Category: Lessons Learned

Captain’s Log Is Now A Book

For practice with independent publishing, and because I wanted my own tangible copy of everything I’ve written in the last two years, I published a paperback version of this blog. You can click here to buy it from CreateSpace. Click here to buy it from Amazon. There is no ebook available, as that format just seems wrong for this project for some reason.

I’ve asked myself why anyone would buy something that they can read for free, and there’s only one acceptable reason: because they want to. For me, it was a need more than a want, but I think you get the picture. Buy it because you want (need) to. It begins with “Why a log?” and ends with “A Jaw Dropping Woman.” 

Now that this little experiment is complete, expect new books in the future. And, of course, I’ll still be publishing as many posts as I can while I’m not away at work. 

Oh, and the book makes a great gift. (I’m pretty sure H- would’ve been mad if I didn’t include that last little bit.)

4 Reasons To Avoid Using Eye-Catching Headlines

1. First, nobody likes people who try too hard. And a good eye-catching headline, such as, “Did Michael Jackson Secretly Confess to Janet That He Was Guilty?” or my favorite one from LinkedIn of late, “10 Reasons You Should Quit Your Job in 2014”, these types of headlines that really beg the reader to point-and-click reek of strong cologne before a big date. Rather than trying too hard, it’s better if you try just the right amount.

2. Second, your reputation is worth more than the ad revenue generated by clicks. And readers often feel let down when they discover (again) that Michael Jackson didn’t confess anything to Janet, and that there is not one good reason, let alone ten, to quit working in 2014. After time, people will question your integrity and motivations.

3. Third, and finally, the most enticing headlines are always one mistake away from pissing readers off.

Another Break (2)

This will be a pattern, unfortunately.  Or fortunately.  But I’ve got to take another break while I earn my living for the next 14 days.  See you sometime around June 26th.  

Life In The Oil Fields Is No Movie

Well, that’s not entirely true.  One movie came to mind on about day four as I was beginning to realize that a lot of family, not to mention my one friend, would want to know what exactly it was like to work on a rig.  Maybe even you are curious to know.  Here’s my best effort to convey understanding and feeling of the job, and why it appeals to me.

It’s a lot like Lord of the Rings.  Like the quest to destroy the Precious, in which all participants agree that there is no value in attempting any action that does not assist in accomplishing that invaluable end, the oil fields have one goal.  One.  Every single activity supports that goal.  In other words, the concept ‘efficiency’ has yet to be developed as there is no need to distinguish efficient action from inefficient action.

Also like LOTR, meals are on the go.  And every once in a while a Legolas shows up with a food whose calorie content is such that “one small bite will fill the stomach of a grown man.”  Naturally, the food is consumed with little regard for this fact.  And in similar fashion to Samwise’s indefatigably loving disposition towards food, all conclude that it tastes great.

Moreover, there is a comedic relief at every turn, and something about the nature of being part of such a singular mission attracts people with fully-developed personalities. Put simply, characters abound.

Lastly, just as no one but Frodo can carry the ring to Mount Doom, in the oil fields there is no one else coming to do the work.  If something heavy must be lifted, if something stuck must be unstuck, if something dirty must be cleaned, if someone clean must get dirty, that’s what must happen.  Nothing stops the mission.  Not the clock, not the weather, not the calendar.  Not past performance, not best intentions, not relationships, not feelings.  Nothing.

The ring must be destroyed.

It’s glorious.

Excited to Become

I officially have a new job.  That’s right.  The days of washing, and managing the washing of, the cars of the most disrespectful people I have ever encountered are over.  Lesson learned:  I do not excel at customer service.  Oh well.

So what’s next?  Bluntly, it’s time to punch another hole in my man card.  For some reason I have an internal contradiction that I have so far been unable to shake.  It goes something like this: I hate the idea of defining myself by my job (I’m sooo much more), but how I spend my waking hours during this life matters to me.  Taken together with the notion that work should be work, I’m headed to the oil fields.  For the remaining 400 words of this post, I’d like to discuss what the interwebs forecasts about my new life.

To begin, unlike my first three jobs as a civilian puke, this one is an outside job.  I think that means it will take place in the same realm that flying did.  I’ve always liked the outside, so that’s good news.

