Alrighty then. I am, for the most part and much to my surprise almost at a loss for words.....................
Late last night I arrived here, in Kearl Lake, Alberta.....my new 'Home away from Home', with the exception being that, if I don't actually have a nervous breakdown first....'here' will actually be my place of residence 75% of the time.
Does this mean I'm Albertan now??
(funny what stress and sleep deprivation does...last night I spent nearly an hour on the highway wondering why there were so many Albertan plates ?? Seriously. My Driver still remains vastly amused.....)
Aside from the obvious geographical contrasts (it is seriously FLAT ) it was quite clear before I even got off the last plane that all is not well here. The SMOKE is absolutely incredible and turns the sky the strangest hue of pinkish orange I have ever seen in my life. Most unsettling indeed and, once again, I was forced to place absolute and utter FAITH in the powers that BE to keep my safe and away from harm in this strange place.....The Universe flung open a door and I hopped through it, how bad could that be??....
It is also, quite clearly, OIL COUNTRY. In as much as the home of my heart is GREEN , lush, natural........this place is NOT. You know you're not in Paradise anymore when you , literally, drive past the infamous Thousands Of Dead Ducks zone.......wow. (for the record, that 'issue' (!) hath apparently been solved by floating hundreds of 'buoys' with large orange 'scarecrow' type figures on them...it keeps the waterfowl from landing and then, ultimately expiring from whatever it is they get covered in. Too much information....I honestly do not want to know right now :/ )
From my wee vantage point, I really and truly am on another planet........
After traveling past what seemed like an obscene amount of "Camps" ...some of them so stark and massive in size they literally look like very, very unpleasant Correctional Institutions........through fairly intense smoke (I'm actually laughing, hard, at this point because it is truly quite surreal) .....I arrive at the gates to 'Home'. Imagine a border crossing in a small and hostile country. Guard towers, men with dogs (Security here literally has the lifelike image of a ginourmous German Sheppard emblazoned on the sides of their vehicles).....We must be stopped and Inspected. I actually had to provide my passport and get the appropriate security clearances to proceed any further. I think I may have signed my first born and the neighbour's cat away too but I'm honestly not sure anymore. No Drugs No Alcohol No Cameras (really...oops) etc etc....they mean it too. No doubt. I am a very, very Good Girl now !!
Another drive further down the road I am in CAMP. This is actually one of the few camps located right on a working site, hence the security issues and total lack of personal freedoms and movement. It's DANGEROUS out there. The large cluster of mobile trailers stuck in the middle of absolute Nothingness is actually looking damned inviting now. I just want to get away from the Stephen King skies and put my bags down and my feet up for a bit ! My Driver (lovely man) at this point in time is having a great time picking on me and my entire naivety regarding my new environment and when he tells me that if I step OFF the walkway leading up to said cluster of buildings , alarms will go off ?, I believe him. Totally. (this would be akin to waiting for whales in Lake Erie as a small child as well as the plethora of water snakes in the Nanaimo harbour at the fireworks last weekend (Dave !! )....I am such a total Schmuck sometimes !)
In any case, I owe him one. Yup............;)
I am greeted, with a *hug* by my new Boss and, seemingly, an absolutely Fabulous and fun gal. I am also, clearly 'green' and the subject of much interest and curiousity. Absolutely everyone is nothing less than extremely friendly, 'off' colour and clearly very much just REAL people. Despite my unease,overall fatigue and overwhelmed state, I LIKE these people. Immediately. Perhaps not the place, yet, but the people are truly lovely....it reminded me very much like my trip to San Antonio, I am not a Stranger here. Interesting comparison but the feeling and the people are the same, just a totally different environment....again.
I spent the remainder of my evening learning that this Camp had been on Emergency Evac alerts until earlier the very same day. Smoke and air quality issues (like I hadn't noticed !) due to the 230, 550 HECTARE fire currently burning out of control (!!!!) above our heads. Okee Dokee.......more forms, signatures and DNA samples required (to be fair, also a couple of more hugs and a "you're A Keeper" which was to me at the time akin to sending me to the spa for a day really) before I am finally allowed to seek the shelter of my new room.....
I'm guessing this little dorm is about 10x15 ish. I have a single bed, small desk and wardrobe. I have a window (I was worried about this one actually), although I am currently unable to open it due to smoke issues and it only looks at another trailer anyhow....it is oddly comforting regardless. I share a 'bathroom' (shower & toilet) with the room next door. There is actually a little red light beside my door that lights up when the other occupant is using the lav....he he .....surreal. Fortunately for me, as Staff the other room will remain unoccupied for as long as possible, depending on camp capacity. (PRAY please :) My own room also has a small sink, vanity and medicine cabinet of it's own (also a huge relief, the thought of bathroom wars at 5 am was frightening me) I have Satellite TV over my bed (what the heck else is one going to DO off duty anyhow ?)
Bizarre but entirely functional.
After unpacking my 80 lbs of luggage (I've already told my new Boss that, should she decide not to keep me, they can auction of all of it....lol....there is NO way I am schlepping it all back to BC.......)I discover I had inadvertently omitted a TOOTHBRUSH. Really. You laugh now but when you're a Zombie at 1 am on a foreign planet and you have to go to work again in a few hours?? Not. Nor is the fact that it's very much like a hospital or casino noise wise....24/7.....nothing stops moving here......so much for sleep this particular night.....
So.
At this point in time I hath already worked 5 of my 10 hour split shift (while training only...thanks !) and don't have to be 'back'....down the hall.....he he.......until 5pm. I am tired, more than a little freaked out (mostly in an amusing way though.....ADAPT is the obvious Plan Of Action here ) and really wondering what I've gotten myself IN to.......that said, I'll save the rest (and there's plenty LOL) for later. I remain beyond exhausted and am going to schlep myself back to the dining room , grab lunch then 'nap' the afternoon away....or try.......until I have to stroll down the hall and back to my office.
That's my story so far and I'm sticking to it...............no apologies for bad spelling or structure...I'm like the 'this is your brain on drugs' Egg commercial (but I'm NOT and can prove it now...he he) if anyone remembers that ? .....the things one has to DO to make a living these days (lol)
'Nighty Night for now :)
(and OH, evacuation alert remains in effect but the winds are apparently being kind and we should be OK here for awhile......no worries, they know what they're about with this stuff up here ;)
*****Here's a little something someone, somewhere here posted on Youtube yesterday....they are SO fired if they get caught for this but I'm thankful as it helps to show you exactly what I arrived to :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZmtSiTpjMA
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