I'm a big show off

I decided to play instead of work this evening, after trying to work on projects for Technologies in Heritage Preservation all day to no avail. And this is the adorable result of my night! FELT FOOD Christmas gifts for the kids!



A fried egg (shown in a mini-frying pan from Ikea's toy section), and le tour de force, a chocolate cupcake with frosting and glittery seed bead sprinkles!

So, I started reading blogs again...

And I can't not immerse myself in that without joining in.

A long time has passed since my last post; seasons have changed, the trip was completed, and we moved into a new house.

It hasn't really been easy and that probably accounts for a lot of the silence on my part. But my therapist (see what I mean by not easy?) suggested journaling.

OK, so today... was Tuesday. On Tuesdays I get up at 7, wake up the kids, and get them to school. We were in the parking lot by school time (8:35), but I'm sure they ended up a couple of minutes late to class.

I went home and intended to load up the car and go do laundry, but instead I went back to sleep until 10:30. Then I BOOKED A WEEKEND AT AN AMAZING HOTEL (never do that) for A REALLY BIG CONFERENCE THAT I'M SPEAKING AT (a first) in NEW ORLEANS. I'm doing this whole crazy thing because the Undergrad Research dept and Student Govt are agreeing to pay for it.

In the rain, I ran around today tying up loose ends, signing what needed to be signed, meeting with my mentor on the honors thesis project, and going to class. I had a silly panic attack because I couldn't get a hold of Robby on his phone (and I assumed something bad had happened?), and then I drove home. It was as perfect of a drive home as one can have. It was from 5:30-6:30 with no stand-still traffic on the interstate and Robby called me as I was halfway home when he woke up from his nap.

Now: Hungry, but I haven't eaten well today and it's given me a stomach ache.

absolutely insane

My grand scheme is working out so far. Besides it being completely crazy.



WORK and Errands re: the children's summer camps on Monday.

Moving truck on Tuesday.

Psych appt in Tampa on Wednesday.

Conner's graduation on Thursday.

Cora's Science Fair on Friday.

Cora's Bday party on Saturday.

Fly out at 5:50 am on Sunday.


I am seriously not ready for any of this, not the damn science fair, not the moving truck. Not Seattle/Vancouver/Whitehorse.

oh, THAT'S my password! ;)

Has life ever been better? Or busier?



My semester ended today, and Robby and I fly out in 25 days!!!!!

There's still a ton to do between now and then, but the biggest has got to be packing up and moving everything I own IN ADDITION to packing for 10 rugged Yukon weeks. Nine of which will be spent living in a tent camp with my boyfriend, how awesome is that? :)

Also, there's that and Seattle/Vancouver on the way there, and L.A. and Denver on the way home. I am soooo excited, but sort of crazy nervous right now. I'll feel better once every paper is filed with the appropriate department, everything is worked out, every box packed and moved out, and we are standing in my empty place.

gear to purchase:

quality long underwear
either a double size air mattress or thermarests and a coupler
a large enough pack
a decent waterproof jacket
new boots, the old ones are done in!
another two pairs of wool socks

