So, after the lab meeting today, I was not working (It's a Friday!!) and happened upon the following videos. The contents completely blew my mind. I saw the numbers on that balance and thought, 'What in my world weighs that amount?' I soon realised that a teaspoon of sugar weighs more than this little guy! It's amazing!
Another personal cute-animal-crush is the silky anteater. I am amazed that these little guys have not been snatched up by their millions for the pet trade. Not that I condone that sort of thing at all, but it's amazing that it hasn't happened.
And, just because I can't get enough of the little critters...
Showing posts with label Cute Animals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cute Animals. Show all posts
Friday, September 10, 2010
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
The car that gave birth to a kitten
Monday morning; I awoke at 05h45. Insane, I know. But I had to go to work out with my good pal, Dave. The two of us gym together regularly (or try to anyway...) as it forces both of us to do it and helps to keep us motivated. We work out early in the morning because, a) it offers a good excuse not to just sleep in every day and b) we go running in the evenings, so working out in the evening isn't really an option.
On this particular morning, I was unusually alert and managed to get out of bed, get dressed and out of the house in five minutes. To put this into perspective, I am usually so groggy and semi-comatose that it takes me a good 15 minutes to organise myself. So, ready and eager to get going after the Christmas hiatus I collected my car keys and started up my car.
I pulled out of the drive and began to putter along down my road. The crisp morning air was refreshing and humid, carrying the rain from last nights storms back to the clouds above. The roads were their usual desolate selves, unsurprising, given that it was so early. As I pulled into the road which joins one of the main roads in our suburb, I noticed a white Hyundai, perched on the crest of the speed hump in the middle of the road. The car was running, the occupants holding it there, waiting for something. I assumed that they were waiting for a colleague or friend to emerge from the house opposite.
As I got closer I noticed something dark attached to the undercarriage of the car. Now, understand, my knowledge of the anatomy of a car is horrific at best, but this still seemed out of place. I slowed behind the car, expecting them to pull off at any second. But they didn't budge.
However, the lump under the car did.
It wiggled a little and then landed on the tarmac lightly, only to tear across the road as a white, albeit fluffy, bolt of terror. As I watched, I realised that it was a tiny white kitten! My brain instinctively told me that it was way too early to be up anyway and so this probably hadn't really happened. But as I drove past, I realised that it was all real, the scared little cat glaring back at the car from the safety of the driveway.
The poor little thing probably climbed up into the engine of the car for warmth the night before and had not realised what was going on until it was out in the street already. The poor thing must have got such a fright! But it appeared to be okay, if not a little ticked off. The whole experience was very surreal to say the least!
On this particular morning, I was unusually alert and managed to get out of bed, get dressed and out of the house in five minutes. To put this into perspective, I am usually so groggy and semi-comatose that it takes me a good 15 minutes to organise myself. So, ready and eager to get going after the Christmas hiatus I collected my car keys and started up my car.
I pulled out of the drive and began to putter along down my road. The crisp morning air was refreshing and humid, carrying the rain from last nights storms back to the clouds above. The roads were their usual desolate selves, unsurprising, given that it was so early. As I pulled into the road which joins one of the main roads in our suburb, I noticed a white Hyundai, perched on the crest of the speed hump in the middle of the road. The car was running, the occupants holding it there, waiting for something. I assumed that they were waiting for a colleague or friend to emerge from the house opposite.
As I got closer I noticed something dark attached to the undercarriage of the car. Now, understand, my knowledge of the anatomy of a car is horrific at best, but this still seemed out of place. I slowed behind the car, expecting them to pull off at any second. But they didn't budge.
However, the lump under the car did.
It wiggled a little and then landed on the tarmac lightly, only to tear across the road as a white, albeit fluffy, bolt of terror. As I watched, I realised that it was a tiny white kitten! My brain instinctively told me that it was way too early to be up anyway and so this probably hadn't really happened. But as I drove past, I realised that it was all real, the scared little cat glaring back at the car from the safety of the driveway.
The poor little thing probably climbed up into the engine of the car for warmth the night before and had not realised what was going on until it was out in the street already. The poor thing must have got such a fright! But it appeared to be okay, if not a little ticked off. The whole experience was very surreal to say the least!
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Rodents!!
Prepare for the 'Awww!' moment.
These are some photos of the rodents that have graced our lab within the last two or three days. Naturally, they are all adorable and make you instinctively want to take them home with you.
