| Come to the Land of Oz |
[Mar. 24th, 2008|10:28 pm] |
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So, I just read in the paper today that Queensland is looking to recruit skilled workers from the U.S. Especially from the legal and financial sectors. Any lawyers, or accountants looking to come out here, there's lots of money to be had and it's very sunny. So, Dave when can we expect you? |
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| Greatest Headline Ever! |
[Mar. 19th, 2008|05:05 pm] |
I saw this and I had to post it. |
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| I'm Really Hating Big Business Right Now |
[Mar. 3rd, 2008|07:37 pm] |
I went to use my credit card on Friday and got declined, which shocked the hell out of me, since I always know how much I have in my accounts at any given time. I decided to pay the bank a little visit and my credit card was $500.00 over its limit. This made me a bit upset to say the least, since I didn't spend it. It turns out that since I changed credit cards the transactions have been going through manually until the month ends and my payment tranfers I made into the account weren't recorded on that cards computer. They have told me that they know the discrepency is on their side and will straighten it out as soon as possible, but it's been four days and it still isn't back and I still can't use my card. I'm a bit annoyed because if I really needed that money right now, I'd be screwed, but what annoys me the most is I use that card for everything, so now I have to use cash and I HATE cash.
Second gripe I ordered a cable modem from Telstra (The big, shitty telephone company in Astralia) about a month ago, it finally arrived today and there's something wrong with it. Now I have to wait until a tech can get out here to look at it, so right now I'm still stuck with dial-up. |
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| It's Started |
[Feb. 16th, 2008|05:45 pm] |
Well, I start school in just over a week and I am getting excited I have my schedule, I went on an orientation camp with the Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander unit and, my God was it amazing. They provide a shit load of help out here for us aboriginals to go to school and if I take advantage of the different programs available, I could come out of school completely debt free. I am very excited at that prospect.
It finally feels real and I'm really looking forward to it. I have already made some great friends from the camp and the faculty memebers are just like an extended family.
In other news, it looks like my father has to have gastric bypass, so I'm a little nervous about the surgery, but happy that this now means he should be alive to see me graduate and I didn't think he would be before this. |
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| Look at Me, I'm Computer Literate and Stuff |
[Nov. 28th, 2007|06:08 pm] |
I wanted to see what my computer would look like hooked up to my tv, so I bought a cable and hooked it up and man oh man did the porn..... I mean movies,....... just regular movies look great on it.
 </a |
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| Mine Fire |
[Oct. 25th, 2007|12:08 pm] |
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A few months back I posted about an underground mine that I was working at, well last night a dump truck caught fire and exploded down the shaft and trapped about 53 workers in the bottom. No one was injured, as there are self rescue chambers all throughout that mine and by now they have all been rescued, but it sounded like bombs going off here in town, so it must have been pretty loud down in that shaft. |
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| A Little View Of What I Do |
[Sep. 17th, 2007|01:56 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  calm | ] |
I know I've shown a few shitty pictures of the furnace beforehand, but I haven't taken any videos of what it is that I actually do. I decided to rectify that the other night and captured a manual stop that I did. The stop that you see the two of us do in this clip is probably the sloppiest stop I have ever done, I just assume it's because it was captured on film. You will also get a view of the hatch on the floor that gave way on me a few months ago and I almost fell into a pot. Anyway take a look. I am sure you can tell that I'm the short fat one and that my offsider is the tall one.
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| New Computer |
[Aug. 30th, 2007|07:07 pm] |
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I just bought a new computer and it's sexy. 24" ultra sharp monitor, 4gb ram, 2.4ghz quad core, 8mb, 500gb hard drive, xfi sound blaster, 5.1 surround sound and sub-woofer, 256mb nvidia 8600 video card, 16x dual-layerd dvd burner, windows vista ultimate. I can't wait, it will be nice to have a real computer, I saw it on dell.com.au and it was $800.00 off, but only for five days, so I decided to buy it. |
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| Little Update |
[Aug. 18th, 2007|07:10 pm] |
Well, it has again been a while since I last updated, so let's see what's happened since I last posted. I have not had any more near death experiences, although one of the guys I worked with did die a week ago, he was riding his dirt-bike out where most of us ride on our days off and hit a jump badly and broke his neck. He was found by another smelter worker, the shift he was on took it pretty bad, I didn't speak to him much, but it still sucked a bit to know that he is gone.
Bhp is flying his family out for the funeral and paying to fly his body back to Sydney, they are also paying his parents three years salary for him. Considering he didn't die at work, this is quite a nice gesture on their part.
On a lighter note, it has been shutdown mode at work and there are major improvements and rebuilds going on. Tomorrow I will be going inside the furnace to do some brick work. There will be a crust of hardened nickel for us to walk on, but it will still be molten underneath, kind of like skating on a frozen over pond, only molten metal instead. I have always wanted to see inside, I'd like to take pictures, but I'm afraid of the heat inside breaking my camera, we have a special heat shielded on, so I will try to get some with that. Well that's it for now, more when I have it. |
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| That Was a Most Productive Near Death Experience |
[Jul. 5th, 2007|07:13 pm] |
That's what I almost fell into the other night.
