Accidental Sabbatical.

Oh my lord.

Is anyone there? I wouldn't blame you for leaving, I have neglected this little baby for over a month! Shame on me! During my sabbatical I have experienced some things and learned to look at certain things another way, so I'll just take a moment to update yall and get back to chimping in a few days.

I was in my first car accident. I'm not talking a dented bumper or losing my keys; my sweet baby grandma car is dead. Totaled and dead, thanks to a large truck who decided to turn in front of me, while I was on my way home from work. It was actually pretty terrifying, if I'm being honest.  As soon as I realized what had happened, all of those terrible horror movie scenes came flying into my head, you know, where you see the car leaking fluid and a fire starting and all the doors are smashed and locked so whoever is in the car is about to blow up. Yeah, that happened. So, now my fiance and I have decided to be a one car family, for the time being. I have to say, it's pretty nice sharing a car. He has a motorcycle so I get to take the fancy car to work. so much swag yall, so much.

Anyway, inside my totaled car was my baby laptop, and the impact from the accident smashed the screen and it has also died. So, I have commandeered LFJ's laptop for the few times I need to use it, and not having any time to devote to this guy, I decided that NOW IS THE TIME. 

In dealing with the accident, and all of the paperwork, lawyer, blah blah that goes with it I've learned a lesson that has taken me 22 years to learn. A lesson I thought I already had down, understood. Life is on it's own timeline. Some humans (aka me) grow up thinking that we can control everything, we just choose what to control. I could control everything with my sheer will and pocketbook, but I only choose to focus on A.B and C, blah blah.  My planner is divided into 15 minute increments, I'm always minimum 30 minutes early to everything and I schedule my free time. I thought I had it down. Then BOOM, I get into an accident, I no longer have a car or mode of transportation to get me anywhere I need to go whenever I need to get there, and all of the sudden I am THANKFUL. yeah, thankful to have a huge inconvenience in my life. I woke up and realized that I was wasting so much of my life planning and not actually doing. Life is to be lived in the now, not in 10 minutes, not in 10 days, not in 10 years.The problem with humans is that we think we have time. (Buddha said that, am I right?) We save money because we want to go to blank in 10 years, but then 10 years rolls around and we are busy with something else and we put off our goals and dreams for another 10 years. And before we even know it, we are 97 getting ready to leave, re-living all the things we did and didn't do.  So in the matter of a month I got tickets to concerts I've wanted to go to, bought home organizational things I've been wanting, emailed people who I've always wanted to talk to about working with and quit jobs that I have been hating instead of complaining about them and taking each day as it comes, not planning for it. WHAT? 

disclaimer: I'm not like dropping all my money on Ikea furniture and exotic trips to Utah or anything, I am, after all, getting married soon and working on opening my own sanctuary so I'm keeping most of my money tucked away. But if we aren't having some fun every day, then what's the point?

No matter how much you plan, or how many details you square away you can still be on your way home and total your car. Although the paperwork, doctors appointments, PT and such is enough to make me want to hide in my room forever, I'm (in a very weird way) glad it happened. It probably sounds bat shit if you have never been in the situation before, but I promise I haven't lost it. Yet, anyway. :) Although I did register for a 5k and I don't even run to the dinner table so... maybe help?

SO: Here's to a summer of 
* using my actual camera more than my iphone.
* only doing things I want to do, and enjoy doing. 
* hiking everything on my "hike this shit" list. 
* more chimp time than ever before (and getting Jamie to like me.) 
* HAVING SOME GODDAMN FUN


So there it is. What I've been doing for the last month-ish. 
In the next few days I'll update about the sanctuary, and how I PASSED MY TESTS AND AM NOW OFFICIALLY A LEVEL 3 CAREGIVER IN TRAINING. 
(yeah, I'm pretty fucking pumped,) 

For the first time in a long time, I am so in love with my life and everyone/everything in it. 

I'll be back soon. I must sleep for I am exhausted. 
meowmeowmeow

-b

The upstairs corner window.

When cleaning the chimp areas, the chimps are moved into a different place, often with a meal, the doors are closed and locked and the humans are okay to enter and scrub. In a weird way, I like cleaning the chimp enclosures. I like seeing the nests and how they are made, what they do with the enrichment and how they choose to spend their time. I love finding where Foxie leaves her trolls, inside/on top of things. I also like to try to guess who's nest is who, which is sometimes easy if you've seen the chimps in one place earlier that morning (ie, Neggie is almost always under the east facing window wrapped in her blankets with just her face poking out.)

