There goes my amazing two-in-a-row weekend posting streak. I knew it was too good to be true. I had a good excuse, though, I swear.  I went home to hang out with my family because it was my birthday last Friday. We didn't do anything crazy- 29 is not exactly a landmark year- but I got to have dinner with my mom and sister, kiss my goddaughter (well, one of them) and her sister a whole bunch, and catch up on a ton of recorded TV.  I set up the DVR for like 10 shows back in December, because I'm resourceful like that.

The first week of my personal new year was spent, like the previous 3,  knee deep in grantwriting goodness. It turns out when you are asking the federal government for close to half a million dollars they can be quite persnickety about the details. My only major role was typing up the edits in each draft, and it still managed to be INSANE.  By some miracle of nature we got the monstrosity submitted yesterday afternoon, though, and I have once again resumed taking full breaths.  Now they just need to fund the proposal, and we'll be all set.

The girls took me out last night for a few beers- officially, it was a belated birthday celebration but honestly I think they are just happy I survived the grant. The place had half-price quesadillas and Magic Hat #9 in bottles, so clearly the stars are aligned in my favor. Tonight's adventure is a whiskey tasting party, and tomorrow's a brunch with some girlfriends. I think I'm starting to feel spring coming.

Weekend update time?  That'd be neat, right? 

         So I'm doing a bunch of reading for Human Biological Variation and Methods and with the combination I'm getting a crash course in the history and defining tenets of human biology and biomedical anthropology.  This is fantastic, because I'd never really been able to pin down exactly what defined the discipline as unique compared to related fields in a cogent and concise way. Even after the readings and conversations I suspect there ISN'T a short answer to the question of what the field is- it is very interconnected and nothing I've run across so far has been majorly enlightening per se, but I still feel like I am being initiated into a community of scholars with a historical tradition in which I can begin to place myself. Honestly, it's kind of how I felt when I first joined the Unitarian Universalist church*, with their "grand tradition of heresy" and monthly potlucks minus all the dogma. There's just something very important to the psyche about belonging and having a history, at least for me, and I have often felt that I was missing that important connection in terms of who I was choosing to be.  The communities defined for me from birth- Italian American, Jersey girl, cultural Catholic, family member- definitely go a long way toward sustaining me and I wouldn't have it any other way.  I am all of those things, deep in my bones, and I always will be. But I've also always known that this wasn't the whole picture, and it has taken me a very long time to fill in the rest.  I am beyond grateful to finally be doing that.






*Where, incidentally, last week's sermon included a half-hour worth of charming stories about part-time Unitarian Charles Darwin and featured a quote of his that I later found in my biological variation textbook.  Small world and all that.

 "About 60,000 years ago, our ancestors took the first steps out of their prehistoric African “Eden” to begin exploring the earth. In early 2013, reporter Paul Salopek will follow in their footsteps during an epic on-foot journey that will take seven years."

Out of Eden Walk

^ I'm going to try to post a link here every time he updates, because this is fantastic and inspiring and an excellent reminder of why anthropology is the future I've chosen for myself, no matter what kind of work I end up doing.

     Spending a lazy Saturday cleaning and sorting though my mail (vitrual and physical). I don't think I have ever in my life appreciated weekends quite as much as I do now.  It's actually kind of nice.Since  I'm not really one who thrives in a stressful environment, it's good to be able to step back and realize that the chaos that I imagine my week to be is actually not as unmanageable as it seems while I am in the thick of it.

    I went to dinner and a movie with some friends last night, which was very nice- the AMC Theater in Vestal is phenomenally comfortable, with cushy reclining chairs, and the show itself (Silver Linings Playbook) was enjoyable enough that I stayed awake for the whole thing. I am thinking I should go to the movies more often.

    I've got a ton of reading for next week that hopefully I can put a good dent in today so I am thinking that with the exception of a quick run to CVS for milk and (absurdly expensive city-issue) garbage bags I'm gonna stay in and enjoy the quiet. Hope yo are enjoying the weekend as well!