You didn't know that at some point, I started drinking lots of alcohol, smoking cigarettes (mostly), and chewing tobacco.
You didn't know that part of the reason I was coming back to Utah was to get away from that lifestyle.
If you knew that, you probably didn't know that another reason I came home was to try to fix things with a certain girl, and that 6 days before I got home, that girl got engaged.
In the last three months, I've been able to get back to the right path. It's been rough at times, but it's been great.
It hasn't been easy to let go of some things from the past, but I've done it. Old friends and new friends have been a great help and support during the transition. Honestly, the buzz from a Marlboro Red might be something that will always haunt me from time to time.
You probably didn't know that I have a girlfriend now. She's pretty amazing. If you don't already know her, well, I'm not going to introduce her here. She's been an inspiration and a great motivation to get me right with God. I appreciate that immensely.
I'm glad I came home. It was important that I did so. I'm glad that my reasons got me here, even though not everything panned out as planned. I appreciate what got me here, even if it hurt like hell. Decisions were made, and we all have to live with the consequences, good or bad. Isn't that what life is about? Being responsible for your own future, your own choices?
I choose to be happy. I choose let the past stay in the past, and look forward to a bright and wonderful future.
I apologize to anyone and everyone that I may have, at some point, hurt or offended. It's not in my nature to want to hurt anyone. This was never my intention.
I'm a chemical guy now. I pump chemicals into oil wells to make them produce more oil, and to protect the equipment and personnel in the field from deadly gasses. Well, the field techs do all this. I mostly manage the field techs, our equipment, and represent our company in the the corporate offices of our customers.
From time to time, I still get to put my boots on and take huge chemical containers to the field, pump them into wherever people need them, be it a holding tank or a drilling rig mud pit.
It will take time to recover from the wild party/miserable mess/amazing experience/good time that was North Dakota. But now, I'm back in Utah, and things are and will ever be totally different. The only constant, really, is that I'm still in the oilfield.
I think we all expected this.
I'll be writing again soon. I promise.
The Oilfield Romantic