Exhibit A:
In case you are struggling to see where the mouse is, here's an enlarged section of the above picture. To give you an idea of scale, that blue pipe in the back is approximately 5.5cm in diameter...
Exhibit C:
Exhibit D: 
These are some photos of the rodents that have graced our lab within the last two or three days. Naturally, they are all adorable and make you instinctively want to take them home with you.
Exhibit A:
These are a group of 6 baby dormice that were found in the field. Their mother had died and they were scuttling around on their lonesome. They are currently in the care of an individual from another lab.
One of the little ones up close. 
Exhibit B:
This little critter was brought in with a group of gerbils (see below). It's a Mus minutoides or African pygmy mouse. You'll never guess why they chose that name...
In case you are struggling to see where the mouse is, here's an enlarged section of the above picture. To give you an idea of scale, that blue pipe in the back is approximately 5.5cm in diameter...
Exhibit C:
Gerbils...Some people think they are cute. I'm not a fan, but they did arrive recently so I have to include them.
Exhibit D:Last but certainly not least, Rhabdomys babies! Leia's latest catch produced offspring over the last two weeks so now we have little striped mice! They are adorable!
Friday, November 06, 2009
Ode to the weekend and running!
I have managed to get through half of my marking for the weekend already! Yay! So, to celebrate, I'm going to go home and go for a run!
It's amazing to think that I, of all people, could possibly enjoy running that much, that I actually look forward to it! A year ago, I'd never have believed that I might get to this point of actually enjoying my running, and yet, here I am, loving it! It's quite bizarre...
Well, I really don't have anything more to say. It's a Friday. The day is almost nearly over and I feel a rewarding jog is in order. Cheerio! But before I go, the photos from our lab Halloween party:
Our Halloween spiders! Made from scones, grated cheese, raisins and prezel sticks! Genius!
Making an army of cheese-covered spiders!
It's amazing to think that I, of all people, could possibly enjoy running that much, that I actually look forward to it! A year ago, I'd never have believed that I might get to this point of actually enjoying my running, and yet, here I am, loving it! It's quite bizarre...
Well, I really don't have anything more to say. It's a Friday. The day is almost nearly over and I feel a rewarding jog is in order. Cheerio! But before I go, the photos from our lab Halloween party:
Okay, this has nothing to do with the party, it's just a really cute forlorn-looking doggy... :)
Tas getting into the Halloween spirit.
One of our obese lab mice oggling us as we prepare food...
Our Halloween spiders! Made from scones, grated cheese, raisins and prezel sticks! Genius!
Making an army of cheese-covered spiders!P.S. I really need a holiday...I keep dreaming I'm on holiday. It's really annoying!
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Step aside Indy, this one's alive!
This was a conversation that I had with EEbEE earlier today. The paper that the exerpt came from is at the bottom of the page. Step aside Indiana Jones, this is how REAL monkeys do it!
Luke: A charming little exerpt I had to share with you: 'Most people with first hand experience of primates will be impressed by the animals' tolerance of injuries and their rapid healing. One example, observed in a large group of tufted capuchins (Cebus apella), concerned a young adult male with a head wound exposing several square centimetres of scalp. The wound was frequently groomed by other group members, who also dipped potatoes in it. Although we might expect that this would be a painful experience for the wounded individual, his behaviour appeared quite normal. In fact he appeared to enjoy attention from the others, and actively sought more of this treatment (see also Dittus & Ratnayeke1989). The wound eventually healed without any human intervention.'
It's from a paper I'm reading. It stopped me in my tracks...
Ebrahim: !!!
who'd have thought
didn't expect that at all
Luke: The mental image is very funny though, in a sick sorta way :)
Ebrahim: hehehe. i admit... i laughed when i read it
Luke: I was just so shocked! I actually jumped back and gasped! Lab-mates must think I'm insane...
Ebrahim: lol. i can't wait to attack my next first aid situation with a bit of potatoe
Luke: It's the ultimate first aid tool! Ambulances should be filled with bags of potatos!
Ebrahim: imagine the look on the face of the guy with a missing arm when the ambulance shows up :O "all you brought were some POTATOES!!!"
Luke: ROFL!!! Yes! I was also wondering what ambulance chase scenes in movies would be like if the vehicle kept shedding small tubers as it roared through the streets of downtown New York...
It's from a paper I'm reading. It stopped me in my tracks...
