WSA Adventures

So most of you (the two of you haha) who try to keep track of me, know that I have been so blessed with an awesome job working for a company called William Self Associates (WSA)--a contract archaeology company out of Tucson, AZ. They have been contracted by Holly Energy Corp. to do all of the archaeological work necessary in order for them to build a pipeline from SLC to Las Vegas. I work 9 hours a day, 6 days a week digging in the dirt, hacking through rock, and other intense physical activities (such as paperwork...haha). It is definitely dirty and exhausting. Every day I come home and can hardly move. BUT the money is awesome, not to mention they pay for my housing (we're living out of hotels as we travel around Utah) and give me a generous food stipend for all 7 days of the week. Seriously. Who could complain? I'll dig whatever the heck you want me to in 105 degree whether on the frontiers of nowhere for this kind of deal! haha This opportunity with this kind of sweet deal is SO rare as an archaeologist!!

We started out in Cedar City working at sites west of Minersville. After a week, we moved up here to Delta, which is the closest town to most of the sites. For any of you who have been to Delta, WHY would you ever go to Delta?!?! And for those of you who have never heard of it, there's definitely a reason for that! haha It is definitely in the middle of nowhere. And if you can believe it, our sites are all at least 45 minutes further to the edge of nowhere. But this little town does have its quirks that we're getting to know quite well. When we first got here, we stayed at the Days Inn--by far the best hotel in town. Then some people complained about not having their own rooms, so they moved all of us over to the Budget Motel where we could all have our own rooms because it was half the price. The first night I was there, I woke up with a huge swollen leg as a result of a spider bite. The next night I was there, I realized I had fleas bites all over me. WHAT?!?! FLEAS?! In a US hotel room? To remind you, I got fleas when I lived in Jordan. In fact, a majority of us did. But I figured that was just part of my cultural experience. I got fleas while living with a Bedouin family in Petra, Jordan. OH WELL. SO WHAT. But getting fleas in Delta, Utah... that's just down right disgusting. Makes for a good story, but still disgusting. ;) So I informed my advisor that I had fleas from the Budget, and I was able to get a few of us moved back over to the Days Inn. This is definitely where all of the cool people are. haha

I also don't have phone service in Delta, so who knows what kind of ridiculous bill I've racked up from roaming charges... But at least now I have a job to pay for them! :) I'm going to try and get some pictures of the people I work with for your viewing pleasure. We have a large crew of about 25 people and only 6 of us are LDS. However, we received one reinforcement today, and we're getting 2 more next Monday. All of these girls that I know from school make it so much easier to jump in and make new friends, because I know I already have a group of friends to fall back on. It's so wonderful!! And I'm so grateful that all of us have been blessed with this sweet job. It is so wonderful for me to know that Heavenly Father knows each and every one of us. He knows what we want, what we need, and what will be best for us. And if we do His will, He will help all of that happen. This job has been so needed by each of us, for one reason or another. And not only are we enjoying ourselves as well work together, but all of our needs are being taken care of. God is so Great!