Things I Learned In Florida
Dec. 29th, 2007 09:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
talkingsoup1.
I'm a birder.
Yeah, I know! Actually, I have been all my life, but it only really dawned on me this week. My mom's been getting me up bright and early some mornings since I was probably seven or eight to take me on bird walks to look for birds. And now, I guess, I'm officially a birder. There are a couple reasons for this:
a). Every time I hear "Sora", my first thought isn't this guy. It's this guy. It's a wee little bird sort of like a sandpiper. Hangs around in wetlands and is pretty rarely seen since it's really shy.
b). I've started keeping lists, which is automatic entry into the ranks of geeky birders.
c). I make snap judgments about people based on whether they can tell what certain birds are. I automatically dislike you if you point at an egret and say "look at the pelican!" or can't tell that a moorhen is a moorhen and not a freaking duck. Alternately, I have a good deal of respect for you if you look up at the raptor soaring overhead and can automatically tell what it is (or can tell birds by their songs. That's a talent I wouldn't mind having). I'm kind of a bitch when it comes to people's knowledge or lack thereof about birds, I suppose. In short, know your egrets, dammit.
d). I can tell a palm warbler from...well, the other warblers.
So! Florida, as most know, is a hotspot for birding, and my grandparents are moving away in January, so this was pretty much our last chance for some great birding before then. My mom and I went birding at least once every day, usually twice (morning and evening are the best times), and my dad came along each time since he's been camera-happy for the past few years. We saw the usual array of great blue herons, egrets, purple gallinules, ibises, moorhens and alligators (not a bird). But we also saw some rare ones--a snail kite, a least bittern, dozens of limpkins, about as many soras (remember him?), and monk parakeets (holy shit! not native of course, but they're counted now since the escapees have colonies all over the south).
I also spotted a painted bunting. Which means I can die now. This has been my grail bird since I first saw a picture of one in my mom's bird book. I was probably eight.
And, today, the day after we got back from Florida, my mom and I found a calliope hummingbird at our feeder. Also rare and never seen at this elevation.
It's been a good week.
2.
My family is actually weirder than I initially thought. Not in any particularly big way. No divorces even. But still. Weird.
3.
Christmas lists are pointless.
4.
It is indeed possible to get a sunburn. In December. In the Northern Hemisphere.
5.
The snake-head fish is actually not as much of a threat as everyone thought. It's rather like the killer bee that way (if you don't know what I'm talking about, never mind. Or google it).
6.
My grandfather served under General Patton (!)
7.
I actually don't really like turkey. I know, blasphemy. I mean, I don't like it alone--it needs gravy or cranberry sauce or some such. So maybe that's not so weird? I dunno.
8.
The Circle of Magic books are probably my favorite series of Tammy's. Fucking. Brilliant. I love the characters, each and every one, even the not-so-nice ones. (Except Aymery. Bastard).
9.
It is apparently virtually impossible to find Phoenix Wright games, especially the first two. I got hooked a week or so ago at the Grants after party when a girl there lent me her DS for a half an hour or so and decided I wanted one. Got Final Fantasy XII (I think? It's hard to keep track) for the DS instead, which is good and fine since it's really enjoyable. The lack of Phoenix Wright-ness was remedied today (the third one. Anyone know whether it's any good? It was the only one available). As well as my lack of Doctor Who, Karas and Phoenix (Osamu Tezuka. I'll find out soon enough whether he deserves the title of God of Anime).
10.
I will not be finishing Motley Crew before the year's end like I predicted. Though I hope to get it done before I get back to Ithaca...probably won't happen, though.
11.
Absinthe is legal in the United States as of recently.
That's about it, I think. At least, I can't remember anything else right now.
Christmas was nice. I got a bottle of Absinthe, two books (*sigh*) and various and sundry other nice things. The food was great. I made brown bread. A bag of delicious snacks that consisted of chocolate-covered graham cracker bits vanished from the face of the earth (no, really, we searched everywhere). My brother and I didn't get into any fights. When I wasn't birding, I was reading, or lying around, since aside from birds Florida is really quite boring. Got home yesterday.
I still don't know when I'm going back to Ithaca since my Dad's being lazy. I'm trying to get in touch with Blockbuster so I can get a few hours while I can.