Gladis Rubio
ANT 4390
Community Festivals
Introduction
The Gasparilla Pirate Festival is held annually in Tampa on the last weekend in January to commemorate the invasion of Tampa Bay by the legendary pirate José Gaspar, who is called the “last of the buccaneers” (www.gasparillapiratefest.com). For just over a century, the people of Tampa have come out in droves to watch the parades, to celebrate in the streets, and to enjoy the city in which they live. From its original format, which consisted of only a single street parade and a small mock invasion on horseback, the festival has grown to include a Children's Parade (held on the preceding weekend as the main event), a reenactment of the pirate invasion on the water, an exclusive invasion brunch event at the TBPAC, an all day street festival, the Day Parade, and the adults-only Night Parade (www.gasparillapiratefest.com). The event has an average attendance of 400,000 people and involves over 50 "Krewes" which are private clubs that organize floats for the parade (Gershman 2005). One particular Krewe, Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla, is considered the host of the event and is credited with organizing the very first pirate invasion reenactment in 1904 (Danielson and Wilmath 2010). The official website for Gasparilla, www.gasparillapiratefest.com, emphasizes the philanthropic side of the event; the parade is free to the public and the numerous "beer gardens" donate all of their proceeds to charities. This year, it took place on Saturday January 30th. But in spite of Ye Mystic Krewe‟s supposedly nicer side, there has certainly been controversy regarding this community festival. In 1991, Ye Mystic Krewe cancelled it altogether rather than give in to pressure to integrate their private club and admit people of color (Gershman 2005).
Literature
The two sources which I found for information regarding Gasparilla are at odds about one issue in particular; whether or not any of the legend is true. According to the article „The Legend of Gasparilla: Myth and History on Florida‟s West Coast‟ there is not any shred of evidence that there ever was a José Gaspar (d'Ans 1980:5). The official website for the pirate festival, www.gasparillapiratefest.com, tells a different story. There is an explanation of the festival‟s historic background which implies that the famed invasion of Tampa truly occurred. But while D‟Ans says that this festival is not rooted in an actual occurrence, he is not making the point that this takes away from the validity of the legend; instead he argues that the "historical truth of the legend of Gasparilla is its very existence" and that wise historians know that mythic legends tell about volumes about the societies that keep them alive (d'Ans 1980:5).
The legend is traced back to John Gomez, who died in the Tampa Bay area in either 1875 or 1900, depending on which version of the myth you subscribe to (d‟Ans 1980:10). It is said that he, the son of a pirate himself, witnessed the legendary invasion of Tampa, and that he told this story throughout his remaining years, which is how we have the story today (www.gasparillapiratefest.com).
Methods
Participant observation was expected to be my primary method for data collection at the Gasparilla day parade, however I also spoke with a few parade-goers, and also documented the event with photographs (Kolaja 1956:159). Nearly all of the people that I spoke with knew that I was there for an ethnographic project, and their reactions to this were enthusiastic. I say that "nearly all" knew about the nature of my attendance, because there was a small amount of natural conversation between myself and others en route to the parade site, which didn't really facilitate or require and explanation from me. My first true informant was a man who was about 35, wearing a Budweiser tee-shirt who initiated a conversation with me. I had been standing alone, and this apparently made me look like quite the outsider (Vidich 1955:354). He and I chatted about the weather, why I was there, and then he proceeded to tell me about the previous year when, as an employee, he had been on the Budweiser float in the parade. Our conversation concluded with his insistence that I accept a beer from his cooler and a strand of beads. Immediately thereafter, I spoke with a small group standing under a tree, about 12 feet away from the street, trying to avoid the steady rain. The group was comprised of 3 males and 3 females, all of whom were probably in their early to mid-twenties who had attended Gasparilla once before. I was able to give away my strand of beads to one of the girls in this group, before I left the parade site. My photographic data collection was hampered as the rain picked up in intensity, however I did my best.
Analysis
Three themes that epitomize Gasparilla for me include the potlatch aspect (exchanging of beads and the sharing of alcohol), the bacchanalian nature of the event (provocative dress and crowd-agitation), and the nurturing of pride for local historic legend. Everyone I have spoken with regarding Gasparilla agrees that the whole point of the celebration is public intoxication. My informants said that “this festival is for Tampa what Mardi Gras is for New Orleans”; definitive and nearly obligatory. It was my first time attending and they were thoroughly shocked because I consider myself a native here.
Gasparilla is basically a Classical reversal-festival (Forsdyke 2005:74). The understanding scholars have of the reversal-festival is that riotous party atmospheres and reversal of social norms and roles (for example, business men pretending to be pirates) provide a release for the working class people (Forsdyke 2005:73). This makes sense, regarding Gasparilla, because the majority of the festival goers that I saw at the parade site were ordinary middle-class locals and the entertainment for the day was provided by the white collar men in the prestigious “krewes”.
Conclusion
My final impression of this community festival is that it matters very little to the party-goers if there was a real pirate named José Gaspar, or if Tampa Bay ever was invaded by marauders. It doesn‟t even matter if it rains, as it did this year. For locals, this event seems to create a distraction from the boredom that follows the busy winter holiday season and provides a sense of unity, all with an exciting backdrop.
Field Notes
11:30 am Left my house in Clearwater, FL. It‟s a cloudy day. I meant to get a much
earlier start but there were some issues with that.
12:10 pm I‟m driving down W. Kennedy and near Dale Mabry, and I‟m starting to see signs that there is road closure up ahead.
12:26 pm I decided to park at a book warehouse of sorts and walk into the festival area to
avoid high priced parking. Since I‟ve never been to Gasparilla before, I‟m not sure exactly where the “action” is but I know that I can follow the sound of cannon blasts and the flow of foot traffic until it becomes more obvious where to go.
