mythicalgirl: (cat powers)
Got your attention, didn't I? 

I just picked up a copy of Death's Acre by William Bass and Jon Jefferson.  The book is all about Dr. Bass and The Body Farm - aka The Anthropology Research Facility - at the University of Tennessee Medical Center.  This is where forensic anthropologists, among others, do experiments with dead bodies to learn things like how a body decomposes and other fascinating (if kind of gross) stuff.  It may sound bizarre and kind of morbid but I really love this kind of thing.  Seriously.  Stiff by Mary Roach is one of my favorite books and where I first came across mention of The Body Farm.  Then I read Carved In Bone by Jefferson Bass, aka Dr. William Bass and Jon Jefferson.  Fiction but still lots of forensic anthropology so I was thrilled. 

The other book that I'm going to try to find soon is The Big Necessity: The unmentionable world of human waste and why it matters by Rose George.  It is all about poop and fecal contamination of our water supply, how that leads to diseases, how we can change things, etc.  Really.  Go check out today's Unshelved as Dewey does a much better job describing this book than I do.  I know it must seem weird but I really want to read this book.  Maybe I can pick up a copy before I leave on vacation.  Can't you just see me on the plane reading a book about poop?  

In more serious matters, my boss retires today.  Probably one of the best supervisors I have ever had the good fortune to work for, B has always been of the school of thought that says her employees are grown ups and know what they are doing and her job is to stay the hell out of the way and let them do it.  Now personally this works fabulously for me.  I do not handle being micromanaged very well, nor do I like being ignored.  B has always found the right balance with all of her peeps.  And today is her last day.  I am really happy for her (and a little envious) and I will miss her terribly.  Cake and presents starts shortly.  Tears will probably follow soon after.

And finally vacation starts in less than a week.  Actually at this time next Friday I will be on the ship sailing the Pacific. Three and a half work days left, five and a half days total.  All I have to do is provide a couple of brain dumps to people here at work, fix a couple of bugs, print off my paperwork, pack and make my flight out early Thursday morning.  I am so ready.  Dad and I will have some web access while on this trip so I may do the occasional blog entry instead of saving everything for when I get back.  And I'll post pics when I get back - some here and the full set of all the pics on my Flickr account (family and friends only so if you are interested let me know in comments or e-mail so I can send you a pass).      
mythicalgirl: (H is for Holy crap)
As mentioned previously I was in a lot of pain yesterday after 3 workouts at my new level.  So what did I do yesterday but go back to the gym for workout number four.  Amazingly enough I'm not really in any more pain today than I was before.  An occasional twinge in my arms (yesterday was serious upper body work) and I'm not looking forward to vacuuming the floors here in a minute but overall not as bad as I thought it would be. 

I'm still kind of tired as my body gets used to the new level of exertion I'm asking of it.  And hungry.  Very hungry.  I'm watching what I eat and how much even though my tummy would love for me to binge right now.  I am eating more protein and even ate real meat last night and at lunch today, which seems to be helping with the mad cravings for FOOD!  I tried to appease the protein cravings with tofu but the body is having none of that so real meat it is at least for a few days.  I hope to be back to my 80% vegetarian life soon - while the rest of my body is demanding meat my digestive track has decided to protest this new development.  And that is all I'm saying cause anymore would be TMI. 

I finally got around to getting my H1N1 shot today so I believe I am now all ready to leave the country in less than two weeks.  No, the shot isn't a requirement for where I'm going but both Dad and I figured it would be better to have the vaccination before leaving the country, plus we'll be on a cruise ship with the close quarters and all.  Better to be protected than have our vacation ruined by the flu. 

And on an interesting note I now have matching bruises and no idea what I did to get them.  I have a bruise about the size of a quarter on the inside of each forearm about two inches above the wrist.  They showed up today and they only hurt when I hit them against something.  No idea what I did but I'm sure it was probably at the gym. 

