Found myself with a few minutes for a change and thought I'd type out a little update. Life's still crazy hectic, but I'd probably be complaining of boredom if it were any other way

First off I had a shitty few days a few weeks ago. I had almost everything lined up and done for my exhibit, and by damn it I was proud! I had a map of the museum layout, the text panels and associated pictures were pretty much done but for some final tweaking. I had all my activities planned and even had a friend volunteer to build me a really cool interactive dig box. Then, the museum where I was supposed put the exhibit up starts going through some political drama. Now I've been in contact off and on (mainly off) with a representative of the museum since last summer trying to get this exhibit together. For the most part he was very hands off and very vague when I asked for specific questions to be answered (like "what room space do I have? How many cases can I use?" kind of important stuff). About a month before all my final stuff is due they switch funding sources and get a whole bunch of money to start building a new museum. Now they're freaked out about the quality of stuff in their museum...including the exhibit I'm putting together. They start getting very micro managy and move my exhibit all over the museum. I finally had enough and talked to the director...we both agreed it would be best for me to put my exhibit on hold...until next year. XP So all the stuff I've put my blood sweat and tears into these past few months is on standby. Bah!!! At least I was a little less stressed at the decision. Not to mention about this same time we find out the house we were on the verge of buying has a TON of things wrong with it...like multi- thousand dollar problems, so we have to back out.

FWA came at a perfect time...I really needed that break. I got to hang out with a bunch of old friends, make a bunch of new ones, and generally just chill the heck out away from reality for a while. Thanks to everyone who was there that helped de-stress this wolfess.

After FWA I still had a bunch of work to get done...now that the exhibit is on hold I have to switch gears and concentrate on writing my thesis (the actual document) once more. I reaaaaallly don't like academic writing, but such is the nature of the beast. Things started looking up again by this time...we found another house that we really liked and started negotiations on. I got to hang out with one of my really good buddies, and I'm learning to play roller hockey. Yay hitting things with sticks!

This weekend really helped my outlook on life. Friday I found out I got a very hefty fellowship that I'd almost decided not to apply for. Always apply for money...you never know what's going to happen! Saturday there was a local archaeology conference where I got to hear some interesting papers, see some old friends, and found out I got awarded a grant to help buy materials for my exhibit. ^.^ I was the only applicant, but that still didn't make the fact I got the money any less sweet! I also got to chill out at home for a while after the conference yesterday, which was a blessing in of itself considering I haven't been home for a weekend in about a month. >.< It's getting tiring! Oh and as of Friday it looks like we've got the house! Final negotiations are underway. We'll see what happens next.

Hey all,

Sorry so silent lately. I actually had a major rollercoaster of stress/emotion lately dealing with my thesis project. Luckily, as of yesterday, things seem to be resolved, but I'll save that for another journal.

I will be at FWA this year, and I desperately need this furry vacation. I just need to get away from the real world for a few days...blah!

I'll be running around with my hubby Kiro, my buddies Cranky, Isaac, Sookta, Kaishi, and his woman. ^.^ PLEASE feel free to come up and say hi! I love meeting new furs and catching up with old friends. I do ask that you don't pounce/glomp/grope/etc. I am married and hubby would probably not like that. Plus I'm a bit twitchy so if you grab me without me knowing, I take no responsibility for what happens to you in the end Hugs are awesome tho, I just like to see 'em coming!

The world was graced with my glorious presence

Hehe, nah I'm not that coincided, but it is my birthday, though a rather rainy and gray looking one. Ah, no matter, still plan on having fun today! Kiro and I are going to look at our second batch of houses and hopefully make a final decision as to which one to buy *crosses fingers* I just want to know where we'll be living soon! After that I plan to laze around and prolly play video games for a while (NO WORK ON MY BIRTHDAY! I REFUSE TO DO SCHOOL WORK!) Later tonight one of my friends was nice enough to say she'd host a party at her house so we'll be going over there for a Rock-Band-off ^.^ Yay friends.

Stolen from Kadziet-Kind-Wolf

What's your real name?
Erika

Gender?
Female

Orientation?
Straight

Race?
Caucasian/White/European descent (specifically German)...however ya want to phrase it

What's your favorite genre of music.
Celtic Rock

What's your favorite band/musical artist?
Hmmm I usually listen to a lotta different stuff, but prolly Seven Nations and Galic Storm.

What's your worst peeve?
lying just to get someone to like you (and I can say this b/c I used to be very guilty of it myself)

-Are you doing well in school?
I certainly hope so...grade wise I'm fine, thesis wise...eehhhhhh O.O

-Do you have a religion?
Very lose based Christian. Basically there's a God, Jesus was there and died for us, but everything else is kinda up for interpretation. Personally I like to think of my life as God's personal sitcom....and I think Jesus would have had a sense of humor

-What turns you on?
Uh....my husband? If we're talking outside my wonderful mate, then I've always had a thing for the vulnerable rebel/bad boy. Don't ask, I have no idea why but they just do it for me. (I.e. Phantom of the Opera, I'm rooting for the Phantom all the way baby!)

