The Devils are Saved?

Since our visit to the island of Tasmania in December 2008, as documented on the website I made, I have been keeping my eyes peeled for any advances made on the plight of the Tasmanian Devils.


You may remember from my previous blog post about Tasmania that the Devils' population has been declining steadily since 1996 due to a horrific facial tumor disease that is spreading wildly throughout the population. Scientists estimate that over 60% of the devils on the island (the only place where they can be found in the world) have died since the disease was discovered.

The disease is relatively unusual in that it is a fatal cancer that is transferable to other members of the species via biting; they bite each other when fighting over food, territory, or females. When the disease is contracted, tumors begin to grow on the animals' faces until they (the tumors) become so large that the animal cannot eat or drink. They (the Devils) perish in less than a year via a slow and awful death of starvation from this disease, and until now, scientists have come no closer to finding a cause or cure.


This article that I saw the other day in the New York Times claims that scientists have now found the cause of the cancer and can begin to create vaccines which might save the species. Until now, scientists had estimated that the entire species would be decimated in the next 5-15 years, with full extinction to follow. The only effort that could be made was to sequester healthy groups of Devils in sanctuaries and facilitate breeding programs to keep the numbers of tumor-free animals diverse enough to sustain a healthy population.

This new research may be the key to the Devils' survival, though only time (and a heck of a lot of money/research/testing) will tell if these new findings are all they are hoped to be. In researching this a bit, I found that multiple other findings in the past few years had provided hope of a cure, but nothing to date has worked. Also, a few websites that discuss the Devil problem don't seem to mention these new findings yet - so I'm not sure exactly how promising they are.


Regardless, I'll still keep an eye out for my cute little native Australian marsupials, and am happy to see that a group of determined and concerned citizens and scientists are dedicating their time and resources to helping this worthy and unique species.

On an Unrelated Topic...

My friend Alicia kindly offered to let me post on her blog, and my guest post has been published! I thought I'd brag all about it on my own blog so that everyone can read something that I wrote that is not pertaining to travel or Australia or my bodily functions. Granted, it is still completely and totally about me, myself, and I - so do not fret, it doesn't deviate from your standard reading too terribly much. Someday I will learn to write about thing that actually matter.

Anyway, please check out her blog (it's a good one - she is a damn good writer, what with Masters degrees and all) and check out my article about how I hate to run! Yeay!

Babies Everywhere!

And now for some lighter news...my sister, Jenny, has just given birth to a healthy baby girl: Taylor Veronica Avila. She was born on February 16 at 12:10am (keeping everyone up late already!) and was 7 lbs 15 ounces and 19.5 inches long. And her social security number is...

She has a full head of hair, which is an amazing sight. I was so bald and alien-esque that my dad deemed me an E.T. look-alike. But not baby T here, she's rocking a sweet hair-do and she's already a total cutie pie just like her momma. See pictures below.


In related news (quite literally, ha), my gorgeous cousin Adele also just gave birth to a tiny little bundle of adorability named Isaac Xavier Jorissen on February 14 at 6:30 in the morning. He was 6 lbs 2 ounces and 20.5 inches long. We've got a little basketball player on our hands! Isaac is googling for us below.


And, to complete the reverse-chronological order of this report, another beautiful cousin of mine, Monique, welcomed Henry Liam Mulvany into the world on November 12 of last year. He arrived at 11:23am and weighed 6 lbs 14 ounces and was 20 inches long. He is no doubt far larger than that now that he's gotten used to having a bit more space than when he was inside Monique's womb. Cutie number three (or number one, depending on how you look at it) shown below.


Congratulations to all the pretty ladies turned mommies and the supportive and happy daddies. We're all so happy to be aunties, uncles, grandmas, grandpas, and the other awkward, long winded technical names that are used to describe our relationships to this new generation. I can't wait to meet the newcomers and wish you all rest, health, and happiness (though you'll probably only get two out of three for a while...).

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone! I know we're a day ahead here in Aus, but the greeting remains. Kane and I are off to Tassie in about 10 mins (via our sweet ride to the airport - Marc and Alana's Ford Laser that just got broken into and now is only unlockable from the trunk). So, we're off! We wish everyone a happy and relaxing holiday season! See you next year!

Toby the Dog

Last week, mom finally decided it was Toby's time, and put her to sleep. Toby was our cute little lab mix, a pound puppy that we adopted in 1996. She was approximately 14 years old and had been blind and almost completely deaf for a few years. You may remember her bonking into the stair railing or knocking into random fixtures as she would awkwardly make her way around the house, her glossy eyes shining in the lamplight. It was sad to watch, but my mom did her best to "escort" Toby around using a secret language comprised mostly of embarrasingly loud verbal commands and a large amount of stomping (figuring she could feel the vibration of the floor better than she could hear). Her final ailment was a series of lumps on her underside that had started oozing and were clearly painful. And while a life cut off to the outside world by her senses was difficult, a life of pain was unkind and unnecessary. She was old, and she lived a happy life; it was time. But, as any person would want, let's not remember Toby in her fragile final days, but rather reminisce on the dog we all loved while she was in her prime.

