Book love....

Grimm's Fairy Tales. We started watching the TV series, Grimm, based loosely on these stories and I thought I should revisit the book. The most common theme was karmic; your actions are repaid in kind. That and the rescuing of many a princess.

Wino....

We've blogged extensively about watching rugby in NZ so it's no surprise that a couple weeks ago we decided to head down to Westpac Stadium and watch our Hurricanes take on the Highlanders. With tickets in hand we bundled up due to the "cold" NZ weather (translate to "cool") and I even got a new Hurricanes beanie to help me stay warm while supporting our team. :) Then after getting some chips (translate to fries) and a couple drinks apiece we headed to our seats. Settling in Timmy cracked a beer while I tried to wrangle my drinks. Now the only bad thing about Westpac is that they don't offer a drop of cider onsite and so, because I don't drink beer, my only option is white wine. I know, it sounds funny: white wine at a professional sporting event. And it is but alas this is how they do it here. So I had two tiny bottles of Sauvignon Blanc. But it gets better. So you're drinking wine at a rugby game but we're civilized here because they give you a plastic glass with a tiny stem. That is, you can swill your vino in style. See below. Bundled in Hurricanes gear and sipping a little Sauv - a challenging task when your paw is in a mitten. :)

Boxy....

Take a gander at the photo below. What do you think of these things hanging on our bulletin board? What do you think they are? Amazingly, the one in the middle is a greeting card made of two pieces of canvas sown together and painted. The other two comprise the box that protected the card like an envelope would a piece of paper. When I was happily opening the birthday parcel that contained this piece of art I didn't see an "envelope" holding a card and so I didn't find this until halfway through. When I opened the box I knew immediately that I wanted to hang it up because the colors were so beautiful with noticeable brush strokes throughout. And it won't be anytime soon that I get a proper frame for it but I figured why wait? As I was putting things away this afternoon I thought, "You know what? I'm putting this up right now" and then I realized that the box is just as interesting as the card itself so there you have it: a new painted grouping.

Helga....

A while back I posted that I was starting to run on the treadmill at the gym. Again, let me just say, that this is a feat in and of itself. Alas, since my crushing data collection schedule has settled down I'm able to drag myself from the office to the gym to run. On one of my workout days I nicknamed the treadmill "Helga" because that sounds like some kind of ruthless personal trainer. :) The name is apt: she kicks my butt each and every workout. Despite my efforts to do the experience justice in words I cannot convey how challenging running is for me. Before every workout I have an internal argument with myself, "I don't really need to go the gym", "I'm too busy", "I don't have time", "I'm sore from the last run". Blah, blah, blah. Some days I give in and skip but other days I scold myself and change into workout gear. Then I walk myself down the hill to the gym where Helga takes me to task. At the end of each workout the most amazing thing happens. Without fail. I feel like I can do anything. Like I can take on the world. Simply incredible. If I had known this would happen perhaps I would've started running long ago. Yeah, probably not because I remember maybe the first month of workouts were awful. I felt terrible. Exhausted. In pain. And that from running relatively short distances. Rather slowly. I don't know what possessed me to keep going.

Update: I had wanted to work towards running 5 km (a little over 3 miles) in 30 minutes. While I haven't reached my goal just yet I'm making strides with each run. No pun intended (it just happened). I am very proud to say that I'm now consistently running 5 km each time I go to the gym. Unfortunately, I can't do it in 30 min yet but I'll continue to work at it. More to come.

Book love.....

Children of the Mind.

Book love....

The Dovekeepers. A whopping 500 pager. Done very well.

Veggie verdict.....

So our vegetarian experiment has ended and I have to say that I'm surprised how easy it was. I guess that makes sense as we hadn't been eating much meat. Still, eating no meat is a considerable step away from eating some. After careful consideration and analysis of the data we have decided to go down the vegetarian path. That is, meat and fish are out but we are still partaking of dairy and eggs. Thinking back I remembered wondering how people were able to give up meat. And yes now I've revised my perspective on the issue but I really can't imagine giving up dairy and eggs. Mostly because I'm crazy about cheese, yogurt, ice cream and scrambled eggs. :)

Since making this decision I've experienced some of those initial experiences of having to scrutinize food to know whether it's an option for me. For example, last week our Animal Ethics Committee, to which I'm the postgrad student representative, was invited to have a catered lunch with a group of folks from the National Animals Ethics Advisory Committee (NAEAC). NAEAC provides advice to the Ministry of Primary Industries on issues related to animal ethics and welfare. This group was visiting Victoria to learn about our animal facilities; they even visited our rat lab. 

