Sunday, October 30, 2005
The simple things
Damn, Just finished an IM conversation with a friend of mine who told me he and his girlfriend went off the road and rolled the bike near their home in the rain the other day. He had traded in his dresser and bought a beautiful new Fat Boy when I was in Spain. Thankfully they are both just sore but the bike will be in the shop for a while. He does have another so they won’t be without.
Just before coming to India, Stacey and I were out riding with another friend and it started to pour. We were on a normally nice winding road at the time, the kind you like to find when cruising on a bike, but the downpour made it a rather treacherous route. At one point we almost bit it as well. Scary stuff sometimes…
This is my second consecutive Sunday off and it’s nice to be able to just relax. I tried to sleep in but still woke up early. I remember when I could sleep 12 hours straight and wake up feeling great. I consider myself lucky if I can get 8 hours without waking up. It doesn’t happen very often but last night was an exception.
Went down for breakfast and it was really good today. It’s taken a while but the “egg girl”, as we affectionately refer to her, usually makes a pretty good omelet. She still can’t get a handle on eggs over easy as they always come out overcooked but that might not really be a bad thing considering the food storage situation in this country. Today was a special day though, not only did she do an exceptional job on the omelet but I requested some pan-fried potatoes. It took a few minutes to explain what I wanted but, for the first time since arriving here, I had some awesome home fries with my breakfast. Ah, the little things that can please a person when so far from home…
Not motivated to do much of anything today so I’ll just lie around and watch some TV, maybe read a little.
By the way, thanks to those of you that e-mail me and let me know what’s going on back home. I really appreciate the communication. To the rest of you, get off your lazy ass and let me know how/what you’re doing…
Less than three weeks left. I'm starting to get a little excited! Baby, baby I'm coming home...
20 days or less until I arrive home 18 days or less left on site.
The General's crew brawls again...
Last night was fun. The Turk crew supervisor and foreman joined Ramesh and a friend of his, Zac, Julia, Tom, Adam and me. The specialist that Tom had been waiting over a week for finally showed up later in the evening. We were all downstairs at Cheers having dinner and a few drinks, just carrying on and having a good time. Julia and I even got up on the floor for a dance. I’m not really very good at it but managed to twirl her around a bit without stepping on her toes (I think). The Indians were all dancing and having a great time as well. One of them kept pestering Zac to get on the floor with them and, of course, he said no. Guys just don’t dance with other guys (unless they are gay of course), especially the way they dance together here. He came back a couple times and kept trying. The last time he was literally trying to pull Zac out on the floor and I stood up to stop him. Not trying to start a fight (this time) just stop him from pestering us. I think Zac though differently about my intentions and stood up quickly and blocked me, which he can do rather easily, as he is a pretty big guy. The Turks, sitting at the other end of the table, also jumped up. I think the point was made anyway as the pest went away. It was funny since Zac and I had been talking earlier and I promised him that I wouldn’t try to start any more fights and, as I said, that was not my intention this time.
Apparently, a couple nights ago, after I had returned to my room early, they had all stayed downstairs late and Tom got into it with someone who had grabbed Julia’s ass while she and Tom were dancing. From what I hear, Julia whirled around and smacked the crap out of him. Something like this had happened some time back and that girl can definitely handle herself.
I know all this really bothers Zac, which is why I promised to behave, and I will do so. The poor guy must be going nuts with Tom and I here getting rowdy and stirring up crap all the time. Actually, Tom does most of the stirring and I just usually get caught up in the moment, reacting to something that is happening. Anyway, things settled right back down and we continued our evening. I had a couple more drinks and headed upstairs. I think they were headed for another late night room party but I just didn’t feel like attempting an all nighter… We did them weekly when I first arrived but lately I just haven’t had the desire for that. At this point I’m just ready to get home to spend time with Stacey and ride again.
Saturday, October 29, 2005
Soon to be gone...not soon enough, but soon
Change of plans. It seems that another TA has replaced the TA coming to replace me. At first I thought that might delay my return home even longer but I got an e-mail from my manager and he assures me that I am still on target for mid November, possibly sooner as this new TA is available to travel on the 3rd and the only thing to hold him up is an invitation letter and the visa process. Hot damn I’m a happy man. Of course, if I get home to early, I may have to jump out on another job until the end of November, which would suck, but hey, I’ll be gone from India… ‘nuff said… 21 days or less until I arrive home 19 days or less left on site.
