Living in the wild wild west

[Tamerlane]

*Ugh....* I need a shower after doing my best Will Smith impression.

Anyways, how is everyone. A nice cheerio to all the old SYMers that remember me and a friendly hello to all of those that came after I disappeared.

I am currently residing 100 kilometres south of Pannawonica, a remote town located in North/West Western Australia. I'm working within an IT technical team, contracted by Rio Tinto, we're setting up the necessary infrastructure to communicate with the other mining centres and administrations in the cities both nationally and internationally. Aside from that, we are essentially building up a new city in the middle of nowhere. We have technicians from all fields, some Australians and others flown in from overseas especially for this. There is also a small army of labourers who work in some of the most difficult and challenging environments you can ever imagine.

Well anyways, thats what I'm doing now, currently one month into my 3 month contract, bored as hell. I'm sitting on the concrete floor of a vacant building, I swear there is a snake or a very long lizard exploring the other rooms. Since this room has access to an active phone line, installed by yours truly its been dubbed the 'internet room'. The 'internet room' has a milk crate and switch. You place your laptop on top of the crate, actually I think the milk crate and switch are the only things in this actual complex.

I'm going to go scare this reptillian away now, my snake phobia will make this interesting but I don't want it to start making a mess or worse destroy the switch and get me into trouble. I'm armed with an empty laptop case and water bottle

[Nar]

Interesting... Did you consider writing a regular diary here on SYM? We could follow your adventures from wild, wild...(well east for me ).

[NiteWulf]

Yeah.. a diary! That's a good idea. It sounds like an interesting adventure building a city. I'm curious what kind of city, what purpose, etc. (and don't forget to mention how your scared off that 10-meter snake.. Ohw.. sorry I forgot your phobia... I mean that ehm.. oversized earthworm )

[Chanak]

Hey there Tam - I was wondering where you had scooted off to. Good to hear from you.

I swear there is a snake or a very long lizard exploring the other rooms.

Hmmm. Perhaps you could do me a favor, Tam. I haven't had the opportunity to discover if reptile meat actually "tastes like chicken" as some people claim. If you would capture that bugger, discover if this is true, and post the results here in this thread, you will have solved a great mystery for yours truly.

[fable]

I'd like to hear about that one, too. Like Chanak, I've repeatedly heard the report about lizards tasting like chicken, but never actually found one to do so.

[dragon wench]

@Tam,
hey, nice to hear from you! How are things generally?

@Chan and Fable,
I had iguana once while in Belize. It most definitely did not taste like chicken. The meat had a fairly pungent taste, and its texture was stringy and somewhat greasy.

In case you are wondering, yes it *was* disgusting

[Magrus]

Sounds like quite the experience. Just don't get bit by the thing, even if it isn't poisonous, snake bites HURT.

[Bloodstalker]

Gald to see you drop in Tam.

[giles337]

Indeed. Got any good photos?

[Tamerlane]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NiteWulf Yeah.. a diary! That's a good idea. It sounds like an interesting adventure building a city. I'm curious what kind of city, what purpose, etc.

It is going to be regarded as a 'closed city', effectively it won't have a name, it won't show up on any future maps nor will it be open to the public (ie. tourists). Think of it like a giant roadhouse, catering for over 500+ workers, well thats the plan. The workers will work at the mines nearby, the place is just so remote and impossible to get to by road that the company had to build up its own living quarters.

I actually don't do that much, I sit in on meetings with architectures and other planners. Place down cables (very time consuming), test them and generally replace them because most times they seem to break or become exposed and chewed up by the local animals, cut by workers, driven over by big machines or who knows what else...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chanak Hmmm. Perhaps you could do me a favor, Tam. I haven't had the opportunity to discover if reptile meat actually "tastes like chicken" as some people claim.

Hey Chan, hows things. Supposedly everything tastes like chicken these days. They tell me up here that a snake actually tastes like chicken, but it looks like fish. I'm not going to try it though They gave me a whole run through of how to kill, gut and cook myself a snake. Charming people.

In regards to food,the shepherd pie I had for dinner tonight was terrible. It was more like runny gravy with vegetable pieces bobbing about everywhere but thats my fault for picking it. Thats not to say all meals are bad, but sometimes the odd terrible one really does make one want to go out and catch their own food instead.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dragon wench hey, nice to hear from you! How are things generally?