-Do you consider yourself a whore?
good gracious no!

-Do you have a favorite movie?
Indiana Jones Trilogy...ask anyone, I'm not a general whore, but I'm an Indiana Jones whore

-Funniest thing you've ever said?
People laugh when all the time when I talk...strange 'cuz I'm not usually saying anything funny.... I dunno, if people find it funny its usually spontaneous and I forget it as soon as it happened.

-What do you eat?
food generally

-Are you flexible?
physically or mentally?

-What's your favorite video game?
Ohhhh....hmmmm....toughie....I'm a big Zelda and Fable fan...

-Do you have a crush on anyone?
Does my husband count? :-P

Outside the fandom do you have one?
Again, Husband

-What's the most embarrassing moment you can remember?
Anytime I forget someone's name either when I'm talking to them, or I actually know them really well and they're name just escapes me. >.< I feel so dumb!

-Are you a (gulp) myspace whore?
never use it

FURRY QUESTIONS

-What's your furry name?
Rew

-Species?
wolf

-If you could describe your furry in one word, what would it be?
friendly

-Does your fur have a side-story?
Oh yeah, but I'm trying to write it all up (till grad school got in the way....)

-Is your fur a whore?
newpe

-Does your fur have any traits that resemble yourself?
My fur is basically who I am, just with ears and a tail. She's a bit more outgoing than me tho...and has a few talents I lack (like being able to take apart a motorcycle and put it together again)

-What's your fur's favorite outfit?
Cargo pants, T-shirt and a bandanna...gotta have the bandanna ^.^

-Describe your furs overall personality in a few words.
Didn't we do this already? Friendly, funny, caring, energetic, archaeology

-How often do you RP using your fur?
I used to RP with her a lot with my husband, but school's gotten in the way I normally love RPing

-Does your fur have any weapons?
She has a concealed carry permit, but doesn't usually carry.

-How does your fur wear his/her hair?
short and usually hidden under her bandanna

Bored and putting off actually being productive....


1. Are you single or taken?
taken!

2. Chocolate or flowers?
Chocolate makes me happy, but I'm not tempted to overeat flowers...

3. Will you do anything special for Valentines Day?
Its not worth it to try and go out that night. Kiro and I usually do a before or after thing

4.Do you like anyone?
Uh.... I guess I like my husband...:-P

5. Were you dating anyone last Valentines?
nope, was already married!

6. What would be your dream Valentines date?
eh....nothing special. Probably getting to sit at home watchin netflix or playing games with Kiro

7. Do you make a big deal about Valentines?
Not worth it

8. Have you ever had a secret admirer?
Uhhh don't think so o.O

9. Would you ever write someone a love letter?
*chuckles* probably, I'm sappy like that

10. Do you believe in Cupid?
a flying baby with arrows? I think I'd have nightmares...

11. Do your parents give you presents on Valentines?
They usually send some chocolate or candy. Mom sent me a really nice box one year with lotsa sugary stuff ^.^

12. Do you still send out Valentines cards?
I did in elementary school...loved the cool cartoon character ones

13. Do you like candy hearts?
nope :-P

15. Is Valentines depressing?
not really

16. How do you feel about PDA?
As long as its not overt...please don't have sex in front of me

17. How is your love life?
fantabulous thanks for asking!

18. Have you ever been dumped on Valentines?
Yes actually not fun times

19. How many roses would you want?
I really don't need any, but I honestly think that a single rose is more romantic than a dozen.

20. Will you have a boyfriend/girlfriend next Valentines?
probably not, I hope to still have a husband!

Well, we took the fuzzies in today for their follow up appointment. Pudge's leg was healing nicely, though he wasn't too happy about getting the stitches out. Unfortunately, his blood sugar was even lower than before and Sly's though higher than Pudge's was also at a a worrying level. Ferret blood sugar is usually between 90 and 110. Pudge's first reading was 40 something...this time it was 36. Sly's was around the 50s.

The thing that baffled and perplexed the vet was they are showing NO outward signs of the disease. They both still run around, fight, play, and get into trouble just like normal ferrets. At these levels, they should be dragging around and not wanting to get out of bed. His explanation was that this blood sugar drop may have been a gradual thing...so their bodies have gotten used to it and not reacted.

We got some medication for them...yummy liquid twice a day. Thankfully its not too expensive. He also said that while he's heard about surgery for this condition, he does not recommend it until its the last option, given the tumor will just come back. He seemed pretty upbeat about the whole thing, especially since the boys haven't been showing any signs of distress. That makes me feel better, and I'm just thankful now that we know and can start doing something about it. I'm sure I'll have more amusing stories in the future about trying to give ferrets medicine.

