Field Camp: Week One(ish)
Sunday, May 15:
Stayed up all night procrastinating/packing. Meesa drives me to the meeting point. Van leaves. I watch movies on my laptop.
Nothing big.
Monday, May 16:
Sed Strat fieldwork begins. We spend lots of time climbing around on outcrops. I am generally bored (what can I say? I'm not a fan of sedimentology or stratigraphy). I freak the fuck out on the side of a rock face while working on the assignment for the day (because I stressed myself out... not because I was teetering on a ledge). Go out to eat at Pino's. Go home. Go out for some drinks. Play WoW. Go to bed.
Tuesday, May 17:
More sed strat. More climbing up and down rock faces. More boredom. More Pino's. More driving home. More going out for drinks. More WoW. More bed.
Wednesday, May 18:
More sed strat. More... fuck this, same shit, let's skip to the drinking... It turns out our new favorite bar out here has karaoke on wednesdays and saturdays. Dean, Matt, Amanda, and I get shitfaced with two girls from UTA. I sing (of course). We go home.
Thursday, May 19:
2:30AM:
The entire contents of my stomach spew forth from my mouth. I do my best to rehydrate and go back to bed.
3:30AM:
I wake up suddenly. I run for the bathroom. My attempts to rehydrate are ruined as the entire contents of my stomach spew forth from my mouth yet again. I try to rehydrate again and go back to bed.
4:00AM:
I wake up suddenly. I run for the bathroom. My attempts to re-rehydrate are ruined as the entire contents of my stomach spew forth from my mouth yet again. I try to rehydrate again and go back to bed.
4:30AM:
I wake up suddenly. I run for the bathroom. My attempts to re-re-rehydrate are ruined as the entire contents of my stomach spew forth from my mouth yet again. I try to rehydrate again and go back to bed.
This pattern continues until 6:30... then my ass decides to get in on the action as well. So now, the entire contents of my stomach and a good chunk of what's in my intestines are spewing forth from their respective spew holes in cyclic, regular intervals. We leave for the field at 8:30 in the morning.
I spend the morning sitting on rocks (ignoring them), trying not to puke all over myself, and wondering how a mere two pitchers of Dos Equis, a shot of Jack, a shot of tequilla, and a Guinness could give me such a horrible hangover. I don't dare bitch about feeling like shit. I am under the impression that this is a hangover... and that being the case, my professors will tell me to go fuck myself. Thank jeebus this is a light day.
It sinks in, as we return from the field and I am still puking, that this is not a hangover. At least 7 other people are feeling the same as I. Damn you Pino's! You've poisoned me!
I sleep for 5-7 hours, wake up, and go back to bed.
Friday, May 20:
I still feel like shit, but my mouth and ass no longer resemble a freshly tapped artesian well. My head feels like it's in a vise, and I just barely finish gathering my data in time to go home. I eat some chicken noodle soup, watch a movie, and pass the fuck out.
Saturday, May 21:
I feel perfectly fine again. Dr. Holbrook leads the day's trip, and I actually enjoy sed strat (he's got an uncanny ability to make me like the subject when out in the field). I finish my work early, sit around waiting for everyone else to finish, and debate going to the bar for another night of karaoke. I decide that I will indeed go to karaoke (but only have 2-3 beers) after we barbecue some brats (either way you read that last word... you're right). Matt and I were initially the only ones from the group to venture out. We met a guy from Holland who works as a set dresser. He's a pretty cool guy. We talk soccer for a while. He buys us drinks. We buy him drinks. My 2-3 beer limit is a joke within 30 minutes. I sing (again, of course). Mike (the UTA TA) shows up. He's a pretty cool guy to drink with. Angela (the bartender whom we've managed to become friends with in less than a week) buys us some beers... just as Matt is no longer in any position to drink. We stay about 20 minutes longer, then head back to the dorms.
Sunday, May 22:
NO MORE SED STRAT!!! WOO!!! (kinda)
The first half of the day is an office day. This means that we have free time until about noon to work on any homework (we have some due for Holbrook on monday morning). Naturally, I take this opportunity to sleep in 4 hours.
We start working on hydrology fieldwork. This is a complete waste of time... but it's not sed strat, so I'm not complaining.
We get back from the field. I piss away the time until about 11PM... then I start my homework (knowing full well that I had to wake up at 8AM). I finish my homework at 5AM. I go to bed.
I can't fucking sleep... wtf. I manage to get through an entire episode of Stargate SG-1 before I finally passed out.
More on the unbelievably awesome bar later (mayhaps today). Also upcoming... a rant about asshole professors.
