Back at Work

Although I did get to spend one night at home, I am back in Houston now and packing up to head to work. I tried...I really did. But the work I am doing now, a big chunk of which is due on Monday morning at 9am, requires a lot of manual work. I have to map the data out on paper (large pages hung on the wall works best), make a lot of notes on a whiteboard, link everything together with post-its and colored markers, then translate all of that brain fodder into my computer. I realized this morning that as things are now, that entire process is just not possible from home.

I broached the topic carefully with Leo this morning thinking I would have to work around to letting him know that I needed to come back to town, but I shouldn't have worried. No grumbling, no complaining, he just helped me pack up and load up, then drove me back to Houston. He didn't stay long as he has a whole lot of things he needs to be doing back home. Although I miss him immensely when he's not around, I totally appreciate the fact that he understands how I need time, and room, to work out really difficult problems and he is always willing to give that to me. Leo is definitely THE BEST!

While I'm waiting for my cell phone to charge just a bit more, I guess I can share some of the Nigeria discussion that went on Friday.

Things seem to be on target for July 1 for Leo to start, but could be delayed a bit as other activities take place and the other players get into place. We learned that the travel arrangements will be made for him and that a typical trip will involve a flight from Houston to Amsterdam, then on to Lagos, Nigeria. From there, Leo will be picked up by the security folks and escorted to his hotel for the night. The next morning, he will be packed off to Escravos in a small plane along with the others who are making "shift change" at the same time as him.

Once in the compound, we think he will be staying in a hotel-type room and we are hoping he will have internet access from there so we can chat when he gets off in the evenings. Things like laundry and food will be taken care of for him, and he should have some free time for reading, studying, and relaxing. After his 28 days of work, the process will be reversed and I will be eagerly waiting for him to come back to me in Houston. If the process really does come off as planned, we both think this will be a relatively easy job for him over the next couple of years.

Leo is still holding out hope that I will be going with him sometime this year, but then, he always is the more optimistic one. It seems that although my resume and list of accomplishments are impressive enough to get notice, it is the fact of my femaleness that seems to be causing the hesitation. There are no other females on the team. [Sigh]. That's not such a big deal for me as it would definitely NOT be the first time for me to be in that situation. As a matter of fact, it has been the situation I've found myself in most often for many of my roles over the past 30 years. But, until the powers-that-be get a warm fuzzy feeling about it, it looks like I will be biding my time waiting here at home.

I'm guessing my cell phone should be charged up enough to serve me for a bit, so I'm going to pack up now and head downtown. If you see my husband, tell him I said "hey" and send my love, will you? Thanks so much!

A Wonderful Weekend

Tomorrow morning I have a visit to the dentist, then will pack up and head back off to Houston. But today, well today was a perfectly wonderful end to a perfectly wonderful weekend.

The morning started off with gunshots as I was taking my time getting out of bed. Pardon my lack of sensitivity, but the gunshots made me smile as I realized we will soon have fresh meat, wild hog, in the freezer. When I ventured out, I found Leo under Bro. David's careful tutelage, working away at his tasks under the "hanging tree". Again, for those of you who did not grow up in the country, I'll spare what could be considered the "gory details". They tackled the largest hog first, a big black sow who turned out to yield a good bit of meat. When they got toward the end of this first animal, I was dispatched to run to town for some ice.

The sky was a bit overcast and there was rain in the distance. As I drove back from town, the dark sky rising above the golden tops of the corn stalks provided a sight that was absolutely beautiful. At the last dogleg in the road before reaching home I saw a beautiful rainbow in the sky. "This is the life," I realized.

The guys were soon ready to take a trip back near the deer stands to drop off some of the unwanted remnants of the butchering. I had never been on that side of the road and took them up on the offer to go for a ride. As we were backing in the the dumping spot I said, "wasn't there a bucket on the back when we started out?" Sure enough, we had to retrace our drive and find the bucket of entrails that had slipped off the back, pick up the spillage (I only watched) then head out again for a second attempt.

As the men worked on the next animals, Judy and I sat in the shade of the trees and watched, donated the occasional comments, and enjoyed each other's company. I worried a bit that Leo would take issue with me lazing about while he worked so hard, but that was not the case. Butchering four hogs was long and difficult work for the men, but Leo enjoyed it immensely. He even seemed pleased that Judy and I were nearby, even though we were of little help during the operation.

It was nearly noon by the time the last hog was iced down and Leo headed for a shower. After that, we went to town for a quick stop at Dairy Queen, and a few more bags of ice. Leo was sore and tired, but definitely proud of the morning's achievements. Later in the afternoon as we sat on the back porch swing and enjoyed the view, we again talked about his upcoming work in Nigeria.

As I shared with Judy, Leo and I are a bit tired of people expressing their concern over his upcoming work. I honestly think we are at a greater risk of all sorts of mishaps in our travels and stay in Houston each week. Still, I wish I was the one going, for lots of reasons. Leo is much more social than I am. Not only does he crave the interaction with people that I usually shy away from, he is also much more comfortable around people than I am. I, on the other hand, could probably lead a perfectly content existence as a hermit, something that would not suit him at all. Also, Leo is, in some ways, the heart of our neighborhood here at Six Mile. I guess I'm finally realizing how much of a hardship it is for him to come to Houston with me during the week...he is so much more comfortable here at home. And finally, I'm the one with wonderlust, the one with a desire to see the world and visit exotic places. Although Leo doesn't mind going to Nigeria, I realize now that he could easily do without it too. But, the situation is that I am obviously not in a position to take his place. It is his experience and expertise that is called for on this job. I am the one to be left behind.

