Life has been fairly non-eventful lately, but that will change next weekend when Tony and I check out Catalina Island - he's been offered an 18+ month invasive plant management position there with the conservancy. So we are flying down to Long Beach next Friday and staying on the island for two nights. Should be fun - we might camp on the beach a night. And it will either cement or call into question his personal preliminary acceptance of the offer. It's a big decision for me too, and right now the prospect is really exciting. There's a lot of research going on, and after my stint in Lakeview, it seems probable that I will join him. Actually becoming employed might be a challenge, but there are opportunities to volunteer in wildlife research - island fox, hopefully! So right now there's that - and wondering about graduate school - should I take the plunge and start applying, and if so, where? Where will that leave our relationship? What if volunteering on the island opens up contacts for graduate studies? I may be getting ahead of myself, but they are good questions to entertain. It's kind of weird, because I really don't know what I want.
Last weekend, I volunteered for Heartland Humane Society at Pet Day - OSU's annual event put on by the vet school to coincide with Mom's Weekend. I sat at a booth and mostly made small talk with passersby. But I saw four bassets! And got to pet two of them - and listen to one of them baying out of excitedness. Soo cute. One tri-color, two tan/white, and one lemon/white. Yes, I remember these things. So many dogs there. Including a huge brindle mastiff, a tiny pug puppy, a corgi/golden retriever mix, a norwegian elkhound, several german shepherds. And none of the shepherds really impressed me much. The new standard really has produced some shaky looking dogs compared to what the shepherd used to be - cow-hocked, sloped back, generally un-sound looking animals. I don't understand! Seeing them reinforced my decision to either buy from a small breeder of the "old fashioned" persuasion, or adopting a non-show line dog from a rescue group (that is, when I am in a position to actually have a large dog).
Two of Tony's Wisconsin friends (actually, they are both past girlfriends!) are out visiting. I was like, "what will it be like hanging out with your current girlfriend and two past girlfriends at once?!" But we both agreed that we're ok with the unorthodox nature of the arrangement. I had met Jen a couple months ago at Block 15, and just met Kali last weekend. Jen used to be an intern at the wave lab here on campus, and her and a guy that worked there (Jason) hit it off. I guess she is considering moving out here. Actually, Kali is thinking of coming out here too. It's exciting to be in that life stage where you can fairly easily move if you want to...Anyway, last Saturday we went to Jason's for a barbeque, and tonight we're meeting with them at McMenamins for dinner.
In other news, I'm increasingly relying on the humor and engaging dialogues of This American Life to get me through the work day. It really does make my work the most enjoyable it can be. The only issue with it is containing my desire to laugh out loud, especially when David Sedaris reads. I am currently reading The Omnivore's Dilemma, and wishing more and more to rely as exclusively as possible on local farms for food - especially meat and eggs. The argument for pastured milk, meat, and eggs is quite convincing. Really the whole argument for letting livestock behave in natural ways and eat foods they've evolved to - I mean, I wouldn't have any qualms about animal products at all if they all came from grass-based operations like the farm Pollan visited in Virginia. Anyway, I really recommend this book. It is reinforcing my objection to factory farms and introducing new compelling ideas about local food movements.
Last weekend, I volunteered for Heartland Humane Society at Pet Day - OSU's annual event put on by the vet school to coincide with Mom's Weekend. I sat at a booth and mostly made small talk with passersby. But I saw four bassets! And got to pet two of them - and listen to one of them baying out of excitedness. Soo cute. One tri-color, two tan/white, and one lemon/white. Yes, I remember these things. So many dogs there. Including a huge brindle mastiff, a tiny pug puppy, a corgi/golden retriever mix, a norwegian elkhound, several german shepherds. And none of the shepherds really impressed me much. The new standard really has produced some shaky looking dogs compared to what the shepherd used to be - cow-hocked, sloped back, generally un-sound looking animals. I don't understand! Seeing them reinforced my decision to either buy from a small breeder of the "old fashioned" persuasion, or adopting a non-show line dog from a rescue group (that is, when I am in a position to actually have a large dog).
Two of Tony's Wisconsin friends (actually, they are both past girlfriends!) are out visiting. I was like, "what will it be like hanging out with your current girlfriend and two past girlfriends at once?!" But we both agreed that we're ok with the unorthodox nature of the arrangement. I had met Jen a couple months ago at Block 15, and just met Kali last weekend. Jen used to be an intern at the wave lab here on campus, and her and a guy that worked there (Jason) hit it off. I guess she is considering moving out here. Actually, Kali is thinking of coming out here too. It's exciting to be in that life stage where you can fairly easily move if you want to...Anyway, last Saturday we went to Jason's for a barbeque, and tonight we're meeting with them at McMenamins for dinner.
In other news, I'm increasingly relying on the humor and engaging dialogues of This American Life to get me through the work day. It really does make my work the most enjoyable it can be. The only issue with it is containing my desire to laugh out loud, especially when David Sedaris reads. I am currently reading The Omnivore's Dilemma, and wishing more and more to rely as exclusively as possible on local farms for food - especially meat and eggs. The argument for pastured milk, meat, and eggs is quite convincing. Really the whole argument for letting livestock behave in natural ways and eat foods they've evolved to - I mean, I wouldn't have any qualms about animal products at all if they all came from grass-based operations like the farm Pollan visited in Virginia. Anyway, I really recommend this book. It is reinforcing my objection to factory farms and introducing new compelling ideas about local food movements.
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