Nerves on edge

So....I am really anxious today. I was asked to give my honest feedback regarding my place within the museum, the quality and type of work that I am doing, how much or how little I am enjoying my position, and whether I was getting anything out of it. I don't think that I went overboard, but it did come out of left field in a way. The director has already mentioned that he was suprised that I didn't think that I was performing at my optimum level mainly because I am uninterested in the tasks I am being assigned. He mentioned that he was suprised due to my enthusiasm on doing activities and my ability to get them done well in a timely manner. The thing is, my work ethic would not allow me to do any less. When I am assigned something for a job, I am gonna suck it up and to it. I am not going to complain about it (at work) and I am gonna do a HELL of a good job. I don't see this as a bad thing. Regardless, I have been completely open and honest because I think that I am molding my career here and I think that if I just try to skate by I will not get as much out of it as if I am honest about it.

Needless to say, I was honest but respectful and I don't think that that was what he wanted to hear. His responses were very forceful and I will be meeting with him this morning. I am terrified that my funding is in question.

Will update ASAP on this really weird situation.

Lost in translation

I have been meaning to write on this topic for a while. Regardless, I think that many people will have some experience with what I am talking about.

So the translation seems to come up a lot when it comes professors from foreign countries that have English as their second language. Now this is not a critique on foreign professors or "race" at all, this is just a reflection of what is lost during translation. It just seems as if there is a mis-use of terminology or even/often a simple mispronunciation that takes away from the meaning of what is being said. Let me a do a vague yet informative "for instance."

I have a professor that I am taking a class from for the second time, and while I have noticed that there is some issue with pronunciation and terminology, I never really realized that these issues were actually taking away from the information being portrayed. I find myself attempting to figure out the word that was just said and what that person was actually trying to convey.

Needless to say it becomes very frustrating and I feel like I am losing a lot of information in the translation. For whatever reason that there is a rough translation, it really does effect what is being portrayed. The big problem for me is that I don't really have a solution for the problem. Do I ask for clarification? Do I ask for interpretation? It has always seemed disrespectful, for some reason, to ask the professor to stop because of mispronunciation.

Some Urban Art

I have been doing some work on how urban art can bring together community and portray community voice. I took some pictures of downtown Memphis and used that to poll people at a recent Community Festival to determine what people did and did not consider to be art. What do you think???




















And just a clip of Raiford's.....

Halloween Costumes

So...Halloween is Friday. It is my favorite holiday on the planet. I am disappointed in myself in I have not put a lot of time into decorating and costume ideas. I really prefer for my wife and I to be able to dress up together, so I am compiling some ideas that will be interesting and yet requiring very little effort.

So here is what I have so far:


Barbie and Ken (bp3.blogger.com/.../s400/Ken+&+Barbie.jpg)

Corpse and Widow

Serial Killer and victim

Clothesline

Devil and Angel

Dr. and Nurse

Dr. and Patient

Dog and owner

Donald and Daisy Duck

Gilligan and Mary Ann

Ed McMann and Publishers Clearing House winner

Waiter and head on a platter

Hunter and Buck

Jack and Jill

Jane and George Jetson

Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love

Little bo Peep and one of her sheep

Lucy and Ricky Ricardo

Miss America and Nerd

Mummy couple


Napoleon Dynamite and Deb

Peace(hippie) and Quiet(mime)

Popeye and Olive oil

Square dancing couple

Stepford wife and husband

Thing 1 and Thing 2

Ventriloquist and dummy

Weatherwomen and Rain

Zookeeper and animal

Just some thoughts.



What do you think!!!

Heritage Days at the Museum

The large, flat-topped, ceremonial mound.

As many of you know, I work as a graduate assistant at a museum. The museum is focused on the Native American Archaeological site on which it sits. This past week was the museum's main event in that we opened the grounds to school groups and provided crafts, hatchet and atlatl (spear thrower) trials, mock archaeological dig, and dancing and stick-ball demonstrations. We had anywhere from 300 to 1600 kids on a given day and it was absolutely......ridiculous. I consider myself as being very good with kids, but the sheer volume of children was really an issue with me. I felt very out of control and out of my element. Not that anything went wrong, except when the girl fell and broke her arm, but it was just not a comfortable experience for me.





