Jenny and Lee!

A new species of sharkpeople

2011-05-26T20:29:00.000-07:00

Another day at the dig has past and as I lay in bed the thunder and lightening are warning me that tomorrow might be a lab day. I think.... yeah, I could handle a lab day. It has been a very hot and humid week, making things interesting in the field to say the least. We get to the site at 8am and grab our gear for the grueling 10 minute hike to the village units. Then we move sand bags, set up tents, distribute shovels and screens, and prepare our tools for the hard work. We excavate until around 3 when it's time to break it all down and prepare to carry our equipment back to the base house. I find myself the most sweaty and asthmatic after the initial trek through the woods, up and down root infested hills and gullies, and over the river on the hanging (and one step from collapsing) bridge. Through the day we cannot always escape the sun under our little tents and must sit directly under it as we scrape away the last 200 years worth of biota. And to think I always wanted to do this in Egypt... at least in Florida we get a break from the heat once a year for a few months!

Ok, well I still want to do it in Egypt, but whatever. For now I am happy to be doing it at all, even in this dirty bug-fest of a forest.

Field School Crazy

2011-05-19T19:10:00.000-07:00

Exciting-ness! I have finally begun my first field school for the summer, and the first three days have been pretty great. 8 hours of sun, humidity, bugs, thorns, and dirt a day. Ah, the life of an archaeologist. I had two weeks off from school, which thankfully I got to spend with Lee before he jetted to the Phillipines for another deployment last weekend. Because I'm super smart I got another 4.0 this semester, and it looks like it will be another one after the summer.

The Arcadia Mill Complex Project

The site I am working on for the next two months was once the largest water based industrial complex in Florida. The land was bought by a Spaniard names Juan de la Rua in 1817 and was prepared to be re-designed to accomidate a lumber and textile mill. Soon after the Spanish lost Florida and the land was bought by an Englishman from New Hampshire. He brought over 50 slaves to the site and they began building an earthen dam, a river bed, a 16 mile log flume, and 4 mills. They lived and worked there until 1855 when the owner died and the textile mill was burned down. When the Civil War broke out the union came to Florida; as they were headed for the mill the confederates came to prevent them from taking it. They blew up the dam and destroyed the facility, and that was the end of Arcadia mills.

My first battle wound! What do you get when you put a clutz in the middle of a forest full of roots and crap sticking out of the ground? One clutz on the ground with a pointy tree stump slashing her wrist. Ouch! Plenty more to come I'm sure. I will try to update with pics whenever I can. Long days. Beer at home. Good times :)

Sad week for the Damon's

2010-12-23T13:41:00.000-08:00

Two days till Christmas, it's ben almost 6 months since my last post! Heavens.... anyway, things are going very well for me. School has been awesome and I start my master's classes in two weeks. My average going into it is a 4.0 so needless to say, I'm thrilled.
This summer I will be doing a field school for 10 weeks, 5 in land and 5 at sea (for which I must get my scuba certificate, badass right!) and then in the fall I will start my osteology classes which should be great.
Lee left last week for another deployment, this time to Djibouti in Africa. He left on Saturday morning from the airport and later that day we received word that his grandfather, Major General Gordon H. Austin had passed away at the age of 97. The tragedy of losing such an astounding man is almost too much; I don't know how many Pearl Harbor veterans are still around but it just seems like such a loss to see him go. I will always remember his stories and his neverendingly cheerful outlook on life. When asked how he was doing, he would always respond with the phrase "deteriorating on schedule..." which always made us laugh. He was Lee's hero, and my heart breaks for him as he has to grieve in a strange land by himself.
Today there was more bad news... a classmate and good friend of Lee's from pilot training was killed along with his wife as they flew their private plane home for Christmas. Landing in the weather caused them to go around for a second approach, upon which they crashed short of the runway. He was a wonderfully jolly guy, and Lee was very glad to have been at their wedding last year. I can't even imagine trying to deal with the loss this close to the holiday of two young and vibrant people as nice as them. Lee will be upset when he learns of it, making this an even harder week for him as he acclimates to his temporary home away from home.

I feel that is all I can muster for the moment. I hope it snows for Christmas...

Seriously late

2010-07-04T16:29:00.000-07:00

Geez-ums, it's been a while. I apologize for the long long LONG gap in posts but we've been busy.

Lee was deployed and came back again.

We had a great three weeks up north for Christmas.

We bought our first house and moved to Navarre.

I am registered to start school with University of West Florida in the fall!

We adopted a new dog, Lucy!

Lee is almost done with U-28 training.

