Miami Seaquarium: Childhood Goal Completed

Hi Friends:
                  It's been awhile since I made a post. Almost half a year! A lot has happened, and it's happened too fast. But, if you haven't been on the boat, so to speak, let me update you.
     
                 This past summer I took a seasonal position as a marine mammal trainer at a marine life park called the Miami Seaquarium, not suprisingly, in Miami. I knew it was going to be rough, and it was; I only worked from April to August, and I knew it wasn't for me. However, I don't regret taking the challenge; I learned a lot, made some new friends, worked with some fantastic animals, and fulfilled my childhood dream of being a trainer. 

                 I mostly worked with California sea lions and Pacific Harbor seals. I did get to train our baby bottlenose dolphin, Azul, a few times, but I was assigned to the pinnipeds for the most part. This was quite a different experience from DolphinsPlus. A facility focused on entertainment, I was pushed to the max both physically and mentally. I had to rely on myself to figure things out, manage my time, and learn, so I certainly developed on a professional level. Being a quiet and methodical person was difficult in a place that required a lot of exuberant energy-everything was extremely fast-paced. Although there were lots of fun times, my position made me very anxious; critique is a natural part of the job, but it wears on you, especially if you take things personally. I made a lot of mistakes, and had to take on a lot of responsibility. I knew this position was going to be rough; in some ways, it wasn't as difficult as I expected, but I think the dream life that was DolphinsPlus made it difficult for such a 180 degree change. Still, I got to do some amazing things, and I could never regret making a leap and trying a challenge. Here are some awesome things I got to do:

                I got to learn a script and participate in a training show. While I never got to work an animal onstage, I learned all the complicated measures of ensuring animal and trainer safety backstage, and got to talk in front of hundreds and entertain them, much how I was entertained as a child sitting in the bleachers. Shows were absolutely nerve-wracking, not because of the public-speaking element, but because you never knew what an animal was going to do, and you had to be prepared for everything. But, it was also fun because I got to be ridiculous, running around on stage, and that's the point :)

                                        The Golden Dome sea lion stage, where I performed.

                                        Top Deck was the dolphin show, where I didn't train,
                                        but oftentimes helped out.

                                         I also gave small educational presentations. This is 
                                   Hemo, our oldest male sea lion. He's blind, but super-smart.

           I also got to witness the birth of 3 baby seals. The mothers gave birth to them on land; we had a trainer watching them 24 hours, taping the births, with the vets on call. I actually was on a shift when one of the females began, and it was right when a show started, so everyone was crazy! The hardest part of my job was convincing myself to not steal one of the pups home with me. They were absolutely precious. Two girls, Ocean and Coral, and a boy named Flounder. They were all born within a day of each other. Feeding them was one of the best parts of my job.
                                                                                 

            I also got to work with a few animals, as part of their 'team' for training. My first step was to build my relationship with them, first through primary reinforcement (feeding), and then I began asking for well-developed behaviors. My two animals were Roxanne and Bear. Roxanne is an older female with cancer, but she was super sweet, and I just enjoyed watching her gulp down big fat fish. She required a lot of medication, which I had to put in her fish. Her regimen was near 20 pills a day. Bear was my favorite. Our largest male, Bear no longer does shows after displaying some aggressive behavior, but he is wicked smart and just a fantastic animal. He never accepts fish tail first (picky) and he has an impressive repertoire of behaviors. My favorite was his 'bounce'. He would bounce up and down on his fore flippers, and he would gain such height I thought he was going to fly out of his pen! He also ate 12 lbs of food a day, and he loved his big chunks of jello :)

                                              

                                         Feeding the lovely lady Roxanne.

                                          She was a sweet old gal.

                                         Feeding my main man, Bear. He doesn't get a bucket.
                                         He gets a whole barrel!

                                          Nom nom nom nom nom.

                                         His whiskers tickled!


