Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Jan / Mistral's LiveJournal:

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Saturday, August 29th, 2009
3:10 pm	The Flock In Texas Some recent pictures of the little beebs here in TX ^^ Enjoy! ( The Flock In Texas (photo heavy, be warned!) ) (7 Pokes | Poke Me!)
Tuesday, August 25th, 2009
5:59 pm	We made it! The birds and I are now in Lubbock! The road trip was a lot of fun, all of which was documented by kaz409 on her Facebook - I'll pirate photos and post up some commentary as soon as they're e-mailed to me ^^ I don't have too much to say at the moment. Despite settling in pretty quickly (birds cage/stuff constructed, stuff unpacked, errands finished, most all academic/financial things taken care of), I'm still kinda stressed out over the move back to Texas. I'm dreading the paperwork and organization I have to tackle tomorrow :\ I'm anxious to get the ball rolling, for I really struggle with these transitions. I'll be fine, I always am! It just takes a couple of weeks to get back into the swing of things. I feel like I was too negligent during those couple of weeks off...I could have read some papers, or kept in touch more with my lab about summer research, Fall 2009 planning, etc. I could done a number of the things I spend today and yesterday scrambling around to do. At the very least, I could have psyched myself up for returning to academia. Instead, I was in TOTAL vacation mode, and did absolutely nothing! Students, why do we always do this to ourselves?! Currently, I'm not looking forward to the grad school gauntlet, complete with insane multitasking, endless work weeks, and tap-dancing for the masses in the name of Intro Bio courses. However, I know this feeling will fade with time. Soon my game face will be on, and I will be as motivated as ever about my program. In the meantime, I think I'll dodge reality with some lifelisting and Carnivale-watching! Current Mood: tired (8 Pokes | Poke Me!)
Friday, August 14th, 2009
9:02 am	Update From B-tree The fun updates: 1.) I uploaded some photos on my Flickr accout! Now there are photos from my San Antonio trip, along with my Monadnock hike and a handful off odd photos: To The Account! 2.) I gutted my My Birding Life List, which was quite a project. The final count is 417+ birds! I hesitate on the exact number due to a handful of hummers whose species I cannot quite remember. My Costa Rica master list is in TX, so the slated count will have to wait. The latest addition was the Black Skimmer on Plymouth Beach, spotted this past Monday :D My time home has been most enjoyable! I've made the rounds visiting family, and have been able to spend quality time with my dear friends (although not nearly enough - I want to get some serious gaming and goofing off in with you guys this weekend!). I've soaked in plenty of time at the beach by jogging Wollaston and birding various MA beaches (Monomoy next Tuesday, whoooo!). I've taken in NH via a Mt Monadnock hike, and I've sent my hellos and regards to Boston's South Bay via touristy walks with my mother. Today I'll head in to JP to greet the Arboretum, and to take in a Sam Adams brewery tour with the folks and Nancy (so much family time!). The birds are doing okay. Belina is a little sick (inflamed cere, sneezing, feels a little underweight to me), so this morning we're heading over to the vets to figure out what's wrong. It's probably just a bacterial infection that she'll get some antibiotics for, so I'm not too worried. Archie, however, has me concerned. I think my move really hurt him. He has been grumpy towards me, and very food territorial. He doesn't sing his morning songs, and he's not nearly as affectionate as he used to be. He's not as social with Belina and Gen, nor is he social with other people. He lets us all know where his personal bubble is, and turns into a little stinkpot whenever I invade it. To make matters worse, he turned into a seed junkie :\ I noticed these changes back in December, but they are all quite pronounced now. These are all signs of a psychologically damaged cockatiel. I was afraid this would happen...poor Archie <:( I'll fix him up once we are back in TX. Genny is behaviourally and physically fine, per usual. That's about it, not a very exciting post e.e (4 Pokes | Poke Me!)
Sunday, August 2nd, 2009
8:38 am	Home Stretch I can't BELIEVE this is my last week in NY - where did the summer go? Friday, our last field day, was an absolute wash-out (quite appropriate given the record-breaking amount of rain the northeast enjoyed this summer). We were able to get the playbacks out for their final day, but all gridding and GPSing was put to a halt. I had to chauffeur assistants to airports, so it didn't affect my duties all that much. It was harder saying goodbye to my crew than I thought. There were ups and downs throughout the season, and particular quirks and moral issues that came from time to to, but in general, they were all hard workers and genuinely good people. Best of luck to you all, Schmidt Lab Bird Crew of 2009! So, what do I have to do between now and this Thursday? - Help our fearless crew leader out with GPSing nests (59 more to go! And yes, our crew leader is stuck with us to help out until Thursday, mwahahaha. That goodbye is going to be tough) - Clean and pack our trailer at IES (almost done with that, not too hard) - Clean and pack our apartment (Ugh...I like being migratory, but the house-closing gets old!) - Prep and mail some final packages (easy enough, I can do that today) - Furniture runs with Quinn - we have free storage at IES for all the furniture we collected! - Data entry. So much data entry...I don't think all of it got entered during the season, so it will be my duty assure it's all in the database. I propose a weekly "Data Day" next year! That's about it, really. I have a slew of personal things to get done, but I've a couple weeks to do that (lots of re-packing to do x.o). Whew. Everything will get done...For now, I'm going to meet up with my sister and brother-in-law for a nice jog around the property, followed by a property tour of IES. Current Mood: tired (6 Pokes | Poke Me!)
