Glacier Bay National Park

Back from the wilds of the backcountry in Glacier Bay National Park, a wonderful 7 days of kayaking where we saw, no one else for an entire week (unless you count two sets of kayaks seen from a distance), it was bliss. We saw humpbacks, (maybe) orcas, sealions, seals, otters and more birds than you can shake a stick at. No bears or moose, which is a little sad, I was hoping, but nothing but bear and moose poop to show for it.

Each campsite was amazing in it's own right, the first on an unnamed island in the Beardsleys left us with humpacks feeding at night and playing in the morning, alongside seals and otters playing in the kelp. The second and third night were out at Leland Island, beautiful views of the beartrack mountains and a crazy creature roaring into the night, the forth night was on Sturgess Island, stunning little bay with a perfect beach fire and campsite tucked into the trees. The fifth night was in Beartrack cove where we were met with bear and wolf tracks and scat, and the sixth and final night was on Kidney Island, where we saw the first signs of moose, but none of the elusive creatures up close.

Unfortunately upon returning to civilization, I had my camera stolen from the lodge. I should clarify, not my camera, the departments fancy SLR camera I had been loaned to run the work blogs with. Ug. I stupidly left it under the table at dinner, didn't realise until after the $15 cab back home, but assured it had been handed in decided we'd just go and pick it up in the AM when going down there anyway, by which time it had "disappeared". Many convoluted and changing stories from the lodge staff (the final one being that the guy behind the desk gave it to someone who said it was theirs), the nicest park service police, and yet no camera returned. I feel stupid for leaving it, but angry that it seems like someone from the lodge has pocketed it, even more so that it sounds like this isn't the first time things have disappeared from that lodge and that it happens rather regularly. I'm also responsible for it, so that's going to be a big chunk of change I don't have.

Most of all, i'm sad because I lost all my photos from that week. I had some great ones too, I took one of each campsite we had, some beautiful bird, otter and seal shots, and some of the great vistas of Glacier Bay National Park I was going to use here and on the work blog. Stian luckily had a camera too, but as I was snapping away, he didn't take so many. Humanity just makes me sad a lot of the time, maybe before I leave someone will do the right thing and the camera might reappear. Then again I could also grow another head between now and then too.

Here are some of Stian's photos - thanks Stian for letting me use them!

You couldn't go far without a little nose sticking up to watch you - this is a sealion, but seals and otters did this too. They were our little friends throughout the kayak trip.

Humpack fluking as we pack the kayak from our first nights campsite. 

The preferred mode of transport, certainly in my world.

Three little oystercatchers sitting on a wall...

We counted over a dozen bald eagles one day, it was fabulous! 

The perfect view in my opinion, looking up the bay towards the West Arm. I loved the views in the rain and the shine, and we saw both! We couldn't have asked for better weather in reality, we're in the wet month and only got rained out on one day, and got sun burned on two! 

Mmmmm, Airport breakfast...

I'm off!

It's 11pm and i'm up at 4am to get on a plane - yay! Everything is packed away and even in the car, as it's way too early in the AM to be lugging two giant bags down the stairs. I should do that more often, stops me last minute re-arranging....:0)

So i'm off to do two of my favorite things - camping and science - and even combine those two for a few days. I'm really excited, relieved, and happy the time has finally got here. Glacier Bay National Park here I come! Don't forget to tune into my science blog (link on the right), that's where i'll be posting photos (look under Glacier Bay National Park Corals link), i'll try and check in here sometimes too, internet is going to be pretty sporadic, so no promises until I get back!

Packing

Well, I didn't get my run in today, but I did do a whole bunch of unpacking, tidying and repacking. So despite there being a period in the day when my little Grodnick did look tidy, it now looks like a storage locker, again. Ah well. 

