The Studio, visit with an old friend, and The Sturgeon Release!

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Update: THIS IS BLOG #100. WHOOHOO!! =)

I just can't believe how fast time seems to be going by. I only have about a week and a half before classes start here and then two weeks until AFS in Seattle where I'm presenting some research. I'm really looking forward to seeing my family since I haven't seen them since Christmas. Things have been kind of exciting around here though. I moved into my very first apartment. It's a small studio, but just the right size for me. They even re-did the outside with all new paneling and the inside is a bright white with nice new appliances and carpet. The same day I got back from the field, I rented and drove my first UHAUL and moved ALL of my stuff in about 2 hours. I was pretty sore after dragging everything out of storage. It was fun and exciting though knowing that I owned the whole place. I spent a few days unpacking (which I still haven't finished...bad grad student). I even went by the surplus store and got an electric mixer, toaster, and a table that matched all of my stuff perfectly all for about $70. It was awesome.

The same day I got the table, I headed over to Holland to meet up with an old friend from Alaska. Jasmin actually grew up in Michigan and (in an odd coincidence) became my roommate in Alaska 3 months before I got accepted to Michigan State University. It was pretty nice to see an old familiar face. When I had gone up to Juneau in March, I wasn't really in the right mindset or really prepared to be back there. So this visit was much more enjoyable! We instantly headed off on a mission -- to find the Red Lighthouse. It actually wasn't hard. We just walked through the ritzy mansions on the waterfront and found Big Red on the shoreline of Lake Michigan. It was a gorgeous day!! And although we both missed Alaska, we both were pretty excited to be spending so much time outside in the sun with a gorgeous beach nearby. We took a seat on the pier and just talked for a long time about everything that had been going on that year. It was really nice to catch up!

Around 7:30 or so, we headed back to her Grandma's and had dinner with her brother's family. It was nice to sit out on the deck and just relax and cool off while her Grandma watched Shark Week on the TV. The next day, we were supposed to head to the Coast Guard's festival to ride some fair rides but a strong downpour changed our plans to much needed shopping. :) Jas is a fun person to shop with as we spent hours in the mall window shopping. We even caught a movie before heading back to her Grandma's house again later in the day. Another nice dinner out with her brother and then some good movies to end the evening. Sunday was a walk around Saugatuck, a really cute touristy town. We even had lunch at The Mermaid and did lots more window shopping. It was a gorgeous sunny day and definitely a perfect one for ice cream. I went back to Holland with Jas and had some coffee before we said our goodbyes. I'll see her again next summer though as she's spending lots of time in Michigan!! =)

I headed back on the road to Lansing and started finishing all of my data analysis. The next week was spent doing data, having meetings on campus, buy more supplies for the apartment that I probably couldn't afford, and started fostering a kitten named Rubie. I've been volunteering for the Humane Society since January and decided to foster since I can't have animals during the summer. My first foster, Rubie, was an ornery 8-week-old orange tabby. She never stopped running around the first two days I got her in the house. I think she was just so excited to be out of her tiny small crate in the quarantine room. She had a kitty cold or more properly "Upper Respiratory Infection." She just had a tiny sneeze, but other than that, you never would've noticed she was sick. After about 5 or 6 days, she started sleeping through the night, meeting me at the door, and sitting in the windowsill looking at the world outside. I had her for about 12 days before her cold was cleared up and she was ready for adoption. Taking her back to CAHS was a little hard as she hated her crate, but I knew she needed another cat or someone with more attention for her. I held her, said my goodbyes, and headed out on the road to the field site. I found out yesterday (3 days after taking her back to CAHS), she was adopted with another kitten to a good home :).

The day before I headed north, I had my 24th birthday! For the last few years, my birthday has been a little rough since I've been away from family and haven't had many friends around. This year was quite a bit different as lots of the grads came to Rach's new place for a barbeque. I was running a little late and when I walked in, they were decorating shark cupcakes which just made my entire birthday. We had a great time and spent almost 6 hours eating, drinking, catching up, playing games, and just relaxing outside under the sun. It was one of the best birthdays I've ever had. I went home at the end of the day feeling good, even though my birthday wish didn't come true. It was kind of a foolish one as I was hoping for some kind of contact from someone. However they are doing, I hope it's well and that they're surrounded with loving friends too.