Shadow's ashes are in a cedar box. It's weird being able to throw things like orange peels into trashcans without worrying about him getting into it. It's weird not finding dog hair everywhere, and being able to leave a plate of Cornish hen bones on a plate on the floor for an hour without him coming to eat them. Apparently we're getting a new dog sometime soon.
I dunno.
Well. New Year's is almost here. Hope everyone had a good holiday already.
I'm a birder.
Yeah, I know! Actually, I have been all my life, but it only really dawned on me this week. My mom's been getting me up bright and early some mornings since I was probably seven or eight to take me on bird walks to look for birds. And now, I guess, I'm officially a birder. There are a couple reasons for this:
a). Every time I hear "Sora", my first thought isn't this guy. It's this guy. It's a wee little bird sort of like a sandpiper. Hangs around in wetlands and is pretty rarely seen since it's really shy.
b). I've started keeping lists, which is automatic entry into the ranks of geeky birders.
c). I make snap judgments about people based on whether they can tell what certain birds are. I automatically dislike you if you point at an egret and say "look at the pelican!" or can't tell that a moorhen is a moorhen and not a freaking duck. Alternately, I have a good deal of respect for you if you look up at the raptor soaring overhead and can automatically tell what it is (or can tell birds by their songs. That's a talent I wouldn't mind having). I'm kind of a bitch when it comes to people's knowledge or lack thereof about birds, I suppose. In short, know your egrets, dammit.
d). I can tell a palm warbler from...well, the other warblers.
So! Florida, as most know, is a hotspot for birding, and my grandparents are moving away in January, so this was pretty much our last chance for some great birding before then. My mom and I went birding at least once every day, usually twice (morning and evening are the best times), and my dad came along each time since he's been camera-happy for the past few years. We saw the usual array of great blue herons, egrets, purple gallinules, ibises, moorhens and alligators (not a bird). But we also saw some rare ones--a snail kite, a least bittern, dozens of limpkins, about as many soras (remember him?), and monk parakeets (holy shit! not native of course, but they're counted now since the escapees have colonies all over the south).
I also spotted a painted bunting. Which means I can die now. This has been my grail bird since I first saw a picture of one in my mom's bird book. I was probably eight.
And, today, the day after we got back from Florida, my mom and I found a calliope hummingbird at our feeder. Also rare and never seen at this elevation.
It's been a good week.
2.
My family is actually weirder than I initially thought. Not in any particularly big way. No divorces even. But still. Weird.
3.
Christmas lists are pointless.
4.
It is indeed possible to get a sunburn. In December. In the Northern Hemisphere.
5.
The snake-head fish is actually not as much of a threat as everyone thought. It's rather like the killer bee that way (if you don't know what I'm talking about, never mind. Or google it).
6.
My grandfather served under General Patton (!)
7.
I actually don't really like turkey. I know, blasphemy. I mean, I don't like it alone--it needs gravy or cranberry sauce or some such. So maybe that's not so weird? I dunno.
8.
The Circle of Magic books are probably my favorite series of Tammy's. Fucking. Brilliant. I love the characters, each and every one, even the not-so-nice ones. (Except Aymery. Bastard).
9.
It is apparently virtually impossible to find Phoenix Wright games, especially the first two. I got hooked a week or so ago at the Grants after party when a girl there lent me her DS for a half an hour or so and decided I wanted one. Got Final Fantasy XII (I think? It's hard to keep track) for the DS instead, which is good and fine since it's really enjoyable. The lack of Phoenix Wright-ness was remedied today (the third one. Anyone know whether it's any good? It was the only one available). As well as my lack of Doctor Who, Karas and Phoenix (Osamu Tezuka. I'll find out soon enough whether he deserves the title of God of Anime).
10.
I will not be finishing Motley Crew before the year's end like I predicted. Though I hope to get it done before I get back to Ithaca...probably won't happen, though.
11.
Absinthe is legal in the United States as of recently.
That's about it, I think. At least, I can't remember anything else right now.
Christmas was nice. I got a bottle of Absinthe, two books (*sigh*) and various and sundry other nice things. The food was great. I made brown bread. A bag of delicious snacks that consisted of chocolate-covered graham cracker bits vanished from the face of the earth (no, really, we searched everywhere). My brother and I didn't get into any fights. When I wasn't birding, I was reading, or lying around, since aside from birds Florida is really quite boring. Got home yesterday.
