Thanksgiving on the Rig

Happy Thanksgiving!
This is, unfortunately, NOT my first holiday working. Back in May I had to attend school in Houston on Memorial day, but I did not mourn the loss of that missed vacation day in any way except to wish that I could spend the day by our mediocre hotel pool instead.
Today, however, being a major family holiday, feels like much more of a loss. But don't feel too bad for me, for the mental preparation I have had in the expectation that I would be on a rig for virtually every holiday this year has worked wonders in preventing disappointment. I have pretty much counted on this ever since I took this job (or ever since I interviewed for it!). I also get an extra bonus for working on a holiday, and I think one for tomorrow as well.
Another upside: I don't actually have to work tonight aside from a couple hours of reports to complete. We finished drilling this section at about 4pm today, so they will be pulling out the bit, my tools, and the 3+ miles of drillpipe that are in the hole all night. The next plan is to do a couple of sampling runs, which means I have about a week in which to perform about six hours worth of paperwork. What I'll most likely do is watch dozens of movies on our satellite TV and put the paperwork off until the last minute. I may even get a chance to drive into town! The closest town, La Barge, is 15 miles away and has a population of 435. I have counted 2 churches and 2 bars, so far. The best bet for entertainment, however, is the 60-mile distant Pinedale of a whopping 1,400+ people. It has a small ski hill, but unfortunately I doubt I'll have time to go for that.
Tonight the Geologists, the Safety Guys, and the ExxonMobil Company Men (they supervise the whole operation) cooked us quite the Thanksgiving spread. Three turkeys, about five dishes of potatoes, stuffing, rolls, greenbean casserole, corn, yams, mashed potatoes, coleslaw and coconut cream pie for desert were all laid out for the entire rig crew. The greenbean casserole, which you might have seen on a Cambell's Soup commercial (for it followed that recipe exactly), despite being one of the only green dishes on the table, was barely picked at. The fried onions atop it, however, disappeared rather quickly.
It seems natural at this juncture to remind myself of what I'm thankful for, in case I need help getting through the winter. I am thankful for having a good job that pays my student loans and enables me to travel to places I never thought I'd go. I'm thankful for having a manager, who although very recently appointed, is nonetheless extremely sensible and already highly values me. The second part of which I am VERY thankful for in light of the expected round of layoffs in our office come January. I'm thankful for the new friend I made who also works nights and therefore plays online scrabble with me all through our shifts. I'm thankful for my family, who although distant, are probably going to be the ones reading this blog and must not be left out.
And thanks to Katy, who prompted me to finally get this thing started.
More to come soon. It'll be a slow week.