Around Brisbane

So, I've been here for almost 8 months now, and so far I've

1) moved to a studio apartment
2) started a PhD
3) joined random student clubs (dance!)
4) attended seminars, lab retreats, workshops, and conferences (won $200 for best talk!)
5) seen kangaroos, wallabies, flying foxes, possums, gliders, koalas, and various birds -- in the wild!
6) been to the beach and the forest
7) driven on the WRONG side of the road
8) watched Australian football
9) moved again, this time to a 2 bedroom treehouse ;)
10) co-hosted an awesome housewarming party
11) turned 31 :P

and generally just roamed around the streets of Brisbane (and surrounding suburbs). Here are some pics taken around the city, using my (old, not-smart) camera phone.

The University of Queensland, St Lucia

2010 and most of 2011

Ack! OK, quick and dirty summary of 2010 (if I can even remember that far back), and 3/4 of 2011! 

Highlights:
1. Jan 2010 was my cousin KC's wedding, so I took 3 weeks off to go the Philippines and attend the wedding. Mostly stayed with my cousins in Quezon City, did some shopping and eating and drinking! Went on a quick weekend trip to Subic Bay with Miko, Juris and Sarah, then the wedding in Tagaytay, then a week in the province with relatives and a road trip to Lucban, Quezon, then back to the city for a flight out to Legaspi, Albay to see Mayon Volcano and to Donsol, Sorsogon to go snorkelling with whale sharks! Then it's one last night out with the cousins before heading back home.

 2. Mar 2010 included a random, last-minute trip to Cuba with Richeille. By this time, I had finished my fellowship at the Zoo and was looking for the next gig. Richeille happened to have a week off, so we looked at all-inclusive vacation packages and booked a trip to Varadero, Cuba on a Sunday, and flew out the following Wednesday! Stayed at Brisas del Caribe and sat on the beach, walked around Varadero, took a tour to Havana, which included a rum tour and cigar factory tour, saw a Tropicana show, and went on a tour to Santa Clara, Trinidad, and Cienfuegos!

3. From sun to snow, the end of March included a quick trip to Revelstoke to see Gaya and Lu, and for some end-of-season snowboarding!

 4. Jul 2010. After attending one day of the ICCB conference in Edmonton, and celebrating another birthday, of course!, I was off to Nanaimo (on Vancouver Island) for a 6 month internship with DFO. It was a drastic pay-cut, but also was a great learning experience (who would've thought I'd be doing some programming and population modelling!), and where better to kill time than on the West Coast? The job also got extended, and I ended up spending almost a full year on the Island. I also met some awesome people, and the experience ended up leading me somewhere I never expected to be, but that's a story for later. But while on the island, I explored a bit of Nanaimo, drove to the West Coast, took the Via Rail to Victoria for Labour Day weekend, went salmon fishing on the Fraser River (ok, that one wasn't on the island), learned Chinese, Latin dancing, and Japanese, went snowboarding on Mt Washington, presented my project at the IMCC in Victoria, took a couple of trips to Vancouver, and went kayaking just before leaving the island in mid-July 2011!

5. Nov 2010 was Emma's visit to Calgary, after being away since 2004. She brought the kids with her, and we had fun catching up over drinks, and also taking the kids to the Science Centre.

6. Jul 2011. Right after getting back to Calgary, I was off again, this time for a one week trip to Ottawa to see Laura and the rest of the SRES alumni now living there. Did all the touristy stops, and went to Bluesfest too! Too bad the stage collapsed, and on my birthday too! Still, pretty exciting, and it was good to see Ottawa again (properly) since the last time I was there in high school.
 
7. Sep 2011 was scuba diving month! I bought an online deal for half off PADI Open Water Diver Course, so I did the class and pool sessions on Labour Day long weekend, then the 4 open water dives at Lake Sundance a week later. The end of the month also included a quick 4 day trip to Halifax and Keji, to meet up with some old friends from grad school and see my turtles again!

And that brings us to now, which is a week (and a few days) before I leave for my grand adventure....a trip to Southeast Asia (plus Shanghai and Beijing) before moving to Brisbane, Australia to do my PhD at the University of Queensland! How did this happen? A sequence of serendipitous events, haha! I had applied for an NSERC scholarship back in October, but hadn't really decided yet on where to go and who to work with. My supervisor at DFO suggested a few names, and one of them was someone I had also been thinking about, but thought there was no chance I'd be able to go. She volunteered to send him a quick email to recommend me as a student after I contacted him myself to ask about grad studies in his lab. Got an email back just before Christmas to let me know he'd be happy to have me on board as a student! After finding out that I got the NSERC CGS scholarship (which I knew I'd had to turn down for the PGS if I was going to Australia), I began the arduous process of applying for admission and scholarship to the University of Queensland. I knew, what with international student fees and ridiculously high cost of living, there was no way I could go unless I got a full ride, and finally, in mid-September, I got the results! I'm going to Australia!

The past couple of weeks has been crazy with trying to organize my trip to Asia (which I had been planning for a year or so, but just couldn't pin down the dates until now), arranging for tourist visas and student visas, and sorting out the "moving situation". Still in the process of sorting and packing, and organizing last minute details of my trip. I'll post up the itinerary in the next post, which will be soon as I'll be resurrecting this blog again to post updates of my travels and the move to Australia!

2009

Happy New Year! It's been a while, so here's a recap of 2009, in case someone is still following. :)

Early 2009 started off slow, with more intensive job searching on my part. Started to get a bit worried, so I even applied to oil and gas/consulting companies! But things started to get weird around February. Went to Ottawa for a 3 day job interview/exam process with Natural Resources Canada in mid-February, when I met up with some friends living in the area (and also doing the same job interview process with me). Didn't get that job, but then I wasn't really sure if policy analysis is the type of thing I want to be doing FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE anyway, so that was probably a good thing. In March, I heard back from another government job I applied for, this time it was for a biologist type position with Fisheries and Oceans. It was a rather rushed process, they called me to write an exam a few days before, then called to schedule an interview in Burlington rather last minute. Then the weirdest rejection in the mail a couple of weeks later: they congratulated me for meeting the requirements, etc. etc., then said I was put on a short list for future openings, but nowhere did it say that I didn't get the job! LOL! Anyway, later in March I also got another weird offer from a pipeline company, lots of money to do field work/monitoring, but very little support in terms of training and they wanted to send me out ASAP! Since I was waiting to hear back from a few other jobs, I turned them down. Around this time I was in a job interview process for a research fellowship at the Zoo, as well as one summer field job, and a potential job with Parks back in Halifax. In the span of one week in early April, I got 3 different job offers! After much consideration, I decided to take on the fellowship at the Zoo, so I can get experience working back here in the prairies and also I won't have to move again!