He erased half the book I was working on by accident :(
I will be getting my archaeology certificate next month!
I quit the OG and got a new job at a family owned italian place.
Lee's sister Cassandra got engaged.
It's almost a year since we got engaged, actually!
I'm going to Maine in three weeks for the reunion...
.... um, that's about it.

Oh yeah, then the oil spill happened two months ago. We happen to have just moved to one of the areas worst affected by the oil in Florida, the beach down the road from our house has oil on it and the wildlife are beginning to show signs of serious trouble as a result. Tourism is down so businesses (like my restaurant) are suffering. Everyone talks about it non-stop, and not much is being done right now to fix it. It's quit depressing actually. I happen to like the marine life here and I don't want them all to die. I also like money and I'd like it if BP stopped messing with mine, thank you.

Otherwise things are good. Lee will finish training soon and I will start school at the end of August. I'm taking 4 major courses: biological anthropology, cultural anthropology, archaeology, and archaeological methods. So needless to say I will be very VERY busy in a month and a half... But I couldn't be more excited about it!

Julie & Julia

2009-08-13T12:29:00.000-07:00

Saw the movie "Julie & Julia" on my birthday (which unfortunately I spent entirely by myself). What a cute movie! It made me want to come home, cook, and blog! Now I've got this crazy yearning to make the perfect beouf bourgignon (fat chance that will ever happen). I went to the store and realized that it's hard to find fresh cut meat, the supermarket didn't have a butcher block, and I don't even know if there is an actual butcher in town.

So this Saturday since I have the day off, I thought I would attempt to make this crazy dish happen. Anyone who likes to cook, or just lacks enthousiasm for their own cooking, should see this movie!

Other things happening in Ft. Walton Beach: Lee just left for 4 months, two of which he will spend in the Mid-East. Joy.

He actually proposed to me right before I left town for the McNiven family reunion in Maine at the end of July, right on the beautiful beaches her in town! Yay! Now I actually get to plan my wedding.

Here are pictures from that day, Including me trying to share the excitement with my dogs... who would rather be sleeping, of course.

I am going to be working with both the Indian Temple Mound Museum and the Emerald Coast Science Center, which I am really excited about. Not too excited of course, since I still won't be making enough to quit my day job. But it's a step in the right direction, right?

I have started working on a new book, which I am really getting into. Already have 4 chapters outlined, and almost done writing the first chapter. It's a great idea, and a lead character that I really relate to. I would love to make it a series, but geeze-ums- how do writers plan things 4 books in advance? We'll see how excited I am halfway through it, when I feel like I'm stuck in a maze with no way out! Or, it could turn out to be complete genius. I'm hoping for the latter!

Been a while man...

2009-04-30T22:13:00.000-07:00

Seriously, I have been a busy bee for the last 6 months, but this is unacceptable.

Get with it Jenny, the masses want to know about your incredibly fascinating life!

Ok, well it has been a little crazy. Lee graduated pilot training on April 10, becoming an official winged military aviator, hooray! It was a great ceremony, and he was third in his class- graduating with special honors. The pictures here are of his winging and us in the plane he was training in here, the T-44a.

Now we are getting ready to move again, this time to his first permanent base in Pensacola, FL where he will fly the U-28 (a super secret special-ops plane!)

I have been busy working and volunteering at the History museum- speaking of which, I saw an actual mummy there yesterday. Yes- an honest to god mummy. So sad though, it was a 6 months old Peruvian baby that was still in the basket it was buried in. Really well preserved- I was amazed. It was actually the first human remains I have seen in person, I see lots of animal bones- but never human. Very eerie. Anyway, I'm hoping to get a job at one of the museums in Pensacola- and transfer to the University of West Florida to finish up my degree.

Gotta go to sleep, the hours are precious with the clock ticking down to our move out date in three weeks. My dogs are already dreaming, and probably wishing we were already upstairs in the big bed ;)

Election Day Hooray!

2008-11-04T11:45:00.001-08:00

Well today the country has come to a pass, and will change forever. It feels like a profound moment in history, which is unfortunately passing by the people of Corpus Christi with not much to do. Every now and then I regret not being back in New York for certain events, because they are so much more heavily felt there, and this is one of them. Four years ago I was there and felt every day the importance and excitement of what the country was doing. Here I haven't even found many people who are even going to vote. Ug. Perhaps it's just because I have been following the campaign the last two years, and watching the news much more than usual, but I'm actually nervous, and wishing that I didn't have to work tonight so I could see the votes stacking up. In New York I would surely be at some election night party, soaking up the excitement and the hope of the world... but Texas it shall be instead. Serving breadsticks and salad to the people who don't care enough about the election to stay home and watch it on T.V.
Oh well, despite the disappointing denuement I am still glad that I voted, and that it has finally come to an end. Now maybe we can all have our T.V. sets back and get back to business.
As much as I like the candidates (except for that poor woman), I have hope that the right person will win, and that the other will be okay tomorrow. I hate competition.
Well, off I go to the OG, while the country awaits the news of the decade...

