Hello all. Well, week two is over and wow, I'm tired! Because I am the lowly intern, I must work all holidays. So Memorial Day was the worst day yet. We had insane amounts of calls from the beaches and it was pretty much nonstop. On Tuesday they had me drive all the way down to Monterey to release 4 sea lions, pick up 4 more and 2 carcasses. Needless to say...that was a looong day! It was a GORGEOUS drive down the coast, but because I was along the coast it was a loooong drive. And smelly, at that. Haha. I was basically driving the equivilant to a gutted church van. Instead of seats, there were giant dog kennels containing sea mammals:). That day was very exciting because I got to do my first release, but it was also exhausting! On my way down I had to stop at one of our satellite facilities to pick up a volunteer to help me. Of course, it was the 60 year old-asthmatic-woman who could not lift more than 20 pounds. ha. She was very sweet, but realized too late that we did, indeed, need to carry 4 60+ pound animals down a slight hill to the beach. Let's just say, my back still hurts..haha. The actual release was great though! It was sooo cool to see them run out of their carriers to the ocean. They were definitely ready to go home. As soon as we released them, they rubbed noses and dove right in! At the end of the day, after picking up the smelly carcasses from a bio lab and driving from 10:30AM til 7PM, I had a hard time remembering the greatness of that moment.
Now that I think about it, I think that same morning was another cool moment. On my daily commute, it is not uncommon for me to be listening to Dave Matthews (surprise, surprise) :) Anyway, for those of you who are not fans, there is a song called Best of What's Around and basically...it talks about making the best of what you have. So. It made me think. I live in a beautiful place and have a good job. I should be thankful for what I have here and not focus on the things that I don't have here. That is much easier said than done.
The day after that work was really weird. It went by slowly...that never happens! I actually had time to finish my projects during the day..it was crazy! haha. But it was a nice break! Today I was sent on another release. This time just for one sea lion. I had to drive him up to Point Reyes National Seashore...which is quite the drive. I met a very nice volunteer out there to help me out. His name is Phil Warren. He's probably about 65 and offered for him and his wife to have me over on a Sunday afternoon to show me all the beaches in his county so I could get a better grasp on them. He was very nice! (knowing the locations of beaches is a VERY important part of my job) It's really hard to talk to a caller when I have no idea what county they are in. And we cover 800 miles of California's coast....that's a lot of beaches..lol. Anyway...after my loooong drive out to Chimney Rock, Phil and I unloaded the carrier from the truck. Then I realized something. Our "patient" was not making a ruckus like he usually does. In fact, he wasn't moving at all. Yep..he died on the way to his release. That just sucked. lol. I have no other words to discribe my disappointment. And I felt like it was somehow my fault. Even though, I know and was reassured many times that it wasn't. So just as I was feeling that my ENTIRE day was a waste, I saw them. A "herum" of elephant seals. They were HUGE. Usually they gather in herums. There is one Alpha male and many many females...all his. They were all lounging on the ramp that we were supposed to drive down to get to the shore. It was one of the coolest things I have ever seen. Some of them must have been 10 feet long. It is hilarious how lazy elephant seals are. They are awesome. Phil took some pictures so I will have to ask him to email them to me. I think the craziest thing I saw today, though, was what I saw when I got back to the center. Just as I pulled in with the carcass, another volunteer pulled up in one of our trucks with a female adult sea lion. But she wasn't alone. She was in the middle of giving birth to a dead pup:( It was so sad! But CRAZY to see. It was just half way out of her..poor thing. So the vets put her under so they could remove the pup. Speaking of our vet...our new on staff doc is from the Shedd!! Small world, huh?
Oh! And I haven't been as lonely lately because I have been hanging out with my roommate Marielle more lately. I met some of her friends the other night, which was interesting..but fun I guess..haha. They are all grad students working at a bio lab up the hill. I still think this summer is going to go by verrry slowly. I miss everyone so much. I really miss home too. Indiana, not Florida. I miss Indiana summers. Ah well...make the best of what's around, right? It is beautiful here! I just wished the people I loved were here too.
Love you all...thanks for reading:)
Friday, May 29, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
The Worst is Over...I hope.
So,
I think I jinxed myself yesterday. All that talk about being too busy to be lonely. Oops. But I will get to that later...
Anyway...last night was really fun. I picked Jenny up from the Marriot downtown (after getting lost for a half hour) and then we drove to Fisherman's Wharf to grab some dinner, followed by a walk down to Pier 39 to say hello to my sea lion friends:). Then we had a sleepover at the Marriot and I took Jenny to the airport at 4am.
