Monument Analysis

This is our map:
https://maps.google.ca/maps/ms?msid=209428623316053634853.0004d57c2d27f4aab765b&msa=0&ll=48.505474,-123.382344&spn=0.006511,0.012617

We were told it was a bit too detailed, but hey it was a confusing and large park. I'm proud of our obscene amount of lines!

To the Royal Oak Burial Park I Go

This was my first experience going to a functioning burial park and I'm not going to lie I was a bit nervous about doing so. I was the first one there out of my group so I had a chance to get out and explore the entrance a little bit. May I just say that the huge looming wrought iron gates did absolutely nothing to calm my nerves?

The rest of my group members arrived shortly after me and we started the trek out to go record some graves. When we got to the section we were going to look at we kinda just stood on the road for a few minutes almost daring each other to go first. We finally made our way out and really once I got my feet on the grass and kept myself from remembering there were bodies under me it was totally fine!

We finished recording and then clambered into one car and took a drive around the entire park which is HUGE, I mean like amusement park big. Once we were all done taking pictures and collecting data we left the park just in time for sunset.

Later one of our group members informed the rest of us that upon further digging there was a collection of footstone and headstone burials, meaning I stepped on quite a few graves. After some shuddering I was fine and appreciated the time I spent there.

I will say there was something almost magical about reading the grave markers, it was strange to think that the person below me had a life so different than mine. Since we were recording military burials a lot of the men I was looking at were around the same age as me. It was a little sad to think they died so young and now so much time has passed their descendants probably don't even know where they are buried let alone visit them.

The experience left me with a new understanding of modern burial places, they are more interesting to me now than they are scary.

Emma VS. The Database

Myself and databases have a love-hate, mostly hate relationship.

When I was 17 I had a summer internship at a PR firm in Vancouver. My job consisted of all the other jobs that nobody else wanted to do. This meant that my time was mostly spent doing one of two things: transcribing hours of video or data entry. I hated HATED transcribing video. I loathed the database more.

We would get into starring contests for hours waiting for someone to make the first move, it was usually me and I lost 90% of the time. It would smack talk me, sending me little pop-up messages taunting me. I hit it once but apparently one should not abuse office equipment not matter how much of a little shit it's being... We never reconciled our relationship, I left the firm when summer ended and we did not see each other for years. Not until our data assignment.

I will leave it at we are still not friends and I think it is hopeless. We can be civil, agree to disagree, but we will never in a million years like or even respect each other.

Not a Clue

This blog seems to be dedicated to me figuring out plans for my own death..

When it comes to what I want to have done to my body I will admit I was stumped. 

Having watched far too many episodes of Bones I found myself intrigued by the idea of a Sky Burial (Bones tells Booth that is how she wants to go). Upon further consideration I decided that no, I do not want someone to cut me up into little bits, mix me with goats milk then have animals feast on my remains. I am very happy for the baby vultures that are fed as a result of this practice and I appreciate the tradition behind it, but in my westernized view of the world the only people that cut people apart on a regular basis are Dexter and other serial killers on TV. 

So once again stumped.

I then went paroozing around my fellow classmates blogs, Ethan Littler (http://thetalkingdeadanth397.blogspot.ca/) wrote about becoming a diamond. Which I also found initially intriguing until I thought of the following scenario (which I shared with a friend who laughed at me and proceded to tell me I over think things.) 

...My future daughter is walking down the street after I die and have chosen to become a diamond necklace for her. A stranger stops her and says: "That is a beautiful necklace!" she replies with "Thanks it's made out of my dead mom". All the sudden the police get involved and my daughters day has simply been ruined and she doesn't want to wear dear old mom around her neck again.

Really, I have no idea how I want to go. Apparently I over think things to the point where I no longer find them a good option anymore. Good to know my flaws.

http://www.lifegem.com/ <--company that turns you into a diamond