benhawk.com

BIG News

2007-05-19T21:42:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a long time since I've blogged, but this is big enough to shake me back into the habit:

On April 23, I asked Andrea to marry me and she said YES! The proposal day (my happiest day so far) couldn't have turned out better, if I do say so myself. I suprised Andrea with a trip to Brugge, Belgium (a quaint late-medieval city) ahead of a work trip. At the stroke of noon in Minnewaterpark, I got down on one knee and gave her a ring. Here's a picture of Andrea sporting the smile she gave me after I asked if she wanted to marry me!

Over the next few weeks, I am going to use this blog to tell the story of the ring purchase, the proposal plan, and the proposal day. If you want Andrea's side of the story, you'll have to ask her!

The BIG Update

2006-11-29T11:06:00.000-08:00

In case you haven't noticed, I'm not a very good blogger. Quick update on what has happened in August, September, October, and November!
• Went to Oklahoma, Arkansas, Canada, and Mississippi for work.
• Went on vacation with Andrea to Canada in September and China in October.
• Worked on the house (the living room is almost done).
• Saw the families for Thanksgiving and looking forward to Christmas!

For the future - If I am not blogging regularly enough, check Andrea's Blog to see what I'm up to (she's a MUCH better blogger then me!).

United Sucks

2006-07-29T07:40:00.000-07:00

   Well, if possible, I have flown my last flight on United. Friday I flew from SLO to OKC on United. I bought a last-minute ticket (so I paid them heftily for it) that would take me from SLO at 6:00 am and get me in to OKC at 3:30 pm. Now normally, I would have flown on USAirways, not because they are really any good at being on-time or because they have any really good help, but because they have the best connections. (Only one stop between SLO and OKC.) Unfortunately, this time, the earliest flight on USAirways would not have gotten me in to OKC until 1030 pm. My understanding was that the job was to begin just after midnite in McAlester, so the 1030 flight would be too late.
   I won't go into any great detail on exactly what happened, but between United's multiple mechanical failures, scheduling problems, and extremely poor customer service, I did not arrive into OKC until 11pm. I could have taken the USAirways flight, left 9-1/2 hours later, paid $200 less, and arrived at the same time.
   Luckily, they dropped a fish down the well (fish=2-3/8" socket) just after midnite, and it took them about 9 hours to get it out, so I got a good nite sleep in McAlester.

Six Years!

2006-07-29T12:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Annniversary, Sweetie!
Today marks six years since Andrea and I officially became a couple. We have had a lot of fun times, and had many new experiences together. I can't wait for what our future holds! I love you, Andrea!

Hi Grandma!

2006-07-02T21:30:00.000-07:00

Today, Andrea and I were paid a visit by my parents and my grandma. She is out from Minnesota visiting my parents, so we invited them down to see the house and to visit. I missed my grandma's visit last year because I was out of town on business, so I was pretty glad to see her this year. She had not seen the house before (even though it is still under construction). We gave her the grand tour, but since there is really no seating in the house for more than Andrea and I, we headed to Morro Bay for a stroll on the embarcadero and some dinner. After some fish and chips at the Flying Dutchman, we went over to Morro Rock and watched the sun (almost) set.
On a side note, it was about 30 degrees cooler in Morro Bay than in Paso. Sometimes it's easy to forget what a difference 20 miles can make!

Running Smoothly

2006-07-21T23:34:00.000-07:00

Huge thunderstorm came through the area today. I am working near Guy, AR, which is about 60 miles north of Little Rock. The countryside is very pretty, with lush oaks and grasses. The minute you step out of an air-conditioned space, though, things are not so pretty. Before this thunderstorm came through, it was 114 degrees and the humidity was high. I can only imagine what it will be like tomorrow. This will probably be my last night in Arkansas as everything is running smoothly. I will be flying home on the next available flight after I return to OKC.

