Just Regular Life?

Sometimes I feel as if nothing significant has happened in the last week, but upon reflection I can usually recall at least a few things that would be of interest to people to read my blog. I hope some of you find this last week of some interest.

I first need to start by saying Matt and I watched the most recent Amazing Spider-Man movie with Brock and Kaytlin for FHE last Monday. (As a side note I would like to point out that I realized writing Kaytlin and Brock sounded funny and that Brock and Kaytlin flows much better). It was a great movie and I especially appreciate the bits of humor frequently thrown in. I did not expect the ending however and am curious to see what happens in the future sequels.

The temperatures here have dropped to about 65 F on average, which is cold compared to the normal temperatures. We now have a heater on at night and I am frequently bundled up everywhere I go. Unfortunately the lack of central heating in most places here makes some really cold homes! Nevertheless, I am enjoying drinking more hot chocolate!

View from the bus back to Uni

Naturally I should always add a bit about uni life. I’ve started doing recordings again and have been making the 4.5 hour trip (total) to the zoo multiple times to get my audio recording equipment set up and exchange SD cards. My last trip I had 20 minutes before the last bus to the zoo and fortunately found a Starbucks on the corner for a caramel hot chocolate to warm me up! I may make that a future tradition. I recently discovered I had the settings wrong when I got the SD cards back so I’m hoping this next batch is correct.  

The right half of the tiger enclosure

The good news is that we have also settled on a set for surveillance cameras. We are in the process of purchasing some very high quality HDSDI security cameras. My only hope is that we are capable of setting them up and having it all go smoothly. The zoo is going to switch the lions and tigers for the set up since lions are much more calm about having people work around them. I don’t know why but it just makes me like the tigers more for being finicky. We are really fortunate that I am not going to any other sites because I would not have money in my budget for the camera system otherwise.

Currently, I spend my time going over audio files and trying to categorize them. Yesterday I spent a while going through YouTube videos of tiger vocalisations to try and find consistencies with what I have heard. I discovered that what I label as a “moan” some label as a “roar” although I now think it is just the mating call. This is exactly why my research is needed. I also discovered another researcher that has delved into tiger vocalizations – Elizabeth von Muggenthaler. I could not find any published research on this though, and she has some odd patent for a massage device that uses cats purring recordings. Weird!!

My desk space at Uni

As for some more interesting news (unless for some reason you wait with baited breath to hear about my research endeavors), Matt is going to be in a movie! During the time he was unemployed he applied to be an extra in a movie, but never heard back. Suddenly, he got an e-mail saying he’s in and needed to be at the studio the next day for costume fitting! Luckily, his painting boss is AWESOME and is willing to work around this.

He’s going to be in Gods of Egypt with Gerard Butler as a part of the bad army. He wears a mask and whatnot so you’ll never see his face or anything, but he’s having fun. Matt is worried that it’s going to mess up his back because at times he has to stand still for hours in the background while the main action happens. Yesterday he had to get a spray tan which due to the rush he had the wonderful experience of getting his finishing touches done in a room full of women with just a g-string on! He will be at the set all day for the next three days and a few days next week so more to come!

Now for our social and church lives: Matt and I have been more social than usual. Sunday night we had dinner with Dean and Crystal and Monday night we had our next big group dinner (5 couples) at Rochelle and Pete Evans place. Of course I forgot to take pictures of these events. Nevertheless, I’m glad we have the time and ability to socialize once in a while.

Church has been good, as always, and I had a wonderful experience doing splits with the sister missionaries where I visited a young 11-yr-old recently baptized and her non-member mother. They are such an amazing pair! They are from Tonga and love to serve and frequently cook treats for their friends and neighbors. I received three cupcakes while we were there, which I think may have been two too many. The youth are also doing well and we had a couple of fun activities decorating a bulletin board in the chapel and putting goodies on the cars parked at the Sydney temple. Teenagers go through some rough stuff, but it is awesome to see them serving together and their testimonies of the gospel of Jesus Christ blooming.

Until next week!