Per my usual journey through life, I have completely taken the unexpected and “Are you crazy?” path.
First, I feel that a little background information is required. For several years, I have been offered a job with a company doing field work on their job sites that are building natural gas compressor stations. I have continuously declined the offer, until now.
I accepted the job only because it will help tremendously with reaching a few of my financial goals within the next year. So here I am, outside of Washington, DC, working on a compressor station as the only female. The job is for one year, and I am really hoping I can make it the entire year. It is 11 days on, and three days off.
I have been here since the first of the year, and I can say that I haven’t seen my neighborhood in the daylight yet. Dark when I leave for work, and dark when I get back. I know how my Dad felt all those years. I am exhausted by 7:00 pm and trying to stay awake just to eat dinner. My life will be drastically different for the next year, and I hope all of this will be worth it long term. I took this picture leaving work one night.
My friends keep texting and messaging me to check and see if I am doing ok. It is pretty funny! I guess they are worried about my mental state for even being here! I am not a boots type of person, and my new required steel-toed boots aren’t as bad as I thought they would be.
I also have my own hardhat. My friends have been asking for a picture with me in all my hi-vis safety gear. Since I am the only female, I have to have my own bathroom per labor laws (I think labor laws). So I use the main bathroom on site. Which from the looks of it, hasn’t ever had a female in it. I thought I would take a picture in the dirty mirror of my hardhat, and this is how short I am compared to the mirror…It really made me laugh. If I got closer to the sink,you could only see the very top of my hat.
I would really like a palm tree to put in the corner of my office. I am having to settle for my Carolina Coast calendar.
Tomorrow is my first day off, and I am going to head down south for the weekend just to reset my patience. Working with all men…let me just say, I feel like I am in the middle of a 13 year old boys locker room. I keep telling myself that this adventure will put me exactly where I want to end up and it is only for a year. Even my alarm clock reminds me when it goes off in the morning.
I want to join the DC swing community while I am here, but I am not sure I have the energy yet. I am not used to getting up at 5:10 am just yet. Hopefully, my body will adjust soon so I can have some sort of life outside of work. I also have a list of places in the area that I want to visit for field trips once I have days off.