My dear Livejournal ( Read more... )

I keep meaning to post here more often, really, I do. But then I'll either have something else more urgent to attend to, or, as has been the case lately, I keep telling myself that I'll make some more substantial posts after I process some photos or write a travelogue about a recent trip. And it just so happens I'm behind in photo processing and ( Read more... )

As time goes on I find myself getting more and more involved in the work I do. I find my various jobs both incredibly interesting and incredibly rewarding. And, as I suspect is the case so often, the more I learn about what's going on around me the more involved I become ( Read more... )

I have evolved an interesting relationship with death. Too often, the patients I work with at The Marine Mammal Center die or are euthanized. You learn to keep some mental distance and not become attached to your patients, lest their deaths take an even greater toll on you; this must be how veterinarians, doctors, and nurses feel ( Read more... )

Ha ha ha! I was just looking back through some old journal entries and came across this, from 15 February 2005:

"I could change the focus of my studies and go for a B.S. in Zoology, and then work at the Zoo, the Steinhart Aquarium, or even the Marine Mammal Center."
Well, I did change my goal to a BS in Zoology, although I still have not yet ( Read more... )

Some days start out routine, but turn into very good, interesting days. Such was my yesterday ( Read more... )

Today at Cal Academy I used an AGA full-face intercom mask for the second time, the first time being last week. The full-face mask is much larger and bulkier than its scuba mask cousin, and comes with a learning curve. For starters, once it is in place your air supply must be on to allow you to breathe, even above water. Since the mask covers ( Read more... )

The hardest part about writing a journal entry after not having written for ages is: where to start? My life continues to be busy. I have several different jobs and responsibilities between The Marine Mammal Center and the California Academy of Sciences. I work not only on-site for those organizations, but with TMMC I find myself doing more and ( Read more... )

Last month, 1.5 years after applying and about 10 months after interviewing, I finally began diving in the Steinhart Aquarium at the California Academy of Sciences ( Read more... )

Hmm, it's been too long since I last posted here. I guess that's because I either haven't had much to say, or when I think of something to say then I haven't had time to sit down and write about it. I have been pretty vocal on Facebook, but that's only because it's easier to find twenty seconds to type a blurb than it is twenty minutes to type a ( Read more... )