Thursday, April 06, 2006

Job update: it's all about...Acting!

Remember Jon Lovitz on Saturday Night Live? He did a sketch about Acting, and it was so true. The first couple of weeks of my new job were pretty crazy because I was (and still am) intimidated by all these smart biologist types. And even though I'm supposed to be one of them, I'm still scared of making a complete ass of myself. So, I've told myself it's all about Acting. Oddly enough, I've been having some success with this little mind trick: pretend you're a smart biologist - how would a smart biologist react in this situation? What would a smart biologist do in this situation? And it's great because I can become another person, one with a little more confidence and moxie. So far so good.

The job has been getting a little better. I realize that the learning curve there is pretty darn steep, and I've absorbed a lot in the past 2 1/2 weeks. Stuff I'd never thought I'd know before. I can see where this job would be very cool once you kind of figure things out, but for now, I'm still baffled and apparently I will be for a while (at least that's what everyone says). However, I still believe that it is an important job, a necessary job, and one that I can learn to do. Don't know how long I'll want to do it, but for now, I'm happy with...Acting!

Sunday, April 02, 2006

What did we see when we went whale watching???

We saw lots of things...but no whales! Matt and Alyssa, for the second week in a row, failed to see any whales. So that settles it - clearly they are bad luck, and next time I go I will not be going with them! But I had a good time anyway - we saw a sea lion, a couple of dolphin, lots of kelp, and actually - we did see the spray from a whale but it was kind of far away and by the time we got there the whale had disappeared. No worries though - it's the end of the season, but the whales will be migrating back in December and I have a pass for two to go again. So here are some photos of our adventure, even though there were no whales, it was a good time!

Here's a seagull that was following us for quite a way.









Here's the view of San Diego from ten miles out to sea.






Oh, the excitement of it all...