The Magic Number

In my experience, most good things seem to happen in threes. So, here are my three:

1. I got a job! Not a "real" job, but a summer job. I put in an application during one of my panicky I'm-never-going-to-get-a-job days, got an invitation for an interview the next morning, and interviewed and got the job the day after that. It's only a 3-month position, but at least it's something! I'll be spending the summer on beautiful Grand Manan Island off the coast of New Brunswick, working as an "Environmental Science Educator" at the Whale Camp. Basically, I'll be spending the summer teaching kids between 10 and 17 all about the environment and ecology of the area (which includes beaches and tidepools, salt marshes and bogs, forests, ocean habitats, etc) AND teaching them all about WHALES. Hence the name "Whale Camp". Plus (as long as enough people sign up) I'll be running a program called "Authors and Artists of the Sea", where I still teach all the same things but then additionally encourage and guide the campers to express what they've learned through writing, photography and other art forms. (I was hand-picked for this position because of my journalism and photography background, and I was *hoping* to be able to teach the college-level course as well -- because how great would that look on the resume??-- but unfortunately it doesn't look like anyone's signing up for credits. Sad panda.) The greatest part? Because I'm on the educational staff, I only have to work from breakfast until dinner... which means somebody else gets to deal with all the after-hours camper drama. Score!

2. I have a job interview for a full time position with DFO (Department of Fisheries and Oceans for all you non-Canucks... it's the Canadian equivalent of NOAA). In fact, the interview is tomorrow morning, bright and early. Right now I'm sitting in a hotel room in Burlington, Ontario, trying not to freak out. But the "interesting" part? It's for a job in Iqaluit. You know where Iqaluit is? North. Like, really REALLY north.


Do you see it?? Look up. Look waaaaaay up.

No joke, when I got the invite for the interview, I actually rolled my eyes to the ceiling and said "Hah! Very funny..." then promptly started freaking out. Koda and I barely survived Ontario winter... how the heck are we supposed to live somewhere that's cold pretty much all year? I spent a solid week just freaking out over the whole thing, but I'm thankfully a lot more zen about it now. Truthfully, a year or two up north wouldn't be so bad... It would be a huge adjustment, but also an adventure. I always said it would be interesting to spend a year up north. And now would be the time for me to do it, since I'm currently not tied down to anywhere or anyone. I really don't think I'll get the job, though. In fact, I think there's pretty much no hope in hell of me actually getting the job. It's in fisheries, which I'm really not qualified for and don't really want to get pegged into. But still, interviewing with the government is great experience, and if I do by some miracle get the position, the pay is going to be effing awesome. I know I'm not supposed to say that, but c'mon... government salaries plus isolation pay? CA-CHING!

3. If I didn't accept the summer job in NB, I would have most likely gotten a position on a summer-long research cruise on the Red Sea (Egypt!) studying dolphins. I was invited to do an interview, and when I declined because I had already accepted the other job they emailed back saying how disappointed they were that I was no longer in the running, and they hoped I would reconsider. Sadly, this position was unpaid AND I would have had to pay travel costs to and from Egypt, as well as boat fees to help cover food costs. I applied to this position without realizing it was unpaid, and I'm not sure I would have done it even if I had nothing else lined up for the summer, but still. It's nice to be asked.

So, there are my three! Here's hoping another cluster of good news comes soon.... *fingers crossed for a full-time job! Preferably starting in September or October, so I can still have fun at camp this summer.*

The ABCs of Job Hunting

If you had asked me this time last year what my plans were for the job hunt, I could have listed off my plan, my backup plan, my backup for my backup plan, my backup for my backup for my backup plan, and so on. Plan A: Find a job doing marine mammal research, either for a non-profit (first choice), or a government organization (second choice). Plan B: Find a job doing marine research that isn't solely based on marine mammals, but has a marine mammal component. Plan C: Find a communications job in a marine conservation organization. Plan D: Find a job doing marine environmental outreach or education. Plan E: Find a job in any sort of marine or fisheries or environmental organization, using any of my varied freshwater/marine/environmental/communications/outreach experiences as a jumping off point. Preferably a job in North America.

At the time, I felt like I had covered all my bases, and had formed my hierarchy of desired jobs in a way that was specific to what I want to end up doing, but general enough that I could ease in through any possible door. And, truthfully, it started off relatively promising. Months before I even graduated I had interviews for a communications position with a marine conservation organization in Maine, and for a position with the Center for Biological Diversity in Alaska. During the few months following graduation I interviewed for a position with a consulting firm in Hawaii doing work with spinner dolphins, and a temporary communications job with the Canadian Wildlife Federation in Ottawa. Each organization had their good reasons for not hiring me and truthfully, with the exception of the job in Alaska, none of the positions sounded all that great for me at that point in time anyways. But, as time wore on and no more interviews came my way, I started to get a little panicked. I expanded to different job types, sent out unsolicited resumes to any marine organization I came across, and even started applying for jobs overseas. And still, no bites.

