So, the last couple weeks, I mostly alternated between the stores and the office, photographic and documenting objects in the stores, and confirming their identification or figuring it out in the office. I did spend about 6 hours one day sorting through buckets of tiny flints to lend for a mesolithic exhibit at another museum and installing an elephant from Kenya made of flip flops. It's name is
... Philippe Flip Flop...
Philippe Flop...
Oh my goodness guys, I laughed for like a whole minute! It's so cheesy, but it's great! One of my colleagues is posting about it on a blog, so when that comes out I'll link to it. :)

I'm working on a couple things to happen in the future, though. A facebook post for the museum's page, an entry for their blog, and a long-term research project.

The FB post is basically a paragraph with an image. I have an instrument called a pluriarc that I think could interesting, but its label says 'Caffir Banjo,' written when it was collected (I think 1922). That's a pretty offensive term, but it's written in big letters on the instrument. I might just show it so that the label is hidden and not mention that in the post, if they think it's a problem. Although I think it's of interest because it indicates the mentality of the collector- Western-centric and endemically bigoted (to name the instrument incorrectly after a Western instrument it resembles, although the actual instrument is a harp, and to apply a generic ethnically insensitive term to African instruments). At least, that's my line of thinking. We'll see.

The blog post was going to be about recreating ancient museum (Egyptian and Greco-Roman) with existing instruments that are very similar or even identical in modern day. For example, a West African instrument, the ngoni (a sort of ukelele-looking string instrument with hide covering the body and a few strings attached to a long smooth stick running through the body forming the neck) is virtually the same as an Egyptian instrument. I think that's really cool! But I found out that in the Newcastle University Classics department there is a researcher who recent reconstructed an instrument and played an ancient Greek song. My boss and I both thought it would be really interesting to maybe do a bigger research project on this topic, or something similar. I'm about to check out this researcher's most recent book and do some other research in journals to see what's out there and try to figure out what I might be able to do. I'm going to contact the Classics professor soon, but I want to have a better idea of what I'm thinking before I do. Otherwise, I'll just look like a babbling fool. I have all these ideas, but until I can do more research it comes out like gobbledegook.

No real news personally. I got a document for my visa that I've been waiting on for 6 weeks (6 weeks?!), which is good, because now I can try to get the other documents. I've got to get it done, and unfortunately that means missing some work. Banks are only 9-5, and the visa team with the university, through which I have to submit my application, have even shorter hours. And you have to go to the building to even make the appointment, so I miss time twice! It's not a time efficient system at all, but my visa runs out in January (although there's a short buffer, if for some reason it did lapse), but still, I've got to get it done ASAP.

What am I saying! Although anyone who reads this in Georgia probably already knows, I'M COMING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS! Flights booked and everything! I'm so excited! <3

I love you all so much and miss you so much! XOXO

Time to get ready for bed. Being a grown up is hard! Hehe :P