Sunday, July 26th, 2009
10:19 am	Better late than never, right? ^^ So, uh...LJ kinda slipped through the cracks this summer, as did my participation in the internet social scene; for that, I apologize! I don't know why I do so poorly with updates and keeping in touch during the summer months. I think I get wrapped up in all of the RL things going on, and with so many evening hangouts, seminars and social events to enjoy with roommates/labmates/institute-peers/etc., I get out of the internet habit...It's not that I value one set of recreations over the other (internet vs. RL), I am just SO bad at balancing the two! I'm sorry everyone, I should be a better friend :\ I love looking at your arts, keeping up with the important things going on in your lives, and reading about the philosophies and musings weighing heavily on your minds. I really want to let you all in on what's going on in my life, as well! I had every good intention of taking/posting pictures, letting you all know about the field season, the crew, the first Lower Hudson Valley experience, but I just...didn't x.o I'll do better next year, that's a promise! In a nutshell, the field season was very productive, the living arrangements were cozy and enjoyable (great roommates, lots of Ultimate Frisbee and micro-brew, lots of Seinfeld), and minimal exploring of the area (I'll be better about that next year, too). My project is still going on, and it will end next Friday. We've a lot of packing and cleaning to do before we all leave, but it will all get done. Lots of database work has been going down, too. I've done some artwork! I'll post it up once I get back to my apartment ^^ I leave here for the Boston area on August 6th-7th, and I leave for Texas with kaz409 on August 20th. I'll be back in Lubbock on the 25th with MY LITTLE BIRDS! :D My landlady gave me the OK to bring them, free of charge. I found out she loves cockatiels, which worked out very well for me! Okay, that's all! Current Mood: busy (12 Pokes | Poke Me!)
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
8:29 am	Made it to NY! A quick post to let you all know that the road trip to NY was a success! I am currently at IES, procrastinating the workload that did not get finished just prior to moving (I'm procrastinating ALREADY? Not a good sign!). The northeast seems to be enjoying a heatwave - it was close to 90 yesterday x.o I think the temperature finally broke, for it was pretty chilly this morning (according to weather.com, it is supposed to be in the 60s today. Phew). I made awesome timing getting out here. I arrived in Dutchess county on Sunday evening around 7:30pm, and that was after taking my TIME during the road trip! I stopped a couple of times in Missouri to do some birding: once Friday afternoon, and once Saturday morning before leaving the state. I spent a good chunk of Sunday morning with Nan (mother's friend) in Ohio, as well. I toured her farm, took a walk with her and the dogs, AND went out to breakfast before leaving for NY. Yikes! The trip will have to be a little tighter coming back since I will have the birds with me (hopefully), but it's nice to know that the trip is shorter and less arduous than I imagined it being. I drove about thirteen hours a day and popped some blood vessels in my eyes, but other than that, the trip wasn't all that bad! My lab mates will be arriving later this week, and the rest of the crew will be arriving mid-May. There is still a lot of equipment prep to get done before setting up the plots, but none of it should be hard or very time consuming. I'd imagine we'll be able to hit the field this Saturday. That gives me a couple days to finish up all of the computer work hanging over my head, and to tie up all the loose ends that were never really completed last week. What else...OH! The apartment! It's really nice! Since the landlord is moving in once we leave, the house had a lot of work put into it over the winter/spring. The walls are all freshly painted, the appliances are new, and everything is functional and clean. The house is probably a little under a century old, which is fairly new compared to many of the houses in this part of country. A few perks of the house: it is cable/internet ready (I won't disappear this summer! Yay!), it has a washer/dryer, and IT HAS A POOL! :D Okay, that's all for now. I really need to get to work. Life birds gathered during the trip: Prothonotary Warbler Henslow's Sparrow Field Sparrow (embarrassingly u.u) (Wish I got the Cerulean and Yellow-throated Warblers while I was in MO!) 1 MORE TO GO! Current Mood: accomplished (11 Pokes | Poke Me!)
