Day 61 - Price of Tom

Ok picture this….. I closed the curtains on the window next to my side of the bed tonight, the window still slightly open & a nice breeze coming in. Ness said “Aren’t you going to shut the window?” I said “No it is nice & cool” she then said “It was freezing last night” I said “Well do you want me to close it?” she said “No keep it open if you want it open”….. I mean wasn’t that what I was doing in the first place? I won’t even honour this with a comment from me!!

That is 30 seconds of my life and a useless passage of conversation that we will never get back!

I worked today for 1 hour. It was a return to work meeting for a mine site, so these guys & girls have just come back from R&R and most of them really did not want to be there. Especially when they were told that it was a SAFETY meeting! I mean safety is boring, it is just something the boss does to cover his arse when something goes wrong!

So my challenge is to make it interesting, I try to do it by keeping it real, I make sure that people know I am NOT a safety person. I am just a worker who got hurt & was lucky enough to get on with the rest of my life.

I enjoy the challenge of getting a bunch of guys & sometimes girls who sit there with their legs crossed, arms folded & sunglasses on to “Open up” and listen to what I have to say. And most times it works. Once people realise that I am not telling them what to do, I’m just sharing my story in the hope that it will give them some information on what it is like to get hurt at work. Some people will take it on board, others won’t!

Annie has a real personality now, I mean if I’m honest she was pretty boring for the first 5 months of her life, she just ate, slept & defecated (That means Pooing Brad A) but now she has turned into her own little person. And she is unbelievable!!! She has worked out how to get what she wants, she can tell us what she needs or how she is feeling just by her actions & her expressions. Sure we are working out how to read her better too, but it is awesome just seeing her grow each day, week & month. I’m going to really struggle when I have to fly away for work next year!

Reader’s replies

Hey Kirstin, we did not get your other blog? But thanks for typing this one and filling us in on Edward’s party…. Tell Edward to make sure he let’s Jacks pig out…. If for nothing else but to think of you all chasing after it!

Meredith… Hmmmm let me think of something that you can use to show other people how smart you are??...... Ok I couldn’t think of anything!....

And Brad A, Mate if you insist on buying cheap $29 mobile phones then I refuse to answer your calls. Today it sounded like we were talking in a cave! Get yourself a decent phone you tight arse!

Annie’s Blog

Edward told me all about his party, Wow Edward what is it like to be One? I can’t wait till I’m One! I’ll be so grown up then. Hey tell your Mum she is a squooshy! I mean how hard is it to type those funny letters in to send a message! Now don’t be rude Annie!

I’m getting a bit tired of this place, I mean Dad goes to work but me & Mum just stay here and do the same thing. Washing, Cleaning the box on wheels, walk around the park. There are lots of people that talk to me but they only stay a few days and then go somewhere else. I hope we go somewhere else soon. My Mum is going a bit stir crazy too….. At least Dad gets to see different places. Ok I better not complain too much…. At least I am having lots of fun with Mum & Dad.

On Friday Dad has promised to take me & Mum to this Jini place, he said it is beautiful and there are some pretty flowers and things to see. I just hope there is somewhere that I can crawl without red dirt…..I’m so over the redness!

See ya all later

AnnieInAVan….XXXX

Day 60 – Still Pilbaraing!

Ok so how many of you have been over this way? How much do you know about the area? I always try to understand a little about where we go, it makes you appreciate where you are a little more (if that makes sense).

So I have been doing a bit of investigation into the area. Now with all due respect to the traditional owners of the country I will start from when white men came here, because there is just too much aboriginal history for me to know or even start to write about…… Oh and don’t think this is a history lesson, it’s just a few things I was interested in.

The first thing that brought settlers here was farming, imagine how they felt in later years when they realised what was just below their cows feet!

The first explorer to come up here was a bloke called Francis T Gregory in 1861? How many of you have heard of him? My Gunnedah High School history teacher never mentioned him!

Then the pastoralists moved in…. For Brad Atkins benefit, a pastoralist is a farmer mate! Firstly with sheep, then cattle. But there were no roads & very little supplies so it was a tough life, basically they were just “Surviving”.

Some pastoralists (Farmers Brad) couldn’t make it just on Pastoralism (Farming Brad) so they started collecting pearl shells & this led to the pearling industry starting in Cossack, but eventually moving up to Broome.

Things got a bit easier with the establishment of Port Hedland, as regular supplies could be delivered from Perth.

