor to see some old guy in Wranglers and a cowboy hat gettin low while his dance partner, also in Wranglers and cowboy hat, is trying to move her body like a cyclone.

Unfortunately most country dancing is couples dancing, but Barbie used to teach country dancing and when the group dancing songs came on she tried to show us a couple line type dances, but they weren't line dances. I guess people don't do that anymore. These dances were where everyone kinda marches and jumps and skips and stomps in a big ring. It was kinda like at weddings when you have to do the Bunny Hop. Here it’s not one after another in a conga-line row though, but several people shoulder to shoulder, with another several people shoulder to shoulder behind and in front of you. I’m describing this really badly, but I can’t quite describe what 300 people doing the “Cotton Eyed Joe” looked like, especially with fools like me stomping when I was supposed to be skipping and turning when I was supposed to be kicking. Oh Well.

July 3, 2008, 2:00PM- I am sitting at the gate waiting to see if I can get on a flight home. When I sat down there were many many seats available to sit in at the gate. A gentleman sat to my left and shortly after an older couple grabbed the 2 seats to my right. I looked around and saw there were lots of seats still left, so I am a little annoyed that I’ve been sandwiched by these people and none of the 3 is petite in the least bit. I’m sorry, but I’m tired and cranky. I can stand to be a little annoyed, but the couple to my right have colds or allergies or something and keep coughing and sniffling and blowing noses. It’s really gross and makes me want to wash my hands. Now the phlegmy lady sitting next to me is fanning herself with her boarding pass. Is she sending her virus my way? I wish I had one of those medical masks to put on right now. I’d get up and move, but now the closest seats are a good ways away and I’m on standby and have to make sure if my name is paged, I’m right here at the desk so I can get home today, and besides, I was here first. Next time I’ll have to remember to spread out better and put my purse and bag and lunch and whatever else I can find on the seats next to me. Oh, they just called my name! I gotta go home now. I have more to tell you about Houston, but now you're caught up through March 2008 anyhow.

My First Post

Well, I'm finally getting around to posting on my blog. I know everyone that's not with me is curious about what I've been up to and where I am. It's not as exciting as I know some of you think it is. I was actually just sending out an e-mail to a bunch of people who have asked about my recent weight loss and thought that I could post that on my blog instead of sending out a group e-mail! I'll get to that, but first, I'll get you caught up on what I've been doing...

February 2008- My work told us that oil and gas exploration had slowed down in California and that if we wanted to keep working and get more training, we could go on the road and out to Texas.
(Can you see the horns attached to the hood of the old white limousine in front of the giant cow?)

So, I left the comfort of my hometown to experience oil and gas land work in Texas and have been on the road, with the exception of a few trips home, ever since.

Scott and I would be working together as a team. I was a little hesitant because Scott and I hadn't always worked together so well, but I figured it could be an adventure and a growing experience. Also, I thought it would be nice to go to Texas in February, when it was cold and rainy in Sacramento. Scott, having been all over Texas, told me to pack some sweaters because we would be in the coldest part of the state, but I was not prepared for freezing winds and SNOW...
Our job was in the smallest town I've ever had to stay in. We got a room at the nicest hotel in town, the Holiday Inn Express. The closest Wal-mart was 45 minutes away. (After working now in a few small towns, I've noticed that how rural you are depends on how long it takes you to get to a Wal-mart). On this particular day we had driven an hour and a half to Amarillo. This was where we could find the nearest mall and movie theater that wasn't screening "Alvin and the Chipmunks". When we left the mall it was snowing. I was shocked. Now, I usually like to drive, but I don't like the snow and am always worried I might lose traction, so I made Scott drive us back to our little town.







At least it's all flat out there. Very flat. On a different day we had driven to see Scott's grandpa outside of Lubbock in a little town called Post (about 40 minutes to the nearest Wal-mart). We stopped at a rest stop/tornado shelter and looked at an exhibit there that talked about the high plains of West Texas. It said that if Columbus had landed here he would have truly believed that the world was flat. I though that was pretty stupid considering we were totally landlocked, but you get the point.

Here are a couple more pics- A small town we worked in.Yes, this is a picture of the WHOLE town (35 minutes to a Wal-mart). The courthouse is to the right and the 2 restaurants in town are behind where I'm taking this pic.

Amarillo, the big West Texas town

The big Amarillo attraction, "The Big Texan". Home of the Free 72oz steak if you can eat the whole thing (about the size of a football) along with all the "fixin's" in under an hour.
No, neither Scott (see his little head in there?), or I tried to earn the free steak.

We were in that part of the country for about 3 weeks. Scott and I argued about work the 1st week a lot. We fought about who would do what and when and who would be better at this or at that and who should be in charge, etc. By the second week though, we got along great. He got me to agree that he had skills and expertise in a lot of areas I knew nothing about and that I should listen to him sometimes. I finally got him to agree that I had skills and expertise in a lot of areas he didn't and that I should be in charge most of the time. We had figured everything out and were working great as a team. We were getting homesick though and since the weather wasn't fabulous, and we were cooped up in a little hotel room with each other all the time and there was absolutely nothing to do in that town, by the 3rd week we'd started getting cranky with each other again. It was the perfect time for the project to be over and for us to go home.