October 19, 2011

Rain.

So.
Much.
Rain.

October 13, 2011

Goals!

Goal 1: I passed all of my speed tests! I am now considered completely competent to take data in the field, which makes me a true monero! I am obviously still learning and in training for other things, but this makes it so that my data counts. I am part of science!

Goal 2: I have passed 2 more monkey groups! Newman's and Rafiki's groups are now totally recognizable to me. This means I can correctly identify every single monkey in either of those groups :)

Now I just need to pass one more group and I will have accomplished all of my month's goals.

Future Goal: Have the best vacation ever! I'm going to a remote island off the Caribbean side of Nicaragua for scuba diving. It's a place called Little Corn Island and it's supposed to be the best value diving in Central America. I'm going with 3 other moneros- Teresa, Amy, and Chelsea- for this end of the month vacation. I can't wait.

October 1, 2011

New!

It's a new month! And I am on my (newly working again) internet to give a tiny taste of the new things in my life. First, I passed my speed typing test so I can start the month one step closer to being a real researcher! Basically, I can type recordings of old monkey follows on my handheld computer very quickly whilst sitting in a comfy chair at home, and now I need to prove that I can write down everything the spotter says during a follow while I'm in the field chasing after our monkey. More challenging but my goal is to pass this next stage by the end of October, which would make me into a full-fledged monero, except for recognizing all the vocalizations (which can take around 6 months). My other goal is to pass 3 more monkey groups this month!

Another new thing in my life is my new room! It's my old room, but without my roommate! Not that I don't love Chelsea, but it's great to have my own space. So I started decorating and completely revamped it.

Here is my shelf space, complete with some pictures (that I'll rotate out as the humidity destroys them)

I've put up a map of Costa Rica on the door to my bathroom, and I'm marking all of the places I visit.

My new bed! This is my old mattress with a new foam pad underneath and without mosquito netting. It was too annoying to keep and I don't think it saved me all that many bug bites. I also constructed a bedside table out of 2 cinderblocks and an old cabinet front. Recycling at its finest :)

And now! The BEST part of my new room! The lounge! I took another old mattress foam pad and folded it 3-ways to create a comfy chair, covered it with this pretty blue sheet from storage, and draped a lovely yellow storage sheet behind it to soften the room.