Ebrahim: !!!
who'd have thought
didn't expect that at all
Luke: The mental image is very funny though, in a sick sorta way :)
Ebrahim: hehehe. i admit... i laughed when i read it
Luke: I was just so shocked! I actually jumped back and gasped! Lab-mates must think I'm insane...
Ebrahim: lol. i can't wait to attack my next first aid situation with a bit of potatoe
Luke: It's the ultimate first aid tool! Ambulances should be filled with bags of potatos!
Ebrahim: imagine the look on the face of the guy with a missing arm when the ambulance shows up :O "all you brought were some POTATOES!!!"
Luke: ROFL!!! Yes! I was also wondering what ambulance chase scenes in movies would be like if the vehicle kept shedding small tubers as it roared through the streets of downtown New York...
Chips and ketchup, anyone?
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
There's more than one way to kill a cat...or die trying...
Sunday evening was no different to any other. The weekend was drawing to a close and the heavy blanket of depression that is the realisation that the next day is Monday was slowly settling over all, but trying very hard not to be noticed while at it. I was in my kitchen, preparing my dinner; nothing exciting, just a toasted sandwich.
It was a normal Sunday evening...for all except one. Fate had other plans for that one...
At some point, I heard my cell phone ringing. Like a parent who hears their child cry, I dropped what I was doing and hurtled down the long dark passage of my house to answer the call of my electronic child.
Our house is long and thin, so we have one straight passage that runs the full length of the house, from kitchen to garage. Due to the fact that it is the central backbone of our house, it is very dark, with doors leading off on either side to bedrooms and the like. From the kitchen heading down, the first door on your right is my sisters room. It was at this junction that the incident occurred.
As I sprinted down the warren that is our passage, something large and black shot out of my sisters room, aiming itself directly at my ankles. Instinctively I leaped up, hurdling over my dark assailant. My attacker changed its course of action. It had realised that I was considerably larger than it was and that fleeing might, in fact, be the better option. However, it was the mode of escape that could have used a little forethought.
It was my cat, Lady Amelia Fitzpatrick, who had launched herself from my sisters room. The problem was that, as only a cat can do, she had chose to run by moving into every space that I tried to put my feet down and with the inertia I already had, I was not likely to stop any time soon.
So the two of us performed a bizarre zig-zag hopscotch down my passage, me trying very hard not to stand on my cat, which by this stage looked more like a tiny spruce tree than an animal. We finally ran out of passage and the cat continued her puffy, angry sprint into my parents bedroom. I followed her, by this stage having successfully slowed to a walk, finding it very hard to control my laughter. The cat was nowhere to be seen.
As I fumbled in the dark, looking for my parents light switch, I heard a loud hiss from under their bed. In the dim light coming through their bedroom door, I could just make out her VERY large, angry eyes glaring at me.
In her defence, as traumatic as the experience may have been for her, she will get her own back. As the video below shows (sorry about the poor quality; I used my cell phone to record it) she loses her mind daily and when this happens, anything and anyone is fair game. She bullies the dog and we all live in fear of having our legs adopted as claw-sharpening posts, or our ankles considered to be the most viable alternative to actually eating the food in her bowl. Take special note of the final display where the cat attacks the door frame for no apparent reason...
It was a normal Sunday evening...for all except one. Fate had other plans for that one...
At some point, I heard my cell phone ringing. Like a parent who hears their child cry, I dropped what I was doing and hurtled down the long dark passage of my house to answer the call of my electronic child.
Our house is long and thin, so we have one straight passage that runs the full length of the house, from kitchen to garage. Due to the fact that it is the central backbone of our house, it is very dark, with doors leading off on either side to bedrooms and the like. From the kitchen heading down, the first door on your right is my sisters room. It was at this junction that the incident occurred.
As I sprinted down the warren that is our passage, something large and black shot out of my sisters room, aiming itself directly at my ankles. Instinctively I leaped up, hurdling over my dark assailant. My attacker changed its course of action. It had realised that I was considerably larger than it was and that fleeing might, in fact, be the better option. However, it was the mode of escape that could have used a little forethought.
It was my cat, Lady Amelia Fitzpatrick, who had launched herself from my sisters room. The problem was that, as only a cat can do, she had chose to run by moving into every space that I tried to put my feet down and with the inertia I already had, I was not likely to stop any time soon.
So the two of us performed a bizarre zig-zag hopscotch down my passage, me trying very hard not to stand on my cat, which by this stage looked more like a tiny spruce tree than an animal. We finally ran out of passage and the cat continued her puffy, angry sprint into my parents bedroom. I followed her, by this stage having successfully slowed to a walk, finding it very hard to control my laughter. The cat was nowhere to be seen.