Packing for 3 trips is proving hard (don't panic Stian, not all of this is coming with us in the kayak!), especially as there is a really tight weight limit on the planes. As far as Juneau i'm okay (2 bags, 50lbs each - i'll have a bag ~45lbs and a box ~40lbs to leave in Juneau). From Juneau to Glacier Bay National Park i'm going to end up paying extra (50lbs total limit - and i'm picking up equipment in Juneau to take over), which I knew anyway, but I was hoping I might be able to pare it down to a little less. The plane is a small 6 person passenger plane, so there are strict weight limits - and I think when my computer and hand luggage is taken into account i'm going to be at that 50lbs, and then have to pay extra for the equipment i'm picking up, which will probably be another 40lbs, and might not come on the same plane.

Packing for this kind of trip is hard, you don't want to carry too much, but you don't want to take too little. It could be pretty wet and cold (today it's 53F and raining), so having dry and warmer clothes is going to make the difference between happy and miserable. It could also be super warm (in the week it was 74F and sunny), so you also want shorts and sleeveless. I also have paddling clothes that are comfortable, so i'd always rather take those rather than risk renting something not as comfortable. And it's also my vacation, and the first ten days off i've had in over a year and a half (since I visited the UK when Lucy was born). So I want those couple of bottles of wine (we'll get those there), and the chocolate, and my travel pillow.  

And a sad realization. This might be my last trip for my Keens, they are really showing their wear and tear (treads are flat, the webbing has rough spots). I don't know if i'm just having an emotional day or what, but this has me really quite sad. It could be because they're not cheap to replace, but it could also be that these Keens have taken me places. They are 6 years old, have done too many hikes around New Hampshire and Maine to count, Yellowstone, Isle Royale, Yosemite, the Alta Via 1 in Italy, New Zealand, the 19 mile hike around the giant with Carney, Kim and kids in packs, all over Hawaii (the red mud there is from the SEA cruise, hiking through the lava fields) and thats not even counting the daily wear they had in MA and occasionally here.

So they've certainly been worth the $90 (as with most things I doodled over getting them for a good few months because of the cost, and they were not that common then either), they've certainly put in the miles to be worth replacing. Or maybe they'll last one more trip after this.......

Fruits of my labor....

Looks like my first crop of papayas (the rest have all blown off in the wind!) are all going to be ready right around the time I fly to Alaska...typical...! 

Happy Weekend!

Another busy one for me this weekend, but i'm hoping to get mostly packed and ready for the off on Thursday!

Article

Great article in the New York Times today about being happier with less possessions. Strikes a chord in my little 300sq ft apartment. Hopefully i'll take habits i've learnt here with me to Maine...

Updating Online Expeditions

I've been updating my lab blogs - they're finally going live! Getting ready for the two projects i'm heading out on in 10 days! Yikes that came around quickly....

Glacier Bay National Park - 28th Aug - 2nd Sept - Stian and I head to Glacier Bay National Park to use a drop camera and CTD (Conductivity (for salinity of the water), Temperature & Depth sensor) to investigate a few areas for cold water corals. This expedition is really a taster, checking out the park, meeting the Park Service people and working out logistics for hopefully more expeditions to come in the future.

Alaskan Fjord Coral Reproduction - 3rd Sept - 11th Sept -  I head out with folks from NOAA Juneau on a expedition to tag 30 Red Tree Corals by SCUBA to look at their reproduction throughout the year. This is the first of 5 cruises, and likely the only one that I will actually go on.

And of course, before any of that, a hopefully glorious and much needed break, kayaking around Glacier Bay National Park, camping on the shores of the Beardslee Islands, watching the whales and bears and sea otters go by. Who knows, maybe i'll even get to read a book.

I'll try and update here as much as possible, once back from kayaking the lab blog will be my priority, as those go to program officers to look at and hopefully give me money to keep doing what i'm doing....:0) So this is just a heads up, it'll be a bit sporadic from here, but hopefully some spectacular pictures to come. I leave next week. Better keep writing the proposal i'm doodling over.......

Some Stats

82.08 hours running
12lbs of fat burned
Ran 0.02% around the world
1062 TVs powered
227.90 donuts burned

One year

Wow, it's been one year since I started logging my miles using my Nike +. I think this little $50 device has been the biggest confidence booster for me. It's instant gratification. I come back from my run, plug it into my computer, see how i've done and share how i've done. And it keeps a track so I can say things like - i've run 397 miles in a year, awesome! In reality, as I know there are a few non-logged miles, I have really run over 400 miles in a year, really really awesome. Considering I hadn't run 1 mile a year just 1.5 years ago.

