I'm always on time somewhere

I can't be the only one who has this problem. I have 8 clocks in my house: kitchen stove, microwave, wall clock in living room, alarm clock, an actual watch, my phone, my tablet, and my laptop. (And I usually bring home my work laptop, which would make 10). That is a lot of clocks for approximately 500 square feet. The problem is, none of them seem able to agree on what time it is. 

Even if I set them off of each other, which I try to do, they always get off. And it's not just at my house. At work, we use atomic clocks and in one room it might end up being 3 or 4 minutes later than in another. It's as close to time travel as you can get. 

Obviously, having disagreeing clocks is a problem because in one part of the house, I may think I'm on track for getting to work on time and then I take 10 steps and find out I'm running behind!* 

It also does just prove the fact that the measurement of time is just pretend. It is one of the many pretend things in the adult world, and as long as we all keep believing, it will work. Now, if we can all just believe that my clocks will agree...

*Not that this is why I'm running behind. I blame that on the universal law that a bed is never more comfortable than the 10 minutes before you have to get out of it and the hour after you have to get out of it. 

Off

Maybe it's due to the long winter. Or maybe it's the shift back to travel mode at work or having been carless for a couple of months while I wait for repairs. Maybe it has been slowly building--it's quite likely. Or maybe it's a more recent development, resulting from my boss and the other supervisor on my team being gone at the same time or the changing temperatures. All I know is it has been a really off week. I haven't been able to keep track of my calendar and my focus has been out the window. My memory is on vacation (I almost forgot to buy milk. I never forget I need milk!). It has definitely not been a week to brag about. 

Fortunately tomorrow I have an all day training that I am not in charge of, so I just show up, someone else walks me through it all, I don't have to figure out what to do or when, or be a problem solver. And then a three day weekend. Hopefully, I'll be able to reset and start next week on a better note. 

For the record

My state legislature voted this year to accept a new flag design. Which is great, because we have been one of those states with the seal on a navy blue background. Like 25 other state flags. 

But, some people aren't really keen on this and this past week I heard someone say basically that changing the flag was taking away our history. Now, I'm not a historian but I am an archivist and my life is historical records. So I feel a bit compelled to set the record straight.

First, our state flag has changed about 10 times in the last 100 years and in it's current iteration has only been around since 2011. So, what history are we saving? Because all the documentation about the flag? Not in the flag. And the history of the flag, also not discernible from the flag. Neither is the history of the state. It's okay that you like the flag, but is it history?*

Also, history is what happened, by a certain definition. It's in the past, it's gone. The only way we know about it is through the historical record (which includes more than paper!!). And the historical record is found in archives**. Which are committed to preserving the historical record in perpetuity. So, if we change the flag, it's okay. Our history still exists. You'd have to also have some arsonists on hand (and most archives have good fire suppressant systems) or some strings with the universe to cause some acts of God or something to get rid of history. 

Now, I will grant that the loss of the flag will be a lost of something tied to people's personal history. Totally get that. But you could argue that it is the same thing as getting rid of a favorite toy from your childhood. Which, there are probably some people who would consider that as erasing history***. Nostalgia is a powerful factor, completely understandable, and I think it is a legitimate thing to bring up. But it's not history, if my reasoning is on track.  

Again, I'm probably just sensitive about this because I am an archivist and most people don't know we exist. But now you do and I hope that it helps when things change around you and you feel like you're losing pieces of yourself. History isn't erased that easily. not completely. (And to keep history alive, write things down! Save your photos! keep your emails!)

*Also, you can keep samples of the physical flag. Not flying it doesn't mean it has to be obliterated. 

**And museums. And cemeteries and buildings and streets and even DNA! No shortage of historical records!!!

***Easy solution: Take a picture and write about it. It takes up less real estate in your house, but preserves the historical record.

Tikal

One thing that there is a lot of in Latin America is pyramids and ruins, sites of native civilizations. Which, to the best of my knowledge do not exist in the places my ancestors are from. But I really, really love visiting these places. It is incredible to know you are standing on a site that was a bustling city 2000 years ago, and to see how incredibly intelligent and advanced they were. It definitely changes the way you think about things. And I always want to come home and learn more about them. 

Also, Tikal is in a jungle. Like, a legit jungle. My second wake up call was from the howler monkeys. So, double the fun: ruins and monkeys!

 

Even in the jungle, there are motorcycles.

View from Temple IV.

Ruins that feature in a scene in Star Wars.

Close up of the one of the temples.

Main plaza.

Coatis playing.

Spider monkey.

Main plaza.

Main plaza.

One of the temples (don't remember which) in the morning mist.

Hiking in Tikal.

Palace of Grooves.

Palace of Grooves.

Palace of Grooves.

Palace of Grooves.

The Jungle.