It's snowing in South Carolina! Not much, but enough to get classes pushed back an hour (canceling my one and only class today! woot!)

I think god wanted me to be able to stay home to watch the inauguration ^.^

*cuddles up in some warm blankets*

University of South Carolina...

Thursdays, 5:30-8:15...

Religious Studies, E491I - Indiana Jones and Religion

I walk into class yesterday and the professor has YouTube up on the board, watching various Indiana Jones Fan videos.

I'm in HEAVEN!!!! ^.^ No joke though, this class looks awesometastic. We'll be looking at the religions that are focused on in the four movies, how they're presented, and how they're viewed in everyday society. I was literally sitting through the entire first class thinking "this is so cool, this is so cool, pinch me I'm dreaming!" We'll be watching all four films in class as well as parts of the Young Indiana Jones series after we take exams. The prof was also excited to have me sit in (its actually and undergrad course), given I'm an archaeology masters student and she's a little shaky on the whole archaeology thing. ^.^ I think the prof is retired, which makes it even better...she doesn't have to worry about getting in trouble with anyone, so she can basically can teach whatever the hell she wants.

Oh, and I'm such a big nerd, I actually already owned the book we'll be using as a text book. :-P

Tiberius...Harui....I wish you two could come down here and take it with me! We could teach that class!

Thanks to all those who wished Pudge luck! The surgery went well...the vet said it was snap to remove that little mass of skin. Unfortunately, it was not all good news.

They tested his blood sugar, which was lower than they like to see. Now, he said this could be a one-time thing, so he wants to me to bring him back in a few days to remove the stitches and test it again. If it's still low...then its probably insulinoma, a type of cancer that's common in older ferrets. There's medication we can put him on, but there will most likely be an inevitable surgery. The fact he's loosing fur on the tip of his tail worries the vet a bit too, and I mentioned Sly has the same thing, so he asked me to bring them both in. Sly's also been acting a little funny lately...not bouncing around as much and wanting to sleep more than usual. Maybe I'm just being paranoid from the last vet visit.

I think the worst part now is not knowing for sure yet. If they do have insulinoma, I want to go ahead and start trying to treat it. If they don't, WOOT! Not this limbo of not knowing how sick they are. Pudge seemed to be acting fine after he came home...even ran around a little while. I read up on the disease in one of my ferret books...it said 10 months + with a lot of care after diagnosis...Kiro said he saw something on the internet that said 2-3 years. Which is it? I knew they were getting a little up in years for ferrets (they're about 4-5 and ferrets live 6-10), but I'm having a hard time with the fact I may need to say goodbye sooner rather than later. I know I'm probably just overacting right now...I certainly hope so.

Well, one of our little fuzzbums is out having surgery today. We noticed a little growth on Pudge's front leg and took him to the vet to check it out. Luckily these little mast cells that ferrets sometimes get are almost never malignant...they just like growing extra skin for some reason. The vet also noticed a little tumor looking thing on the nictitating membrane (I had no idea ferrets had those!) of his eye. That concerned him a little bit more, but he said he'd have the surgeon look at it.

*sigh* So now poor Sly is all alone in his cage. Its handy that the surgeon had enough time to squeeze Pudge in today so we don't have to make another appointment. He's not gonna be a happy boy when he comes home though.

Hey everyone, Happy holidays and Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate. Hope your holiday season is filled with family, friends, and good food!

Kiro and I made it up to Ohio with no problem...one of the reasons I havn't really been online lately. No wireless connection! We try not to use his family computer much, so oh well. There also hasn't been any snow yet! *pouts* That's what I was looking forward to most by going north. I have been acting like a southern hick and giggling every time I see ice on the sidewalk. ^.^

We had a great Xmas...it was a little strange not being with my family, but Kiro's family has been so nice and fun...it really is like being at home. We got Rock Band 2 from his family woot! I can finally practice my drumming! ^.^

Chilling out again today (we rock banded and wiid (his sister got a Wii)) all day yesterday. It was a good day. ^.^ We're doing some Christmas sale shopping today. Tomorrow we're gonna travel and visit some of my family. Yay!

So...what was your favorite Christmas/Holiday gift or memory this year?

So besides doing my darnedest to injure myself lately (fell on my arm and almost fractured it two weeks ago, jammed my thumb pretty bad and hurt my back sleeping on a very uncomfortable bed), Kiro and I's collective wallets are now crying in pain as well.

Not only is December usually an uber expensive month (I really like getting people presents, no matter the cost), but we just got another unexpected bill. Kiro took our car in before our 10 hour trek to Ohio to see his family (we'll be leaving Saturday). Apparently our tires have finally given up the ghost, and the mechanic said we would not like to try and drive on potential snow and ice in bald tires. Also, our engine managed to develop some sort of crack in an important casing part, meaning it could have conked out on us at any time. Total cost to fix everything: $600 >.< OUCH NOT FUN! Kiro said he could feel the difference when driving the car home, which is a good thing, but still....I guess its Ramen from now on for a while...

