A Wandering WeyrCat...

TLDR: Hatsume Fair was very fun, very hot, and I look forward to going back next year! The  Hatsume Fair  at Morikami Japanese Gardens is an annual spring festival held at their beautiful (and huge) garden and museum! Husband and I met up with several cool cats from FAU (mostly the math department) and took in the spring and the costumes. (More after the jump.)

Let me tell you a little about what I did last week! I hiked nearly 25 miles of Appalachian Trail in Georgia, with the   Certified Student Leadership   course I took (the "Wilderness Track"). We Drive to Georgia on May 2nd, and from May 3rd until May 7th, backpacked up and down the mountains. I really believe it's the hardest thing I have ever done. I'd gotten to know the other students just a little, but I believe I've made a few new good friends. I was so nervous that my knee or slowness would make me a liability, but as we went along we all adjusted to each other and learned how to support one another. We each had a day where we led the entire group, and on my day a girl twisted her ankle, exacerbating an an old injury. It was really hard to keep camp organized for such a long period of time. We hiked only 3 miles that day and after just an hour in camp people were napping and wandering off. I found it so much harder to organize them in camp than on the trai...

Thank you EVERYONE that wished me a happy birthday yesterday. I tried to at least LIKE all the posts and reply to the messages. I had a final exam yesterday, and have been studying for others! (About to take a GIS final, actually).

Dr. Klingler, Ms. Emily Cimillo, Dr. Schonbek. Pi Day Math Day Maetri The eleventh annual FAU Math Day held on what was the Pi Day of the century, Saturday, March 14, 2015, on the Boca Raton campus of Florida Atlantic University, was once again a success. Apart from all this, everybody seems to have had a very good time. The morning competition was interrupted for a few seconds at 9:26 and everybody cheered for the many digits of Pi in action. An interesting fact is that if time were continuous (which quantum theory does not quite allow) then sometime between 9:26 and 9:27 ALL the digits of Pi would be displayed.-   Dr. T. Schonbek, Florida Atlantic University   (From the  FAU Math Day 2014 page , circa March 2014)   More after the jump!

This morning I attended the   Solid Waste Authority's first annual Soiree ! For the most part I wanted the chance to hike a new trail. It turned out to be a mostly paved trail, but otherwise a nice well-maintained short nature-walk sort of trail. Master Naturalist and   ARMF   Senior Scientist Tara Bardi, and ARMF Educator Ana Maria Castillo, led a lovely 10:30 am tour on the Malachite Trail. Apparently, it's named for the   Malachite Butterfly   (which I didn't know existed)! It goes through hardwood hammock and over wet prairie. Afterwards, I walked the booths with my trustee booth-bingo card, and introduced myself to anyone that seemed like they would have volunteer opportunities, workshops, or projects that   Mission Green Student Association at FAU   could get in on! Most were happy to trade business cards, and I didn't bring enough, actually.

Presenting to a peer judge at College of Science's Research Day. After those first two "practice sessions"   presenting at GPSA and Environmental Science Research Days , I brushed up some of the topics and questions  recommended to me, and presented again March 20 at the College of Science Research Day. I did miss getting to run around like I owned the place (as I did as Lead Volunteer last year), and go sit with the volunteer judges for a yummy buffet lunch, but it was nice to talk to people about my proposed research, too. The best part was the recommendations. So many people knew of similar research or sources of data, or knew someone I could/should ask about my methodology. It takes a village to raise a child, and it seems to go for graduate students as well!

Usually, on Research Day I'm volunteering. Last year was a lot of fun, volunteering to help organize the College of Science Research day for the second time. This year, I presented my own work. Presenting my first research related poster: the proposal poster!