Been a long time since the last blog, so I’ll give you a timeline/synopsis to bring you up to date
| 大寒 Dàhán [Great Cold] 4703, Year of Rooster [better known as January, 2006] Erin & Daniel came over to Suzhou for a visit/vacation which was just in time for the Chinese New Years. This means only one thing . . . a party at Bruce & Sari’s (that’s pronounced Shar’-ee for those non-Hungarians among you) 26th floor penthouse apartment. Mona, Erin & Daniel took our contributions to the evening’s festivities in the only taxi we were able to flag down, which left Heidi & I on foot. It was only four long blocks, but what a night for a stroll. It sounded like we were in the middle of a fire fight! With so many firecrackers going off at ground level, it cast a fog over the entire area, and then, with the aerials blasting over head in an almost constant staccato, it was difficult to talk even walking side by side. Spent the evening watching all of the fireworks from the 26th floor waiting for the explosion of skyrockets at midnight. Still January, but now it is 立春 Lìchūn [Spring Begins] 4704. Toured some of Suzhou’s many beautiful gardens had a few dinners and drinks with the other expats. Took the train to Beijing where we did the usual tourist stuff; Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace and the Old Summer Palace. Hard to think of it as a Summer Palace when the lake is frozen solid. February, 2006 – Time to go see the Great wall. Took three tries before we were satisfied that we saw the Great Wall properly. First try at Badaling, which is close to Beijing and you can walk on and see a lot of the wall. Being that close also means that it can be crowded. This area has been restored and looks great, but in February, it was so damn cold that we gave up while standing in line waiting to get tickets for the lift. So, there we were trying to communicate with the driver, me pointing & making gestures, Erin using some of her Chinese from school & Mona calling Mi (Mona's friend who works for a Chinese travel agency) on the cell phone. The driver got the idea and said “Bye-bye Badaling”. It was a short drive down to Juyongguan Pass. This area is restored and very well maintained, but it is also is very commercial. While we did climb and walk on the Great Wall, it was a bit of a disappointment for Daniel with respect to photo ops. The third try was the charm as they say. Mona found a trip to the Simatai section that was worth the extra long ride. This is the section that I would recommend if you have the time and want to see the wall in its natural condition. You can even be dropped off at one area and walk the wall to be picked up at another. We only walked it for a distance of 7 towers (9 for Daniel). Some of this section is in great shape; some is flat, missing sections of the hand rail you see on all of the photos; and some was just a 3-feet [1-meter] wide wall just tall enough to for a man to stand and hide behind. If you want, you can ride the ZIP-line down from the wall, over the lake and to the parking area. Met up with Netta (Mona’s niece) who came to adopt her third Chinese child. A couple that Netta knew, met us at an Arabic restaurant that Erin had been to on her Masters Program trip, for dinner. Erin got to belly dance and Daniel danced with the belly dancer while he had an 8-foot snake draped around his neck. Then it was off to Changsha where Netta got her new son, Tai. He was two years old and had a cleft pallet. Almost from the beginning, he was comfortable around us. The highlight of our visit to Changsha was visiting a Wal-Mart. Since there were six of us and the taxi would only take four people at a time, we took two cabs. Who would have thought that there were TWO Wal-Marts in town? Needless to say, Erin, Daniel & I ended up at one, while Mona, Netta & Tai were taken to the other one. I must say that it did resemble a Wal-Mart that we are all familiar with, but there were some not quite so subtle differences. Whole pigs, ducks & rabbits smoked, flattened and stacked chest high on the counters for starters! Parts of animals that usually end up in hot dogs were proudly displayed along with things that even Vienna Sausages wouldn’t use! I’ve tried a lot of things, but when the sign reads “Bull Dick”, I think it is best left for the locals. From there it was down to Sanya in China’s southern most province, the island of Hainan. Hainan’s latitude is a couple of degrees south of Hawaii, so even in February, you could enjoy the ocean. Had a very relaxed visit before heading off for a whirlwind tour of Hong Kong, where we had dinner with one of Erin’s friends, took a trip to Macau, then flew back to Shanghai where Mr. Ni picked us up for the trip back to Suzhou. March 2006 – Our going away party at Bruce & Sari’s. April 2006 – Our “Just Deserts” going away party” at Bruce & Sari’s. May 2006 – Our going away party at Bruce & Sari’s (do you see a pattern here?). The weekend of the 20th/21st Mona & Mi arranged for a group trip to the Yellow Mountains. They rented a bus, hired a guide and had reservations made at a hotel on the top of the mountain. Just a day before we were due to leave, Mi called to say that the government had taken over the hotel for a group of UN delegates. After a bit of scrambling, Mi found another hotel that turned out to be a nice place. Three of the gang hiked to the top while the smart ones took the cable car. Beautiful area. Highly recommend visiting there. We had our final going away dinner at the Bullfighter. Sarah refused to come because she doesn’t do good-byes well. The following day Mr. Ni took us to Shanghai. We took time to ride the Maglev (magnetic lavation) train from the hotel near the airport into downtown Shanghai. It was too late in the day for the high-speed run, so it only got to 301kph or 187mph. The next day, May 25th at 9.45AM, we left China. We arrived back in Portland on May 25th at 7.00AM. About midnight, Mona had to take me to the hospital. Couldn’t keep anything inside at all. They kept saying that it was just something going around the Portland/Vancouver area & I kept saying “I haven’t been here; I’ve been in China – Bird Flu – China – Bird Flu!” They put me in what they called a clinical decision unit where they put you when they want to watch you but want you out of the ER and not admit you into the hospital. Got to spend two nights there until I could keep things inside. June 2006 – This month started out crappy and continued to go down hill. First we got a call saying Mona’s mother has fallen and was taken to the hospital. Just 30-minutes later we got another call saying Tom’s mother had a stroke & heart attack and is in the hospital. By that afternoon, we were packed and headed the Durango for Kansas & Oklahoma. Spent the night (really just a few hours while it was dark) in the car, at a rest area just north of the Utah/Idaho border. Just couldn’t make it on into Ogden, UT, as planned. We arrived in Wichita and met with Bob, Tom’s brother who told us that Mom was scheduled for bypass surgery the following morning. When they got the scope in they found it was not necessary, that the capillaries had grown around the blockage & were providing sufficient blood flow. On top of that, we knew that Pop had been taking medication for Alzheimer’s but were shocked to see how far he had digressed. After talking with their doctors, it was decided that with Pop’s condition and Mom's heart problems/macular degeneration, that they were not able to care for themselves any longer. Mom understood the need and accepted it, but Pop really didn't want any part of it, but he wanted to be with Mom more then he didn't want to be in the facility. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done; signing the papers to move then into a local nursing home. Drove on down to Durant to see Mona’s mom, who was home by then, but was not doing well. It looked like ALS, she couldn't speak and was having trouble swallowing, which made it tough to keep enough nourishment intake. Then went back up to Wichita to start getting things ready to move Mom & Pop to a nursing facility near Bob's home in Kentucky. While there, we received a call that Mona’s mom made a decision to get a feeding tube implanted. We had to get the AC fixed in the Durango before heading down to Durant. We arrived that evening but later, Mona’s mom was taken to the hospital with difficulty breathing & high heart rate. Her doctor did not answer the page, so she was transferred to a hospital in Dallas, TX. She seemed to be stable and so we headed back up to Wichita to meet Jim & Jane (Tom’s cousins from Albuquerque) who were going to help move the parents to KY. Mona’s mom was released from the hospital in Dallas & transferred to a nursing home in Durant about the time that we checked Tom’s parents out of home in Wichita and headed to Kentucky. July 2006 – We arrived at Tom’s brother’s home near Wellington, KY, after a not so uneventful two day drive. After the drive and with Pop's condition, it was decided that it would be best to get them checked into the facility that night. We spent a few days with Bob & Sandy then headed back to Wichita. Decided to take a detour to Hot Springs, AR, where we got some much needed down time with Scott & Debbie Young. Took an evening cruise on Lake Hamilton on their deck boat & introduced Debbie to geocaching. Eased on up to Sapulpa, OK, where we had dinner with Sue & Bill (Mona’s sister & brother-in-law) before going on to Wichita. Jim & Jane helped us get the house ready to sell, tried to get the car sold, medical records ordered & the estate sale scheduled. We purchased a 6’ X 12’ (1,8m X 3,7m) enclosed cargo trailer to take some items home, but us being us, knowing