Freak Out Countdown...

Ok, January is almost over now and I reserve the right to freak out around...February 6...That sounds about right. 
I think I should be hearing back from school around next month. I heard back from one of my POI that he can take on 1 grad student and that it is down to me and one other person. I am dying to know what this person's profile looks like! Argh! And no word back from anyone else. At least I know about Austria I should hear something by mid-Feb otherwise I'm basically not getting in. I am worried though. About my SOP, not specific enough, I was kind of open in it regarding the direction of my research. I mean hey, I know what I am interested in (and dude, that can totally change!) but it's not like I have a perfect clear-cut thesis project outlined already! Everyone has said that is ok but looking around Grad Cafe it seems to be the opposite! Then again I do think most of those people are crazy over achievers :/
And my courses! I never took Micro! I really want to get into in my graduate studies but I am afraid it is a huge major blip in my file! I have so much eco/wildlife/macro stuff especially in the crucial two last years....Oh I don't know!!!
Well, at least I have my summer jobs to look forward to! Louisiana in April/May and maybe Iowa or Nevada in May-Jul. Until then I have my resume at a temp agency...and signed up to volunteer at a local bird rehab facility. That really sounds like  fun! Ok, I need to catch up on background reading on viruses!


Bonne nuit!

My SOP Wordled!

Waiting, waiting, waiting, OH EMAIL!

That is basically my day now. Aimless wandering around and checking my email every 10 minutes to see if I have ANY word on grad schools....I have called everyone I can and have interview dates for 3/5 schools. Most are in February except for the school in Europe...I hope I get an invite somewhere! So far the most contact i have had is at Oregon State. My POI (person of interest) is very nice, totally chill and seems interested in me! Yay! I have another Skype interview with him soon, this time hopefully with his grad student so we can discuss the lab and what working with him is like :)

I'm thinking I should maybe contact his former grad student who is now a post doc...I have run into her before when I was looking at labs to apply for, she is the post doc for a good lab in a good school but it was a place I didn't apply to. Yes, I think I will contact her. Maybe today.

Well, on the job front I have accepted a radio tracking position for a spring migration project! Very excited for that! I will get to live in Louisiana! Louisiana! I actually applied for an easier mist netting job (4 hires) but was interviewed for this position instead, I didn't even think I was qualified! But apparently they liked me and training is no big whoop. Am waiting for more paperwork to get done...argh but this waiting for grad school is grueling! The interview timelines affected my job search considerably. It is hard to get away from a field job to do these interviews and this job does not interfere with them...Eekkk, wouldn't it be funny if I didn't get interview for the European school and my whole March was EMPTY! HA

Well, people are posting things on the Grad Cafe about interviews, rejections, waitlisting, and acceptances. As far as I can tell not too many Eco/Evol news is out yet. Mainly it is psych, neuro, and some humanties. Of course it could mean that eco/evol people don't post there...but there is a thread for us and I know there are people in it. Well this is what one person wrote in the Results page: MIT, Computer Science PhD F11, Stats: GPA 4.00, GRE: 900Q/900V, 150 journal publications, 2 Nobel prizes. I am 16 years old
Hilarious! This totally made my morning! Well, I guess I should pack now. Am heading up to Philly and will hopefully seem some new birds in New Jersey!

I hung out with some local Audubon people last weekend for some winter duck viewing! I really should update my list now!

The Ball has commenced rolling

I am listening to the Glee soundtrack. The 4th one! I cannot get enough of this TV show. It's not even that good...first season was new and quirky but the following seems a bit forced. And I feel like they are just grasping in the air for interesting plots. But it doesn't matter for this viewer. As long as it is semi interesting, I'm all in it for the moments where they break out into songs and dance!

I realized I never compiled a list of birds I have seen on my walks in the marsh. So, I arrived in Virginia January 2nd - and due to my budding interest in birding and a little bit to sheer boredom I have started frequenting that marshy expanse for some birding practice. Some days have been more fruitful than others, it is still very cold so I never stay out more than 2 hours. But here is what I have seen so far:
Dark eyed Junco (dark slate variety)
Cardinal
Blue Jay
Carolina chickadee
Sparrow (usually white throated, I'm not so good at sparrow but I'm trying!)
Mocking bird
Red winged blackbird
Tufted titmouse
Red tailed hawk
Turkey vulture
American crow
Northern flicker
Downy woodpecker
Red bellied woodpecker
Goldfinch
Yellow rumped warbler ( I was really excited about this because I thought it was a sparrow at first but then I noticed the bill and luckily I had my book with me and solved the mystery!)

White breasted nuthatch

2 new species!

So I went on a short outing today in my neighborhood to see what kind of birds I could see. The last time I went (my first) I ventured into the marshy area and saw lots of cool birds! Over 20 species which was awesome because it was the first time I went out here and by myself and I was kind of proud I could recognize them!

It get's a lot easier after a few times though. I brought my bird book today though - and good thing I did! I saw a red-bellied woodpecker, Melanerpes carolinus:

and a yellow-rumped warbler, Dendroica coronata:

At first when I saw the warbler I though 'Oh, sparrow' because it was a small puffed brownish slightly stripey thing and I saw it had yellow. But then I noticed the bill and I immediately got excited. Then I saw it had a yellow patch on its butt!
Small triumphs :)

I really need to clean out my room at some point tomorrow...O lordy. I have sent 17 applications out. Two have very close deadlines and no one has emailed or called yet so I take it those are not going to work out...so that make 15. I hope someone out there likes me. I emailed one job I was interested in and the lady said they had over 80 applicants apply. 80. Well, there was that Oregon job last year that had over 150 and they offered it to me so that was a good sign. But still, 80 applicants. How to make one stand out; I have decent experience but I don't know if it is going to make me stick out in the crowd. There is one job that is a short stint down in Florida. If I get that I might be able to pull off two field excursions before grad school! I even called the job contact, like 6 times now. I left a message the first time but he is never in! It would be so nice to be down in FL for the bulk of the winter season! Ok, well. I have a strong urge to watch Under the Tuscan Sun. No surprise it seems quite fitting right now...

Anyways I went to Delaware with Lobster and Nabisco to see some bald eagles. Nabisco isn't a birder but likes nature and we saw so many! I took some really bad shots with my camera! Here is one:

Happy 2011 Bitches!