Day 3

Ok, so my internship this far has been overwhelming, informative, interesting, and overwhelming. 

Oops I said overwhelming twice. I'm just gonna keep it there, it deserves to be said twice. 

Anyways my job has been a little bit of this and a little bit of that. But mainly I've been working on some data loggers for my blue crab project starting next week. Calibrating them, figuring out how it all works, banging the computer a few times in frustration because I don't do computers. You know, the usual stuff that goes along with learning a new technology. 

Field work starts next week so we are trying to prepare as much as possible this week with the loggers and data sheets and boat equipment. We don't have the largest boat at the lab so we will be a little crammed on there. So the more prepared we are ahead of time, the better. 

We deployed a flounder trap off the dock at the lab just for some practice with data loggers attached. While bringing up the trap this afternoon to put one of the loggers on it, we found a couple blue crabs in it!

They're sort of hard to see but they are in the top of the picture. The bait is in the middle of the trap. Sadly they escaped the trap before we could take them out and use them as test subjects. Scientific summertime sadness. But I have a feeling that there will be a lot more where those two came from. 

It's Been a Whirlwind

I have been in such a whirlwind that I haven't been able to even think about posting on this blog for the past couple of days. So so so sorry. I know my multitudes of fans are reading this shaking their heads at me in disappointment.

Well, I'm here! Here at the research lab, 2 days in, and I'm already swamped with stuff. I will definitely be learning a bunch this summer. I'm working in a marine fisheries lab, and my background is definitely not fisheries, so we'll see how this goes. I have a lot to do but it'll be worth it. Whatever experience I can get.

My project is mainly about blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) and its abundance here in the Mississippi Sound. I can't get into too many details because it's just the first couple days, but later on it will come together. Adjustments to the details of the project may happen based on how field work goes and how the data looks and so on.

We will be going out on a little skiff not even 20 feet long. It probably fits 2 people, 3 max. It's a little guy alright. We'll be setting out traps for blue crab and flounder (for another project), baiting them, and coming back to check them later on in the week. That field work will most likely start next week, mid-week.

Because of the flounder project going on simultaneously, I have become an expert at filleting flounder. So many flounder have come in to be worked up, and the lab will fillet the catch for you complimentarily. Yeah, no extra charge people. Come right on down, I'll be here all summer!

I've already told the whole lab that I get sea sick, so they have been warned...Hopefully I won't get sickly, because I have a lot more responsibility this summer than last summer. I won't have like 30 other students to step up to the plate for me. I'm taking a half dose of Bonine every morning to get it into my system so maybe that will work?? Ugh I hope so.

NEWS!

This is it: I'm leaving for the Gulf Coast in 3 days! Wow, I seriously can't believe it came this fast. Graduation was last Saturday and now I'm about to start my first internship.

OH! And I meant to post something about this last week, but let's be real, I was a tad busy...

Graduation + Exams + Packing + Moving out of my apartment + Re-packing for the internship + A baby bit of Netflix = ultimate chaos and no spare time whatsoever.
Ugh, I just got tired from writing that.

I got accepted into the Graduate Program at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW)!!! God is so good! That was the only school I was accepted to, but who cares, I was accepted! I found this out 3 days before graduation. It was a wonderful graduation present. So add "Looking for apartments in North Carolina" and "Enrolling in grad school" to the little equation up there. Yeah, my life right now...

I won't complain. The apartment hunting is actually pretty fun for me. I'm seeing myself in a new chapter and it's fantastic. I can't wait! AND you millions of readers out there will hear of more coastal adventures! (Yeah, I know there are millions of you.) Most of my work will be genetics-based, but I'll be a quick little drive away from the Atlantic Ocean! Ah!
Spending a life living at least 7 hours away from the ocean is a struggle when you have a coastal dream. But still, I've gotten used to living land-locked all my life here in Tennessee. It'll be weird. But a good weird. An awesome weird.

Updates later!!

Get Ready for More

I can thankfully update you all that I will be back in Ocean Springs this summer! I applied for a summer internship at the Gulf Coast Research Lab a few months ago and was accepted! I can't lie when I say that I was completely shocked. And obviously I was humbled. There is apparently more for me to do down in Mississippi, and I'm not complaining.

This summer will be filled with update after update, so just get ready for more. I know you've been patiently waiting for something like this to happen. You're living vicariously through me. It's ok, I'm honored ;) Anyways, I'll be in Ocean Springs for 8 weeks studying under a faculty at the marine lab. According to the information I've been given so far, I'll be working with menhaden. Menhaden is a huge part of U.S. fisheries. It will definitely be an informative, eye-opening experience for me. But it'll be fun. And geeky. And probably filled with sea-sickness. But that's just a given, guys. You remember last summer.

P.S: Graduation in 33 days whaaat

Thanks for the Memories

This is it. It's my last night here in Ocean Springs. This is definitely a bittersweet night. I'm looking forward to coming back to Tennessee and seeing my loved ones. Oh, how wonderful that will be. But I still have this place in the back of my mind. I'm going to miss the beach...the people...the experiences I wouldn't be able to get anywhere else. I've gotten used to having all of these opportunities right at my fingertips here. My reality is living in a land-locked state with a coastal dream. I'm probably going to miss that feeling the most. Just the feeling of having opportunity right here in front of me.

So, a tribute. This is a post for all the good times I had here on the Gulf coast. A highlights reel, if you will. If you haven't been keeping up with my journey, here's a recap of the past 6 weeks of my life.