As I fumbled in the dark, looking for my parents light switch, I heard a loud hiss from under their bed. In the dim light coming through their bedroom door, I could just make out her VERY large, angry eyes glaring at me.
In her defence, as traumatic as the experience may have been for her, she will get her own back. As the video below shows (sorry about the poor quality; I used my cell phone to record it) she loses her mind daily and when this happens, anything and anyone is fair game. She bullies the dog and we all live in fear of having our legs adopted as claw-sharpening posts, or our ankles considered to be the most viable alternative to actually eating the food in her bowl. Take special note of the final display where the cat attacks the door frame for no apparent reason...
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
I'm not into self-mutilation! It was my cat...!
I have the cutest cat in the world. I realise that that is what every cat owner on the face of our planet says about their pet, but she definitely lies pretty high up on the cuteness scale. Her full name is Lady Amelia Fitzpatrick, but I call her Mia for short, or simply 'kitten' depending on whether she has done something wrong or not.
One of the elements that adds to her charm is the fact that she goes through periods of complete insanity. Early in the morning, she will go tearing around the kitchen, literally leaping off the cupboard doors, spending more time in the air than in contact with any solid surfaces and generally pulling moves that would make the Witkowski bothers exceedingly jealous. but how does this link to self-mutilation, you may ask?
It has more to do with another of her behaviours associated with these spats of lunacy. Considerably less endearing is her tendency to attack almost anything at random during these periods. The victims of her pent-up aggression include anything from a table leg to a human leg, from fingers to fluff. And God forbid you wear anything with tassels or a pull-string! That's fatal!
The other day I made the generous, but foolish decision to engage with my cat during one of her 'fits'. The result is that I now have hands and arms completely covered in scabs and scratches! And they keep coming! This afternoon, I discovered I had a set of kitty-cuts on my right elbow that I never even realised were there! How she managed to slash at my elbows remains a mystery to me (perhaps while she was performing one of her cupboard ricochets...?).
All the same, I love her dearly and to show just how cute (albeit mad) my cat is, I am posting the following video. It's of her sitting in our kitchen sink (a favourite spot for her - she obviously never got the memo about cats hating water...) playing with water as it drips out of the tap. It's my first video upload, so I hope that this works! Ignore the sound...
One of the elements that adds to her charm is the fact that she goes through periods of complete insanity. Early in the morning, she will go tearing around the kitchen, literally leaping off the cupboard doors, spending more time in the air than in contact with any solid surfaces and generally pulling moves that would make the Witkowski bothers exceedingly jealous. but how does this link to self-mutilation, you may ask?
It has more to do with another of her behaviours associated with these spats of lunacy. Considerably less endearing is her tendency to attack almost anything at random during these periods. The victims of her pent-up aggression include anything from a table leg to a human leg, from fingers to fluff. And God forbid you wear anything with tassels or a pull-string! That's fatal!
The other day I made the generous, but foolish decision to engage with my cat during one of her 'fits'. The result is that I now have hands and arms completely covered in scabs and scratches! And they keep coming! This afternoon, I discovered I had a set of kitty-cuts on my right elbow that I never even realised were there! How she managed to slash at my elbows remains a mystery to me (perhaps while she was performing one of her cupboard ricochets...?).
All the same, I love her dearly and to show just how cute (albeit mad) my cat is, I am posting the following video. It's of her sitting in our kitchen sink (a favourite spot for her - she obviously never got the memo about cats hating water...) playing with water as it drips out of the tap. It's my first video upload, so I hope that this works! Ignore the sound...
Monday, June 30, 2008
Hair wax and puppies
I'm currently house-sitting for my aunt and uncle who are on holiday. It is one of my favourite things in the world, house-sitting. I love the freedom that one has to eat when one feels, sleep when one feels, do whatever you want, watch whatever you want on TV; it's fantastic! Naturally, with all of this, comes the responsibilities of looking after the house. In this case, they include feeding and caring for a black Labrador puppy and a cat.
I have not had a puppy in a long time. We last got a puppy when I was still in high school, over 7 years ago, so I'm not all that familiar with puppy behaviour. I should have gathered some insight when I read my list of instructions from my uncle which included things like, '...and ensure that all chewable items are well out of reach of the dog!'. While I heeded the warning, I don't believe that I grasped the full extent to which this rule should be applied.
