Life is looking up

So, I have worked full weeks at my job and I love it! Not that I didn't think I would, but it is exactly what I had hoped it would be. Every day is different and teaches you that you can plan out our whole day, but your plans always get changed because the animals have different ideas. It keeps ou on your toes. This month I have just relearning the areas I already am trained in. Next month I get trained in cats. I am way excited!! I have a feeling it's gonna be lots of fun. I am starting on an apartment search. Hopefully it doesn't last too long. I am proud of myself as even with my new job I continue to keep up with my running, although the first full time week was kinda hard, but I got my energy back now. I also ran with a friend for the first time and apparently I cannot run as far when I am talking the whole time. That's all for now. I miss everyone and hope to see you soon!

Guess what?!?!?!?!

So....I GOT A FULL-TIME ZOOKEEPER JOB!!!!!! It is at the Niabi Zoo where I have been weekends since November. It's a real grown-up job doing what I have been dreaming about doing since I was just a lil girl. It is by far the best day of my life Aug. 28th, 2010. I feel like everything was now worth it. The school, projects, internships, volunteering, driving, and working weekends. It was a long one, but it was well worth it. My next goals are to get me own place and really truly settle in the the Quad Cities as it looks like I may be here for a while :) Also with my own place and still working just a few hours a week at PETCO (to keep my discount & adopt a few critters), i hope to save money and eventually buy a house some day. I have already started my job and everyday is just as great as the next. Now-excuse me I must go celebrate!

Wait! it's August already!?!

Me and Miss CarlyMe and Miss Molly

So lots and lots of time has passed again since I have written in this thing yet again. Sigh...I said I was busy before, well now it's worse! I enjoy it all though I like to keep busy with things. I am still at the zoo and PETCO. I am still working 40 hours at PETCO, (which means I haven't had a day off in 5 weeks) but the new thing with that is I not only work in the Davenport store, I have also been working a few shifts at the Moline store. The Moline store is a little closer to my house and the people there are super nice so I don't mind. I also this week had my 6 month evaluation. I passed with flying colors and got a 15 cent raise...I know, I now make a smidgen more than minimum wage! Lately the zoo has been hot and humid. I like the hot weather however I could do without the humidity-that has just been unreasonable. No fancy news to report other than the penguins now have an exhibit to hang out in during the day. This has gotten rid of the where are the penguins question, but has brought on a new question-isn't it too hot out here for the penguins? For your fun fact of the day we have black-footed penguins which are from Africa which is a warm continent last time I checked. Only 4 out of 12 penguin species live in cold places.

I did get to go home for the 4th of July weekend so I did attend the family reunion. It was nice to know I did recognize most people even if I didn't know their names. I also got to see Jason and his gang up in Minnesota. I even got to see them again this past weekend as they were down in Lincoln to introduce Molly to everyone. Carly is finally getting old enough to recognize who we are. Guess who her favorite is...Uncle Steven. She loves swimming in the pool with dad's help of course and helping take care of Molly.

I am still looking for that full time zoo job and finishing up the thesis. It is coming along just not quickly due to the obsessive working. I am fine and do still find some time to have fun. Stella and I hang out when our schedules match up which is always a good time. We recently learned some valuable lessons in the kitchen together! Spooks is happy as right now he has the run of the house. His favorite game is to hide behind a corner and then run off full blast when I round the corner. Pebbles is eating crickets again. For those of you who don't know who Pebbles is, she is my leopard gecko and I fed her some mealworms and she got too lazy to chase after the crickets. So, this is a good, big step for her. I do enjoy living in the Quad Cities. I have recently been running into more and more people that I know which is a nice surprise. Nick is working away in Aurora. They keep coming up with projects for him to do so he will be staying there for a while which is nice for him. We don't get to see each other very often, but when we do we pretty much make dinner and watch a movie while cuddling with the kitten (I think he misses the kitten more than me and secretly just comes to visit him).

Take care and I'll update soon...at least I'll try! :)

It's a toaster out there!

Yet again it has been forever and a day since I have written in here. Now the weather is nice and hot and humid. I am beginning to get that beautiful rubber boot tan and sun kissed red cheeks. With the nice weather came the zoo opening-I forgot how much I do enjoy it being open. It's nice to see people walking around enjoying the animals antics (even if it means I can speed around the zoo in the gators anymore). The baby giraffes go outside and play everyday. Baby Girl giraffe's name is Zuri. There was a naming contest and I can live with that. It means beautiful in swahli. We are working on an exhibit for the penguins, but right now they appear in the petting zoo for an hour everyday usually around 12-1pm. Yes, there may be a full-time job available at Niabi Zoo soon, but when and if are still both up in the air. The zoo director moved on to Columbus and he took his wife with him. His wife was the Head Zookeeper, so once they fill her job and move some people around there may be a job opening I can try to snatch up...wish me luck! Otherwise I am keeping my eyes open and every once in a while I send my resume out and about.