Image 1. Local churches, businesses, and residents selling parking to festival attendees. West Kennedy Blvd and South Plant Avenue.
12:30 pm People are walking towards the southwest, mostly in groups. Some groups are all male or female, but most seem to be a mix of genders. Some people are in full costume, others are only partially costumed (for example, a pirate shirt or hat
worn with a normal outfit), and others are dressed normally, although nearly all of the women in normal clothes have put together outfits that are provocative, in spite of the cool breeze and drizzle.
Image 2. Some people are congregating near portable bathrooms, others are walking towards Bayshore Blvd. Hype Park Avenue and West Platt Street.
12:40 pm Walking in a small crowd (15 people), which is comprised of 2 or 3 smaller groups. The people leading the way are middle aged and carrying or rolling coolers to the parade site. There are 3 college girls directly behind me. I asked the girls if they know where “stuff is going on” because I have never been to this event before. They are friendly with me and say that they are not sure, just doing what I‟m doing- walking with the flow of foot traffic.
Image 3. Mostly “normally dressed” festival goers, some with coolers, on their way to the parade site. West Platt St.
12:50 pm The group I‟m walking with starts down a sidewalk that goes under the bridge to Davis Island where three police officers are posted to ask festival-goers to
make sure there is no alcohol in their coolers. The group passes by without
acknowledging them, but the last person in the group, a middle aged man, seems nervous to ignore them and stops to say “Really?” Just out of the police officers‟ view, his friends, ahead of me, debate whether or not to go back for him, to stop and wait, or to let him catch up later on. While they discuss they refill their drinks from their coolers.
12:57 pm I‟m at the parade site now. There are vendors dragging or pushing long rectangular carts loaded with (among many other items) beads, inflatable toys, and pirate flags. In several different areas there are festival food vendors, portable bathrooms, and beer vendors. Here, the ratio of fully costumed pirates is higher than it had been on the walk to the parade site. Most people have also adorned themselves with beads.
Image 4. People stand under the shelter of the bridge, as it drizzles just slightly. A vendor (right) sells an inflatable toy. W. Bay St and Bayshore Blvd.
Image 5. Police security was rumored to be increased for this particular year. In this particular spot, four Tampa Police officers stand and watch the crowd for violence, underage drinking, and drug use. Bayshore Blvd.
Image 6. A man, a woman, and two young children (left) stand under an umbrella as the crowd goes by. Vendors in the distance are calling out to the crowd, and a woman (right) eats a funnel cake as she walks. Bayshore Blvd.
1:14 pm Starting to rain.
Image 7. A man struggles with his umbrella, while trying to hold on to his beer as well. A friendly arm reaches out to assist. Bayshore Blvd.
1:15 pm Chatting with my first informant! His reaction to this as a project is somewhat approving and enthusiastic. He works for Budweiser and was on a float last year, which he says was really “cool” but entails getting up really early to start drinking. He insists I get in the spirit and gives me a strand of beads and a beer from his cooler.
Image 8. My informant (left), and his friend (right). At the parade site, on Bayshore Blvd.
1:35 pm Vendors start selling ponchos. A young man buys one and tells his date they can share it.
Image 9. A couple (right) walks south on Bayshore in ponchos with their cooler. A small group of young people (left) are drinking and talking together as well.
1:50 pm I excuse myself from the informant‟s group of friends and start to wander in the crowd again. I notice that the proportion of festival goers in pirate costume has increased in the past hour.
Image 10. “Pirates” mingling with regular people on Bayshore Blvd.
2:15 pm I walk across the street, towards the shelter of a large oak tree. A moment later a scantily clad woman drags a stroller up the curb, also attempting to find shelter from the cold rain.
Image 11. Young woman with stroller seeks shelter under a tree, as the crowd carries on in the rain. Bayshore Blvd.
2:20 Begin chatting with a small group of festival goers there under the tree. The girls are taking pictures of each other, and one insists that none of the pictures end up on facebook, because she is a teacher. The guys are discussing how unfortunate it would be to “get a girl pregnant this early in the semester” and all three agree that it would “ruin the semester”.
Image 12. A group of friends greet each other, some are dressed in pirate themed clothing and some are wearing beads. Bayshore Blvd.
2:35 pm I start heading south on northeast Bayshore again. There are crowds if young men yelling “Show us your tits!” to a group of young girls who pass by. Nobody seems bothered by this jeering, and everyone appears to be having a good time.
Image 13. A girl drinks with her friends on Bayshore Blvd.
2:40 pm I observe that a large and dense crowd has now formed on the part of Bayshore that is near the bridge that leads to Davis Island.
2:45 pm In that large crowd, a smaller and more intense crowd has developed. There are about 20 or 30 people packed in very tightly and there is a sort of chaotic organization to this. Two or three men in the center are drumming on their chests and the group around them are yelling and encouraging them, but I don„t notice any disagreement that would indicate this was a fight about to break out. One man takes off his shirt and starts spinning it over his head.
Image 14. The crowd cheers on as a couple of men become frenzied and eventually, one of them takes off his shirt. Bayshore Blvd.
2:50 pm In a heavy rain, I begin walking towards Kennedy Blvd to find my car, hoping it hasn‟t been towed.
Image 15. A “pirate” exits a portable bathroom and turns towards the street festival. W. Bay St.
Works Cited
André-Marcel d‟Ans
1980 "The Legend of Gasparilla: Myth and History on Florida's West Coast" Tampa Bay History. USF Library Online. http://www.lib.usf.edu/ldsu/digitalcollections/T06/journal/ v02n2_80/v02n2_80_05.pdf
Danielson, Richard and Kim Wilmath
2010 Gasparilla invasion, parade, will go on as planned (only wetter). St. Petersburg Times, January 30.
Forsdyke, Sara
2005 Revelry and Riot in Archaic Megara: Democratic Disorder or Ritual Reversal? The Journal of Hellenic Studies 125(1):73-92.
Gershman, Rick
2005 101 Gasparilla. St. Petersburg Times, January 28.
Kolaja, Jiri
1956 A Contribution to the Theory of Participant Observation. Social Forces 35(2):159-163.
Vidich, Arthur
1955 Participant Observation and the Collection and Interpretation of Data. The American Journal of Sociology 60(4):354-360.