Along with the 'chewable items' rule, came one regarding the feeding of the dog. It's a process that requires confining the animal to the kitchen and feeding him, without allowing him to escape because, according to the instructions, he would run off with his food bowl. So I fed the dog as per the instructions and to my amazement, after wolfing down his meal, he grabbed his bowl in his mouth and ran to the door with it! I retrieved the bowl and examined it. I then understood why him running off with the bowl was a problem.
He had been chewing his own food bowl! But it isn't a plastic one! It's aluminium! So I conclude that the dog is insane.
----------
A while back, a good friend of mine was travelling in Italy and was given a free sample of some hair wax. He, never using the stuff or any other hair product really, gave it to me when I saw him next. I never use hair wax but decided I'd give it a try at some stage and placed it into a bathroom cupboard, never to be seen by human eyes again...
...until now...
So, while packing for my house-sitting stint, I found said hair wax. I decided that I would take it with me and give the stuff a try the next day. So, today I tried the stuff out.
I've used gel before, but hair wax was alien to me. I glanced at the package and noted that all the instructions on the side were in Italian, rendering any effort to come to terms with the use of this, futile. In truth, I probably could have read it but I was just feeling too lazy.
I figured that it can't be all that difficult to apply and that it probably behaved in much the same way that gel did, only a little more firm. So I took a little dollop, placed it into my hand and ran my hand through my hair. The result was what looked like a head-on (excuse the pun) collision with a candle. I had wax all around my fringe and nowhere else on my head.
While this was happening, the puppy was outside barking madly at the cat who ignored him as I imagine Marie Antoinette had ignored the revolting peasants outside he chateau during the revolution...
I decided, after a little contemplation, that hair wax was, indeed, retarded. It had to be washed out. So I grabbed the shampoo and washed my hair. After the rinse, I realised, to my horror, that it had done little to remove the wax, but, the action of washing my hair had spread the wax a little so that I didn't look quite as waxy. I did some fiddling and managed to get it all looking relatively decent.
I later learned that one should rub the wax in one's hands first and then, when it it warm, apply it. If only they had said that, in English, on the label...
I have not had a puppy in a long time. We last got a puppy when I was still in high school, over 7 years ago, so I'm not all that familiar with puppy behaviour. I should have gathered some insight when I read my list of instructions from my uncle which included things like, '...and ensure that all chewable items are well out of reach of the dog!'. While I heeded the warning, I don't believe that I grasped the full extent to which this rule should be applied.
Along with the 'chewable items' rule, came one regarding the feeding of the dog. It's a process that requires confining the animal to the kitchen and feeding him, without allowing him to escape because, according to the instructions, he would run off with his food bowl. So I fed the dog as per the instructions and to my amazement, after wolfing down his meal, he grabbed his bowl in his mouth and ran to the door with it! I retrieved the bowl and examined it. I then understood why him running off with the bowl was a problem.
He had been chewing his own food bowl! But it isn't a plastic one! It's aluminium! So I conclude that the dog is insane.
----------
A while back, a good friend of mine was travelling in Italy and was given a free sample of some hair wax. He, never using the stuff or any other hair product really, gave it to me when I saw him next. I never use hair wax but decided I'd give it a try at some stage and placed it into a bathroom cupboard, never to be seen by human eyes again...
...until now...
So, while packing for my house-sitting stint, I found said hair wax. I decided that I would take it with me and give the stuff a try the next day. So, today I tried the stuff out.
I've used gel before, but hair wax was alien to me. I glanced at the package and noted that all the instructions on the side were in Italian, rendering any effort to come to terms with the use of this, futile. In truth, I probably could have read it but I was just feeling too lazy.
I figured that it can't be all that difficult to apply and that it probably behaved in much the same way that gel did, only a little more firm. So I took a little dollop, placed it into my hand and ran my hand through my hair. The result was what looked like a head-on (excuse the pun) collision with a candle. I had wax all around my fringe and nowhere else on my head.
While this was happening, the puppy was outside barking madly at the cat who ignored him as I imagine Marie Antoinette had ignored the revolting peasants outside he chateau during the revolution...
I decided, after a little contemplation, that hair wax was, indeed, retarded. It had to be washed out. So I grabbed the shampoo and washed my hair. After the rinse, I realised, to my horror, that it had done little to remove the wax, but, the action of washing my hair had spread the wax a little so that I didn't look quite as waxy. I did some fiddling and managed to get it all looking relatively decent.
