Eisenhower Book Talk

The Eisenhower Center in Abilene has a book discussion program. The local library gets copies of the books and then once a month or so during the winter the Eisenhower Center hosts a book discussion. All of the books are associated Eisenhower or events during his administration. For the most part, I am not really interested in spending a lot of time reading about Eisenhower, but I thought I would pick a couple that sounded the most interesting to attend.

The first one I went to was last week. The book was about Mamie Doud Eisenhower (Ike's wife) and written by a local historian, Marilyn Holt, so the author actually led the discussion. I realized that I knew practically nothing about Mamie and the book was a shorty (approx. 140 pgs.) so a few days before the event, I signed up to be in the audience and read the book ... well most of it. Before I go on, I should really stress those two things here - I singed up to be in the AUDIENCE (not discussion group) and I did NOT finish reading the book.

On the night of the book discussion, I had a pilates class at the fitness center that ended at 6:30. After it was over I quickly changed then hightailed it to Subway to get some supper. I got to the Eisenhower Center at 6:52, snarfed down my sandwhich and chips in the parking lot and raced into the auditorium. At 7:02, I made it into the auditorium as the event is being introduced by a librarian from the local Abilene library. I was trying to sneak in and sit with this lady from my pilates class near the back when all of a sudden the librarian intorducing the event stopped what she was saying and shouted out "AMBER!!!" I couldn't believe it. I froze. She went on and suggested I come sit up front at the discussion tables becuase I had read the book. Oh no. How could I refuse? She stopped the introduction to ask me to come up to the front of the room. How did this lady remember my name, much less my face!? It must have been my neon yellow Columbia coat. Damn that coat! However she remembered me I was impressed and horrified at the same time. Remember when I said I didn't quit finish the book? Now I was sitting up in the front of the room, right next to the author and I had to try saying something intelligent about the book at some point during the hour and a half discussion. It looked like it was going to be a nightmare.

Well, it ended up not being as bad as I thought it would be ... like usual. The author was really interesting and she ended up talking most of the time. I made two comments about Mamie Eisenhower and the book that didn't sound too stupid. However, when I read the rest of the book later last week I realized that I asked a question that I probably could have figured out had I read the last chapter before the discussion. At any rate, the whole thing went pretty well, except for right before I left. The librarian who remembered my name came over to chat. I had the book in my hand and she said she could just take it back to the library for me. I paused for a second and then tried to act like it was no big deal and told her I had 10 or so pages left. "10 or so pages" might have been a little too vague or just plain false - I really had about 30 pages left. I think my feigned confidence kept it from being too akward. But I finally finished the book and I learned all about Mamie Eisenhower.

Home Improvement Project

Jeremy and I officially started our first home improvement project. Can you guess what we are doing? We are removing the wood paneling!!! Neither of us is experienced in this so we are testing out the process in the hallway first. So far we have the wood paneling off, the gashes in the sheet rock filled and part of the wall textured.

We just started texturing the walls to cover up the unevenness caused by the stubborn glue bubbles that I could not scrape off with my trusty trowel (as an archaeologist I love the varying uses of the trowel - what an amazing tool). So far we have only had one potential mishap. I don't think we were using the texture brush correctly. I know, it sounds like something that is so common sense you'd have to be really dense to not catch on. We even called Javers' sister twice for directions. Oh well. We can sand off the part we already did if it looks too bad.

Probably the best part of the whole process is this video download Javers bought that instructs on how to paint over wood paneling (an option we might use in the living room). It just so happens the video was made in Aberdeen, SD so the guy's accent iss marvelous. The way he talks about what he is doing is extremely entertaining. I wish I could just link to it, but you would have to pay to watch it. The best part is when he is talking about filling in the wood paneling cracks with spackle he gets really excited and lets us know this is where we are really going to get 20 times our money's worth because he is going to impart this marvelous secret. It's a good secret, I won't spoil it for you.

We did just start this weekend, but all is well so far. Javers and I are working together really well on this project. Stuff like this does have the potential to drive a wedge between couples. I think one thing we really have going for us is that we are both a little clueless. Instead of fighting over what each other is doing wrong, we are both desparately hoping the other person has some insight on how to proceed.

Trip to Branson Update

I still don't think this whole thing is a scam. I did have to listen to a guy tell me all about the Rainbow vacuum cleaner/air purifier for an hour or so. That was a waste of my time, but not painful. The free trip is actually just two nights in a nice four star hotel (I am not sure what kind of star scale we are talking about here - hopefully not four out of ten). I found out I don't have to go to Branson. There are a number of other places throughout the country with cooperating hotels. The deal is I have to pay for all my other travel expenses. Bottom line: not a super prize, but hopefully something I can take advantage of this year.

Bowling Success

For my work Christmas party, people in my buildings went to the bowling alley on base. We ate some pizza and bowled some rounds. I got a score over 100 for both games I played (101 and 104). That might not sound spectacular, but it is the first time I have ever broke 100 so it is spectacular for me. I think it was the ball. I really connected with that 9 lb pink ball.

Retirees and Me

I think I won a weekend trip to Branson, MO. I must have signed up for a drawing at the Kansas State Fair this summer. Frank from Rainbows (some sort of air filtration system) called me yesterday to tell me the good news. Of course, he wants to tell me about all the wonderful benefits of Rainbows before he hands over the prize, but he did assure me it's not a time share and there are no gimmicks. I will need to read the fine print. We are meeting this Saturday. If this all pans out I could be enjoying a luxurious weekend in Branson. Are you jealous? You should be.

911

I called 911 for the first time today. Actually, I dialed 911 for a deaf person once when I worked for CSD Relay (deaf phone call assistance) in Sioux Falls, but that doesn't count.

Here is the story: Late this afternoon, I was driving through Abilene on a busy 40 mph street. Suddenly the car in front of me swerved into the next lane. As soon as they cleared the way I saw why they swerved. There was a man in an electronic scooter barreling down the middle of the road at top scooter speed heading into traffic. Luckily, no one was to the side of me and I was able to swerve too. As I passed the guy I noticed his head was cocked to the side, he was drooling and staring off into space. This guy was clearly not alright. He had no regard for oncoming cars, traffic lights or stop signs. "Hey, are you okay? Do you need help getting off the road?" I yelled from inside my car completely forgetting the guy could not hear me. A few seconds later I decided to pull into a parking lot and call 911. The guy was scooting away from me pretty fast and he pulled into a grocery store parking lot down the road and out of my view. I gave the police dispatcher my phone number so I assumed they would call if they could not find him. No one ever called me back. I hope that guy got a ride back to wherever he came from.

I recently found out that I work for an entity that offers employee + spouse benefits to domestic partners, including same-sex partners. How cool and progressive is that? Rock'n'roll Colorado State University. Now Javers can stop pretending to be a man. Ha, good thing he never reads my blog!

My ears are clearing up a little. Finally. The right one still has some occasional issues but I go through parts of the day where I have my good old hearing skills back. Wow, has this whole thing been really annoying.

I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!!

Grrr ... My ears are so plugged right now. Actually, they aren't plugged. They are the opposite of plugged. There is a vacuum between my eustachian tube and my ear drum (Figure 1). I feel like my voice is trapped inside my head. Sweet Lord, why won't my ears pop!? It has been this way for 6 days and I need some relief so I am asking for suggestions. Don't suggest Sudafed or guaifenesin (Mucinex) - been there, tried that, no luck.

Figure 1.

Here is something totally random, but made me chuckle just now. I am at the computer at my Kechi weekend vacation home (sounds better when I talk about my dual life like that) and I see a CD titled "Yeast Movies" near the keyboard. What could be more exciting? I was thinking of going to Quantum of Solace tonight, but maybe I will just stay in and watch "Yeast Movies" with my lover. Yep, nothin' says lovin' like yeast.

Sarah Palin

My friend, Ingrid, sent me this fun little link to a site that imagines Sarah Palin as president. If you move your cursor over certain parts of the screen and click on things Sarah makes comments or there is a visual effect.

While in Virginia

Last week I was in Alexandria, Virginia (just south of Washington, DC) for a work seminar about federal laws and archaeology. It was pretty much a repeat of a class I took my last semester at WSU, butstill a good experience because hearing that information a second time around only helps it stay implanted in my head. I understood the material a lot better this time around too.

