Just wanted to add something that I think is important. I didn't write before because I wrote it in my journal.
I'm not going to be doing what I thought I would be doing. I thought that this internship would be centered around going out in the field and getting my hands dirty. You know, doind my darndest to conserve nature.
I expected to be bird banding, mist netting, tromping through marshes and all that cool stuff that makes you tired and sweaty. Turns out, I have more of a fluffy job.
I am supposed to be traded between the biology people and Janice who is the public outreach person. Taking kids on tours is tons of Fun!!! Dont get me wrond, but I wanted to be more outdorsey. I know that I will get some time for that, but not as much as I want and not nearly as much as the other people. I feel a little seperated from the group because I am the only person who has it this way.
So to calrify in a short way, I am not working with Plovers. I haven't even seen one in the wild yet. That makes me a little sad because it means that I can't give them High Fives for Emily.
Such is life.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Day Number 4
So here I am, settled in. I'm going to make this entry generally brief since I posted not too long ago. I just don't know how much longer I will be able to do this. I know I keep saying that. Sorry. You all know by now that I probably wont be posting on a wkkely basis.
So I have worked two days here now. One full day. I left early to take mom to the airport on Monday. Both days were devoted to looking after little groups of kids. Actually they were big groups of little kids. Yesterday was third graders and today was kindergartners. I am probably spelling a lot of words wrong. Oh well.
They come to the Kettle Pond visitor center which is the visitor center representing all of the 6 refuges that there are owned by the U.S. Fisheries and Wildlife service. This is where all the offices are where I will probably begin most of my days. Anyway, we show them a few videos, then my supervisor Janice takes them on a trail to a vernal pool which is a glorified puddle that dries up at the end of the summer. Convenient for the amphibians that nest there because there are no fish to eat their eggs. Anyway thats just half of the group. The other half stays at the center and look at all of the displays doing a scavanger hunt. Yesterday and today it was my job to keep an eye on things. They have many chaperones so this isn't too hard.
Today I also had to set up a laptop and projector so that we can show some power points. It;s supposed to be rainy. We went to the beach today. It was beautiful. The breeze is so cooling. It's almost better than air conditioning.
I am starting to get the hang of some things. I still don't know a whole lot. I am not an expert on east coast ecology. But as I listen to Janice I will learn. And I may not have to ever give the presentation while I'm here. But it is frustrating to explain that I am a brand new intern from Missouri and don't know a whole lot about slimy things in the ocean.
Well, thats really it. I like Janice though she is just a little scatterbrained. I do seem to attract those kinds of supervisors. I am really hungry and tired so I am going to take care of my body.
Until next time...
So I have worked two days here now. One full day. I left early to take mom to the airport on Monday. Both days were devoted to looking after little groups of kids. Actually they were big groups of little kids. Yesterday was third graders and today was kindergartners. I am probably spelling a lot of words wrong. Oh well.
They come to the Kettle Pond visitor center which is the visitor center representing all of the 6 refuges that there are owned by the U.S. Fisheries and Wildlife service. This is where all the offices are where I will probably begin most of my days. Anyway, we show them a few videos, then my supervisor Janice takes them on a trail to a vernal pool which is a glorified puddle that dries up at the end of the summer. Convenient for the amphibians that nest there because there are no fish to eat their eggs. Anyway thats just half of the group. The other half stays at the center and look at all of the displays doing a scavanger hunt. Yesterday and today it was my job to keep an eye on things. They have many chaperones so this isn't too hard.
Today I also had to set up a laptop and projector so that we can show some power points. It;s supposed to be rainy. We went to the beach today. It was beautiful. The breeze is so cooling. It's almost better than air conditioning.
I am starting to get the hang of some things. I still don't know a whole lot. I am not an expert on east coast ecology. But as I listen to Janice I will learn. And I may not have to ever give the presentation while I'm here. But it is frustrating to explain that I am a brand new intern from Missouri and don't know a whole lot about slimy things in the ocean.
Well, thats really it. I like Janice though she is just a little scatterbrained. I do seem to attract those kinds of supervisors. I am really hungry and tired so I am going to take care of my body.
Until next time...
Sunday, June 1, 2008
From Rhode Island!!!
I am on this insanely ancient Micron computer with a really crappy mouse. But I am here!!! It took forever and a day...not to mention several near death experiences involving irresponsible 18-wheelers. Not all of it was pretty scenery and smoothe highway. There was tons of construction and the furthur you got east, the more people seemed to completly ignore the fact that there is a speed limit.
You will have to forgive any misspellings that there are. Since this computer is probably as old as Kirsti, there is no spell check.