Saturday, April 18th, 2009
10:02 pm	6 Days in Counting! When the day of my thesis defense comes, and I am asked what the hardest part of my research was, I will respond with: "Removing the packaging off of sixty iPod shuffles, damnit!" Friday afternoon was spent assembling the playback apparati for the experiments this summer. Sixty speakers, sixty iPod shuffles, sixty tupperwares to transform into weather-guards...out of all the construction steps the project took, the iPods were by far the most challenging! My fingers are all cut up from removing the heavy outer-plastic. I blame Fiskars brand scissors for the blood I shed in the name of behavioral ecology. Perhaps a better tool would have aided in the damage control. I leave for NY next Friday, which is just...unreal! I still have a lot to do before then. I need to guarantee an A on an exam this Tuesday (An A means I don't need to take the final, which means I can leave for NY on Friday without ruining my GPA), and I need to finish up the lab database. It's not very hard, it's just a lot of data that needs to be carefully organized so Microsoft Access doesn't yell at me while I'm working with me. If anyone is really good with Access, I have a few questions that I can't find answers for! Can you help me? What else? Not too much...I found out Kaz is most likely going to drive back with me to TX (YAAAY!!), and the birds are most likely going to come with us (DOUBLE YAAAAY!!!!). OH! I added a lifebird to my list today: the Ash-throated Flycatcher! Six more, and I will hit 300 US birds. SWEET. I think I can do that before I leave TX I think I could live in Arizona...I can't stop thinking of how awesome the wildlife was there! Okay, back to database entry...who'da thought this is what I'd be doing on my last Saturday in Lubbock? X.x Current Mood: chipper Current Music: Rocksteady - The Whispers? (8 Pokes | Poke Me!)
Tuesday, April 14th, 2009
11:19 pm	On Keeping in Touch with Friends I just spent the last hour and half on the phone with Kato, one of my best buddies from college, and what a balm for the soul that was! I hadn't talked with Kato since last October! So much has changed for both of us since then, it was really good to catch up. It sounds like she's doing great, and is doing the best she can to pursue all of the goals she has been working on since undergrad. I got in touch with a couple other friends this evening, and was able to chat with Eileen (oldest sister) for the first time since San Antonio. An evening of work that most likely should have been done was lost, but I think it makes a world of difference to keep in touch every once in a while. A short phone conversation every once is much better than a substantial one every year or two. I'm trying to be better with my phone/contacting habits...it's so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life, I don't mean to get so absorbed and lose complete track of time! I'm gonna go to bed, so tired..x.o I'll give a life update later! Maybe I'll give it over the phone if I have your number! ^^ Current Mood: happy (2 Pokes | Poke Me!)
Tuesday, April 7th, 2009
10:06 pm	My brraaaaiiiin.... Holy CRAP. When I think things can't get any busier, they get...busier x.o I can't believe the semester is almost over. I can't believe I leave for New York in TWO WEEKS! I hardly have my act together for finals and finishing up all of my TA responsibilities, let alone for preparing to hit the ground running on the field in early May! I have to pack, too...we've got a whole apartment to deem inhabitable for the summer, which involves packing up a lot of stuff from the kitchen, bathroom, etc. When did I become so migratory? I've a feeling this will be the pattern for quite some time, but I can handle that. Now, if only I could find a way to get my cockatiels to migrate with me. Thank you all so much for the recipes! I haven't looked the details over yet, but the suggestions look really tasty. I'll get to commenting to replies ASAP, most likely this weekend! I might use a recipe or two for a cook-out I'm going to on Saturday (yes, it is warm enough to have cookouts in Texas right now). This past week I have spent a lot of time organizing the finances and logistics of traveling/moving for the summer, which is always more exhausting than it sounds. I finally have most of the paperwork completed, and I think everyone in the NY crew is on the same page. I have a huge list of little annoying things that need to get done, and a whole bunch of anticipated summer pitfalls I need to figure out how to cross (I know something weird is going to happen with my mail forwarding, I just know it! Those sorts of things always get screwed up!). What else? I had my first committee meeting on Monday, which involved a powerpoint presentation of my research proposal. That took more time than it should have to get together this past weekend x.o Tomorrow will be eaten up with seminar speaker obligations, Thursday will be lost to coursework, Friday will be a mix of those annoying chores, grading, and MIST-NETTING! :D I've been told my netting experience is pathetic, and that needs to change before the summer. I'm losing half of Friday to handling/processing practice, but that will be a welcomed break from everything this past week has thrown at me (and from what this week will continue to throw at me x.o). My life is a little boring to read about right now, bit it has been very productive! Did I mention I saw a white ibis in Lubbock last week? That's WAY off course for this bird species...it was quite a lifebird to collect! Okay, I need to get offline and defrag x.o (1 Poke | Poke Me!)
