Six Feet Under and Sinking Fast

A few weeks ago I applied to participate in the Annual Fulton Mentored Research Conference. Basically, you create a 48" poster about research that you have performed with the guidance of a faculty member and, if accepted, they pay to print it and you compete for a few cash scholarships.

Easy, I thought. I'm doing the research anyway, I thought. It'll definitely be done before the April 10th deadline, I thought.

Today I was accepted into the conference and informed that the posters must be printed up to 10 days in advance, following a college-specified print schedule. I haven't exactly even started writing my test model, let alone applying my data to it. Shoot me. I think perhaps Dr. Janetski (my mentor extraordinaire) was correct when he mentioned that this was typically a conference for those who have already completed their research.

So, aside from being the Maid of Honor at a dear friend's wedding on Saturday, the rest of my life will be spent on my bed with my laptop and reference books strewn semi-circularly around me. Thank heaven I bought the full-size mattress!

When I surface, I'll tell you all about the big competency exam which I finally took and am still waiting to hear about. Oh heck, I'll just sum up: it's a 3 hour typed essay exam on every aspect of archaeological theory anyone in our department has even the slightest bit of experience or interest in. I answered three questions: Archaeological trade patterns and research designs, the major contributions of three of the biggest archaeological theorists, and how to determine the difference between an egalitarian and a stratified society using multiple lines of archaeological evidence. Sigh. Now it's just the wait...

See you all on the other side of the moon!