When we are cleaning the play room, on the second floor there is one window in particular that I could sit at all day just to observe everyone eating. It's a great view of the chimps chowing down, and sometimes someone happens to be sitting in the window on the other side eating breakfast. (I've only seen Missy there, and she is not used to me yet as she looked over her shoulder at me and continued eating.) I was lucky enough to get a few shots of the chimps while eating breakfast.

   This is miss Annie, waiting to get some breakfast. Where the grapefruit skin is sitting is where the chimps can sit.

The next two are Mr. B, enjoying some grapefruit. 

And of course, Negra. The oldest chimp at CSNW.

Because I am still training for Level 3, I have not gotten to interact much with the chimps one on one yet, so sitting at this window is often some of my favorite moments at the sanctuary. When I'm cleaning, the chimps can see me and know where I am, and they are often aware of where I am at all times. While they are eating, they are pretty focused on the food and I can sit at the window for a few minutes and observe how they interact with each other. 

I wish I had my phone with me while cleaning the greenhouse this day, because as we were cleaning Jamie popped up in the same window I usually observe from, and watched us clean the greenhouse. The best part about this was she had taken a scarf from the playroom and tied it around her neck, in a little knot, probably how your grandmother would tie a scarf on. I leaned over to caretaker Lisa and said "Look at Jamie, she looks so good in that scarf. Tied in a bow, like a classy, working woman would tie a scarf." 

Just because it was adorable, here is a troll doll for Foxie that someone sent to the sanctuary. 

SO CUTE RIGHT? Fox would have loved it! (We couldn't give Foxie this baby, as it was really squishy, and if they are too squishy Annie will eat them.) 

I'm continuing to read more and more about different chimps and different sanctuaries and I am never left any less motivated to open my own sanctuary to give as many chimps as I can a few final years of peace. Reading stories about chimps with PTSD, anxiety so bad they rip their own fingers and toes off when they are experiencing high stress, and the list goes on and on I assure you. Thus begins the process of writing grants, meeting with real estate agents and working my way to opening my first chimpanzee sanctuary. 

PHEW MOTIVATION. sometimes it just hits ya, am I right? 

so, if you are reading this and have a facebook, please like Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest and learn about my non-human primate family. <3

all the love, 
B

Jamie's approval, and PAPER DAY!

Oh my goodness, 

SO SORRY for falling off the wagon there, life got a little ahead of me there for a week and I am just now catching up! I've been trying to step away from the computer more as the weather gets better and I am able to spend more time in the garden, and for a second I forgot I had this wonderful blog! Shame on me as a 22 year old forgetting to write about MY adventures. lolz. 

Saying that nothing of note happened at the sanctuary is like saying "yeah I went to Paris the other day but I didn't do anything cool." What I mean to say is that SO MANY THINGS happened yesterday during my shift, but things that probably most of you won't think are really cool or noteworthy. TOO BAD you have to read about them anyway huh. 

Lets talk about Jamie for a hot second (blarg, I'm literally becoming my best friend.) 

 

 ugh, she is so freaking BEAUTIFUL. (photo by CSNW)

Anyway, if you've been reading this long, you will have already read that Jamie is the alpha of the group, the leader, and all of the humans at the sanctuary will agree she is the boss.  Before you serve lunch, before you play with another chimp you just ask Jamie if that's okay. (and trust me, she will let you know if it's not) 

The small interactions I have with Jamie are some of my favorites, because to me its like getting approval from el presidente. She is the big boss and if she doesn't throw poop at me, I am literally the most giddy person. Jamie loves boots and sometimes socks, so when I'm at the sanctuary I try to always wear different bright socks or different boots for her to look at. Normally Jamie ignores me completely (another reason her giving me any attention makes me feel like a puppy at the park) because I am not serving her food yet or able to interact with her she doesn't really know that I'm even there, unless I'm doing something wrong. On monday, I was doing laundry standing in the door way between the kitchen and the chimp house and she walked to the gate and started nodding at me. (This is a good sign, normally when we enter the chimp house and the chimps are looking at us we head nod as a sign of friendship, and we aren't here to cause trouble) So her doing that alone was awesome. I head nodded back and said a quiet hello and continued doing laundry. Moments later she bangs on the caging, sticks her two fingers through and shakes them, pointing at my boots. This is her way of asking to see them. I stick my leg out and show her my boots along with my brings flowery tights and head nod to her, to which she responds with a head nod and goes about her business. To me, this was James saying, "okay, your boots are pretty cool. You can stay." Which, makes me disgustingly happy. 