When we met for lunch I remember peering at the offerings on the platters and wondering if I would be to tell the veggie and non-veggie options apart. In the end I made an educated guess and after introducing myself to one of the women in the group I asked her if there was meat in the little quiche she was eating. She said no and I was happy to find that my choices were indeed veggie. Not that it was unexpected but it just reinforced the fact that eating vegetarian is a very different way of approaching food. I'm finding the mental exercise an interesting experience.

As part of a separate issue I've realized that over the last several months I haven't been eating particularly healthy. In short, I want to change that and feel better. This decision has made me scrutinize the type of food and drink I consume as well as providing motivation to plop myself on the treadmill a few times each week. It's time to be healthy. 

With that said I'd like to clarify that I haven't made the decision to become a vegetarian because I think it's inherently healthy. I suffer no delusions that vegetarianism is, in and of itself, a healthier lifestyle choice than choosing to eat meat. Done incorrectly it can be incredibly unhealthy. So I am pursuing these two separate issues, eating vegetarian and becoming healthier, at the same time recognizing that one doesn't beget the other. They can both be part of a healthy lifestyle but the onus is on me to actually make it happen. Here's to health!

Rally...

Today, for the first time in my life, I added my voice (and a sign) to bolster a cause. That cause being the safe return of 276 Nigerian girls who, exactly one month ago today, were kidnapped from their secondary school in Chibok, Nigeria. The militant group, Boko Haram, that took the girls is known for its violence and anti-Western ideology. That is, they have gone to great lengths to attack Christians, Muslims as well as bomb churches, mosques and schools.

A friend of ours from the Postgraduate Students' Association, Jumoke, who is from Nigeria, along with others here in Wellington recently drafted a letter and sent it to New Zealand Prime Minister, John Key, asking him to condemn this deplorable act (which he did). Today the group organized a rally to ask the New Zealand government to contribute some of its resources to the search for and safe return of the girls.

We met up at Wellington Civic Square where several reps from the various news channels were there to film the group and interview the organizers. Before we started our walk towards Parliament the Wellington mayor, Celia Wade-Brown, said a few words to emphasize her support of every effort to resolve this issue. I thought one of her points was particularly poignant; that is, many students dread taking exams but no student should have to live in fear that she will be attacked or kidnapped because she is pursuing education. After a few safety instructions about not walking on the street we set off towards Parliament 100+ strong. We were a sight to be seen and had many pedestrians doing double takes as we walked by on the side walk. 

Upon arrival at Parliament several diplomats and government officials lent their support to the cause. Soon we heard what sounded like a large group of students chanting, "These are our sisters, bring back our girls!". Within minutes 276 girls from several of the Wellington girls high schools arrived at the Parliament grounds to join the rally. It was simply brilliant to see such a large number of young women standing up for other young women half way around the world.

As people started to disperse I didn't really want to leave but wasn't sure what to do. In the end I was glad I stuck around because a group from Unicef New Zealand came by and wanted to take a photo of me holding my sign, "GIRLS DESERVE BETTER". They also asked for a statement which was considerably harder to formulate than I would have guessed. I just found out that I made their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/media/set/set=a.10152462786643324.1073741843.37547788323&type=1) and was only partially misquoted. :) I'm not surprised. The quote they included with my photo read, "The onus is on us to step in". Yeah, I would say that could be taken a variety of ways. Sigh. Regardless I was happy to lend my support as a woman and a student.What I actually said was that "I'm incredulous that human rights violations like these continue to happen all over the world especially against women and children. It is deplorable that individuals think these things are justifiable". I then went on to say that many "groups around the world are disadvantaged and abused and consequently need advocacy. Considering this, countries with a variety of resources such as the US and New Zealand are poised to help and support such efforts. The onus is on us to give that help to those who need it".  #BringBackOurGirls

Three decades plus....

I feel as though we were just celebrating my birthday last year and somehow the months have flown by and we have arrived at 31. Leading up to my birthday, which fell on a Sunday, Tim told me that regardless whether my experiment was still running that I HAD to take the whole weekend off. Upon hearing this I balked because I'm a control freak and prefer to run my own experiments. But in the end I agreed that no matter what I would not work on Saturday or Sunday. And wouldn't you know it my final subject was set to finish the experiment on Sunday. A couple of my colleagues were kind enough to take care of my work over the weekend. All that to say that when I walked out of work on Friday my weekend had already been made because I didn't have to work any of it and my experiment was wrapping up forever. This ended an incredible seven month stretch of intense, 7 days a week, period of lab work. :)

So Tim made me take the time off work but wouldn't tell me what he had planned. The only he said on Friday night was that we couldn't stay up all night because we needed to be up the following morning to kick off the festivities. That night we went out for a couple birthday drinks and feasted on indian curries before turning in for the night.

