(no subject)
Wow, too much partying this weekend. My buddy Mike and I were x-raying a natural gas pipeline Friday, when they told us they wanted us to work Saturday too. No way, Jose. We need the weekend to recoup. So we worked two shifts back to back out in the freezing cold. And long after the sun had went down, and the last weld had been made, we finished x-raying, developing the film, and interpreting the weld.
So for some reason I have been getting a bit frustrated that I have been having to work so much. So after I got home from work Friday (around midnight), I went up to this little bar that has the worst (or is that the best?) karaoke in the world. I mean, I have so much fun just sitting there listening to the people try to sing. I always clap for them though. Anyhow, I know the bartender and her assistant, so that always gives me someone to talk to. Well, after listening to karaoke for about 45 minutes, this couple walks in. The girl is drop-dead gorgeous, huge fake breasts, nice outfit, dark hair, the whole kit and kabudle. She sat down with her boyfriend right beside me. Then this one legged dude asked her to dance, which of course she did (interesting site in and of itself). I commented to her boyfriend "Thats the first time I've seen that happen" and he said "whats that" and I said "Getting your girl stolen away by a 1-legged dude". After that we hit it off. I sat there talking to the couple for about an hour. The dude was real cool, super goofy, and his girl was actually pretty friendly too. Turns out it was her birthday. Well she proceeded to get obliterated. She asked me to dance a couple times (I've learned by now to always say no to that endeavor). Then the day started catching up with me, so around 2:45 I got out of there and went home. Woke up thinking "where am I and what did I do last night?". Good ol glutamate system suppression.
So after recovering from a hangover all day, I decided to go out again. This time I went over Mike's house. I got to meet his girlfriend's daughter. She is only 3 and speaking in complete sentences and super intelligent. Way smarter than my niece. We did some drinking while we watched basketball games on tv. Then through subtle text-messaging right in front of his girlfriend, we decided to meet some friends out at a bar. Bar was jammed packed, people dancing everywhere and folks talking about fighting each other. We stayed there for a few hours, then our friends decided to leave. So we went to another bar. My buddy has amazing dancing skills, and girls love that stuff. They were all over him.
But to my surprise, I get a little text from my ex around 2am. She wants me to come over. She is of course dating another guy right now. But she truly is hyper-sexual. Of course at 2am you can imagine her intentions. By this time I'm suffering the effects of enhanced gaba function and glutamate system suppression (no sex drive). But I wanted to see her. I go pick her up and we drive to the parking lot of a nice hotel. She was in no way wanting to get back with me, she wanted sex. But we ended up just talking instead. Smooched a little. We discussed the demise of our relationship, her kids, and how each of us was doing. I told her my plans, and of course apologized for my actions. At the end, we both agreed that we hoped that each of us would end up happy. Of course I still wish it would have ended up different. But a leopard can't change its spots. Even my skills are too low, and it would take a long time to get to where I needed to be to be sufficient in that relationship. And who knows, I probably would have repeated the same situation again. It's kind of a thing of mine.
But right now this freight train is headed to Texas. I'm 1 of 183 active ultrasound technicians certified to work in refineries. Unfortunately I am right at the end of the reign of conventional ultrasound (using a single signal sent at a single angle to produce a vertical line on a screen, very much like an oscilliscope). The newest technologies send multiple signals at multiple angles, and produce 5 different types of displays on the screen. Anyway, I leave February 18th or something like that to go take a two-week crash course in this new technology. Then, after that I'm going to interview with a company in Sugarland, Tx. I'm taking a big risk, there is no guarantee I'll get the job, I'll be over my allotted vacation time limit (what the heck do I tell my work?), and who's to say what they will pay me. They might say "Your too green, we can't pay you the full wage". That would be my worst scenario. But my contingency plan is to get my foot in the door, start performing Phased Array ultrasound, at least 75% of the time, (shit, I'm performing conventional ultrasound only about 10% of the time now), and get myself around knowledgeable ultrasound technicians. I can climb my way up the ladder under those circumstances.
But I've had a taste of the good life. The thought of going it alone, while not scary, is a bit dreadful. I mean, what's my life for the first year going to consist of? Working all day, hearing criticisms about what I am doing wrong (you have to make mistakes to learn, and people in this field, those that truly know, don't sugarcoat it), then going home to some spartan apartment. I cringe at the thought. But if all goes according to plan, I should be kicking ass and taking names at the end of that year. I'm going to see how it goes. It has always been a dream of mine to live near the ocean. I'm going to give it 1 year of my best effort then evaluate the situation after that. I just have to start simple, get the fundamentals down, and build my skill one tiny block at a time. I just hope the complications of my personal life (lack of motivation, day-to-day chores, drinking, distractions (like the internet), stress) don't interfere too greatly with my progress.