She also let me walk around the hill with her, which is a pretty big deal. She likes to walk the sides and run across the top, and I can almost hear her yelling at Missy who sprints by her "PUHLEASE we are NOT running until I say we are running." 

Mondays enrichment was "lots of paper" so we used rolls of butcher paper to cover the greenhouse and playroom. My favorite part of lots of paper is when the chimps use it and blankets to create a super nest. All of the noise of the rumbling paper is wonderful.

Above: Here is Missy and Annie playing and chasing each other around the playroom. 

Below: Jamie inspecting the paper and looking for some snacks! 

On another note, if you have any boots, old clothes or blankets you are trying to get rid of, please let me know! The chimps could always use new enrichment. I would be more than happy to take it off your hands and give it to the lovely chimps! 

Thank you to those who send kind email questions and things, I'll respond to some soon! That is all for now, soon an update on the amazing books I am reading and my adventures in grant writing, and laying groundwork for opening my first chimpanzee sanctuary. 

meowmeow

-B. 

Reassurance.

Reassurance is so interesting. I think, anyway. We can be so solid in our opinions up to 99% but sometimes just need someone to reassure us that we are correct, or are doing the right thing to actually believe it ourselves. Up until recently, I thought that this kind of emotion and anxiety was a homo sapien sapien attribute, specific to only us. At the sanctuary on Monday, I got a first hand lesson in chimp reassurance.

Although the sanctuary is not for studying the chimps, or for me to use the 7 as a basis for any of my theses; I do learn more there in a day than I ever think I could. The dynamics of these particular chimps are so different, each personality is so unique and I love nothing more than just observing their meals because watching them interact is amazing. I never go to the sanctuary with an idea of what will happen, because just like humans, the chimps choose what to do based on what's happening around them. They are in one area yes, but they hardly do the same exact thing every day. 

Everyone always seems to be so shocked that I drive to the sanctuary every week, because its in Cle Elum. Honestly, the drive is sometimes I little difficult (mostly because I think I have an untreated case of restless leg syndrome and the only radio stations that come in over there are country) But really, I would drive anywhere to work with those 7 chimps. I think that's a common feeling when you find your dream job. When you don't care where it is, or how long it takes to get there.  It's pretty beautiful. I like watching the sun come up over the mountains and getting to the sanctuary and watching the chimps gaze out the windows along side me. I like to think we are both admiring the beauty of the sunshine on the hills in Cle Elum.

ANYWAY, back to reassurance. 

In this particular group of chimps (and in many other chimps) the motion of poking, with one finger quickly in a chimps direction, is considered a threat. a) its a fast motion and chimps don't particularly like to be startled, much like us. and b) I think it has something to do with being in cages during their lifetime, constantly being poked and prodded is probably the most annoying thing. Probably like when babies become toddlers and get tired of adults calling us cute and pinching our cheeks. We reach and age where we get tired of it and finally say "OKAY STOP I'M A BIG GIRL NOW" or in my case, bite sometimes finger when they stick it in my face. whoops. 

So at the sanctuary, Lisa was serving the chimps lunch and one of the bags of chow got stuck in the caging, so she poked the bag through to pass it to Foxie. Jody was sitting right next to Foxie, saw Lisa poke the bag and immediately threatened Lisa, in this case with a vocalization to let her know that Lisa did something she didn't like. Normally, if a chimp threatens by vocalizing, the rest of the group will immediately respond with a vocalization and run to the chimp who started the calls and respond in whichever way is appropriate. After Jody vocalized, Jamie who was also sitting close, and is the alpha of the group, quickly grabbed Jody's face and pant-breathed on her nose, which is a gesture that says "hey, its cool don't panic she didn't mean to poke" Jamie was able to reassure Jody that everything was okay before the other chimps could respond with vocalizations. Jody immediately calmed down again and eating was resumed. 

