List 31 -- Last list for NaBloPoMo

Well, I made it...this is my last list and final blog entry for the month of March. I survived NaBloPoMo!

I was watching the Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers a couple of nights ago and it got me thinking about movie sequels, particularly the "Part 2's" of many series. Usually, the first sequel of a movie is bad and sometimes even an insult to the original movie! There are, however, a few Part 2's that I think either equal or surpass their predecessors. Here is a list of those Part 2's that I think follow this pattern:

• Terminator 2
• Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
• Aliens
• Predator 2
• Kill Bill Vol. 2
• Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
• The Great Muppet Caper
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Secret of the Ooze

List 30 -- Tyler

Yesterday I called my mom and found out that my little kitty Tyler passed away that morning. He lived to be 19 years old (I've had him since I was seven) and died on the same day that Tiffy died one year ago. I really miss him and am glad that he had such a long, happy life with us. Today's list is comprised of little things that I remember about crazy Tyler.

- I named Tye after Mary Tyler Moore (although at the time I had no idea who that was...I just knew of the name and liked it).
- When we lived in CA, he used to jump on people's stomachs from a tall shelf above my parents' bed.
- He never meowed very much when he was a little kitty, but he got more vocal (and loud) when he got older
- Tyler loved purring on cold carrots in a plastic bag. I just don't know about that...
- He loved waiting for someone to turn on the water faucet for a fresh drink.
- He had a fondness for Q-tips tied to the end of a string.
- He really liked Sierra and purred on her all the time.
- He would whine at the glass doors to be taken outside where he would eat grass and then throw up in the house.
- He (and Tiffy especially) loved kitty treats and Cosmic catnip.

Of course there are infinite things that I will miss about him, but these are the things that stand out in my mind right now.

List 29 -- Flat felt

I haven't had much time to do any crafting/drawing/knitting for a while at nights, but I thought I would take an inventory of the little flat felt things that I've sewn so far. I think I will make these into pins and I think they might make good gifts. Here is a list of the 2-dimensional things that I have made from felt:


(from left to right in the photo)

1. Red poppy
2. Blue poppy
3. Salted pretzel
4. Stack o' pancakes
5. Cheese pizza
6. Campfire
7. Orange (California) poppy
8. Nyan nyan nyanko kitty

List 28 -- Podcasts

I am usually listening to my iTunes whenever I am working in the office or at home. Depending on the level of concentration involved with what I am doing, I listen to either music (usually ambient) or podcasts. I have found a bunch of really great podcasts to listen to when I am doing menial things (like data entry); they are pretty eclectic, but reflect my interests. Here is the list of podcasts that I subscribe to:

• GoNintendo.com podcast (my favorite; Nintendo news and super funny)
• Travel with Rick Steves (travel podcast by one of my favorite travel authors)
• Frommers.com podcast (another travel podcast)
• Inside the Magic (Disney-related podcast)
• Nature podcast (science news)
• KCRW’s Good Food (food-themed podcast)

List 27 -- Fictional places I would like to live

I have no idea where I want to eventually live and settle down (with a house, etc.). There are many dream ideas that may or may not become reality, but here are a few fictional places I would have no problem settling into!

Fictional places I would like to live:
• Hogwarts
• The city of Twoson in Earthbound (Super Nintendo game)
• Bag End, the Shire, Middle Earth (Lord of the Rings)
• Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory
• The rural Japanese house in My Neighbor Totoro

List 26 -- Movies to see

There are a few movies that I am excited to see when I return to the US (some of which I have absolutely no way of getting here in Costa Rica). A few of them aren't in theatres yet, but should be when I leave CR.

Movies I am excited to see:
• The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters
• Kiki’s Delivery Service
• Howl’s Moving Castle
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull *
• Batman: The Dark Knight *
• Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince *
* (Not yet in theatres)

The one I am the most excited about seeing is King of Kong -- a documentary about professional video (arcade game) players vying for the world record score in Donkey Kong!

