A quiet night, a stack of books, a tuna melt on rye

You know what I don't like? Days when I almost get eaten by an alligator.  Today we had to survey a small re-route on this one property, but because the land agent couldn't get in touch with the land owner, we had to access it from the property next door.  In between was a set of railroad tracks and a small canal.  We could have waited another day and hoped that the land agent got in touch with the land owner -- that was my vote. 

Instead, the crew chief decided that she wanted to get it done and that we would have to ford the waist deep water of the canal.  On our way back another member of the crew went to look at another place we might cross the canal and an alligator plopped into the water from the bank.  Unfortuantely we were on one side of the canal and the car was on the other.  We called the land agent who laughed at us and then failed to find anyone to help.  So, I got ford the canal again this time with the full knowledge that somewhere in that water was at least one alligator.  Some days I hate my job. 

I had to come back and wash the yucky swamp gunk of my field pants in the bath tub and am now desperately hoping that they will dry in time to wear tomorrow. 

Yay! hotel internet is back.  It was raining like crazy here on Wednesday and Thursday, so between the bad weather and the fact that we were all in the hotel since we couldn't work it was next to impossible to get online. 

The time off wasn't a total waste.  I finished my second pair of socks, which are a pretty spring green with a lace-work pattern.  I also finally finished knitting the teeny-tiny TARDIS.  In January I started the project, thinking that if I knit a plushie sized pattern on size 000 needles using embroidery floss instead of yarn it would come out the size of a key chain and not take very long at all.  I was wrong.   Wednesday, when I get back to New Orleans, pulling out the fiber-fill will be my first order of business.  Right before I take pictures and then unpack. 

Of course, I was terribly bored the last couple of days just sitting around the hotel room, so I was quite glad that we got to go back into the field today.  We're at a really nice site, at least in regards to working comfort.  The whole area consists of very open planted pines.  Any day I don't have to deal with briars is a good day.  Even if there are horses that we have to keep an eye on lest they step in our holes and break their legs.  I'm not entirely clear on what I'm supposed to do if the horse comes charging at my unit. I don't really relish jumping in front of a horse moving a full speed, hoping to divert it in another direction. 

Also during my boredom I took one of those "What North American accent do you have?" quizzes.  I got the Philadelphian accent, which shouldn't be a surprise, but kind of was.  I did in fact spend my first eighteen years in the Philadelphia area, but since I've never in my life pronounced the sports team as the "iggles" I assumed I had avoided the accent.   I do however freely use various lexical oddities from the area (hoagie, mac machine).  I am however glad to hear the "Rocky" does not have a really Philadelphian accent, because I think I'd be mortified to sound like that.  The accompanying article seemed to think that the only authentic-ish representation of the accent was Toni Collette in The Sixth Sense.  I suppose I will have to re-watch that movie now. 

You know, I am not supposed to be freezing my butt off when working outside in Florida.  The 25 degrees it was when I got out of the truck this morning is not acceptable.  Particularly since my internet told me that it was going to be between 55 and 65 degrees all this week and I do not have the appropriate clothing for this unexpected cold weather.  Not cool.  Also, steel-toed boots really make your toes cold. 

Anyway, one unit down -- untold numbers to go.  I'm at site number two tomorrow.  Maybe this one will have a higher artifact density.  Although my unit did cough up the only tool at the first site, so go my superior screening abilities!

Woo Hoo! I get to do a phase II.  Well I actually started today.  It's almost like being a real archaeologist! 

When people think of archaeology they usually either think of Indiana Jones (which is so wrong I don't really know where to start) or they think of the kind of archaeology featured in National Geographic or on Discovery.  Rarely do I actually get to do that kind of archaeology -- the kind with square holes (units) outlined by string on nails.  In fact, I haven't dug a unit for over a year, and then it was helping out another office, not one of our own projects.  But today I got to open a unit, in Florida, on an actual New Orleans office project.  Yeah! Here's hoping we find something cool. 

Also, I made soup and got to take it for lunch today.  That made me happy and was the best lunch of anyone's in the field.

Land agents are an important part of cultural resource management archaeology.  Basically, they're the people who make sure that I don't get shot by irate landowners or unsuspecting hunters (there is still always the possibility of being shot by drunk hunters, but I like the narrowing of chances by 2/3).  Now, recently the pipeline company we're working for got rid of a lot of their land agents and then neglected to tell us, so that when I went into the field Monday I got told " You have three counties.  The first county we have the name of the land agent but no one seems to know his number.  The second county we have a name, a number, and a go ahead so start with there. And the third county we have a name and a number, hopefully we'll get the go ahead soon."  That was not too bad except for the missing number. 

Then today I called the man for the third county to ask about some tracks for tomorrow.  Turns out he only works in half the county and there is really a fourth land agent we didn't even know about.  Thankfully the person he thought was the land agent for the other half was in fact in charge of that area, so I didn't look like a total idiot when I called this guy out of the blue.  I got my tracks cleared and then he told me that he also has tracts in the second county.  I wonder if the land agent I've been talking to for the last three days about that county knows that he's doing part of it because she sure didn't tell me. 

Anyway, I'm slightly confused, very tired, and hoping that my three counties don't suddenly sprout anymore land agents because I hate calling people on the phone. 

Playing Life: the Indiana Jones version with a bunch of archaeologists is rather amusing.  Leading to conversations like:

Player one: (reading card) A research institution gives you a grant take $100,000.
Player two:  I wish I could get a grant that easily.

