Greetings from a distinctly summery Bayou City. Although it is still arguably "spring", the crape myrtles are blooming, the 101st edition of the Indianapolis 500 has come and gone, and we have an actual Triple Crown contender going to the Belmont Stakes the weekend after next. Sure signs that it's time to move this issue into print.
It being a new year, we have made a few changes. First, to acknowledge that more and more of our readers hail from the Transocean side of the yard, we have rebranded the blog to include their stories. Note that we will continue to use our blog address, gsfalumni.blogspot.com, and our email address will continue to be gsfalumni@gmail.com. This is partly because we are set in our ways, but technology being what it is some things are simply too interrelated to change in any case. Second, we have added a PayPal tool to the blog sidebar to facilitate the rendering of lucre to the Alumni for upcoming events or to accept donations to fund our activities. More on that below.
It being a new year, we have made a few changes. First, to acknowledge that more and more of our readers hail from the Transocean side of the yard, we have rebranded the blog to include their stories. Note that we will continue to use our blog address, gsfalumni.blogspot.com, and our email address will continue to be gsfalumni@gmail.com. This is partly because we are set in our ways, but technology being what it is some things are simply too interrelated to change in any case. Second, we have added a PayPal tool to the blog sidebar to facilitate the rendering of lucre to the Alumni for upcoming events or to accept donations to fund our activities. More on that below.
This spring has been surprisingly quiet for the Alumni, which is a blessing in view of what we had to report in the recent past. Our Necrology section is, for once, absent. Nonetheless there were events of interest.
Ruminations
We have never ceased to be astonished by the willingness of our political class to pummel the population into near insensibility during an election year. At least in these United States we do have a more or less fixed election cycle, whereas in many other nations elections occur with the rise and fall of popular opinion, economic circumstance or in some cases outright rebellion. So we know what's coming and when it's coming, which is supposedly a good thing. The obverse of this argument is that the politicians have plenty of time to inflict what is for the most part a plague of self-promotion and misinformation upon us.
And to what end? Whom and what exactly is coming? The dumbing down of the political class from the best and brightest to the merely willing and occasionally power-mad is not very inspiring. All they seem to want is our money, and more of it. I am not very sanguine as to the outcome of this electoral season, particularly as nothing seems to be going very well nor is it likely to in the near future.
It all makes me pine for a truly Rooseveltian moment, as in Theodore. To find someone who will leap onto his desk, pound his chest and do something about it. Is that too much to ask?
I'll admit that as I've gotten older I find that I have become crankier, and my recent near encounter with the reaper - which was supposed to put me in a tranquil and accepting mood towards life's little vicissitudes - has not lessened the tendency. Therein lies the magic of age: I really am turning into my father. I'm not looking forward to the great bushy eyebrows. Or getting to exclaim for no particular reason, "Those idiots are ruining the country!". But at least I have better golf clubs.
On a positive note, it warmed my heart to see the SpaceX orbital freighter successfully launched and docked with the International Space Station. Now there's a step forward that people in our industry can relate to. Private enterprise at work in a new frontier. It was not so long ago, really, that our forebearers came up with the idea of hanging a drilling rig off the side of a war-surplus landing ship to see what would happen...
The FaceBook IPO caught my attention as well, although strictly as an observer. I mean, I like FB but this was like one of those old movies where Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland chorus, "Let's put on a play!". Right now I'm busy enough learning to communicate with Siri on my IPhone. I just love Siri. The last time I asked her for directions she said, "Go to Canada before it's too late." Smart girl.
The mockingbird which permanently resides on my patio rail is reminding me to move things along, so without further ado...
Nostalgia (The March of Time)
Some of you may have noted our Facebook traffic (see FB Seahorse Stampede) regarding the former GlobalSantaFe headquarters building, which is going under the wrecking ball to make way for a new office development. Too bad. There are a lot of memories in that place. Kyna Agerton penned a lovely tribute which follows.
And to what end? Whom and what exactly is coming? The dumbing down of the political class from the best and brightest to the merely willing and occasionally power-mad is not very inspiring. All they seem to want is our money, and more of it. I am not very sanguine as to the outcome of this electoral season, particularly as nothing seems to be going very well nor is it likely to in the near future.
It all makes me pine for a truly Rooseveltian moment, as in Theodore. To find someone who will leap onto his desk, pound his chest and do something about it. Is that too much to ask?
