Let the Fun Begin!

Hello Everyone!

     I will keep this short, as the computer time is limited to 15 minutes per person. I will start off with saying that I made it to Ely, MN safely to begin my time at Northern Tier. Yesterday I took the shuttle from the airport up here along with 14 other people. 15 people, 15 seats in the van. Let's just say we all knew each other by the time we got here :)  Last night we got settled in and had a few introductions.
     This morning we had breakfast and then I went through staff check-in. I received my uniform and all my fun goodies. Then, around mid-morning I was informed that I was going to Canada today to pick up my Canadian work permit! So, along with 6 others, we drove to International Falls, MN/Fort Frances, Ontario to get our work permits. We had a wonderful car ride filled with lots of fun memories. We walked across the border and they then processed our work permits. We then returned to the good ol' US of A. The drive took around 6 hours, 2.5 driving each way and about an hour at customs. We then returned to N-Tier and we had a late dinner and then the official staff training session began. We had all sorts of management and people talk about the various parts of Northern Tier. And, with that, that brings me to right now siting in the staff lounge on one of the only four computers on base that have internet.

A few side notes:
  - My roommate Austin from Michigan Tech decided to work up here at Northern Tier this summer. What a coincidence!
 - It has rained almost non stop since I got here.
 - We stopped at a convenience store on our trip to Canada. I went in to get a hot chocolate. When I went to pay, the cashier told me it would be free of charge because I was Northern Tier staff! What a great example of the reputation of the staff at N-Tier.

Alright, well, there are a thousands more things to tell you all but my time is up. Know that I am safe and sound and settling in.

Hope all is well at home and where ever you may be reading this from :) Love from the North!
~ Kyle

P.S. - Please forgive my spelling, as I typed this pretty fast :)