Thursday, August 30, 2012

And So It Begins...Again

The fall semester has begun here at OU, and there have been about a half dozen students request to add my Intro to Sociology course despite the class being full. Well, the classroom is not full, just the registration capacity. This afternoon's office hours have involved a lot of add slips for students.

This weekend begins the annual season for the next renaissance faire I'll be attending for my thesis research. I'm hoping to get some good information, but I anticipate (based on my previous experience with this particular faire) that I may have gotten my really good, personal insight kind of data earlier this summer. However, I hope I will be pleasantly surprised and get some more awesome data. I like data, is that nerdy of me?

I have still to get all of my pirate garb and other gear packed for the weekend. There's a check list I go through to make sure I have everything. (Are my boots still in the back of my car? I think so.) I'm looking forward to it. This is an incredibly fun research project!

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

The Calm Between Storms

I can't exactly call this break between renaissance faires the doldrums (that's pirate talk for a calm spell when there's no wind, it's usually wicked hot, and your ship gets stuck in one place so long you want to walk the plant to break up the boredom). I've been slowly hacking away at transcribing interviews from the first half of this project, as well as getting a bit of reading done for the literature review portion of the paper. I have gotten through three books in the past three days--it's hardly nothing. However, compared to the constant adventure that it was in June and early July, the sailing has been a bit calmer.

You may notice the photo of me and the other two pirate lasses. That was taken at the Great Lakes Medieval Faire in northern Ohio. We spent the day there--my first time at this particular faire--and then stayed the night at the home of the parents of the teensie one you see in the middle there. (I was standing on a step, she's not that short.) Her dad cooked, her mom and sister stayed up and drank rum with us. It was a great time. That's a playground pirate ship we commandeered (nautical term), but only momentarily. The younger skalliwags soon demanded their ship back.

The day at GLMF wasn't one of official research for me, more a basis of comparison for the other faires in this project. The site itself is lovely, all woods and twisty paths. But there was not the same level of interaction that I feel like I got spoiled with at the Kentucky faire. Still, it was a nice break, even though the drive made it too far away except with overnight accommodations.

I have three weeks until the next renfaire I'll be attending, but of course classes start back here the week before. I'll be teaching through the week and in the field on the weekends again. At least this next faire is closer to home (2 1/2 hours instead of 4 1/5 away).