How do you measure a life of a woman or a man?

It's time now to sing out, though the story never ends.

The heat has finally subsided here in Texas. Last year at this time and the (sort of) winter months, I was satisfied with the weather and enjoyed the warm winters. This summer, Austin Mabry had 90 days of above 100 F as of 10/20/2011 (most on record since 1898). And until a cool front came at the end of last week (and by cool the highs are around 70-77 and lows around 50), it was quite warm here in central Texas. I didn't wear jeans or long pants from mid-April to last week. Six months of very warm weather. Brace yourself, but in spite of wearing skirts and flip flops for 6+ consecutive months, I decided that I do not like the long and hot summers. Northern latitudes are preferable to this sort of climate here at the 29th parallel north. The weather was beautiful for October in Minnesota. It was when I arrived back in Austin last Sunday while waiting for Blake in the warmth that I realized the north is awesome.

Home is where the heart is, indeed.

My trip to Minnesota was short but sweet. I saw a few friends but mostly spent time with my family and Dillinger, Josh's puppy. Red nose American Pit Bull Terrier but sweet as pie. What a lovely puppy. I cannot wait to see him in 7 weeks. How big will he be then?! That head! He even wore a gopher jersey for the Homecoming game.

Some memories play over in my head like a broken record. Over and over again. Some are from long ago, some from recent times. They go in cycles, oscillating through the seasons and the years. Memories that zipped through my neocortex over and over at one instant in time have now faded and others follow the same pattern.  

One summer eve's with kung fu and the winds of change began to blow stronger than they ever have.

Lately I am so confused; I really don't know to do.

Enough about the past. This week, I am giving my first talk about my research. I am excited and nervous. I am practicing tomorrow so I think I have a handle on it.

And finally, to the future. I have my sights set on a particular place.

Happy Halloween!

Pending: Sweet reunions

In less than 12 hours I will be at my mom's house in Burnsville. I am extremely excited. It's easy to take things for granted, like seeing your parents daily (or nearly daily). I can't wait to see them again. Reunions are beautiful.

But before I get too mushy about my ardor for MN, I want to say a few things about my life in Texas and the people that I know here. Don't confuse for my love for MN as a symptom of hate for Texas. Not true. I am glad that I came here. I have learned a great deal. If you get the opportunity to live somewhere different from where you grew up, I highly recommend it. It's fascinating how within the US cultures and customs vary. The differences are subtle but profound.

I truly believe that I am better off knowing the people that I have met here. I have made some wonderful friends out of truly amazing humans. I am lucky to have been blessed with their presence.

This chapter of my life will come to a close next summer when I (hopefully) move on to a new state to a PhD program. It has been short but very, very sweet.

I love the tacos. I love the wildlife and the landscape. It's very different from what I experienced higher latitudes. I can't get enough of the caracaras and the roadrunners.

What an opportunity! What a blessing! I am very lucky, indeed.

I can't wait to reunite with my parents and brothers. I love seeing their faces after time has passed. It's like no time has passed when we embrace.

All the while, I will be reminding myself "to not cry because it's over; smile because it happened."

I do it for love.

It's autumn somewhere

Over 41 surveys since mid-May, I have seen over 500 scissor-tailed flycatchers and 41 loggerhead shrikes. These birds are found in similar habitat; it's clear that the shrikes are not very dense. About 1/4 of my shrike sample size has come from the last 3 weeks! The northern breeding populations head south below the 39th latitude. I still feel blessed by the Universe every time I spot the unmistakable masked head of the loggerhead shrike. There are still a few scissor tails hanging around, although most have begun the annual journey to Central America.

Meanwhile, our lords of the dark leaders are busy dismantling the Clean Air Act and further suppressing women's health care choices, in the names of jobs and protecting life of course. Unless you are a breather and/or a woman, that is. Help me out here teabaggers, how exactly does tens of thousands more ill (or dead) people equal a better economy?

Apparently, the 19th and early 20th centuries were great times since our leaders, particularly on the right, are working hard to bring us backwards. The republicans have gone off the deep end. When Newt Gingrich is considered a moderate in the party, you know they have gone right of the right.

The daily actions of the GOP are morally indefensible.

Another one bites the dust

When I go out on my bird surveys, which are sadly coming to an end (gotta get that thesis done!), I often catch the 9 at 9 on Bob FM. Listening to the 9 at 9 on Bob FM (the Austin counterpart to Jack FM in the TC) makes this scientist happy and sometimes perplexed that certain songs were ever popular. They pick a year and play 9 songs from that year. Yesterday was 1991. The previous day featured 1980 (hello disco!). I'll admit, I love jammin out to the "oldies", which now officially includes the 80's and maybe even the early 90's. Wow. Last night as I was channel surfing, I came across Nick at Nite and FRIENDS was on. What the hell? I guess it did start 17 years ago... and I am almost a quarter century old. If I were living during the conditions in which humans lived for most of history (small nomadic groups), I'd probably be dead (or geriatric) by now! Technology is really something, isn't it?

I recently tried to abandon coffee and cut back on my caffeine consumption, but it beckoned me back. I washed my coffee thermos that had been sitting in my office (with some coffee in it) yesterday and I pulled out a gelatinous like sheet of fungi. The next few minutes involved hot water and a copious amount of soap. When dealing with our close relatives (the fungi, closely related to the metazoans), the thought of me inhaling fungal spores and then dying enters in my mind. I cautiously approach our eukaryotic kin. Those creatures are tricky and sometimes nasty little things. Hats off to you, fungi! Thanks for the penicillin, beer, bread, and LSD! Our paths have been intertwined probably since we both first emerged from the slime and will continue to cross into the future. I wonder if there is a "Fungi Appreciation Day" or something like that. There should be. 

Anywho, the GOP primary race is in full swing, even though the first primaries have not yet happened. The candidates have been playing a game of popularity musical chairs, with Michele Bachmann starting out strong, then came Rick Perry, now Herman Cain and Ron Paul are rising to the top as the GOP flavor of the week. The wonderful writers at huffpost put out this hilarious gem today which pretty much sums it all up. 

Occupy Wall Street continues on. Rock on to the people have showed up, and continue to show up in NYC and in cities all over the country. Don't listen to the pundits or the douche bags leaders of our country. 

The rhetoric spit out by our leaders (particularly on the right but some Democrats are guilty, too) involving the "debt crisis", unemployment, and the austerity measures is so ridiculous that I wonder if they know they are regurgitating indefensible bullshit and just continue to do it anyway. 

Oh, and you go Elizabeth Warren.