Prime Earth: Latest News

Recently Khao Yai was the subject of a popular television show here in Thailand called the "Navigator".  Camera set up. I got to spend a few days tagging along on some of their escapades as they gathered footage for the show. Forest = Check. Looking for the crocodile. Animals = Check. Elephant Night Safari. Cameras = READY! Photographing the gaur. Lots of laughs and awesome adventure!! Nothing beats hanging out with people who love to do, what you love to do! Check back in the upcoming weeks for the Prime Earth "Navigator" special episode when the guys join me for a day of gibbon data collection and we discuss the dangers of tourists feeding monkeys in the park. Show airs December 10th, 2010 & December 31st, 2010 (two part series).

My neighbourhood. My house. My bike. My sweet ride. My work. My girls. The other day I was doing dishes in my outdoor kitchen when this overwhelming feeling of contentment came over me: this is exactly where I'm supposed to be right now. It's been a mentally exhausting and emotionally draining trip since I left comfortable Canada 7 years ago, dealing with the extreme ridiculousness that is "life" in graduate school and my weird semi-existence in Carbondale. But if I had to go through all that in order to get me to one year in rural Thailand, then it was absolutely worth it to be where I am now. Taking it all in everyday. Loving every moment living the good life.

Plugged up the rat hole in the bathroom today... ...I don't know, do you think I got it?

Anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE notebooks. And now anyone who reads my blog also knows. These are my new favourites!!

All too often students begin fieldwork full of anticipation and high hopes for big adventure, only to end up burned out and on their way home within a month. This has inspired me to write a post about what it takes to survive primate behavioural research for people who may be considering taking this "road less traveled by" in the future. I won't water it down for you; primate research is not for everyone. Fieldwork is an uphill road, overloaded with obstacles that will test your personal strength every step of the way. (Perhaps there's a reason we opted to leave the forest and culture up our lives, oh so many years ago :). But if you've got what it takes to push yourself beyond the comforts of the average everyday world, and you're interested in finding out just how strong an individual you really are, then studying primates is one of the most inspirational and rewarding jobs available! Think you've got what it takes? Here are my tips for what it

Here is what a normal pig-tailed macaque at Khao Yai looks like: Here is what a mysterious pig-tailed macaque, who came out of the forest and jumped onto my car while I was sitting in it half asleep at 6:00am waiting for my assistant, looks like: WHY THE HECK IS HE COMPLETELY BLACK! Really dirty? Half chimpanzee? New species? Genetic Mutant? I have no idea. But he's recently become the talk of the park!

I have NEVER seen a spider like THIS before!

Chet

What is ‘potential'? It is a perceived forecast of results that is generated both internally by the athlete and externally by peers, parents and experts. It’s not a guarantee. It’s not really REAL. Because it's not something you can hold and touch; it is always something you struggle to grasp, and this inability to pinpoint exactly what it is can be both a curse and a blessing. Getting this balance in sync is the entire name of the game. Hope is an emotion that you tend to push aside...I don’t have to rely on hope. 'Great things happen to people who make great things happen to themselves.' Simon Whitfield said that after he won the Sydney Olympics in 2000. We train too hard to hope that we can win.

I decided to rent out my 'open concept' basement these past few weeks. Without even posting, it seems a nice, tidy, quiet tenant has already moved in with her daughter. She fits in perfectly - 'cept when she bumps her head on my floor boards and makes me jump.

Did two things this week I never thought I'd do... #1 - drive the motorbike through monsoon rain. #2 - drive the motorbike up a muddy/gravel hill during monsoon rain. At some point, you just can't get any more wet... and I reached 'some point' about three days ago when the new daily mantra became: If you wanna go home, it has to be done. No Fear.

Walking in the forest today in sweltering heat around 10:00am, Surasack said to me: "It's very hot, in two or three hours, it will rain". 12:06pm the rains came... HARD! Walking out of the forest today in the pouring rain around 12:45pm, Surasack said to me: "Remember I told you, in two hours it will rain. I'm just like your younger brother." :)

8 months down, 8 months to go...

