Sweet.

Yesterday I had a 12-hour field trip with my Paleontology class. I have to admit, I wasn't entirely enthusiastic about it at first. They stole (they stole) a Saturday from me. Sleep and I haven't been very close lately and this field trip could have endangered that relationship. But, I of course got up at 5:30 a.m. and got ready to spend all day in the outdoors. We all met up at the science building at 7 a.m. and headed out for some fossil digging. I was getting more excited at this point. First we went to an awesome site with a lot of shale. We would be looking for trilobites while we were there. While my professor was explaining how to find them and what areas not to dig in because of instability, I looked down and saw a pretty big fossil of a trilobite just laying on the ground! I picked it up and showed him when he was done. He told me I probably wouldn't find a better one the whole time. (Which was true.) I learned that I love smacking rocks with a rock hammer. It's really fun! I said to my classmates, "There must not be any Paleontologists in therapy! Look at this! (I smacked a rock a few times.) I have no anger whatsoever!" And the feeling you get when you split a rock apart and you find a fossil inside... it's golden. Then we headed to another site where we were able to just pick up little marine fossils out of the dirt! Brachiopods, crinoids, corals, bryozoans... it was amazing! I found an enormous brachiopod. It had a nick that had been knocked off, revealing that the inside was filled with crystals, like a geode. It was awesome. Next, we headed to a mountain where all of the rocks are just stuffed with tiny brachiopod shells. Masses of seashells just compacted into these rocks. You pick one up, thinking it's a sparkly rock and when you look closely you realize it sparkles because of all of the shells. I was getting pretty tired by that time. I needed to eat because I get so weak and shaky and dizzy when I don't, but I was so car sick from the bumpy roads that I was too nauseous to eat. It was okay, though; the fossils were worth it!!! So, I hauled back three bags of fossils and I was gloriously dirty. My bodacity is thus established. Finding the biggest trilobite in the class was very rewarding for me because I've felt like an idiot that didn't belong in the class. But, I found that I held my own finding fossils. And I got to know the other people in my class better. I talked to a couple of guys about video games a lot on the way home. And when I finally got home, after picking up some dinner, there was a letter from my Johnny in the mailbox. I had a great day. (Which is good since I'm pretty sure I bombed my calculus test the day before. I was in the testing center for 3 hours! At that point I decided I would never know the answer and left and cried later. So discouraging. I'd never felt more stupid or more like a failure than when I was sitting there with no idea how to do several problems that must be involved because they gave me a full page to work it on. So, doing something right at last felt pretty sweet.)
So, whenever any of you visit, be prepared to be forced to look at the fossils. I put an awesome crinoid fossil picture on here so you guys can see what they're like. I only found a few little bits of stem, but they're mine! All mine!!! *evil booming laughter*
Now I've just got my Chemistry test to take tomorrow and things will calm down for a little bit. Hopefully. 3 tests and a 12-hr. field trip within a week's time is just too much. But, I do it anyway and roll with it. Please excuse me, though, I need to sort the fossils of awesomeness. ;)