Being somewhat of an idiot slacker, I haven’t scanned any of the photos I want to yet. This poses a large problem, as I can’t scan them now. I normally scan slides and negatives at the school’s library, and since I no longer live in Laramie, I can’t access the scanner. I did take all that I wanted to scan when I returned last weekend, but the library was closed all weekend. Allegedly people don’t use the library when school’s not in session.

The mention of not living in Laramie anymore seems strange. Laramie morphed into home after some time, and I’ll miss the place. Even stranger, starting in June, I’m not likely to live in Wyoming ever again.

It’s not like I don’t want to live in Wyoming (though I currently welcome the move if only for less windy winters); it’s a matter of career. There’s essentially no jobs in Wyoming for a computer scientist, much less a theoretical computer scientist. A large percentage of the population here is employed by coal mines, an industry with little use for educated employees, exempting a handful of engineers and bosses. And other than that, there’s little work to be found in Wyoming. Essentially everything else is support for coal mining and ranching.

It’s not like the State of Wyoming isn’t trying to attract businesses. They offer all sorts of incentives to businesses. The problem lies in the fact that there’s few employees to hire. I mean, it’s tough to move a business here when there’s not enough workers to staff it. I’ve heard many tales of companies looking to build in Wyoming, but building elsewhere since they couldn’t possibly find enough workers. And these companies were looking for unskilled labor.

Oddly enough, I read Chugwater, Wyoming, is offering plots of land for $100 if you’ll build a house on the site and live there for at least two years. Big lots too. Hell, the place even receives 235 days of sunshine on average per year. Though before signing on, you should probably be told that about 150 people live in Chugwater and the population has been steadily decreasing for thirty-some years. Believe me, when driving by on I-25, if you blink, you won’t even notice that you’ve passed Chugwater. So, I can’t say that bargain appeals to me.

Well Wyoming, you’ve been good to me. Maybe someday I’ll get the entrepreneur bug, start a company and return (of course, should I start a company, I’m likely to do so in two years and I don’t want to return so soon). Maybe I’ll retire on my family’s ranch. Or maybe, I’ll be one of the many young people who grow-up here, leave and only return to visit family.

To celebrate my last days in Douglas, Wyoming, I’m going to start posting photos of the place.