Saturday, March 28th, 2009
12:31 pm	Vegetarian Recipe Thread! Care to Share? I keep having dreams with my cockatiels in them. I really miss them :\ I'm really going to try to bring them back to Texas with me after the field season. They would be happier here with me, dag nabbit! Anyways! I'm not posting to sulk about the little beebs! What I really want to do is start a thread to collect some Vegetarian-Friendly Recipes. I have just about exhausted my current cookbook, and I am in need of some tasty recipes to try out. I'll post up a few of my favorites, as well - that way, you can try some of the recipes I like to rotate through ^^ If you have a recipe that is not vegetarian-friendly, but can easily be altered into a veggie-friendly recipe, feel free to post it! It is easy enough to substitute stocks and meats. Any suggestions? I'm a big fan of mushrooms, and I currently have a TON of cilantro, so if you have any recipes that star either of these two ingredients, I'm particularly interested! JW, I know you and Mike have an awesome black bean salad recipe - you should post that up XD Okay, back to work (boooo). I look forward to seeing what you've to share! Current Mood: hungry Current Music: Little Big Planet OST (12 Pokes | Poke Me!)
Sunday, March 22nd, 2009
9:19 pm	Back from Camping! Big Report! Whew, back from the power week of camping! Words can't capture how amazing the southwest is (and to think, I only sampled a small fraction of it!). I spent a lot of time uploading pictures onto my Flickr account, complete with captions and descriptions, so I will direct you there for the visual narrative of my Spring Break. The following is a briefing of what each of my park visits entailed, highlighting some of the cool stuff we saw and how many life birds were gathered :) Big Bend was as impressive and expansive as everyone says it is. The park encompasses so many different sorts of desert ecotypes, ranging from your prickly pear covered dunes to your sotol grasslands, to your alligator juniper and madrone forests blanketing the upper elevations of the Chisos Mountains. I can't even begin to describe how striking everything is - the contrasting colors, the sweet smells, the land that stretches on forever and ever to the horizon line. The desert is SUCH a beautiful place to be, especially when the temperature is not in the triple digits. We stayed in a little research cabin, which spoiled us with a working kitchen, a shower, and some other basics to comfortable "camping." The crew we traveled with had to get up at 3:45am to assure they had the bulk of their work done before sunrise, but Ken and I were able to sleep in until 7:00 (the nice thing about pre-breeding season birding is that the birds will be out whenever, so long as it is not TOO late in the morning - no need to wake up at the butt-crack!). We hiked the trails leading up to Emory Peak (highest point of the Chisos range), but time constraints kept us from getting to the summit. We still managed to hike ten miles of trail, however! We met up with the crew and hiked an additional four miles through a beautiful sotol grassland and up to a waterfall off an unmapped trail (where I saw a golden eagle, which was AWESOME). Needless to say, I was exhausted that evening, and quite sore the following day! Ken and I slept in a bit on Sunday, did some birding, and then hiked some flat trails around the Rio Grande (which was actually a river! It is usually pretty low this time of year, and is no more than a pathetic trickle until the monsoon season. I consider myself lucky!). Total Life Birds gathered at Big Bend N.P.: 25 I switched gears on Tuesday and started journeying westward with Beth and Jeff at the witching hour of 4:30am. We wanted to allow enough time to saturate ourselves with the glory of Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico. It was quite impressive, to say the least! The park includes a good chunk of the Chihuahua Desert, which I'd like to explore someday. I'm not a very good ecologist, so a lot of the natural wonder of the caves was lost on me. We then hauled ass to Cloudcroft, New Mexico, where we decided to surpass the Lincoln National Forest due to all campgrounds being closed for the season. We opted for a nice little campground just outside the forest in the deserts near Alamogordo. It would have been damn cold sleeping in the mountains, so the opting for desert camping worked out for the better (it was a comfortable 50-ish while we slept!). Total Life Birds gathered in New Mexico: 3 (not too many birds in caves) Wednesday involved a LOT of driving and time-warping (MST paired with no practice of daylight savings in AZ gave us two extra hours to play