Nuthin new on this end...

Hilo, folks.

Tis the weekend. A slow weekend at that. Worked until 3:30 and bailed. No work tomorrow. I was hoping to get down to a place called Nazca to check out some sights, but it's not going to happen this time around...too late to leave and the weather report doesn't look good.

This weekend is Independance Day weekend down here in Peru...they even celebrated at the jobsite...

At the end of the work day yesterday, I found myself looking forward to exercising at the gym, grabbing a bite and then enjoying a beer with a friend from the office named Tyson. Thirty minutes later when I arrived to the Columbo hotel, I found myself looking forward to sawing logs. The longer working days and exercise routines this week caught up with me last night. So, rather than lift and risk knocking down my immunity to the multitude of biological pathogens floating around the air, I opted to take a power nap.

There wasn't much power in the nap as I think I dozed off right before the 30 minute buzzer on my phone went off. A side note about my phone alarm...With most alarms I've owned, the second that joker goes off, I want to toss it across the room and find myself fighting that much more to go back to sleep. Not so with the little Nokia jobby I'm equipped with down here. It's not a "BWAH BWAH BWAH!!!" from the get go, but rather a "bwah...BWAH WAH...BWAH WAH WAH WAH". Basically, I'm not so rebellious when I hear it in the morning....anywho, after slothing around in bed for 10 more minutes I convinced myeslf one more time that I wasn't going to lift and thence decided to fill my belly with a smorgasboard of eats. I was way hungry and wound up eating way too much...some bread, steak kabobs, mashed taters, and a sweet-filled pastry for dessert. With bellys full of sweetness, Eder and I packed up and made our way back into town to meet up with my friend Tyson for that beer.

It turned out that Tyson had enjoyed a few prebeer Pisco sours...Pisco is a locally made brandy that's got some kick to it...I've had a taste and can't say that I've been yearning for another, but many people enjoy a cool Pisco sour after a hard day at work...including Tsyon. Apparently, Tyson enjoyed three Pisco sours before we met up for a beer...three DOUBLE Pisco sours. Needless to say, Tyson had about a 10 mile head start on the drinking marathon for the night and I found myself more than content to just drink a couple beers and call it a good night. This was actually the first night I've gone out on the town since I've been down here. Things were dead as a doornail until about 11:30 at which point Tyson had to permanently excuse himself for a date with the commode and I was getting sleepy, already dreading the morning wakeup call .

Before we could leave, a few folks from the gym were out and about looking for a beer and joined us at the table. After dancing to a Peruvian tune with Rosie, the receptionist at the gym, and about four girls falling in infatuation with my bald noggin, it was time to bail.

So now it's about 18:00 on Saturday evening. Pretty well sacked from the lack of sleep...funny that was just the thing I was looking for yesterday at about this same time! Well, tonight, it'll be an early on...wake up tomorrow, shoot the breeze with JC then twiddle the thumbs for the rest of the day. I may pull out some fun filled journal papers on analyzing the load distribution along a pile...I can't bear that much fun right now in my tired state...definitely tomorrow.

Okay kids...time to tinker around on wikipedia. Have a good weekend.

Scotty

This time two weeks from now...

I'll be doing belly-flops with my nephews at my brother's place in Pensacola....chowin on boiled shrimp and drinking some cold beers.

How goes it everyone? Anything new and exciting north of the equator? Interesting week in the southern hemisphere. I am sure you saw the news about the Brasilian plane that crashed. Another went off the runway in Colombia last week as well. On my way out for dinner tonight there was a cadre of what I estimate to be at least 1,000 angry hospital workers and other health care folks parading past the Columbo. I sure hope the patients are doing alright! Oh yeah, last Tuesday I fell down the stairs in the morning...and up the stairs in the evening. Tweaking my back in the process.

I'm eager to be with family and friends again. Work has been more exciting the last three or four days as things have picked up, but nonetheless, my tolerance of the daily Peruvian experience is approaching its threshold.