            The animals were loads of fun to work with. They have a lot of personality, so they become like family. No one can say I don't know what it's like to get my hands dirty: I've chopped fish heads, swam in poop-infested water, watched a female pass a placenta, and loads of other stuff. I've scrubbed, swept, carried, lifted, pulled, and basically just worked my body to the max. In Miami. In summer. So now, I have definitely earned a rest. I am starting a full-time position at the library this upcoming week while I look for something in my field. After doing so much hands-on work, I would love to work for a wildlife conservation nonprofit, such as WWF or Defenders of Wildlife. I think I'm ready for more behind-the-scenes work. 

           Right now, I'm just living it up, going to the beach, and taking some personal time. Pittsburgh peeps, I should be back home for my first Thanksgiving in 3 years! Maybe there will be a bit of autumn left for me to enjoy :) Anyways, I will update with my newest adventure later, but in the meantime, I leave you with a piece of advice:

                                                     JUST GO FOR IT- TAKE THE LEAP!

 

Um.....I'm done.

Artist of the month: Daniel Jang       
 
This classy kid performs his own violin (and occasionally piano) covers of both classical works and popular songs. I stumbled upon his music on youtube, and I really like his style. Check him out on his youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/metalsides

Album of the month: Dream Girl: The Misconceptions of You

SHINee's new album. Enough said. A bit experimental, and a shift back to the early 90s. The first two tracks, which include the hit single, are my favorite. 

Movie of the month: Silenced
      
Based on true accounts in 2005, this film tells the story of a school for deaf children in Korea, who are sexually abused by teachers, but cannot speak to defend themselves. A substitute arrives, discovers the secret, and with a human rights officer fights the perpetrators in court. It is a very very good film, but it is disturbing: you will not leave it feeling happy. However, like Schindler's List, it's one of those films that should be seen, if only once. I highly recommend it. The child actors are absolutely phenomenal.      

Book of the Month: Waiting, by Ha Jin

A story set in Maoist China, about a man named Lin who tries to divorce his loyal, uneducated wife Shuyu for 17 years in order to marry a more modern woman, Manna. Chock full of symbolism, it  nicely portrays the different types of 'waiting' by the 3 characters.



Okay, as for the actual post....I GRADUATED!!!!!!! yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! Currently, I am job-hunting, and I will be doing some traveling this month-over to Marco Island and down to Key Largo for some people visiting. I am no longer involved in karate, as I will be starting physical therapy for my hip next week. I also hurt my right shoulder and left calf somehow, so I'm a bit torn up, and will just need to recuperate for a few weeks.

The end.

P.S. I promise I'll put up some dolphins pics, but........I'm just too lazy right now. Cheers.

