Not at all! The dig I went on actually was hunting for early mammals, Paleocene and Eocene to be exact. We found some very tiny horses and some rodents that would scare your average Clydesdale. Yes, there was quite a bit of hot sun (it topped out at 117 F one day), but it was just about the most fun I've ever had. You haven't lived until you've swapped stories with a bunch of paleontologists around a campfire under the biggest sky you'll ever see. On top of that, the crew turned out to be incredibly well read, and we got into arguments over whether Shakespeare or Chaucer deserved more respect. *sigh* I really want to go back.

As to my current work, I'm playing around with sharks and rays, trying to classify a specific collection of fossils. With luck, I'd like to eventually get it published, but who knows.

I will definitely take you up on the squeeing. Most of the people around me kind of say, 'That's nice' and blink a lot. I definitely need an outlet for the geekage :>