Right.  I'm off to fold a load of laundry and then vacuum before calling it a day and kicking back with a book.  The rest of the house cleaning will wait until tomorrow. 
mythicalgirl: (toothbrush love)
My vacation starts in 16 days.  Or 15 days and a wake-up depending on how you like to count.  Vacationitis has begun. 

In terms of prep I think I have everything except my H1N1 vaccination.  I really need to stop and get that done this week.  Everything else is taken care of and just waiting for me to pack.  And bounce of the walls.

Man, its gonna be a long two weeks.   
mythicalgirl: (emo poems)
Vacation in 22 days.  Have I mentioned lately how ready I am?  The digital camera came last week and I'm (slowly) learning how to use it.  I think I have all the clothes/shoes I want to take.  Maybe one more trip to WalMart to get new socks and I should be ready.  Nearly two weeks off work, cruising the Pacific coast of Mexico, playing in the sun & surf - who wouldn't be ready to leave now? 

I'll post the pictures of the trip to my Flickr set a week or so after we get back.  Dad and I usually post all the pics on my Flickr account but locked to friends and family so if you are interested let me know in comments so I can get you a guest pass to the set.  (The same goes for the Alaska and Mayan adventure sets already out there). 

[livejournal.com profile] jaylake did a follow-up post to his Atheism and cancer post.  Today's post deals mostly with how your faith is your own and no problems there until you try to force it on others.  (read it here).  Be sure to read the comments as some of the best discussions take place there.  As something of a pagan-agnostic-Unitarian-Universalist I can understand and accept the way many people want/need Faith in their lives.  And I don't necessarily find belief in God to be incompatible with scientific inquiry even though I am very much a believer in the scientific method and empirical evidence.  My only real beef with religion - and in the US this is primarily Christianity - is when people try to force their beliefs on others through legislation.  Our founding fathers came up with the separation between church and state for a reason and it constantly pisses me off when our representatives pass laws (or defeat them) based on religious principles. 

I could go on but I don't have time for a rant today (work to do) so go read Jay's post and you'll have a pretty good idea how I feel too. 

Calm Now

Apr. 14th, 2009 11:29 am
mythicalgirl: (witch)
I'm still following the whole Amazon thing on the Interwebs.  So far I haven't seen anything that makes me change my mind - I still think the problem of de-ranked books is a big deal and that Amazon's response the the whole fuck-up is beyond lame. 

No, I have not canceled my account.  I removed my payment info because 1) it will prevent me from buying out of habit and 2) any company that can have an error of this magnitude doesn't need to be storing my credit card info, thanks.  Will I ever order from them again?  I honestly don't know.  I imagine I will eventually when all this shit calms down and I see evidence that they have fixed/changed their cataloging methodology.  I left my account so I can still get recommendations. 

I understand why there are people who are angrier about this than I am.  I also understand why there are people who aren't upset about this at all.  To each their own.  And while I'm still reading the news reports about this debacle I have had to stop reading the comments.  Too many of them on the more mainstream sites were really awful.  If you ever wanted evidence that homophobia and bigotry were alive and well in the world....

In other news:
This is the last days of my vacation and I intend to enjoy it by relaxing.  A long hot bath is in my immediate future.  Followed by the long-delayed trip to the grocery store.  Yes, I'm out of soy milk.  And I need to get stuff to take to work for lunch.  I'll probably watch the movies I have from Netflix this afternoon and then read some more of my book before it is time to go to bed.  Getting up tomorrow to face the world and my job is not going to be easy.  I kind of like this hanging out at home thing.  Although I'll admit that a few more days of this and I'd be bored. 

Now if you'll excuse me I have a date with a bubble bath. 
mythicalgirl: (splosions)

Had the furnace and AC tuned up today.  All went well until I noticed about an hour later that I was cold!  Checked the thermostat and it was 65 degrees F in here.  Fiddled with a couple of buttons and - nothing.  No heat.  Huh?  The dude was just here!  So I called the place back and they sent the dude back out.  As soon as I opened the door it was obvious he knew what was wrong.  Head down, guilty puppy look on his face.  Seems when he tested the AC he turned the gas off of the furnace...and forgot to turn it back on.  WHOOPS!  Turn on knob, flick one switch, and viola! I have heat!  YAY!