P1 (again reading card):  One of the the professors in your department likes your work and gives you an artifact.  Take a life tile.
P2: How come none of my professors every gave me priceless artifacts.
P3: I never got any either.

P2:  (can you see where this is going) You steal a bi-plane and find a priceless artifact in the cockpit. 
P3:  Clearly this job should be much easier.  Artifacts are just hiding everywhere.  Steal something, get a prize.  Get up in the morning, another prize.  Oh look, an antique shop bet there's another artifact inside. 

By the end we came to the conclusion that artifacts are extremely common, archaeologists are very glamorous, and that we should be traveling to much more exotic locals than Clearview, Florida.  Also, I win at life (particularly when I get two relics and four companions - go me).

This hotel has the loudest feral cat ever hanging out in the parking lot.  I'm trying to decide which cat from Cats to name it after, but I can't decided which song I find most annoying.  Jenny Any-Dots is currently rather high in the running. 

I never realized how much paperwork it was possible to generate with out really having an office.  I am apparently now the highest ranking member of the field crew on this project for this ten-day, so I get to be in charge of the book.  Which means that my rather small hotel room is now a room/office complete with printer/scanner/copy machine, lap-top (in addition to my own mac), GPS unit and charging cradle, and work phone.  With the addition of my personal phone it's amazing that I managed to get everything plugged in. 

It has occured to me that I suck at delegation.  I should probably be passing off a bunch of this paperwork to other people to get done, and should certainly be returning their half-filled out copies to them to fix, but I just can't seem to.  I have that wonderful gifted-child complex of perfectionism and therefore want the FS log organized in a certain way (lowest to highest northing, lowest to highest easting within each northing, then lowest to highest level with in each shovel test).  Most people just write the next number on the next bag they pull out of the pile which makes it way harder to locate things if you need to check them in the future.  Also, I've been assigned a bunch of boys with atrocious handwriting.  Everything is much prettier when I do it myself. 

Today I got to play cleanup on an access road which someone else surveyed but did not delineate to find the extent of the site they located.  The original survey neglected to change to high probability after then found their initial positive to they said that the road had four isolated finds.  Instead, at least two of those isolates are actually part of a large site where we found the largest piece of prehistoric pottery I've ever seen.  Tomorrow I get to go back and see if the third and fourth isolates are actually isolates or whether they'll join together into a second large site.  Fun times.  I do so love fixing other people's messes.

Now for a post related to today.  Perry, Florida is a seven to eight hour drive from New Orleans and includes a trip over the dividing line for the Central and Eastern time zones.  In addition, I got to spend two hours in the office getting all the equipment in order and making sure I had all the information needed from the project manager.  Then I drove by myself to Pensacola Florida, where I picked up a crew member who didn't want to drive himself.  Next I got to stop in Tallahassee, Florida to pick up maps and an extra GPS unit and to speak with the Assistant project manager.  When I finally got to Perry I got to deal with the crew chief from the other rotation an how the project was "OMG falling apart and no one else could do paper work correctly or delineate and why wasn't I promoted yet."  Actually that last one is a good question.  I just wanted to eat since it was 5:30 and I still hadn't had lunch.  Needless to say, it was a very long day and I am now very tired. 

I found a point to day!  It looked something like this white, with a serrated edge.   I doubt it is the kind shown in the picture, as that one is from Kansas and I'm currently in Florida.  Knapping technologies usually didn't spread that far; although, a few have so it's possible.  It's times like this that I wished I cared a little more about pre-historics so I had an idea of the age or type of point, but unfortunately I don't.  Maker's marks on the other hand: endlessly facinating. 

There is a possibility that I am now on the clean up crew.  I got sent to the Mississippi project when it was in shambles worked through to the end (atleast the end until injunction properties come up).  Then monday I was sent with two other members of that crew to the Florida project.  It also appears to be in shambles.  There are 800 access roads to survey, roads which change on a daily basis.  The crews already out here keep telling us not to kill ourselves and that work is not a contest.  We've actually be working much slower than normal, so I don't know what they've all been up too. 

Right now, it's kind of fun because we can hardly take a step without tripping over an artifact.  Yesterday, on one access road we located eight possible sites.  Eight!  There was also a bow hunter who showed us picture of the bear who keeps knocking over his deer feeder -- the deer feeder that was located less than a quarter mile from where I was standing.  I prefer not to think of that. 

Hopefully, I will get to stay on this project until it moves further south so I can go visit my grandparents. 

    We finally got to go back in the field today.  Yeah.  Then it started to rain again at noon so we had to come back in.  Still it made all the difference.  There was action,  miles of walking, briars, and hills.  Lots and lots of hills.  I'm sure in a day or two I'll be back to complaining about briars making me bleed my own blood (incidentally the crew says that frequently, and I'm pretty sure they're quoting someone but I have no idea what it is)  and wishing the hill weren't quite so high and hilly.  But for today it was glorious! 

    Then I finished season (series?) 2 of (new) Dr. Who while reading lots of who_knits, so I predict that there will be some wrist warmers in my future.  Pretty and cabled!  As for the slightly closer future I almost have a back for the knitted chain mail, so only a front and two sleeves to go.  I suppose that means it's time to figure out how to adapt the sleeves so they're 3/4-length and pointy.  Also remind me never to knit with cotton twine from the hardware store ever again.  It twists up something fierce, so that after every row I have to stand up, hold the ball above my head, and allow the project to unwind.  It really breaks the crafty rhythm.