Getting Better Everyday

Me and Arrow Me and Nova

Me and Arrow again...

Another few days has gone by and I'm starting to realize how much this program is going to change me and how it has changed me already. For one, it only took 3 days of getting up between 4am-5am to turn me into an avid coffee drinker (I have always hated coffee). I also feel a tad more like a hippie now a days, especially after watching a movie in my wildlife conservation class and finding out what my ecological footprint was (you can find yours at http://www.earthday.net/ click on ecological footprint)which was 4.9 planets meaning I use up a lot of non renewable resources in order just to keep my lifestyle.

On a funner note I've gotten to do some really cool things lately. I got to walk an emu...so cool! I got to man 3 birds of prey, a blind barn owl named Sweet Pea, a red-tailed hawk named Arrow, and a great horned owl named Nova. It was definately a really cool experience and I was so excited to finally get some hands on experience, and I can't wait to do it again. I also started what was pretty much our first day of area yesterday and my job was to clean the cement slabs and mats in our mini horse Nick's corral. I thought this wouldn't be too hard, except the hose had a huge leak and I pretty much got all wet and I wasn't very good attatching the bleach bottle to the hose and I'm pretty sure I got most of my clothes bleached. But all in all it could have gone a lot worse I guess.

First week accomplished!

So today officially marks my second week of EATM and I've already learned so much but am afraid of what I may or may not forget. There are just so many rules and what not. So this last week I got to watch and observe a baby siamang who was just irresistibly cute, which makes it even harder because until students get animal assignments we can't talk to, look/smile at, pet, touch or anything to any of the animals. For all us animal people it's probably one of the harder things to do especially when the monkies consistently howl at you, or the dog Sierra wags her tail and wimpers everytime you walk by, and even when Taj the tiger sits in her pool and looks like a little house kitten. Although it does makes sense why we have that rule, it allows for the animals to bond better with their trainers amongst other reasons but it just makes me more excited to get my animal assignments in the spring!
This last week I also learned how to do more things around the zoo, did some volunteer work, and did what we call "all day area". I learned how to walk and groom our mini horse Nick, learned how to properly place a choke chain on a dog, and ofcourse more cleaning. For volunteer work I helped dig some holes for our sea lion Schmoo who is getting a new deck and I also helped paint the 3 little pigs coral, which was pretty nasty since I kept getting paint everywhere including my hair. Then at all day area yesterday I learned how to do the ticket booth, answer phones and enter daily records, and watched the primates to make sure the public wasn't messing with or feeding our monkies. So all in all I had a somewhat eventful and somewhat tedious day, but somehow I still managed to enjoy myself and have fun. :)

Wake up call 6:30 AM!!!!

So I got up this morning around 430am...and let's just say yes I am a morning person but I can tell this feeling is going to wear off real quick. We survived workday which was Friday which included weeding, shoveling & raking dirt, leaves, etc. For our group we also had to disassemble a rusty primate cage which was no easy feat. Then at the end of the day we were apparently initiated by being coaxed out to the lawn to "take a picture" when really the second years were just gathering us all together so they could dump water, spray hoses, & turn on the sprinkers from the roof above us.

So, yesterday was the real first day of EATM I guess...didn't last long though. I donned by weekend EATM uniform for the first time which was pretty cool I guess, but i'm sure I'll get sick of wearing the same stuff every day eventually. We learned how to do what we call "AREA" in parts of the zoo. This includes cleaning, feeding, and checking on animals in certain areas of the zoo. We also learned how to tie a falconer's knot(shown above) with one hand which scared me because we have to be tested on this and all I could think of is how long it took me to learn to tie my shoes. Fortunately I finally figured it out and can tie that knot with my eyes closed. :)
So any way I have to get going soon in order to be at school by 630am SHARP or else points get deducted.

Orientation continues

So first day of orientation was awesome, finally gave us all a chance to actually realize what and where we are all going to be for the next 2 years. Second day...eh...well let's just say it was "pigeon pulling" day. For those of you who don't know what that is, it is killing a pigeon by cervical dislocation. In other words killing a pigeon by ripping off it's head with your bare hands. For all of you who have never heard of this...yes it is a real pigeon...yes it is alive when you do this...and yes EVERYONE in the program has to do this...at least once. Granted I really don't think anyone actually enjoys the fact that we have to do this, but some appreciate what it teaches us and why we do it.

So when it came to that time of the day suprisingly most of the class raised their hands to do it and get it over with right then and there. Me being one of them, because honestly I really never want to have to think about this situation ever again. I'd like to do it, get it over with, then put it behind me. Unfortunately I was not picked to get the chance to do it as they were short of pigeons. So now I have the image playing back in my head over and over again of watching about 20-30 pigeons get their heads pulled off by my classmates and I know that I will have to do it soon, but no idea when. It could be weeks to months, kind of frustrating but not much I can do.

On a much happier note, today all the first years get our uniforms today. I'm sure that once we all put it on the true feeling will sink in that we actually got in this program and will be able to do what most of us have hoped and dreamed to do since we were children.

First Official Day at EATM Jitters

So today is the big day! First day of orientation of EATM!! YAY! I've waited hope dand dreamed so long I can't believe this day is actually here! But ofcourse any of you who know me at all know that when it comes to trying new things I am all in but not without throwing up and having a few anxiety attacks first. However, lately I have been doing pretty well under these kind of circumstances, have pretty much deleted the anxiety attacks due to sometimes violently throwing myself into uncomfortable situations in order to overcome my irrational fears. So I am happy to say that today, yes my tummy is in knots and have already drank several doses of pepto bismal which I now have come to love I have so far had no shortness of breath, panic or anxiety attacks, or vomiting so yay for me. Seems like just a normal day to everyone else but it's pretty much a triumph for me.
So wish me luck today will be the first day of my new direction in life, on many different levels. I just hope the excitement will last and these tummy pangs will go away and the knots will unravel.