It's getting close enough to time to leave that I need to cut out drinking, give my brain what it needs (long chain fatty acids, stable glucose supply, and oxygen), and pre-read whatever I can get my hands on about this new ultrasound technology.
Alright, that's enough jib-jab for now.
So for some reason I have been getting a bit frustrated that I have been having to work so much. So after I got home from work Friday (around midnight), I went up to this little bar that has the worst (or is that the best?) karaoke in the world. I mean, I have so much fun just sitting there listening to the people try to sing. I always clap for them though. Anyhow, I know the bartender and her assistant, so that always gives me someone to talk to. Well, after listening to karaoke for about 45 minutes, this couple walks in. The girl is drop-dead gorgeous, huge fake breasts, nice outfit, dark hair, the whole kit and kabudle. She sat down with her boyfriend right beside me. Then this one legged dude asked her to dance, which of course she did (interesting site in and of itself). I commented to her boyfriend "Thats the first time I've seen that happen" and he said "whats that" and I said "Getting your girl stolen away by a 1-legged dude". After that we hit it off. I sat there talking to the couple for about an hour. The dude was real cool, super goofy, and his girl was actually pretty friendly too. Turns out it was her birthday. Well she proceeded to get obliterated. She asked me to dance a couple times (I've learned by now to always say no to that endeavor). Then the day started catching up with me, so around 2:45 I got out of there and went home. Woke up thinking "where am I and what did I do last night?". Good ol glutamate system suppression.
So after recovering from a hangover all day, I decided to go out again. This time I went over Mike's house. I got to meet his girlfriend's daughter. She is only 3 and speaking in complete sentences and super intelligent. Way smarter than my niece. We did some drinking while we watched basketball games on tv. Then through subtle text-messaging right in front of his girlfriend, we decided to meet some friends out at a bar. Bar was jammed packed, people dancing everywhere and folks talking about fighting each other. We stayed there for a few hours, then our friends decided to leave. So we went to another bar. My buddy has amazing dancing skills, and girls love that stuff. They were all over him.
But to my surprise, I get a little text from my ex around 2am. She wants me to come over. She is of course dating another guy right now. But she truly is hyper-sexual. Of course at 2am you can imagine her intentions. By this time I'm suffering the effects of enhanced gaba function and glutamate system suppression (no sex drive). But I wanted to see her. I go pick her up and we drive to the parking lot of a nice hotel. She was in no way wanting to get back with me, she wanted sex. But we ended up just talking instead. Smooched a little. We discussed the demise of our relationship, her kids, and how each of us was doing. I told her my plans, and of course apologized for my actions. At the end, we both agreed that we hoped that each of us would end up happy. Of course I still wish it would have ended up different. But a leopard can't change its spots. Even my skills are too low, and it would take a long time to get to where I needed to be to be sufficient in that relationship. And who knows, I probably would have repeated the same situation again. It's kind of a thing of mine.
But right now this freight train is headed to Texas. I'm 1 of 183 active ultrasound technicians certified to work in refineries. Unfortunately I am right at the end of the reign of conventional ultrasound (using a single signal sent at a single angle to produce a vertical line on a screen, very much like an oscilliscope). The newest technologies send multiple signals at multiple angles, and produce 5 different types of displays on the screen. Anyway, I leave February 18th or something like that to go take a two-week crash course in this new technology. Then, after that I'm going to interview with a company in Sugarland, Tx. I'm taking a big risk, there is no guarantee I'll get the job, I'll be over my allotted vacation time limit (what the heck do I tell my work?), and who's to say what they will pay me. They might say "Your too green, we can't pay you the full wage". That would be my worst scenario. But my contingency plan is to get my foot in the door, start performing Phased Array ultrasound, at least 75% of the time, (shit, I'm performing conventional ultrasound only about 10% of the time now), and get myself around knowledgeable ultrasound technicians. I can climb my way up the ladder under those circumstances.
But I've had a taste of the good life. The thought of going it alone, while not scary, is a bit dreadful. I mean, what's my life for the first year going to consist of? Working all day, hearing criticisms about what I am doing wrong (you have to make mistakes to learn, and people in this field, those that truly know, don't sugarcoat it), then going home to some spartan apartment. I cringe at the thought. But if all goes according to plan, I should be kicking ass and taking names at the end of that year. I'm going to see how it goes. It has always been a dream of mine to live near the ocean. I'm going to give it 1 year of my best effort then evaluate the situation after that. I just have to start simple, get the fundamentals down, and build my skill one tiny block at a time. I just hope the complications of my personal life (lack of motivation, day-to-day chores, drinking, distractions (like the internet), stress) don't interfere too greatly with my progress.
It's getting close enough to time to leave that I need to cut out drinking, give my brain what it needs (long chain fatty acids, stable glucose supply, and oxygen), and pre-read whatever I can get my hands on about this new ultrasound technology.
Alright, that's enough jib-jab for now.