hard times in work camp (gasfields pt. 1)

Life in a work camp is all right at the best of times.

But often the prolonged absence from loved ones (if one has them) or just the departure from the mundane and the daily routine that one has come to get used to, can be very taxing.

Here’s some snapshots of living in camp.

Daily before the rooster crows, one is roused from his slumber by an alarm of sorts whether from a clock, radio, phone or even body clock.

After a quick ablution, it is then time to head to the mess for some breakfast.

On the way there you could pause to just gaze and admire the sunrise.

There’s not much by way of food in camp.

Breakfast usually consists a few spare choices.

Hot foods are bacon and all sorts of eggs, hash browns, sausages, baked beans, spaghetti, pancakes, and sometimes rehashed left-over dinner, etc.

Cold foods are a choice of about 8-10 cereals,

or toast from abt 6 choices of breads.

Beverages are either coffee or teas.

For cold drinks, there’s a choice between fresh fruit juice or cordial softdrink.
I don’t have a photo of the fridges but these are full of milks of all types as well as yoghurts and butters and margarines and...

I didn’t even have a look at what’s in them fridges – maybe they’re hiding the daing and tuyo there. That’s why am not happy – there’s no pandesal even.

After breakfast or before, one can pack lunch from an assortment of cold foods, salads, frozen pies, sandwiches etc.

Cold foods choices are salami, chicken, ham, beef cuts etc.

There’s also garnishes as olives, sundried tomato, tuna, pickles etc.
Salads normally include fresh green garden salad, cucumber, beetroot, carrots, cheeses, cut boiled eggs and bacon pieces, a pasta dish or two etc.

Sadly not a salted egg or balut in sight.

Frozen foods include factory processed pies, sausage rolls etc. There’s also various condiments and spreads for sandwiches or smoko. I looked but there’s no ice buko or halo-halo.

So with the esky filled with 3 or 4 or 5 lunchboxes (i don’t know about them but there’s something missing here), and 3 or 4 or more pieces of fruit, one is then ready for a big day at work.

I know. They don’t have sardinas, or adobo or lechon.

I might go on strike – maybe a hunger strike.

Sweets are either fresh-baked cakes with icing, muffins, or other delights such as gelatine or jelly. Freshly sliced fruit such as rockmelon, honeydew, pineapple, kiwi fruit, and grapes.

My favourite is the locally grown watermelon from the nearest town Chinchilla, only a half-hour’s drive away.

Fresh whole fruit are also in store by the boxful. 

Well-known other Queensland stone fruit such as apples and pears are aplenty as are oranges mandarins and bananas.

That's a typical packed lunch for me above - very spartan.

I’ll post some notes on work later but for now let’s assume the lads and ladettes had a big 12 or more hours of toil out in their respective worksites.

So around sunset to nightfall, the crews start filing in from the field.

Some will go straight for a coldie, others for a shower, the odd ironman to do laundry, some might even drive out to town, still a few will attend to a bit of paperwork, while others go to the gym, rec room (ping-pong or pool), or tv (paytv sports etc) or computer room (internet surfing). 

But around dinner time, there will be a constant to-ing and fro-ing to-and-from the mess hall.

Here everyone knows everyone er on a nodding acquaintance level. There would be at least 40 people in the mess hall at peak dinner time, but sometimes it can be to full capacity of about 60 or more people.

Dinner is usually the big meal for most in camp. And to break the monotony of food, every night has a different main menu.

But every night there’s choices of at least three meat dishes and steaks as standard, spaghetti pasta rice potato or breadrolls are the staples relegated to the side, as well as soup and vegetables.

Friday nights always has fish and seafood as part of the main menu.

Saturday night is barbeque night. Still buffet style. choices of abt 6 mains. Eat all you can.
Sometimes drinks are served. Drink all you can.

Desserts are normally cakes puddings custard sauces and toppings etc.

After dinner – i think everyone feels like they’ve had the lion’s share – people would settle down to some well-deserved drinks or coffee or tea, or milk for growing boys like me he he.

I’m despondent actually, where’s the pinikpikan, or dineng-deng with bago-ong or alamang?

I’m seriously thinking about a strike action – maybe a stop-work.

There’s also a choice of about six flavours of ice cream and the same toppings as chocolate or other.

Cones are provided but i like mine in bulk – tubs he he.

