Tuesday, April 17, 2007

My man is a hardworking man

Yesterday, Patrick called me from work to inform me that he would be going to a rig that evening. I am familiar with this process, as it happens almost every Monday. Patrick likes to go to the rig early in the week, so the rest of his week is rig free (most of the time). To my surprise, Patrick invited me to go along with him to the rig last night. I was a little leery, but heartily agreed! I have been very interested in what he does on the rigs here.

In Texas, he had to go on a rig in the middle of the ocean. I was a little beyond freaked out and had no idea what he was getting into. He took a lot of pictures and when he got home, he explained every single one. I listened attentively. He also went to rigs on land in Texas. I got to see one of those rigs, from a distance, and it looked very interesting. I love knowing what Patrick does. From the first day he told me he was a geologist, I've done nothing but ask questions and look for answers when he's not around. I have learned some incredible things from Patrick about geology. It's a really interesting subject! It's a beautiful thing in marriage, when you can learn about and appreciate what your husband does to provide for your family. I'm so grateful for a heart that wants to know and wants to support Patrick!

So Patrick and I headed toward the rig, which was about an hour away, at 6:30pm. I didn't get out of the car for four hours. I was so scared of getting too curious and then getting Patrick in trouble. I thought it was best for me to stay put. We drove a company car, so it was roomy and much better than being in Patrick's truck for several hours. Patrick was in and out of the car talking to people and getting information to work on his part of the rig. He has to make sure everything is lined up and going as it should be (geology-wise). After he gathers a bunch of information, he has to make sure it is accurate with the progs done for the rig beforehand. If they are not, he has to fix it so they can be on target. I didn't realize how much being on the rig entailed!

I was content to do Sudoku puzzles and read a cookbook. When Patrick was in the car, we watched Nacho Libre (funny movie...). After about four hours, I confessed my desire to roam the area and use the bathroom. Luckily, there was a port-a-potty near by (I grabbed some toilet seat covers from Sheetz before we got to the rig, just in case!). Patrick introduced me to some guys working on the rig and I watched the rig hands do their job. It seemed so tedious and it was so cold, I was impressed they were still working! It was very fascinating watching them work and having Patrick explain everything to me. I asked a lot of questions and found out some very interesting things about digging for gas and also the differences in digging for oil.

We slept in the car while we waited for all of the piping to be in the hole and ready for cementing. I had a difficult time sleeping, but Patrick was a champ and got right to it. I think I slept about 2 1/2 hours before waking up to a knock on the window. Cementing was ready to start and Patrick had to be there. I snuck into the back seat and was able to sleep a bit more before Patrick came back. Before he can leave the rig, he has to check everything and make sure that the well was working properly (or something, it was really early and I didn't sleep much at this point).

Finally, at 7:00am we (Patrick) finished up and started back home. Whew! It was quite an adventure, but I'm so glad I was able to go to the rig! It was a great experience and I love that I'll know what Patrick is talking about when he calls me from the rig. I'm so very glad that Patrick invited me! Maybe I should have been a geologist?

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