Keep Learning Something New Every Day Here.........

.....half-way through and finished up my second 2-day program today.  I actually finished around noon and kind of feel bad about it—my company charges a lot of money for this training—but I don’t have materials.  I got back to the room after eating lunch and the sky opened up and it has been raining non-stop for several hours now.  My room is nice and dry but the domes themselves are leaking terribly.

Another learned lesson in Tengiz, Kazakhstan:  I sent my laundry out this morning and it came back unwashed.  I have to put a laundry list in the bag.  Wish somebody had told me and suggested where I find a laundry list to begin with.  I finally found some and, in the process, discovered a microwave oven so I popped some of the popcorn I brought with me. 

The afternoon really was kind of nice—I just took it easy and listened to the rain on the metal roof and, like I said, so far my room has been dry. 

 

I will be off all day Tuesday and then will do a four-day program and leave on the afternoon of the final training day.  I’ll catch a commuter flight back to Atyrau and spend another night in the transit barracks and then it’s back to Houston.  Honestly, except for the logistical issues, this hasn’t been a bad job.

The pub was open tonight and I stopped by to take a look. 

 

The photo says it all.  They do, however, have orange drink and Coke.  I can’t understand why the place isn’t shoulder-to-shoulder.

My regularly-scheduled day off--Tuesday--was uneventful--overcast, some rain, but the temperatures fell to about 68 degrees.  That, coupled with the constant breeze, made it feel almost cool and people were wearing light jackets today.  105 degrees one day and 68 the next:  another similarity to Texas I guess.

Got my laundry back but learned yet another "unwritten" Tengiz rule here:  you have to put your shower towels in the laundry bag to get them cleaned.  I'd been going nearly a week with the same towel waiting for them to change it out.

This time next week, I'll have been home a couple of days and in ten days, Devin and I will be headed for Las Vegas.  So far, so good.........