So a quick update while i'm blogging here. It's been hectic, still is hectic and i'm sick. It's always when I can least afford it that I get sick, so i'm going all out there and saying 'Ass'. Some stomach & snot monster combo going on, I actually stayed home on tuesday. Some things that have happened in the last week -

- In terms of proposal submissions, I am now at the University of Maine, all transferred over, and man they have a WAY easier system to deal with than Hawaii
- One proposal is 75% there, one is 50% there
- I have another short proposal to write before I go, to try and get some postdoc funding for a grad student here
- Due to the s**t Hawaii system I still have not been paid back for my travel to Iceland, so am just about at the end of my tether. It took everything for me not to shout at our awful secretary this morning. My displeasure was noted however
- I did get my Advanced Open Water card today, yay
- Since monday i've received 379 emails, written 128, probably spent an entire day on work related phone or skype calls
- My grad student moved over to another faculty in Hawaii (she hasn't arrived here yet, she starts this fall semester), she didn't want to come to Maine, and at this point I didn't really want her to come to Maine, so it's worked out well for all. I'm deciding whether to move that money over to a postdoc or hire a grad student.
- One paper accepted, another sneaking closer to review.....closer....
- Worked out my finances and if I take 75% salary (for contrast i'm on 66% right now) I have just over a year of time in Maine. This makes me feel good, i've been worried.
- It looks like I might have a fight on my hands for some of my equipment. I'm getting ready.

So some ups and downs. 2 weeks today until I head to Alaska. Still a ton to do.....

Hope you've all had a good week!

Advanced Open Water - Check!

Yesterday I finished my Advanced Open Water diving certificate, the last bit of paper I need to be able to dive in Alaska - woo hoo! I'm going to admit though, I do NOT recommend the outfit I did it with (Island Divers). They weren't the cheapest so I had in my head that maybe that would mean they were good, they were certainly nice, but yesterdays dives were somewhat of a farce. This really sums up my thoughts that you really learn to dive by diving, and don't worry Dad, i'm only diving with people who are waaaaay more experienced than me for a long while to come. 

To get your advanced open water you have to do a series of 5 dives that each have new skills to learn and practice. You do a written knowledge review that is marked and gone through with you too. The dives I did last week were just like that, the instructor was awesome and thorough, and she made me work for those two dives, which I really appreciated - I learnt stuff! Those two dives were bouyancy control and navigation, and i'm so glad I did those two with her. Yesterdays were deep, wreck and drift dives, and the "instructor" not only did not do ANY skills with us, but didn't really dive with us (3 of us) either, he was off in his own world taking photos and at one point knelt on an urchin and ended up with a good handful of spines in his knee that I helped him pull out. Not only that but he wasn't interested in the written part either and actually told one girl (who he'd had for her two other dives too) that she didn't need to do them. I had done mine, gave them to him, and hope they end up in my folder from last week. 

It was really bad. The dives themselves were awesome, and I learnt through coming back and talking to two very experienced diver friends here last night, but the "teaching" was non existent. I'm really considering writing to PADI and making a complaint, I at least have the common sense to know i'm not going to drop down to 100ft next week without an experienced person with me, but not everyone will be. It's just dangerous. Not only that too, but the club doesn't seem to have good policy on not touching the wildlife. The outfit I did my open water with (which I wasn't that impressed with either, but on hindsight were so much better than Island Divers!) at least had a strict look but don't touch policy, yesterday I saw both one of the other instructors juggling three sea stars, but also one of the other divers (on a paid dive) pulling the tail of an eel. I was willing that eel to come around and bite him, but unfortunately he moved his hand too quick. Again, it was really bad all around. Maybe I will write that letter. 

