August

This time of year makes me think of two things: elephant ears and school.

Elephant ears (the food, not the body part) are delicious confections often found at fairs, particularly the North Idaho Fair and Rodeo the third week of August every summer.  They consist of a sweet dough rolled out, deep fried, and covered in cinnamon and sugar.  Oh, and they're as big as the platters you use for the Thanksgiving turkey. My extended family has run an elephant ear booth at the NI Fair since time immemorial... or maybe just 30-something years.  Long enough to become an institution and a landmark with loyal customers the world over.  The profits from the booth go into a family fund of sorts and are applied towards things like helping send cousins on missions for our church.

This is my first year missing the fair.  Ever.  It's really weird.  It's always a party in the booth--a big, close, hot, sweaty, greasy, sugary, loud party.  I don't miss the greasy, hot, sweaty, sugary part, but I do miss seeing all the cousins and eating my fair share of EE's and chocolate milk.  I miss everyone ordering everyone around, complaining if someone doesn't roll/cook/sugar/mix the way they like it done (roll 'em nice and big, no holes, cooked blonde, and evenly coated please!).  I miss getting into the fair free, going to the rodeo after the Friday afternoon shift, bartering for MICA burgers, and watching the summer climax and creep to an end.

And then comes school.  Or not!  This is the first fall I will not start a new year of school in 19 years.  That's a long time.  It's like, 83% of my life.  I should feel weirded out, right?  But I don't.  I thought I might, but I'm over school for reals. I guess I have a talent for appreciating things while they last, then moving on when the time is right.  If I dwell on the past, I miss the exciting things coming up ahead.  I'm really so over and done it would feel weirder if I had to go back.

I still have the urge to buy new clothes and school supplies.

Graduation

It was all that I thought it would be: long, and smiley.  

But sacrifices must be made because this is only happens once, right?

My parents and Sam flew down from home for the occasion.  Scottie couldn't miss any more school.  Luke, Janna & Co. came from Colorado too; Janna's sister also graduated.  I didn't get any pictures with my own camera of everyone, so you'll just have to imagine it.  My mom's brother Don and sister Penny and their respective spouses also attended Convocation on Friday.  Commencement on Thursday and Convocation of Friday were followed by visiting and feasting and merrymaking appropriate to the occasion. 

If I don't tell you, everyone else will.  The College of Family, Home, and Social Science has a tradition of recognizing valedictorians from each department in the college, and I was it for the Department of Anthropology.  That means I got a certificate and medallion, sat on the stand at convocation with the other 7 or 8 valedictorians, and couldn't fidget for two and a half hours because everyone would see. That's really hard for me.  If I sit in one position too long I go numb.  Some of the faculty on the stand brought papers to grade, knitted, or played with cell phones. Brilliant. 

The valedictorians had to meet in the Marriott Center before the ceremony to find out where we'd sit, walk, etc.  It was fun to meet the other kids.  They were all pretty cool, the kind of people you wish you'd have met  at the beginning of college and been friends with all along.  One of the other vals gave the speech, two did a musical number, and two others gave the prayers, so all I had to do was show up.  Not a bad deal.  The val's graduated after the doctoral and master students, and since Anthropology is at the beginning of the alphabet I got to be first for the undergrads.  That was kinda neat.  

I have great people in my life.  Thanks all of you who care about me and do nice things for me.  Graduation is kind of a big deal, and nobody achieves it on their own.  

My parents and Sam are now flying back home and I'm really left completely to myself for the first time to do....well, whatever I want.  Right now I'm not sure what that is, but I'll probably figure it out soon.  

Graduation Announcement

I really am graduating.  

Just in case you wanted to come (haha, I'm so funny), here's the announcement.  I designed it myself.  

Photo credit to Camile Kellogg.

Lastly

Today was my last last day of school.  How does it feel, you ask?  Feels like I still have some finals to take, so not too different than any other school day.  The biggest work is over though, so I'm not too worried about the next week.

I wish I would have taken a picture this morning.

What are you going to do with that?

I hear that question a lot. Mostly because people don't actually understand what anthropology is. If they truly understood what I study, the question wouldn't be so annoying because it would be an informed question from someone who trusts that I have legit career path possibilities, not a followup question in an effort to mask ignorance. Like when people ask me where I'm from and I say Idaho, and then they ask what part and I say Coeur d'Alene, and then they nod like they know and kinda squint and ask if that's near Blackfoot, because they have cousins in Blackfoot. Nope. Idaho knowledge fail.

Let me inform the curious and give you something else to ask me whenever you see me for the next year whether this stays current news or not. I want to work for these guys. They have an internship I want to try for. I don't know anything about radio broadcasting, but I'm a smart kid; I can learn. My ultimate goal is not to love the actual studio production aspect, but to find stories and write shows and interview people.

I first heard about This American Life from a class. I rediscovered this nugget of a public radio show this last semester and spent a lot of time listening to past shows while I worked at the museum on a project that didn't often need brain power. I love a good story, and these shows are all about good stories. Not just good stories, but good stories with a point. There's always a "so what?" to the stories, and the anthropologist inside me glories in the discovery of the "so what?" and "why does that matter?" (Ironically, I discovered what I wanted for Christmas, these three days after Christmas: the Super Limited Edition This American Life DVD Set/Book, or just the first or second season of the TV show. Lucky for me, I have a birthday coming up! hint, hint)

If I did score an internship, it wouldn't happen for a year, as in January 2011. The internships run Jan-June and July-Dec in NYC, and they're paid. I could try for the July one next summer, but I plan to be out of the country most of that month.

In the meantime....I'll find something else to do. Don't ask me what, because I don't know.

Learning Celebration

That's what some professors call tests when they want to be cute.

