The Greatest of These is Love.

With March Madness, the opening of baseball season, the explosion of people caring about Prop 8, and working offshore, it's pretty easy to forget that Easter is this coming Sunday. During the winter holidays, families gather, you exchange gifts, eat grand meals, etc. and it's easy to remember how important these things are to you.

There is one main thing that I see that encompasses March Madness, Baseball, the Prop 8 debates, and Easter. That one thing is love. People love their basketball team and those basketball players love the game (Rock Chalk and Go Shockers!!). Then you have baseball. As Billy Beane says in Moneyball, "How can you not be romantic about baseball?" There is a love of the game that any true baseball player/fan cannot forget. Look at all of us that have suffered as Royals fans for so long just to see a BEAUTIFUL Spring Training by our team. You can't stay a fan of teams like the Royals, Pirates, Astros, etc if you don't have a love for your team and the game. Losing streaks are hard to bear, especially when your season is 162 games. Finally, you have the Prop 8 debates. Either side you see love for something. On one side, you see people with such a strong love for their religion and beliefs that they do not want to risk it becoming compromised. On the other side, you see such a strong love for all humans. You see a love for equality. You see people that love their friends, that support their friends that love each other. People that support LOVE.

So as my favorite holiday approaches, and many people forget the true meaning of Easter. Please remember that it's because Jesus died for our sins because he LOVED us then was raised on the third day. Please keep love in your heart. Express your feelings of love towards your family and friends. As 1 Corinthians 13 says: 

If I speak in human and angelic tongues - but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, [love] is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails. If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing. For we know partially and we prophesy partially, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things. At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully as I am fully known. So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

I usually try to avoid talking about politics and religion. I do not like being attacked for my beliefs or the possibility of somebody thinking that I am attacking them for theirs. So as we prepare to celebrate Easter, I am not asking anyone to change their views on gay marriage, March Madness (although Kansas will win it all), or baseball. I am just asking you to love. Please recognize that love is what should be surrounding you all day every day. Please look for and embrace the things you love. I believe that love is far too often overlooked in the world today. I ask you to not overlook love. Look for love that others may be missing. Express your love. Share your love!

Love,

Krystal

Adventures on the Ocean

Hello,

It's been almost 7 months since I last updated y'all on my life. Since then, a lot of things have happened:

• JVC ended
• I road tripped home with my mom, dad, and uncle
• We saw the Great Salt Lake, the Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, Devils Tower, Mt. Rushmore, and some other cool places
• I visited a friend Montana over Labor Day Weekend
• Saw a Michael Franti concert at Big Sky
• I began my job for Geoservices - a Schlumberger company/moved to Houston
• OFS1 (orientation) the week of Sept. 10
• Mud Logging course Sept 17 - Oct 12
• First hitch began Nov. 8 (lasted until Nov. 29)
• My beautiful cousin Rachel got married on Oct 20 to her wonderful husband Jacob, I was lucky enough to be a bridesmaid.
• After my first hitch on the Discoverer Spirit, I was able to make it to Toby's 2nd birthday party and have a small Christmas celebration with my family.
• I started my second hitch on the Discoverer Spirit on December 20 and was sent back to land on December 26.
• I spent New Years Eve in New Orleans with a lot of my good friends from college, including John, Clint, Andy, Jen, Chris Raff, Andrew Kronfol, Nicole, Ferf, and others.
• I returned to the Spirit for my third hitch on January 7 after being on standby in New Orleans for the 5th and 6th. This time we reached Total Depth and I returned to land on January 18.
• I ventured out to a new rig today, the DD1, for my 4th hitch. We should be starting the final section sometime next week, and then I should get to see oil in the samples again. I am not sure when I will return to land.

So that's a brief update of my last 7 months. I have been told that life on the oil rig must be fascinating. I don't find my life that fascinating, but maybe you will.

On my first hitch, I was on the Discoverer Spirit, a drillship in the Green Canyon area of the Gulf of Mexico. I was sent to the rig for 3 weeks. During those three weeks, not too much memorable happened. I do remember walking back from the unit to the accommodations on the first night, feeling like I was on the Titanic and we might hit an iceberg at any moment. Thankfully, we were in the Gulf, so I was able to get that thought out of my mind and get plenty of rest. By the end of my first hitch, I'd made some friends on the Spirit. I was hoping to return.

The Discoverer Spirit can house around 150 people when at full capacity.

My next two hitches were also on the Spirit. I was lucky. I now knew the drill and I knew people on the rig. I started eating meals with more new people and being more social because I was hoping this would be the rig I was assigned to. By the time I left the Spirit after my third hitch, I would say that I have a good amount of friends out there for still being new. I do remember walking back to the unit one cloudy night on my third hitch thinking about how the sky looked like one you see in Harry Potter. Sometimes the smallest things can be magical. When you're offshore, it's often the sky.

Different regions of the Gulf of Mexico. I've worked in the Green Canyon region.

And now we're to my fourth hitch. After the Spirit hit total depth, I needed something to keep me busy during the months between wells. For now, I should be assigned to the Spirit for its next well, but I will be staying engaged and continuing to learn until the next well begins. My 2nd oil rig that I've had the honor of exploring is the DD1. It's much smaller than the Discoverer Spirit, but I've already begun making friends at meals. It may take some getting used to where things are, but I am sure things will go fairly smoothly during this section. The main thing I've heard about the DD1 is that they drill fast, so I'm excited to be put to the challenge.

The DD1 is a semi-submersible rig.

I've been asked many times if I like my job. I definitely do. There are some things I'd like to change (like with any job), but I do enjoy it. I really enjoy working offshore and meeting new people. It's much easier to meet people out here than it is in Houston. I definitely don't mind the work I do offshore. Sometimes it seems way too simple and other times I feel like I can't do anything right. The main thing is that instead of giving up and admitting defeat during those times, I go grab an ice cream from the galley after I get off of my shift. Then I might choose to exercise, but I always make sure I get a good nights rest after a rough day to make sure I can go out and prove that I will be good at my job. So, sometime next week, my new rig will start drilling. It will be at least 3 times faster than I'm used to. I will look at those drillers with a smile and run back and forth grabbing samples and describing them. After all, what good is a challenge if you don't conquer it?

-Krystal