Superdatum

Chances are if you're reading this you already know these things. In any case, summer was mildly eventful, mainly in the form of participating in the dig.



We went exploring behind the town one day and ran across a previously unknown Dead City, which was named Jebel Rosn after one of our participants. Below is a shot of me looking into a cistern at said site.



A man I ran into at the church one day told me that I looked like Jesus in the face. We had a costume party for Jesse's birthday so naturally I dressed up as Jesus, albeit with short hair (my wig idea didn't pan out).



I bought a crik (shovel) handle down in Jisr, which I used as a staff, as well as a sheet for the clothing, tied one of my shirts around me like a sash, and bought some prayer beads and hung them from some rope (which we used for the electroresistivity meter) that I wore like a belt. I think it turned out pretty well, all things considered.



I don't have all of my pictures from the trip yet, as I had to store them on Eric's and Jason's computers. Soon, hopefully.

I spent some time in Bloomington with Sarah, Tex, and Lucy, and there was much rejoicing, before going home to Dallas for a few weeks. I came up to Boulder about a week before classes began for training and to begin work at Testing Services. This year I'm a GA for Diane's class on Pompeii, which means that I have partial funding. Classes shouldn't be too bad this semester, but combined with the 6:00 a.m. wake-up time for Pompeii and the mess with having to apply to Ph.D. programs, things may prove hectic later on. Not all has been rosy, however, as Grandpa Dave died the other day. It was fairly sudden and only mildly expected. Thankfully he went quickly. It'll be strange without him. Mom flew up there immediately while Dad and I made our ways to Maine a few days later for the funeral and burial. We stayed with Steve and Paige at their fantastic house in Boothbay Harbor.



Once I got there I was greeted by family I hadn't seen in many years, as well as a fluffy thing named Butch, who was Grandpa's dog.



Other than the obviously doleful events, it was a good time. I enjoyed my time there, but I returned a few days later and took up class again. For a variety of reasons, today Butch arrived via Delta here in Denver and is now my dog. He's a smart and friendly little mutt, probably a mix of Australian Shepherd and perhaps lab.



Steve and Paige were kind enough to drive down to Portland and ship him out here for me. He was happy to see me and be out of the crate, of course, but he wasn't too thrilled about being left in the backyard for a few minutes while I unloaded the car. We went on a short walk around NIST and came home.



One of the new roommates, Lior, also has a dog. He's a five month-old pup named Ami, who is some sort of odd mixture. He's skinny but cute.



The two dogs haven't met yet, but they will later tonight. I hope all goes well. Ami was neutered a few days ago so he had to wear a plastic cone to keep him from licking and chewing at his wound.



Anyway, that's enough for now.