Overheard in the lab: "Wow, you have such nice bicuspids!"
Y'know, a bag full of teeth sure looks a lot like a bag of popcorn. Only not so appetizing. :) Today in my osteology class, we had to sift through zip-lock bags of teeth (with roots attached), and sort them into piles based on whether they were deciduous (baby) teeth or permanent teeth, their type (incisors, canines, premolars, and molars), and their orientation (top or bottom jaw, right or left side of the mouth). Which is sooooo much harder than it sounds, given that there is tons of variation from individual to individual. Many of the teeth were severely worn down, as well-- I was about ready to pull my hair out by the end of class! But it was a lot of fun, to see everyone poking their tongues around in their mouths, trying to feel the shapes of their own teeth... ;-)
Had a meeting with Dr. K later on that afternoon, during which I verified that she is, in fact, married to my osteology teacher. :) But I also had a real purpose for the meeting, which was to discuss the problems and issues I've been having with my thesis (she's my advisor). The most immediate problem was the abrupt resignation of Dr. Grube, my 2nd reader, who has accepted a much more prestigious position in Bonn. I was really stressing out over finding someone new, but Dr. K (as always) found the perfect solution: she's close friends with Kent Reilly, who is like The Guy when it comes to Olmec studies, and the site of La Venta in particular. I just so happen to be writing about La Venta (among other things), so she promised to ask him if he'd be willing to fill in for Dr. Grube. By the time I got home, an e-mail from Dr. K was waiting for me in my inbox-- she had called up Kent Reilly, and not only is he "really interested" in meeting up with me and serving on my committee, but he's already come up with a few suggestions for me as far as avenues of research to pursue, which Dr. K passed along. I feel totally overwhelmed, grateful, and terrified-- now I'm going to be pressuring myself to write something really spectacular, so as to make a good impression on Dr. Reilly. Aargh! Oh well, at least I can be sure of putting 100% of my effort into this damn thing now... I'm trying to look at it as a good source of external motivation, since my inner drive to succeed has largely evaporated this semester. One word: senioritis.
Oh, and I beat Matt at Monopoly tonight. Go me. :)
Had a meeting with Dr. K later on that afternoon, during which I verified that she is, in fact, married to my osteology teacher. :) But I also had a real purpose for the meeting, which was to discuss the problems and issues I've been having with my thesis (she's my advisor). The most immediate problem was the abrupt resignation of Dr. Grube, my 2nd reader, who has accepted a much more prestigious position in Bonn. I was really stressing out over finding someone new, but Dr. K (as always) found the perfect solution: she's close friends with Kent Reilly, who is like The Guy when it comes to Olmec studies, and the site of La Venta in particular. I just so happen to be writing about La Venta (among other things), so she promised to ask him if he'd be willing to fill in for Dr. Grube. By the time I got home, an e-mail from Dr. K was waiting for me in my inbox-- she had called up Kent Reilly, and not only is he "really interested" in meeting up with me and serving on my committee, but he's already come up with a few suggestions for me as far as avenues of research to pursue, which Dr. K passed along. I feel totally overwhelmed, grateful, and terrified-- now I'm going to be pressuring myself to write something really spectacular, so as to make a good impression on Dr. Reilly. Aargh! Oh well, at least I can be sure of putting 100% of my effort into this damn thing now... I'm trying to look at it as a good source of external motivation, since my inner drive to succeed has largely evaporated this semester. One word: senioritis.
Oh, and I beat Matt at Monopoly tonight. Go me. :)