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Jun. 27th, 2009 09:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pacificpikachuI found Ryan's beloved chicken (a birchin bantam cochin) Cochin Bobochin dead on the floor of the henhouse just about fifteen minutes ago. It appears she died recently, and upon examining her I haven't much of a clue what she died from--she was not dehydrated, thin, not a single speck of blood or other injuries on her, missing no feathers, nothing. She was only two years old, too. :( The only thing I can think of is egg binding, which is a possibility as that's one way hens can go quickly with few signs beforehand. Regardless, it's sad and I'm really going to miss having her around. She was a wonderful bird and one I adored. Rest in peace, Cochin Bobochin. I'll miss you. It'll be so strange without her there... ;;
In happier news, my wildlife rehab group's new intake center just opened today! We had a grand opening party this evening and it was lots of fun! The center looks WONDERFUL thanks to everyone's hard work and we got quite a few members of the public coming in and out. It was nice seeing our education birds again (we have Gaia the Peregrine Falcon, Tecumseh the Red-Tailed Hawk, Oliver the Western Screech Owl, Chester the Great Horned Owl, Winston Churchill the American Crow (though he wasn't here today), and several educational bats that Corky keeps) as well as many of the members of our group, and there was free food and raffles and all kinds of fun things to do. I got to watch Corky feeding the baby bats, too--they're so cute! Linda is taking my only remaining quail and releasing it tomorrow. The quail with head trauma passed away yesterday, and the little quail's friend passed away as well, so the lone quail needs to get out to a covey before it gets depressed from loneliness. Anyway, I'm really excited about the intake center and I hope getting it running smoothly works out well... I'll be bringing a chicken (as well as some dead "freezer birds," as we call them) in Monday to use in demonstrations for the new rehabbers. I wish I could hang around and help, but when there's a Yoko Kanno concert to go to, one has to make decisions.
Speaking of which, I have lots of mad planning to do the next few days before leaving for Anime Expo/Japan... orz Will be doing as much as I can the next few days to get ready, but honestly I'm a little stuck on what exactly I need to do planning-wise! Ahh, well, I'll figure it out. I can start packing, and I figure I need to do research on transportation, touch up a bit on my Japanese, talk to Gin about various things, arrange to meet with people (including GAINAX), and so on. Again, I ask for advice on what preparations I need to be doing for an international trip for those of you who have been abroad! If you have any ideas of things I might overlook, any help would be appreciated!
I'm having fun with the new Haruhi season. It's nice to have Haruhi to look forward to every week again--it's been a long time! I have absolutely no deep or interesting or insightful comments to say about it at the moment, so I will have to do that another time. Nonetheless, it's enjoyable having it back. :D
I suppose that's all for now. As would be expected, I've been very very very busy lately... @___@;
In happier news, my wildlife rehab group's new intake center just opened today! We had a grand opening party this evening and it was lots of fun! The center looks WONDERFUL thanks to everyone's hard work and we got quite a few members of the public coming in and out. It was nice seeing our education birds again (we have Gaia the Peregrine Falcon, Tecumseh the Red-Tailed Hawk, Oliver the Western Screech Owl, Chester the Great Horned Owl, Winston Churchill the American Crow (though he wasn't here today), and several educational bats that Corky keeps) as well as many of the members of our group, and there was free food and raffles and all kinds of fun things to do. I got to watch Corky feeding the baby bats, too--they're so cute! Linda is taking my only remaining quail and releasing it tomorrow. The quail with head trauma passed away yesterday, and the little quail's friend passed away as well, so the lone quail needs to get out to a covey before it gets depressed from loneliness. Anyway, I'm really excited about the intake center and I hope getting it running smoothly works out well... I'll be bringing a chicken (as well as some dead "freezer birds," as we call them) in Monday to use in demonstrations for the new rehabbers. I wish I could hang around and help, but when there's a Yoko Kanno concert to go to, one has to make decisions.
Speaking of which, I have lots of mad planning to do the next few days before leaving for Anime Expo/Japan... orz Will be doing as much as I can the next few days to get ready, but honestly I'm a little stuck on what exactly I need to do planning-wise! Ahh, well, I'll figure it out. I can start packing, and I figure I need to do research on transportation, touch up a bit on my Japanese, talk to Gin about various things, arrange to meet with people (including GAINAX), and so on. Again, I ask for advice on what preparations I need to be doing for an international trip for those of you who have been abroad! If you have any ideas of things I might overlook, any help would be appreciated!
I'm having fun with the new Haruhi season. It's nice to have Haruhi to look forward to every week again--it's been a long time! I have absolutely no deep or interesting or insightful comments to say about it at the moment, so I will have to do that another time. Nonetheless, it's enjoyable having it back. :D
I suppose that's all for now. As would be expected, I've been very very very busy lately... @___@;
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Date: 2009-06-28 02:59 pm (UTC)For Japan, GET A SUICA CARD. Seriously, it's super useful. It's a card that you can put money on, then when you go on the subway it just takes money off when you wave it over the turnstile. it saves a lot of time and the cards are sort of cute. =) Plus, the turnstiles are super sensitive and will tell you how much money you still have on the card when you put it on the sensor. (Seriously, I had my card in a thick leather wallet and I just will wave that right over the sensor and it would still work) The cards are also useable at some convenience stores that are in the stations. Super useful. Oh oh oh!! And it keeps a record of all the stops you've been at, so you can go to any "add fare" machine and print a record (for free!) for the memories.
Uhhhh... don't buy any books or DVDs new until you know you can't find them in the used stores. Used places are all over and often have really cheap stuff in really good condition.
I can't think of anything else for now, but HAVE A GREAT TIME!!!
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Date: 2009-06-28 07:49 pm (UTC)My advice, and this will sound strange and paranoid, is this: Buy a money belt, or some sort of thing you can carry your credit cards/passport/etc in under your clothes. Even though crime rate in Japan is super low, it's still a good idea. Next, buy and wear PANTS. Not shorts. Again, Japan's crime rate is exceedingly low and all, but as a white woman traveling by herself it's generally a good idea to stay covered. This sound really really sexist, but seriously, I've found most cultures are chauvinistic in their own ways, and I had a couple of sketchy run-ins with men in Poland/Germany/etc. so while you might be absolutely fine running around in shorts, it's better to just err on the side of caution. Especially because you'll be alone. Oh yeah, and make a photo copy of your passport and other vital documents and keep them separate from your actual passport and such. And know where the embassy is.
God, I sound like such a Debbie Downer. I still am a bit concerned, which is why I think I'm giving this overly paranoid advice. But DUDE YOKO KANNO AND JAPAN.
You will have such an epic time!
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Date: 2009-06-28 08:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-28 09:41 pm (UTC)I haven't been in Japan all that long, but it seems like it'd be a really good idea to learn more about the subway system, since it's a little complex and you'll probably be taking it a lot. I forgot, is the concert in Tokyo? And if so, will you be flying into Tokyo? I hear that traveling around there is super expensive. You might want to look into getting a JR Pass, or an East JR Pass or whatever since it might save you money. Here's where I got mine... http://www.jtbusa.com/en/jr/j-jr.asp The people at the JTB branches are super nice and helpful, and they sent me my passes within two or three days.
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Date: 2009-06-29 05:51 am (UTC)