So it seems I only have time to update about once a month, so here goes...

Still here, hanging on at the end of the semester. I will be so happy when final papers and projects are done...XP Thankfully I don't have too many this semester. The one big thing hanging over my head is a 30 page (yeah right...gonna be 20) paper for iconography. On the plus side, I'm doing it on Indiana Jones ^.^ I just don't want to write it. I enjoy writing fiction, HATE writing research papers. I love doing the research but...why can't someone just take a look in my head, realize I know all the info and just go? Or let me do a presentation/discussion...I do much better with those.

Speaking of presentations, my paper at the archaeology conference went quite well ^.^ I eve had a number of people come up later and tell me they're excited about my project and want to know more. WOOT! Nothing like being validated by your colleagues. Plus I got to hang out at one of my good friend's houses for the whole weekend....but on the minus side I got a wicked cold about halfway through Not good times.

Thanksgiving was fun...my entire family and Kiro's entire family all descended upon Kiro's grandparents house about an hour from where we live now. Not to mention a few of my friends came by for the fun as well. I think the final count was 17 people or so...talk about an epic dinner! Putting only the smallest spoonful of food from each dish available and STILL running out of room on your plate. Mmmmm happy Rew belly! We played lots of games, and I got Indiana Jones monopoly! ^.^ Yes I am obsessed...but its so much fun. I should take a picture of my collection sometime just to show how bad I am. :-P

Speaking of games, I've finally joined the Xbox 360 world and gotten a live account and a headset. My gamer tag is Archaeoshof. I don't have many games right now, but I do love to chat! ^.^

Hmmm...What else has happened...Other than trying to get papers turned in and figure out where I'm going on my thesis, I think that's about it. There was a massive Anthro grad student Christmas party on Friday night. Rew had a little too much of a good time, but Kiro helped take care of me. I don't usually drink that much, but it was really nice to relax among my friends. I regret nothing, 'cuz I was fully conscious of my actions the whole night (except for one instance where I apparently smashed my head on a part of the counter that was overhanging the couch...but I still maintain it was the blow to the head, not the alcohol that made me forget) and I had a fabulous time. It really makes me sad to think a lot of my grad friends will be graduating this summer and moving on Stupid two year grad programs!

Hope everyone else is doing well...I also hope to be able to catch up on some reading over the Xmas break, though I still have a pile of work to get done for my thesis as well. >.< It never ends...

Hello everyone in FA world!

Well I wasn't lying...Life has been kicking my ass lately and I've been doing all I can to keep up. Ya know those plate spinning guys that have to keep running from plate to plate to keep everything going? That's about how it feels >.<

Thesis work is coming along slowly but surely. I just got a rather unpleasant update recently...the museum where I'm putting together my exhibit just emailed me one day and said "yeah, we know we told you at the beginning of the semester that you could do you exhibit in June, but that's changed...now it has to be in no later than April 28." O.O WTF? So now I'm frantically trying to get things together to make sure I can open on time with everything in place. I've also been helping on of my close friends with his thesis work...Stats can be quite evil sometimes and computer programs never work the way they should :-P

Next week I'll be presenting at a rather large regional conference up in NC...SEAC, the Southeastern Archaeology Conference. A friend and I have been working on a large project trying to get archaeology more integrated in the school systems...a good way for kids to learn hands-on history and learn critical thinking skills. My friend's in England right now, so I'll be presenting the paper solo...in front of some of the biggest names in SE archaeology. AHHHHHH! I've gotten the presentation done and practiced it a few times, but I'm still scared as hell.

I have been trying to have fun lately as well...all our graduate cohort is stressed out with thesis writing, so we try to get together when we feel the ragged edges of sanity creeping up on us. A friend had a birthday party on Friday with a pinata and all! ^.^ That was great fun...I want a pinata! Also tonight I get to go see the Trans Siberian Orchestra. I love their Christmas stuff, so I can't wait.

We had a nice little ferret adventure last night. Pudge has decided he's bound and determined to be upstairs (strictly off limits). We usually catch him before he gets too far, but last night he made it upstairs...and then dissapeared. Kiro and I were looking for him for about 20 minutes before we heard something from the laundry room. Turns out there's a little gap above a vent in our bathroom (upstairs) which Pudge managed to squeeze through and ended up in our HEATING UNIT (downstairs). o.O Thank God it hasn't been very cold lately otherwise it may have been running when he fell in. We had to call the air conditioning people to come out and open up this little U-bend piece where he was stuck. Thankfully he was completely unharmed (though rather dirty and confused). The guy who came out was really nice too...he said now he had a story to tell and didn't charge us for the visit. Its people like that who give me hope there's still good in the world.

