I had a realization tonight. It was a year ago that I lost something very dear to me and thus began a year of intense change. It was my last year of college and I wasn't entirely sure what was going to happen in that year. A year ago tonight all I wanted to do was curl up into a ball and shut out the world. So right now, at this moment, I'm going to take stock of what's happened in the past year. This should be interesting.
1. Graduated from OSU. After four long demanding years I finally finished my degree and graduated on the honor roll. I kicked ass.
2. Wrote a neat little senior thesis. Something I never thought I would have the gumption to finish but I did it and I'm so proud of it.
3. Got a job. I'm pretty proud of this since this job kicks so much ass. I'm incredibly fortunate to have this opportunity and I'm taking advantage of all it has to offer.
4. Moved away from Oregon. Something that I didn't think I'd have the strength to do but I'm doing it and I"m missing home but am enjoying a new location.
5. Ran a 5k. I never thought I'd have the strength or the stamina to run a road race (even a short one) but I did it and I'm still running which makes me very happy.
6. Start my Divemaster training. This is a goal I've been wanting to attain for a long time (about 5 years) and now it's finally being worked on.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Son of a _!
Fill in the blank folks. I stepped on a cactus today. Thank goodness there were no serious injuries sustained. Just one pokey in my toe and a ton on the bottom of my flip flop that I had to pull out.
Funny thing that happened the other day, we had a baby sea lion wander into camp. He appeared very malnourished and was bleating for some kind of mother. So they called me to see if we could get him to eat something. And so I came up to cuddle with the little guy and see if he would eat from my hands. I named him Hermann and we got along quite well. He even followed me back down to the beach from the point that he had perched on for over an hour.
It's normal behavior for sea lions to haul out with their young especially when they're going off to go fishing for a day. And we would have left Hermann completely alone if he hadn't looked so obviously underfed. The poor little guy was nerfing on my arm looking for a nipple to feed off of but alas was unsuccessful. We left him under the canoes and he was gone the next morning so we're hoping that his mother came back for him and they were reunited.
I finally got my collection permit last week as well. It's good to know that we're legal in terms of permits now. Except that we still have to follow all those pesky rules regarding the collections themselves. But then again rule following is a good thing to be doing. Like tonight for instance my intern comes running up to me telling me that she was going on a boat trip (with who?) to collect any invertebrates that these folks would dredge up on their trip. When I told her she couldn't collect anything since we hadn't notified the department of fish and game 24 hours in advance she looked rather huffy (not to mention she didn't have a cooler or an air source for the stuff she did collect). I could tell she was pouty and pissy but who cares it's my ass on the line if we do anything illegal and DFG catches us. I'm certainly not going to put my credibility or my legal record on the line just so she can collect.
Funny thing that happened the other day, we had a baby sea lion wander into camp. He appeared very malnourished and was bleating for some kind of mother. So they called me to see if we could get him to eat something. And so I came up to cuddle with the little guy and see if he would eat from my hands. I named him Hermann and we got along quite well. He even followed me back down to the beach from the point that he had perched on for over an hour.
It's normal behavior for sea lions to haul out with their young especially when they're going off to go fishing for a day. And we would have left Hermann completely alone if he hadn't looked so obviously underfed. The poor little guy was nerfing on my arm looking for a nipple to feed off of but alas was unsuccessful. We left him under the canoes and he was gone the next morning so we're hoping that his mother came back for him and they were reunited.
I finally got my collection permit last week as well. It's good to know that we're legal in terms of permits now. Except that we still have to follow all those pesky rules regarding the collections themselves. But then again rule following is a good thing to be doing. Like tonight for instance my intern comes running up to me telling me that she was going on a boat trip (with who?) to collect any invertebrates that these folks would dredge up on their trip. When I told her she couldn't collect anything since we hadn't notified the department of fish and game 24 hours in advance she looked rather huffy (not to mention she didn't have a cooler or an air source for the stuff she did collect). I could tell she was pouty and pissy but who cares it's my ass on the line if we do anything illegal and DFG catches us. I'm certainly not going to put my credibility or my legal record on the line just so she can collect.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Life freight trains forward
Today is the first day of classes back up in Corvallis at OSU, and I am not there. I know that I graduated, I have the degree sitting at home, but it doesn't sink in until days like today when I feel like I should be back in school, because it's what I've been doing the last 16 years of my life. Going to school in the falls and taking classes until a break in June meant freedom once again. But here I am, sitting in my office of my job on my island not going back to school. Crazy. I love the feeling but I'm still getting used to it as well.
We had our first big rain storm over the weekend. Complete with lightening! We landed the Catalina Duchess on Friday afternoon bringing on 84 YMCA dads and daughters out for a weekend of fun and all we had to greet them was an awesome downpour and mud slides for hills. The roads were closed as well so it was the boats for us in terms of getting around. Good fun though. I woke up Friday morning to the rain and was so excited that I couldn't sleep anymore. I snuggled with our resident house cat and listened to the rain while reading Harry Potter. What a life. The rain really brought out the smell of the eucalyptus trees around camp too. That was awesome. And we all know how I love wearing my rain gear around. My feet got nice and muddy with the chacos and I busted out the skirt because pants would have gotten to dirty.
