Why not some anecdotes?

Sorry for such a long hiatus from posting. I've been bitter about most things to do with "Czech Ticks" lately. Mostly I'm just annoyed that I can't seem to find them, and since a crucial material for my project is ticks to feed, not having them is a bit of a problem. I've been going out whenever I can though, but I think the ticks know when I'm coming.. and hide. The last time I went out I got 1 tick. Everyone else got about 20. No one really needed all the males they collected (because who ever really needs males?) so they promised to each give me a few. Currently I'm running an experiment with the males, which is certainly better than nothing.

Also, we went to Vienna this past weekend and had a blast. We were only there for one night, but we made sure to enjoy as much of Vienna as we could for the short time we were there. We first went to the Prater, or the fair with Vienna's famous giant ferris wheel. We decided we didn't want to pay $12 to take a long slow trip on a ferris wheel that crammed 3o people into each of it's standing room only compartments. As we walked around (with our wine in to-go cups), we noticed a crazy looking swing ride. We turned to eachother and said "Let's do it!" It involved a lot of swinging from tall heights and after awhile quite a bit of flipping. In the middle the ride slows down, before the flipping part... Michelle started shouting at the control person to be let off, but I was just as adamant that she'd be fine. Thoroughly confused, the ride controller just kept the ride going. Warning: Michelle will probably deny this incident. We also saw a lot of neat architecture, history, and art, and ate about 4 falafels each.

Today we celebrated Libor's "Name Day," which is not a birthday, but rather a day dedicated to everyone with a particular name. These Czechs sure like finding excuses to celebrate. The best part was a homemade cake with a big frosting tick. It's nice to see that the pleasure in making obnoxious lab related cakes is shared across continents. We sipped on some pina coladas, rum included, and then went back upstairs to finish our work.

I think that sums up a lot of the important events from the last month.

For now, tak ahoj. Ciao!

P.S. I'd also like to say to everyone from the lab that Michelle and I are both really sad to hear about Jun's situation. A lot of people here complain about the difficulty in getting a US Visa, and this difficulty is now affecting our lab in quite a direct and tragic way.

Mexican Food!

Amy and I took a walk in the rain today to the "Tesco," which is the "big" grocery store here. I was on a mission to find tuna, black beans, and salsa--3 staples that I have had to live without thus far this summer. Luckily I did, and needless to say, I stocked up on some canned Mexican food things. My parents are traveling through Europe and Amy and I are looking forward to meeting up with them in Prague Sunday. They are going to come to Ceske Budejovice on Monday to see where I've been living this summer. I realized today that I actually miss seeing a cactus here and there! It was nice going on my Sunday morning hikes at the end of last semester. I never thought I would miss the desert. However, I do not miss the heat. Amy and I found a really big discotecca last Saturday that was pretty fun. We'll probably go there again this weekend.
- Michelle