Post-its From Suburbia

Super Adventure Tour: Day 6

2009-05-14T21:13:00.003-05:00

Today we explored San Francisco with Carmen as our native guide.

We walked from Carmen's house through Golden Gate Park all the way to the bay. We followed the bay to Fisherman's Wharf, where we tried our first In-N-Out Burgers. They were awesome! Later we looked at the California sea lions at Pier 39 and walked into downtown. We visited a really cool toy store in the city before catching a bus back to the house.

Carmen was our photojournalist for the day.

Matt, Nikki, and Aaron in front of the "Full House" house.

This is what happens when you point an expensive camera directly at Nikki.

Matt, Aaron, and Nikki watching some naughty seagulls by the bay.

Matt ate three tubs of ketchup with this meal.

Aaron and Matt give a 'thumbs up', indicating that they were very pleased with their In-N-Out Burger experience.

Aaron's face required a massive amount of sunscreen.

California sea lions at Pier 39.

Matt and Aaron on the bus back home.

Super Adventure Tour: Day 5

2009-05-14T01:46:00.004-05:00

It's the end of day 5 on the Super Adventure Tour.

Tonight we're staying with Carmen and Derrek in San Francisco.

So far we've visited the San Diego Zoo, jumped in the Pacific Ocean in

the middle of the night, surfed San Elijo State Beach, watched elephant seals basking near Cambria, and drove a stretch of Highway 1.

Matt watching elephant seals.

Nikki's surfing sunburn.

Matt and Aaron show off their sunburns.

Aaron grilling for a crowd at the hostel in San Diego.

Nikki eating some really good food at the hostel in San Diego.

Matt and Nikki at the San Diego Zoo crocodile exhibit.

Matt and Nikki boogie-boarding at San Elijo State Beach.

OMG! I like totally went blonde.

2009-04-15T10:01:00.003-05:00

No really, I did. Now all I need are some implants and a tanning bed... Oh no! It's happening. ..."Don't go into the light"...

Anyway here's a 'before' picture from the Arkansas Academy of Sciences meeting a few weeks ago and then my 'after' from about 30 minutes ago. I've wanted to do this ever since my hair began the dead rabbit brown phase. It's like seeing a plump version of my official mental image of myself.

New Mexico NMBIS and Hendrix Talk

2009-03-24T11:54:00.010-05:00

I'm back from New Mexico and I gave a talk about my alligator research to the Hendrix Biology Club last night, so I think it's time for an update.

Santa Fe was really cool. It's a very artsy little place like Eureka Springs, but the buildings are all in the southwest style so the whole theme works to draw you in. My poster didn't win the award, but they paid for us to go there so we didn't expect to be considered.

This is our hotel. It was very nice and ultra stylized, like the rest of Santa Fe. It's called the Inn at Loretto and it's right in the middle of the downtown area. My room had a giant window that opened onto someone else's roof, so I kept going out there at night to look around.

We visited some cliff dwellings where the place allows people to climb ladders into some of the homes. It was my favorite part of the whole trip, and I think I would go back just to do it again. This is a picture of Dr. Swanson, Ben, and Madeline inside one of the smaller cliff dwellings.

This is me "Vanna Whiting" my new alligator poster at the symposium. I think it's funny that my jacket looks like a lab coat.

Stay tuned for more updates! I'm hunting the Ivory-billed Woodpecker tomorrow if weather permits.

Upcoming Stuff

2009-03-06T19:56:00.003-06:00

Here's what I'll be up to in the next few months:

INBRE Symposium in Santa Fe and AAS Symposium in Clarksville, both to my present poster about alligator research I've been working on.

Hunt for the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker in Southeast Arkansas the first day of spring break.

College of Natural Science and Mathematics Poster Symposium at UCA and talk at Hendrix about the alligator research in April.

Memphis in May (just Sunday, ... if I'm feeling rich.)

Super-Adventure Tour of the West coast the middle two weeks of May. Beach camping near San Diego, invade Carmen's house in San Francisco, camp in the Redwoods, hang out in Portland, camp at Mt. Rainier, and wander Seattle before heading home.

Summer School June and July
Cell Biology and Physics II (frowny face)

Graduate again in August!

Get a real job!
"Science is a wonderful thing if one does not have to earn one's living at it." ~Albert Einstein

I'll be posting about these individually when the time comes. I'm rarely short on activities, that's for sure.

Back to School

2009-01-23T00:40:00.003-06:00

I'm back in school and I have senioritis for sure. I just made a video of my stolen lab rats escaping from their cage. My only comment: Rats are smarter than guinea pigs.

Oh, and you'll want your speakers on for my eclectic musical selections during the video.

Snake Bite

2008-12-02T09:47:00.003-06:00

I think the title says it all. I got my first snake bite Monday from a grouchy little Blood Python named "Satan's Slave Girl" (above). I was cleaning her enclosure and I must have spooked her when I picked her up to put her back inside because she struck and grazed my knuckle. It didn't hurt. In fact, I had to look at my hand before I was sure she'd even hit me. Not to say that it didn't hurt later... it did.

Camping Photos

2008-12-02T09:34:00.004-06:00

Here are some camping photos as promised. It drizzled the whole first day and snowed the last day as we were packing up, so we did something we've never done before... we camp-cheated. The overnight lows were around thirty degrees, so we brought the air mattress and an electric blanket. We also brought a bunch of card and board games and cheated again by bringing the laptop to watch movies while it rained. Before we left our campsite, our friend the old brown dog showed up for a visit. He spent a few hours with us on my birthday camping trip, and must live somewhere in the area. We fed him a little beef jerky and played in the snow before saying goodbye. It turned out to be a fun weekend.