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
A Woman! Tell me it isn't so
Things are getting strange on the job. I’ve been on the customer’s case from the beginning about the quality of work, cleanliness on the job, following procedures, etc. I know that they wish someone else were here rather than me but they haven’t said anything, especially now that they know I’ll be gone soon anyway. The other day they said they wanted a new lead TA. That Zac wasn’t doing his job. What a load of crap. We’ll see how that pans out… I seem to remember something about being thrown into a briar patch… Yesterday, they said they wanted a new electrical TA, claiming that Adam was hindering their progress. Yea, they were right because Adam just wants them to do things like they are supposed to and follow standard GE recommendations… We’ll see how that one pans out as well… still thinking about that briar patch… I’m sure both Adam and Zac would be crying all the way home… Well, tears of joy anyway. It will be interesting to see how long it takes them to get this disaster of an installation started and running.
They no longer bother me. Oh, they still try as best they can to subvert our system but we just say no. Honestly, we all try to work with them but the lies and pure bull crap that they spew every time their mouth opens is absurd so we just smile and muddle along as best we can.
Saw an amazing site the other evening. This really cute Indian girl was in Cheers, dancing, smoking and drinking beer. It was a real surprise to see that and see her dance with this guy and that. It was quite funny to watch their reactions to her. At one point they all were circled around her and she would dance with one then the next and all the way around the circle. Every time she made some suggestive move all the guys would scream. Sounded like a bunch of animals of some sort. It was quite a sight. Talked to one of the guys working in the bar at the end of the night and they said she was a prostitute. I don’t know if that was the case or not, they may have just been to embarrassed to claim she was just another Indian who had had enough of the male dominated society or maybe she really was a hooker. She left alone at the end of the night and didn’t seem to me to be “coming on” to anyone. Just seemed like she wanted to dance and have a little fun.
Soon to be gone…23 more days at work
They no longer bother me. Oh, they still try as best they can to subvert our system but we just say no. Honestly, we all try to work with them but the lies and pure bull crap that they spew every time their mouth opens is absurd so we just smile and muddle along as best we can.
Saw an amazing site the other evening. This really cute Indian girl was in Cheers, dancing, smoking and drinking beer. It was a real surprise to see that and see her dance with this guy and that. It was quite funny to watch their reactions to her. At one point they all were circled around her and she would dance with one then the next and all the way around the circle. Every time she made some suggestive move all the guys would scream. Sounded like a bunch of animals of some sort. It was quite a sight. Talked to one of the guys working in the bar at the end of the night and they said she was a prostitute. I don’t know if that was the case or not, they may have just been to embarrassed to claim she was just another Indian who had had enough of the male dominated society or maybe she really was a hooker. She left alone at the end of the night and didn’t seem to me to be “coming on” to anyone. Just seemed like she wanted to dance and have a little fun.
Soon to be gone…23 more days at work
Saturday, October 22, 2005
I got me a replacement!
Yes, it’s true… I have been in correspondence with the TA who will be coming to site to replace me. He is currently on a site in Spain and expects to be released from that job on the 30th of October. He will go home for a week or two and then be here in mid November. I’m looking at getting out of here only a couple weeks after my R&R date which is OK with me and I should easily be home before Thanksgiving. When I found out this info yesterday morning, I had a smile on my face all day. Unless my replacement is delayed for some reason or another, I’m looking at getting home around November 18th. That’s 25 more days on the job and 2 days travel. Hot damn, I can feel the smile creeping back on my face again. Of course, there is always the possibility that I could be sent out the next day for another short-term job. As busy as we are, it is a possibility. My manager is aware that I will not be working in December and into early January so any job they send me on will have to be no more than 1-1/2 weeks. Possible, but not likely, unless it’s some local warranty job.
The site has been a real mess lately. We have been suffering through daily downpours. It’s very similar to Florida weather but more severe. Every afternoon around 3 to 5pm we get a deluge of rain that lasts for a few hours. If you take the worst thunderstorms in Florida, double the rainfall and cut the lightning in half, then spread it out for 3, 4 or 5 hours, that’s what it has been like most afternoons and evenings for the past week, some days worse than others. This doesn’t help with progress at the site at all. The streets in the town have been getting flooded on a daily basis which just makes these poor quality roads even worse. Monsoon season seems to go on forever.
