This past week has been pretty stressful, we've been preparing for our project which is very extensive and requires a lot of writing and researching that we almost have no time to do. Each and every single one of us has been tense this past week, because of the deadline, because of the project, because of something. I know, because I sure have. We had to write a 20 page paper in about a week, which doesn't seem too bad when you realize there are ten of us, but still, editing, researching and understanding what you are writing all take a lot of time, and we hardly have any of it. Then we have a powerpoint presentation that we have to prepare to give to ExxonMobil tomorrow, which has added extremely to the stress of those of us who are anxious about public speaking, namely, me. Haha, it's not that bad, but getting over the general hump of all of that work can seem daunting.
Our week has been filled with a bunch of writing, mine in particular was understanding the research and methods section of our project, and coming up with how I was supposed to present this information in the powerpoint. So let me tell you a little about our project. And boy, has it taken all of us long enough to actually figure out every single detail of what we're doing, I barely figured it out today, but that's beside the point. We decided that something close to our's and Houston's hearts is the wildlife that is native to this area, and protecting it from not only extinction but harmful relationships with humans. Some of the natural wildlife that we see in Houston has been here since before Texas was even a state, since there were Native Americans cultivating the land, and utilizing the beautiful Texas prairie (that's why there's few hills here!). We incorporated our love for conservation education into this project by creating a booklet that will have three activities (bat house, bird feeder, grow your own prairie) that families can do together in order to promote healthy cohabitation with our own urban wildlife. The booklet will be accompanied with a poster as incentive for people to pick it up and it will include urban wildlife tips, a list of state parks and a list of natural neighbors that there are common misconceptions about (such as the skunk or raccoon). And in order to make sure people are actually using our booklet, we will ask them to bring back pictures of their projects in exchange for points at the Zoo's very own Swap Shop (were people can bring in all sorts of artifacts and basically earn money to use in the gift store). Each of the participants who returns a picture will receive a survey, which is where I come in.
The survey is the natural research and methods piece of our project, and it's what I spent the most time on. It's what I came up with and it's what I present about. The survey is vital (like I like to think I am, haha) to our project because it shows whether or not our booklet is actually working and indicates which activities are more popular than others, and which age groups gravitate toward it more.
But our week didn't only consist of project, project, project, we've done a few fun things as well....
Last Thursday we went "Toad Tracking," which used to be an education program to teach kids about toads but the trial period ended, so we were just goofing around basically. Of course, toads and frogs are important members of the ecosystem because they eat bugs and keep people from getting eaten by mosquitoes. Unfortunately, they weren't doing there job the night we went. Every one, even the people who sprayed bug spray was attacked by mosquitoes, and we were all a little goofy waiting for the sun to go down after a long afternoon of entering in camera trap photo times, and almost driving ourselves insane. Too bad we had to be quiet for the toads, cause we sure weren't in the mood for that. Or maybe they weren't in the mood for us. Either way, we didn't catch many toads (and by catch I mean catch and release, but measuring and weighing in between). I was impressed, my partner had a fear of frogs all her life, but she was so into this activity, that she actually crawled into the bushes to try to catch one, but we failed when I moved and it disappeared. When she finally found another one, she quickly reached for it, calling out my name, and I was right behind her with the bucket for her to deposit it in. And she hardly freaked out! If I was faced with a fear like that, I don't think I'd have the guts to catch it. It was really impressive, and I was super proud of her because that was the only one we caught all night!
Another fun aspect of our week was this past Monday when we got to wash a Rhino. Say what?!? Yeah, my job's legit. We were able to take a personal rhino tour, since we hadn't been behind the scenes yet, and were supposed to simply pet a rhino, but since we were employees, they wanted to get work done while telling us about their rhinos. There were two girls and one guy, all shipped from Africa recently, when they opened African forest. Now you notice I said Africa. Unfortunately, the reserve that holds them in Africa actually has TOO MANY rhinos, so these were caught because they needed to create more space. The Zoo was lucky enough to be one of the places on the list, and received the rhinos per request. The rhinos were pretty young, so they were checking the females' blood to see when and if they were cycling, in order to determine when they might be ready to mate with the male. There's two females because if there was just one male and female, they'd form a pair bond, sort of like brother and sister, and never mate, so this ratio has historically worked in breeding situations. So not only did we get to help wash ALL THREE rhinos, but we got to see them take blood from their ears. It was the COOLEST thing EVER!!! Sorry, little excited still. But really, I was so impressed and enthused with this opportunity. The funniest part about the whole experience was the keeper comparing rhinos to a pet dog, just as the rhino was sprayed in the face to clean off her horn, and she shook just like a dog would when getting wet, and her ears flopped and made a huge noise. it was impressive. And hilarious. And all around adorable.
Best experience ever.
And then....Haha... K, so Tuesday I woke up a little late. Hold on, alright, I've had trouble with the bus all week, so here goes. Monday, I walked up to the bus station and saw the bus in front of the buildng say "DOWNTOWN," and I'm not going downtown, so I walked around the building to find the other bus and saw a long line. Naturally, I got in it. Next thing I know, the new bus also says "DOWNTOWN" and I'm stuck cause I missed my bus....
I didn't though, I just didn't see it. But anyway, Tuesday, I was supposed to spend the night with a friend so I had decided to drive, but forgot to change the time on my alarm clock to 6, and instead heard my alarm go off at 5:30, ignored it, thinking I'd wake up, and woke up at 6:50. I'm an hour away from the Zoo. Work starts at 8. I was late.
So I run to the closet grab my uniform, my computer, some socks and shoes, and run downstairs to get my backpack and keys and run out the door. I throw my stuff in the car and back out as quickly as I safely could. I heard a unusual thump and saw a blocklike figure on the ground of the garage, and thought nothing of it. I was out of there, driving at a safe speed, but still anxious to get there in time. I passed onto the Hardy Toll road and was downtown in enough time when the highway right before the Zoo was at a gridlock. Traffic was terrible, but I had about 20 minutes. Unfortunately that time was wasted sitting there while I anxiously contemplated how I was going to get there in time. Thankfully the exit was right ahead as I had about 10 minutes left. I arrived at the Zoo in just enough time, with four minutes to spare. I jumped in the back of my car and began putting my uniform on when I noticed that I only had one shoe....So, naturally, I walked into work with bright orange socks on, thinking I'd have time at lunch to go and get some back up shoes. Didn't. But the funniest part was, that no one noticed until 2 pm. And we walked around plenty. Not in the Zoo, just in the education building, but still, at one point, we were eating on the floor, sitting criss-cross applesauce and no one said anything. It wasn't until I was sitting next to my supervisor in the auditorium while we were practice presenting that she quizzically said "where are your shoes??" Well....funny story actually....Haha. So I spent a day at work with no shoes on and no one noticed. Quite a feat, right? I know, I know, too legit to quit.
Haha, well that's an overview of my week. I hope you appreciate my interesting and unique anecdotes (or at least what I think to be interesting and unique). Wish me luck on my presentation tomorrow, and have a good summer!
But our week was n
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