Thanksgiving: Guinea Pig Style

2008-11-28T10:15:00.003-06:00

No, he's not dead. We gave the pigs all the hay and pellets and kale they could stuff into their little faces. This is the end result: Chucky's knocked out in the hut closest to the food bowl, and Elvis (pictured) seems to have passed out on the hay pile. The flash from the camera didn't even disturb them. Good grief.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T11:51:00.002-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

I made ratatouille and an apple pie from scratch this year. My kitchen is still lightly dusted with flour no matter how much I've tried to clean it. I even burned a perfect impression of the oven rack into my thumb. That means I'm a real baker!

We'll go to Petit Jean Friday to continue our tradition of camping after Thanksgiving. Pictures to follow!

Constrictors Are Our Friends

2008-11-13T13:02:00.003-06:00

I love the pythons I take care of at school. We have Ball Pythons, Blood Pythons, and Green Tree Pythons. The Ball Pythons are my favorites, and 'Sweet Pea' is my favorite of those. I didn't take a photo with her because she was very busy mating with 'Nirvana' at the time, so this is me holding 'Casper', an albino Ball Python. He's nice, too!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

2008-11-11T23:00:00.002-06:00

Aaron and I took Grandma to Michelangelo's in Conway for her birthday Sunday. We all had a great time and ate some really good food.

Tastes Like Science!

2008-11-09T12:15:00.003-06:00

I went to an INBRE meeting with my lab group this weekend. Research students make posters and present their research there every year. My poster was about my role in our ongoing blackberry research; I extract and amplify the DNA to determine the relatedness of the population. My friend Madeline and my "minion" Jeff were there defending the poster as well.

I work in another lab where I care for pythons and the rat colony that will one day feed them. We had more than 20 babies two weeks ago and they're so cute! I love the rat babies even though I know they're food, and I play with them as often as I can. I call this one Nicodemus, like the hero in "The Rats of NIMH". He'll grow up to be a breeder before he's food.

Yes We Can

2008-11-04T23:40:00.005-06:00

Obama gives puppies.

Aaron and the Chuckster

2008-10-30T11:20:00.003-05:00

They're so cute!

Busy Busy Busy

2008-10-01T21:19:00.003-05:00

I've been so busy I haven't thought to post any updates!

Short version:
Volunteering for Little Rock Zoo
Caring for ball pythons and rats at UCA
Went on an alligator tagging expedition
Went on a turtle capturing expedition
Moved to an apartment
Donated blood to Red Cross

This is what I do for fun:

2008-08-31T13:42:00.004-05:00

I gave the guinea pigs 60 seconds with a whole banana. It looks like some kind of fruitarian crime scene.

Danger: Latrodectus

2008-08-26T09:43:00.002-05:00

In Arkansas, the really pretty things have a tendency to double as dangerous things. We have alligators, bears, bees, black widows, cougars, copperheads, cottonmouths, fire ants, rattlesnakes, tornadoes, and disease-carrying parasites to name a few.

Here's a great sunset over the Arkansas River. Just below the giant developing anvil cloud is Pinnacle Mountain. No swimming! And this would be a black widow by my trash can. We have several in our garage and far more living in the outside corners of our windows and doors. Check your shoes!

The best slushie ever

2008-07-16T06:20:00.002-05:00

Aaron and I made up a recipe for the best slushie ever.

Mash up 10 red popsicles. (That's the best part!)
Put them in a blender with 6 ice cubes, 2 cups of red Gatorade, 1/3 cup of sugar, and 1/8 of the pulpy part of a lemon.

Blend it into a slushy mess.
Drink with a straw while thinking about how awesome you are for trying it.

Super Genius

2008-07-15T22:00:00.005-05:00

I solved Rubik's cube for the first time today. I expect a call from Mensa any minute now...

The Phantom Fence

2008-07-01T14:09:00.005-05:00

A fence started growing out of our yard a few weeks ago. First some holes showed up and then a bunch of poles appeared around the yard. Two weeks later we still have giant empty holes and some poles, along with a sizable stack of wood planks on the grass.

This isn't exactly out of the ordinary.

Last winter in Fayetteville some guys came to fix a water pipe under our front yard. They dug up the yard, broke a pipe, and never returned. A few weeks later some different people came and tore up our very steep driveway, leaving behind a muddy incline. Needless to say, the mud froze. They left it that way for about a month while we parked a few blocks down the hill in front of a stranger's house. We still miss our snowy walks up and down the hill.

Shortly after moving back to Conway last summer we also had a phantom lawn dude. We'll always remember him!

Guinea Pigs

2008-07-01T13:32:00.007-05:00

I thought the pigs could use some air time.

Here's a video of Chucky doing a trick. (He stands up for food.)

This is Elvis. He's uglier, older, and fatter.

Aren't we all?

Here's Chucky again. He poses for the camera when he's not trying to eat it.

wall-e

2008-06-30T23:24:00.003-05:00

I had a big day for a Monday.

I went to Organic from 8 to 1, then spent a few hours in the lab ordering primers for my project. From there I drove to Little Rock to visit Courtney because she had Brayden this morning. Then I met Aaron for dinner at my favorite restaurant, Igibon. We went to see wall-e after dinner, and it's officially my new favorite Pixar movie. If you're an animation-loving hippie geek, this movie is made for you.

We drove home through downtown Conway, and I was so dazzled (or delirious) by the big city lights that we stopped to take a photo.