It is an overcast day in Calgary this afternoon, with the city having experienced a torrential downpour of sorts late last night through to early this morning. Im hoping the weather gets much better as I make my way through Banff and then to Cranbrook later this evening.
I made my way into Calgary at around 7pm yesterday evening, after having driven 750 kms from Regina to Calgary. Absolutely nothing was able to prepare me for the long drive through the Prairies yesterday. With fields on both sides of a very straight road and sky everywhere, where all you see in the distance is the road ending at the horizon, I had to do everything I could from letting boredom sink in, which included making frequent stops every 50 kms or so to stretch my legs and take pictures, as well as listening to the comedy podcasts on my iPhone.
Im staying in town with my friend Matt and his roommate Darren, who are also fellow University of Waterloo grads, and we went out for drinks to an Irish pub downtown with a great group of people last night. If NYC is known worldwide as the city that never sleeps, then Calgary has to be the city that sleeps. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that its the long weekend and Ive been told that most people in the city have gone out of town camping, or maybe people in the city are still recovering from the Calgary Stampede that wrapped up two weeks ago, but last night, the vibe in the city as we walked downtown felt flat. There were hardly any people out on the streets, which was surprising given that it was a Saturday night in a major city. In any case, I still had a good time due in large part to the company of people around the table at the pub.
Speaking of people, everyone around the table last night worked in the oil industry in some way, shape or form; this is Calgary, Alberta after all. The discussion eventually turned to the numerous opportunities that exist within this industry, in terms of jobs of course.
So this got me thinking, what if I were to decide that working for an oil company would be my next move? Hear me out.
Everyone always rags on the oil industry and in light of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and the more recent pipeline burst with oil spilling into the Kalamazoo RIver in Western Michigan, it has a brutal reputation at the moment. But I know that the industry and the energy situation in the world is a lot more complex.
At the end of the day, we, as mass consumers, do feed the industry through the goods and products we consume, including the gas and oil that powers our cars, homes, businesses and such. Working in this field would be an opportunity to learn more about the industry, not just the oil industry, but the overall energy industry itself. Perhaps there may be a career for me in the alternative energy industry further down the road? It would be interesting to be in a role where I could play devil's advocate and see how the world operates from the perspective of a large multi-national corporation.
To be a part of the solution in addressing climate change and our energy dependence on oil and fossil fuels, I already recognize that I am a part of the problem through the car that I drive and the goods that I consume. I do know that I personally need to make some changes in my life, walking the talk when it comes protecting the environment so to speak. I guess recognizing this is a good first step.
Would the right step then be working for an energy company out here in Alberta? Would love to hear some thoughts and feedback on this.
Disclaimer: these are simply some initial thoughts on some possibilities that I could pursue. If I decided that this was the right move for me, a lot more serious thought and discussion would have to go into this.
At the end of the day, I do want to lead a life that has meaning and is fulfilling. My assumption, from the outset, is that a career in the energy industry would most likely not lead to what I want, but I could also be wrong.
