How to go out of this World????  Skin on...Skin off!!!!!

I  was asked by my professor in Archaeology of Death to think about what I would want to be buried with to exemplify my time in the living world. Well now this is a conundrum of insurmountable  proportions. I suppose the easiest would be to pick things that represent the items and things that mean a lot to me personally. As I am not a very materialistic person and love experiences over owning things, the small amount of things I do have would have to come with me. That being the case I would like to be cremated BUT..... I would like to have my skin made into a parchment like scroll and placed on display to show my tattoos (because I have a few that mean a lot to me). I personally would like to have my dog Buttercup ( a very affectionate and loving Red-nose pit bull) cremated with me but only after she has lived out her time on earth. A flask of good Scotch could help the transition from this life to the next.
  I really want to be placed in a biodegradable container that I saw on the internet that has a nut or seed of a tree on top that is planted in the ground and you become a tree or shrub. I would want a coconut palm nut and possibly a macadamia tree and to be planted on the Hawaiian Islands. I would also want the type of music I like and Old Time Radio programs to play constantly as I grow into a palm tree.
My friends and family would probably agree with the above ( maybe not with the skin thing)  and would probably add my collection of Elvis Presley memorabilia. I do really love Elvis. As well as a good book as I am always reading something.
This may seem a bit extreme, morbid or disconcerning to some but  in society today we have a huge disconnect with our deceased and to me that is disconcerning. We want to be done with the dead as soon as possible and move on never to see or pay any attention to them again. I want to have my memory Rock'n out with Psychedelic Stoner rock , Elvis and scary Old Time Radio programs forever.....MAN and WOMAN!!!!!!
Maybe we living should think more about how you want to go out in this world and keep your own ROCK     ROCK'N. 
I'm outta here.....not for GOOD...... just right now.

The Foot...or is it????

It was about two years ago as and friend and I were sitting in the osteology lab at Camosun College doing some preparation for the class we were about to TA. A gunned up uniformed RCMP officer knocked on the lab door and asked to speak to our professor. We ( rather I )  was relieved that the officer was not there to speak to me or ask me to take a walk with him to his car or what not. He proceeded to produce a zip lock bag of the large freezer dimension that had a brown green lump in the bottom and moisture residue on the inside.And when he held it up it was like we were looking through a window and as the officer kind of shook it at us made it seem like it was raining on the inside of the bag. The officer then asked our professor if she could have a look at what was in the bag and tell him "what the Hell is it, and do we have something that I should be concern with?" Well the bag was peeled open and there was this smell that I can only express as something exotic yet familiar, having worked in veterinary hospitals for years one gets to know the smell of decomposition and rotting flesh.
Anyhow .....WOW this one was ripe for the pickin... It was bloated and had what looked like hair of some kind on it. The object of the REEK looked to have been in water for sometime and as there had , in recent months , been human feet washing up on the shores of the Gulf Islands and in and around Vancouver this officer was wanting confirmation on the identification of this particular item. At first glance it certainly had the characteristics of a human foot. The size and shape were on par.  So our professor got out a couple of bamboo skewers and ask my friend and I to have a poke around and see what we thought. As we took a closer look it became apparent that the foot was not human or if it was this person had some how traded toe nails for some serious claws. The bloating of the tissue had covered the claws and for all anyone who came across this it would have looked like a human foot for sure. Our professor gave her conclusion to the officer that indeed this was a bear foot and kindly asked the officer if she could have it. He was relieved and said of course it was of no use to him. My professor gladly took it and placed it outside her office window on the ledge to save anyone who entered her office the aroma of the water logged bear foot.
That was my first foray into the realm of forensic anthropology ( not a big case really) and I loved every stinking minute of it.          

Introduction

Hello all... my name is Lindsay and I am a fourth year Anthropology Major at the University of Victoria, BC.
 In my previous lives I was a Veterinary Assistant for 7-8 years from Ontario to Whistler/Pemberton ending here on Vancouver Island. I tired of the hospital work and hours and decided to give addiction and mental health a try and worked as a front line Psychiatric Rehabilitation Worker  for the Vancouver Island Health Authority Mental Health and Addictions branch as well as a Addiction and Mental Heath Counselor for the Cool Aid Society on the Island.
 This work lasted about 6.5 years and I burned out mentally and physically. So I left Victoria for the beautiful island of Oahu in Hawaii to clear my thoughts and recharge my batteries. While there I decided to leave my stable government jobs , throw caution to the wind and go back to school.      
I actually started studying Anthropology with the intent on focusing on Osteology , Taphonomy and Archaeology. I really enjoy the challenge of this type of study and the detective work involved in deciding what is what.
 I have worked on projects here in Victoria for the First Nations to identify human remains for repatriation. I also help TA for the Archaeology Field Assistant Program run out of Camosun College every spring , as well as Forensic Anthropology Day here at UVIC for Island high school students and lots of other volunteer stuff all focused around my studies. I plan to continue on to grad school hopefully on the Hawaiian Islands but we will see. 
 I return to Hawaii every year to keep in touch with friends and contacts that I have made over my  years of study ranging  from archaeologists to people working at JPAC/CIL in hopes of working on the Hawaiian Islands in the future.