Whether it be the simply ridiculous use of high-beams from oncoming traffic, the continuous disregard for public safety, 8:00 spinning classes starting at 8:20 (because no one shows up til then), those damn roosters and just plain old nonsense...I'm just ready for a break.

For example, last week while heading back to Lima, we needed to drop off a friend at a McDonalds in a certain part of town. Eder knew the general locale, but not specifics, so as we're driving along, he pulls alongside a pedestrian and asks where the Micky Ds was located..."Oh yeah", I could decipher from the fella's expression..."Take a left here and it'll be on your right a few blocks down." That would be a negative...so, after realizing we were directed to nowhere, Eder politely asked another hombre where the McDonalds was located. "Oh no, it's not here. Circle back, and head over the Pan Americana. It'll be on your right," the man said confidently. After pulling a yoo-eee and shaking our heads at the first guy's directions, we made our way to the golden arches only to be foiled again. I don't understand it...I really don't. Baloney like this happens all the time here...driving directions, purchasing clothing or artwork...there always seems to be some amount of b.s. thrown in there. Straight and, as we've seen, honest answers are difficult to come by down here.

Ahh....now I feel better.

I got a call from Christian yesterday. The good news is that he is back working for Golder and there's a chance, somewhere down the road, that we may be working together again. The bad news is that his return is a result of his life literally being broken in two. I can only imagine that returning to work in such a manner is a bittersweet occasion. Hopefully we'll be able to catch up before I leave on my next furlough.

I was originally planning to do a Peruvian tour of sorts this upcoming October, but considering that many of the folks who are interested in making the trip are tied up this time around, I've decided to postpone the trek and instead head back to Da Region where I plan to partake in some steelhead fishing and some of Mom's fresh apple pie. I'd like to make a quick trip up to the northeast to see the changing colors...it'd be a short trip, but it's something I've always wanted to do. We shall see.

Well, I'm going to indulge in another piece or two of some tasty nut bread/cake I picked up at the market the other day. Till next time, you kids make it a great one.

Scotty

I gotta new job...

What's the dizzo, folks?

I'm just chillin in the Ariosto hotel here in Miraflores...sippin back some hot chocolate on a comfy leather seat and listening to some Peruvian love songs, just a hint above a whisper, floating in the background. The contractor elected not to work this weekend, so Eder and I packed up and came into Lima yesterday afternoon.

Yesterday I spent the day mostly in the hotel...checking out some new groovin music and basically just relaxing. Today I made it a point to watch the Tour on tv before doing too much. Afterwards I hit mass and then went on another art buying binge. Treats for all! The big buy coming at the end of the day. I was on a mission to find my mother a great picture of something Peruvian...I thought I had it nestled away in my bag until, while woofing down a sandwich for lupper (too late for lunch...too early for supper), my eye caught a Cuscanean view across the street...no it wasn't that beautiful gal walking by...this beauty was standing on three legs, not two! I moseyd on over and THAT was the picture I envisioned my mom smiling to as she hung it up over the fireplace mantle. Watercolor, big, colorful but warm, people moving about...So, I did something I typically don't do...I returned the original 'winner' back to the artist...I could see that the fella was tore up about it, and I spotted him a few soles for going through the trouble of packaging up the painting and all. It's not that bad because I bought another piece from him earlier that day! Mom, I think you'll like this one.

So, on to the subject heading. Yep. I have a new job. I am now the Tuesday & Thursday night spinning instructor at the little gym next to the hotel. I'm pretty stoked. I've wanted to get back into leading spin classes again...never imagined I'd get my return gig in a small grungy coastal town in Peru!

Here's how it happened...Last Tuesday, I was talking to the gal at the front desk about how often they had spin classes and all that jazz. One way or another I translated that they had an opening on Thursday because the regular instructor (Yo-Yo...I swear, that's how it's pronounced. Probably Jo-Jo, but in Spanish, the "Js" are silent) was out. I let the gal know that I used to lead spinning classes back in the day and that if they needed someone to fill the class, I could help out, but only if Yo-Yo wouldn't get sore...because Yo-Yo's bigger than me and I didn't want to start anything. She assured me it was all skippy, so, I led my first Peruvian spin class last Thursday...a moderately structured workout with a mix of climbing and flat imaginary roads...applicable for the novice and advanced spinner alike.

