Back at it?

In all honesty I had put the blog on the "back burner" for this semester. Things this fall have been so out-of-this-world crazy that I really didn't have time to even think about reflections or thoughts to share. That being said, I have had a lot of comments posted or e-mailed to me lately which is telling me that people are still finding this blog and finding interest. That has led me to want to continue to share my thoughts and experiences so I am going to try to get back in the blogging grove.

So what has been going on? A LOT

I am taking some really involved classes this semester that have be doing some very involved and intricate work that is occupying my every thought. I am currently working on the evaluation design of the HIV/AIDS program in Uganda with the aid of some new research assistants that we have taken on. I am super pleased with the progress, professionalism, and work ethic of the group that we have compile and think that it is going to work really well. I am also beginning a new phase of research into masculinity. I have a "Culture, Identity, and Power" class in which I am critiquing the "New Masculinity" paradigm as not being reflective of the lived experience of my own generation. I am conducting interviews and literature reviews to combine with my data from talking to young men in Uganda to show that we have a new form of masculinity in my own generation that has not yet been shared. In addition I am working on a project on environmental education to aid in the environmental justice/racism movement that is starting in South Memphis.

I think that is it for the moment, or at least all that I can come up with for the moment.

Cheers!!

My amazing opportunity

So, I have been given an amazing opportunity and after much deliberation.....I have decided to go through with it.

I have been asked to help in the evaluation of an HIV prevention/education program in Uganda. There is a physician that works here in the U.S. that got in contact with a colleague of mine and she asked me to be a part of the team. Our tasks will be to evaluate the HIV mentoring program that has been established in Uganda and provide feedback and suggestions. There are 87 schools involved in this project and over 57,000 students. While this target population and health issue is outside my major field of focus, it is an amazing experience and will really help my career (it took me a while to realize that).

We have a lot of obsticales to still overcome and a LOT of work to do before we head over, but I am excited. I will update you more as I know more, and find more time to write.

YAY!!!!!

Where did my weeken go?

So I sit here on Sunday afternoon asking myself where the time went. Last I remember I was rushing home from GIS class on Thursday to get my house ready for company and start dinner. The rest is all a blur of drinking, Waffle-house, volunteer days, and very little sleep. Did I forget that I am in graduate school and had a lot to do today or did I just need to let loose? I think the later.

So the past two weeks my wife and I have been trading off with a friend of ours of dinner and TV night on Thursday nights. We go over there or she comes over here and we cook and we watch TV, hang out, and just talk about whatever. With both my wife and my own busy schedule, it allows us to see friends and lay low all at the same time. It has been pretty successful so far, but I tend to drink more when we hang out and since I work no less than 9 hours on Friday, it has been a challenge.

And Friday, I went to work for my 8 hours, met my wife and her parents for dinner (which was an hour drive across town cause of traffic) and then headed out to a birthday party. My night before, long day at work, and having to be back to work at 8 on Saturday had left me excited about the party, but really not wanting to stay that long, and I was determined. Well, after I arrived my wife called and said that she was going out so I decided I could stay out a little later, and then more people came, so I decided I could drink a little more, and next thing I knew I decided to make a late night run to Southaven to Waffle-house and get home for 3 hours of very poor sleep. Needless to say, when I have a good time my little "rules" for myself go right out the window. I really had a blast and the night went by so quickly, I guess I really needed it. I am really getting to like my colleagues and really enjoying their company. This is the first time that I have been academic rivals with people and not let my competative nature get in the way. I hope that I don't do anything to mess that up as usual.

Saturday, oh Saturday. I was tired, and really not feeling like talking to people. I was running the Volunteer day for the museum and didn't really expect a good turn out. Well, of course that was not the case. I had 15 people come out, showing up at different times, and that were all pretty talkative and wanted to know about me. While I really wasn't in the mood, I had a blast and really got them to do a lot of work. So, all in all it was successful despite the fact that I wasn't looking forward to it.