I have two side note stories about things that happened to me while I was in VA. The first day, when I got to the motel in the evening I got bored so I decided to check out the motel fitness room. I was on the treadmill when this lady came in and got on a machine next to me. She kept making out-of-breath noises that sounded uncomfortably sexual. We were watching the TV in the fitness room and a political commercial came on. All of a sudden the lady blurted out "You're voting for Obama, right?" I was really taken aback by her boldness so the first thing that came out of my mouth was "uh" and then she blurted right in with "You're not? Are you still undecided?! I can't believe it." Woah, lady, lay off!! I assured her that I was going to vote for Obama and I was even going to do it early because I could not on Tuesday.

The next thing we started talking about was breast implants. I'm serious. We were watching Samantha Who? with Christina Applegate, who recently had a masectomy. This lady (who, by the way was from LA, blond, thin, and had large breasts) said she thought Applegate probably got breast implants. Then she told me that she just got saline implants. She was so excited to inform me that she went from a 36 C, which is big in my opinion, to some DD size, which is just excessive. I did not even ask her why she did it, but she proceeded to tell me that she just had to. "I'm 40, I had to," she said. "If you live in LA or Florida, you just have to. Everyone does." I really did not want to get into an argument with random lady on an elliptical machine so I just nodded my head in agreement.

The second story involves an interaction with a homeless guy in a restaurant. After the seminar got over one day I got supper at this cafeteria-style place and sat down at a window bar to eat and read through a report for work. After a while, a homeless man sat next to me. He started talking to me. That was fine, except for the fact that he just went on and on. Finally, I got a phone call and answered (thanks for calling Mom!). While I was on the phone I noticed what he was eating. Because this was a cafeteria they had a drinks and condiments section. The man, named Fox, got a cup of hot water and pulled out a packet of oatmeal from his coat pocket. Then he went up to get little tiny pieces of free bread and packets of jelly and peanut butter. He made mini peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches. How creative. He even offered me one ... but I declined.

I should also mention that I got to see Kristine for a night and we had a wonderful time eating Greek food, going on a haunted house walking tour and drinking wine. What a gracious hostess. She let me try her homeade apple pie. Well, it was all wonderful until she realized some of her credit cards were missing. I hope that badness has been rectified since last week.

The Moral Sense Test

In a recent issue of Newsweek there were a number of articles on the brain and emotions and morality. One of the articles discussed if our morals and moral decisions are cultural or natural (i.e. if everyone in the world believes it is wrong to steal, regardless of cultural affiliation then it is a natural "instinct") or both. It is certainly some interesting stuff to ponder. After having so much training in anthropology I am inclined to say that morals and moral decisions are almost always cultural. Most anthropologists are pretty much against socio-biological determinism where our genetics solely determines who we are.

In the article they talked about the results of an online test. I took the Moral Sense Test and it certainly gave me some food for thought. I know they have different kinds of tests, but if you try it out and take the one that asks you to make decisions about whether you do something that saves five people and kills one it might seriously stress you out. Those are some tricky choices.

Octoberfest in Abilene, KS

This past Thursday, I learned about Abilene's Octoberfest during my pilates class. After the class I walked a few blocks downtown to check out the festivities. Many of the shops were open so I smelled a bunch of wonderful candles. I learned that there are at least a couple of stores downtown that sell homeade jewelry - I bought some earrings now that I have pierced ears. I explored the maze-like hardware store, which stretches about 1/2 block across the first floor of a couple buidlings. I ate some delicious rustic pork stew with egg noodles. I bought tomatoes, apples and colorful peppers from a local horticulturalist. The Abilene high school German club was taking orders for bierocks so I made my order and had a brief chat with my neighbor Ginger. She was helping the German club because they are fundraising to go to Germany this summer and she is hoping they will take her along. Hmmm ... I think I need to develop a relationship with the German club too!

The weather was beautiful that night as well. The air was so fresh and crisp. Abilene's Octoberfest was a wonderful close to a mediocre day and it really made me want to get more involved in the community. Maybe I need to join a club or something. By the way, my book club thing is not really going anywhere. I have asked a couple people and only one person was really interested. I might make a flier and put it into mailboxes on my block.

Tribute to Collin Waltner

I think most of you who read this know Collin Waltner, originally from Freeman, SD. I just have to say that while I was reading an article about the National Enquirer in Newsweek I could not help but think of Collin (and I say this with the utmost admiration and respect for him). In the following quote, just replace "uncle" with whatever Collin is to you:

"Think of the Enquirer as the media establishment's rogue uncle who likes to throw back a few at family reunions and then regale realtives with tacky, delicious stories of debatable veracity. He isn't entirely assimilated into polite company, but then you can't stop listening to him, either. The tabloid's arrival in our nation's newsrooms is eagerly greeted witha combination of admiration, disgust and envy."

I read this and instantly thought, "Collin is the Enquirer."

Some random thoughts I am having right now.

I just learned that wild blueberries have more antioxidants than farm raised blueberries. Wow, who knew? Now let's keep in mind that I got this off a bag of Dole frozen wild blueberries so it could all be a marketing ploy.

Speaking of food, I had a conversation with my coworkers yesterday about pumpkins and pumpkin pie. Am I glad it's pumpkin season? Yes.

It is also getting to be Halloween season and I feel like I need to get a costume. I just cannot be a pirate again. It's all I have known for the last five years. I must find something new.

Here's a photo of our newest cat, Cali.

The hype. The let down. Two stories.

If the weather is pleasant enough this Saturday Javers and I are planning to go to the State Fair. (Yes, I did use the words "Javers" and "planning" in the same sentence.) Every since I was in 4-H, I have a special place in my heart for the exhibit halls and the livestock barns. I am also looking foward to collecting some rulers and magnets. Too bad I won't be at the Styx concert Friday night. Mom (I know you read this religiously), remember when I was a kid and we all feel in love with that Enya song "Orinoco Flow"? We went to some media store to get the tape, but we didn't know the name of the song or the singer. All we had were the lyrics "sail away." I'm sure everyone can guess what sort of mix-up ensued. We entered the store and described the song to a store clerk. We even sang parts. That store clerk was so sure he know what we wanted and excitedly handed us the Styx album, with the song "Sail Away." We, just as excitedly, bought the tape and listened to it in the car on the way home from Sioux Falls. Strangely, it just didn't sound like our new favorite Enya song. We were so crushed. If I remember correctly it took a while for us to figure out.

On another note, I learned my lover has been lying to me for the last 3 and a half years. Is the relationship over? I don't know, I need some advice. Jeremy has proudly told me about his two South Dakota state titles: FFA meat judging champion and state whistling champion. I never really had reason to doubt the meat judging title. It's believable. The whistling championship always caused doubt in the back of my mind, but I never really questioned Jeremy too much about it. We went through a routine every time he brought it up where he would do a little whistle and then say "state whistling champ" and I would say "whatever" and he would say "no, it's true" and I would roll my eyes and we would move on with our lives. Recently, I decided to take the argument to the next level. I needed proof of his title. I searched online to see if anything came up about a South Dakota whistling competition. Nothing. Then I asked Jeremy to tell me about it. He said he whistled "Taps" and beat out an 80-year old women who was missing some teeth. He said he had a trophy at home. I asked him to email me a photo and he agreed. When the photo did not come after a few days I called him again to ask about it. That is when I found out it was all a lie. Gasp.

Feline AIDS, who knew?

I recently acquired a kitten (Cali) from Tina, a lady that works in the same building as me. The cat is doing great, but the poor thing gets taken care of by three different people in rotating shifts. When I am home on the weekends I make sure she is fed and petted. Jeremy has been traveling a lot the last month, but when he is home during the week, he takes care of Cali. When neither Jeremy or I are home, my young neighbor, Faith (aspiring photojournalist and seller of farm fresh eggs) watches Cali. I wonder if all these different people in Cali's life will have a profound effect on her life. Will my cat need therapy to sort through this someday?

