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Slightly less infrequently updated.

Frequent Update FAIL

Terrible. Just terrible. And this isn't even a proper update. It's only a vague sort of promise that a more complete one will be coming soon...

Briefly: I am back in Bristol - hooray! I've been here since the end of September staying with my friend Aisling and her flatmate (and friend as well) Maxime. They have been kind enough to lend me their "annex" in exchange for sweeping and dish-washing duties. In a convenient albeit tragic turn of events, Maxime will be moving at the end of January, so I will be moving across the hall into a room with a bed! And a closet! And a window! Can you tell I'm a bit excited? Like Aisling, Maxime is working on a Ph.D. in archaeology at the University of Bristol but is transferring to Liverpool following the departure of his faculty advisors.

In other news, I have a job! After a month of wandering through an array of part-time positions, I successfully interviewed with the University of Bristol Students' Union (hereafter UBU) and am in my third week as Democracy & Campaigns Intern ('intern' in this case meaning that it's a newly created position with a sixth-month potentially extendable contract). So far, I have been evacuated from the building, taken part in several student protests including a "Death of Education" rally (oh yes, we had a coffin) and a field trip to lobby MPs in London, and done slightly less thrilling work preparing for the student elections in the new year. I also have a desk. And a name tag. Business cards coming soon...

Well, this wasn't quite as brief as I intended. Too many exciting things going on. I might even post a few photos. Oh, the shock! The horror! The horror!

Ok, pictures. The one up top is our gate-way - we're the basement flat so the entrance is down the side and around the back. Very confusing for the Pizza Hut delivery dude. Just beneath here is the Clifton Suspension Bridge. Clifton is the area of Bristol in which I reside and the bridge (over the Avon River gorge) is one of the main attractions.

Above: Me, clearly, and Aisling (pronounced 'Ashling' for those who care to know), my lovely Irish flatmate. Below: Zombified (me/Dónal and Mike) for the Halloween Zombie March through the Bristol city centre. Further below: The UBU crew (plus intense police presence) in London to protest the Parliament vote for increased tuition fees.

What's that? A Whole New Year?

It's fitting that this update follows the thrill of a new apartment with the leaving of it. I should include a photo of the abandoned, empty (but squeaky clean!) room, but that would be a bit depressing and such excitement lies ahead (and I forgot to take such a picture). I refer of course to helping people win money off the ponies at Canterbury. And to a month spent enjoying pure sunshine and laziness in Michigan followed by several days of Irish-American adventures (I hope you like bizarre foods-on-sticks, Dónal, because we're definitely visiting the State Fair.) and, oh yes, that lovely little plane ticket to England for the end of September. The 24th, to be precise. Followed by lots of wonderful visits (Yes, that's a hint, friends and family). Details (and more parenthetical comments) to come!

A few random photos of recent events:

Above: First Target Field experience! Go Twins!
Below: Beavers are hard at work in Wolsfeld Woods.
Below: Just a taste of the strangeness.

New Apartment!

The view from my kitchen window. Hello, Minneapolis!

Look, a kitchen!

Yes, the walls are pink.

Happy August

So now I'm technically 24 years old. Only technically, because I don't mentally age until Allie's birthday a week from now. That's the proof, you see. For two-and-a-half weeks a year I get to party in birthday limbo...

In less weird news, I'll be at the preschool again in the fall (more hours, hooray!). That job plus scrabbling together a few more hours at the Caribouniverse plus (fingers crossed) a shift or two at the horse track should put me in a semi-stable position for apartment hunting. If I the schedule-madness doesn't drive me insane first. Anyway, exciting! The summer has been lovely... snatched a week in Michigan, spent a great weekend at my friend Collin's cabin, passed the Caribou shift supervisor "sexual harassment awareness" online exam. Go me. I've also managed to maintain a quite respectable tan for two solid months. Thank you, outdoor pool at Lifetime Fitness.

Um, that's about it. Since it's sunny, I'm going outside now.

PS. I'm now on twitter. We'll see how it goes. Link is to the left above new link to facebook.

Employment! At Last!

I finally have a job... two jobs, that is... oh, wait, three jobs... okay, three-and-a-half. So much employment is a bit overwhelming. Most officially, I'm a Team Member at a Caribou Coffee tucked away in the corner of a massive grocery store. It's a very boring job title, but the work itself is mostly fun (or at least bustling along): I greet people, make coffee, scrub out whipped cream containers, restock multiple varieties of plastic cup lids, etc. I'm also working at a preschool twice a week in the morning; I help out with the three-year-olds, which is mildly frustrating at times but generally entertaining. It's hard to get too annoyed if they cover themselves in paint when they're so darn adorable. I'm also technically still employed at the horse track (on an as-needed basis that is rapidly turning into if-I-have-any-spare-time), and I'm directing the confirmation handbell choir. Now that's a whole new bag of crayons. I eventually figured out how to conduct in 3/4. About the fifth time we practised that particular song. Good times all around, though. I just need to come up with a more efficient way to answer the "Now, where are you working?" question.

