A quiet night, a stack of books, a tuna melt on rye

I am so mad at my office's management right now.  Yesterday I was told at around 5:00 that we would be returning to New Orleans today.  Now our 10-day wasn't supposed to be over until next Wednesday and yesterday during the day we had to stop delineating a site half way through because of a thunderstorm, so returning to New Orleans was not really expected. 

You may remember back in March I had talked about our management lying to the client and us being under intense scrutiny with regards to safety.  They did it again. And once again we are removed from the project!  Why are they unable to see the ramifications of their choices.  If we get a bad reputation with clients the work is going to dry up quickly.  Plus it's not that hard to report safety incidents in a timely manner.  The management seems to be caught up in their belief that we are going to be punished for getting hurt or sick. That's just not true.  The client just wants to know about it.  Please, giving a call within the hour is not that difficult to do.  You would think that people who worked their way up to owning or managing a company would remember that someone always finds out.  Secrets and lies just don't work.  D

At least being back in New Orleans means that I get to work in the nice air-conditioned office for a few days instead of out in the 90 degree heat with every inch of my body covered as protection against the briars.  Also maybe I can convince the lab director that he wants to hire me to analyze historic artifacts.  I don't think that's going to happen since my resume and cover letter didn't do the convincing, but who knows. 

I am once again in the process of looking for a roommate.  I seemingly have horrible luck in roommates, at least with regards to their turnover rate.  I feel like this shouldn't really be the case.  I'm literally in the apartment eight days a month.  How much annoyance can I cause in eight days, spread over two four day blocks. 

The first one who left I understood.  Her boyfriend proposed and she decided to move in with him.  Totally fair, I just wish I had been consulted before she was let out of the lease not after. 

The second, much, much worse.  I came home from a ten day and she was just gone.  Her room empty, all her stuff removed from the kitchen - just gone.  And there was no note.  Now if I had needed to leave very quickly I think I would have a.) called or  b) put a note on the table or kitchen counter or my roommate's bed which explained where I was going and how to contact me.  All I got was the keys mailed to me two weeks later in an envelope with out a return address and once again no note.  She still owes me $600 and ignores my attempts to contact her. 

Anyway, back to the roommate search.  It amuses me all the people to reply to ads who clearly have not read the ads.  I clearly state no pets, because my landlord does not allow them, yet I continually get replies from people describing how well behaved their pets are.   I'd love to live with your sweet, cuddly, house-trained cat but not enough to get evicted over.  Also, when I say I need someone to sign a year lease, it is not okay for you to be here for three months, unless of course, you want to continue to pay for the other nine months while you are not living here.  I could get into that arrangement.  Finally, saying you like to remain single and there for need an open-minded roommate and then asking for my picture does not make me want you living here.  In fact, it really creeps me out and makes me worry for the person you do end up living with. 

Dear People standing next to me at the Druids parade tonight,

    You should really remove your child from the ladder before you relocate it.  An adult holding each side of the ladder does not really provide enough stability during the moving process to guarantee that your child will not find himself on the ground.  Thankfully it worked okay this time.  Also, when relocating the ladder, you should check to make sure there is no one currently occupying the space into which you wish to move.  Should someone be in that space, as I was this evening, you should either refrain from moving the ladder or offer and excuse me and a reason as to why it is essential that you move the ladder.  Simply bumping into someone's side as shoving them out of the way is not sufficient.   Hopefully, these suggestions will help you during the next  six days. 

Respectfully,
The person standing next to you at the Druids parade, who you shoved out of the way while relocating your ladder

Yesterday, we were listening to <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17207234"</a> on the way to the site. I'm a little annoyed by the bit when Teri Gross calls attention to difficulty of singing Sondhiem's music and the fact that none of the main actors are trained in voice and Richard Zanuck says that he gave Tim Burton the freedom to chose real actors instead of goind with stage actors.

A Question:
You're floating down a river in an inner-tube.  The sky turns a much darker blue.  Thunder rumbles.  Suddenly there are flashes of lightening.  What do you do?  What is the safer option? 
    A) Stay in the water and try to make it to the docking area somewhere down stream, but probably close
or
    B) Head to the nearest place on land and sit there until the lightening stops. 

My immediate reaction was B, apparently everyone else in creation (or at least in the Bogue Chitia river today)  likes option A.  I was informed that you are actually safer in the water because the electricity from the lightening will be dispersed over a greater area, which I really think is a load of crap.  Of course, my gut reaction is mostly coming from the fact that they always cancel swim team meets at the first sign of an electrical storm.  What to you all think?

