Consequences of Writers Block

I love grad school.

I've said this before but I think it needs to be repeated...every day.

There are several reasons for this:

1. sometimes I need to remind myself how much I love grad school, especially when I am pulling all-nighters for weeks at a time.

2. I actually do love it.

Despite this love, everyday is not perfect.

For example:

today.

This morning I am trying to write a paper.

I have lots of (what I think) are fantastic ideas, but for some reason when I try to type them I just can't find the right words.

In other words: WRITERS BLOCK!

ugh.

I am not a fan.

So instead of writing my paper I thought I would play catch up.

Here is goes:

A few weeks ago we (the padre, the bug and I) dropped Stephie off at school and helped her apply to about 15 jobs.

It was a busy day.

Yes, we did it all in one day.

It was on this day that Bug and I became famous.

We had just dropped off the last application for Steph and a woman approached us.

She was doing a recording for a special artist presentation/video thing and needed two female voices to record a  written statement.

Well, Bug and I realized that there were two of us, and this woman was in definite need.

So we did it.

And now our voices are on some random video that will probably get an Oscar or something.

But....probably not.

It was fun though.

In other news:

I love my job.

I love both of them but ESPECIALLY job 1 (in publications).

Not as much as I love grad school.

But I really do love it a lot.

Let me explain...no, there is to much, let me sum up.

While this is the first time I have had this particular job, it is housed in the same location as another job that I had.

The Museum of Peoples and Cultures.

(which you should definitely check out for a good time)

Awesome things happen at that place, especially on the 2nd floor (where I work).

Like the traveling gnome, and other remarkable events.

For a review look here, here, here, and here.

This time, a toy dinosaur broke into the museum and left Lindsay a present.

and yes, the gnome is still wandering about the 2nd floor. 

:)

In conclusion:

Life is grand, work is groovy, and school is great.

I realized how blessed I was while I was studying on campus,

next to a water fall,

in my little corner of heaven.

As I was sitting there reading about the Romans and thinking about how beautiful it was that morning, 

suddenly light peaked through the leaves of the trees and warmed my face.

It was pure heaven for a minute there.

So happy.

♥ ♥ ♥

Tender Mercies -- a listening ear.

I had the most wonderful afternoon today.

Today as a whole was pretty good (Mondays and Wednesdays are my work instead of school days).

I worked at the museum,

then I went to the class I TA for,

and then my good friend and I sat in the hallway of the JFSB for over 2 hours talking.

It was so nice.

Life has been pretty lonely.

My research trip was wonderful but not without some pretty excruciating trials.

I got home, started a wonderful new job, but I'm still figuring out some things.

I haven't really had anyone to talk to for awhile.

I didn't think I was much of a talker but I certainly was today.

Poor Lynn got an ear full.

Lynn and I are in the same cohort, meaning we had basically all the same classes our first year.

So we talked, struggled, and pulled through a lot with the other girls in our class.

It has been a long time so we caught up on crazy things.

Like her crazy experiences this summer,

and my experiences with crazy people.

:)

Anyway, bottom line:

I am grateful for kind people,

who sacrifice their time and sanity for someone.

Because really,

I think we all are struggling a bit more than we let on.

Often more than a bit.

♥ ♥ ♥

Awesome archaeology -- "We like them to be dead...and human."

Yesterday was technically the first day of classes.

I say technically because I technically went to class but it wasn't mine.

Let me explain.

This semester I have 2 jobs.

I love them both.

Not equally, but there is enough love to go around.

Heaven knows I don't love anything outside of archaeology at present.

But that is besides the point.

My first job is my favorite.

I work for the publishing arm of the Anthropology department.

I absolutely love it.

I am learning so much.

My second job is also for the Anthropology department.

I work as a TA for the Intro to Archaeology course.

This job is also fun.

It is the class I attended yesterday.

The quote in the heading was said by the professor who was trying to explain to the students what exactly archaeologists study.

Dead people and their cultures.

Not dinosaurs.

People really struggle to understand that.

I can't figure out why.

Oh well.

In other good news I am now a part-time student.

There are good and bad things about this.

Good: I can afford tuition.

Bad: I am a part-time student and therefore am a lesser citizen in the eyes of the university.

...or so I thought.

I wanted to use the facilities here.

Not the bathroom...the pool, weight rooms, courts etc.