Sidetracked

2006-07-18T21:22:00.000-07:00

The second test went perfectly! Unfortunately, there were no more opportunities for more tests right away, so I returned the RV to OKC. In all honesty, I am not totally sold on the RV as the solution for this type of work. Don't get me wrong, it was very nice to be able to set up my computer and sit in a nice air-conditioned room on location rather than to sleep in the back seat of a rented F-150. The downside: being stuck on location. Since the RV was my only mode of transportation, I couldn't leave (without significant rig-down). This meant that if things were slow, or working well, I couldn't run to town for a bite. Drives me nuts!
In the morning, I am heading to Arkansas to help some operators out there with their operation. I've never been to Arkansas before, so it might be interesting!

I....Can't....Drive....65!

2006-05-23T11:02:00.000-07:00

Well, I got nailed in Pittsburg County, OK for speeding! Like an idiot, I forgot to ship some important components out from California for the test. I was racing around southeast Oklahoma looking for parts on other rigs most of the day. Down near McAlester I saw the blue lights flashing in the rearview. Apparantly, I was doing 79 in a 65 zone..... I think I was a more interesting target because of my Texas plates, and once the Oklahoma Highway Patrol saw my CA license he was almost giddy! Needless to say, I will be heading to the McAlester courthose this week to plead my case, hopefully I can get away without a point on the record.
On a side note, I have been driving the speed limit since then, and it appears that everyone in Oklahoma drives the speed limit all the time?! How strange. I go 65 and nobody passes me......

Weight-On-Bit, or Wait-On-Bit?

2006-07-13T15:12:00.000-07:00

   Well, I'm back in Oklahoma. Sadly, I left before Andrea returned from Minneapolis so I won't be able to see my sweetie until I am done with this trip. If all goes to plan, this will be my last trip to Oklahoma for testing of this new tool we have been working on. The Boss Man has decided that I need to be present for three successful runs in a row, and Oklahoma just happens to be our ideal test ground. So, I am here to hopefully run all three tests.
   Because of the not-centrally-located nature of the locations where I will be running the tests, I have decided to rent an RV so I can stay on location. I picked up a 24-footer from the Oklahoma City Cruise America office, and got stocked with Diet Pepsi and microwave foods. So far so good... I'll keep you posted on my RV-ing across "America's Corner."
   P.S. for anyone not oilfield-inclined (or in case my pun is just plain lame), in the picture above they are putting the maximum weight onto the bit! The blocks are slacked over and we are still drilling slow!

1/2 Down, 2-1/2 to Go

2006-07-15T09:58:00.000-07:00

Well, we decided to pull the tool early after we got stuck in the hole. (Getting stuck had nothing at all to do with the tool-it was just along for the ride.) The customer didn't want to risk losing the tools, so we aborted the test early. (The tool worked flawlessly while it was in the hole, though.) There is another job I can get on that will start Sunday morning, 6am. It is only a few miles down the road, so I guess I will restock the RV and head out!
Also, it is stinkin hot here. The temperature has been well over 100, and the humidity is high too. Accuweather is calling for record-breaking heat for the next week at least! Yuk.
Happy Birthday, MOM!!!

Remember, there is no "I" in "Team America"

2006-07-05T20:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Andrea and I celebrated our Independence from Britain with a bash at Kelly's place. We lit off some sparklers and had some hot dogs and watermelon (that American enough?). All in all, it was a fine party and a good time with friends. Hopeully, next year we'll have the house done and maybe we can host a 4th party of our own!

No prey, no pay!

2006-07-02T02:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Sal's birthday, so we cowardly swabs took the Scourge of the Seven Seas for a seafood feast at the Old Custom House in Avila. Then we weigh'd our anchors and headed to Kelly's for some grog and to sing a shantey for the cap'n. After he displayed his loot and we pillaged the cake, we had a contest to see who was the most fearsome pirate in the group. In our game, however, Sal was hornswaggled, and Captain Andrea of the Princess of the Seas showed that she was the ultimate Dread Pirate!

Fathers' Day with my Pop!

