Fillet of Soul

Very long day in the field today, and I'm reminded of the Calvin and Hobbes strip where Calvin's scraping and brushing off things in the garden with his dad's shaving brush and concludes that archaeology must be the most mind-numbing job in the world. And he's only correct insofar that archaeology can be, at times the most mind-numbing job in the world, especially when you're not finding crap in a sea of dirt, mud, and sand. Like today.

So the mind wanders, finding ways of keeping itself tolerably amused. I'm digging around, jogging through the extensive jukebox in my head. I'm also reminded of the time I labored as a serf for Burger King during my undergrad years, when I'd get both insufferably bored and reeeeally punchy in the wee hours and start making up songs in my head about whatever I happened to be doing at the time. Washing off the burger pans? (sung to the tune of the Pixies' "Debaser") Carrying boxes! Whaa-ha-ha-ho! Thawin' out burgers! Whaa-ha-ha-ho! Feelin' so greasy! Wha-ha-ha-ho! Gotta go! Go and get! Get the degreaser! DE-GREASER! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!

And of course my work today was nowhere near so tedious, degrading, or downright scary, but I was getting a little distracted by the lack of productivity of the soil. So my mind is wandering, and I catch a glimpse of my red flagging tape, used for marking buckets of dirt or tying around poles to mark positions, etc. And my mind comes up with:

red flagging tape

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Mediterranean-looking fiancee

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Fun!

So it's these little moments of reverie that give rise to some really great ideas. Maybe. I might just be sleeping on the spare futon next time I'm home.

Thanks again for all the birthday wishes and kind words -- I'm very grateful for such friends. I might even have to meet some of you someday!

And lastly, I lob the hot Happy Birthday potato to Heather. I would wish her a happy day, but I spoke with her tonight on her cell phone, and she's waaaaay ahead of me.