Serendipity

Heeeeeee!!!!!!

( Spoilers for Harbingers in the Fountain )

So, uh, yeah. And AZA day went well. My show went EXCELLENTLY (zoo people make an enthusiastic crowd), there was lots of free food, and I got a little bit of networking in. Yay AZA! For now, I'm dead tired and I still have to work tomorrow before I can get a break. Why oh why do I have to work tomorrow morning?

Today was the staff preview of the new Predators of the Serengeti exhibit opening this weekend at the zoo, so we took a field trip after lunch to check it out. They were doing some last minute preparation and some of the animals weren't out yet (the mongoose and caracal), but all the big ones were. It was awesome because a) only staff and volunteers were allowed, so no crowds and pushing to get to the front and b) because having visitors on the other side of the glass was such a new experience, a lot of the animals watched us and came right up to the glass. The cheetahs especially kept coming up and touching their noses to the glass. They have such big, soulful brown eyes. It was spectacular. The wild dogs too came up close and are enchanting to watch (they have striking markings, a lean body, and big ears). The lions stayed pretty well away, although the male (who was a cub at the San Diego Wild Animal Park when I worked there) has a ridiculously cute mohawk mane. The python exhibit had a thermal imaging camera that was almost as much fun as watching the animals. So, awesome field trip, and it was very cool to get to see it early. This weekend is gonna be CRAZY.

And then tonight Bones' "The End in the Beginning" was on (squeeeeeeeee!) and after a full summer since last seeing it, I can say it's still a cop-out and pointless, but DAYUM do I love me some affectionate B/B. Guh. But why wasn't there a new promo for next week? I am DYING of anticipation. OMG, I haven't been this ridiculously excited since...since...the X-Files movie last year. I LOVE that thrill of anticipation, of fangirling a current show, of looking forward so badly to that next new episode you can hardly think of anything else. May I just mention again HE SAYS THE WORDS!!! Oh god, I'm hopeless, but that alone will make the wait worth it. Heeeeeeeeeee! *vibrates with anticipation*

First off, I'd like to welcome my new friends - it's so exciting to have more fangirls to squee with! Why I'm taking on more friends when I can't even keep up with the ones I have is a good question. *L* Anyways, I will try!

Good news: A few days ago I payed off one of my student loans. Woo-freakin'-hoo! It was the SMALLER of my two student loans, but still, that's nice.

Bad news: Money issues still freaking me out. I need a second job by this fall or my income will be less than my expenses, and that's not even counting health insurance.

Neutral news: Have found an apartment (with a gay friend-of-a-friend who was also looking for cheap housing). It's one of the best deals I'm at all liable to find around here, so I'm taking it, but that means I have to turn down a sweet pet-sitting deal I would have had this winter (3+ months rent-free). Anyways, it's in a nice neighborhood closer to the zoo and, as I said, really freaking cheap compared to any other apartment. So, that's a relief but not really a relief at all because I still won't be able to make ends meet without another job. Gaaaaaahhhhh.

Let's move on to happier things, yes? Like, fandom! My Bones season 3 arrived and it's so shiny and happy and YAY. I immediately popped the first disk in the watch the tag scene of "Death in the Saddle". Oh, Booth's voice there makes me quiver. Heeeeee. And of course, FOX is driving me happily mad with anticipation for season 5. Lookit their teaser promos! LOOKIT!!!



*collapses in corner in fit of glee* GUYS! HE SAYS IT!! Those three sappy, silly, adorable words. This show will kill me. Or at least the wait until September 17th will. Which, BTW, is Zoo Day for the AZA Conference (The Oregon Zoo is hosting the AZA conference this year - easily the biggest zoo conference in the nation if not the world - and that's the day everyone visits the zoo), so I better get home on time. I will be in spasms of joy all day.

What else? My birthday went well - I went to a friend's house after work where we had pasta and blueberry pie, and my co-workers even got me a cake. Hee! It's a little sad that I still get so excited about birthday cake. ;) Anyways, yay!

Oh, oh, also! I discovered bloodwrites, who is a fantastic writer and has written a few great Bones novels (novellas? Anyways, really long, complicated, delicious stories). I'm in the middle of The Killer in the Classroom, which is thrilling, shippy, and set in Portland (!!), while The War in the Woods is hands-down my favorite Bones story yet. Each of the characters is so brilliantly captured, and it made me laugh and cry in equal measure. This is what I read through piles of FF.net crap hoping to find.

So, there you have it. I'm pretty much caught up on the past week of the flist, but I still feel out of the loop. How are you all doing?