List 25 -- Favorite animation

Ever since I was a little kid, I have loved cartoons and animation. My first career choice was animator at the Walt Disney Studios (and veterinarian). After following neither of those careers, I ended up as a biologist/ecologist but I still like to draw and have had a couple of scientific illustrations published. When I draw for fun, I have more of a cartoon-ish style rather than realistic. I get drawing inspiration from a number of sources, but here are a few examples of my favorite animation -- in terms of drawing style, coloration, form, and story:

• Doraemon
• Real Ghostbusters
• Æon Flux
• My Neighbor Totoro
• Spirited Away
• Ghost in the Shell
• Ducktales
• Chip and Dale: Rescue Rangers
• X-men: The Animated Series
• Pingu
• Yakitate!! Japan

I definitely prefer hand-drawn animation to the currently popular 3D digital rendering that Pixar made famous, but some Pixar stuff is good too(i.e. Toy Story, Incredibles)

List 24 -- Pokemon I would have as pets

I used to really like Pokemon when I was younger (both the TV show and the video games), and they are still around, but there are about a zillion Pokemon now instead of the ~100 when I liked them. Here is a list of Pokemon that I would have as pets:

Charmander

Snorlax

Psyduck

Jigglypuff

Skitty

Marill

List 23 -- Easter things

Happy Easter everyone! I am not a religious person, but my family has always had fun traditions on Easter. I will list some of my favorite things about this holiday for today's list:

- Dying lots and lots of hard-boiled eggs.
- Waking up on Easter morning to find bunny footprints outside.
- Reading an Easter letter from E. B. with our baskets.
- Preventing the kitties from eating the Easter grass in the baskets.
- Finding plastic eggs in the house with prizes and candies inside (I had green, blue, and purple eggs to look for while my sister had pink, orange, and yellow).
- Eating and sorting easter candy throughout the rest of the day.
- Having a nice family meal at dinner-time.

Unfortunately, there is no Easter bunny here in Costa Rica...instead, everyone goes to church!

List 22 -- Favorite foods

Today I have a pictorial list representing my favorite foods -- and I have a lot of them! I sketched this a while back in my large moleskine (one of the best sketchbooks ever) and thought it would fit in with this month's theme of lists. Here are my favorite foods (you may have to click the picture for a larger image to read the text):

List 21 -- Four things

My friend Christina tagged me for this list (thanks Christina -- I was having trouble coming up with a list idea for today!):

1) Four jobs that I have had in my life:
- Biology TA at the University of Miami
- Rodent trapper in Everglades National Park and Canaveral National Seashore
- Undergraduate assistant botanical curator in the Museum of Systematics, UCSB
- Cashier/salesperson at Mervyns in Redmond WA

2) Four movies I would/have watch(ed) over and over:
- Terminator
- Aliens
- My Neighbor Totoro
- Spirited Away

3) Four places I have lived:
- Fountain Valley, CA
- Puerto Viejo Sarapiqui, Costa Rica
- Isla Vista, CA
- Redmond, WA

4) Four TV shows that I watch:
(disclaimer: these are all TV on DVD since I have no TV here)
- Alf
- Ducktales
- X-Files
- The Simpsons

5) Four places I have visited:
- France
- Italy
- Mexico
- Peru

6) Four people who e-mail me regularly:
- Mom
- Dad
- Shannon
- Spambots (boo!)

7) Four of my favorite foods:
- Dill pickle
- Baguette with feta
- Tempura
- Pumpkin roll

8) Four places I would like to be right now:
- Japan, looking at sakura blossoms
- Greece, visiting the museums and temples
- Washington, visiting my mom & dad
- Disneyland, eating a Dole Whip

9) Four things I am looking forward to this year:
- Getting near the end of my dissertation
- Road trip!
- Visiting my family at Christmas-time
- Seeing my sister in Las Vegas

10) Four people who should post four things:
- Anyone
- who
- wants
- to!

List 20 -- Books I would like to read

As I have mentioned before, I don't have a lot of time for "fun," non-science reading but if I did, I would like to read these books:

• Last Chance to See (Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine)
• Snow Crash (Neal Stephenson)
• The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food (Jennifer Lee)
• His Dark Materials (Philip Pullman)
• Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World (Haruki Murakami)
• Childhood’s End (Arthur C. Clarke)
• A Scanner Darkly (Philip K. Dick)

List 19 -- Favorite Disney rides

I love all the Disney theme parks, especially Disneyland and EPCOT Center. I have been going to Disneyland since before I can remember and now that I live fairly close to Orlando, I can visit Walt Disney World from time to time. I love these parks since I have so many fond memories from going with my family as a kid and it is also still so much fun to forget about all your daily hassles/obligations and just become a kid again! Here is a list of my favorite rides at Disney theme parks (in no particular order):

• Indiana Jones Adventure, Disneyland (best ride EVER!)
• World Showcase, EPCOT Center
• Star Tours, Disneyland/MGM Studios
• Jungle Cruise, Disneyland/Magic Kingdom
• Pirates of the Caribbean, Disneyland (better than the Magic Kingdom version)
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Disneyland/Magic Kingdom
• People Mover, Disneyland (but not there anymore)
• Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, MGM Studios*
• Muppet Vision 3D, MGM Studios
• The Great Movie Ride, MGM Studios

* MGM Studios has recently changed its name and is now known as Disney’s Hollywood Studios

If I had to choose a favorite park from them all, I think it would be a tie between Disneyland in California and EPCOT Center in Florida. I haven't visited the Animal Kingdom park in Orlando yet though...