The other day, at my annual checkup, I was chatting with my family doctor about being unemployed. She asked me what my Plan B was, and I honestly couldn't answer her. I have reached the point where my plans have all jumbled together into one huge, overwhelming goal. And when Plan A is finding employment, what the hell is Plan B?

For a very brief period of time (on one of my panicky days), I debated going back to school and doing a PhD. I even emailed a prof at Dalhousie that I've wanted to work with for years, asking if he had any spots open in his lab. During the hour it took for him to respond, I had created pro and con lists, decided that I would only do a PhD in Canada (preferably east coast) because I needed to get a foot in the door for the Canadian job market (since I discovered that training in the States doesn't make it any easier whatsoever to find a job there as a foreigner), and would only do a PhD if the funding was enough to cover living costs. But then I got the reply, and the whole thrown-together Plan B went out the window. The prof, while he was thought I had a "very impressive resume" (a line which I HATE, by the way... it's like a guy walking up to you at a bar and saying "you have such beautiful eyes..." Total cop-out. But I digress...), informed me that he had taken on too many grad students in the past few years, and it would be "a long long time" before he could take on anymore. He then let me know that in Canada, in this field, labs generally only take on grad students if they come with their own full funding, which is really hard to get. I've tried in the past and failed miserably (hence grad school in the States...). That, combined with the fact that it's another 4 or 5 years of school, do not make a PhD very appealing. So I quickly came to my senses and decided to scrap that plan.

But what does that leave me with now? I've been unemployed for almost a year, and I'm totally stuck. I suppose I could start looking into doing another unpaid internship to "gain experience" and pass the time... but I feel like I spent too much financially, mentally and emotionally on grad school to take such a huge step backwards. Plus, I already did the unpaid internship thing for a year, and I feel like I've paid my dues. But would being able to put another (more recent) job experience on my resume be worth swallowing my pride for? Maybe the fact that I'm not doing anything "in the meantime" is hurting my chances of getting interviews, because it looks like I'm not taking initiative. I don't know.... I've been wrestling with these dilemmas for months now, and I am nowhere near finding the answer. Any input or advice would be great at this point... maybe some fresh ideas will get things rolling again.

In the meantime, I'll be continuing the eternal search and application process, and keeping my fingers crossed that something pans out.

The Vanished Blogger

To those of you following my blog, it may have seemed as if I dropped off the face of the earth approximately a year ago. And, in the case of the blog, I did. I'm not entirely sure why I stopped writing and updating throughout the year. Maybe I got too busy, or succumbed to the curse of "Beaufort time", or just decided that I didn't need to share all the details of my life with the inter-web. Honestly? I can't remember. But I've hit a point where I've decided to pick the blog back up again and run with it... or at least take it for a leisurely stroll during my spare time. But, since I am no longer in North Carolina, the title just didn't fit anymore. And the old layout was, well, old. So, after a quick overhaul and a subtle face lift, I present you with my "new" old blog.

Wading Through Life.

Because, really, that's all I'm doing right now. I'm not anywhere in particular, I'm not starting a new chapter of my life (*yet... but hopefully soon?), I'm not floundering or drowning or floating... I'm just wading, passing the time in the company of the gentle melancholy that seems to accompany the sand and salt between your toes.

Now for the obligatory update as to what I've been up to in the last year. Here goes...

Since I last wrote, I did indeed make it back to Beaufort, North Carolina, safe and sound. I attended the last few classes of my educational career; wrote, edited, submitted and presented my thesis; graduated; moved a couple of times and spend some time living out of hotels (long story); said goodbye to my friends yet again, then drove home to attend my sister's wedding. And, because of the type of temporary US visa I had, I was barred from returning to the States without a job. So instead, I moved back home with the pup and settled in "temporarily" to enjoy the summer while trying to find employment in the US, completely unsuccessfully. Since then, my work visa for the States has expired, and I've put out literally hundreds of job applications and unsolicited resumes all over the world to try to find work, and have had no luck. So here I sit, kicking my feet in the metaphorical sea of life, just trying to figure out what comes next. And for now, that is what this blog is about. I'm not going to guarantee that things aren't going to get ugly up in here (because sometimes, things just ARE ugly), but you're welcome to follow along if you so desire. Fingers crossed that this phase of the blog, the wading, will be short-lived and that soon I will have moved on to a new job, a new location, and a new chapter. A Canuck in (fill in the blank*).

*I am wide open to suggestions... within reason, and within my profession, please!

Snowverload 2010 : A Smattering of Photos

Alright, as promised here are some pics of the last couple o' days. Enjoy!

