.

Some nights, dropping dead doesn't sound so bad
this is one

sQuba!

Ha the world of crazy engineering...
A James Bond fan, who happened to be versed in mechanics has created a working(!) amphibian convertible(!?!) car... the model is based on Moore's Lotus in The Spy Who Loved Me.

Prototype construction cost: 1,5 million$... scuba tanks included :P

Let's just say I wont be saving for that one.. but I must admit it would make underwater exploration even more... well, if not exciting, at least stylish!

skeleton in St-Lambert

I just finished Katy Reich's first novel, Deja Dead (she's the woman who inspired the TV show Bones.. though the books have very little in common with it).

Beside being entertaining enough, the book has another very cool fact.. it takes place in Montreal, in the districts where I hang out most, and in St-Lambert where I live! Ms Reich lives in Mtl part time, and it shows, all descriptions are flawless... down to the last Shish Taouk joint!

The only mistake I found was the monastery in St-Lambert where they recover a buried body (no idea where or what that is, but I figure it's intentional). She also mentions that some place was a bar that closed 6 years ago... there isn't and never was any bars or clubs in St-Lambert, a municipal law forbids it.... St-Lambert is a cosy, upscale little "village" and the people here do not want to see their pristine lawns disturbed by drunken idiots. :P

So all n all a nice little page turner if you have, like me, an interest for serial killers. :)

rov options

ROV options : 1 - getting rid of the Zebra mussels invasion in the Great Lakes (or try anyway), 2 - The Serpent Project, 3 - play Pirates of the Caribbean for real!, 4 - bridge inspection with lil firefly like Geek, 5- keeping score of fish populations and discover new species...

Many people have asked me and frowned.. so I will specify here...

I am not employed by an oil company! My "boss" is Oceaneering, who provides rov services to people who require them, like the Telecoms and the Oil and Gas industries.

This kind of company was my best (if not only) chance at a job so I took it gladly. When you start in rovs, you're a trainee. Smaller cies, like archaeology, marine protection or wreck recovery, do not employ many and often cannot afford to train someone. They'll prefer a pilot who'll be efficient right away, who already knows the machines inside n out

Oceaneering treats its employees very well so I should enjoy being there for the time. I will learn a lot and should make great contacts all over the world too.

But I do not forget that I got into rov to work with the ocean, not against it. This summer I contacted, and am still keeping in touch with, companies that do archaeology/treasure hunting in Florida, oceanography in Ontario, fish surveys in the Keys, bridge inspection in California and environmentalists all over the place (check SERPENT project). All of them know my interest and are willing to hire me when the need will arise... but in a company of 15 people, it doesn't happen too often.

So in the meantime I'll get the oil companies to give me $, instead of paying them every time I fill my car, and see where it takes me...
Maybe I'll make enough to start my own artifacts recovery company.. mmm Florida, the Caribbean, the Mediterranean... :P

So are we clear? I am not selling my soul or conscience, I have not changed my mind about anything, I am only taking the obligatory steps that will take me where I want to go in the end...

3..2..1..

The paperwork has been received, completed and sent back. I'm officially an Oceaneering employee!!!

They had in mind October 8th for my first job, but my OPITO survival certs are not enough :S I'll need to do a 5 days training in St.Johns NL before I can go anywhere (who said OPITO was the most complete??? I've been had! :S)

Oceaneering works with Petro Canada and Husky Oil... so I'll end up on a rig for one of those 2 very soon. Depending on what type of platform I'm on, the rotation will be 28/28 or 21/21 days. 3-4 weeks work, 3-4 weeks home.. I can definitely live with that! :)

And the pay is... well the pay is... hehehehihihahahoho (that's me laughing all the way to the bank). I'm still stuck paying taxes though, so I might laugh a little less when I get my first pay check...

Now that the pressure of getting that first job has lifted, it can give way to "ho-my-god-will-I-be-any-good-at-this" + "what-the-hell-was-I-thinking-going-into-a-workfield-involving-powertools-when-I'm-a-clumsy-twit" and "how-on-earth-will-I-fare-in-the-middle-of-nowhere-surrounded-by-boys-who'll-all-think-I-don't-belong-there"...