The other day after going into town with one of my field assistants to get bricks to build a new wall in my kitchen, we stopped to get lunch on the way home. During lunch I asked him how often he had lunch with any of the other students that have worked here. But he said he'd never had lunch with anyone else before me. When I asked, why not? He replied: "No one else is like you, Jackie." ... that's right :)

For the days when I think too much about myself I am writing this blog with excerpts taken from "Average versus Exceptional" by Dragos Roua . Average versus Exceptional Being an average person surely gives you a bit of safety. Average is cozy. You don’t get too much resistance from society, as long as you fit in the limits. In fact, being average guarantees that society will support you rather than reject you. Exceptional is risky. Risk is dangerous. Risk can not only put you in danger but it can be extended to your close group, to your community, to the entire society. This is why exceptional people are usually rejected by society. Being exceptional is surely an exciting path but it can also be filled with trouble. Being average is usually easier; all you have to do is follow the rules. Go to school, graduate, get a job, get married. But this will not guarantee in any form that you will be successful, or that you will live a fulfilling life. It will be safe and you’ll s

Train Your Focus Your focus is in fact your reality. Use it wisely. Train it constantly for it will enhance your reality in ways you never imagined. Keep your focus sharp as a razor blade and be prepared to experience life in fantastic shapes and colors.

Pineapple, shrimp, imitation crab meat, cuttlefish, muscles, cheese and Thousand Island's sauce. Next time you are ordering pizza with people that you sort of know, and one of them says "How'bout the Seafood pizza?" Try to refrain from the polite response of "Um, OK, if you want." The appropriate response is: "ABSOLUTELY NOT!"   Worst pizza ever!   At least we got a free umbrella on our way out. Cha-ching!

I don't know what this was that got me, but it STUNG LIKE A BEE! Wooooooowee! Here's a picture of the aftermath 3 days later...

What do you do when your older brother stops by for a visit? You tackle him. Gibbons at Play: Check out the awesome acrobatics! Video Caption: The black individual is Chu, he is the older half-brother of Chockdee, the blonde individual. This is a short clip of a 30min play bout between the brothers who live in different social groups but came together in an overlap zone between territories to goof around with each other for a while. Wrestling = FUN, FUN, FUN when you're a gibbon.

While walking in the forest today following monkeys, my field assistant stopped to tell me Batman was in the tree above him. After several minutes of staring at him, I walked over to find these little cuties... [translation of the humourous soundtrack below] Jackie : Bats. Chaleam : Batman. Jackie : Bats. Chaleam : Bat. Jackie : Bats. Chaleam : Batman? Jackie : Not Batman. Chaleam : Bat. Jackie : Bat. Chaleam : Not with man? Jackie : Not with man. Batman is a superhero, the same as Superman. Chaleam : Oh, OK. Batman. Chaleam : Oh, Monkey Boy eats or doesn't eat? Jackie : He's not eating, he's sitting there. Well, maybe he eats now, I don't know I'm not looking at him. Jackie : Ohhh, their moving. Chaleam : They're cold. Jackie : They're looking at us. Note: Monkey Boy is the name of the individual we were following today. Yes, I gave him that name. And I like it.

Found this at the restaurant the other day...

"Gibby was collected from Bangkok in February 2008 at the age of 6 years, after being kept as a pet. Her owner looked after her very well, however, Gibby has a very loud singing voice and neighbours started to complain. A decision was then made for her to be donated to the [Gibbon Rehabilitation] project. Gibby is a different species of gibbon, known as a Golden-Cheeked gibbon, which are native to Indo-China. Gibby sucks her thumb, which is often seen as a comfort [behavioural defect] if they were removed from their mother at a young age. At present we are awaiting blood tests for her disease status before she can be moved to our rehabilitation site, where she will be part of our education at our viewing area." My family just adopted her for two years. You can adopt a gibbon too, just go to this website for more details: http://www.gibbonproject.org/ Thanks Mom :)

I know. I'm obsessed with photographing sleeping monkeys. It's just so funny.

Oh hello. Remember when I used to blog…It’s been weeks! I know, I know. Since my inbox is jammed with WHERE ARE YOU messages, I think it’s time for some updates… See all the posts below for the Thailand lo'down.