Good gravy...those poor people...sadly, all they know how to do is schlnocker themselves into an oblivion on the bike. Yo-Yo's must be really one tough dude. I did my best, I really did, but I couldn't keep 'em on the mellow. I even drew a picture of the day's class ahead of time...a mixture of flat and sloped lines indicating what/how the "road" they were riding looked/should feel like...I bracketed the picture with the words "Muy Facil, Facil, Dificil, Muy Dificil" (Very Easy, Easy, Difficult, Very Difficult), with none of the "road" lines creeping higher than "Dificil"...but to no avail. When the game plan called for a fast, easy spin, half the class was out of the saddle fighting their way up a Peruvian equivalent to le Alpe d'Huez.

Afterwards, several people stayed behind and asked a few questions about this and that. It was quite encouraging. I think I have my hands full, but I'm looking forward to mixing some CDs and having fun in class.

That sums up the last couple days. Early morning drive back to the site tomorrow. The US consulate notes that this upcoming week may bring more strikes and what not...I'll keep you posted if things get riled up. Till next time, take care.

Scotty

Makin Changes

Hello again...(Did you know that the 80s band "The Cars" had a song called "Hello Again"?)


You may notice a few changes in how the blog looks. I monkeyed around with the settings to hopefully make the blogs easier to read. I don't know about your screen, but my posts were shoved all the way to the left in a narrow column with a whole bunch of free space on the right side of the page. Inserting pictures seemed to make things worse. In addition to the format, I figured I'd make an effort to post a new picture over there yonder on the right hand side of the screen each week. Hopefully that'll keep things fresh even when there isn't much to write about.

Never got the call to go into work today. I did spend a little time on work today, but not a whole lot I could do from here. I decided to venture out at around noon to return a pair of them knock-off Adidas warm up pants...the one-size fits all claim turned out to be a bust. Eder and Luis decided to stretch their legs with me. No sooner did we get outside the gate of the Columbus and turn the corner for main street, and here comes one of the protesting mobs!


This is a gaggle of angry high school teachers marching. Guess why they're marching...Low wages? Not enough textbooks for the students? Poor benefits? Nope...they're striking because the federal government wants them to take and pass a teaching proficiency exam. How dare the government! Obviously, the teachers don't want to take it. Are you kidding me?!? How sad is that? Nothing like thinking about the children and the future.


After the teachers made it by, Eder, Luis and I made our way to return the warm ups...Of course, the place was closed today. No joke, but right as we exited the market, here comes another group of protesters. This group was a bit rougher looking as they seemed to be carrying wooden objects that did not look like the flag poles the teachers were carrying. Eder, Luis and I zipped our way back to safety without incident. For them alone it wasn't that big of deal, except for the fact that they were with one of the many pale-skinned gringos who stand about 6 inches taller than most of the population and is busy working on the very project the protesters are protesting against!


After that episode, I decided to keep it close to the Columbus and after a quick lunch at my favorite Chinchilian cafe, I spent the rest of the afternoon scanning articles ranging from a refresher on what "proletariat" really meant to tidbits on theology. Sounds like a real gas, huh?!?


Anyway, that's it for today, methinks. It's pushing 18:00 now and in an hour I'll probably meet up with a friend, then spend some time lifting heavy objects before calling it a night. You all have a good night and take care.


Scotty

UHT...

Hey, Everyone.

If you notice the time this note was posted, you'll see that it is in the middle of the morning. Actually, right now it is exactly 10:24 am as I write this sentence...the Spanish announcers in the background describing the 5-man break in today's stage of the Tour de France. You see, I'm in my hotel room right now since a hoard of construction workers and high school teachers decided to strike and demonstrate today. I'm lucky that I'm staying at the Christoforus Columbus instead of El Sausal. The Sausal is where 90% of the contract0r's and owners's managers/reps are staying. Apparently, the angry mob is over there raising all sorts of hell. The Columbo may not have more than 2.5 stars, but at least I'm safe today.


