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Proposal Story Part III

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 00:50:00 +0000

The time as come for the third and final installment of the proposal story!

I managed to keep my big plans pretty much under wrap, and Andrea just thought we were going to visit Belgium for a few days before I had to go to work. We arrived in Brugge late in the evening, and I instantly realized that this was the perfect place. We stayed at the Die Swaene hotel in a cozy room on the quiet canal.

In the morning, Andrea and I strolled across the 11th Century bridge that connected our room with the hotel’s main building. The morning air in Brugge was beautiful! There were locals out for a morning walk, and folks on their bikes zipping all around town. It was at the cozy European garden breakfast that my proposal plans almost came crashing down!

I got up for some toast and cheese, and when I was walking back to the table, Andrea noticed a large bulge in my pocket (the ring!!). She asked, “What’s that in your pocket? Your cell phone?”

I immediately glanced down at the table and saw my phone sitting there in plain sight. Her eyes followed mine and she said, “Oh, no! The phone is on the table. That’s the camera. Here, let me put it in my purse!”

I looked at her smiling face and outstretched hand, down at the phone on the table, and then down at the camera sitting on the floor beside my chair, which was thankfully hidden from her sight. “No thanks, Sweetie. I don’t mind.” I responded, and sat down as fast as possible.

After our lovely breakfast, we decided to stroll down the road along the canal through town. What was to Andrea a casual stroll through the old Brugge streets was to me a quest to Minnewater Park and the Lake of Love. Not wanting to arouse suspicion, I allowed our walk to meander through the cobblestone streets for a while, as we took in the old-world sights. On our way, we were tempted by the tasty aroma of Belgian chocolate, and stopped in a few shops to look at local handicrafts and art.

As we walked around the picturesque town, I couldn’t help but be distracted by what I knew was coming. I always kept one hand in my pocket, clutching the ring box tightly. Over and over, I replayed in my head what I would say to Andrea at that special moment.

We walked down past the Begijnhof Nunnery where I wooshed us onward closer to Minnewater Park. Around a few more corners, we were upon the Lake of Love. I could feel the butterflies in my stomach, but tried to act as naturally as possible as I searched for the perfect spot to propose.

As we walked up along the lake, I saw the spot. It was just across the lake, under some old trees. By this point, I was getting pretty excited and pretty nervous. Andrea and I sat on a bench alongside the lake for a bit while I waited for a group of people to clear from the bridge (and tried to calm myself down a bit). I just kept thinking to myself how much I love Andrea and how excited I was to spend forever with her! We sat together on that bench for a while, until the crowd cleared, then we meandered across the bridge, pausing in the middle for a moment to admire.

“Sweetie,” I said, “this is called the Lake of Love.”

Andrea smiled and gave me a little kiss, thanking me for the sweet gesture of taking her to a romantically named spot! We looked out at the calm water and onto the old houses along the shore. In the background, the rooftops of Brugge pushed up toward the tall steeple of the Church of Our Lady.

We walked the rest of the way across the bridge, and I led us down a narrow stone path through the trees to a small clearing right beside the lake. As we sat down on the bench under the peaceful trees, I realized that this was it! I was here! All of my plans were about to unfold for Andrea. We chatted as we watched the swans on the lake, and enjoyed midday air. I can’t remember what we talked about at all, in fact I am surprised that I made any sense at all to Andrea. All I could think about was how to find the right moment and what I would say.

I knew Andrea would say “Yes,” and that she loves me as much as I love her, but I still couldn’t help being more nervous than I think I have ever been in my life. I had one hand tightly clutching the box in my pocket and the other on Andrea’s shoulder, probably rubbing it like a nervous twitch.

At one point, I told Andrea how much I loved traveling with her, and how much I was looking forward to our future travel. Andrea responded something to the effect of “yeah, I am really looking forward to seeing the Middle East as well!” Ready to seize the moment, I said, “No Sweetie, I mean that I am looking forward to traveling with you for the rest of our lives.”

Just as I said that, however, I realized that we were both still sitting on the bench. I had planned to propose on bended knee! “ABORT!” I thought….. Luckily, Andrea didn’t catch on.

“Me too!” she smiled, and leaned in for a kiss.