I think that's about it...haven't had time to be overly creative, though I did finally finish a badge for Lucky the Evil Dog...he's been kind enough in years past to allow me to run around in his Ooga Chaka suit, so I wanted to do something for him in return. I'll try to post some pictures once I get them off my camera.

Hopefully I'll be emerging from my cave of thesis writing soon!

Hey all,

Just wanted to let people know its going to be very hard to get a hold of me for the next...well at least month or so. I mentioned a few of the things I'm doing/have to get done in my last journal, and its really starting to get to me. I've been uber stressed and uber overworked lately, so my focus has bee kinda narrow. If I don't call/text/respond very often to things, PLEASE don't take it personally. I promise, I still love everyone, just going though kind of a rough patch right now. I'll try to bop on and off FA when I can and hopefully the occasional text message, but other than that, I can promise nothing.

*hugs everyone* I need a furry con vacation again

Well, we've been back to classes for about a month and I swear it feels more like a year! >.< I never realize how much work I'm doing until I get back to classes. Of course, I've also taken on a number of other things this semester...

I decided to start a flinknapping club at school. For those of you who don't know, flinknapping is making tools from stone...basically how people made their knives and arrow points hundreds and thousands of years ago. Its a fun time, and its great for archaeologists to learn. I keep hearing people talk about how much fun it would be to have a club to do this, but no one would actually DO anything about it. I decided to change that, but it also means a great deal of organization on my part

I'm also working on a project with our stat archaeology department involving the development of an archaeological program for a local school group. Since my project is archaeology and the public, I thought it would be appropriate to help with, not to mention I love teaching archaeology to kids!

I also have to work on a paper a colleague and I will be presenting at an upcoming (read, November) conference that will be held a few hours away. Its a pretty big conference, and getting anything done in this profession is all about getting your name out there, so I figured why not? We're doing a paper on archaeological education among school children in South Carolina, so luckily my work with the school group will tie in quite nicely.

So, in case I'm a bit absent or hard to get a hold of for a while...this is why. I am trying to chill out a little more this year than I did before...my nights are usually spent with friends trying to forget the work of the day, but its still beginning to take its toll. XP I truly come to FA to unwind from the real world. Can't wait for my next furry con!

I spend very little time doing anything productive this weekend, and it felt GREAT! ^.^ I suppose I should enjoy it, 'cuz its probably the last weekend I'll be able to get away with something like that. Friday we finally finished putting together the exhibit at the museum on campus I work for. It looks awesome...I can hardly believe I actually came up with half of what's in there.

Saturday I dragged Kiro, Isaac and Allison (Cranky) out to see the exhibit. Damn it I put a lot of work into it, and they're gonna enjoy it! We went to the mall for a ring check and lunch after that. I found a little stand that sold Japanese candy/food/anime toys. I bought one of those super cool drinks that comes in the Cob Stop (sp?) bottle (its a little bottle with a marble in it...kinda hard to explain, but its a system we used to use to seal carbonated drinks until we came up with the bottle caps.)

After that I wanted to be uber nerd and go check out the Heros and Dragons store that I've never been to, but is apparently comic book/RPG mecca. It was AMAZING! and boy did I drop a lot of cash. >.< It was worth it though, I managed to find an Indiana Jones RPG set that they released after the second movie. It had the original guide books, lead figures, and about 8 additional campaign books, all for $90. I had to have it (for those of you who don't know, I collect Indiana Jones paraphernalia...mainly stuff from the old movies, though I have been known to buy things that recently came out). I also found an old Indy book on tape, as well as an old movie magazine previewing the Temple of Doom movie. It was quite a haul, but Kiro just said I won't be getting any Christmas or birthday presents for a while. Fine by me! ^.^ Finally, there was a giant cardboard cut out of Indy sitting at the front of the store. I'd already spent a lot of money, so I didn't think I was going to get it, but a few of my friends decided it would be uncooth for me not to own something so awesome and bought it for me. Indy is now sitting at my office in the anthropology building

Ah being a geek...how fun it is

So in case no one noticed...FA's back online (I'm sure you haven't gotten a shit ton of journals saying ZOMG THE FA'S BACK! No criticism...I'm doing it too!)

But besides that obvious point, how's everyone been? I really didn't realize how many people I communicate with through FA alone. I began to miss many of my fuzzy friends *big hug to everyone* Not to mention I missed one of the best ways for me to procrastinate. Should I read the knee-high pile of books I need to get through, or see if anything's been uploaded to FA in the past five minutes...hmmm....