My coworker, Fiona, was going to take Cali if I could not arrange for Faith to watch her when Javers and I were gone. She told me the other day that it was good Cali did not come to stay with her because she has lots of cats already and a number of them apparently have feline AIDS. Feline AIDS?!?! you say. Yes. Fiona said it is passed by blood to blood contact, usually through fighting. I would imagine sharing needles would also spread the disease. And to top it all off, Fiona said her two gay male cats have AIDS. I mean how much more cliche can you get? You just can't. Someone needs to tell Bono about this. People, let's get a U2 benefit concert scheduled.

Books

I just finished reading a real non-fiction page turner. Panic in Level 4 by Richard Preston is a great read, especially if you are interested in science news. Preston comes off quite self-important in his introduction and that made me apprehensive about reading the rest of the book, but it turned out to be very interesting and fairly well written.

I miss my book club from Sioux Falls. Now that I am done with school I want to join another, but I do not have any leads. I asked a librarian at the Abilene public library if she knows of any and she said a group of ladies come in every month and all try to check out the same book. She figured they were in a book club. I left my contact info so hopefully someone will give me a call. What a shot in the dark - this could get interesting.

My Day

Acutally, this is about some amusing things that happened during my day, yesterday.

First funny story: I was at work out on the KS prairie checking out an abandoned farmstead. I leaned over to pick up my tape measure and a single, but firm, grass stem shot straight up my left nostril. It stung pretty bad, but I did not really think much of it. Then I felt a liquid lightly streaming out of my nose and used my shirt to wipe it up (my shirt was already very dirty). It was blood. Now I had blood spots on my face and blood stains on my shirt. It really looked like I had been through something terrible and it was only a silly piece of grass.

Funny story two: We finished work about noon and decided to check out the fabeled "Calico Inn" restaurant in Riley, a small town about a mile from where we were working. Well, the base gate on the road was locked and unmanned so we had to drive five to ten miles out of our way and back to get to the town. When we arrived in Riley we discovered the Calico Inn was shut down and the pizza place did not open until supper time. Fortunately, Riley has a specialty meat store. My coworker Jeret loves specialty meat stores so we stopped there. This place was amazing. It reminded me of a small mountain/camping general store with a real hodge podge of goods. You know, bug spray next to coffee filters, next to leather gloves next to peanut butter, next to cajun meat rub, etc. Most of our four person crew bought an array of meats including goat and buffalo sticks. I bought a buffalo pot roast and pork jerky. Pork jerky is not so good. Buffalo pot roast might get roasted this weekend - I'll let you know.

Getting lobotomized by a piece of grass and venturing to a specialty meat store ... all in a days work.

The Thanksgiving Dip

This is for all who came out for 3rd of July and Tine's birthday (aka Independence Day) festivities:

The Thanksgiving Dip
From the kitchen of Jeremy Edward Javers

1 part Helmans real mayonaise
1 part cottage cheese
1 part sour cream
ranch dip powder (season to taste)--I did 1 packet / 3 cups of dip

Anyone else who was not here two weeks ago is more than welcome to try the dip as well.


By the way, Jeremy and I are thinking about taking a vacation this fall when I get a week or so of vacay time saved up, but we need some destination ideas. We only have about a week and want to go where the exchange rate isn't too depressing so I'm thinking "North America." If you have a suggestion of a great trip you have taken, or one you would love to take and have us test out for you, get in touch with me.

My Abilene Hood

First, I found out the WSU alumni magazine that did a story about my thesis research finally published the article online with a few pictures. The journalist did a pretty good job of making it all sound so interesting.

Now on to my Abilene neighborhood ... I live in the only apartment building (just a quadplex) in my hood so I am surrounded by lots of suburban-style single family and retired couple homes. Everyone is so personable and they love sharing garden produce. Ginger, across the street, gave me a 18-inch long zucchini a couple weeks ago. She had a garage sale last week, where I bought some delicious cucumbers. I also bought the board game Clue for $1. Kickass. Last night my next door neighbor rang my doorbell. She wanted me to have some of her homegrown tomatoes. another neighbor noticed that I leave for work every morning with a backpack. She said she and her husband discussed it and decided I must hike for a living. Wow, I was actually the subject of their discussion, even if it was just for a moment. I enjoy these neighbors who say "good morning" to me and give me groceries.

First, an update on my last post.
1. My ears are still doing well. I switched out my posts for some real earrings for Sarah's and Luke's wedding. It took forever and there was some bleeding, but Kristine assured me it would be better in a month.

2. The new job has had its challenging moments, but I still like it. Mostly, I am learning how to successfully relate to my coworkers. I am also trying to figure out my job responsibilities and everyone else's. I think both those goals are coming along.

3. I finally have things squared away with the old Malibu and the new Accord. I really like my new car, but now I will have those delightful monthly payments again.

I really have to say congratulations to Sarah and Luke who go married last weekend. I know you guys were busy and stressed the whole week (or at least Sarah was), but I had a great time. I love you. Enjoy the Grand Canyon. If you ride a mule up or down the canyon can you please email me a photo?

In other news, I saw the movie Legend last night. It was directed by Ridley Scott in 1986 and stars none other than a young Tom Cruise. It is a far-fetched fantasy with a wonderful 1980s soundtrack. The Tim Curry "satan" character was great. The horse who played the female unicorn was also marvelous.

So you'll be pleased to know my pierced ears are healing well. The new apartment is starting to seem homier. There have been some maintanence issues, including a shifty water heater and a leaky toilet. Actually, the toilet was spraying water from under the tank that leaked into my basement. When I asked the landlord if he wanted help wiping up the water in the basement he shrugged his shoulders and said he'd just let it dry up. Whatever, it's his property.

I got a job promotion already. My supervisor resigned a couple weeks after I started so my employer, CEMML, asked if I wanted her job. I was not really sure what all she did, but it was a nice raise so I took it. I officially started on Tuesday and so far so good.

In other news, my car was damaged in a hail storm earlier this month and deemed a total loss. It has some other engine problems so I am taking the insurance company's money and getting a new car. I should be driving a blue 2003 Honda Accord shortly.

So it's been a while since my last post. It has been an eventful month. I graduated from WSU - yippee. My mom, grandma and aunt came to witness the event. Good times. I went to Wisconsin to visit Jeanette and Mike. It was great to see you guys in your element, and what a nice element you have chosen. It was quite an eventful couple of days. The first day Nette and I were looking at fabulous earrings and commenting on how we could not wear them because we don't have pierced ears. Then it dawned on us that we might as well get that whole ear piercing thing over with. We went to Claire's, squeezed a stuffed bear and came out with silver studs in our ears. One day Mike and Nette and I went to the Wisconsin Dells and took a boat tour. Very nice rock formations. I should really put pictures of all this stuff in this post, but I'm too lazy right now to wait for them to upload.

I have officially begun the next segment of my life. I started work last week at Fort Riley in north central Kansas as an archaeologist. Fort Riley is really big (101,000 acres) so they have seven archaeologists on staff to handle all the work. I just began last week so I don't have much to say right about it right now. I am still trying to get a grasp for what all my job will entail. I like the people I work with so far and that is a bonus.

When I took the job at Fort Riley, I knew I would not be able to drive 2 hours to and from work every day. I now rent a small apartment in Abilene, KS which is only 25 minutes from work and an hour and a half from "home." I go back to Wichita on the weekends. It is a real lifestyle change. I have a month-by-month lease on the apartment so either I will get used to this or I will quit my job and look for something closer to Wichita.

Madison, WI, here I come! I have never been to Wisconsin to see my dear friends Nette and Mike so that is where I will be at the end of the month. Apparently my visit coincides with Brat Fest. What could be more exciting than that. I think Reed should consider a trip to Madison for Brat Fest.

I came across this hilarious blog featuring emails and instant messages from moms. You will probably chuckle out loud when you read some of these so make sure you're not in the quiet zone of the library.

Who Wants a Vacation?

I have about one week between my last final and my first day of work (May 20-26). I have been thinking about how I am going to spend that week. I could take care of some things like finding a place to stay, moving, getting utilities hooked up and actually visiting my new workplace ... but who wants to be that prepared? What I really want to do is take a little vacation trip, at least for a few days. Because of football practice and games, Javers can't go anywhere with me. I am not as excited about taking a trip all by myself so I was wondering if 1) someone would like to travel somewhere with me and/or 2) would someone I know like to provide a place for me to stay. I understand most people out there have work schedules and are probably not available to tote me around all day and I certainly would not expect that. If you are interested in traveling with me or hosting me let me know.

