7318 words down,7682 to go...
d00d, I was just in the kitchen, and I swear I heard a fox calling. It might have been an owl though. Foxes can sound remarkably like owls, you know, and I've seen a fox not a block from my house here, so it's possible.
I actually buckled down and wrote a section of my dissertation today, and then edited something I wrote for it a kabillion years ago (which I think is why they made us write it for my stupid research skills class... very clever, that! I wish they'd done that at York), the total result of which being that I'm 48-and-some-per cent done writing the thing. On my schedule, I only have 12 more days to finish the rest of it, though... and I feel like I have a lot more research to do, not just writing. And then I need to corral my supervisor and make her read it stupidly fast, and then I have to get it printed (as well as figuring out how to turn it into a .pdf, cos the uni requires we turn in an electronic copy as well, which I guess is cool in the long run... the department has also said that if we turn in the electronic copy with proof the hard copy is at the printers, we don't have to turn in the hard copies on the due date! shweet!)... it's due the 24th of September, and my housing contract ends *dun dun daaaa* on the 16th. So I have to finish my dissertation while moving. Do I know where I'm moving to? Nooooooooo idea. Probably somewhere in England, Scotland or Wales. (This is better than last time, when I didn't know what continent I was moving to.) Ben said I could live with him at his parents house in the interem (which would be way close quarters, for me), or with him in their caravan, which I went to last weekend and will tell you about below. He's a sweet kid, I sure do like him. He's going to move to York in October, when he finds a job and a place there. This next academic year is meant to be his "placement" year- which is basically when the uni kicks you out for a year and tells you to get a job for 9 months. He left it to the last minute (not my fault, I told him to get moving on it from day one of digging!), so he couldn't get a place working with the York Archaeological Trust (that I used to work for, had the assemblage I did the research on for my dissertation, and am now volunteering every friday with) straight off, but since he's doing a placement with them digging at hungate for 3 months this summer (www.dighungate.com) and they really like him, they're going to take him on when they re-open site in March, and he'll dig march-september, and so make his whole 9 months, which is rad!! I have to point out that this is all my fault, since it was me who came up with the idea that he should dig with the trust in the first place when he was moaning about not having anything to do this summer; likewise, my Very Good Friend Matt is doing his year's placement with them, on my recommendation! I think my friend Pete Sims is too (or with one of the other archaeological groups in the city), which means we could all hang out, which would be fun. Pete has amazing sideburns; chops they be! Also, he's from Jersey, which amuses me, because I told my mom once and she said "Where they invented the cows??" Right, /endRamble
So this past weekend, I did fun things. On Friday, I went to York to do volunteer work as per usual (this is actually stupidly good for me, cos they're super cool there, and they don't actually have any of their own zooarchaeologists cos they contract that stuff out, so they give me like, real jobs, like "pull all the human bone out of these bags of animal bone" and "enter all this stupidly specific data into a nationally-used database" and it's the kind of thing I can put on job applications, not to mention it's stupidly fun), and Ben was doing finds work (ie, playing with the powerhose), and then he drove us to his parent's house in newcastle (where the beer comes from!) where we stayed the night. I made him watch sister act II, but I paid him back for it, so it's okay. On Saturday we drove out to his parent's caravan (read mobile home, the kind that don't actually move and have real plumbing and stuff) out on the North Sea. It was in a really lovely place called Cresswell... we drove to the local shop, which was a farm shop, where they were selling like their own lamb and beef from their own sheep and cows, and frozen roasted veggies that they'd grown, and then a random spattering of other stuff, like every blue dragon sauce in existence, as well as Reese's Peanutbutter Cups!!!!!! It's been yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaars since I've had one, and at least once I'd sung their praises to Ben (we got some). Then we went home, and I sat at the dining room table and read while Ben played video games, then he made me dinner, and we watched TV (their mobile home gets cable!), being mostly boring BBC stuff followed by Back to the Future (which I've been jonsing for for about a month) and then History of the World Part 1 (which I've been jonsing to own for about 6 months). Sunday was pretty much the same, but I made lunch, and then we went for a walk on the beach. There was nothing on tv at night, so I put on Airheads, which I brought specially and Ben freaking loved (after 5-6 pints). Anyway, the beach was pretty. There are big shale cliffs that've been built up by and then collapsed into the sea, and there was like a big outcrop of rock where there were loads of tidepools and stuff, cos we were there at low tide. We drove by the next day, and the water was all the way up to the cliff face, it's kinda freaky. Anyhoo, I took pictures, most of which you can see at http://bradford.facebook.com/album.php?aid=3988&l=20485&id=283300203 but you can get the highlight and the goofy couples pic below:
and
The first one is looking back from the jetty towards the caravan park; it's not actually black n white, it's just how the picture exposed (I guess... I didn't know digital pics did that) cos of the sun. If you look to the right of the pic, you can kinda see colours... it was about 7:30pm. As for the second one, yup, I'm getting all chubby, and I swear I'll redye my hair when the dissertation is overwith (I have the bleach and dye already, even). Over the weekend I got chapters and chapters read; I'd wanted to do all the writing I did today, but the book was just too dense for it. It'll all get done...
no really, it will....
Any news from back home? People, consider yourselves taken to task! I feel like I've not had news in forever. Hey sis, get other sis to put a pic of her new ink up!! Dad told me about it, I'm like so excited! Send it to my email tho, I like never check myspace. I'm not going to get to come back for a while, if at all... My parents are coming for my graduation (assuming the dissertation gets done, and passes) in December, and it's just too much money all at once for all three of us to be travelling intercontinentally. Unless I win the lottery (and I don't play), first chance I'd get to go back is prolly February, unless I get deported. Again.