2006-06-21T16:08:00.000-07:00

With Andrea gone on her Western-US road trip, I decided it would be a great opportunity to have my pop come down and get some work done around the house. He came down Saturday morning, and we got a ton of things done around the house, and even managed to just hang around a bit too.
We got the rest of the living room drywall installed, and a good first (and in some places second) coat of mud up. This is a major hurdle and the room is finally starting to look like a regular living room again (i.e. no more major gaping holes into the attic!). It sure will be nice to get the room finshed - hopefully I can stick around long enough to get it done!

Powered by Bio-Diesel

2006-06-04T17:49:00.000-07:00

   Andrea and I went to Santa Barbara for the weekend to visit my sister. We have been planning to go see her and her dorm for a visit for months, and this was the first weekend that we were both free and able to make it down there. We got off to a bit of a late start on Saturday, so we decided to stay at a hotel down there and visit and do some shopping on Sunday.
   Becky and Jeanette's dorm room is very nicely setup - covered with tons of pictures (I guess that is a girl thing) and artwork. Their room looks out to the mountains, and is just a few minutes walk from the beach. We took a short tour of campus and saw the ultimate in beach-front dormitories. Pretty fancy place where she goes to school.
   Andrea and I had very successful shopping downtown in Santa Barbara. Nothing much has changed in SLO county as far as shopping is concerned, so we must still resort to trips south to do major shopping. We hit all the main stores . . . my biggest successes were at Old Navy and Gap, while Andrea hit big at Nordstrom. We also had a few good meals downtown with Becky and Jeanette.
   On the way out back to the car from downtown, we passed by the bus pictured above filling up at a Shell station. I walked by a bit later and verified that (as expected) Shell does NOT sell Bio-Diesel at that location. Hmmmmmmm.........

Congratulations, Andrea!

2006-06-10T21:00:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to my sweetie on her graduation!
I managed to get home from Oklahoma (third trip to the Sooner State this year) just in the nick of time to make it to Andrea's graduation. Her parents came down and my parents came down and we all went out to Thai. I was sorta nervous about the meeting, as it has been kinda hyped (think "Meet the Fockers") to no end, but everything went wonderfully. Did I mention that I love Thai food?

Hecka Hamburgers

2006-05-26T17:39:00.000-07:00

On this job, I am working about 5 miles outside of this little town called Hanna, Oklahoma. I pass by this little burger joint several times a day, but it kinda looks like a ghost town, and I didnt think it was really open. But, one of the other workers on the job suggested we go there for a hamburger today, and what a great suggestion that was!
The Hitchin' Post has hands-down the best burgers I have ever eaten. I cannot believe how yummy they are! I don't know what the secret is, but I will be going back there for sure on my next trip to the area!

Welcome to Agape Land

2006-05-24T10:47:00.000-07:00

The hotel I am staying at in Oklahoma is right across the street from the Oral Roberts University in Tulsa. Looking out from my hotel each morning, I saw what you see here - the world's largest praying hands. I thought they were pretty unique...

Voiceless Alveolar Lateral Fricative

2006-05-22T12:13:00.000-07:00

On a flight to Dallas last night (yes, I am indeed back in Oklahoma), I had the fortune of sitting next to a chatty lady who, among other things, is a speaker Tswana, an African tribal language primairly spoken in Botswana and parts of South Africa. I am very interested in language, and am always up to learn something new, so I managed to convince her to teach me a little bit of Tswana.
Tswana has only one click (think Starvin' Marvin), but even the one makes it a lot harder to speak. I practiced some simple phrases (hello, I want water, etc.) and it took a while to train my mouth to make the click sound (Wikipedia calles it the "voiceless alveolar lateral fricative") without disrupting the flow of words. Now when Andrea and I are on the Amazing Race, we will be good to go if we go to the Bantu region of Southern Africa!

A Big Help...