I know I mentioned it to a few of you, but I've got to tell you about this milk I bought out here. Most of the milk that is sold is evaporated/canned stuff. Well, they have these liter boxes of milk that say "fresca" or "fresh" on them...then why the heck are they out on the shelves next to the cereal?!? UHT, my friends...UHT...Ultra High Temperature pasteurizing process...they cook that milk to some plasma-level temperature and then put it in the boxes and throw it on the shelves...2 year shelf life for this stuff! I've been craving a good hearty breakfast of oaty/wheaty cereal, so I broke down and gave it a shot...I wouldn't drink a glass solo, but chilled and mixed in with the cereal, it's not too bad.

Eder is back. We did a Spinning class together last night. It was his first class and he did really well, especially considering he smokes!

It's been awhile, but a quick update on the food situation down here. The food has gotten much better...either that or I've just gotten used to the grub. In any event, I now look forward to lunch and dinner. A new chef took over at the job site. Now we have hot veggies, roast pork/beef, and chicken that doesn't taste like the sole of a pair of Nikes...Lunch is good. Dinner is even better. There's this little cafe right next to the gym and boy, can Lila cook like a champ! Great fruit salad and although I haven't tapped into them, the fresh cakes and pies look awesome. Needless to say, I'm not going hungry these days.

That's about it. Time check some things out and then get some lunch. I'll let you know if the angry mob comes to the Columbus.

Cheers,

Scotty

900 Tons and Counting...

Hello Ya'll.

What's new and good in your neck of the woods? I had today off and stayed in Chincha this time around, rather than make the trip north to Lima. It was a pretty uneventful day, but nice, nonetheless, to sleep in an extra hour and not have to be at the job site.

Before I get too far, I've got to throw a HUGE congrats out to my bud Doc Pepe for lighting up the criterim circuit with not one but two Ws this past week. Doc's been a frog's hair away from taking a W several times before and to hear that he was able to pump the fists on two occasions is fantastic. I wish I could have been there to help contribute and get in on the high-fiving and story telling. Great job, Doc!

I can't say that there is too much new here. No real "victories" to mention. Eder went home for a few days. Apparently the new security at the site requires a rotation of drivers every week or so??? I'm not sure, but for another couple days, Fernando is driving me to and from the job site. Eder will be back Tuesday, I believe. Fernando is a nice guy, a bit older than me I presume. He doesn't speak a lick of English except for "My friend", but at this point, that is not too big of a problem for me. Between the words, hand gestures, head bobbing and facial expressions, I'm pretty much fluent in Spanish these days! Fernando told me he used to be a bouncer and security escort at the US Embassy...or something to that effect. He's not a big guy, but he's pretty solid and looks to pack a pretty good punch. It looks like I found a weight room partner.

Talking about the gym, Eder has been hysterical lately. All week he has been saying..."Scott...next week, you watch, I start going to gym eeeevvvvry day. You and me. I eat only salad and drink water at night. Look at this (as he points to his exagerated protruding belly)...I no have this before I come here. No more Inca Cola. Only water at night." I heard this all week. Very funny...couple that with that mischievous, Tigger-ish voice and it's pure entertainment.
Funny enough, this picture was taken right after we all scarffed down dinner at a local favorite place called El Batan. From left to right, Hugo, Eder, Luis and Carlos. All Golder folk. Hugo is a geologist and Luis and Carlos are drivers. All are good guys and are fun to grab a bite with. Hugo is from Cusco, one of the locations on the agenda for the September Peruvian tour. Sounds like we might have a hook up or two while travelling to Cusco and Maccu Piccu....which, if you haven't heard, is now one of the seven wonders of the world.