I have been working my butt off at PETCO. A few weeks I have worked 40 hours there and then my sat & sun at the zoo so needless to say I have been busy. Somehow between it all I do manage to have a lil fun. Every Tuesday night the zoo crew gets together at a local pub for $2 burger baskets and $5 pitchers of Long Islands. It's a nice time to see each other not dirty and relaxed. We have alot of fun. I made a trip to Macomb to see some friends graduate and catch up with everyone. It was sad, it was the last time we were all together in Macomb. Growing up...sometimes I still don't think I'm ready for it. I also make it up to see Nick in Aurora about every other week. He is tanner than I am and likes to brag about it. My next mission is to come up with a time to visit this new little one that will be appearing on June 10th! I am asking for July 3rd off for the family reunion, but I make no promises.

I for some odd reason have kept up with running and now if I really want to and try hard I can run 5 miles in 45 mins. Sometimes I think I am crazy as I now look forward to my daily jog, even if it's so hot outside you can barely breathe. Spooks is doing just fine, he just misses mom when she gone all day, runs home to change for my run, then leaves, then comes home to shower, and then leaves again. It's too hot to cuddle with me at night now so he either sleep in the window or on the floor next to the bed.

Well, that's all for now. Take care and maybe I'll see ya soon! :)

I'm a 1/4 century old now!

SO, it's been a while but life has gone on. I had my birthday so I am now 25! I certainly don't feel that old or really grown-up for that fact. I have started doing animal care at PETCO and I like it alot. I also started to get more hours so that's a nice change. Construction is in high speed at the zoo as they are trying to get done as soon as possible. Half the zoo is on sewer now and so far so good. Opening is set for May 5th as of right now so the keepers are beginning to go into high gear getting all the exhibits ready, dewinterizing everything, and summerizing everything to make it look all pretty. I do have to work for Easter, but I think I will be home for Steven's graduation and maybe even part of his confirmation stuff. Nick successfully moved to Aurora and I am getting anxious to go see his nifty studio apartment. He's already been out on the Fox River and he's enjoying it. I have started running along the River here in Moline and so far I like it. I have slowed down as I thought I was running 2 miles and it ended up being 4 miles. I now only run 2...4 is just alot and I get too exhausted, but maybe someday. With the nice weather I have opened my bedroom windows and Spooks is in heaven. I think he spends every second I am not there in the window watching all the critters and neighbor kids run around. Everyone have a Happy Easter!!!

The penguins can swim!

So I have my first week done at PETCO and so far so good. I feel pretty confident on the register and even got to walk some aisles a few times the last time I worked (which means I'm one of those annoying people wandering around asking you if you need any help, but then disappear when you are looking for me). i still have lots of training on the computer to go, but it's the good stuff like animal care protocols and such so then I can move on to taking care of the pets there. I think now that I have 2 jobs and can save some money my new goal is to get my own place by September. Sadly, I have only 2 jobs not 3 anymore. Remember Twenty, that silly sports grille that was so slow they weren't giving me any hours, well I let them know about PETCO and they responded with not putting me on the schedule and hired another girl. So I was upset for about 2 and a half minutes until I realized it wasn't even worth being upset over and moved on. Now, I am not really actively looking for another serving job, but if something happens to come up or a friend hears something I may check it out.

In zoo news I got to see the penguins swim this weekend! It was adorable! Even in that small of an area they can swim fast. They have mastered getting in their pool and even diving down, but most of the time it's still a mystery as to how to get out of the pool. That silly ramp just doesn't look appealing I guess. One of the girls seems to rather cuddle with people then swim sometimes...maybe she's a diva penguin. They are just now starting to get their adult coloring so black spots are slowly appearing on their white bellies. I also got to do my favorite area which is hoofstock one day this weekend. Fortunately for me, it was Sunday so all the yards were thawed, muddy, and it was raining. I came scarily close to losing my boot more than once in the puddles o' mud, but happily we will have to wait until another day for that casualty. It was also the first weekend I didn't wear 50 layers to stay warm. Another step in the right direction! Twiga (the pregnant giraffe) has yet to pop so now I am secretly hoping she has it on my birthday...ok or at least within a week of my birthday!

This week I am cleaning stalls out in a horse stable a friends owns. It doesn't take much time and it is actually kinda enjoyable. I am just filling in for someone who is gone this week. The work isn't hard (or it doesn't seem like it to me anyway) and it's a lil extra cash. I have never been around horses a whole lot so that's gotta be good job experience too right? Plus it gets me up in the mornings and then I have the rest of the day to do what needs to be done. I am slowly working on the thesis, but my advisor is busy/out of town until my birthday so there is only so much I can do until then. I have started working out again for many reasons. A few of them being: I missed it, I feel like it's a job requirement to stay in shape so I can do my job well, and it's getting nice outside so it's an excuse to enjoy the weather. I thought it would be rough for a week or two, but it has gone over well and I already feel like I'm sleeping better, have more energy, and can lift heavy things at the zoo easier. Have a good week!!!