A few minutes later, she suggested we keep walking, and maybe find a café for lunch. We stood up together, and I realized that this really was it. As she turned around to get her purse, I heard the old church bell tower start to toll noon. I pulled out the ring box, and dropped to one knee. As Andrea turned back around, I took her hand and tried my best to give the speech I had planned in my head. Unfortunately, the excitement and nerves overwhelmed me, and my eloquent speech vanished!

“Andrea, I love you more than anything. Will you marry me?”

Silence. I looked up at Andrea smiling.

“I’m um, This was um, I’m so um? Wow! What? I mean um,” she stammered in utter surprise!

I stood up, still holding the ring and her hand with my two hands, and suggested we have a seat. We sat back onto the bench, and after a few seconds, I asked, “So is that a yes?”

“Yes! Of course!” she said. I looked into Andrea’s beautiful face and saw best smile I’ve ever seen! When those words hit my ears, and that smile hit my face, it was like my nerves were instantly calmed. I could feel the excitement throughout my whole body as I wrapped my arm around her and kissed my new fiancée.

We sat on the bench for a few minutes while Andrea tried to grasp for words, which as I recall had still largely evaded her. She stammered through partial sentences for a bit longer until I once again held up the ring box to her, and asked “So do you want the ring?”

Now, for the final moment of truth: Would the ring fit? I took the sparkling 3-stone diamond and platinum ring from its little box, and slipped it onto her left hand. I looked into Andrea’s eyes, and at the same time did my best to hold tears back in mine. That was the happiest moment of my life!

Proposal Story Part II

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 01:27:00 +0000

Working for an international oil and gas drilling service company has afforded me many opportunities for international travel, and whenever possible I try to arrange for Andrea to come along or meet up with me so we can see the sights. I figured that in order to keep the proposal a surprise, I would be best to do it on one of these trips. They are usually last-minute, and Andrea would expect me to be hooked up with work most of the time. All I had to do was wait for the right trip. I wanted it to be someplace far away (because we like going to far-away places), yet someplace fun and interesting.

That said, this winter at my company's annual management meeting, it became apparent that I would need to visit our Middle East districts this spring, and I had my first inkling of a place to propose. I had heard of Ski Dubai, a massive indoor ski resort in the desert in the United Arab Emirates, which seemed like the perfect place! We both really enjoy skiing (Andrea especially), and it is in a far away, exotic place that neither of us have ever been to.

I spent the next few months working out plans for the trip, which would include a few days each in Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Turns out that for various reasons, Oman and Saudi Arabia would not be possible on this trip, so the trip was shortened to just include Qatar (where I would need to visit some key customers) and the UAE (where I would hold a meeting of field coordinators from all Middle East disricts). As the discussions progressed, it became apparent that our North Sea division coordinators could stand to have a meeting as well, so meetings in our Holland office (about 20 mins drive north of Amsterdam) was added to my itinerary. Suddenly, I had a new idea: a European proposal!

Proposing in Europe (and in particular, Holland) had some significant advantages: First and foremost, I have been to Holland before. I know my way around the country, I have friends (work associates) there, and I thought it more "Western" so I could find things I wanted on the internet. (It is hard to even find a good map for cities in the Middle East.) I decided that this would be my new plan, so after haggling with the home office for time off before my meetings, I started to make (secret from Andrea) plans to get engaged there.

I called Lyda, our office manager in Holland, and searched the Internet for ideas. I Googled everything I could think of: Holland+Tulips, Holland+Canal Cruise, Holland+Castle, Holland+Cheese, Holland+Windmill, Holland+Romantic Stuff, etc., and started making a list of ideas. Somewhere along the way, however, I came across the city of Brugge, in Northern Belgium. Various travel websites listed it as "the most romantic city in Europe," or "the Venice of Northern Europe." Intrigued, I set about learning more about Brugge.

According to what I read, Brugge is a an old city (many 12th and 13th Century buildings) that retains much of its old world charm. Its city center is a UNESCO World Heratige Site, which in my experience designates it at least as a place worth visitng. Best of all, Brugge is only a few hours drive from Schipol Airport in Amsterdam!

