Notes from Catalina: Part II (Escape from Alcatraz/Leaving on a midday boat to Long Beach)

Well, that's it. I'm sitting in our spartan apartment, sipping cold tea and killing time. Five weeks have zipped by and we're leaving Catalina today, scheduled to arrive in San Pedro in the afternoon, hopefully with enough time to beat Friday rush hour traffic. Yes, it's back to these, more urban, concerns now.

Our conversations last night, over leaving drinks, were tinged with the mentality of prison movie discussions. "What's the first thing you're going to do when you get back?" we asked each other, wistfully.

No more worrying about if it's too foggy or windy to take the boats out, no more worrying about rattlesnakes in the shed, no more worrying about walking into the buffalo at the top of a dark hill at night. Catalina, wild indeed.

(On the other hand, no more worrying about whose rotting algae is stinking up the lab, or which groups didn't show up for the mandatory morning meeting, or that someone's sea stars are not behaving.)

I'm going to direct you to my other blog, IndySea, for pictures (if you haven't already seen them on Facebook), which I really do promise I will post soon. Since getting my underwater housing for my camera, nothing short of a new world has opened up to me. Unfortunately, your view of my view into this new world is, for now, staffed by shaky hands and a not-so-masterful use of flash.

I think we're all eager to get back to LA and see our friends and families and pets and Thai food again, but everyone's also sad at having to leave for good. I forsee Wrigley getting a big influx of eager UCLA volunteers in the near future...

Notes from Catalina: Part 1 (Island Time)

Well, it's the beginning of our third week out here and if I continue posting a this rate about my Catalina adventure you will only get 1.3 more posts about island life.

Part of the problem with sitting down to write this is that, while I have the time, I don't have a set schedule or anything to measure my time on the island against. We don't have weekends here (nowhere to go, anyway), so my days all mush together into a flow of student projects, questions, setting up tanks, looking at proposals, project troubleshooting, and writing postcards. When I was a student I could at least mark the passing misery with a series of deadlines and exam days. (The current students can, too, but I always feel like I'm just hanging around the lab.)

Introduction to where I am eating sandwiches right now: The Wrigley Marine Science Center, near Two Harbors, Catalina. Wrigley is a marine station owned and operated by USC (although almost sold to UCLA in the '80s -- big donors said NO and here we are) where UCLA's Marine Biology Quarter (MBQ) is being held this year. The MBQ locations vary, depending on who's teaching them, between Moorea, Belize, and, until recently, Bodega Bay (where I went as a student). We're out here for five weeks so the students can conduct the research projects they planned (or were supposed to plan) during the first two weeks on campus. When we're done, we return to campus for three weeks of crunching data, writing papers, and working on presentations.

Things have been going smoothly so far, with the students finalizing their proposals and setting up their projects. While there have been no disasters there has been quite a bit of logistical kerfuffle, miscommunication on several levels, and a spate of inclement days. You know, standard things to expect when you're doing field work.

Other than the lab station and the outdoor pursuits afforded to us, there's not a lot to do here. There's one general store in town (very general) and one restaurant/bar. Half the fun of the bar is getting to take the shore boat (water taxi) there. Definitely a different kind of Friday night, hopping on a skiff for a 10 minute ride across the harbor.

The real fun comes from getting out in the field and playing in the water (yes, 'playing in the water' is the scientific term for it). I'm going to hold off on writing about all the awesome animals in the water right now for a few reasons: I just ordered an underwater housing for my camera and I want to get some awesome shots to show you; there are so many wonderful things it bears having its own post (the lab is on a state Marine Protected Area, so the area is near pristine); and I'm getting lazy and want to publish this post already so I can go get a snack.

I wonder if there are any brownies left over from lunch.

Great Tunes: Three New, Two Old

I guess this is going to be my personal/music blog, as I've launched my (already unsuccessful) marine biology blog elsewhere.

The New.

Churches - Lies/The Mother We Share
An exciting new group from Scotland, these guys are the new great indie-electro hope, thanks to the powerful blogosphere explosion of hype over their song, "Lies". I'll be honest, it's a great song. But I don't envy them for the expectations they now have to live up to. A recent interview in The Skinny shows it sounds like they've got their heads screwed on straight:

"Because there’s been such an unexpected response, we’re trying to avoid certain negative aspects of it, keeping our heads down and keeping writing. The whole thing’s really flattering but it would be very easy to get carried away. At this point we’re very aware of what we have to do."

Their second song, "The Mother We Share" is currently the most blogged about tune on HypeMachine. So, y'know, no pressure, guys.

Van She - Jamaica
Someone told me to check out Van She's new album and based on this, their lead single off it, I'm sure glad I did.