Also I lost the right member of my favorite pair of flip-flops to the leaves of submerged tree.  ick.  Last time I go tubing! I knew there was a reason I disliked outdoor activities. 

Well, I am once again in a place with no internet access.  Yeah! Farmerville.  But luckily the library in Ruston, which is only a half an hour away, has wireless access.  So I will be sharing various things from the last two weeks. 

First a letter:

Dear CSI Powers that be,

Why must you try to make Hodges likable? Why must you almost succeed? And even more, why must you do so to "Mr. Bluesky"?  I love that song, please don't ruin it for me. 

Yours till the end of the season (if not longer),
Allison

Second, a conversation:
PM (Project Manager): How long have you been here?
Me: Three months.
PM: Would you like us to get you a plane ticket home for one of the four-days
Me: That would be nice.

I will let those interested know what develops

Third, a rant:
Shovel testing sucks ass when your sick.  Wednesday morning I woke up with a sore throat which I thought would go away once I was up and about.  No such luck.  Instead, it got progressively worse, my legs started feeling shaky and I had the hardest time forcing myself to walk to my next shovel test, not to mention digging it.  Of course, this was an hour from our hotel so there was no way I could go back and by the end of the day we had ended up doing two miles.  GRRR.  Plus I had to sign my life away in order for Walmart to give me drugs.  Damn Methheads!

But on a happier note Walmart had Christy on DVD which was my favorite show in fourth grade and really stands up to repeat viewing. 

Why do coin operated dryers never dry your clothes?  They are not making me think they're cheap by only charging $0.75, which I then have to put in three times, not to mention all the checking for doneness.  I would gladly pay more up front if it meant  the clothes would be done when I got back.  And that's all I have to say.

Yeah, so when this job said I would need to be flexible about my working hours I thought they ment like 6 am or 9 pm. No apparently they ment that I would occasionally (or not so occasionally) be out at 1:30 in the morning. Not so cool with that.

1. I knew as soon as I accepted the job that other things were going to come in. So now I have archaeological people emailing me for interviews. I already committed to the other one, but now I'm going to be wondering if I could have gotten started in my actual field. Grrr. Why can't people get back to you in a timely manner?

2. Said guy who emailed me spelled my name wrong. How difficult could it be to get it right? I wrote it at the bottom of the cover letter that I sent him, and its in my email address. Obviously he sent the email to the correct place and spelled my name correctly there. Why not in the actual body of the email?

3. I listed my first item on ebay as I am trying to get rid of some of the clutter in my room. We'll see how this goes and then move from there. So, if anyone is in the market for a bank shaped like Big Ben with Peter Pan and company flying across it you should totally check it out.

4. A letter to Blockbuster:

Dear Blockbuster,
Why did you raise your prices? I was quite happy with you being cheaper than Netfix. There was no reason for you to go and be the same price. And, no, the coupon for a free previously viewed DVD does not make up for it.
Yours,
Me

Went to sign up to get a yearbook picture taken today because my mother decreed that a yearbook picture would be taken. Apparently, despite the information provided in the anouncements, an appointment was unnecessary, so I was rushed in front of the camera as soon as I had completed the necessary envelope.
Now I had been under the impression that my picture would be taken at a later time so my hair was parted wierdly, I wasn't wearing anything resembling makeup, and I was wearing a tee-shirt with a strange faded section on the sholder. This last part I didn't think would be much of a problem, because I was under the impression that all seniors were having their picture taken in a cap and gown. Apparently that was only to be for one set of pictures. Mom is not going to be happy when she gets the proofs, and since she is the only one who wanted the pictures to begin with that is what really matter.
Could the photographer attempt to get you in a more unnatural possition. Years from now archaeologist are going to believe that the aestetic beauty of our time involved a twisted center of gravity. So you finally get into this uncomfortable postion and the photographer is all "hold that while I change the background." The background couldn't have been changed before I was twisted until I couldn't breath anymore? Grrrr. Finally there was the point where the photographer positioned her hand with the thumb and forefinger making a small circle and raised it straight up. I took this to mean that she wanted me to raise the hat. She said "no, look at me" and proceded to repeat the motion. Then finally she said "like a steering wheel" so I turned the hat which was what she wanted in the first place. Now, I don't know about anyone else, but I have never driven a car by pulling straight up on the wheel like her action indicated.