questioning him, myself, and everything

Ok, remember when I said I was done blogging about dating... uh yeah. so much for that.

So- the story is that for the past 8 weeks I've been dating this great guy, who creepily fills a lot of the requirements I set out over the past few years, which after all my failures, I'd tack on to the drawing board that I kept on returning to.

I said I wanted to date someone who's an anthrop, someone who's smarter, faster, stronger than me, someone who likes -no- who LOVES coffee, and who has something to say. Someone agnostic, like I am, but who believes in a non-anthropomorphized G-d, when all is said and done.

He should think I'm absolutely marvelous, he should be non-plussed by the fact that I have children, he should be willing to disagree with me on some things and should be ethical and love outdoor places.

He also happens, in real life, to be a Republican, to like Equal in his iced tea (baffles me entirely), to keep his bedroom messy, and to hunt large game. And I don't even know if that's the proper usage of the phrase "large game".


And I've been happy, being appreciated and pursued. The object of my affection enthusiastically treks across campus to see me for the 5 minutes our midday schedules allow and puts his arm around me protectively in public and texts just to say nice things sometimes.

But I'm suddenly afraid, too. I'm afraid that I'm un-please-able. I'm afraid that I will sabotage things because I am crazy or I don't want to be happy or something ridiculous.

I'm worried that I'm slower, weaker, and stupider or that I'm not willing to argue enough (good naturedly, of course), or well enough, on matters of science and politics.
And I'm terribly worried that, like B, he's rejecting the concept of defining the relationship because I'm just not nearly good enough. Don't worry, my LOGICAL side knows that if that's what he thinks, well then good riddance, and so on and so forth, but my emotional side wants to know if I'll ever come back from that awful twist of reality.