Now today was a different story. Because I took Jenny so early, I went back home and slept in (figuring that I would find a late service for church). I kept myself busy this morning cleaning my room and doing laundry. And there it was...nothing. I had nothing to do, nowhere to go, no one to call (to hang out with at least). Today was my first day of nothingness, and wow was it hard. I think I talked to Luke about 5 times today. In fact, I think I spoke on the phone to various people for more than half my day. I was pretty upset today because I had a VERY hard time finding a church. I must have searched online for 2 hours or so. When I didn't find anything online, I planned on returning to the church Luke and I went to last week (which we liked a lot but it was a bit of a drive), but after looking at their website I realized this was the one Sunday of the month that there was no night service. Great timing. After a minor breakdown on the phone with Ev, followed by a great pep-talk, I was feeling a bit better. Then I made a terrific frozen pizza, talked to Luke for the 5th or 6th time ;) and decided to take Dylan on a walk. Dylan is my "landlord's" dog. He is adorable.
On our walk I literally stumbled onto a walking trail that went up the hills. I was so excited! It was the most gorgeous view of Novato. It was my gift from God today. It was a great time to think, pray, and thank God for what I do have here. Like I said... He has a lot planned for me this summer and I have a lot to learn.
Oh, and Beth...you commented to soak up some sun for you....about that... it was about 52 degrees here today. Aaaand that's normal for San Francisco summer..haha. But I actually prefer it to Florida's sufficating heat. Oh! Attention all skype people...I officially bought a webcam today! I should have it in about 3-5 days, according to amazon. So get excited:) I also bought "crazy/love: overwhelmed by a relentless God" today. It is a book by Francis Chan that Katie has been raving about for the past 6 months or so. Luke and I are planning to go through it together, and I can't wait! ;)
I am so happy that tomorrow is a workday. Thank goodness I love my job! I can't explain how much I miss every single one of you. Is it wrong to wish for this summer to go by fast? For so many reasons I wish that it would fly by...but I know better than that. It will. And when it does, I will miss it. (maybe) ha.
Luke, i don't know how to do a shout out in a blog. Buuuut... you are awesome. And soon enough you will know more than I do about movies:) hahaha. How's that?;)
I think I jinxed myself yesterday. All that talk about being too busy to be lonely. Oops. But I will get to that later...
Anyway...last night was really fun. I picked Jenny up from the Marriot downtown (after getting lost for a half hour) and then we drove to Fisherman's Wharf to grab some dinner, followed by a walk down to Pier 39 to say hello to my sea lion friends:). Then we had a sleepover at the Marriot and I took Jenny to the airport at 4am.
Now today was a different story. Because I took Jenny so early, I went back home and slept in (figuring that I would find a late service for church). I kept myself busy this morning cleaning my room and doing laundry. And there it was...nothing. I had nothing to do, nowhere to go, no one to call (to hang out with at least). Today was my first day of nothingness, and wow was it hard. I think I talked to Luke about 5 times today. In fact, I think I spoke on the phone to various people for more than half my day. I was pretty upset today because I had a VERY hard time finding a church. I must have searched online for 2 hours or so. When I didn't find anything online, I planned on returning to the church Luke and I went to last week (which we liked a lot but it was a bit of a drive), but after looking at their website I realized this was the one Sunday of the month that there was no night service. Great timing. After a minor breakdown on the phone with Ev, followed by a great pep-talk, I was feeling a bit better. Then I made a terrific frozen pizza, talked to Luke for the 5th or 6th time ;) and decided to take Dylan on a walk. Dylan is my "landlord's" dog. He is adorable.
On our walk I literally stumbled onto a walking trail that went up the hills. I was so excited! It was the most gorgeous view of Novato. It was my gift from God today. It was a great time to think, pray, and thank God for what I do have here. Like I said... He has a lot planned for me this summer and I have a lot to learn.
Oh, and Beth...you commented to soak up some sun for you....about that... it was about 52 degrees here today. Aaaand that's normal for San Francisco summer..haha. But I actually prefer it to Florida's sufficating heat. Oh! Attention all skype people...I officially bought a webcam today! I should have it in about 3-5 days, according to amazon. So get excited:) I also bought "crazy/love: overwhelmed by a relentless God" today. It is a book by Francis Chan that Katie has been raving about for the past 6 months or so. Luke and I are planning to go through it together, and I can't wait! ;)
I am so happy that tomorrow is a workday. Thank goodness I love my job! I can't explain how much I miss every single one of you. Is it wrong to wish for this summer to go by fast? For so many reasons I wish that it would fly by...but I know better than that. It will. And when it does, I will miss it. (maybe) ha.
