I once was lost but now I'm found...

I'm back. After 12 days at sea working three different shifts (6AM-6 PM, Noon-midnight, 6PM-6AM) I am now back on shore and returning to my regularly scheduled 7-6 workday. I have discovered a few things about working offshore. If the internet is severely hampered (it was) and the entertainment system is not functional (it is directv, which they won't get until the Gulf) there isn't anything to do other than work. Not necessarily the best way to spend a couple of weeks, but I did learn a lot about being on a drillship. I also met a lot of people with interesting job titles like toolpusher, deckpusher, roustabout, roughneck, and camp boss. Not exactly manager and director, but there is a hierarchy none the less. On the drill floor, the tool pusher is in charge, the Drillers work for him, the Assistant drillers work for them, then the derrick hand, and finally the roughnecks. The toolpusher reports to the OIM, who reports to the rig manager (who is on-shore). There were about an even number of our operations personnel (all from the South, except for the bastard mechanic who was a Penn State fan and ruined the game for me) and personnel from the shipyard on-board. While pretty much every one I met was new to me, the names were very familiar for the Koreans. Mr. Kim and Mr. Lee, were there, as well as Mr. Park and Mr. Jeoung. Actually, many of them were there. It is impossible to have a meeting in Korea without at least one Mr. Lee and one Mr. Kim there, usually multiples. A typical meeting involving five Koreans will have a total of three Mr. Kim or LEe (two of one, one of the other) one Mr. Park or Jeoung, and a wild card (maybe a third Lee!). I had a meeting today with four Koreans in it, the attendees were D.H. Ryu, C.S. Kim, Y.H. Lee, and C.Y. Kim. Two Kims and a Lee. PAr for the course. They all go by initials as well, as no one (possibly including their families) can pronounce their first names. It gets really fun when you get into reporting structures and three levels of management are all named Lee or Kim, so T.G. Kim needs to check with Y.K Kim who then calls D.G. Kim. If you are ever in a meeting here without a Kim or Lee, you have somehow left Korea and need to find out where you actually are now. Anyway, on to the previously mentioned photos that would not load on my 56K connection on the Inspiration.

Picture of my morning commute to work from

my bike. Tough to see all the people in front of me but they are there...

Various views of the shipyard, including the 3600 ton (7.2 million pound) crane...