Koda made herself right at home when we got to the hotel. Guess I should have asked for a king-sized bed!


What I woke up to this morning. My room faces the woods, so it's actually quite pretty!






My car! I think...


After I tried to clear it off to get some stuff for Koda... The doors are frozen shut.


Koda loves the snow...


...even if it is a little deep...


But even though the snow is pretty inconvenient, I have to admit I'm kinda loving it. What can I say? I'm a winter child!

Snowed In: Maryland Edition

Yesterday I started my long drive from Almonte back to Beaufort, North Carolina. Under normal circumstances, I would almost be there by now. Instead, I am stuck in a hotel room in Cockeysville, Maryland, watching a record-breaking blizzard blow outside my window.

At about 1:30 yesterday I stopped in Lebanon, Pennsylvania for lunch, where a concerned retired truck driver cornered me as I was getting out of my truck to tell me about the impending winter storm. He noticed my license plate was Canadian, and told me that if I continued south on I-83 (which I was intending on doing), I was going to drive right into it in about an hour. He suggested I just stay put, get a room at the hotel beside the Wendy's (which was also close to a gas station, a mechanic, and two convenience stores), and just hunker down. For the next Two Days.

Two Days?? In Lebanon, Pennsylvania??? I don't think so. So I politely said I'd consider his advice, grabbed my number 8 combo to go, and headed back out to the interstate.

About an hour later, the flurries started. Nothing major, just a few flakes that left the roads wet. But a few minutes after they started, I looked around and realized that I was the only south-bound car on the interstate. A fact that, truthfully, made me a little uneasy... yet I continued driving for another half hour or so. Soon enough, I passed a "Welcome to Maryland!" sign, and decided that I shouldn't try to get through Baltimore that afternoon (since the retired truck driver had told me they were calling for the worst snow there). So, remembering another time I had stopped at a great condo-style hotel just inside the Maryland border, I decided to look for it again. A few lucky turns and familiar-looking town names lead me right to the hotel, where I optimistically booked a room for one night. And at 4:30 or so, I found myself lying on a couch in my suite's living room (after preparing Koda's dinner in the full kitchen), watching the plasma TV. Not too shabby for a $100 room. But when my stomach started growling around 6:00, I decided to find somewhere to grab dinner. I donned my sneakers and puffy vest, leashed Koda, and stepped outside... into about 4 inches of snow. Already. That was the point when I realized I might be here longer than I hoped. So I hit up a grocery store, grabbed some muffins, fruit and other essentials to get me through a day, and hunkered in for the night.

This morning, I woke up to about 21 inches of snow on the ground, with reports of at least 10 more coming. More than I saw in Canada over the last two months! The weather reports are taking over all the local TV channels, and it's reported that this is the most snowfall in years. And of course, since I'm heading to North Carolina where it's supposed to be warm and snow-free, I didn't bother bringing my winter boots or jacket. Which means that when I take Koda outside, I'm wading through ass-deep snow drifts wearing jeans and sneakers. Which, contrary to popular belief, is not the warmest or driest outdoor gear... and yet I can't help but laugh at the irony of the situation, and at Koda jumping into snow drifts that cover up to the tips of her ears. It's pretty hilarious!

So for now I'm hunkered down, wearing my pyjamas and watching TV (because my wet jeans are the only real clothes I packed in my overnight bag, and the rest of my stuff is buried in my car under a couple feet of snow. Plus, the doors are currently frozen shut, which I realized when I tried to un-bury Chazz enough to grab some stuff for Koda.) I'm hoping that the snow ends by tonight, and the plows make the roads passable by tomorrow... but reports are conflicting as to whether or not the Maryland National Guard is going to be able to dig us out by then. In the meantime I guess I'll just enjoy the forced relaxation, laugh at Koda in the snow, and take some pictures of the beautiful-yet-heavy blanket of white which is covering literally everything.

Photos to come soon!

Fall-ing

Today, it feels like fall has FINALLY arrived. And I couldn't be happier. All day I've felt that need to be cozy that appears when the weather first starts to get cold... the desire to curl up in a blanket, put on a good movie I've seen a million times, and hibernate for a couple of hours. The grocery store all of a sudden has apple cider, and pomegranates, and pumpkins, and a huge variety of squash. I bought nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon sticks in preparation for my weekend. I wore a cozy jacket to the beach this afternoon (although my feet were bare... and are now slightly frozen). Tonight's dinner is creamy sweet potato soup (possibly with a "Fall Harvest" beer...).

It's the south. It's "cold" (aka, warm for this time of year in Canada), and I am remembering why I love fall so much.

So now I'm going to go find my fuzzy blanket, curl up on the couch, and nap in front of 'Love Actually'. Anticipating a brilliant weekend of similar pursuits :)

Sweet Potatoes: The Indecisive Tubers

I just don't get sweet potatoes.

