Bloggy-ness

November is apparently "National Blog Posting Month" of NaBloPoMo for short (nice acronym!). People with blogs are challenged to write an entry every day for the entire month of November and I may give it a try. I will probably have trouble keeping up, but it could be fun...I think I have a couple of things that I can talk about! My friend Christina pointed this challenge out to me and she is going to try it too. Woo-hoo, so keep on the look-out for a very bloggy November (hopefully).

Jurassic Park

Lat night I watched Jurassic Park -- the original movie not the less awesome 2nd or 3rd installments. The first film is a really great movie and was such an amazing technical feat at the time which still looks amazing today. The story and cinematography are so excellent that not once do you think of the dinosaurs as fake robots or digital images. My favorite parts of the movie are when the 2 cars are being attacked by the T. rex (after he escapes from his paddock and eats the goat) and when the 2 kids are being chased in the kitchen by Velociraptors. I had forgotten how much I really loved this movie. I remember seeing it at least a couple of times in the theaters in Alaska when it came out.

I had forgotten that the park is supposed to be on a small Costa Rican island...interesting. I think that Kauai (where they filmed the movie) and Costa Rica do look very much alike, but some scenes make you wonder if anyone did research before making the movie. In one scene, Nedry (the bad guy who mucks up the park to steal dino embryos) is eating lunch in San Jose which looks like a lovely place near a beach with lots of palm trees. It looks way nicer there than the real San Jose (which is nowhere near the ocean...it is in the middle highlands of the country!), but hey it works for most people I bet. Anyway, if you've never seen Jurassic Park or haven't seen it in a while you should check it out!

Thinking about my road-trip

I have been trying to figure out a good route to take for my road-trip from Seattle to Miami. I think I definitely need to stop by a AAA office the next time I am in the states to look at some good maps and get a true route planned with all my stops. So far I am not having any trouble with the drive down the west coast through Oregon and California, but it is when I start trying to think about New Mexico, Texas, and the Southeastern states that I am at a loss. I know that Carlos and I want to visit Las Vegas followed by the Grand Canyon, but from there I really don't know which cities to stop in. Oh well, I still have plenty of time to figure this out. Most likely, once we get past Arizona, we will take the fastest route to Atlanta (the next big city that we will stop in for a visit) and from there we will be on the final legs of the trip. From Atlanta we go to Orlando/Gainesville to visit friends then onwards to Miami. I think we will be on the road for at least 2 weeks (probably a little more) to see everything. I think it will be a lot of fun, but maybe a little stressful since I will be doing all the driving (Carlos doesn't have a US driver's license!). Oh boy.

Now back in Costa Rica

Well, I arrived back in Costa Rica last night (Wednesday 24 Oct) around 8pm. Carlos met me at the airport and we took a taxi to the Costa Rica Backpacker's Hostel to spend the night. This was actually a really nice hostel with a pool, restaurant, bar, and helpful staff. Plus it was super-cheap for our private double room. The best part of the hostel is the old little calico kitty that hangs out in the kitchen or on a lounge chair by the pool. She looked like she had glaucoma but she could still see a little and enjoyed all the petting (and food!) that I gave her.

As for Miami, I got everything accomplished that I set out to do and it was a worthwhile and productive trip. On Monday I presented at my lab meeting and immediately after that had my committee meeting. My advisor and committee seem really happy with my results and excited about the papers that will come out of all this research! It is so nice to have a supportive and critical yet encouraging committee to meet with...a lot of other grad students have conflicts with their committees. On Tuesday I turned in a TON of receipts from a couple of grants so it will be really nice to have all that money back in my account again! I also made my last visit to Target to get a couple of things I had forgotten earlier. Overall, I had a pretty good time back in Miami, but it was so weird to see how much the biology department has changed since I've been gone: there are 4 new professors, lots of new grad students, new offices, new computers in the lab, and so many old students I used to know have graduated. Time sure flies!

Back in Miami

(I wrote this post yesterday -- Sunday 21 October -- but the internet was down so I couldn't post it until today -- Monday)

Well, so much for writing a post each day that I've been in Miami. Unfortunately I don't get a wireless signal down in my dungeon/basement office so I have to go outside to work on the internet. It's pretty disruptive and inconvenient. I've also been really busy since I arrived here on Wednesday.

