Well, after my fifteen days/nights of work in a row I was off for a full forty-seven hours. Lisa, the boys and I were eating a Toney's Pizza when Pete called me from the refinery. He and the guys on his shift were in the process of shutting down the UFH (clean fuels unit from hell) and they needed someone to work as Top Operator on nights.

We have a shutdown rotation. There are several people who are ahead of me in the rotation, but they were all out on vacation, so that put the button on me. I was very upset, but I was stuck and there was nothing I could do to get out of it. The worst thing is the I will work for almost the whole time that the boys had off from school for their Christmas break. I have arranged for Morgan and Danny to pop fireworks with the boys, since I will be working on New Year's Eve.

This morning Gary invited Bird and me to come by his place for a sip of Booker's Bourbon. Gary and Bird were already sitting at the table when I arrived. Gary poured me a drink and we spent about and hour talking. Then the party broke up and I headed home for bed. I slept until around 2:30 PM.

It's now time to start getting ready for work.

Yesterday evening I finished my fifteen day of working through the Christmas holidays. The area of the refinery in which I work had to shutdown one of our "Reformer" units to fix some problems it was having. This caused a good number of us operators to work overtime through the holidays.

I did manage to be off work for 24 hours last Friday when I finished working graveyard shift at 6 AM and switched to day shift. I started my day shift at 6 AM Saturday morning. The boys and I took advantage of that widow of time off to go see a movie. We picked up MK's son and went to see Alvin and the Chipmunks.

Saturday evening we had Lisa's family over for a Christmas party. Lisa got it all together without any help from me, because I was at the refinery. All went well and everyone seemed to have a good time. Lisa made a crawfish bisque, and everyone else brought food and/or dessert.

Sunday, Lisa fixed a meal for her brother Troy and his sons, Eric and Shawn. Shawn flew in from Okinawa, where he is serving in the Air Force.

Our family opened Christmas gifts early. I had to work Christmas day, when this has happened in the past, we as a family, would open gifts on Christmas Eve. We could not do this our daughter Morgan had plans to be with her fiancee and is family for their family Christmas that evening. Therefore, we opened gifts on Monday, December 23.

The hardest thing for me during all this was getting enough sleep. I was never able to get my body clock properly adjusted back to sleeping at night. I did take an Ambien one night, but we had something going on just about every evening which kept me up late. I would sleep a couple of hours and then wake up and not be able to sleep. One night I got to sleep about 11:30, woke up at 2:30 AM and was unable to fall back to sleep. After 3 hours sleep I was up until I left the house for the refinery at 5:15 AM.

Our clean fuels unit (Unit from Hell or UFH) acted up everyday so we never achieved the quite laid back time at work that we like when working holidays. I'm glad it is over.

This morning I caught up with with sleep. I took an Ambien last night. I did wake once during the night. I was able to fall back to sleep, and did not wake again until 10:00 AM. Nice!

Later,
Kenith

Thia will be a short post. I am in my bed watching Future Weapons on the military channel. I got home from work a little after 6PM and will be getting up about 4:30 AM. My sleep pattern is still messed up from my long set of nights and I've not slept since flip flopping to days. So tonight I took an ambien and am waiting to fall asleep.

I plan to write more tomorrow (Christmas Day)
Kenith

I’m writing this entry while at work and I'll email it home and post it on the blog after I get back there in the morning.

This is my eighth night on graveyard shift (6pm to 6am) and I will have to come back again tomorrow night to work my last one. I'll work off Friday morning. I will likely sleep until somewhere between noon and 2 pm and then I'll walk around in a near vegetative state for a while. I hope to get my head together in time to do something with the boys. They're out of school, but I've been working with no time off and I don’t function well around the house when I am working the nightshift this much.

After a full 24 hours off work, I will start again, but this time I'll be on the daylight shift. My body is now used to sleeping during the day and being awake at night and that is not good for a quick turnaround to days. In order for me to get some sleep, so I can function at work on Saturday, I'll be looking to my doctor and a little pill known as Ambian (sp ?).

There is very little for me to write about. I've been getting up, vegging around the house for a few hours and coming to work. When I get home, I let the dog out, feed the cats and get ready for bed and watch the news for a few minutes. I’m not getting much reading, or anything else productive done around the house when I am on graveyards.

Starting Saturday, I'll work my regular daylight shift. My last full day off was Dec. 11 and my next real day off will be Dec. 27. On my days off I'll have to get some fireworks. The boys and I will go to the country and blast away with the fireworks early, because I start nightshift again on New Years Eve.

That's life as a shift worker at an oil refinery.