Sure, on the outside they kind of look like potatoes... but cut them open and they're the colour of cantaloupe. Slice them into "fries", they look like carrot sticks. They're in the vegetable category, but they taste sweet like fruit.

What gives?

I'm still on the fence about the presence of sweet potatoes on my grocery list. Fries are currently in the oven... we'll see how they rank.

The Sand Dollar

Today, I took a walk on the beach.

Ever since my first here, I’ve wanted to find a whole sand dollar. One intact, perfectly round, pristinely white sand dollar. That’s not too much to ask, right? So every day as Koda and I take our stroll I keep my eyes on the damp sand, looking for the telltale curve of delicate ivory.

Today, the beach was a necessity. With Koda, a travel mug full of calming coffee, and sand between my toes, I walked to achieve sanity and balance. The beach, uncrowded and cool, was the type of setting that matched my mood so perfectly it would have had my grade 12 English teacher jumping up and down in ecstasy yelling “can you see the pathetic fallacy??” (She really loved her literary devices…) The sky was dark, on the verge of rain that, besides a few stray drops, it managed to keep contained. The wind was strong and chaotic, blowing in all directions at once. The waves churned and crashed on the shore, as if releasing the pent up frustrations and furies of the day. And so, in the company of my pathetic fallacy, I walked.

I decided that today would be the day I would find my sand dollar. Today was the day I needed to find my sand dollar. Finding this elusive sand dollar would make the frustrations and life’s little annoyances fade to the background, and my foul mood would disappear. And so I searched. I looked purposefully and thoroughly, treading carefully in the sand and poking at anything white with my toes. Then when that didn’t pan out, I heeded the old advice that when you stop looking for something, that’s when you’ll find it. So I stopped looking. And guess what?


I didn’t find my sand dollar.

I know that’s not the answer you were expecting, but that’s the end result. I spent over an hour (days, weeks…) searching for my perfect sand dollar, and never found it. I was fully expecting to find it. I figured that I would stumble over it accidentally, a sign that perfection existed somewhere in this world, and that it was within my reach. I didn’t find what I was looking for.

But I realized something on that beach. Sometimes, even if you don’t find what you’re looking for, you stumble across something beautiful and unexpected. A piece of coral washed up on the sand, a deep orange shell so large it could be used as a drinking glass, a piece of a conch which, if intact, could very well be the size of your head. And all of a sudden it doesn’t matter that it isn’t round, or pristine white. It becomes special and perfect in its own way.

And I also realized that I was passing over beautiful shards of sand dollars, halves and quarters and three-quarters, just because they weren’t perfect. They weren’t complete. But maybe that is the beauty of sand dollars: while they are lovely and pure in their unflawed form, they show a fragility and weakness that other tougher shells don’t exhibit. They lose pieces of themselves along the way, sometimes only a little, sometimes a lot. Sometimes they lose so much that they are barely recognizable. But they are still beautiful, still perfect in their imperfections. Maybe, just maybe, they are waiting to be picked up, waiting for that one thing that will make them feel whole again.

Maybe that’s all we can hope for… to love our imperfections. To find what makes us feel whole.

Today I took a walk on the beach. Today, I feel better.

The Fox and the Hound(?)*

*The "Hound" has a question mark because I don't actually know if Koda is part hound or not. Signs (and sounds) point to yes.

Immediately after writing the previous post, I decided to take Koda to the beach to work off some of the energy and boredom (hers and mine). We went down to Radio Island, the closest beach to us (albeit the smallest). Since it was only her second time visiting the ocean, Koda was far more interested in walking and sniffing than actually playing, even though I made sure to bring a tennis ball for fetch. So we walked and sniffed and collected shells for about an hour, then decided to head back home and get some dinner. But, on our way back up the beach, a very unexpected visitor was blocking our path:



Not the usual fox you'd see at the beach... for one thing, this one wasn't in a tiny bikini. But it was there all the same! Koda and I kept our distance and just watched as it played in the sand, ate some pieces of fish that some beach-goers threw to it, and lounged in the shade. I was a little worried at first, because it seemed rather interested in Koda (I think it was confused by the ears... they had the same ones), but Koda was good and just sat and watched, not once trying to chase it.

Apparently this particular fox is a regular visitor to this beach, so next time I go I'll be sure to bring my camera and try to get some good pics. Until then, you can look at the lovely pic that I found on the internet.

Ten Signs That I’m Back in the South

1. Even if there is a relatively strong breeze, the weather is so hot and humid that after two minutes outside my house I’m covered in a sheen of sweat.

2. After 5 minutes playing outside in the early afternoon, Koda comes inside, chugs half a bowl of water, flops on the kitchen floor, and refuses to move for at least half an hour.

3. At the grocery store, it is common to hear people employ the word “y’all” and speak with strong accents resembling those on the movie Sweet Home Alabama.

