Message From the Desert

Hi All,

Well it's been 2 weeks now since I left. Wow, how the time has flown.....it feels like I've been here for 2 months!!!
As for the weather here, well it's........HOT! .....Damn HOT and SANDY, and.....oh yeah HOT!
(Angus I'm sure you know what I'm talking about (or for Peter...''aboot'' Those crazy Canadians)
The temp here rises to approx 40 Deg C by 9-10 am and reaches 63 Deg C at lunch time in the sun; in the shade it's 57 Deg C.

So as you can see, it's a tad too HOT! to play my Pipes during the day. So I play at night, which is a little better. Get temps in the 30s but the humidity is worse than Darwin.

Hey Willy, you think you sweat a fair bit when you play. The first night I was here I played for an hour, and after that I needed to don my life vest so as I could stay afloat in my own Sweat. Since then, I now only play for half an hour. (Sorry Angus, but again I'm sure you know what I'm talking about or for Peter....''aboot'' Those crazy Canadians).

As for work, well it's been constant, which is good. Missing Tina and Lachie a great deal, finding this trip harder than my last.

Speaking of work, here is a War story for you all, or what we like to call a Wary.
I had to venture off to another part of the the base in the ute, this was last week whilst on day shift. I ended up getting lost and needed to turn around. It was quite sandy where I was ( Imagine that .....SANDY.....in the desert!!!! Geez!!) Anyway what I thought was a good spot to do a 3 point turn, a bit of gravel on the side of the road, yeah this looks all right......just drove approx 1 meter forward and my front right wheel sank in the sand quicker than when the Titanic sank.
I tell you, a few obscene choice words then came from mouth, with several head bangings on the steering wheel. This ute has no 4wd. I got out of the vehicle and started to dig with my hands, then luckily found a piece of wood to which I stuck under the wheel and tried reversing out........no luck.......sank even deeper. The whole wheel was virtually buried. A few more choice words came out like......why me.....why are we not working from Fiji......stupid damn country.......Oh CRAP........and last but not least.......Mummy!!!!!!
By the way I was on my own, with no phone and only had 1 250ml bottle of water......it was 63 Deg C.......and I had a approx 3km walk back to the Flightline. The rest of my crew found it very amusing. We ended up towing the vehicle out of the sand!!!
Now that was a crappy day!!!!!!

Back to my pipes. Peter or Andy....remember the troubles I was having with my drones ? ie my chanter kept coming in first. Still having the same problem. Would I be best purchasing a set of those Drone Enhancers you told me about? (or for Peter....''aboot'' those Crazy Canadians)

Anyway, that's about (for Peter......''aboot'' those crazy Canadians) all I have for you all. I will keep you posted on how I'm doing in this crazy (I wish I was in Fiji) HOT.........SANDY pathetic excuse for a country. Take care and good luck at the comp in Adelaide.

Andy S

p.s. Damn it's HOT over here AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGHHHH!!!!!!!!