Hmmm, good I would say. I'm engaged, before anyone goes on the whole "at your age!" routine I know, heard it all already. It felt right so nothing to worry about there. Uni is on hiatus, may not finish my degree considering how well this job is going I might sign up for another flight back north later on. Australia has a huge labour shortage, so I'm riding this economic boom for now. I also have a house, hence me working here so I don't have to worry about money problems or juggling multiple jobs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Magrus Just don't get bit by the thing, even if it isn't poisonous, snake bites HURT.

Yeah we get lots of poisonous critters here in Oz, only recently a guy had to fly out after getting bitten multiple times by a very angry spider. He flew to some town got a dose of anti-venom and never came back. You have got to treat everything here with respect, as for the 'thing".

It was a goanna, large lizard related to the monitors found in the Asian countries. It hissed at me, I yelled at it, stomped on the floor thinking that would scare it away and then threw my bottle at it. I ended up leaving via an open window. I'm back in the same building now, its gone but the building needs a clean, it doesn't smell right... The lesson to be learnt, remember to ALWAYS close all doors.

Quote:

Originally Posted by giles337 Got any good photos?

There are a few geologists or are they geophysicists, they use some really hi-tech camera's. I think they are the only ones that have actual camera's, its not really the sort of environment to bring your expensive gear into. I just don't really know the guys, they never stay in the area long enough for you to be able to build any solid friendships with. I'll try to get some anyway

[Magrus]

Heh, some of those "critters" don't back down. He probably thought to make the new structure his home and was irritated by you.

[Maharlika]

Nice to see you, ol' chum!

Those big lizards do taste like chicken... then again, I was kinda intoxicated, so there! I ate one without being aware of what it was till it was too late...

Tammy's here, so I wonder when those SLURRs come back. Heard of Odie lately?

[Chanak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tamerlane Hey Chan, hows things. Supposedly everything tastes like chicken these days.

Not too bad, Tam. I tied the knot last year, my waistline is slowly expanding, and 40 looms ever closer. However, looking at the bright side, I still have all of my hair on the top of my head, and there ain't one single strand of it turning gray.

They tell me up here that a snake actually tastes like chicken, but it looks like fish. I'm not going to try it though They gave me a whole run through of how to kill, gut and cook myself a snake. Charming people.

This is what I keep hearing. Now, seeing as how I live in the state of Texas, you figure I could hop in my car, turn west, and drive until I hit a roadside diner somewhere that serves rattlesnake chili, or something in a similar vein.

I certainly intend to try it. Time for something new. My palate is bored senseless these days, since everything seems to taste like...well, like chicken.

In regards to food,the shepherd pie I had for dinner tonight was terrible. It was more like runny gravy with vegetable pieces bobbing about everywhere but thats my fault for picking it.

I wonder what was in it. Did you ask? Did it taste like chicken?

Quote:

Originally Posted by dragon wench @Chan and Fable, I had iguana once while in Belize. It most definitely did not taste like chicken. The meat had a fairly pungent taste, and its texture was stringy and somewhat greasy.

Hmmm...this begs the thought: I wonder what South Americans who eat iguana think about chicken?

"I had chicken once when I visited New York. It was mushy and bland, and didn't taste like iguana at all."

[fable]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chanak Hmmm...this begs the thought: I wonder what South Americans who eat iguana think about chicken?

Range chicken, at least in South America, is pretty tough and heavily muscled, or so I've been told. Pet chickens in poor communities aren't uncommon, and the damn things are said to develop a vicious temper, at times.

[C Elegans]

Hello Tammy, nice to hear from you again! 100 km south of Pannawonica?! I haven't been to the West, but it is kind of remote and isolated, isn't it?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tamerlane I'm going to go scare this reptillian away now, my snake phobia will make this interesting

An Ozzie with snake phobia? I didn't think there were any due to constant exposure

Quote:

Supposedly everything tastes like chicken these days. They tell me up here that a snake actually tastes like chicken, but it looks like fish.

I think the reason why so much meat is described as "tasting like chicken" is that most people who live in the urban world eat more or less only cow meat, fish, pork, chicken and maybe the odd lamb. Of these, chicken has the most neutral taste, so anything that is not like cow, fish and pig would automatically taste more like chicken than like anything else we are familiar with. I have had snake, I don't know what species since it was somewhere in Asia where I didn't speak the language, but it was nothing like chicken. It was more reminiscent of boiled red meat than chicken. I have also eaten some kind of lizard, but that tasted nothing special, quite neutral lightish meat, but it was not a monitor lizard or iguana, it was some small lizard.