Gold was discovered in the Pilbara by my mate Francis T Gregory…. Now hang on a second, in a previous blog I wrote that Paddy Hannan & his two mates (What were their names again?) discovered gold in WA? Am I missing something here?

There were a couple of 4 year droughts in the early 1900’s…. I can’t imagine it being drier that it already is!

Whaling was also a big industry up here until 1963 when it was banned.

I said I wasn’t going to mention aboriginal history….. But it is worth knowing that some tribes just “Disappeared” after white settlement in the Pilbara, and as aboriginal history is mainly passed down through generations by telling stories…. It is hard to know what really happened to these people.

Asbestos mining started in 1943….and we all know where that ended up! Thanks Mr Hardie!!!

Iron ore then started in the 60’s by my other mate Thomas Price….and he died before he could see the industry really get up & running.

Also in the 1960’s we tried to integrate the aboriginal kids into schools, the kids (White and indigenous) were all for it, and the aboriginal parents were too. Pity the white adults didn’t agree with it so they were fighting a losing battle (not much has changed really)

And then we get to today’s mining “Boom” and along with that we have tourism & now LNG(Liquid Natural Gas) projects popping up everywhere. If any of you want to make money….get up here now! But at what cost? To your family & to the planet? I honestly think my husband is becoming a greenie!  You only hear half of the stuff he rabbits on about…   Not that I am complaining, I think it is great, just didn’t expect it from him.

Reader’s Comments & messages

Happy birthday to Sonya B, hope it is warming up in Shepparton Sonya? Have a great day & year ahead. Happy B’day Boad’s. Vx

Heather has a Japanese exchange student staying for a week…. Now that is a reality TV show that I would watch. Can you imagine the stories she will take back to Japan with her?

Annie’s Blog

Today was a fun day. Mum & Dad & me all stayed home for most of the day, I mean I had to go out with Mum in the morning to get some salad, and then again in the afternoon to go to the computer shop….but apart from that we stayed home. Dad read his car books and did some phone calls to his work peoples. Mum did some cooking & some computer work to her work peoples. I wonder if they are the same work peoples?

Nobody has sent me a message for a while…..I hope all my friends are ok. Speak to you another night.

Hope my friend Edward had a great birthday party on the weekend...he was one!

Best hugs to all of you

AnnieInAVan…..XXXXXXX

Day 59 – Ho Hum Tom Price again

Been here a bit too long I think. Ness, Annie & me are getting itchy feet & wheels! Need to go elsewhere. I mean today we got excited when we decided to go to Coles for shopping. Ness can only walk around the caravan park so many times! And Annie has spent more time here than anywhere else in her life! Oh by the way she was 10 months old yesterday! Yay Annie! We leave here on the 3^rd of August so we still have a week and a bit to go.

I have only got two days work this week so we have decided to go to Karijini National Park for a look around this weekend. We will take heaps of pics for you.

Reader’s replies & messages

Norm & Marg sent a message, they watched the finish of the Tour De France live from the Champs Elysee….Lucky buggers!

Bec from Ness’s mothers group had a birthday today….Happy Birthday Bec! Hope you are feeling better Bec, Happy Birthday from Ness & Annie xo

And Issy R is a big girl today, Happy Birthday Issy, we hope to see you before Christmas XXX Annie can’t wait to see you Issy…hopefully very soon.

Annie’s Blog

Woke up, Got dressed, Had brekky, played outside, had a morning sleep, got up, had lunch, went in the car with Mum & Dad to the same shop AGAIN!, went home, had a nap, played outside AGAIN, had a bath, had dinner, played on the bed with Mum, Read some books, Watched in the night garden, Had some boob, went to sleep! Man this is getting so routine I don’t know how I’ll cope when we move from here.

Nighty Night

AnnieInAVan….XXXX

Day 58 – back at Tommy Price’s Place

So glad to be home, my wife & daughter were waiting for me & I get to sleep in my own bed tonight!

I can’t write much tonight as I have been up since 3am this morning and am falling asleep at my computer. But I have the next couple of days off & will make up for it.

I hope you are all having a good weekend.

Reader’s comments

Egg said hello from London….Hey Egg, the home of Land Rovers? That’s why you went there isn’t it? So you could just sit there & watch all the Disco’s go past! Hey I have to ask though….Who’s idea was it to go to London during the busiest time this century? Doesn’t sound smart to me? Couldn’t you get Bonnie’s parents on a plane to Oz? I’m sure there will be plenty leaving London half empty?