On a sad bit of news, I got a call from my old driver, Christian. Unfortunately, it sounds like things went from bad to worse for him. I met up with him the other day just for a couple of minutes to chat about this and that and it sounded like he was struggling. Yesterday he sent me a note with some sad news...his family situation is in peril and I gathered from his note that he is completely shattered. I feel really bad for him.

After mass today, I picked up a pair of "Nike" and "Addidas" warm up pants. Knock-offs of the real shindig but for 10 bones a piece, I can't complain. I bought them at a little shop in town next to the market. Holy smokes, what an experience. Skinned chickens hanging all over the place, sides of beef or links of sausage draped over improvised display lines. The thud thud of cleavers quartering and splitting legs, wings and thighs. Seafood so fresh that the gills are still moving on the day's catch or pincers from the crabs are snapping at you when your hand gets too close. All this in the open, warm air. It had me thinking of becoming a temporary vegetarian.

Another slow week at the site for me. The contractor started running a test and everything was going great...until a series of welds on the test apparatus decided to break. Here's a few pictures of what I'm talking about. The first pic shows the load test set up...Those orange things are four, 350 ton jacks. The silver things are load cells...they measure how much load each jack is applying. The thing they're on top of is the test pile. The plate the jacks sit on is what failed...at a load of nearly 900 tons. That's alot of weight! The plate looked more like a bowl after it was all said and done...

Thankfully there wasn't any carnage of equipment or people, but it will push things back about another week. I think the beach is haunted or something. Things just can't go right down there. Just for sh*ts and grins, here's a picture of me in action...

Actually, I must confess that this picture was staged. Although I'm guess that's what I probably look like when I really am taking readings. All jobs entail some risk, but as I look at this photo I can't help but think that my head is, oh, 2 feet away from 900 tons (that's one point eight million pounds) of potential energy and had that plate have given way, I may have looked like one of them chickens hanging in the market! Humbling to say the least.

We'll see what this week brings. The delay will give me a chance to do some heavy duty engineering-like, number crunching, brain teasing work. That should be a good break from the recent routine. At times I ask myself why in the hell I'm an engineer. I'm most certainly convinced that I mostly use the opposite side of my brain than what most engineers use, and all of the "career type" tests I've taken in the past say I should be something completely polar opposite of an engineer like a cowboy or fireman...well, not quite, but if I've taken 10 career tests in my life, "engineer" has not made the top 5 list in any of them. Oh well, I can't complain, life is purty good!

Welp, it's time to call my cuzin Joey and catch up with him for a bit before calling it a night. You all take care and if you happen to find yourself stumbling across 8 or 900 tons of whatever about to unleash...get outta there!

God bless,

Scotty

Catching up...

Hola.

It's pushing 10:00 pm on Wednesday night. I just got showered up and getting ready to hit the sack. I started this post yesterday evening. Yesterday, I got up early and left the Ariosto Hotel in Miraflores and made my way south through the cerras (hills) and desierto (desert) to the project site. I spent Saturday evening and all day Sunday in Lima. More about my Lima visit later on. Over the last few days, though, whether it be during one of the drives into work or when I'm tapping my pencil to oldies music in the office, I've put together a mental list of things to post here. I'll start out with my new driver and friend, Eder.

Eder (kinda pronounced like "Heather") is a cool cat. He's got a suave mystique about him at one moment and then at the drop of a hat, the smooth hombre seems to turn into a joker, with just a hint of mischief in his laugh. Eder is 24 and has seen half of the world. He worked on a cruise ship for four years after high school and sailed his way all through the Caribbean and then across the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. He has friends from all over the place. His easygoing and jovial presence makes introductions automatic. The first time I heard Eder talk, he reminded me of someone...then when I heard him laugh, the lights immediately came on...everyone's favorite Winnie the Pooh character...Tigger! I know, but he's spot on all the way. When that hit me, I started laughing to myself. We get along well and make our way to that little gym down the street together most of the time; chatting in Spanglish as we dodge the three-wheeled demons scurrying down the road or squint through the misty air trying to miss the craters lurking in the darkened sidewalk. Like all the fellas who have helped me get around town, Eder and I are becoming friends. I've really lucked out thus far.

