Once again I'm sitting at the airport waiting to board a plane. This one has been slightly delayed, but hopefully only by 10 or 15 min... I don't want to miss my connection!
I'm really looking forward to spending 2 weeks in Amsterdam (5 days of that in Italy) and 2 weeks in China (10 days of that for the STeLA Leadership Forum). I'm hoping I'll be able to put up pictures every now and then and share the places I've gone to visit and see.
So far as I've seen the weather should be rainy and chilly in Amsterdam and HOT everywhere else. Super hot. Super muggy. It's going to be a warm, warm vacation.
The lady announcing things has told us at least 5 times in the past 15 minutes that we can only take on two carryons and if we don't need our bags that they'll check them free of charge. I know sometimes people don't listen, but it's getting old.
I think our plane is going to start boarding soon, so I should probably go. Next log-in will be from Europe!
Friday, July 30, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
The Dolphin pictures!
Here are some of the pictures I promised to post! We were on our way in and I was taking pictures of the sunset with some of the oil rigs and posts we were passing:
and then dolphins came to play off the bow while we were watching the sunset!
Enjoy the pictures! In a few days I leave for vacation and a conference for a month (if you didn't know) and I'll try to post pictures and stories of what I see while I'm in Amsterdam, Italy and China!
and then dolphins came to play off the bow while we were watching the sunset!
Enjoy the pictures! In a few days I leave for vacation and a conference for a month (if you didn't know) and I'll try to post pictures and stories of what I see while I'm in Amsterdam, Italy and China!
Saturday, July 24, 2010
In an airport again!
We arrived in port this morning around 3:00am. That's when the first set of stabilizing engines woke me up. Then it was every half hour after that till 4:30 when I decided I was just going to get up. My alarm was set for 5:00 am anyway. We packed up and transferred everything, grabbed the rental cars and they're about to start boarding my plane!
New England, here I come again!
By the way this is a picture of the ship I was on for the first week and a half:
http://beierradio.com/Customers/WesBordelon.JPG
We also have pictures of dolphins from when we came into port! I'll put those up in a few days after I've been home and have time to sort through them.
New England, here I come again!
By the way this is a picture of the ship I was on for the first week and a half:
http://beierradio.com/Customers/WesBordelon.JPG
We also have pictures of dolphins from when we came into port! I'll put those up in a few days after I've been home and have time to sort through them.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
going back out!
I got a chance to go back out for another 4 days on a different ship because I won't be able to work for all of August.
So no posts for about another week! I promise to post some stories when I get back this time...
So no posts for about another week! I promise to post some stories when I get back this time...
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
I survived the gulf!
I am back from the research cruise ships! Though I may get a chance to go back out for another 5 days on a short, single ship research trip. That plan is still pending.
Oh the whole (since this will be a short update for now), it was a lot of fun and we had a great team of scientists, operators and crew on the ship. I didn't get seasick either! We didn't really have any rough water though, which helps.
There are more oil rigs than I thought out on the Gulf! I guess I never realized just how many there are in the world, let alone in one location. Closer to shore when we were going out, we could see dozens of them as we floated along out from and into the channel that took us to port. And at night they were like little cities lit up from underneath and all along the rigs themselves like the Eiffel Tower in shimmering lights. And we were never in an empty expanse of water, there were always either oil rigs or other ships that we could see while we were out there. Well, if you were tall enough. The railing on the side of the ship was just at the right height for me that usually it covered the horizon line and therefore anything that might be sitting on the water. It was always a surprise when I could see a ship through the gaps.
Like I said though, a lot of fun and we'll see if I can get out on this one that only lasts a few days!
Oh the whole (since this will be a short update for now), it was a lot of fun and we had a great team of scientists, operators and crew on the ship. I didn't get seasick either! We didn't really have any rough water though, which helps.
There are more oil rigs than I thought out on the Gulf! I guess I never realized just how many there are in the world, let alone in one location. Closer to shore when we were going out, we could see dozens of them as we floated along out from and into the channel that took us to port. And at night they were like little cities lit up from underneath and all along the rigs themselves like the Eiffel Tower in shimmering lights. And we were never in an empty expanse of water, there were always either oil rigs or other ships that we could see while we were out there. Well, if you were tall enough. The railing on the side of the ship was just at the right height for me that usually it covered the horizon line and therefore anything that might be sitting on the water. It was always a surprise when I could see a ship through the gaps.
Like I said though, a lot of fun and we'll see if I can get out on this one that only lasts a few days!
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Getting ready!
Supposedly my research boat is taking off today or tomorrow! I will probably have no internet or phone service for 10-14 days depending on how long the weather permits us to stay out there, so unfortunately, there will be no updates for the duration of that.
I met a lot of people again yesterday though, as we had another briefing meeting. There are even more new boat field technician people like me now, who probably feel as lost as I did my first week here! All of the things I had to buy/find (steel toed shoes, hard hat, etc.) they have to find now too.
This time at least it sounds like we really will be going. There are thundershowers all along the state and gulf, but no tropical storms this time. *crosses fingers*
I met a lot of people again yesterday though, as we had another briefing meeting. There are even more new boat field technician people like me now, who probably feel as lost as I did my first week here! All of the things I had to buy/find (steel toed shoes, hard hat, etc.) they have to find now too.
This time at least it sounds like we really will be going. There are thundershowers all along the state and gulf, but no tropical storms this time. *crosses fingers*
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Back in Louisiana!