I later learned that one should rub the wax in one's hands first and then, when it it warm, apply it. If only they had said that, in English, on the label...
Sunday, June 15, 2008
MIA...and screwed
Howdy blog folk!
I've not blogged in some time now. It's been a little frustrating because I've really wanted to but of late my internet connection has been playing up. To be fair, it really was more the fault of my laptop, more than the internet connection...(Note to self: NEVER buy a celeron based computer ever again unless it is to be used in a capacity that is intended to hinder one's life...)
So, not really much to report. I've had a bit of a frustrating last few days. For the chimps that I work with, I am building a type of feeding device. I've mentioned them before and at the moment I'm having a whole lot built to put into the chimp enclosure at the zoo as part of my experiment. Now, part of this device requires that I place a number of durable balls into the device. The idea is that they obstruct the chimps and make it a little more time consuming to get the food that will be in the device.
Last year I built a few of these devices and I managed to find (what I figured was) as perfect a ball as I was going to find to put into the devices. The really cool thing about the balls, other than the fact that they were the right size and all, was that they were ridiculously cheap and availible freely from China Town. So I got the balls I needed for the devices for last year.
So this year, I return to the same stores in China Town (actually, it's called Asia City, to be precise) to find more balls for the new batch of devices I'm having built. To my horror, none of the stores stocked them anymore! Not only that, but they all seemed to think that I was insane and that there had never been such an item invented my a human mind, never mind being sold in their stores! So I freaked out a bit and spent much of time for the last few days trying in futile despiration to find the damn things!
So if anyone knows where I can buy 'Monster balls' at a relatively cheap cost, PLEASE contact me asap!!!! They look a little like tennis balls with a thyroid problem. They're just a bit smaller than a soccer ball but larger than a tennis ball, but still have the shape and pattern of a tennis ball.
Help!!!
PS. If you have not yet seen it, go see The Happening. It's tre cool!
I've not blogged in some time now. It's been a little frustrating because I've really wanted to but of late my internet connection has been playing up. To be fair, it really was more the fault of my laptop, more than the internet connection...(Note to self: NEVER buy a celeron based computer ever again unless it is to be used in a capacity that is intended to hinder one's life...)
So, not really much to report. I've had a bit of a frustrating last few days. For the chimps that I work with, I am building a type of feeding device. I've mentioned them before and at the moment I'm having a whole lot built to put into the chimp enclosure at the zoo as part of my experiment. Now, part of this device requires that I place a number of durable balls into the device. The idea is that they obstruct the chimps and make it a little more time consuming to get the food that will be in the device.
Last year I built a few of these devices and I managed to find (what I figured was) as perfect a ball as I was going to find to put into the devices. The really cool thing about the balls, other than the fact that they were the right size and all, was that they were ridiculously cheap and availible freely from China Town. So I got the balls I needed for the devices for last year.
So this year, I return to the same stores in China Town (actually, it's called Asia City, to be precise) to find more balls for the new batch of devices I'm having built. To my horror, none of the stores stocked them anymore! Not only that, but they all seemed to think that I was insane and that there had never been such an item invented my a human mind, never mind being sold in their stores! So I freaked out a bit and spent much of time for the last few days trying in futile despiration to find the damn things!
So if anyone knows where I can buy 'Monster balls' at a relatively cheap cost, PLEASE contact me asap!!!! They look a little like tennis balls with a thyroid problem. They're just a bit smaller than a soccer ball but larger than a tennis ball, but still have the shape and pattern of a tennis ball.
Help!!!
PS. If you have not yet seen it, go see The Happening. It's tre cool!
Monday, February 05, 2007
Life is really surreal!
Does anyone else in this world feel like their life is too freakish to really be happening to one person? Because, of late, I've REALLY felt like all of my waking hours have been a dream! It's been so odd!
It all started with my shoot at 'Isidingo'. That has to have been one of the most random days of my life! By the end of it all, I felt like something was going on in the universe that everyone else knew about except me.
Then, on Friday, I went to varsity as per usual and while I was working, I recieved a call from a good friend of mine, Xena (not her real name, that's Sarah but because I know so many Sarah's, I have to give them nicknames to remeber who is who). I hadn't seen her in ages and I got to spend the whole day with her, catching up and finding out how life has been treating her. As you may have guessed, I didn't get too much work done on Friday.
