Half-bright Fulbright

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

I woke up sometime after 5:00 this morning but did not want to get out of bed. Eventually, I gave myself a goal. After 5 rooster crows, up and out! I wasn't in bed for much longer. The roosters were singing in rounds, it seemed. Crazy birds.

Sample collection went smoothly today, though it is a whole lot easy having a partner. Becky B, where are you when I need you? Today's farm had a host of sickly-looking animals, including the cow that had been unable to stand for about two weeks. Another cow had a similar condition when I visited this farm two weeks ago. That cow didn't make it and I'm pretty sure this one will not either. The calves had a rainbow assortment of poop, including yellow with red tinges and liquid wheat germ! Yummy. Two cows had ticks. I didn't get a chance to identify them today. I'll try Thursday.

Avia called to meet for lunch. Our conversation went something like this:
Me: I should warn you that I look and smell like a bum.
Avia: That's nothing unusual.

I literally laughed out loud when she said this. My sister is quite the comedian. I met her and Yis at Trinicity Mall. Yis chose a great spot: Burger King. That's my boy! Avi wanted us to go to a fancier restaurant, Bootleggers (LOL), but I was slightly under-dressed (see photo).

Tomorrow is going to be another long day. I'm off to a farm in Waller Field in the north-central part of the country, over an hour from my home in Santa Cruz. The sweet part is that I'll have a driver for this farm trip. Score! Highway bird-watching! :-)

Heading home to feed Sparky, do today's NYTimes crossword, and rest up.

Addendum: Becky IMed me out of the blue today! She said that Dr. Bowman, my favorite professor, gave me a shout-out in one of his classes (he encouraged students to visit me in Trinidad to see a rare hookworm). Dr. Bowman, if you're reading, there are lots of cats with poop waiting for you!