I'll admit that as I've gotten older I find that I have become crankier, and my recent near encounter with the reaper - which was supposed to put me in a tranquil and accepting mood towards life's little vicissitudes - has not lessened the tendency. Therein lies the magic of age: I really am turning into my father. I'm not looking forward to the great bushy eyebrows. Or getting to exclaim for no particular reason, "Those idiots are ruining the country!". But at least I have better golf clubs.
On a positive note, it warmed my heart to see the SpaceX orbital freighter successfully launched and docked with the International Space Station. Now there's a step forward that people in our industry can relate to. Private enterprise at work in a new frontier. It was not so long ago, really, that our forebearers came up with the idea of hanging a drilling rig off the side of a war-surplus landing ship to see what would happen...
The FaceBook IPO caught my attention as well, although strictly as an observer. I mean, I like FB but this was like one of those old movies where Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland chorus, "Let's put on a play!". Right now I'm busy enough learning to communicate with Siri on my IPhone. I just love Siri. The last time I asked her for directions she said, "Go to Canada before it's too late." Smart girl.
The mockingbird which permanently resides on my patio rail is reminding me to move things along, so without further ado...
Nostalgia (The March of Time)
Some of you may have noted our Facebook traffic (see FB Seahorse Stampede) regarding the former GlobalSantaFe headquarters building, which is going under the wrecking ball to make way for a new office development. Too bad. There are a lot of memories in that place. Kyna Agerton penned a lovely tribute which follows.
"The GSF Building is coming down. For me, it feels like a death all over again…same feeling when GSF ceased to exist. As an employee of Global Marine and GlobalSantaFe, I couldn’t wait to get to work because I loved both companies so much. But I especially loved the years at the GSF Building. Not everyone loved the building like I did, and I could never understand that. Maybe it is because I created my own world of decorations, and breaks were always spent outside with the animals, but I seemed to always see smiling faces. I worked hard at my job, as did we all, but everyday no matter what, I felt like I was going to a party. The building just felt magical to me, but maybe it was magical because of all the people…the employees, clients and vendors that made it feel that way. Thanks to the hard work of Doug Stegall and Doug Freede, they miraculously turned the inside gloom of the building into a bright and cheerful place…at least for me."
"I have fond memories of the Thanksgiving Luncheon and the surprise Christmas Breakfast, and chatting daily in line at Starbucks or in the Cafeteria. And what fun it was to hear the neighborhood elementary school sing Christmas Carols in the lunch area. I loved playing music to coincide with whatever holiday was being celebrated or whatever I was decorating for, and western videos were fun when I decorated for Rodeo. No one ever sat and watched the videos, but as they passed my area to and from the cafeteria, it was fun to hear comments like, “Wow, I haven’t seen that one in a long time”, or “that was always one of my favorites”. Every Christmas, I’d have to get Santa Claus out of his box. He’s a 5 foot Santa (taller than me), but in his box he’s only about 3 foot high. It was a ritual every year that Doug Freede would help me set Santa up, and of course box him up for another year, but setting him up was the most fun. We never failed to laugh when Doug would push down on Santa’s shoulders, and give a little twist…Santa would pop up, and out would roll Santa’s head across the floor…just such a funny sight! Outside was busy too. Who could forget the vultures sitting outside the Legal Department? And we were always catching an injured duck, turtle, or bird, or rescuing an orphaned baby squirrel, or a opossum stuck on a ledge in the parking garage. Of course I wasn’t the only one involved in these rescues… had to call on the building engineers for a lot of help. I’m not exactly sure how they felt about it, but they always helped me with a smile..."...And a Shameful Ending
Kyna continues,
"Not only is the building being leveled, but there is a plan to fill in Lake Thicket as well. While Phil Richardson, a resident of Memorial Thicket, is trying to save the lake, I am trying to save the animals in the lake. He has met with the President of Skanska, and that same President has received a letter from me requesting that I be given a chance to save the occupants of the lake. I sincerely hope the lake is saved, but if not, the next best thing is to save the fish and turtles and of course the ducks. A fence has been erected around the building and a separate fence around the lake. Many of the ducks have been fenced in and cannot fly to the street where they are used to receiving their food, so I have a little trek across the lawn in the mornings now."
Deepwater Horizon Memorial Unveiled
It's hard to believe that it is already two years since that pride of Transocean and eleven brave shipmates slipped beneath the waves, and the drama, tragedy and contentious misfortune which ensued. To mark the occasion and in remembrance, a memorial was unveiled which we feel is quite fitting. The sculpture was created by Christopher Schultz and stands near Transocean's headquarters.
