4 days and counting...

Here I find myself (which is a good start, because I hate being lost), sitting at the Security switchboard at Concordia in St. Paul, working my last ever shift (after 4 years of being here) and I just checked the Security e-mail. What should I find, but the "Hippos Excavation Emergency Notification" e-mail that was sent out, with all the responses coming in from people and a special folder for all these to be placed in! My first thought was that it's good we have this system of communication in place (way to go, Dr. Schuler) and now I'm thinking, "Wow...it's only 4 days until we go...groovy!" Oh wait, now my thoughts have changed again (I just finished a large coffee, so my thoughts are short and jumpy) the e-mail reminds me - I need to post to my blog! Dr. Schuler asked for a post before we leave, and I was planning on writing yesterday, but I [clearly] forgot. Anyhoo - I am now at work with plenty of time on my hands (well, I mean, I'm working...but I just sit here and answer phones, so I can type) and too much caffeine in my body (which is bad because I'm confined to this chair for the next 5 hours) and this is just what is "coming out" for my first entry. Well...I will claim that I can't help it. And now, about Israel - in one week I will be on the mountain digging and sweating and dirty...HOORAH! I like that I know what to expect (having been there the past two summers) and I can still be super excited about it! I am fully prepared to move dirt, eat tomatoes and cucumbers, kill scorpions, clean pottery, and draw rocks! And now, realizing this first post is bouncing all over the place, I am cutting myself off from the keyboard temporarily before I lose all reader support for this blog! I do hope, though, that you all check back and keep up with my unique perspective of what is happening on the other side of the world during the 4 weeks of July. Until next time...