The next morning we got up, got ready and set out. I still had no idea what we were going to do but after walking a few minutes we arrived at a bus stop that we don't usually frequent. In standard Wellington fashion the skies were grey and overcast with spitting rain and the bus was 20 minutes late for no apparent reason. But despite what I would normally consider small annoyances I couldn't have been more happy because I didn't have to go in to work. :) The bus finally arrived, we boarded and soon I realized that we were getting off at the zoo. It's one of our favorite Welly experiences so I was thrilled to be visiting the various critters that live there. As we were walking in Tim handed me a $10 bill and said, "Why don't you grab us a couple chais and I'll get our tickets?". Oblivious me thought nothing of this as I palmed the money and popped into the cafe to put in our order. While I was ordering Tim appeared at my side and we decided to also grab a scone and have our treats at the cafe instead of taking them to go. Sitting at the table sipping our tea and taking bites of our scone I spied the map that Tim had picked up when he got our tickets. Someone had drawn a circle around the Tuck Shop where you can buy snacks and drinks and I thought, "Ah, they recycle the maps if they're not too damaged so this must be one that some prior patron had had during their visit". I mentioned this to Timmy and he agreed that must be it.

As we walked through the entryway and in to the zoo proper we saw an announcement that hospital staff were, at that very moment, conducting a routine exam of one of their sea otters. So we headed over to The Nest where we were to watch the doctors and nurses exam the sea otter, Bud. One of the docs was wearing an earpiece/microphone and was explaining what was happening throughout the exam. I was fascinated as I find anatomy and physiology so amazing; eagerly watching and listening to take in everything that was happening. I know this kind of stuff isn't Timmy's cup of tea but he was willing to watch with me. That is, for a few minutes. To get my attention he lightly touched my arm and I looked over to see a worried countenance looking back at me. He said, "Can we go, I can't watch this stuff?". To be perfectly honest I was a little disappointed but I wasn't going to argue the point as he was visibly uncomfortable.

From The Nest we walked up the path towards the Tuck Shop and just before it Timmy stopped and took my hands in his. He said, "Ok, I had to get you up here right at this moment in time.....". At this point I still wasn't sure what was coming but excitement buzzed through my entire being. :) Then I snapped back to reality just in time for him to say, "....we're about to meet up with two of the zookeepers to do a Red Panda Close Encounter....", as he was pulling two lanyards out from an inner pocket in his jacket. They had a Red Panda on each and said "I'm Getting Up Close". At that moment tears welled in my eyes at the thoughtfulness of this gift; the red pandas are by far my favorite critters at our zoo and I was about to meet them. I wanted to cry and jump up and down at the same time but instead I grabbed Timmy for hug and kiss. There wasn't really time for anything else because just then as we were donning our lanyards the two zookeepers came walking towards us. They gathered us up along with another couple that was doing to close encounter and the six of us walked a little ways up to the red panda enclosure. The keepers inquired if the close encounter was a gift and the other couple replied that they were celebrating their recent engagement. We then told them that it would be my birthday the following day. Everyone was all smiles. At this point I was still reeling and trying to get my mind to catch up with what was happening: we were about the enter the enclosure and feed the red pandas named Ishah and Amy. Before entering the enclosure they went through the safety rules and what stuck out in my mind was that while we were allowed to pet them on the back and head we were to avoid trying to hug them. :) And we were told that they have sharp teeth and claws so, just like with other animals, it is best to hold your palm flat when there's food in it. From there we were allowed through the second gate where we crowded together and locked the door before they opened the door to the enclosure. We were each given a cushion to sit on and were directed to sit down; the other couple perched on a downed log and Timmy and I sat down on two side by side tree stumps. I kid you not before I could even get my bearings as to where the beautiful creatures were I found myself with a lapful of red panda! Ishah had jumped up on my lap the instant I sat down and I was face to face with a red and white visage that was most definitely asking, "You have treats for me?". While I quickly realized that they have been conditioned to associate people with food I was still amazed that they were completely without fear when they saw the big, strange looking creatures that were us. We happily spent the next 35 minutes feeding these two AMAZING creatures pieces of apple, pear, whole grapes and slices of banana with the peel still attached. It was soon apparent that Ishah, the one that stayed with us the majority of our visit, loved the pieces of banana. What was interesting was that he would grab one of the pieces from our hands and with one of his hands he would reached up and hold the banana while he dispatched of the peel and then gobbled up the good inside part. :) The keepers were kind enough to answer our numerous questions, snap photos of us and keep us supplied with fruit for our new found friends. At one point Tim held a grape between his index finger and thumb at about shoulder level. I had to laugh as I watched Ishah take one of his paws and grab Tim's hand to bring the grape down to mouth level so he could eat it. It was obvious that they are very intelligent animals.