Coram Deo,
Kenith

I worked last night. I just got home and I'm waiting for Lisa to wake up so I can go to bed without disturbing the last few minutes of her sleep. Her alarm should be going of in a couple of minutes.

On the way home this morning I was listening to KRVS (Radio Acadie) and Pete Bergeron's morning program (Bonjour Louisiane) which is in French. I was excited to here Jo-el Sonnier's version of Jolie Blonde. I have always liked Jo-el version.

Well, Lisa is now up and I am off to bed.

Coram Deo,
Kenith

Sunday was a normal day. We attended worship services at Bethel (PCA), after church Lisa and Morgan attended a baby shower and boys and I stayed at home.

Monday I was on jury duty. I took plenty to read, and it was a good thing I did. We sat in the jury pool room until noon. At that time they called 36 names to return after lunch, everyone else was dismissed for the day.

I ate gumbo at MaryAnn's for lunch and then returned to jury duty. The 36 of us were escorted into court. Twenty-one of us were placed in "the box" to be questioned by the lawyers. We were questioned until almost 6 PM. At that time they dismissed 10 people, and the rest of us were told to return on Tuesday morning.

On Tuesday we were back in the box at 9 AM. the 10 people dismissed on Monday evening were replaced and we were again questioned by the lawyers. They picked the jury while we were at lunch. I did not get picked and had to return to the jury pool and remained there until 3PM when we were dismissed from jury duty.

Wednesday and Thursday I worked days. As is normal, we were very busy for much of the day. My job, top operator, is very busy from 7AM until about 10:30. It then usually slows down until around 1PM. Then the top is busy until about 4PM. When things are going well the top operator stays very busy dealing with supervisors, contractors, maintainance personel, engineers, and other operators. If things in the unit are not going well, then it is really wild.

Today, I was at Rescue Team training. I've been a member of the refinery rescue team for about 13 years. We are trained in "high angle (rope)" and "confined space" rescue.

Later,
Kenith

Our Saturday and Sunday were WET. It rained for most of the time on both days. Christians had to drive back to Florida Sunday and he had rain for most of the trip, some of it was very heavy. Despite the rain and two detours he made it back to base safely.

On Saturday, Lisa made a great sea food gumbo. We all feasted.

We continue to work on the house.

I should return to work tonight, but I have a dental appointment and I don't think I will be able to make it to work on time and I will have a call in sick. The dentist told me that I will have a numb face for a good while after the work is done. I don't like to call in sick unless I have a legitimate reason. I think this such an event.

Later,
Kenith

LSU just loss to Arkansas 50 t0 48 in triple overtime. Whoooooee. I'm disappointed but my fingernails are down to the nubs, so I'm glad it is decided.

The LSU game (win or loose) is not the big news for this holiday weekend. The big news is our son Christian made it home last night. Hel be will be here until Sunday, when he heads back to Florida and the United States Navy.

Coram Deo,
Kenith

Yesterday, the boys and I went to Longville and visited with my parents. My parent's neighbour was smoking a couple of turkeys, one for my parents and the other for he and his family. He was using a makeshift smoker that he had made with cinder blocks and a couple of thin sheets of metal. It was a neat setup that I plan to imitate soon.

On of my parents hens had nine one day old biddies following her around. they were so cute. They had another hen with four young chicks, but they were a few days older.

We had a good visit. My youngest son wanted to do some shooting, so I let him shoot my .22 revolver. I shoot a few rounds from my SKS as well. Then we loaded into the pickup truck and headed for home.

Once at home I went to work on supper. I wrapped a number of potatoes on foil, with butter, and put them in the oven. I then took some steaks out seasoned them, got a pan with olive oil hat and ready, but set the steaks in it. I feed the boys and then Lisa arrived home and we ate. Morgan and Danny (her fiancee) finished off what was left.

Today, I slept in. Lisa fixed a roast and around noon we went just down the road to Woody and Elisabeth's house for Thanksgiving Dinner. Most of Lisa's family was there and it was a good time.

Bonjour,
Kenith

I'm on vacation this week. The big event today was I washed my truck and also threw the football with the boys.

Yesterday Lisa and I bought a flat screen plasma television and hung it on the bedroom wall. Tomorrow, I may take the boys to Longville. If we go I plan to bring some of my guns and waste a lot of ammunition. I would also like to make at least on hunt while I'm off.

Life is good.
Kenith

Here is a blog on the web that I think is worth reading. Read this article. It's worth your time.

Kenith

From Burke to Kirk and Beyond...: "Be shrewd as wolves and innocent as doves."

This morning my alarm went of a 4:40. I got ready for work and arrived at the refinery at 5:30. I "made relief" with Butch in the centralised control room. He filled me in on what had taken place on the night shift. With that done, I poured myself a of coffee (Community of course) and visited with our two board guys. I then filled in the payroll book, got my radio, my hard hat and then headed for our satellite.