that we were going to try to make a camping trailer out of it, we tore the flimsy interior out of the trailer & installed ½-inch (13-mm) plywood. Finalized most of the bank issues but not those on the car. Had Power of Attorney issues with the Kansas DMV. They wouldn’t recognize the same documents that the banks did, so we couldn’t sell it there. Nita & Vernon (Mona’s sister & brother-in-law) decided to buy it and that made our life easier: Texas had no problem with the POA we had. Traveled to Durant, pulling a trailer in 113-degree F heat (that’s 45-degrees C to those of you on the metric system). Needless to say the Durango wanted to overheat with the AC running, but Mona was nice & comfortable driving Tom’s parent’s car. Visited Mona’s Mom then traveled on to Wellington, TX. Nita & Vernon drove the car on to Wellington & Mona drove their truck (with AC). Temp only 107F (41.7C), but still not able to use AC in Durango. Traveled on to Albuquerque. Temp only 100°F (38°C), but now Mona gets to share the sauna. Combination for the window to get air flow through the truck without getting blown out; drivers side front window CLOSED; passengers side front window OPEN; rear windows DOWN about 20% and the sunroof in the vent position. Took time out to go up to Santa Fe with Jim & Jane. Did a little geocaching too. Bought & installed an oil cooler on Durango. As close as we were to the popcorn shop, couldn’t pass that opportunity up! Traveled to someplace in western Arizona. Temp now around 95°F (35°C). Can use AC sparingly. On to Rancho Cucamonga, CA to visit Dana & René (Tom’s daughter & son-in-law). Did a bit of Geocaching with Dana, René & grandson, Donté. Got word that Mona’s mom was back in the hospital due to a bacterial infection. Traveled to Yreka, CA. Too hot in the San Fernando Valley, then too many hills from there on to use the AC much. August 2006 – Arrived back in Vancouver, WA. Mona’s mom was discharged from the hospital & returned to the nursing facility. Tom flew to Edmonton, Canada & drove up to Fort McMurray, Alberta, CA, for meetings on site with customer for his next job. Back home for some work around the house that had been neglected for the past two years. Aug 28th Mona got a call that her mothers’ health was deteriorating rapidly so she flew down to Tulsa via Atlanta, GA & rode down to Durant with Sue. Mona stayed in Durant to help care for her mom. Sue, Nita came down to help when they could. September – Tom stayed in Vancouver and tried to get the garage straightened up (didn’t entirely make it), watched a couple of Daniels softball games (they won 3 & lost 1), did a little Geocaching with Erin (including the original, first cache ever placed {eat your heart out Sam-n-B}), had a couple of dinners with the kids, took in the Oregon cans/bottles, took in the recycling & otherwise, just generally moped around missing Mona. The family decided to honor their mom's wish to leave the nursing facility & return to her home. Went to watch Erin’s first coed indoor soccer match (football to you non-North Americans). They lost, but she had fun. On September 18th – Mona’s mother, Sarah Nell White, passed away. She was 87 years old; had 5 children, 13 grandchildren, 30 great-grandchildren & 12 great great-grandchildren. That day Tom started the drive down to Durant, made it as far as Rawlings, Wyoming. Slept in car, woke up to a temperature of a brisk 35F (1.7C) Stopped in Wichita, spent the night with Mike & Nancy (Tom’s best friend) and finally got the address on his parents bank account changed over, and then headed on to Durant. Dana, Erik & Amy and Erin & Daniel all made it to the funeral, although Erik & Amy had a time getting there. American Airlines canceled/delayed flight out of Dallas/Fort Worth due to weather. They had to rent a car at DFW and drive up to Durant, but their suitcase could not be retrieved from plane, so it made it to Oklahoma City that evening without them. Sarah’s service was held at their church in Durant. Erin & Scott (Sue’s son) delivered the eulogy by reading the thoughts & remembrances from Sarah’s many friends & family. A very nice way to do the service, a heartfelt celebration of her life, not of her passing. Erik & Tom took Dana to Oklahoma City airport for her return flight to California and picked up Erik & Amy’s suitcase. Traveled over to Seminole, OK, to meet the rest of the families & spend the night before Sarah’s internment at the cemetery in Little, OK, the following day. Erik & Amy returned to Dallas/Fort Worth airport, then on to Portland. Erin & Daniel returned to Oklahoma City airport, then on to Portland. A few days later, we took Sue up to Tulsa, then headed home via Pampa, TX, to visit Tony & Gloria (Mona’s nephew). On the way out of town Tom got a call saying that he needed to be in Trona, CA, for a job on Oct. 3rd. So we took a straight at Amarillo