Picture(s) Number 8

The Not So Random Photo Project:  In honor of poppy season and cherry blossoms.


Even in a most desolate harsh environment, you can find peace and beauty. You just have to look. (And have a camera with a macro setting.)

Taken in the spring of 2008-ish, while on the job in the Upper Mojave, near Lancaster, CA.

I don't know, and I don't care

I still have a job. I just don’t know if I want it. The Santa Cruz branch of the company (where I work) will be closing its doors permanently at the end of September. The company will also be closing our Chico branch as well. The company wants to keep the three of us supervisors from the Santa Cruz branch. However, we will be working out of the Lancaster branch. If you have ever been to Lancaster, you know it is not a very fun place. It’s better than Taft, but still miserable. We will be what our client calls “lead monitors”. We will work 6 days a week up to 11 hours a day and basically be on-call, 24-7. It will not be a fun experience, very high stress and frustrating, and an all around logistical nightmare. I’m painting a very lovely image aren’t I? Now, if this project is running at full steam then the three of us who used to work in Santa Cruz will be fully employed round the clock. However, this is not the case right now. There will be times when nothing is going on… and then what? I stick my thumb up my butt and wonder why someone thought it was a good idea to create a drug that rots your teeth? The “boss man” said when this particular project is not running full steam ahead, or we don’t need to be on the ground down yonder, we can work from home… but then he can’t guarantee us work. But this is archaeology and CRM where there really is no job security ever, and we are at the whim of the people, government agencies, and corporations that hire us. There never was job security, I just got lazy and didn’t think this would happen.

So the elephant in the room is this: Do I continue on here and basically relocate to Lancaster and go prematurely grey? Or do I start looking for another job in Archaeology? Or, do I look for another job elsewhere?

I’ll say one thing: I won’t miss the hour commute it takes just to get to the office in the morning. I will miss my co-workers though. How many of you can say that you would actually enjoy hanging out with your co-workers outside of work, or understand each others humor? I consider these people my friends.

I used to like this company. I was proud to work here. I was proud of the products we produced and the quality of our work. Now I feel like a pawn being carelessly strewn around the chessboard with no regard to my feelings, worth, or well-being. I almost threw in the towel today and walked away. But my co-worker who is also getting tossed about said not to make any rush or rash decisions, that we needed to let this stew a bit. It’s still fresh… it needs to fester first, I suppose.

So, I know now that I will quit. I just haven’t decided when. I feel like I need to have at least some semblance of a plan first, perhaps another job lined up so that I’m not without. Then again, I am a saver, and have been since I was a kid and my older siblings would borrow money from me. I can survive and still pay my mortgage and expenses for about 4 months with no income. And because the “boss man” won’t just lay me off, I do not qualify for unemployment.

I’m angry. I’ve given this company 5 years of my life and even caught a deadly fungus that has permanently scared my lungs for life while working for them. I’ve done great things for them, and they don’t see it! They never do. It has happened time and again, that they loose great employees because they don’t treat us right. They push, they shove, they take take take. I had a hellish year last year and ended up taking a long vacation this past December. The job was better at first when I came back. We do this job because we love archaeology. It’s not for the glamor, fame, or money because those things don’t exists in this field. But it wasn’t fun anymore. I’ve become very bitter, battered, bruised, and burnt out.

Kia ora, and perhaps it is time for this *koru to unfurl.



*Koru is a Maori word, which is a new unfurling fern frond and symbolizes new life, growth, strength and peace.

First fieldtrip of 2010

Winter in the high desert is actually quite nice. I'm in Lancaster which is considered in the high Mojave Desert. Joshua Tree's, greasewood, cholla, buckwheat, and creasote abound. The snakes are still underground hibernating so you don't have to worry about venom bites. The fiddleneck and other pokey sharp plants are not so pokey and sharp yet. The grasses are turning green and aren't tall past your knees yet. The poppies aren't out yet so there aren't a lot of stupid tourists around stomping on them all. It is very cold in the mornings and evenings, but it is almost t-shirt weather by noon after you have been walking for a few miles.

