Week 2 of Semester 2, Round 2--Leatherbacks!

So, trying to integrate into this class is rather… interesting.  A lot of them seem to look down on us repeaters, but there are some really nice ones (like those in my anatomy group and my parasitology lab partner) that are very welcoming. 

Lots of club general meetings this week.  I gave the presentation for the AAFP, and was rather disappointed with the way I spoke (I thought I was too fast), but Steven and Lexi said it was fine.  We have a LOT of events planned, but it’s sad that we’re all stepping down this semester.  I also announced that I’d be stepping down from my position in P.A.W.S. a semester early.  (If I decide to stay here next semester, I don’t want to be AS involved anymore, so that I don’t have to worry about failing another class as much.)  In a sense, it was kind of sad…

Friday and Saturday were kind of a mess due to my sleeping pattern.  Friday was The Unknown’s first volleyball game of the season (the preseason one), but the team we were scheduled to play against never showed up.  Another random team wanted the practice, so we just played back and forth for a bit—don’t know who won, but it was fun. 

Then I had to run home, get some food, pack up my bag, and head off to North Friars Beach for my leatherback patrol.  Dr. Stewart had a little hatchling from the night before that was too weak to get to the ocean, so she gave it to Jeremy and myself to release if he wanted to go.  They’re so tiny—it’s  just amazing how big they get… from ounces and just a few inches to hundreds of pounds and almost 5 feet long.  He didn’t seem to want to go to the ocean on the first attempt, so on our second sweep of the patrol, we figured we’d give it a shot after a quick nap.  However, we woke up to a light drizzle, which quickly turned into a steady rain, and then into a monsoon… and we were stuck on the far end of the beach.  Had to quickly break out the windbreakers, curl up over our backpacks to keep our stuff dry, and just hope it passed sooner rather than later.  After about 20 minutes, it did, and we made a run for my car.  Another half hour later, the rain hadn’t let up and Dr. Stewart called it quits for our nightly patrol around 1:00am.  (Woo-hoo!  More sleep time!)  Apparently, we have a photographer and author coming down next week to work on a children’s book about our project… kinda like the one when I went to the marine biology summer camp in Maine when I was 13.

Saturday morning was Beachfest put on by the scuba club.  Steven, Lexi, and I played on another volleyball team (The Cremasters) in the tournament and lost pretty miserably on our first game, but it was a good one.  I think I’m getting better at this game.  ;P

Saw Pirates of the Caribbean 4 with some of the firsties, but I had a HORRIBLE headache (probably dehydration despite downing gallons of water over the weekend), so I wasn’t able to fully enjoy the 3D of it.  But, from what I recall, it wasn’t as good as 1, 2, or 3 were.

Sunday was a recovery/cleaning day.  While making breakfast, I saved Gibbs from launching off of the cabinets at a piece of dust hanging from the ceiling.  In the process, however, I caught my toe on the edge of the fridge.  I was joking that if I had gotten an adamantium skeleton years ago, this wouldn’t have happened.  (Good ol’ X-Men joke)  Despite the injury, I cleaned out the interior of the car with the hopes of getting it in the shop again tomorrow.  (Hooray for Ross-mobiles!)

I guess that’s about it for the week.  See you all at the end of the next one.