Anyway, there were some stressful times, but we got here seafely. It is beautiful here. Yesterday was foggy and later on quite stormy. It was 50ish degrees! quite cold. Today dawned much the same, but once hurch was over, things had cleared up and now it is beautiful! The breeze off the ocean is perfect. I have yet to be on any of the many beaches that surround this area, but there will be pleanty of time for that later. I am just enjoying thre free time. I have to dive right into things early Monday morning.
All the other interns are here now except for one. They are all really nice and fun. I can't wait to get to know them better. I have yet to meet Suzanne the head supervisor, or any of the other actual paid working people. I met one of the only single people in the ward today. Here name is also Sarah. She was raised on the east coast and now goes to URI and is getting her PHD in literature. She is extremely friendly and served her mission in the Liberty Missouri Mission. Small world huh? I think I'll get along real well with her and we plan to get together with the other single girl in the eard and hang out.
I now have food, but not a working DVD thanks to the fact that the connecting cables seemed to ahve fallen into a blakc hole somewhere. We have to buy new ones.
As for the trailer...It is...adequate. Much like the large camping trailers that you would find in Johnson Shut-Ins and mock because the people in them are just poser campers. There is one bedroom with a good sized bed, small closet and a few cupboards. It has two windows, a skylight and a small nightstand. This is Courtneys room, simply because I didn't want to fight to the death over it. There is an ugly apholstered couch that folds out into a bed. There are matching chshioned seats around a small table nailed to the floor. There in a little "living space". Then there is a kitchen sink, a small stove with tiny oven that doesn't work yet. Some drawers, cupboards and a full sized fridge. At the end of the trailer is a very small bathroom. Like a cross between the downstairs bathroom at home and an airplane bathroom. It has a small shower. Right nex to this you will find where I have made my habitat. There are small enclosed bunk beds ("B" words!!!). I sleep on the bottom and the top id for all my things...cloths, books, etc. It's a bit cramped but not ompletly uncomfortable. The only major problem with this trailer is that it is old. The guys got a nice new trailer. We get stained carpet and a smell resembeling the smell of Ruth Marshalls old trailer...sort of old with a tint of cat smell. I'm just glad that everything works.
Well, I dont know if I will have many more chances to blog. I have been told that I may not have acces to a computer with internet at all while I am here. This wories me a little. But Sarah said that she has a laptop that I am free to use whenever I want. I may take her up on that, but the point is, I don't know that next time I will be able to post. I know I said that over a week ago, but I just want to give you all a heads up.
Well, thats all...I am really nervous for my first day for work. I don't know what to expect except a bus full of kids. Oh what fun. Hope the family is well and I also hope to be posting again soon.
Farewell till next time!
You will have to forgive any misspellings that there are. Since this computer is probably as old as Kirsti, there is no spell check.
Anyway, there were some stressful times, but we got here seafely. It is beautiful here. Yesterday was foggy and later on quite stormy. It was 50ish degrees! quite cold. Today dawned much the same, but once hurch was over, things had cleared up and now it is beautiful! The breeze off the ocean is perfect. I have yet to be on any of the many beaches that surround this area, but there will be pleanty of time for that later. I am just enjoying thre free time. I have to dive right into things early Monday morning.
All the other interns are here now except for one. They are all really nice and fun. I can't wait to get to know them better. I have yet to meet Suzanne the head supervisor, or any of the other actual paid working people. I met one of the only single people in the ward today. Here name is also Sarah. She was raised on the east coast and now goes to URI and is getting her PHD in literature. She is extremely friendly and served her mission in the Liberty Missouri Mission. Small world huh? I think I'll get along real well with her and we plan to get together with the other single girl in the eard and hang out.
I now have food, but not a working DVD thanks to the fact that the connecting cables seemed to ahve fallen into a blakc hole somewhere. We have to buy new ones.
As for the trailer...It is...adequate. Much like the large camping trailers that you would find in Johnson Shut-Ins and mock because the people in them are just poser campers. There is one bedroom with a good sized bed, small closet and a few cupboards. It has two windows, a skylight and a small nightstand. This is Courtneys room, simply because I didn't want to fight to the death over it. There is an ugly apholstered couch that folds out into a bed. There are matching chshioned seats around a small table nailed to the floor. There in a little "living space". Then there is a kitchen sink, a small stove with tiny oven that doesn't work yet. Some drawers, cupboards and a full sized fridge. At the end of the trailer is a very small bathroom. Like a cross between the downstairs bathroom at home and an airplane bathroom. It has a small shower. Right nex to this you will find where I have made my habitat. There are small enclosed bunk beds ("B" words!!!). I sleep on the bottom and the top id for all my things...cloths, books, etc. It's a bit cramped but not ompletly uncomfortable. The only major problem with this trailer is that it is old. The guys got a nice new trailer. We get stained carpet and a smell resembeling the smell of Ruth Marshalls old trailer...sort of old with a tint of cat smell. I'm just glad that everything works.