We learned that the name "panda" simply means "bamboo eater" and was actually given to the red panda before it was applied to the great black and while pandas that we all think of when we hear the word. Both pandas eat incredible amounts of bamboo and have special extra bone adaptation in their hand. While it isn't a thumb as we have it eases the process of eating bamboo.

Amy and Ishah are a breeding pair and their latest heir, Manasa, also resides at the Wellington Zoo but we didn't see him that day because he had taken a bad fall and broke his leg. So the medical team was taking care of him at The Nest. I queried the keepers as to whether red pandas have litters or just a cub at a time and learned that they usually have only one but twins happen from time to time. An amazing thing about red pandas is that the females are only able to get pregnant just one day a year! I couldn't believe that and wondered why they weren't on the brink of extinction. As the timing of pregnancies can be challenging for many species, including humans, I cannot imagine, how they manage a once a year chance. Wow!

Red pandas are indigenous to the Himalayas and so they are equipped to handle extended time in very cold conditions. Their paws are stout and sturdy and the bottoms have pads like cats or dogs but they also have fur on the surface to help them manage time on ice, snow and climbing slippery tree branches. Their coats are the most amazing coppery hue. Their quintessential red color comes from a semi course top coat that protects a much darker and softer base layer of fur. As cubs red pandas are born with all their fur but it starts out as the dark undercoat until they develop the red top layer. By far the softest part of the red panda is the tail which I did not expect. The keepers told us that on cooler days it is common for Ishah and Amy to be curled up high in the trees with their tails curled around their faces like soft, downy mufflers. :) I felt a kinship with them as scarf lover, I'm always sporting one, and as a red head. Although their brilliant color puts my hair to shame! Simply gorgeous.

Alas, our time in the enclosure came to an end, as you can imagine, when the treats were gone and Ishah and Amy had retreated into the trees for some grooming. For very fastidious creatures I felt a little bad that we had been petting them with fingers sticky from the fruit. In the end it was an incredible experience and I was so excited to share it with Timmy; we had a ball. And, while it's so surprise, Timmy must be commended for planning something so amazing and paying such close attention to detail so I wouldn't have a clue until the moment he told me what was happening. :)

We said our goodbyes to the red panda pair and thanked the zoo keepers for taking us through the encounter. From there we floated around the rest of the zoo on a cloud. We walked through "The Neighbors" exhibit where the Australian critters live; I'll always be amazed that the kangaroos and wallabies are just out and about. They could cross your path at any time but none of them seem to be upset by the people walking around in their home.

We stopped by the Tasmanian devil enclosure but were unable to see the little black beasts as they were resting in their huts. On our way out we stopped to see the dingo and all I can say is that he is not worried about anything. Apparently, naps are his #1 priority. :)

From there we backtracked through the Asian Precinct where was saw the sun bears and tigers. After that was made our way to the lion enclosure to see the two male lions they are housing. One was pacing right next to the lower level window which was a trippy experience because you could sit there, just inches away from this giant cat, and lock eyes with him every time he passed. It sent shivers down my spine.

Lastly, we visited the kiwi house and saw one of the football like creatures jostling through the foliage. And before we left for the day we spent some time watching a pair of little blue penguins that were peaking out from their box.

At reception we returned our lanyards and were given our "Close Encounter" certificates. The woman working their said, "Did you survive the cuteness?!" to which we laughed and said, "Yes! They were amazing." And that would be the understatement of the day. What an INCREDIBLE experience.

As we walked out of the zoo we saw that the bus that would take us home was just pulling away and we would not make it. Sigh. Oh well. Instead of waiting we decided to walk into Newtown and when we arrived Tim whisked me into The Mediterranean Food Warehouse for their amazing tiramisu. As we were savoring the scrumptious flavors we were eyeing the back of the store were they have all kinds of Mediterranean food and a meat and cheese counter. Not surprisingly we made short work of the tiramisu and then decided to walk through the store. Um, yeah. As soon as we started looking around I knew we would leave there with some treats. Perusing the different types of pasta, sauces, cheeses, oils and wine my mind was flooded with memories from our time in Rome. Of our European "tour" last year Rome was by far my favorite stop and that had everything to do with the food. :) After an hour drooling over their wares we left with some buffalo mozzarella stuffed ravioli, homemade pesto sauce, artichoke hearts in oil and spices, hummus filled sweet peppers, stuffed grape leaves, a bottle of Moscato and a little Grappa (grape based, Italian brandy). While we hadn't planned this stop our jaunt through the store was a total blast. From there we went home and feasted on all these goodies. YUM.