DolphinsPlus Internship

Hi everyone,
               It's been FOREVER since I've posted an entry, but time is of the essence when you work 7 days a week! Since...er, July, I have been working on my last few classes and working in Key Largo at my internship. I'd like to focus on the latter, since I haven't had a chance to tell anyone what I actually do! I only have a month left, and boy has time flown! Thus far, my experience has been AMAZING. Then again, did you expect anything less when I get to play with dolphins all day? To be fair, it is a ginormous amount of work, and I finish each day physically exhausted, but feeling happy and productive. The staff at DolphinsPlus have truly made my time unforgettable: they are so good to me and make me feel part of a team. I like them just as much as the dolphins!
               My internship has two phases, since I am learning animal care and training. I have just moved into the second part, so I will soon be learning some training aspects, for which I am excited. Thus far, my daily routine consists of preparation for feeding sessions. My tasks include prepping buckets and hydrations. Before feeds, we pull buckets out of our fridges for our 12 dolphins and 1 sea lion, then stuff fish with vitamins, and re-ice them before the trainers take them out. This is probably the grossest part of my job, but I'm used to it now, and kind of like it. Depending on if the dolphin is an adult, nursing mother, sick, etc., they all have a specific vitamin regimen that we apply. They're vitamins you can buy in any drugstore and include but are not limited to Vitamin C, Vitamin E, B100 complex, Calcium, Lutein, Probiotics, Multi-centrum silver, and B1 Vitamin. There are other meds given to the dolphins, but those are generally antibiotics or some other medication the trainers or vet must apply. Two days a week I am assigned to fish kitchen, where I help a trainer weigh out food for each dolphin (they receive 3 buckets a day). We feed them fatty herring, small fatty herring, lean herring, lake smelt, peruvian smelt, columbian river smelt, silver sides, capelin, and sardines. I also have to look for bycatch, fish that do not belong in these groups that are either bad for or could harm our dolphins. So let's just say I'm at the point where I don't mind sticking my hands in a bucket to be covered in fish slime :) I also have ridiculously buff arms from carrying buckets all day.
               The other significant task I do is preparing hydrations. Dolphins normally get their fresh water from the fish they eat, but our fish we give them are restaurant-level frozen, so they lose a lot of the water that we must replenish. One way is to give them jello, which I also am in charge of making, and another is to have the dolphins voluntarily accept a tube down their throats, through which we pour about 2L of filtered water. I clean these tubes and lubricate them, as well as prepare the water at the correct temperature (between 80 and 90 degrees), and then assist the trainer in actually giving the animal water. The dolphins usually get at least 2 hydrations a day, so I just constantly clean and prepare tubes. I could probably do it with my eyes closed.
             Other tasks we do include cleaning. EVERYTHING. We clean our fridges once a day. We clean the kitchen twice a day. Not just the sinks. The walls. The floor. EVERYTHING. Our place is cleaner than most restaurant kitchens, without a doubt. I help set up the docks the trainers sit on-toyboxes, mats, all kinds of stuff. I check the facility to make sure nothing is in the water to harm our dolphins. I clean vests and wetsuits our guests and staff wear. I scrub docks, cleaning off algae. I do laundry. I also set up beachings. This occurs on two large motorized lifts that we move up and down. We have the dolphins essentially practice beaching themselves, so that we can transport them with little stress. I also am used to help hold a dolphin in place or push her back in the water. One day I single-handedly saved our big girl Squirt from falling off the mat. I was forever known later as the 73-lb girl that saved the 400-lb dolphin. Lots of excitement goes on at DolphinsPlus.
          Another aspect of our job is educational briefings. I give guests information on our facility, our dolphins, dolphin anatomy, research, conservation, and behaviors that they will do. We have three types of swims, so each talk is garnered toward different rules. I also am being educated while I'm here. Interns take 5 classes and have to pass various quizzes. How it works is if you show responsibility and capibility, you get to learn more and move on to the next stage. As I said, soon I will learn about trainer signals, behavior, etc. I have the ultimate respect for trainers. Most people don't notice, but trainers are thinking and making choices all the time, even when it appears they're just sitting still. Everything they do conveys information to the dolphins, so it's very important how they ask for and reinforce behaviors. Trainers constantly make notes on every animal, and set criteria to learn. Their job is not entertainment. It's psychology, research, and conservation. They are the ultimate multi-taskers.
          During sessions I get to rest and take notes. Every trainer is different, and something different happens every session depending on the guests, the dolphins, etc. And I can't complain about soaking up some sun, smelling the seawater, and enjoying the breeze through the palm trees. I've participated in our structured swim already multiple times, and have done the natural swim (observational) twice. I am wet at some point everyday, and smell like fish and have an unidentifiable stain on my clothes, as well as covered in fish scales, but I wouldn't have it any other way :) Even though I have an established routine, I never know what I'll get to do each day. One day, I'm in the water at 8:30 in the morning doing a natural. Another day, I'm waist-deep getting our pregnant female used to a certain area of the pool so that we can help her when she goes into labor. Sometimes I'm holding a dolphin still when I trainer has to apply eye drops or honey to heal injuries. The other day, I stood in as a vet for the sea lion, practicing a 'jugular stick', i.e., getting her used to the feeling of a needle on her throat to take a blood sample. So, I'm constantly learning, and having fun too!
           I promise I will put up pictures soon. I have to get them approved to put them online. DolphinsPlus really feels like home. It's also awesome to really get to learn the dolphins' personalities and tell them apart. I love coming in in the mornings and talking to them. They really feel like family. On one side of our lagoon, we have 7 dolphins: 3 mom-calf pairs, and one juvenile male. Dinghy is our matriarch and oldest/largest dolphin. She's the boss. She's 35 years old, and has a 1 year old calf, BB. We also call her meatball, cause she's so round. There is also Sarah, in her late 20s. Sarah is a diva and constantly watches over everyone. Her 4 year old Grace, is a devil-child. She's very curious, but she tries to scare the hell out of me when I'm scrubbing docks, and she pokes me when I set up beachings. Despite her cuteness, I think she's kind of evil. Then there's Jess, who is also in her late 20s. She's mostly blind, from some scar tissue over her eyes. She has a 2 year old, Zoe, who's beginning to follow in Grace's footsteps and be mischevious. Fiji, the male, is my favorite on this side. He's very chill. He likes to swim upside down and whistle contantly. If he were human, I think he'd be some totally-out-of-it surfer dude who could play the steel drums and wear dreads. On the 'south side' of the lagoon is another family unit. We have mama Squirt and papa Bob, with 2 children: 4-year-old Lotus, who is my favorite on that side-she does an amazing back flip- and Tashi, a 3-month old boy who is FREAKING ADORABLE. Bella, our 12-year-old  teenager is also on that side. She's a fast learner and our 'pretty girl'; she's very pink. Also on that side is Wono, our 22 year old sea lion, who secretly thinks she's a dolphin, and is a great philosopher of life. Our dolphins are smart as whips, and hilarious at the same time. I think the trainers sometimes feel like therapists. Anyways, there's never a dull moment :)
               I will update when I'm nearly finished next month, and like I said put up some pictures. I don't want to lose an opportunity to make you all jealous!