Well, I dont know if I will have many more chances to blog. I have been told that I may not have acces to a computer with internet at all while I am here. This wories me a little. But Sarah said that she has a laptop that I am free to use whenever I want. I may take her up on that, but the point is, I don't know that next time I will be able to post. I know I said that over a week ago, but I just want to give you all a heads up.
Well, thats all...I am really nervous for my first day for work. I don't know what to expect except a bus full of kids. Oh what fun. Hope the family is well and I also hope to be posting again soon.
Farewell till next time!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Last Time?
For those of you who find it amusing to visit this blog and read my posts, this may very well be the last time that I visit this little outlet for the next three months. I apologize for not posting last Tuesday. I was far to absorbed in wasting time that has now caught up to me. So anyway, to the updating.
As you all know I am heading to Rhode Island for the duration of the summer. I am leaving this Thursday and won't be back until Sunday August 24th. The night before classes start. How wonderful.
But really, I am quite excited. But in the words of one of the most obnoxious musical characters in existence (even beating Carlotta from "Phantom of the Opera") in one of the best musicals ever made (Into the Woods) I am "Excited and scared"-red riding hood.
Moving on.
I was coasting down familiar roads today, listening to music and enjoying the feel driving a stick shift (theres nothing like it in the world) when a thought struck me. In a few days I will be making my way down unfamiliar highway and then through the streets of a completely foreign town. For three whole months I will no longer travel the well known tracks of Columbia. It made me a little sad, and a little scared. I know that I will start to know my way around the place. It is, after, a rather small state. But it is the tiniest bit intimidating. A lot of things about this internship are.
It started to hit me last night just how long three months is and how much I am going to need to pack! Three whole months. My entire summer. This is a huge change for me and a completely new experience. If I was going to Arizona, or Utah, or Indiana or somewhere else where people I know live, it would be a little less scary. I will know no one out there. The only contact I have had with my supervisor is a phone call and an e-mail or two. I know that this is a great opportunity and that I am going to learn so much. But I don't think it will sink in until I have spent a few days there.
I really hope that I get to blog there. This a great place for me to go to spill my brain and receive support. But who knows.
I should probably go. I have so much to do. I just wanted to get in a post before I left in case it was my last until I return. So, I may be in touch next week, I may not.
Adios, my fellow bloggers. I bid you a fond and sad farewell, for these may be my final words in the bloggosphere for a time.
As you all know I am heading to Rhode Island for the duration of the summer. I am leaving this Thursday and won't be back until Sunday August 24th. The night before classes start. How wonderful.
But really, I am quite excited. But in the words of one of the most obnoxious musical characters in existence (even beating Carlotta from "Phantom of the Opera") in one of the best musicals ever made (Into the Woods) I am "Excited and scared"-red riding hood.
Moving on.
I was coasting down familiar roads today, listening to music and enjoying the feel driving a stick shift (theres nothing like it in the world) when a thought struck me. In a few days I will be making my way down unfamiliar highway and then through the streets of a completely foreign town. For three whole months I will no longer travel the well known tracks of Columbia. It made me a little sad, and a little scared. I know that I will start to know my way around the place. It is, after, a rather small state. But it is the tiniest bit intimidating. A lot of things about this internship are.
It started to hit me last night just how long three months is and how much I am going to need to pack! Three whole months. My entire summer. This is a huge change for me and a completely new experience. If I was going to Arizona, or Utah, or Indiana or somewhere else where people I know live, it would be a little less scary. I will know no one out there. The only contact I have had with my supervisor is a phone call and an e-mail or two. I know that this is a great opportunity and that I am going to learn so much. But I don't think it will sink in until I have spent a few days there.
I really hope that I get to blog there. This a great place for me to go to spill my brain and receive support. But who knows.
I should probably go. I have so much to do. I just wanted to get in a post before I left in case it was my last until I return. So, I may be in touch next week, I may not.
Adios, my fellow bloggers. I bid you a fond and sad farewell, for these may be my final words in the bloggosphere for a time.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
It's still Tuesday...
So it's posting day. And heres me, posting. But since I had no classes and was spending the whole day trying to figure out how to enroll for some classes and doing stupid FAFSA stuff, I didn't have time to post at my normal hour. For it is the week of weeks...finals week that is. The week that would usually have me ripping my hair out. But this semester, I have only two finals and I get to have note sheets in both classes! So I am not too worried. Um, not much else to tell. Rhode Island time is creeping up on me and I don't feel ready. I'm a little scared. But I am also really excited!!! Anyway, I'm going to try to get to bed so heres the survey going around the little Lambson/Southerland blogosphere.
1.Where is your cell phone? Sleeping
30. When is the last time you really laughed with meaning? Thursday
31. Last time you cried? Forgotten
32. School? Ending
33. Least favorite weather? Hot
ONE WORD ONLY!