Stayed up all night procrastinating/packing. Meesa drives me to the meeting point. Van leaves. I watch movies on my laptop.
Nothing big.
Monday, May 16:
Sed Strat fieldwork begins. We spend lots of time climbing around on outcrops. I am generally bored (what can I say? I'm not a fan of sedimentology or stratigraphy). I freak the fuck out on the side of a rock face while working on the assignment for the day (because I stressed myself out... not because I was teetering on a ledge). Go out to eat at Pino's. Go home. Go out for some drinks. Play WoW. Go to bed.
Tuesday, May 17:
More sed strat. More climbing up and down rock faces. More boredom. More Pino's. More driving home. More going out for drinks. More WoW. More bed.
Wednesday, May 18:
More sed strat. More... fuck this, same shit, let's skip to the drinking... It turns out our new favorite bar out here has karaoke on wednesdays and saturdays. Dean, Matt, Amanda, and I get shitfaced with two girls from UTA. I sing (of course). We go home.
Thursday, May 19:
2:30AM:
The entire contents of my stomach spew forth from my mouth. I do my best to rehydrate and go back to bed.
3:30AM:
I wake up suddenly. I run for the bathroom. My attempts to rehydrate are ruined as the entire contents of my stomach spew forth from my mouth yet again. I try to rehydrate again and go back to bed.
4:00AM:
I wake up suddenly. I run for the bathroom. My attempts to re-rehydrate are ruined as the entire contents of my stomach spew forth from my mouth yet again. I try to rehydrate again and go back to bed.
4:30AM:
I wake up suddenly. I run for the bathroom. My attempts to re-re-rehydrate are ruined as the entire contents of my stomach spew forth from my mouth yet again. I try to rehydrate again and go back to bed.
This pattern continues until 6:30... then my ass decides to get in on the action as well. So now, the entire contents of my stomach and a good chunk of what's in my intestines are spewing forth from their respective spew holes in cyclic, regular intervals. We leave for the field at 8:30 in the morning.
I spend the morning sitting on rocks (ignoring them), trying not to puke all over myself, and wondering how a mere two pitchers of Dos Equis, a shot of Jack, a shot of tequilla, and a Guinness could give me such a horrible hangover. I don't dare bitch about feeling like shit. I am under the impression that this is a hangover... and that being the case, my professors will tell me to go fuck myself. Thank jeebus this is a light day.
It sinks in, as we return from the field and I am still puking, that this is not a hangover. At least 7 other people are feeling the same as I. Damn you Pino's! You've poisoned me!
I sleep for 5-7 hours, wake up, and go back to bed.
Friday, May 20:
I still feel like shit, but my mouth and ass no longer resemble a freshly tapped artesian well. My head feels like it's in a vise, and I just barely finish gathering my data in time to go home. I eat some chicken noodle soup, watch a movie, and pass the fuck out.
Saturday, May 21:
I feel perfectly fine again. Dr. Holbrook leads the day's trip, and I actually enjoy sed strat (he's got an uncanny ability to make me like the subject when out in the field). I finish my work early, sit around waiting for everyone else to finish, and debate going to the bar for another night of karaoke. I decide that I will indeed go to karaoke (but only have 2-3 beers) after we barbecue some brats (either way you read that last word... you're right). Matt and I were initially the only ones from the group to venture out. We met a guy from Holland who works as a set dresser. He's a pretty cool guy. We talk soccer for a while. He buys us drinks. We buy him drinks. My 2-3 beer limit is a joke within 30 minutes. I sing (again, of course). Mike (the UTA TA) shows up. He's a pretty cool guy to drink with. Angela (the bartender whom we've managed to become friends with in less than a week) buys us some beers... just as Matt is no longer in any position to drink. We stay about 20 minutes longer, then head back to the dorms.
Sunday, May 22:
NO MORE SED STRAT!!! WOO!!! (kinda)
The first half of the day is an office day. This means that we have free time until about noon to work on any homework (we have some due for Holbrook on monday morning). Naturally, I take this opportunity to sleep in 4 hours.
We start working on hydrology fieldwork. This is a complete waste of time... but it's not sed strat, so I'm not complaining.
We get back from the field. I piss away the time until about 11PM... then I start my homework (knowing full well that I had to wake up at 8AM). I finish my homework at 5AM. I go to bed.
I can't fucking sleep... wtf. I manage to get through an entire episode of Stargate SG-1 before I finally passed out.
More on the unbelievably awesome bar later (mayhaps today). Also upcoming... a rant about asshole professors.