Movin' on...

4 of the gang left yesterday. It was brutally fast with the first notice coming just before lunch. Then POOF they were gone before afternoon coffee. They weren't fired. They didn't quit either. Instead they took the transfer to Waiward's Jackpine location which is a high paying shutdown. I don't blame them but I will miss them. So I want to dedicate today's entry to them. 3 of the 4 were guys I knew well. Guys from our crew. Guys that are fun to work with. I will miss Matt 'the Legend' Turner the most. We started at the same time, sat together, flew home and back together and had a few adventures outside of our work life together. Matt is a welder and a good one which is why he was transferred so quickly. He sat across the table from me and was one of the usual gang of jokesters in our trailer. In the mornings he would meet us in the brass alley of east camp when we were starting our day. He is one of those happy go lucky types who can dish out the humor and take it too. Self dapracation was often raised to an art form with him. When Matt and I travelled together we had a lot of fun. He was one of the three amigos who got tossed from the plane in Winnipeg forcing us to drink all night long. I don't have much recollection after about 10:30pm so it was sort of like a scene from the movie The Hangover when I woke up! Another time when we flew to Ottawa and arrived at 3am we went to his place and between us split a 12 pack before I left at 4:45am! Happy trails there Matt. I do hope I see you again! Mike Whelan is another guy who started with us back at the end of January. He is another very competent welder. He is originally from Nova Scotia where he learned welding on everything from ships to buildings. Mike is one of those guys who always has five o'clock shadow. Even 10 minutes after he has shaved! Mike typically looked exactly the same every time you saw him as he had a favorite work sweatshirt over which he wore his spark-scarred welding jacked with the 3 snaps in the middle long having fallen off. Mike is another one of the good guys who you like to work with. My Tran was a senior welder who is from Vietnam. His English skills were not great unless you considered his friendly profanity. His favorite expression was: "Shit, shit fuuuuuck!" with the sound of the last syllable rising up in pitch towards the end. At least 2 of the welding inspectors told me that he was far and away the best welder on the crew. The one inspector told me how My had welded one of the outside bin corners where it goes both up and out and is jammed tightly between some corner plates. For a welder it was an awful job to be given and very difficult. But according to the inspector the work when completed looked as if it had been done in a shop by a machine! I will certainly miss him and his always happy disposition. The last guy to leave was one of the Jason B's from nightshift. He had been in our trailer on day shift for two days before the transfer. I say one of the Jason because at one point there were 3 of them! Imagine the poor inspectors trying to map whose weld was whose based on the initials that welders leave behind to mark their work. Though I didn't know him long he seemed like a nice guy. Way back when I started into this trade my nephew Jason told me: "Uncle Pete the best part of this job might be all the friends you make who stay friends for life." I certainly see what he meant! Take care boys and we'll see you on another site some day! :)