So, a lot of life's gone by since FA went down. Ironically, the week FA came back up, Kiro and I were visiting his family in Sumter, so we had no internet >.< Epic fail...the stupid site's gone for a month and I just happen to go on vacation when it comes back up. It was great to see all of Kiro's family though...we got to see all his extended relatives due to the face that his dad's being deployed to Iraq in September. I mentioned this in my livejournal, but thought I'd update here as well. We're both a little scared for him, but Kiro's dad's the kind of person that makes you feel like everything will be okay, so we're trying to look at it that way. He won't be in direct combat, but over there, you never know. The party was kick-ass though. If there's one thing his family can do, its throw a party. Plus they gave him all kinds of goofy presents to make his stay overseas more "enjoyable"

I'm also trying to figure out where the heck my summer went to. Has anyone seen it? The last time I checked it was the end of June and I'd just gotten back from AC. Plenty of time to get work done, right? Now school starts in two weeks o.O OMG! I did get a bit done for thesis work over the summer, but I feel like I could have gotten a lot more. I guess we'll see how disappointed my adviser is once I get back to class >.< Bleh Stress puddle, here I come.

Other than that, this past month has been pretty enjoyable. Spent time with my family, as well as Kiro. He's been getting home from work earlier, so I actually get to see him before I stumble up to bed. Also, we're getting ready to install the exhibit I've been working on all summer at the museum, so that'll be pretty cool get finished. I love the idea of something physical coming out of all my research besides just a paper. I read/write enough papers.

So, a huge hello to all those I've missed, and I hope to see/talk to you in the coming weeks!

I bet everyone's sick to death of all the "Back from AC!" journals, but you know what....I'M STILL GONNA DO IT! *evil laugh* This is mainly for my memory...if I don't write it quick, it goes bubye!

So, Kiro and I left on Thursday and experienced what was probably the worst traveling experience I've ever had. Don't fly Continental! We get to Newark, NJ okay, but then our flight to Pittsburgh is delayed about two hours. Okay, not fun but tolerable and I could tell there was some nasty weather. Finally get to Pittsburgh and literally SECONDS after we touchdown God decides to lay the smackdown on the airport. Thunder, lightning, wind...the whole nine yards. Well, the ground crew can't come out in this so we sit in the airplane on the tarmac...and sit....and sit...about fourty minutes to an hour into it its still kinda nasty, but not too bad. Other ground crews come out and get their planes in but ours? noooo....too ugly for them. Eventually we're the only plane sitting out there...it took them 2.5 hours to get us off that friggin plane. We should have been at my grandmother's house by about 6:00. We didn't get there till 11:30. Rew was not a happy wolfess.

But by the next day my anger was forgotten. AC WAS HERE! Kiro and I ran around the hotel and con space searching out our old friends and making new ones. Went to opening ceremonies where they had a kick ass little video to intro the con.Go find it on Youtube...I'm sure its there by now. Got to finally meet  Tenza in person and he's as nice in person as he is online . We met up with  Sookta, Kaishi, Kova,  HBpaws,  lion,  auspex, and  dari among others. I also got hi's and hugs from Lucky the Evil Dog who is who is the awesome person who's let me borrow one of his fursuits in the past...such a nice guy! ^.^ I swear, the whole point of these cons for me is to get to see the friends that I only see once or twice a year. This AC was a lot more focused on wandering around and hanging out with various people than panels. Walked through the dealers den and actually felt my money crying to be spent. >.< Who am I to say no? We laughed at Anthropoloy and Kage's Story Hour and then went home a little early.

Saturday we wandered around the dealers room a bit more, got to bug  flain a few times at the Clawcast table and ran into  matthais (I can't remember exactly what day anymore) the resident weather fox who informed me the weather conditions around Pittsburgh wouldn't improve until after the con. Good thing its indoors. XP Watched the fursuit parade and was FLOORED by the number of suiters there...400something last I heard. So many suits, so much fur! Went to the Charity auction where we managed to spend a bit more money, but this time it was on presents...got a Steelers signed picture for my dad and Kiro got a Cowboys penent signed by the owner for his. Yay Christmas shopping! Oh, Saturday is also when I was pounced on by Suka who is one of the most adorable husky boys I know ^.^ He's such a sweetie! Later that day we went and saw 2's rant and also ran over to see the improve with 2, Kage, and Jibba. It was quite hilarious, but my only complaint is they did it in a room with a really low stage and no mikes so it was kinda hard to see and hear.

Sunday I was beginning to get sad already 'cuz I knew the con was almost over. Didn't do much other than hang around and wander with people until the Charity show with 2 and Kage (another hilarious event). I'm sure there was some sort of action before that , but for the life of me I can't remember right now. It was only a few days ago...WHY IS MY MEMORY SO BAD? Anywho, after the charity event and closing ceremonies we headed up to the zoo to hang out. I was fortunate enough to get to hang out with the super cool  tiberius and  harui. It was really nice to find people who are as geeked out about history and ancient things as I am ^.^ including Indy! *begins to hum the Raider's March* Anywho, I had an awesome time talking to them, as well as watching the weirdness in the zoo (what....weirdness at a furry con? NEVER!). I saw Jack Sparrow and Beetlejuice get into a fight over a bottle of booze...very interesting. Later on I got to play two very cool games, Fluxx and Chrononauts with  flain and an a bunch of friends. It hurt my brain a little, but was great fun.