Happy Birthday to my nephew Brendan…I owe you a punch in the head, Boofhead!

Annie’s Blog

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Love from

AnnieInAVan

Day 57 – Solomon Mine Rail Spur Day 2/TPTP

Wow I have had an awesome day…. You know when you see something that you have never seen before? Well I had one of those days today.

Ok yesterday I explained a little about where I am working until tomorrow. But I hadn’t really thought about it until I had a look around today. Have you ever been driving along the road & noticed a railway line running alongside it? Have you ever wondered how it got there?

Today I saw the birth of a railway line! Something that will possibly be here for tens or hundreds of years  and the terrain it has to go through is amazing, rocky outcrops, stone hills & sunken valleys! Keeping in mind that a rail line is fairly flat. So you have a boy’s (& some girls) Paradise! There are explosions, there are drilling rigs, there are dozers and excavators, there are big trucks & bigger trucks. Today I was on site when they had a controlled blast. They drill 60-100 holes roughly 6 inches in diameter, then they fill them up with explosives, throw in detonators  join them all together & connect it to a power source & then push the button & KABOOOOOM!!! The sound is only overshadowed by the shaking of the ground and the rattle of the building that I am looking out of! It was Sick!

The purpose of the blast is to loosen the ground so the diggers and dozers can scoop & push the dirt into trucks. The trucks then redistribute the dirt, they don’t take it & dump it… The valleys get filled & the hills get blasted….so it all ends up flat for the train. They build bridges & fill watercourses to go over really deep drops & they just blow a path through hills. Oh and yesterday I talked about costs! You have no idea. How’s this…. On Thursday one of the truck drivers went to the paramedics office complaining of dizziness & not feeling right. They put all the machines on him and it was determined that he was ok, all his vital signs were fine. He went back to his room & the next day he was still not right. So they decided to fly him to Pt Hedland & then down to Perth via the Royal Flying Dr Service. Now they have a system in place here where once it has been decided that someone needs to be flown off site for medical reasons they have to have a constant escort! So one of the safety advisors had to stay with this person until they arrive at hospital! And did you know that the cost to get a helicopter or plane in to fly someone out is $35,000 and they have had to do it 8 times this year so far! And the mine pays for it not the patient! I was speaking with a manager and the budget for this sort of thing, they usually allow $1,000,000 a year for bringing the RFDS in!!!

Ok enough waffling, but it was really quite an interesting day for me.

My day consisted of 4 loads of washing, changed the sheets on the bed, mopped the floors, walks around the caravan park and Annie and I played with the galah’s.  Annie had a bath and entertained the passer-by’s in the park and decided for the 2^nd day in a row not to have an afternoon sleep….suffice to say she was asleep at 6.30pm.

Reader’s replies & comments

Only one last night, Annie’s friend Archie said hello. Thanks Archie, great to hear from you.

Rob & Juan have returned home from their world adventure. Great to have you back R&J will see you when we get back.

Annie’s Blog

Oh man I got the bestest and newest trick….. I can stand up in my cot!!! For this whole trip my Mum & Dad have been really happy that I have not tried to stand while I’m in my cot…. But today I found a way to do it and I freaked Mum out. She rang Dad and told him that I was standing in my cot. Now it is safe because it can’t fall over… It is attached to the wall with these special straps that Dad got made. I think Mum is hoping that I will forget how to do it….. Fat chance!!!

Mum & me watched lots of people leave the caravan park today, Dad told Mum that it is probably because school holidays end this weekend and everyone is going home.

I’ll be so glad when Dad gets home tomorrow, he will make stupid noises and funny faces for me, Mum does too but she is more serious, she spends lots of time talking to me & reading me books and playing with me….But Dad just makes weird faces and tries to make me laugh….. He doesn’t know but I just laugh at how silly he is!

Hey Archie….Great to hear from you too. I’m so glad that all my friends have the same problem with the NO word. I reckon we all get together one day and do stuff that makes all of our Mums & Dad’s say NO NO NO NO….. Hahahaha that wIll be fun.

Mum said that Rob & Juan came back to Australia…. I mean why would they leave Australia? I’ve been here for 10 months and I love this country….I mean what else could be out there in the world? I guess I’ll find out one day.

Love & miss you all

AnnieInAVan….XXXXX