The Good News Thread: I'm So Excited! And I Just Can't Hide It!

[Erandeni he/him]

9 minutes ago, Hood said:

Graduated.

Now I am officially an Electrical Engineer.

Congrats!

[A Budgie she/her]

7 hours ago, Hood said:

Graduated.

Now I am officially an Electrical Engineer.

Nice job!

[Orlion Blight he/him]

Tomorrow, I wake up early to drive to Quincy, Massachusetts for Readercon fun! Got clothes packed, cat set to be taken care of and toll money because I haaaate driving through Pennsylvania. I'm going to minimize time there and drive through New York State. 

And avoid crazy Connecticut drivers.

[Jedal he/him]

1 hour ago, Orlion On a Cob said:

Tomorrow, I wake up early to drive to Quincy, Massachusetts for Readercon fun! Got clothes packed, cat set to be taken care of and toll money because I haaaate driving through Pennsylvania. I'm going to minimize time there and drive through New York State. 

And avoid crazy Connecticut drivers.

Another CT native?

[Steeldancer he/him]

First day on the job today... I mean yesterday lol. And at the 2nd best place to work according to Fortune: Wegmans, our local (and fantastic) grocery store. And I bet I couldn't get a first job at Google. 

[Hood he/him]

On 11/07/2017 at 4:21 PM, Idealistic Mistborn said:

Congrats!

 

22 hours ago, A Budgie said:

Nice job!

Thank you.

 

[Delightful]

On 7 July 2017 at 8:00 PM, Slowswift said:

I don't think I can recommend Spiderman: Homecoming enough. Honestly. Got to go see it after work yesterday, and it was one of the most enjoyable theater things I'd seen in quite a while.

I still haven't seen GotG 2......darn money.  Wanna though. 

[Jondesu he/him]

I’m finally home to stay for a while. Three weeks at the Mayo Clinic after two weeks at a clinic in Michigan was a lot of time away from home, even with a couple weeks between those.

[Orlion Blight he/him]

Made it to Boston without crashing! Now, to crash! Zzzzz...

[Sunbird she/her]

I'm going on a group birding field trip tomorrow  

[Flynn]

[Sunbird she/her]

Birding field trip was very successful! Still working on sorting through my photos, but here are two nice ones of a White-crowned Sparrow who posed cooperatively:

Spoiler

Update: I've now sorted through all my photos and will put the best ones up in a new post tomorrow.

Edited July 17, 2017 by Sunbird

[Sunbird she/her]

Ok, photos from Saturday!

Nesting Tree Swallows (2 photos):

Spoiler

Papa swallow visiting the nest to feed hungry babies:

Baby swallow peeking out of the nest-hole:

Closeup of a cluster of teeny white flowers:

Spoiler

Dusky Flycatcher:

Spoiler

He's nothing spectacular to look at, but I had never seen one before, so I'm happy I saw him and got a clear, identifiable photo, even if it won't win any awards.

(Side note: Certain birds in the flycatcher family are notoriously difficult to identify, so getting a photo good enough for ID is a more significant accomplishment than you might think. XD)

Some type of small rodent, I think a ground squirrel:

Spoiler

There were lots of these little guys scurrying around the parking lot of the first spot we stopped to look for birds.

Trout in the shallows of a lake:

Spoiler

Cassin's Finch:

Spoiler

This little guy sure was singing happily. I was very happy too because I'd never seen a Cassin's Finch before.

Milbert's Tortoiseshell butterfly (2 photos):

Spoiler

It's unfortunate that this butterfly didn't pose for a photo with wings spread, because the top side of the wings was much prettier than the underside... Here's a photo from Google to demonstrate:

Waterfall sparkling in the sunlight (2 photos):

Spoiler

A wider view of the same waterfall:

 

[AngelEy3 he/him]

@Sunbird great birbs today! I especially enjoyed the waterfall. 

[Sunbird she/her]

@AngelEy3 Thanks! There were more great birbs than I got photos of, but I can't get mad about it after having so much fun seeing and hearing them. I love that waterfall too. It's a popular hiking/tourist spot--I have another photo where you can see a bunch of people at the bottom.

Gives you a better idea of how tall the waterfall is.

[AngelEy3 he/him]

@Sunbird If you don't mind my asking, where is that waterfall? 

We're trying to plan a road trip for next summer that I've been making notes of locations for, and I'm interested in possibly being able to see it in person. 

Edited July 18, 2017 by AngelEy3

[Sunbird she/her]

4 minutes ago, AngelEy3 said:

@Sunbird If you don't mind my asking, where is that waterfall? 