Wow...I prattle on don't I? Overall, it was an EXTREAMLY good time and it was exactly what I needed. I was beginning to get stressed out once more about my thesis and summer work, but this weekend has helped set everything back to neutral and relaxed me once more. It does get harder and harder each year to say goodbye though . If I've forgotten anyone that I hung out with or talked to, I'm VERY sorry. As I said before, my memory is horrible and I need to work on it. Just hit me a few times and I'll remember

Hey all, sorry for the lack of updates, but I am now once more in four walls and have A/C (of which I am eternally grateful). My dig went well, besides those whole tornado incidents. I had a good time, got to meet some new friends, and got down and dirty.

As soon as I got back from the dig I was slammed into another part time job at the museum on our campus. I'm helping them put together an exhibit that will hopefully give training for putting together my own exhibit for my thesis. Speaking of thesis, that evil thing still has me in its clutches, even over the summer. >.< I've got a mile-high stack of books to read, not to mention a number of contacts, planning, financing, ect. things to do for the exhibit itself. *sigh* I thought summer was supposed to be BETTER than the school year!

Thankfully though, I have a nice little vacation coming up....ANTHROCON! Yup, for the third year running, Kiro and I will be at AC, looking around for mischief and friends. Please feel free to come up and say hi if you know me from cyberspace...I love being able to put names to faces! I'll be the female with some sort of bandanna and a wolf tail, while Kiro is the skinny male with the white tiger tail and ears.

Looking forward to seeing everyone! ^.^

So, funny thing...I'm still out in the middle of nowhere, yet still able to type this journal. How you may ask? We have friggin internet at the dig site! o.O what will they think of next? Now, I still can't do too much or get on too often b/c its kind of a spotty connection with limited bandwidth, and I still have to get up ass early in the morning so I get sleepy real early. But still, nice to be able to keep my inbox from reading a few thousand every time I go home.

We have had a few adventures while out here on the dig (who says archaeology isn't like Indiana Jones...well actually I do but that's beside the point )

A few weeks ago I was told about some mega storms that I had just missed coming in on Sunday instead of Saturday. Instead of storms, we got MAJOR wind that night. The little tent I had was literally collapsing in on itself at the gusts, which I later found out were about 45 miles an hour. Needless to say, that was a bit of a sleepless night.

Last week (with a new tent that I can actually stand up in!) We start hearing rumblings and see there are supposed to be some major storm systems hitting GA and SC...well for a while our manager thinks they'll just pass us by. Fat chance.

About 15 min after dinner arrived, the sky turns pitch black and thunder like I've never heard before booms with lightning flashing every few seconds. Tom (uber awesome manager dude) has a weather radio glued to his ear as he surveys the area. After a few minutes he evacuates us to the bathrooms. Now here is where a little explanation is in order. I"m on a dig in the middle of a chemical company's land, a good ways away from any of their buildings, camping in the middle of their picnic shelter/recreation area they have for their emploees. All that's out here are tents, a rather large, but wooden picnic shelter, and a set of cinderblock bathrooms. Hence, when a tornado is afoot, we head to the bathrooms. The only area that isn't likely to be blown to kingdom come.

So we all (about 20 of us) pile into the ityy bitty bathrooms (some still carrying their dinners) and gawk at the power of mother nature. Tom soon follows us, running faster than I've ever seen a short man run due to the fact he'd seem some rotation in the clouds to the south. It was scary...trees were almost sideways and the lightning almost never stopped. After about a half hour of that, things calmed down and we headed back to the shelter.

I was pretty tired by this point (around 9:40 or so), so I headed back to my tent to do a little internetting and get ready for bed. 20 min later I begin to hear more rumbling that does not sound good. I hightail it back to the shelter (while trying to assure Kiro I"m alright while on AIM). They've pulled up another weather map and sure enough we're about to get smacked again...big time.

Back to the bathrooms for ANOTHER major wind/rain/lighting/thunder/hail storm. This lasted almost an hour before we could safely leave the bathrooms and head back to the shelter. Thankfully Colman makes some kick ass tents and nothings happened to mine. It was a little damp around the corners, but other than that pretty impressive for almost tornado weather.

So yeah...here I am in the middle of nowhere, plagued by tornadoes. But at least I have my internet!

Just when I think I can catch my breath with classes being done, not a week later I'm off once more. I leave tomorrow for the Topper site, an archaeology dig here in South Carolina that focuses on Paleo-Indian studies or the Clovis people. These were the first people in America, coming here roughly 12 to 13,000 years ago.

Its great archaeology with a great bunch of people, but I will be camping for about 5 weeks in the middle of nowhere...which of course means no internet connection. I may be able to hop online every once in a while if come home on the weekends, but its a 2 hour trip from the site to my apartment and with gas the way it is I probably won't be coming home too often.

