Yuma is in the southwest corner of Arizona, sandwiched between the California border and the Colorado River to the north, and Mexico to the south. Accordng to Wikipedia, the Yuma desert is “among the harshest deserts in North America”. This is almost a true statement if it weren’t for the fact that Buffalo Wild Wings, Chile’s, Olive Garden, Mimi’s Cafe, Red Lobster, Famous Dave’s BBQ, Logan’s Run, Panda Express, In n Out, Del Taco, Target, Best Buy, Sports Authority, and Sam’s Club are all within walking distance from my hotel which has a microwave, fridge and cable tv in the room, and two free beers a night at the bar. Life is tough out here.
Now that I’ve piqued your interest, this is what a typical day is like out here.
4:45 – Yes! 30 more minutes of sleep
5:15 – Alarm goes off. Sigh. Snoooze.
5:20 – Ok…. better get up. Get dressed, pack up, make breakfast (microwaveable frozen breakfast sandwich or hot pocket).
5:45 – Wait for Ng in the lobby and take off for YPG.
7:00 – Listen to “Make it Rain” for the 100th time on Ng’s “gangsa” CD. Get to YPG. Nap in the car for ten minutes.
7:30 – Safety briefing, “Don’t touch the wildlife. Don’t speed. Don’t pick up shiny objects…. ”
From 7:30 till about 18:00, I do the following things:
- Use the porta potty
- Hydrate
- Eat
- Code
- Stare
- Work on essays
- Walk around
- Watch the “fireworks show”
- Talk about school/Alabama/work/vacation/eating
- Learn about things I’ll forget
- Oil dry skin
- Look for wild life (snakes, giant ants, road runners, coyotes, hawks, etc)
- Surf the net
- Incessantly check my email and worry about the work that remains back at home
- Put on my jacket
- Take off my jacket
18:00 – Drive home. Try to answer toughest question of the day, “What’s for dinner?”
19:15 – Eat dinner. Go to Target or Wal-Mart if supplies are low.
20:30 – Get back to hotel room. Call TL. Clean up.
23:00 – Call TL again. Fall asleep with TL on the other line.
I’m supposed to “lead” a team of two out here while I’m out here. It’s tough work trying to make these guys eat every two hours so they won’t get bored but someone has to do it. We actually have a real job to do out here and all joking aside, it’s been a good experience so far. I’m trying to make the most out of my time here since this is probably the last time I’m EVER coming out to Yuma.