Sandy the Science Nerd

Well I've been travelling again, that is if you consider Fort McMurray a holiday. I have settled into my job here in Calgary and have begun my field season. My most recent trip was to Suncor to do a rare plant survey.


Each morning our pilot Rob would pick us up in his sexy helicopter and drop us off in remote locations, thinking to himself "you poor sorry bastards, have fun with the caterpillars". Our project manager wanted us to have guns to protect ourselves against bears, but we thought he was crazy. Later that day when we ran into a mom and cub maybe it was really us who was crazy.


We did find some rare plants, but mostly I found myself covered in black fly and mosquito bites, despite my attempts to create a safety bubble with my very attractive PPE.

stories from Taiwan

Well I arrived without incedent and am very impressed how well my memory serves me from the last time I was here. Andrea's friend Dave is also here visiting which is great cause I have a partner in crime. The two of us must have walked 20 km yesterday and saw a good chunk of the city. We grabbed some food and walked over to the gardens at the cultural center for a breakfast picnic then caught a cab to the science and technology museum
(that's a pic of me at the transportation exhibit). After that the two of us walked down to the Wufu market in search of chicken sandwhiches and Halloween costumes. We were successful on our mission - but it wasn't the most creative costume I've ever had.
After that I went with Angela to a Greek restaurant to have a fabulous dinner and watch her belly dance. We returned to the apartment for a little pre-party and went onto to a bar on the 15th floor of a skyrise building for a huge party. I think every foreigner in the city attended and I mingled with many and danced the night away. Clubs don't close until the costumers leave so we stayed until 5am. I made the mistake of having too much vodka and redbull - I wasn't drunk but totally wired and could only sleep for 3 hours.
(the pic on the right is of the Museum and the one below is of my current roommates and our halloween costumes - from left Andrea, Dave, me, and Angela).