Yikes, I have completely neglected my resolution to keep this blog up to date and interesting.
Well, my excuse? Its been a busy few months! Getting a job is great - because I can now confidently pay the bills (and an upcoming mortgage - oh god!). But its also 3 days a week when I cannot really work on my research. SO, for the first couple of months, I definitely admit to putting my research on the back-burner. Which, in hindsight, was stupid and unnessessary. The thing about academia is that you do it because you're passionate about the research, and I forgot this for a while. But Im back on track now, making sure I keep my masters first and foremost in my mind - I don't know how anyone could do a difficult job AND do research part-time. I've even taken to hauling my laptop into work on the days my boss is absent, and its surprisingly productive to get the bits and pieces kept up to date. I also have myself a bike now so I can commute and keep healthy while I spend most of my time at desks staring at computers or books.
So, the conference - it was pretty damn good! The biggest thing to say about it was the huge opportunity it gave me to meet the people who are the movers and shakers for research in my field - past,present and future. Peter Ungar, Richard Scott, Mark Teaford and Joel Irish were amazing people to meet and showed a genuine interest in my investigations and academic future. I got myself involved with the Dental Anthropology Association and so have made aquaintances with many people involved with that organisation - so I am very pleased.
There was also some great research being presented, there are some genetic studies regarding dentition which I wouldn't even have thought possible, and I was very impressed. For example, one group are currently looking into molar cusp ontogenetics and have tinkered with rodent genes to both increase and decrease molar cusp number. Obviously it wasnt all dental anthropology, and I was 'almost' as fascinated by so much of the other material being shown (but obviously nothing will ever compare to my chosen area of enquiry!)
Finally, though, the conference was also a helluva lot of fun. I met loads of great, fun people (students, postdocs and professors - the whole shebang) and had a very entertaining last night on Route 66 in Albuquerque! A rogue erupting volcano also meant I not only had the chance to immerse myself in Old Town Albuquerque - but the search for a place to stay while we waited to get home led my supervisor and myself on a road trip up to Colorado to stay with his in-laws. I had the most AMAZING time, though this is not the forum to describe it all, suffice to say that I am now a bit of an honorary Native American these days.
As for my masters, its going pretty well. My micrographs are all done and dusted, and my first few sets of stats are done. The results so far are encouraging, challenging and exciting all at the same time. I can say more about it once I have dissected them a little for my results chapter. Hopefully when my partner and I move into our new flat I can set up my own little study area - the dining table doesnt quite cut it.
So maybe thats my big conclusion for this post - the research comes first. I've found it nigh on impossible to keep it going if my mind is full of money worries, work tasks and other personal nicnacs. I'm not trying to say we should all become one track robots totally unable to tune ourselves into anything but our own work. But the key is that I must keep my mind plugged into the main train of thought for my masters, and map everything else out as offshoots.
I'll sign off by saying that my AAPA Minneapolis meeting 2011 abstract is already written and waiting to be submitted (no way in hell I'm missing out on a meeting from now on!).
And if you like microwear, check this blog out http://dentalecology.blogspot.com/ .
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