thesis writing

you would think when a full draft of my thesis is due tomorrow, i'd be more worried about getting it done.
i plan on staying up all night, and have been getting a lot of work done over this last week.
but this apathetic attitude towards it just won't go away - even with it due tomorrow - i just don't care, at all.

note to self: if you ever EVER think of going back into academia - face palm - smarten up, this shit is awful. it's fucking awfullll.

winter=theworst

holy shit,
our house is looking empty and strange
folks are moving out
there's only me and one other person staying here now
ahhhhhh. on the plus side I've found a place to move to for the end of the month, fuck yeah!
but i'm sad. and i don't know if it is because i'm leaving this place or leaving halifax soon.

i went to a show last night and it was really fun. i got to talk to a lot of folks i haven't seen in a while and it was great. i felt really awkward and weird at first but then it was awesome. oh, and the bands were good except for one surprise set with dudes who decided they'd show up and play. but the bloodwashed band and 4-lom were amazing!

i'm going to keep packing my room. i don't have the heart to take down my posters yet..

i'm also procrastinating doing school work. i can't wait till there is a day when i don't have to say that anymore.

leaving

staying calm, sort of.

school: way behind, scared. met with my supervisor, was horrified, but it was a good meeting and i feel stoked/supported on getting this project done. will break it down into smaller parts to tackle it. i'm going to need more coffee.

life:
crushing on a friend, it's weird. i don't like crushes. this person is really fucking cool, bleghhh. i wish i was more confident and able to express myself.

moving: i'm fucking leaving halifax, and it's making me hella sad. some days I'm stoked on going, cause it's associated with school, stress and drama. but most of the time i love this town and the wonderful folks i've met here. i live by the ocean! and there's a lot of dogs in this city! lakes won't compare. also, the activism and rad shit that goes on here is great and i haven't experienced anything like this in the other places i've lived. 

i've taken a position at the wildlife center in sudbury. i'll be back in ontario. i was avoiding this, but i was back there over the holidays and volunteering at the center. we talked about rehabbing moose and coons, and my heart was aching - i miss that stuff! I just dislike sudbury, but i'm hoping i can get over that, there's a lot of beautiful places outside the town, and i love the work i'll be doing, and will likely be too busy to do anything else anyway. i'll be living in lively at the wildlife center with jake, which is really great. i did look around at other rehab places, but they needed me to start right away, and i need to finish school.

just stretched both my conches, sleeping will not be pleasant for a while.

Day 2 - post conference tour

The second day of the tour involved a tour of a cacao plantation, then a trek to Monte Verde, and finally trapping in the cloud forest there.

When we arrived at the cacao place, we met this pet parrot - he is a rescue from the area, has a wing injury and so he cannot fly - and spends his days perching in this cacao tree. He's been in their care for 30 years.

 see at the bottom of the tree - that's a cacao fruit!

 cacao flower!

pottery that would hold cacao - traditionally it was placed with the dead to help them in the afterlife.

wild vanilla! takes a very long time to grow - these pods are 3 months old - need another 6 months to mature. then drying and processing will take an additional 9 months. traditionally mixed with cacao because they did not have sugar. they would mix cacao with water, vanilla and hot peppers, and it was only served to the elite (even before they were colonized).

cacao fruit! a cacao tree must grow for 2.5 years before it can produce fruit, then the fruit takes 4-5 months to ripen.

the seed from inside - gooey and weird.

goes through a 7 day fermentation period where it reabsorbs the sugars. then dried in the sun for 2 weeks. the cacao in costa rica is good for drinking, but not for chocolate - it is 60% cacao and 40% fat, whereas in africa this ratio is reversed - and apparently that is more ideal for chocolate bars..

crushing up the dried cacao seeds.

this women made us wonderful hot chocolate.

there's a toucan in a tree! this photo taken horribly through binoculars. i don't even care. also, passed by some bodies of water. found out 88% energy in costa rica is from water, 6% geothermal, and some diesel, they do not use/have coal. 3% of the tax on gas goes toward paying farmers - they receive 150$ for each tree they leave on their property per year.

trying to get to monte verde - not being allowed to pass. this farm has security guards.

cattle herded into this tiny concrete area..

laguna lodge - outside monte verde.

into the mountains - nectar feeders for both birds - and bats! they have so many species of humming birds, I couldn't keep track.

bats visiting the feeder - you can see the wings sticking out behind - I tried so many times to capture a photo and never really succeeded (Genus: Glossophaga)

another species: leaf nose bat, Carollia subrula

up close: Carollia subrula

bat I removed from the net - beautiful! Carollia micronect

Myotis elegans

Micromycteris hirsuta

one of the nectar feeding bats - Hylonycteris underwoodi

oh snap! a bat on its way to the feeder!

there is much more to tell, but I want to get posting the photos, and maybe do some thesis writing..

Post tour NASBR/IBRC 2013

day one of the tour after the bat conference.

the wonderful heliconia plant - many more photos of these.

bananas!!

poison red dart frog. yes, the tiny dot on that rock in the middle.

katydid!

another poison dart frog!

heliconia plant! it traps water - and some bugs lay their eggs here and the larva live and grow in the water. these are also often pollinated by plants! and bats will sometimes use their leaves to make tents!

lichee fruit: a new monoculture they are growing. sold along roadsides everywhere.

arenal volcano!

vultures rule the sky here.

THIS WAS SO COOL. there is a group of coatis, these beautiful creatures from the raccoon family. this group is made up of females and babies. oh dear. too cute. you'll have to make click the photo to see them!

 the tree roots. what are they doing? so cool.

 moth - when it's flying it looks like a very tiny hummingbird. too cool!

their bird feeders. cut up fruit stuck to old trees. with a cone on the bottom to stop the coatis from eating the fruit.

 and back at the lodge:

 my first time swimming in hot springs!

 dink frog! loud but tiny!

 went out for dinner after a night of trapping where we didn't catch any bats... and at the restaurants, dogs are sitting under the tables. i tried to feed them - but apparently they are picky eaters.

 beautiful sunrise. i woke up around 5 or 6am everyday in costa rica, it was too beautiful to miss any of it.

 kiskadee!

the second day of the tour involved a tour of a cacao plantation - to be updated tomorrow!