We enclose the link to Trace Adkin's moving tribute,
Missing You.
Video provided by Fletcher Rowley
2nd Annual Alumni Reunion
Our first reunion was such a rousing success that we took immediate steps to arrange the next. Stalwarts Kyna Agerton, Mary Brashear, Patrice Domingue, Connie Abbs and others are the organizers. The Stampede will occur on October 26, 2012 from 6:30 to 10:30PM at Dave & Busters, 7620 Katy Freeway Houston, Texas 77024.
Having learned from experience, we're pre-registering guests for this event in order to obtain the funds to reserve our room and to cover expenses. Please do feel free to bring spouses, significant others, or anyone else who would like to see oilfield trash in their natural habitat. The fee this year will be $35.00 USD per attendee, which will buy you a seat and dinner. The bar will be cash only.
Mary Brashear has kindly volunteered to be the Treasurer for this event, and has done such a good job of it so far that we have made her Alumni Treasurer for Life. Payment can be made by the PayPal link that appears in the side bar of the blog or by check directly to:
GSF/Global Marine Reunion
c/o Mary Brashear
18006 Autumn Hills Drive
Katy, Texas 77449
There is an actual registration form which you can obtain by mailing Mary at the address above or by submitting mail to gsfalumni@gmail.com with the title "Stampede 2012". PLEASE DO REGISTER EARLY.
Should you feel the urge, we've also provided for donations to the Alumni to fund our continuing operations - we don't need much, but network, materials and related costs do add up. Your generosity will be much appreciated.
The Business of the Tribe
Pharr Smith has joined Rowan as SVP Operations Support at Rowan. John Cobbs is also working for Rowan as a new construction Project Administrator in South Korea. To complete the trifecta, Jay Stiles is working in the Upgrade Projects Group at Rowan. For those of you who have not noted, things are definitely on the boil at the Williams Tower... a regular Alumni village.
Adrian Gray has surfaced in Singapore working for Aban Offshore. Kristina McGrath and Kelly Millsap have departed Lyondell Basell. We're not sure of Kristina's current pursuits but Kelly has landed at Nalco. Susan Green is working for Condon Claims Management. Mary Brashear is working for John Moore Services.
Transocean has promoted James Stegall to Rig Manager. God help them.
Speaking of new construction, Brian and Whitney Townsend have not only completed their new home in Houston but are expecting. One would have thought that these activities would be mutually exclusive, but...
Gregg Burt has been located in Austin, Texas, where he lives a few blocks from Buddy and Linda King.
On the retiree front, Bruce Watson now calls Granite Shoals, Texas home. Connie and Jim Abbs are now firmly settled in the Great White North in Trego, Wisconsin. One of our all time favorites, Bruce Kerr of Brisbane, Australia is pending retirement for oh, say, the twentieth time. We'll see if he actually goes for it this time.
We have confirmed that Neil Patience continues his long standing addiction to golf on company time and football on his own time.
Keith Watts let us know that he has copies of the Global Marine News going back to 1974 (which incidentally was the year in which yours truly joined up) and thus joins Colin Murphy, Milton Bade, Dan Hansen and other notables as keepers of the Global Marine relics. We would love to get a more consistent idea as to who has troves of information of this type... do let us know.
All of these folks and more can be found in the latest update of the Alumni Directory, which you can access from the sidebar of this blog. Keep up with the latest peregrinations of the Alumni on Facebook at Seahorse Stampede.
Missing Persons: several of the Alumni have dropped off the radar and we are desirous of finding them if they wish to be found. In no particular order, Myra Pickett, Dave Webb, Brooke Wooton, Clay Coan, Bob McKechnie, Jeff Ivory, Jeff Todish, Trevor Howard, Randy Sivils, Richard Greff, and Larry Sparks. Most of these we find by dropped emails, and we hope that they are well. You can either let them know that we are looking for them or turn them in - we won't tell.
One Last Thing
In spite of the trying times there seems to be much good amongst us and much good in our lives for which we should all be grateful. The politicians will in due course go away and (here we are being really hopeful) the economy will recover. It's all a matter of time, and being wise by necessity of our trade we know that all tides turn. For those of you who are in travail, remember that you are not alone.
Our best wishes to all of you. Your faithful Blogmaster and helpers.
