still alive
yup, i'm still kicking. been learning all about how to be my facility's "designated felon". sure is a lot of information to learn in a short period of time. looks like i'll be taking more classes in the near future.
i was a real bone head. here i am, in the heart of nuclear land west, and i forgot to look up some of the dudes i worked with at the shipyard. i finally hooked up with one of them today at lunch. i'm not really amazed, but i am surprised at how many of the the mare island refugees ended up here at the hanford site in the tri-cities area in eastern washington. and most of them are in positions of "elevated responsibility". that makes sense, since as nuclear shift test engineers we were pretty much at the top of the nuclear operations heap. once you've qualified as a nuclear test engineer, and lasted long enough to be a chief test engineer, you are imprinted with the need to run whatever show you end up in. i'm glad to hear that my favorite admin assistant ever is still married to my buddy Matt. he was one of my most dynamic and intelligent trainees, and once i got him certified, he kicked ass as a test engineer. good things do happen to good people, and he and emily are nice people. good for them.
this industry is hell on marriages. long hours, uncertain work schedules, pressure from regulators and management all take their toll. matt and emily have made it through the hardest part, i think. i've managed to skirt a lot of that by getting employed at a research facility, removed from the day to day oversight by the nuclear reg commission and the dept. of energy. regulators serve a function, but that function is a son of a bitch to deal with on a non-stop basis. at least we have a little slack. i don't know how ugly my job would be if we had an office full of regulators on site. it would be doable, but it wouldn't be pretty.
so, i'll be flying out tomorrow afternoon, with a somewhat long layover in seattle. just long enough to be a pain in the ass, and not long enough to go to my sister's to hang out. oh well, i'll be back in august for the reunion, so i shan't cry over missed opportunities.
hope you are all doing well.
i was a real bone head. here i am, in the heart of nuclear land west, and i forgot to look up some of the dudes i worked with at the shipyard. i finally hooked up with one of them today at lunch. i'm not really amazed, but i am surprised at how many of the the mare island refugees ended up here at the hanford site in the tri-cities area in eastern washington. and most of them are in positions of "elevated responsibility". that makes sense, since as nuclear shift test engineers we were pretty much at the top of the nuclear operations heap. once you've qualified as a nuclear test engineer, and lasted long enough to be a chief test engineer, you are imprinted with the need to run whatever show you end up in. i'm glad to hear that my favorite admin assistant ever is still married to my buddy Matt. he was one of my most dynamic and intelligent trainees, and once i got him certified, he kicked ass as a test engineer. good things do happen to good people, and he and emily are nice people. good for them.
this industry is hell on marriages. long hours, uncertain work schedules, pressure from regulators and management all take their toll. matt and emily have made it through the hardest part, i think. i've managed to skirt a lot of that by getting employed at a research facility, removed from the day to day oversight by the nuclear reg commission and the dept. of energy. regulators serve a function, but that function is a son of a bitch to deal with on a non-stop basis. at least we have a little slack. i don't know how ugly my job would be if we had an office full of regulators on site. it would be doable, but it wouldn't be pretty.
so, i'll be flying out tomorrow afternoon, with a somewhat long layover in seattle. just long enough to be a pain in the ass, and not long enough to go to my sister's to hang out. oh well, i'll be back in august for the reunion, so i shan't cry over missed opportunities.
hope you are all doing well.
posted by bothenook at 19:27
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