oh my. Pete & i are in an internet cafe in Washingtonville, NY fighting the urge to flee the state.
here is our schedule:
wake up at 4:30
breakfast at 5:00
on the field at 6:00
15 min break at 9.
lunch at 12:00
back to work at 1:00
make dinner at 6:00
collapse into bed at 9:30.

(that's 56 hours a week for $250)

bear in mind that field work consists of some combination of hoeing and manually squishing potato bug larvae, just about the grossest creature Satan ever unleashed. their guts are bright yellow, and they stain.
our kitchen is entirely outdoors. a propane stove and borrowed plates, pans, and silverware that vanishes occasionally as people make use of it, unannounced. we literally cannot plan meals, let alone having the necessary tools to make them.
when we arrived, there was cat poop in our house. there's probably still some there, but we haven't had much time (or light) to look.
we have no "normal" toilet. most of the time it's just a porta potty, with the exception of a composting toilet in our place (which wasn't up & running until the second week)
we have to drive 10 miles to a laundromat to do laundry on our saturdays (if we have them off).
our roof leaks, and it's been raining a lot. on our bed. (we work during the time when we would normally be able to sun it out.) (but Guy let Pete fix the roof, and he mostly paid for the labor)
Guy (owner) has been titled the "Master of Ambiguity". and Pete says he's a jerk. We never quite know what he wants us to do, and then he holds us accountable for things he never asked us to do. We think he's trying to get rid of us.

nice things to say:
the apples here are really delicious.
sunrise is usually pretty.
the cats are kinda cute.
we might be moving to a nicer place. updates to follow.

our CELL phone (believe it or not) number is: 845-591-0267


love love love,
Emily & Pete

no time to write much. Emily and i are on the farm in the woods. It kinda sucks but we're alive. Updates soon to come. Peace to you all

Holla everybody out there in post undergrad land. I have spent the last three weeks stranded in this abominable desert. Now, I've spent up to 5 weeks straight out here in Vegas before, but never in the summer. Let me tell you, to sum it up in one word, 'ridiculous'. Sadly this experience has lowered my opinion about the native american tribes that first settled in this valley. What were they thinking? The only thing I can figure is that they thought that if they lived here no one would ever kick them off their land. It's 100+ degrees everyday and every bit of green that you see is the product of constant watering. Talk about an artificial town, even the wildlife is imported.
I am not employed because I couldn't find a place that could hire me for a month and a half so you could say I lead a simple life. I sleep until about 1pm then I eat read a bit doze off for a nap, read a little more, eat a little more etc... If you haven't guessed, eating, sleeping and reading are my major past times. I finished off my graduate assistantship application, I am working out the details on an apartment in Colorado and reading a mix of work and play. On the work side I'm reading through my old statistics textbook from sophomore year in order to brush up before classes in August. I have also read a number of books by my soon to be graduate advisor Dr. Pyszczynski(try spelling that 5 times fast). On the fun side I've been re-reading satanic verses and I forgot how good it is.
Everyday I stare out my window and instead of blistering heat and cacti I see all of you guys throwing a frisbee around. You may call me nostalgic but I think it's just because I'm in that waiting period before my life picks up again.

One month to go.