The one up, the dives, they were awesome, and one of the other divers (on a paid dive) sent me his photos (thanks Art!). We went to two wrecks and did a drift dive along a beautiful reef. Saw tons of giant turtles, lots of coral (including black corals) and even saw my first sharks - two white tip reef sharks. Pretty cool. And I learnt in a big way to look out for myself down there. Getting a dive computer has zoomed up in my level of importance, as now I know I really can't be trusting other people with computers to stick around and keep me safe, even if thats what i've paid them to do. 

4ft white tip reef shark. Not a great picture, but we saw 2 of these - one much smaller (~2ft).

White mouth moray eel, cute!

A bit like hiking, i've decided diving with a zillion people is not much for me. too much of a crowd on the wire up, I actually had my masked kicked off at on the first dive. From then on I went to the back of the line - thats me facing the camera.

A Honu. So cute! We saw so many of these, and some GIANT ones too!

A week with the puppies

This week i'm looking after my buddies Barkley and Goofey, so am staying at Jenny and Dougs while they're off on the mainland visiting family. I'll post a picture of the kitchen soon, it's not finished, but man it looks awesome. And i'm at this very moment sitting at the kitchen counter and it's so comfortable!

This week is still a busy one for me, but I still need something to get my brain to sleep at night. So my crochet has come with me (in this awesome bag Kate B. made for me!). One of the women here is having a baby likely while i'm away, so i've made a small snuggle blanket and am just finishing up a teddy. Can't decide whether to make another teddy for her older daughter too (2yrs)? It'll probably come down to time.

Lab Productivity

This week one of the grad students and postdocs who works in my lab is going histology crazy trying to get her stuff finished, and one of the undergrads who works with me is helping them out, so it's been a busy time in the lab this week, and next week. But I love it, it's great to see some lab productivity happening! I'd like to point out my fancy microtome by the way (the machine they're working on), sweated blood for that one....

The meaning of life....well, the meaning of my lab anyway.....coral gonads! Basically in my lab we look at how animals reproduce, these are shallow water corals, but primarily we work with deep sea animals. We take pieces of reproductive tissue, mount them in wax blocks then slice them really thinly (5 microns!) and mount them up on slides. We can then use lots of fancy stains to bring out different types of tissues - we use purple (of course), red and green to bring out the reproductive tissues. Through this we can see when, how and how much they are reproducing. And as reproduction is a good sign on a healthy population, we can use that to see how corals under stress are doing. So the above is just a small subset of the thousands of slides my lab produces every month.

The team, covered in wax and a little delirious I think.....

I'm going to miss my labbies when I leave, Jackie (right) has been there since the beginning and will graduate with her PhD in the spring, so I have to come back to Hawaii to do her exam, good excuse to come back to the sunshine. Laeticia is a postdoc who has been doing some histology here and there, she just landed a fabulous job in France, well done Laeticia! 

Science

It's one of those weeks i'm barely having time to sleep, so it may be a while before anything meaning goes up here. I have two proposals to finish up before I go. Scrap that, I have one proposal to finish up, and one to start and finish up before I go. Add in the normal mix of papers to review, students to help, meetings, dive course to finish sunday and everything else that goes along with "doing science" and I'm pooped. My brain didn't turn off enough to sleep until 1am last night, and then woke right back up again at 5am. But the 19th August is creeping up, and that is when i'm out of here, off to Alaska and going kayaking for 7 days before doing some really fun projects for 3 weeks, so if I only sleep every other day to get it done before I go, i'm not going to complain, it'll be worth it.

Stand back, i'm going to DO science!

Never too young to learn to drive

Little Hannah takes a spin in Beach Belle. Looks like a manual is going to be no problem for this wee one.

Advanced Open Water

Today I took part 1 of my advanced open water diving course that I need to go to Alaska with. Was really fun, no problem at all and all signed off on. Part 2, the final part, next sunday, so tomorrow is a day in the office for me, blah. Nina, my instructor, had a camera, and actually took photos which was awesome!

An afternoon of diving means I don't have to go to the office....yay! 

Lots and lots of fish! 

Terracota Warrior went to Hawaii for holiday.

Saying hi to the Budda

Nudibranchs....otherwise known as Sea Slugs. So pretty! 

And Budda, with strategically placed urchin...

