Hi,

well here it is, my first attempt at a blog. I should more correctly say, my first published attempt at a blog, as I did sign up to blogger months ago, (possibly years), but then got distracted, (as I am wont to do), and nothing came of it.

Sadly, I don't actually have anything of great import to write about today. This is unfortunately one of the ironies of my current work situation; when I am at work I have ample time to update and work on a blog, but sadly, when I am working I have precious little to write about as I simply work eat and sleep with little or no social activity outside of this.

Perhaps the most sensible thing to write about in this first installment is who I am, what I do and what I hope this blog will be about.

I might actually be writing this to myself, although I don't deny that one of the attractions of writing a blog is the idea that someone else will find you interesting enough to read about.

Anyway, before I get too philosophical, here's a quick outline of where I have come from, where I'm at and where I might be going...

My name is James Alexander Lewis, I am 33 years old and I work in the oil industry in Norway.
I was brought up in Macclesfield, a medium sized town in the North West of England.

After finishing school I went to Manchester University to study Geology.

I was attracted to the Geology course by the fact that it incorporated field trips and that Geology was a good degree for those with an interest in travel.

The field trip aspect meant that the course was much more social than many others, as you spend extended time socialising with others on the course. I was also fairly strong on science subjects at school and had an interest in natural history.

The Geology degree is one of the more vocational qualifications available, and at the time I entered the oil industry, about 50 percent of Geology graduates were doing so. With the amount of money and security available in the alternatives and with no wish to spend my working life underground, I applied to companies in the oil industry.

In 1996 I joined an oil field services company in their overseas division. In the oil field the world is divided into various zones for operational and sociological reasons. Although I didn't realise it at the time, I was hired to work in the region that incorporated the North Sea, (excluding the Norwegian and British sectors), Europe and Africa. During the next 18 months I worked in the Dutch and Danish sectors of the North Sea as well as Tunisia, Algeria, Gabon and South Africa.

Having been a struggling student wondering where my next fiver would come from, the money I was then earning seemed like a fortune. With the hardship allowance for working in Algeria, (don't call it danger money!), I was making £20,000, not bad for someone not two years in the business.

However, I was finding it to be something of a trial by fire; as well as being away from home for a month at a time working 12 hours every day, I discovered that the oil industry was something of a throwback to a bygone age. Being an almost exclusively male dominated workplace I found it to be a testosterone driven pissing contest with people behaving in ways which must have been considered passe in the 70's.

Fortunately, before I myself was indoctrinated into this outmoded behaviour, I heard about what sounded like the promised land of the oilfield... Norway.

I also heard about a competitor that was hiring and made one of the most important phone calls of my life.

I discovered that in Norway I would be contracted to work only 134 days a year, for an INCREASE in pay to around £30,000, to my mind more or less double the money!!!

Naturally I snapped the arm off of the then manager and was hired sight unseen.

Norway is definitely a case apart in the oilfield, although other districts are slowly making the necessary changes to improve.

This is demonstrated not just in pay and time-off shcedules, but also in the general standard of facilities offshore and the flattening of hierarchys.

I found working in Norway to be a breeze after the rigours of other areas. Only two week trips, expected to work beyond 12 hours only in extreme circumstances, not ALLOWED to work beyond 16 hours by law! Previously if our equipment developed a fault all the crew was expected to muck in, if you happened to have just finished a shift tough, you stuck around until the problem was solved. This could result in you working well beyond the 12 hour shift, and given that you were due back on tour at your allotted time could mean you didn't get any sleep in 36 hours. Not in Norway.

It was after starting work in Norway that I moved down to London and spent a couple of years getting to know our capital city. It seems strange now, but at the time I felt peculiarly at home in London. Initially I suppose due to the anonymity of it, but I also had many ex-univeristy friends there and another circle of friends through slightly more obscure connections who were very entertaining.

However, my work life was becoming somewhat monotonous and onsequently after a couple of years I became bored and as the Millenium approached made plans for a career break and some serious travelling...

...and so it was that I decided to travel to Australia for a year or so.

As I mentioned previously, I was enjoying the travel aspect of my job, and had taken the opportunity of spending a couple of weeks in South Africa when my company had sent me offshore there, (much to the annoyance of my boss who had no idea where I'd gone as I havdn't informed him I would be doing so).

But now, after three years of trudging backwards and forwards to the same old rig in Norway, I was itching for a change.

In order to maximise my time down under I initially travelled on a tourist visa, which gave me three months to look around. I then planned to travel to New Zealand to apply for a working holiday visa which would give me the right to work in Australia for a year.

Before travelling to Australia I had been in touch with our office down there and explained what I was planning on doing and they were sure they would have work ready for me when I needed it around June time. So I confidently spent 5 months spending money and having a good look round Australia and New Zealand.