Needless to say there were a lot of issues that came up regarding my anal-retentiveness, need for organization, and need for people to all be on the same page. There was a lot of information that people weren't sharing with each other and lot of mis-communication that made things very hectic, not necessarily go wrong. The other real issue I have is of the portrayal of the culture of the Native Americans themselves. Selling dream catchers, wooden tomahawks, drums made of coffee cans, and selling flat bread and taco's as "traditional" foods really feeds into the many stereotypes that are already alive and really are doing a lot of harm. People automatically think that all Native Americans wore long feathered head-dress, scalped people with tomahawks, and lived in Tepees. These are the types of things that we are trying to educate against yet these individuals are trying to make money any way possible and diminish their own perception and culture for the almighty dollar. As you could expect, there are a lot of other things that go into the whole ....issue...that is the museum. Just wanted to vent some of my frustrations.

Blogging a.k.a. Procrastination

I took the weekend off from studying in hopes of re-focusing and getting back on track. It might seem that this is academic suicide, but I think it will be the best decision for me to get back on track. That being said, today I am more focused on procrastination rather than studying for these few hours that I have available this morning. I am telling myself that I have a lot of writing to do this week and blogging a good number of blogs for the week will get me in the mood to write.

So, I am putting things off as long as possible and should have a good archive of blogs to be posted throughout the week.

Hope everyone has a good week!!!!

Absentee

I got it, I got it. My absentee ballot came in yesterday and I am going to be able to be a contributing citizen in this election. I have to say that I was very pessimistic in regards to actually receiving my absentee ballot on time. It FINALLY came in yesterday and I am so excited to send it in. I do have to spend some time looking into the referendums for Knox County that are included on this ballot, but I feel confident that I have kept up with the issues in this election both home and in my home county.

Ok, that is it for now, I have to get ready for work. I will be writing shortly on a number of issues. For one, those of you who follow Twitter know this one, I am going to report on the effectiveness and issues of my "Heritage Days" and teaching such things as hatchet throwing to children that I have been doing all week. I also have a certain "Lost in Translation" issue that has come up with a professor of mine that I could use some clarification on.

Look for updates soon and HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

Now...Step 1

So...I have spewed my negativity out to all of you that have taken time to read. And I appreciate it. I had to get my frustration out to be able to start making some changes. So first: Be positive!!!

Being negative isn't going to get me anywhere. I am going to be positive about all the things that are going good and changing those things that are not.

A lot of what I have had to say sounds very, well....whinny, and I hate that. I have never expected to be handed anything while in grad school. I have always been of the mindset that you get out of graduate school what you put into it. And I still believe that. The issue that I do still have is that the required classes I am having to take are not adding to the education that I have set out for myself within the structure of this program. I believe that a lot of this has to do with my mind set, and with the place that I am in in my life and with my thinking at the moment, I don't see that changing.

With my newly reinforced drive and demand for change in myself I know that I will be able to work through the rest of this class and make sure that I am not misinformed as I was going into this one.

As for my exam today: it is gonna be a toss up. I do not feel that I have a grasp on the information. I do not feel comfortable with the theory, methodology, or examples. I fell that I get something different out of our readings from what our professor "tells us" we should be getting out of the readings. I do not come from the same background and don't come to the same conclusions and think that I will be at a loss as a result. Doing my best and I will get through it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A big ol' Rant!!!

I just need to let out my frustrations...and this seems to be as good a place as any.

Disclaimer: I know that many of you that read my blog are my colleagues. I respect that. I only ask that you respect me as well. I know that what I have written here does come up in conversation and I have been apprehensive to express my true feelings since I know that word travels fast in our circles. That being said, I would appreciate mutual respect and will be glad to take up any issues that you have with what I write on a one-on-one basis. I take full responsibility for both my opinions and comments and would be glad to discuss any of those with you. Thanks

I am about to snap!!! I am so incredibly frustrated with LIFE right now that I want to scream. I had put this graduate experience on such a pedestal that there was no way for it to be realized, and it isn't. I am not achieving what I hoped to achieve, I am not reading what I was hoping to read, I am not learning what I was hoping to learn, and I am not getting the experience that I was hoping to get. Where the F did I go wrong? (rhetorical)

I can't seem to figure out how to fit everything that I HAVE to into one day. I keep making priorities but they often leave something else falling behind. I am exhausted and frustrated 80% of the time and don't like living that way. I don't feel like I am pulling my weight around the house or spending enough time with my wife but at the same time I am also not spending enough time on school work, my GA, or working out. I can't figure this out and greatly because I feel lost.