Going on a Fashion Diet

Love this article - long live shrinking wardrobes!

Back to Hawaii....for a few weeks...

I'm back in Hawaii, for a little longer this time, 5 weeks. Then it's off to Alaska. Yikes, better start thinking about that trip sometime soon! The meetings were buys but hopefully fruitful, only the next few weeks will tell. It was good to meet the NSF program managers, these are the folks that help decide the fate of my proposals, so it was good to chat and get their recommendations, and I caught up with some familiar faces who just so happened to be there too.

On the last afternoon (yesterday) my friend Kathy and I worked on a paper for a few hours after the meeting, then headed for the whirlwind tour of downtown DC. It was hot hot hot, but it was awesome to see just about everything I wanted to see, even a quick stop in the Natural History Museum.

The White House, which actually was white..

Loved this. This is the White House Kitchen Garden, looks like they've got quite a good bounty this year!

The Lincoln Memorial. We did a good walking tour of many of the monuments and memorials, everything is pretty close together in DC which was nice as we had really limited time in the afternoon.

The Washington Monument as seen from the reflecting pool at Abe Lincoln's feet.

The Washington Monument on a beautifully sunny afternoon.

Cosmopolitans and oysters with Kathy, does it get much better, and much more DC, than that?

In Washington DC

Well, i'm in the Nations Capital, Washington DC. A day early than planned. Interesting story that includes me not checking my ticket that I thought had me flying out friday, until tuesday, and discovering I actually was booked for Thursday. Good thing I checked. But luckily my friend Diane was still willing to put up with me a day longer than planned and took me in for a friday of pretty much R&R&REI. Well, you know how much I love an outdoor store....:0)

I'm here for meetings next week then fly back next thursday, so it's really a fleeting visit, but planned to stop by the Adams family to catch up and meet the very cute kiddos Dahlia and Davin for the weekend. Today we had a fantastic day, we went past the Capitol Building, went into the botanical gardens, had lunch on the Mall and even stopped by the Air and Space museum and saw an awesome exhibition on planet pictures.  It's super hot and humid out, but today was the perfect mix of inside and out. This week some of us at the meeting have plans to see some of the sites by night, when it's a little cooler and all lit up. There is so much to see here as i'm just discovering, unfortunately I had no time to do research on DC before I left and I really wish I had.

Some pics from today -  

The Capitol Building. As this foreigner had to be told, this is where the US "parliament", otherwise known as the House of Representatives and the Senate, happens. Very grand.  Diane also told me that no building in DC can be taller than the lady of freedom on top of the dome. One thing I had noticed flying into DC is the lack of giant wads of skyscrapers, it makes the city quite beautiful without them. 

The Washington Monument at the end of the National Mall, always see this in movies.....:0) Despite this picture it wasn't a gray day, it was quite bright and beautiful, must have been the haze on top of the hill. 

The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. Was a lot of fun! 

And a hot dog picnic on the Mall. Yum! 

You grew up as an expat in the middle east if....

Found this on the internet, thought it was fun....and surprisingly accurate on most accounts, particularly #1, for those who have ever had that conversation with me.....:0)