with), but we eventually reached Chiricahua National Monument. Unfortunately, the park was full by the time we got there, so we were directed to travel deeper into the Coronado National Forest to find primitive camp sites to stay at. This was possibly the BEST thing that could have happened. This forest is HUGE...it's something like 178,000 acres of protected forest, broken only by some pastures and dirt access roads. It is chock FULL of little hidy-holes for campers to tuck away into, which makes for a trip filled with peace and solitude. We chose a little spot just 6 miles outside of The Chiricahuas (which covers about 11,000 acres of the Coronado, and is known for its landscape of rock spires, as well as its Apache history). I can't describe the energy in this forest. It is old, it is alive, it is sound. The first thing I thought upon entering the park was, "so this is where Arizona's spirit resides..." Upon seeing the magnificent sky islands, the thought transformed into, "This is where the spirit of the Apache resides..." I don't know the history or the culture indigenous to Arizona, but I could feel it in every piece of green and every piece of rhyolite. Absolutely incredible! This was a forest I felt at ease with, and could spend a lifetime in. There were so many pines, spruces and maples that were a welcomed balm to a soul starved of woodlands. All of the species were new to me, but having a canopy over my head and leaf litter under my feet was fantastic. Ah, the actual camping! We roughed it, it was awesome. We were *kind* of prepared, but in an effort to pack light and minimally, we weren't equipped with some of the 20th-21st century comforts that make camping quite comfortable. Jeff brought a little stove, but it ran out of fuel in New Mexico u.u We went old-school with our fire: we had to collect tinder, kindling and firewood, and had to WORK to get that fire going! Jeff has a good pair of lungs, so be played the role of bellows while Beth strategically fed the flames. We absolutely needed a fire in the mornings and evenings - it was in the 30s without the sun! Yikes! The mountains of Arizona were cold, making the nights tough to sleep through. It was a lot of fun to face the challenge of collecting enough fire materials to get us through dinner and breakfast (I eventually caved and picked up a little propane stove during one of our day trips). Chiricahua had to shut down their waters due to "contamination" (their pipeline responsible for purifying it broke, so it wasn't REALLY contaminated, just no longer potable), so there were no showers or plumbing available in the park. They DID have a drinking water supply, so we were able to use the park as our water base. The water fiasco seemed to justify us NOT staying in the park - the only perk would have been shower access and a personal water pump, neither of which were available. We got to camp for free and enjoy the solitude of the forest! After exhausting the trails and the sites of Chiricahua, we spent our last day exploring some of the land within the Coronado. We drove to a part of the forest near the "village" Portal (basically a developed campground with a small trading post - awesome!), where Jeff climbed a big mountain while Beth and I birded the area. It was quiet on the trails, which wasn't too surprising given the time of year. We explored a part of the forest known as Cave Creek, which provided us with trails winding along with a beautiful little creek. Beth had never seen a lot of the evergreens before, nor had she seen so much deciduous leaf litter - it was a lot of fun teaching her about tree and herb IDing (all of the northeastern tricks translate quite nicely to the southwestern community!). We also visited a little research center near Portal that was supposed to be a birding hotspot (according to surrounding campers and the rangers, at least!). We scoured the area for an Elegant Trogon, but no such luck! We saw other cool birds, however. Life Birds gathered in Arizona: 9 (not too shabby! Would have loved to have seen the trogon!) I could go on and on about all of the fun things that happened, all of the challenges we were faced with but overcame, and about how stinky and smelly we all were come Friday. I'll stop there. I really want to go back to the Coronado Nation Forest again. That place was spectacular...I think Arizona has a lot of neat land to visit, and quite a bit of native history that makes it shine as brightly as parts of the northeast does in my mind. I'll definitely be returning when I've another chunk of time! Yikes, it's late..time for bed, I suppose. Back to reality tomorrow :\ An excellent break, it was! Current Mood: tired (1 Poke | Poke Me!)