I just accepted the job at Ft. Riley. Wow, my life is going to change a lot in the next month. I'm thinking about renting a place in Abilene during the week. Rent is pretty high in Junction City and Manhattan because of K State and the military base so someone suggested Abilene. If I end of staying there and anyone needs to do research at the Eisenhower Library, you can stay with me.

Does anyone else think it is interesting that as a supporter of nonviolence, I have spent a significant portion of professional career working on or planning to work on military bases? Well, I guess someone has to tell destructive people to leave the archaeological and historical sites alone. At least our government cares enough to have passed laws to protect America's heritage (and give archaeologists jobs!). Maybe we can discuss other people's heritage (i.e. Iraq) some other time.

Yesterday was eventful. In the evening I went to a Sheryl Crow concert. She really impressed me. I had heard her sing live on TV before and always thought her voice sounded weird and maybe a bit off pitch, but last night she was really good.

Earlier in the day I was offered a job I applied for at Ft. Riley, KS. I have a week to decide and I'm not sure what to do. I think it would be a great just-out-of-college archaeology job because I would be doing a variety of tasks doing fieldwork, in the lab, and writing government natural and cultural environmental review reports. The pay is mediocre, but I would not have to travel as much as if I worked for a private contract archaeology firm. The downside is that Ft. Riley is a little less than 2 hours from where I currently live. I would probably have to get an apartment in Junction City during the week and come home on the weekends. Really, though, if I want to do archaeology in Kansas this is probably my best option right now. Hmmm ... tough decisions.

Research Presentation

If anyone in the general Wichita area is interested, this Saturday at 10:30 am I will give a 15 minute presentation about my thesis research in Belize. It is part of an anthropology symposium being held on the WSU campus in Clinton Hall, Room 126.

I recently discovered I like cinnamon gum. I really used to hate cinnamon. I still don't like cinnamon scented stuff like candles and potpourri, but the gum thing is an exception. My favorite flavors are the sweeter offerings from Stride and Orbit over the "fire" types from brands like Dentyne and Trident.

Other than enjoying my new favorite gum flavor, I am trying to finish up school and searching for jobs. I had a phone interview yesterday for an archaeologist position at Ft. Riley. I am also trying to finish watching seasons 3 and 4 of "The Wire" (HBO series) so I can finally watch season 5, which I have been storing on my DVR. Everytime I view the list of recorded shows and movies "The Wire: Season 5" stares me in the face begging me to watch. But I painfully resist because I don't want certain plot lines to be spoiled. I already found out Omar died. Thank you Newsweek. How dare you report current news when I am not ready to hear it. It's not like anyone else reads your silly magazine. Somebody should sue them.

Celebration

Yippy skippy. I just defended my thesis and passed. Based on what my committee members said before today, I figured I would pass so it was no real surprise. It feels nice anyway. Now I have to change a few things based on their comments and take it over to the extremely anal retentive formatting lady to make sure everything fits specifications and then I'm done.

Canada

Those of you who don't know, I was in Vancouver, Canada last week to present at the Society for American Archaeology Conference. The presentation went really well (at least no one hackled me to my face!). I also attended some very interesting presentations about the first people in the Alaska/Beringia region. For those modmates who went shopping with me on Good Friday, I wore the black and white dress with the circle pattern, pseudo-wrappy waist, three-quarter length sleeves and the red band on the hem. When I put it on I couldn't believe how much I looked like a business woman. Strange.

I spent most of my time at the conference so I was not able to do much sight seeing. No X Files shooting location. The one day I did go out and walk around downtown, it was cold and snowy-rainy. I canceled my walk to the park, but I did run into a Ten Thousand Villages shop. Those Mennonites are everywhere. Another day I had a splendid lunch at a sushi bar. It was so crowded I sat at the bar next to a total stranger. We started chatting and I found out she used to be an architect, but now exercises race horses for only four hours in the morning and then spends the rest of the day eating sushi, tanning, walking around town and just doing whatever she fancies. What a kick ass job, eh. Yeah, she said "eh" all the time.

Phew!

This morning I printed copies of my completed thesis to submit to my committee members for review before I defend next Friday. I had some real severe moments of apathy the las few days, especially last night / this morning at 3:15 am when a few of my tables developed minds of their own and wandered all over the page. Some of them even disappeared. God bless Microsoft Word. Next time they do an update on Word they should really make it easier for the program to handle multiple graphics and tables. It is a wonder I actually finished. Now I am waiting in the Wichita airport on my way to Vancouver, Canada for a conference. If I have any free time is there something I should see/do/buy?

Biscuts 'n' Gravy

I was walking on campus earlier today when I suddenly felt something hit the back of my forearm. It was a buttermilk biscuit. Someone from a passing car chucked a buttermilk biscuit out the window and it hit me. Now I don't know if it was supposed to malicious, funny or a complete accident, but it really cracked me up (after I got over the initial shock).

Choir Practice

I am by no means a great musician, but growing up Mennonite in Freeman and then going to Bethel has left me with a great musical heritage. Now that I have left that scene, sometimes I miss things like clarinet quartet, piano lessons, and chancel choir. Well, last night I went to Hope Mennonite Church in west Wichita to sing. Their choir is under the amazing direction of the one and only Dan Graber (Polly's bro). It was so much fun and those people are really good for a church choir. I left rehearsal really invigorated and excited to sing on Easter.

I went to junior high and high school with the guy in this story. This is actually part II. The first story they did a few days earlier was about how he had been working on this ball since I first knew him and how it had grown over the years. He wanted to sell it to get money for an engagement ring and wedding. The last line, by his mom was the best: "He's exchanged the ball for a bride." Kick-ass quote Jonetta.

I could not put a link to the first story because you have to subscribe to the Argus Leader to get it. You can still get part II, but it might be time sensitive so act now. Don't delay! Limited time offer!!

An honor that is freaking me out

Last week I got this strange voicemail from Connie, who is a reporter from the WSU alumni magazine, "The Shocker." She got my name from the anthropology department chair and wanted to do a story on my research at Uxbenka in Belize. I was kind of taken aback and didn't really believe she wanted to feature only my research. Actually, she wanted to do a follow up on Keith's (my advisor) canoe find. I had to break it to her that it probably was not a canoe. Then she wanted to do most of the story about what I did at Uxbenka. Well, we had an interview yesterday and Connie said she hoped to do a 4-6 page story about what I found at lil' old Settlement Group 21. Crazy. This is quite an honor, but at the same I am not sure if my research is all that exciting at the moment. She is a reporter, I am sure she will make it scintillating. I told her I was going to defend my thesis April 4. Now it will be in print and I really have to do it. AHHHHH!!

This guy cracks me up

Javers came home Thursday night all giddy like a school girl. He had just received his football practice uniform, helmut and matching mouthgaurd. Of course, he put it all on and walked around the house for a bit. I snapped photos of him doing "action" poses. It really felt like taking pictures of a kid on his or her first day of school. Gotta love it. His first game is on March 8 and even though I don't completely understand football I am excited for it. Maybe I'm just excited for him.

Muumuu Quote

I'm listening to Sue Grafton's A is for Alibi on my iPod right now and I this morning I heard a quote I think some of you might enjoy: "Rosie put the cash in her muumuu and wandered back to the bar."

While I was looking up how to spell muumuu I came across this store that sells a whole variety. I don't know if I should say this, but some of them look pretty cute.

Does anyone know a piano tuner in the Newton/Wichita area?

I just wrote the 15 lines of my thesis. They might not actually be the first 15 lines in the document and they might not even be there when it's all said and done, but it is a START, man.

Opera and Sushi

Yesterday I did two things I don't do very often, but really enjoy. In the afternoon, with some anthropology department chums, I saw the opera La Boheme done by the Wichita Grand Opera. It was terrific. I got chills during one of the arias in the first act. Even if one is not the biggest fan there is something to be said for live performances and the ability of the audience to connect with real people on stage. I would highly recommend everyone experience an opera at least one in his or her life. (As a comical side note, I think the last time I "highly recommended" an experience it was a drag show.)