The Month of Hell is Over!!!

In case you've been out of the loop lately, July has been seriously kicking my butt. Despite all the academic hardships I was already preparing myself to face, unexpected events also attacked me, leaving me an exhausted, stressed-out, woe-is-me maniac by this last week. The above picture is an example of my emotional rollercoaster this past month. Let me break it down for you:

July 3rd: Legal case study, aka major group presentation

July 5th: Injured leg/hip at karate

July 8th: Doctor's visit, prescribed more drugs (yay), resting

July 9th: Seriously going nuts because all physical activity is a no-no. Turns to cookies for comfort.

July 10th: Start to ice my leg/hip. Let me tell you that sticking an ice pack down your pants is one of the most unpleasant things in the world.

July 11th: Help cousin Kelly move in, then abandon her to my mountain-pile of work.

July 14th: Spill water on computer-dies.

July 14th: (5 min later): Cries uncontrollably for 10 min, then laughs like an insane person for another 10 minutes.

July 16th: Computer taken to repair-can't fix it.

July 17th: Thesis Defense-a presentation that I've been working towards for a year and a half, when I have to answer people's stupid questions and either pass or fail.

July 17th: Momentary relief when I pass my defense. Eat a lot of congratulatory cake.

July 22nd: Take computer to Best Buy; they fixed my computer; I break down in front of the geek squad member and tell him he saved my life. He looks uncomfortable.

July 23rd: Class final.

July 24th: Get sick.

July 25th-28th: Clean, pack, and eat.

Now, I am recuperating, waiting to fly home to Pittsburgh and take a real vacation. I think this month has aged me significantly to look about 17 years old. I can really tell now that I'm beginning to fall apart. Hopefully all I'll need is some pool-time, friend and family time, and home-cooked meals! I shouldn't be stressed for awhile now, until my internship starts and I have to look for a JOB. *heavy sigh*

Updates later!

Here are my victory dances:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/redstripe/the-definitive-collection-of-hooray-gifs-6phl

Two Semesters To Go!

Well, after writing that title, I'm pretty depressed. Time has certainly flown, and I can't believe I have less than a year to go.

I have almost completed my last course for the term, and then I will hit the summer semester, which will be my most important semester in terms of graduation requirements. I am currently working like a fiend (well, not really) on my paper, and all I can say is I am now quite the expert on the Chinese River dolphin. Too bad it no longer exists.