And here I am, on Sunday, after sleeping 13 hours and needing to get a lot done. I have a definite reading marathon ahead of me and I am not looking forward to it. Also, my bad mood Friday night (from knowing that I had to leave early and not drink a lot) had me twitter some stuff that has now come full circle and probably upset some people. So I am experiencing some of the negative aspects of twitter. While I meant what I said when I said it, those feelings changed and quickly for that matter. One of the colleagues that I respect and admire a lot, however, may now be pissed at me and I wouldn't blame here. Regardless, I need to remember that people can find me here and that what I twitter can show up. I guess people also need to know that I share too much, and this is one of those times that it may just bite me in the ass.

Will let you know how it turns out.....Cheers!

A complete 180

While graduate school has been literally a "learning" process, I am also reflecting a lot on what I get out of each semester of required course work and the inner workings of department politics and graduate life. While I think this is something that many people do, anthropologists have a bad habit of examining not only other cultures but also their own, how they fit into that certain niche, are creating their own niche, and how that culture is effecting the overall person that they are striving to be. This is where I have made my complete 180.

My course work last semester left a lot be desired for me. My topics of study focused on community development, the culture of health care, and museum administration. While these topics are well and good, they were not what I was looking for. A lot of last semester left me very jaded and inspired me to turn things around a bit. I vowed, after the massive amounts of course work that I found less than interesting, that I am in graduate school for me and I will have to make my own way. And I have. I have gone against the advice of many and the support of few to pave my own path through this graduate program, play into departmental political games, and make myself stand out.

Course work this semester is what I wanted it to be and while being very overwhelming and daunting (upwards of 400 pages of reading a week) I am completely intellectually stimulated and satisfied. So far this semester I have delved into the principles behind social epigenetics, looking at the social factors that aid and allow for the spread and dispersal of different diseases and the way to prevent epidemics from the isolation of social factors. I am also spending a lot of time re-examining evolution, epigentics, evo-devo, and human adaptations to find a deeper understanding and synthesis of all the past anatomical information that I have taken in with the social evaluation skills that I have acquired. I am also at the forefront of contacting my own individuals for possible internships for the fall (required in my department) as well as planning summer international travel for research. Right now it looks like Bolivia, but that is still kind of up in the air.

Needless to say, while my semester is crazy, stressful, and a little over the top...I am loving it. I am enjoying my time in class and in my G.A., and despite how much that I may complain about my work load...I am doing it. I am doing it, I am playing a huge part in the critical analysis of this new material, paving options for the department, able to hold conversations on material that my peers are unaware of, and starting to separate myself from the pack.

Things are going great, and I just hope that I will find time to look into Ph.D programs soon so I can get that ball rolling. Anyone have any suggestions?

Finding my way

So it has started. School is back in full swing and I have a whole plethora of things to deal with. Just to let you into my little world, here is what I have decided to study for this semester:

My GA - Collections management that is allowing for some paleopathological research. I really am not at liberty to really divulge anything else.

Classes:
GIS for Health Care - applications of GIS technology for identifying health issues in order to formulate disease prevention or intervention programs

Social Epidemiology - Pattering disease through social groups

Human Adaptations - genetics, variation, adaptation, evolution

History of Anthropological Theory - title says it all

I will also be doing research with a colleague of mine on osteoporosis prevalence and care in Shelby county from both the epi and GIS perspectives.

I think it is going to be a good semester!!!

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.....

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.

Posting as Procrastination

I am taking the time now not only to fill you in on my weekend, but also to procrastinate on a grand scale. I have a large list of things to get done tonight, but I have decided that if I don't go ahead and blog I will just keeping thinking about it and will continue to be distracted.

This weekend was one of the better visits that I have had in returning to Knoxville. We went up for the UAB-UT game with a new friend of ours and it turned out very well. I was kind of reluctant in spending an entire weekend with someone that I didn't know that well, but he proved to be the kind of person that I thought he was and provided much comic relief for the weekend. We got to tromp around one of my favorite bars on the planet, Downtown Bar and Grill, in downtown Knoxville. This is the place I would and still always take friends to give them a good Knoxville experience. We went twice this weekend and it was just as good as it always has been. The bar is one that everyone always congregated to during my undergraduate career and my old room mate still works there. This makes the place a little more grand in my perspective than it probably is.