4. When I visit any of the local beaches, people are actually swimming or just lying in the water. It’s actually warm enough to do that here (since the water is more like bathwater than refreshing ocean water). Unlike in the North Atlantic or North Pacific, where I’m most used to “swimming”.

5. The weather reports include sections on surf conditions and hurricane warnings.

6. The food items left in our house from the previous tenants included instant stovetop cornbread and “fruit ice” (aka Popsicles).

7. There are rocking chairs on most of the front porches (although not ours… we have a couple plastic Muskoka chairs and my basket chair).

8. Walking Koda down my street, I both get catcalled by unruly (and somewhat rude) young men, and have true southern gentlemen wish me a good day and comment on what a pretty little dog I have.

9. My jean collection, which is usually my fashion staple, has been pushed to the back of my closet in favour of shorts, skirts and capris.

And Finally…

10. The three local grocery stores are the Harris Teeter, the Food Lion, and … no joke… the Piggly Wiggly.

Orientation and classes start on Monday, so I’ll update when I have more to tell! In the meantime I’ll be finishing setting up my house (I HAVE A HOUSE!) and getting Koda settled. Will post pics when things are prettier.

Better Late Than Never...

A post written August 10th, saved and forgotten on my computer...

En Route

It’s over.

My month on Canada’s west coast has officially come to an end, and I honestly have mixed feelings about it. I’m writing this from a small coffee shop in Port McNiell, BC, where I’m waiting for a Greyhound bus to take me to Comox where I’ll catch a flight home (via Calgary and Toronto). I finally have time to reflect on the last month of my life, and I thought that since I have a couple of hours with nothing to do, I’d share some of my ponderings. (Although with lack of free Internet access, this will actually be posted after I’m home.)

I went into this internship with admittedly negative feelings, after months of confusion and changing plans and fluid details. I know that’s not the best way to start a new adventure. The negative feelings at the beginning coloured the rest of the trip. But I won’t lie to you, dear readers, when the time came to actually leave for this trip, I didn’t even want to go anymore. (I think it had something to do with the whole “you’re hired!” “no wait, you’re un-hired…” “you’re re-hired!” “nope, changed our minds, you’re re-un-hired…” “well maybe we can work something out…” “nope, you can come if you pay us rent, and a $20 volunteer fee” “oh, by the way, you’re camping for a month” thing. But there’s really no telling for sure.) Because of this, my entire trip was one giant countdown to the time when I could go home again.

Don’t get me wrong, the trip had its good parts. In fact, it even had its brilliant and Downright Amazing parts. Yet another life-changing experience. This was the first time I’d ever really studied killer whales, having spent the majority of my Whale-Woman career focused on humpbacks and Right whales. (“Whale Woman” being the nickname I was given by one of my amazing volunteers. And no, he wasn’t calling me fat.) They truly are beautiful, fascinating creatures, with complex social systems rivaling our own. I’d love to come back to the west some day to study more about Orca behaviour, but who knows where life’s paths will lead me?

But, as is the point of this post, things out here weren’t all rainbows and sunshine (although we did have amazing weather when I was out here, which made camping a whole lot more enjoyable). I won’t get into things here because, although I’ll never lie to my readers, there are things that I just shouldn’t say online. Plus I’m not that petty. But those who have endured my rants over the last month know what I’m talking about. Lets just say that after one encounter, a very intuitive volunteer turned to me and noted “you must either be extremely laid-back, or just really, really flexible. They’re throwing a lot at you… it’s a good thing you can roll with the punches.”

But, as with all life-changing experiences, this trip taught me a lot about myself and what I can do. It pushed my limits in more ways than one, and for that I’m grateful. I learned that no matter how many times I declared over my lifetime that I would never pee in the woods, sometimes it’s necessary. I also learned that a little creativity and some conveniently-shaped driftwood can make a pit-toilet a whole lot more comfortable.

I learned that I can be patient, but there’s only so much “patience” one can employ before they just end up becoming somebody’s doormat. And after learning that, I learned to stand up for myself and express my point of view without it turning into a big thing, and I learned that sometimes compromise is necessary (even if the compromise really makes no sense in the long run… sometimes you just have to appease people).

I learned never to write convoluted blog entries that I think are funny and witty, but that may make others think that an acquaintance/friend/boyfriend passed away during my journey. (Don’t worry, everyone is alive and well! It was only my expensive sunglasses that made the fateful journey to their final resting place – a.k.a. the bottom of Johnstone Strait.)