Unfortunately when I had finally run out of cash, it transpired that in fact they didn't have work for me, and weren't really sure they would do. Still, this wasn't the end of the world, as I had planned on using the opportunity to find work in Australia as a chance to try a different profession, something I could really apply myself to and derive satisfaction from.

In fact, when I left the UK I was pretty sure that I would be staying in Australia for as long as necessary to get citizenship, this despite having never been there before... That's what watching Neighbours for ten years does to you!

Anyway, it wasn't long before I realised the reality of the situation as A.N. Other backpacker looking for work in Sydney.
The plain fact is that unless you already have significant experience in a given industry, you are unlikely to fall on a break in Australia. After all, all the Aussie kids come to the UK for work.

In fact I think I did rather better then most as I landed a job doing sales for the Deakin University, selling their MBA courses to blue chip companies. Certainly this paid higher than most other temp jobs typical of backpackers, but even this was only around $12 an hour.

It wasn't long before I realised that while I may not love my offshore job, I could earn a heck of a lot more in a much shorter time by returning to it. If my Norwegian employer didn't have work for me, maybe the competition did.

And so it was that I found myself offshore demoted back down to the job I first had two years previously, but earning enough money to continue my travels. Fortunately I only had to suffer the ignominy of the demotion for one trip, as my Norwegian employer's office in Australia found they did need me after all and I was able to go back working for them for better money.

Still well shy of what I was earning in Norway, but not a bad income for Australia of around AU$50,000.

I had a great time of it living in Australia. I lived in a backpackers hostel next to the beach in Cottesloe, and was able to swim every day, mooching around Perth and Fremantle just really enjoying the lifestyle.

Sadly when I approached my employer about sponsoring me for my visa to remain in Australia, they said they just didn't do that, and that they wouldn't be able to justify hiring me over a local.

I found this particularly hard to accept as the competitor, for whom I was doing an entry level job requiring less skill and experience, was happy to sponsor me, but I would have to return to this demoted postion for two years or so.

This was too high a price to pay, so my dreams of sponsorship and remaining in Australia ended there...

Prior to travelling to Australia I had been living in London, and although I had a great time there, I was beginning to think about where else in the UK I would like to live. London was just too expensive, crowded and hectic, but I didn't want to return to the North, which would feel to much like some kind of admission of defeat.

Towards the end of my time in Australia I met a couple of people from Bristol , Tim and Lucy, with whom I became good friends.

At this time I still had a grandmother in Bristol, and it was clear that she wasn't going to be around for very much longer.

All together the signs seemed to be pointing towards a relocation to Bristol and so, on returning to the UK I found a flat with Tim and began seeing Lucy.

I really enjoyed Bristol, and through Tim and Lucy I quickly developed a network of friends and we had some great times together.

Sadly Lucy and I weren't meant for each other, but we remain friends.

On returning to Bristol Tim and I were so sure we would soon be jetting off somewhere in the world that we weren't sure we could commit to the 6 month contract our landlady wanted from us.

Somehow it was three whole years before I again moved on. This time to Chamonix in France where I headed off for the winter season in December 2004.

Despite never having been on a skiing holiday I had decided that I needed to find out what all the fuss surrounding snow sports was about.

One of the great advantages of my job is that I can live anywhere in the world. My employer pays for my flights to Norway, although in recent years I have become liable for tax for this consideration.

After living in Bristol for three years I was beginning to become disatisfied with the fact that I was finding it hard to find people to socialise with in the week, as most of my friends work 9 to 5 jobs.

I first heard about Chamonix on one of my earliest trips offshore from a chap called Graham Cast, who described himself to me as one of the top British snowboarders at the time.

It had remained in my imagination as a beacon of possibility, and now, I decided it was time to explore this avenue.

Having never been to Chamonix, but understanding that as a resort destination, securing accomodation by just turning up was fairly risky, I investigated firms offering seasonaire accomodation.

They sort everything out for you, you just pay and turn up. After coming across their advert in a snowboard magazine I found at work, I arranged to spend the season with PlanetSubzero.

I had a fantastic time and fell in love with Chamonix, both for its stunning scenery and its peculiar social scene.

Although my initial plans were fairly loose, I realised that I wanted to remain there throughout the year in order to see the different seasons in the valley. I ended up staying there nearly 18 months, through 2 winter seasons and the intervening summer.

Now, as winter again approaches, I am eagerly anticipating returning there to spend another season.

As someone who suffers from SAD, the change for me is profound. Where previously I dreaded the onset of winter, now, knowing that I will be spending it in the alps, I am positively thrilled that soon it will be snowing heavily and I can once again enjoy the enchanted wonderland that the snow brings.

I have applied for my pass, but have yet to arrange accomodation, which this season I am planning on doing when I arrive in mid-January. I hope I am able to secure something suitable then, for not too much money.