Toby was a cute dog, even up until the end. She had all the physical features of a black lab but was smaller than an average labrador retriever, only reaching a "healthy" weight of about 40 pounds as an adult. I say healthy because I know we fattened her up past that. She was easy going, eager to please, and a generally happy little dog. Often overshadowed by her much fussier, much larger older sister, Coco, Toby was not always the center of attention. But the nice thing about Toby was that she didn't mind. All she really ever wanted was to sit near someone with their hand resting on her back, knowing she was loved. And loved she was. Little Toby, we were happy to have shared your life with you, and we will always remember your cute little face and happy waggy tail.

On a related topic, I recently read a book by John Grogan called Marley and Me. It's a story of a man and his girlfriend-turned-wife who fall in love with a cute, frisky, yellow lab pup. Reminiscent of their saintly childhood dogs, they raise Marley to find that he's quite different from the dogs they knew as children. It is a great story about their family and the endless antics of ever-present Marley. The book documents the major events in the Grogan family that ensue throughout Marley's slobbery life and is a great story to read. Marley's end comes at the end of the book and is so intimately described that I was sobbing all over my couch. I think it's the only book I've ever read where I actually missed the character after I finished reading the book. The following week I would often say to Kane, "I miss Marley". Anyway, the point is, I recommend it to anyone who likes a good lighthearded animal-centric story and that little Toby reminded me, if not of Marley himself, but of his tale and the love his family had for him. We love you Toby-Tob!

Another Day Older

Or year, or whatever. I would like to firstly mention that it's odd to have my birthday in the winter. I love summertime and my birthday is always in the summer. I get to do things like waterslides, outdoor barbecues, and wear flip flops on my birthday - that's the deal. But alas no; I have moved to a place where this isn't the case. Winter coat on my birthday, sunscreen on Christmas; this place really is backward.

Anyway, this is weekend 1 of 2 of Kane and Angie's birthday extravaganza. Saturday we rented a car, drove down the Great Ocean road, stopped in a small town on the ocean called Lorne (Kangie film strip in Lorne pictured left), walked around and had lunch, then drove back for a night of fancy cake from Brunetti's and Big Lebowski with Marc and Alana (Malana). Me, cake and Malana pictured above - it was great.

Today we go to the mall to go shopping, then return the car. Next weekend we're hopefully going to do our overnight spa weekend if we can find an open booking somewhere desirable. Apparently it's school holiday so all the families are taking up our precious birthday weekend space. Part 2 of 2 will be completed next weekend.

Father's Day

Ok, so Father's Day went a bit by the wayside, but at least I got to talk to daddy-o in the midst of my visitors. In true blog style, however, this is my tribute post to dads everywhere, albeit a little late. I love you daddy!!!

Happy Mom's Day

To all the mothers on Mothers Day: we love you! Above is a collage of many of the sweet mothers that are in my family, and below are the mothers of the mothers...we miss you! Above sort of left to right top to bottom: Terri with her three babies below her: Cassie, Puff and Ginger; Robby with momma Kim; Jane and Tiff; Me, Jen and Mom in the middle, Kane and Rhonda bottom left; Adele, Monique, Justin with momma Denise above them. AND Monique is now a momma-to-be...huge congrats! Below: Grandma Dorie with my mom and me (three generations of blonds); and Grandmam Clarice on the far right with her four babies: Jane, John, Jim, Jeff.

Happy Mother's Day to all the great mothers in the family (and mother to be). Our family has been truly blessed with some of the kindest, most caring, fun, funny, smart, beautiful mothers that this earth has to offer. We literally owe you our lives and take this day to thank you for everything you have done for us (just one day?). I love you Mom!!!

My apologies for the lack of bloggery - I just don't have the time! I've been doing better and better at work, volunteering to come in this Saturday to help get a project done that is way behind. Good news: Kane did get a job and started Thursday. Bad news: he's not sure if he likes the place he's working. He's going to give it some time and see if it pans out. Until then, I'm totally swamped and at least he's working. So, have a great mother's day everyone and a great upcoming week. And will someone please hug my mom for me?

Adele Island

Adele island is a small island off the coast of Abel Tasman National Park in the North-West corner of the South Island of New Zealand. We kayaked by this place only to find that it was named after the discoverer's wife because of its semblance to a woman's profile. I tried to label the picture above (you have to use your imagination a bit) to see the woman laying on her back in the ocean, her head at the left down to her bust on the right. Yes, she has a bit of an adam's apple, but they're made of trees; what are you gonna do.