I began a more directed search on the city of Brugge and found a place called the "Lake of Love" in Minnewater Park. "Hmm," I thought, "Can't do much better than the Lake of Love!" Google Earth was not too much help in scoping out the lake (see for yourself: N: 51.198808° E 3.224369°), so I resorted to looking at peoples pictures and descriptions. I decided after some searching, that this would be my spot, and looked for a hotel in the area. To my delight, I came across the Die Swaene hotel. The reviews were all top notch, and there was availability on my dates, so I booked two nights. My plans were set for the Brugge proposal, but just in case of the unexpected, I decided to set up a few back-up plans.

I booked two tickets at the Keukenhof Tulip Gardens, as my first alternate plan. I decided that we could walk amongst the beautiful tulip fields until I found a quiet, secluded spot and I would pop the question. Luckily for me Brugee worked out instead. As it turns out, the tulips in Holland only bloom for a few weeks a year, and they are a MAJOR attraction. The gardens were quite busy, and it would have been rather difficult to find a secluded, yet romantic place there. I might have been able to sweet talk us in before the opened (I heard that for special occasions, they will do that), but I doubt I could have got Andrea up at 5:30am for tulips anyway! The tulips were amazing, by the way, you can see our pictures in the travel section of the gallery.

Wanting to be extra prepared, however, I decided to plan a second alternate proposal as well. I reserved a private table for two on an evening candlelight cruise through the canals of Amsterdam. The cruise line was highly recommended by Lyda, and had good reviews. Best of all, the cruise passed underneath Amsterdam's Skinny Bridge. They say that if two lovers kiss while passing under the Skinny Bridge, they will be true lovers, and will stay together forever. So, as alternate #2, I decided a kiss while passing under the bridge would be followed with an engagement ring! Even though I had already proposed, we still kissed while passing under the bridge, so we should be set in the "true lovers" department.

All the while, I kept Ski Dubai as my last resort backup, although I was never fond of the idea of carrying the ring through customs in unfamiliar countries. We still went skiing as planned, although in retrospect had I needed to propose in the Middle East, I think that the Majlis Al Bahar resturant at the Burj Al Arab would have been my first choice. The Majlis Al Bahar is located on the Jumeirah beach looking on to the hotel. We had an outdoor candlelight dinner on the beach, set against the waves of the Persian Gulf crashing on the shore. This was much more romantic than Ski Dubai, which was located in the Mall of the Emirates. (Not a bad mall, as malls go.)

All said and done, I am sure glad that the first option worked out. By now, you've no doubt already read Andrea's version of the day, but I still plan to post the proposal from my point of view.....

Proposal Story Part I

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 05:38:00 +0000

Generally speaking, I think of myself as a confident, knowledgeable consumer, but when it came to shopping for an engagement ring, I was clueless. I started my ring search at Tiffany & Co. as they make it easy; there is an implied quality in their product, and as a consumer, you needn’t know much to be assured that you’re walking away with quality. This worked well for a novice like me! I snuck away during a few visits home with Andrea to meet with the salesman there, and more or less had narrowed down the parameters of what I wanted to a particular size range (and associated price range).

Somewhere along the way, I stumbled onto pricescope.com, a website and forum dedicated to buying diamonds. There was detailed information and links describing all aspects of how diamonds are graded, and what makes a diamond sparkle. I found the whole thing interesting, but the volume of information was a bit overwhelming. I read enough to know that T&Co. carried a substantial markup and to know that if I was going to buy from somewhere else, there would be a serious diamond learning curve.

I decided to take the easy way out (since time is never on my side anyway) and arranged to meet my T&Co. salesmen one weekday morning. I needed to keep this whole thing a secret from Andrea, so I invented a story about working in Bakersfield and instead headed north. Unfortunately, when I arrived at the T&CO store, they did not have the exact ring that I wanted. The ones that were brought in were either too small (I had an idea in my head of what size I wanted) or too big (I am not related to Bill Gates.) I went home empty-handed, and started thinking about Pricescope again.

I set up a secret email address that I could use for diamond-related business (since Andrea sometime uses my computer, and I am sure that an email titled “Your Diamond Ring Request” would have caught her eye). I am an engineer at heart, so I spent a lot of time learning about diamond mathematics, preferred angles, color, clarity, and cut. I was amazed at the various tricks that a diamond cutter can use to make diamonds weigh (and cost) more but sparkle less.

