The Important Thing is Not to Die

As of today, I am now a paleontological monitor (not to be confused with a fossil varanid). Today was mostly just filling out of paperwork, but I was taken out to two developements that the company is monitoring for archaeological significance, just so I could see how things work. The big lesson of the day was a no-brainer: stay out of the way of the earth moving machines and make sure that the drivers of said machines can always see you, otherwise there's a chance that you'll die. After all, at a construction site, you don't get injured, you get killed. You'll be lucky if the driver of the 8 ton D10 catapillar even notices the red streak that signifies your only remains. Other than the risk of death, the only downside of the job seems to be the amount of driving that I'll be doing. Today I put about 180 miles on my van. I might have taken the I5 instead of the 57 to the 210, but I would have exchanged distance traveled for time stuck in gridlock. I get paid for mileage to work site though, so it's really more about the agravation of traffic than the actual driving. Other than that, this seems like it's going to be a great job.