One thing I've realized throughout my education here is that some students still don't really understand reality outside of science. They hate people who don't have "save the whales" as their main priority and loathe places that don't protect marine mammals from the get go. Japan and Norway have a lot of grudge against them, as well as politicians, developers, and fisheries. Thankfully, I can see that a lot of people make their livelihood off our marine ecosystems, and while I don't condone a lot of practices (there are some brutal things people do to animals) I can honestly say that I would put people before dolphins. I'm not going to scream at my friends in Japan and ask them why their people still hunt whales; I'm not going to scream at the fisherman who's out at sea for days to bring me my broiled tilapia. So, while a lot of things need to happen quickly to save species and regulate sources, I have decided I will remain professional. And if someone really gets on my nerves, I'll wait until we're in the parking lot and then go all Bruce Lee on him. *End of rant*

Other than a new semester starting, not too much has changed. Oh, wait. I PASSED MY KARATE TEST! It's actually not that exciting. I got a green stripe for my belt, not a full belt change. At least I get to wear a bit of my favorite color though. I'll probably earn another stripe, but I'll graduate before getting my green belt. How ironic. I graduated from SU before getting my green belt. What a cruel joke.

Let's see, what else...work is boring. Pretty much everything is that way, haha. While I really enjoy my classes and paper topic, I'm not out surfing/boating/swimming with dolphins like everyone thinks. I'm lucky if I get to the beach once a month. Again, irony. 

I'm excited to come home next month to Pittsburgh, and then out to rural PA. It'll be a nice change of scenery. I really hope it's gloomy. That's the Pittsburgh I know and love best :) 

Catching Up...

I realized I haven't written a post since I came back for the new semester, so I figured while I'm bored at work to fill you in on my exciting life.

Nothing has happened.

Since I returned in January, I've been suffering from 60-70 degree weather (I can hear the whining 2,000 miles away), which is fairly cool for down here. I think my blood has finally acclimated to Florida weather; I try and remind myself not to be a wuss as I donn my sweatshirt and run from the sea breeze.

I currently am only taking one class (Coral biology and environmental change) because I have started my capstone (relevant to a thesis) credits. I am basically writing a very large paper to defend in July :O. That is correct; I am defending 6 months earlier than planned. Apparently I had more credits under my belt than I thought, and once you start, you're not allowed to stop. Most students defend their last semester, so I will be early, but it will actually work out (if I can pull it off) because then I can concentrate on finding a job my last semester as I wrap up classes, and I also applied for an internship during that time.

I submitted an application for an internship down in Key Largo, near where I volunteered called Dolphins Plus. It's an educational swim-with-dolphins program, and I would basically train to become an assistant dolphin trainer, as well as help conduct research. It's pretty competitive, but I got an email saying that I would be scheduled for an interview, so, fingers crossed!

Other exciting news includes joining a new martial arts club (Vietnamese-based) and learning some new ab crunches. Yup, not too much going on. My very good friend Fran, an exchange student from Switzerland, is leaving to go back home at the end of the month, so we're having "Final Weeks of Fran" and trying to do some fun beachy stuff before she leaves.  

The rest of the semester seems pretty low key. I have my final at the end of March, and then I start a 4-week class on bycatch, and then May hits and I will be running around like crazy, accommodating visitors one week, then flying home for a week, then coming back and possibly going to DISNEY WORLD. Yeah, all of May is pretty much going to be a vacation for me. :)

Which means I'm probably going to need it.

Marine Mammal Conference/Universal Studios

Currently listening to: Nothing. I'm at work :(
Mood: Stressed

Wow, it's been months since I've written! That's ok; I'm going to make up for it with a  super-long post detailing what I've been doing for the past few months. I don't have too much to talk about that's school-related though; my semester was pretty boring actually. I had two classes: biostatistics and population ecology. They were both intense math classes, so I was kind of out of my element in this round. I did enjoy pop eco though. I thought it would be a class about studying the habits and habitats of various species' populations. Nope. It was a class of mathematical modeling and prediction using calculus. Big surprise! Let's just say it was almost hell for me: homeworks on Excel that took 8 hours, a lot of staring at the board as though it were written in a different language...somehow I pulled through and did well, but, that was probably more luck than anything!