We also were able to spend time with all those friends we wanted to see within one trip. It usually works out that we have to pass up on some people and ultimately leave disappointed. We set up a football watching get together this weekend which everyone came to in order to watch the Ohio State game, and had a great time. We had my best man, our new friend from Memphis, the newly married couple, and The Modern Gal and Beau. Even though this group has never spent much time with each other, they all enjoyed themselves and really got along. We then went out to our second trip to the bar and it was a blast.

The game was a good experience as usual, and exceptionally hot. There are few times in my life where I sweat through my clothes while sitting, and college football games in the south during the summer is one of those times. The culture that surrounds football games and the people that attend them entertain me just as much as the game itself.

Ok...what else can I bore you with. I am finding a really good person and friend in my wife's co-worker. He is the guy that we went to the game with this weekend, and while I was unsure of his bias while he was working with my wife...he is no longer doing so and we are getting along better. I only mention this because I have struggled finding people that I can trust and enjoy spending much time with yet he is becoming one of these people. It is a good friendship for me to have too because he is coming from a different place than myself. He is a successful bachelor that is out on his own doing his own thing. Struggling with relationships, out of school, and out to have a good time are his M.O's and it brings me back to somewhere that I had lost. Not in the respect that I want to be back in that place, but that not everything has to be so complicated and not everything has to be so analytically based. He reminds me of who I used to be, what I could have been, brings a since of pride for what I have, and makes me more grounded in myself. I think we will have a good friendship and I hope that it fleshes itself out.

On another similar note. I am really finding a strong admiration for The Modern Gal and Beau. The more time that I spend around them and with them I realize how much we have in common and what good and interesting people they are. I feel really connected to her because of her strong support and interest in my blogging discovery and her intelligence. We also seem to have a lot of the same things going on in our lives right now, and through our blogging and commenting to each other we stay in very good touch it seems like. Every time that I spend time with the Modern Beau I find that we have more in common as well. He is able to hold very good conversations, first of all, but I also found out that he likes to cook....and that is definitely something that we have in common.

Ok, well I have been working on this post for almost 2 hours while researching and printing so I am going to go ahead and apologize for the errors and choppiness.

K-Town

I am taking this weekend off (from life) to travel back to my old stomping grounds in Knoxville, TN. It is always a great time to see all of my college friends, go to a football game, and visit all my old hang outs. With that being said, I will try to take notes or remind myself to keep up with this weekends events and let you know all about it.

In the mean time, have a great weekend and.....

Go VOLS!!!!!

I'm back....

...and kind of sad about it!


Ohio State University "horse-shoe" stadium.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/13887059@N08/2811485241/

In celebration of my last weekend before school gets out of control, my wife's birthday, and my 2nd wedding anniversary the wife and I decided to take a little mini-vacation. In the three days we flew up to Columbus, Ohio (a city I am really starting favor) and went to Ohio State University's opening season football game. As many of you have probably picked up on, I am not the biggest football fan (even though the nerdy wife and my nerdy in-laws are) I am a huge crowd fan, people watcher, tail-gater, and beer drinker so have a strong affinity towards attending games. This being said I had a great time despite the fact that the game wasn't even close are particularly exciting. It was also interesting to attend a game outside of the SEC and be witness to SEC heckling and "hate speech." Since I am not a "big fan" of football and do not stay up on my football rhetoric....I do not even attempt to debate the Big 10 vs. SEC rivalry that is about and instead did my usual anthropological and cultural evaluations of the situations and stayed very entertained.


Theme park on Lake Erie (Cedar Point). Mantis: Standing Roller Coaster.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/68789727@N00/1122315006/


After the game, many beers, and thousands of rowdy northerns we headed off to Sandusky, Ohio to temp our fates at Cedar Point. Those of you that have never been on Lake Erie or been to Cedar Point... you are really missing out. While we didn't get to go out on the lake, I did get my first experience aboard a sail boat and even though we didn't even leave the dock it was really cool to experience. I have decided that next summer we will be making a trip up there to go sailing (it is my wife's aunt and uncle's boat so we are always invited). Anyway....Cedar Point is one of the best amusement parks on the planet. You have 13 roller coasters of which many break world records. Also, you have the breeze of the great lake and a lot of shade and low humidity all of which allow for quite and enjoyable experience. There are not a lot or roller coasters that are fun, but very few that really get my heart pumping and take my breath away. Cedar point has many of them. Including one that takes you from 0-120 mph in a matter of seconds and sends you what has to be 20 stories in the air. I am guessing a little bit, but I know that it is the tallest structure around and has to have a beacon on top because of the possibility of being in aircraft paths. It is absolutely amazing.

