alli the ostrich

The blog is a day early this week because I’m going to be back up in the air tomorrow! I got an opportunity to take a trip offshore tomorrow. I’m really excited and slightly nervous for my first helicopter ride to one of our offshore platforms. I’m leaving around 5AM tomorrow morning, and will head about 30 miles mostly West and a little South of the Malongo camp. I’ll be touring the area and looking at some of the points where our project will be connecting to the existing platform, spend the night, and then head back into camp on Monday afternoon. I’ve heard that the food on our platforms far exceeds the mess hall on camp, so let’s be honest – I’m really just on this trip for the food…and to take a bunch of awesome photos from the helicopter ride :)

This past week has been super busy. We finished up a major construction milestone, our first pipeline road crossing. I was so excited when I got to send out an email to all of the major stakeholders – supervisors and superintendents in the area. When I sent the email I attached a few photos to brag on how well my crews did, completing the job a day early! After I sent the email I went back to look at the photos just reminiscing on how awesome we are and got smacked right back down to Earth. I had attached one awesome photo of the crane placing one of the casing pipes and another photo of me – yes JUST me – in front of the ocean view near the site work (which I was sending to Mom). For clarification, what I am trying to say is that I sent a “selfie” to about 30 very important people. Most of yall know that I don’t typically get embarrassed very easily, however in this case the word mortified is an understatement. I scrambled to recall the message, but since I had sent the email with a high importance flag, my recall was a failure in most cases. Luckily, the relationship with folks that received my super cute picture is at a point that they can openly poke fun at me for doing stupid things – however when I finally see our portfolio MANAGER that received my picture, I am probably still going to want to hide my head in the sand. Just another day in the life of Allison Johnson…

BEFORE...

AFTER!

On Friday we had an awesome barbeque celebration for all of the workers to reward them for completing our first road crossing without incidents and ahead of schedule. The same company that provides food for the mess hall does all of the catering around camp as well, but usually the food is higher quality than what’s offered the mess hall. I was SO excited when I saw that there was what appeared to be a ball of fried cheese – like a mozzarella stick. Naturally, I put 3 on my plate and took a gigantic bite as soon as I sat down – NOT cheese. It was a fried hardboiled egg. It took everything I had first, not to puke and second, not to spit it out right back on to my plate. Lesson learned – do not assume anything is normal in Malongo. Other than that the celebration was a complete success! Note: We were giving out hats, and I was forced to participate...please disregard the fact that I look like a boy.

My people...

Cruz (trying to avoid the picture), Francesco, David, and John (one of the super important people who received my "selfie")

Handing out awards...clearly, no one takes me seriously

Tomas - my main man

At 26 years old, this coming week will be my first holiday away from home. I’ll be missing everyone just a little bit extra as we celebrate Thanksgiving – and HOPEFULLY a Texas Tech win over Texas! I’ve talked to a bunch of folks, and they have reassured me that there will be PLENTY of turkey available on Thursday. Unfortunately, I think my hopes for a pumpkin pie are out the window but I’ll just load up on that during Christmas at home! I have SO much to be thankful for this year. Most importantly my amazing friends and family back home...I couldn't be living this crazy life without your support :)

I couldn't post a blog without some wildlife - tiny pretty blue bird

Past the halfway point – 17 days down, 11 to go! xoxo…

odds and ends

There are lots of weird things about Malongo – food, scenery, wildlife, hair styles (thanks humidity), just to name a few – but I think the oddest thing is the constant arrival and departure of folks on camp aka “crew change.” I am so used to coming going work and seeing the same faces day in and day out, but that’s not the case here and I’ve decided that I have a love/hate relationship with the constant crew change. As most of you know, when I meet someone I need to know everything – where they are from, wife’s name, how many kids they have (plus names, ages, hobbies), past work positions/locations, our 6 degrees of separation, favorite color – you catch my drift. By the time I even get people’s names down, they are gone (without saying bye, because that’s impossible) and their back to back is here. So I’m back to square one. And what’s REALLY not fair is that everyone knows my name, because there are about 15 total women here and curly red hair isn’t very forgettable. On the plus side, things are always changing and the world is becoming smaller and smaller – six degrees is more like 3 over here.