I still don't know when I'm going back to Ithaca since my Dad's being lazy. I'm trying to get in touch with Blockbuster so I can get a few hours while I can.
Shadow's ashes are in a cedar box. It's weird being able to throw things like orange peels into trashcans without worrying about him getting into it. It's weird not finding dog hair everywhere, and being able to leave a plate of Cornish hen bones on a plate on the floor for an hour without him coming to eat them. Apparently we're getting a new dog sometime soon.
I dunno.
Well. New Year's is almost here. Hope everyone had a good holiday already.
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no subject
Date: 2007-12-30 05:34 am (UTC)I have all of the Phoenix Wright games if you wanna bum them off me when I get back. They're much like novels. You work through them and you're pretty much done with them. I own them mostly so I can pass 'em off to friends who haven't played them.
I'm currently working through the third and I'm enjoying it so far. You get to do a case that's NOT a murder case for once, lol.
I finished the 3rd Season of Doctor Who. And I watched the first episode of the 4th Season, which came out on X-Mas (they always do that, show a X-Mas special and then officially start the season in March). So I'm all caught up. I'm currently copying the 3rd Season DVDs so you won't have to show your friend the season on a computer.
I also watched the For-TV movie with the 7th and 8th Doctors. It's not good enough to see, really. I'm currently awaiting a 4th Doctor serial about the origin of the Daleks. If that's good, I'll bring it to Ithaca and share it.
Glad you're having a nice holiday!
no subject
Date: 2007-12-31 04:01 am (UTC)Woot! I just finished the first episode of my game, but now I'm confused since Phoenix says that Mia is dead? Wonder what the story there is (but don't tell me, I want to find out for myself). So yeah, I'd like to borrow them at some point, if it's okay.
Oh, I heard the new season was coming out. Julie and I haven't finished the second season yet. I'm actually thinking of buying the next two seasons, though I probably won't, lol ($90!!!!!)
That's too bad. I really want to know more about the Daleks--especially the Time War. I want to know what the hell went on there! I want to meet other Time Lords--I know he once traveled with one. Sucks that they're hard to get hold of.
Thanks, hope you are too!
no subject
Date: 2007-12-31 04:07 am (UTC)Yeah, Mia's dead. The story for that is in the first game. And yeah, you can borrow them. It's no big deal.
Don't bother buying Season 3. Like you point out, it's wicked expensive and I now have copies of the DVDs, so it's no big deal. I can copy them or just loan 'em to ya.
Yeah, I watched it today. It was alright. The effects were a bit cheesy and the writing was a tad contrived, but it was from the 70s, so it's forgivable. It's worth checking out. As for the Time War, there's nothing about that right now. That's an invention of the new series. It's probably going to be discussed further as the series progresses. Some people hope they'll have a special or a movie or something starring Christopher Eccleston about the Time War so we get a better idea of how it went down. Eccleston has said that he'd be down for reprisals.
no subject
Date: 2007-12-31 04:38 am (UTC)Sweet deal.
Awesome, as long as they're not compressed. Compressed doesn't work on our PS2 and neither of our laptops like them much.
Lol, but that's what we love about Doctor Who anyway, no? Ah, so the Time War is new. Lol, that's also a good explanation for the long gap between the original series and the new one. And I'd love a movie, especially with Chris (much as I like Ten, I did like Nine a lot too). That would be pretty sweet.
no subject
Date: 2007-12-31 04:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-31 05:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-31 12:46 am (UTC)I need to re-read the Circle Opens... I haven't done a few of them in a while...
no subject
Date: 2007-12-31 12:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-31 04:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-31 04:09 am (UTC)Lol. They were so awesome. Briar's book was the first Tammy book that got me really worked up, like in tears at one point. God I love those four. I loved the descriptions of the quarantine and all...and when the source of the blue pox was revealed? Ho-snap I wanted to strangle that woman (too bad she was already dead). It's the same sort of thing that happened with Typhoid Mary--the woman just didn't seem to care that she was a carrier and was spreading typhoid all around.
Oh and...I think I'm a Rosethorn/Lark shipper. They're just too cute. ^_^
no subject
Date: 2007-12-31 04:14 am (UTC)