But let me defend my guy, and the state of things as they stand right now before you think he's anything like B!!

First of all, he's the first to say that you don't have to SAY "now we're bf/gf and we're not dating anyone else" because if it's so, it's so, no matter what you call it. And according to him, dating a person for a couple of months defines the relationship for you. Especially so if you wake up together regularly on weekends.

He is entirely opposed to concept of "the talk" that defines things between men and women yet we've talked about "the talk" and we've talked about the relationship (without crossing over into that which offends his sensibilities LOL!) and about what we like about all of this between us and about previous relationships that didn't go so well.

But my silent, internal counter to that is that a woman is sort of disrespected when she is "with" a man and she's not his "girlfriend". And do I want to be thought less of by everyone? Does he want me to be thought less of? For everyone to assume that I'm just NOT GOOD ENOUGH? Of course not.

But that assumption, for several reasons, is tied to legitimizing sex, and we're not having it, so... yeah.

I know.

...

We're crazy about each other and love falling asleep together and waking up together, but we're "waiting".

This might seem crazy, or right, to you. It seems like both to me, somehow.



But I'd love to know what you think about people and definitions and semantics in relationships. And about the waiting!

up way too late

I have to go to Gasparilla in the morning, for a Visual Anthropology project. God bless me, I intend to get up at 7:30 am on a Saturday.


Anyway, I have a fun new camera to play with for this class.


I'm sure some pictures will come soon!

"mulish", also my FAILED attempt to avoid the cliche early Jan blog post

Mulish is a word Lynne Reid Banks uses quite a bit in The Indian and the Cupboard.. Cora and I are just a chapter from the end, probably finishing it tonight, and she's totally WOUND about it.

Ok, enough dallying. Here's my year in review, blah blah blah.

In January of 2009 I was still recouping from a rather personal blow I'd been dealt. There's little point in being cryptic, I guess. B and I had a bad falling out, and I expected to never speak with him again.

Feb 2009- continued working at SPC, full time student, etc. Car breakdown on Valentine's Day led to romantics which led to one of the most annoying dating relationships of my LIFE>

March 2009- still car-less, much of the same. probably TOO MUCH DRINKING, which led to some gradual weight gain in spite of all that extra bike riding.

April 2009- break up from most annoyingly splendid boyfriend ever, got an almost perfect SAT score, and bought a cool manual transmission car, all in the same couple of weeks. Would not actually have possession of said vehicle til the Hot Professor moved to Hawaii at the end of the semester.

May 2009- graduation(did not walk), celebration, CIGUATERA poisoning (basically akin to having a stroke), new car that I would be completely too uncoordinated to drive for some time. Saw DCFC in Orlando.

June 2009- saw the Decemberists in ATL, met Colin Meloy :) Went to Danny's wedding in Colorado, had my bday, and decided I was horribly fat. Committed to Tosca Reno's Eat Clean methods.

July 2009- played a lot of tennis with my mom, and a lot of scrabble to try and perk up those saggy brain cells after the neuro toxins had had their way with me. Also, drove the little car to Pensacola to check out the archaeological field school there. I just loved the dig, OMG. Ate clean. Read Infinite Jest.

August 2009- kicked it up at the gym, and got my bf % down a little, in anticipation of the fall semester plump up that would surely happen. Ate clean. USF orientation :)

Sept 2009- official university student. B and I plan a crazy trip, over beer and homework, to hike the Art Loeb trail in Western NC in the beginning of Oct. Ate clean, plus beer.

Oct 2009- busy busy with school, but first round of exams prove my metal- all As.
SWINE FLU. and immediately after, we leave for that damn hiking trip
(and also for seeing the Decemberists play the Hard Rock in Orlando). I say terrible things to B in NC, we end the friendship shortly after the trip. Clean eating. Lot's of flax and protein.

Nov 2009- Like a sudden windfall, begin dating most adorable boy ever, albeit briefly. On our third date, where we held hands for the first time, we went ice skating. I went down after a couple of ours of good fast skating, due to irregular ice (!!!) and shattered some thoracic cartilage/fractured a rib. The adorable boy and I call the whole thing off, (unrelated to the injury) and I have to nurse two kinds of wounds simultaneously, fun...immediately followed by Thanksgiving in Tally. Took a break from clean eating.