The the satellite, I poured myself a second cup of coffee and visited with the outside operators for a while. After that I went to my desk, logged onto the computer, checked email and our unit log. I then wrote many of the work permits that that I knew would be needed. By then it was about 10 to seven, I got a air monitor and did my "morning walkabout" through the units while the other guys were doing there rounds.

My walkabout takes about 20 minutes. When I cot back to my desk, spoke with my supervisor, by then maintenance and construction hands were arriving and things took on their usual hectic pace.

This was a typical day for me when I'm working the day shift. I drink LOTS of coffee and stay very busy. Nights and weekends are usually slower, that's why I like them better.

Later,

Kenith

Lisa and I slept in our almost completely remodeled bedroom last night. At midnight a friend sent Lisa a text to say that she was at the hospital with her daughter who was having a baby, so at 6 AM this morning Lisa went to the hospital to see the new baby and the babies mom and family.

I slept until eight. I got up, made coffee and toast. Lisa returned home shortly after that. The rest of the morning was normal Sunday stuff. We worshipped at Bethel this morning. Pastor Steve gave a very good, practical sermon from St. Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians.

Kenith

It seems that waterboarding is once again in the news. Some folks want t make it out as a form of torture. I disagree and I can say that as someone who has experianced waterboarding first hand.

I underwent my own waterboarding experiance at S.E.R.E school when I was training to be a Navy helicopter crewman. This was way back in 1979. Thousands upon thousands of American servicemen have experianced waterboarding as part of their training. The United States military DOES NOT torture its on members, but it has waterboarded many members of the Armed forces as part of routine S.E.R.E. training.

I wrote a good bit more about what the experiance is like last year. You can read about it here: Waterboarded Cajun

Just to keep this straight. I did not support the U.S. invasion of Iraq. I thought we were wrong to do so.

Later,
Kenith

I'm on the refinery Rescue Team. The rescue team is responsible for confined space and high angle rope rescue. Today was our monthly day of rescue training. We were not as productive today as we usually are, because a large portion of the team was absent. The refinery just finished a month of extensive turnarounds and a sizable portion of the crew was on vacation, needing a rest after the exhaustive shutdown period.

I was on graveyards until Thursday morning. So I worked until 6 o'clock Thursday morning, went home slept until about 12:30. I then stayed awake until 8 PM. I took an Ambian and went to sleep, and then got up at 3:30 AM so I could get to the refinery at by 4 AM. I hung out with my on shift, because it was still my shift on duty. At 7:30 We started rescue training. At four it was over and I wen home because I had got in my necessary 12 hours (having come in so early).

More later because I am tired and ready to crash.
Kenith

Yesterday was a typical day. The alarm went off at 4:40 AM I got up and reset the alarm to wake Lisa at 5:30. I then got dress, poured myself a bowl of cereal and turned on the news so I could catch the headlines before heading to work.

At 5:25 I headed for my truck. While driving to work I listened to a Cajun music CD of the Magnolia Sisters. I meet Izzy, the night time top operator, in the Central Control Room. He told me how things went and what I could expect on days. When he left I got a cup of coffee and visited with the Darrin and Gerald. These two were working the “board” job, which is the where the units we work are controlled from.

After about fifteen minutes talking with them about what they had to deal with in their units, headed to the unit. Upon entering the satellite I put my lunch in the icebox (refrigerator) went to my locker and got my coffee cup, poured myself another cup of coffee sat at our kitchen table and spoke with the rest of the crew.

When I finished my coffee, I poured myself a third cup coffee, went to the top operator’s desk and logged onto the computer. I read email, looked at my orders and the write ups from the previous shift. After completing this task I got an air monitor and went for a quick, walk through the units. I like to do this because I make a quick look at the units, listen for odd noises and do the early morning air monitoring. The air monitoring is normally and outside operator’s job, but since I am making my quick unit survey anyway I go ahead and do it. That way they can make their more detailed rounds without having to do the air monitoring too.

I worked untill about 5:45. After work I stopped at Gary J. for a beer and a visit. I visited with Gary and Liz for about and hour. Afte work I came home and had a regular evening.

Today was similar to yesterday, but it Halloween and not an regular evening. We had family and friends here when I got home. Lisa was made up like the Melifacent the witch in Disney’s Sleeping beauty. The boy’s had ghoul costumes.

Mark had made a great chicken and sausage gumbo. We ate good, had a good time and the boys got lots of candy.

Its bed time,
Kenith

Today was a work day for me. Usually Sundays are pretty laid back, but we had lots of problems with the UFH (Unit from Hell). That kept several of us busy for much of the day. We weren't bothered by supervisors or engineers, and that is always a good thing.