Started that job in mid-April doing field work. Early spring and late summer was doing surveys on northern leopard frogs in southern Alberta. Incredibly frustrating and tiring work, but lots of adventures, and my co-workers were great fun. A lot of driving and walking involved, and map reading, but I also got a pretty good tour of southeast Alberta. In between, and in September, was doing live-trapping of prairie dogs at Grasslands National Park. A bit repetitive work, lots of carrying heavy stuff, but we got to play with cute prairie dogs and living with the field crew was a blast! Val Marie was great, a bit of a different feel than Southwest Nova (here we get the Rodeo instead of the exhibitions), but still a good community feeling with lots of park staff and researchers. In early October, I got to participate in the black-footed ferret release (first re-introduction of this extirpated carnivore in Canada!) and I got to carry a ferret for a few minutes! Then it's back to the city to do data analysis in the office, this time looking at oil and gas effects on swift foxes. I did get a break in November, when we went back to Grasslands for a week to monitor those ferrets we released. This time, we went out at night, hiked a few km carrying heavy packs with spotlights and batteries etc., then walked around for the whole night looking for ferret eyeshine! The first day was terrible, everyone wanted to quit! But we made some changes on how we do things for the second day, and it got loads better after that! The final night we didn't end up going out since it was too windy (ferrets likely won't be out and about), so the whole crew sat around the pub for wing night and drinks...until 3am! Then a bunch of us kept going (at another location) until about 5am, which was when I crashed, only to get up 4 hours later to drive back to the city!

Now, by the end of 2009, I finished (or mostly finished) the report on swift foxes, wrote another exam for a job, this time with Environment Canada, and am trying to start a new project at the Zoo so I can keep my job (otherwise, my contract is up in mid-Feb). For now, there's my cousin's wedding to go to in the Philippines (yay for 3 weeks of tropical weather!), and I'm really hoping I have a chance with the Env Canada job since it's for a job doing species at risk research and policy stuff -- right up my alley! I'll probably do more intensive job searching in February, finally finish that Blanding's paper, and if I still don't have a job, maybe do a bit of adventuring?? I've promised Australia to some people, and another friend is going on a round the world trip (pretty much) and wants me to join her if I have a chance. Maybe look more seriously into a PhD? Ack, more school, I know! Anyway, stay tuned for new developments, I guess!

Have a great 2010, and take care!

Site under construction

I've been meaning to change the design and layout of the blog, so now I'm finally getting around to it. The current theme may change once I find a better one. The links to photo albums have temporarily been removed -- I'll probably put them back once I've settled on a design template. In the meantime, enjoy the Mexico pics while I work on uploading pics from my more recent trip to the Philippines and Japan!

Quickie

Not much going on lately. Moved back to Calgary in June (my "lease" was up, and I decided not to take the job that was MAYBE being offered, in the hopes of actually finding something more permanent, or at least longer term), and since then I have been a) looking for jobs, b) applying for jobs, c) working on leftover data analysis, d) hanging out with my friends and my sisters and cousins, and e) doing nothing. A forced semi-vacation, I guess. There has been some interesting revelations, some shocking and sad news, some ongoing drama among friends...And so, my 27th birthday passed, rather quietly, I must say...I probably had more fun at the Stampede and going out for drinks afterwards the week before. But, c'est la vie, I suppose. I did end up going to a Parokya ni Edgar concert in Calgary (which is a Filipino rock band, iconic, if you must..they've definitely been around for about 15 years) which was awesome, even if the crowd wasn't as great as it ought to be for such a great act. But I've learned how to make my own fun, and who cares what everyone else thinks! Yes, even if it was a roomful of Filipinos (and it was a pretty big room too). Ended up going to an afterparty (a couple of relatives helped organize/produce the show) and ALMOST (but not quite) went to party with the band downtown afterwards. Must emphasize the ALMOST part of it.

Dinosaur Provincial Park, July long weekend.

At the Stampede with Ada and Richeille.
Went to see Natasha Beddingfield perform on the Coke Stage.

The Midway at the Stampede Grounds.

A shot of Jaeger with Evelyn, day after my birthday.

Parokya ni Edgar concert in Calgary, Aug 1st. Woohoo!

It's mid August now, still jobless and slightly worried...not necessarily about finding a job but more like deciding on the path to my future. Whatever that may be, which I guess is the bigger question, isn't it? And I've been putting off the decision. I guess I'm just too comfortable at the moment, although I know its looming up ahead. The end of the month, in fact, which is sort of a deadline I set for myself. But then, we all know how I am with self-imposed deadlines: terrible! Que sera, sera, as they say in Spain. Or, the Filipino version: Bahala na! :P

Small-town blues

I realize I've been somewhat inactive again, in terms of blogging, so here I am with another update. Although, nothing new and exciting has been going on, to be honest. After finishing up the field work last November, I went back home to Calgary for a much needed vacation! But before leaving Nova Scotia, I had gotten an offer for a contract with Parks Canada -- well, 2 actually. First was to help out with the editing of the Recovery Strategy for the Eastern Ribbonsnake, and after that, doing the image analysis for the hatchling turtle habitat photos that we took over the fall. So after my vacation, during which I did nothing except hang out and visit friends, I left again in January with 2 check-in luggages and my laptop (after having packed up all my stuff and shipped them back to my parents' house when I left Halifax in the summer).

En route, I decided to stopover for a couple of days in Toronto, just to satisfy my craving for travel and adventure. I met up with Laura, who I hadn't seen since the summer, and we spent a couple of days walking around downtown Toronto without a real purpose except exploring. Well, I was exploring...Laura was playing tour guide! We stayed at Laura's friend's (Andreea) place, and celebrated Laura's b-day as well with some of her friends in Toronto.

with Laura and Andreea in Toronto

When I finally arrived in Halifax, I stayed at my friend Heather's place, and Pete joined us the next day to hang out a bit in the city. The plan was to maybe go out to the bar, but of course we ended up having dinner and playing Trivial Pursuit with Norm and Sue at their place! Pete and I left for Wolfville the following day, where he dropped me off at my new place, which turned out to be right at the edge of town, a 20min walk to "downtown Wolfville".