My tootsies were starting to get cold.  It is an ucky gray rainy day here in central Indiana.  Trust me, heat is necessary. 

Saturday I got the wrong dirt exchanged for the right dirt so I am now all set to do my container garden of veggie goodness.  I also found some really cool geraniums called Tex Mex Fire.  They are now planted in their own containers and out on the deck.  Normally they would be getting lots of sunshine but, well, see above about today's weather. 

So I'm good.  I have heat, the proper dirt, and my house is clean!  I was a spring cleaning fool this morning.  The laundry is almost done and lunch has been consumed.  I still have to go grocery shopping but I think that's it.  I could get used to this vacation stuff!   

mythicalgirl: (wowee)

Here it is, the final vacation post. Sorry for the huge delay but blogging hasn’t been my top priority lately. But now that I’ve figured out my taxes (but not filed them yet) and still have a job I figure its time to take a few minutes to cover Kohunlich in Mexico.

 

The ship docked at Costa Maya, Mexico. No, you will not find this on any map or on accuweather.com. Costa Maya is actually the name of the port complex for cruise ships at Mahahual, Mexico. It had only been open to the cruise ship trade for a few years when it was slammed by hurricane Dean leaving it almost completely destroyed. The port town and pier have been rebuilt, mostly, and this is the first season it’s been open to ships again. The day we were there we were the only cruise ship docked. The whole place feels like a Disneyfied version of Mexico. A quick walk through the plaza and we were on the buses, out of the port area and into the real Mexico.

 

The area we drove through for the first 30 miles still showed the devastation from Dean. It wasn’t until we got pretty far inland that we finally got out of the hurricane damage and started seeing undamaged buildings. Our guide, Olda, spend the first part of the two-hour trip to Kohunlich telling us about the part of Mexico we were in, Quintana Roo, the Yucatan in general, and the history of the Mayans there. Olda explained that while she is half Mayan she can’t call herself a Maya because she doesn’t speak the language. Yet. She is currently learning so that she can claim that part of her heritage. In this part of Mexico several of the schools have started teaching the Mayan language and in some of them it is taught as the main language and Spanish is taught as a second language. It is all part of an effort to reclaim their Mayan ancestry. 

 

We passed by Bacalar and the Lake of Seven Colors. This is s resort region about midway between Mahahual and Kohunlich. The lake, or lagoon, is HUGE and absolutely beautiful. There are no rivers in this part of Mexico but they do have these inland freshwater lagoons. The water changes color from almost white to a deep dark blue. The changes aren’t gradual either but abrupt. The town of Bacalar is where we stopped for lunch on the way home. It is a resort town and much bigger than the villages we passed through. The restaurant where we had lunch was a great place and the food was wonderful. We got some time to go down to the waters edge and look around a bit. I would have liked to have spent more time here, as it was a really lovely place. 

 

When we reached Kohunlich we entered a region of sub-tropical rainforest. Driving into the site it was like what I’d pictured in my mind before we left on the trip – lots of trees, lots of green, seriously thick foliage just everywhere. We didn’t get that so much in Belize (forest but not a tropical forest) and Quiriqua (which had forest around it but was much more groomed and maintained). Walking into the site was just as cool as the path took us through some of the jungle before opening up onto the first plaza. A note here on “ugly Americans”. Olda told us before we got there that the sewage system in this area isn’t up to par and that when we got to the site we’d have a potty stop but there was one big rule – don’t flush the toilet paper. It clogs the toilets, doesn’t disintegrate fast enough, and the water pressure is so lacking it can’t force it down the drain anyway. We were told to put it in the waste paper basket next to the toilet. So what did most people do? They tried to flush it. And then bitched when the john got all clogged up. Stupid people! 