Wowsa!

2008-10-14T16:31:00.000-07:00

What a great week. I am done training at Olive Garden so I can finally start making some money again, then I got a call from the archaeologist at the Corpus Christi History museum... and after a great interview he asked me to work with him in the museum's archaeology lab! It's not a full time paid position of course, not many state run museum's can afford to hire tons of people especially when their exhibit's are costly to keep in good shape. BUT, this means I at least get to catalog artifacts from the excavations that the museum worked on this year, and work on next summer's excavation as well! Woo hoo! I am not one to get overly excited about things, but this is freakin awesome. I guess you could call it a big break since it's my first chance to work with a reputable organization under a real honest to God "I've excavated in Central America for 50 years" archaeologist. He's an interesting guy, reminds me of an old hippie intellectual from Vermont. Let's just hope he doesn't change his mind when I get there tomorrow and need A LOT of guidance for my first couple of days. I mean I know in theory what I'm supposed to do, but I've never actually handled 2,000 year old artifacts- so a little reassurance might be necessary so I don't freak out, worrying that I'm going to break everything!

So that's my good news. Also, I've heard from the head of the master's program at Texas A&M that I have a good chance to get into their master's program. So I might send in my application next month, we'll see... it would be a hell of a lot nicer to go to a real school instead of my distance program. Ah, good times. Well I start tomorrow at the museum, so I've got a lot of research to do. I don't think it looks good to show up to a job not knowing anything about the local history if the local history is your job...

Oh- and I found the sweater my folks bought Birdie for Thanksgiving last year when we unpacked, so I tried it out on Slide and she looked SO cute. I don't think she like it though, as you can probably tell!

Hello Texas

2008-10-10T07:43:00.000-07:00

Wow. It's been a crazy couple of weeks, and I can't believe I finally have the time to write. We're in Corpus Christi in our new house, all settled in and back in the swing of things at the new base. Our move was long, but went pretty well over-all. I had to beg to let them unload our belongings into the garage of our new house so we could return the U-Haul without any extra charges. But they weren't ready to give us the house yet because it still needed some work. It was tense, but they finally let us use the garage. Then I got to drive the U-Haul through town (which was awesome, but really weird). So things are full-steam now, Lee started training on our third day here and he's already on his third or fourth test today. I got hired at the Olive Garden after a couple of days of job hunting (no one is hiring right now!), and am training to serve "delicious and fresh italian food" for the next year. I'm also in talks with Texas A&M and the Corpus Christi Science and History Museum to work and study with them, which I am SO excited about. I didn't think I'd get to do a lot this year in my field, and just work my butt off at a restaurant, but now it looks like I'm going to get to do some real archaeology and history work done. I'm looking forward to next year's dig season, so I can do some field work in the southwest. So things are looking good.

Lee should be hitting the flightline within the month, and I think he will be really enjoying himself when he does. As for the pups, they like it here so far. We took them to the beach and they liked it a lot. Although Birdie is scared of the waves, Slide loves the water and jumped right in. The sea is a beautiful light aqua here, and the perfect temp. I think this weekend we might go back and hang out with some of Lee's friends who live near there.

Here are some pics of the base and the sunrise over the little beach on base.

Corpus Christi Carol

2008-08-27T15:00:00.000-07:00

Ah, what a week. Lee and I haven't been doing much of anything actually. We are still waiting for his orders and can't schedule anything until we get them. So besides a little bit of pre-packing and cleaning, we've been v. very lazy! Believe it or not, we've actually been socializing (even Lee... I know!) and hanging out with the guys who are moving to Texas with us. All really nice guys, so that's been good. I've been doing lots of web surfing on Corpus, and am delighted to find out that there's actually malls, restaurants, and a Krispy Kreme! Thank god, I haven't been to the city in over a year and so I'm practically starting to twitch for some urban living. Speaking of urban areas, I've been scanning some old pictures into the computer from my travels overseas. So far I've done Germany, London, and Amsterdam. Maybe before I leave I will be able to get Australia in there. Although I have a hell of a lot of pictures from Oz, so it might take me all week.