Go figure the girl from Oregon would be wearing a skirt and chacos when it rains.
We had our first big rain storm over the weekend. Complete with lightening! We landed the Catalina Duchess on Friday afternoon bringing on 84 YMCA dads and daughters out for a weekend of fun and all we had to greet them was an awesome downpour and mud slides for hills. The roads were closed as well so it was the boats for us in terms of getting around. Good fun though. I woke up Friday morning to the rain and was so excited that I couldn't sleep anymore. I snuggled with our resident house cat and listened to the rain while reading Harry Potter. What a life. The rain really brought out the smell of the eucalyptus trees around camp too. That was awesome. And we all know how I love wearing my rain gear around. My feet got nice and muddy with the chacos and I busted out the skirt because pants would have gotten to dirty.
Go figure the girl from Oregon would be wearing a skirt and chacos when it rains.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
"Nay, a way of life..."
Here at camp we play this little game known as 'no nose goes' or just 'nose goes' for some. It's a brilliant game and woe be to those who don't know how to play! Here are the official rules as are stated on the official website. Glorious!
Basic Overview:
If your friend says, "Well, someone should clean up this mess," and quickly puts his finger to his nose, you should too, as he is playing the popular game of "nose goes". The last person to touch the tip of his or her nose is the person does the outlined task.
"The Golden Rules"
1.The Nosegozer must present a topic which he believes is undesirable to the entire party. For example, even though people may enjoy seeing a dry-ice bomb go off, no one wants to be the one who caps it. This is a nose goes situation.
2.The maximum time limit for the activity is 30min for only the most extreme cases. the average nose goes may take 2 or 3 minutes to complete, if not less. An extreme case usually involves clean-up (ie. after a massive party or explosion of household appliances).
3.The task must be relevant to the entire nose goes group. If necessary, the nose goes group can be reduced in size to encompass only those that the task applies to. For the task to be considered relevant, it must satisfy the following conditions:
-Everyone in the group must be capable of performing the task. If someone does not have the equipment necessary or is physically incapable of performing a task, they are exempt.
-Everyone must have been similarly involved in the events that led up to the nose goes proposition. Although a person may longer be participating in the original conversation, if they are are still part of the larger group, they are still subject to the rules of nose goes.
4.The task must be something that everyone in the group wants to see happen.
5.The task cannot pose an unacceptable risk to your, nor anyone else's well-being.
6.No money or personal property can be taken without the owners consent through nose goes.
Basic Overview:
If your friend says, "Well, someone should clean up this mess," and quickly puts his finger to his nose, you should too, as he is playing the popular game of "nose goes". The last person to touch the tip of his or her nose is the person does the outlined task.
"The Golden Rules"
1.The Nosegozer must present a topic which he believes is undesirable to the entire party. For example, even though people may enjoy seeing a dry-ice bomb go off, no one wants to be the one who caps it. This is a nose goes situation.
2.The maximum time limit for the activity is 30min for only the most extreme cases. the average nose goes may take 2 or 3 minutes to complete, if not less. An extreme case usually involves clean-up (ie. after a massive party or explosion of household appliances).
3.The task must be relevant to the entire nose goes group. If necessary, the nose goes group can be reduced in size to encompass only those that the task applies to. For the task to be considered relevant, it must satisfy the following conditions:
-Everyone in the group must be capable of performing the task. If someone does not have the equipment necessary or is physically incapable of performing a task, they are exempt.
-Everyone must have been similarly involved in the events that led up to the nose goes proposition. Although a person may longer be participating in the original conversation, if they are are still part of the larger group, they are still subject to the rules of nose goes.
4.The task must be something that everyone in the group wants to see happen.
5.The task cannot pose an unacceptable risk to your, nor anyone else's well-being.
6.No money or personal property can be taken without the owners consent through nose goes.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Birthdays and other none sense
Well, I've passed another landmark in life. My birthday was on Monday and I've turned the big 23. Big for me because it's the moment that I've gone off of the health insurance I've had through my dad since, well, forever. But fear not! I do have medical insurance with my job which is amazing. It's nice to know that I don't have to worry about going to the hospital or doctor if I ever have the need.
I had a pretty good birthday this year. Being on the island meant I couldn't really have a party but we did go to the Isthmus and have a pretty good time which was awesome. Some drinking, dancing, and people watching never hurt anyone on their birthday. Also I got lots of messages from my friends, new and old, wishing me a happy birthday. That was especially nice to see.
This year I bought myself a new watch for my birthday. It's ridiculously nice and I'm really glad I bought it. It's kind of big, like a watch and a half but I still like it. Yay!
I had a pretty good birthday this year. Being on the island meant I couldn't really have a party but we did go to the Isthmus and have a pretty good time which was awesome. Some drinking, dancing, and people watching never hurt anyone on their birthday. Also I got lots of messages from my friends, new and old, wishing me a happy birthday. That was especially nice to see.
This year I bought myself a new watch for my birthday. It's ridiculously nice and I'm really glad I bought it. It's kind of big, like a watch and a half but I still like it. Yay!
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