Another lockdown… another commute
Well, I couldn’t call it another ‘post lockdown’ work commute because a year later we’re now in a strict lockdown in Korat with curfew, the lot... nothing 'post' about it. Who’d have thought things would get so much worse. Makes you wonder what things will be like a year from now.
I wasn’t planning on doing another ‘work commute’ tread but have changed my mind. There may be some useful tips from my experiences of international travel during this awful pandemic, but I doubt it. The main reason I’m doing it again is that last time the thread seemed to generate some interest but mainly because it helped to keep me sane as quite simply, I enjoyed doing it. Life as a contractor away from home presents a lot of time to fill and what better way to keep yourself occupied than by writing a load of crap when you’re off shift.
Around this time last year I left home once the Thai borders were opened, after spending the entire year in Korat, for a six week offshore trip in northern Norway. I eventually returned home in January this year after working for 6 months straight offshore Norway followed by onshore in Gothenburg, Sweden.
How I would love to go back to 4 or 6 week rotations… it keeps the money trickling in and time away is short enough to keep in touch with the family and keep the daughter on the right track but not too long home to allow the missus to drive me mad. But that is just not feasible with quarantine restrictions and the difficulty of travel under Covid. These long trips are not fair on my daughter and to be honest they’re not fair on me… but Covid has turned this work upside down.
So, this year’s commute is starting the same way as last year’s… I fly out from Bangkok on Monday night with the eventual destination of Kristiansund, on the west coast of northern Norway and not to be confused with the much milder Kristiansand on the south coast. My work itinerary starts with a 4 week trip offshore, followed by around 10 days off when I hope to pop back to the UK, visit my mum and also get my first Pfizer jab. After that there is around 8 weeks work in the Black Sea which will probably mean a mobilisation in Turkey, or maybe Malta, or maybe Gibraltar. We shall see… and all subject to change of course.
The current plan is to be back home in December and I’ve promised my daughter I’ll be back for Christmas… but that was maybe a bit rash and not a clever thing to do.
I did have 3 to 4 months office work lined up in Haugesund, Norway which was a cushy number... interesting, easy office work and well paid… but Brexit and the impossibility of getting a work permit in time for onshore work in Norway put paid to that… after 30 years of hassle free Norwegian work. Thanks Boris you lying fucking wanker… how was Brexit for you?
But I don’t want to be labelled a ‘remoaner’ so I’ll leave that topic be… but it pisses me off immensely to have to look for new sources of work in my 50s. I hope that all those retiree Brexit voters weren’t hypocritical enough to make full use of open borders and unrestricted access to European work during their working years.
Anyway, where was I… yes, so I hope to get back home to my daughter, the dogs and chickens… oh, and my darling wife by-mid December. I believe that the Thai PM promised Covid would be over in the next week or so and that the need for quarantine will end in October… so what can possibly go wrong.
The last few days have been unsettling as it’s not a nice feeling to leave the family for months on end, with no definite end date to look forward to. I guess this is the flip side of the indescribable feeling of returning home after six months away I had back in January. But I need to go and not only for the finances… my alcohol intake has risen sharply the last few weeks and this will break the cycle. I need to get stimulated. Many years ago if I had six months off work I would maybe spend it on a tropical island or travel around some new exciting places… but what will I say when people ask me what I’ve done since January? I’ll say that I built a silly jetty and cleaned out my bladdy garden pond… that’s what I’ll say.
Oh, and I also lost 12 – 8 in the Monopoly series against my daughter… but I did manage to lose a fair bit of weight… and then put it all back on again. Apart from my left big toe of course… that remains a bit lighter.
So last night was my last night and I spent it with the gang.
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Dan always gets special attention because at nearly 15 I never know if I'll be seeing her again when I go away on a long trip.
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Earlier I'd said my goodbyes to Anna and Vigo... Vigo has lost a lot of weight and I worry I'll never see him again. He's onbiously sick... I've got him on anti-biotics but have run out of time to sort anything out.
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It was a nice evening and I didn't even mind that Maya and Coco were still determined to ruin my 'reed bed'. These things don't matter once you're leaving and have no control.
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But as nice as it was... I was in a reflective mood and my mind was elsewhere. Once you're leaving you just need to get going. The transition period is awful.
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But I couldn't help noticing that wherever I was, Dan followed me about and wouldn't leave my right big toe nail alone.
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Eventually we went in so I could finish up my final dinner of spare ribs with potato salad and sweetcorn... but Dan was right there with me... licking that toe.
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We sat down to eat our final meal together for quite a few weeks...
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... I looked down and there was Maya... licking my right big toe. Something is going on here and I'm getting worried. I thought it was getting better... I don't need this on the eve of travel for many weeks offshore.
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