After lounging the remainder of the afternoon away we got a little dressed up and went out to dinner. We've wanted to try a place called Chow that is popular for their Asian fusion cuisine and fancy cocktail list. Smartly, we put in a reservation earlier in the day to make sure that we could get a table and sure enough the place was crammed with people. We had a little table  towards the back of the restaurant and settled in to peruse the menu. I ordered a round of chai inspired cocktails called Double Dragon; they were an interesting combination of what you might expect from the tried and true Manhattan with a hint of spice to finish each sip. For eats we went for veggie summer rolls and spicy tofu that was served with sweet chili sauce. Our main was a "Jungle" curry served up full of veggies and tofu in a coconut milk gravy and ladled over rice. We made short work of everything and soon were off to pay the bill because we had a game to catch. The Hurricanes were playing the Austrailan Waratahs. I've always thought their name sounds like some kind of animal but it's actually a flower. A funny contradiction that a rough and tumble rugby team would share a name with a posy. :) Unfortunately, our guys were unsuccessful but we took in the majority of the game with the bar largely to ourselves. With about twenty minutes left to play two decidedly different groups of people descended on the bar. The first was a group of scantily clad girls that were unable to walk in their fabulous shoes. Come on, girls, you need to practice in your living room. :) They spent their time hobbling to and from the bathroom for no apparent reason. Now this was entertaining in it's own right but then the second group burst through the doors singing, "Hey oh ay, oh ay, oh ay"; a stag party that had begun what appeared to be days before they ended up at this particular bar. In the end we made our departure after the final horn sounded with our Hurricanes unable to rally at the end. Oh well. We scampered home in good spirits and collapsed in to bed. After the excitement of the day we were exhausted. :)

The following morning I was told to pick any brunch place I desired so we went to Food Inc (Finc). Timmy got the blueberry pancakes smothered with berries and heavy cream. To. Die. For. I had a bee in my bonnet and decided to try their special of Yemenese pancakes. I wasn't sure what to expect but when they came out I would best describe them as crepe-like. They were piled high and drizzled with ginger syrup and topped with creamy yogurt. In a word: delicious. :)

To round out the weekend that night we went to see The Amazing Spiderman 2 complete with treats of ice cream and popcorn. We happily gobbled our snacks before the movie even began and then settled in for the show. It was really good. A tear-jerker: I cried at one point and I rarely cry at movies. :)

All in all we had an incredible weekend thanks to Timmy's picture perfect planning of the red panda close encounter. And I can't emphasize enough how relieved I am to be moving ahead with my work. Having that weight lifted made every experience, every treat all the the more enjoyable. All I can say is that I'm a lucky girl. :)

Light....

As in how I feel right now. Light. While our time in Wellington has had its ups and downs the past six months have been steady with work, fatigue and stress. So when I met with my supervisors today to discuss the game plan for my final year I was nervous but excited to be looking at what is next. Our meeting consisted of the three of us crowded around a computer screen scrutinizing the data I've collected so far in the last two years. Yes, as of today, I am exactly one year away from my three year mark. And that means I have just 365 days to finish data collection, attend a couple conferences and write the whole of my dissertation. But despite the plethora of work still to be done I'm telling you that today I feel light. And happy. This is directly related to the fact that, after looking carefully at my data, I WILL NOT be running any more self administration experiments. Now this may not seem like a big deal but let me just tell you that it is. Self admin completely took over the last six months of my life and ran me ragged. This happens because once you start an experiment you cannot escape it until its completely finished. Even days when you're not collecting data you have to take care of your subjects; that means you're in the lab every single day for an experiment that lasts several months. Don't get me wrong, I still have plenty of data to collect, however my days of self admin are in the past! Instead, the experiments still to be done are much less intense, easier and quicker to run. For example, the next experiment I'm preparing to start in a week and a half consists of work that will take about three hours and this will be repeated once a week for four weeks. What?! This type of workload is foreign to me but now that I think about it I'm glad that I've done the crazy intense work before the lighter tasks. Light. Light, indeed. I feel like celebrating. :)