Update

I’ve got a lot of catching up to do, so get ready…

9/23/05

There was a meeting in Annapolis of the group whose grant I am working under. The meeting was not terribly productive for me since they are all modelers and have no idea about the field side of ecology, but there were a lot of ideas discussed. They actually included me in the discussion even though I’m not a modeler, and I really don’t know what I’m doing yet. Some big ideas came out of the discussion, and it made me feel good about being a scientist. About half way through the meeting, the Director of the Center for Environmental Sciences dropped in with a Senator (whose name I cannot remember) to see science in action. He was really impressed to see UM collaborating with other universities and NOAA. Raleigh and I had to rush back for jelly time, but the group insisted that I stay for happy hour…just one beer. I hadn’t eaten all day, so drinking one beer at the rate Raleigh insisted on in order to get me back to the dock on time was pretty much my limit (or maybe a little past my limit). I don’t know if it was the hurry or the beer, but his driving on the way home was an adventure.

When I got home I was informed that my presence was required at a party, but I said I didn’t think so. As usual, that didn’t last. I went over to Rebecca’s house to just chill, but somehow ended up at the party. We had plans to go to the beach early in the morning, so we didn’t stay long.

9/24/05

Rebecca, Desmond, and I headed to Assateague right after the morning jellyfish count. It was the most horrible day to be at the beach, but that’s never stopped me before. On the way we stopped at several beach stores before finally finding one with boogie boards (including one in Berlin, where run away bride was filmed). When we finally got to the beach, the wind was blowing sand around so hard that it hurt, but we settled in to read then walked for a while.
By 1 pm we had had enough, so we Desmond and I decided to go for a quick swim before we left. It had been really rough all day, and Rebecca was very clear on her opinion that it was too rough and unsafe for swimming. What do you know, she was right. In an attempt to not be smashed by a wave, I twisted my back (it’s finally starting to feel better today).

Showered, napped, counted jellyfish, and met up with the girls to go to the arts festival in town. About 10 minutes after we got down town, Rebecca got a call from her boyfriend. He had some friends in town. They were all plastered. One of them decided to go swimming. He dove in down at the marina and broke his neck. After some creative navigating, we got down there just in time to see the medivac helicopter take off (last I heard, his condition is stable. He’s regained full use of his upper body and some sensation in his legs. He’s waiting for surgery, and things sound fairly hopeful).

9/25/05

It was the windiest day on record this jellyfish season. I had to fight with my giant net to get it to work properly and thus injured my back further. I’d had plans for mopping the house that couldn’t be delayed. Of course that and moving the furniture to mop under it didn’t help the back any. I spent the rest of the day hunched over.

9/26/05-9/29/05

The rest of the week has been pretty dull. I’ve got lots to do, and I’m doing a great job procrastinating.

That concludes the update.