February 20, 2008 Quapaw OK

OK, so my first day in Quapaw OK was not so bad.
My customer was pretty much uninterested in the training I came to provide on his new mass spectrometer. Instead, all he wanted was for me to try and remove assorted cards from several PC’s and try to get ONE new PC to run the equipment that three PC’s had been running. Sort of had to tell him that I would be glad to help with that if there was time, but this trip is for training on what you just purchased. When we get that outta the way, then you can waste. . . err . . . I mean use the rest of my time as you see fit.

I worked with two of their engineers. One was very friendly and easy to talk to. It didn’t hurt that he had retired from the Army so we had lots to talk about. The other clearly didn’t like me and didn’t want to spend any time with me. I guess maybe the long glossy finger nails threw him for a loop. Oh well, guess he’ll have to get over it.

Quapaw is every bit as far out and small as you might have guessed:

All in all, that means it’s a place I would love to live in. Bad news though, when you hitch your career wagon to high tech, you need to get used to the idea of living in a populated area.
There were a few gas stations, and restaurants, and my customer. That seemed to be pretty much it. Oh – and Casino’s!

I think it’s great – the Native Americans (American Indians) got the last laugh after all. They can legally have Casinos on their land. I love the idea of them taking all of my . . . err. . . I mean the White Mans money and using it to buy back the land that was taken from them. Sort of poetic justice don’t ya’ think?
So got the work day done and decided to have a little bit of a fashion show and then head out to give the Casino my money and eat dinner.

 

Anyway, judging from the pics, my wife might be right.
Did a few slots and lost my money VERY fast. Good news is I didn’t get a single dirty look from anyone – either passing or no one really cares.



I was told that the restaurant in this Casino was THE place to eat in Quapaw so I gave it a shot. The food WAS good and the service was too. Y’all should have been there. As I’ve always admitted, I might pass from 5 or 10 feet away, but up close you can tell I’m a male, especially when I open my mouth to speak. So the waitress was a young lady, had to be right around 20 and she did very well. When she figured out I was a guy she stayed friendly and polite. The only thing she did was to tattle on me when she went to the kitchen. The dining room was pretty empty but after she left my table suddenly there were bus boys, cooks, and bartenders swarming the area, and all sneaking peaks at me as I ate and read my novel. It was all I could do to keep from laughing. I tried to pave the way for the next TG that she encounters by giving her a healthy tip. After the check was taken care of she stopped to ask about the book I was reading, S.M. Sterling’s “On The Oceans of Eternity”, and I told her all about it. Not the most astounding night I’ve ever had, but far from the worst!