 

Anyway, Kohunlich is by far the biggest site we saw on this trip. It is an active archaeological site but we were a little early to see any work going on. Olda said the excavations were due to start up again in a month or so. The big draw here is the Temple of the Masks. And it is truly amazing! It is nowhere near as tall as the temple at Xunantunich but it is placed on top of a hill so the view is pretty cool. And the masks that are carved on either side of the central stair are breathtaking. So much detail has been preserved, including the red color in some places. Even now when I’ve been back for nearly a month I don’t have the words to describe it! 

 

Like the other sites we didn’t get to stay anywhere near as long as I would have liked. But we saw quite a bit in the time we had, seeing the Temple of the Masks, the Ball Court, the Plaza of the Steles, and the Acropolis. Of course the highlight for me was the dog that was following us around. She attached herself to one of the groups when we first got there and followed them for a while. Then when the two groups passed at the Ball Court she decided it was time to follow our group for a while. Don’t get me wrong – the ruins were amazing and I spent as much of my time looking around, learning, and exploring as I could (although no climbing because of The Knee). But for some reason the dog just fascinated me! 

 

The pictures of the vacation, including a whole bunch showing the three Mayan sites we visited, are up on my Flickr account. It is set to private so if you are an LJ friend and have not already received a guest pass send me your e-mail address and I’ll send you one. 

 

Now, sadly, it is time to return to the real world again.     

mythicalgirl: (wowee)

Let me just say right now that Guatemala is beautiful. I have no idea what it might be like to live in any of the cities there since I didn’t really see much of the urban areas. But the rural areas were amazing. On the drive to Quiriqua we passed both cultivated and uncultivated landscape. I was especially fascinated by the intricately terraced hills where the locals were growing corn. In Belize we didn’t get to the hillier region until we were almost to Xunantunich. In Guatemala we started out in the hills and pretty much stayed there. And everything was is so green! The road here was better than the one in Belize – better pavement and well taken care of. 

 

Quiriqua is so much different from Xunantunich. First, there are no monumental temples, or at least none that have been excavated. Second, the big draw here are the many stele and zoomorphs. In Belize and Mexico many of the stele were limestone, which ages quickly. In Quiriqua though they built in sandstone. In most cases only the side of the stele exposed to the elements has any weathering and even then many of the glyphs are still visible. From an archaeological standpoint the stele here are very important, as they have given researches some really amazing glyphs to work with. The site is still being excavated and restored, plus we saw only a small portion of it. As with all the sites we saw, the jungle still covers a majority of the site and it is a constant struggle to keep it pushed back. 

 

I for one was fascinated by the different stele, some over 35’ tall, and especially by the zoomorphs. These are large animal themed rocks, like boulders, that have been carved with images of animals, kings, Mayan glyphs, etc. Each tells a story just like the steles do. I wasn’t so fascinated by our guide. She was very nice and she tried hard but she got some of her facts wrong. How do I know this? Well, we had Raoul the day before plus I read up on the Maya before I left on vacation. Dad caught some of her blunders as well. Eventually we kind of did our own exploring and didn’t try to keep up with her to hear what she was saying. There was also the slight racism when she talked about the Maya. She is not Mayan and kept talking about both the ancient and the modern Mayan as “others”. She even mentioned reservations about a political candidate that is Mayan because she thought the woman would only work to help “her people, not mine”. It was a little disconcerting. 

 

 It was a good day despite the not-so-fabulous guide. She did get us apple bananas on the way back to Santo Tomas. They are smaller than regular bananas and have an apple-like flavor. Really good! One of the highlights of the day was as we were leaving Santo Tomas. The locals came out to the dock to send us off with music and dancing. This was pretty cool, especially since the port in Santo Tomas is actually a commercial port – not many cruise ships come here. Dad said we must have spent enough money for them to be happy we came. Ha!