So if I'm rather quite for the next month or so its because I'm incommunicado, not because I don't love you. ^.^ Promise!

First I wanted to give everyone who replied to my last journal a shout out...you guys rock, seriously. I don't know how I'd survive some of this school stuff if I didn't have the friends and fandom to help me relax every once in a while. ^.^ *hugs to you all*



Okay, enough of the mushy stuff , I saw this character interview meme on DrakenByte's journal and thought it looked like fun. Keep in mind, this is my character Rew ...the one I use in my stories. Her life is a touch different from my own:

1.Who are you?
Why, what have you heard? *looks around suspiciously* Hehe, I'm Rew, the fun loving, bandanna wearing wolfess.

2.What do you do for a living?
Currently I'm a student so I stress out mainly, but I also have a part time job working in an archaeology lab. Yay artifacts!

3.What’s your weight, height and nationality?
*gasps* you don't as a female her weight! Nahh, I don't care. I'm about 5'5, 120lbs, and German

4.Are you dating anyone special?
Ayup, a wonderful white tiger named Kiro. *gives him a big kiss*

5.If you had to pick one song to describe you what would it be?
Hmmmm that's a tough one...I guess it would be that "You Got a Friend in Me" from Toy Story...I try to be friendly ^.^

6.What’s the craziest thing you've ever done in your life?
There are just so many...and a few of them might get others in trouble...I guess you could say the first time Jarrah let me ride his bike. That was pretty crazy!

7.What’s the worst thing you've ever done in your life?
Erm...not something I'm very proud of or really want to share

8.Do you regret anything?
Not really...I've wondered how my life may have gone had I chosen one path over the other, but I can't say I regret what I've done.

9.Who is your best friend?
The large eared kangaroo named Jarrah! ^.^

10.What’s your favorite food?
Anything with Marinara sauce...I LOOOOOOVE Italian

11.Favorite Drink?
Are we talking alcohol or no? I guess non-alcoholic beverage would have to be cherry vanilla coke (which they stopped making...bastards...) and alcoholic would probably be a white Russian

12.Favorite type of music?
rave/techno although I do love musicals as well

13.Are you more of a diva or do you roll out of bed and say fuck it?
lmao, I'm most certainly a fuck it kinda girl ^.^

14.What kind of car do you drive?
I'm either in my nice little Saturn, one of Kiro's countless cars, or on the back of Jarrah's motorcycle

15.What’s something you always wanted to do?
Do an archaeological excavation in Egypt! *drools*

16.Name three things you want to do before you die.
1) See above 2)Have a family 3)Go to Australia


17.Do you have any enemies?
Erm there might be a few people that don't particularly like me, but I don't think there's anyone after my blood o.O

18.Do you have a criminal record and what for if you do?
The key is to never get caught

19.What’s something that no one knows about you, not even your closest friends?
Like I'm going to tell you!

20.Do you have any pets?
Yes, a beta fish named Ramses

WOOOOOOOOOT! ^.^ I had my proposal defense today...yah, that huge document with tons of reading I mentioned about a month ago...that one. I met with part of my committee today to present my ideas, talk about it, and also be tested for my anthropology comprehensive exams (basically making sure I've been paying attention in class and can relate my project to the larger body of anthropology).

I did a powerpoint, talked with my committee (it was really more of a discussion than a defense, thankfully. No one really had anything negative to say, and they pretty much agreed on the areas I already felt I needed more background about. It was a really interesting conversation; then I had to answer some more general anthropology questions, which weren't too hard and I felt pretty confident about.

Then I was asked to step out of the room while they discussed my presentation. After only a few minutes they opened the door again and said I'd done just fine and they signed my official looking piece of paper.


WHEEEEEEEE! I'm so glad to have that stress off my back! I'm still not done with the semester...a few more papers to write and grade, but this was what was worrying me the most.

*goes of to do absolutely nothing for the rest of the day*

Well, for those of you who've gotten a chance to read my story, I had the opportunity to live out a part of Rew's life yesterday. One of my grad school friends has a motorcycle and I got to go for a ride! ^.^ It was my first time, and it was friggin awesome! I won't lie, I was a little nervous at first, but it was a lot more stable than I thought it would be. We rode out to get coffee (wow, scary but I didn't even realize that part was in the story too until just now o.O), then we were going to get ice cream, but the stupid store was closed. Just before we headed back to campus I asked him to take me out on the highway 'cuz the stoplights were getting irritating

I had so much fun, and it was great getting to hang out with my friend for a while...I haven't gotten to see as much of him this semester due to classes and papers being so crazy, but he's a really fun guy. Guess he's starting to become my Jarrah...without all that stupid sexual tension (he's actually married as well...his wife's super awesome ^.^)

...And yes, I was cliche enough to hum "Born to be Wild" for a little when we first started off >.<