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.
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