it's no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then

Passion

- allows a person to not sleep, not eat, not socialize and still feel amazingly happy.

This is what is driving me through my life right now.  A passion for science, for conservation, for the ocean and for helping people understand the vastness of what nature offers us.

I have no idea where I will live in 9 months and that is so exciting I can barely take the suspense.

I believe that I could live forever sustained by this passion and never once feel the need for input of another.

I am happy, good at what I do and proud of my hardwork.

However, this does not prevent me from disliking the bug who snuck inside my house and is buzzing around.

Cheers and happy day to everyone!

:)

"Pro" -crastinating

I have done everything to avoid studying for my Geology test tomorrow.

"Everything?" you ask.

Have you:

Watched The Office reruns?  
      -yes

Looked up apartments in Maine?
      -yes

Given yourself a haircut?
      -yes

Practiced the moved to the Thriller dance following an instructional video series?
       -uhh.... yes, yes I have.


It's for my friend's wedding!

Hello Maine

First university to respond to my email queries about having an opening for me in Fall 2010.

Joint Masters of Marine Science and Marine Policy at the University of Maine.

Weee!  My first glimmer of interest by a potential advisor!

:)

Fish Passion

What gets this peaceful Southern lady fired up?

Overfishing, the callous and indiscriminate removal of marine life from OUR collective oceans.

So fired up, in fact, that I am going to start a new blog devoted to the crisis our oceans are facing.

So fired up, my hands shake when I think of how bleak this vast ecosystems future looks.

So fired up, I am gonna do something about it!

No sitting idly by as 70% of our planet get plundered so people in Cleveland can eat mediocre spicy tuna rolls at an all you can eat Japanese restaurant.

I am a woman of action and my time to act is now.

Well, maybe not exactly now- because I gotta get into grad school, but this is my life's purpose and I shall not back down until all fish are safe and the jellyfish have lost the war.

Oktoberfest

I love Fall.  My indicator that Fall has indeed come to South Texas is the arrival of Oktoberfest beer.

It never fails that I will forget that I really don't care for Spaten's Oktoberfest and buy it first.  It does not please my pallet.  Sadly, it is always one of the first available beers.  Soon, the rest will come.  Orange colored, spicy and delicious!

Give me some Irish cheddar, some salty pretzels and a pint glass full of Fall!

Free time?

not in existence.

But finding, I really don't mind as I am so in love with what I am doing and the idea of what the future holds!

I do miss the beach though.

F'ed up dinner :(

Didn't think idea through and tried to make oven "fried" chicken with no oil involved, at all.

Added oil sprinkles to pan at last minute, and now oven smokes.

Also, have hard avocados for my salad...

At least desert should be fool-proof: sautéed pears, oatmeal cookie crumbles and ice cream.

Guess we can fill up on that if all else bombs!

:)

Doing what you love.

There is no substitute.

No alternative.

No other options.

Your gut tells you, you know the answer, and you should listen, always.

Satisfaction in life comes from listening to your gut and following your happiness.

Exciting day of research!

I found two people in schools I can easily see myself getting accepted into whose research involves my passion- bluefin tuna!

The contenders:

Texas A&M, Galveston.  I was actually supposed to move here for my undergrad- so, I have already been accepted here once.  And, I know people who have completed graduate degrees in the very same lab I now dream of!  And, my current mentor knows and works with my dream future mentor- so, surely he can put in a good word or two!  I feel good about this option.  Although my lab manager did say this lab is very competitive.

The other possibility is at the University of Maryland.  This potential future graduate mentor works with the other one, but he is not in Texas which would be a nice change!  I would love to be in this part of the world.

So many interesting options are out there for the future!  I change my mind daily, but man oh man- did finding these tuna researchers with just a few degrees of separation from me get me all jazzed up!!  Weee!!!!!!!

Suck.

Ten days into hard core working out and it's weigh in day #2...

Really?

I gained 0.4 pounds?

Really?

Bah, here's hoping next Sunday brings better news!

Nice boys don't kiss like that-

Thank you Mark Darcy because, "Yes, they fucking do."

And thanks to the Universe for good friends who love Bridget Jones' Diary, margaritas and nachos as much as myself.

Sore from working from working out like a madwoman, and tired, but happy.  Happy for good friends, good tequila and good chick flicks!

Life is so good!

:)

My life these days.

Working out- I put this first as I didn't have gym access all Summer and now am a kid in a candy store!  Yoga, kickboxing, pilates... I am eating up the free aerobics classes like sour patch kids!

Dogs- thirty minutes walk, two times a day.  Bare minimum!  Trying to keep the ladies as healthy as possible!

GRE- ugh, basic math, big words... bleh.  Gotta get a good score!

Grad school mentors and grant applications... exciting!  Also, ready to be done and have somewhere lined up for next Fall!

Good tequila and imitation Grand Marnier- mmmm... so expensive and so yummy!  Best margaritas forty bucks can buy!

Time for a dog walk!

Ups and downs

I try really hard to not squander precious time here on this planet being sad or depressed. I feel I wasted so much time in my younger days because I was so unhappy and felt so alone all the time. I thought I was a tortured soul- which is ironic because it has been suicides of people I care about that helped me to realize life is for celebrating, not enduring. And I try to not focus on little things and appreciate every day for the small joys.

It is so easy to feel alone. Push a few people away and it is easy to convince yourself you are alone in the world. Put your guard up and build a few walls and you are untouchable- when the truth is your frieds are all still there, just a phone call away.

I feel a little lost right now. I guess I don't know where I am headed or what is going on right now. The only thing I feel I am sure about is that I love my work and I am so thankful to have that one thing to focus my energy on. A focal point to keep my eye on while everything else settles into place.

I could barely get out of bed yesterday, but that was yesterday, and to be truthful, I didn't even realize anything was wrong until about 5 pm when it occured to be, "Hey, I am usually out doing things at this point!" And maybe I was just tired, it's been a hectic summer for me, sometimes we all need to hibernate.

Today will not be squandered, I am going to seize the day and "live deliberately" (Thanks Thoreau)!

The world awaits!

(And my spell check button is missing!  Where did it go?)

Unspeakable joy.

Something I have fantasized about at length for a few months now-

brand new pillows!!!

Amazing! Heaven!

If you don't remember when you last replaced your pillows I recommend this:

1. Take off pillowcases, do not immediately replace.

2. Inspect and wonder, "So, do I actually drool that much- or was it the dogs?"

3. Shudder and go replace all pillows.

I got Ralph Lauren extra firm, amazing, heavenly pillows for an astonishing $5.49 each at Ross Dress for Less!

Woo-hoo! Cannot wait to sleep tonight!

Big sigh.

The value of waking up in one's own bed after a few weeks on the road cannot be descibed.

I was confused when I first began to rouse, "Where am I?", I pondered. "Oh yeah, home!"

Big sigh. "Ahhhh....."