Jez WAS ready to fire up, until with the initial priming and making sure there was oil pressure they discovered an oil leak ( Read more... )

Jesus fucking christ on a pogo stick! Manager just came down with an iron fist on hours logged. Apparently riding from the company apartments on a company bus to the company facility for the company-required training class is no longer work, but part of unlogged commuting time, and homework and studying don't count as work. Gosh, well, if all those ( Read more... )

Explosives certification: Must pass exam. Frequently takes an entire classroom or shop worth of helping people, if you can't get it done in the training center ( Read more... )

There have been concerns that this job and school would change me. It's certainly changed my sleep habits--I have now recalibrated to 7 hours being adequately refreshing for long-term use. As for the rest...I've posted up three new Nano chapters since getting here and allow me to provide an example from yesterday ( Read more... )

The engine has been put in the car (waiting on a remote thermostat housing and a set of AE92 headers for firing up), I've had two practicals and today / tomorrow will have my first of two 'jobs' (that count for about 20% of my final grade), I haven't worked a week that's been less than 80 hours, I've finally given my egg donor both barrels of long- ( Read more... )

95 hours last week, 85 the week before that,and of course 60s (not counting the bus ride, which I am now counting, also not counting homework, which I am now counting) during schoool, which runs 6 days a week ( Read more... )

Out in Liberty, TX, more or less, as of last night. (Yes, shenanigans have continued to follow me, ranging from late planes to people parking to retrieve me at the wrong terminal to lighting striking less than 50 feet from me to an exam postponing to my guide getting lost three times to having to repack a 73-pound suitcase over the course of 45 ( Read more... )

Did not go to the con. Went home and caught up on sleep, went out to take the underground tour of Portland with the roomie (and got pegged as the sort to stop by Ericsson's...does the Alaska desperation show that badly?), went to Astoria/Long Beach overnight with Z. We did not know there was such a thing as a river seal. Now we do. Ork ork ork, day ( Read more... )

Big move is NOT go. Yet. Manager sez to wait until I'm out of schooling before making any arrangements, on the off-chance I'll get assigned somewhere else. DEAR CHRIST NO. I mean, I'll do it, because I want the dough and the job security and the whole actually-in-my-field-and-career-level-thing etc etc, but I like Houston a lot better than, say, ( Read more... )

The reason for my absences, in brief, involves Texas and Alaska ( Read more... )