I’m working for the staffing service TMM and I get paid ten dollars an hour.   After taxes, gas and groceries I’m barely living above the poverty line.  I put my entire life and career on hold to be here, to make a difference, and all I have to show for my hard work is one quart of contained oil, a dead seagull, a sore back and a red neck.   The interesting part is that I want to be here.   The joyous experiences of the coast have kept me from New York, from Chicago, from London.  And now this paradise has suffered and the hands of men, myself (a petroleum user) included.  So I let go of family, friends, sex, money, and air conditioning to lend a hand.  I’m not sure how much longer I can keep this up.  My housing conditions are deplorable not to mention inconvenient.  I’m not getting sufficient sleep to do my job effectively or safely.  All attempts to contact the contractor and sub-contractor have been futile for the past week.  So I’m feeling more than taken advantage of.  I guess this is what I get for trying.

on a side note  I really don’t have time for this either.

I was even in West Side

I’m not going to legitmately be able to keep this blog going.  I got 3 hrs of sleep last night and put in 12 hrs today.  In an emergency response there isn’t time to do anything. I’ll be lucky if I can get adequate rest and food, let alone keep a precise and relevant blog.  Which is a shame, because before this, I had the time, yet nothing to say.  It’s been a strange strange strange and surreal week. For the past ten years I’ve been sitting behind a computer and in the past few days I’ve been reminded of how demanding manual labor is.  I’m now doing the same job I had when I was 18 (and not for much more pay).

I saw the photos today on npr and I’m really beside myself.  Because of the boat problems, I’ve yet to see the gulf.  Mostly I’ve just been busting my ass helping folks at the dock.  Which is interesting to say the least.  Working with creative ad-agency types is a world away from roughneck and oil riggers.  I’ve never been afraid to get my hands dirty.  I fix my own vehicle, I rebuild lawnmowers, I build furniture, etc.  But I’m pretty sure I’m the only guy in the Staging Area that’s performed ballet on stage, read David Sedaris, and voted for Obama.

Boat motor out, problems with hydrolics, stuck in the mud, tow boat damaged, rain,  etc