The Old.
These two tracks were inspired by friends and nights out at bars with amazing jukeboxes.

My Bloody Valentine - When You Sleep
I think I probably listened to this song for on repeat for an hour on my last long drive. Shoegaze has always held a tiny but steadfast corner of my heart, despite my punkish tendencies.

Lush - Ladykillers
Yes. Fun! Yes it's fun!

James Murphy sums up my feelings on Los Angeles

I like L.A.; I like it to a certain degree. I couldn't live there, but I like it. ... I don't like feeling trapped in my house, like when it's 3:30 you're like, 'Shit, I wanted to go out but it's 3:30 already. I'll never make it back.' Which feels like I live on an island with storms -- the traffic is like this hurricane that you can't be trapped out in.

Man after my own heart.

[LA Weekly Blog]

I am eating an avocado in Los Angeles now.

First things first, this picture quite perfectly captures the essence of this blog:

I definitely need to add "My skills include donut eating" to my résumé. Hell, I'd go so far as to say I'm a donut eating expert.

Second things now, an update on where I am and what I'm doing. I am back in LA. Well, still in LA. After TAing this spring, which was a blast (aside from the other TA being lazy, irresponsible, and annoying to work with), I decided to stay in LA for a bit and have got another TAship for the upcoming Fall Quarter. Yay! The spring class I TAed was Biology of Invertebrates (a favorite), but this fall will be the Marine Biology Quarter, or the field quarter that all Marine Bio majors at UCLA have to go on. It's probably going to end up being a lot more work than the spring, but will be totally worth it, as the class gets to spend 5 weeks on Catalina doing research projects. Sweet.

The decision to stay in LA was not all too tough. While I have mixed feelings about the city itself (I'm alternating between love and hate currently), most of my professional & university contacts are here so it's a good place to be for my career for the time being. Wow, never envisioned myself typing that sentence. Anyway, like I said before, I enjoyed TAing this spring so much I wanted to stay on at UCLA and keep TAing. Hopefully things will pan out for Winter and Spring 2013. Also, I may be going out as a volunteer whale watcher with the Aquarium of the Pacific again here and there, to help out in between batches of interns, so stay tuned for some whale watching updates!

Third things last, enjoy this picture of me in Scotland with a giant squirrel.

Scotland was fun; I had such a amazing time being back there for a few months. While it's nice to be back in the states after about a year of globetrotting, I do miss Scotland already. And I still have itchy feet.

Los Angeles, Los Angeles, Los Angeles... how I loathe and love thee. Culture, weather, food, diversity = love. Density, architecture, traffic, assholes = barf. I think I might feel differently about the city if I didn't live on the westside, within a commutable distance to UCLA. If I lived in one of the cooler neighborhoods, farther east, I'd be looking at an hour (or more) commute each way. No thanks.

The Latest Wisdom

Happy Anniversary to my parents who are celebrating 30 years of marriage this week. I asked them if they had any "tips on marriage" and here's what I found out...

Dad: In away, it's a bit like sumo wrestling. Especially now that we're not as skinny as we once were.
Mom: Not that you should 'raise' your partner, but in a way it's like raising children: pick your battles, no spanking...
Dad: I don't completely agree with the last rule.
Mom: Don't marry someone for their cooking skills.
Dad: I agree.
Mom: Hey!
Dad: Bickering is okay.
Mom: No it's not.

There you have it.

Some random songs I've stumbled across in my iTunes lately

I don't know why I chose to listen to them randomly, and I couldn't even begin to explain where I found them in the first place... some random back corner of the internet.

Any track that questions the fashion choices of hipsters and compares one's girlfriend to a man, well, that's a track for me.

Desmond & The Tutus - Your Girlfriend

Blame my iPod from 2004 for shuffling to this gem while I was driving. According to the YouTube description of the video, the uploader set the song to clips of Orson Welles' film based on The Trial, by Kafka. Now, of course, I want to see this movie.

Josef K - It's Kinda Funny

Alright, I lied: I know exactly where I found this track. Still brilliant. I think my musical tastes are encouraging me to move to 1980s Scotland.

Edwyn Collins - If You Could Love Me (Acoustic)

I think a friend might have sent this to me because the band is from Baltimore...? (Are they from Baltimore? Oh good, Wikipedia says they are.)

Future Islands - Balance

This one is even stranger. Not only do I have no clue where I found it, but I seem to have downloaded the entire English version of the album as well.

Franco Battiato - Una Cellula

This track is not new to me, but I did cross paths with it again recently. It is just good. I absolutely cannot believe that this album was released 10 years ago. I feel old.

Interpol - Leif Erikson

Shall I explain my long absence? Yes, but later.