I've been saying for ages now when something interesting happens (mainly to me), "I'm totally putting this in my blog"... even though I don't have one. And when news came through that I was being sent to Port Pirie for 9 months for work I decided to make good on that statement.
Before I begin I would like to say that a good chunk of inspiration for this blog comes from my friend Brendan's blog The New Timer I like it a lot and not because it talks about riding a bike, racing a bike, parts of bikes, life, music, Sean Hurley and has guest writers. It's because you never know when it will talk about riding a bike, racing a bike, parts of bikes, life, music, Sean Hurley and have guest writers. Do not expect the grammar to be as… um… good (shit), possibly expect some cut & paste (sorry Brenno – take it as a compliment).
Whilst I despise people asking themselves questions, there doesn't seem to be any way around this as who is going to ask you questions about a blog you haven't even started yet?
Q: So Jared (oh Jesus) why are you in Port Pirie and what are you doing there?
A: I'm and engineer, a structural engineer. I'm not much for sitting at a desk churning out calculations and to be honest I'm not gifted at it like some that I work with. I better at being practical, solving problems and communicating with the people that make projects happen (contractors, maintenance, operators etc). I'm essentially "on loan" from my parent company to a big Lead smelter in Port Pirie and I'm positioned with the Shutdown team. The team essentially plans out in careful detail each "service" the plant needs to have to keep operating. In order to service some parts of the plant, it needs to be shut down. And because time = money, the amount of down time has to be minimised and thought through in detail. Normally they send mechanical engineers but due to requirements they need a real (structural) one.
Q: Will we ever see you again?
A: I'm back every 3 weeks for a weekend, and my term here is for 9 months. I'll miss out on track season but will be back (with a vengeance) for road 2013
Q: Was Chrissy pissed?
A: I'm a very lucky boyfriend. Even though we've gone through 2 years of long distance when she was in Perth and that she's been living with me "temporarily while she looks for a place, but continues to take up more and more of my closet space" for the last year and a half, it was always going to be hard. She is incredibly supportive and given the fact I'm back every 3 weeks and the close proximity of Adelaide and promises of winery holidays, it's not really that bad.
Q: Were Dave and Spiro pissed?
A: They are completely lost without me. In all seriousness they are two very good friends and I'm lucky to have them. Plus Chrissy is able to keep an eye on them.
Ok that's enough of that. I will miss my girl, my friends, my family, my dog, my club (BWK4LYF) terribly but these opportunities don't come along often and when they do they have to be taken. I’m writing this blog not only to track the time here but to hopefully make it pass a bit quicker, it’ll be and added bonus if you follow it with me.
I’ll point out too that the house the company has put me in is pretty sweet and has two spare double-bed bedrooms. Ya’ll are more than welcome to stay (google port pirie first!)
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| The 250m high fume stack at the smelter |
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