This is a picture from Chimpanzee Santuary Northwest, from January of this year. Negra is open mouth kissing Jamie, which Jamie is allowing because she is giving reassurance. I have yet to find out the order of who gives the assurance first or who asks, sometimes Jamie gives reassurance without being asked, and sometimes the chimps ask Jamie. 

Open mouthed kissing and panting is a common way to reassure. 

Also at the sanctuary on monday, Missy gave reassurance to Jamie. Also at meal time, Missy and Jamie were sitting next to each other eating, and Missy moved quickly away to go inside, look for food, etc. Jamie snapped her head around so fast, hair standing on end about ready to vocalize and threaten Missy, probably for moving too quickly. Missy quickly offered her hand to Jamie's mouth, as if to say "woah hey sorry, didn't meant to scare you." Jamie accepted and Missy moved slowly away to inside. 

As far as I've seen reassurance happens most with Jamie, probably because she is the alpha of the group and everything needs to be run through her. Before eating foods, most chimps look to Jamie for reassurance so Jamie can okay them eating the food. Not asking for reassurance can lead to major disputes and fights in the group.

So, that's what happened on Monday. Lots of reassurance.Also, here is Burrito, the only male, looking out of the greenhouse.

Until next time! 

-B.

Infanticide in Primates AND TINA FEY of course.

Heavy topic right? Infanticide? Well, as odd as it sounds I'm super interested in it. 
And then everyone is like : 

Anyway, in searching for a thesis for undergrad and my masters, I am leaning towards primate parenting and how that relates to homo sapien sapien. Think about it, tool use has been done and done again, language use in the PNW has been pretty much exhausted and in a world where you are living up to Jane Goodall and Roger Fouts as your two biggest hero's, you have to do something that is different. So, in my quest for something that was different and something that I could stand behind and work with for the next many moons of my life, I somehow ended up on parenting. If you haven't, you should watch the movie "Chimpanzee."

It's a documentary about an small chimp named Oscar, who's mother is killed after a skirmish with a nearby group of chimps and is adopted by an unlikely elder, the alpha of the group Freddy. This may sound like nothing special to most people, but in the chimp world this is a rarity. Males are typically never parents. They are in charge of defending their territory which is usually a 24hour job, which means that they don't really play or spend time with any of the youngsters in a group. If an infant is left as a orphan, normally another mother in the group will take on the infant as her own, or in some cases the small chimp will be left to fend for itself, which usually results in death. In this movie, Freddy takes Oscar under his wing, helping him eat, letting him share his nest at night and letting him ride on his back, which is truly a feat in alpha male chimps. I sincerely hope you watch it. I spend most of the movie sobbing because it was so beautiful. 
JUDGE ME I DARE YOU.

After seeing this, I dove headfirst into the primate parenting world. The way families work within primates, specifically chimps is so interesting. So used to having a mother and a father do equal parenting, I love watching infant chimps with just their mothers and siblings. The birthing process is also so interesting. The way a female chimp separates from a group, has the baby and comes back with a newborn, bright and shiny pink chimp for the group to meet is so ridiculously beautiful. Often times when there are older siblings involved, they want to practice their mothering abilities on the newborn by carrying it around and playing with it. Many mothers hate this, but sooner or later when the infant is big enough, and annoying enough, this form of babysitting is often appreciated. 

Infanticide, or the intentional killing of a newborn/young infant is seen a lot in gorilla communities and orangutan communities, and few cases have been recorded in chimps. In most cases, the female that has had the infant loses her place in the hierarchy when she gives birth. When you have a newborn infant to take care of, the alpha males are focusing on female chimps who have reached sexual maturity and who are cycling. (which you can usually tell by a swollen pink butt) In Gorillas mothers have been known to leave their young babies behind, if they realize they are losing their spot in the group. In In the Shadow of Man by Jane Goodall the alpha female was Flo, and even though she had many kids, she never lost her ranking in the group until many years later, so there are some exceptions to the rule.

Here is Flo, her recognizable features included her large ears and her bulbous nose, which was speculated to be from some sort of fungal infection. 

So, from the standpoint of keeping your spot in the ranking of your group, I can see why infanticide would be a good option. Losing ranking is a big deal in all primate communities. So my question is, why is it more common in Gorillas and orangutans? Is there something in the evolutionary line that leaves gorillas and orangutans more likely to commit infanticide? Are hierarchy systems less important to chimps, so they wouldn't use infanticide as an option?  Are some primates who are more aggressive and trouble makers of the group more likely to kill their infant? What do repeat offenders have in common with each other? What are the specific differences between infanticide and a bushmeat killing?