I'm here in the desert working on what we call a Road Story Survey. Basically we are walking already existing roads or new proposed roads to be built to access transmission towers that are or will soon be built. This is not my project, which means I am not in charge. I like it. I'm acting more like a field crew chief rather than a supervisor. It is a nice change. I don't have to worry about the money, or plan out the days, who's going where, which vehicles, do we have enough vehicles, so-and-so needs this, so-and-so needs that. No running around like a chicken with it's head chopped off. This job is actually enjoyable for the most part. We were staying in what most people would consider a crappy hotel the first 4 nights, but after being in Taft for 6.5 months where the best hotel had a cockroach problem and a recovering meth addict for a hotel manager, a crappy yet clean hotel is quite nice. I think my standards have been severely lowered. I'm just happy to have clean sheets without unknown stains and cig. burns.


One unfamiliar with the desert may think that there is not a whole lot to see out here and think that people way back when would not chose to live in a place like this. But in reality, even though this is a very harsh environment, life abounds. And in this particular area, not to long ago there was plenty of water. It was only when us genius Californians decided to farm the heck out of the area did the water table drop so far that now it is almost impossible to drill a well deep enough to find water, hence now getting water for agriculture via the California Aqueduct. Human occupation of the area reaches as far back as some of the very first (what we call) paleo-indians. Meaning soon after the little ice-age 15,000-20,000 years ago, people were able to migrate here. That is freakin' old! And just to add icing to this black dirt cake, under this human occupation are fossils from when us primates weren't even primates yet(I'm talking millions upon millions of years old)! How cool is that?

It looks as though I may be spending quite a bit of time down here and farther south into the land known as Los Angeles for much of this year. And although the archaeology is interesting and that I actually enjoy the desert, I don't want to be down here all the time. I would like to actually spend time living in my house and not just visiting it on occasion a few times a month.

Meanwhile back at the ranch

I’m here in the California desert. Outside of Lancaster and Palmdale (yes, I said Palmdale). The wildflower season was at its peek last week, but it is still quite beautiful and amazing. There are still poppies everywhere, but they are on their last hurray. I’m down here for a ten-day rotation, surveying dirt roads and soon to be dirt roads that will access a new power transmission line (those big steel towers) that will of coarse go to feed Los Angeles. But at least it is wind power; they are bringing power from a wind farm in Tehachapi.

It is only day four, have six more to go. But I have already seen some pretty cool stuff. Tomorrow will be the “jaw dropping” day. We will be visiting and mapping and whatnot at this HUGE village site. It spans more than three miles!!! WOO HOO. Lots of cool things to see.

Here is what I have seen so far… lots of wildflowers, poppies, thistle, linear golden bush, blue dicks (I kid you not, that is there name), forget-me-nots, chia, and many many others. My survey buddy is a botanical nut, so I keep asking her, “what’s this?”

Also, lots of lizards, stink bugs (do not squish them!), snakes (picture is of a Mojave Green – very poisonous), horny toad, and coyotes (one live one jogging amongst the cows, and one dead – most likely hit by a car, his back leg was broken).

The days have been going by fast. The hikes are not too bad. We are in the high desert, so the wind blows constantly (which is good and bad). Good because it keeps the temperatures down, and bad because it keeps the temperatures down. HA! It’s cold in the mornings and evenings, and hot during the day. But this is a good time to visit the desert, not too hot. It will get into the 90’s this weekend, but that isn’t too bad.

Two things I have noticed. Way to many people are moving into the desert. Lancaster and Palmdale blend into each other now. No distinction between the two cities. Suburban sprawl is killing the desert. And there is garbage EVERYWHERE!!!!! People have no respect for the desert; they just drive their crap out there and dump it!!!! WTF? (sorry, really irks me). It is so sad! I usually try to pick up trash I see, but you can’t do that out here unless you have a dump truck following you. My survey buddy and I did pick up some stuff today; someone had dumped chlorine tablets, (you know – urinal cakes). Those are toxic!!!!!!! We put them in a plastic garbage bag I had in my pack and took them to a dumpster. How hard it is to dump stuff in a dumpster. Lazy bastards.

Other than that little rant, I’m having a great time. Wish I had a better internet connection but, oh well. We will see if I can get this to post tonight. Here’s hoping!