Tuesday, April 17, 2012

tuesdays in turkmenistan: did i tell you this before?

I see many very different people in many very different contexts who know vastly different things about me and have vastly different relationships with me. Perhaps it's two primarily different contexts or sort of three. Nonetheless, the moderate uniqueness of what I do relative to where I am from leads to many questions back home about my job and work and industry. I have a set of spiels of most of the common topics. What I do (which is my worst commonly used spiel), what SLB does, how a well gets drilled, why we do certain things to certain wells, what Turkmenistan is like, etc. Correspondingly, my own life and pre-Turkmenistan set of locations is relatively unique here so I also field a lot of questions about what California is like, where else I worked, what did I do on my days off, where should I visit in the U.S., etc. Again, the common questions get a stock sort of spiel. As a sort of side note, I evidently have a reputation at work for talking a lot during lunch and dinner, though not with my mouth full. I also laugh a lot during most meals. A lot a lot. ALOT? The reason being that outside of the specific confines of the office, I consider the canteen (and rec room) to be a sort of free zone where I will discuss all manner of subjects. It often takes an absurdist turn and I routinely say, "Within these walls, it's a free country" and then go back to being pleasantly absurd.

The result is that I see many people and answer many questions and I end up feeling like I am repeating myself. That's probably because I am repeating myself. The same spiels over and over with perhaps some variety thrown in, but the core information does not change. That's fine and all, but I lose track of which anecdote I have told to which person. Have I told this specific person this specific story/insight/absolute truth? For sure I've spoken with that person before and for sure I've told that story before, but in combination together? This is where it gets hazy. Did I tell you this before?

If you ever find me to be repeating the same story, it's OK to just stop me. I'm not keeping a list of all the different people I know and all the knowledge I have attempted to impart upon them. That would be silly since that's obviously the Easter Bunny's job.

2 comments:

danica said...

You have not told this one: racing champion

Brian said...

That's excellent. Good to see the Arkadag keeping people safe from the heights of the winner's podium.