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Sunday, February 13, 2011

How to Save a Life

I've literally just been getting passed around at the zoo like I'm some kind of weird disease, but it's been good to get experience everywhere.

A couple weeks ago, it was elephant, where I got to see everything instead of just how they put them out on exhibit.  This week, Health Center.  So really, just a whole bunch of birds, some itty bitty tortoises, the tamanduas, and preparing the medication.  Preparing the medication was actually the best part I think.  It was pretty interesting to see all the different stuff that they have to give the animals.

Also, today was Valentine's Day at the zoo, so we went out and watched Baheem the tiger attack a pinata that we put up in the tree, which was pretty funny.  He ripped the unicorn's head off to get to the chicken that was put inside, so that might have traumatized some children.  It was awesome to see him hunt it down out of the tree though.

BASEBALL STARTS TODAY!!!!

The last two nights I've seen Snoop Dogg in concert, and Just Go With It.  Snoop Dogg was actually pretty awesome, even though that's not really my type of music.....  Just go with it was hilarious.  But that's probably because I love Adam Sandler and Dan Patrick and Brooklyn Decker.

Drive until you lose the road, or break with the ones you've followed

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Kings and Queens

Another week, another completely different zoo experience...I'm really starting to like this semester

Today, I helped with the other half of South America plus Tiger.  So we started off with tiger, it was nice to see Baheem again.  Then went over and did the flight connection, gibbons, caiman, otters, and jaguars.  Pretty sweet to see the Jags up close in the night house.  And the birds in the flight connection are way better than the other aviary and the bird run.  The otters were as funny as you would imagine, so spastic, but so eager to get their food and be able to go out into the yard when we were done cleaning it.  The best part was that none of the animals seem to poop that much, so there wasn't too much rake and shovel action today.

We also got to witness some random guy hop the construction fence of the new elephant exhibit just so he could use the bathroom because "there are no other ones in the park"....except that there's another one like 50 yards away, and not behind a giant fence.  That was pretty entertaining to watch one of the other keepers go out there and start yelling at him for hopping the fence.  Definitely one of the weirder things that's happened while I've been there.

Into your eyes, hopeless and taken, we stole our new lives, through blood and pain in defense of our dreams

Monday, January 17, 2011

Wonderful

Did a totally new area on Sunday, which of course means a new one of these blog post thingys.

Got shifted to anteater this week, which actually means capybara, llama, tortoises, rheas, flamingos, andean bears, and anteaters.  It was cool to see all of these new animals and all the different night houses that they have. Everything is more or less the same, cleaning and hosing out the houses, feeding the animals either in the back or out on exhibit, cleaning the yard, trying to do some training if there's time.  The one new thing that I did was clean the anteater pool, which was kind of gross because they only poop in the pool.  But those kinds of animals and night houses are what I imagined the entire zoo was like, not just that area.  So I hope I get to be on that area more this semester to get some more experience with those kinds of things.  Pretty sure I've done everything except polar bear/lion and macaques/mandrills at this point, and with lots of things changing at the zoo maybe I'll get to, maybe not.

Also found out that two apprenticeship spots open in September, so I'll have to find something to do this summer, although there is a thing in Boston that I'm going to apply for I think.  It seems like the perfect thing that I would need, and it's only from the end of May through September, so it works out perfectly.

Since my last post, the whole world now knows where Tucson is on a map, and I've seen every president I've ever voted for in person (one), and both for bad reasons.  But Rep. Giffords is making huge progress, and the whole tone of this community has changed, and I'm kind of glad to say that I've lived here for 3 and a half years now.  Just sitting here watching the news on January 8th was one of the most surreal things I've ever experienced.  Things kept happening and changing (CNN had Giffords dead for half an hour), and the nation was focused on this town that most of the country probably doesn't even know exists.  Then President Obama showed up, and I waited in line outside McKale all afternoon to see him speak, and to see all of that political power, all sitting together on the floor that the basketball team made famous.  It was crazy.

Four months til graduation! :)

How can you smile with all those tears in your eyes, and tell me everything is wonderful now?

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Just the Way You Are

Today was my first day at the zoo in 5 months, and it was just as great as my first day a year ago.  Did some hoofstock, got to pet the rhino again, weighed the rhino (4537 pounds), and did it in below freezing weather.  And the baby zebra is gigantic now, like a normal sized zebra, it's crazy.  I remember last February being there during its first day of life.  Then I got traded off to giraffe where I cleaned the heated barn, and chipped ice in the yard so they wouldn't slip....apparently giraffes have died from slipping on ice.  After that, we went to bird run, where it was totally different, but the funny cockatiels that talk were still there.  Then we finished the day off by getting some branches for one of the giraffes and hanging it up in their stall.  Overall, a successful first day back.

And, an Alamo Bowl trip just happened too.  San Antonio's a pretty cool city, it would be more fun on a non-POA trip though since pretty much everything on the riverwalk is a bar or club at night, so I want to go back there sometime soon.  We played a gig on a boat, a gig in a bar, and a gig at a giant alumni party from a balcony above the party.  And we had tons of free time to roam the streets of San Antonio, it was just a cool trip.  But the 14 hour drive there and 17 hour drive back were not enjoyable.  Definitely fly there from Tucson next time.

It's been an interesting couple of months here, but I'm definitely ready to start my last semester of school ever, and to move on to the real world.  And only 40 days until pitchers and catchers report haha.  Tucson getting the Padres AAA team may mean season tickets for me to buy, but I guess that depends on if a job happens or not sometime in the near future.  A lot of uncertainty out there I guess.

If perfect's what your searchin for than just stay the same