Dec 2009- finals! All As!! start of my blessed winter holiday and the return of sleeping in and having crazy adventures.

Tally

We're heading to visit Helen's parents for Thanksgiving. Should be fun... I'm taking Clean (and vegan) peanut butter truffles.

Also, it's grey out and misery has settled into this invalids poor bones. Yes, I'm being over dramatic. Whatever! I'm so over this.

the achy breaky feeling

Oh my gosh, I'm serious, I just want to stick my fingers into my thoracic cavity and put my cartilage and/or rib back where it needs to be!

I went ice skating late last Saturday night with Brennan (to break up the monotony of paper-writing all day and night) and the Zamboni wasn't run at all for some reason. We agree that the ice was choppier than it should have been and I'm not just a total klutz. Seriously, I'm not actually bad on skates.

Anyways. I played it cool, toughed it out. It hurt a lot but we skated for another hour before I had to call it a night.

Sunday morning I woke up to the sound of myself screaming (yes, they were obscenities, I am ashamed) and then dosed myself with ibuprofen and got ready for church/garden club fundraising.

The fundraiser went well! Very exciting, can't wait to break ground and get dirty.

And Helen and I are going to Tally for the holiday to see Poppa and Lolita, yay.

Also, Conner was just in a Thanksgiving show and he was basically the STAR of the show. Well, he had one line to memorize- They met the natives, and shook their hands!- but only 4 kids in the whole PreK were asked to memorize a line. I am so proud.

And Coral is just blossoming. Ever-lovely and precious and working really hard on bringing up her reading/writing grades.

AND I lived through the hardest week of school ever :) and I have all A's.

And now I'm dating the cutest boy ever. Go me!

um.. my research

I'm about to give a presentation on my research.

Feeling like there just wasn't enough time to get as deep as I would have liked, but today's the day so here I go!

My powerpoint is bright and informative. Not just slide after slide of the same stuff I've already said, and I definitely KNOW the topic inside and out.

I have been studying human birth for several years now, and consider myself a bit of an amateur-expert on the subject :D so my Q & A session after the presentation should be no problem, I'm just concerned about MY RESEARCH. I'm not sure I know the in's and out's of my interviews well enough to present it cohesively.

OK!! Have to DO THIS.

This town is full of ghosts

For Halloween, Helen and I wanted to squeeze every last creepy drop of juice out of our weekend.

We planned on going to an Edgar Allen Poe themed night of theater at Ruth Eckard Hall but there were complications and we couldn't get tickets at the last minute. To stave off holiday blues after our plans went awry, we decided to head out to see some local haunted houses.

Next year, we will definitely be doing that again! I love creating holiday traditions with my fabulous hetero-lifemate. Anyway, we did the haunted house thing and then went and hung out in a graveyard.

In the same place, the rose garden at a certain cemetery, where I used to go with my beloved once upon a stormy night. And I had no idea his spirit still roams that place.

I could tell you a LOT about teeth right now, if you wanted me too

We just finished up a fun section in Bio Anthropology- living humans, living primates, and the first 50 my of primate evolution. This included some of my favorite topics! Woohoo. Birth processes in primates, diet/nutrition, and phylogenies. I thought anatomical science was a weakness of mine, but I flew through those portions of lab.

The semester's going pretty good. I am at a point now where the pace is alternating between too much and easy. Now it's paper writing time, SERIOUSLY. I am falling WAAAAY behind on my papers.

Oh, but what was I saying? Oh yeah, eating/breathing/sleeping ANT. Things got sort of strange when I was wandering around holding my notebooks and murmuring things like "Is it Y-5 or Plus-5?" and living on loads of coffee, (mostly) unprocessed food, and promises to pay the piper.

When things get crazy I remind myself that it's all for a purpose.

But I don't want to get lost in the shuffle of bilophodont molars and plesiadapids and all the other great stuff. I'm still here. I am in here. (sorry, a Hal Incandenza moment, COULD NOT help myself)


One of my best friends, Michelle, had a baby girl last week- Lorelei Maestas.
I can't wait to see her- need to search airfare asap.