Friday, March 13th, 2009
10:18 am	Spring Break! Whoohoo! Commence Southwestern Gallivant There is so much work that should really get done over Spring Break, but the euphoria of the week has rooted itself so deeply that I simply don't care right now (well, I do care, but none of the obligations are anywhere near the priority list right now!). It's cold and rainy in Lubbock (which is good and bad - we haven't seen rain since September, which is a long, long time as far as I'm concerned), but hopefully things are a bit warmer and drier down in Big Bend. The weather I don't care about, that's for sure! It would be nice to have it dry and sunny (I would love to see some new birds, and some cool lizards and critters), but the park is going to be outstanding regardless. Big Bend is going to be awesome, no matter what! The details of Southwest Gallivant, Phase II, I am going to keep a secret - I don't want to jinx all of our plans! If they all work out, and the weather cooperates (we're doing primitive camping, so it better!), it should be an absolutely amazing trip. One last random and striking note before I leave! I don't know why I'm sharing this, I just feel I have to because it absolutely shocked me. I went to the doctors last week to get a physical, meet my new doctor here in Lubbock, and have a follow up on a nasty stomach bug I had (I'm fine now, you know how those things go. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy, EVER). I have some physical oddities and irregularities that my new doctor was concerned to hear about, so she ordered some blood tests and suggested a schedule another visit for some other examinations of the OB/GYN nature. The doctors called back in less than 24 hours with results, which is never a very good thing. Don't worry, nothing is seriously wrong with me, but it turns out I have severe hypothyroidism! Who would have thought, huh? I don't show any of the blatant symptoms, but a lot of the personal, subtle symptoms that I've never chosen to complain about clearly place me in the hypothyroid category. I thought they were just my body being weak and sensitive across the board. I thought I might have been a little psychosomatic, as well e.e Anyways, I am on a really high dose of hormones that I have to take in the morning. I feel SO wired right now. I just feel like...doing something. Cleaning, organizing, talking, writing, anything. It's a weird rush that is nothing at all like the adrenaline rushes I'm used to. I guess it's a...thyroxine rush? Okay, that's all! Don't be worried about me...hypothyroidism is pretty common, and from what I understand from basic biology classes, it can pop up in someone's thyroid gland for a variety of reasons. It's like trying to pin point why your face suddenly broke out. A crude and belittling analogy, but it illustrates that this is nothing to worry about. Okay, I really need to go. Almost time to head out for Big Bend! Current Mood: weird (16 Pokes | Poke Me!)
Sunday, March 8th, 2009
8:42 pm	Quick Update! Long story short, my modem crashed! Boo! That left me without internet at home until just a few days ago. I'm technically at school right now, but that's beside the point. This week is going to be grueling and insane, as the rest of the semester is bound to be, so here's a real quick update on Spring Break plans (yes, graduate students celebrate Spring Break, too! XD): - Going to Big Bend National Park, Texas: Friday-Sunday - Going to Chiricahua National Park, Arizona Tuesday-Saturday - Writing a grant proposal sometime before March 27th It is going to be GREAT to get out and truly meet the environment our good green earth expresses itself as in this part of the country. I am really excited to get some good hiking in (to get topography in, period!), some life birds, and the silent conversations with natural I have been absolutely ravenous for as of late. I'll take lots of pictures, and I'll actually post them, I promise! I'm taking a big step here, too: I'm actually BUYING some camping equipment! I'm not gonna mooch this time! Well, the tent and the "kitchen gear" I'm borrowing, but this was a good excuse to start my own collection of camping goods ^^ Okay, I really need to go. I need to go home x.o Current Mood: tired (9 Pokes | Poke Me!)
Wednesday, February 25th, 2009
9:43 am	80 Degrees in February?! I'm back from San Antonio! My sisters and I had a really good time. The city's downtown and famed Riverwalk is pretty small (and gimmicky, and touristy...but I suppose every major city is like that. Faneuil Hall is no better!). We spent the days checking out the shopping/market place (including "El Mercado" - think Kam Man, only Mexican) and the evenings exploring the restaurants and bars. We took a fun tour of the local missionaries, and paid our respect to The Alamo (I did not ask about the basement - Texans take the Alamo VERY seriously. I probably would have been banned). The bunch of us also met up with Dan Kane's cousin, who is stationed in San Antonio. He took us out to Fredricksburg, which is a small town that was settled by Germany back in the 1800s. It was very cute, much like the trendy little town centers found at the Cape and the North Shore in MA. I'll post pictures soon! I need to update my Flickr account, STAT x.o Other news? I FINALLY got to hook up my PS3 - it is now online, updated, and ready to go! I played some Little Big Planet last night (so cute!). Here are my stats so far: Username: BronzeMistral Is there anything else I should post to network on PSN? Are usernames all that are swapped to add friends? I need to read more the community side of both PSN and Little Big Planet..that's this weekend's plan ^^ It's as busy as usual here at TTU. Unforntunately, I'm a little sick right now, which is making everything really difficult. It's a stomach bug of some sort, which is just..lame. I'll leave it at that. It better behave itself while teaching today - I can only fake "healthy" for so long! Also, notice the sweet sprite that kiohl made for me! I commissioned her shortly before I left for an Antonio, and I just love it ^^ Thanks, Kiohl! :D Okay, I really need to get to work now! Current Mood: sick (10 Pokes | Poke Me!)
