2010-02-07: FB: Politics And Petroleum

Starring:

George_V4Ricon.gifAlexandra_V4Ricon.gif

Date Set: September 25, 2009

Summary:

At a birthday party for George's sister, he runs into an unlikely roommate of hers that he'll meet up with in the future in a different part of the country.


Six Months Ago…

"Politics and Petroleum"

Austin, Texas

It's been a busy year for George so far, getting settled into his new job - enough so that dragging him away from it for more than about a day at a time pretty much takes, well, an act of Congress. His sister's birthday counts, though, especially after he missed it the year before. At the moment, he's working his way through a plate of schnitzel (note to self, find a place in New York that serves this) and catching up with a mutual friend who's played a couple of bit parts in movies.

The little German place seems almost out of the way down south in Austin, Texas, but it's one of Michelle's favorite places to eat. Small, cheap, fast, open late, and good, it's a perennial favorite of kids from the university. That would explain why, for such a tiny gathering of family and friends, she'd elect to have it at such a place.

The guest list is purposely kept small…just immediate family, a few friends from her 'hobby' of roller-derbying, and one or two acquaintances from her time spent at the university. One of those acquaintances happens to be the mutual friends you're talking to, an artsy-fartsy sort that graduate with Michelle. The birthday girl herself is enjoying a cold one with the parents, chatting with them and another of her friends, and one of the more unlikely ones; this girl is a few years younger and recently graduated with a doctorate…in engineering, a far cry from her film major.

"—and then when he looks up and says 'is that all you got'? Loved that part!" The two of them share a laugh, then the actress excuses herself to make some more social rounds, leaving George momentarily on his own - most of the others here are people that he's increasingly fallen out of touch with. And so, plate in hand, he wanders over toward the one that he doesn't recognize offhand. "Fun crowd, huh?"

"Huh? Oh…yeah. Very fun," the woman replies with a tentative smile. The way she looks at George should say that she's not entirely sure who he is, and so, she turns to Michelle. With a grin and a chuckle, Michelle loudly introduces George as "her bro!" Despite the fact that the two women, almost as far apart as two women can be, had been roommates for about a year, there still a strict no wandering into the other's bedroom policy. No matter how many family pictures Michelle might have laid out, Alex would never have seen them. His identity confirmed, Alex finally seems to loosen up a little, smiling and even offering to shake hands, after introducing herself. "Alex Lambert…though I guess now technically it's Doctor Lambert. Still not used to that at all…" she says, still a little self-conscious about it.

The man waves and nods to his sister, then turns back and offers a hand. "George… nice to meet you. And believe me, I know all about technicalities." This is one of the few chances he's gotten lately to get away from the title - Michelle hasn't even brought it up, she has much more personal stories if she wants to rib him - and he's just as happy to keep it that way. "Just graduated this past spring, I take it?"

"Yep, that's just it. Had a birthday and a graduation about the same time. Still getting used to being called that, I suppose. Even if I am about to add something else to my business card, which is already ludicrously long," she jokes with a little smile. "I'm so glad they don't charge by the letter when you order in bulk. So, you don't live around here anymore, I take it? By that I mean, Michelle never does anything with you the way she does with your parents so I guess you're not around, since it's pretty clear you don't hate each other or anything."

"Good guess," replies George, leaning back and setting the plate aside (he was pretty much done with it anyway, come to think of it). A faint smile of his own to acknowledge the business card joke. "I get along with her all right, but…" He waves a hand around to indicate the general surroundings. "Where we grew up was pretty much a dead end. Austin's good for her and all, but I wound up going further east before I found something that really clicked."

"Hey, that's not too bad. I've got a few job opportunities out east, but ideally I'll be able to find something permanent around here. I'm from New Orleans originally, but I've spent the better part of the last decade away from home full-time." While she talks, Alex just sort of mills around with another one of the restaurant's famous things in hand: a big-ole stein of beer, even if it is a domestic light brew. "I guess the same could be said for me though. I definitely wasn't in the business of running a bed and breakfast. Bigger and better things calling."

George arches a brow. "Yeah? I moved out there myself for a few years, after college— not quite the right fit for me, either, but closer. I'm doing a long haul in New York these days. Well, Washington. Both." Which probably clears up what line of work he's in. "So what's bigger and better things, in your case?"

"Well, not running a bed and breakfast," she replies, pretty much unable to keep from chuckling a little. "But no, in all honesty, I earned some pretty hefty scholarships and my parents really pushed me to go for it, even if they might've wanted to keep me around home. I think it's a matter of them never having had the same opportunities, and wanting me not to pass them up." Also, they aren't exactly the sorts that would thrive in engineering. Hospitality industry, yes, absolutely. But not engineering.

"I can see that," muses George, nodding vaguely. Scholarships for what sort of doctorate? Well, that'll probably get brought up soon enough. "We were kind of the same way— my dad went into the Air Force when he was pretty young, it worked for him but it wouldn't have for either of us. And it meant missing out on some other things he could've done. And my mom, well—" Probably just a housewife, given what generation she'd be from.

"I don't know if I'm lucky or not because of it, but I'm an only child. I was the only one to worry about, as it were." She gives him one of those 'heh' smiles at that point, gripping the stein tightly. "Well, what's done is done though. I can't give back my doctorate, at this point. Even if it overqualifies me for some jobs. One more big exam and a few more letters, then I'll be able to seriously start job hunting, rather than what I'm doing now. One of the companies hounding me the most happens to be out in New York. I might very well see you around if I take that job…who knows!"

George shrugs. "I guess you might— I'm there pretty much every other week, these days, except for special occasions like this. What kind of doctorate is it? I do keep in touch with some companies in the area." Or more accurately, they keep in touch with him; the dirty ones so far have all decided to pursue other, more likely targets, but there are others who just want to honestly bend his ear about one thing or another.

"The short version? Chemical engineering. The long version? Petroleum engineering specializing in enhanced recovery methods and sustainability in underground drilling." She's careful not to go overboard with it, since she could probably put anyone who's not in the field to sleep. "So as you can imagine, job opportunities are mostly with petro companies. East coast companies are almost exclusively interested in platform drilling in the Atlantic or Gulf."

"…in other words, are the wells gonna run dry any time soon?" George doesn't sound bored, but at the same time he's clearly having to think a bit just to get this far with the topic. "They hand out undergrad scholarships like candy, even with most people switching after freshman year, so yeah, I guess it must be a big enough to deal to throw a lot of resources at it. Are they getting a lot of volume out of the offshore stuff?"

"The offshore stuff is doing alright, but…there's definitely room for improvement. The vast majority still comes from traditional drilling in the Middle East, which everyone's so familiar with." Four, five, six bucks a gallon, anyone? "Hopefully, with the sort of work I do, they won't run dry for a very long time." What she doesn't say is that this is pretty much one of the most perfect jobs for someone who likes to be brainy AND dig around in the dirt and get dirty even as they push to 30 and beyond. Also, there's that whole thing she can do with dirt.

George inclines his head. "Hopefu—" … but just as he's echoing her sentiment, his cell phone rings. With a sigh, he answers it and pauses to listen, mouthing a silent 'sorry' for Alexandra's benefit. Whatever it is, if it's important enough for his staff to interrupt him in the middle of the party, then it'll probably bog him down for at least a half-hour or so.

That's a look she knows well…the 'all-business' look. With a smile and a nod, she gives him the upraised little palm gesture rather than a wave, and points off in the direction of Michelle. It's getting near the time to open the few presents and have the cake anyway. With no hard feelings she skeedaddles on over that way, leaving George to his call while she gets to celebrating with Michelle and the rest of the folks.

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