Smell

Well, my friends are probably tired of hearing me yak on about this. I've been doing some brainstorming research in order to see if I could accommodate smell into my methodology. So I've been scouring the literature for some indication that people have explored smell archaeologically before and I'm coming up with bupkiss.

There has been lots and lots and lots of research on the science behind the physical sense of smell, and a fair amount of research into the way other cultures perceive smell and the other senses, but there has been almost no research into smell in a wider environment. This means that it's very difficult to find anything that could be at all relevant or at all applicable to the archaeological record.

This is depressing because smell is so important for people's experience of space, it is an integral part of the way people perceive architecture.

Life!! Ack!!

Well, life has taken over.  The past week has been really stressful for me - mostly because I've been feeling overwhelmed.  As a result, I've been making use of the tried and tested method of a to-do list to keep track of things and reduce my stress level.  I find that when I write the list of things down it means that I can focus on doing something without worrying that I'll remember to do the other things.

That being said, I am slowly starting to feel back in control of my life because I have:

Prepared and given the 4 lectures I needed to

Prepared and printed the poster for the poster day next Friday

Taken care of some admin things for grants

Called the Syrian Embassy

Gotten a handle on a timetable for my research trip

Met with my supervisors

I still need to:

Plan and book research trip

Including: apply for visas, book flights, ensure grant payment

Work in office

Poster day (Fri)

Practical teaching (2 Fridays)

Work on thesis (any spare moment)

Go to Stonehenge (Fri/Sat)

Go hiking (next Sat/Sun)

Sleep - presumably

All this to say, life is busy and I'm running around quite a bit

Writing again

Well, I don't know what it is, but I've actually gotten some writing done the past two days.  I had a meeting with my supervisor yesterday, which means that I can now edit the section he had been reading.  Which also means that I am steadfastly ignoring that particular section and am full steam ahead writing a terrible first draft about space syntax and phenomenology.  It's unfocussed, scattered, and totally crappy. 

It's getting longer though, and for a first draft that's all that matters.  

I also have the motivational factor of working on a shiny new computer, and well, you have to take advantage of wanting to work on a shiny new computer while it lasts!  Because soon, the shiny new computer will become just the computer, and it won't be neato at all.

Ah well. 

Back to work.

Transition

I am currently in the downtime between submitting a draft chapter to my supervisors and meeting with them to discuss their opinions. This time, the gap between submission and meeting is going to be almost two weeks, and I'm finding it hard to get moving on something new. And there are many things to be doing. I could be working on getting my theory chapter written, I could be combing the literature for all the published sources of the next site I'll be focussing on as a case study, I could be preparing the 4 lectures I'll be giving over the next two weeks, or I could be preparing my poster that has to be given at a mandatory university poster day for research students.

Instead, I'm floating around reading articles aimlessly, generating new ideas for things I could do to my poor abused sites, and generally feeling overwhelmed by all the things I *could* be doing. Of course, once I've met with my supervisors, that list of things to do will increase as they give me edits to do and advice on the next things to focus on.

Bah

Alright, time for a plan. This weekend I will prep the lectures. Today and next week I will start organizing my theory chapter and get writing. Everything else can wait for a while.

A tasty brekkie

One of my closest friends is currently competing in a Blog Idol competition and posted a recipe for a tasty, healthy, and fast breakfast. I tried it today, including chopped apricots, raisins, and some grated coconut, microwaved the sucker for about 2 min, and then topped with some brown sugar and some sliced almonds. This was very tasty, though next time I will add some cinnamon and cook it for a little bit less (I like my oatmeal crunchier than not).

Several hours later, I am still satisfied and am very pleased.

Thanks future-Blog-Idol-winner!