List 18 -- Collections

Starting at a young age, I have always been collecting things. Nothing big, but all of these collections are fun and interesting. Here is a list of things that I collect:

• Coins -- I have been doing this forever, just ask my mom (heehee)
• Comic books -- most of these belonged to my dad and they are still fun to read
• Rocks -- another collection started in my childhood while digging in my grandparents’ rock pile on their farm
• Science books -- It’s fun to see how scientific thinking has changed over the years
• Pens -- an incidental collection that comes from my love of drawing
• Seeds -- fun and easy to collect since there is such a diversity of seed forms
• Travel souvenirs -- small things that are characteristic of locations I’ve traveled to

List 17 -- Places I've lived

I have lived in some really interesting, different, and fun places. Home, for the most part, has meant the west coast of the US and this is definitely my favorite part (from what I've seen) of the states. Here are all of the places I have lived so far:

1) Fountain Valley, California
2) Anchorage, Alaska
3) Redmond, Washington
4) Santa Barbara, California
5) Miami, Florida
6) Puerto Viejo Sarapiqui, Costa Rica

Who knows where I will end up next...maybe Europe?

List 16 -- Road trip

Carlos and I are planning on taking a road trip this summer to bring my car back to Miami from Seattle. We want to make a little vacation out of it and take the time to visit the west coast. Here are a few sites we are thinking of visiting along the road:

- Olympic National Park, WA
- Powell's City of Books, Portland, OR
- Redwood National Park, CA
- Yosemite National Park, CA
- Jelly Belly Factory, Fairfield, CA
- Disneyland, CA
- San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park, CA

There are still lots of places we want to see, but these are the main highlights (as of now...we still haven't planned much of anything). If anyone has more great ideas, I would love to hear them!

List 15 -- St. Patrick's day

Happy St. Patrick's day everyone. As I have a bit of Irish heritage, my family usually celebrates this holiday -- nothing much, but we have our traditions.

- Wear some green (I used to have a little shamrock pin)
- Eat a St. Patrick's Day meal comprised of:
* Corned beef (my mom makes the best corned beef!)
* Mashed 'taters (that's potatoes to all you non-hobbits)
* Steamed cabbage

That's all -- nothing too extravagant but we have fun. Since I am in Costa Rica, Carlos and I will celebrate with some cabbage and potatoes, but no corned beef (it's nonexistent here) so we will have pork chops instead! Have a fun day everyone and don't let those leprechauns pinch you!

List 14 -- Sights with Phyllis & Bill

My mom's friend Phyllis and her boyfriend Bill left La Selva this morning after spending 2 days here. We had a really good time and saw lots of interesting things on our hikes and tours! Here is a list of some of the highlights:

- Masked Tityra (a red-faced bird)
- Pied Puffbird
- Great Tinamou (big grey bird that lives on the forest floor)
- Fasciated Antshrike (in a nest!)
- Agouti
- Peccaries (about 20)
- Saccopteryx bilineata (bats roosting in a tree)
- Summer Tanager
- Violaceous Trogon

Thanks for visiting me Phyllis and Bill! I hope you had a fun time here -- I did and now I am definitely more exited about birding!

List 13 -- Favorite Movies (Part I)

I love to watch movies -- either at home on our little portable DVD player (we have this instead of TV) or in the movie theatre. Here is a list of my favorite movies:

• Blade Runner
• Terminator 1 and 2
• Aliens
• Total Recall
• Donnie Darko
• Spaceballs
• Jurassic Park
• Monty Python and the Holy Grail
• Spirited Away
• Chopping Mall
• UHF
• The Wizard
• Trekkies
• Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
• Back to the Future I, II, and III
• Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
• Predator 1 and 2
• Star Wars Episodes IV, V, and VI
• Robocop
• Die Hard
• Labyrinth
• Romancing the Stone
• The Matrix
• The Fifth Element
• Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2
• Commando
• Speed
• Zoolander

This list is in no particular order and I am sure that I've missed a few, but I will add them in a part II later on.