After some time, I was confident in my knowledge of diamonds and felt ready to make a purchase (from someone other than T&Co.). I contacted a few internet diamond vendors and while on a trip to Houston, decided to meet one of them to check out their stash. I made my way down to a nondescript jewelery building in Southwest Houston (not very flashy, really – I guess fitting for an internet vendor).

When the elevator doors opened, had a few butterflies in my stomach. I walked out into a long hallway with cameras and locks on all the doors. On the inside, I poured over loose diamonds with the VP and selected the perfect center stone and matched pair of side stones for Andrea’s new ring. We looked at the selection of settings, and while I saw some components of rings that I liked, there was no ring that jumped out at me as the one. I told the exec just that, so we decided to design a custom ring instead. He took out a pad of paper and we started to design a ring. Together we worked out the prongs that would hold the diamonds, the shank around the finger, the relative heights and taper of the three stones, and other details.

A few days later and back in California, I saw the ring take shape for the first time. I received two CAD-generated images of what the ring would look like. They were a bit crude, but they certainly showed that the ring would come out how I wanted. I decided at this point to go for the custom ring! I did the paperwork to arrange for payment for the finished product (had to pay by wire transfer – a new experience for me), and made a few minor design changes that I had considered after my meeting in Houston.

About a week later, I got an email that the ring was ready. It included photos of the finished product, and I was sooo pleased. They also informed me that if I had no problems, it would be shipped out the next day. I made a special trip down to the FedEx station in SLO to pick it up, and as soon as I got back to my car with the box, I tore into it so I could see it with my own eyes. It was exactly what I wanted. Now, I just had to keep it a secret for the next few weeks while I planned the proposal….but that’s another story!

Memorial Day Fun

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Tue, 29 May 2007 01:11:00 +0000

I used the day off work today to get the dining room closer to completion, and even managed to enlist the help of Andrea for some sanding. Once we get the dining room finished, we should be past the worst of the dusty days in the house, and can move our new dining table to its final location.
Now that the walls are smooth and the windows are finished, we just need to pick out paint colors and a new chandelier. Home Depot run!

BIG News

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Sun, 20 May 2007 04:42:00 +0000

Well, it's been a long time since I've blogged, but this is big enough to shake me back into the habit:

On April 23, I asked Andrea to marry me and she said YES! The proposal day (my happiest day so far) couldn't have turned out better, if I do say so myself. I suprised Andrea with a trip to Brugge, Belgium (a quaint late-medieval city) ahead of a work trip. At the stroke of noon in Minnewaterpark, I got down on one knee and gave her a ring. Here's a picture of Andrea sporting the smile she gave me after I asked if she wanted to marry me!

Over the next few weeks, I am going to use this blog to tell the story of the ring purchase, the proposal plan, and the proposal day. If you want Andrea's side of the story, you'll have to ask her!

The BIG Update

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 19:06:00 +0000

In case you haven't noticed, I'm not a very good blogger. Quick update on what has happened in August, September, October, and November!
• Went to Oklahoma, Arkansas, Canada, and Mississippi for work.
• Went on vacation with Andrea to Canada in September and China in October.
• Worked on the house (the living room is almost done).
• Saw the families for Thanksgiving and looking forward to Christmas!

For the future - If I am not blogging regularly enough, check Andrea's Blog to see what I'm up to (she's a MUCH better blogger then me!).

Six Years!

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Sat, 29 Jul 2006 19:00:00 +0000

Happy Annniversary, Sweetie!
Today marks six years since Andrea and I officially became a couple. We have had a lot of fun times, and had many new experiences together. I can't wait for what our future holds! I love you, Andrea!

United Sucks

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Sat, 29 Jul 2006 14:40:00 +0000

   Well, if possible, I have flown my last flight on United. Friday I flew from SLO to OKC on United. I bought a last-minute ticket (so I paid them heftily for it) that would take me from SLO at 6:00 am and get me in to OKC at 3:30 pm. Now normally, I would have flown on USAirways, not because they are really any good at being on-time or because they have any really good help, but because they have the best connections. (Only one stop between SLO and OKC.) Unfortunately, this time, the earliest flight on USAirways would not have gotten me in to OKC until 1030 pm. My understanding was that the job was to begin just after midnite in McAlester, so the 1030 flight would be too late.
   I won't go into any great detail on exactly what happened, but between United's multiple mechanical failures, scheduling problems, and extremely poor customer service, I did not arrive into OKC until 11pm. I could have taken the USAirways flight, left 9-1/2 hours later, paid $200 less, and arrived at the same time.
   Luckily, they dropped a fish down the well (fish=2-3/8" socket) just after midnite, and it took them about 9 hours to get it out, so I got a good nite sleep in McAlester.

