Pictures galore!

That's me sitting proudly under the desk I had just built with my own two hands, a screwdriver and an allen wrench. Just to warn you, this post will be pretty snap-happy. I've been going camera crazy as my apartment takes shape, so just "bear" with me here...

This is Finnian checking out the new kitty condo. Mostly he's been using it as a scratching post (this is a good thing) but a few days ago I caught him actually sitting on the first platform! Of course, the minute I ran for the camera he jumped down, but we're making progress!!

I also built the file drawer that goes with the desk.

And here's a bigger shot of the room. You can see the piece I'm using as a TV stand that matches the desk and file drawer (I didn't have to build this one, but that's a long, boring story involving stupid retail policies...let me know if you want the gory details). I'm not sure what it's actually intended for, but it works very well this way. I also put together the desk chair. There's a ton of extra floor space, which is a nice change from my previous apartment.

I'm including this picture largely for the benefit of my former roommate, Diana Carroll. She and I share, among many things, a delight in getting stuff "just right." I measured this space under the sink very carefully and was so pleased when the trash can I bought fit perfectly. That's right, I got excited over garbage.

I've also been learning a lot about the flora and fauna of my new surroundings. I found a neat website all about birds commonly seen in Honolulu, so now I know most of their names. I haven't taken any satisfactory pictures yet, and I don't want to post other peoples' pictures here because of copyright issues, but if you're interested here's the website. My favorites are the Java Sparrow and the Japanese White-Eye. If I get better pictures of my own, I'll post them later.

Oh, and I can't help it - when I see cool bugs, I either pick them up (if I think they won't horribly bite and/or poison me) and/or take pictures of them. Eamon would hate the ones here because they're so big. Well, I think they're neat :-)

I went to get the mail a few days ago and saw this gargantuan moth hanging out on the sign above the boxes. Just for reference, those letters are about two inches high.

My, what big eyes you have!

I'm sure she (he?) would have camouflaged perfectly against a tree trunk, but not so much on a sign with a white background!

Just a bumblebee chilling with the moth, but his coppery sheen was intriguing.

I spotted this little centipede scuttling across my floor (he's only about a inch long - I zoomed in a lot, and the glass he's under really magnified him), but it wasn't until I put him on a piece of white paper that I realized he had blue legs!! Like, bright turquoise blue!! I've never seen anything like this before!

Classes have started, so I'm officially a student again. It definitely takes getting used to if you've been out of school and not on an academic calendar for a while! I'm taking two core classes, "Introduction to References and Information Services" and "The Information Environment," as well as an elective, "Intellectual Freedom." The first two will be very informative, but I think I'll really be able to sink my teeth into that elective. I'm super-excited about it!

5 of my boxes arrived today, defying the mail carrier who predicted that they would take 4-6 weeks. A few of them were even media mail, which is supposed to take the longest! She covered her tracks by saying, "Well, sometimes if there's room in the priority or first class bins, they'll add parcel post and media mail stuff." Uh, right. I got them all up to the 4th floor myself, which I'm pretty proud of - books are heavy!

Well, that's it for this week - stay tuned for a report of tomorrow's snorkeling excursion to the North Shore!