List 12 -- Top 10 iTunes songs

I am running out of interesting list ideas! Argh...here is the list of the top 10 most-played songs in my iTunes right now:

1. Aquatic Ambiance, Donkey Kong Country Soundtrack
2. Zora's Domain, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Soundtrack
3. Water Temple, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Soundtrack
4. Great Bay Coast, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask Soundtrack
5. Snow, Donkey Kong Country Soundtrack
6. Lobo Hombre en Paris, La Unión
7. Summers, Earthbound Soundtrack
8. Boggly Woods, Paper Mario and the Thousand Year Door Soundtrack
9. Crystal Palace, Paper Mario Soundtrack
10. Web Woods, Donkey Kong Country 2 Soundtrack

Hmmm...I seem to have a lot of Nintendo soundtracks going on there. Well, I like to listen to music while I work on the computer and I can't focus and listen to songs with words. All of these provide nice ambient background noise (sans lyrics) for me while working.

PS. I am a nerd.

List 11 -- Favorite old Nickelodeon shows

I haven't watched TV in a long time, but when I was younger and when I am home I watched/watch Nickelodeon/Nick GAS (Games and Sports). Nick GAS plays a lot of TV shows that were popular on Nickelodeon back in the 80's and 90's (and in my opinion when Nickelodeon was the best TV channel!). Here is my list of favorite old Nickelodeon shows:

• Salute Your Shorts
• Hey Dude
• Wild and Crazy Kids
• Double Dare
• What Would You Do
• The Secret World of Alex Mack
• Space Academy
• Adventures of the Hidden Temple
• Nick Arcade

List 10 -- Favorite books

I don't have a lot of free time to read fun books now (mostly I read journal articles or textbooks), but I love reading for fun. Hopefully, I will have more time to read non-science books/articles after finishing my data collection.

Here is a little list of my favorite books:

• Dune, Frank Herbert
• Anything by Douglas Adams
• Anything by Philip K. Dick
• The Beak of the Finch, Jonathan Weiner
• Dr. Dolittle, Hugh Lofting
• The Hobbit, J. R. R. Tolkein
• Anything by Agatha Christie
• Anything by Roald Dahl
• The Harry Potter series

List 09 -- UNESCO World Heritage sites I have visited

UNESCO World Heritage sites are locations (parks, mountains, cities, etc.) that are maintained by the International World Heritage Programme. The goal of this programme is to conserve historical and culturally significant regions of the world deemed important to humanity. The current list is comprised of 851 sites! Unfortunately, I've only visited 16 (which really isn't too shabby) ...but this will be remedied in my future travels! Here are the World Heritage sites I have visited so far:

• Guanacaste, Costa Rica
• Cathédrale Notre-Dame, France
• Mont Saint Michel, France
• Palace of Versailles, France
• Carcassonne, France
• Loire Valley, France
• Historic Center of Mexico City, Mexico
• Morelia, Mexico
• Cusco City, Peru
• Machu Picchu, Peru
• Lima, Peru
• The Nazca Lines, Peru
• Everglades National Park, USA
• Redwood National Park, USA
• Olympic National Park, USA
• Yosemite National Park, USA

Manzana de agua

I know this is an extra post for today, but it is about a delicious, interesting fruit! Today Carlos and I went to town to buy groceries and EVERYONE was lined along the street (there is only one street in town) selling produce. It was really nice getting free samples of avocados, but the one fruit we ended up buying a huge (cheap) bag of were these fruits called manzana de agua ("water apple").


They are in the family Myrtaceae and the genus Eugenia. The taste is really unique -- kind of sour and floral with a little taste of water and pear and apple. The skin is a little waxy and there is one big seed inside. The bag we bought has about 15 fruits and only cost $1.

List 08 -- Weird-sounding foods I would like to try

I am having trouble thinking of an interesting list to post so I will post the following: weird (to me anyway) foods that I would like to try one day.

• Fried pickle
• Garlic ice cream
• Takoyaki (spherical fried dumpling with octopus chunk inside)
• Durian fruit
• Poutine (French fries topped with cheddar curds and gravy)
• Olive oil gelato
• Dark chocolate and bacon bar
• SPAM

The fried pickle sounds like one of those foods you only find at fairs (where anything can be fried!) -- and all fair food is good...just not good for you! For garlic ice cream I will have to get to the Gilroy Garlic Festival in California sometime; for Takoyaki I need to travel to Japan; durian is in Southeast Asia (or at the Uwajimaya market in Washington); I need to make a trip to Canada for poutine; there is a store that sells olive oil gelato in New York City; I saw a dark chocolate and bacon bar in Whole Foods when I was in Miami -- but it was $10; SPAM is everywhere, but most authentic in Hawaii.

