LIFE. AHH.

hey.
things were bleak, but are looking up.
currently listening to trampled by turtles. all morning longggggg.

so for my project in newfoundland - some of the equipment was not working properly, so it had to be sent away for repair after last season. it arrived late this spring - near the beginning of april - and it wasn't packaged properly - and thus was crushed/broken when it arrived - and had to be sent back for more repairs. the data collection was supposed to start at the beginning of april - but it didn't start until 2 days ago - and there are still 2 units that haven't been deployed - but at least the majority are working!

found jake a ride back to ontario - after what feels like forever (but really a month) - I've found jake a ride to ottawa, and my aunt in ottawa has agreed to take him from there to half way to sudbury - where my parents will pick him up!

i met up with my labmate yesterday and just vented for a long time over blueberry beer about life and the shitty life of being a grad student at a tiny little catholic university - it felt great. vegan cheesecake also happened, so you know it was a good time. it's been raining here for days, and it looks like it's going to continue. i don't know if I'm ready for east coast living/never seeing the sun.

I have remote wilderness first aid survival training tomorrow through to sunday - I was dreading it, but now I'm excited and will learn a lot of stuff, so I'm stoked. a friend has agreed to look after jake for the overnight part, and her dog is friends with jake - so I'm sure jake will have a great time! I've got my bike tuned up - and am ready for the ride out to lakeview - it's going to be about a 2 hour ride each way, and should be beautiful - I have a zine which outlines a route out by that way, so hopefully I won't get lost and will take a scenic/bike friendly route!

I'm flying out on june 6th for newfoundland - doing three nights of fieldwork on the west coast, then taking a bus across the island, and doing 2 months of work on the eastcoast, about an hour out of saint johns - should be great! I will be doing most of the work with a new person - so that should keep it exciting, and we should have lots to talk about! they love animals, and that's all I could hope for.

I've had to work on a progress report for my committee which is basically a summary of what I've done in the last year - which is terrifying and I feel like I'm scrambling to pull together all the bits and pieces of stuff that I've managed to scatter everywhere. I was starting to break down yesterday after finishing a draft, but I've sent it to my supervisor and I think they're aware of the fragile state I'm in so hopefully they'll give semi-nice feedback? we'll see.

I'm also working on an article for the halifax media co-op about whitenose syndrome and bats in nova scotia - it's due tomorrow, so of course I'm procrastinating and writing a blog post, but I did work on it all morning. for articles about nature/science they give 100$ for writing the article, so that'll pay for most of jake's ride home!

I moved - again. AGAIN. I've moved so many times in halifax, but I found a place I like and have wanted to live in for a while, and the folks have been pretty awesome. it hasn't been exactly what I expected - but that's okay, it works. and everyone has taken well to jake and they give him lots of attention - and I know he's happy here and even has a pal to play with, so it's perfect.

I haven't really been hanging out with people that much, and instead hermitting, which I'm trying to get out of - but this rain isn't helping. on the plus side, my new place has folks stopping by a lot and hanging out, so I don't even have to leave the house to be social!

trying to stay positive.

have had this poem stuck in my head for days:

"There is pleasure in the pathless woods;
There is a rapture on the lonely shore;
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less but Nature more."
- Lord Byron