So, we are both resigned to make the best of it. I will do everything I can to make sure he is prepared for the first 4 weeks without me, and he is doing all he can to prepare for excelling in the tasks that await him. We both are going to try what we can to demonstrate to the company that they will be getting a bargain if they decide to take me as well. Although our skills and experience are very different, together we cover quite a lot of territory. Hopefully, the company will see this and I'll get a chance to go along before year's end.

But for now, I am learning to back off a bit, relax a bit, and enjoy time together with my husband even without all the manic insanity that has been pushing my every move for the last few years. This was one of those weekends where I acted like a normal, laid back country girl, and just enjoyed spending the weekend hanging out with friends and family, and enjoying the good times. It was truly a wonderful weekend.

Home Again, Home Again

Yes...believe it or not I am actually home in Port Lavaca tonight. The hogs are busy at the feeder out front, and there is a strong sea breeze tonight. We had thought about going to the movies tonight, but have decided to try for the matinee tomorrow instead.

I have to admit that things are a bit "strained" right now with me working long hours on projects with no promise of work tomorrow while Leo prepares to go overseas without me, something I never expected to happen. It does not seem fair to me that he got an offer as I am left behind even though I have worked so very hard to make myself "attractive" to an overseas operation. Still, Leo is perfectly prepared and perfectly willing to go, so I'll just have to bide my time waiting for something to come up that will satisfy my desire for travel.

It seems everyone has expressed worry or concern over Leo's new job. I have to admit I am surprised by that. When we discuss it, we both agree that living and making our way around Houston is far more dangerous than living on a protect compound in a coastal region in Africa. I am actually quite jealous of Leo's upcoming adventure. I have promised him, however, that unless he wants to see me show up at the gates of the compound, he will have to contact me daily and assure me that things are going well. I, for one, think the 28 on and 24 off schedule is absolutely perfect. I hope I'm right about that.

Anyway, I know this is not much of a posting, but I've been incredibly busy and my mind is in kind of a "funk" (from work...not worry), so I thought I should attempt to post SOMETHING to get me back in the swing of making regular posts. We are happy, healthy, busy, doing fine, and looking forward to the next big adventure.

Grades are In

As expected, I had a bit of a disappointing semester. The truth is, however, I was so very busy with work projects it is perhaps surprising that I survived the semester at all. For my four classes this semester I made two A's, one B+, and one B. That gives me a semester average of 3.58 and a final GPA for my masters degree of 3.72. Again, on the one hand I am pleased to have even survived the program, but on the other, I realize that grades are important, even to an old fogie like me, especially considering my attempts to get into a PhD program. I could have done better, I should have done better, but I am satisfied and pleased with myself anyway.

I will take what I got and be happy with it. 3.72. Yippee! It's all over now!

Leo's Interview

UPDATE: There is a lot that can happen in three months, of course, but the word we received late last evening was that Leo will be headed to Nigeria in July.

Although we can't say much about it yet, Leo did interview for a job in Nigeria today. The good news is that he has a lot of experience, and expertise, in the position that is open. The bad new is there are quite a few candidates vying for the job. Still, we have hope. Because our work backgrounds, up to a point, are largely similar, we are both hoping that one of us getting a position there will open the door for the other to follow. But even if just one of us gets the opportunity, we both are excited about the impact it could have and are definitely willing to consider that option.

According to the interviewer, the best guess for the timing on the position would be sometime late in July. That works perfectly for us. So...wish us the best, and you can count on being kept "in the loop" on progress!

I'm DONE!

After a long couple of days of preparation, I just finished my last exam this afternoon. As soon as I completed it, I opened my email and submitted it to my instructor. In my inbox was a note from Leo. Curious, I opened it up to find this story.

There once was a bunch of tiny frogs who arranged a climbing competition. The goal was to reach the top of a very high tower.

A big crowd had gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer on the contestants. The race began. No one in the crowd really believed the tiny frogs would reach the top of the tower.

Heard throughout the race were statements such as, “Oh, way too difficult,” “They will never make it to the top,” “Not a chance they will succeed,” and “The tower is too high.”

The tiny frogs began collapsing, one by one—except for those who, in a fresh tempo, were climbing higher and higher. The crowd continued to yell, “It is too difficult! No one will make it!”

More tiny frogs got tired and gave up. But ONE continued to climb higher and higher. This one refused to give up!

At the end of the race, all had given up climbing the tower except for the one tiny frog who, after a big effort, was the only one who reached the top!

All of the other tiny frogs wanted to know how this one frog managed to do it. They asked him how he had found the strength to succeed and reach the goal.

It turned out that the winning frog was DEAF!!!!

It was not until I closed the note that I noticed the subject line of the email. "Guera...I'm just glad you're DEAF" was what it said. (Now do you see why I'm stuck on him?!)