Not much has gone on around here this past week. LOTS of eating delicious food made by Chef Lefort (my construction rep). Thank goodness he headed back to Louisiana on Saturday - now its back to the mess hall with hopes to loose the 2-5 lbs that I packed on in my first week and a half here! The weather has been oddly wonderful for this time of year. I keep hearing about the monsoons that are coming, but all we have had is a little rain in the mornings and at night with clear afternoons. I'm currently knocking on wood because this weather has been wonderful for our construction schedule.

Here are some photos from last week - snakes, clear skies, and the circle of life...

A couple times a week I walk down and back up the main hill during lunch time, this is from one of my walks. You can barely see one of the flares offshore in the picture

It took me about 30 pictures to get a good one of this little guy. I think he thought I wanted his lunch...

This is a baby green mamba snake, it's about 18" long (I zoomed in quite a bit). We have black and green mambas in camp that can 8-10' long, yuck.

Successful crane lift - BONUS, beach background :)

10 days down, 18 to go! xoxo...

back on the grind

I am back safe and sound in my 3rd home away from home! The trip this time was a million times easier than the first time around. My return flight was pretty much the same group of folks that I returned home with back in October, so it was nice to walk into the airport with a bunch of familiar faces. Once I get a consistent schedule I will “crew change” with the same group of folks each time I come to and from Malongo, which means everyone will get used to me roaming the aisle of the plane in my PJ’s for most of the 15 hour flight :)

When I arrive back on camp, it’s around 13:30 (6AM Texas time) and most everyone goes straight to the salad bar to get the last of any cold cuts or lettuce since the dining areas usually close at 13:00. My lunch on Thursday was lettuce (no dressing), rice and beans – that’s when it sinks in that you’re really back in Malongo. During lunch time there are two options for food: salad bar and mess hall. The mess hall is true Angolan food geared towards the ~3,500 nationals that come into camp for work each day. I went there once last hitch to give it a try and chose one of the beef/bean stew options. Things didn’t go well, so I stick to the salad bar most days.

Thursday and Friday night were the worst because I was going to bed too early and waking up between 1 and 3AM, but I am pretty much adjusted to the time difference now. Yesterday afternoon my construction coordinator, Phil, came into my office asking if I had a minute. That minute turned into about an hour because he got me into the kitchen to learn how to make roux for the gumbo he was making. For those of us who aren’t coon asses, roux is the heart of any gumbo and if you mess it up the whole pot is ruined. It was a lot of pressure considering that the folks we were cooking for were about 97% Louisiana born and raised. Thanks to Phil’s supervision, I have to say that the shrimp and okra gumbo (fun fact: okra originated in West Africa) turned out pretty well. With a few more lessons from Phil in the kitchen and a couple more rounds of Bourre (boo-ray) I will fit in with the rest of the Bayou folks around here.

Leaving home is tough, but everyone here makes it much easier. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of hearing the stories all these guys have about the good ol days from first jobs as gandy dancers to bartering with natives while drilling exploratory wells in Sudan...

3 days down, 25 to go! xoxo

second home

I never in a million years thought that I would say it, but I have to admit that Bakersfield will always be my second home.  It is so nice to come back and pick up right where I left off with all the great friends that I made during my four years here :)  I cannot believe it's already been almost 5 months since I left.  Dear time, STOP flying!

I started the week off by having lunch with one of the best mommas around on Monday. Christine and her husband, Tyler, moved to Bakersfield about 3 years ago and I don't think they were quite prepared for the fact that I already considered them family. During my summer internship in Bakersfield I lived with Tyler's younger brother's girlfriend (now wife) plus they are both Texas Tech Alums, so we are practically related, right? Makes total sense in my head.  Whether they liked it or not, they agreed and took me in as family.  They are proud parents to the most adorable 18-month old little boy, Curt, and as of last Tuesday a sweet baby girl, Rosalie.  So if you're doing the math, Christine at 39-weeks pregnant came and picked me up for a lunch date less than 24-hours before she was scheduled for her C-section.  I'm telling you, that woman is amazing! I closed out my week spending a few hours with the new family of four AND getting to meet my friend Katie's baby girl, Bailey.   Here are a few of my favorite pictures of those sweet baby girls!

Rosalie cuddled up in a blanket from Aunt Alli!

