Update on the hand

[theyellowhobbit]

Today I tried drawing top plans and stuff, but there isn't much to do on the Tel. (There's little bookwork in general because we're a small dig and we're not finding a lot...) I was planning on going to Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem tomorrow, and seeing an orthopedic surgeon.

Unfortunately, I talked to Ole, my square supervisor, and he said that even if I were to get miraculously better tomorrow, I still was not allowed to dig for the rest of the season. Part of it is bad timing, since the MSU department chair is here and he found out about it, and part of it is liability in general, and part of it is Ole not wanting me to be responsible for getting myself more hurt than I already am.

So, AS was here on birthright and extended her stay. She and her family are going to Jerusalem on Thursday, and they need a tour guide, and I'm going to go down with them, show them around, go to the hospital on Friday morning, stay somewhere for Shabbat, and then continue on my way.

And there's more:

I called Jodi Magness, who is running the dig at Yotvata, the big dig that I had considered going on instead of Zahara. I told her my situation, and she told me they could take me on as a registrar. Which means bookwork, and I still get to play with artifacts, even if I don't get to play in the dirt. I start on Sunday, and the dig goes until the 29th of June. Then I have a few days around (Jerusalem perhaps) and then I go home.

So after a Montanan-made drink (as in a Montanan poured and mixed the alcohol for me and thus it was quite strong and dinner) I talked to Ole and Susan. Ole was happy that I found something, and that I was really lucky to have everything work out. I told him it was Divine intervention. Susan said that she'd pro-rate the excavation fee I paid, and give me back the percentage for the time that I wasn't able to stay and excavate.

I feel really bad not being able to stay on and archaeologize, but at least I can do something useful for someone.

Unfortunately, this means I get no archaeological super-strength, and if I want to get strong and fit, I'll have to actually start working out again.

Comments

[maric23.livejournal.com]

Silver lining. Dig administration is something you would not otherwise have a chance to do, and it fleshes out the CV. If you can get involved in database work, it may be mind numbing, but each dig does things differently, and seeing more models is useful. Its not much, but it might offer potential.

[sen-ichi-rei.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've thought about that. Rachel is an administrative position by dumb luck. Hopefully I'll be good at it. I probably will be, considering I had a lot of the baskets memorized last year just from entering them and stuff. I think at this dig they have a big notebook, as opposed to more computerized things. And Jodi is a well-known archaeologist.

[http://users.livejournal.com/stone_/]

We finalized our plans. We're going to be in Jerusalem this Shabbat at my brother's. Next Shabbat we're going to be home.

[sen-ichi-rei.livejournal.com]

Ok. I'll probably go to my friend's parents house assuming they're around this weekend which I think they should be. So can I come to you next week, assuming it's possible to get up to Bet Shemesh before Shabbat? (I have to figure that out, since the students aren't allowed out on their own, but I'm not a student at either of the institutions running the dig, and most of them don't know their way around Israel, whreas I do.)

[http://users.livejournal.com/stone_/]

Next week is good. It's the latest Shabbat of the year or something like that, so hopefully you won't have trouble getting here in time =]

[sen-ichi-rei.livejournal.com]

It's more a matter of how early they'll let me leave for shabbat... the last bus from eilat to Jerusalem leaves at 1:00pm (plus whatever time it takes to get from eilat to Yotvata/Lotan.) Or whether or not they'll let me leave in the first place. Maybe other people will be going to Jerusalem and I can hitch a ride with them. I'll talk to Jodi on Sunday and get an answer.