New Job/ New Blog/ HAPPINESS.

"Find yourself and be that." 

"Change is hard at first, messy in the middle and gorgeous at the end." 

"I'm gonna make the rest of my life the best of my life." 

and an infinite amount of other pretty words about change. 

I've been gone for a while I guess. The last post says 11/17/15. Whoops.  There have been quite a few changes in my little world for the first 6 months of 2016 and I'm finally at a place where I can talk about all of them. HUZZAH. 

Summer solstice has arrived and I feel like I'm finally my element! Lars and I are both summer babies and it's our favorite season- for the warmth (of course) and camping season. The amount of travelling and activities we jam into the 4 months of good weather is almost physically impossible, but we've got some to make up for since last summer was the #jorgensenwedding2015 and lord we barely made it out of there alive. (Literally and physically. Thank you for all the views and comments on the blog about the wedding- that post was especially hard to write and even read sometimes.) 

I'm realizing now that "quite a few changes" is actually really just "a huge career shift" but after it's all said and done it felt like a snake shedding it's skin 6 times back to back. Awkward, possibly painful but so unbelievably necessary. Sometimes you have to strip yourself completely to get to the core of YOU, your being, and figure out exactly what you want. I'm finally realizing that what you want is a concept that's always shifting. I used to think that everyone had one specific goal or destination in life and you get on one path to that place.  Now, thankfully, I see that you can get off the path whenever you want or need. You can make a new path. You can CHANGE YOUR MIND.  and it's OKAY. Some people have been aware of that for years, and I envy you. 

Knowledge is power though right? 
Now I have the power. LOOK OUT. 

First and foremost, I left Forever 21. Which to be honest, was difficult because in a weird way I loved that job. Yes; it was a minimum wage customer service job with a ton of high school/ early college folks who had lots of drama but I made a few good friends who made the job a fun place to be. My OCD loved organizing clothes, making things look good, helping people find outfits for work or special occasions and other things of that sort. I took a job I just couldn't pass up- as an animal caregiver that was my new first priority and had to walk away from one of my two jobs. (and, at the exact same time a new district manager was hired for Forever 21 and was putting rules in place like "No visible tattoos" and "Normal hair cut and color" which made my skin crawl.) 

So, for a few minutes there, I was working 3 jobs at one time. Forever 21, Tin Umbrella Coffee and Pasado's Safe Haven. 

Without disclosing too much boring and unnecessary rambling. I'll just say that I work at Pasado's Safe Haven as a Animal Caregiver full time and that is my only job and I am completely and sincerely over the moon happy with what I am doing now. 

To be honest, I was doing too much and was completely burnt out. I had a job I've wanted my whole life and a job I was doing to pay the bills and I had to make a tough decision. I had to be respectful to MYSELF and those who were counting on me. I couldn't work 80+ hours a week anymore, I had to truly dedicate myself to my passion and let go of things I couldn't fix or give enough time to. After a certain amount of time of trying, we all have to walk away at some point right? Working yourself to the bone benefits no one. A hard lesson to learn for a workaholic like myself. 

I took a substantial decrease in pay, and I have never been more happy with a job in my entire life. 

Even on hard days when it's pouring rain and I'm out in a pasture with no escape from it. 

Even on days when I've been on my feet for 10+ hours running around lifting things, moving things and catching heavy animals. 

Even on days when I leave the house at 645am and get home at 930pm. 

Even on days when I slept for 2 hours and my alarm goes off at 4:30am. I spring out of bed like I slept for 12. 

and THAT is how you know you are living your dream. When all of those things are happening and you still can't wait to go to work. 

It's the first time in my 24 years of life that I have truthfully only had one job, and as weird as it is it's definitely necessary. Pasados is hard work, long days and physically demanding as much as mentally demanding- and it's a dream job that I can finally say is MINEEEEEE! 

Now, this blog is about chimp friends and farm friends. Two sides of the coin, it feels like on some days.  Thus, "Chimpin' Around the Farm" seems like a good new blog title for my ramblings here. 

