Hi guys,
I've been in Merced for a couple days now and things are going well. Merced is a wasteland of strip mall and foggy 24 hours a day, which is a little tough on the spirit, but we're staying in a pretty fancy-pants Ramada and my new teammates (3 guys and a girl) are pretty cool. They're not nearly as goofy as my old ones, but there's a pervasive dry wit that I am quite enjoying. The pool at the Ramada is not heated, alas, though they have free vouchers to the gym which has a pool et al., and we might change hotels next week anyway, to a different one with heated pool, sauna, and hot tub, along with micro-fridges, which this group defines as a necessity, as they cut food costs down significantly. The so-called bowling alley/arcade next to the Ramada that I mentioned to a few of you is boarded up, by the way; the web site lies, how tacky. ;)

The project is slated to go until the end of March! I'm sure that will shorten as time goes by, especially since they're intending to send in 6 more people once they get done with another project, but it's nice to know my employment will continue for at least another 1.5 months.

To those of you suffering from a cold east coast winter, know that I am thinking warm thoughts of you, and go throw a snowball for me...I don't miss negative chill factors, but snow is fun.