I still don't know where I'll be going, but it sounds like it could be anywhere... not just offshore Labrador or Newfoundland. I have to call the "dispatcher" on Wednesday, and she'll tell me when my training will be and when(where, what, who, why) I'll start my first rotation.

So, yeah, more wait... *sigh*

good news though: Mui, we're going South in Feb for sure!!! I'll have both $$$ and time :)
and more good news, if I'm good at this and don't get fired after 3 days and if the economy keeps on crashing I might be able to get a condo and my boat at the same time next year! *happy dance*

I got the email this morning :

"Our General Manager has called all the references that you provided and they were all fantastic, so we would like to offer you a position with Oceaneering Canada Limited."

I FUCKIN RUUUUUUUULE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOHOOHOHOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

I'll get the paperwork around Thursday, fill it, and not long after I'll know what team I'll join, what rotation I'll be on and where I'll be going :P

In the meantime, I'll be dancing all 'round the living room and party till I drop!!!!

Hey, it took 4 months and about 250 emails, but someone finally realized I'm the Queen of the Universe and gave me a chance...

6 months I make supervisor! :P
1 year I have my boat!
February I'm going DIVING!!!!!!

I'm happy... so very happy...

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Superman's dead

....................... ordinary's just not good enough................
.

Last night I had the kinda dream I could gladly go without...

I was in a sort of aquarium center, where you could try diving in full gear: surface supply, dry suit, helmet. I had registered to it with J, but arrived late, so they rushed me in a suit and just said, "you go down the ladder and dive". J was already in, I could see him walking like an astronaut towards deeper water.

I followed the instructor and went under. There was a platform at 3m and then you slipped from it and went deep. On the platform, my helmet started filling with water. I realized I didn't know how to purge it, so I tapped the instructor and hand signaled "water rising in helmet" but he just looked at me dumbly and signaled me to keep on going.

By that time the water was almost to my nose and I had to keep my head tilt back to breath. I turned around and went back, all the while trying to tell the instructors "hello! I'm about to drown here!!!" but no one helped.

I came out of the water and try to remove the helmet that was still full of water. I had realized by then that they hadn't hooked up the air supply to it so not only was I nose deep in water, but O2 was getting scarce. As I was thinking I would soon pass out and die, someone finally removed it.

I told the guy the helmet was leaking and he should have it checked, but he looked at me like I was a complete idiot and whispered to a staff girl "just put it back with the others".
All the people there were looking at me with smirks on their faces, like I was just a panicky little twit. I tried to tell them that water had been leaking in and nearly drowned me, but no one believed it.

I took off the suit and sat on a bench, a bit in shock. I was putting my stuff in a bag when J came out. I looked at him, wanting to tell him what had happened, hoping for some support, but he went straight for a food table on the other side of the room to flirt with a faceless blond and never turned towards me.

Then I woke up, laid still for a couple of seconds, and said... tab******

♪ I got a Nintendo DS ♪

and it's BLUE!!!
and Mario Kart too!!
woo-hoo-hoo!!!

existential questioning

Is the wish still valid if I don't blow the candles on my actual birthday? My b-day dinner has been moved to Thursday so I won't have a cake today but I really could use that wish!...

Could someone ask Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy and get back to me on this?

a good thing

If you have old cellphones, as I'm sure you do, you can bring them to any SuperClub Videotron. They send them to a company who refurbishes the not-too-old, and retrieves the toxic and reusable components in the others.

Some materials in cellphones are really bad for the environment, not only as waste, but in the way they are produced. The more we can recycle what's already there, the better.

The project was suppose to last only a couple of weeks, but looks like it's going to become a semi-permanent thing... so go, next time you rent movies, bring your cells with you! :)

click here for a list of other places to bring old cells.

rain drops keep falling on my head

Judging by the thick curtain of water going sideways and the trees bent at 90º... I would say that Ike has reach Canada :P

Nice to meet you, now go away!