2006-05-14T22:49:00.000-07:00

   This weekend I finally got a chance to make some some more progress on the living room. I have been out-of-town soo many weekends this year, the project is really dragging. I even managed to enlist the help of Andrea for a while today in replacing the old floor boards! She must have pulled out a few thousand nails from the floor!
   I know---you're thinking: "Why would Ben want to rip out that nice oak flooring and replace it with boring-old OSB and carpet?" I must admit that it made me feel a bit queasy as I ripped the nice pieces of oak to shreds...but I decided that it had to be done. The old floor had some serious water damage, and was not really installed properly, so it creaked really badly every time you moved around! We got the new subfloor installed today and so far I am very happy with how quiet it is!!
   Unfortunately, it sounds like I'll be heading back to OKC before next weekend, so I guess the progress will have to go back on hold for a while.....

Crash and Burn

2006-05-07T14:43:00.000-07:00

   Well, the test that I am in Oklahoma to run failed immediately, meaning that they had to trip our tool right back out of the hole (about 2700 ft). This is the sort of thing that makes me quite unpopular with the roughnecks! Oh well, this is the world of development and engineering.....
   I needed to get some of the parts shipped back to ATA as fast as possible, so I raced back to Oklahoma City in search of the UPS shipping depot. Andrea guided me on the phone to the UPS center, which turned out to be closed when I got there. (I'm not really sure how they can accept packages for shipment until 4pm on Saturdays, when their customer service center is not even open!) I was running out of time, so Andrea and I (she was in CA on the map) zipped over to FedEx (across OKC) Amazing Race style! I made it there just before 4pm (turns out they were open until 5!) and got all of our equipment shipped back.
   Now, my job title changes (as it so often does) to "Hot-Shot Driver," basically making me into a well-paid courier! I have to wait in Oklahoma until they finish this well and I can retrieve the rest of our experimental equipment and expedite it back to ATA. Hopefully they will be done tonight or in the morning so I can be on a flight from Dallas by Tuesday morning.

"I'm Proud to be an Okie from Muskogee"

2006-05-05T19:29:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'm not really in Muskogee nor am I an Okie, but I am working about 40 miles away from Muskogee near Dustin, Oklahoma. I got back into Paso on Tuesday afternoon, and had to be on a flight to OK the next day! Unfortunately, I guess there was just not enough time for me to get ready, and I missed my AmericaWorst flight by a few minutes. Luckily, there was a delayed United flight that would get me into Dallas just before midnite. I drove through a wicked electrical storm that night from Dallas to OKC, and arrived at the office the next morning to find out that (as usual) the job was delayed a day. The phrase "Hurry up and Wait" must have been invented by someone who works in the oil patch, because it seems like I always race like a maniac to get somewhere and then sit around for a day waiting for things to get started. The only time that a job is ever ready on time, it is when I am late!!!!
After arriving on location this morning and getting everything ready to go, they said they wouldnt be ready for at least 5 or 6 more hours, meaning they would need me on location right around midnite to get to work. I got myself a room down here in MacAlester, OK (which is currently overrun with some sort of old-lady convention) and expect a call sometime in the night that I have to head back out. I'll try to catch a few winks while I can!

Good to Go, Almost

2006-05-02T16:03:00.000-07:00

   Well, the first survey out at Natural Soda went very well. The tool performed flawlessly, and we were able to verify the location of the baking soda well to within the customer's requirements. There is a second well on the pad that they had originally wanted to survey as well, and the company informed me that it would be a day or so before they were ready. After waiting around all day the next day for the job to start, the company man told me that we would be ready sometime Sunday around 2pm.
   I phoned out to location Sunday morning, and was told that they wouldn't be ready for me until at least 8pm that evening. Now, the night before, I had checked into the few remaining ski areas still open in Colorado, and decided that if I was going to go skiing, I would need a full day. When I got the news that the job was delayed, I decided to go check out Loveland Pass ski area (about 2 hrs drive from where I was staying). I didn't really intend to ski, since it looked like $40 for a half day ticket, plus another $17 to rent gear, but when I arrived, a guy in the parking lot gave me a lift ticket for free! I guess he had purchased a multi-pack, and since Loveland was closing the next weekend, he wouldn't be back again before his ticket expired. That was enough to convince me to give it a go. I hit the slopes around 1130, and skied for a few hours until the wind and rain and snow got the better of me and I decided I had better head back for my 8:00 job.
   I arrived on location with time to spare, but shortly after I arrived they were cleaning the hole out for us to run our survey and they got their drillstring stuck! The tubulars they are using on this project are so small that if they were to get stuck while running our tool, they wouldn't be able to get it out. Natural Soda decided that the risk of losing a $200k+ tool down hole was not worth getting a survey, so after waiting on location all night we were released.
   Hoping to catch a Monday flight home from Grand Junction, I got packed up fast and got ready to high-tail it back to my hotel and then on to the airport. I figured I had just enough time to get packed, showered and make it to the airport in time for the last flight of the day. No sooner was I ready to go then I got a call that I had to head to another project in the area where they were having problems.
   I am not the first person from engineering to visit this site, but it seems that previous attempts to help them with their specialized project have failed. I analyzed the problem and spoke with a few people back at ATA and now everything is good. Sadly, it took just long enough that there was no way for me to fly out until this morning.