and headed for Albuquerque. Took time out to a drive down to visit some of the ruins (Native American pueblos & Spanish churches) and a drive up to visit Joe & Dee (friends of Jim & Jane) on the other side of the Sandia mountains. October 2006 – Drove on into Ridgecrest, CA, where we planned to stay during the job. Drove out to Trona the following day & found out that my manager had me arrive two days early. The customer asked me to review their parts plan for the upcoming 2007 outage. Lucky that things got screwed up because the Unit V2 valves stuck during operation and the outage was moved up. Worked to fix the problem, but with the customer not having the necessary parts we had to do some “field engineering” to get the unit back on line. Twenty-hour day! Finished up and traveled to Ontario, CA to deliver report & get caught up on some e-training. Went to grandson’s football scrimmage & took everyone to dinner. Standing by in Ontario for possible job in Escondido, CA. Had lunch with René. Later Tom, René, Donté, Sheree and some of her friends went to the Rancho Cucamonga homecoming football game, while Mona, Dana, Carlos & Vicky went shopping. Had breakfast with Dana & René, and then headed down to Escondido to get some rest before heading out to work the night shift at site in Escondido. Finished up then traveled back to Vancouver on the 11th. On the 13th, Tom flew to Madrid, Spain via Frankfurt, Germany, then drove down to Toledo for a short job at the Iberdrola Union Fenosa Aceca site. Had to drive over to Castellon (on the Mediterranean coast between Barcelona & Valencia) with 4 bearing pads. On the way there, a truck threw a big chunk of heavy steel into the front left wheel damaging the linkage & CV-joint to the point I had to call Hertz who sent a truck out to pick it up. Traded a damaged BMW for a Skoda. Don’t know who got the best end of that one. Made it back home in time to pick up Tony & Rene so that we could go watch Tony play soccer. Tried would be a better word as it was so foggy that we couldn’t see the far goal. That evening was pumpkin carving & soup at the R&K Ford’s. Last day of the month Tom flew to Chicago, IL, then drove on over to Valparaiso, IN, to the Northern Indiana Public Service Company, Bailey Generating Station. No crew until tomorrow. This place sits right at the southern most tip of Lake Michigan, right on the waters edge. Unit suffered considerable damage when water got into the steam lines. We found that the whole unit was a bind, i.e. uneven loading on the four support points. But, the customer felt that there was not enough evidence that this was caused by the incident and that there was not enough time to fix the problem during this emergency outage. Back home just as the month ends. November 2006 – The next assignment is back to the CNRL Horizon Project, which is about 86 kilometers (53-miles) north of Fort McMurray, which is 275 miles (442 kilometers) north of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Starts first week in November and will run for almost a year. Temp when I got there was -30°F (-34°C). Chilly!!!! Spent almost three weeks convincing them that they weren’t ready for a TA yet. Got home just in time for Thanksgiving. Daniel did a turkey and we had Thanksgiving dinner at their house. December 2006 – With the remaining deferred overtime and the fact that they didn’t have a short-term job, I spent the rest of the year at home - replacing doors. Ever try to put an 80-inch door in a 77-inch door frame? Don't know why in the hell the previous owner cut three inches off of each door, but it sure made our simple job a lot harder. Christmas was a low keyed affair which, with the previous 6-months events, was sorely needed. January 2007 – Back to the Great White North where I was met by the unit setting on a snow covered concrete slab. No protection, no heat, no need for a TA yet! Spent two weeks getting the unit ready for storage until the building was built around it, before heading home again. February 2007 – Made the mistake of answering the phone, so it was off to Brampton near Toronto, Canada. Spent the month there working on the night shift – night shift + February + Toronto = -39C or -38.7F, but who is going to bicker over 0.3-degrees when the wind is blowing 50kph/31mph and there is a foot of snow on the ground! Mona flew up one weekend and we managed to get together with Margaret and Brian, friends from our time in Korea. Great evening of Margaret’s good cooking, wine, lots of stories & laughter which ended all too soon. When did Heather grow up from the little girl we knew to the young woman we just met? March 2007 – Started like February ended with me in Brampton – just a side note, the locals call it Bramaladesh. As diverse as the population of the US is, Canada is even more so. Finally escaped just in time to return back to Fort