Mission Accomplished

A fantastic update: I just received the final marks for my courses and dissertation and... I passed! The graduation ceremony isn't until February (I hope I can attend), but what a relief to know!

:)

Update

After two wonderful but somewhat hectic final months in Bristol, I've returned to Minnesota. I'm living with the parents (and Leo), job hunting, and still trying to find a home for all the stuff I brought back from England. Good times!

A Triumphant Return

I'm now back in Bristol after a month at home in the States following my adventure in Turkey. To the great delight of all, Allie came across with me to visit for a week :). We went to London, took in the sites, visited my friend Collin, and went to see "Hairspray" (completely fantastic!). In Bristol, we saw all the main attractions: the Cathedral, College Green, various restaurants, and, of course, the Suspension Bridge. We even had time to make a day-trip to Bath including a pilgrimage to the Jane Austen Centre. For those of you keeping track, that makes my third such pilgrimage. I really like Jane Austen. Anyway, Allie and I had a marvelous time and the whole Bristol crowd was sorry to see her go. We nearly tied her to the single chair in my cubby-hole of a room to prevent her departure.

And now, Photos!

Allie and I and my flatmate Caryn who rescued us when we were delayed overnight in Newark. We went to Benihana... yum.

Allie at the Clifton Suspension Bridge.

(2 above) Having fun in the caves near the Bridge... I'm creepy and Allie's fierce.

Sight-seeing in London.

We are sooo good at taking pictures of ourselves!

The Shaftesbury Theatre where we saw "Hairspray".

Inside the Bristol Cathedral. We were appropriately quiet and reverent.

Such a lovely time!

Turkey - Part 5 (PHOTOS!)

right View over Ankara from BIAA hostel.










left Atatürk Bulvarı, a main road in Ankara.









right The Yacht Harbor in Antalya.













left The Theatre at Termessos.
















right At the Düden waterfalls near Antalya.
















left Derek smoking the "water-pipe" at our Antalya hostel.















right Hellenistic Gates at Perge.














left Street in Kaş.












right Harbor at Fethiye.













left Colonnaded roadway at Patara.












above The Butterfly Valley.













right Rock-cut tombs at Tlos, near Fethiye.
















left Saklıkent Gorge.

















right The Library of Celsus at Ephesus.













left The Temple of Apollo at Didyma.












right Inside the Haghia Sophia.













left Istanbul.















right From the courtyard of the Blue Mosque.














left Atatürk's Mausoleum in Ankara.

Turkey - Part 4

I am now safely back in Ankara having visited Selçuk and İstanbul since my last post. Selçuk was a very nice town, and I was able to tour the Artemision, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world (not so much now, sadly) and the site of Ephesus, a bit overrun with tourists but cool nevertheless. I also undertook a complicated dolmuş journey to the town of Didim, which contains the Temple of Apollo at Didyma. The temple was wonderful with columns huge beyond belief although the equally complicated trip back to Selçuk was not quite so much fun.

Derek and I took another over-night coach to İstanbul (a 10-hour journey), and spent a few days there visiting the fabulous archaeological museum, the Haghia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, and admiring the Grand Bazaar and the seaside fish markets. We also watched a performance Whirling Dervish at a little outdoor cafe and had a bit of fun with the other, mostly international, students and tourists at our hostel. We took an afternoon bus to Ankara on Thursday (only a 7-hour trip), and will probably spend our remaining time finishing up research in the British Institute library. Derek has another week or so here, but I'm returning to Bristol this coming Tuesday and then going on the States on June 16th.

Turkey - Part 3

I know, I know, still no pictures... they are coming as soon as I get back to my own lovely computer. I'm currently in Fethiye, a fairly major tourist town down on the southwest Mediterranean coast. Unfortunately, the city museum is closed for restorations and it's been a bit difficult getting transport to all of our 'key' sites, but Derek and I have managed to stay optimistic (with the help of a boat tour at Ölüdeniz and a hike through the Saklıkent Gorge, both completely fantastic). Tomorrow morning we move on to Selçuk ('Sel-chuk'), which is the city adjacent to the ancient site of Ephesus, an important site for my research, and close to ancient Didyma, another important location. After that, it's off to İstanbul for a few nights and then back to Ankara for some concluding research and perhaps a visit to Gordion, the site of a Phrygian city ruled by, allegedly, King Midas (he of the golden touch and the ass's ears).

Turkey - Part 2

From Ankara, Derek and I travelled by overnight coach to the seaside city of Antalya. It was beautiful - completely Mediterranean - and our hostel was very friendly and picturesque. We ate dinner there during our 3-night stay and got along very well with the Turkish owner and several fabulous German tourists who were the only other guests. While in Antalya, I visited the Archaeological Museum (much larger and more relevant than the one in Ankara) as well as Termessos (an ancient city high up in the mountains with an utterly breathtaking theatre and several temples dedicated to the goddess Artemis) and also Perge (another ancient city site with very well-preserved Roman baths and a long colonnaded roadway).