Lee decided that since he has Monday off for Labor day, he is going to join his folks in Washington for his grandad's 95th Birthday party. I think that's wonderful, since his grandad is his idol and such a special guy. They can talk about planes all weekend, and I can get some hard core house cleaning done. You wouldn't believe the list of things I have to get done before we leave, it's insane, but until we have a moving date I can't do a certain amount of it. How long does it take to type up some orders people??? I also have to fly home next Thursday for Lyssa's wedding, which I am so excited for! I'm taking my mom and wearing the awesome dress I bought in Maine this summer for $20 (on sale of course). I even get to go to her bachelorette party, my first actually, I'm not aware of any male strip clubs in Albany... so who know's what we'll be doing ;)

The wedding and the Catfish show are exciting, and I'm glad I get to go home, but could they be timed any worse? We might literally need to move the day after I get back next week, and in October I will have just moved into our new house and started working- then I have to take another couple of days off. Geesh. But what can I say, when you're popular....

Here's some pics fom my new albums from Europe. Ah Europe, it's ridiculous how amazing it is over there, I would sell my left foot to get back there...

iPod Madness!

2008-08-20T19:12:00.000-07:00

So I broke down this week, I saw Lee on ebay trying to buy some computer thingamajig, and I thought to myself "hmmm, is there anything I really want that I could get on ebay pretty cheap?" and then the answer rang loud and clear in my ear... I could finally get an iPod! I had been resisting the desire to buy one (mainly because they're so darn expensive), I had even gone so far as to buy a really crappy knock off mp3 player for $10 that sucks. But if I could find a cheap one on ebay then I wouldn't have an excuse anymore, so I did, and I actualy won it for $42... which is really cheap! It came in the mail today, and it's so freakin awesome. So I took it to the gym with me today (I've been running three days in a row, it's a miracle) and of course the crapper didn't turn on once I got on the treadmill. I think I set it up wrong, cause it works now after I put it back onto iTunes. Anyway, I ran 2 miles and did 10 minutes on the stationary bike. If only I was motivated to do that every day, I would lose my muffin top in no time!

Let's see, oh-I also finished editing my essay today. Let's just hope that it passes so they don't deny me entrance to the master's program (I do have to have passed two modules before I will be accepted). I spent a lot of time online, and I played with the dogs. Slide peed a lot today.

We've noticed that she's really affectionate to Lee in the mornings but later on in the day she gets scared of him and runs away a lot. He figured out this morning that it's because in the morning the first thing we do is cuddle on the bed with the dogs, and he is usually talking to them in a baby voice. Later on, after he gets home from work he addresses them in his normal voice, and she's scared by the deep voice! He even tried it out, he called her in a baby voice and she came running and was all over him, but when he switched to his low voice she ran away!

Amazing. We've worked on getting her to like his low voice today, so I hope it helps!

Anyway, I've got to get back to the Olympics. I've been obsessed ever since it started, I think I've watched every single night. I was so happy for Shawn Johnson yesterday when she won the gold! But seriously, has anyone else noticed that every other time you turn it on there's boxing? What's with that? I know there's a lot of trials and all, but after one or two matches I can't stand to watch any more freaking boxing. I'd rather watch re-runs of the ping-pong finals! Geesh.

Track Select, Oh Boy!

2008-08-14T17:27:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness, what a week! Lee's paren'ts have been here and we've been having a great time. His track select was on Monday, and after months of anticipation we discovered that he has been chosen to train on the T-44 in Corpus Christi, TX and will then go on to fly the C-130 Hercules! (That's him at the ceremony in the pic) I feel it's probably due to my long standing devotion to Greek mythology (and of course, not having anything to do with the Air Force cutting back on fighter plane slots) that he has been chosen to fly the Hercules. Actually, the base looks great (right on the gulf of Mexico!) and the plane looks awesome (special ops drop-offs in war zones sounds like fun to me!) So we're pretty excited. Of course, moving our little house will be a pain in the tuchus... Driving to Texas with two dogs should be fun...And saying goodbye to our friends will be the worst!! But I am always up for a challenge, and always ready to trade a ridiculously awful place like Columbus for a ridiculously cool place like Corpus... so I think we'll be okay.

The other good news is that there are theatres in Corpus where I can most definitely do some shows. There is Texas A&M, where I can most definitely take some classes. There is a history museum where I can probably work or at least volunteer. AND... there's an AQUARIUM!!! where I can watch dolphins jump through hoops whenever I want. Yay for dolphins!

