Day

Steaming #80009 fuel truck, pickup pulls over, labourers - this is foreman’s truck

Iceman never hesistates:

- they can fuck off. Fuel and lube goes first. Fuck them, we only do Travis’s or Carl’s

-I can’t tell them to fuck off

He proceeds to operators’ truck at once. They wait patiently.

Pickup wash day, non stop. "If they come , and you are working on haul truck ,they have to come on pickup day. Mainly lights, unit number, mirrors, front windshield, break pads, steering where you can reach it, main shaft, mud clogs steering."

- Trey asked me for your room number...

Everyone gladly giggles.

Pain from repetitive work, bed doesn’t give me overnight rest. I crank AC to 16.

- You been to Diamonds?

- Which one, new one or old one

- Oh, you were prepared

Morning

Tall guy who I thought was a foreman:

- You, foreman?

- Nooo, truck driver

- I thought you are. You have that commanding presence

He laughs.

Same faces, same food, same days, same smoke, same corner of same smoking area at 3:49 waiting for the bus.

- Hello six fifty, this is Nanton crew change bus. Taking Sandpiper, Ridge, Aurora to locate.

Shovel on corner of Ridge and Aurora. Like a monster that rarely if ever gets out from the underworld mine, it stands on surface , D8 is tiny next to it .

Ops pay one hour for driving the crew change bus, but maintenance does not.

Monday is steak day. Dustin and Jun call each other “ante,” something in Somali

- You caught korona? Yes? That means you got ante-bodies

- Bitumen makes bitchy men

Evening

Victor:

"In the 80s, Sunridge paid from door to door and 50 percent off shift, gave personal toolbox to keep. Then everyone started coming. Then they started paying just door to door in 2011. Now I work 14 hours and they only pay 12. At SunCrude, at four thirty I was at the camp."

"Everyone in Canada heard about Fort Mac. So they pay decent but its nothing compared to what it used to be. The tree has been picked. Demand has been supplied. I am waiting for pipeline work. Northern gateway, one to Saskatchewan. You don’t want to go to Pearl, its prison."

"Operators start at six. If you work in maintenance you start at crazy hours."

I used to wake up at 3-15. Now I wake up around two without alarm.

Morning

Bus in the dark. Queit chatter. Trucks passing in opposite direction. Orange overhead lights and safety  rods  glow. Windows rattle. Outdoor lights bright at intersections and near gates. Turn signal ticking. Haul trucks line up before crisher. Bus revs up on uphill.

I text Jun, kapatid you ok. Missed 4-00 am bus: s

- Brother, I am taking second bus, too many bakla

- Ah ok. Trey asked me for your room number yesterday, I thought you need extra 15

- Haha, you bad brother

Mount Rundle. Thick layer of cloud, sunrise under. Lines of pickups. Bus lights on. Seatbelts click.

I stand up rapidly, hit my head on luggage shelf. Three guys laugh – good morning.

Toolbox

JD was at 1-30 am in gym working out. What part did you exercise?

Someone: keggle exercise.

JD : touch it, mine’s harder. Not nipple! Its not here. I am not a woman.

Someone: not yet

They’re so childishly happy when they see me covering my face in laughter.

Travis: “amber beacon was off. Truck coming forward thought bus is turning. Truck locked brakes on, called supervisor. If amber light is not on, we are not shift change bus. We are light duty vehichle.”

Emergency vehicles, shift change buses, haul trucks, then everything else.

- Segments? we'll kick it back to work

- You done with dogbone?

- Place in Edmonton that would do CAT equivalent for like half of the price

- Sleepy Joe goes home today

- Archie Bunker would not be on TV today

- He was pretty racist

- Remember Craig McColum?

- Forgot Red Bull

- Grab from my truck. Its six fifty.

Crew leaves, I empty trash bins. Two Earling guys come, sign contractor sign in sheet – they don’t think I hear them - team of virgins (that’s us), giggle.

Night shift chat

Night shift chat ~ 10 pm

Sean: Thanks Ken . …and Evan I guess too

Ken: Who??

Sean: Yea nvm f that guy

Evan: I’m the guy that shows Ken how to use the tools properly

Post picture of monkey with a wrench.

Evening , shack

Email went out , “all camp relationships have to be divulged. “

Travis to JD:

- Don’t laugh

- Everyone is laughing , why you are picking on me

- Cuz you are the shortest.