 

The next day was Mexico. I’ll do that in the fourth and (hopefully) final vacation post. 

 

 

mythicalgirl: (wowee)

We arrived in Belize on Wednesday after a very relaxing day at sea. On Tuesday night we went to the Indonesian Crew Show – I missed it on the Alaskan cruise so I really didn’t want to miss it this time even though it meant a late night. The show, of course, was great. Some of the guys are very talented plus it was a lot of fun. 

 

On Wednesday morning we were up super early. We had to be in the theater and checked in for our tip at 6:50 am. Because of the coral reef formations around Belize the ships can’t dock there. They have to anchor several miles off shore and passengers take tenders to and from the ship. And man, were there a bunch of us on that first tender! Several of the tours left at the same time. The tender ride was uneventful (except for the people sitting along the sides as they got wet) and soon we were in Belize City making our way along the docks to our buses. Dad and I got really lucky here as we got on the first bus with Alfredo and Raoul. We also got not so lucky in that we were on the same bus with two of three couples that were traveling together. The third couple were idiots who left their tickets with the shore excursion lady and had to backtrack to find her so they ended up with another group. To listen to their friends it was “all the shore excursion lady’s fault” (despite her saying over and over again while we still on the ship “Make sure you have your tickets”) and their day was just “ruined” by not being able to go together. Whatever!    

 

Stupid fellow travelers aside; the trip out to Xunantunich on the Guatemalan border was great. A very long bus ride but the road was paved and I was fascinated seeing the way people live in Belize. This is a Central American country with a decidedly Caribbean influence. Pretty much all the houses we passed were small with tin or thatch roofs, laundry hanging out to dry across the front porch, a hammock on the front porch, and an outhouse in back. And nearly every yard had a dog and chickens running around. Raoul told us all about Belize, their economy, government, school system (all kids must go to school and most of the schools are a partnership between the government and churches), the environment, the people, etc. We also got a great education on the Mayan culture and people, as Raoul is a full Mayan. He was born and raised in the Mayan village across the river from Xunantunich. Having a Mayan guide while visiting Mayan ruins? Priceless! 

 

After a two plus hour drive we finally made it to Xunantunich. I can’t even begin to describe what it was like for me, history and archaeology geek that I am, to walk into that site. The hike up the hill nearly killed me what with the heavy breathing and the bad knee. But coming up to the top and (after a potty break) walking up the last set of stairs and coming out onto the plaza……Incredible. Beautiful. Spectacular. Let’s just say that it was a good think Raoul had so much to tell us about the site because I was speechless for a while. But only for a while – I did eventually ask a few questions. We spent our time in two of the three plazas that have been partially excavated. There are six more that are still covered by forest and even parts of the area we were in are still under mounds of earth and trees. At one end was the royal residence; in between several smaller temples and administration buildings; and at the other end El Castillo, a 140-foot high temple. The whole place is amazing. And so quiet! Even with a couple groups of people walking around, climbing the steps, listening to the guides it was so peaceful there. Hard to believe that it was once a major marketplace and administration center for a thriving Mayan culture. Well, for the nobility and priests, that is. The common people only came to the main plazas for market days, rituals, and sacrifices. The places you see in the ruins with all the monumental stone architecture? These were the places for the elite, for the king and his advisers. The little people – and they were little, the common people only being a little over 4 feet tall – lived in small villages all around the central city. 

 

Dad climbed the big temple but because of The Knee I had to stay on the ground. I wandered for a bit then sat down in one of the shelters with picnic tables…and a couple soldiers carrying automatic weapons. Yes, we were really close to the Guatemalan border so we had border guards/soldiers patrolling the site while we were there. They seemed nice enough but I won’t lie – being that close to men with guns that big? Kind of nervous making. 