Well this past weekend, I was up at the field site for the sturgeon release. All of the fish had grown so much...including all of my babies!! Right after getting there, John and I headed to get the temperature loggers from Sites B, C, D, and F05 bridge. This of course required a little bailing off small sand cliffs, watching out for snakes, and hauling some gear out. I was instantly covered in dirt and made me remember the field season where every day was full of dirt and nature. But you do what you got to do for data! :) The next day, we had an early morning at the hatchery and got everything ready for the tours that started at 9am. For about three hours, 197 people came into the hatchery to see the sturgeon, ask us questions, pet the fish, and get ready to release them. Around 10 or so, we started rounding up kids and having them help us load them into buckets and place them in one giant round tank for loading. It was chaotic but very fun. We also had a couple reporters there that did some interviews and took some names. Around noon, we loaded up the tanks and headed to Black Lake to release most of the fish. I think the little fish were a little unsure of what they were supposed to do once we put them in the water and they didn't hit the wall of their tank. It was nice to see them swim off though and we hope several of them will live for years to come!! The afternoon was spent cleaning tanks and that night, we had a great dinner with the whole crew, our volunteer diver, our awesome DNR man, and even Ryan's girlfriend who is just awesome. Then we went back to the field house, played games and just talked outside. It was a great end to the field season. I headed back home that night and said goodbye to Onaway as I drove out of town. I'll see it again next March, but for now, the field season is completely over.

Since I got back from the field the first time the first week of August, it's been nice to have everything just calm down for awhile. I actually have a little bit of free time. I've been using it to kind of change up my lifestyle a little and focus on me which I haven't done in a long time. Honestly, change is hard. I've been dwelling on something this past year, comparing everything to it and being disappointed that nothing ever seemed to compare. But I just recently had a major wake up call that slapped me back to reality. Not surprisingly, I couldn't sleep after such a reality check and decided to join the other depressed souls online at 4:30a.m. to watch an episode of Bones. In the process, I stumbled across my horoscope for the day: 'You are in the midst of an internal battle, although it may play out now in the realm of relationships. The radiant Sun in your generous sign encourages you to express the love that's in your heart while its opposition to spiritual Neptune dissipates the boundaries that would normally prevent you from going further. Unfortunately, your friends won't be of much help now because they'll just tell you to throw caution to the wind. Being brave is admirable, but you could regret your actions if you act foolishly.' <--SO TRUE

So I think I focus WAY too much on other things going on. How ALL of my exes are either married, dating someone, or making babies while I'm...well...not. When I was having a tough time one semester, Lisa even drew me a picture of a river and how I'm weaving all over in la-la land instead of just moving smoothly across the page. It's true -- I dwell. I am a dweller and it's probably my greatest fault. I don't let things go easily. It takes me a long time to get used to a new place or get over a past relationship -- even one that ends amicably. And a long time to just be "okay" with myself. I don't feel "okay" right now. Hence (yes I just used that word) the reason for needing to revamp my life. Maybe get a haircut or change the color, get some new clothes, finally toss out that ridiculous framed whale watching picture I've been holding onto, learn to cook new things, go out and dance more with friends, foster more cats, and try a new sport or something. After all, there are LOTS of fish in the sea. My particular affinity for one can change if I find other things to focus on. And who knows what the future holds...maybe even a cute Aussie tuna fisherman who wrangles sharks. If I were only so lucky =) Right now, I probably wouldn't even look twice, but with a little "me" time, life should be good. So that's what I'm going to work on. That AND clearing a million boxes that have been sitting in my living room for 2 weeks so when the next foster kitty comes, they won't tear them to shreds.

Wish me luck!!
~kari

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