From Antalya, Derek and I caught a 'dolmuş' aka mini-bus to another coastal town, Kaş. It is west and a bit south of Antalya, and from here (it's currently our first day here) we can visit several sites containing Lycian rock-cut house tombs (the subject of Derek's research) before going northwest along the coast to Fethiye, a larger city close to several important sites as well as a 'Butterfly Valley'. spiffy. Well, as our hotel in Kaş has a pool, I'm off for a dip and some text-reading in the sun before the storm clouds that are hanging menacingly over the mountains behind me decide to descend into the town.

And don't worry, those of you who do, I'm not badly sunburned yet... just a lot more freckled with pretty pink shoulders and knees. :)

Turkey - Part 1

Greetings from Ankara! It is day 3 here, and I still cannot find the apostrophe key. It is also mildly difficult to type the letter i because the Turkish ı is where the English i usually is. Tricky, tricky. So far, Ankara is an interesting city. A bit messy, with lots of hills and uneven sidewalks, but it has some beautiful modern buildings and sculptures, lovely parks, a very impressive replica of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, and crazy winding bazaars. Derek (my partner in archaeological crime) and I have visited the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations and spent quite a long time in the library of the British Institute, which we are affiliated with while staying here. We hope to visit Gordion next week - the site of the tomb of King Midas - before leaving for Antalya in southern Turkey on Thursday.

Brief Update

I know that I'm awful about adding to this and that a short summary will not quench the curiosity of my avid readers (all five of you), but more details and photos are coming, I promise!

In the meantime, I am loving Bristol in the spring aside from the humidity that settled over the city the moment the sun came out. Good thing we have a constant breeze going on. At any rate, it's probably much cooler than Turkey will be when I arrive there next Thursday. Hooray! I'll be in Ankara for a week and then travelling up the south-west coast visiting such significant archaeological sites as Ephesus and Troy. Expect an update on the trip when I return in mid-June, since I won't have my computer along. I will try to toss off a few posts along the way, but who knows if that will work.

On to 2008!

So far, the best events of the new year include my successful baking of a tasty carrot cake, our team winning a local pub's Quiz Night (we went from an awful second-to-last one week to first the next) and my friend Mike's birthday (he would be Chemistry Mike, but he's the only one). Since he has a particular aversion to corduroy, we naturally decided to make his birthday present entirely out of corduroy. The brainchild of my flatmate Caryn and dorm-mate Aisling, this marvelous idea expanded to involve a pair of corduroy boy scout shorts, a corduroy bow-tie and elbow-patch set, an utterly fabulous corduroy princess hat complete with tassel, a pair of corduroy Y-fronts (for effect and not meant to actually be worn), the Corduroy Ninja, and a corduroy Anthropology Tom. Mike was a bit baffled but on the whole quite pleased with this array of corduroy-tastic items. The photos are: "The Process," "The Evolution of Mike's Amusement," and "The Corduroy Ninja and Tom." I'm particularly proud of the Corduroy Ninja, my big contribution to the collection (except for the sword - we had to ask Cody, our resident video game and weaponry expert, to make that).

A Break from Bristol

I went home on a nice long holiday break (mid-December to early January). Lots of fun to be done including an outdoor ice-skating expedition with Janna, "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," that nice little holiday called Christmas, adventures at St. Olaf with Alan, and many other such excitements. There was a fabulous New Year's party involving many Oles and a birthday cake for my friend Maura with a very silly horse on it. Boys being boys, there was a lot of computer- and Wii-related fun (second photo is Ian, me, Paul, Jenna, Dan). And yes, I did cut my hair.



















My sister's friend Joe came to visit, and of course we went out the Benihana and (not quite so "of course") we had an adventurous night of bowling at the Medina Ballroom. Joe won. By a lot. Good times were had by all, though. :)

Christmas Parties!

We had an Archaeology/Anthropology Department party that required a costume: dress as something archaeology-related, dress as something holiday-related, or dress as something cocktail-party-related. It wasn't really much of a "requirement". First prize for costume might have gone to Ian who dressed as an irate farmer, except that my friend Susie came as a Christmas tree, and Rob was in full pirate gear. Very eclectic. A more serious requirement was the presence of Pringles. Archaeologists MUST have Pringles.The above photo is Gareth, Cody, and Annelise. You'll notice how focused they were on the archaeology/general trivia quiz, completely not distracted. We (the MAs) did take second place, only beaten by the PhD/Professor team. Quite well done on our part.

We had another, non-official, holiday party at my friend Anthropology Tom's house. His title is to distinguish between him (also sometimes called "Harry Potter Tom," but he's not so fond of that one) and Chemistry Tom. First photo is Kara, Cody (again) and Pringles (again). Next is Tom (our host), Mike, and Kara. Then there is the result of a Risk-like game called "War on Terror" - if you lose all your territory, you become a terrorist and get to wear the mask of Evil. Needless to say, we all liked wearing the mask. Danielle, Tom, Aisling, and Cody were all particularly fierce, but Mike won as the fiercest and the most evil of all.