01/20/2024

Antarctica and Black Widows

Hello everyone! I'm sorry for the late update. I've been slammed with grad school per usual but there are some exciting developments! A friend at work gifted me a black widow. I held it for a little bit before placing it into a habitat. These spiders, while venomous, are docile and only bite if they feel threatened. Despite their reputation, black widows are not that deadly and the last death from a black widow bite was in the 80s. Only .5% of people bitten require treatment. The adrenaline rush was still incredible and I'm happy to now say that I've handled the most venomous spider in North America.

As for career stuff, I found out that my advisor knows people in antarctica and I've been considering doing a stint there. It would be the better part of a year in isolation outside of phone calls and email. You get the Antarctica Service Medal from the Department of Defense and I'm certain its a life changing experience, but I am concerned that it would put stress on my relationships. I'm also hoping to go out to sea on a research cruise at some point. This would be another life changing experience and would hopefully be less of a commitment than Antarctica.

I'm still playing Baten Kaitos but school has slowed me down. I'm adding Paper Mario inspired games to my steam wishlist in the meantime and my play some Bugsnax on stream. I also went to the local sake brewery and tried some delicious sake. I ended up buying a few bottle, two of which I'm saving for my poly coming up in March. We're also doing a Mammoth Cave tour when they come up and I'm super hyped for that. I guess I need to try some mountaineering and rock climbing in the meantime to round out my adventuring skill set.