For supper a few of us went out for sushi. Actually, just Brent and I ate sushi/sashimi/maki and Angie had sesame chicken. Mmmmm ... such good texture and flavor, except for the octopus, which had a rubbery texture. We got this huge platter and there were about ten pieces left over. I am not sure how long raw fish can safely stay fresh in my refrigerator, but the server said he thought it would be fine if I ate it in the next couple of days. Guess what I'm having for lunch.

New additions to the left of the page ...

I have added two new blogs to "People I know who also blog." I went to Freeman Academy and the north church with Anna. Roy is her husband. Delightful people.

Winter Weather

We had another round of winter weather here in Kansas. This time there was no rainy sleety business, just a pleasant snow fall (with a little blowing wind). It resulted in a nice white blanket of snow with minimal icy conditions. A winter snow like this is very refreshing for me and reminds me of my more northern upbringing.

Even though I enjoy the scenery and beauty of the snow, this storm certainly presented me with problems. Last night, I got stuck about half-way down our driveway. It was all fine, until I got to our neighbor's row of pine trees. They created a wind block which made for large drifts. I was tired and hungry so I got out of the car and just walked the rest of the way home. Those drifts were over a foot deep in spots. I don't know why I thought I could just barrel the Malibu through. When Jeremy came home we pulled the car back to a shallower spot along the driveway and I guess that is where I will park it until the snow melts.

This morning I had another snow related problem. I was traveling to school for my first class around 8 am and of course, there was considerable traffic at this time. When you get south of York, NE, where it starts to snow less and rain more, there are three main types of winter drivers:
1) Those who freak out and are extra cautious traveling 10 mph all the time, even if the roads are not slippery. I consider these people to be a minor hazard.
2) Those who know how to drive well in various kinds of wintery conditions.
3) Those who pretend nothing happened last night and drive just like they did yesterday. These are the people that pass someone and then spin out of control because they changed lanes too quickly. They tailgate. They accelerate too quickly after a stoplight and slide around into other lanes. They do not allow for extra time to slow down so they don't push on their brakes soon enough for the person behind them to start slowing down in a timely manner ...

On my way to school today I encountered one of these Type 3 drivers. He or she pulled out of a driveway in front of me. Even if the road conditions had been normal it is likely I would have had to slow down for this person to accelerate. With the mildly slick roads and his or her inability to accelerate quickly enough I inevitably had to slow down and I soon realized I could not do it fast enough. I was slid first toward the other lane of traffic and then finally toward the ditch where I did a 180. Luckily, I did not actually go into the ditch and no one behind me hit me. I turned around and continued on my drive, but I was so upset. I mean seriously, what the hell.

New Addition to the Living Room

For the last few months I have checking out the local classifieds whenever I remember, looking for cheap pianos. On Thursday I found one that sounded like it might be a good deal so I called the guy - Louie - and made an appointment to take a look at the instrument. It is a 1905 Bush & Lane upright piano. Louie said he got it because he likes to play ragtime and old west saloon-type music, which sounds better on uprights, according to him.

It really does sound pretty good, except for being out of tune in the middle of the piano. Luckily there are no weird clanking/clicking sounds when you hit the keys and they all have pretty even resistance. I am really pumped about it. Now, however, I have to find a piano tuner. Too bad I'm not back in Freeman where half the town knows how to tune pianos (slight exaggeration).

I paid $300 for it and originally Louie and I had arranged for me to pick it up and move it. But he called me yesterday to say he just went ahead and loaded it onto his trailer and would just bring it over. Considering he lives 30 miles south of us, that was a super nice gesture. He brought a buddy and they both helped put it in the house too. He turned out to be a really nice guy who invited Javers and I to go walleye fishing with him in March.

Below is a photo of my new purchase. We put a buffalo drawing I did in high school right above the piano to really accentuate the old-timey-western feel. That was actually Javers' idea. He should have been an interior designer.

Wow, blogger.com is now available in Arabic, Hebrew and Persian. Their writing is so beautiful.

My classes start this Tuesday. What, you say, you haven't even started school yet? Yep. I have actually been going to school almost every day this past month to try and get some thesis research done, but all this self-motivation and self-structuring has taken it's toll. I am the kind of person who likes a little bit of a regular schedule because planning how to spend my time takes too much time. I think one afternoon after lunch I spent a whole hour and a half playing Mahjong. Another morning I spent a couple hours organizing my songs on iTunes and downloading some new ones. I read and skimmed a whole issue of National Geographic one day too. Despite all these distractions, I was mildly productive. After a phone call with my advisor (who no longer teaches at WSU) I found out that he is going back to Belize in the beginning of April. That means I need to have my thesis written and defended in about two months. That is a little scary and has lit a small fire under me ... but still a small one at this point. I think I can do it. A lot of what needs to be written down is description of what I did and what I found. Those kinds of things I already know and don't need to to a lot of outside research for.

Alright, enough about that stuff. I saw No Country for Old Men a couple weeks ago. Good movie. Has anyone seen Atonement? There is all this buzz out there about it being such a spectacular movie, but I don't even know what it is about. All I know is that I see emotionally conflicted people in the ads.

Back from Vacay

I went on a blogging vacay during the holidays. Now I'm back. Javers and I returned to Kansas Dec. 30, but I continued my break from school work this week. It has been nice and relaxing, but next week I should really get back to my research if I want to finish my degree by May.

Yesterday I was catching up on some periodical reading and I came across this hilarious video clip starring Will Ferrell and a very articulate baby.

More Christmas Decorations

At the ICM Christmas Party Javers and I decorated some ginormous stockings to hang by our tree. They are absolutely beautiful. In the process of transporting them home we managed to get puff paint on my coat and Jeremy's truck seat. Nice.

Goulash

Does anyone need goulash? It's tasty. Jeremy made four quartz of it on Saturday. We ate some, gave some away, but there is still a couple of full containers in the fridge. Let me know if you want it and maybe I'll send some your way. It would be like getting fruitcake for Christmas, except it would be goulash.

Theory

When I was working in the library at Bethel I came across a cartooned murder mystery titled Postmorem for the Postmodernist by Arthur Asa Berger. I hardly knew anything about postmodernism at the time, but felt like I should learn about it to better understand contemporary theory. I would suggest the book to anyone. It was a very quick, fun and light read and it really aided my understanding of the tenets of postmodernism, as Arthur Asa Berger sees them.

Today, I was perusing Berger's web page from the San Francisco State University and I came across some more of his works. In one essay he analyzes a joke from eight different perspectives. It is a good reminder that interpretations are immensely variable. I thought it was pretty interesting and if you are interested too click the link I give you and open 8 Scholars Analyze the Gays in a Bar Joke.

Here's a fun Friday work diversion fo' y'all: Guess Your Number. Works every time (but I only did it once).

Christmas Programming: The Benefits of Cable

For the most part, I view our cable TV package as excessive and unecessary. Most of the shows I watch are on those standard channels - ABC, NBC, etc. - although I admit I do periodically enjoy a movie from the movie channels, and HBO series, a Rachel Ray show, or something off the Discovery Channel.

Christmas programming, however, has changed my views. I love those holiday shows of my childhood like Frosty the Snowman and A Charlie Brown Christmas. Most of these shows and more show up on cable channels. I have been dilligently searching the listing guide for shows associated with "Christmas" or "holidays" and am recording a bunch of them. Last night I watched Rudolph's Shiny New Year. I didn't even know there was another Rudolph show besides the classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Tonight I am planning to watch a movie based on a story by Truman Capote about an old lady, her young nephew (or maybe cousin?) and fruitcakes.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to find one of my favorites A Claymation Christmas Celebration . I will have to keep searching becuase that's a good one.

Photos of the Christmas Tree

Even though we have a few Christmas decorations up I don't have it in my heart to throw away my pumpkin. I suppose I could eat it.

I'm experiencing nascent excitement for the Christmas season. Jeremy was eating an orange a few days ago and that smell, along with the chill in the air was the start of it all. On my way home from SoDak last Sunday I bought a Christmas music CD from the Starbucks in York. That also made me feel like Christmas. Yesterday, we went to a nursery and bought a Christmas tree. Last night we decorated it. It's a short bugger and completely loaded down with lights, shiny garland and ornaments.

As a side note, I want to thank Erin for reminding me about peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch. This week I had a much needed reprieve from deli meat and mustard.