1.Where is your cell phone? Sleeping
2. Your hair? Growing
3. Work? Leaving
4. Your father? Sleeping
5. Your favorite thing? Storms-ing?
6. Your dream last night? Forgettable
7. Your favorite drink? Refreshing
8. Your dream car? Uninvented
9. The room you're in? Open
10. Your fears? Frightening
11. What do you want to be in 10 years? 31
12. Who did you hang out with last night? Knights
13. What you're not good at? Accepting
14. Muffin? Certainly
15. One of your wish list items? Love
16. Where you grew up? Duplex
17. Last thing you did? Backspace
18. What are you wearing? Underwear
19. What aren't you wearing? Makeup
20. Your pet? Brotherless
21. Your computer? Unobtainable
22. Your life? Moving
23. Your mood? Anxious
24. Missing? Ben
25. What are you thinking about right now? Ben
26. Your car/truck? Alice
27. Your summer? Away
28. Your relationship status? Sad
29. Your favorite color? Violet30. When is the last time you really laughed with meaning? Thursday
31. Last time you cried? Forgotten
32. School? Ending
33. Least favorite weather? Hot
34. Soup? Tomatoes
35. Movie? CASPIAN!!!
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Really random
It's almost midnight on a Saturday night. Mom just killed this massive spider. I kid you not. It looked just like this.
I was making my bi-yearly visit to my MySpace account and just had this random thought.
My two favorite animals are Bats and Wolves. If I could choose a dream job it would either be spelunking in New Zealand studying bats and cave ecosystems, or living in the outback of Canada (does Canada have an "outback"?) with a family of wolves like that one couple did. Anyway, the point is in all of this recent Twilight hype I just thought it funny that I have the same obsessions as Bella. Just in a different way. And just like in Twilight I would chose wolves over bats. Bella should do the same. Stupid girl.
Ha. Thought that was interesting. Um. Thats all. I need to go to bed. Going to be an early mothers day for me tomorrow.
P.S. I got my new phone yesterday. Love it so far. I have the same number, but I currently do not have a texting plan. So please do not text me unless it is an emergency (until further notice). You may now go back to your lives.
Goodnight.
I was making my bi-yearly visit to my MySpace account and just had this random thought.
My two favorite animals are Bats and Wolves. If I could choose a dream job it would either be spelunking in New Zealand studying bats and cave ecosystems, or living in the outback of Canada (does Canada have an "outback"?) with a family of wolves like that one couple did. Anyway, the point is in all of this recent Twilight hype I just thought it funny that I have the same obsessions as Bella. Just in a different way. And just like in Twilight I would chose wolves over bats. Bella should do the same. Stupid girl.
Ha. Thought that was interesting. Um. Thats all. I need to go to bed. Going to be an early mothers day for me tomorrow.
P.S. I got my new phone yesterday. Love it so far. I have the same number, but I currently do not have a texting plan. So please do not text me unless it is an emergency (until further notice). You may now go back to your lives.
Goodnight.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
The Last Week
Campus is silent at 8:03 in the morning. Only the occasional straggler is seen making their way casually to class. It's the last week of the semester and theres no need to hurry. The sky is cloudy. I feel a tiny drip on my arm and I remember my umbrella where it lies on the seat of my car. The peace is broken by the rhythm of a hammer at the sore of a construction site by the commons. Birds forage in the grass and the trees whisper. Beckoning. Nature is honesty. Truth so complex that it hovers on the verge of simplicity. My favorite T.A. passes me on bike commenting on my lateness with a smile. I make a lame retort as she whizzes off. They day begins peacefully enough. But I know what the future holds. A parade of facts that my mind flutters around, never really alighting on an understanding. Next comes this. The outlet that my crammed brain requires. Following is a post-test with no real point and making up what I missed. Then no real time for anything else before I go serve thankless customers.
The semester is almost over. This means the following for me.
1.Lab final on thursday
2.Plant collection project due on Friday
3.NO CLASS ON FRIDAY!!!
4.Don't have to go to my first two classes on Wednesday
5.Need to start studying for Finals
6.Rhode Island date is coming closer and closer
7.GREAT MOVIES ARE COMING OUT!!
speaking of great movies. Here is a teaser for one that I am pretty excited for. But I have to wait until December.
This is my tiny update because I really need to be doing other things right now. Happy Tuesday everyone.
The semester is almost over. This means the following for me.
1.Lab final on thursday
2.Plant collection project due on Friday
3.NO CLASS ON FRIDAY!!!
4.Don't have to go to my first two classes on Wednesday
5.Need to start studying for Finals
6.Rhode Island date is coming closer and closer
7.GREAT MOVIES ARE COMING OUT!!
speaking of great movies. Here is a teaser for one that I am pretty excited for. But I have to wait until December.
This is my tiny update because I really need to be doing other things right now. Happy Tuesday everyone.
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