I also had another class, though a short one. It was exclusively on the biology and conservation of manatees, taught by my advisor. Part of the class was going to the biennial marine mammal conference in Tampa, which happened last week. It's an entire week long, and about 2,000 nerds participate, most of them Ph.Ds. We were required to attend, in order to go to a 9-hour workshop on Sirenians (manatees and dugongs) on Sunday. After 34 presentations, I looked like this:

That was basically the entire week. Each day there were four sessions of talks, and you basically went to listen to what you wanted. One of my classmates presented, so I also went to hers, and then there were poster sessions to give you a break on your eyes and butt, so you could walk around, but still information overload. Monday night there was an amazing video presentation of research. There were two videos that blew my mind: one was of a humpback caught in nylon netting, with her fluke and fins trapped down so that she was sinking, and struggling to breathe. The guy in the film jumped in the water to assess how bad it was (something he said you should never do, in retrospect) and then, with one knife on board they spent hours holding the net, keeping her close to the boat, and cutting it off her. Eventually she was freed, and gave the boaters a spectacular display of breaches and jumps. Yay! The second video was some amazing footage of a pod of killer whales hunting a Bryde's whale (yes, orcas eat other whales. I'd rather face a shark than a group of killer whales.) Anyways, the photographer was right on top of the pod, and the way they took turns to attack the animal was almost militaristic: they had these crazy formations. Eventually, by a thousand cuts, the prey tired, and the whales had their dinner. A bit morbid, but stuff like that is never captured on film, so it was pretty cool to see. 

Tuesday night was a panel discussion about the Gulf oil spill, since it happened between conferences. It got a bit heated, to say the least and I had immense satisfaction noticing our top sponsors were all oil companies, and at the very top of the list? BP. Wednesday night was a student affairs workshop where we basically got into little groups in areas of interest like behavior, genetics, academia, government, etc. In a way it was interesting...I got a free dinner at least. Thursday night was a free night, so my friend Kate and I chilled out in the room and watched tv, and then Friday we went home. It was a jam-packed week. I think I won the award for most presentations attended. I went to over 100!

The logo for the 19th biennial conference.

   Tampa's convention center.

         The Mariott where I, and most of the 2,000 nerds, stayed.

 Inside, with people running between ballrooms for different talks.

 Inside for a presentation.

Where the poster session was held. I got lots of free pens from exhibitors!

At the Florida Aquarium with Kate and Caitlin, for a meet'n'greet.

  Behind the convention center, where everyone had lunch, and napped :)

 See that open space? That's for my future 400ft yacht.

 Nemo reference.

Kate and I along the riverwalk.

Other than the conference, the other 'big' thing that happened was vacation to Universal in October. The parentals and I stayed at the Portofino hotel (so awesome) and then we went to both Universal parks and the Harry Potter park (located inside Islands of Adventure). DO NOT LOOK BELOW if you don't want to be spoiled about the parks. We had a ton of fun. I really liked the atmosphere of the parks-that was the best part. My favorites were the Jurassic Park and Mummy rides. I'm also glad I  got to go on the Jaws ride, because they're taking it out! :(
The best part of the trip though? Walking along the citywalk (lots of restaurants and clubs) and hearing the Backstreet Boys' new single playing out over the whole place. Haha!

The water taxi picking us up at the hotel to take us to the park.

 Where I REALLY want to go to school.

    "Look honey it's our new pet! He won't shed in the house!"

  I love the crooked chimneys.

     There are no words to describe this.

We had beautiful weather for both of my trips, but I have to admit, I'm looking foward to some nice gloomy Pittsburgh weather! I got all my Christmas shopping done, and all I have left is another week of work, I have to turn in a project proposal, and pack! I'm so excited for home. Frankly, this whole sunny and 80C thing gets old ;)  I hope you saved me some snow! See you soon!