State of Affairs

Greetings and happy summer.  I don't what seasons are as there seems to be only one season all year round here.  I guess it is kinda like being back home, except for nice, warm, and sunny days, I have cold and rainy days.  I know I have not posted an update for some time.  I guess I am not very good at this blogging thing, though I have spoken with most of you on Skype.  I will publish a post on my trip to Wales shortly, sorry for the delay.  So now on to the update.

First school.  I finished all of my courses by the beginning of April.  When then had a month off before exams.  Unlike back home, where you take your exams at the end of the course, in Ireland you take all your exams at the end of the year. You receive one month off, nicknamed 'Study Month', and then have a series of exams.  I had only one exam for Anatomy, so not too bad.  I had several other papers and projects do though, so it was a trade off.  I still have 2 papers left to write, one due on Thursday and one the following Monday.  I will be spending a lot of time in the library this week writing and such. Luckily, I have a friend and we force each other to get up and go to the library.  Without each other I doubt we would have made it this far.  The anatomy exam went well, though I totally misread a question, so there goes a good chunk of my grade.  Oh well, I only needed a 40% or better to get a good grade in the class.  Not too worried. My other papers are receiving good marks as well.  My latest one, received a 1st, which is the equivalent to an A.  As for my thesis, I have written one chapter so far and have another one half way finished.  Just need to finish writing the second half.  Should have that completed by the end of the month.  Things are going pretty well academically.

Outside of academia things are mixed.  I will start with the positive.  Though stressed, I have really begun to enjoy life here.  I have made a few friends though I do spend a lot of time by myself.  Though that is nothing new really.  I am used to the rainy weather and in some aspects do enjoy it.  I love listening to the rain at night but I just wish it wasn't so cold and I could have my window open to really hear it.  I am moving to a new house at the end of this month.  Don't know who my new roommates will be or anything, so hopefully it all works out.  I will be happy to leave this student accommodation and actually live in a proper house with good internet.  The new place also has a large back yard with a fire pit built in so hopefully there is some nice weather this summer to have a few gatherings and a BBQ.  In other good news, I have been added as a team member to an archaeological dig this June in Trim, County Meath (about an hour northeast of Dublin). I will be assisting in the excavation of a medieval cemetery at Blackfriary.  I am very much looking forward to the experience and it will put me into good contact with other professionals and serve as a valuable networking opportunity.  This has however, raised many complications which I will describe later.  So that's it for the good news.

On to the not so good news.  I still have been unable to secure a job.  I assisted with a tour day of UCC so I will be getting a small check for that in the mail soon.  I have one promising lead on a job, but don't know when exactly that will pan out.  They really like me and are in the process of opening a new shop which they would have me work out.  Just not sure on the exact date that it will open.  As I eluded to above, the upcoming excavation is causing a series of issues.  The first being that I did not budget for this whatsoever.  I am responsible for my own accommodation whilst in Trim which is proving to be costly.  Trim is a very picturesque village that is popular with tourists and vacationers.  I also did not bring any of my excavation equipment with me due to weight regulations for the airlines.  I will need to buy a pair of work boots as having mine shipped from home would cost more money then to buy a new pair here.  I am also lacking in field clothes.  I currently do not have enough money to cover any of these things.  This opportunity is a great one that could easily help me advance my career in both academia and professional archaeology. As such I have come up with a list of items I am in need of:

1. Money.  This is the most important thing I am currently in need of.  Without this I will not be able to partake in this excavation.  I wish things were different and that I didn't have to ask for this, but I have no other options.  If anyone is feeling generous please email me and I will provide my bank details for a wire or you can send it on to my mom who can place it into my US account.

2.  Field clothes.  I mainly need a par of field pants.  I prefer army combat uniform pants (waist size 32" or Medium-Regular).  I have one pair with me now, but fresh pants will be in demand with all the rain and mud I am sure to be digging in and I am not aware of the clothes washing situation.  I am also in need of a standard web belt.  I thought I packed mine, but I guess I forgot it.  I have everything else I think.  Will buy some simple t-shirts and such to layer and have a good rain jacket.