Friday, February 13th, 2009
10:35 pm	Whoa.. I'm here! Sort of...this year is too busy, too insane, and too out of my control. These past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of activities and challenges, but I've managed to persevere. I've been pulling 10+ hour days, and have been spending a good chunk of my weekends in my lab trying to get work done. Dang x.o The busy schedule has been partly due to the first round of finals hitting, but mostly due to the myriad of social obligations this semester has flung me into. The seminar speakers at TTU have been ecologically focused, which has been great for networking and communicating science, but awfully time consuming. I've spent a great deal of time helping out with the hosting of professors/scientists these past couple of weeks, which is more exhausting than it sounds...x.o Additionally, my computer and my car decided to rebel at the same time, which has really worn me out. I think I'm in control now...I've managed to recover my hard drive, and I have power steering and functional spark plugs again. I don't want to get into it. Otherwise, all is going well. I've been thinking a lot about what I'll actually be researching for my Master's, and I've been doing my best to get to know the system I'll be jumping into this summer up in NY state. I wish I had some more interesting things to report, but my life have been so focused on academic/TTU things as of late, I'm afraid I don't have too much else to say! I think this is the first time in my life I've physically been unable to much else outside my academic demands. This is just..insane x.o That's okay, thought...it's what I'm here for, right? Om a different note, I'm going to San Antonio next weekend to meet up with Eileen and Nancy (my sisters!). I think that will be a healthy break for me. They offered to make all of the arrangements and take care of the financial side of things, so there isn't too much stress on getting out there outside of time management with my workload. It will be good to see them, and we are bound to have a blast. OH! I'm getting a PS3 this week (also an arrangement where the financial side of things is taken care of for me - a perk of having siblings who work in the videogame world! XD), which is AWESOME. More on that later! I hope you're all doing well! Current Mood: exhausted (8 Pokes | Poke Me!)
Saturday, January 24th, 2009
2:58 pm	WHEW x.o I'm so insanely envious of everyone attending Further Confusion 2009 right now! It is going to be some time before I can go to a convention of any sort :\ A disappointing thought for at first, but then I remember the reasons as to why: Ornithology and Ecology conferences all over the world! I am looking forward to the day my life is a balanced blend of artist, geek, and scientist. Someday I will be able to go to conferences AND conventions in a given year ^^ I just finished a scholarship application (WOOT!), and am breaking before digging into my material for next week's lab. I'm taking the students to study prairie dog behavior for the "behavioral ecology" experience in lab, which should be fun. Now I just need to critically read this paper they are assigned to read, and get some good discussion questions out of it. A fun and fairly easy task, I'm just so not in the mood to work anymore today. I've no excuse: I've only been working for like, an hour or so x.o I know why I'm so lazy - nothing has been going right for me these past couple of weeks, which is annoying and discouraging. It's just a lot of little things that keep adding up: complications with W-2s, complications with my grant, complications with my student loan refund, complications with transcripts, the list goes on and on. Everything I am planning and working on right now (academics, TA stuff, financial stuff, personal/recreational planning) completely pivots on these key subjects that are such a pain in the ass right now. Thanks for reading that vet - I know you're all familiar with bureaucratic rings of fire to jump through that seem to never end. You think we'd be used to this by now, huh? Okay, that's all, just procrastinating and venting a bit! I should go read now, and then play lots of Smash Bros with Amy and Surrogate JW/Mike XD P.S. I BEAT FF IV DS! FINALLY! Current Mood: aggravated (3 Pokes | Poke Me!)
Monday, January 19th, 2009
9:40 am	Real Quick Update! Geez, it has been busy....it's not that I haven't had time in the evenings to get online, I've just had to allocate my time pretty strictly. I had to put my internet blinders on all last week, limiting my recreational online time to checking my e-mails, and shadowing here to see how everyone's doing. Dang, this semester is going to be tough! It will, however, be very rewarding....I'm juggling a lot of optional exercises and meetings and the like that will be very beneficial for me to experience. They include, but are not limited to: Microsoft Access courses (which will be followed by creating and managing the database for the IES work. No pressure or anything there, right? XD), reading/discussing/working through the Hanna Kokko book on modeling with my advisor, participating in a journal club that a labmate of mine has started, etc. etc. The usual workload will be coming my way, as well! Whew...I'm a little intimidated now x.o It will be fine, I just need to stay active and motivated, that's all! I went to Caprock Canyon just northeast of Lubbock yesterday, which I found even MORE impressive than Palo Duro! I definitely want to get bac there (I'll take pictures next time!). Okay, I need to get off the computer...it's time to get to work on lab prep. I'm in charge of taking care of the isopods for a future lesson, WHOO! If anyone has any information on their care and maintenance, do feel free to send it my way! (4 Pokes | Poke Me!)