This stuff that I am studying in school right now seems so.....off base. I don't really understand some of the classes that I am required to take and how the curriculum is adding any value to my education. I feel like my GA is just wasting my time in a place that isn't allowing me to grow as a professional. I feel like the course structure of my degree is stifling my potential and I think that the faculty are too busy to listen to what their students have to say. I think this program has set me up to be dependent on the system and I hate that.

I feel like my whole life is a game right now and while I am good at it, when I stand back it isn't even a f'n game that I want to be playing. My colleagues are amazing at what they do and while I want to be competitive, I don't really care about the topics being discussed. I understand that certain areas are for certain people, but how am I supposed to compete in an area that doesn't hold my interest.

Why is it that no matter how much I do or don't do to help out the same complaints come up. Why is it that I can't stay on a work out schedule. Why is it that I have let myself down like this and why can't I find the solution.

I am tired, I am confused, and I think that I have given up on myself in order to get credentials.

This has got to change!

Grad School........Could be better

So....things are going great in regards to my education at this point and all that that entails, but it could be better. Within the last couple of weeks I have realized that I really liked the idea of being in this particular program better than actually being in it. It all boils down to that before I was "in the program" I was the guy that was different and way outside the spectrum of what was represented and was still able to be and do what I wanted to do. Now that I am officially in the program, I am lumped in a group and expected to do exactly what everyone else is doing. I am not like that. I need to feel like I have a "one-up" on other people, that I bring something different to the table, and that I am building skills different from the person sitting next to me. This program doesn't seem to be set up that way, which is what I had perceived it as being. Therefore, I am not getting out of this what I had hoped and things are going to have to change!

So what do I want to change?

I need to do some research.....not with the community....with BONE
I need to do some science
I need an internship that relates to me not helping others in the community
I need to work in hospital setting
I need to work with death
I need to not be labeled a cultural anthropologist when I get out of here
I need to look past this to where I want to do my PhD
I need CHANGE!!!
I need to be an individual
I need to get out of this what I want or I am wasting my time and everyone else
I need to be happy to be able to make my wife happy and so that WE can be happy


I NEED TO MAKE CHANGE HAPPEN!!!

Another day

I really want to blog, but don't know what I want to write about at this point.

I have a lot going on today, and will be on my own, so I am sure that I will be able to come up with something. I am heading out to take pictures of the city. More importantly I am taking pictures of public art in an attempt to document what is here in order to take opinion polls at tomorrows community festival.



That is one of the murals that the group has done to try and get to representation of community voice. I will be trying to document a lot of these today and will try and share with you this afternoon.

I have a bad but beneficial habit

That's right. I have a habit that I consider to be negative in one regard, but that really helps me out at the same time.

I have been trained and have gained the skill of being very chameleon. I know it may sound odd to many, but I have both been trained and have trained myself to adapt to whatever situation that I am going to be in. I am not saying that I lose my ideas, opinions, input, or contribution to a situation. I do, however, change the way I dress, the words that I use, the way that I go about explaining things (analytical vs. theoretical vs. philosophical), and even my mannerisms, the way that I sit, the tone that I use in conversation, and the topics that I discuss within the situation. In one regard I see this as something that could be very negative to both my identity and the perception that others have of me. On the other hand, doing these things really seem to put people at ease, allow them to feel less threatened or apprehensive, to really open up in a lot of respects.

This being said, this realization of myself has come over the past couple of months. I have been spending a lot of time within my cohort of masters students, spending time in the communities, spending time with business executives and developers, and even the friends of my wife. I began noticing in the last week that I really alter the way I do things dependent on the people and environment that I am in. I could see this as being very adventitious in the world of business and has served me rather well in the arena of anthropology. The only issue that I have with this is that people believe that they are making connections or networks with me, and they are, yet they really aren't knowing "me". They are getting to know the anthropologist that I am in my everyday life, this chameleon.

So is this a good or bad thing? That is what I keep asking myself. I can't figure out if people are thinking that they are establishing a relationship with me even though I am not allowing them to really get to know me. Humans, in general, are very complex and have many facets to them that create their identity. Well....I don't let people see these. I don't allow people to get the full spectrum of what makes "me". So I can't figure out if I am losing out by glossing over the real "me" or even if I am cheating others by not allowing them to get to know this person that I am.

I think this is something that a lot of people deal with..........yet I can't figure out which way is best, or if this compromise it was is going to be most adventitious to me. Just something else to learn from I suppose.

Miss you....

Awww....blogger world....I miss you.....maybe tomorrow.....

