The Coolest Part

At Whateberger, we go through several stages of training. This is by design to give you a break from your job, but not a break from work. I find myself back in Kellyville, OK for more training. This is a two-week course where you don’t get graded, take tests, or really do anything. I get to learn about new technologies and most importantly: meet people from all over the world/company. They have interesting stories and while we all have the same “job” no two locations are alike.

I met a Russian girl whose name is Lilia…. which is Russian for Laila. We have the same name but in two different languages.

“The Dutch never speak about being gay in dutch” -DutchCoWorker

I met a guy who looked familiar. I assumed I saw him here last year for training. As it turns out, he went to Arizona State University. Let’s call him AFellowSunDevil. This coincidence is extremely rare, as the company is huge and they do not recruit very heavily from the greatest university on the planet….He currently works in North Dakota, where oil and gas activity is blowing up and the infrastructure is not designed to support so many people. “People are now banned from staying in the Wal-Mart parking log, because so many people have been kidnapped and killed.”…. This is true. People can just show up to these towns and get work. However, they do not have a place to live and are forced to stay in parking lots.

“We had one operator who brought camel milk to the shop every day. He was giving it to an European engineer. This guy drank a jug of camel milk every day because he thought it was so good and interesting. After a few weeks, this guy had to go to the hospital and get his stomach pumped.”- Guy in my class. We asked him if he ever drank camel milk. “No, but I’ve had a camelccino”. This is a cappuccino but with camel milk.

When Laila Met Taco

Last weekend, I attended my first party down the Bayou. It was at a house on stilts near the water. These are areas that get destroyed in a hurricane. I watched the LSU football game with some co workers, ate home made quesidillas and shot guns into the Bayou. While shooting guns, a critter came running through the grassy fields surrounding the house. Many thought it was a rabbit or very small deer. The gun wielder turned to shoot at it. Just then, we realized it was not a wild swamp animal, but rather a small friendly dog. This dog we named Taco.

Taco is extremely tame and quiet. She sat beside the group patiently. We took her upstairs to sit in the swing and fed her steak. We decided that her name was Taco, but her Cajun name was “Taceaux”. See the Cajun man video below for an example of pronunciation…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xccz5qvv0AI

I fell in love with this dog, as evidenced in the photo above This bayou canine wore no collar. Where I come from, that means this dog is fair game. However, I sensed that down the Bayou, those rules don’t apply. Since Taco did not seem malnourished and was clearly a very domesticated dog, I decided not to steal her.

Next week, I return to Kellyville, OK for another round of training. I will reunite with the Dutch Co Worker and Rick. They are open holers.

A Thesis

Every third Friday feels like the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. This is how the 2:1 schedule works in Whataberger Houma wireline. Crew change day is on Thursday, which is the new Monday. I just came on after a week of going to bed at 08:30pm and waking at 06:30am. This is the schedule my body naturally falls into. I feel like a child when I wake up so early and my roommates are still sleeping. I play quietly in my room until someone stirs from slumber and I have a roommate to play with.

Gertrude finally had some days off. We decorated a tree together…