I'm editting photos on Friday night, what are you doing?

 Some one does in fact live in this house. No, they are not having a garage sale, that's just how they like to decorate their front yard.

An attempt at being artistic.

Dairy Queen!!! This place is generally packed.

My week has been pretty fun. I wrote a short promo-article for the MSU extension adult food class happening here this summer, and the lady teaching it called to thank me for writing such a good article. I thought that was really nice. I've never been thanked for an article before. I spent all day yesterday hanging out with developmentally disabled adults for a story on Annie, a well-known woman in town with downs syndrome. But I also got a story assignment for Apostrophe, a Montana magazine about developmental disabilities. Who knew that doing the kind-of-cliche story on a local outgoing disabled person would lead to an opportunity to write another one for a different publication for more money? I guess that's why it's a cliche, right?

I don't know what to say when people ask me how I'm liking Malta. Do I like it here? Not particularly, there's not much to do and I'm going to have to order styling products for my hair online, along with pretty much anything else I want, beyond a shake at Dairy Queen. Do I like the people? Yes, very much. I am having fun meeting people out here, everyone is friendly and down-to-earth which makes it easy for me. Do I like the work? Yes, yes, yes, especially finally get paid to write something. I'm an official word prostitute and I like the way it feels. 

Finally, is it wrong to use my position as a fake member of the Montana Newspaper Association to stalk a local Ph.D student/very cute bird scientist?

This is called a flood

 

There should be no water in any of these locations along the High-line. There's about one to three feet of water on most of the feilds. People are getting pretty depressed, it's sunny one day and raining again the next. About 40 percent of farmers in the area will be unable to get their summer crops in. Record snowfall creates record flooding.

The floods in Utah are going to be awful. Some of the farms in the Weber area are already under water from the rain. Snow in Utah's mountains hasn't even melted yet. Be prepared.

In other news, I'm at work with nothing to do. Production days are surprisingly slow. So I'm editting photos. We bought an air conditioner for the office just in time for it to rain and be cold again.

The VFW Dino Dance

I think it's a bit odd that Veteran of Foreign War posts also function as bars. Is that really the message we want to send to retired soldiers? Anyways, it was as good a bar as any to have my first real bar experience in. No, I did not drink, but it was pretty entertaining to see the ladies below get drunk, for a good cause of course. It was a fundraising dance for the local dinosaur museum and historical museum.

My new friends, doing the two-step for dinosaurs. Sarah is perfectly awesome and belongs to some order of the Masons. I wonder if I can get invited...

Sue Frary, resident free-spirit and dinosaur expert/professional archeologist. I love this woman. When I was walking up to the bar, she came out holding several big bottles of wine and said "Heidi, they don't let you bring your own booze in!" I could not stop laughing, who would even think to bring thier own alcohol to a bar? No one but Sue. She won the dance contest.

Whatever and Ever Amen

Currently uninterested in writing anything.Currently need to write several things. Currently been listening to a lot of old Ben Folds Five cds and realizing that if I'm going to listen to cds again, I should probably update my collection. And currently sick of 'currently.' I had a long, ultimately boring day covering a car show. Car shows might be neat, but six hours at a car show--not so neat. Nothing happens. Plus, these weird out-of-towner's kept trying to talk me, but they were old and hard to understand. They kept telling me strange, useless things. And kept finding me. I would walk away to take more pictures and then they would be there again, asking if I got any good pictures. They commented that I looked embarrassed when they talked to me because my face was red, but I wasn't embarrassed, my face is just red. My skin was literally burning as they spoke to me. My face is still red and no, I'm not embarrassed to be typing on the internet. Anyways, I did get some cute kid photos and made some new grown-up friends. Also, spotted hutterites on cellphones and a gypsymermaid van and met a Mason. It's sad what gets you excited in a small town.

Catching Thieves

So I was talking to one of the many old men in Malta today and he told me to dress up like an 8-year-old, head to the house four blocks from the gas stations and take some photos of the tools these bandit men stole from his truck five years ago so that the police could finally prosecute. I'm pretty sure that is exactly what my fancy new Olympus camera is for. Why I need to dress up like an 8-year-old is a bit fuzzy.

I'm Here!

So I have been in Montana for five days now and it has been interesting to say the least. I am in the middle of prarie country, no mountains in sight, just miles and miles of sky along the horizon and it is absolutely beautiful. The plains around here are flooded in about three feet of water though. The farmers will be unable to plant their summer wheat. But don't worry, Uncle Sam will still pay them.

Some observations about Montana so far:
1. Life moves slowly here
2. Men like their woman to eat desert
3. Drinking and gambling are essential to a small town existence as evidenced by the abundance of bars, saloons, lounges and casinos in a town with only one grocery store
4. Only one fast food restaraunt in needed
5. It is acceptable to bring a dog literally everywhere with you
6. The federal government hates people who live in Montana and has hired a witch to turn them all into buffalo

Well I better get back to work. Photos coming shortly.

State of Emergency

Montana is in a state of emergency due to disastrous flooding after a winter of record breaking snowfall, Governor Brian Shweitzer stated last Thursday in an executive order.
http://governor.mt.gov/news/pr.asp?ID=924

People are drowning, being carried away in overflowing rivers and towns are covered in as much as six feet of water, but I'm going in. My editor told me summer had started, I should have asked for his sources.

Currently in a hotel room with my parents who are watching an Animal Planet show on fish. I think it is narrated by Oprah.

We'll see how tomorrow goes. We should be safe, Megan texted me to let me know how to use my brights.