An Unexpected Find

I found this story listed on a couple of blogs that I read, and was through the AP. Check it out! It is an amazing case of things that happen a lot here in the U.S. that people never realize. This one just happen to go to Auction.

Human skeleton in Ind. sells at auction for $500
The Associated Press
Published: October 1, 2008

TIPTON, Ind.: Richards' Auction Gallery had one interesting item up for sale this week just in time for Halloween: A real human skeleton.

The bones, wired together to keep them in place, were sold for $500 Tuesday. The winner bidder agreed to donate the skeleton to a forensics center for research.

Auctioneer Tim Richards found the skeleton among furniture and boxed items he collected from New Castle for the auction. The bones had apparently been someone's macabre decoration.

"'You won't believe what I found,'" Anita Mattingly, his fiancee, said he told her.

Simmons concluded the skeleton was that of a European man who was between 5-foot-3 and 5-foot-5. Simmons told Mattingly the man died sometime before World War I and was not murdered.

Simmons suggested that the skeleton be donated to research instead of being used for a Halloween prop, but Richards already had advertised that it would be sold.

Jane Harper then made the purchase and donated it to the forensics laboratory at the University of Indianapolis.

"I just felt very strongly this person needed to be in a final resting place," Harper said.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/10/01/america/ODD-Skeleton-Sale.php

New Debate Experience

I have always enjoyed presidential and vice presidential debates but tonight brought on a whole new experience. There is a channel through the local cable company (Channel 107 in Memphis) that shows the debate live and posts Twitter comments in real time on the screen. So not only are you able to make your own comments, but you are able to see the comments from people across the country all at the same time. You can log onto the website and see the debate and comments there as well: Hack the Debate at Current.com

Also, for all you Twitter enthousiests, you can check out the Election 2008 page where adding #current #election08 or #vpdebate /#debate add your comments to an election page where you can view the information and comments coming in in real time.

This left me feeling much more engaged in this debate and really made me feel like my comments were warranted and heard. Being a person that has an opinion on everything, this meant a lot to me.

Keep it in mind an check out the sites and participate during the next debate. You will not regret it.

What am I doing?

I am been deficient in the blog writing aspect of my life. My semester is requiring me to spend most of my day on the computer, and as a result I have been spending as much time away from my computer as possible. Blogging has been going by the wayside even though it does provide much relief for me.

With all of that said, I wanted to share what I am working on with the you all.

My graduate position at the museum has me doing a wide range of activities that I am trying to juggle all at the same time. One the one hand I am pairing up with another graduate student to work on the public relations of the museum in regards to attending and participating in different community events across Memphis including many children events. We also have a heritage festival for school aged children coming up adjacent to a heritage event open to the public. That is on top of having to go teach a 5th grade class about archaeology and anthropology, redesigning the museum's website, and searching the internet to make sure that the information that is out there about us is correct. These are just the major projects and are often interrupted about those that have to be put on hold.....and needless to say it keeps me busy.

I am in a museum practices class this semester that examines both the business and guest experience aspects of a museum and studies the way in which the institutions work with these foci in mind. The project I am working on in this class is testing the current visitors guides that are present at the museum and working with another student to redefine these guides to better define and direct the guest experience. It is our hopes that the redesign and revisions of the guides will help to improve the guest experience and enhance the overall museum visit.

In my class examining the health cars system I am conducting research into people's individual concepts of health. I plan on identifying the process through which individuals go through to determine whether or not they see themselves as healthy or unhealthy. In contrast of the bio-medical standards of BMI, blood pressure, and heart sounds, what parameters do individuals use to determine their day to day health in contrast to this bio-medical method.

In an independent reading course I am in I am searching through literally hundreds of articles in order to identify basic knowledge of theory and methodology of both social and physical sciences. It is through this process that I will be able to have an understanding of the foundations of both sciences to combine these and use them in future research. I plan to use this course for means of gathering bibliographic material as a basis for future research.

Last but definitely not least I am working with the UNDC and two of my applied anthropology class mates to evaluate an art project underway in the university district. The program is to be a means of community voice and the basis for community activism in order to rejuvenate the district. The evaluation process has us interviewing stakeholders, community members, students, and youth and participating in community meetings, festivals, and the art project as a whole.

This all being said, I have been busy. This is really just scratching the service on what all is going on this semester and if you want to know any more about any of the projects that I am working on please e-mail me and would happy to discuss them with you.

Now back to work.