giderk

Heck no! It is absolutely the question I wanted. That's why I put it in title. Working at JohnnyR was great, although my location wasn't big on singing and dancing, I never found out why (must have been above my pay grade). It was intense work I recall. We had to make fries, chicken tenders, handle cash and credit card payments, serve food from the cooking line. Not a dull place, and had I wanted to continue in the restaurant business I feel I would be well prepared. I think ketchup should always be served in the shape of a smiley face.

That's an awesome question. As far the monkeys that I work with, if anything, I sometimes get the sense that they know me by my ridiculous pink hat, you can see it in one of the pictures associated with this photo presentation https://fieldprojects.org/primate-diseases/

I definitely bond with them, but I'm not sure they feel the same about me. Every year, I get really excited to see what's new with some of the long lasting individuals. Did they switch groups (amazing when this happens), did they have a baby (and how many), are there new scars indicative of a bad encounter that they survived. It's sad when an old fav goes missing, but it happens, it's the real world.

Nice question! Makes me wonder if you also do bike tours?

That was before I became a biologist. Doing it again, I would photograph insects, reptiles, amphibians, birds, mammals in the different places I went (travels with more purpose). Then I think I would try to stop at schools along the way and show them what I had been finding in their area. I think that would be fun and get lots of young people excited about spending some time in their backyard.

My biggest fears were climate related. Getting caught in the middle of an enormous storm or tornado without shelter. I went through Kansas during tornado season, there were some freaky moments. Then there were other moments when I almost peed my pants at how fast I was moving down a mountain on very skinny tires that could give out and send me to my demise. There are other things, but the list will get a little long so I'll stop with those two memories.

Have to add, I tried to call my parents at one point and they only heard heavy breathing on their end. So they called the police department in the Colorado country where they thought I was. Someone actually drove the roads for an hour and found me at 9pm. I thought I was going to jail, lights and everyone were flashing, and then the officer says "have you called your parents lately". Can't believe that happened.

Just look at these guys. https://fieldprojects.org/primates, page may take a moment to load. Can't help but love the host animals.

Also, I love discovering new things. It doesn't happen very often, so when you find something, for example malaria infections, you get really excited and try to understand what it is doing there.

Recently we screened for tuberculosis and leishmaniasis, no real success there. We'll screen for leptospirosis this coming summer. These are all things that, even as a human, you don't want. If we don't find them, it's good thing. If we do find them, it's not necessarily a bad thing, we just need to establish if it is normal or not and what it means for the population. We have just been funded to establish a genetics lab in the jungle itself, so we'll screen for viruses on the spot when that is up and running next year, it will be called the Green Lab, first of its kind. Definitely enjoying the projects as they expand.

Are you talking about the AMA session or the monkey disease stuff?