Saturday, January 10th, 2009
2:49 pm	Home Decorating and Whatnot Whew, I just spent the last two hours unpacking/rearranging/decorating my new apartment x.o It's *finally* looking a little more like home! I mailed a bunch of stuff to myself while I was home visiting for the break, most of which arrived last week. I now have my DVDs (well, most of them...the rest better be in transit. I'll be sad if I forgot to mail my anime DVDs to myself :\) out on a shelf, and some pictures and artwork and things on the wall. I went out this morning and bought some curtain rods and some little wall shelves, so the tapestries are up and the candles are off the kitchen counters. It still feels very empty and lonely without my birds with me...I don't think I can truly call a place "home" without them. I know I'll eventually adjust to being without them, but in the mean time, it's a bit tough >.< It feels a bit weird to not be surrounded by dragons, either...I've always hauled my dragon collectibles and figurines around with me! That's not a hard adjustment, however...if anything, it makes for cleaning/dusting a LOT easier now. I guess not having cockatiels with me subtracts from the dusting and cleaning, as well...I still miss them, though :\ What else...ah! School updates! I'M TA FOR ECOLOGY THIS SEMESTER! Yaaaay! My professor from Animal Communication last semester was given lab coordinator duties for the Ecology lab in a very last-minute fashion. She selected me to TA it, thus saving me from Intro Bio for non-majors! It's just the two of us putting the lab together - she admittedly is not as experienced with teach ecology or doing labs in the subject, which gives me the opportunity to put some major input and design into the labs. Other highlights? The class is small, and I really enjoyed working with this professor last semester. We're going to have a lot of fun, I think ^^ I don't have *too* much to do today...I should really do a bit of research today to get my brain juices flowing about what sort of project I want to do, and I'll have to read over the both the syllabus and the first lab to get my thoughts/comments/concerns in by Monday. That's it, which is kind of nice. Next week is already packed with stuff to do, so I best enjoy this light weekend. Lady's Night tonight with some friends, which is bound to be a blast! For now, I think I'll brew some coffee and work on some arts! Current Mood: cheerful (1 Poke | Poke Me!)
Tuesday, January 6th, 2009
2:32 pm	Back Online! With Artwork. Wow, that was quick. It's good to be back already ^_^ I'll be much more active and social online now that I've my own connection. This is going to sound a bit strange, but I just couldn't relax on campus, I couldn't be myself...I didn't feel comfortable making my usual rounds, and the stress and overwhelming nature of my first semester hindered my ability and motivation to create any arts to share or post. I can't explain why, but that was how it was, and it most certainly affected how I behaved with my internet time. There's no other reason as to why I was so sporadic last semester, and why I was so negligent towards friends and communities online. I felt I was negligent, at least. But no matter! I am back now, and that's that. Here are a few pieces I did while waiting for my internet access: ( The First of the 2009 Artwork! ) Other than that, I've been on and off campus getting some paperwork and housekeeping done for my lab and semester, running errands, and playing my new DS games (AOM is HARD! I'm no good at it! The new dinosaur game I bought, however, is really fun. A bit too repetitive though - I can only play it in small doses). I also spent too much money on DVDs to assuage some boredom, but they are movies I would have bought eventually. If I vocalize my guilt to the world, the action is forgiven and justified, right? I am now the proud owner of Kung Fu Panda, Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, and volumes 2 and 3 of Family Guy. Squee! That's about it..I'll get back to virtual housekeeping and whatnot as the week progresses. I am sure this is the only "slow" week I'll have this semester x.o Current Mood: satisfied Current Music: Radiohead - In Rainbows (Thanks, Nicole!) (13 Pokes | Poke Me!)
Sunday, January 4th, 2009
11:07 am	Back in Texas! As with every break, I was completely irresponsible and never signed online! :O I tried, truly I did! I apologize for disappearing, and for being so negligent of this journal (along with other blogs scattered across the website). The next two weeks are going to be chaotic in getting myself organized at school and in my apartment. There is SO much to iron out and to settle, it has my head spinning. Additionally, all of the wireless networks around my apartment have been secured, booo :( I won't be very active here or with personal e-mails (outside a quick "hello/how-are-you," at least!), but I've ordered internet through ClearWire, and should be connected within the next week or so (hopefully!). I hope you all had a Merry Christmas/Happy Hannukah/Solstice/etc., and that you all had a Happy New Year! For those of you who took the time to text, e-mail and snail mail me with holiday wishes, thank you so much! I am sorry I am such a horrible friend/acquaintance. I will be better! For those of you who sent me surprise gift arts and things, thank you so much! That was so thoughtful! I'll post more once I have the internet, and will read your journals, as well - I hope you all had a nice season, and that the New Year has treated you well, thus far! P.S. I was really addicted to Little Big Planet over the break. I played it a whole bunch with Kaz...I want a PS 3 ;.; Current Mood: stressed (14 Pokes | Poke Me!)