It costs $45 for part-time students.

I went to pay it and the guy asked me if I was a grad student.

I said yes.

He informed me that grad students are super special and always have access to facilities,

even if they are part-time.

I am sure I have said it before but I love being a grad student.

It is marvelous.

So life is good, school is starting, and happiness is the most present emotion at present.

Yay!

♥ ♥ ♥

Weak Sauce -- The BYU all-happiness pass.

Ok, it is really an all-sports rather than an all-happiness pass but it does make me oh so happy.

I bought a BYU all-sports pass.

Which lets me into any BYU NCAA event.

Which I think is fan-friekin- tastic.

http://byucougars.com/home/w-soccer

Last night I went to the BYU Women's Soccer game.

We lost.

It was very sad.

It was a bit of a dirty game.

Miami was not always so friendly.

Pushing, punching, and kicking won them more yellow cards than points.

But regardless of how much better your ball skills, if you can't get it into the goal, you will still lose.

Unfortunately Miami got it into the goal...once.

We did not.

Oh well.

Next game.

Which I will be to.

Because I have my all-sports pass.

♥ ♥ ♥

Weak Sauce -- working at working out.

Working out...ugh.

I'm not one of those girls that heads to the gym for the fun of it...despite a pretty athletic background.

I have to have some kind of purpose.  

Losing weight or having a six-pack really isn't that inspiring to me.

Which is strange apparently.

Or so I am continually told.

So I gave myself a goal:

Do a triathlon!

But then I needed something to keep me going.

So I talked to my sisters and we are talking to others and we are all going to keep each other in check.

Sounds fantastic right?

Except we don't necessarily live near each other...

and we all kind of have different goals...

and like to work out at different times...

so working out together won't really work.

So what did we do?

We made a blog where we are going to post our goals, workouts, inspirations, and whatever else we feel like posting.

We're girls, there are endless possibilities.

(the inspiration for this came from my brother the little juan and his cross-country team)

It is called The Rolee Polees.

It's going to be so much fun!

♥ ♥ ♥

The end of Project 52

I honestly wondered if this would happen but it has.

Over a year ago (on August 1, 2010) I started a photo project to document a very important year in my life.

The goal was to take a picture each week that summarized my feelings for the week.

It is now completed.

Which is really strange.

This year I started and completed my first year of grad school,

decided on my thesis subject,

got a grant to get my data for my thesis,

excavated in Jordan,

researched for 2 weeks at the American Center for Oriental Research in Amman, Jordan,

drove all over Italy and Sicily to Roman theaters,

went to England and Wales,

decided to pursue a doctorate...in England,

and basically changed my life.

These are a select few things, and in no way give an accurate picture of this year; more things have happened and there is no way to include them all.

The overarching theme is:

Life is a gift, everything this year has attested to that.

It is a blessing.

For some reason that I cannot comprehend I am on this particular path.

I am so grateful for that.

It has been amazing and I have no doubt whatsoever that it will continue to be that way.

I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for all of these blessings.  

I wish I could tell you all of the miracles that have happened this year.

But it would go on for way to long, so I will resist. 

Suffice it to say, it has been a miraculous year.

Here is some photographic proof: 52 Lights in the Dark.

♥ ♥ ♥

Leaving Italy!

Quick post before take-off!

We are leaving Italy today.

During my week here we have literally driven from one end of "the boot" to the other and back and forth.

Quite amazing. 

Next stop:

GREAT BRITAIN!

Arrivederci!

Day 2 of Italia

It feels like I have been here much longer than 2 days.

Apparently, I've counted a few times that is how long it has been.

Today we drove 9 hours down the Italian coast and along the little "boot" of theirs.

THEN

we took a ferry.

To SICILY.

Sicily is crazy.

The roads are so narrow mopeds have a problem passing each other,

and we are driving a large 9 passenger van,

with people driving at you,

while you are trying to find your hotel in the maze of narrow streets and tall buildings.

Thankfully the Sicilians are nicer than the main-landers.

At least in Taormina (the city where we are staying).

When we couldn't find our hotel, we got some petrol from a man and then his friend led us to it on his little scooter, which really, was the only way we would have found that hotel.

The hotel is a bit...interesting.  

It is absolutely beautiful, and each room is unique in that each is designed after a specific artists work.