After she left Wits I had a short while to do some minor work before heading off to a screening of the locally-produced 'Faith Like Potatos'. The film isn't bad at all - actually rather good - but the acting was shocking! It was SO SO bad! It was being shown at my old church, where my cousin Sarah (another one) goes, as well as Xena. It is actually how I know her.
Sarah, my cousin, had organised for me to go with them (being her, her boyfriend and Xena and her boyfriend) to the screening. I arrived 5min late due to unusually bad traffic to discover that I wasn't as late as I had thought - they hadn't started yet - and that Duncan was there too.
We all watched the movie and I then told Duncan that I was going to go home to have some dinner and that he was welcome to join me. He accepted and left while I went to say goodbye to all the others while they were having tea and coffee in the church hall. While saying goodbye to everyone, Xena greeted someone over my shoulder and I turned to see who it was. To my amazement, it was one of the students that I had TA'ed last year! Helen and I nicknamed him my stalker.
So after chatting to him and goodbye-ing everyone else, I left. I then found poor Duncan outside my house, who had been waiting for me for 15min as I had been saying my goodbyes, and we had our dinner.
This too was a very strange feeling day!
Then, Saturday was a brilliant day where I took Athena and Duncan to the zoo to see what I do and to introduce them to Althea and Josh, the primate keeper and primate respectively. Inbetween my data collection and the meeting, we all went to the most amazing resturant called 'Soi' which makes the most awesome and heavenly chocolate mousse (spelling?) I've ever had in my life!
Then later we went to see 'The Prestige' which I think is amazing! It's so well done!
Thus concluded my stretch of weird days. They really felt very surreal and I can't really figure out why. But it made me realise something. God's gonna have a tough time convincing me to go to heaven when I die. My life has just been too much fun!
Random Fact For The Day:
Warren Beatty and Shirley MacLaine are brother and sister
By the way, in answer to your question Angela, I'm not sure if these 'facts' are true, but I do know that some of them definitely are. Like the giraffe-tongue thing and the human tongue print. The rest I can't confirm nor deny...
It all started with my shoot at 'Isidingo'. That has to have been one of the most random days of my life! By the end of it all, I felt like something was going on in the universe that everyone else knew about except me.
Then, on Friday, I went to varsity as per usual and while I was working, I recieved a call from a good friend of mine, Xena (not her real name, that's Sarah but because I know so many Sarah's, I have to give them nicknames to remeber who is who). I hadn't seen her in ages and I got to spend the whole day with her, catching up and finding out how life has been treating her. As you may have guessed, I didn't get too much work done on Friday.
After she left Wits I had a short while to do some minor work before heading off to a screening of the locally-produced 'Faith Like Potatos'. The film isn't bad at all - actually rather good - but the acting was shocking! It was SO SO bad! It was being shown at my old church, where my cousin Sarah (another one) goes, as well as Xena. It is actually how I know her.
Sarah, my cousin, had organised for me to go with them (being her, her boyfriend and Xena and her boyfriend) to the screening. I arrived 5min late due to unusually bad traffic to discover that I wasn't as late as I had thought - they hadn't started yet - and that Duncan was there too.
We all watched the movie and I then told Duncan that I was going to go home to have some dinner and that he was welcome to join me. He accepted and left while I went to say goodbye to all the others while they were having tea and coffee in the church hall. While saying goodbye to everyone, Xena greeted someone over my shoulder and I turned to see who it was. To my amazement, it was one of the students that I had TA'ed last year! Helen and I nicknamed him my stalker.
So after chatting to him and goodbye-ing everyone else, I left. I then found poor Duncan outside my house, who had been waiting for me for 15min as I had been saying my goodbyes, and we had our dinner.
This too was a very strange feeling day!
Then, Saturday was a brilliant day where I took Athena and Duncan to the zoo to see what I do and to introduce them to Althea and Josh, the primate keeper and primate respectively. Inbetween my data collection and the meeting, we all went to the most amazing resturant called 'Soi' which makes the most awesome and heavenly chocolate mousse (spelling?) I've ever had in my life!
Then later we went to see 'The Prestige' which I think is amazing! It's so well done!
Thus concluded my stretch of weird days. They really felt very surreal and I can't really figure out why. But it made me realise something. God's gonna have a tough time convincing me to go to heaven when I die. My life has just been too much fun!
Random Fact For The Day:
Warren Beatty and Shirley MacLaine are brother and sister
By the way, in answer to your question Angela, I'm not sure if these 'facts' are true, but I do know that some of them definitely are. Like the giraffe-tongue thing and the human tongue print. The rest I can't confirm nor deny...