I promise this is my last post till finals are over. Not that I think you're tired of me (right?? I flatter myself), but I need to stop spending time on here and do other things instead, like pass classes. Also, I no longer need warm-up writing exercises because yesterday

I TURNED IN THE FINAL DRAFT OF MY THESIS!!!!!

I used the term "final" loosely. The paper definitely needs more work, even today I've found typos and things I want to change, but for the purposes of the class I'm done with long version. And I'm proud of it. It justifies all the training I got from hard assignments and classes throughout my BYU education in a satisfying way. It was actually easy to write for 33+ pages; editing and revising was the hard part (hence, that part is not quite done.)

No, you can't read it yet. I just knew you were going to ask, Mom. (I don't know why anyone wants to, but I have had requests-plural.) To pacify you, here's the title as a teaser: "Who do you belong to?": Understanding a Monument through Local Conceptions of Belonging. Sounds so, um, thrilling. (zzzzz....zzzzz....)

Now I'm on to creating a short 8-page version of my thesis which will be read at an academic conference if I so choose to apply for one, as well as a poster version of the paper, and a power point presentation. All by the end of the semester. Yes, my teacher is ambitious (and a little crazy) to have us do all that by the end of the semester. But I'm a champ; I'll make it happen.

Ok, that's all. Goodbye for now.

Hidden Treasures of Knowledge.

I just skimmed through a term paper from last year to find some citations I wanted to use again. I'm pleasantly surprised and a little impressed at what I wrote. It's not like I forgot what I wrote about, but I didn't remember the particulars since it was written in the mush of final classes last spring. Now that I've read it 5 months removed, I feel more qualified to judge the quality. I won't lie. It's a dang good paper, and interesting too. That can't be said for all anthropological theory term papers. I wrote about the theoretical implications of what constitutes a home, why we feel the home is part of identity, how it figures into human and non-human relationships, and why that is all pertinent to why we bring people to our homes when we want to get to know them better. I kind of enjoyed reading it again. I'm so proud of myself that I'd post it here for you to read, but it's almost 3,000 words and a bit long for a humble blog. Just take satisfaction in the fact that I'm satisfied with my effort. I'm glad about that. It gives me hope in my ability to write as one having authority to form a legit opinion based on my own primary and secondary research. Hope is a nice thing to possess as I brace myself to begin actually composing my undergraduate thesis paper based on my qualitative research from this summer in southern Utah.

Oh, by the way got an A in that class.

Another year gone by

I did it! It's over! Finished! SCHOOOOOL'S OUT FOR THE SUMMER! Sort of. My research project is technically "school" and I had to pay tuition fees so I can email reports to a teacher once a week. I do get school credit, so I guess that's what I'm really paying for.

I survived my finals. I got 13 pages done of the big paper by Thursday before finals started, then I took a break to write my 10 page paper on Friday and Saturday for my other class because it was due Monday morning. I turned it in and spent the rest of Monday finishing my final art project and then turned that in. Tuesday I wrote another 13+ pages for the big paper, spent Wednesday proofreading, and turned it in that afternoon. Yes, that means it was 26+ pages. Longest paper of my life. It could have (and should have if I had worked on it all semester like I was supposed to... oops) gone longer, but I had to turn it in. I'm sure it was enough to satisfy the requirements for the paper, but it could have been better. Oh well. It's kind of empowering, though, to write that much and have something to say the whole time. I didn't have room to BS anything. Most of the time I was trying to figure out what information I should downsize. I'm happy this school year is over. It was hard. When I finished my papers I rewarded myself with 2 new CDs I've had my eye on for a while. Small consolation for two semesters from h@*%, but they make me happy.

I am finally installed as a resident of Orderville. Mostly. I moved my stuff in, but I have yet to unpack. I hate unpacking. I don't have to officially start working on my project till tomorrow, so I'll spend today getting situated. I've ordered a voice recorder and I need to learn how to use my new printer/scanner/copier. I think Grandma and I will take a walk up to the Post Office later to make sure they know I'll have mail coming to her PO Box so it doesn't get returned to the sender. Oh the excitement of a small town!

If you are ever in the neighborhood, please stop in and say hi! I don't get cell service here, but I can use the neighbor's internet occasionally so you can email or call Grandma's land line.

I'm so close I can taste it...

Only two more days of classes. Then only 3 "finals". I insert quotations because one final is simply submitting a paper by the end of the day, for another I actually have to gather with the class, but it is to submit my paper and read others' papers, and for the last one my art class is having a party and picking up our graded assignments. All other classes either don't have a final or I don't have to take it. Sounds easy enough, but actually these two papers I have to get done are beasts and I have barely started them. Eek! But they will get finished well enough to pass and then I'm off to southern Utah through June. I'm conducting my oral history project for my major in Orderville, UT, during the spring term. It's still schoolwork, but it'll be a change of pace for sure.

I can't wait to finally be ALL done with this school year. It's been a hard one. I'm excited to come back to Idaho, mostly because I really need a hair cut! Jen Stone is the only person I allow to touch my hair and she's in Coeur d'Alene. Oh yeah, and I'm excited to see friends and family too...haha. My whole immediate family will be home this summer during the bi-annual Lee Family Reunion this July on the Salmon River. My brother Josh and his wife Chiu-Yi are coming from Taiwan. My brother Luke and his family will be there and will bring the newest member of the family (his wife Janna is having a baby in June), Benji will come from CA, Sarah from WA, Danny will be back from Mexico, I'll be home from UT, and of course Mom and Dad and the little boys will be there too. That's just from my family! Dad is the baby and he has 3 other siblings who will be there with all of their families too.

K, no more blogging. I really need to get to work. I haven't accomplished much on this paper today, and I really want to get it done. I promised myself a long-coveted Sara Barielles CD when I'm finished! Now that's incentive.