Our room was made by someone who is...a little on the creepy...I don't even know how to describe it. 

Anyway...

I watched the lights blink on the coast on our balcony as I wrote in my journal.

We are eating breakfast under the awning in the garden in the morning and then we are heading to at least 2 of the theaters here in Sicily.

Life is crazy busy, but it is definitely amazing.

We have been very blessed.

I am so very grateful.

♥ ♥ ♥

Dip your toes in this!

I would add pictures but the internet is to slow where I am.
They will come later.
So...

Today I went to Italy.

Yes, the country.

Italy is beautiful, the people talk beautifully, and it has been a good, good, good day.

First we left at 1:30 am for the airport.

Had some peanut m&m's with a sandwich and then boarded our flight at 4 am.

Slept A LOT on the flight,

no Dramamine needed on this flight, pure exhaustion did the job.

We arrived in Italy and had a bit of an issue getting out of the airport.  

Literally.

After about 2 hours of gathering luggage, exchanging money, getting the rental car, and finding the rental car...

we headed out for Ostia and the theater there.

It was a beautiful and a very quick drive to Ostia, right outside of Rome.

The survey went quickly, I'm getting a good system worked out.

Then we left for Sperlonga.

An estimated 2 hour drive.

Nope, that did not happen.

It took 2 hours to find the right road to get us out of Ostia.

Then it took another 2 hours to get to Sperlonga.

A total of 4 hours of the most terrifying driving I have ever been witness to.

People who have driven in the Middle East (Dr. F) have certain skills and guts that terrify me.

So, eventually, and after a loss of many fingernails, we made it to Sperlonga a little later than we had initially anticipated.

That is ok, it was worth the wait.

We hiked up to the museum and to the cave where some pretty remarkable massive marble figures were found.
Then we went to our hotel (very nice).

Finally we went to the beach.
The Mediterranean beach to be precise.
And we swam there.
In fact, Kristin and Jess had to drag Holly and I out of the water.
It was so marvelous.

It was a perfect way to end the day.
Then again, things with water usually are the best way to end the day.

Waiting for 1am.

Well I am back at ACOR for a few hours after 2 days in the land of Petra.

It was pretty fantastic really.

The first day there we sat in the back of a truck and drove for almost an hour from Um Sayhoun to Wadi Sabra.

Unfortunately, the truck can't make it all the way there.  

After that long drive along large drop-offs, and sections of road that...don't look like road at all,

we made it to the end of the line.

So we hiked for another hour DOWN into and through the Wadi Sabra

so that we could make it to an unexcavated and quite amazing theater built by the Nabataeans in the Roman period.

By the way, this water theater was fed by a waterfall that was then channeled into cisterns and/or into the orchestra floor.

Awesome huh?

That is why I am writing my thesis about this kind of stuff.

Because it is awesome.

After taking tons of pictures and measurements (it really was an amazing water theater),

we had a spot of lunch.

During which time Kristin saved Holly's life a little bit.

Turns out that Holly had an incredibly small and very POISONOUS black scorpion that was highly attracted to her feet.

Kristin brushed it away from her before it could get her,

and our Bedouin guides threw it in the fire.

It was a bit of a heart stopping moment.

After that I got some final measurements and we were off...at midday.

The hour hike nearly doubled in everything,

time,

heat,

and elevation.

While the hike down was nice, the hike back UP out of the Wadi was rough.

But we made it.

By what I call divine intervention.

It was an unusually cool day for the first of July, which is why we made it back really.  

I don't think we would have otherwise.
The heat made us a bit goofy.

After that theater we went to the theater at Petra, got some stuff, and then headed back to our beds to leave in the morning.

Busy day.

Today we drove the 4.5 hours to Jerash in northern Jordan.

It was MUCH, MUCH hotter today.

I have the sun burns to prove it.

We did the 3 theaters in Jerash, it was beautiful, but by the end we were glad to be done.

Now we are at ACOR trying to get everything re-packed for our flight to ITALY!!!!

There you go.

Good times,

more to come.

I should say how grateful I am for this entire thing.
I am constantly overwhelmed by how great the people are that I am with,
and what an amazing experience this is.

I am learning so much.

I also must say, hiking up and down these theaters for pictures and measurements is giving me some fantastic legs.

Just sayin'.

♥ ♥ ♥