So with a heavy heart for having to leave all that food behind, and with a heavy tummy, i start back to my unit.
Still dreaming of the avocado-flavored sorbetes and/or pinipig.

Here’s some photos of camp:

There’s at least a hundred self-contained units in camp.

Each has a bed and desk,

fridge and tv set,

toilet and shower,

and it’s fully air-conditioned.

All that’s missing now is a special someone, but then night visits are not allowed.

Pity about that. what about inmates' rights?
But maybe the groaning and moaning might disturb the peace and quiet and the local amenity.

Martin forgets that he’s here to work and not otherwise.
Must be something in the water -
or the milk eh...

Movember 2009 Mt Coot-tha Mousdash

Click here for the 2010 Mt Coot-tha Mousdash.

Movember (From Wikipedia)

Movember (a portmanteau of the words 'Moustache' and 'November'), is an annual month-long event involving the growing of moustaches during the month of November. The event has been claimed to have been invented in 1999 by group of Australian men from Adelaide.
Since 2004, the Movember Foundation charity has run Movember events to raise awareness and funds for men's health issues, such as prostate cancer and depression, in Australia and New Zealand. In 2007, events were launched in Ireland, Canada, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Last weekend, i took a break from work to take part in the 10.5 km Mt Coot-tha run. At work camp I worked between 12-14 hours a day so i had very little preparation let alone training for this event. And since I had a sort of shaggy facial hair to pass for a 'tash, and also my workmates kept asking me, i thought why not. I did the 10km bridge-to-brisbane a few months back and that wasn’t too bad.
bridge to brisbane

So early last Sunday morning, i turned up at the start line not knowing what was in store.

When i found out it was a mountain run, my heart sank. I thought it was around the base of, not up and then down a mountain. Well i was there so might as well give it a go.

There was around 650-700 participants.

From the get go i realised i was mixing with the wrong crowd.

These mousdashers are mostly elite runners and athletes.

I started near the front of the pack but everyone kept going past me.

That’s me leading the race, i mean the bottom half of the race. And then the photographer disrupted my rhythm. (nice tash Mart.)

I plodded on regardless. But i’ll spare you all the gory detail. Like how i literally crawled up the mountain (and i thought i was a mountaineer), jogged along the ridges and just managed to tumble downhill and labored the final 1.5km flat section to the finish.

I wanted to stop for coffee at the park, but i forgot my thermos. (That park looks familiar.)
see side trips: mt-coot-tha

It felt like like the sun was setting when i finished. The marshalls were ready to pack up and reopen the road.

The man’s sign said it all: I conquered Mt Coot-tha. Now i know how Edmund Hilary felt when he conquered Everest :-). Close enough ain’t it?

Below are the results. Aside from the elite athletes, there's two other kinds of people that put me to shame: the older than me 55 yrs +, and the young teenagers. The oldest runner (76yo) and the youngest (12yo) easily beat me.
I did beat a few 60+ yrs old, and a couple of young teeners too :-).
Mousdash Mt Coot-tha Fun Run 2009. November 15, 2009
Results By intraining race Management Systems, Inc.

Place Name Bib No Age Time Martin's comment

1 GEOFF BERKELEY 9665 40 38:55.0 First

2 Benjamin Duffus 8919 17 39:39.6 Second

3 David Loader 9105 45 40:39.0 Third

62 Martin P 9218 28 48:29.0 Katoks (namesake)

73 jim buchanan 9666 76 49:05.5 Oldest Participant

167 Daniel Manning 9117 12 54:07.1 Youngest Participant

207 Ulrich Dr. Chill 8915 66 56:03.3 He was steaming

300 Cyrus Dickie 8908 29 59:53.8 Serious Cyrus

305 J Leggett 9098 48 1:00:06.8 J legged it

338 Marek Fuks 8964 27 1:01:49.3 good on you Marek

373 Martin Polichay 9819 43+ 1:03:50.0

The best of the rest

478 Ed C  59 1:10:20.5

551 MK  60 1:18:15.2

603 Seb C  1:47:32.1

I hope to do better next year in this event.
2010 mousdash

Postscript
Later that day i went to watch Manny Pacquiao give Cotto a boxing lesson. (I think the pacman has enough good-looks to pass for an Igorot). At the same time Tiger Woods was winning the Australian Masters golf.
I challenge these two young lads to a winner-take-all tournament. They can bring Roger Federer with them. Or Lance Armstrong. A no-holds barred jolens or siatong with all of these so-called world beaters. I reckon i’ll be a big chance. They haven’t even conquered Mt Coot-tha.
The Mousdash Mt Coot-tha Fun Run is in support of Movember.

hotwired - modes of transport in mainit

The residents of and visitors to Chongliyan are spoilt for choice when it comes to transport.
From Bontoc one can catch a fully air-conditioned jeepney that offers 360-degree views fully unimpeded.

