First Week In Deutschland 23 - 30 Oct 11

Completed our first week in Deutschland, Brett and I have.  We've had one day of putzing around Schnaittach and Nurnburg, plus an evening in Köln .  Aside from that, we've been working 12 - 13 hour days and only see the sun during our journey to the cafeteria.  It is always a challenge in installing a BOSS system at a coal power plant in a foreign country.  Luckily, the plant helpers are really (really) good and they know/understand English pretty well (or vell as they'd say).  Sure is a far stretch from Rizhao, China.  Sounds like we've a return trip to China at least 10 more times, plus Taiwan, and Korea (the good side).  Can't wait, cue the sarcasm...

The most frequent question that is asked of me, and us to be sure, is:  "How the hell do y'all handle being away from your family so long?"

Damn fine question, to which I offer the following:  It is hard as hell to be away for as long as we are; up to three weeks at a shot.  Sometimes 14 hours from home (China), and 8 hours (Germany).  The days are long and we wish they were only arduous.  Working in 130+ degree for 12 hours is no small feat, especially as the mercury heads north from there (which it does often).  I take heart that I have a wonderful wife and great kids that help somewhat.  I feel bad for my wife sometimes.  She has to deal with work, her own 12 hour days at times, school (working on her masters degree!!), plus anything that pops up around the house.  All the while, I am mostly unavailable to assist until I either get to the hotel or right when I wake up.  Most of the time it is hours after something happens, and I do my best.  She's doing a great job under tough circumstances.

Leaving for a trip is kinda like anticipating a loooong overdue visit to the dentist:  dread and apprehension.  Granted, I (and we) do my (our) best to perform to a high level and almost always meet our objectives.  I take pride in my work and do my damndest to get stuff done professionally, on time, and under budget.

However, for the day of return I feel like this:

  The anticipation is very similar to Christmas time as a kid.  Counting down the days.  Getting up before the butt-crack of dawn (taint of dawn???) the day of.  Butterflies in stomach as the plane lands and I drive to where my wife is.  I always try to drive to where she is, no matter if I was gone three weeks, or three days.  The anticipation is greater the longer I am away, of course.  And the anticipatory climax is just like opening the bestest present on Christmas day as a 10 year old boy:  A Red Ryder BB Gun, of course.  Naturally, nowadays I won't shoot my eye out...

As I sit at the hotel bar in Leverkusen, Germany, writing this blog post and sipping another Beam and Sprite, I can feel feel the butterflies start to flutter.

Pictures and stories from Germany, Belgium, and Niederaussem Power Plant in the next blog.



Thank you for reading,


Kev

Miami Fort 39.114243, -84.802948

My first thoughts about Miami Fort Generating Station:  "Whoo-hoo!!!  Going to Florida!!!"  Not so much, as I was delirious from the New Mexican desert wind.  Miami Fort is actually located in the rather pretty confines of SW Ohio, right in the Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio tri-state area.  The 9th President of the United States is buried nearby and there is lots of Civil War history around the region as well.

The plant looks descent enough from the outside, with it's nice color scheme and relatively fresh paint:

Yeah, right.  This place is probably the dirtiest that I've been in (out of 16 boilers so far).  Coal dust is everywhere, the heat isn't too bad (< 130 F at hottest), but the radiative properties are rather high.  I picked up a nice, sunburn-esque boiler burn this past week.  Strange to get raccoon-eyes while indoors.  I've recently had to move our system from a nice, open platform to rickety scaffolding 25 feet in the air:

Nothing like exercising the ole sphincter factor while bobbing and weaving around our equipment and the superstructure.  I guess that's why we get "Paid by the hour!," to quote Glendo.  I wonder if all the black crap that I flush from my sinuses is detrimental to my health?

And yes, it is as dark and dreary as it looks.  I guess the aforementioned hardware store being loose is an apt description, but I always keep in mind that our bills are getting paid off rather quickly, regardless of how my shirt looks at the end of the day.  There is lots of salt that leaves our bodies during the work day:

I've had three trips in a row in which interesting events have happened.  They've even made national news:  1.  The flight into Detroit on 11 Sep (Frontier 623) had a terrorist scare and was boarded by machine-gun toting linebackers.  2. Driving through Kansas City when an Amber Alert was sounded for a missing 11 month old.  She'll be on the cover of People Magazine this week.  3.  Finally, a bunch of exotic animals were let loose upon the Ohio countryside a couple of days ago.  I wonder what's going to happen on my next trip to Germany in a couple of days?  More history?  What with the latest Eurozone banking crisis reaching a new crescendo the day I arrive.  We'll see if the Krauts and Frogs place nice with the financially inept and each other.   Stay tuned...  Speaking of history, the USAF Museum in Dayton, Ohio is really cool:

To quote Inspector Kemp, "Until vee meet again."

New Guy Slagmonkey

I am a slagmonkey

First and foremost:  My thanks to Brett for inspiring me to write this blog.  I recommend reading his blog, Remarkably Unremarkable (http://remarkablyunremarkable.net/), as it is an excellent piece of literary work.  I have linked his blog to the right of my posts.

Okay, so what exactly is a slagmonkey?  First off it is a singular, subject complement noun (especially when used in a manner like the title of this post).  Now that the grammatical definition is clear, a slagmonkey is an active field service technician working for Zolo Technologies, Inc (http://www.zolotech.com/).  There are three active and one part-time slagmonkeys in the world:  Glen Kelley, the aforementioned Brett Littleton, Scott Schneider (part timer) and your humble correspondent.  Our job is to install, troubleshoot, and service a Boiler Optimizing Spectroscopy Sensor (BOSS) in the very harsh working environment known as the boiler at coal-fired, electricity generating stations.  Very harsh:  temperature ~   -10 F all the way up to 205F where we work; noise ~  greater than 100 db, especially when a steam pipe is being warmed up via a bypass valve; and dirty ~  coal particles the size of fine powder everywhere, asbestos, steam, and general grime from an industrial environment.

Some would say that I have a screw loose for working in this environment.  I contend that it is a hardware store.  However, this is the job I have chosen after being laid off from my last job.  I was unemployed for 6 months, starting November 2009, at the start of the depression that we are currently in.  I searched every single day for 6 months and submitted well over 200 resumes before landing this job.  It pays well, my coworkers are great, and I get to travel to new places (China and Germany to name two).  Not to mention that my Man Card is made from platinum.

My intentions are to update this blog regularly, especially when I am on the road.  While in the office, there is not much going on to report about, so I will not be updating this blog not too often while in Colorado.  Oh yeah, a little bit of personal info:  I am married to the woman that I love dearly and have two kids (12 and 10).  We've just celebrated our 13 wedding anniversary.  Being away from them sucks a lot, but using Skype and calling as often as possible helps.  Especially when on the road for greater than two weeks.

That is about it for now.  I will be leaving for the latest excursion in a few days, stay tuned. 

Thanks for reading,

Kevin

p.s.  I tend to use colorful language when I communicate.  Please pardon my French, for those of you with sensitive eyes.