How Would I Bury Thee? Let Me Count The Ways...

I actually DID post this on facebook to see who would respond and what they would say.  Most of the responses were from close friends and family friends and all were really humerous or inside jokes that suited me perfectly.  My one dear friend suggested that I be buried wearing my Canucks jersey...at which point a childhood friend said I should be "buried along with the Canucks dreams of a Stanley Cup because those are dead too".  How nice.  The same friend who suggested the jersey also suggested that I be buried with Cadbury mini eggs because I get a massive bag at Easter every year and I have a sad addiction to them.  Plus she wanted to make sure I was full in the afterlife.  A family friend who has been my "uncle" my entire life said that I should be buried with my blankies if he could ever find them (yes I'm 20 years old, have a live in boyfriend, and sleep with 6 blankies...and 2 teddies...and that's because the rest of the collection is back with my family).  The one item that I found hilarious was an inside joke that a childhood friend suggested: the Buzz Lightyear Supersonic Wrist Watch (long story short, everytime we went camping one of the Dads on the trip would tell us to look for that watch in the lake or river or wherever we were...we never found it, it eludes us to this day ;) ).  But there was one thing that EVERYBODY suggested and was the first thing to pop into my mind when I saw this blogging stuff: my skis.  Below is a photo of the logo of my beloved Vancouver Canucks.


I have revolved my entire life around skiing.  My parents bought a cabin at Mt. Baldy when I was 3months old and I was on skis at age 2.  I spent every weekened and every holiday there from four months old until I left for university.  Coming to Victoria where there was no skiing was the second hardest thing to leave (my dog was #1).  I had friends at the hill that knew me better and meant more to me than my friends in Westbank, I had boyfriends from the hill, I didn't really associate with non-skiers.  My love and obsession with the sport is something that sticks with me today and, as a result, me, everybody in my family and every single one of my friends agree I should be buried with my skis: Rossignol Scratch BCs.  I also feel the rest of my gear should be thrown in so I can shred the pow in the afterlife.  Below is a photo of my skis: 160cm, Rossignol Scratch BCs.



Something else that one of my friends suggested was a piece of my cabin.  I think a chunk of this should be thrown in my grave as well since that was really the place I called home when I was growing up, and I still refer to it as home when I go back for Reading Breaks and the occasional weekend to ski.  Below is a photo of my cabin: my real home.  My parents painted the damn thing purple and yellow a few years ago and I've never liked it.  Still, this place is what I really refer to as home and we've had it since I was three months old.

Other minor things that I feel I should be buried with are books.  I love reading, if I'm not skiing I can be found in a book and one day I dream of having my own library (I've already got two large book cases full).  I'm still in the process of trying to find grave goods that would show such qualities as strength and independence but when I do, I want those thrown in as well.



Note: all photos were from my documents and were either taken by me or found on a website so long ago I don't have a URL

Resomania

After following a cheesy website article on 7 odd alternative burial methods, I came across a method known as resomation.  Resomation is a patent-pending, environmentally friendly way to be cremated.  Instead of the body being burnt (which releases toxins into the air), or being buried in a coffin (which can be expensive and also detremental to the environment), resomation is the placement of the body in a water and alkali based method (aka alkaline hydrolysis) that breaks the body down into a sterile liquid and bone substance.  The whole process takes about 2-3 hours which is the same amount of time as a cremation.  The sterile liquid is returned to the water cycle and the ashes are placed in an urn and given to loved ones.  The following picture is of the finished production of resomation and can be found on the website link given at the end of this entry.




Some benefits of resomation include:
*the reduction of a funeral's greenhouse gas emissions by 35%
*the energy needed for resomation is 1/7 the energy of cremation
*the return of sterile water to the water cycle
*the reduction of space used in burials


Resomation is still patent-pending and is only available in Maryland, Minnesota, Maine, Colorado, Oregon, and California; but, resomation is in the process of becoming a popular and world wide funerary practice.  Below is a link to the Resomation Ltd. website for more information


http://www.resomation.com/index_files/Page1230.htm

Me, Myself, and I

First of all my name is Maxine and while I've only been at UVic for three years, I've completed enough credits to be a fourth year student and anticipate on graduating next January.  I'm taking this course because I'm fascinated with archaeology and hope to make a career out of it.  If not then it's Plan B: high school history teacher.  Which reminds me to tell you all that I am a double major in history and anthropology.  I've applied to the Drimolen Field School that UVic has put on this summer and I really, really, really hope I get accepted.