Running Smoothly

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Sat, 22 Jul 2006 06:34:00 +0000

Huge thunderstorm came through the area today. I am working near Guy, AR, which is about 60 miles north of Little Rock. The countryside is very pretty, with lush oaks and grasses. The minute you step out of an air-conditioned space, though, things are not so pretty. Before this thunderstorm came through, it was 114 degrees and the humidity was high. I can only imagine what it will be like tomorrow. This will probably be my last night in Arkansas as everything is running smoothly. I will be flying home on the next available flight after I return to OKC.

Sidetracked

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 04:22:00 +0000

The second test went perfectly! Unfortunately, there were no more opportunities for more tests right away, so I returned the RV to OKC. In all honesty, I am not totally sold on the RV as the solution for this type of work. Don't get me wrong, it was very nice to be able to set up my computer and sit in a nice air-conditioned room on location rather than to sleep in the back seat of a rented F-150. The downside: being stuck on location. Since the RV was my only mode of transportation, I couldn't leave (without significant rig-down). This meant that if things were slow, or working well, I couldn't run to town for a bite. Drives me nuts!
In the morning, I am heading to Arkansas to help some operators out there with their operation. I've never been to Arkansas before, so it might be interesting!

1/2 Down, 2-1/2 to Go

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 16:58:00 +0000

Well, we decided to pull the tool early after we got stuck in the hole. (Getting stuck had nothing at all to do with the tool-it was just along for the ride.) The customer didn't want to risk losing the tools, so we aborted the test early. (The tool worked flawlessly while it was in the hole, though.) There is another job I can get on that will start Sunday morning, 6am. It is only a few miles down the road, so I guess I will restock the RV and head out!
Also, it is stinkin hot here. The temperature has been well over 100, and the humidity is high too. Accuweather is calling for record-breaking heat for the next week at least! Yuk.
Happy Birthday, MOM!!!

Weight-On-Bit, or Wait-On-Bit?

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 22:12:00 +0000

   Well, I'm back in Oklahoma. Sadly, I left before Andrea returned from Minneapolis so I won't be able to see my sweetie until I am done with this trip. If all goes to plan, this will be my last trip to Oklahoma for testing of this new tool we have been working on. The Boss Man has decided that I need to be present for three successful runs in a row, and Oklahoma just happens to be our ideal test ground. So, I am here to hopefully run all three tests.
   Because of the not-centrally-located nature of the locations where I will be running the tests, I have decided to rent an RV so I can stay on location. I picked up a 24-footer from the Oklahoma City Cruise America office, and got stocked with Diet Pepsi and microwave foods. So far so good... I'll keep you posted on my RV-ing across "America's Corner."
   P.S. for anyone not oilfield-inclined (or in case my pun is just plain lame), in the picture above they are putting the maximum weight onto the bit! The blocks are slacked over and we are still drilling slow!

Remember, there is no "I" in "Team America"

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 03:39:00 +0000

Yesterday, Andrea and I celebrated our Independence from Britain with a bash at Kelly's place. We lit off some sparklers and had some hot dogs and watermelon (that American enough?). All in all, it was a fine party and a good time with friends. Hopeully, next year we'll have the house done and maybe we can host a 4th party of our own!

Hi Grandma!

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 04:30:00 +0000

Today, Andrea and I were paid a visit by my parents and my grandma. She is out from Minnesota visiting my parents, so we invited them down to see the house and to visit. I missed my grandma's visit last year because I was out of town on business, so I was pretty glad to see her this year. She had not seen the house before (even though it is still under construction). We gave her the grand tour, but since there is really no seating in the house for more than Andrea and I, we headed to Morro Bay for a stroll on the embarcadero and some dinner. After some fish and chips at the Flying Dutchman, we went over to Morro Rock and watched the sun (almost) set.
On a side note, it was about 30 degrees cooler in Morro Bay than in Paso. Sometimes it's easy to forget what a difference 20 miles can make!