I arrived at the University around midnight on Wednesday and the following day I went for a haircut and walked to the Whole Foods market about 1.5 miles away. It is pretty nice, but not as great as the one in Redmond. There were tons of people there and not enough free samples. I bought some groceries (cheese, baguette, mini pizzas, chips, juice) for meals and walked back to school.

On Friday, I took the metro-rail south to Target to buy a bunch of supplies to take back to Costa Rica. I also had a great lunch at the Lan Pan Asian Restaurant nearby. This is one of my favorite places to eat in Miami and I had a green tea latte bubble tea to drink with crab rangoon rolls. Crab rangoon is a type of sushi roll that I really like. It contains crab, cream cheese, and crunchy won ton strips. I sounds a little strange, but I really like the creamy/crunchy taste of this sushi.

Yesterday (Saturday) I walked to Sunset Place to go to Barnes and Noble to buy a notebook and to look around the mall. I spent a couple of hours there before walking back to campus. Today (Sunday) I haven't been up to much except for writing, organizing receipts to turn in for reimbursement grant money, and walking around campus taking pictures. I also have to put the finishing touches on the presentation for my committee and lab meetings tomorrow morning. The weather has been really beautiful here this past week and there are lots of squirrels and anoles (lizards) everywhere! Here are a few pictures of plants from the arboretum and from around campus:

Airport

Well, here I am sitting near my gate at the San Jose airport. I am all checked in and ready to go, but my flight doesn't leave for 4 hours! I have a lot of time to kill, so I thought I would write a blog entry. There is free wireless here and the place where my gate is located is actually pretty nice and modern-looking (my favorite part of the airport). I haven't eaten yet today so I will probably grab a snack in a little while. I am going to try to write a blog entry per day while in Miami so everyone can see just how truly exciting it is there (heehee, that was sarcastic). I get in suuper-late tonight but tomorrow I am going to try to find a place to get a haircut. I haven't cut my hair for over a year (I don't trust being able to speak spanish here and not end up with a mullet) so it is pretty long. It wouldn't be too bad if it weren't so darn heavy! I am also worried that it will grow mold since it takes longer to dry now -- this is a legitimate concern here where it is humid and wet all the time. A veritable mold paradise!

Miami in two days

Meh, I am not all that excited to be back in Miami soon, but I will be able to get a lot of things done when stateside. Here is a list of "business" things I will be up to during my trip:
* Meeting with Mike (my advisor)
* Give talk to my lab group (during our lab meeting on Monday)
* Have my annual committee meeting (also Monday, right after the lab meeting)
* Get a haircut (my hair is waaay too long and heavy now...it might grow mold soon!)
* Buy supplies to bring back to Costa Rica (notebooks, flagging tape, etc.)
* Turn in receipts for grant money
* Turn in another grant application
* Renew visa
* Buy more pants! (mine are all getting ripped to shreds)

I will also have time for fun stuff:
* See a movie (any suggestions? I have NO idea what is out now)
* Eat out (Thai food, Greek food, Japanese food!)
* Visit Whole Foods
* Drink a Starbucks

Well, that's what I have vaguely planned right now. I should also have a lot of time to write, which is always good (I am starting to write the introduction and methods of my dissertation).

Paku!

I just scanned a bunch of pages from my new Moleskine sketchbook and thought I would post one for your viewing pleasure. Heehee.

PS. I just found this funny/weird cartoon show on YouTube called Yakitate Japan and it is an anime about a kid with "solar hands" that is a really good bread baker. His hands are warm and provide the perfect temperature for yeast fermentation (?!). His goal is to make the perfect bread that defines Japan -- made by Japan FOR Japan! Woo-hoo, anyway it is really entertaining and weird.

PPS. "Paku!" is the sound made when a horse chomps on a piece of delicious baguette bread (in case you did not know this).

Beep beep!

Honk! This morning while Carlos and I were drinking our tea/coffee out on our porch we heard some really loud honking from a car on the road. We realized that today is Saturday and that means that around 7:30am the fresh veggie truck comes to the neighborhood! We ran out to the road and stopped the car to get some fresh fruits and veggies -- it's kind of like a portable farmer's market. We bought a couple of cucumbers, some onions, red bell peppers, tomatoes, and apples. It was a lot of food but only cost about $3. Now we can make gazpacho for dinner! Tomorrow morning is when the fresh milk/cheese/egg truck comes by and they sell fresh milk in bags -- but you need to pasteurize it before drinking.