• You can't answer the question, "Where are you from?" (And when you do, you get into an elaborate conversation that gets everyone confused)
• You flew before you could walk.
• You have a passport, but no driver's license.
• You think California is cold.
• You watch National Geographic specials and recognize someone.
• You run into someone you know at every airport.
• Conversations with friends take place at 6:00 in the morning or 10:00 at night.
• Your life story uses the phrase "Then we went to..." five times.
• You can speak with authority about the quality of various international airlines.
• You feel self conscious around white people.
• You get offended when someone turns down an offer for food.
• You treasure pork and root beer as highly-valued commodities.
• You have ever had to wait for prayer call to be over to finish shopping.
• You are fascinated by any wildlife bigger than a gecko.
• You know that it truly is a small world.
• You have ever gone to the "hammam" or endured a "shamal."
• You get all the jokes in Aladdin.
• Rain is still one of the most wonderful sounds in the world.
• You haggle with the checkout clerk for a lower price.
• Your wardrobe can only handle two seasons: hot and warm.
• Your school memories include duck-and-cover drills.
• You are used to being stared at.
• You think VISA is a document stamped in your passport, and not a plastic card you carry in your wallet.
• You call a chicken burrito a "shwarma."
• Your dorm room/apartment/living room looks a little like a museum with all the "exotic" things you have around.
• You've heard of "hubbly bubbly."
• You have sat in a "men's" or "women's" section in an airport, hospital, or restaurant.
• You know the geography of the rest of the world, but you don't know the geography of your own country.
• Your best friends are from 5 different countries.
• You have never spent a summer with your friends from high school because you all go back to your home town/state/country June - August
• Camping involves duning, getting stuck, and counting how many camels you saw.
• A sports tournament involves flying to another country in the Middle East.
• You remember when the first McDonalds in your country had its grand opening.
• You got days off school for Christian and Muslim holidays.
• Not being able to eat in public during the day during the holy month of Ramadan.
• Traveling home required buying candy, CDs, and Abercrombie and Fitch clothing for your friends back overseas.
• You are used to giving directions according to landmarks, not street names.
• It's normal to wake up and have four or more Pakistani men fixing your AC.
• You are used to seeing Arabic commercials dubbed in British English about Lux soap, Carnation condensed milk and Dove shampoo.
• Seeing police drive on the shoulder of the road and cut people is not unusual.
• You know someone is referring to Pepsi when they say "Bebzi".
• Having a walled in, cement house is standard.
• Ford Explorer sized cars seem small compared to Toyota Land Cruisers and Nissan Patrols

A slight whinge....

Okay, so one of the things I will NOT miss about Hawaii. How darn expensive it is here. In everything. I just went to get some prescription inhalers, and bam, i'm down $60. For 2 inhalers. It's the first time i've tried to get them here in Hawaii (I usually try for the UK as they're cheaper there, but I have got them before in MA and they were ~$40 for the same). Turns out they don't do generics of either of my inhalers at the major pharmacy in Hawaii. Ish! Its 9pm and I have no idea where the next different pharmacy is around here and to be honest just do not have the time to search right now so I bit it this time, but man, it's going to be a big search before I get that refill, $60 no way! Even if I have to not breathe between now and Maine. Well okay, that's a little far, but you get how pissed off I am at this right now. 

So that's my whinge over. On the other side you do get some great oddities here, though admittedly this might be all around the US. Check out some of the great store items i've found in the last couple of days.  

For the child who wants to work in a abattoir....

...and those who want to learn to eat healthy. The best bit about this one is that it's advertised as environmentally friendly wooden toys. Can't toys be environmentally and health friendly at the same time? Is this really where the BPA crisis has lead us......wooden donuts??

And for all those purple people like myself, rest assured you are calming, relaxing and focused. Not to mention Superliminal.

Super Sunday

What a great way to end a weekend, it's an afternoon like today that I will sorely miss when I move from Hawaii. At 5pm I went on my long run of the week - 7 miles - around Diamond Head volcano and Kapiolani Park. Doug is away in San Diego this week, so Jenny and little Hannah came down to meet me at the end of the run for a swim and picnic on the beach. It was perfect. The water was warm, Hannah had a blast, the sunset beautiful, and the healthy picnic fantastic. It really was perfect. Thanks so much Jenny and Hannah! I hope we fit in a whole lot more of these days before I go. 

I LOVE how this photo came out. It really captures the glee Hannah had in running in and out of the surf with mamma. She is really enjoying the water these days, and just loves running in and out up to her knees.

She found a stick on the beach so set about digging up some holes, while I got to cool off after my run.

The beach is so much fun!

And the picnic was just perfect.

Evolution of My Running

In shoes!!!! Well, I am a girl after all....:0) To the right, my first ever running shoes, in which I ran my first ever half marathon. Though I didn't really like that they were pink, thy did me well. Up until shin splints that is. In the middle are the pair I did my first marathon in. Still going well, though showing the signs of wear. And on the left, my brand new running shoes. Same type as the middle (Nike Structure Triax+), I love them and no shin splints since doing the swop, so i'm sold. These are the shoes I will do my second marathon in.