Pumpkin Pie Blizzards Have Returned!!!

I went to another drag (queen, not car racing) show last night. It wasn't bad, but there were too many sappy soulful songs. Regardless, I highly recommend the experience. Maybe I just like this stuff because from an anthropological perspective experiencing people and situations different from my own is interesting to me.

So Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Maybe you already knew that. As far as we know, Jeremy's whole family (parents, siblings, spouses and spawn of siblings) are coming to our place for the holiday. That's a lot of people - Jeremy has six siblings. Neither of us has ever hosted Thanksgiving before so I have feelings of uncertainty. I mean, do we need to get our turkey(s) now in case the grocery store runs out? I think Carla (mom) and Michelle (sister) usually do the cooking for their Thanksgivings up in SD and Jay (brother-in-law) makes some sort of pheasant dish so I am hoping these people will take over when they get here.

I believe everyone is staying at our house too. We have a lot of open spaces for sleeping and hanging out, but only one working shower so this could get interesting.

Finally, I just want everyone to know that DQ has started making their delectable pumpkin blizzards again. Hurry to your local DQ because this is a limited time offer and boy are they good. Last Saturday, while I was enjoying my first pumpkin blizzard of the year, I started thinking they would not be that hard to reproduce once DQ discontinues them after the holidays. I believe all I would have to do is combine vanilla ice cream, canned pumpkin pie filling and some graham crackers or Nilla wafers. However, making them myself might take the specialness out of the limited time offer at DQ. Wow, these are the tough decisions of my life.

life expectancy

I checked out this life expectancy calculator after hearing about it on Sunday Morning on CBS. I'm not really sure how you can calculate life expectancy with accuracy, but it is a bit interesting.

lemonade stand

Below the Newsweek feed I added "ber's lemonade stand." I heard about it on the Today show. I picked items that I have and like and made up my own ad. Apparently, if someone buys something from the lemonade stand I get some sort of commission. Ah, the beauty of our capitalist consumer oriented society. There are some neat things, like my new camera, a wine I really liked, some of my favorite reading material and Asics running shoes I really like. However, if this really annoys anyone I will get rid of it.

I clipped Newsweek's top ten list and added it to my sidebar. Sometimes they have interesting articles on the list.

Struck down again

I think I got food poisoning again! Two times in the last four months is a bad track record. Sunday night I ate at a United Nations banquet at a local restaurant. About three hours later I was in a lot of pain. It surely felt like food poisoning to me, but maybe I have some sort of stomach flu/bug. At the end of last week I had a piece of cheesecake one day and a bowl of Freddy's Frozen custard another day. After both cases of rich heavy food I got a mild upset stomach. On Sunday I did not have anything at the banquet that was that rich so I'm not finding much consistency. This is all very strange and I am starting to fear I have some sort of new food allergy or a type of lactose intolerance that does not include nonfat yogurt and skim milk. I should probably see a gastro-intestinal specialist about this, but alas I have student health insurance. I might have to figure this one out on my own.

No Apples

My apple orchard project did not pan out. Apparently we had a frost last spring that killed all the buds on the apple trees. No apples. Maybe next year. This whole apple things has me interested in the apple trees in my yard. They need to be seriously pruned. I have looked up some pruning tips online. I thought it was something I could do this fall, but I guess the trees need to be dormant for at least a few weeks before you start. That means it will be well into winter before we can get out the saw.

Mahjong

During a moment of boredom or procrastination a few weeks ago I was checking out the games Bill Gates put on my new laptop. I discovered Mahjong. It took a trial game or two before I understood what was going on and now I love it. I might love it too much, actually. Yesterday I postponed going to my neighbor's pig roast barn party for 30 minutes so I could get in a little Mahjong action. Yep, this needs to stop.

Apples and Squash

When I was home in SoDak a couple weekends ago I went to an apple orchard and stocked up on some apples and squash. Now my supply is getting low so I want to find an orchard close to where I live. I did some checking online and found two, each about 10 miles away. I think I will see if I can find them this afternoon - sounds like a good Sunday afternoon task to me. I also have to finish writing a paper which is not as fun. It's all about balance.

Here is a picture of Estelle Waltner, Polly's and Kyle's new daughter:

Congrats are in order. Erin (Schmidt) and Brian Stucky were successfully married last Saturday. It was a really fun wedding and great to see old friends.

Rachael reintroduced me to Scrabble. Barb, you better watch out at Thanksgiving. Now that I have a game I'll be practicing with Javers. I might be able to pull out all kinds of rarely used scientific words by that time.

I Officially have Comprehenisve Knowledge of Anthropology

I found out I passed my comprehensive exams today. Exciting. With those out of the way I have begun to organize my thesis data. I started a Microsoft Access database of the artifacts I recovered from my work in Belize. I don't know much about Access so I took this corny 40 minute online course. It told me how to save and open files. How useful, because I didn't know how to do that before (can you sense the sarcasm?). I tried to figure it out myself and that has sort of worked, but there were some problems with duplicating fields in the primary key. Hmm ... I would fix it if I knew what a primary key was. Has anyone who reads this post found a good Access guide?

Polly had her second baby last Sunday - Estelle Caroline Waltner. I'm liking the name. Jeremy and I are going to SoDak this weekend. I'm going to visit the new Waltner and I think Jeremy is going to party at Hobo Days in Brookings.

Okay, stressful tests are over. I have nothing else to talk about. That has pretty much been my life for the last few weeks. Oh, here is something exciting: I made a really good smoothie yesterday with my homemade yogurt.

No post in a while, been very busy studying for exams. They are Wednesday through Friday so maybe something more from me after they are over.

Neighbors

Three times this week I saw our neighbor (the one we share a driveway with) weeding her lawn by the driveway. She has a really big lawn too. I can't believe she was actually out there pulling away at weeds, especially at a part no one sees besides us and them. Too much free time? Or an intense hatred for weeds? I will never know.

Yogurt Making

I bought a yogurt maker online. You have to do all the heating of the milk and adding of bacteria, but the machine cooks the yogurt at a constant 111-115 degrees for bacteria growth. Javers, Willa (our temporary roommate) and I tried it out last week and it was mildly successful. The directions suggested cooking for 10 hours the first time. The longer you cook it the firmer and tarter it gets. I think 10 hours was too tart so we will shorten that the next time. Also, Javers heated up the milk too quickly and the instruction book said that can make poorer quality yogurt. He wouldn't eat it, but I added some sugar and fruit and I thought it tasted fine. Plus, it's something we made so that makes it exciting to eat. Handcrafting yogurt makes me feel somewhere inbetween a microbiologist and a French peasant.

Major Purchase

I'm freaking out a little right now. I just bought a laptop. It's a Lenovo T61 Thinkpad. I read some reviews online and the Lenovo laptops got high marks and were very comparable in price to Dell and Sony. I think I chose wisely, but damn, it's never easy to drop $1500.

The hot water is back. My classes started yesterday. I just ate a chocolate covered strawberry.

I miss hot water

Lynn didn't wake up and her brain showed no meaningful activity. She is gone. As usual, this stuff makes me very introspective and entertain thoughts of the fragility of life and so on. It really is wonderful that we have trained ourselves not to think like this all the time because it makes it hard to get on with other things.

So now to "other things." I started my new job on Monday. If you want to know more about it, check out this Supplemental Instruction link. My job title is SI Coordinator and I think there will be some new photos up online in the next week or two. Yesterday was training for me and today I had to help train eight new employees. It was a little intimidating considering I am new to the position and still learning the ropes myself. One of the coordinators, Sandi, had the same job last year so she knew what was going on and helped immensely. It all went pretty smoothly.

Our propane at home went out on Friday. Our tank leaks so we are waiting to get a new one, which is scheduled to come tomorrow morning. Finally, hot water again! I have been taking showers at the fitness center at WSU and it's a total pain in the ass.

I learned earlier today that Lynn, my best friend from elementary school is in critical condition in a hospital in Kentucky. A lawn mower rolled over on top of her. From what I understand, parts of her body were crushed, including her trachea. That means her brain could have been without oxygen for some time. This is all really sad and has definitely been on my mind throughout the day. I am also really thankful my lawn doesn't have any scary steep angles to mow.

