MARVELous

Obligatory Emerald City Comicon post as promised, but a quick one since real life once again taken over.

I had an AMAZING weekend and I just want to point out a few highlights:

STAN LEE: Need I say more? I got to meet THE MAN. He is such a sweetheart and it was an honor to meet him.

Clark Gregg: This man is my new favorite person. We ended up missing most of his panel, but when we did come in we heard him talking about Rocket Raccoon who I was dressed as. Naturally I had to get in is autograph line wearing my costume. I wasn't going to wear it Sunday because I was so tired, but that was the only day we had set aside for autographs so I wore it just for him. When we got up to his line he said that he had seen me the day before and wanted so badly to get a picture with me. I wish he had!! I totally would have obliged, but I am going to assume that would have caused a huge crowd to gather. Just speaking with him made my entire weekend. He is so sweet and genuinely loves his fans. I can now say that I have met agent Coulson and we had a moment. Now every time I see him in movies/tv I will squeak with happiness over our moment, ha.

Marina Sirtis: Hands down one of the best experiences I had over the weekend. I am going to be honest I wasn't ever into Star Trek and only slowly started getting into it because my fiance is a trekkie (Star Wars was always my thing). I went with him to meet her and get an autograph because he was absolutely in love with her as a kid and I wanted to see his face light up when he met his childhood crush, because he got to experience that with me a few times in the past. Her line was completely gone by the time we got there and we were the last to meet her for the day. She asked us if we were a couple to which we replied yes, engaged. She then asked us about our wedding and it was just the best. I absolutely adore her and will never forget that moment. I think just because we can we will send her an invite.

All of the people ever: I had my picture taken about a million times whilst wearing Rocket, and I adore every single person I met while doing so. It was such a fun weekend and a much needed escape from the hectic real life I live.

Comics, yo! I ran out of money to buy stuff at the convention, but took note of some stuff I want to read. My first purchase is going to be the new Rocket Raccoon by Skottie Young and Jake Parker. I actually got to meet Jake Parker (And used the last of my money to buy a print from him) and he took a picture of me at his booth! I was pretty excited about that.

There is much more to tell, but it's late and I have a million things to do tomorrow. To all the people who I met: Thanks for making the weekend great. See ya next year!!

The evolution of the orniherpetologist.

I totally made that word up. I think it describes me quite well, actually. Then again I can simply just call myself a herpetologist because birds are just feathered endothermic reptiles, am I right?

It's been a year since I've taken the time to sit down and write a blog post, and I am sure most of you are aware of the drastic shift in happenings in my life. But I'd like to take the time to write about the evolution of me the past year from aspiring ornithologist to one of those crazy herpetologists who goes out in the middle of the night to find things most people won't even go near. I have an odd obsession with salamanders and I'm itching for the moment it warms up enough for the snakes to come out.

I'll be honest--I still love birds. I always will. I grew up loving birds, but birds became very comfortable for me. I limited myself to strictly birds for awhile, and while a year ago I could have been 100% happy putting all my time into focusing on birds, I started feeling the need to branch out. I didn't want to limit myself because the job market for ornithologists is not only scarce in the PNW but also extremely competitive.

Somehow I fell into herpetology and boy has it been one crazy ride! It's really uncharacteristic of me to jump into something new with both feet without allowing myself to become comfortable with the concept. With this, however, I just went for it. This change, while scary at first, was one of the best things to happen to me. I've met some amazing people, done some amazing things, and get to conduct research. It's pretty awesome.

I still have a bad habit of bird watching behind the wheel, and I often times get distracted by sassy little chickadees while I am out sampling my study area, but I've got some pretty cool things lined up for the near future! Bullfrog collecting, random herping trips, and a summer trip to Reno, NV for a conference. It'll be great.

Short post is short, but it's bed time. I'll end with some pics from the field.

Juvenile Oregon Ensatina (Ensatina escholztii oregonensis)

E.e.oregonensis

E.e.oregonensis

Long-toed salamander (Ambystoma macrodactylum)

Western red-backed salamander (Plethodon vehiculum)

Northern red-legged frog (Rana aurora)

Northwestern alligator lizard (Elgaria coerulea principis)

Garter snake (Thamnophis sp.)