410 feet straight up. Top Thrill Dragster. Cedar Point!!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/39089491@N00/2747530883/

We also dabbled a little bit in the town of Grandview, Ohio. It is a really interesting little city that is completely surrounded by Columbus Ohio and is yet its own entity. It has this amazing small town feel to it and promotes walking and riding bikes. Most stores and restaurants are still in the old town square type style and feature all local businesses and restaurants. Nights out and the farmers market are all set up along the same little streets and have an amazing town pride surrounding them. I am hoping that I can find a place like this to live in which ever city we end up in next.

Spagio Restaurant on the main drag in Grandview, OH. Amazing peach soup!!!http://www.flickr.com/photos/32861308@N00/706332851/

More cultural insights to come, but thought I would make you all jealous of my relaxing, eventful, and worry free weekend first and then provide further discussion.

With the Quickness

I am already bogged way down with the amount of stuff to get done this week. My semester started this week....and I started behind. There were thousands (ok, maybe not that many) of things I needed to get done to "prepare" for the semester, and I put them all off. Anyway, I had my first class today and with it being a graduate only class and one of our core classes, it is going to be brutal. I am looking at around 500 pages of reading per week for this semester. And that should be on a good week.

It also looks like I will be working on 2 other blogs for this semester as well. I will bring them up more once I get them started.

I will also have my first day of work at the museum tomorrow as well. It should be interesting.

All in all my semester is in full swing and I will be staying up late to try and get ready for the rest of my week.

More to come soon....as soon as I have a moment of sanity.

Saturday at the market

This weekends farmer's market was amazing. First of all we got up at 7 to go which is our preferred time to go....however our "woo-hoo" summer plans have left us very hung over and unable to attend until late if we attend at all. We got down there early this past Saturday though and even had my father-in-law with me. This man knows so many people and has a vast knowledge on veggies that comes in handy when you can't tell what people have to offer. It is amazing how happy food is making me. The fact that they still had fresh blueberries in season this weekend made me just as happy as that cold beer after a long day. Same feeling, much better for my body. We also found some really fresh artisan bread, bell peppers, fresh pears, new potatoes, butter beans, organic and grass fed ground beef, a whole chicken, hot Italian sausage, beef stick snacks, a cantaloupe....and maybe that is it. We had a great time drinking our market coffee and just walking around seeing what there was for the taking and just took our time. With me being the one that has made a few trips to the market by myself....having my wife and father-in-law with me was a great experience and much better than being there by myself.

The market has become one of my favorite and most comforting places here in the city. I am able to see a great plethora of fruits and veggies that you can't find in stores, talk to the farmer's that grew them, and even ask tips on what I should be doing with them. There is since of security knowing that my food comes from the Ripley farm or the North Mississippi farm and knowing that if I don't like the quality or the size for the price there is the possibility for haggling. There is also the people that talk to you in line, the vendors that say "hope to see you next week," the people that smile for no good reason, and even the shelter dogs whom we donate too on a regular basis. In a city that has so many issues and in a time in my life when everything seems so hectic and disconnected.....I am connected there. I belong in the market and I feel like I belong among my fellow marketers. I think this is one transition that I (and hopefully my wife) have made that I will not be able to undo. What will I do come October when the market goes on hiatus?

Brace Myself

With last being my last actual week off the wife and I decided that it was time to transition back into responsible adult mode and take it easy this past weekend. While we are still having a little trouble transitioning from our summer of social activities having a laid back weekend was very enjoyable. We were able to catch four movies this weekend (will talk about those later) as well as spending a couple of hours wondering around the farmer's market early Saturday morning. It is amazing how different the experience at the market is when you get there early.....like the other responsible people.

I say last week was my actual last week before school for the fact that I have to start planning. I have a independent study course that I have to come up with a reading list for and have to have my course outline completed for two other courses. On top of that, the official start of the semester is Saturday, and you guessed it I have a meeting on Saturday. While it is a laid back meeting at the museum director's house over lunch, it is still me having to plan around it. I have this sinking suspicion that this semester (and the next 2 years) are going to make me wish for a day a boredom like I have been trying to get out of all summer.

