Night Dive #3

Sound check, photo by Anitza V

I'm happy to report that we put together another successful and fun event. The decorations turned out well, we had some cool art, our photo booth was a hit, the bands and djs were great, and many people got in the Halloween spirit and dressed up for the evening.

We pulled it all off (with much less stress than the last two events) and I'm so happy to be working with a such an awesome team!

Another reason I love my job...

A couple of months back, I found this little gift and note on my desk when I got back from the weekend. It's from one of my adorable young volunteers. So heartwarming to receive such a simple and sweet surprise.

Why I love my job...

Okay, I admit it, I don't love my job all of the time. But who does? I don't think there's one person out there who likes their job every moment of every day, work can't always be roses and sunshine. How I feel about my job spans the whole spectrum of emotions. I have many moments of stress, tears and frustration. There are times when my weaknesses creep up or my fears overcome me. But along with that, I also experience moments when hard work is paid off and accomplishments are recognized. I'm at a place where smiles and laughter are plentiful and people are awed and inspired every day, where people truly care about the work they do.

And every once in a while, something very special and rare happens...I touch a life, I make a difference somehow. No matter how simple or how small that impact is, it still means the world to me.

Basking in the Glow of Success

I was able to experience and take part in something very special this past weekend. After so much planning and stress and hard work, a team of us were able to see a little idea that we had become a reality. It is an incredible feeling to not only see an idea realized, but to see it blow away any of our hopes and expectations. All the heartache was worth this:

In the Shark Lagoon, originally uploaded by VintageSon Foto.

Our event was a fun evening with art & music and it was a smashing success. So many people chipped in to help out, and I'm very lucky to work alongside such an amazing, talented, and supportive group of people.

All in a Day's Work

1 juvenile gray whale,
2 fin whales,
1 mom and calf gray whale pair,
bottlenose and common dolphins,
and a beautiful view of Catalina Island.

What a great day at work!

All In a Day's Work

Funniest thing I heard today:

"I'm a genius!"
-4 year old in my preschool class

It's funny how things work out sometimes. I was dreading teaching today--talking about water for a 2-hr class with preschoolers? It sounded miserable. A class about sharks or tidepools or coral reefs is fun. But a whole class about water? Oh brother, I didn't know how I would pull it off. On top of that, I was supposed to discuss the water cycle (can preschoolers even say the words precipitation, evaporation and condensation?), and the density of fresh water versus salt water. DENSITY?!

Yeah, so I really wasn't looking forward to teaching. And you know what? It turned out fine. Even better than fine. The 4 and 5 year olds were well behaved, adorable, and really smart. They got everything. Kids will surprise you. And they can crack you up too. I forgot how fun teaching can be.

I met a genius today. All in a day's work...

All In a Day's Work

Work has been so busy lately that I haven't had a chance to teach in a very long time. Everything I've been doing has been great experience, but I really do miss interacting with guests and students. I finally was able to teach one of our preschool programs this past week, and had so much fun doing it. Kids at that age are adorable and are so much smarter than you realize, and things they say can be very entertaining.

Talking about corals, I ask them what the individual animals are called. "Tulips!" one boy answers. Haha, so close.

Talking about breathing, I ask them what sharks and fish use to breathe water. "Scales!" a little girl answers. Very close also, but not quite.

Tulips, polyps, scales, gills--they're practically the same thing, right?! Oh, kids are so fricken cute.

All In a Day's Work

Overheard in front of an exhibit, a mother speaking to her son:
"No honey, that's not a fish, that's an eel."

...Hmmmm. If eels aren't fish, then what the heck are they?

All In a Day's Work

Question asked today: "Are there any algae-eating plants?"

Okay, I know there are carnivorous plants out there. But herbivorous plants?!?? Seriously?? Algae-eating plants??

All In a Day's Work

I am teaching summer day camp this week, and although it is fun, having to corral eighteen 5 & 6 year olds can also be very challenging and exhausting! We have the complainers and the talkers and the criers, but they are all so cute and can be quite entertaining too. Here's a story from our shark lesson today...

(After going over bones vs. cartilage with the kids): "Instead of having a skeleton made of bones, what do sharks have in their body?"

(One of the boys yells out): "Cardboard!"

Haha. Hmmm, a skeleton made of cardboard, that would be interesting....

All In a Day's Work

(Me, giving a talk about sea stars to the kids): "Do you remember what the sea stars have to move around and hold onto surfaces?"

(One of the boys, yelling out enthusiastically because he thought he knew the answer): "Testicles!" *then turns beet red because he realized his mistake*

(Me, trying to keep a straight face and not crack up): "No, but you're close, they're called tube feet."

LOL, gotta love kids.

All In a Day's Work

Let's talk about sharks today...

(While looking at an exhibit full of sharks): "How long can sharks stay under water?"
They can stay under water their whole life, the number of years depends on the species of shark, because they all have different life spans... Oh, I'm sorry, you were asking how long they can hold their breath under water. Well, I don't think they really do that, I'm sure it would get a bit uncomfortable...

(After being shown some shark egg cases): "Wow, sharks lay eggs. So, they're not mammals?"
Umm, no they're not mammals...they're a type of fish.

