Stuff...you know.

This is awesome.

I don't think I ever mentioned (on the blog) that I got four golfodulcean poison dart frogs at the reptile fair (they are not reptiles, I know...but tomatoes are fruits, even though they've been legally declared vegetables...so this is the culture we live in).

They are completely adorable.  The downside is that when you get pet dart frogs, pet wingless fruit flies are part of the package. Wingless fruit flies are not completely adorable.

I like to watch the frogs eat.  They are voracious buggers - they eat so many flies! I can stare at them for quite a while and watch them hunt.

I probably shouldn't have gotten them, or maybe I should have gotten fish or something instead. You can watch fish all the time because they are always swimming (some hide, but whatever).  The frogs come out of the moss when they are hungry and wait for me to feed them...then they retreat into little "burrows" when they are full. It's kind of funny - they start hopping all over the place when I take the lid off of their container - I think they've been trained to know when they are going to get fed.

My tui chub report is almost done. I finished up the figures today.  Next up is the major revisions that the authors of a journal returned to me.  Then I'll have 2 chapters done. Tui chubs is just a report, but it's written, and if I get that published then I'm done.  It's weird. I feel like I've had an oddly easy phd experience.  Aside from getting sick and falling apart halfway through, it's been a bit of a breeze.  I've had a ton of free time, plenty of time off, I have a job lined up, possible post-doc research lined up, I'll have at least 3 publications, with potential for several more, I've gotten along great with my advisor and my labmates, and I've never had to worry about funding or teach. Plus I really like my research, and the species and systems I work with.  I suppose it doesn't hurt to have broad research interests, but still - I like what I'm doing.

Now the next chapter is going to start pretty soon.  Still unsure of what I'd like to do next.  Maybe travel? I don't really want to go on a long road trip by myself, but that might be what happens.  Not many other people have the kind of time that I have to take vacations. A lot of the ones that do are dirtbags, douchebags, or married, which doesn't leave a lot left over for me.