 

Eventually it was time to go. We had lunch at Hode’s Place in San Ignacio on the way back. Chicken, plantain, bean and rice, slaw – what we were told was a typical meal in Belize. The stupid fellow travelers made some more noises about being separated from the friends again then we were on our way back to the docks and the ship. You know how you hear that Belize is a great place to retire? Well, it probably is but not the parts we drove through. This is a third world country and we went through parts of town where it shows. I’m sure there are rich enclaves and towns along the coast were the more affluent people live. But Belize City or the villages along the highway we were on? Not so much. Still, to me it was fascinating. I’d love to go back and see more Mayan ruins, snorkel, go caving, meet more of the local people! It was great! And the official language is English, which makes it so much easier. 

 

Next up, Guatemala! 

mythicalgirl: (wowee)

 

(I’m doing the vacation in multiple posts because it is just too much to put in one). 

 

Well, I’ve been back for just over a week and I already want to leave again. I’m sure being on perpetual vacation would be old after a while but man, would I love to give it a try! Of course there is the small problem of how to pay for that kind of life. Independently wealthy I am not.

 

For those of you just joining us, Dad and I went on a 7-day cruise of the Western Caribbean. We did round-trip to Tampa with stops in Key West, Belize, Guatemala and Mexico. I’ve been calling this the Mayan Discovery cruise as we went to three different Mayan sites in Central America and Mexico. I have to say that even with a bum knee this was one of the best trips I have ever taken. I had a lot of fun, did things I’ve never done before, and saw some of the most amazing sites! I could easily go back – just give me time to pack!

 

The trip started out with Dad and I meeting up in Tampa. My flight was early, his was late, and so I went ahead to the hotel for lunch and icing down The Knee. At this point I was still really worried that I was going to end up a major party pooper because of my stupid bum leg. Hopefully I hid it well. Eventually Dad showed up and we were on our way. We met up with relatives Bev and Bill for dinner at a tapas place at Channelside (one of the entertainment districts in Tampa). The food was fabulous, the margarita was yummy and the conversation was fun. And easy! I am not a social creature by any means, nor had I even met these relatives, but they are so easy to talk to that I had a great time. The margarita probably helped. 

 

The next day it was off to the port and time to board the ship. We were on Holland America on the ms Veendam - same class of ship as the Alaska cruise, different name. Sunday evening was quiet as we just pretty much hung out on deck as we left Tampa and did dinner (no dinner companions this night – we got a table for four to ourselves). We also hit the bar where I had a mojito for the first time. If I remember correctly this was the night we drank a bit with drinks before dinner, a bottle of wine with dinner, and coffee drinks after dinner. We also met Evelyn, our server in the bar, and pretty much from this point on she remembered our names and our drink preferences. Amazing! 

 

Monday was Key West. We went kayaking in the backcountry between islands, that area with the Atlantic on one side and the Gulf on the other. Now I have been canoeing before (most memorable being the time in the Okefenokee swamp with alligators only a few feet away) but I have never been in a kayak.  Some of the people at Lazy Dog suggested doing a two-man kayak if you hadn’t done it before – Dad and I looked at each other, realized we probably wouldn’t work well together at that, and each got our own!   The first few minutes were pretty hairy as I tried to find my center and keep my balance. I wasn’t doing too well until Dad pointed out the things to put your feet on. Suddenly I was balanced, comfortable, and actually able to make the thing go where I wanted! We saw sea grass, sponges, pelicans, mangroves, an iguana up in the trees, sea cucumbers, sea stars, an upside down jellyfish…it was absolutely amazing. We were only out on the water for about an hour and a half but it ranks up there as one of the best experiences I’ve ever had (along with the alligators). And now that I know I can kayak you better believe I’m going to do it again!       

 

Want pictures? I’m putting everything up on Flickr like I did with the Alaska trip. Per Dad’s request the pics are set as private and by invitation only. If you’re someone I know if real life (rather than just LJ-life) I probably already have your e-mail. If your are an LJ friend and want to see the pics send me and e-mail at tanalia9 (at) Comcast dot net and I’ll send you an invitation. 

 

Next up: Belize and the Mayan site of Xunantunich.    


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