some math

October 4 = Last time I slept in my own bed,
28 = # of days I have worked in the last 31 days,
12 = aprox. average hours worked per work day(probably higher),
3167 = monthly salary,
28 X 12 = 336 hrs worked in a month,
$3167 / 336 = $9.42 per hr.
I made more than that per hr my sophmore year of highschool. I just hope that between having a good portion of time off during winter and not having to pay for gas I am averaging more than $9.42 per hour over the year.
And what has that $9.42 gotten me? Today I spent the day hiking and conversing with a Baptist Minister/Priest/Rabbi/Whatever from Texas. I got to learn about how the beautiful rock layers exposed in Zion are actually the product of one cataclysmic flood caused by God just several thousand years ago (the flood and sediment came from the mid atlantic ridge). Oh, and the slot canyons around the area are cracks where the biblical flood rushed up from under the continents. Yea, thats what I said. And just to really fit the stereotype, he started one story with "I really like little boys" (verbatim!) Oh, and apparently womens' best way to express their love to their husbands by doing dishes and taking care of kids because it is the man's responsibility to earn money, take care of finances... Again, you get the idea.
Another interesting thing about this hike is that there are 2-3 large felines in the immediate vicinity of our trail. One of us has been hiking into the burned area we are spraying every day to be a ground spotter for the helicopter. The "trail" is a sandy ridge that we bushwack into the boonies for 4.3 miles. Each day for the last several days new cougar tracks have been appearing, paralleling our footprints. There are 3 distinct tracks, one large and two smaller cats (one may be a large bobcat). So we have started hiking in pairs now. Isn't that sketchy?!?
So lets see what else... My boss choked me yesterday, I have made a name for myself with a rather Keeganesque comment yesterday that apparently is funny enough to tell EVERYONE currently residing within a 20 mile radius of the park, I now have a webcam, so I can talk to you on skype face to face, I wake up at 4:30 to get to work before the sun rises, and the glimmering light at the end of the tunnel is that Thursday is the tentative date for completion of this project. Colleen is coming out here to visit me and we are going to hike some slot canyons together.
And my profound though of the day is: Whenever I hear someone say "slot canyon" I secretly replace "slot" with "slut" and giggle to myself. Yup, welcome to the world of Ian

I climbed a mountain next to Checkerboard Mesa and got to watch sunrise near the top.



My truck is the little one off my right shoulder :)











In the park.