This year I participated in the Day of Archaeology, an open blog to a broad range of archaeologist wishing to give a general overview of what life as an archaeologist is really about. It consists of a wire variety of archaeologists working across the world.
Here is
my post for the year:
I am an archaeologist – a very tired archaeologist.
“Piled Higher and Deeper” by Jorge Cham www.phdcomics.com
My original completion date for my PhD was to be December of 2014. I
lost six months due to a family death and there is just no way I will
meet that goal. I am now shooting for a March deadline. My dear husband
has only eleven weeks until his four year mark and must turn in his
thesis for his PhD in archaeology on that date. So our family has two
very stressed eleventh hour writers and a never-stop-even-to-sleep
toddler. (He is awesome! To the full extent of that great American
world).
My Day of Archaeology is a how a typical day goes:
7:00 – Toddler decides we have slept in long enough the sun is up
(and has been since 3 am) so it is now time for us to be up. We resist
waking up as we staid up the night previous until 2 am working on our
thesis. Husband and I decide to cheat and bring the tablet into bed with
a bottle of milk. Toddler feels like king of the world getting to watch
”The Incredibles” while kicking mummy.
8:00 – Everyone finally awake, fed, and most importantly dressed.
8:15 – Husband takes toddler to nursery. Yeah, both husband and I get
to work today. I feel extra inspiration and excited to work as Thursday
was mummy day, the day I get to stay home all day and just be a mummy
with toddler. Thursdays are great days – most of the time.
8:30 – Laundry monster!!!! Housework is a huge distraction, long
laughed at in PHD comics. I have a theory though. A PhD is a long term
stressful event that seems to have no end. Housework also has no end,
but when you get a sense of accomplishment when you finish the dishes or
have filled the airer to max capacity (thus cannot do any more
laundry).
10:00 – Arrive at office at University of Central Lancashire. Decide
to go against norm and check email, as I know there is one I really want
to read. (I peeked at my email the night before). Glory in receiving
information for the former Soule Steel of San Francisco on their
production of T-posts. (I do a lot of rural archaeology). The have sent
me some great research material. Husband arrives at office minutes after
me.
10:30 – Check out a Modern Conflict Conference in Bristol in October, papers due at the end of the month. Put a pin in that one.
10:45 – Discover for Day of Archaeology Routledge has 100 free
journal articles. Downloaded a few but for the most part not really my
subject area.
11:50 – Husband fetches some printing and brings mine down.
11:00 – Am really excited to read the Soule articles.
11:30 – Finish Soule articles (very short but very promising – hint
#133 is a weight). Feel even more excited at having decided to try my
luck with the
TESS database from the United States Patent and Trademark office.
11:35 – Start to read a chapter of Husband’s thesis on Incised Stones of the Great Basin. The things we do for love!
12:45 – BRAIN HURTS – Can’t shake this dreadful feeling I have
already willed away half the day and I have not yet written a single
word for myself. I must quite all distractions and get some REAL work
done.
12:46 – Start trolling through GPS and photo logs to make sure all
artefacts are accounted for in the artefact log for Santiago Corrals in
the
San Emigdio Hills. (Link is my blog.)
13:00 – Husband surprises me with Subway. Yeah Husband. Start eating but continue working as long as I can do so one handed.
13:20 – Delude self a minute of Facebook is allowed as I am technically on a lunch break.
13:40 – Distracted by a chemistry video on the way different
chemicals interact in very cool ways. Can’t remember a single name but
the cool feeling remains. (Sorry I can’t seem to relocate the video for
your enjoyment. )
14:00 – Get back to work feeling overrides, yet feel like I have
forgotten something… Yikes we forgot to sign in for the month per the
UCLAN understanding of Tier Four Student attendance compliance. The
Government wants to make sure we do not secretly desire to live here
forever, and falsely use a student visa to gain entrance. I have missed a
sign-in before and received a note that I could be reported to the Home
Office if I miss another sign-in. The thought of the Graduate Research
Office reporting me to the Home Office feels like some crazy black and
white spy movie plot, but a very real fear. Unlikely, but the though of
getting kicked out of the UK this close to completing my PhD would kill
me.
14:05 – Rally husband and we set off to the Graduate Research Office
to sign in. Small talk on archaeology that cleans the air of stress
begins.
14:45 – Return to office. Demand of myself more focus. Continue to sort out artefacts for non-feature artefacts.
14:50 – Finish non-feature and send all documents to the printer.
14:55 – Start on description for Feature#1 a pasture with no
artefacts but a good selection of wooden and metal t-posts. (Now you
understand my excitement about the Soule email.)
15:30 – Finish description and other paperwork for Feature #1 and
send to the printer, decide to head upstairs to pick up printing.
Actually a fun thing to do as they have builders in demolishing and
rebuilding a lab (not for the archaeologist so not sure what is for).
The builders have put down sticky plastic to protect the carpets, but
someone was not very good at their job, THANKFULLY, and the sensory
experience of popping floor bubbles as you walk is highly entertaining
and stress relieving.
15:40 – Return from printer and correlate work into respective binders.
15:45 – Check email, and for once have an important email. Finance
office telling me to sign a promissory note if I want to get any money
off of them. I am very happy to oblige not even thinking about future
pay back of student loans.
15:50 – Start paperwork for Locus #1 a homestead which predates the
Corrals. Spend a lot of time checking photographs to photo logs and
turning them into slides ( A holdover from my CRM days with Pacific
Legacy), and check artefact logs.
16:50 – Another trip to the printer another trip across bubble floor. Life is awesome.
15:00 – Correlate. Oh no missed a few documents need to go back to the printer, Oh darn.
15:10 – Get back from printer. Have a quick chat with husband to see
who cooks and who get son from nursery. I get the sacred bus pass, and
he gets to battle the oven, I win. Toddler loves the bus.
18:00 – Return from nursery find Husband has bought kebabs so we finish watching The Incredible.
21:30 – Toddler FINALLY goes to bed. Ditch all plans for working.
1:00 – Not sure how it happened again but finally make it to bed. Feels like a scene out of Date Night.
