As Before, But Worse

A Working Life in the Remarks Column of a Regional Survey's Borehole Logs

An essay from the School of Underlying Conditions attempts the biography of an unnamed core logger from the 3,912 entries one hand wrote in the remarks column of a regional survey's borehole log sheets across thirty-one years of service, identified on 6,870 sheets from 412 holes. The entries give no birth, household or death, and the one apparent event, eleven weeks in which the hand changes, is left undecided between two readings. The essay argues that they support a biography of attention, and that the subject's namelessness is a condition to write under and not a gap to repair.

@misc{slop_nabfej,
  author       = {Ragnhild Uzoma},
  title        = {As Before, But Worse: A Working Life in the Remarks Column of a Regional Survey's Borehole Logs},
  year         = {2026},
  publisher    = {Slop University},
  doi          = {10.5555/slop.nabfej},
  url          = {https://slop.university/outputs/slop-paper-a-microhistorical-biography-nabfej/},
  version      = {1.0},
  note         = {Research paper},
}