There is some SERIOUS monkey madness going on around my house these days and it is FREAKING ME OUT! Unfortunately (because people do not understand the consequences) when tourists come to the park they feed the monkeys and think it’s fun and exciting. It is neither of these things! It is DANGEROUS and STUPID. Monkeys are not fools, they can find their own food and it’s better for EVERYONE when they find it in the forest. But they know it’s easier to sit around for a while and then take food from people and garbage bins, rather than go looking for it in the forest. This makes monkeys VERY AGGRESSIVE with people. People who just come and go, they don’t care, it’s all fun and games and part of the adventure of camping to them…but for the people who live here it REALLY SUCKS! At the campsite where I live there are three permanent houses (one is mine), there is a small parking lot, there are two big fields for tents, a small restaurant and a small store attached to the campsit

My friend Man moved to Bangkok. At first the word at the restaurant was that he moved to Phuket, despite the fact that, that very day the rumours were flying around, I had talked to him on the phone and he said he was in Bangkok. Apparently then, according to everyone else, I didn’t know what was going on. I had been away for a few days, so I was out of the loop with park gossip. But three weeks later, no one had heard from Man and they all came running to me for the gossip update. So I informed them , Man lost his phone and wallet, possibly on a bus, somewhere in Bangkok. Not good. I miss Man, I want him to come back. But he will not be back. In other news… Last week I was going to the market with my friends Boom and Bahn. We were driving down the mountain, when we came across a falang guy who had fallen off his motorbike on the side of the road, a Thai man had also pulled over to try and help (So that's 3 Thai people, 1 hurt foreigner and me). The guy was here from Seattle, had

Things are going pretty good. Behaviour rocks, ecology sucks. Gibbons are AWESOME, monkeys are OK. Babies are cute - no matter what. Here are some visuals:

Foreigners in Thailand are commonly referred to as ‘falang’ around here. Sometimes the term is used generically. For instance, two days ago when I was driving back from the store with my neighbour we passed some Thai tourists in the park who exclaim “Oooo Falang” as I drove by them. Other times the term is not used very politely since the main purpose of the term is to discriminate those (with lighter skin colour) who are different from Thai people. Today, I went with Chaleam and Surasack (the two guys I work with day-to-day) to a city 3 hours away, so they could pick up their payments for the past month. (Though it took us 5 hours to get there, after 2 stops for directions and a series of amusing conversations that repeated “I remember this” “I don’t remember this” and “Turn left” “No go straight!”). On the way back, we discussed my falang status. They told me that since I can speak Thai and everyone knows me, now I am a Thai person. They said now it's more like they are my old

Guess who is the proud new owner of a TOTALLY FREAKING AWESOME NEW TREK BIKE! Me. I am asking you, how beautiful is this bike?! Olympic Triathlon HERE I COME! …right after I buy a helmet and spend the rest of the year riding around this mountain to build some leg strength :) Work it. Work it.

You know my life would be MUCH easier if humans just never invented cooking!! Thank goodness for rice makers. Put rice in pot, add water, flick switch, and walk away. Done and Done!! But I can only eat so much rice before I turn into some kind of crazy “Survivor” impersonator (minus the “emaciated beach glamour” look)... So every once in a while I attempt to ‘heat up’ something I’ve found at the grocery store. I can barely cook Canadian food, so cooking Thai food is one step ABOVE impossible for me but I persevere. Today I tried to make some premade pork buns. The directions are in Thai, but the pictures say it all: Take the buns out of the package. Put them in a pot. Wait 8 minutes – steam lines indicate heat is present, then consume. Seems simple enough. Until 8 minutes later (after my pork buns have basically disintegrated into the water I boiled for them), I realize that the picture indicates STEAM the pork buns, not BOIL the pork buns. But this is all I have to

Here's the guy I was following today: Look at this little cutie that couldn't stay awake while everyone else was frolicking in the trees.

Blake, Why are you so angry and disrespectful? We had to take the motorbike to a flatter area to run. We live in a mountain range – it’s all steep hills and valleys. We can’t run hills everyday, that’d be overtraining, so we drive somewhere flat. It’s the same concept as driving to the track to workout. No, I don’t look like an athlete; that’s why I run, because I’m trying to become one and it takes practice. I’m pleased that you see that I’m very patriotic. But you completely missed the main idea of my Olympic blog, which was a commentary on how fortunate we are to live with all the privileges that come from living in the Western world. Living in a country that does not have the same prosperity and infrastructure makes you appreciate it very much when it’s gone. Stop using the word ‘gay’ as an insult – it gives the impression that you are insecure and uneducated; though I’m sure that you are not. Say something intelligent and respectful and your comments won’t be deleted.

Today my Thai running friend and I took her motorbike to the place where we run. Last time I was here I was too scared to ride them…am I growing up or loosening my ‘sense of safety’ grip… I don’t know :) But it was pretty fun and exciting. And I did it without hesitation! Plus I was carrying two water bottles and a towel at the time, so I only had one hand to hold on with as we weaved around the bends and hills of the mountain. Cool. Maybe by next month I’ll be driving my own motorbike around the park. We have one here at the house, but I never use it. Though I’m kicking butt at driving standard now! – Ya! Who saw THAT coming… not even me :) …should I tackle the motorbike next?? Look out “Scorpion” here I come...

