Wanderlust, united in movement

I started to think today that maybe I have come to a point where I am no longer afraid or anxious about the future. Maybe all it took was graduating, moving to a new city, and actually discovering that its easy to do something different, to live here, alone, doing something that I was afraid I might fail at. I am not afraid to be away from the people close to me (although the pangs of worry still come that if something happens to one of them it will take a lot to get there). I am not afraid of having of being stuck in a boring lifestyle, or stuck doing something that I might not care about. I think of all the possibilities, instead of the limitations. I sometimes feel good being surrounded by the unknown- people, places, direction. I look forward to having the opportunity of feeling 'finished', and being at a point where I can say, 'ok, what can I do next.' I've been doing courses and school and research for so long, and soon I will not have to worry about getting that essay in on time, cramming my readings in last minute. As of this summer I will be on my own schedule, doing work solely determined by my goals and methods, and will have one year until any real deadlines press on me.
Then what?
I am excited to get to that point of not knowing. I could go anywhere and do almost anything. Will I choose to go back to Ontario? Will I discover an exciting project that will inspire me to further research in a PhD? Will I just take a break from school life, find a job...just live somewhere. Will something totally unforeseen come into play that will determine all this for me? Will I come into a lot of money and just travel the world?
*crosses fingers*

Did I imagine it would be like this?
Was it something like this I wished for?
Or will I want more?

A Decent Proposal

Progress!

Last Friday I presented my research proposal to the Anthro/Arch department, faculty and students. It was about 15 min of me discussing the context of my research, why it's important, what questions I'm asking, and what methods I anticipate using in the field and the lab. It was super nerve racking before hand, and during, so much so that I went to take a sip of water in between slides and didn't tilt the bottle far enough back to actually get anything because I didn't want to take up too much time in silence. My mouth got pretty dry, but I was successful the second time before the question period. Only a few people asked questions, all of which of course were not ones that I had anticipated or expected would be asked. After that was all finished, everyone but faculty was asked to leave the room, where they conversed for a few minutes and we all stood around in the MA's office wondering what was taking so long. We assumed they were discussing dinner plans, weekend plans, or otherwise unrelates things. It was probably true, because by the time I was called back in to collect my computer, there were only 3 or 4 people left. My supervisor said no one had any complaints and were very pleased, especially with the pretty images and layout of my powerpoint.
I also applied for more grant money from MUN's Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) and had just finished printing my app for the J.R. Smallwood Foundation grant when I received news that it was canceled for the year. dinger. ISER is more money, and will cover the real costs of my fieldwork and lab needs, including (hopefully) the awesome chance to go to Ottawa (technically an offshoot building in Alymer QC) to the Canadian Museum of Nature's Zooarchaeological Identification Centre, where I can identify any bones from my excavation that are a mystery, based on the limited comparative collection we have at MUN. I can stay with my super cousin and her cute 3 year old who live close by. A visit to the National Archives would also be in order, to investigate for any Hudson's Bay trading post records from Labrador in the 19th C. Overall, a paid trip to hang out with my family, do fun research affiliated with a museum, and get a break from St. John's.
So that's that in terms of my research. No more presentations on it until next year when I talk for half an hour on 'what I did during my summer holidays' excavating, and how it has (probably) entirely changed the direction of my project, as per usual. And only one more application asking for money from the provincial archaeology office. Just term work for the next month (lame). I expect to be finished by April 8 and my plans beyond that point are uncertain.
A trip to Ontario is likely at some point between then and July, other than for my dad's wedding in June, before I go into the wild.