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
My project volunteers
Hi all!
I'm severely overdue, as usual, with this post. It's been a bit of a hectic few days so I havn't really felt all that much like attending to my blog.
First things first. Athena, as promised, here is a picture of a lemur. This one is a black and white ruffed lemur (Varecia variegata variegata). This is the kind that I got to play with at the zoo, only mine was much smaller and had a tendency to look rather terrified at the sheer size of everything around him. The pic comes from http://www.trekearth.com/.
I'm severely overdue, as usual, with this post. It's been a bit of a hectic few days so I havn't really felt all that much like attending to my blog.
First things first. Athena, as promised, here is a picture of a lemur. This one is a black and white ruffed lemur (Varecia variegata variegata). This is the kind that I got to play with at the zoo, only mine was much smaller and had a tendency to look rather terrified at the sheer size of everything around him. The pic comes from http://www.trekearth.com/.
So, this weekend was the first of the sessions at the zoo with my volunteers. For those who are as lost as a russian in a swahili tribe, my masters project requires that I use volunteers to collect some of my data. It went incredibly well and Iwas left feeling a little spare becuase the volunteers, all high school students, caught on really quickly and were all finished up in no time at all! But I suppose that it's better that way than to have a group of morons who can't understand that they must write their name down and have a photo taken.
Saturday was also my sisters birthday! They are now 19yrs old. I somehow never thought that they would ever get to that age. They have always been my little sisters so to imagine them as old as I was at one stage seems rather odd. I know this is all very silly but that is how my mind works. They were ver uncooperative and said that we mustn't get them birthday presents. I refused to not get them something so I am going to take them to the movies some time.
They went off to a gig on Saturday evening and so I went to a pizza evening at my cousins house. It was really fun. David, Duncan and I filmed this ridiculously silly action movie over the course of the evening which was really fun! It is so funny! Probably only to us...but I enjoyed it so I don't really care.
Sunday saw a family lunch for my sisters birthday. We also had my sisters friend over. It was really nice and at the end of the day my sisters and I went off to the movies with some family friends. I must admit that it was a little awkward as I havn't really kept in touch with them for ages but it was nice.
We went to see 'The Fountain' which was beautiful. It did get rather annoying at times, such as the 5min shots of a bald Hugh Jackman floating through space in a bubble on his way to a large celestial dust cloud. Those bits were a little too '2001: A Space Odessy' for my tastes.
Then yesterday was my sisters curriculum planning at Wits. So I took her in and showed her where she was supposed to be and all. I also went and did some work in my lab and went to the zoo.
And today was brilliant because my supervisor said that he thought that one of my ideas for my project was brilliant! It's a really good feeling when one's supervisor or boss applaudes you. I know this sounds very lapdog-ish but as I said before, I don't care.
And tonight it's off to dinner with Sarah and Tom (possibly others). Lookin forward to it!
Monday, January 22, 2007
Josh! He's SO cute! - Part II
Well guys, today I finally got to meet Josh the chimp for real. It wasn't technically the first time because as many of you avid blog readers will remember, I originally saw him a few months ago. And he was adorable then and nothing has changed! Here is a photo of the little ruffian that I took today:
This was one of the photos that I took on my cell phone. I managed to download them thanks to my sisters friend, Zelé. And thus, I am able to post you guys the photo of me lemur experience too! Yay!
Josh, because of the fact that he is still rather young and also hasn't been exposed to many people, is incredibly timid with people. He will only just let you touch him and only if he is being held at the time by Althea, his surrogate parent and friend of mine. He is SO cute though! Today he had a moment of boldness and gave my chest a poke. He obviously thought that it looked like it needed a good poking and I was more than happy to oblige!
My sister was with me at the time too as I had taken her through to our old high school to drop off some books and to collect her portfolio. It was a little odd because when I was there I saw my old, and all-time favourite teacher, Ms. Barnsley. Tom knows her through family connections. It was odd because I havn't seen her in about 5 years, so just the general awkwardness as would be expected. It was rather funny because she asked me if I still kept in contact with Duncan, who is my cousin and thus I thought it was a bit of a silly question.
Anyhoo, Gemma was with me and she too was permited the honour of touching Josh. She made little cooing noises and chatted about him all the way home. It was rather funny. Understandable though, he is just about the cutest thing I've ever seen!
Random Fact Of The Day:
40% of McDonald's profits come from the sales of Happy Meals
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