Life as a (very cute!) boy...

Yup, that's right. As part of my job, I have to dress like a boy for certain events, including special events in which I am a member of the ceremonial Honor Guard. In the last couple of weeks, I have been the drummer at a couple of such events, including the dedication ceremony for the new Discovery (one of the three ships that arrived in 1607). My boy blothes are quite colorful and I have been told that I look like both an elf/leprechaun and a 12-year-old boy. Hmmm... It's alsob been a test of my v. rusty drumming skills, but it's good to be in costume at last doing more than just studying. I have learned how to fire a matchlock musket, about the true story of Pochahontas and Kokoum, and how to haul cargo on and off a ship using lines and yards and other cool "shippy" things. I'll also soon be in girl clothes as an interpreter doing regular (non-ceremonial percussion work) interpretation. Huzzah! (photos: The Honor Guard processing to the ceremony with Mike (my boss) as the ensign; Don and Jaie setting the sails on the Discovery; me in boy clothes and my boss; and Jack and Ed, two of the other three of the Honor Guard staff.)





Other than work, I've been keeping quite busy. My apartment is coming together quite nicely, including the purchase of a new paper shredder the other day. It's not a sexy/exciting purchase, but it is exteremely satisfying to shred bits of paper while also being secure from identity theft. Good times, good times.

Also, my friends and I have been hanging out economically by having regualr social gatherings like Game Night, Movie Night, Pizza Night, etc. Discoveries on such themed nights include the wonder that is the Wawa foodmart (named after Wawa, PA, not Wawa, Canada), the automatic milkshake machine at the Wawa, the existence of chocolate-covered Pop Rocks and their extreme compatability with the Wawa milkshakes, a plastic Godzilla that enjoys karaoke and the Pop Rocks milkeshakes, a new delicious pizza recipe (including spinach, feta cheese, lots of herbs and garlic, black olives, and no pizza sauce), and the new and improved version of "Fun Rules" pool.

(photos: Wawa, being the classy joint that it is, offers pre-sliced cups of pepperoni and cheese for your snacking enjoyment; the milkshake machine at a Wawa (note the logo is a flying goose, similar to the giant flying goose statue in Wawa, Canada); Godzilla Lee enjoying a chocolate milkeshake with Pop Rocks; Jack at the pub on his birthday; Jack and expresses himself in his ongoing tete-a-tete with Scott; and the best pizza ever (yes, that is a Bell's porter bottle in the background, miraculously found by Mark in Richmond).)







Not to be outdone by themed evenings, I have discovered a new facination with turkeys and other kinds of fowl. At a training session at the Yorktown Victory Center, I noticed the population of turkeys, guinea fowls, and chickens living on the recreated Tidewater plantation. Later in the week on a day off, fellow staff and myself went back to Yorktown with the intention of getting a photo with the turkeys, and later, to burp a turkey (which can be done, according to a coworker from Jamestown that used to really enjoy burping the Yorktown turkeys). However, due to scheduling and programming, I only got to over-photograph the turkeys and have made plans to return to frolic with them at a later date. Here in Viriginia, it's fun on a budget -- though it's still a good time. (photos: Scott, me, and Green Mark at the Yorktown Victory Center with the oh-so-dramatic brass symbolic teapot; Jeff explaing to Scott about colonial military discipline; turkeys are flippin' amazing; and Green Mark and Scott in the tobacco barn.)





(photos: A YVC interpreter enlighting us about 18th century herbal medicine; TJ telling us about 18th century military medicine (and nasty amputations... ew); the kitchen in the Colonial Encampment looking more like a moat; and a really fun bathroom sign.)

Virginia Snow

Unbelievably, this doesn't happen too often. It's semi-flurrying right now, but a couple of weeks ago it actually snowed to the point where you could literally scrape together enough snow for a snowball. Fortunately, there were enough barrells, canoes, tents, etc. with snow-collecting surfaces that we could scrape together enough snowballs for a really fun snowball fight. In case you were wondering about visitors, given the threat of snow in Virginia everything seems to shut down and people are terrified of leaving their house, so there were hardly any visitors that day (leaving us conveniently free to hurl frozen preciptation at each other and recreate many of the Powhatan attacks on James Fort, the ships, etc.). Here are some of the fun photos of the rare site of James Fort, etc. "under" snow.

(photos: My excitement began when the first flurries started to fall, as this veiw from the maitenance/interpretive building shows; the snow beginning to stick in the fort; an excited Don and Demeisha on the ships; the ships (from left to right: the Susan Constant, the Elizabeth (aka old Godspeed rechristened to represent a supply ship from 1611); and the Godspeed) and so much snow that you can't even see across the James to Surry!; and Mary inside the fort, unsuspecting of the attack from the Powhatan Village soon to come.)






(photos: Ashley excited about her snowballs; Johanna and Brian in the calm before the snowball fight storm; Beth's snowman; and Mike hurling snowballs in his bagattiway-esque Powhatan stick.)