Please visit pasadosafehaven.org for more about what we do, and some fun upcoming events. Or come visit me at work and snuggle some animals! 

The Cle Elum 7 are all still living the dream and I see them a little less but still close to every week, and it's still my favorite place in Washington State. I'll have more photos and accounts of days with them as well. (Including an art show in August! If I ever start the paintings, because even though I've been doing it a while it still intimidates me to look at a blank canvas.) New interactions, (like Jamie chimp laughing at me and GIVING ME A KISS for the first time since I've known her) and other such things, to come! 


I spent (entirely too much) on a new fancy camera and have been taking photos of literally everything, but mostly my farm friends and chimp friends and I can't wait to share them on this outlet. Here are some photos from June I took at CSNW:

Foxie: 

 Jamie: 

 Lars got this shot of me serving Missy some lunch (Negra seated to my left.) 

Lars and the kids and I are doing great, just adjusting to a new work schedule and what that looks like for seeing each other, and seeing all the animals at work and at home. I'm so happy to say that now that I have only 1 job and 3 days weekends, Lars and I actually get to spend some time together, REAL time for the first time in years. We can go places and take real vacations and it's very strange.

Like 2 weeks ago when we went to Victoria BC for my favorite woman in the whole world to do her IronmanTri! 

 There are probably even more changes in the future, and I can't wait to see what happens! Here are just a few photos from Pasado's: 

Banjo dog and I: 

 Clarence and Jesus: 

Rainier: 

 My favorite animal on Pasado's property: Norman. <3 

I am so exicted to be back and blogging about my adventures, with new better photo skills and a list of amazing trips this summer/fall. 

Stay Tuned! 
b 

Hibernation & Heated Floors

Smelly Mel aka Mel aka Melvin (my jeep) is back, and successfully got me to the chimps on Sunday and Monday! Praise whatever deity helped me out with that one! Phew. 

Sunday and Monday had a recurring theme at the chimp house- hibernation. Even though the pass is becoming a treacherous part of the journey and the temperature continues to fall in Cle Elum, the chimps have a warm living space, including heating in the concrete floors of their play areas. Honestly, I was playing with Foxie in one of the front rooms and we were both laying on the floor with our feet in the air each holding a troll doll- and I was pretty damn comfortable. Lars can attest, I find sleeping on floors very comfortable. Some days I do prefer to nap on the floor with just a blanket over me rather than my bed. But, with the heated floors in the chimp house, I really could have just taken a nap right there with Foxie. 

(photo stolen from CSNW's blog)

While Foxie may look uncomfortable on the floor in the picture above, I can tell you from experience, it's pretty darn warm. 

What you can't see in this photo is Jamie in a HUGE pile of blankets, and to anyone who didn't know these chimps it would look like Foxie was cast out of the welcome circle and Jamie sent her out there with no blankets. 

With the weather like it is, the chimps spend most of the day sleeping- and who can blame them! It's so warm in the chimp house that all you want to do is grab a few blankets and get some shut eye. Jamie took me for one walk, actually a run. She was asking for walks all day but as soon as I would get a boot on and go meet her in the door to the hill she would take one step outside, feel the wind and rain sprinkles and go right back inside. She looked so frustrated everytime- all she wanted to do was take a stroll but the weather was not ideal. Finally she got the nerve to go, and we ran around the entire hill. She didn't want to be out in the cold any longer than she had to. 

In days of hibernation it's really hard to spend any quality time with anyone. Most of the chimps are out of sight in a huge pile of blankets. Sunday I grabbed the Ipad to see if Jamie wanted to play her favorite mouse catching game- where a mouse runs across the screen and you have to tap it with your finger to make it squeak and eventually kill it. I didn't see Jamie at first so I turned on the animal sounds app for Foxie. Fox doesn't really want to play the games as much as she just tries to grab the ipad from you. She will nod her head like she wants to play the game or paint on it but then she will just stick her fingers as far through the caging as she can trying to grab a corner of it to wiggle it out of your hands. She does- however- love the animal sounds app. Exactly like it sounds, it shows a picture of an animal and when you click on the photo the sound the animal makes comes out. Foxie was very excited by the chimp noise- running around and even did a backflip. Jamie heard the commotion and came down to see- and wanted to play the mouse game. So we squished the mouse a few times, she groomed my boots and watched me brush my hair. Then she went back into her bed. 

