it started with taking notes on boas and malinowski. later, in class, i was asked which i preferred. i hadn't really considered the question before, but i had to reply malinowski. yes, little ol' boasian department trained me. i'd still consider myself pretty adamantly 3 field (and when my archaeologist friends are particularly engaging, perhaps even 4 field), and i'm in no way durkheimian. but the more i think about it, the more i'm sure. yes, i'd rather read argonauts than race, language, culture. but that's not the extent. perhaps its a product of my embeddedness in exoticism, but there's a certain charisma to malinowski. he's somewhat of an enigma in a way i would argue boas is not. perhaps that's just a product of the diary, but i also like his longterm fieldwork. his interrelatedness. i like the way he defines (or at least uses the term) material conditions. plus he's polish. and who doesn't like a good pole?
i wrote for 4 hours today and only came up with 2 1/2 pages. but i think they're solid. i mean, as solid as they could be considering the topic. which, by the way, is applying durkheimian and weberian theory to this.
i also turned in an application for research funding, and wrote a call for papers today. after class tonight, i ended up talking to the jag and tudy about anthropologists in the military. we were mostly just noting things that we had already discussed yesterday at the roundtable, but i had one of those moments where i realized i had found what i was looking for.
i guess, one of my complaints about the dale was that i was looking for more community. i wanted to sit in the lounge and discuss anthropological notions. i wanted involvement and discourse, not just classes. and certainly i found that with certain people, like my wife and prof. ponger (who i may be co-authoring a paper with, our 300th of course) at times, but it wasn't an overarching theme in my life there. but i already feel in the midst of it here. so, tonight, i'm feeling content.
plus, its officially scarf weather now!
goodies from joe's
sunday evening we saw superbad, then eventually went to rock bottom for some food. of course the chicken was not taken off my pizza as requested, but i suppose a little meat juice is good for the soul every once in a while. unfortunately, the onion rings were cold. we came back and watched some tv before passing out on the couch (yup, it passed test #1).
i also went on a library tour, where i ran into el peruano. the library is tiny! but in a way that means its easier to navigate than the spaceship, and its not under construction like morris. it seems that you have to rely pretty heavily on the consortium, but hopefully that will work out. plus, in the days of online journals, you can do a lot without paper at all, really. i also found out that there are 2 computers with final cut on them, which is handy to know. and dvds can actually be checked out of the library. so once i actually own a dvd player, that will be just lovely. 
we went down the shore this weekend, and everything was lovely. it truly lived up to its name like some mythical wonderland where all was right in the world. i guess there was a sense of returning to childhood, despite the fact that we were there to celebrate ryan officially becoming post-mid-twenties. i suppose one could say that there was quite a juxtaposion between the childlike activities of doing cartwheels on the beach & putting puzzles together and the adult-ness of doing laundry, washing dishes, and reading the New Yorker.
i'm the type of person that makes a conscious effort to buy comfortable shoes. i like to walk a lot. i'd much rather walk 20 blocks than take a subway. even when its 10 degrees outside. though when i walked from wall to 14th street on the coldest day of the year i did start to regret it about midway through soho. but i pressed on.
i've also decided recently, that i really want to go to mexico city. i'm not sure when though. i won't really have time this summer (though United seems to have round trip flights for under $200). and i'd like to go for at least a few weeks. 1st priority is Lima during the summer (maybe next Christmas break or something), but after that Mexico City is next. Unless Cusco is next. Oh, who knows....all i know is Mexico City is on the list.
appropriately, as i was absorbed in the pictures, i got a phone call from jk. he was at a peruvian grocery store in rahway. he asked what i wanted and all i could think of was chicha morada. so, he bought me some and i drank it with (very tex-mexish) tacos this weekend. there's still plenty though. i'd like to experiement adding rum to it...???
what i really want though, is to go with him to the store, because i'd like to see if they have huancaina sauce. mmmmm i love me some papas huancainas. and the aroz for aroz con pollo. the green kind! funny how i wasn't entirely impressed by the food while there, but now i want some.
ah! i can't handle the suspense. especially because i think it will only end with heartbreak.