That light was dimming for a few days but now it’s getting brighter again and my path out of here seems well lit. I’ll make a few blog entries when I get home and then hopefully my next assignment will be a more positive experience with lots of cool stuff to write about. Until then, I’m just counting the days left on this job… 25 to go
The site has been a real mess lately. We have been suffering through daily downpours. It’s very similar to Florida weather but more severe. Every afternoon around 3 to 5pm we get a deluge of rain that lasts for a few hours. If you take the worst thunderstorms in Florida, double the rainfall and cut the lightning in half, then spread it out for 3, 4 or 5 hours, that’s what it has been like most afternoons and evenings for the past week, some days worse than others. This doesn’t help with progress at the site at all. The streets in the town have been getting flooded on a daily basis which just makes these poor quality roads even worse. Monsoon season seems to go on forever.
That light was dimming for a few days but now it’s getting brighter again and my path out of here seems well lit. I’ll make a few blog entries when I get home and then hopefully my next assignment will be a more positive experience with lots of cool stuff to write about. Until then, I’m just counting the days left on this job… 25 to go
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Light at the end of the tunnel...
The last few days have been rather hectic here on the job site. We have a crew here to perform a specific job that should take about 6-7 days. They have been here about 10 days now and finally, last night, we were able to fix a problem that was holding them up from doing the job they were sent here to do. The only problem remaining is that one of the key workers for the job decided rather than come here to site he was going home. He was stuck in Hyderabad due to flooding in Visag (the airport has been closed for days and will not reopen anytime soon). He refused to take a car or train for some reason and just went back home. I don’t think he’ll be keeping his job after pulling a stunt like that. Now we have to wait for another “blade tech” to be arranged and get here to get the job done.
At least I can hope for a quiet day today. After the last few, I’m more than ready for one. It would be nice to have Sunday off but who know what new problems will arise between now and then.
Haven’t heard anything about my replacement and since I’m scheduled to leave in 16 days I’m beginning to get a little concerned. I’m sure I’ll be leaving in November but I just hope sooner rather than later in the month. I know that it’s very busy for all of us right now. I just hope that the right person pops up quickly on my manager’s radar. One benefit of being here a little longer is getting more of my required hours for the contract year in. My contract runs from June to June and I should be able to get ¾ of them done with over 6 months left to go if I’m stuck here into late November. Once they are out of the way, the rest of the contract year is all “bonus bucks” … now that would be really nice… With all that, I’d still really, really like to be home for Thanksgiving but if they can’t get someone soon, I will probably be stuck here until just after the Thanksgiving holiday. My supervisor mentioned it but the TA that’s here to supervise the night shift for that job I wrote about didn’t want to “swap” rolls with me right now (could I possibly not understand this?) but is willing to return (this I don’t understand) after the Thanksgiving holiday to take my place. We’ll see how that plays out.
My attitude has improved a good bit since my last post. I’ve gotten to a point of acceptance that this culture is just upside down when it comes to logic or common sense, especially with the educated castes. Yea, the caste system, now there’s a bit of logical thinking for you. Although “officially” no longer recognized it is still going strong here. It’s amazing how prejudice people are toward any caste that is “beneath” them. As for the job, I’m going home before it finishes so for now I’m just here doing what I have to and don’t care about whether the unit will fire or not when the time comes. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still doing what has to be done, without letting them take the shortcuts, etc but I just couldn’t care less any more. That may still sound bad but it isn’t it has eliminated my anger and frustration. Now I can just sit back a chuckle to myself and shake my head when I watch them work or when the supervisor’s come to me and want to do things differently to save time. I’ve made my adjustments and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel getting brighter with each passing day even if I get stuck here for a couple extra weeks.
At least I can hope for a quiet day today. After the last few, I’m more than ready for one. It would be nice to have Sunday off but who know what new problems will arise between now and then.
