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[vr_trakowski]

 Well, tomorrow begins NaNoWriMo.  I'm going to try it again this year; I attempted it last year under a different pen name, but didn't get beyond 32,000 words or so, or something like that.  (And still haven't finished the thing, drat it.)

I had a handful of different ideas for this year, but I think this one will be fanfic.  I've had a plot idea floating around for a while that I'd like to try; it remains to be seen if first, I can make it work, and second, that it will actually go as long as 50,000 words. 

I think...I'll have to start carting the laptop along on the bus! 

Comments

[plkphoto.livejournal.com]

Hmmm... I just finished my PhD in biology and am going out into the field (aka the middle of the Australian desert outback) to help with some research for 2 weeks. Remote campsite... We'll probably head into a "town" once during the trip to restock on ice, but... It's heading into summer here, so it should be nice and hot and full of those lovely bush flies (which nicely don't bite, but are extremely annoying when they try to enter any moist part of your body).

Anyway, not much time for recreational writing this month, unfortunately.

PLK

[vr-trakowski.livejournal.com]

Congratulations, then! *applause* Having tried once to get just a BS in Bio, I can appreciate the challenges to a degree. What are you researching? Australia has some of the most fascinating critters.

[plkphoto.livejournal.com]

Thanks! *blushes*

(BS in bio or not, your fiction writing is still much better than mine!)

For the two weeks I'll be in the field this month, I'm helping out with some botany research -- identifying and counting plants. I'm mostly doing this so that I can learn the plants out here since I just recently moved from the U.S. My PhD is actually in behavioural ecology - which is the study of the factors influencing animal behaviour in the wild, basically. For my PhD, I actually studied (I know this will freak you out, so take a deep breath now) fighting behaviour in spiders... yep, spiders... these were cute little, can't bite me 'cause their fangs are too small, mosquito eating spiders, but... still spiders. I can definitely relate to Grissom! In fact, he once quoted one of my advisor's studies (Hunger Artist discussion on scorpionfly females preferring symmetrical mates). I think that's what got me hooked on CSI even before I fell in love with GSR.

In Australia, I'm hoping to go into conservation, so we can keep all those fascinating critters alive and happy! Behavioural ecology is a great medium for designing conservation projects and actually motivating people to carry out the conservation action. I'm also into wildlife photography as a way of expressing animal behaviour in a way that people can relate to. You can check out my photography website HERE (http://www.betterphoto.com?plkphoto).

Probably a way longer response that you were expecting, but... :-)

PLK

[vr-trakowski.livejournal.com]

Oh, believe me, I can appreciate spider study (from a distance). I wanted to be a cetacean linguist myself, so... *shrug* Everywhere you look there is further intricacy in nature! Though frankly counting plants sounds a touch boring. ;P Thanks for the compliment; I have a gift for writing, but none for science, alas.

I went to your site and wow, those are amazing! Absolutely gorgeous, I loved the crazy look on the heron closeups. One can see a certain dinosaurish resemblance. *grin* I stopped short of the spiders, though. The ladybug is just adorable, trundling along all business among all those spines.

[plkphoto.livejournal.com]

OOOH! Cetaceans! My senior (high school) term paper for English was on dolphin communication as well as a couple of my research review papers in college... My mom always said she could picture me rowing after dolphins in a tiny boat (it being a given that I would have no money) talking to them in their own language... Alas, I seem to be drawn to deserts, though, which may not be too bad since I get seasick pretty easily...

Counting plants definitely will be relatively boring, but I need to learn them and this way I get paid for it... Also good travel opportunity! And I can handle boring for two weeks, right???

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed my photos! I love herons (as if you couldn't tell).

:-)
PLK

[vr-trakowski.livejournal.com]

Definitely a good travel opportunity! Just make sure to wear plenty of sunscreen. *grin* And watch out for poisonous critters...they do seem to have a lot of them.

I still would rather like to be a cetacean linguist, which is too bad, really. That or an astronaut. Maybe I can save up for one of those space tour tickets...

[plkphoto.livejournal.com]

Yep, sunscreen is a must around here... smack dab under that annoying hole in the ozone. Had to renew my First Aid/CPR certification just to go on this trip... it included a who's who of the poisonous critters and what to do if you happen to get a little too close...

Good luck with space tour thing! I think I'll stick to earth for now... :-)

PLK