And so began my life here in Wolfville. I started working on the recovery strategy and finishing up the data entry from the fall almost right away, although there were a couple of delays with actually getting the contract officially in place, and therefore with the payment as well. So, I had to basically had to live off my savings for 3 months before finally getting the first payment at the end of March. Thank goodness I had savings, or I would have been screwed! Besides the delay in the first contract, another "issue" was with funding for the 2nd contract, which I was supposed to work on for a couple of months following the recovery strategy. They wanted to change the terms of the second contract to include all of the hatchling data analysis as well as the preparation of a manuscript, so that it would in effect be a larger contract, with more work and more money. But the problem with a larger contract is that they had to wait for the new fiscal year, and so the contract wouldn't start until well into May or even June -- leaving me with no income for 2 whole months! I was just getting used to this idea and was trying to make plans when at the last minute (of course...everything these days seems to happen at the last minute), the research team comes through for me and decides to pay me for the month of April through Acadia. I suspect the money ultimately came from Parks, but I don't know it for sure. In any case, now I'm working through to the end of April, still helping out with the recovery strategy although more focused on continuing with the hatchling data analysis.

My days while here in Wolfville are pretty uneventful...I work from home, since I don't get office/desk space at Acadia and no internet access from there either. So, to get out of the house, I've been trying to go for walks during the day, especially when it's nice out. There have been a couple of social events with some of the folks from the research team, who I worked with in the field in previous years, but overall the social scene has been pretty quiet since most of the people I know here are currently grad students and therefore have no life to speak of. I've gone out to see movies on a number of occasions at the small theatre in town, where the movies are put on by the local film society. Lars and the Real Girl is one of the best I've seen and highly recommended! :) I've also made a couple of trips to the local used bookstore and purchased a few books that I'm currently making my way through. Other than that, not much is really happening, so there isn't much to tell.

Main Street, Wolfville

part of the Millennium Trail, off of Front Street by the water

view of Wolfville

As for the future...well, no one really knows what the future brings anyway, but I have been looking casually at job postings and have applied to a couple. I applied for a conservation fellowship at the Calgary Zoo, but ended up turning down the chance for an interview, after I spoke to Tasha about it, who happened to be doing the hiring. I guess the job was geared towards undergrads, and she thought it might not be challenging or interesting enough for me. I also applied for a temporary job with Parks Canada, doing fieldwork with Species at Risk at Kejimkujik National Park. I went for an interview for the job last week, but won't find out for a couple of weeks what the results are. Besides, that, there's the option for the 2nd contract, although I haven't heard anything new about it lately. Both aren't likely to start until mid-May, so I am planning on taking a couple of weeks off in early May to satisfy (once again) my craving for travelling. That's all I can foresee for now...stay tuned for new developments, at least as far as my job/career goes! I'll try and once again be more diligent with the blogging! =P

Fieldwork

Yup, that's pretty much all I'm up to these days. Been a busy September and October, tracking wee turtles everyday and doing a bit of paperwork at night. These days, we've gone to tracking every other day, since the hatchlings haven't been moving very much, although water levels have gone up significantly and have flooded most of our turtles. So, on the off days, I'm doing data entry. All the data that have built up over the past couple of months. Fun fun fun. Also managing to do a bit of job hunting, but no luck so far. Will keep you posted on that. Umm, the plan for now is to head back home to Calgary in early December and figure things out from there, if I haven't yet by then.

I guess that's pretty much it for now. Oh, links to photos from my grad are on the side under Photos. Later, folks!

That's all, folks

It's done! Well, the thesis, anyway. I scrambled to finish the revisions and sent the thesis to the external examiner about a week and a half before the defense! Then I spent most of the time packing up to move out of the house...I think I probably spent less than 12 hours preparing for the defense! Luckily, it all went relatively smoothly...a few difficult questions, mostly on the philosophical/ethical side of things, but they passed me, so I guess my answers were fine. At least, I think they passed me...no one actually told me outright, when I went back inside, everyone was getting up to leave and shaking my hand, so I assumed that meant I passed. They only mentioned a couple of required revisions, and everything else was apparently "for [my] consideration"...whatever that meant. Basically, I did the major ones and then tried to do as much as I can with the other ones, given the time I had.

And I had very little time! After the defense, we all went out for lunch (and there was a huge group of us, most of the people from Keji/MTRI came out for my defense) at the Grawood, since it was the closest, then Jose and Peter took some of my things to bring back to MTRI. Laura and I then got a cab out to Dartmouth to pick up our rental car. By this time, I was still freaking out a bit about revisions, so we spent an hour at the coffee shop near our old house so I can go through the comments and calm down a bit. Then back to the hostel to drop off our things, then out for supper and drinks for a bit of a celebration. Laura and I went to Hamachi House near the hostel, ate a lot of food and drank some sake, then walked over to the Bitter End for some martinis. Catherine and Blair met us there later, so we chatted for a bit before we all parted -- at 11pm! We're such party animals! :P After getting back to the hostel, I looked over the comments again and actually started to feel better about them, which was good. Maybe it was the drinks?

The next morning we got up relatively early and set out for Sydney, in Cape Breton. We stayed with Sana for a few days, working most of the time either at Sana's place or at Cape Breton University (haha, stealing internet access). The plan was to finish revisions by Wednesday and send them to Tom, then print everything once I got back to the city on Thursday and hand it in on Friday. Except that on Wednesday, I found out that my ride to Keji was leaving at 7am on Friday! So I had a freak out and spent the rest of the day on fast-forward, trying to finish the revisions, send it to Tom, format it, and print it...all before supper, since we had agreed to go out that evening for our last night out in Sydney! But, it all got done, even with a relatively minor mistake at Staples -- good thing I checked before I left! Five copies and over $50 later, I had the thesis ready and we all went out for a nice dinner.

Except that it wasn't quite ready. We left Sydney at 7:30am and managed to get into town around 2pm (after stopping by Norm and Sue's to drop off my stuff), dropped off Laura's things at the hostel, then dropped off the rental car and took a cab back to Dal. It was 3:30pm by the time we got there, which I thought would be enough time to hand everything in. I did have to finish up at SRES, sign a form and return my keys, etc. which took some time. But I also got an email from Tom with a few more minor things to change, so I had to reprint a few pages, and also print out a form to sign and photocopy another form. Only I ran out of print credits and photocopying credits, so I had to run over to the library and put more money on my Dalcard, and print/photocopy and insert the pages into the thesis! I barely got it all done on time, I got to FGS about 5 minutes before they closed! Good thing they didn't turn me away, or I don't know what I would've done! There were a few people there ahead of me, doing the same thing, plus they did a format check on the spot, so it all took some time before it was officially submitted! But, it was finally done and handed in, and Laura and I went to the Indian restaurant near South Park street. Norm picked me up from the hostel after supper and I spent the night at their place, because we left the next day at 7am!