Right, so, I obviously haven't been keeping up with things. Bad Mem, bad Mem, I know. And so much has happened. balmyone went to Comic-Con and I about DIED OF JEALOUSY. I should have been there! I was living within driving distance last year and I missed it, and this year I could have gone with balmyone to see David Tennant and be surrounded by thousands of screaming fangirls and I CAN'T BE THERE!! One day I will go, I will I will. Ugh. The DT/JB kiss was hilarious. I would have given anything to be there. The scream of the crowd when DT comes on...GAH!! I must go! It's really fun seeing DT work a crowd, though. He obviously loves it, and I can relate. Having thousands of people scream and laugh and clap for you is a high. It's a thrilling high. I never, ever, ever wanted to be an actress, never even considered it, but have realized that is part of what I do up there on stage. And while I have no talent or interest in going fully in-character, I have rather enjoyed taking on a bit of a role, playing around with it, and seeing how people respond. It's addictive.

Okay, back on-topic. I have no idea what else I've missed (what have I missed? What's been going on in your life? In fandom? I feel so disconnected from you all), but I did see that penumbra23 released her new fic. ZOMFG. I'm actually scared to start it. I feel I should wait until I can read it all in one go or something because I will not be able to turn away. I don't know what to expect. Eeeeeeeeeee.

But that's going to have to wait because tomorrow (well, technically Friday at 12:30 AM) I leave for Minnesota and from there, Wisconsin. One of my old college roommates is getting married very close to our old college, so I'm going to go to the wedding, visit my alumna, then spend the rest of the week back home in Minnesota with my mom, where I can also visit my old high school. It's going to be a week of nostalgia. I just read an article saying my generation is getting nostalgic uncharacteristically early, and saying it may be because September 11th so drastically changed our path. That we look back fondly on the '90s when the economy was booming, we weren't at war, and life was pretty darn good. And you know, I think that's a fairly accurate assessment. I don't know how much of that was actually ignorance, but that is how it feels.

Oh, I saw ( The Half-Blood Prince. )

Anyways, that's life with me. I've kinda been burying myself in Bones fic to avoid...I dunno, doing anything at all (I still have to pack!!!), but I miss you all and I'll try to get better about keeping up with the flist. As soon as, you know, I return next week.

Peace!

This has nothing to do with Parker, I love my son more than anything, it's just seriously she could have given me like an hours notice at least that she was going to drop him at my doorstep, in need of a shower and completely starving.

The only things in my fridge right now are beer and um.. Maybe a stick of carrot?

Perfect. I’ll just make him beer carrot stew. Sounds fan-freaking-tastic.

Beer carrot stew. *snork* That's the funniest thing I've heard in ages. From Falling Asleep With An Anthropologist by SomethinLikeLove. Filled with witty little snippets like that.

I think I had more to say, but I'm tired and I think I may be coming down with something. Bah.

That was AWESOME! The B-52's performed in concert on our show stage this evening, and as we were scheduled to fly birds before the show, I got to go for free. WOOT! Unfortunately it rained before the show began so we cancelled all the birds except for the bald eagle. So Chinook flew down over the crowd, and afterwords we got an awesome show. They did all of their hits (Roam, Loveshack, and Rock Lobster) which made me very happy. It was LOUD and I got a bit of a headache, but it was still...I'm going to say it again...AWESOME. Hee. Good thing because I learned I'm going to miss Jewel because of a stupid wedding. At least I've still got Los Lobos and the Indigo Girls to look forward to.

If you didn't see tonight's Colbert Report, I encourage you to watch it. Seriously. I'll wait.

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No, really, go watch. It's awesome.

If I have to follow that up, I'll just say sorry I've been absent recently. Busy busy shows shows. I'm loving it. All trained up on the eagle, and now starting on the kinkajou (kinka-what? Kinkajou! Bahaha, sorry, that's a line in our show). Anyways, I'm really getting into the groove on stage, getting laughs, relaxing and having fun. Oh! And I get to see the B-52s and Los Lobos FREE in concert. The zoo hosts concerts on our show stage during the summer and we fly birds before each one. I've already been assigned to those two and a few more, and am really hoping to also get the Indigo Girls and Jewel later this summer. I have the best job ever.

Let me describe the awesomeness.

First off, there was the ( Bones season finale. )

And then there was ( MASSIVE Who spoilers! )

And of course shows start on SATURDAY at the zoo, which means many run-throughs on stage in front of the crowds. Such a thrill! I'm so nervously excited. Plus I'm completely turned over on the green-wing (I love my parrots!) and handling the golden eagle bit by bit. Life is grand!

I held an eagle today! I finally got to handle Deschutes, our golden eagle. Just a quick jaunt to the scale and back, but me! Eagle! Ba-whuh! And he's got a grip on him. Even through two leather gloves, when he grips down you can feel it in your bones. So, that was pretty darn cool. Also, also, we ran through the script on-stage with mics, and I got a few laughs, which always makes my day. Being in front of a large crowd is such a thrill - you've got them in the palm of your hand and it's a constant game of trying to get that high when they react to a good line.

Moment of not-win: Still sick. Now with cramps on top of it. Cold+PMS+lack of quality sleep=moody, grumpy, surly Mem. I have not been pleasant the last few days. At least I finally went out and bought some Nyquil. Thank god for Nyquil.

Happy Mothers Day to all you moms out there!