No prey, no pay!

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Sun, 02 Jul 2006 09:42:00 +0000

Yesterday was Sal's birthday, so we cowardly swabs took the Scourge of the Seven Seas for a seafood feast at the Old Custom House in Avila. Then we weigh'd our anchors and headed to Kelly's for some grog and to sing a shantey for the cap'n. After he displayed his loot and we pillaged the cake, we had a contest to see who was the most fearsome pirate in the group. In our game, however, Sal was hornswaggled, and Captain Andrea of the Princess of the Seas showed that she was the ultimate Dread Pirate!

Fathers' Day with my Pop!

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 23:08:00 +0000

With Andrea gone on her Western-US road trip, I decided it would be a great opportunity to have my pop come down and get some work done around the house. He came down Saturday morning, and we got a ton of things done around the house, and even managed to just hang around a bit too.
We got the rest of the living room drywall installed, and a good first (and in some places second) coat of mud up. This is a major hurdle and the room is finally starting to look like a regular living room again (i.e. no more major gaping holes into the attic!). It sure will be nice to get the room finshed - hopefully I can stick around long enough to get it done!

Congratulations, Andrea!

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Sun, 11 Jun 2006 04:00:00 +0000

Congratulations to my sweetie on her graduation!
I managed to get home from Oklahoma (third trip to the Sooner State this year) just in the nick of time to make it to Andrea's graduation. Her parents came down and my parents came down and we all went out to Thai. I was sorta nervous about the meeting, as it has been kinda hyped (think "Meet the Fockers") to no end, but everything went wonderfully. Did I mention that I love Thai food?

Powered by Bio-Diesel

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Mon, 05 Jun 2006 00:49:00 +0000

   Andrea and I went to Santa Barbara for the weekend to visit my sister. We have been planning to go see her and her dorm for a visit for months, and this was the first weekend that we were both free and able to make it down there. We got off to a bit of a late start on Saturday, so we decided to stay at a hotel down there and visit and do some shopping on Sunday.
   Becky and Jeanette's dorm room is very nicely setup - covered with tons of pictures (I guess that is a girl thing) and artwork. Their room looks out to the mountains, and is just a few minutes walk from the beach. We took a short tour of campus and saw the ultimate in beach-front dormitories. Pretty fancy place where she goes to school.
   Andrea and I had very successful shopping downtown in Santa Barbara. Nothing much has changed in SLO county as far as shopping is concerned, so we must still resort to trips south to do major shopping. We hit all the main stores . . . my biggest successes were at Old Navy and Gap, while Andrea hit big at Nordstrom. We also had a few good meals downtown with Becky and Jeanette.
   On the way out back to the car from downtown, we passed by the bus pictured above filling up at a Shell station. I walked by a bit later and verified that (as expected) Shell does NOT sell Bio-Diesel at that location. Hmmmmmmm.........

Hecka Hamburgers

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Sat, 27 May 2006 00:39:00 +0000

On this job, I am working about 5 miles outside of this little town called Hanna, Oklahoma. I pass by this little burger joint several times a day, but it kinda looks like a ghost town, and I didnt think it was really open. But, one of the other workers on the job suggested we go there for a hamburger today, and what a great suggestion that was!
The Hitchin' Post has hands-down the best burgers I have ever eaten. I cannot believe how yummy they are! I don't know what the secret is, but I will be going back there for sure on my next trip to the area!

Welcome to Agape Land

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Wed, 24 May 2006 17:47:00 +0000

The hotel I am staying at in Oklahoma is right across the street from the Oral Roberts University in Tulsa. Looking out from my hotel each morning, I saw what you see here - the world's largest praying hands. I thought they were pretty unique...

I....Can't....Drive....65!

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Tue, 23 May 2006 18:02:00 +0000

Well, I got nailed in Pittsburg County, OK for speeding! Like an idiot, I forgot to ship some important components out from California for the test. I was racing around southeast Oklahoma looking for parts on other rigs most of the day. Down near McAlester I saw the blue lights flashing in the rearview. Apparantly, I was doing 79 in a 65 zone..... I think I was a more interesting target because of my Texas plates, and once the Oklahoma Highway Patrol saw my CA license he was almost giddy! Needless to say, I will be heading to the McAlester courthose this week to plead my case, hopefully I can get away without a point on the record.
On a side note, I have been driving the speed limit since then, and it appears that everyone in Oklahoma drives the speed limit all the time?! How strange. I go 65 and nobody passes me......