So, here I am, back at MTRI and doing the hatchling project again. I'm looking forward to it, it should be a nice break after the past few months, and I can use the time to work on papers for publication and apply for jobs! Speaking of which, if anyone has a lead on conservation biology jobs, drop me a line!

Summer in the City

Really quite sad that my (possibly) last summer in Halifax was spent mostly indoors, in front of my laptop. =P Alas, thesis calls. July and August were busy busy busy...trying to get the thesis written then revised then submitted, and trying to set up the defense. I did manage a bit of fun, went to the Economy Shoe Shop for supper and drinks on my birthday. There were a few other nights out, either drinks, or movie, or dancing.

I also went home for about 2 weeks in late July - early August. It was rushed, I didn't finish what I wanted to before I left Halifax, so I had to work on it while I was at home. It was good to be back for a visit though, to see my friends and spend time with family. Went to the Folk Festival one weekend, and to Kananaskis for some hiking the next. There were a few other things, but those were the main ones. A lot of the time I just spent at home trying to do work!

I just finished the revisions last night and I sent off the thesis to the external and my committee. Now all I have to do is prepare for the defense, which is set for Aug 31! Which, unfortunately, is also moving day...we have to move out of the apartment by then. So, Laura and I are going to stay at the hostel on the 30th and 31st, so I can get away from the moving chaos and focus on the defense. We're driving to Cape Breton on the 1st, to stay with Sana for a bit. Then back to the city on the 6th to hand in our thesis to FGS, and we're home free! Hopefully. I've got to arrange a ride to Keji after that...I'll be working there for 3 months (or just about) on the hatchling project again! I'm sure it will be great, although right now all I can think about is all the hassle with the moving, etc. *sigh* Sometimes, a car really IS useful. =P

If you're observant, you've already noticed the new addition to the blog: a link to photos! I've decided that uploading them directly into the blog takes too long, and the non-facebook friends are complaining about not being able to check out the pictures. So, here's the solution!

Alright, time to catch up on my sleep! Wish me luck on the defense! =S

Tall Ships 2007

Ahhh...a beautiful summer's day in Halifax! =P Hahaha..actually the previous 2 days were nice and sunny, I just happened to pick the wrong time to go! Ships, ships and more ships, and people dressed as pirates. Live music, random cannon firing, children's rides and games, and lots of junk food! Fish and chips, anyone?

work, work, fun, work, not work...you get the point

OK, so just as I have predicted, not much has been going on the past few months. Mostly working...I finished the data entry, oh, about the end of Feb., so I'm about 2 weeks behind. So far. Well, actually, according to my "thesis proposal", I'm supposed to have started writing by beginning of April, so I'm actually way more behind than 2 weeks. But, what can you do? Work faster, you say? Hah! Hahah!

I do have a few excuses: 1) preparing for the Northeast Biology Graduate Students Conference in mid-February, which took about a week, 2) applying for one of the Parks Canada job openings, which took another week (no, I haven't heard yet..I'm not holding my breath, if I hear something, I'll consider myself extremely lucky), 3) preparing for my grad seminar presentation, which took about 2 weeks. So, that's a month right there! Beyond that, well, I've so far spent about a week procrastinating, mostly because I'm a bit lost right now...I need to go back and figure out what to do with my data, in terms of analysis and statistics. It doesn't help that my supervisor is currently on sabbatical, and won't be back until mid-May. So, I'm giving myself until the end of this week to figure out what to do, and if I can't, I'm moving on to other aspects of my thesis -- less science and math, and more management and policy. That way, I can keep moving forward...at least until May, and then I'll have to deal with the stats again. =P

Socially, there's been a bunch of dinners and parties and evenings out on the town. More notably: Thai dinner night hosted by yours truly (and my lovely housemates, of course), Lebanese feast prepared by Sana, Valentine's Day fondue party (chocolates, naturally), DalDance party at Bubbles, and of course the DalDance recital, going away potluck for Karen B., Sana's B-day weekend, Dal Theatre production of Moliere's "The Bourgeois Gentleman", bowling and curling nights organized by SRES...I'm sure there's some I'm missing, but you get the idea. Coming up: Lori's b-day and the SRES end of year party. Oh, and a family trip to LA and San Diego in May, followed immediately by a SAMPAA conference in Wolfville. And then: SUMMER! I'm still hoping to make it back to Keji for the Blanding's nesting season in June, but we'll see if that actually happens. Also waiting on word on funding for another field season of hatchling tracking -- I could certainly use the money! But mostly, it will be working on my thesis: mapping, data analysis, writing, and, at some point (not sure when yet), the defence!

Happy 2007!!

Hello all!

First of all, Belated Birthday Greetings to KC and Chey...how's life on the other side of 25?? ;)

Just got back from a 3-week holiday break, which I spent back home in Calgary, doing mostly nothing but hanging out at home and visiting friends, and of course, boxing week shopping! =) I meant to get some work done, but since I pretty much went straight from the field to Calgary, I felt that I deserved a much needed break! So, I brought all my data cards to Calgary for no reason at all. Oh, yeah, and did I mention I gained something like 5lbs because I just sat around for 3 weeks? Heee...8 months of fieldwork all negated by 3 weeks of vacation. Ah, well, that's life.

So, yeah, the last couple of weeks of fieldwork was busy...had to do all the things I've been putting off, mostly organizational stuff, but also some habitat mapping. I drove back to Halifax a few times...a couple of times because I had to be in grad seminar and give a presentation, but also once to see off all the MREMs that just finished and will be leaving the city soon. We celebrated Karen B.'s and Megan's birthday by having dinner at a Greek restaurant, then some pre-drinking at Sadie's and Pete's place, then dancing at the Lower Deck. It was fun, but a bit bittersweet, since the was probably the last time I would see some of these people.

I had a week left of fieldwork after that, before I had to fly out to Calgary. I guess technically, I could've worked longer, since the temperature wasn't exactly steady at below 0C and the hatchlings were still active during the warmer days...but I booked a flight already and at that time, I really only had about 3 hatchlings left, and they weren't moving too much. Still lots of work, though, and I spent a few late nights trying to get everything wrapped up before I left. But, all good, managed to get everything done, moved out of the field and into my room in Halifax and returned the rental car before my flight out.