Even B was out of sight, except for a few moments of play where he came down to stomp at me and kiss my hand. Like a true gentleman. :)

In other news:

With all of the commotion and money spending in October I decided to look for another job. Now, let me say, because I know you all are thinking it, I am a busy person. BUT I'm not so delusional that I can't tell when I have too much on my plate. During my senior year at PLU I over committed myself beyond belief and I will never be that busy ever again- but a silver lining to that time in my life when I was crying almost everyday is that I found my maximum. I learned how much was too much, and I am no where near that level of stress, I promise. There are a lot of things in my life right now that cost money, and in order to keep doing the things I want I need to have a little more cushion that the 0.00 I'm working with now. I applied at Forever 21, and was hired on the spot. I'm oddly excited to be working with clothes, as most of you know, I am obsessed with shopping and fashion, and it's going to be the perfect thing for my OCD organizing tendencies. So, I'm looking forward to seeing how this goes. 

Big dreams mean hard work. And if I have to sacrifice sleep to live in Africa and open a sanctuary then I will. 10000x over, I'll do it. 

Jasper is doing better, Raleigh is back to his normal bubbly self and Queen Butters is going in for a check up- things are looking up! Lars and I continue to purge and get rid of unnecessary things in the house, and it's looking emptier and emptier every day.  We acutally had a day off together and went out to a real restaurant (without a drive thru) and relaxed. Which, for the two of us and our schedules, is quite a feat. My next project is making our annual holiday cards. Never a dull moment around here. 

Shamless Plug: the 2016 CSNW calendars are here! Order one, they are wonderful. Learn about my 7 favorite non-humans and share the gift with others! My dad always looks forward to getting his calendar. 

That's all for now. With black friday approaching, please remember CSNW on Give Big Tuesday. (or for christmas gifts check out their wish list!)

<3

-b

October: The month that tried to push me over the edge.

And just like that, I've missed a month. I am sincerely not a fan of trying to blog one month at a time- too much happens to try to shove it all into one post, but here we are. 

I'd like to write briefly about giving life the middle finger. 

Now, I usually don't like to blog with an angry undertone, I feel it's better for writing in a journal and personal venting space but this past month has been arguably one of the most stressful in recent years. Yes, I'm including wedding month in that, you know- that major life event I had to move to a new location less than 9 hours before it started. 

On my way home from visiting my 7 favorite chimpanzees on Monday October 12th, I had been on I-90 for a whopping 5 minutes before my car made a loud clunk noise and began shaking almost uncontrollably. I lost most acceleration and could go a maximum speed of 40 MPH, on a road where most people are doing 75 mph- lets just say I didn't make a lot of new friends on the ride home that day. 

It would still drive- so I toddled on home. I took it to a Midas about mile from my house- for fear it wouldn't get any farther than that and dropped it off in the hopes that it would be back to me the next day. This was on Thursday October 15th. 

Midas calls on Monday to inform me that they have no idea what is wrong. They checked all the things they could think to check- I needed to take it to the Jeep dealership because it was a problem specific to a Jeep. So, after 4 days I still was in no hope of getting my car back. I took it to the Jeep dealership (luckily only another mile down the street) where after a day they said I needed a new computer-the current computer was no longer communicating with anything in the car. So, they ordered a new one but it's on back order. Could be 2-4 weeks. And with my luck, it was 4 weeks. The part was just delivered today, November 10th and I will *hopefully* have the car back tomorrow. At this point, the $1000+ bill is whatever- I'm just overjoyed to be able to get it back. 