Of course that's not the only way of enjoying the wonderful views and scenery going to Mainit.

A popular form of travel is with the sikimobile. This natural vehicle is actually built in as part of the human body. So if one looks closer they'll find two big limbs on the lower part of their body. I think they're called legs. And the bottom parts that touch the ground are called feet. Sometimes we forget we have these. And so get on your bike, No, I mean get off your butt- and use your sikimobile.

Alright, when the legs get a bit tired, you can give them a rest by hopping on to a nuwang, carabao or water buffalo. Just mind your riding stance as these vehicles don't have seatbelts or reins - that's for horses. Riding a carabao going at full tilt downhill is a most exhilirating and terrifying experience.

If that's too much excitement for you, you can always go back to the more sedate form - walking. Take a hike - literally. You'll feel wonderful. Guaranteed a hundred percent.

When you've rested from a good hike, you can then sample disapparation mainit style. All you require is a comfortable place to sit near the boiling hotspring and have a steam bath/ inhalation session for at least a half-hour. By that time your respiratory system will have been cleaned thoroughly. If you have asthma or if you suffer from some breathing ailment, this steam therapy will have done wonders for you- you'll feel like you're in another place. Once your breathing's fully functional again and your body feels refreshed and invigorated, you will  have achieved disapparation. How easy is that eh parry hotter? Even healthy people can do with the revitalisation that only the healing powers of a Mainit hotspring steam session can provide.

After disapparation you are then ready for teleportation. To cap off the steam bath, one has to then continue on the journey through Mainit.

Swimming is a mode of transport that people here utilise all the time. In fact most residents here 'swim' twice a day - in the early morning and again in the evening. Well there's not much to it really. The water's only up to about a half-meter deep, and the pool's not quite olympic sized, but close- say 4-5 metres. Enjoy a swim then and when you get to the far bank, you'll feel the best you have in a very long while. Maybe feel the cleanest you've been in a long time too. And by the way the pools are heated - naturally of course. Just for your swimming pleasure.

After a refreshing morning dip, you can then try another of Mainit's methods of conveyance. This is an expensive sport in western societies but of course in Mainit and the Cordillera, it's free- mountain climbing. I won't bore you too much about climbing mountains as a mode of transport, but just to say that to experience the grandeur of the majestic cordillera mountains and to appreciate the beauty and art of the Mainit mountain rice terraces, you should be able to climb or clamber, be nimble as a ballerina and be sure-footed as a goat (you don't need to be one).

And to be able to get away from the wild snakes, you might have to be as agile as a monkey (again you don't need to be one - see you can get away with a lot of things in Mainit, very few needs here :-).

No actually this is to gain better vantage points to view Kilong-oraw and Camingmingel and Binandilaan and all those other high peaks of the Cordillera range (as an aside Mt Binandilaan was named such after General Aguinaldo and his men, retreating from the Americans planted the Filipino flag on Mt Bandilaan as a symbol of the resistance to American rule. You see history lessons are here too, only in Mainit. Of course the revolutionaries continued on eastwards and came to the infamous Tirad pass where the resistance lost the ill-fated General Del Pilar in a futile effort to ensure Aguinaldo escaped. More historical asides later.)

Back to modes of transport, Oh yes Aguinaldo and his men had some horses, but the I-Mainit cannot afford the upkeep of these regal beasts, so they had to resort to climbing- to cut firewood primarily.

and to get topside.

And when you take leave of our village, you're welcome once again to travel in style as only the privileged do - 'topload' style. that's a benefit of climbing for you. Of course due to safety considerations this practice of riding is discouraged and in fact should be made illegal. but the thrill of the cool wind blowing ...

On a high mountain high way,

cool wind in my hair

Warm smell of sweet unas,

rising up through the air

xxxx

Welcome to the hotel cordillera

Such a lovely place