the first day...

In a few minutes I'll be leaving for Riverhead Foundation to begin my work with Ariel the dolphin! I'm all kinds of excited and nervous. I don't think I get to actually swim with her yet (you have to take a drysuit class, it ends up ... thanks for telling me that, folks! :/ ) but at least I'll be working. The work sounds like it's really complicated and intense. I hope I do all right. Wish me luck!

the first day...

In a few minutes I'll be leaving for Riverhead Foundation to begin my work with Ariel the dolphin! I'm all kinds of excited and nervous. I don't think I get to actually swim with her yet (you have to take a drysuit class, it ends up ... thanks for telling me that, folks! :/ ) but at least I'll be working. The work sounds like it's really complicated and intense. I hope I do all right. Wish me luck!

Ariel, the first day, and some pics

Well, the whole dolphin thing is kind of boring, actually. We don't get to actually interact with her until we've had a class in wearing the dry suit. (Hello there, new rule as of like YESTERDAY.) So basically we stand outside in the freezing cold and watch her swim and play and take a crap, and write every little detail down every five minutes. I think the reason it goes so slowly is because you're forever looking at the stupid watch because you have to keep track of the time so much. That, and it's like 40 effing below.

On the other hand, she really is delightful to watch when she gets going. She does have fun with her toys, and it's cool to feed her and watch her zip around the tank grabbing her fish and gulping them down. One girl did get in the tank with her, and I saw why they call Ariel the "lap dolphin." She pushes you until your knees come up, then swims into your lap and rolls over to be rubbed. And the best part is that when she gets rubbed, her flippers go all crazy, like a dog's leg when you scratch it behind the ear. She is supercute.

And I will say this: There was a stretch of time after the sun went down when I was alone with Ariel, just watching her and recording what she was doing, and in that stretch of time it wasn't boring, but kind of fulfilling in a way. All of a sudden I remembered what an honor it was to be taking care of this lovely sea creature. I think of dolphins as guardians in some way--like most other people, I romanticize the crap out of them--and I felt like I could return the favor, even for a short while. Malama 'aina and all of that.

I hope I get to swim with her soon. Meantime, here are some pics:

( Ariel swimming around and playing with her favorite toy: )

Bottlenose dolphins have quite possibly the cutest faces on the face of the planet.

And while I'm here, some Christmas-ish photos I took last night.

( Tree ornament, a holiday self portrait, and my obsession with my own living room light. )

That light is actually the one that hung in my Gran and Grampa's house for about twenty years. After Gran moved here (next apt. over,) she didn't have room for it and didn't want it. I dug it out of the shed because I have always been in live with that hanging light. Weird, huh?

Well, off to avoid writing again!

Ariel, the first day, and some pics

Well, the whole dolphin thing is kind of boring, actually. We don't get to actually interact with her until we've had a class in wearing the dry suit. (Hello there, new rule as of like YESTERDAY.) So basically we stand outside in the freezing cold and watch her swim and play and take a crap, and write every little detail down every five minutes. I think the reason it goes so slowly is because you're forever looking at the stupid watch because you have to keep track of the time so much. That, and it's like 40 effing below.

On the other hand, she really is delightful to watch when she gets going. She does have fun with her toys, and it's cool to feed her and watch her zip around the tank grabbing her fish and gulping them down. One girl did get in the tank with her, and I saw why they call Ariel the "lap dolphin." She pushes you until your knees come up, then swims into your lap and rolls over to be rubbed. And the best part is that when she gets rubbed, her flippers go all crazy, like a dog's leg when you scratch it behind the ear. She is supercute.

And I will say this: There was a stretch of time after the sun went down when I was alone with Ariel, just watching her and recording what she was doing, and in that stretch of time it wasn't boring, but kind of fulfilling in a way. All of a sudden I remembered what an honor it was to be taking care of this lovely sea creature. I think of dolphins as guardians in some way--like most other people, I romanticize the crap out of them--and I felt like I could return the favor, even for a short while. Malama 'aina and all of that.

I hope I get to swim with her soon. Meantime, here are some pics:

( Ariel swimming around and playing with her favorite toy: )

Bottlenose dolphins have quite possibly the cutest faces on the face of the planet.

And while I'm here, some Christmas-ish photos I took last night.

( Tree ornament, a holiday self portrait, and my obsession with my own living room light. )

That light is actually the one that hung in my Gran and Grampa's house for about twenty years. After Gran moved here (next apt. over,) she didn't have room for it and didn't want it. I dug it out of the shed because I have always been in live with that hanging light. Weird, huh?

Well, off to avoid writing again!