Darwin's Choice

The last week or so I have been studying for comprehensive exams I will take in September. This involves skimming through a very large list of books. Today I am reading ecological anthropology tomes and I found an interesting tidbit in Evolutionary Ecology and Human Behavior (ed. Smith and Winterhalder). Apparently when Charles Darwin (you know, the natural selection guy) was 29 in 1838 he was contemplating marriage. He wrote down a few thoughts on a scrap of paper:

Marry
Children - constant companion, who will feel interested in one (a friend in old age) - object to be beloved and played with - better than a dog anyhow - someone to take care of house - unthinkable to think of spending one's whole life, like a neuter bee, working - nice soft wife on a sofa with a good fire.

Not Marry
Conversation of clever men at clubs - Not forced to visit relatives - the expense and anxiety of children - perhaps quarrelling - terrible loss of time - cannot read in the Evenings - fatness and idleness - less money for books - if many children forced to gain one's bread.

Isn't that hilarious? Darwin did marry and hopefully she was nice and soft and they had a good fire.

Realized I haven't posted in a while. I guess I don't have much to say. I had to stop loafing around so much and start reading for my exams and this afternoon I have a meeting with Prufer to do some thesis planning. I did however rework my Blockbuster Total Access (like Netflix) movie queue so I'm excited about watching some movies.

This Post Comes Straight to You From KS

Back in the States now. I have been doing a lot of loafing around the last week trying to figure out how I want to spend the next month. I have no real commitments until my jop starts on Aug. 13. I'm going to SoDak in the beginning of August and I will probably make a quicker trip this coming weekend to see the first annual folk music festival at the Prairie Aboretum. Sue and Nick did a lot of planning for it so I might go support, maybe cook up some chislic. Mmmmm ... chislic ... mmm.

The rest of the time I am planning to work on my thesis and on studying for the comprehensive exams I am taking in September. The department gave us a list of books we should check out to help us study. I went to the library last week to get some of those books and when I looked at the bibliography I realized there are hundreds of books on it. Yeah, I don't think I'm going to get to all of those before September.

On a side note, yesterday Javers and I went fishing off a dock at Lake Cheney. It was fun, but of course we did not catch anything. I saw fish jumping all around us, but none of them were lured in by our minnows. Later that night I learned that becuase the water is so muddy at Cheney the fish have trouble seeing bait so we should have put of something smelly and/or neon colored on our hooks. Ah, better luck next time.

In response to Erin's question/comment, I am headed home today. Yes, this very afternoon I will be boarding a plane to the States. Of course, this is after a three hour ride on a school bus to get back to Belize City. Right now I am in San Ignacio in the western side of the country. One of the project directors, Andy, and Willa and I came out here to check out some different Maya sites after the conference and then Willa and I went on a hike to a cave yesterday. The cave was littered with ancient Maya pots. There were even a few skeletons, including one that had been completely covered in caclite over time. Pretty spectacular. Our guide did a good job, but he was very romantically interested in ancient Maya spiritualism and mysticism so he discussed those things a lot and I got a bit bored before we hit the artifacts.

I hope everyone else is having a splendid summer. I am so disappointed I missed various 4th of July parties. I love fireworks (and US Independence because they all hate us for our freedom). Javers said they failed to use all the fireworks at the party he hosted so I think I can still get a show when I get home.

I have good news concerning my food poisoning. It took until yesterday, but I think my digestive tract is fully restored. Right now I am in Belize City, as I have been for the last few days attending a Belizian archaeology conference. The majority of the papers presented were very insightful and I got a few ideas from others on how to analyze and synthesize the data from some of my thesis research.

At the conference I got introduced to the guy who writes the Belize guide for Rough Guides travel guides. I did not bring a guide book with me so when I was in a local coffee shop I took photos of pages from their Rough Guides for my excursion to Guatemala and Honduras and for the trip here to Belize City. When I met the author I got a little excited and told him all about how I took photos of the books and how those photos saved the day sometimes. I used them to get to the right bus station and find places to stay and eat. He was pleased I was so excited, but courteously reminded me that by photographing the pages I had violated copyright laws and completely ripped him off. Oops. I don't think he was really upset, but he gave me a hard time about it every time he saw me for the rest of the conference.

This trip to Latin America has been a fantastic experience, but after seven weeks I am ready to come home.

Revenge of the Chow Mein con Pollo

That Chinese food I was so excited about last night totally came back to haunt me today. I think I had my first bought of Latin American food poisoning. It's the late afternoon now and I'm feeling better. Hopefully we can find a more sanitary place to eat tonight.

International Cuisine in Guatemala

I just had chinese food, chow mein con pollo and fried wonton, in the very Guatemalan city of Chiquimula. Very interesting and pretty good. Tomorrow I begin the trek back to Belize, but not without a stop at another archaeology site, Quirigua. Apparently this site hosts the largest stelae, or carved monuments, in all the Maya world. It is not a very large or popular site, though and the bus drops us off 4 km away so hopefully a microbus or taxi will come along and take us the rest of the way.

Autobus para Copan?

I finished all my lab work (what needed to be done in Belize since I could not export the artifacts) on Wednesday. Very exciting. On Thursday morning Willa, Margaret and I took a boat to Guatemala and then got on a bus to a city near the border of Honduras. When we got off the bus at 4 pm we had likely missed the last bus to the border town of El Florido before the Honduran border closed at 6 pm. It was a stressful situation, but kind of hilarious in retrospect. We got off the bus and I was yelling at all the bus and microbus (kind of like a VW bus or a large passenger van) "necesito bus or microbus para El Florid" and got all sorts of contradictory information. In reality, it might have been accurate, I just couldn't understand what was going on. Finally we got on a microbus that was supposed to go to El Florido. It was so packed the sliding door didn't close and people were hanging out the side of the vehicle. After about an hour on this bus an employee told us we needed to get off and switch micro buses. I had no idea what was going on or if we would even make it to the Honduran border before it closed. Luckily we made there with ten minutos to spare at 5:50 pm (we found out once we got there that it actually stays open to pedestrian crossing until 7:00 so I did not need to stress as much as I did). When we pulled into Copan Ruinas, the town next to the Maya site Copan and saw Matt at Cafe ViaVia waiting for us I was so happy. This whole traveling in Guatemala and Honduras with no espanol is tricky. If I come back I totally need to relearn the language.

Copan was amazing. I'm so glad I finished my lab work so I could do this traveling.

Almost Done

I finished my fieldwork on Saturday - yippee! I worked my ass off all week and it was a rush on Saturday to get it all complete, but we did it. The next few days I will spend doing lab work. Most of the artifacts cannot be exported so I have to go through and analyze and photograph them here. This is good because it means I cannot procrastinate, but it also means I'm on a tight schedule.

Once Thursday rolls around three of us, Willa, Margaret, and I are hoping on fairies (couldn't resist spelling it that way) and buses and heading down through Guatemala in to Honduras to visit the Maya site Copan and meet up with Matt. I am looking forward to finishing my lab work and having some unrushed leisure travel time. Everything is so cheap down here too. I really want to come back and explore Latin America more. Everyone I talk to says the highlands of Guatemala around Antigua on the western side is amazingly beautiful and one of their favorite spots to visit. Antigua is a Spanish colonial with an interesting cultural scene. The surrounding area sports Maya sites, active volcanoes you can visit and waterfalls and lakes. So if anyone wants to travel around with me for a couple weeks in the future just let me know.

Homecoming

Wow, when I was in the airport in Belize City yesterday I kind of felt like I was coming home. The sweltering humidity made it all the more special. When I was in the states, I had a "grocery list" of goods to bring back. It included lots of granola bar-type things, dried fruit, EmergenC, an mp3 player and a CD player and scotch. I was Santa Claus for the day and people were so excited to get their presents.

Rachael's (and Matt's) wedding was a great time. It was a short trip for me, but I got to see some steller peeps who always brighten my day and make me feel so loved. Javers also came out for the weekend. We hung out on the beach one morning and I protected him from the sharks. Then we ate some kick-ass calamari.

Here's a shot from the reception I think y'all might enjoy.

By the way...