I learned that I actually enjoy wilderness camping (as long as there’s access to a shower every few days), that I can “be in charge” of a group of adults and actually feel like they’re willing to listen to me rather than just humour me (since I look so young, sometimes it’s easy to believe that people twice my age are more likely to gaze at me and go “oh isn’t that sweet, she’s trying to teach us stuff!” rather than actually listen to my instructions). I learned to live with a boy (since, growing up with only sisters and female roommates, I’d never learned how previously), and how to curl up in exactly the right position to make sleeping on a couch for a month slightly comfortable. I learned that climbing a mountain daily is great exercise, but scaling rock faces is probably not something I’d do for fun. I re-learned that I bruise easily, and that black-and-blue legs are even less attractive than pasty legs. I learned plenty more too, but I should probably wind it up here.

Most importantly, I realized that no matter where in the world I may be, and no matter how long I’ve been away, there really is no place like home. And home is not necessarily a particular place or a particular house, it’s wherever you find those you love. And as of now, with 20-odd hours of traveling still left in front of me, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.

The countdown is on. Again.

Goodbye, Dear Friend

Today I bid a final farewell to my dear friend, Maui Jim.

MJ, I have to admit it wasn’t love at first sight. That early January day when we met at the Hut in the mall, your subtle grace and understated style did not immediately attract my attention. I was swayed by the overt beauty of Burberry and the solid construction and reliability of Oakley. But when I took the time to get to know you and give you a shot, your strong arms gently cradled my face in a way no others could; snug and stable, but not tight enough to pinch. Your beautiful amber colouring allowed me to see the world in a completely new light, everything in sharper contrast than before. I knew from that moment on that we were meant to be.

In the short time we knew each other, you protected me against the glare of snow on a frozen lake, the bright summer rays filtering through the windshield on long car trips, and the glinting, blinding light dancing off the waves as we dashed through the ocean in a small zodiac. On our final journey, we bobbed gently in the waves of Johnstone Strait in our bright yellow kayak, sharing views of spruce-covered mountains and kelp-lined shores. Just before parting, we witnessed a pod of porpoises flitting by, leaping happily through the waves without a care in the world.

Then, as if thinking you could never top this shared moment, you slipped gently from your preferred perch on my head and dove into the water below. My deafening wail of despair and my desperate reach toward you were of no avail, since you slipped gently through the fingers of my jacketed arm that was plunged elbow-deep in the frigid ocean. As I worked to keep the kayak upright while I reached for you, you winked a gentle goodbye and slipped farther into the darkness.

I’ll never let go, Jim. I’ll never let go.

For the rest of the day, my wet arm reminded me of the times we shared together, and the future that was now beyond our reach. While our friends toss out words of condolence and promises of newer, cheaper pairs at the local grocery store, my sadness still flows strongly. Yes, Maui Jim, you will be replaced. But you will never be forgotten.

So goodbye, dear sunglasses. You will be sorely missed.

A Desperate Plea to my B.C. Readers

Do you like whales...? And camping...? (*insert patented creepy smile*)

I'm looking for some volunteers to help me out gathering data for my masters project over the next month. So if you live anywhere near Vancouver Island (Alert Bay, to be exact) or can take a few days off and come up here to hang out with me and some killer whales, then I would be eternally grateful! Here's a copy of my desperate plea that I'm flinging out far and wide... (although it's not actually written by me. My copy was immediately discarded because it wasn't persuasive enough.)



VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR WHALE RESEARCH

I’m a Masters student and Straitwatch volunteer looking for help with land-based whale/boat traffic observations in the Johnstone Strait area. Tasks include helping to collect and record data on whale activities and vessel traffic from a cliff-top observation point. While out there we will be camping at Kaikash for 3 to 4 days at a time. I’m looking for someone who enjoys spending time outdoors, has camping experience and is interested in learning more about whales.

This is a great opportunity to gain field experience. This position is based out of Alert Bay so you will need to arrive the day prior to the volunteer dates listed below. From Alert Bay a small boat will take us to Kaikash where we will camp and the boat will pick us up on the last day. There is minimal cost involved with this opportunity as you only need to be a member of Cetus Research & Conservation Society ($20 membership fee) to participate. However, you will need to provide your own camping gear and food while we are out there.

Volunteers are needed for the following dates:
July 21-23
July 27-29
July 31- August 3
August 5-8

If interested in any or all of these dates, please contact Robyn Walker at robynpwalker@yahoo.ca, or Straitwatch at 250-974-7056


Help me out, if you can!!

A School-Blog Reject...

... or just something I've been trying to post for a few days, but for some reason the website doesn't want to load properly for me here. So enjoy!

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Where in the world is…?

This July, while my classmates are sweating it out in the rainforests of Costa Rica, Borneo and Madagascar, I’m sporting a winter hat and mittens. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

July 11th, I arrived on the northern tip of Vancouver Island in beautiful British Columbia to start my somewhat shortened summer internship. For exactly one month, I’m working for an organization called Straitwatch which studies boat activity near whales (specifically killer whales) in Johnstone Strait and the surrounding areas. For the last two days I’ve gone out on their zodiac, following a few humpback whales, a group of five incredibly acrobatic transient killer whales, a few dozen Dahl’s porpoises and a few hundred Pacific white-sided dolphins (which spent some of their time bow-riding just a short distance below my feet). Suddenly, the hat and mittens I threw in my luggage “just in case” have become daily accessories.