Well, it seems that work is taking my near fatal incident very seriously. They reported the incident, which goes throughout all mines around the world and are treating it as an actual fatal occurence. They have put in a new design for all of the launder covers, so that there is no way that the hatches can fail. They have welded shields over the hatches for now as a stop-gap measure and pulled us off the holes that can't take those shields. I have been asked if I want counseling, but I turned it down. I have to say that I am very impressed with the way BHP is handling this
It isn't something I'd ever like to repeat, but I now know what it feels like to be dangling over a pot of molten metal, with nothing, but my own arms supporting me. Without me telling anyone, with only those who witnessed it, I've already heard the story of the guy who almost fell into a pot at the smelter here in town. I wonder if it will become one of those tall tales that are told around here years to come. |
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| Adrenalin Glands Work! |
[Jul. 3rd, 2007|08:38 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  thankful | ] |
<b>I almost died tonight. Literally.</b>
The expression, "coming within an inch of your life" has never felt more real. I had just opened a tap-hole and was about to take a sample, when the grating I was walking on gave way and fell out from under me. The section is a square about 2 1/2 feet by 2 1/2 feet and directly over the 4 meter high pot, very quickly filling with molten nickel. Both feet went through and I fell to about my waist, when I was able to reach my arms out to both sides of the grate and stop myself from falling and was able to pull myself out.
I wasn't even bothered by the incident until a few minutes later when the adrenaline wore off and I then got the shakes for a few minutes as the realization that I could have very easily just died a quite horrible death was finally sinking in. I fortunately escaped without so much as a scratch, but it could have very easily turned out different. I have spoken to the shift fitter and he is up on the floor re-welding all of them down, so this doesn't happen again. I think I'll hide under a table for a while and curl up in the fetal position.
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| Autobots, Roll Out! |
[Jun. 29th, 2007|11:08 am] |
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I saw Transformers last night and it was awesome! I do have a few points of contention, but all in all it was cool and it was left open for sequels. |
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| More Monies |
[Jun. 7th, 2007|11:11 am] |
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I got a $3,000 raise today. I should also get another$2,000 raise before the end of the year and a $1,500 bonus. I'm in the money, but only until the end of the year when I become a broke student. |
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| Let Me Dust Off That Old Computer |
[Apr. 15th, 2007|01:27 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  sore | ] |
Well, it's been a long time since I have updated, but I don't really spend that much time around the computer anymore. I have now started a different department and it is a slow night for me, so I figured I'd try and find out what's happening with y'all.
Moving back to Australia was the best decision I could have made and my has turned out so much better for it, but there are times especially in this boring ass little town that I really miss my friends. You guys are such a big part of my life and I feel a piece of me is still in the U.S.
I hope everyone is doing as well as I am, please if you consider yourself my friend and you read this, please post a little something about what is going on in your life and how you're doing right now.
I did just fly over to Queensland and I will post some pictures when I get around to it, but I am headed out of town for my next days off so it won't be too soon. |
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| I Feel the Earth Move |
[Mar. 7th, 2007|01:32 am] |
I am learning how to operate one of these. |
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| Ooh Technologies |
[Jan. 28th, 2007|08:34 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  tired | ] |
I bought a GPS navigator for my car, not that I need it for Kalgoorlie, but it has been quite helpful in Perth this week, besides I didn't buy it because I needed it, I bought it because I had the money, it was there and I wanted it.
Oh, update on the whole college thing. I have been accepted in the school that I want and I have asked for a one year deferment, so that I can save money and they granted it to me. If all goes according to plan I can have $25,000 saved by the end of the year. |
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| I'm Alive! |
[Dec. 4th, 2006|04:44 pm] |
I am still around, I know I have not been on-line much recently, but I have been really busy here down under. I have gone down to a place called Bunbury on my days off because my girlfriend was down there visiting her parents for a while. I have been working hard and waiting for a response to my application to school starting in February. Kalgoorlie is still boring as hell, but at least it's in the middle of nowhere, so it takes forever to go somewhere else. They did, however have an interesting little parade here the other day and it killed the boredom for a little while and provided a few cool pictures.
( Parade ) |
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| I Bought a Car! |
[Nov. 18th, 2006|07:00 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  chipper | ] |
I bought a car in Perth this week. It is a 1993 Toyota Camry that was previously a company vehicle that was really well serviced and is in great shape. I drove it about 1,000kms this week already and it hasn't skipped a beat. I even drove through a locust plague of biblical proportions that was so bad I had an Egyptian Pharaoh in a chariot chasing after me. |
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| I Voted |
[Nov. 7th, 2006|07:02 pm] |
Don't forget to vote people. I voted and I'm on the other side of the world, so you have no excuse, unless of course you're a dirty immigrant and can't vote. It would be nice if the Democrats take the senate, next hopefully the presidency.
I know it's been a while since I posted, but I have been very busy lately. Since I last posted, I have applied for school, have been signed onto BHP with a salary of $60,000 per year. I may stay for a year if I can do my first year by correspondence. It would be nice to have some more mon ey in the bank. I've been able to save about $10,000 so far and I am buying a car next week, or the week after. I have a girlfriend, which is partly why I haven't posted in a while. I haven't been at the computer too much.
Apart from that I don't have too much to add, but I'll try and post again soon. |
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| Wow, it's been a while! |
[Oct. 1st, 2006|09:09 pm] |
Well, I'm trying to think what I can update about, but I don't really have much. I'm in Kalgoorlie, it'sboring as fuck and I'm still making and saving shit-loads of money. I am waiting to hear about my college application, there may be tests I have to take back in Queensland because of my schooling being in America. I am dating someone right now, which has been good.
I quite enjoy my job now and have gotten over the whole being sprayed with molten metal and I find it quite relaxing. I have had a few near death experiences, a few explosions, almost falling into molten metal, but all in all it's quite relaxing. |
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