My first actual day in class. My herpetology girls at the local beach.

My snake handling experiences in Ward Bayou in Coastal Herpetology. I was a beast at it. No fear!

Holding a glass lizard. Extremely fragile and rare to find.

Oh, camping in herpetology...those were some crazy times.

Biggest crawfish I have ever seen!

I call this snake my personal catch! I caught her in one of my traps I set. A beautiful Mississippi Green Water snake. She was my favorite. 

Black pine snake handling. They are the coolest. But they hiss...

The corn snake that had an affinity for my head. I enjoyed the attention. And there were obviously some legit pictures that came along with the experience. One of my favorite moments.

Kayaking on Cane Bayou in Louisiana. We even caught a juvenile alligator, while kayaking! So freaking amazing. Seriously. And beautiful.

Seeing dolphins on every boat trip in Shark Biology. They brighten my day, every time. It never gets old. They're such graceful creatures.

Making friends in lecture. Living humans and dead sharks included.

Participating in tedious boat activities. They were probably tedious to the pros onboard, but I couldn't get enough of it.

Having a first-hand experience seeing a 7-foot great hammerhead. Absolutely beautiful shark. So so so amazing. My heart jumps every time I see the pictures!

Tagging a blacktip shark by myself! Probably one of the biggest highlights, if not the biggest. I can't believe that happened. It still amazes me that I was there and did that.

Coastal Herpetology. Thanks for the awesome herpy memories. I had a blast. 

Shark Biology. You crazy kids. I'll never forget the amazing times I had.

I thank God for every moment that I had here. There's no telling what will be next for me. I will be patiently waiting for my next adventure according to His will.

Keep Calm and Science On

Last boat trip. Yep. Sadness. I have to post pictures because I know you guys are freaking out waiting to see them. I had mentioned earlier that I got to tag a blacktip shark, so here's the proof of my adventure! Here ya go!

Getting ready for a good boat day! My friend was kind of tired...it was an early day.

And the forecast called for rain...ridiculous.

We had to throw our guns up. Go, back row! Represent!

I got to measure another shark! An Atlantic sharpnose. We had a good amount of those. They were definitely in abundance.

Sharks everywhere. It was thumbs-up worthy.

I'm putting used hooks into the barrels after we take them off the longline. We check each hook one by one. That's 100 hooks, people. It took a while, especially with the amount of sharks we had.

Here's the shark I measured! Pretty picture time!

This is one of the blacktip sharks we caught! We actually caught 2 blacktips. I tagged one of them. This was the first one and I tagged the second one.

This was the second blacktip. Mine! It was a flopper, alright. Full of energy, which is good. Sometimes the sharks caught are extremely sluggish or deceased. 

In the process of tagging. I just popped the tag in with that wooden handle. It was the coolest thing I've probably ever done. Ever. This tops it all.

Cheesin' with some fellow shark scientists!

We also got to dissect a female shark onboard on our way back! This bull shark was caught a couple days before on a gill net. She was pretty. And probably the smelliest shark ever in existence.

Shark selfie had to happen. Obviously.

In the process of dissection. It. Was. Smelly. But a good review of the internal organs and different systems.

 This is the only evidence of one of the bull sharks that were caught on the line. Both of these bull sharks were huge. Like, freaking enormous. Unfortunately they both broke their line. So we saw them but didn't get to haul them up onto the boat. It was so sad. But I'm just so happy with how the rest of the day went that I really didn't mind.

 Crazy class photo! We barely all fit on the boat. It's been fun, Shark Bio. Really fun. I've learned a lot. Not just about sharks, but also about myself. There have been bad days, like getting sea sick every Friday. There have been good days, like the last boat trip. I loved it all. Thanks for the memories. Shark biologists are the bomb, no question. I'm looking forward to my next steps, whatever those look like, toward my future. 

Only a few more words to say...

Keep calm and science on.

Thankfulness

You know, God showed up today.

Today was the last boat day of class and I thought 100% I would get sick at some point in the journey. But I wore these bracelets and took double the dosage of sea sick medicine and I was perfectly fine! I was super pumped. I actually got to do stuff! And participate like I wanted to! It was wonderful. I even got to tag a huge blacktip shark that we caught from our longline! Seriously, I had the best day. Except for the sunburn...

On our way back to the campus I finally got to sit down and just think. Just relax and try to take things in from what had just happened. You know, I joke around a lot about getting sea sick and stuff but it really has been discouraging. Especially since I want to be a marine biologist. I mean, come on. And then today was perfect and I was completely fine, unlike the other trips from earlier in the summer. It lifted me up so much. I didn't fully realize how much of an encouragement this trip was for me until I got to reflect back on it.

I think back to all the times I have been discouraged by others or circumstances in my life. So many times I have thought, "Why the heck am I doing this? Is this really what I'm supposed to do?" I become doubtful so easily. Even with the small things. Like getting sea sick. It seems small to you but it was a big deal to me. And then things work out and I'm like, "Yes. This is what I'm here for. Why did I ever doubt?" It makes me appreciate the little things in my journey so much more. Like today, I felt just overwhelmingly thankful. I just kept praying, "Thank You. Thank You for this life. Thank you for Your providence. Thank You for keeping me from throwing up! Just, thank You." It's been this phrase on replay in my mind. I'm just so thankful. For the encouraging days. For the discouraging days. In the end, it's all part of the plan. It's all for His glory. I wouldn't have it any other way.

"Give thanks in everything, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
-1 Thessalonians 5:18