so THAT'S why i couldn't find it..

so i am doing field work right now, in the lovely metropolis of casper, wy.

i was here a few months ago and commented earlier that at least i have good restaurants and a free wifi connection. although having good restaurants didn't stop me from getting a martha's vineyard salad from arby's for dinner yesterday (it's so good though - and arby's is as blue as it's gets!) and room service from the crappy restaurant in my not-so-crappy hotel. room service is just not very glamorous when your salad looks like something you get at a denny's in arkansas and the shrimp in your shrimp cocktail have a weird slimy texture. but i digress.

so good things and bad things about being in casper.
bad things:
-it downpoured on me yesterday while i was measuring water levels in monitoring wells. which resulted in me having to don my sorority windbreaker and curse under my breath.
-i spent three hours looking for a well that i needed to sample. and after talking with an adjacent property owner, discovered that they PAVED over it. no amount of diggin' on my part will ever uncover that bad boy.
-i ate slimy shrimp
-hard hats and orange vests really don't do much for me
-spiders lurking in well vaults
-smelling like diesel at the end of the day
-when i realized that i accidently used the zeroing vaccum tube while field testing for iron; and of course i had no spares (i won't try to explain..i'd be surprised if you know what i'm talking about and aren't in the industry)
-driving by the dick cheney federal building on the way to the job site

good things:
-i have a high speed wifi connection so i can do my homework (wait.. is that good or bad?)
- i actually did said homework and won't have it lingering over my head all week.
-i discovered a "GAP CLEARANCE" store at the mall here.. and it rocks! for $100 i got: 4 work skirts, pair of workout pants, sleep shorts, 1 cami, 2 baby gifts, and 4 maternity dresses (to sell on ebay - not for me!). there are only 3 of these stores in the whole country! they do banana republic, gap, and old navy items. and the place is freakin' huge with racks and racks and racks of clothes!
- i don't have to go to the gym because i get a better workout lifting 5 gallon pails of water and various other equipment in and out of the truck and i'm on my feet all day.
- i have a 2 minute commute to the job site
- i get to charge travel time
- i am reimbursed for the few thousand i'll put on my credit card, AND i get to keep the miles! (and earn hotel points)
-giving the dick cheney federal building the finger as i drive past