Nala. My newly adopted, lioness resembling, stray puppy dog. I'm not entirely sure what kind of dog she is, but she is loving, very cuddly, extremely loyal, incredibly fast learning, and very, very chewy! But she's great. And the funny part is that I wasn't even looking to take a dog, let alone a puppy. I had decided I didn't have the time or the resources to manage. I can however relate this to the latest episode of Grey's Anatomy when Bailey tell Kallie that its never the right time to have kids so if you don't do it now you never will. Puppies, i must say, are really like 2 year olds... they have short attention spans and small bladders that only work half the time. Thankfully, my good friend Keara and her husband have opened their house to let Nala and I stay until I officially get to KBS. She will also be staying with them while I'm in Europe... I kind of wish I could bring her with me :)
I also have taken up more outdoor activities to suit the needs of going fast down hills during the summer. This is my mountain bike. It bounces and makes me go very fast. I like it. and it needs a name... so I'm looking for suggestions :)
Last Sunday, my friend James and I headed to Fort Custer, which is only 6 miles from where I live at KBS, to check out the trails. We were out for a good 2.5 hours and by the end, i felt like I had been runover. I am SO out of cardio shape that I've taken the initiative to set up a program this summer which involves a lot of road biking. The only problem is I don't have a road bike here... its back at home and in dire need of some TLC. So i'll bring it back out here when I head home again. and besides, my parents need to see Nala too! Did i mention she rides well in cars?
james and I after our ride
In any case, a collegue at KBS mentioned wanting to get into climbing. And me being me, jumped at the opportunity to tag along. I'm not sure when I'll get there... maybe this weekend... but there is a giant climbing wall in Kzoo that offers the very basics to highly advanced. It should be pretty awesome and I'm stoked to be able to try it. And to make things even better, a friend has offer to sell me her sea kayak relatively cheap next fall! I'm pretty darn excited about that too... but that just means I have to keep saving! I do often wish grad school paid better!
In other planning news, I think a group of friends and I are headed on a backpacking trip to Isle Royale in late August and various other small activities throughout the summer. And if I get my hind end in gear and gather some good data, I hope to present a poster at the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography meeting in Puerto Rico. That should be incredibly exciting. and if you're reading this heather... i'm looking forward to just living through all these wonderful experiences! More pictures to follow soon.
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