Mc. The ground is snow covered & the temperature is dropping to -35 overnight. However, the building is built and the unit is set on the foundation. On the downside, the foundation isn’t complete and in order to finish it, we had to move the units out of the way. With the unit moved, looking at the foundation found lots of work to be done before we could move the units back in place. Weather started to warm up so that it was finally above freezing during the afternoon. Progress on the foundation was measured against a fence post, and I think that the post was pulling ahead! Living in the camp is not bad, much better than many hotels that I have stayed in before. I have one of the 300 ft2 (28 m2) two room suites which appeals to be more than living in the bedroom. The cafeteria has a buffet with a good salad bar and your choice of veggies & three mains. The food, so far, I would rate as above average. One night is steak night and another they serve prime rib. There is an exercise room, a lounge with pool, ping-pong & foosball tables. For lunch, you can go to the Sandwich room where you pick out what you want from the selection of sandwiches, fresh fruit, veggie bar, soup & and assortment of drinks. Sometimes they make up the leftovers from the night before, but unless you are down early, those are usually gone. On the down side, it is 56km (35mi) into Fort McMurray. If you leave right after work, along with the rest of the crowd (did I mention that there are 5000 people working at this site) plus those from the Syncrude facility just down the road, it can take a little over an hour to get into town. There is a small 6-plex theater that does have the current releases. Even driving a Toyota Rav4, I have to make at least one trip into town between days off just to get gas. Yes, there are no gas stations out here, unless you count the one run by the First Nations people (Canadian for Native American) in Fort MacKay that is open only when they feel like it, which I haven’t found in 4 tries. So you have to make it an expedition just to feel better about making a 70mi round trip to get gas! Mona flew down to Texas to help her niece move. Spent two & a half weeks down there, but by the time she returned to Vancouver, they had moved Netta, Trey, Tori, Tia & Tai from a four bedroom house in Wichita Falls to a third floor, two bedroom apartment in Euless, which in the Dallas/Ft Worth metroplex, just to the southwest of DFW airport. April 2007 – More work on the foundation, but not much progress. Part of the issue is that their crews are working a 20-on & 8-off rotation. This means that we never have full crew and occasionally, we only have two people on the crew. Then with me working the 10-on & 4-off schedule thrown in it really doesn’t work as well as I would like. But, since I am only here as a technical advisor, it is their call on the working hours. May 2007 – More work on the foundation, but not much progress. Have another TA coming up to cover for me while I take off for knee surgery and a bit of well deserved, at least in my humble opinion, vacation. June 2007 – The surgery went well and I was back on my feet with in a couple of days. OK, OK, I had to use crutches for a week or so and limped around for the rest of the month. Mona had to carry my sorry a$$ as far as working around the house went. Mona is adding another layer of insulation to the attic. My knees aren’t up to working in that short area yet. July 2007 – Had this month off for vacation, but we really didn’t get a whole lot done. Daniel & I tore out about half of the insulation under the house. After 20+ years of living out in the country with lots of little rodent critters, it needed to be replaced – really needed to be replaced. Every time we pulled some down, we also has rodent critter pooh rain down also. Mona & her shopping buddy, Craigslist, found some foil backed 2inch (51mm) foam for cheap. We drove up to Hood River and picked up our insulation. Stuck it under the house, then went to Home Depot and got many rolls of the R-25 pink stuff. Worked on getting the insulation in between the joists and then the foam attached to the joints themselves which besides providing a vapor barrier holds the fiberglass in place. We managed to get about a quarter of what Daniel & I got pulled down, replaced before we couldn’t stand up straight anymore. In fact, once we got straightened up, it was hard to get the old body parts to bend again. Tom’s Mom was taken to the hospital where they told us that she was not in good condition. When we talked to her, she sounded like she did when she had the stroke and heart attack last year. The doctors there said that her body was just shutting down. About the same time, Mona did something to her back and we ended up taking her to the emergency room. They gave her some muscle relaxing drugs and we went home. She was due