Serpent at Play

I thought i was done with academia. I probably still am, though one can only speculate about what the future holds.
So, yesterday was my first day at the Wiener Laboratory of the American School of Classical Studies (this is their bioarchaeology laboratory- mostly concerned with osteoarchaeology, with a few people doing faunal and botanical analyses, and a geoarchaeologist or two thrown in as well). Its a very unofficial volunteer appointment, but I'm assisting a Post-Doc fellow with a Byzantine population from the Spata area of Attica. Bone washing and glueing this week- identification/diagnosis next week assuming we have time to get to it-- i started a 10 lbs bag of small bone fragments mixed with mud and rocks, so i have to spend most of my time washing dirt off of the specimens to decide whether or not the tiny piece i'm holding is pebble or human. I love it.
I only wish I could have started this earlier in the winter.

It got a little cold.
It snowed some.
The city shut down. Not because it had to, it just wanted to.

Such is Athens. A casual walk around the Exarcheia district of the city-proper revealed to me the comic-book/ fantasy&scifi shop, a gaming shop, and an occult bookstore all in very close proximity to each other. I did the dance of joy. People looked at me funny.

February 13th is the day I finally join the Army. It still sounds funny when i say it.

Nebulae

I awake to witness
a strange dawn.
I have come
as light,
as quanta
through the Halls
of Deep time,
carrying data,
the anima
of those left behind,
those lost
or found along the way,
to illuminate
the eternal present.