general update: all is fine

Ok, to answer requests for a general update.

I am back in Algeria and I should be here for 5 weeks or so. Obviously I am back at work...nothing special on this front... I should only be in Algeria for another 2 wells including this one, so about 5 months...Which of course make me want to reconcider my original thought of going home at the end of this well. I am starting to think that I should do everything I want to do in Algeria first...we'll see.

Before this I was in Calgary for 4 days and I managed to have more cups of coffe, early AND late lunches (once on the same day) than I thought was possible in such a short period of time but I did visit with pretty much everyone.
Chloe is walking as if she had always been walking. Next time I get home she probably will be talking. I remember the first time I got back and Brannan was talking, I couldn't help but feel really weird about it, so this should be a repeat of this weird feeling.
I saw Ben of course, with Sam, and got a chance to see for myself that those guys seem to actually be in what looks like a "real" relationship. But then of course what do I know about relationships!!!
I never did hook up with Dave who left my place a couple of days before I arrive...I think...
The place OF COURSE had been "redecorated" with Dave's and Ben's possessions which needed to be stored since those two guys are in between two places right now. I thought that I handled the "What the f**** is going on in my place" thing very well. I didn't even flip or anything. The place was clean and right there I was impressed. Also I was only home for a few days. But we all know how I LOVE to have people in my place and how I LOVE to have my place moved around!!!!!

Before that I was in Kenya for a month and in general terms I had a blast. I was absolutely fabulous in a "this is the farthest out thing I have done as far as new cultures are concerned" kind of a way. The Maasai are far out and it was a GREAT experience.

Before that I spent 5 days in London where I pretty much "lived it up", eating in nice restaurants, shopping in bookstores, going out, etc etc etc.....I totally did the "Life in London" thing. I even had a thought for a moment that I could live in London...Jeeze could it t even be a better place than Calgary!?! Surely not!
Let's be honest, if Calgary was not near the mountains it would be the last place on earth where you would want to be living...even with the mountains apparently it is the last place where quite a few of us want to be living hence the on going evacuation. As Lime said (I think it was Lime) "the last one out should turn the lights off".

Among all this of course there is now the issue of traveling, and especially traveling from Heathrow to Canada. It was amazingly easier than I first thought it was going to be. My bags were only open twice and my shampoo+tooth paste+hand cream could only be confiscated once. I went through only 5 metals detectors and my hand luggage was only search the same 5 times when I left Nairobi. In London I had nothing left that could be confiscated but I went through it all again since I was not allowed to have my bags follow me through and I had to go get them and put them through the system one more time. It was slow but I was prepared for it.

Here is a sign maybe it is the beginning of the end: in Heathrow I realized that it was only 9:30am AFTER I had ordered a double gin and tonic. The slight double take the young waitress did when I added "Oh, make it a double" was what prompt me to look at my watch.
Of course I am so mixed up with time that right now I cannot tell when I am supposed to sleep and I am going on an average of four hours per night...Well I am at work so who cares.

I did end up getting a REALLY sore back when in Calgary (too many hours sleeping sitting up, too many bad sits and not enough sit ups would do it to me) but my back is just about back to normal since at work I do have a piece of clean floor just large enough for me to do abs....I cannot stop, after a month without doing abs, my back always gives me major troubles. Of course my worst back problem happened on the day I was visiting Chloe with Steph right here to see it! wouldn't you just know it!

In summary all is fine! It is just more of the same but in a different pile.