Me, the 10-year-old Zoologist

When I was 10, I wanted to be either a Zoologist or a Wildlife Photographer.

I was mad about animals. Oh, the amount of books I had. The amount of books I still have. I have always found that stuff fascinating. It isn’t where I am now, but hey, my journey is far from over.

I actually got close. I have a Bachelor of Science Degree, with a double major in Zoology and Conservation Ecology. So, I have the relevant qualifications for one part of my childhood dream.

These days I am studying Professional Writing and Editing. Hey, if I end up writing Zoological books, the 10-year-old me will love me forever.

At the moment though, the closest I get to my childhood dream is visiting the Zoo. Here’s a few recent pics…

Poor Tasmanian Devil. He looks a bit mopey today. Don’t you just want to give him a cuddle?

Two little squirrel monkeys playing together. Well, that’s decidedly cute!

Spider monkey in the midst of a staring contest. Spoiler: He wins this one.

Meerkat on watch. You can never be too careful.

Mr Gorilla is tired. Someone throw him a pillow.

 

All photos here are by me, That EJ.

In response to – Daily Prompt: When you were 10, what did you want to be when you grew up? What are you now? Are the two connected?

Advertisement

Wonderful Team Member Readership Award

I have been gifted another award! I am so grateful, and I am absolutely chuffed at the idea that people are getting something out of reading my blog. That is the greatest of feelings. Even if it is just a little smile, or a reminder that there are crazier people than you; I am ecstatic that anything at all may be taken away by each reader. So thank you all incredibly much for that.

Also, another big THANKS to Michaela of the mmmmm family for a second award. What generosity! If somehow, you have not read her sensational blog, I strongly recommend you do. There are some of the sweetest stories there. It is a very heart-warming blog, and so fantastically delivered.

Now the rules of this award are:

1. The nominee of The Wonderful Team Member Readership Award shall display the logo on his/her blog.
2. The Nominee shall nominate 14 readers they appreciate over a period of 7 days, all at once or little by little; linking to their blogs; and telling them about it at their blogs.
3. The nominee shall name his/her Wonderful Team Member Readership Award nominees on a post  during 7 days.

As Michaela noted on the mmmmm family, thankfully there are no ‘interesting facts’ to be listed for this award. Lucky me. My head can’t take all the ‘me’ talk. Speaking of which, I promise a real post after this!

Okay, so I shall nominate two people a day for this Wonderful Team Member Readership Award. Two per post, one post a day, for a week. That could work. I prefer that to one big slab of folks. There’s no rush. I’ve got nowhere to be.

So now, allow me to nominate my first Wonderful Team Member Readership Award receiver. I choose, the undeniably amazing, Meka and her blog Love Mekanism.

Meka is absolutely lovely. She is an incredible writer and she has a fantastic collection of stories and poetry on her site that is so enjoyable to ponder. This award conjures thoughts of an Avengers-like team of blogging superheroes, and Meka is certainly someone I would want to have on my blogging team. She is a bonafide genius! And a fantastic team player. A lot of her blog promotes creative collaboration, and I love the idea.

My second pick for this rag-tag team of blogging phenoms is of course, the incomparable suzie81 of suzie81’s Blog. Suzie is a blogging machine! She churns out undeniably brilliant post after post, and I don’t for the life of me know how. I struggle to come up with a good post once a day even with the writing prompts and challenges, and somehow Suzie posts frequently and so consistently perfectly. That should have been my jealousy post the other day. How dare you have endless good ideas! I absolutely adore her blog, and again, she is a fantastic community member in this blogosphere and any superhero blogging team would be naught without her.

Again thank you to Michaela for the award, and I shall post a couple more award nominees tomorrow! Thanks again for reading folks!

Best Moment Award… For meeee?

Another award?? Am I being Punk’d? Did someone lose a bet? Has there been a ‘poor bloggers’ charity initiated by kind do-gooders?

Well, a massive THANK YOU to the magnificent Jolene over at Valley Girl Gone Country for nominating me for the Best Moment Award. Isn’t she nice? The answer is ‘yes’!

If you are not aware of Valley Girl Gone Country, you should click that link, because, well, her blog is fascinating. And there’s a reason she keeps getting nominated for awards!

The Rules for the Best Moment Award are :

1. Display the award logo (check)

2. Link back to the person who nominated you (check)

3. State 7 things about yourself (Again? There aren’t that many things!)

4. Nominate 10-15 other bloggers for this award. (My pleasure. I won’t do 15 though, ’cause it’s 3 am and I want to sort through them all.)

Okay then, 7 things about me…

1. I could eat forever. Seriously. I’m a bottomless pit.

2. I consider myself a somewhat film buff. It’s always been a hobby. My film library is decent, though I have tapered off in recent times due to dwindling funds.

3. If I could play one sport it would be ice hockey. I love it. It’s easily my favourite sport. But, I cannot ice-skate. Well, not well. Certainly not well enough to play. I always say I should learn. And… I should… one day. I’d play as the goalie.

4. When I was younger I’d fantasize about being a screenwriter for film. I’ve always loved writing, and I guess it ties that in with #2. I have lots of amateur screenplays on various computers I’ve written. I suppose I still fantasize about it. That would be a dream.

5. I have two younger brothers. One 9 years younger than me, the other 2 and a half years younger. Yeah, lucky mum, raising three boys.

6. I also have a half-sister. She’s a great kid. 18 years younger than me.

7. I’m struggling for interesting facts. I don’t find myself that interesting. I hate talking about myself for the most part. I suppose that’s a fact. I really don’t get the hype any time there is any. And that’s not a modesty thing. It’s just a genuine disinterest. I guess that’s a flaw, but that’s cool. We gotta have flaws. I’m much more interested in other people. Always have been.

And now, the 10 bloggers I nominate for The Best Moment Award…

1. alienorajt

2. the drunken cyclist

3. The Girl Who Blogs

4. Escaping Elegance

5. Ned’s Blog

6. suzie81’s Blog

7. Beats of Pieces

8. Lakshani Suranga

9. spicedfox

10. scottishmomus

11. Awakening to Your Story

12. the mmmmm family

Sorry to those I left out because I didn’t get to 15. I’m falling asleep and I was hoping to post more before I did so. Fear not, I shall mention all you brilliant bloggers in due course. There are so many wonderful personalities in the blogosphere, and I absolutely love you all. Thanks for being magnificent!