Front or Backshift and a how-to for washing machines

Well I just got back to camp last night and am still a little confused. You see we were always front shift. Then we had that 24 day shift and things got confusing. Most of our shift lives in either Edmonton or Calgary and there are lots of flights to those places. But for the few from our group like Matti the Legend and I who live out east it created a nightmare milk run to get home. So this go around they sent Matti and I home early so that we could be on the cheaper charter flights and everyone else left Sunday as usual. That means El Legendo and I aren't really on the front shift and we aren't really on back shift either. Add to that that our Foreman Greg decided to step down as Foreman and to go back on the tools and so we don't even know who to report too, lol! I am sure it will work itself out eventually! Of course at times like this you really miss your peeps! Peeps as in the people that are usually there and who are usually part of the group. As in the people whose voices make up the conversation of your workday. I wonder where they are today and what they will be up to. I am guessing Bryan from BC will be doing 'daddy time' with his cute little girls. Spuds McIron is back in town so she is no longer 'one of the boys' but instead has switched to her alter ego Brittany Anne who is a modern woman that loves manicures and pedicures and having little tiny flowers painted on her toe nails. Brew is likely home with his wife. He is Portugese so my guess is that he is either gardening or romancing the mrs. I don't know that for sure of course but when I had Portugese neighbors years ago that seemed to be how they spent their spare time, lol! Not too sure what Mike 'achie-breaky' Acorn is up to but he is such a funny guy that it is probably fun whatever it is. There are more of our crazy crew that I could mention but the only sure thing is that Matt and I will save their seats in the trailer until they get back. I am not sure if I ever mentioned the camp washing machines or not but they should definitely get some air time here. On each and every floor they have 3 washing machines and 4 dryers. They are free to use but are first come first serve. It strikes me as odd that every one of these machines are front loading when you consider how ergonomicaly unfriendly that is to the majority big men who live here and used the machines. I am guessing they were purchased by somebody who is short! Back at home my machine can do a full load of washing in 18 minutes but not the machines at Wapasu! These have multiple cycles the shortest of which is the 'quick wash' and takes 27 minutes to do the washing. Then it locks itself on spin mode which lasts at least 20 minutes. Every time your load looks to be done and rolls to a stop a moment later it hiccups back into motion going the other direction! There is no time listed for how long the spin cycle takes as I suspect even the manufacturers don't know! Then there are the mystical dryers. These babies work by sensing the humidity or something and then self adjusting their time. So when you first set it the thing says '48 minutes' but within 5 minutes it's down to saying '23 minutes'. So you go back to your room and return 23 minutes later to find it now says '40 minutes'!! Very frustrating to say the least. And hard to coordinate especially if you are at the very end of the hall as I was last turn so each walk down the hall and back takes a full five minutes just walking! Before we switched back to the 10 hour days from the 10:45 days we were never back early enough to get one of the washers until much later in the shift. It used to drive me nuts! Now when we get in I know that if I head straight to my room and immediately run to the laundry room then I can probably get a load in and can safely let it run while I head to the dining room, or to work out. Actually the cycle takes so long I could probably jog to Fort McMurray and back! A guy I flew with yesterday told me a secret regarding the washers. If you are on the first floor where the room next to the laundry room is the lounge you can put you washing in at 3:30am and then throw it into the dryer after work. Kind of a counter cyclical approach. It only works on the first floor though and not on the second or third floors as people live and sleep in the next room to the laundry room and they would be non-plused about the noise to be sure. You would then likely find your washing on the ground outside of the laundry room window! I have to run but thanks for reading! :)