Luke, i don't know how to do a shout out in a blog. Buuuut... you are awesome. And soon enough you will know more than I do about movies:) hahaha. How's that?;)
Saturday, May 23, 2009
The First Week
Hello Friends and Family!
At the request of Luke...here it is...my first blog:). I have a lot of time on my hands today, so forgive me if I put too many details in. So I have officially completed my first week of work at the Marine Mammal Center, and so far I love it! It has been completely insane and busy, and they have just thrown me right in. The center is opening to the public in 2 weeks for the first time in 4 years! It is brand new facility and pretty awesome. I have not completed my training yet because they have been too busy to train me. For those of you who don't know, the main thing I have been doing is coordinating rescues. I answer the animal distress hotline for the most part of my day. This sounds much easier than it actually is. When I answer calls, I have to get as much information as possible from the caller, determine what animal they have seen from this info, call volunteers to assemble an assessment/rescue team and then write a report. And yes, I have to do this with EVERY call. Ha. When I am not doing that I am either assisting in rescues, loading up the trucks for releases, or checking new animals in (weighing them, marking them, and getting them into their new pen). Oh, and on Fridays (starting next week) I will be on crew. This means I will be taking care of the animals all day long. Preparing food, cleaning pens, getting animals to their x-rays, etc. Basically, I love my job. My bosses are pretty awesome and so far they have said that I am doing a great job. (phew!)
Enough about my job though... Luke and I had sooo much fun when he was here. We did a lot of the tourist-y stuff in the city so I am sure he will post some pictures on here for me later! Our favorite place we found was this little cafe/market in downtown Sausalito (where I work). Sausalito is BEAUTIFUL. It is the coolest little town, right on the water. I was very sad to see Luke leave. When he left, the realization set in that .."oh yeah...I'm out here on my own." That was kinda scary at first, but honestly, work has kept me so busy that I haven't had too much time to think about the loneliness aspect. Besides, Jenny is in town this weekend so that is exciting! I am going to see her today and stay at her hotel in the city. I am looking for a church out here, so please be praying that I am able to find a good one close by!
I still can't get over the beauty of this area. It is gorgeous! I can't wait for everyone who is coming to see it! (Mom, Dad & Sharon, Ann, Luke again:) I am very excited about this summer. I think it will be a great time for me to work hard and learn a lot. Not just about my job though. I think God is going to use this summer to teach me a lot of things. Well, it is time to start my drive to the city to see Jenny. Love you all.
Liz
At the request of Luke...here it is...my first blog:). I have a lot of time on my hands today, so forgive me if I put too many details in. So I have officially completed my first week of work at the Marine Mammal Center, and so far I love it! It has been completely insane and busy, and they have just thrown me right in. The center is opening to the public in 2 weeks for the first time in 4 years! It is brand new facility and pretty awesome. I have not completed my training yet because they have been too busy to train me. For those of you who don't know, the main thing I have been doing is coordinating rescues. I answer the animal distress hotline for the most part of my day. This sounds much easier than it actually is. When I answer calls, I have to get as much information as possible from the caller, determine what animal they have seen from this info, call volunteers to assemble an assessment/rescue team and then write a report. And yes, I have to do this with EVERY call. Ha. When I am not doing that I am either assisting in rescues, loading up the trucks for releases, or checking new animals in (weighing them, marking them, and getting them into their new pen). Oh, and on Fridays (starting next week) I will be on crew. This means I will be taking care of the animals all day long. Preparing food, cleaning pens, getting animals to their x-rays, etc. Basically, I love my job. My bosses are pretty awesome and so far they have said that I am doing a great job. (phew!)
Enough about my job though... Luke and I had sooo much fun when he was here. We did a lot of the tourist-y stuff in the city so I am sure he will post some pictures on here for me later! Our favorite place we found was this little cafe/market in downtown Sausalito (where I work). Sausalito is BEAUTIFUL. It is the coolest little town, right on the water. I was very sad to see Luke leave. When he left, the realization set in that .."oh yeah...I'm out here on my own." That was kinda scary at first, but honestly, work has kept me so busy that I haven't had too much time to think about the loneliness aspect. Besides, Jenny is in town this weekend so that is exciting! I am going to see her today and stay at her hotel in the city. I am looking for a church out here, so please be praying that I am able to find a good one close by!
I still can't get over the beauty of this area. It is gorgeous! I can't wait for everyone who is coming to see it! (Mom, Dad & Sharon, Ann, Luke again:) I am very excited about this summer. I think it will be a great time for me to work hard and learn a lot. Not just about my job though. I think God is going to use this summer to teach me a lot of things. Well, it is time to start my drive to the city to see Jenny. Love you all.
Liz
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