Haven’t heard anything about my replacement and since I’m scheduled to leave in 16 days I’m beginning to get a little concerned. I’m sure I’ll be leaving in November but I just hope sooner rather than later in the month. I know that it’s very busy for all of us right now. I just hope that the right person pops up quickly on my manager’s radar. One benefit of being here a little longer is getting more of my required hours for the contract year in. My contract runs from June to June and I should be able to get ¾ of them done with over 6 months left to go if I’m stuck here into late November. Once they are out of the way, the rest of the contract year is all “bonus bucks” … now that would be really nice… With all that, I’d still really, really like to be home for Thanksgiving but if they can’t get someone soon, I will probably be stuck here until just after the Thanksgiving holiday. My supervisor mentioned it but the TA that’s here to supervise the night shift for that job I wrote about didn’t want to “swap” rolls with me right now (could I possibly not understand this?) but is willing to return (this I don’t understand) after the Thanksgiving holiday to take my place. We’ll see how that plays out.
My attitude has improved a good bit since my last post. I’ve gotten to a point of acceptance that this culture is just upside down when it comes to logic or common sense, especially with the educated castes. Yea, the caste system, now there’s a bit of logical thinking for you. Although “officially” no longer recognized it is still going strong here. It’s amazing how prejudice people are toward any caste that is “beneath” them. As for the job, I’m going home before it finishes so for now I’m just here doing what I have to and don’t care about whether the unit will fire or not when the time comes. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still doing what has to be done, without letting them take the shortcuts, etc but I just couldn’t care less any more. That may still sound bad but it isn’t it has eliminated my anger and frustration. Now I can just sit back a chuckle to myself and shake my head when I watch them work or when the supervisor’s come to me and want to do things differently to save time. I’ve made my adjustments and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel getting brighter with each passing day even if I get stuck here for a couple extra weeks.
Thursday, October 13, 2005
“spiraling into an abyss”
A friend/co-worker of mine who, by the way, is currently enjoying the good life in Costa Rica, during a recent e-mail exchange said he had read my blog. His comment to me was that “your good nature is spiraling into an abyss”. Well Jim you are right and it really sucks. I have always been rather laid back and easy going. Well, at least since my later 20’s.
Now I have the task ahead to re-discover that attitude. It’s easy to blame it on India. I mean, come on now, nothing ever goes right here (except the Indian food, which is awesome) and nothing ever goes as planned. I could blame it on being separated from my family and friends. I could blame it on not being able to hold my girlfriend or ride my bike. The fact of the matter is all these things and more contribute to it. But the bottom line is that all these things have always been a part of my life on some level or another so why am I reacting so differently to my circumstances this time around?
I am not a prejudiced person. I don’t judge people by their nationality or the color of their skin or their sexual preferences. Because of this, I really dislike the negative feelings I have for this country and most of the people I’ve met here. I think I need to find a way to be more accepting but don’t know how. I know if I was on holiday and just visiting for the first time, I would have an entirely different perception of the country. Unfortunately, that is not the case and I can’t just forget all that has happened here with regard to the job, hotel, etc. I won’t even go into the fight I almost got into last night.
Still, bottom line, I need to re-adjust my attitude and be more accepting. I need to accept things for what they are and move forward rather than backward. At one point in my life I read a lot of those ‘self help’ books and they changed me in many subtle ways at that time so I wonder if I can find a book about… what? … anger management? … self control? …
I only wish that I had started this blog at the beginning of the year. Then there would be really cool stories with lots of pictures of the times I spent in Northern Ireland, Spain and France. Looking back I remember thinking that the Northern Ireland job wasn’t very good because of the location as Derry or Londonderry, depending on which side of the political arena you fall on, is an industrial and not very friendly town. Now I think, wouldn’t it be absolutely lovely to return there. Maybe that’s what this is all about… I was meant to be here so I could appreciate my other assignments. That means, oh no, it couldn’t happen, could it? … I might find myself in some other place that will give me an “appreciation” for this part of India. Please tell me it ain’t so.
I’m getting more and more serious about settling back down to a “regular” job or at least one that doesn’t travel as much or as far. Maybe something that would keep me just in FL or in the southeast region of the US. I think I have a good 15 years of work left in me and maybe it’s just time for me to be more settled and travel less…
Now I have the task ahead to re-discover that attitude. It’s easy to blame it on India. I mean, come on now, nothing ever goes right here (except the Indian food, which is awesome) and nothing ever goes as planned. I could blame it on being separated from my family and friends. I could blame it on not being able to hold my girlfriend or ride my bike. The fact of the matter is all these things and more contribute to it. But the bottom line is that all these things have always been a part of my life on some level or another so why am I reacting so differently to my circumstances this time around?
