Hello beautiful people! I've been away FAR too long. I think it's been nearly a year and I've missed this community a great deal. I'm still alive (at least most days I think I am) but life's been kicking my ass!
So, what's been going on in the world of Satan? Well, primarily I started grad school. I'm now a PhD student at the Center for the Study of the First Americans in Texas A&M's Anthropology Department. I'm furthering my career as an archaeologist in incredible ways, but it's unbelievably difficult. I'm trying to get used to being a student again, and adjusting to being the dumbest person in most rooms for the first time in my life. The move from Colorado to Texas was terrible (College Station is a complete shit-hole of a town) and I'm still not adjusted. I also fell head-over-heels for one of my colleagues, and it was not reciprocated so I had a nice spiral of binge-drinking and depression for a while (I'm mostly over it, though there are still days...).
There's good news, though. I've done some incredible archaeology in the last year. I'll try to get some updates posted on that. But, perhaps most excitingly, I'm finally (FINALLY) tattooed!!
I got my first piece last fall, not long after I moved to Texas (though the work was done by Chris at Alchemist Tattoo in Bismarck, ND). It's kind of my coat of arms, with my shovel for my contract archeology, my trowel for my academic archaeology, and my shibari rope for my relaxation😈
Since February I've been working on my left forearm, which will be a complete half-sleeve when it's finished in early August. Beth at EOD in Denver is doing it for me, and I couldn't be happier. It's amazing, and she's one of the chillest people I've ever met (to say nothing of being a total babe 😘). The front is a Tibetan dragon, and the Tibetan script says compassion. The interior is a Chinese dragon with the character for wisdom.
I'm (back) in the Alaskan bush right now on an extended project, so my service kind of sucks but I'll try to catch up on everything I've been missing. It'll take a little while, so please bear with me! In the meantime, hit me up, let me know what you've been up to!
Ciao everybody!