We're trying to plan a road trip for next summer that I've been making notes of locations for, and I'm interested in possibly being able to see it in person. 

I don't mind at all! (I kinda threw caution to the wind when I posted the photos with my first and last name watermarked on them. ) It's called Bridal Veil Falls in Provo Canyon, Provo, Utah. There are lots of beautiful parks in Provo Canyon! My other photos from Saturday were taken in Wasatch National Forest, which is an hour or two's drive away from Bridal Veil, depending on how deep into the forest you venture.

[AngelEy3 he/him]

@Sunbird Cool! That might actually work out for our trip. Hadn't been planning on Utah, but we were already going as far west as Missoula before heading SE to Colorado. Being so close already, it'll be hard not to attempt a stop. 

Edited July 18, 2017 by AngelEy3

[Silverblade5 he/him]

37 minutes ago, AngelEy3 said:

@Sunbird Cool! That might actually work out for our trip. Hadn't been planning on Utah, but we were already going as far west as Missoula before heading SE to Colorado. Being so close already, it'll be hard not to attempt a stop. 

Where in CO? We might be able to meet up.

[AngelEy3 he/him]

4 minutes ago, Silverblade5 said:

Where in CO? We might be able to meet up.

Not entirely sure yet, Pike's peak is on the list for certain, and my dad is planning on moving to the Pueblo area when he retires in 2 years. So we'll probably do a little scouting down there as well. That and the direction we'll be traveling (roughly SE across the state) should open up a pretty decent swath of land for a potential meeting I think

[Silverblade5 he/him]

31 minutes ago, AngelEy3 said:

Not entirely sure yet, Pike's peak is on the list for certain, and my dad is planning on moving to the Pueblo area when he retires in 2 years. So we'll probably do a little scouting down there as well. That and the direction we'll be traveling (roughly SE across the state) should open up a pretty decent swath of land for a potential meeting I think

Pueblo? That area has a bit of a bad rep. Where the majority of our crime and homelessness is according to a coworker who used to live there.  Shoot me a pm if you find yourself in the Littleton area. 

Edited July 18, 2017 by Silverblade5

[Delightful]

8 hours ago, Sunbird said:

Ok, photos from Saturday!

Nesting Tree Swallows (2 photos):

  Hide contents

Papa swallow visiting the nest to feed hungry babies:

Baby swallow peeking out of the nest-hole:

Closeup of a cluster of teeny white flowers:

  Hide contents

Dusky Flycatcher:

  Reveal hidden contents

He's nothing spectacular to look at, but I had never seen one before, so I'm happy I saw him and got a clear, identifiable photo, even if it won't win any awards.

(Side note: Certain birds in the flycatcher family are notoriously difficult to identify, so getting a photo good enough for ID is a more significant accomplishment than you might think. XD)

Some type of small rodent, I think a ground squirrel:

  Reveal hidden contents

There were lots of these little guys scurrying around the parking lot of the first spot we stopped to look for birds.

Trout in the shallows of a lake:

  Hide contents

Cassin's Finch:

  Reveal hidden contents

This little guy sure was singing happily. I was very happy too because I'd never seen a Cassin's Finch before.

Milbert's Tortoiseshell butterfly (2 photos):

  Hide contents

It's unfortunate that this butterfly didn't pose for a photo with wings spread, because the top side of the wings was much prettier than the underside... Here's a photo from Google to demonstrate:

Waterfall sparkling in the sunlight (2 photos):

  Hide contents

A wider view of the same waterfall:

 

Maybe I just haven't been paying attention in the past, but these pictures are particularly pretty today.  

[Calderis he/him]

The Broker came through, and I should find out later today if I close tomorrow or Thursday. 

I'm more excited at this point about the stressful part being over than I am about the house itself, but hooray to both. 

[Ammanas]

8 hours ago, AngelEy3 said:

Not entirely sure yet, Pike's peak is on the list for certain, and my dad is planning on moving to the Pueblo area when he retires in 2 years. So we'll probably do a little scouting down there as well. That and the direction we'll be traveling (roughly SE across the state) should open up a pretty decent swath of land for a potential meeting I think

If you go to Pikes Peak be sure to take the train up. Unless you are a adrenaline junkie, and if thats the case, you can drive up the mountain; I have never done it but I have made a similar drive of narrow roads, limited visibility, and the lane ends (on the side) with a straight drop off a cliff.

[AngelEy3 he/him]

@Ammanas Oh we'll be taking the train. Unless I gain access to stormlight by then.