On land, the temperature is only slightly lower than what I’ve gotten used to for this time of the year, averaging about 20-30 degrees Celsius on a warm day. But on the water, it’s a whole other story. In the channels around the islands, the clouds and sometimes dense fog block out the sun and make the temperature drop a few degrees. The dampness on the water adds to the temperature drop, and the spray and wind from the zodiac makes it even colder. So by the end of the day, I’m thanking my lucky stars that I “over-packed” and brought my 2 sweaters, jacket and rain pants with me because I will have already put them all on less than an hour into the trip. But in the late afternoon when the fog lifts briefly to expose the vistas of rich green forests and the towering mountains lining the channels, it’s more than worth it.

Being a winter-child, I have absolutely nothing against the cold. I’d much rather be bundled up and shivering a bit than dressed down and melting. So the job conditions work just fine for me! I love being out on the water for the first time in a couple of years, and I’m remembering some things that have slipped my mind since my last boating gig. For one, it doesn’t take much time to get my sea-legs (even though anybody who knows me can attest that I’m less than graceful on land), but it takes at least three times as long to get my land-legs back. (As I’m writing this, the computer is swaying gently from side to side… as is the couch.) Also, no matter how many times I see the tell-tale arch of a humpback’s back that means it’s going to fluke, or the towering, graceful dorsal fin of a killer whale slicing through the water, or the flashing happy grin of a dolphin surfing the bow wave, it never fails to take my breath away.

Before I left home, one of my sisters gave me a hug and said “you better have fun out there, this is what you’ll be doing for the rest of your life.”

Have no fear, Kate. I could totally get used to this.

Say Goodnight, Not Goodbye

It’s nights like these that make me remember why I miss Ottawa.

It’s a place so full of life, so comforting in its familiarity, never dull with all its goings-on. This evening, I stood in the summer heat and watched the sun set over the skyline, punctuated by the winking windows of the parliament buildings, while the strong tempo and crooning lyrics of Metric lead the city from daytime to night. Sitting on a blanket of grass under a ceiling of stars, I let the rasping, soulful, heart-wrenching vocals of Ben Harper break me to pieces and reconfigure me in a million different ways. Breathing in the earthy smell of the damp grass, the sweet and heavy aroma of marijuana and the tangy smell of spilled beer, I felt completely at ease. Ottawa is a place that embraces but does not smother, that allows anonymity without invisibility, that accepts differences and encourages originality. It’s a place where you can be surrounded by hundreds of people, and still manage to find your childhood best friend, that guy your roommate had a crush on in first year, and your best friend’s sister’s ex-fiancé that you accidentally dated once.

Tomorrow I fly off again to the newest version of my own Far Far Away. And every time I leave, it feels like yet another terrible break-up. The bittersweet kind where you smile sadly and promise to stay friends, but you know deep down inside that it can never be the same again. Every plane takeoff, every border crossing brings that now familiar ache of loss and nostalgia, the memories of what was and the dreams of what could have been tugging strangely at my insides.

Sure, there have been other cities. And there will be many more. There will be new affairs, new flings with other city streets, and possibly one day even a new love. But Ottawa was my first. The place where I first made my mark, the place where I learned to spread my wings, the place where I got to know the girl I would become. And, because of that, it will always be the one that all others get measured against, for better or for worse.

So goodnight Ottawa, until we meet again.

Am I Simon or Garfunkel?

Ok, so the last few weeks have been ridiculously crazy, and really not that fun. Lots of stuff going on school-wise and work-wise, as well as all the ups and downs of trying to find a summer internship, thinking I had one in B.C., planning a roadtrip to get there, finding out the funding fell through, and scrambling to find another job only to realize my summer plans would inevitably include going back to Almonte. So probably no whales this summer, unless I manage to weasel my way into a tagging trip with one of my profs off the coast of Boston (with the people I worked with at the Whale Center, which could be fun!)

BUT, I have something far cuddlier than whales to look forward to....



Internet, meet Koda!



Her name is short for Kodachrome, which is the very first colour film put out by Kodak. Yes, I'm a huge photo-geek... but I wanted to pick a name that would reflect some of my interests, and "Humpback" just wasn't doing it for me. Get over it. Revel in her cuteness for a bit.