Just showing off her long skinny legs

I gave her a pep talk to be prepared for everyone to make fun of her long skinny toes...

She's smiling, I swear!

Little Bailey after she fell asleep in my arms

I had to wake her up before I left, sorry Mom!

I spent the rest of the week covering Chad's house in pink paraphenelia to get ready for Carrie's baby shower. I felt like a true housewife just spending the day crafting waiting for my boy to get home for dinner.  On Thursday night I even got to be Chad's date to the 2013 Oil and Gas Awards for the West Coast region.  He came away a winner representing his company as Engineering Company of the year…more info click HERE!  We are awful at taking pictures together, but I did snap one of his interview after the ceremony…

After months of planning with my partner in crime, Rachel, (and help from Braidon), I think Carrie and Cody's baby shower was a success! I still can't believe that it is almost time for Baby Grant's arrival.  Her due date is December 10th, but after seeing Carrie's belly my guess is around December 3rd.  As usual, Carrie has not slowed down one bit.  In fact, at 7+ months pregnant, Carrie made the time to finish a t-shirt quilt that I started 4 years ago that she volunteered to finish when she saw that after 3.5 years I had made very little progress. Needless to say, there is no doubt in my mind that Carrie is going to make one AMAZING mother!

Pumpkin babies!  

Note:  Disregard Carrie's outfit, she was putting on t-shirts to prove that she could still fit into a size Medium :)

Clearly, we still can't believe it...

Diaper Cake 

My pumpkin babies

LOVE my t-shirt quilt...proof that Carrie is amazing!

All in all my week in Bakersfield has been wonderful! I'll be enjoying a few more days here before I head back to Houston on Wednesday morning.  Although I'll be sad, yet again, to leave my friends and sweet boy, I'm excited to spend my last week in the states in Houston. I'm looking forward to a week full of family, friends and lots of love as we celebrate my cousin Kristopher and his sweet fiancé, Julie's, engagement!

Until next time, xoxo!

home: naps, parties, and football

Whoops - I missed a week!  I feel like I have been in a time warp since I landed in America a week and a half ago - Cabinda to Luanda to Houston to Las Vegas to Bakersfield to San Diego to Houston and today back to Bakersfield!  It's hard to believe that just two weeks ago I was sitting on the beach in Cabinda with my amazing co-workers.  Here are a few photos from my escape from camp the Sunday before I left...

belissimo!

Chef David and his friends

Just your average Italian meal...more bottles of wine than people

bon appitite!

Stroll on the beach after lunch soaking up the sun!

"Alli, enough with the pictures!"

I can say whole heartedly that America is the best country in the world.  Last Friday morning when I touched down in Houston all I could think about was how blessed we are to live in such an amazing country - minus the whole government shutdown nonsense.  My sweet brother knows how much I love being greeted at the airport by a familiar face, so he picked me up from the airport at 6am.  He also knows that I would have griped at him endlessly if he hadn't been there since I have made more than enough trips to pick him up, most memorably at 3am.  First thing I did was take the most wonderful shower, sans shower shoes which is a requirement in my shared Malongo shower.  I jumped back in the car [freedom] and had a delicious breakfast of about 6 breakfast tacos at the Taco Cabana up the street, followed by a nap because I can do that now :)  Then it was time to head to Vegas…

I met 3 of my favorite Bakersfield girls for a little Vegas get away.  I can't say much about the weekend because as they say - what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, so here are a few pictures collages made by the Rolow's instead…

Night #1

Night #2

We got up early and booked it out of Vegas to avoid all the Vegas to California traffic that typically turns a 4 hour drive into a 6+ hour drive.  I also just really wanted to get to Bakersfield to see my boy!  Needless to say, I was 100% worthless for the two days that I was in Bako.  My activities included napping, catching up on TV shows, getting a massage, and watching Chad cook dinner.

Next stop - University of California San Diego in La Jolla, California just North of San Diego.  For those of you who haven't been to this part of the country, plan a trip ASAP.  It is breathtaking.  Clear skies and 70-something degrees year-round, ranks pretty high on my list of favorites...