For those that haven't gotten a grip on my future plans (and to remind myself) I will share my semester with you. I am working as a graduate assistant (full tuition paid and a stipend) for the local archaeological museum and will be completing 20 hours of work there per week (including one Saturday per month). At this point it looks like I will be taking care of all of the bone material and NAGPRA (Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act)compliance while also helping the museum to have a better web presence and more extended marketing plan. I am really looking forward to it but the events like heritage days (over 1000 school kids visiting all five days of a week) is a little daunting to me at this point. I am doing this partnership with the museum to get my Master's Degree in Medical Anthropology. My focus will be biomedical anthropology with a focus on the effects of cultural and biological agents on the human skeleton. I will also be achieving a museum studies certificate that will allow me to work as a museum administrator in the future (an easy to achieve back-up plan). I will be able to finish this in 2 years and will be doing both a practicum and writing a thesis. It is promising to be a busy and full two years and I can't wait to get it up and going. I will be doing an independent study this year (as I mentioned before) focusing on the effects of obesity on the skeleton and the cultural and biological influences that "cause" obesity. I will also be taking a museum studies class in hopes of writing a grant to incorporate "forensics" into the museum setting to attract more individuals. Other than that I am going to be studying the applied theories of anthropology and the anthropology of health care. Exciting to me anyway.

That being said.....it is time for me to make that transition back to an adult life style and stop going out five days a week and coming home at 4 or 5 am 2 of the nights a week. I have to say that it was refreshing to be that irresponsible this summer, and I think well deserved, but it is time to refocus. I say this not to convince you, but more so to reiterate it to myself. With our money crunch (as always) combined with a close friend of ours moving to New York, we are really wanting to save a lot and be able to visit her while we can have a free room. We are shooting for Christmas.

Alright, enough of me trying to convince myself to be responsible, I need to get some of this stuff done.

Still Recovering

After what I think will be the last weekend that I go out for a while, I am still recovering. We had another woo-hoo night out on Beale and while we had a good time as always, it is becoming a little mundane. I am convinced, however, that it is time for the wife (wife's name deleted for her own protection) and I to expand our friend base a little bit and maybe not spend so much time with the same few people.

On a different note, I am extremely addicted to the Olympics. I am typically not an athletics fan, but the Olympics are my exception. I become mildly obsessed and will revolve my life for the next week around a game that I don't have any affiliation nor wish to participate in.

Regardless, I have some Olympics to get back to. Phelps is getting his second gold from the amazing performance in the 4x100 with the rest of the team and I need to watch.

Swashbuckaling with the Wii

For the first time ever I was able to refer to myself as a Buccaneer.

My father-in-law, brother-in-law, uncle-in-law, and friend all went to a Midtown dive last night that had always evaded my attention. The bar is called the Buccaneer and is complete with a whole pirate-esque theme of sorts and topped off with that wonderful old bar muskiness that bars-in-old-houses can be known for. It was a great little dive that I have to say I will venture to try again.

On another note, spending time with the family is always something that stresses me in the beginning yet always yields an enjoyable time. My father-in-law wanted all the guys to go out last night and even though I drifted off into space when the conversation got bombarded with sports, it was still a rather enjoyable time.

On top of that the Wii provided for much needed entertainment last night with the three younger guys playing until the wee hours of the morning. I remember video games being a blast, but when you are drinking and the controls are the fine-motor movements of the controller.....playing and drinking becomes rather comical. It is always enjoyable, however, and we played for a good 4 hours straight.

I am beginning to gain some good insight into my brother-in-law. We are close enough in age where hanging out seems natural, yet only doing so a couple of times a year can lead to some awkward silences. He is very interesting, however, and seems to be plagued with what many of my friends and acquaintances in this age group are being challenged with: Their friends getting married and the dwindling number of single friends and significant other possibilities. This has come up so much lately that it will have to be the topic of an even more involved post, but that is for another day.

Sorry for the randomness of this post, but that is how the next couple of days are going to be I feel.

