Back from Boston!
Went to Boston for a week to celebrate ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
stellar_dust becoming a Master of Archaeology.
In that week I:
--went through airport security three times. Was 'randomly selected' for the backscatter scanner three times. (also got one bonus patdown and luggage rifling.)
--Spent two hours staring through an airplane window open-mouthed with wonder. Had flights delayed and/or cancelled twice.
--Walked over about 12 miles of the greater Boston area.
--Went to three graduation ceremonies. Got sunburned. Tried to decide if getting a PHD is worth it just for the majestic robes.
--Ate clam chowder for the first time at the Barking Crab right on the harbor. (I used to avoid all seafood due to food sensitivity issues; later decided I only needed to avoid shellfish; have recently come to the conclusion that I only need to avoid crustaceans. Hence: trying clam chowder. ...it tasted like cream-of-potato soup with weird chewy bits in it.) Also ordered ginger beer; I think it was Fentiman's but don't quote me on that. It was very, very, very gingery and and that's about it; we unanimously decided that it would make a great mixer but not much else.
--Was told I cannot ever become an archaeologist if I don't like the taste of beer.
--Was forced to go to Brattle Books and buy 15 books off their $1 racks. The coloring book was possibly the best find. :D
--Went to see Cave of Forgotten Dreams in 3D, the movie about how somebody let Werner Herzog film the 30,000 year old drawings at Chauvet. It was... okay? I'd certainly recommend it if you're interested in either European prehistory or caves, and you can handle that much (slow-motion) 3D. It was the longest 3D film I've ever seen, and it did add to the experience in this case, because caves really are about 3D space, but it also really pointed up the limits of the technology. (I have other, less positive Thoughts about a) Herzog's directorial choices and b) gender in prehistoric archeology, but they can wait.)
--Attempted to read three pieces of writing by Ian Hodder. Spent a lot of time trying to get over my reflexive reaction of NO U IAN HODDER to everything he says. (crap I almost used the word 'dialectic' in that sentence unironically, help.)
--Met up with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
fictionalaspect and stultiloquentia for an evening of fangirlness and falafel! It was great, and I don't even think I made too much of a fool of myself. I mean, except for when I did. Also stultiloquentia brought awesome cookies, and I tried a can of Vimto (which tastes almost exactly like Cheerwine, except slightly less sweet and more botanical. Thumbs up!)
--Relaxed in a hot tub overlooking Boston Harbor. Listened to people discuss things like wood preservation in saturated soil layers and why Munsells are stupid and all the very, very dysfunctional things apparently happening in the Icelandic archaeological community.
--Went to the Boston Museum of Fine Art in an attempt to do something a bit more touristy. The MFA is... huge. I would say it's about as large as all the art museums on the National Mall put together. Safe to say, we did not see all of it. We saw the Chihuly exhibit - to which my reaction is basically, "Pretty, but--"; and about half each of the American Art and the Ancient Mediterranean Art sections before we lost steam. And we had lunch in this pretty little courtyard area that was overrun with sparrows and really, really need its own cats.
--Were almost on a T train that hit somebody. Instead we got off a stop early to meetstellar_dust and ended up walking to a different station, and stopping at Job Lots on the way. They had a whole shelf of Bob's Red Mill grains and things; if only I hadn't been flying back...
--Got to hang around an active archaeological dig for a morning. And watch them excavate a mid-20th-century concrete pad and some PVC pipes! It was fascinating.
stellar_dust becoming a Master of Archaeology.In that week I:
--went through airport security three times. Was 'randomly selected' for the backscatter scanner three times. (also got one bonus patdown and luggage rifling.)
--Spent two hours staring through an airplane window open-mouthed with wonder. Had flights delayed and/or cancelled twice.
--Walked over about 12 miles of the greater Boston area.
--Went to three graduation ceremonies. Got sunburned. Tried to decide if getting a PHD is worth it just for the majestic robes.
--Ate clam chowder for the first time at the Barking Crab right on the harbor. (I used to avoid all seafood due to food sensitivity issues; later decided I only needed to avoid shellfish; have recently come to the conclusion that I only need to avoid crustaceans. Hence: trying clam chowder. ...it tasted like cream-of-potato soup with weird chewy bits in it.) Also ordered ginger beer; I think it was Fentiman's but don't quote me on that. It was very, very, very gingery and and that's about it; we unanimously decided that it would make a great mixer but not much else.
--Was told I cannot ever become an archaeologist if I don't like the taste of beer.
--Was forced to go to Brattle Books and buy 15 books off their $1 racks. The coloring book was possibly the best find. :D
--Went to see Cave of Forgotten Dreams in 3D, the movie about how somebody let Werner Herzog film the 30,000 year old drawings at Chauvet. It was... okay? I'd certainly recommend it if you're interested in either European prehistory or caves, and you can handle that much (slow-motion) 3D. It was the longest 3D film I've ever seen, and it did add to the experience in this case, because caves really are about 3D space, but it also really pointed up the limits of the technology. (I have other, less positive Thoughts about a) Herzog's directorial choices and b) gender in prehistoric archeology, but they can wait.)
--Attempted to read three pieces of writing by Ian Hodder. Spent a lot of time trying to get over my reflexive reaction of NO U IAN HODDER to everything he says. (crap I almost used the word 'dialectic' in that sentence unironically, help.)
--Met up with
fictionalaspect and stultiloquentia for an evening of fangirlness and falafel! It was great, and I don't even think I made too much of a fool of myself. I mean, except for when I did. Also stultiloquentia brought awesome cookies, and I tried a can of Vimto (which tastes almost exactly like Cheerwine, except slightly less sweet and more botanical. Thumbs up!)--Relaxed in a hot tub overlooking Boston Harbor. Listened to people discuss things like wood preservation in saturated soil layers and why Munsells are stupid and all the very, very dysfunctional things apparently happening in the Icelandic archaeological community.
--Went to the Boston Museum of Fine Art in an attempt to do something a bit more touristy. The MFA is... huge. I would say it's about as large as all the art museums on the National Mall put together. Safe to say, we did not see all of it. We saw the Chihuly exhibit - to which my reaction is basically, "Pretty, but--"; and about half each of the American Art and the Ancient Mediterranean Art sections before we lost steam. And we had lunch in this pretty little courtyard area that was overrun with sparrows and really, really need its own cats.
--Were almost on a T train that hit somebody. Instead we got off a stop early to meet
stellar_dust and ended up walking to a different station, and stopping at Job Lots on the way. They had a whole shelf of Bob's Red Mill grains and things; if only I hadn't been flying back...--Got to hang around an active archaeological dig for a morning. And watch them excavate a mid-20th-century concrete pad and some PVC pipes! It was fascinating.