I actually buckled down and wrote a section of my dissertation today, and then edited something I wrote for it a kabillion years ago (which I think is why they made us write it for my stupid research skills class... very clever, that! I wish they'd done that at York), the total result of which being that I'm 48-and-some-per cent done writing the thing. On my schedule, I only have 12 more days to finish the rest of it, though... and I feel like I have a lot more research to do, not just writing. And then I need to corral my supervisor and make her read it stupidly fast, and then I have to get it printed (as well as figuring out how to turn it into a .pdf, cos the uni requires we turn in an electronic copy as well, which I guess is cool in the long run... the department has also said that if we turn in the electronic copy with proof the hard copy is at the printers, we don't have to turn in the hard copies on the due date! shweet!)... it's due the 24th of September, and my housing contract ends *dun dun daaaa* on the 16th. So I have to finish my dissertation while moving. Do I know where I'm moving to? Nooooooooo idea. Probably somewhere in England, Scotland or Wales. (This is better than last time, when I didn't know what continent I was moving to.) Ben said I could live with him at his parents house in the interem (which would be way close quarters, for me), or with him in their caravan, which I went to last weekend and will tell you about below. He's a sweet kid, I sure do like him. He's going to move to York in October, when he finds a job and a place there. This next academic year is meant to be his "placement" year- which is basically when the uni kicks you out for a year and tells you to get a job for 9 months. He left it to the last minute (not my fault, I told him to get moving on it from day one of digging!), so he couldn't get a place working with the York Archaeological Trust (that I used to work for, had the assemblage I did the research on for my dissertation, and am now volunteering every friday with) straight off, but since he's doing a placement with them digging at hungate for 3 months this summer (www.dighungate.com) and they really like him, they're going to take him on when they re-open site in March, and he'll dig march-september, and so make his whole 9 months, which is rad!! I have to point out that this is all my fault, since it was me who came up with the idea that he should dig with the trust in the first place when he was moaning about not having anything to do this summer; likewise, my Very Good Friend Matt is doing his year's placement with them, on my recommendation! I think my friend Pete Sims is too (or with one of the other archaeological groups in the city), which means we could all hang out, which would be fun. Pete has amazing sideburns; chops they be! Also, he's from Jersey, which amuses me, because I told my mom once and she said "Where they invented the cows??" Right, /endRamble
So this past weekend, I did fun things. On Friday, I went to York to do volunteer work as per usual (this is actually stupidly good for me, cos they're super cool there, and they don't actually have any of their own zooarchaeologists cos they contract that stuff out, so they give me like, real jobs, like "pull all the human bone out of these bags of animal bone" and "enter all this stupidly specific data into a nationally-used database" and it's the kind of thing I can put on job applications, not to mention it's stupidly fun), and Ben was doing finds work (ie, playing with the powerhose), and then he drove us to his parent's house in newcastle (where the beer comes from!) where we stayed the night. I made him watch sister act II, but I paid him back for it, so it's okay. On Saturday we drove out to his parent's caravan (read mobile home, the kind that don't actually move and have real plumbing and stuff) out on the North Sea. It was in a really lovely place called Cresswell... we drove to the local shop, which was a farm shop, where they were selling like their own lamb and beef from their own sheep and cows, and frozen roasted veggies that they'd grown, and then a random spattering of other stuff, like every blue dragon sauce in existence, as well as Reese's Peanutbutter Cups!!!!!! It's been yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaars since I've had one, and at least once I'd sung their praises to Ben (we got some). Then we went home, and I sat at the dining room table and read while Ben played video games, then he made me dinner, and we watched TV (their mobile home gets cable!), being mostly boring BBC stuff followed by Back to the Future (which I've been jonsing for for about a month) and then History of the World Part 1 (which I've been jonsing to own for about 6 months). Sunday was pretty much the same, but I made lunch, and then we went for a walk on the beach. There was nothing on tv at night, so I put on Airheads, which I brought specially and Ben freaking loved (after 5-6 pints). Anyway, the beach was pretty. There are big shale cliffs that've been built up by and then collapsed into the sea, and there was like a big outcrop of rock where there were loads of tidepools and stuff, cos we were there at low tide. We drove by the next day, and the water was all the way up to the cliff face, it's kinda freaky. Anyhoo, I took pictures, most of which you can see at http://bradford.facebook.com/album.php?aid=3988&l=20485&id=283300203 but you can get the highlight and the goofy couples pic below:
and
The first one is looking back from the jetty towards the caravan park; it's not actually black n white, it's just how the picture exposed (I guess... I didn't know digital pics did that) cos of the sun. If you look to the right of the pic, you can kinda see colours... it was about 7:30pm. As for the second one, yup, I'm getting all chubby, and I swear I'll redye my hair when the dissertation is overwith (I have the bleach and dye already, even). Over the weekend I got chapters and chapters read; I'd wanted to do all the writing I did today, but the book was just too dense for it. It'll all get done...
no really, it will....
Any news from back home? People, consider yourselves taken to task! I feel like I've not had news in forever. Hey sis, get other sis to put a pic of her new ink up!! Dad told me about it, I'm like so excited! Send it to my email tho, I like never check myspace. I'm not going to get to come back for a while, if at all... My parents are coming for my graduation (assuming the dissertation gets done, and passes) in December, and it's just too much money all at once for all three of us to be travelling intercontinentally. Unless I win the lottery (and I don't play), first chance I'd get to go back is prolly February, unless I get deported. Again.