I completely forgot to mention the craziest part of my snorkeling experience. For the first 5 minutes I had some psychological issues with having my face under water and still being able to breathe. I was really focusing on breathing and I started to drift into a shallow part of the reef. I scrambled to push myself away and in the process grabed right onto a spikey sea urchin. When I told the guide about it later she told me I would have to pee on my finger to stop the pain and kill the bacteria and whatever else peeing on yourself is supposed to do. Definitely the grossest part of my day. Right after that I had to eat lunch too.

I've got to scoot so I can catch my puddle jumper plane to Belize City where I'll get a flight to the states for Rachael's wedding.

Back to work

Today we came back from Placencia. I have had some ongoing sinus issues so I went to the hospital/clinic in Punta Gorda and got some antibiotics and decongestants. It's so hot and humid here the decongestant pills had ruptured, but it was all free so I can't complain.

Now for a few more photos before I run out of time.




Hot and tired Amelia in our house.




Inside a Maya house. This is Pedro's daughter's home. She is a friend of Keith's, my advisor. We visited Pedro's family a few weeks ago for some traditional chicken stew (caldo) and fresh corn torillas.

Pedro in front of his corn stash. I don't know if I've said this already, but I have never eaten so much corn in so many different ways in my life. These people sure know how to utilize the corn.



The house we live in.





The truck we take to work every day. Today we rode it back from Placencia and we all got pelted with some tropical rain.

Snorkling

Today I went snorkling for the first time (if you don't count the Freeman city pool). We took a boat ride to an small island (maybe 5 acres) and snorkled in the morning, had lunch, then went out once more in the afternoon. Apparently the second largest coral reef lies off the coast of Belize. It was like swimming in an aquarium. I saw all kinds of beautiful fish, lobster, spotted eagle rays and interesting coral.

Me in my snorkel gear.




This is the island we snorkeled off.

Vacay

I am in Placencia right now, at the beach. This is our "vacation" time and the few days of no work are much needed. Today I rented a bike and rode up and down the south end of the penninsula a couple times. Tine, it totally reminded me of our bike experience last summer in Florida. This time there was no massive rainstorm with lightning too close for comfort. However, I did have a piece of key lime pie when it was over.

I found a human burial in the structure I am excavating. You don't get those in the States with NAGPRA and all so it was a great experience for me. There was a pot in the burial and we found some teeth and cranial fragments sticking out of the top so we think the body in the burial was decapitated (pre or post mortem?) and his/her head was put in the bowl. We extracted the bowl and next week Willa and I will work on it in the lab to see if the skull really is in there. Next week I am going to test some other structures in the settlement group to get an idea what their function was.

More photos, but I can't do captions right now

Me next to a large carved rock at an archaeological site -- Nimli Punit

Willa and a guy who hitches a ride with us often.
Tortilla throwing contest.

Photos 2nd Attempt

This is the view from the corn field (milpa) where I work. There is a cave in the white cliff in the picture that I hiked to one day.








Here is most of our group getting a tour of Uxbenka.









One of the local Maya who works at the site.

Photos

Here's a few shots from Belize ...

Grrrrr, this isn't working right now. I'll try again Sunday or Monday.

You Better Belize it

Yeah, that pun wore out the first day, but I thought you'd all still enjoy it. I wanted to post some photos today, but I forgot my flash drive back at camp so that will have to wait until next week.

For those of you who know my love of squash, I found some when we were picking limes and oranges yesterday. I think squash was first domesticated in Mesoamerica so it's only right that I experience this delicious food down here. I wrapped the squash in big leaves picked by Santos, our lab helper, and put them on the tortilla gridle. Unfortunately, the leaves and sqaush just started burning and it smelled rotten. The whole thing reminded me of a Martha Stewart recipe I tried once that involved artichokes and lemons in a paper bag in the oven. That one did not turn out either. Oh well.

Work is going well. We had orientation and hiked around the site. Uxbenka, like other ancient Maya communities in this area, is like a small city with plazas, courts, other structures and homes on hill tops surrounding ceremonial centers. Keith helped me pick my settlement group to excavate. Last week we excavated a unit behind the building that might be a kitchen garden area. The guy I worked with is going to run some soil samples for his own research to look for evidence of what sort of plants were grown in the soil and he will let me know the results of the tests. Next week I am visiting a cave with a canoe in it. Curious. Then I will start excavating the main structure in the settlement group. It should yield some neat stuff.

Yesterday we had a day off and we went to Nimli Punit, a Maya site that has been turned into an interpretive park. Then we ate a traditional Maya meal with Keith's friend, Pedro. We had chicken soup (1/4 of a chicken in a broth) with corn tortillas and corn and beans wrapped in leaves and steamed. Pedro fed us freshly brewed cocoa drinks. The fresh organic chocolate beans tasted wonderful. We sat around, sweated a lot (a fact of life here, I am pretty much sweaty all the time, even when I sleep) and then went back to Big Falls (the town we are staying in) and swam in the river for a while before supper.

In Belize

Well, I'm here in Belize. Yesterday was a really long day of travel and the car I was in had an overheating problem. We had to stop about 7 times to fill it up with water and radiator fluid. I was sitting above the radiator so my seat got pretty hot every time it overheated. Crazy. Reminded me of a Taurus I used to drive.

It is really hot and humid, but considering it's a third world country and all, the accommodations are pretty good. I have a bed and we have running water and showers. The rainwater we have been drinking is delicious, but it tastes like smoke because of all the burning (accidental and agricultural). I am paying for this service and others are waiting so I'm going to let someone else get on.

It's Fishy

I bought some tilapia from the butcher/deli section of my local grocery store. The guy helping me asked me if I wanted some preperation tips. I said sure thinking he would give me some interesting tilapia-specific recipie ideas I could try. No, this is what he said: "I put it in an oiled pan and cook it. Sometimes I put salt or herbs on it. You could also grill it."
This is what I said: "Great idea, thanks."
This is what I thought: "Um, I know what how to use a pan to cook things. I am also familiar with the benefits of salt and herbs. Do you really get people in here who need that kind of information?"

Here is where I need some help from all who read my blog. I am purchasing a digital camera this week before I go to Belize and I would like suggestions. I am hoping to spend under $300, but if it's a little more and you really, really, really think it's the best thing out there, I might consider it. Also, remember, I am going to a hot, humid, dirty jungle, so spending a bunch of money on the fanciest digital SLR out there might be risky. Thanks!

Thank you Dora Wallace Hodgson

I applied for a $1000 Dora Wallace Hodgson Summer Research grant through the WSU graduate school and I just found out today that I was one of the recipients. How exciting! This means I don't have to get student loans for the summer. It also means there are people who think my research proposal is interesting enough to give me money so that feels reassuring.

I know I said this on my last post, but I can't believe I'm heading to Belize so soon. Crazy.

I also found out today that I have a job next year at school. My City Archaeologist position ends, so I was hoping I could find something on campus. My new job, to put it simply, will be coordinating and managing study session leaders for various courses on campus. I also have to generate/compile reports to prove that the program (called Supplemental Instruction) is worthwhile. Getting a graduate assistant job on campus is really beneficial to me because not only is it a meager paycheck, but it gets me cheap health insurance and in-state tuition. So basically, I'm having a really good day.

May 7, 2007

I went back to SoDak again this weekend for Jeremy's graduation. The PhD candidates were the first to be recognized. All of his hoopla was over early and then we sat on the butt-numbing bleachers for another hour and a half while the other 1000 graduates walked across the stage. I was looking at the other PhD candidates on the list and saw one of Sioux Falls' local TV weather guys, Jay Trobec, was graduating too. Unfortunately, I don't think he was at the ceremony. Maybe he had to be on TV - there was some really bad weather on Saturday.

After graduation the Javers family and Sue and I went to Royal River Casino in Flandreau to celebrate. I lost $23 in the slot machines, but I bet Hard Spun would get second in the Kentucky Derby and won $14.50.

School is defnitely winding down for the semester. I finished my final Geographic Information Systems mapping project last week. Today I had my Advanced Cultural Anthropology final test. Now I just have a Biological Anthropology take home final to work on and I'm done. Yipee. Now I have to start thinking about / planning for Belize. I can't believe I leave in two weeks!

States I have visited

I found this interactive map online. It brought back lots of road trip / vacation memories.



create your own visited states map
or check out these Google Hacks.