Travis:

-did you wear face shield?

- I did

- why is your face dirty then? Smiles mischievously

I didn't know how to use face shield first few times, so would lift it up and wrap cloth to protect face. Often blasted downwind and got all on me. Its' not the dirt, it's flying abrasive sand. After first day, my face felt sand blasted. Now my washing technique is much better, it’s the angle and wind direction.

Mechanic needs to take D8 to shop. I focus on tracks, sprockets, rollers quickly. Crawl under dozer to wash inner side. Tight, low. Waive to Barry - go check. He refuses : aint' going there, its mud there.

Cones, warning signs, lock out master switch. “Some people are stupid.“ Keys are in equipment all the time.

Young safety pulls up. Talks to Jun, Somalian buddy. I start spraying. Bitumen (bitch-u-men) mud, doesn’t come off. Ask him to turn wheels to reach brake pads. Doesn’t understand what I want.  Suddenly, he becomes fidgety, says that's enough on one side. Travis descends like a hawk.

- Blah blah..(pump too loud) ..mine (truck) is dirtier..you have to ask for permission!

Earling, SKS is expensive. Machines on warranty, can’t touch.

- I asked SKS ,six grand for windshield crack. In town, CracksNmore - 600!

Weekly fuel and lube bill is close to hundred grand. Safety rod on trucks, one with lights, goes for three thousand dollars.

Wildfire smoke reaches Fort Fireweed.

-Hope they send us home

-then we when won't get paid

-oh yeah, that too.

Someone brought pizza to office box, from town (Fort McMurray, 70 km). No logo on cartons, thickest pizza I ever saw, 1 1/2 inches at least. Dont' care, ate six slices. LJ, no!  Too late.

- I wish we got rid of mikes. Two way radio. 90% of conversation don't need to happen. Everyone wont’ shut up

- Dumb you down..you have to think for yourself..you should not be able to ask where to go. You need to know.

Miles (black dude):

- I pretended to be Christian, you know, I am not really

- what else you faked , are you even black?

Everyone giggles.

Crew change bus. One of crew members would drive it. After rain, bus goes over mine roads, feet high in mud, often got stuck

- I thought you could drive standard

-  What is this. Just need fuel (look at bus gauges)

Someone at the back if the bus - I thought it’s electric

-Where is Dustin?

-Gone

- Escort? (bringing visitors in, no maps, we are in middle of work area thirty something B)

- Prostitutes! Prostitutes are calling

Truck jumps and swivels to avoid getting stuck. In parts of the mine, only one radio station, 93.3 FM, playing country.

Rock me momma like a wagon wheel, rock me momma any way you feel,

hey momma rock me..

Kira and Luke got into a ditch.  First thing, Sunridge drags both Luke and Kira to drug test.

- I felt I almost died.

Now Kira sits in the box, worried she'll get fired.

Sunridge built a berm at intersection of Sandpiper and Ridge, we call it Kira’s berm.

-I'll put this into light vehicle chat

-there's light vehicle chat?

Departmental , purple lock first on, last off. Personal locks are blue.

- need another lock. Mine is fucked, Zane, mechanic

-no wonder we can't get rases around here, Evan

Zane later mentions he burned through four personal locks that shift

Evan to Luke: we should get you some Bethoven and get you in serial killer mode

- I thought country music gets you in serial killer mode

- I fucking hate country music. It's all the same about trucks, beer, women

Derek: drinking

- drinking, hunting

Left coveralls bag for laundry pickup in yard. In few hours they got holes

-can't leave bags, mice would get in

- sorry, didn't know

- its ok, you are new, you can't do no wrong

Foxes, coyottes, ravens, a bear sighting every few days, one day bear walked in yard, 20-30 yards away from me.

Travis picks me up to take back to yard. Radio call:

- Where are you?

-  In my truck. What did you doooo?

- Nothing. Just calling to say Ken is gay

- I already knew that. He is not gay, he is bisexual. He is only into black dudes

Group chat:

- safty saturday guys

- today we focus on safty. tomorrow we focus on spelling.

I need to steam crew change bus undercarriage, the one behind it blocks my steam truck. I get in. Three guys laying on seats

-Can either of you move the bus, too tight

-We can't drive

-I thought you're bus drivers

-No, we're back up truck operators

Three haul truck operators on standby all day, just in case. I wonder if they're getting paid for doing nothing. “Operators are pussies.”

Morning

4 am smoke pit is very silent. Tens of people gather for bus. Occasional shout out

- what hapened to your hair (to lady)

- I cut it

- show me. Woahh!!!

- Started as labourer, here , been for ten years. Started here with Great Northern, onboarding shit, first day, second day, ten fucking days. Drove wiggle truck. Thought made good money, I will move to union.

- You have to quit, wait 30 days, then join union

- GF said a labourer stays labourer

Grader meets eighty five on road, Iceman and Dale mock their dialogue (in whiny voices):

- Can’t see, sun in my eye

- Can’t grade, truck on my way

In the beginning haul truck undercarriage is just a giant blob of caked mud. 2500 psi, cuts, pieces fall off. It’s really simple skeleton, much simpler than regular truck.

-if you had like 30 minutes, what’d would you do first, like priority

-its all about the looks. Hit front, mirrors, wheels, lights, sides, lights, rear axle.

Hoes are bad. Long boom, always overgreased. Swing deck is two feet of caked sand, grease, hoses burried deep, run to manifold. Grease just moves up and down.

Return to camp

Eminem on phone speaker. Waiting for pickup to pass at intersection:

- Some people trying to get to supper. Stop sucking your partner’s dick

Passing grader

-Doing really good job. Finally someone realized the roads are really fucked

Playig DJ Khaled, we take it over.

- Crank that shit

- Yeet!!

Service truck is racing us to the gates. Iceman clenches his fist.

Day

Ray drives me:

- What is this? Points at large animal like truck

- ADT

- What’s that

- Articulated dump truck

- Wiggle truck, what is articulated

- That thing in middle that wiggles allowing for smaller turning radius

Someone: I have been here too long, was staring at Kira’s butt all the time

Ken, who is kinda fatherly figure to lube crew: we need to have a talk after

Me: Who is Kira?

- The only chick there. She holds enture crew under fingernails, says I can’t do it, can you do it, sits in the truck, makes Luke do everything.

- Great Northern.  Consistent shitshow, they were shit show, they will always be shit show

- My first wife is a Dene. From Wandering River, grew up in Wabasca, big tits, lots of tatoos, great fried bread, she also stabbed me and burned my cothes. Great bread though. Crazy girls are the best.

- I was a drummer, in a band

- We got a band

- Okini band

- And John Deere on basses

Fort Fireweed is on tribal land. Everything runs on joint ventures. Wapiti Northern, Okini Nanton, Maskwa Northgate.

On return bus, white trash party, fag by Eminem. Used to party after set:

-bag, Marriot near airport

- six shots in five minutes, then they kicked me out

- only have 20 min of layover, run to Chilli's , drink and get out.

- Had to do threesome. One fat and one hot. Had to screw fat one to get to hot one

- First time she put finger in my ass I was like, oh no, then, oh wait ..

Iceman describes party with grader girls in Edmonton.