to go into the doctor a couple of days later to have a breast biopsy done, but when we got there, her back was causing so much pain that she couldn’t go through with it. We started to leave, but the pain got so great that she broke down in the hallway. I grabbed someone in a white coat, they got a nurse, who got a wheelchair and took her directly to room in the ER, not stopping at the desk or checking in. They kept her overnight and she spent the next couple of weeks in a drug induced semi-stupor. Mom’s condition had worsened and the decision was made and she was moved to a hospice care center. She passed away that same afternoon. Mona felt horrible that she couldn’t attend the funeral due to her back problems. I flew down and Jim & Jane (Tom’s cousins from Albuquerque) drove back to Kentucky for the service. When Bob talked to Pop, he referred to Mom as Jeanie. Pop had reached a point where he doesn’t remember that Bob is his son, so saying Mom doesn’t register. When Bob told Pop that Mom/Jeanie had passed away, Pop commented that he felt sorry for her children. He didn’t understand he had lost his wife of 62 years. He has always had such excellent social skills that it helped hide his condition for quite awhile. When Jim & Jane and I visited him, he carried on conversations – sometimes not the same conversation, but he never knew who we were. It was sad to see how much of Pop has been stolen by the disease. I headed back to the jobsite, but about 15 minutes out of Fort McMurray, the plane was turned back to Edmonton due to severe weather. Found out later that there was a hail storm that did a lot of damage to houses and businesses. I did manage to get a flight the next day, mostly thanks to our flight attendant who gave us a phone number to rebook while we were still on the plane. August 2007 – Job is still stagnant. We have expended nearly 50% of the man-weeks while the unit installation is roughly 10% complete. The GE project manager & installation manager came up for a site visit. We visited with the CNRL project manager and brought up the fact that we were expending hours at the project rate, but that the progress was lagging. She explained that they were concerned about the lack of progress, but that the gas turbine was near the bottom of the priority list. The facility is designed to operate on the steam that can be produced by the auxiliary boilers. While the gas turbine provides “free” electricity from waste gas, it was more important that the project produce a product sooner than it was to be cost effective. Knowing that made me feel better and explained why our millwrights were frequently pulled off of the co-gen to work in other areas. I also told them that I had been contacted in regards to a project in the Middle East. September 2007 – Heard from some friends working in Saudi Arabia that my name was being tossed around for a project at a site near Riyadh. I got an email from the my installation manager saying that they were sending up another field engineer to replace me. Talked to my manager and ask him if he had any definite information, but he couldn’t give me an absolute answer. OK, me being me, I sent an email to the region manager and resource director for the AIM (Africa – India – Middle East) region. Got a phone call from them the next day and we discussed the job. Before the conversation was over, they had confirmed that I had been tapped as the site lead for the extension project at the PP8 project. Additional good news is that I would be getting an Iqama or a resident permit and that the laws had changed meaning that you did not have to surrender your passport. This means that you would be free to travel in and out of the country. Additionally, as a “resident” I can sponsor my spouse for a visa. The resource director said that it was taking less than a month to get that accomplished. The job is scheduled to last about a year, so that would be a decent job. One good thing is that one of our friends, whom Mona & I have worked with on three continents, will be the controls engineer on my site. Samier is from Saudi Arabia and we have talked for years about visiting him there. Additionally, one of the guys that worked with me in China is also working in Riyadh. Brian has his wife Pucca there, so Mona will know some one to start with. Job is supposed to start the last part of October or the first part of November. Called and told Mona and she seemed to be excited about it. My replacement arrived and turned out to be a guy that Mona worked with down in Paris, Texas on a job back in 2000. I will be staying up here until he can get through the four days of safety training and he gets up to speed on the project. Should be another week, week and a half here for me then not sure if there will be a short stateside job before I head overseas or not. Will have to put that in the next update. |