I have been so busy lately, I haven’t had time to post anything on my blog! I’ll try to get caught up here, and do better in the future – if at all possible.
Nature Writing Class: the class is going well. I like the people in it, and the stories submitted have all been interesting. I’m still not comfortable picking things apart, but in the long run I think it is helpful to listen to everybody’s comments. Twelve weeks sure is a long time, though. We’re just over half way thru! I really should work on a re-write…
Work: my job is going well. We’re busy as ever trying to get this clinic out to permitting. I worked about 20 hours overtime last week, and will likely do the same again this week. That’s good for my pocket book – not so good for my health. I am coming down with something: my joints ache, my nose is running, and my lungs are coughing.
Winter Trails Day: I volunteered at the BLM a few weeks ago for their winter trails day celebration. The table where I worked for 3 hours had information on the BLM as well as some actual snow flakes that had been preserved onto black paper that people could look at under a microscope. It was so cool; apparently, if you catch the snowflake and immediately spray it with a light coating of acrylic, it actually does preserve it in tact!
Earthwatch: I gave a presentation to The Forum, a group of about 52 people. I had put together a slide-show of photographs sent to me by the headquarters, put verbiage taken from the website on top, and ended up with a pretty neat presentation. I even added two of my own photos at the end, to represent my two expeditions. I had all my brochures and catalogs displayed on a table so that afterwards people could come and talk to me some more, and take whatever they wanted. Hopefully, this will generate some actual volunteers!
Family Movie Night: we had our third movie night a few weekends ago. The movies are spectacular, and are perfectly suited to my brother’s big screen TV. Our family does love get-togethers, and are thinking ahead to what we can watch once The Planet Earth is finished. We’ve discovered a new series that I am particularly interested in, called The Body Atlas. If I can figure out how to afford it (it costs $150 for the 6 DVD set) I will definitely get it.
USGBC: I have been nominated as Secretary for the local USGBC group. That’s the United States Green Building Council, and technically we just merged with another group so what I should be calling our group is the CRGBC, or the Cascadia Regional Green Building Council. Anyway, I attend the meetings, take notes, and then later – in my spare time (yeah, right) type up and distribute the minutes.
Cats: I adopted a new cat! I’m very excited about her, even though I really though I only wanted two cats. She’s another Devon, just like my first two, and she’s 5 years old. Her name is Djuna, but I call her Junie. She’s such a tiny little one with black curly hair, a short tail, and surprisingly big feet. She’s also quite bossy, and has no manners as of yet. I just love her.
Zoo Volunteer Work: I’ve been doing quite a bit at the zoo. We had two girl scouts camps just this weekend, focusing on Dog Mushing and the Iditarod race. I’ve helped out with planning for this summer’s Tuesday Night lecture program = I’m excited to announce that Dr. Richard Reading, from the Denver Zoo, is coming this year to talk about the Bactrian Camel. He’s the scientist I worked with in Mongolia last year. I’ve also helped out with the zoo’s quarterly newsletter a bit, collaborating with the education director on some ideas to incorporate some Green issued into the final product.
Creek Monitoring: this past Sunday was my creek monitoring day, and my creek was actually flowing so I was able to do it this time. Last month it had been frozen solid. My partner and I are getting along very well, and I am enjoying my duties. We’ll see how it goes over the summer months, when I have to do it twice a month. Hopefully, it wont interfere with my zoo duties too much.
INCPA: I had let my paperwork slide on this goal (Interpretive Naturalist Certification Program for Alaska) so I set aside a few hours yesterday to attempt to catch up. I got a lot done, and am motivated now to finish it up. I just don’t know when I’ll be able to do that!
Working out at the Gym: speaking of motivation, I’ve also gone ahead and hired a personal trainer to try and get me going on my weight-loss goals. I meet with her tonight to begin the program, and will hopefully go at least twice a week for the next few months.
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