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