During all this, Lars and I played musical cars with his car, his motorcycle, many uber trips and begging people to give us rides places. My husband is undoubtedly the sweetest and most understanding human I've ever known. I hate mooching. I despise being reliant on other people to lend me things and I felt and still feel horrible for borrowing Lars' car so often. Of course, classic Lars, was more than happy to help and doesn't mind being chauffeured around while I use the car. The straw that broke the camels back was yesterday when Lars planned to ride his motorcycle to work. He needed to be there early so he got up with plenty of time, got all his gear on, only to discover that his bike wouldn't start. After trying to troubleshoot, he called an uber- a last minute attempt to be on time. After 20 minutes of waiting his driver calls to tell him to cancel the trip and request a new one- he's been pulled over. And I'm at work thinking "Whoops. I have Lars' car. This wouldn't have been such a day if he just had the car!" So, wishful thinking that tomorrow I get my sweet Melvin back and our life is a little less hectic. 

In the end of October, Raleigh went into the vet to get looked at- he had a rash that had been only getting worse throughout October and was turning into scabs. The vet set him up with an antibiotic and a steroid for the rash- nothing too major. The real kicker was his teeth. He has 2-3 teeth that are in bad shape, and possibly need to be removed. Just a teeth cleaning- $800+. A teeth cleaning + 2 removals-$1200+. Great. And because I always want my animals to be in the best health possible, I scheduled it. Today he'll be going under and hopefully will come back with most of his teeth. 

Jasper is next. I came home from work to find his left eye swollen shut, watery and bright red when he could open it. It's 1pm on a Saturday, so I have to take him to the emergency vet ($$$) but the fun part is that Lars is in Olympia at rehearsal with our only car. So, Jas and I wait not so patiently for Lars to get home. Around 4:30 I take him to the vet and we wait in the emergency waiting room. We wait. We get bumped for a dog that needed attention right away. We wait. I search desperately for snacks. Nothing. We wait. We get bumped again for another emergency situation. We finally get into a room and a doctor sees Jas and immediately says pink eye. He's also got a corneal ulcer on his eye. He also might have a respiratory infection. We get the drops for his eye and leave. I arrive home at 8:30pm. The emergency vet is 15 minutes from our house. I spend $$$ on Jasper, and we get a cone. 

Until Jasper, I have never seen another animal so incapable of living in a cone. He thrashed around relentlessly trying to get it off. Ran into everything he could possibly run into. He has no idea how to eat with it, drink with it, and could only sleep if I pushed a blanket or pillow underneath his head, like the photo above. 

Follow up with our regular vet led to a diagnoses of kitty herpes. Yeah, that's real. Not on their sexual organs or anything, but Jasper has a viral infection that is a lot like herpes- meaning he will have outbreaks of being sick his entire life. His version of being sick is getting eye infections, ear infections and constant sneezing. The vet assured me it's typical in some cats, but I can expect outbreaks every few months. aka $$$. Which I don't mind, because I love that little shithead so much. 

Princess Butters' health remains unknown, because I didn't have enough money to take her in for a check up- the boys and all their problems took priority. *eyeroll* Boys, amirite. 

So, in short: Life is sucking all the money I have and I'm fighting like a little salmon swimming upstream, just trying to hold it all together. So, life, I'd like to offer you my middle finger. 

As thankful as I am for everything good in my life, I see someone is trying to test me here. And all I have to say is GOOD TRY BUT NOT TODAY. Sometimes, you have to just give life the middle finger. Haven't we already talked about my resiliency and strength? Good. Someone upstairs is vastly underestimating my ability to make sure my family has everything they need. 

In the background of all that noise: We are still in the process of suing our caterer, I got a second job working nights, I'll hopefully be headed to Thailand for a few weeks next year, my pink hair has finally faded into the color I wanted and we are preparing for the holiday madness. 

We did our annual holiday photo shoot with Mara and as usual she got some of my favorite pictures of us. I can't wait to get our Christmas cards and updates out! 