I GOT A JOB!!!!

Another week has come and gone and its finally starting to think about being warmer outside! I'm beginning to get really antsy!! So, I got a job at PETCO and started today. I am starting out at the cash register and it's not all that bad. It's easy and I give lots of doggies and other various pets lots of love. This weekend at the zoo was nice. The weather was sunny and pleasant with some of the snow even disappearing. Now this is only a small victory because that means soon instead of walking knee deep in snow I will be walking knee deep in mud and crossing my fingers that I don't get my gator stuck in the mud. I saw the porcupines this weekend which is a rare occasion for me and they all seem healthy and fine. It just reminded me of this fall when one of them was sick and had to be caught every day to be medicated. Every day the quills had to be pulled out of the net. When I was there it was my job. One day I had finished with the net and went about my business and stocking hay at various places in the zoo. I got some hay in my clothes but there was one piece near my belly button that I just couldn't get out. At the end of the day I lifted up my shirt to investigate and somehow thru 3 layers of shirts I had one lone quill stuck in my belly. If you look closely I still have a little dot from where it was. Nothing much exciting happened in the birdhouse this weekend. I did invent and pass out some new toys so hopefully the birdies don't get bored this week without me. Hahaha! :) I did get to watch a training session with Asia, our tiger. It's pretty cool when you see a tiger sit and stand up on command. I drove the Pro-Gator this weekend for the first time in a while and yes I can still drive a stick which is comforting to know. I did have to help catch some swans on Sunday. I think there hiss is worst than Spooks. Speaking of Spooks, he has found a kitty friend here in Moline. Her name is Hallow and she is also black. They are not best friends yet, but it's at least some other animal interaction that goes well.

Everyone have a good week!

Penguins and an OOPS!

Hello all! A week or two has gone by, but some stuff has happened. One is the zoo now has 3 penguins! They are black footed penguins and are 6 months old and ADORABLE! They waddle right over to you and love to play with their plastic ball, however run away when it bumps them in the rear. If you recently watched David Letterman and saw him have penguins one night...those were our penguins! In other news we do not however have a second baby giraffe yet...only time will tell I suppose, but I want it soon! I broke a drain at the birdhouse this weekend. Part of a wading pool drain plug got sucked down the drain and is blocking another drain and causing pool draining problems. If only I had stuck with cleaning the North side...but no I decided I should practice the South side since I never do it...oh well. This past week I went to the zoo for a lunch visit and got to hold a 6 week old baby bear. It was about the size of a puppy and made funny noises cause it was hungry. Definately a day I will not forget for a while. I say it because I did not peek to see if it was a boy or girl. The zoo was in the Dispatch newspaper this week for our training program. It's a local newspaper and just explained why we train the animals and how it works. If you go on youtube.com and look for Niabi Zoo you will find some of our training videos taken by our training consultant.

I do not have another part time job yet and its been 6 weeks since I have been scheduled at the sports grille 20. I have had some interviews and have a few prospects, so wish me luck. One is Biaggi's and the other is PetCo. It looks like I will be working weekends for a while as for now I have decided to stay part time through the summer and not take a seasonal job as long as I can find that 2nd steady part time job for during the week. That way I can start making money so I can visit all you people I miss!

Introduction

So I decided to start a blog about the daily happenings in my life. There were many reasons for this. Some including keeping in touch with friends and family and just a place to share. Also as many of you know I am a part time zookeeper and plan on making that my career. When I tell people this they are very interested. No day is ever the same at the zoo, something exciting is always happening. I want to write it all down and maybe write it in a book some day. So here it goes...

The idea all came from Sunday, Dec 27, 2009. That morning we walked into the giraffe barn like any other morning and food something that didn't belong there:a just born baby giraffe! Needless to say the day was not normal. We all ran around getting all the other animals taken care of while keeping a constant eye on the baby to make sure all went well. All did and he is jsut fine today. Once I learn how to post pictures I will. In case anyone wonders giraffes really don't sleep at night. We watched mom and baby for 24 hours and I was there overnight for a while. They get awfully quiet, but just sit there and chew their cud. We are now waiting on baby #2 from the other female giraffe which should happen any day now. However, we are a lil more prepared and will know what to do, but it will still be exciting when it happens. I can't wait til spring when they babies can run around in the giraffe yard together. I have a feeling I will be spending many minutes just watching them this summer.

In other news I am yet again looking for another part time job as the restaurant I work at, Twenty, is supper slow and I am not getting any hours at all. I am sick of filling out applications. UGH!! Other wise all is well. I am healthy and Spooks is just as snuggly and playful as ever.