Drilling for ....... Baking Soda?

2006-04-27T13:07:00.000-07:00

Im back up here in (yep, you guessed it) Colorado on a project for a company called Natural Soda. They are actually drilling into the largest commercial natural soda resurve in the Western Hemisphere! About 2000 feet below the surface there is a huge reserve of natural baking soda. It is exactly the same as the stuff you get at the grocery store for making cookies and stuff! To get it out, they drilled two horizontal wells through it, and when finished, they will pump hot water down one of the wells which will mix with the baking soda and wash it out. They will then pump the water back up the other well and about a mile down some pipes (like the one going off the left side of the picture above) to their processing facility. The water/baking soda mix then enters a giant centrifuge where it is dried. After the water has been removed, it is packaged for anything from baking to livestock feed.
Unfortunately, they are still using a drilling rig on this project, which means everything moves slowly. I arrived here on Tuesday night and might be working by this evening. There is always something to wait for on a drilling rig! Luckily, we are just down the road from a giant Shell project, so John (other SDI hand) and I snuck into their camp for some really good dinner yesterday.
The weather is beautiful here in Colorado, btw - sunny and warm!

Working Overhead

2006-04-23T23:49:00.000-07:00

Wow, putting drywall on the ceiling is the worst! Luckily, I had my pops down for the weekend to give me a hand. We managed to finish all the electrical (including adding several home runs for future use) including hooking up the new panel in the garage. We also built the header between the living and dining rooms and even got the old wall heater taken out. It is nice to have a ceiling with insulation and lights that work! Hopefully I will get a few more weekends home soon so we can finish getting everythig put together.
Another HUGE benefit was that Pop brought down his gas weed whacker and whacked the entire yard (which was nearing waist-deep in some areas). I think I might have to get one of those someday!

San Diego, Mexico (Again), Colorado (Again)

2006-04-03T06:21:00.000-07:00

Andrea and I went down to San Diego for a quick trip across the border for some traditional Langosta with her friends from the lab where she works. It was quite a whirlwind trip – we left Paso Friday at about 7:30 p.m., getting into San Diego at about 1:30 a.m. on Saturday. We took Andrea’s Civic to Puerto Nuevo, BC via Tiajuana. No major problems while in Mexico (except for one rather large crater, err...pothole! – Sorry Andrea!)
We popped into a nice little restaurant with a view of the Pacific (and even saw some whales) and had all the lobster we could eat.
After a rather arduous crossing back into the US, we went into Downtown San Diego for dinner and a few drinks and dancing. Unfortunately, I had to leave the party a little early to catch a flight out of San Diego Airport at 9am. (This was exceptionally painful due to the whole “Spring Forward” thing…) I managed to make it into Durango Sunday afternoon for my third trip to the area in as many months. I brought my ski clothes this time, but unfortunately Durango Mountain Resort had its closing day yesterday, so if I want to go skiing, I will have to hit Wolf Creek Pass (1.5 hours) or try for Telluride or Aspen. In reality, it is looking like I am going to be pretty busy here for the next 10 or so days, so I probably won’t be able to hit the slopes. Oh well – wishful thinking!