I am not a prejudiced person. I don’t judge people by their nationality or the color of their skin or their sexual preferences. Because of this, I really dislike the negative feelings I have for this country and most of the people I’ve met here. I think I need to find a way to be more accepting but don’t know how. I know if I was on holiday and just visiting for the first time, I would have an entirely different perception of the country. Unfortunately, that is not the case and I can’t just forget all that has happened here with regard to the job, hotel, etc. I won’t even go into the fight I almost got into last night.
Still, bottom line, I need to re-adjust my attitude and be more accepting. I need to accept things for what they are and move forward rather than backward. At one point in my life I read a lot of those ‘self help’ books and they changed me in many subtle ways at that time so I wonder if I can find a book about… what? … anger management? … self control? …
I only wish that I had started this blog at the beginning of the year. Then there would be really cool stories with lots of pictures of the times I spent in Northern Ireland, Spain and France. Looking back I remember thinking that the Northern Ireland job wasn’t very good because of the location as Derry or Londonderry, depending on which side of the political arena you fall on, is an industrial and not very friendly town. Now I think, wouldn’t it be absolutely lovely to return there. Maybe that’s what this is all about… I was meant to be here so I could appreciate my other assignments. That means, oh no, it couldn’t happen, could it? … I might find myself in some other place that will give me an “appreciation” for this part of India. Please tell me it ain’t so.
I’m getting more and more serious about settling back down to a “regular” job or at least one that doesn’t travel as much or as far. Maybe something that would keep me just in FL or in the southeast region of the US. I think I have a good 15 years of work left in me and maybe it’s just time for me to be more settled and travel less…
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Dance Party and the countdown continues
The other night when I was in the bar there was a big dance party going on. I swear, if you walked into any bar in the US and saw this you would assume you had mistakenly stepped into a gay bar because that’s exactly what it looked like. The Indian men, I suppose because having women in a bar is not accepted here, dance together, either in a group or as couples. It looks quite amusing seeing two guys on the dance floor making (or attempting to anyway) all kinds of sensual movements toward each other. The biggest difference is that they appear to be trying to outdo each other and their attempted moves on the dance floor can be quite comical. The Indians are a very touchy, feely group anyway, always walking arm in arm or holding hands or sitting with their arms around one another. I’m talking about men here, as I said, it can be most amusing. It has been noted by more than one of my colleagues here that they look like a bunch of monkeys at times. I'll try to get some pics and add them later.
We have a new crew working with us temporarily. This place is sure getting crowded. There is a particular job, R0 Blade Replacement, that needs to be done here and it involves approx 14 craft people and 2 TA’s for about 7 or 8 days. Granted, they are split in 2 – 12 hour shifts but it still makes for a big crowd in the office at times. From our more original core of Zac, Julia, Adam and me we’ve added two electrical systems TA’s, David and KVA (Indians go by their initials a lot). We also have two other Indian TA’s here “visiting” so they can observe and learn apparently. That takes us to 8, then add in the R0 TA and his 7-man crew and we are up to 16. There is also a trainer on site trying to teach the owner’s people about operations and maintenance but we rarely see him here in the office.
The TA in charge of the R0 group is from NYC. He is a “typical” New Yorker and damn proud of it…nice guy, very capable and definitely likes to party so he fits right in with us here.
This is the first job that I’ve been on in my almost 6 years with Penpower that I have no interest in “seeing to completion”. I can’t wait to get out of here and I have no interest in ever returning to India. I’m sure there are many nice places to visit and a lot of cool things to see and do but definitely nothing anywhere near where I am. I had to miss Biketoberfest this month, not that I would have gone anywhere near Daytona Beach but there is a lot going on in the surrounding area as well and I missed it all. A couple of Stacey’s friends arrived in FL yesterday for a weeks visit and I’m soooo jealous. They are going to be partying and playing and having a great time while I’m stuck here. This is their second visit and I’ve missed both.
At my request, Stacey had been looking for someone to detail my bike. After sitting in the carport for the past three months in the FL humidity it is in dire need. She told me that Kevin said he was going to detail it for me so that’s cool but I sure don’t understand why someone on a 1 week vacation would want to spend a day doing that. I sure don’t expect him to do it but if he does that would be great. I’m definitely not complaining though if he doesn’t.
Only 24 days left until my scheduled departure from this site. Hope it goes as planned but still haven’t heard anything encouraging from my manager, nothing discouraging either so I’m still holding on to that November 4th date.