Voiceless Alveolar Lateral Fricative

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Mon, 22 May 2006 19:13:00 +0000

On a flight to Dallas last night (yes, I am indeed back in Oklahoma), I had the fortune of sitting next to a chatty lady who, among other things, is a speaker Tswana, an African tribal language primairly spoken in Botswana and parts of South Africa. I am very interested in language, and am always up to learn something new, so I managed to convince her to teach me a little bit of Tswana.
Tswana has only one click (think Starvin' Marvin), but even the one makes it a lot harder to speak. I practiced some simple phrases (hello, I want water, etc.) and it took a while to train my mouth to make the click sound (Wikipedia calles it the "voiceless alveolar lateral fricative") without disrupting the flow of words. Now when Andrea and I are on the Amazing Race, we will be good to go if we go to the Bantu region of Southern Africa!

A Big Help...

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Mon, 15 May 2006 05:49:00 +0000

   This weekend I finally got a chance to make some some more progress on the living room. I have been out-of-town soo many weekends this year, the project is really dragging. I even managed to enlist the help of Andrea for a while today in replacing the old floor boards! She must have pulled out a few thousand nails from the floor!
   I know---you're thinking: "Why would Ben want to rip out that nice oak flooring and replace it with boring-old OSB and carpet?" I must admit that it made me feel a bit queasy as I ripped the nice pieces of oak to shreds...but I decided that it had to be done. The old floor had some serious water damage, and was not really installed properly, so it creaked really badly every time you moved around! We got the new subfloor installed today and so far I am very happy with how quiet it is!!
   Unfortunately, it sounds like I'll be heading back to OKC before next weekend, so I guess the progress will have to go back on hold for a while.....

Crash and Burn

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Sun, 07 May 2006 21:43:00 +0000

   Well, the test that I am in Oklahoma to run failed immediately, meaning that they had to trip our tool right back out of the hole (about 2700 ft). This is the sort of thing that makes me quite unpopular with the roughnecks! Oh well, this is the world of development and engineering.....
   I needed to get some of the parts shipped back to ATA as fast as possible, so I raced back to Oklahoma City in search of the UPS shipping depot. Andrea guided me on the phone to the UPS center, which turned out to be closed when I got there. (I'm not really sure how they can accept packages for shipment until 4pm on Saturdays, when their customer service center is not even open!) I was running out of time, so Andrea and I (she was in CA on the map) zipped over to FedEx (across OKC) Amazing Race style! I made it there just before 4pm (turns out they were open until 5!) and got all of our equipment shipped back.
   Now, my job title changes (as it so often does) to "Hot-Shot Driver," basically making me into a well-paid courier! I have to wait in Oklahoma until they finish this well and I can retrieve the rest of our experimental equipment and expedite it back to ATA. Hopefully they will be done tonight or in the morning so I can be on a flight from Dallas by Tuesday morning.

"I'm Proud to be an Okie from Muskogee"

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Sat, 06 May 2006 02:29:00 +0000

Ok, I'm not really in Muskogee nor am I an Okie, but I am working about 40 miles away from Muskogee near Dustin, Oklahoma. I got back into Paso on Tuesday afternoon, and had to be on a flight to OK the next day! Unfortunately, I guess there was just not enough time for me to get ready, and I missed my AmericaWorst flight by a few minutes. Luckily, there was a delayed United flight that would get me into Dallas just before midnite. I drove through a wicked electrical storm that night from Dallas to OKC, and arrived at the office the next morning to find out that (as usual) the job was delayed a day. The phrase "Hurry up and Wait" must have been invented by someone who works in the oil patch, because it seems like I always race like a maniac to get somewhere and then sit around for a day waiting for things to get started. The only time that a job is ever ready on time, it is when I am late!!!!
After arriving on location this morning and getting everything ready to go, they said they wouldnt be ready for at least 5 or 6 more hours, meaning they would need me on location right around midnite to get to work. I got myself a room down here in MacAlester, OK (which is currently overrun with some sort of old-lady convention) and expect a call sometime in the night that I have to head back out. I'll try to catch a few winks while I can!