Now, some of you may be thinking that this was a spur-of-the-moment decision, and that I just decided to get a puppy to make myself feel better after everything else was falling through, but you would be wrong. (And if this is what you're thinking, no offense but I don't really want to hear about it... too many people have already told me it's a stupid idea. Don't believe them.) This decision has been 5 years in the making... 5 long years of longing for a pet of my own, and having to settle for goldfish because of various travel commitments and allergies that prevented me from getting anything that could exist outside of a bowl... and then 2 years of having to leave my beloved goldfish with my parents because they couldn't be safely transported across the border. Because my job in B.C. fell through for the summer, I now have the time and space back home to train and bond with a puppy, and if I don't jump at the chance now it will be at least another few years before it comes around again. So now I'm looking forward to heading back to to my Home in Native Land, chasing a few job leads there, and spending the summer playing with my new little ball of love.

Koda (formerly Tabby) is from a local dog rescue organization, and is being fostered in a house about 40 minutes away from where I live. I sign the adoption papers on Saturday, and I've arranged for her to stay on at the foster's house until the end of April (because I can't have a dog where I live now... it's against my lease, and I live with my landlord. Who is also highly allergic to puppies, even though she loves them.) So the plan is, I finish all my school stuff and exams, visit her whenever I want and kidnap her for the occasional daytrip, then pick her up for keeps the day I move out.

I can't wait!!!


But every time I say her name, I get a little tune by Simon and Garfunkel stuck in my head...



Ok, so it's apparently just Paul Simon.... but it's great anyways :)

New Photos

So it may seem as if I've been slacking off on the whole "photo-a-day" thing, however I've been hard at work going over my Costa Rica pictures, picking my favourites, and posting them to flickr. You can visit my site here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rpizzle/

The trip was amazing, and it was just an incredible experience. I saw so many different types of animals and plants that I never even knew existed, or had only seen pictures of. I got to see 3 different types of monkeys (capuchin, howler and spider monkeys), two different types of sloth, a bunch of different lizards and reptiles, and about a million different types of birds. (Alright, that may be an exaggeration, but we saw lots). Oh, and as well as showering with a tree frog, I showered with a gecko. So all in all a successful trip!

Enjoy the photos, and feel free to let me know what you think!

Ola from Costa Rica!

Hey folks! As the title may suggest, I am in fact in Costa Rica. At La Selva research station, to be exact. I was planning on posting a few pictures from the last few days, however I seem to have left the jump drive with the photos in my room, and seeing as it's about a 5 minute walk from the dorm to the computer room and it's currently pouring (they don't call it a rainforest for nothing!) I decided to wait and just post when I get back.

In the meantime, I'll just list a few of the crazy cool things I've seen and done:
1) Went to the beach and waded in the Pacific
2) Spent a few nights at Palo Verde research station in the dry forest
3) Showered with a tree frog
4) Watched the sun go down over the wetlands where a bunch of different bird species were hanging out, then went on a night hike through the dry forest
5) Saw howler monkeys, white-faced capuchin monkeys (both with babies!), a scarlet macaw, crocodiles galore, iguanas, coatis, agoutis, poisonous snakes, glowing scorpions, all sorts of birds (including white ibis, rosy spoonbill and a toucan, amongst MANY others), poison dart frogs, leaf-cutter ants, a peccary, and probably a million other animals that I'm forgetting
6) hiked at the base of an active volcano (although it was too foggy to actually see anything)
7) Rode a horse to the edge of the rainforest then went ziplining through the canopy a few hundred feet up, which was AMAZING (who knew I could do that with my fear of falling?? Be proud!), then afterwards spent a few hours at the hot springs
8) Hiked through the rainforest with a guide who could point out a bunch of the thousands of plant species here
9) Stood and watched a sloth hanging in a tree
10) Went to the pineapple plantation where they produce all the organic pineapples for Dole, Whole Foods and President's Choice

We've done a ton more amazingly cool stuff, but that's just a basic outline of my journey thus far. Tonight we're going out to catch bats and insects, tomorrow we're going to visit a banana plantation, and other than that I'm not entirely sure what's coming up. But it's bound to be great!

Check out our trip blog to see what we're doing: www.nicholas.duke.edu/costarica
I haven't posted yet, but I think a few of my photos are up and I'll hopefully be posting within the next couple of days. Stay tuned!

Long Day is Over...

...and still no photos. Sorry, again. Had class starting at 8:30 this morning, spent my lunch hour in front of a computer cramming, then wrote 2 back to back midterms tonight (pretty sure I blew them both, too). Finished at 8:30 p.m. A solid 12 hours. Recovered with a glass of wine and a mind-blowing episode of Lost, and now I'm ready for bed.

I'll try to post something tomorrow.... then a 10-day hiatus while I'm in Costa Rica!

Sorry Folks...

No photo for today. It's been kind of hectic, and I just didn't find time to bring my camera out. And now I'm just too wiped.

Tomorrow's looking pretty ridiculous as well... I'll do my best, but no promises!