Evening, shack

- Some shit happened in the mine. Froze the scene, could not get to shovel/haul, called emergency, whats the fuck?

- Its colloquialism of the day

- I don’t know how to handwrite

- What’s the point?

- You write shittier to make harder for people to read

- We stopped handwriting in grade three

Supper

Talk is about how much shit everyone stole on pipeline projects. Consumables, tools, even full service trucks, spools of expensive cabling. Apparently, lump sum, so nobody cares. Then they switched to cost plus. Even better: Leedco would run tracks until they fall off. Then buy new ones and get paid. Metal Haul cuts links.

Production above all. Rain, leak, fix later, buy, rent, contractor games, whatever, just keep the mine running.

Morning

3:52 am, smoke pit. Tiredness starts to accumulate, second week. Lung coughs. Thunder bangs on the north east. Rained last night. There’s certain minimality of body movements. I stretch my arms up and catch that I never saw anyone do that. Definitely little words. Especially in the mornings.

Toolbox

Carl: "Be discrete with cell phones and smoke breaks. Raised to Bennett. We fuck dogs here, but go behind piece of equipment. Operators get fired for that. Seems like a double standard. Don’t be sitting on concrete block in fuel bay."

On night shift fuel bay guy was guiding truck out and talking on the cell phone at the same time.

Fuel run

- Ready for another great day? We’ll go to damps first, then go fucking uptop for our adventure.

Honk and we launch.

Roll up to 6025 hoe. I turn on the engine to check hours, radio set on 93.3 FM. Full. Breeze. Smoke. Hafield pickup passes by. I cannot not think about Bri.

Then uptop. F453, three hundred ton truck, conveniently parked right next to the gates, so when you drive in, you can’t see who’s coming down the hill. Who the fuck. Luke leans forward.

Back, steam coming from Courbusier style utility building. Like some hotel. Gasholders. Exit.

You can see hotel with steam clouds, overpass. We pass Weatherford wireline truck that has been parked there for as long as I can remember. Gates, Fort Fireweed mine operations, no unauthorized entry. Luke has to lean a lot more forward to get to the pass scan.

Tiny valleys filled with lush to the left. Plowed hills to horizon, to the right.

Three trucks jump on Ridge. We have to let them space out , gotta be 4 haul trucks away. Luke curses at haul truck. So much space, yet truck to drive in the middle of the road.

Evening, shack

Ken to Evan: No, I don’t want your protein bar, I know where you’re going with this

Evan: for being fugly

Rundle & back to Tamarack

I talk with mechanic at Rundle, waiting for return bus. Horseshoe stache, thick broom of chest hair:

"Been in business 35 years. I love it, but if I could sell my service truck, I’d do it. Sell my house. Enjoy time with my wife, while she is still alive.

My wife was an operator. Here in maintenance we’re one team. But operators are so catty.

Shovels hate everybody, not just haul truck drivers. They think they’re top shit. But you’re a just an operator. Anyone can be an operator, but not anyone can fix. I am north of 50, right in the middle."

He looks ten years older.

Tuesday, morning

4:09 AM. No words, I just hand pink redbull to Jun. We both laugh.

- what’s news?

- Great Northern is gone, they’re in White Fox

- I am up on gold 1311, Jun trades online

- When?

- Placed 50 this morning

-Che face, I greet Victor

-Bine, bine.

We shake hands, bear arms.

Night shift returns: Iceman speaks first, Cody , Jayman:

-Got that truck stuck in fuel bay, changed oil filters, everything.

That poor 8025 is still there. Discussing someone: since he gone up, power went in his head. Its his truck, his yard (I think Greff).

Ridge road up close is a stack of old matresses. Softy and clammy. Big truck tires distribute weight differently. So, OK for them ,not ok for buses and pickups. Buses and fuel trucks stuck here all the time . Grader shaves off layer to get to harder clay and dirt but its all gone in under 24 hours.