Oh, I also turned 27 on Saturday. I ate more than someone my size should ever attempt to eat, then I got a headache. It was great. That's me in the other picture before we went out to dinner... and I ate more than someone my size should ever attempt to eat!

Other than that I've got some research to do on Corpus housing, an essay on Ancient Egyptian archaeologicaly to finish, and some cute and adorable dogs to play with.

Side note: our neighbor and good friend J is graduating tomorrow (yes, it's only the letter J) from flight training. Congrats J!

So little time...

2008-07-23T10:25:00.000-07:00

Ug, only two days until I go home for the reunion and I still have so much to do!! The next month or two is going to be crazy, and busy, and full of surprises. We'll have to see how it goes, and just go along with it. I don't think I'm going to be able to finish my essay before I leave... my research just hasn't turned out as many details as I was hoping for, so I have to re-think a little bit of my topics so I don't get in trouble for running on about things I don't have facts to support. They are harsh graders over there in England, I was a little shocked at how hard they were on my first semester essay (then again, it was my first paper in 5 years... I wasn't really on my game), and I have to do better this time! I am also mailing in my Master's application today, yay! Now I just have to get accepted and find some scholarships for the fall. Speaking of, I have to get going and finish all of my to do list for today. Time is running out, and before I know it I'll be on the plane to New York!

The Club

2008-07-21T12:50:00.000-07:00

It's a hot on here today, the humidity has been awful lately! Lee left for work at 8am, so the girls and I had to go on our walk a little later (after the sun came up!). I have been trying to walk between 2-4 miles a day with them, since they drag me down the road when we try to run. It also gives me some time to go through my day and unclog my mind, and I find I have much more energy to start the day off with when we get back. We go on a loop around the main roads on base, which takes us by the flight line if we take the 4 mile route instead of the 2 mile. I was lucky today that we only did the 2 mile route because half way through it I took a bad step and did something to my ankle. I had to limp for a while but then the pain started to wear off and I could actually walk the rest of the way. It still twinges if I move my foot to the right, but I don't think it's anything bad, I'll see if it still hurts tomorrow. I was also lucky to look in the base paper today and see that there is a track select at the club, which I didn't know if I was working or not. So I stopped to check and sure enough, I'm the only bartender tonight. Good thing I checked with them, since no one lets you know when you're working and there's almost never a schedule up this early in the week. Monday events are rare, so it's usually not a problem. Oh well, I have to leave in 1/2 and hour. Lee is home in between his morning Sim and his evening flight, he got to test the T-38 sim today, and said it was cool and very fast. He doesn't fly until 6pm, so he won't be home until after 8 or 9. The poor puppies will have to play outside for the evening. Actually once it starts cooling down around 6, they love it out there and they don't want to come in, so I don't think they will mind. I've got to get ready now, here's a cute pic of Mudslide looking awkward!

M.I.S.S.I.S.S.I.P.P.I.

2008-07-20T16:11:00.000-07:00

Sweet Jesus has it been a year! Lee is coming up on the end of his first phase of pilot training, which has been challening and yet super awesome at the same time. How many other people get to go to work and flip planes around in the sky and dogfight in WWII style planes? I mean seriously people, it's ridiculous! I mean you have no idea the amount of memorization and hands on practice it has taken to get through this year, I don't think I could have done it at least. Now in three weeks we will find out if Lee will be flying a fighter/bomber plane, a heavy/transport plane, or a C-130. Then it's on to another phase of training and another plane, hooray for more fun times! At least it's one step closer to getting out of Columbus either way. We were in town today looking for men's sunglasses, which we couldn't really find since there's no real shopping here, and we both acknowledged the strange power that this city has- kind of like it's draining you of your will to live. It's just that kind of a place... I think before we leave we will video tape the area surrounding the base, so we can always remember the sketch-i-ness that was Columbus. On a lighter note, I am writing my final essay for my Egyptian module this week. Yay! Right now I'm still studying the New Kingdom/Third Intermediate Period (mid 2nd Mill. B.C.E.) which has been so fascinating I only wish I had the time to truly go crazy studying it, but I have to put my energy into researching my essay in order to get it done before I go home next week. My topic is: "What are the strengths and weaknesses of the Archaeological record of Pharaonic Egypt?" Pretty good topic I think, but it's hard to keep your argument strictly on the archaeology and not use historical examples. Thankfully that book mom and dad got me for Christmas on the tombs of Thebes has been really helpful (thanks mom and dad!). Well I think that's all for now, the puppies are outside and the sun is setting so it is the perfect time to go enjoy a beer out on the patio with them. Later.