countdown to palo alto

Before we start, you must know that I am watching America's Next Top Model. I'm obsessed with this show because I'm obsessed with thinking about what I would be like on this show, both in the cool things I would say and the ground-breaking ways in which I would pose. Rae and I were so close to trying out last year and it was super heartbreaking when we realized that all that stood between us and model immortality was the lack of a blank DVD. But anyway. I might be distracted.

This week, I went to coffee with my division manager to talk about Life and The Future. It was an intimidating conversation to start but, like everything else, it got much better once I stopped worrying about how she would react to things I was saying (within reason). Now, I'm excited. And since this blog is meant to be about my career and the development of my research, let's discuss.

So I study (or plan to hope to intend to) behavior change. This is apparently a Very Important Topic because no one has really figured out how to study it yet. So people seem to be very enthusiastic about paying a graduate student to come up with something that works. I want to study behavior change with relation to native animal conservation. In other words, how to zoos inspire us to care about the animals in our own backyards? No one is doing that yet either. But before I can do that, I need to do something that other people are doing so I can get some sort of foundation. Solution? Climate change research. This is also perfect because nothing frustrates me more in the environmental movement than the mismanagement of the climate campaign. Okay that's not true. There are a LOT of things that frustrate me about the environmental movement. But we'll talk about that later.

So anyway, there is a slight possibility that I may be able to work next summer in the northwest studying climate change education at zoos in Oregon and Washington zoos.

Then, we talked about how, if I'm going to be a zoo director, I need animal care experience to win over the keepers and curators. Anne suggested PASA, a networks of primate sanctuaries in Africa. We also briefly discussed an animal care internship at OZ. So...next summer I could be working with animals in Oregon?

Next summer might be a long way away, but it's really not. As soon as I get to school I need to start planning my summer so I can make the connections and finalize it within the context of my degree. It feels good, now, to know that I have options, however slight and underdeveloped they may be. I'm still coming to terms with not going back to FES, not coming back to camp. But the less that's up in the air, the better I feel about my new life.

Anyway, ANTM is over. Now there's a show on called Plain Jane and it appears to be about people who can't get a date. Forget ANTM, I should be on this show.