Miami trip in a week

Wow, I leave for a short trip back to Miami one week from today. I am going to be there from 17 - 24 October to bring back supplies, check in with my advisor, have a committee meeting, and renew my visa. Blah, I am not really looking forward to going back, but at least it will be productive. The only thing I am excited about going back for is to check out the new, recently-opened Whole Foods store right across the street from the University. I have only been to one other Whole Foods store in Redmond last year for Christmas and it was really cool! There were tons of veggies and snacks and samples -- I definitely ate a lot of those free cheese samples! I hope this one is nice, but if it employs Miamians it will likely be most un-nice (i.e. ruuude). At least this saves me a long walk to the grocery store while I am at UM living in my office!

Blue singing mouse -- Laalaa~

Here is a sketch I did a while ago of one of my favorite mouse species: Scotinomys teguina, Alston's singing mouse. Yup, they really do sing! In fact, I've heard them a couple years ago in the montane forest of Monteverde where I did a short rat-trapping project. I actually caught a couple of these little guys and they make sharp chirps like birds in order to define their territories. There is even a colony of these mice living in Gainesville, Florida at the University of Florida!

PS. This mouse isn't blue in nature, that was just the color marker I felt like using. In reality, these little mice are dark brown/black.

More bats!

Wow, there are tent-making bats all over this forest! Today I saw another tent made in a Heliconia leaf, but this time the bats inside were from the genus Artibeus. These guys are frugivorous (i.e. they eat fruit) and were in a tent very similar to the Ectophylla tent I saw yesterday, only a little bigger. There are 5 batties in there!

Rain forest life

Today I got to have a nice look at a recently-built bat tent made by the species Ectophylla alba, more commonly known as the white tent bat. These bats construct "boat-style" tents from the leaves of Heliconia plants (these leaves look a bit like banana leaves). To make these tents, a bat chews through the leaf near the midvein so that the sides of the leaf fall down and shelter the bats within. The little group I visited today consisted of 6 individuals, but the other group I found a while back had 5 individuals. These bats are so cute and if you meet someone that hates bats, show them a picture of these guys and it will change their mind. Ectophylla look like little round fluffy white cotton balls with light yellow ears, face, and noseleaf. I have included a couple of pictures.


I also have some nice photos of an Agalychnus calidryas, the red-eyed tree frog. This one is a female I found in the lab clearing sleeping on a leaf! She didn't mind me taking photos and just kept on snoozing.

Well, that's all in a day's work out here in the rain forest!

Phantom Hourglass!

I just found out (way out here in the rain forest) that the new Zelda game for the Nintendo DS just came out yesterday -- The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. Wow, I have been looking forward to this game for a long time. This is the sequel to the Legend of Zelda game titled Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker which was released a few years ago on the GameCube console. I really liked that game and remember playing it a bunch at home in Washington with my sister (she likes watching me play all the Zelda games). This looks like it will be a really fun game and I would love to get it when I return stateside in a couple of weeks, but we'll see if I have the funds.

-- UPDATE: My dad sent me an e-mail saying that he has a brand-new copy of Phantom Hourglass from Target that he is going to mail to me in Miami!! YAY!! Thanks dad! --

Crafty-ness

I feel like it's been a while since I've written a new blog entry. Since things here in the rain forest are still more of the same (planting seeds, tracking seeds, hoarding seeds, digging them up...SEEDS!), I thought I would write a little bit about the stuff I do at night to unwind from my tiring days in the field. As you all know, I got a book entitled "The Cute Book" from my mom for my birthday a couple weeks back and this book shows you how to make really CUTE animals out of felt (with patterns and instructions) -- feel the cutiness vibe they say. I really like this book and have made a couple of things out of it (bear and squirrel) but it has also inspired me to make different things out of felt that aren't in the book. At night I work on these little felt things while watching a movie and they have turned out pretty nice! So far I have sewn: a glacier bear, squirrel, apatosaurus, ebi sushi, and kitsune fox with a red scarf! This is a really fun craft to do at night before going to bed. I will take some pictures soon and upload them...my next project is going to be an agouti!

-- UPDATE: I have added a picture of all the felt critters I have made: starting from the top: blue seahorse, kitsune fox with red scarf, glacier bear, goomba, squirrel, ebi sushi, and apatosaurus in the middle! --