List 07 -- Grocery goodies

Carlos and I have to go to town soon to pay the electricity bill and buy groceries. I hate buying groceries (because there isn't much selection)! In Puerto Viejo (the nearby town), we buy our regular food items and usually only have to make a trip once every 3 weeks. Sometimes, when we have to make a trip to San Jose (the capital and biggest city on Costa Rica -- 2 hours away by bus), we stop by the Automercado to buy fancier treats that aren't available in Puerto. However, we are rarely in San Jose. I have a little list of things I would like to buy there whenever we do end up going:

Balsamic vinegar
Tea (chai if they have it)
Macaroni and cheese
Pretzels
Panko crumbs
Monte Rico cheese (made by Quakers in Monteverde!)

I could really go for some pretzels right now, but I'll have to wait until I can get to San Jose!

List 06 -- Objects on my desk

I have a pretty nice collection of eclectic things keeping me company on the ledge above my desk. This little museum contains a lot of little things that seem insignificant, but to me are precious.

* Small jar of paper stars (origami from my sister)
* Seeds and seed pods from all over Costa Rica
* Shiny beetle (I found it dead on a trail)
* Wooden agouti statue (given to me by the station director)
* Metal plant tag with my name stamped onto it
* Preserved Onychophoran (velvet worm) in a vial
* Plaster cast of agouti footprint
* Doraemon figurine (eating a cake)
* Rattan lizard from Mexico (gift from ATBC conference)
* Photo of Volcan Arenal

List 05 -- My favorite TV shows (Part I)

Here are some of my favorite TV shows (in no particular order):

Xena: Warrior Princess
X-Files
Firefly
La Femme Nikita
Ducktales
Doraemon
Æon Flux
Alf
Mr. Bean
The Simpsons
The Mole
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

I'm sure there are more that I'm forgetting right now, but I can add those in a later list (part II). I haven't seen any of the shows that are currently popular (e.g. Lost, 24, House) but they sound good!

List 04 -- What I saw in the field this morning

This morning was full of really labor-intensive fieldwork and involved carrying a lot of fruits, peccary exclosures, and PVC tubes. I did get to see a lot of nice things while in the field though. This list details everything I saw while setting out stringed seeds and peccary exclosures:

* Fish -- I stopped to look at them in the stream near the trail

* Blue morpho butterfly -- drunk on juice of a ripe Dipteryx fruit!

* Pink larva -- maybe of a moth or butterfly

* Agouti -- I couldn't take a picture of this fella

Carlos helped me with setting these cages and it made it a lot more fun to have a helper with me out in the forest!

List 03 -- What I did last night

Here is a list of things I did to relax last night after getting home from the station:

Walked to the pulperia (little general store) and bought soda.

Read some Journey to the Center of the Earth.

Made dinner with Carlos -- rice and Massamun curry with potatoes.

Knitted some of my newly-started green scarf.

Watched some Doraemon episodes.

This was a nice night to take a break from working hard and entering data all day -- I have a pretty large backlog of data that needs to go into the computer and get digitally backed up!

List 02 -- Teas

I am not really a coffee drinker. I like to drink coffee, but I am not addicted to it -- and when I drink coffee the milk + sugar : coffee ratio is really high! Anyway, I do like to drink tea. I like to prepare it and take a break in the morning to relax with a nice hot mug of tea. Here is a list of the teas that I have currently at home (brought from the states):

Tiramisu black tea
Chai
Maple
Almond
Gingerbread
Pear white tea
Lime

I mostly like flavored teas (as opposed to more flowery ones) and I like to add sugar and milk to them all (except the citrus ones).

List 01 -- Countries to visit

I cannot believe that it is already March -- sheesh! This month kicks off another monthly NaBloPoMo (where the goal is to post once a day for every day of the month), which I was inspired to participate in by my friend Christina. There is a theme for each month which I may or may not stick to entirely. The theme for the month of March is lists so I will make one for each post. Let's see if I can keep up with this one!

Here is an easy list of the top countries I would like to visit right now:
1. Greece
2. Japan
3. New Zealand
4. France
5. Spain

I have been battling a little cold recently so I haven't been out in the forest as much as I've liked in the past couple of days, but I'm getting better and that means more adventures to post soon!