More updates on chimping in a few days- now that I have a car to go see them. :) 

B

An Excited Jamie & Pasado's Safe Haven

Most days when I get to the chimp house for the afternoon (as in I wasn't there first thing in the morning at 9am, I get there at 1230) Jamie is ready for a walk. Mostly because she knows that I will drop almost anything to go for a stroll with her, and after the morning when everyone is cleaning and can't go for a walk yet, she is beyond ready to get outside. 

I arrived at the chimp house on Monday around 11am, as I was picking up produce for the chimps in Seattle, and I came inside to say a quick hello to everyone. It's one of my favorite times in the chimp house; saying hello/good morning to the chimps because over the years you see reactions change. When I was first starting level 3 training, Jamie hardly cared that I was in her area. None of the other chimps even looked in my direction. Now, Jody offers me her swelling, Missy asks for a knuckle rub, Neg even gives me a head nod. It's those small things that I cherish more than anything. 

The only one inside on Monday was Neg, all bundled in her usual window spot. I went outside to check out the green house and there was a "dogpile" (for lack of a better term) of chimps. All hanging out and grooming each other. "Hey dude!" I say to Burrito as he comes stomping my direction. 

"Hi Ja-" I try to squeeze out a good morning to the boss and before I can even get her whole name out of my mouth she swings from the window ledge she was sitting in over to the platform and runs-pilo haired- to the door that allows the chimps access to Young's Hill and runs out, stomping and softly "whooo-oooo" ing a me. I know she wants to go for a walk, but I am initially confused. Walking with Jamie often comes with a series of shoe changes as I try to figure out which boots she wants me to wear. On this particular Monday, Jamie was so excited to go on a walk she didn't even need me to wear a special pair of boots- the ones I had on were fine. 

It's a pretty heartwarming moment, when the boss is so excited to see you and go for a walk that she just runs with full speed out to the outdoor enclosure, and stomps at you to hurry up! All in all we went for 3 strolls around the hill, one time with Bub. 

After all that walking, Jamie took a little rest on the platform in the greenhouse. 

Sunday I had the privilege to visit Pasado's Safe Haven. A 85 acre sanctuary in Monroe, WA home to cows, pigs, goats, cats and various other animals native to the PNW. We got to make vegan pancakes and decorate them for the pigs who reside there. 

Here are what the pancakes looked like as we were decorating them.

Here is Wilbur enjoying his plate:

Lars made a friend in Charlie Pig. 

We met a pig named Splash; who got her name by breaking free of a home not fit for her and swimming across a river to a neighbors house to freedom. She is quite a character- she likes to take rocks in her mouth and sort them. Spitting out the ones that are too sharp or not flat enough and saving the ones she likes in her sleeping area. She doesn't eat them, her mouth is just a rock tumbler, and it's pretty amazing. 

It was definitely a culture shock compared to caring for chimpanzees. The enclosures and safety protocols are quite different, and being in the actual living space with the animal was a little weird! I constantly felt like I was breaking a rule, but hey: we got to pet some pretty cute pigs! It was such a good experience, I would recommend a tour to anyone who is interested. It's always nice to see people doing good things for animals, and how hard people work to make lives more comfortable. 

Saturday I am excited to report that I am starting my CSNW tattoo collage; where each chimp at CSNW will be represented and carried with me forever. I can't wait for Eddy to work his magic again, and to show pictures. Who's the first chimp? Jamie you think? You would think that- but alas, it's not true! You shall see! 

-b

On Crying in the Chimp House:

It is a secret to literally no one that my love for chimps trumps my love for anything else. From my tattoos to my shirts to my body language when I'm talking about being around the chimps, it's clear that primates and in particular the CSNW chimpanzees are some of my favorite beings on this planet. 