Next, a slave to fashion, I also can’t help but notice that I get to resume wearing a pair of flame resistant coveralls and a safety helmet.  Hell, I never really thought of it before, but assuming I like this job, I will definitely fall into the “men-who-are-drawn-to-work-that-might-catch-them-on-fire” category.  When forced, I’d say it’s not really that.  I just like getting to wear free onesies.  They contain so much nostalgia.  Regarding helmets, I have a sneaking suspicion that people who wear helmets for safety understand they have something under it worth protecting.  After a few drinks, you might even compel me to confess that, as a group, helmet-wearers understand cause-and-effect better than non-helmet-wearers.  And yes, I’m happy to be part of that group again.

Finally, a word to women.  I get it.  I really do.  As a “roughneck” I will have enough money to support you and my ex.  You should know, though, that your peer’s blogs lead me to believe you really won’t be happy.  I don’t want to believe it, but apparently as early as my first “hitch”, I will start hiding my phone, FB friending female co-workers, having my checks mailed to my mom, drinking more, using swears, and soliciting prostitutes.  Truthfully, with minor tweaking–I don’t use FB, I have direct deposit, and I would only ever use high-end prostitutes like in “The Bucket List”–I’m fine with most of those changes.  But I doubt you are.  If I’m wrong, we should chat.  Despite the evidence on all those blogs, I promise that what I will never do, no matter what, is stop talking.  Never gonna happen.  Sorry.  So even if you manage to wrap those legs of yours around me and whisper enough sweet nothings into my ear to ensnare me, you need to be ready to listen.

And you’ll probably make an appearance here, too.  You’ve been warned.

Okay.  I think that covers it.  Oh, one more thing.  After tomorrow’s post, I believe there is going to be a 2+ week break.  I have no idea how this job will affect my energy to blog, but I will let you know as soon as I do.  I have recently added a new email account to the blog though: pete@mugwumpmen.com.  Use it if you want.  I may even answer.  Have a good one.

 

Another Break

I’m standing on the precipice of glorious life changes.  I need this week’s spare time to prepare for them and to complete commitments which are causing them.  See you next week.

Error In Yesterday’s Captain’s Log

Yesterday’s post, “White Hot Flame”, contained a copy of a back-and-forth between a fellow student and myself.  The trouble, however, is that there was a typo.  Where I wrote “Hey S-“, it should’ve simply read, “To Anyone Who Feels Like Reading At The Moment:”

Now, you might be wondering, “What’s the difference?”  Well, I’m exceedingly happy to share the answer, the difference, with you here.  

If I wrote that post to “S-“, who, like you and I, is a real live person struggling to find her way in this crazy, crazy world, it would have been an attack on her character.  It would’ve have been an immature, undignified, and disrespectful personal attack.  And I don’t do that.  At least, I don’t do that to strangers.  For someone to get me to deliberately and proudly sacrifice my character in an effort to attack theirs, well, that requires a special bond.  To be specific, that requires the bond that only family can form.    

But if the post was written “To Anyone Who Feels Like Reading At The Moment”, then it reveals itself for what it really was.  It was a rant.  And I’m allowed a rant.  

See the difference?

So, a stranger wrote something that pissed me off, and I had a lot I wanted to say about it.  Because I write a lot these days–because it was late and I didn’t have anyone to talk with about it–I wrote (typed up) what I had to say, and was quite pleased with how it turned out.  So pleased in fact, that I wanted people to read it.  I wrote something, and I wanted people to read it.  At this point, no error has been committed–no attack.  Posting what I wrote to the class discussion board, with S- as the addressee, is the mistake.  That’s the moment my words transformed from “rant” to “attack”.  I see that now.

Some of you who don’t know me personally might think this is all bullshit.  That I’m backpedaling.  You’d be mistaken.  Just ask the people that do know me.  To a man, they’ll confirm that my one true goal in life is to get you to love me as much as I love me.  They’ll confirm that for a while I nurtured the goal by hoping that my smile would be enough to do the trick.  When that didn’t work, I focused on my body.  When that failed, I tried my voice.  That I write to you now illustrates that while I’m 0-3 in my quest, I am not giving up.  

Did I want S- to read my post?   Yes.  Because at least then I knew I had one reader.  Did I want to attack S-?  No.

So here I am, again writing.  I’m exploring the feeling of remorse.  Some of you might recognize these words as an apology.  I can buy that.  But for me, there is something more going on here.  For me, this was a breakthrough.  For me, this was growth.

Thanks Ma.

And thank You.

The only way to get there is together.