This weekend I took a quick trip into Bangkok to meet Gavin to get my extra camera lens that was not available before I left. I thought I was just going for a night and planned to zip through the stores, pick up some stuff I need, meet Gavin, and zip back. But my overnight trip quickly turned into a weekend adventure as soon as I got into the city when Suchinda called to invite me to dinner and Music in the Park - which is an outdoor performance of the Bangkok Symphony Orchastra in Lumpini Park. Pretty cool. Totally unexpected, so I didn't bring my camera to take pictures. It was the last night of the 3 month concert series and all about a mix of Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day... so that was an interesting playlist. But it was a lot of fun. Next day, met Gavin at the airport then we tootled around Bangkok for a bit. Took a boat through th e city to the see the Palace but it was closed for a ceremony because of Chinese New Year; went to see the Reclining Buddha instead.

You know, I have dealt with some pretty gross things in my life. I worked at a public pool; I worked at a veterinary clinic. I’ve cleaned up everything that gets excreted from both kids and pets. I’ve assisted with some pretty intense animal surgeries (removing tumours, cleaning horrific abscesses). I’ve helped people whose toes and fingers were twisted and nearly completely detached. And, honestly and truly, I have done all those things with ease, only once feeling like I was going to vomit and needed to take a break (…which for those of you wondering was during a truly horrific abscess surgery on a cat's face). Today, however, officially achieved the title for the most horribly revolting thing I have ever had to do in my life!! Because, today, when I got home from the forest… … the rat… …was behind my fridge… …dead… …and with the heat and humidity here, it was already beginning to decompose… It took me about an hour to muster the strength to remove it. It took m

Yeah, today was the best day yet! My first Thai friend!! And she doesn't speak ANY english... like none at all... so we can only speak Thai to each other! ... ya we don't really talk much. She's my neighbour, and I like her so much, even though I don't know what her name is. Yesterday, I went running around the "old golf course" which is also known as "the short cut" where we can basically drive across a field to get from this side of the park to the other. Usually when I go running, I run on the hilly road through the campsite where our houses are, but yesterday I ran through the short cut because it's flatter. She was driving through with her husband and they both got so excited in their truck when they saw me. Today when I came out to the porch to put my shoes on to go running again, she saw me and went and got her running shoes to come along!! Woo hoo. So we went running together! And tomorrow we are also going running. Ev

The rat stole my soap. Yes, that’s right, I said the rat stole my soap. So last night the rat was wreaking havoc in the kitchen. I went to the fridge and opened the door and the rat ran out from behind the fridge bee-lining it for the corner of the kitchen that has the bathroom on the other side. After I got down from my stool and stopped shrilling with fear at this tiny deadly beast, I decided "that’s enough the rats have to go!" but how do I deal with this?.... so I just went to bed. Then, just to rub it in my face, I wake up in the morning to find the new soap is still in place triumphant whilst everything else in the bathroom is in shambles! There is a ledge along the top of the wall where the tile and wood come together, I keep toilet paper up there. But this morning I discovered something big enough to knock down all the toilet paper onto the bottles below scattering them everywhere around the room, apparently also uses this ledge. Enough was enough and to

So, something stole my soap. Yes, the bar of soap from my shower is missing.   Nothing else is missing. Nothing is out of place, everything is as it should be… minus my soap. I know I had a bar of soap when I showered yesterday. I’ve had it for about 2 weeks, so it was sufficiently worn, but it didn’t just disintegrate into the water!   Now my soap dish sits empty on its ledge… and my mind is perplexed!

Practice video with the new camera...

Recently I reaquainted with an old friend of mine from highschool who asked me if I was dating anyone. I pleasantly reminded him about how difficult I am to get along with :) and he promptly replied... (of course, first by agreeing, but then qualifying it) with "You're a busy lady, so whenever you are ready to fit someone in then you will!!" Irrespective of whether or not this is true or this is just something polite to say to 'career-driven single women'. This has catapulted me into some reflexive thought about the people in my life (past, present, etc). The people that come, and go, and stay, and the ones (both successful and not) who basically work their way in despite my complete and total lack of effort or awareness... hmm, perhaps that last statement essentially covers everyone :) ... but most importantly, all the people that actually PUT UP with my "difficultness." My friends are awesome. I have the best friends . People that so