I bring this up not because the island was anything extraordinary, but because my beautiful cousin, Adele, is. Today (well, depending on how you look at the time difference) is her wedding day, and I am unfortunately not able to attend. I have requested the favor of the most pictures possible from family members; but I know no picture will be able to capture the sheer radiance she emits on this special day.

Therefore, this post is to you, Adele, a tiny dedication on surely one of the finest days of your life. I miss you and I love you and I wish you and JJ all the best things in the world during your long life together. You guys are a beautiful couple and nothing makes your family (me included) happier than to witness your love for each other and to celebrate it with you. I am truly sorry I could not be there for this day, I hope it was everything you ever hope for and more. Huge hug to both of you.

And, BCF, Adele. Should we sing one of our songs? Nissan, Nissan, dun dun dun duh duh duh...

Smrt

Mom emailed me yesterday to tell me of a letter she received. She thought it was junk mail, and the title line of "congratulations" probably didn't help to show that it wasn't. However, upon reading further, she found it to be a letter from the California Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. Apparently I passed my engineering test, weee! I am now allowed to legally be called a Civil Engineer. And I'm in Australia so it doesn't really matter. It does mean that I don't have to take that wretched test again, which was basically the goal.

So, Kane took me out to a nice dinner last night to celebrate and then made me watch tennis the rest of the night. Just kidding, he didn't make me, it was the men's championship match for the Australia Open, so I didn't mind. And I just played mahjong through most of it anyway.

For those of you who aren't avid Simpson's watchers and quoters, the title line is Homer trying to spell "smart". I thought it probably paralleled my performance on the civil engineering test - done poorly but people still knew what it meant - and was hence chosen to title this post.

In other news, it is said by *the powers that be* that our internet subscription is pending and that we may have internet at our apartment by Thursday of this week. Based on previous attempts to initiate peaceful relations with utility companies in the country, I seriously doubt the legitimacy of these claims but will nevertheless remain hopeful of their fulfillment. Who knew it would be so hard to ask someone to hook something up for you which requires no maintainance at all in exchange for a ridiculously high monthly payment? It sounds like a relatively good deal for them, but they still make it difficult. Oh well, we're almost over the hump, say a prayer to the internet gods for us.

Airplane

Ok, we're in Thailand now, but I'm going to start by briefly describing our travels. We left Honolulu airport at 7:15 am on Thursday morning. That means we got to the airport at 5am (courtesy of Diane Varley, who is awesome), having woken up at 4am. A ten hour flight on China Airlines landed us (literall) in Taipai Taiwan, where we had a 2 hour layover and didn't do much. I did, however, feel the need to take a picture of the "smoking rooms" in the Taipai airport, rooms which they also have at the Bangkok airport. I called them cancer rooms and proceeded to photograph them in appropriate mockery. Gross.

We got two meals on the 10 hour flight - and apparently requesting "vegetarian" meals means Indian food. It was ok, but when you start to feel kind of queasy from turbulance, Indian food is not exactly your first choice. Oh well. You get your own personal TV screen and remote, Kane and I watched I Now Pronounce you Chuck and Larry, Knocked Up, and Ocean's 13. They were all very mediocre but we were happy to have something to pass the time.

Kane does not fit into the seats, but he was not ridiculously uncomfortable. His knees hit the seat in front of us, and he's pretty good at dealing with that.

Next flight was 4 hours from Taipai to Bangkok. One meal and I slept most of the way. We were in the front seats, so Kane actually got an appropriate amount of leg room - yeay! Once we landed in Bangkok, we did the immigration thing (they completely don't look at the form you fill out, by the way), grabbed our luggage, and proceeded to be accosted by a barrage of people with taxis for hire. My book told me to seek out the "metered taxi" desk, and so we did.

Go to next post for Taxi info.

Plane Tickets!

Today marked the first ticket purchase for our trip, and subsequently made me $1000 poorer (Kane, you owe me $500...I'll put it on your tab). So now it's final, we're going to Thailand! I suppose it will be final when we board that flight, but let's start with baby steps. Expensive baby steps.

We still need to buy our Oakland to Honolulu tickets, but those seem to keep getting cheaper, so we're trying to wait it out for maximum cheapitude - one of the themes of this trip. I bought our Honolulu to Bangkok tickets for November 15th: One stop (Taiwan), 16.5 hours, Ambien sleeping pills. I can't wait!

Getting Ready

Well, we are getting dates planned, shopping around for flights, and steadily supporting REI with our extensive and perhaps ridiculous purchases. Our planned departure date is currently November 13, 2007. We will fly to Hawaii (to break up the flight), then to Thailand (30 days), then to Sydney, tour Aus (unknown days), fly to New Zealand (unknown days), and then back to Aus to find a home and a job for a year or so. We have a lot of work to do before then.

As a note to all friendly bay area dwellers, I will be in and out of the bay for October until we leave, so please contact me to hang out before I go. I will let everyone know about our going away party, tentatively planned for Nov 10.