Holiday Update

I figured I'd try to squeeze in one last blog entry before the new year begins. I started this blog a little less than a year ago, before I went to Africa and before I even knew I was going to be a UNC Tarheel. A lot has changed for the better, but luckily some things have remained the same. Guinness is still a ham, ready to pose for photos:

I successfully pulled off yet another Christmas Cookie decorating party with my crazy Ursuline Academy sisters:

I am still a nerd obsessed with nerdy things:

Christmas vacation was wonderful because:
1. I went ice-skating downtown with some of my favorite Red Wolf Sanctuary volunteers.
2. I discovered that I had BBC America and could watch the Christmas special on BBC America on Christmas! I drew lots of pictures. I liked it, and I especially like Clara. She is more than a match for the Doctor's eccentric wit. I just hope that their relationship stays flirty and does not progress into actual romance. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you should probably go watch some Doctor Who. At any rate, here is my rendering of the awkward Doctor kiss:

3. A TARDIS appeared on my Christmas tree
4. Home-cooked meals

There are some things that I know the New Year will bring, including:
1. My first half-marathon in the Spring
2. Chemistry 102
3. Working in a medical lab at University of Cincinnati over the summer
4. Return to Red Wolf Sanctuary in the summer
5. Return of AMC's The Walking Dead, BBC's Doctor Who, BBC's Downton Abbey

I haven't really thought of a resolution yet. I mean, I want to finish the half-marathon, so that means I should train. But my other resolution, I think, is to keep trying to try new things and meet new people. I KNOW...so vague. So I'll try to be more specific...I want to try to revive a sci-fi/fantasy club that has been absent from UNC since the 80s. It's called Chimera. So that is my New Year's resolution: get this club up and running, or give it my best shot. Find my fellow nerds and have fun. So there you have it.

But the best part is that, for the most part, I don't know what the new year will bring. So, in the words of the 11th Doctor, "Geronimo!"

My Study Abroad Goal:

Just went to an info session about this program last night. It is my new educational goal. Honestly, I am too excited about this. I won't even be able to go abroad until 2015. BUT AT LEAST I KNOW WHERE I WANT TO GO.

Carolina Tiger Rescue

So today I was able to go out and volunteer at the Carolina Tiger Rescue (http://www.carolinatigerrescue.org/). A group of about 8 girls (including myself) from the UNC Tri-Beta Society trekked out there and I was so happy! I've been there once before, but for a public tour and I was too lazy to write about it. However, the pictures I will be posting today will be from that tour and not from today's volunteering because I did not bring my camera with me today. Turns out that was a good idea because most of the day was spend bushwhacking and trail blazing. In fact, today vaguely reminded me of clearing out the brush in South Africa at the Dell Cheetah Centre, except everything was much more green and not all of the plants were quite so prickly (although I did manage to sit on some sort of prickly rose-like plant that went right through my trousers). My subconscious must have been pretty darn excited as well, because last night I had a dream that I was back at the Dell Cheetah Centre. Strange.
Anyways, after about 3 hours of clipping away underbrush and sawing down smallish trees, the volunteers were given a tour of the facilites. CTR is home to lions, tigers, servals (YOU KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT SERVALS - SO MUCH LOVE!!), kinkajous, binturongs, ocelots, pumas, bobcats, and pumas. They are strictly a rescue, so there is no breeding or anything going on. Most of the animals they have come from homes where people did not know what they were getting themselves into - they adopted that cute little tiger cub without thinking about the 400-lb predator it would become. It's a very well-run facility and the people there are very passionate about the animals. I was impressed. But it made me want to go back and visit Tigger and Nala and Jemima at the Dell Cheetah Centre....

ELVIS THE SERVAL!! 

My...what large teeth you have

There you have it. I have managed to find big cats even near UNC-CH. I have submitted an application to volunteer there, so hopefully this will not be a one-time affair.

Also, Guinness says hello!