3. Money.  Can't really stress this enough. If I am going to make it through this summer I will need financial assistance.  As mentioned before, I am going to need to buy a pair of boots, shirts and socks, a few small excavation tools, and most importantly feed myself.  Oh, also need money for train to get me to Trim from Cork and back.

So there ya go, my current state of affairs.  Basically all is good except for the money situation for this excavation.  I also wish to travel and attend academic conferences this summer in the UK and mainland Europe, but I might have to scrap those plans because of money.  Also it would make getting a job difficult as I would need to take time off to go to these events and such.  They say money is the root of all evil, I think it is the lack of money that is the problem.

In closing I will give you a sneak peek that the location I will be excavating at.  Your job is to figure out what movie this place was used (hint: it was a major blockbuster).

**UPDATE 5/14/12**

So I left something important out from the post.  As I am moving at the end of the month.  If you are sending me anything in the post, please make sure it is sent no later then this Friday, May 18, 2012.  After that it is likely that I will not be living at this address in order to receive it.  I will post my new address shortly.

Graveyard Adventures in Co. Cork

Sunny Day Around Campus

Irish Weather

The past two weeks have been a mixture of highs and lows for me here.  Just like the recent weather.  Last week, Ireland decided it was summer for three days. Temperatures were in the high 60s and while that may not sound like a hot day, it was about 15 degrees warmer then the days before.  I guess my body had adapted to the colder weather because I was sweating while walking to class.  Everyone in Cork was wearing shorts and t-shirts and had dragged out any and all furniture from the living rooms into their front gardens to soak up the  the warmth.  Every available section of grass on campus was covered with students lounging about.  The parks were full of people playing rugby and soccer.  Sadly, I was stuck in my lab for most of the days.  To make matter worse, they still had the radiators on full blast within the department as if it was snowing outside, making our lab an oven.  I did manage to escape for a cool pint at one of the local pubs.

Mother nature soon realised that it was not summer and attempted to correct her error.  However, she clearly overcompensated and sent us back into winter.  Temperatures were back to around freezing in the evenings and only reaching the high 40s during the day.  Scotland and other parts of the UK were covered in snow.  Now, we are back to spring time conditions.  The weather reminded me of a scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.  I thought they were just being silly, but now I realise that they were just accurately depicting the weather in this area of the world.  I included that clip below for you all to enjoy.

Much like the weather, my life this past few weeks have been a mix of highs and lows.  I gave my first public lecture here in Ireland for the UCC Archaeology Society.  The lecture went fantastically well.  It was the largest turn out of people for the entire year.  The event was filmed but there was an issue with the camera so I am still awaiting a copy of the talk.  Once I have a copy I will upload it here so you all can view it.  So that was a major high point for me here.  

Sadly, that high lasted as long as the Irish summer.  Classes have finished but the amount of work I need to complete as increased.  I have several essays, presentations and a massive anatomy exam to study for all in the next 4 weeks.  Stress is starting to set in.  On top of everything, I am still researching and designing a new project for my thesis.  The mummy project has officially been cancelled.  I will still be involved with the project, but it will no longer be my thesis.  I am sick of being reliant on other people when it come to my research.

Lastly, money is becoming a major problem.  I have yet to be able to secure a job and thus have yet to get any form on income.  The government does not consider summer school as part of the academic year and thus I cannot get any financial aid either.  Right now I am looking at about a $2000 deficit that will hit around the middle of August.  I am actively searching for a cheaper place to live for the summer as well as other cost cutting measures.  But I fear it won't be enough.  I was hoping to travel a bit during the summer months and do some touristy things while I was living here, but those are going to have to be put on hold.  Just one more thing to worry about I guess.  I know it will all workout in the end, it always does.  Just don't really need the extra stress right now.

I will upload some pictures from around campus that I took while during the 'Irish Summer' this afternoon.  I also have a 2nd slide show I am working on from a cemetery dating back to the early medieval period.  Those should be posted soon as well.

Thanks again to everyone who actually visits this page and reads my posts.  This blog as been visited over 1200 times since it started back in September!  Really appreciate the views!