So, since I've been back, I've mostly been working on entering the data. Working on the photodatabase first...840 field pics so far..who knows how many to go. Next up is the actual data entry...that's going to take a while as well, but if I work on it everyday, I'm hoping to finish by mid-Feb...hopefully. It's a bit worrying since I don't have a lot of time if I want to defend by August, but we'll see. Hopefully the analysis won't take that long. Managing to do some fun stuff, though. Just went to see a play downtown called The Love List..that was awesome, even though we had to line up for 30 minutes in the freezing cold. Worth it, esp. since I didn't have to pay very much. Also went out for Laura's birthday, and on Saturday is Italian dinner night at Ramsey's and Amanda's. And I'm taking Jazz Dance classes with DalDance on Sundays. Once the weather improves and I actually make it to the office during the weekdays, I'll probably start going to fitness classes again at the gym. They're not really offering the one I like, though, so I'll have to try out new ones.

That's pretty much it. Just work work work, grad seminar, and hopefully some fun evenings/weekends in between. So, if I don't update..probably because not much is going on!

what you've all been waiting for...

OK, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. But I kept putting it off because I knew it was going to take a lot of time, and as I kept putting it off, well...you get the idea. The snowball effect. If I've talked/chatted with you sometime this fall, you probably already know most of what will be in here, so you may be excused from reading this (possibly) extremely long update! =)

So, here we go. I promised moving stories, so here's a blurb. Moving went ok...one of the most stressful 2 days of my life, and unfortunately, however much I wish I never have to do that again, that's not going to happen. Went back to Halifax on 29 Aug in the morning, did some work at the office then went home to Beech St. to pack and clean up. Picked up the moving van around 5:30pm...crazy insane driving in busy rush hour traffic and narrow confusing Halifax streets. =P More cleaning/packing...packed up the van with large pieces of furniture that night and more cleaning. Same thing in the morning, then drove the van to the Compton Ave. house around 2:30pm to unload and get ready for the inspection at 3pm. Laura stayed behind to wait for the Paramount people while Sana and I went back for another vanload of stuff. More crazy insane moving/driving. Made it in 2 loads, which was good. We had some extra time with the van, so we picked up some of Lori's furniture, then drove to the rental company to return the van for 5:30pm. Lori came with us so we can have a ride home, while Sana and Lindsay (new roommate, one of Lori's roommates from her previous place) finished moving/rearranging. Oh, forgot to mention...there was a mix-up with the moving date and although we were told earlier that we can move in on 30 Aug, Paramount later told us we couldn't move in until 01 Sep! Laura argued with them so they let us move in at 3pm on 30 Aug (Thanks, Laura!!), but the carpets just got steam cleaned and we couldn't actually move into any of the rooms. Also explains the crazy insane moving schedule we had. Anyway, we went back to Beech St. to pack up the little stuff in my field vehicle/rental car and do last minute cleaning. Except for that we had to help move Karen M. gigantic couches because the people who were buying them from her never showed up! That was upsetting and annoying...none of us were in the mood for that, after 2 days of moving and cleaning! So, after that, we left Karen to finish up with the last minute clean-up (sweep/mop) and drove back to Compton and unload the little car. Except that we forgot the stupid cement blocks and fence posts that we left in the shed from the puppet show, so we went back (again) and got those. Finally got out of there around 9pm and drove back to MTRI...didn't have anywhere to sleep anyway, since none of the rooms were ready to be moved into yet.

OK, that was more than a blurb. Sorry. Anyway, onwards. After I got back, I went out the next day and went back to some of the sites that Duncan showed me where he tracked some of the hatchlings from the past. I worked out some of the habitat measurements I want to do, and checked on some of the nests at Keji to see if there were emergence. Went back to Halifax for the weekend, since I didn't really need to be in the field yet and everyone else was gone (Robby had left the day before, Josie wasn't around, and Peter was going home for the weekend!). So I drove back after doing some fieldwork with Peter, had supper, played pool with Matt and Robby (walking dowtown to Barrington is now 15 min shorter!!), then cabbed it home and slept on my futon in the living room (since Sana was in town..she's subletting my room while I'm in the field). Next day, dimsum with Laura and Sana and playing tourist! We walked around the waterfront, then all the way up to Point Pleasant Park since Laura had never been. Then, on impulse, Laura and I got on one of those whale watching tours..Peggys' Cove Express, I think. No whales, though...not surprising since it was just around the Harbour, but gorgeous sunset (even if it was a bit cold and windy)! It was an awesome day! =)

Drove back to Kempt the next day for another week of fieldwork/computer work...Mostly trying to work out how to do my habitat measurements and other organizational stuff. Went back to Halifax again on the weekend and spent some time with my roommates...we went to the Harvest Festival and the North End festivals on Sunday...lots of food and music/entertainment! Had Thai noodles and crepes at the Harvest Festival, and Jerk chicken at the North End festival. =)

Back again to MTRI the following day for more fieldwork/etc. This time, we got the transmitters (yay!) and the directional antenna (kinda looks like a ping pong paddle) so Peter and I tried them out in the field. More time spent trying to make up data cards and organize transmitters...had to glue the velcro on them! Heee... Anyway, emergence officially began on 15 Sep, and I was sooo not prepared for it. Blaine (from the Park) came by and said he saw a hatchling at one of the nests on Woods Road while was there, so I had to scramble and glue velcro on a couple of radios and got the emergence kit ready...had to call Jeffie to double check on measurements and other procedures, since I had never done it before! Finally I got out there and found only one hatchling...it was 7.8g so I didn't put a radio on (I was originally thinking 8-10g hatchlings). Next day, 8 hatchlings emerged from one of the J-line nests in the park, and got radios on 2 of those. And off we went. Had a meeting on Sunday (17 Sep) at the park with Norm, Sue, Duncan, Blaine and Peter...basically my field crew for the fall...to work out schedules/procedures/protocols. This time I was finally ready and organized, after spending Friday night finalizing the details. One more hatchling from J-line was radioed that day, and we tracked the first 2 hatchlings from the day before.

And so that brings us to my field season. At the meeting, we had decided that I would do all the habitat characterization, while Norm and Sue will check nests and track at the Heber beaches and the J-line/Borrow Pit, Blaine/Sarah/Duncan will check nests/track across Kejimkujik Lake at Atkins Beach and Glode Island and also at Eel Weir, and Peter will check nests/track at McGowan. I was to alternate among the three sections to do habitat characterization, especially when things got busy. With our goal of 10 turtles from each of the three areas, every 3 days, that makes 30 locations I would have to characterize everyday! I was expecting to be insanely busy once we got all our hatchlings.