It's this passion that makes it hard to be objective at times. Jane Goodall was often criticized, and probably still is, for her work in Gombe because she gave all of the chimps she met names and not numbers like most scientists do when they are researching animals. I'm not even going to deny my struggle in being an objective data collector and seeing animals as friends. I take solace in the fact that Jane shuts nearly everyone down, and also that I am not in the field gathering data. At the chimp house I'm merely a small piece of the puzzle there to make the chimps as happy as I can. My involvement with the hierarchy is minimal, as in I am always the lowest on the hierarchy and when a fight happens in the chimp house I am on no ones side. When fights break out in the Jorgensen House, I can tell Jasper to "be nice!" or "Don't hit your brother!" and he will scamper off. In the chimp house, I have no say in telling anyone to be nice to anyone. I'm a guest in their space, and they need to work out their problems as they see fit. It's a very important part of being a caregiver. Everyone is equal, even if in a fight everyone is mad a Burrito. 

JB captured and dissected a fight between the chimps: (one of my favorite blogs!)  http://www.chimpsanctuarynw.org/blog/2014/09/conflict-and-reconciliation/

Thursday, a fight broke out in the chimp house. This is a typical thing. Regular, but not a frequent event. Living with the same 7 individuals is hard, and sometimes you have a disagreement. Sometimes someone gets hurt, and we have to monitor that; but the chimps always work it out. In a few minutes or in a few days-the disagreement is always solved. However, it doesn't make it any less easy to witness when it happens right in front of you. 

Thursday was a pretty high arousal day. Everyone was a little on edge, and usually that means walking on pins and needles with Jamie. As a preventative action and to make Jamie as happy as I could, I went on a walk with her whenever she asked. Which was a total of 3 perimeter walks in an hour. Pretty good time, for us. In a pre-dinner moment of positive reinforcement training (PRT) a fight broke out. It all happened so fast, and even though it was right in front of my face I still don't know how it started. Before I knew it everyone was yelling at each other, swinging their arms, hitting each other and running all over the chimp house. All of the humans just stood by and watched, to try to get an idea of who was yelling at who, if anyone was hurt, etc. 

I realized in a brief moment I had one hand over my mouth and one hand over my heart, fighting back a visceral reaction of trying not to cry. It's the first time during a fight I felt the need to do so.  Watching your dearest friends fight in such a manner is one of the most difficult parts of spending time at CSNW. Yes, empirically I understand that chimps fight. They solve their disagreements in the way they know how, and although it would be less hard for all of them if they had the opportunity to live in a social group in the wild where they belong, they still manage to fight and make up in a matter of moments. And I genuinely had an ache in my gut watching it happen. Now I know how mom's feel when their kid is in a fight with their best friend. All you want to say is "Hug it out and lets get over it!" But there is always a chunk of disagreements we don't understand. Humans butting into issues and places we don't belong is one of the biggest issues with animal welfare today, in my opinion. (I'm still of the belief that humans aren't actually the most intelligent beings on the planet, but whatever.)

Soon it was quiet. Everyone had come down from their moment of yelling and running and we surveyed as best we could. Some cuts on a foot, nothing overwhelmingly bad. When the fight resolves, we continue on. The chimps begin grooming each other as a small step in making sure everyone is okay from the scuffle. 

Mostly I am filled with so much love and respect for the chimps. When Jamie lets me brush her hair, when Missy asks for a knuckle rub, when Annie grooms my feet, etc. But there are moments like when fights break out, and my tiny black heart just wants everyone to hug it out and be okay. Some hugs do happen, but on their own time. Ain't no one about to tell miss Negra she has to do anything. :) 

Until next time-
b

The Jamie Selfie:

I interrupt your normal daily schedule so you may gaze upon the beauty of my boss, Jamie Chimpanzee. 

This obviously isn't a true Jamie selfie, as she isn't holding my phone. I turned on the front facing camera for her to look at herself and snapped a photo while she was checking herself out. I asked "Jamie is that you?" and she nodded yes. I said "Dang girl, you are beautiful!" and she nodded again. Of course I am. I'm Jamie Chimpanzee! 