My friend Teresa is moving to CA. I'm missing her already, and jealous, and wistful, and optimistic.

Cora lost her first upper incisor. My baby is honestly growing up.

Amy and I are still talking gardens, and honestly, she's doing a lot more gardening than I. I miss it, but those freakin squirrels cut me to the quick with my watermelons and now I'm afraid to commit! I started easing back in by resuming my compost habits last week, but I really have a gripe about leaves in there. This might be the downside to low tech composting. Are the decomposing oak leaves bad? neutral? ok? HELP!!!

But regardless of my compost woes, I'm excited about the community organic garden, and our first event. More on that later ;)

study groups can be really inefficient sometimes

Man. I just got home and I still have tons to do to get ready for the second round of examinations because my study group turned into a study/talk/snack session. Fun, but kind of a waste of time.

This is more for my sake (organization), than yours...

Order of Operations:

Prep for Archaeology exam (which is on Monday morning)

Finish lab HW (halfway done but two weeks worth to turn in, also due on Monday)

Transcribe interview, pull out thematic content

Prep for Ant Linguistics exam (on Tuesday)

Prep for Bio Ant exam (on Thursday)

And FYI "prep" means fix my notes w/ the online power points (all month my notes have been a wreck, spotty and insubstantial), finish the readings, and draw a bunch of phylogenies (Bio Ant).

ruler breaker/heart shaker

What fun is living if you can't make rules and then ditch them, right?

Sigh. Actually, I didn't intend to come on here to write. I came to read. I wanted to know HOW was it that I felt 6 months ago when Billy and I broke up. Just HOW BAD was it? It was a really bad break up, wasn't it???

Because we're talking again for some reason, and he wants to hangout, and I'm sorta almost game. Partially out of curiosity (is he still the same person he was back then? does he still drive that jeep? am I going to fly into a rage and break his glasses and punch his lights out? do we still have good chemistry together?) and partially because I'm just not as resolute as I should/could be. And because I love being invited to a costume party. (and because I NEVER GET TO HAVE SEX ANYMORE<<<< ARGH)

I know. It's a bad idea. I know.

But I'm also really tired of talking to guys who don't understand standard English but brag about their intelligence/vocabularies.

I miss someone knowing me and caring and wanting. And I guess I miss being walked on a little bit, too. If I hadn't just had my fill of therapy talk from a psychology student I know, I'd say that I need some.

just found the charger to my i pod :)

And there was much rejoicing!

Ok, speaking of Monty Python... there's this guy I know who is all into TV/movies and has never seen any Monty Python stuff! WTH. Really??? How is that even possible? I can understand not knowing the obscure stuff... but wow.


OK, I have to get crackin on my linguistics assignment. I put it off all day today.

Geez! You know I love you. (just not as much as I love anthropology)

So, I guess I left you hanging. For all you know, I was eaten by bears or decided to stay in NC or whatever.

Well, I'm back, I've just been busy. I DO have all As though (in the 2nd best Anthro Dept in the nation) and 2 of them are OVER A HUNDRED PERCENT. Yeah! That's what I mean when I say I'm going to school to kick ass.

SO I guess I need to post more about the trip (which was freaking amazing!!!). Right now I have to go catch up on reading for archaeology (tomorrow's morning class) and hopefully get my lab homework done. I'm analyzing the fossils of euprimates (fun!)... I would have had it done last night but H wanted to watch Kill Bill in the dark and I let homework go by the wayside for a few hours. I'm pretty easily convinced to take a break.

But I know that for any measure of fun and relaxation I take, I have to pay the piper :-\ and I'm off to do just that.

I will add though that this weekend I was productive in prepping clean foods for the week to keep me on track (nutritionally and financially). I made spaghetti squash spaghetti w/ a completely from scratch red sauce, a pot of chickpeas with garlic, onions, and peppers, a veggie chili with kidney beans, sauteed and diced 2 chicken breasts, steamed Asian veggies and sauteed some garlic-ginger tofu, and started a big container of ceviche.

I am so tired of my kitchen right now :p

getting closer to Pisgah

We are less than 3 weeks away!

I'm half frightened and half ecstatic.

Bought a new sleeping bag this weekend (fairly lightweight) and feeling like time is going quickly now.

