The past month in a few words
It's been awhile since I've blogged last, and a lot has happened. I moved to San Antonio for the summer 3 weeks ago. The extended stay hotel that I am living in is shady to say the least. There's all kinds of creepy guys lurking around, and yesterday I heard a woman's blood curdling type scream coming from one of the rooms nearby. But on the upside there's a taco place down the street that sells fat, greasy barbacoa tacos 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And I was able to get a one month membership at the gym down the street too.
I'm living in San Antonio while I'm interning at the Southwest National Primate Research Center. They have baboons, macaques, chimpanzees, marmosets, spider monkeys, tamarins, and various other lab animals. I'm getting some hands on experience working with monkeys, and I get to shadow the laboratory animal veterinarians and work on a small research project with marmosets. So far I'm enjoying the internship very much, and I think I've learned a lot so far. I was a little bit skeptical about working with primates, but it's been better than I expected it to be. The veterinarians and technicians are patient with us and it is amazing to learn from them.
Some important lessons I've learned:
-The smaller the monkey, the stinkier they are.
-When you're working with primates, sharps won't just cut you, they can kill you!
-Tyvex isn't meant to breathe.
-Several layers of personal protective gear plus 2-3 showers a day makes primate people the cleanest people alive.
-Marmosets will do anything you ask for marshmallows.
-The word indestructable on packaging does not apply to chimpanzees.
-When in doubt, just spray some furanizone or slather some maltodex on it.
Even though the hotel is shady, I love living in San Antonio. The weather is great, the city is almost traffic free, and taking a weekend trip to Houston or College Station is not too far. This past weekend, Marc drove up from Houston and we stayed at a friend's house in Knippa, TX which is a 15 minute drive from the Frio river. A bunch of friends from undergrad days came too, and we floated the river for 4 hours. The only thing missing was not having Katie and Heather there.
On Sunday I drove downtown to the Market Square and browsed all of the vendors. I found a cute little mask made out of a coconut shell and some little ceramic skeleton ladies. I love mexican folk art especially the macabre pieces, and I had to control myself not to spend too much money.
This weekend is the 2nd year anniversary since Marc and I began dating. We're going to stuff ourself on seafood at Todai, hooray! That's all I have for now. I'll try to make my updates more frequent from now on.
I'm living in San Antonio while I'm interning at the Southwest National Primate Research Center. They have baboons, macaques, chimpanzees, marmosets, spider monkeys, tamarins, and various other lab animals. I'm getting some hands on experience working with monkeys, and I get to shadow the laboratory animal veterinarians and work on a small research project with marmosets. So far I'm enjoying the internship very much, and I think I've learned a lot so far. I was a little bit skeptical about working with primates, but it's been better than I expected it to be. The veterinarians and technicians are patient with us and it is amazing to learn from them.
Some important lessons I've learned:
-The smaller the monkey, the stinkier they are.
-When you're working with primates, sharps won't just cut you, they can kill you!
-Tyvex isn't meant to breathe.
-Several layers of personal protective gear plus 2-3 showers a day makes primate people the cleanest people alive.
-Marmosets will do anything you ask for marshmallows.
-The word indestructable on packaging does not apply to chimpanzees.
-When in doubt, just spray some furanizone or slather some maltodex on it.
Even though the hotel is shady, I love living in San Antonio. The weather is great, the city is almost traffic free, and taking a weekend trip to Houston or College Station is not too far. This past weekend, Marc drove up from Houston and we stayed at a friend's house in Knippa, TX which is a 15 minute drive from the Frio river. A bunch of friends from undergrad days came too, and we floated the river for 4 hours. The only thing missing was not having Katie and Heather there.
On Sunday I drove downtown to the Market Square and browsed all of the vendors. I found a cute little mask made out of a coconut shell and some little ceramic skeleton ladies. I love mexican folk art especially the macabre pieces, and I had to control myself not to spend too much money.
This weekend is the 2nd year anniversary since Marc and I began dating. We're going to stuff ourself on seafood at Todai, hooray! That's all I have for now. I'll try to make my updates more frequent from now on.
posted by aggievet at 6:41 PM
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