Allowing myself to dream a little...

One of the goals of the marine center is to become a fully functioning research station for visiting graduate students. However, at the moment we just do not have the facilities that are conducive to doing good research. But, we do have the potential for good facilities. Which is the main difference. I was dreaming up a plan to update and remodel our plankton lab and then I got so excited I decided to draw a picture. And here it is.



I want to add in counter space, new cabinets, new compound microscopes, a data entry station, a freshwater wet table, and a bunsen bench to hook up to the gas spigot on the wall. Yeah. It's going to be a lot of work getting this approved and finding the money for it but I'm so going to get this done. Just wait.

"It's an eye brow crinkler...."

Just as a note, we on Catalina are safe from the fires that are plauging the mainland right now, despite there being a fire warning and no flare zone in effect at the moment. Despite that, our little island is enveloped in the smoke from the fires and it smells like the burns in the valley back in Oregon during the fall. Crazy that I would smell it down here, I didn't think it would happen. The sky is a strange color today, a beige really that goes all the way down to the water and has turned it that same color as well so it looks like we're floating in clouds. A surreal thing to be sure.

Buccaneer Days

The first weekend in October marks a special occasion out here at the Isthmus. Every year on that chosen weekend is an event called Buccaneer Days, and while it's origins may be shrouded in mystery (oh the mystery!) it's real purpose is simple. Dress up as a pirate and drink. Simple enough. But oh the results are so so much scarier than I could have ever imagined.

Ok so maybe scary is the wrong word to use here, but it really was "sin and debauchery" as John Meyers kept saying before we left the EB dock. The whole point of the weekend is to dress up like a pirate and get smashed. I did my best to dress up, but it didn't really work out so well considering that I don't have a wealth of piratey stuff at my immediate disposal, so I settled for being one of those people who only have assed put together a costume.

Big highlight of the evening, my friends Jenn and Josh from PISCO who are now working down island at Fox Landing for CIMI came up to the I for the festivities and we ran into each other. When Jenn saw me she ran full steam at me and jumped into my arms. I almost fell down but managed to stay up. And then we were both crying and hugging and laughing and it was amazing. I missed her so much!! And it was great to see Josh too after so long.

It was great to hang out with people too. At the end of the night I managed to not be out of control which I considered to be a very big accomplishment considering the amount of alcohol that was flowing around the Isthmus. Brad and I headed back to the Manta, the sea scout ship that he's a part of, where I was going to spend the night.

The Manta is a really incredible boat. I don't have many pictures of it because well I'm lazy like that but there will be plenty of opportunities to snap photos. We stayed up for awhile hanging out and laying on bench cusions on the deck looking at stars and enjoying the night. I really couldn't stop smiling (as was noted several times by Brad) and who can blame me? I get to live on this island and then I get to hang out on awesome boats and go to odd festivals that have no real purpose. Life is very good right now I do admit.

And just in closing, here's a few pictures of the morning on the Manta.

Unexpected niceties are the most satisfying I think

In the wake of the rain that drenched the island two weeks ago we've had a surge in little life around camp. It sounds very boring, but grass has started to grow in the campsites and on the hills and walkways. Maybe I've been living on the island to long when newly grown grass starts to seem very exciting but considering I'm learning how life goes down here it's neat to see a surge in green around. I have missed it since leaving Oregon.

And there's other pleasant surprises in the air these days. Sometimes it helps when others point them out to you because you haven't seen them yet on your own. Just a thought.

This is a short post, I just felt like I should write something new to get past what was written before.