My goals for the next couple of weeks are to mainly make sure I stay committed to training my body and to make sure I stay on top of school stuff. Currently, I have As in anything we've had graded work in... but so much will be known after the first round of exams... a couple of weeks yet.

In all, it was a pretty productive weekend. I got a lot of studying done and got some short but serious lifting in on Friday (only spent 25 minutes at the gym, I like to get in and out of there).

Up to my ears

At least it's anthropology and not recycling that's piled up around here!! (took the recycling to the drop off center yesterday)

Here's the update:

Archaeology- not too challenging so far. Easy in fact. I know a lot of this stuff already. I've been asking pertinent questions about the lecture material in class and Dr. Roos appears to know me and says hi when we see each other in the halls.

Bio Ant- well... I have a 100% so far on quizzes and 2 extra credit points added to the final total. Whew. John Trainor's personal research is of particular interest to me, especially now that I am eating (somewhat) differently; human diet and evolution.

Bio Ant Lab- My prof for this is such a sweetie, but she's a VERY ditzy one. The manual we're using isn't that great, but it's interesting. I just wish I had more of a bio background.

Methods- Prof is rather vauge and undetermined to influence our decisions, seems to be wanting to be accepting of whatever choices we make and uninvolved at the same time. The general consensus among the students is one of fear and insecurity re: lack of parameters for the big ethnographic projects we'll be pumping out. I met with him today and he was rather helpful (considering his in-class attitude), so I feel somewhat better about mine...

Linguistics- Dr. Smid thrilled me today when she tied primatology into the lesson. Love that a) it all comes full-circle in Anthro and, b) Everyone I'm surrounded by ALL WEEK LONG is passionate about the stuff that I'm passionate about.




So on a very different note- still prepping for the trip to NC. B brought over the pack I'll be using so I can start planning and weighing my gear.

I've been working out as usual, but started amping things up about a month ago, even before I decided to hike the Art Loeb Trail. I'm still doing a full body weights routine rather than splitting up the lower/upper stuff like some (most??) people do. I've gone up about 15% all around in how much I'm lifting, too. Still Eating Clean too, minus a single beer yesterday at a Labor Day BBQ and minus a Subway sandwich- chicken and veggies on wheat bread, no mayo, today (forgot my food at home, doh!). The bread or chicken is giving me a bit of a stomach ache though. I haven't had bread in... oh I don't know, 2 months?? Ugh. No more.

Anyways, I do expect to find that my bf % has dropped when Megan evaluates me this week... I'm pretty excited to see where I'm at, but also pretty nervous.


I'm naturally concerned about food during the trip. I know how much protein I need for my active life (between 10 and 20 grams per meal, 5-6 meals a day) and I know I need lots of good carbs. But they HAVE to be lightweight and shelf stable too. Hmmm...

mystery of mysterys... seriously

Last week, right before school started and my nerves were fraught and frayed, and on a night when my kids had woken me up a bit (not used to that anymore), and so on, I had a weird middle of the night phone call. I think it came at 4 am. Then an odd text from the same number "Sorry, my sister f---ed up".

Ok, so whoever called me accidentally

1) has my phone number saved

OR

2) has a friend with a number very similar to mine and mis-dialed

AND

has a sister.


Sorry to have put you through my initial deductive work unnecessarily but I looked at the number and wanted to smack myself. You know, you can delete a number but that doesn't mean that person will delete yours! I guess it seems like when stuff ends badly that's a given, but apparently it's not.

So, yeah. Got another mystery call last night/this morning. It's 3 am and I am in a happy place, right? And I get a call I ignore. They leave a voicemail I am unaware of until 7 am. They call back 5 min after the first call and I pick up on autopilot (BTW me on sleepy autopilot is about as funny and stupid as it gets) and he proceeds to identify himself as the friend of the owner of the recognizable phone number. A friend I was acquainted with 10 years ago.

AND THEY TRY TO MAKE PLANS WITH ME. FOR RIGHT THEN.

"Uh, I have class in Tampa, IN THE MORNING. I think maybe you have the wrong number?"

Ok, the next person who wants to call me and disturb my R.E.M. OH BOY I am going to have words with you.

And I thought B had been kinda pushing it when he called at 11 last night...