Flights were uneventful this time around!
Unfortunately I've got to get ready and go find out what it is I'm supposed to do today.
Until then!
Unfortunately I've got to get ready and go find out what it is I'm supposed to do today.
Until then!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
More Travel Craziness
I honestly tried to avoid getting home at midnight...
I received the e-mail to go home Saturday afternoon, but by then all of the flights would have gotten me in very late, so I asked for a flight on Sunday. Found one at 11am. Booked it. Ordered Thai for dinner, finished packing and watched movies in my hotel room.
Got up early, made sure I had everything, and headed out towards the airport. Filled up rental car with gas on the way and dropped it off. Bought breakfast and sat around waiting for the plane, which is where the last post came in, and finally boarded.
We made fantastic time to Detroit (layover) and then it all went sour from there. We circled for about a half an hour. Our pilot saying they were having horrible weather and tornado warnings in Detroit. Tornado! So we circled some more and finally he apologized, saying we had to go to Ohio to refuel. *entire airplane groans*
We landed and refueled. That took another 45 min or so. I was supposed to be on a 3:40 flight to Providence, but that time flew past while we were still on the ground in Toledo. Finally we were up in the air again, never even reached cruising altitude, and landed finally in Detroit.
More chaos! All flights for that hour or so had not been allowed to leave or to land. By the time we landed my flight was gone, so all of our passengers scurried over to kiosks and help desks. There were scanners that would read your boarding pass and if you'd already been rescheduled, they printed out a new boarding pass for your new flight! Mine printed out a phone number and told me to call it or go to see a ticketing agent.
I called the number and the first person who answered I swear I don't know how he got the job. I had to continually tell him that there were weather delays and therefore I had missed my connection. "I need to reschedule a flight, mine was canceled due to weather in Detroit." "Okay, what's the flight number" Mutter flight number and where I'm trying to go. "I don't understand, the flight you gave me wasn't canceled, why weren't you on it?" "No, we were stuck circling because we couldn't land because of tornado warnings." "Oh, so you wanted to change your flight to tomorrow morning?" "No, I want a flight tonight, there's one that's been delayed til 7:30 and one at 9:45." "Oh, okay! Let me put you on hold so I can reissue a ticket." Music plays, then the phone is ringing again and a woman's voice answers "Hello, how can I help you?" Needless to say, I was not happy, but she rescheduled me in about 3 minutes as opposed to the 10 I had spent with the other person.
So I was stuck at the Detroit airport til 9:45 and didn't get to Providence til 11:45 or home til after midnight. I did find a delicious Japanese restaurant and ordered vegetable tempura and ramen for dinner. Real ramen, not microwave ramen. Bought a new book while I was there, and wandered through a bunch of shops. I swear it was the longest terminal I had ever been in. It had to be over a mile long. It had it's own express tram.
That was my second travel catastrophe. I am 2 for 2 on travel blunders so far!
I received the e-mail to go home Saturday afternoon, but by then all of the flights would have gotten me in very late, so I asked for a flight on Sunday. Found one at 11am. Booked it. Ordered Thai for dinner, finished packing and watched movies in my hotel room.
Got up early, made sure I had everything, and headed out towards the airport. Filled up rental car with gas on the way and dropped it off. Bought breakfast and sat around waiting for the plane, which is where the last post came in, and finally boarded.
We made fantastic time to Detroit (layover) and then it all went sour from there. We circled for about a half an hour. Our pilot saying they were having horrible weather and tornado warnings in Detroit. Tornado! So we circled some more and finally he apologized, saying we had to go to Ohio to refuel. *entire airplane groans*
We landed and refueled. That took another 45 min or so. I was supposed to be on a 3:40 flight to Providence, but that time flew past while we were still on the ground in Toledo. Finally we were up in the air again, never even reached cruising altitude, and landed finally in Detroit.
More chaos! All flights for that hour or so had not been allowed to leave or to land. By the time we landed my flight was gone, so all of our passengers scurried over to kiosks and help desks. There were scanners that would read your boarding pass and if you'd already been rescheduled, they printed out a new boarding pass for your new flight! Mine printed out a phone number and told me to call it or go to see a ticketing agent.
I called the number and the first person who answered I swear I don't know how he got the job. I had to continually tell him that there were weather delays and therefore I had missed my connection. "I need to reschedule a flight, mine was canceled due to weather in Detroit." "Okay, what's the flight number" Mutter flight number and where I'm trying to go. "I don't understand, the flight you gave me wasn't canceled, why weren't you on it?" "No, we were stuck circling because we couldn't land because of tornado warnings." "Oh, so you wanted to change your flight to tomorrow morning?" "No, I want a flight tonight, there's one that's been delayed til 7:30 and one at 9:45." "Oh, okay! Let me put you on hold so I can reissue a ticket." Music plays, then the phone is ringing again and a woman's voice answers "Hello, how can I help you?" Needless to say, I was not happy, but she rescheduled me in about 3 minutes as opposed to the 10 I had spent with the other person.
So I was stuck at the Detroit airport til 9:45 and didn't get to Providence til 11:45 or home til after midnight. I did find a delicious Japanese restaurant and ordered vegetable tempura and ramen for dinner. Real ramen, not microwave ramen. Bought a new book while I was there, and wandered through a bunch of shops. I swear it was the longest terminal I had ever been in. It had to be over a mile long. It had it's own express tram.
That was my second travel catastrophe. I am 2 for 2 on travel blunders so far!
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