All In a Day's Work

(4th grade girl, last night, after dinner during one of our programs): "No wonder I'm so skinny--I only ate one piece of pizza, and other people ate, like, three slices."
Kids. They can be so entertaining.

All In a Day's Work

(While we were looking at a large pod of Common Dolphins swimming around the boat today): "Are these Mahi Mahi?"
Goodness, no! Dolphinfish are an entirely different thing from Dolphins. Dolphinfish are fish. As in the kind you eat. Dolphins are mammals. As in the kind that are protected.

No whale sightings today, but dolphins are always fun to look at. We also had an awesome Mola mola sighting. I usually see those guys as we cruise by them on a boat, with no time to stop and admire. But today, we did stop and admire the big guy, just floating at the surface on his side. So cool.

And for the record, I was asked the sonar question again.

All in a Day's Work

In this episode of Ridiculous Things People Say/Do/Ask, we will be listening in on whale watching trips.

(Very angry, after not seeing any whales):"I can't believe I paid all this money for my family to come on this trip, and we didn't even see any whales! You are an established whale watching institution, you should be able to predict where they are!"
Seriously? *sigh* People can have such ridiculous expectations sometimes. We have predicted where they should be--on their annual migration off our coast. As far as being able to find exactly where they are, that depends on two things--being lucky and having good eyesight. It's a big BIG ocean, people. Whales are big, but not that big.

"Can't you use sonar to find the whales?"
Hmmm. Call me crazy, but for some reason, I think that would be a HUGE problem.

"Do you control the whales?"
Why yes, yes we do. We have this button right here, and when we push it, the whales come up to the boat. And all that driving around the ocean we did the past two hours? No, we weren't desperately searching for whales. It was just to keep you on your toes until we pushed the whale button.

Another amazing day

We had another successful and amazing whale watching day yesterday. It was a sunny and clear, with the island (Catalina, that is) in perfect view. For our first trip, there were reports of 4-5 whales blowing past some oil islands, so the captain headed straight out there. It took a while to get out there, then we didn't see a single thing for a very very long time. Where were those 4-5 whales? Possibly Grey's, long gone, continuing their trek south. At moments like these, you start to lose hope and feel a bit disappointed that you will have to send all those guests back without having seen anything. That's the chance everyone takes when going out on these trips though. Those chances are worth it when you see something awesome though, which we finally did--a blow in the distance! It turned out to be the small blue whale that we've seen a couple of times this week already. To top the trip off, we came across about one to two hundred common dolphins on our way back. The second whale watch of the day was even better than the first. We headed out and found a fin whale, and while we were waiting for it to surface again after a deep dive, a superpod of common dolphins surrounded the boat. There were over a thousand of them, swimming and jumping and circling us. After forgetting about the fin whale and hanging out with the dolphins for a while, we went in search of the blue we saw earlier. The sunset painted the sky in beautiful shades, which made an awesome backdrop to the view of the island and our blue whale sighting. We found the small blue (now nicknamed "Jr.") again, he gave us a great fluke-wave-goodbye, and then we headed back, ending another great whale watching day. My job rocks.

Amazing

We are starting up daily whale watch trips at work and I went out on a trip to train today. When going on whale watches, people have to realize that they have to be prepared for anything--they may see nothing but the horizon and endless blue water, or they may see something absolutely amazing. Today was one of those amazing days. It was one of those days where you scream and jump up and down because you are so excited. Where your heart thumps and your breath is taken away. Five Orcas. Yes, FIVE ORCAS. As in Killer Whales. As in Shamu. FIVE! ORCAS! Off our coast! One of them was a cute little baby, and one was a beautiful big male (with a huge dorsal fin!) Oh, it was absolutely unbelievably amazing. And to top it off, we ended the trip with a Blue Whale sighting-blows and fluke and everything. *SIGH* Just another day at work...How can you beat stuff like this? It makes being poor and pursuing what you love worth it....

Lowering Sails

Ann & Me riding the booms and bringing down the sails while guests look on.

This photo was taken by one of the guests aboard our ship for the canon battle at the Tall Ships Festival. I think it's a pretty cool shot, with both of us riding. It's also nice to have since I don't have many photos of myself hard at work while crewing the boat. I look determined...or scared...haha.

Associated Press Photo

Here's the caption for this photo: "A crew member who declined to give her name, left, embraces one of the students disembarking from the schooner American Pride, rear, at its mooring in Long Beach, Calif., after the tall ship began taking on water in choppy seas offshore Friday, Oct. 5, 2007. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)" What an ass-did the photographer really HAVE to mention that I "declined to give" my name. Aaargh. Oh yeah, and do I REALLY stick my ass out like that when I hug people? How embarrassing!

So I know I said I would give you the full story on the crazy boat trip and the rolling truck, but I'm a slacker blogger and just never got around to it. It doesn't really matter now, since it's practically a month later and most of you have already heard me tell you in person. BUT, if you haven't heard it already, and would like to hear the stories, then just give me a ring!

what a weekend!

if you only knew what i had to endure this weekend!

1. crewing a 130' boat, in 15 foot swells, taking on water with bilge pumps that failed
2. driving a 13 ton truck with smoke coming out the back, then rolling backwards on a hill

the full story on both will be coming soon.
at least the cowboys won tonight (what a game it was, such an awesome ending!), or else i would have started to think that i have a streak of bad luck following me around...