But, unfortunately, that never happened. We had a few more emergence within the first few weeks...some setbacks as well as we work out our system. We lost a few turtles due to Velcro/Glue issues, and the transmitters fell off. =( Then, a lot of days with no emergence, or with very small turtles (5-6g turtles). A whole lot of nothing at McGowan. As September turned to October, we had to revise our game plan and basically scrap out my carefully thought out sampling scheme and just radio every hatchling that was big enough to handle it. We also had to change the minimum hatchling size to about 7g instead of 7.5g. Still mostly nothing, since we were also losing turtles from predation and other technical issues, until we started excavating nests. It's standard procedure to dig up the lakeshore nests before they get flooded in the fall, but inland nests are normally left alone to monitor overwintering in the nest. This year, though, in order to get hatchlings, we decided to excavate some of the inland nests as well, especially at McGowan where we've had 2 hatchlings emerge so far. So Keji nests were excavated on 21-22 October, while some McGowan nests were excavated between 21-27 Oct. We also decided to put radios on Pleasant River hatchlings if any more emerged. So, after all that, and after losing some more to transmitter malfunctions, I now have 12 hatchlings: 5 in Keji, 5 at McGowan, and 2 at Pleasant River. So far, so good...it's been a bit difficult keeping up with the habitat characterization (imagine if I had to do 30 a day!) but that's mostly because the turtles sometimes spend >1 day at the same location (or very near) and I don't like to do the habitat characterization where the turtle is, so I minimize the disturbance. It's now almost mid-November, and some of the hatchlings are still active. Only 2 seems to have settled down in one place, others are moving around and still active..coming out to bask on warm days and burrowing down on the cold days. Right now we're in a bit of a warm spell, with 12-15°C days, so were seeing some movements. We've also had cold days/evenings...sometimes the ponds freeze over. With fewer hatchlings, we have lots of extra radios, so we can keep replacing them until we run out. We can track for longer, which is the good thing. I guess we'll find out exactly when they'll finally settle down (and where)...depends on the temperature/weather, I guess. So far, no definite end date yet, which makes planning for a trip home in December a bit tricky.

During all that, I've also managed to squeeze in a couple of trips to Halifax for fun, and a conference presentation...my first one ever! It was the Atlantic Canadian Species at Risk Conference in Lunenburg...2 days of presentations/talks on species at risk in Nova Scotia, critical habiat, and stewardship initiatives. Very very relevant to my chosen thesis topic, and met lots of interesting and friendly people who I'll probably encounter again in the future. My presentation...well, it could've gone better, I think...I stumbled over my words at the beginning (13 years here and English still trips me up!) and was speaking too fast, but I soon got it together and the rest of it went relatively smoothly. I think. Well, at least a number of people told me they liked it and thought it was good...although many of them probably knew I was a student and it was my first time...trying to reassure me, etc. But I was glad it was over early and could focus on the rest of the presentations there.

After that, I got to working on writing up summaries from the summer and the fall for the Blanding's Turtle Recovery Team Meeting. Also had to prepare presentations for both Wetland Characterization and the Hatchling Tracking project. So, that was another busy week..the meeting was all day on 03 Nov, but it was all very interesting, esp. the discussion among team members about some of the current issues. Looks like they might make my project a priority again next year...so more funding for me, I think. Yay! It'll be good if I have to do another field season for my thesis, since it didn't turn out quite the way I was hoping, in terms of sample size. I think I might try to be finished by Aug 2007, if my committee lets me, and just go back for another field season and write up a paper for publication afterwards. So, either way, another year for me here in Nova Scotia, most likely. It's growing on me, though. =)

So, right now, I'm doing data entry and working on a grad seminar presentation for 01 Dec, in between the fieldwork. Also trying to work out how to sample habitat availability. =P Lots of work, but nothing too exciting. Which probably also means I won't be updating much until the holiday or afterwards. No, not just because I'm being lazy, although that is certainly a part of it! ;)

Anyway, there it is, the super looong update. Sorry about the delay, folks, but better late than never, right? Oh, pls, excuse the spelling/grammatical errors...yes, I'm usually anal about stuff like that, but I'm trying to type fast and there is too much to proof read. So, you're just going to have to deal with it! Heee.

Oh, and Emz...Happy Baby Shower! Sorry we can't be there...and I meant to send you something, but it's not done yet. So, you'll get it around Christmastime...hopefully before your due date! But it works for after too, so either way! =D

end of summer

August is flying by incredibly fast! Or maybe it just feels that way because it's getting closer and closer to when I have to actually start my research! It's a bit nerve-wracking and exciting at the same time...I'm looking forward to starting, but I'm also nowhere near ready enough to do that! I don't know if I'll ever feel prepared for it. Especially after I met with Tom (my supervisor) and Stephen (Parks Canada Species at Risk scientist) on the 7th and they came up with a bunch of suggestions on what I need to measure and how. I'm supposed to be doing lit review on methods and narrowing down a protocol before I start!

Of course, it also helped that I went back to Halifax for a week to pack, run errands and take some time off. Josianne, Jose and Tara drove me to Halifax on the 12th and stayed overnight so we can all go shopping and clubbing...that was fun! Then for the rest of the week, I cleaned the house, did some library research stuff, talked to a stats guy about my study design, watched tv, watched more tv, packed and cleaned again. Sounds fun, right? =P Anyway, Josianne, Jose, Robby and Stan came by the following weekend to pick me up...we went to see a movie (Bon Cop, Bad Cop...good movie, but probably would've been better if I understood French like most of the people I was with), then went to Devin's place for some vodka and sake and (hehe) lightsaber fights? Basically, Devin's got these two lightsabers, one blue and one red of course, and everyone, except for Laura and I, tried them out. Later went to Rogue's Roost for a couple of more drinks and then on to pizza corner for the 3am munchies. The next day we went and watched the Canadian Ultimate Championships in Halifax before driving back to MTRI.

The last week of field work was a bit less productive than I was hoping for. Well, actually, it was just one day...the very last day. We were hoping to do at least 4, maybe 5 sites just to finish up a couple of areas that we were supposed to do. But, the very first one we went to, in Keji, took us about 4-5hours to get to! It basically involved a lot of dragging the canoe through bogs and swamps. And the actual site took us only 30min to characterize! I have no clue why they didn't do it the year before, when they characterized the bog that was around the pond. Anyway, it was basically an all-day job, we got back to the car around 6pm, tired, thirsty (guess who didn't bring enough water?), and with soo many cuts on our hands from all the sedge and grass. It was disappointing, to say the least. The following day, we took all our water samples to Acadia to do all the tests, then we went to Oaklawn Farm Zoo so I can check out the incubated hatchlings that just hatched recently and put my velcro on them! Mike (who's doing the headstarting project) is supposed to let me know when and if they fall out. I'm hoping my transmitters will come soon, so I can test the velcro with the transmitters as well.