These are the things that keep me up at night people. The struggle is real. Although my ultimate goal is to open sanctuaries for orphaned infants, chimps that have been in cages their whole life and the like, parenting in primates is an area I would also like to study. It's hard to narrow down one thing to study when you love the whole so much. 

In other news: 

-planning a wedding is hard, help. 

- theatre at night + early morning work= becky needs a 4 hour nap mid-day. 

-all I want is sunshine, amarula and to be back at Mahale. (a national park in Tanzania where most Japanese primate researchers conduct their research)

Back to the sanctuary on monday, so look for a new post with some more interactions with me and the chimps soon!

HUG/LOVE (signing to computer)

-b

No poop=good day!

WELL OKAY. so many updates about my shift at the sanctuary on Monday! I apologize for the lateness, the pass was quite slow getting home and I had to rush straight to rehearsal and I couldn't post any earlier than now!

This was my drive home, chains and then no chains and then traction tires required and I ended up stopping 4 time to put chains on and take them off again. Although, I am quite good at it now, and a trucker even said that I was the first woman in a pink coat he's ever seen putting chains on. Sexism aside, I was so clucking proud of myself, and I almost had him take a picture of me with my car all chained up. (because honestly I 'm not sure my dad thinks I did it at all.) :) 

ANYWHOOZER, so much snow in Cle Elum on Monday yall, the chimps went outside to get the food and ran right back inside until the next dish was being served. Except of course, Burrito, who loves food more than anything ever. 
As I've said before, I'm in training to be a level 3 caregiver, which means I will get to play with the chimps, serve meals and interact with them all! As a level 2 at the moment, I am allowed to enter enclosures to clean and such, but I am not allowed to play with the chimps. Its a process which has to be taken slowly, as I am a completely new personality being introduced to each chimp and I have to learn the ranks of the group and make sure everyone is comfortable with me, which again takes some time. 
Monday was pretty mellow, during the winter the chimps don't really like to be in the greenhouse because it is so cold, and them going outside is very rare, although Jamie does still like to walk around the hill sometimes. 

One of the things I do at the sanctuary is clean, which is actually kind of fun. Mostly because I get to look at the nests that the chimps make. Above is a Missy nest. Nothing about this particular nest says its Missy's, I just watched her make it. Sometimes when there are boots in a nest, we can hypothesize that its Jamies, or when there are Dora dolls or troll dolls in/around it, we can guess its  Foxies. Watching the chimps make their nest is one of my favorite things to observe. Its so similar to us getting ready for bed/nap time. A lot of the time, the chimps will push blankets through the caging and wrap them around themselves, so they are completely locked in. Once they are cozy, they do a few circles, much like a human would roll around in bed until they get comfortable and sleep. When I have to take the nests down to clean, often times they are stuck together as one circular object, the chimps really wrap and interweave them tight!

So monday, I had my first 1/2 hour of my hour of required guided observation for my level 3 training. This means that I sit with a staff member and observe the chimps, not interacting or anything, but just watching and listening to what the staff member tells me. I observed Jamie and Foxie, in two separate rooms but right next to each other. Katelyn, the staff member and level 3 caregiver was serving snow to the chimps. Jamie is the alpha, so we can do what she says is okay, meaning if she starts to display and vocalize when Katelyn is serving Foxie ice, then Katelyn stops and offers Jamie some. It's amazing the way Jamie has control over everything. We tell Jamie what we are doing and who we want to play with because she understands what we say, wholeheartedly. And if she doesn't like something, she will LET YOU KNOW. 

While observing Katelyn and Foxie play, (which was so heartwarming. They get a long so beautifully and pass the dolly in and out of the caging, Katelyn gives the dolly a kiss and passes it to Foxie who gives it a kiss and its so ridiculously precious. They both have play face on and bob their heads up and down to show they are playing and its so beautiful I couldn't even make it up if I tried.) Jamie was just watching me, and pointing at my boots because she LOVES boots, and everything was fine. 

Here is Jamie, being totally normal and not hazing me. Sorry for the quality, my phone is not the best. 