So...the pile work at the beach just can't get the momentum it's supposed to have by now. Once things seem to get going, the engine stalls. So was the case this last weekend. After micky-mousin with a few things in effort to stay on top of things, I threw the bag in the car and Eder and I made our way to Lima Saturday afternoon. We left the site not long after lunch and arrived in Lima at around 4:00 pm or so. After dozing for a few minutes while reading about Kesslering's staunch defensive resistance north of Rome in the summer of 1944, I found myself eager to get away from Chincha, if only for a day, and enjoy the leisure of the Ariosto hotel. When we arrived into town, though, I found out quickly that many of the hotels were booked...including the Ariosto. I found a musty room, void of pillowcases and hot water, for my Saturday night slumber. Luckily the Ariosto was open Sunday night. After getting situated, Saturday, Eder, his brother and I made our way to a restaurant/bar to watch Peru and Venezuela play in an America Cup soccer game. Peru lost 2-0...but a blown call really hosed the Peruvian team.


Sunday morning, I got up, shot the bull with the Lord for a bit, then tinkered around the artsy part of town, looking for that little wanker Pepe...that joker that scammed me out of 10 soles back in May. I never found him, but along the way, I found out that the fella he said was his brother, barely knows him! What a circus. After that, I met up with my friend from Fugro, Tim. I'm not sure if our getting together to check out town and grab a bite was against the project contract's code of conduct, but it was worth risking "getting caught" to meet up with an old friend. Tim and I jumped into a cab and by just dumb luck, we found ourselves outside the weathered gates of the presidential palace (I think) during the changing of the guard ceremony. Pretty cool sight to see. I took a few pictures and uploaded them to the link below. After a few blocks of moseying around, my belly was aching for some lunch and after getting swarmed by every may-tra-dee standing outside their open air restaurants, we found a corner place that looked to offer good grub and a view to people watch. I went with a good old fashioned Peruvian dish, while Tim ordered some fish...a nice crispy catch, huh?!?. Tim scarfed it down, so it must have been tasty. We made our way back to Miraflores, narrowly missing a few shady neighborhoods along the way, to where Tim was able to satisfy his craving for a $3.00 coffee at none other than Starbucks. Several hours of good chat and dinny closed the day of rest.

A ways back before my first trip back home, I met a fella outside of church. His name is Luis and he's an English teacher in town. I was waiting for my ride and we started shooting the bull about this and that and after a few minutes my ride showed up. Well, just a few days ago we almost literally ran into each other, probably both of us trying to miss the same pothole in the sidewalk. He was heading to church to teach an RE class, and I was headed from church to go hit the gym. Turns out that Luis' office is right next to the gym. So over the past few days I've stopped by to say hey and after exercising, we've grabbed a bite to eat. I don't' think you could find two people with more different interests, but we get along well and enjoy what each other has to say.


I jumped into my first spin class in a long long time tonight. It was completely trial and error finding a bike that had 1.) adjustment knobs that actually worked and 2.) a saddle that wasn't pointing practically straight up the wahoo...I found a ride, but when I went to change the fly-wheel resistance...ping...the tension cable snapped. Shucks. I eventually found a winner and got into a groove pretty quickly. The instructor was a knock off of Mussolini if you ask me...barking out this and that and acting tough, while he didn't ride for half the class himself. The barking isn't that bad, but some of the things he was trying to make us do would have had Eddy Mercxx or Lance Armstrong opting for motorized transport. My goals were to keep my breathing completely through the schnozz and the heart rate in check...so while the other person in the class was floating on the pedals at some hypersonic cadence, I was either soft pedaling or lightly "climbing" out of the saddle. Nonetheless, it was great to get the ticker ticking again and I'm looking forward to the go-around.


Now it's bedtime. Tomorrow is the 4th of July back home. I'll be working, so you all have a little extra fun for me. Till next time, keep it real with both hands on the wheel.


Scotty