Yup, I signed up for round two, one of the last things I will do in Hawaii is run the Honolulu marathon, again. The shoes are a little early, but they were half price, so snuck in while I could, and I know my old ones won't stand up to a second marathon, so will need to get them sometime. I would say I hope for a better time, but with my away time coming up, alongside moving and teaching this fall, i'm not so hopeful. If I could sneak a little more convincingly under 6 hours I would be happy.

So let the training begin.....

The finish line.

Reaching that finish line can be hard, in many things and not just marathons. A friend of mine just wrote a blog post about unfinished projects and it hit a chord. How many things do I have unfinished right now? I think this particularly hits me because I have a certain paper i'm writing that is driving me crazy. I NEED to finish it, it NEEDS to go, but can I sit down and finish it. Nada. Sigh. Tomorrow I have several pre 5am conference calls (Hawaii time can be hard you know) and the university campus is going to be inundated by crazy people, so i've decided to stay at home to work on this paper. I've brought home the books, and i'm hoping i've brought home the motivation. This NEEDS to happen.....

At any one time I probably have a dozen projects going on at once. I joke it's my ADD side breaking through, but in reality it probably is just that. I've always had trouble focusing on one thing at once, whether it be a craft project, work, sport or new skill, I tend to have a zillion things going, and probably finish 50-75% of them. It's a pretty high number though, so usually I get away with it, and often i'll come back to a craft after a "break", so it all feels new again when I restart. Crafty things like crochet and pottery work with me because each time you can make new forms, new stitches, new uses for the outcome, so it keeps me interested. Tonight I started yet another crochet project, alongside the other 5 I have going right now. All with deadlines, and somehow, I know they will all work out, I just got the idea and got motivated to start this other baby blanket tonight........and so it goes. I often post about my crafty outcomes, but rarely about the other projects sat around that have been that way for many months. Maybe I should start posting about them then I might feel the guilt needed to finish them.....

I think i'm lucky i've ended up doing what I do, because to keep yourself afloat in research, especially 100% soft money research, you need to be doing a million things at once - writing papers, writing proposals, doing lab work, advising students, collecting in the field, going to meetings, collaborating with colleagues - all at the same time. You also have to face the fact that some things work out and some don't, and that just kind of works for me and my attention span. Besides if everything worked out, there wouldn't be enough hours in the day to do it all! With this though comes balance and the need to finish things. Certain things just sit and sit until the deadline looms and it finally gets out the door. It's all about balance, a balance i'm finding a little hard to find right now. I write proposals like crazy as I need to to keep in salary, but that often wipes out my "writing brain" to the point where writing papers is torture. Not that i'm doing badly, but I seriously have 3 papers that I have all the data for that should really get written here someday....

I'm hoping this move to Maine is going to help me with that balance. Having all the facilities I need right there for me to get the data to write the papers, i'm hoping, is going to make a big difference. The station i'm hoping will be a little less crazy than the University of Hawaii too, a little quieter for working and less distractions. I'm hoping.

Until then, please just let me finish "draft 2" of this paper tomorrow to send to me colleagues....

Happy July 4th!

Watched the fireworks tonight from Paul and Tara's backyard, after a nice swim in their pool and a yummy BBQ. Feeling very full of smores and G&Ts right now, good thing I got a run in earlier! Hope you all had a good one too, yay for tomorrow being a holiday!

Diving

Went diving today with a student who works in my lab - Daniel - he needed to collect some black corals for his work, and I need to wrack up dives, so it worked out well! He took me to a place called China Walls, renowned for an "interesting" entrance and exit. Basically a jump off a platform and then having to climb back up a wall to get out. The conditions were great today, so no problem at all, and was probably the best dive i've had so far. We saw TONS of fish, LOTS of coral and quite a few turtles! Two turtles were even at a "cleaning station" - where they float in the water and let reef fish pick off any goodies growing on their shells and skin. Was fantastic. And Daniel got a bunch of corals, so mission more than accomplished. A good way to start the weekend!