THEN: jamie walks over to the water, fills her cheeks and begins to shake the cage door hard. She was pilo erect (meaning all her hair was standing up on end) but not vocalizing. Katelyn, hearing her distress noises comes over to offer her more ice, thinking she is upset that Foxie is getting so much play time.

WRONG.

Jamie completely unloads her mouthful of water all over me, soaking my head and chest. After that, she looks at Katelyn, drops her bottom jaw (play face) and bounces up and down nodding. LAUGHING AT ME. laughing. I knew this was coming, Jamie is the first chimp to haze new caregivers. And even though I was soaked and being laughed at by my boss, I could not have been more happy. She noticed me. I was not just a fly on the wall, she saw me there and new I was training and has begun the hazing. Well, here we go James. One day, you will like me. and walk around the hill with me. 

No poop for me guys, she just soaked me. And trust me when I say, no poop is a good day. 

much love to yall. 

-b

Lets talk about chimps baby..

Alright, let me start off by apologizing for that hideous title. It was the only thing I could think of. (In case you have been living under a rock for the 80s, 90s and 00s its a reference to "Lets Talk about Sex" by Salt-n-Pepa.) HORRIBLY INAPPROPRIATE I KNOW but I couldn't for the life of me think of another title.

I got an email request to speak a little more in depth about apes and language use, as it is one of the staples of a being with a higher intelligence level. So, I'll let you in on what I know about.

Next of Kin by Roger Fouts is (in my opinion) the best book on chimpanzees and language use. While I do know of Koko, the gorilla who used sign language, I don't know as much as I do about the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute (CHCI) based in Ellensburg, WA. 

                    *BECAUSE IT ANNOYS ME: I feel the need to jump on a soap box for a moment and tell you that the book next of kin is based on Washoe, who was the first of the soon to be 5 chimpanzees who used sign language at CHCI. The chimpanzee on the cover of this book who is also permanently tattooed on my left arm, is not Washoe as many people believe. It is my sweet girl Moja. So, when you google Washoe sign language and you see that picture, now you will know that it is actually Moja.

This is Washoe. <3 

ANYWHOOZER:

 Washoe was adopted as a young chimp by the Gardners for their research to see if an ape could learn a human language. She was cross-fostered with the Gardners son, meaning she was raised along side him like a human child. She was the first non-human primate to learn a human language. THE FIRST. If that doesn't shock and amaze you, I don't know what will. 

well, probably lots of other things but whatever. 

Around 1980 Washoe moved to Ellensburg with the Fouts' to being the research with apes and human language. Later Moja, Tatu and Dar joined the family and all learned sign language and began speaking to each other and human caregivers. Washoe was the matriarch of the CHCI family, and her journey was truly a remarkable one. When Washoe lost her first baby, she was then given Loulis, to hopefully adopt as her own child.  Once she adopted him as her own, the researchers decided they would not sign in front of him to see if Washoe would teach him sign language on her own, without caregivers to aid. And as the story goes, Loulis was the first non-human primate to learn a human language from another non-human primate. AMAZING. 

What I enjoy most about the CHCI project (besides the fact that it was another huge first in primate research) is that the research is oriented around the chimps and not the other way around. The researchers and caregivers put the chimps needs first, and when the chimps don't want to sign anymore, the researchers are done for the day, instead of pushing and pushing the animal just to get results. The program at Central is the best in the country, and I can't even wait to participate and obtain a masters degree. 

If I wasn't so head-over-heels in love with conservation and evolutionary studies, non-human primate communication would be a very close second to study. I think communication across the animal kingdom is beautiful. Even though it sounds ridiculous, I think all animals can understand what I am saying, even my dumbass dog and snobby cat. I know the chimps can understand my words the same way I can understand their body language. Although Tatu and Loulis are the only two of the 5 chimps from CHCI remaining and have moved to Canada to live out their lives in a sanctuary, I am eternally grateful to everyone at CHCI for their work, the chimps for their amazing abilites and lessons and I will always remember meeting each of them at CHCI and signing about HUG/LOVE and SHOES. (and in Tatu's case BLACK, which was her favorite color and also the word she used for "cool" or anything she was super interested in.) 

Here is Tatu signing BLACK (index finger dragged over your brow) 

So, there is my bit of knowledge about the CHCI program. Beautiful things happened. Totally awesome.  

much HUG/LOVE (arms crossed in x over your chest) to all ya'll. 

-b