Thursday night, we finally did the century club, which we've been talking about doing since nesting season. For those who don't know, you drink a shot of beer every minute for 100min...hence, the name century. Well, since we all know I don't like beer, I substituted some coolers with equivalent alcohol content and, well, let's just say I'm off coolers for a while. I got to 51 shots, which is 4 Bacardi's in under 1hour. Yes, I was drunk, but no, I wasn't sick and was actually sober enough to drive home 4 hours later. And, no hangover, thank goodness, since we had to finish all our data entry the following day -- our last day! That was a long and boring day, but we eventually managed to get it done. The evening was pretty quiet, though, since both Josianne and I were trying to wrap up everything to do with wetland characterization, and I think Jose was doing the same thing with his stuff. So, Josianne's and Jose's last evening at MTRI wasn't much of a send off...but they did party the night before, so I suppose it's ok. They left early this morning around 8am...so I got up early to say goodbye and then started packing up my stuff and cleaning up the shack a bit. Oh, and I made about $16 from everyone's empty beer bottles (and other refundables) they left at the shack! =D I got to MTRI around 11am and spent the rest of the day rearranging furniture, unpacking, and cleaning. It was a full day, but a bit boring, since I was the only one around...everyone else is either done for the summer, in the field, in Halifax, or driving back to Quebec. I guess it's a sign of things to come in the fall...I'll probably go stir crazy! But, I'll have my project to focus on, and hopefully some friends will visit in the fall!

Up Next: moving adventures (Aug 30-31) and hatchling emergence!

another day, another year

older, that is. yep, yesterday was the big day. the quarter-century mark. i had a blast, though...maybe right up there in the top 5 birthdays ever. top 3, even...i think my 7th and 17th birthday are the top 2. =D anyway, i was going to work sunday and take monday off, but some of the researchers here (Ben and Robby) convinced Josianne and i to take the sunday off and go to the beach! it was a lot of fun, although we didn't end up leaving MTRI until 2pm since we had to give other turtle researchers (Daniel and Peter) a ride on the motorboat across the lake, where they're camping out and trapping turtles. we drove down to Summerville beach, west of Liverpool, where the fog started rolling in. nova scotia! it was still really warm, though, and the water wasn't too cold, so we went in anyway. ben brought a football so we threw it around for a few minutes, then we played beach volleyball. haven't played volleyball in a while so i sucked! ben and i were initially on the same team, against robby and josianne. we were winning initially, but started losing and kept on losing =P then we switched teams and robby and i were losing. then we switched teams again and josianne and i were losing. so, my conclusion: i suck. but it was fun especially since i hadn't played in a while. and i forgot how much the legs hurt after squatting so much! i'm still in pain, and climbing the ladder to get up to the attic at the shack is very difficult! anyway, we got tired of the volleyball after 4 games, so we went back in the water and played frisbee this time. then the fog set in completely and we left. had dinner at Mersey House in Liverpool...seafood pasta, yum! josianne, ben and robby paid for my appetizers (we shared 2lbs of mussels!), drinks (white wine), and dessert. definitely an awesome b-day eve.

the following day (my birthday) was turtle and snake meeting day...i was going to take the afternoon off but no one else was around to do stuff with, so i just ended up doing data entry. so i didn't take the day off like i meant to. but it's ok, because i did take a day off on sunday when i didn't mean to. but while i was doing data entry, a bunch of other MTRI researchers came in with a cake and singing! i had no idea...we had cake for other people's bdays but since i did stuff the day before, i was definitely not expecting it. but that was very nice of them! and later on four of us (Tara, Robby, Ben and I) drove to Bridgewater and got groceries and played pool at Dooly's. yeah, not too exciting, but i had enough excitement over the past 2 days, so that was a nice way to end things.

other than that, things are not too exciting over here. i'm still in the field, and we've started doing wetland characterization, which is what i'm supposed to be here to do. it's hard work..didn't realize it until we started doing it! wading hip, sometimes waist-deep in swamp/marsh/lake water trying to identify vegetation and take measurements. i'm lucky that i get along well with my field partner (Josianne)...otherwise i'd go crazy. i'm also slowly getting things organized for my project. the hatchling transmitters have been ordered (after i bugged them so much about it), i have an assistant until the end of October, my supervisor seems like he will pay for the car rental and accommodations, and i'm in the process of trying out different ways of attaching transmitters (velcro!) and measuring habitat. so, overall, it's been a productive summer and hopefully will continue to be so. it'll be over soon enough, and it'll be time for me to start working for real! =D

rain, rain and more rain

well, today is cool and cloudy, with rain in the evening. and it's a good day, compared to the past week or so, where we've had continuous rain over 2 days, and a bit of rain before and after the 2 days. and tomorrow, and for the foreseaable future, we're supposed to get more rain. and this is during turtle nesting season! the females started moving towards their nesting beaches early, around the beginning of june, which had us scrambling because none of the volunteers for the nest monitoring programs are in place yet. but, we finally got organized (well, some volunteers arrived early) and we get rain. also, it doesn't bode well for turtles that nest early, since there's a chance their nests might get flooded. AND it doesn't bode well for my field season in the fall...if the nests get flooded, or if it's too cold, i might not get any hatchlings to follow around in the fall! =(

otherwise, things are going ok. life has settled down into a routine of sorts, and next week (we hope!) we might be able to actually start doing wetland habitat characterization, which is what i'm here for this summer. i've talked (again) to my supervisor and he said they will be ordering the radio transmitters for my hatchlings (even though the funding is not entirely secure yet) and that they'll have to find money for a rental vehicle for me in the fall. also, i received notice that my nserc pgs m extension got approved (not that i was worried, except i wanted to know if they got my paperwork or not) and SRES has also promised to add another $3750 to that! so, with any luck, i won't need to do a TA job next year, unless i decide that i want to do it for the experience, since i had a good time last time.

in halifax news, my future roommates (Laura & Lori) found us a 4 bedroom apartment in the north end, near the halifax commons. i haven't seen it yet, but they assure me it's great and soo much better than anything else they've looked at in the past. one of lori's current roommate, lindsay, will room with us starting in the fall. the place will cost about $470 per person, including heat and hot water. not bad, it seems much bigger and definitely cheaper than the place we have now. and we think it's about the same distance from campus, although i will probably only have one class next school year anyway. Laura and Lori will also be coming to keji (Laura to visit, and Lori to do interviews in the area for her summer internship), so i'll get to hang out with them for a couple of days here. i'm hoping to be able to at least take some time off during canada day long weekend to go back to halifax and spend some time with my friends there.

