Nearing the end
Well, university's all started now, classes are going - not that I have any classes left to take anymore except when I just happen to feel like it - and my thesis is finally nearing completion as well (about time!) It's close enough to being finished, in fact, that I'm starting to get that slightly sick feeling in my gut, mixed satisfaction and vague dread. After all this time, it's going to feel pretty weird, not having to worry about it anymore; it feels like the end of a world of some sort. (And hey, you never know! if the Mayans are right, I'm going to be able to enjoy my M.Phil about three days or so, so better make it good.)
It occurs to me that finishing my thesis would feel better if its subject matter - very broadly speaking, of course - were not in the process of being burned, bombed, robbed and generally reduced to so much ash and dust.
In all fairness, when I started archaeology, it was pretty clear to me that the skills I learn wouldn't be the most universally applicable - my specialty doubly so. Even so, I guess I didn't expect to be rendered obsolete quite this... explosively! Though, if nothing else, there's going to be a lot of pieces to pick up after it's over.
Well! Even so, there are things that are good in life. In this very precise moment of time it involves finished thesis chapters, interesting lectures, some very bad western animated films and delicious forest mushrooms (Wikipedia tells me they are called penny buns in English, which is hilarious), so I guess that's good enough for now.
It occurs to me that finishing my thesis would feel better if its subject matter - very broadly speaking, of course - were not in the process of being burned, bombed, robbed and generally reduced to so much ash and dust.
In all fairness, when I started archaeology, it was pretty clear to me that the skills I learn wouldn't be the most universally applicable - my specialty doubly so. Even so, I guess I didn't expect to be rendered obsolete quite this... explosively! Though, if nothing else, there's going to be a lot of pieces to pick up after it's over.
Well! Even so, there are things that are good in life. In this very precise moment of time it involves finished thesis chapters, interesting lectures, some very bad western animated films and delicious forest mushrooms (Wikipedia tells me they are called penny buns in English, which is hilarious), so I guess that's good enough for now.