Monday at the chimp house, Jamie was in a pretty good mood. Which is a exhale of relief to most, because when Jamie's in a bad mood it's kind of hard to do basic things like serve a meal or clean the enclosures. Like when we are feeling stubborn or unwilling to do things, it's on her time and if she doesn't want to leave an area so the humans can enter, then that's just how it is. No forcing anyone, we just wait. Jamie was in a good mood, the morning was cold but when the sun came out it warmed everything up quite nicely. Jamie and I took 3 walks around the hill, taking our time as she foraged for left over breakfast she might have missed. It was a very nice day. 

I step into the chimp area to grab a laundry basket and Foxy comes running full speed towards me, which she literally never does, and climbs to the top of the caging to throw her troll down to me through a opening. I laugh and say "Fox are you running to me?!?!" Foxie and I are friends, yes, but she's not really "overjoyed" to play a game of troll toss with me. Not yet anyway. So, as she hurdled towards me, I couldn't help but be so excited, because these are rare interactions! She threw me her doll, we danced and spun around a few times and then Missy came to the caging and asked for some grooming. I gave Foxie back her doll and groomed Missy briefly before she reached her hand out to the window on the opposite wall. Gesturing to her one true love, Tomatoes. 

Missy is not so secretly infatuated with tomatoes,specifically the tomatoes that grow in the garden right outside of the chimp house; and similar to my love for pickles... WE JUST HAVE TO HAVE THEM. Missy didn't want any grooming at all, she wanted me to know that there were ripe tomatoes out there and I needed to go pick them right away. So I grabbed a bowl and obliged my tomato loving friend and stumbled upon a huge heap of tomatoes. I was approved to give everyone a couple, and Missy could not possibly be more excited. When Missy is aware that tomatoes are on the menu or soon to be in her belly, she food grunts and head nods so fervently that I'm always shocked her head doesn't just pop right off her body. Normally, when serving food, the chimps will stay where they are and I will rotate between them with food. Missy loves tomatoes so much that she will literally follow me from chimp to chimp, squeezing in between people, just to make sure she can get as many as physically possible. Probably why chimp ID is so important; if you didn't know all the individuals, you could wind up giving Missy 7x the regular amount of tomatoes! (Which, obviously, she would love.) 

Below is a picture Lars took of me serving dinner to the chimps. Left-Right: Burrito, Foxie. 

 Serving Foxie some celery.

On Monday Staff Caregiver aka my mom aka Elizabeth and I almost died. And by that I mean, we didn't even come close, but there was a moment of sheer terror. As I already said, Jamie was in a walking mood. She had already taken me on 3 walks around the hill and just before I was getting ready to leave she wanted to go on another one with Elizabeth, and I was needed to attend that one as well. Just like all the other walks that day, it was painfully slow. Jamie would disappear into the bushes to forage for more food, and when we would lose sight of her we would stop our walk. Continuing on without her is not appreciated by the boss, as she likes to lead. (Example: the 1 or 2 times I've "lost" Jamie on the hill was when she disappeared into the bushes and I just stopped walking and waited where I was for her. She would show up as a small black dot on the other side of the hill, realize I was still back on the other side, run towards me while threat barking as if to say "OMG COME ON." Another time, she was way ahead of me on the hill and she would stomp and threat bark until I caught up to her. Never have I left her in the dust.) No complaining on the pace here, it was a wonderfully warm day and I didn't mind sitting in the sun at all. But it was a little lengthy. After waiting probably 10 minutes Elizabeth and I continue on, assuming she is making her way to the other side. We get to the other side, and no sign of her. We cant see her anywhere on the hill, so we assume she is inside already. Got bored of us and left us behind (classic Jamie move). We get to the bottom of the hill, preparing to go inside and I turn around to say some thing to Elizabeth and I say "oh my gosh, look." Elizabeth turns around and who do we see barreling towards us from the top of the hill: JAMIE FRICKEN CHIMPANZEE. Hair standing on end, running full speed toward us. "Is this the last thing we see before we die?" We jokingly say as we yell to Jamie "OH MY GOSH WE ARE SO SORRY LADY! WE THOUGHT YOU WERE INSIDE!" She runs full speed all the way down the hill and directly inside, where we must go see her and take our *figurative* punishment. 