that's pretty much it so far. this afternoon, i'm thinking of going to check out the keji-mtri research conference that's going on..either that or go out and track a couple of female turtles to find out if they're gravid or not. hmm...choices choices....

of turtles, snakes and black flies

hello, all! today is my 6th day out in the field, and for those of you who want to know, "the field" for me is in Southwest Nova Scotia, near Kejimkujik National Park. i'm currently staying at a (very, very) small house (=shack) in West Caledonia, but we spend most of our time at the Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute (MTRI), which is the field station in Kempt. the field season is starting off a bit slow, most people are out looking for ribbonsnakes, while my field partner, Josianne, and I are out looking for Blanding's turtles at the Park and putting up posters about Blanding's turtles in the towns around the area. i'm technically supposed to be doing wetland habitat characterization, but we probably won't start that until june (right at the same time as turtle nesting season, which means we'll be super busy!). the weather has been variable, some days cloudy and rainy and other days sunny. what is generally consistent is the presence of black flies constantly buzzing about! i must have about a dozen bug bites just from yesterday alone...yes, even with my bug jacket on!

before arriving here, i mostly spent the early part of May relaxing. i finished my proposal (yay!) on April 28, just in time for my committee meeting on May 3. it went well, and they approved my proposal on the spot! they agreed that this summer i should focus on learning my field methods and getting to know my field sites, so i don't make too many mistakes when i start my field season in the fall. since i'll only have this one field season, i need to get it right!

the week before i finished my proposal, my friends from calgary (jocelyn & richeille) came to halifax for a visit! they stayed for about 4 days and 5 nights, and we mostly just hung out, watched movies and drank wine. well, of course we went sightseeing as well, but mostly ended up just walking around town. my parents also visited around the 3rd week of may. they stayed for 4 days and 5 nights as well, and we drove around halifax, then around the southern shore -- we drove from halifax across the province to Digby, then around to Yarmouth and stayed overnight in Shelburne, then drove the lighthouse route back to halifax, stopping at lunenburg and peggy's cove and a bunch of other places along the way.

which brings me to here, life in the field. it's a bit complicated, since the shack has no running water...we have to shower at MTRI (against the rules, but don't tell anyone), and cooking is oh so very difficult, not to mention washing dishes and cleaning up. i haven't even thought about laundry yet...not sure what we're doing about that. plus, there's 6 people living there right now, and it's only about the size of a single car garage! =( there's 5 of us in the attic (which is super hot during the day) and 1 in a tiny bedroom downstairs. which basically means that we spend as little time at the shack as possible...going there really just to sleep or pick up our things. i'm hoping that they'll move us to MTRI soon, once there's space available!

so, i guess that's mostly it right now. i'll hopefully post up some field pictures periodically, once i have downloaded them from the field camera. take care, everyone, and hope to hear from you at some point!

a few minutes to kill

hey all! yes, i know, i haven't been posting much...again. not much to report, though...been mostly focused on getting all my assignments done. last day of classes was friday, and i had an exam yesterday, so now i'm mostly working on papers...have a project report for GIS due on Monday and an environmental law term paper on Friday due...then that's pretty much it! well, yes, there's the proposal, of course...the neverending proposal. i'm hoping to get it done by last week of April, in time for a committee meeting that i still haven't gotten around to scheduling (yes, i'm bad).

despite all the work, there are stuff to look forward to. there's a SRES end-of-year party on thursday, and jocelyn and richeille are both coming to see me Apr 21-25!!! my parents are also planning to visit in mid-May, so we'll hopefully do some exploring around Nova Scotia then. and, of course, i'm looking forward to finishing all my coursework and getting started on field stuff. i'll just be volunteering for the summer, to practice field techniques, mostly, but i'll be going hard-core in September.

anyway, just a few shoutouts before i have to leave...Congrats to my cousin Chey...she got married last March! Also, happy 24th birthday to Michelle, and 25th b-day greetings to my cousin Karen!

a bit of self-promotion ;-)

heee....for the curious or the simply bored, check out this journal article: ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR, 2006, 71, 657–662

besides that, not much to tell...it's March, so of course, I'm up to my ears in papers and assignments. One more month...not much time to get everything done! I've really got to start adding a methods section to my proposal, not to mention getting a committee meeting organized (yes, it still hasn't happened!) to talk about my thesis and my field season. Then there's the (long) list of coursework I have to do...can't wait until next September, when all I have to focus on is my thesis!

oh, and birthday greetings to my sisters, Aimee (Mar 10) and Ariane (Mar 15)!

Snow Day = Monty Python Day

Ok, so I've finally experienced a Halifax snowstorm/blizzard...true, it's not the first time it's happened this season, but that other time was just after I left town for the holidays, so for me it doesn't count. Anyway, when I woke up yesterday morning, there was probably about 2-3 feet of snow on the ground, and transit wasn't running...needless to say, classes were cancelled. Too bad I couldn't sleep in...I was supposed to have a meeting with my GIS prof in the morning, so I was scrambling around trying to contact him and find out if our meeting was rescheduled. It was...although I didn't get a hold of him until past noon.

Anyway, despite the best intentions, I barely got work done that day. I had planned to host a Monty Python night at the house and, after finding out that people were still willing to come despite all the snow, I had to trek through the snow (and blowing wind!) to get some snacks from the store and to rent a Monty Python DVD. Took forever...walking on 3 feet of snow in rubber boots is hard (hmmm...for next Christmas, I think I want either snowshoes, or high winter boots)! Then Laura (my roommate) decided she wanted to bake some banana muffins, so we did that for a bit, then cleaned up the house, had dinner, and before I know it, it was time for the guests to arrive! We had a decent turnout...the usual crowd came, minus a few "regulars", but other people showed up too (that don't normally) so it evened out. We watched Holy Grail, but then got sidetracked by a re-run of Lost and didn't get to the second movie (Life of Brian)...but that's ok, because Blair (the guy who brought the movie) lent it to me so I get to watch it over the weekend!

Anyway, there's talk of a Superbowl party on Sunday (they promised me that we wouldn't have to actually watch the game the entire time)...not sure yet if I'll go, since I really have to get things done this weekend. I've gone out the past two weekends already, and I've got several things due in February...so it'll be mostly quiet from my end (hopefully). In other news...things are going relatively well...my tutorial sessions are going ok, we're planning to have a committee meeting soon (I hope) now that I've actually figured out who I want in the committee, and the government (for some reason) decided to up my scholarship by $200 (from a PGS-M to a CGS-M)! Now all I need is to get through February...but the reading break ought to help, if I just settle down and focus!