When I got home, the boys wanted me to play fetch with the dog. I would throw the toy and the boys and their young couson would try to get the item from Oakly (our Lab). We had fun doing that then we played a little football. By the tiem we finished it was starting to get dark and we all came inside.

This evening I placed a call to an old Navy buddy. I he popped into my mind and so I Goggled he and his wife and found them in California. The are Ric and Tsugumi. Ric was aNavy photographer and he went on cruise with us out of Yokusuka, Japan on the USS Lockwood. We spent a month (October I think) sailing off the eastern coast of the Soviet Union.

One day we launched our helicopter, Ric was with us, and we found a Russian Victor III submarine sitting on the surface. Ric got the first ever official photographs of this new Soviet submarine. I say official, because we all had nice cameras and we were stationed in Japan.

When we returned to Atsugi, Japan Ric and I remained good friends and I then got to know his fiancee, Tsugumi. We were good friends and kept in tuch for a little while after I left the Navy. He and Tsugumi sent me a picture of their first child (who is now in his twenties) when he was a baby. Then we lost touch until I contacted Ric via email after my google search.

It was graet to speak to both Ric and Tsugumi. I hope to keep in touch with them from here on out.

Coram Deo,
Kenith

I just got off the phone with my eldest son, Christian. He is in the Navy and still at his A school. He should graduate in a few weeks and then he is off to Air Crew School (which I attended in 1979) and then S.E.R.E. school (I wrote a little about my experiance at S.E.R.E. here) and on to the fleet.

Its a big day for Christian because today is his 21st birthday. So he is now of age and sais he is going to go the the bowling ally on base and have a few beers with some friends. I wish I could be there with him, and if I were off work tomorrow I would have willing made the drive and had a beer with my son.

Coram Deo,
Kenith

Yesterday was an uneventful day. I went to St. Michael and all the Angels Episcopal Church for their Wednesday morning Eucharistic Service. Rev. Cook, in his homily, did a good job discussing St. James.

After the worship service I returned home and got to work. The back of my pickup was already half full with sheet rock from my bedroom ceiling. I then loaded a good deal of rotting wood, the remainder of my trees that were knocked over by hurricane Rita two years ago, into the back of the truck. After piling the truck bed high with oak logs, I headed for a nearby land fill and disposed of it all.

On returning home I cut the grass. I did not "mow the lawn" because we Cajuns cut grass. I think lawn mowing is for professionals and the people who hire them. We have hired our neighbour's teenage sons to cut our grass, a time or two, but they're not professional "lawn mowers" so even in when we have hired some one, it has always been to cut the grass. :-)

After cutting the grass the next item on my agenda was to pick up the boys after school, which I did. Our afternoon was pretty mundane as well. The boy's did their homework and and then we played fetch with the dog in the front yard (notice I did not say "front lawn"). Then we went down the road to Woody and Elisabeth's new home for grilled burgers. Lisa stayed home because she got home late, had had a long day and was tired.

By 9 pm Lisa and the boys were all in bed. MK came over bearing wine. I lit a fire in the fire pit on the porch. It was beautiful, cool fall evening and we sat by the fire drank a couple of glasses of wine and discussed matters of great weight and importance. We discussed issues like LSU football, Nick Saban, and whether or not Les Miles had a big set of manliness or was he simple a loose canon.

We also talked theology and what we have recently read in the Church Fathers, John Calvin, etc... We are agreed that reading the stuff we read puts us in the "weird" column. We discussed the schismatic problems of Protestantism and reasons why we can not "Return to Rome." We "feel" like we are in an ecclesiastical "no man's land" and really don't fit in anywhere. (I discuss this more on my As I see It blog.)

After sitting around the fire enjoying the conversation and the wine, we walked around the neighbourhood and prayed for a while. It was a good time of fellowship and prayer.

Coram Deo,
Kenith

I worked off graveyards this morning. While I was sleeping my Rescue beeper went off. My wife heard the beeper and she called the refinery to see if I needed to get up and go to the plant. See was told that there was a man down but I was not needed.

I woke a little after noon to go to the restroom Lisa told me about the beeper and her call. I immediately called the unit board man to find out what had happened. I young man working in my area of the plant went down becaus of H2S vapours. Two of my friends saw him collapse. the but both put on a SCBA and pulled the man away from the contaminated area. It was too late. All attempts to revive the man were to no avail. He was dead.

Everyone at work was stunned. How and why this happened we don't yet know.

I just took an Ambian so I can sleep tonight and try to get back on a normal schedule tomorrow.

Coram Deo,
Kenith