Successful Career Fair on the beautiful UCSD campus

Morning hike in SD...absolutely gorgeous.  Anyone please feel free to buy me the house featured in this photo :)

After a long 3 days of recruiting, it was time to head back to Texas and actually sleep in my OWN bed!  First, we had to celebrate one of my favorite couples on their engagement.  Kelly's parents opened their home to celebrate the future Mr & Mrs Kilcrease.  Kelly has basically been a part of the Johnson clan for her whole life, growing up across the street from Laurel and Kristopher.  I feel so blessed to have been able to really get to know both Kelly and Robbie since moving to Houston.  It was a great night with great people, and I can't imagine two people more perfect for each other :)

Adorable Thoreen/Kilcrease family!

"Chad can you please try to take a normal picture???"

Success!

We spent most of Saturday recovering from the long night and watching Texas Tech pull out a win against WVU, which was a little too close for comfort.  I can't even begin to explain how much I have missed college football Saturdays!  

Chad and I are heading back to Bakersfield tonight, and I couldn't be more excited.  I am going to spend the week finishing up planning for my dear friend Carrie Grant's baby shower!  She and her husband, Cody, are getting ready to welcome their baby GIRL this December and I cannot wait to spoil that little thing!  It's just a bonus that I get to plan with my old office-mate and party-planner extraordinaire, Rachel Waggoner - who I miss terribly on a daily basis!  Nothing like going back to my second home :)

Until next time...xoxo

firsts + lasts

I have been counting down all my “lasts” in Malongo these past couple of days. So here’s to my last Sunday, and even more exciting – my FIRST time to leave camp! Everyone who lives here on camp works 7 days a week, and is only allowed to leave for special circumstances that require approval/security/etc. The Italian company I am working with on my project only works 6 days with Sunday as their off day. They live in a compound out in Cabinda city, and don’t hesitate to rub in the fact that they all get to relax at the beach on Sundays. After enough whining, they put together a lunch for this afternoon and invited me to come out and join! One of the folks on my team is Catalonian (region in Spain, below) and will be making lobster paella. When I went to Spain last summer I spent some time in Barcelona, which is part of the Catalonia region. I had my first taste of paella and was blown away, so I’m expecting a delicious lunch today! Don’t worry Mom/Dad/Nana/Papa/Ma/Pa, I got approval and will have a driver and security, plus Tomas and Phil.

Right when I got here, I made all of my team members take the Myers Briggs personality test as a team building activity. The test is just a series of simple questions that are tallied up and the result is a 4-letter combination that focuses on attributes of personalities: Extraversion/Introversion, Sensing/iNtuting, Thinking/Feeling, and Judging/Perceiving. Long story short, every person on my site leadership team of 15 people was either an ESTJ or an ISTJ – except for me. My 4-letter combination is ENFP – Extraverted iNtuitive Feeling Perceiving. I failed to mention that I was attempting to explain all of this personality jargon to a very diverse group of folks (Italian, Portuguese, Catalonian, and Angolan). So I searched the internet for material to help explain all of this information and found the matrix below that shows one phrase interpreted by each of the 16-letter combination type personalities.

Note: click HERE if you want to read more about the Myers Briggs personality types...

As you can see, ENFP’s are easily distracted which gets me to the point of why I’m explaining all of this anyway….I really get a kick out of all the animals/flowers/views/random stuff there is to look at around here and I don’t have any problem letting everyone know when there is something awesome to look at (this usually includes monkeys). This past week, I had a group of folks come to my office to give me a TON of photos that they had taken over the past few weeks of things around camp so I’ve picked some of my favorites to post!

oh HEY! just hanging out...

I have no idea what this is, but I want it in my backyard.

Caught him eating a banana! (I did not feed the animals)

Birds looking for snacks outside the Tank Farm

African deer in camp

Ok, this next series of photos is AWESOME! There is a banana tree right outside our office, and one of the guys here took a picture of it every day as it began to produce fruit. It's something I've never seen before, and I think it's pretty amazing! I left out some of the days where it didn't change much, but you get the picture...

I’ll be America-bound Thursday afternoon, leaving camp around 13:30 (7:30 Texas time) and I will touch down in Houston around 7 Friday morning – right at 24 hours of travel time. I’d say my first trip exceeded my expectations, solely due to the wonderful people that I have met here in Africa. I could do without the spiders, but I guess I’ll come back :)

31 days down, 4 to go! xoxo

Boa Noite Malongo