We have a new crew working with us temporarily. This place is sure getting crowded. There is a particular job, R0 Blade Replacement, that needs to be done here and it involves approx 14 craft people and 2 TA’s for about 7 or 8 days. Granted, they are split in 2 – 12 hour shifts but it still makes for a big crowd in the office at times. From our more original core of Zac, Julia, Adam and me we’ve added two electrical systems TA’s, David and KVA (Indians go by their initials a lot). We also have two other Indian TA’s here “visiting” so they can observe and learn apparently. That takes us to 8, then add in the R0 TA and his 7-man crew and we are up to 16. There is also a trainer on site trying to teach the owner’s people about operations and maintenance but we rarely see him here in the office.
The TA in charge of the R0 group is from NYC. He is a “typical” New Yorker and damn proud of it…nice guy, very capable and definitely likes to party so he fits right in with us here.
This is the first job that I’ve been on in my almost 6 years with Penpower that I have no interest in “seeing to completion”. I can’t wait to get out of here and I have no interest in ever returning to India. I’m sure there are many nice places to visit and a lot of cool things to see and do but definitely nothing anywhere near where I am. I had to miss Biketoberfest this month, not that I would have gone anywhere near Daytona Beach but there is a lot going on in the surrounding area as well and I missed it all. A couple of Stacey’s friends arrived in FL yesterday for a weeks visit and I’m soooo jealous. They are going to be partying and playing and having a great time while I’m stuck here. This is their second visit and I’ve missed both.
At my request, Stacey had been looking for someone to detail my bike. After sitting in the carport for the past three months in the FL humidity it is in dire need. She told me that Kevin said he was going to detail it for me so that’s cool but I sure don’t understand why someone on a 1 week vacation would want to spend a day doing that. I sure don’t expect him to do it but if he does that would be great. I’m definitely not complaining though if he doesn’t.
Only 24 days left until my scheduled departure from this site. Hope it goes as planned but still haven’t heard anything encouraging from my manager, nothing discouraging either so I’m still holding on to that November 4th date.
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
How many Indians & The countdown begins
How many Indians does it take? Take to do what you may ask… anything… how many does it take to do anything you can think of? I’m sitting in my office and watching one Indian repairing or, should I say, attempting to repair one of our broken air conditioners and there are four others just hanging around watching him. Earlier I was on the turbine witnessing the bolt stretching on the coupling. There were a half dozen involved in the actual job but another six or eight were packed into the load compartment just watching what was going on. How frustrating sometimes to get through them just to do my job. A more positive aspect was watching the workers pour a concrete slab. Rather than hire a pumper, one person, maybe two that run concrete from the truck to the slab, they had dozens of people carrying trays of concrete and dumping them meticulously in the form while others worked it into where it needed to be. This was quite an amazing feat as they, over the course of the day and well into the evening, moved yard after yard of concrete to fabricate the slabs. This provided a days wages for at least 50 people that maybe wouldn’t have had a job otherwise. They seem to build roads the same way around here, using people manually spreading different layers of rock, pebbles, clay, sand and other materials rather than having it done by machine. Sometimes, just sometimes, in some places maybe modern equipment isn’t there for a reason other than it can’t be there. Maybe someone thinks it’s good to hire the people, provide employment and take a little longer to do the project…
Ah yes, looks like I can start a countdown of sorts for my departure. November 4th is the beginning of my scheduled R&R for this job and that's the date my manager says he's looking to replace me on this assignment since I don't intend to work into December and the need for a mechanical field engineer on this job will likely go thru January. Sooo, let's see today is October 4th so I have 30 days left before my scheduled departure date. Of course, I know how difficult it is to get people here so I anticipate it may take a little longer. I'll adjust the date once I find out who is coming and their anticipated arrival date... but for now, 30 day's and counting.
Ah yes, looks like I can start a countdown of sorts for my departure. November 4th is the beginning of my scheduled R&R for this job and that's the date my manager says he's looking to replace me on this assignment since I don't intend to work into December and the need for a mechanical field engineer on this job will likely go thru January. Sooo, let's see today is October 4th so I have 30 days left before my scheduled departure date. Of course, I know how difficult it is to get people here so I anticipate it may take a little longer. I'll adjust the date once I find out who is coming and their anticipated arrival date... but for now, 30 day's and counting.