Shockingly, once inside, she's not sharpening a stick to spear us with. She wants to groom some boots, so we oblige and again shower her with apologies. Good thing the Queen is *sometimes* merciful, am I RIGHT? 

Jamie is tough. Stubborn. Sometimes a little cranky. But I take a lot of life tips from her, and her problem solving abilities. She's a tough cookie, but good lord is she the most confident being I've ever known? Yes. Always. 

-b

Secret Friends aren't so secret anymore!

It's impossible to have a "favorite" chimp at CSNW. Everyone has their own personality and parts of me get along with each chimp in a different way. For instance, Jamie loves walking and going on as many walks as she can squeeze out of me throughout the day. With Jody, I'm lucky if she gives me a morning greeting- the rest of the day she couldn't be bothered. 

Despite the no favorites rule, I can't help but be extra sensitive/aware of my relationship with Annie. Not to sound all hippie/spiritual/the universe is watching me-ish but there is something about Annie that I just connect with on a inner emotional level. I love all the chimps with all my being but I feel like Annie and I have this unspoken agreement, involving our secret friendship. I know, weird. I also feel this way about my sweet princess Butters. I love all my furry kids, but Butters and I have an understanding. Example: during the day when the dog is out and her new cat brother is casing her/ demanding all my attention she pretty much keeps to herself. She loves climbing to the upper most corner of the closet and spending most of the day asleep. In the evening and early mornings when I'm the only one awake, she will paw at the bathroom door until I let her in, demand some petting and then just sit with me in there. She just enjoys being near me, not touching me all the time like Jasper must be doing. 
I feel like Annie and I have a similar story, when others aren't around or demanding I take a walk, we get to have a few moments together. No, it's not always interacting with each other on a physical level. Most of the time it's just being near each other, which is often my favorite time. 

As many of you know, Jamie loves shoes and feet. She often likes to groom my feet/shoes after we walk. Yesterday after a two in row trip around the hill, we went into the greenhouse to inspect my boots and eventually feet. In a happy and unexpected turn of events, Annie sat down next to Jamie, and as soon as she saw my foot, was all too happy to grab a tool and do some grooming herself. (as you can see in this video)

This is awesome and unexpected because a) Annie is wanting to groom me in front of another chimp, which HARDLY EVER HAPPENS. b) Jamie is being *SUPER* cool about it. Sometimes, Jamie gets frustrated when you are interacting with her and you try to interact with someone else. Examples include threat barking, and the good ol' fashioned poop throw. So, when I offered Annie my foot to groom, I asked Jamie first if it was okay. We took turns, which is a very important fact to note. 

Despite my keeping it *relatively* cool, I was jumping up and down when I got home. "LARS GUESS WHAT HAPPENED TODAY" screaming as soon as I walked in the door. It's moments like that I feel like Lars is in love with me and also scared of me. 

and of course, here is the boss lady getting the sock lint from between my toes. We do not negotiate with dirt. 

So, a pretty exciting day! So happy that Annie and I are creating more of a bond, and Jamie is okay with it. 

In the Jorgensen home: another huge goodwill haul in prep for Tanzania living. I love getting rid of shit we don't need! It's such a liberating feeling. I recommend everyone do it. AND WE ARE STILL GOING! Still finding things/talking myself into getting rid of things, oh man. It's a never ending cycle I tell you. The idea that the bigger home you have the more shit you fill it with is actually, frighteningly true. 

Getting rid of things and earmarking certain items for storage and must go with us is very scary. I'm 100% excited and in love with the idea of living in east Africa, and I'm also 100% sad to leave some of the wonderful people I've met here. The human need for change but our hesitation to it would be a great thesis, if anyone is bored and wants to look into that. I'll take those findings, PUHLEASE. 

Going to the fair this week, Lars and I have a shift at the chimp house on saturday, and our kids are continuing the tradition of keeping us up until 2am scratching themselves, chasing each other and being loud in general. 

Loving every second though. <3

B