Emily in Wyoming

Should I change the name of the blog to Emily in Wyoming? Nah.

So, I've found an apt in Laramie, moved in, finished my first (short) week of work, and finally got Internet in my apt. Yay! Here is some info and pics for those interested. Some of you may have heard most of this, but you can deal with it.

Hard to believe the entire contents of my apartment could fit into this tiny UHaul, this SUV, and a Honda Civic:
I moved in a few weeks ago, and got freaked out during the last 45 minutes of a 14 hour drive. The portion of I-80 between Cheyenne and Laramie apparently closes quite a few times during the winter due to (primarily) blowing snow causing white-out conditions. And probably slick roads, but the white-out conditions I think are more of a problem. Anyway, the road closed later that evening and until later the next morning, but not before I started driving on it. There were literally times when I was driving when I couldn't see a thing. Literally nothing. My mom was taking pictures, but when it got really bad I yelled at her to stop because I was so freaked out. But we didn't die, and we made it to Laramie okay. My dad (with the UHaul) was a day behind us, and he had to hunker down in Cheyenne for a few hours before the road opened. But he made it okay, too.

We drove through Cheyenne very quickly. Here's the capitol...hey look! They're Badger fans! :D

The drive between Cheyenne and Laramie: After it was really bad, and before it got really bad.


We took a drive on a National Scenic Byway that runs through the Snowy Mountain Range...but it had actually closed the week previous for the winter (not to reopen until June), so we drove on it as far as we could...here's where the road closed. I think it was at about 10,000 feet:

A view of Laramie:

More Laramie area photos:

I started work last Monday. It was a short week because of Thanksgiving. I only had to work Monday-Wednesday. Even though it was only 3 days, I really like it so far. Everyone who works there seems really nice. They hired another person at the same time as me (with the same job), and she's nice as well. I think she's having a harder time adjusting than I am. The altitude seems to be bothering her more than me (she gets dizzy, and had a lot of bloody noses on her first day of work...due to the dry weather and altitude). Also, she's from Texas, so she's not used to the cold and snow. She's never driven in snow before.

This is the building I work in. Interesting:

Our job is to process archival collections that are primarily from the depression era...but a lot of different people/topics. Currently, we are re-processing a 400 cubic foot collection (!) of Joseph O'Mahoney, a democratic senator from Wyoming during the 30s-50s.

I hooked up my TV and digital receiver and found that I only got 2 channels--both PBS. So I decided to get cable along with Internet. I haven't had cable in 3 years! I've been preoccupied watching TV the last week. I hope the novelty wears off.

Anyway, here are some pictures of my apartment. It's 2 bedrooms...but still cheaper than my Madison apt.

This is a 4-plex, and my apartment is the bottom one on the left. We have snow. And it just started snowing right now. They only plow a few main roads here. Luckily, I live on one of those roads, and my route to work is on all main roads. so that's nice. They don't salt or sand, either. It does seem to melt off the main roads in not too many days, however. It's pretty sunny here. Apparently, it's sunny over 300 days of the year. It's been really snowy and cloudy the few weeks I've been here, but I guess it's been pretty unusual. So I hear.

My kitchen: Who doesn't want to do laundry and cook dinner simultaneously?? The flooring is pretty ugly, and I hate the cabinets. I think I'll change the cabinet knobs, because these ones are just hideous.

My bathroom: Lots of storage/shelving, which is nice. I wish the sink counter top area was bigger, but no biggie.

The living room: Pretty good sized. Even though my apartment is on the bottom, there's lots of windows and sunlight that gets through.

My bedroom. Again, 2 big windows. A bit small, but I don't have a lot/big bedroom furniture, so it's not a problem. And between the 2 bedrooms and the 2 big hall closets, I have plenty of storage.


Bedroom number 2, that I'm using as a study/office/whatever. It's a bit smaller than the bedroom I'm using as a bedroom.

Bonus picture of what happens when you lay your forearm on a hot burner. Not fun. It blistered. Gross.
Speaking of burners, cooking here is weird. I definitely have to use the high elevation cooking instructions (Laramie is at 7200 feet). Things bake all weird, so I guess you have to add more flour AND more liquids to recipes. Which is weird to me that you have to add more flour AND liquid, but what do I know? Also, water boils faster but at a lower temperature. So pasta takes longer to cook. Apparently, beans take like 2x as long, but I don't make beans often. Also because of the high elevation, materials expand inside their containers. So items in the grocery store look funny--yogurt containers and stuff are all bulged out and scary to open. Chip bags are nicely full of air and protected from chip breakage.

That's all for now. Later.