Back to being Lazy

As you can tell my hope to post at least once today has gotten off to a rather poor start. Yesterday proved to be oddly hectic and not according to plan which left me with little time to get done everything that I wanted to. With that aside, however, we did have a friend come through with tickets for the wife and I to go to the Dave Matthew's Band concert. The concert was in our local baseball stadium here and with the temperature at 10 at night still being 92 degrees with 60% humidity, it was HOT. So hot you couldn't really even drink that much.......which is hot. We then found Beale street as usual and stumbled through Raiford's Hollywood before calling the cab home. Needless to say, today has been very uneventful and with only two naps I am still tired and not back to 100%. I have a lot talk about in regards some of my experiences with my new place of employment (museum) and the exhibit opening I attended. I also had a great night Friday with some of my fellow graduate students and even got to hang out with them and get to know them all a little better. That can all wait for tomorrow though cause right now I am going to return to watching TV and being as lazy as possible.

A lazy weekend

I really had a chance to relax and regain my composer this weekend. I have to say that I haven't felt so rested in a very long time and my anxiety and tension are subsided quite a bit.

Saturday I was able to go to the farmer's market and was pleasantly suprised. After being there and talking to some farmers for over an hour I still only spent $27. So for $27 I got:

focassia bread
6 pints of blueberries
2 lbs of new potatoes
1 lb of habenero peppers
1 lb of okra
4 medium green bell peppers
1 lb of peaches
1 bag of arugula

I was shocked at how much I was able to get on so little money. Unfortunately the organic and free-range poultry and pork were not there this week or I would have spent more. This just reinforces the fact that without the cost of transportation being added to your produce, food can be much cheaper. And supporting the local economy has many benefits.

Other than that I just had a couple of drinks with friends at a buddies house on Saturday night and spent all day Sunday around the house with the wife. The two of us have been doing a lot to make sure we are eating healthy and making healthy choices yet Sunday is always our kind of free day. For example, out dinner last night was a Southern veggie dinner. We had french fries, fried okra, fried green tomatoes, and fried green beans all paired with macaroni and cheese. Granted we did use the new Smart Balance fry oil which cut our calories in half, yet our calories were still way up there.

Overall it was a great weekend and I hope that I can stay relaxed and carefree.

What Up?

So....whats new with me. First of all, I am getting really excited about returning to class. As many of my friends, and wife, don't understand.....I absolutely love learning. I love being in the academic setting and being challenged with new ideas and perspectives at this point in my life is something that I adore. I think working within a museum is going to bring some new challenges as well and can't wait to get started.

On another note, I got contacted from a friend of my mom's yesterday because he found some bones out on his property and wants my opinion. This is a lot of what a forensic anthropologist does; has pictures sent to them in order to answer the question "Is this human?" and then goes and checks it out. I am really excited because if these are indeed human remains it could bring on some great opportunities for me. And while I have only assisted in situations like these, I am going to stay confident in the fact that this kind of situation is what I am trained for and go get it done. I have already called a fellow archaeologist of mine to accompany me in the case that I do have to go to the site so that while I am examining the visible remain (you never move them) we can decided if they are pre-historic or modern and make a more logical assessment to know how to proceed. Knowing the location in which they were found, the condition of the remains, and how they were found.....I am guessing pre-historic.
They were found when a bunch of guys were out looking for "arrow-heads", aka projectile points, which is illegal just to put that out there. Even though it is private land, the removal of Native American artifacts is punishable by law. The artifacts are property of the tribe to which they are affiliated and protected by federal law. Just to throw that out there because it happens more often than you would think.

Last, but not least, after being in Memphis for a solid year I am still struggling to figure out my new group of peers. It isn't so much the individuals that I am working with in the anthropology arena (since I haven't fully immersed myself into that group just yet) but those other individuals introduced to me through my wife. It is just taking my time to figure out who the individuals are that I can have a good time with and be done. There is a lot of drama in that group and have been able to determine those individuals who have drama that follows them. It has been a good week this week in that I am finding some people that I have ignored in the past that I really starting to enjoy being around. All in all, the drama that you have read about over the past couple of weeks is being forgotten and I am doing the same to the people that it revolved around. Things are going good and now if I can just get back in the classroom I think things will be even better.