I'll just dig right into the big news! I'm going to Antarctica for 2 1/2 months this fall!!! And the other big news?? I got a better job (in terms of relatively normal hours, commuting, fun, and pay). Which one to tell you about first?
Most people are really interested in the Antarctic stuff. How the heck did I get myself into that? Well, I've wanted to get into that for well, 15 years?? Ever since I started spending a lot of time underwater. I have a dear friend to thank really, Jennifer Fisher. Some of you know her! We worked together in Alaska. Her old M.S. adviser at Moss Landing Marine Labs, Stacy Kim, has been going to Antarctica for years now on various NSF grants. Jennifer has been there twice with Stacy! And I have met Stacy a few times through Jennifer. Through the grapevine, I heard that Stacy needed another diver. By pure luck, I emailed her my CV right when someone else turned down the open position. She moved me to the top of the list. I was floored. The first time we talked on the phone she said "so, you wanna go to Antarctica"? I was expecting an interview. We discussed everything for over an hour on the phone and suddenly I was going to Antarctica! Yes, this means I have to leave Jay for 2 1/2 months (sad) but I would be nuts to turn this down - and I'm not going to do that! I don't think he will forget me, but the cats might (this makes me a bit sad).
What will I be doing? Well, we fly into McMurdo Station from New Zealand. From there I have no clue yet! I know we will be spending time at a field camp. I also know that we will be trying to resample some old spots that Paul Dayton had set up back in the 1970s! He is coming with us on the trip too - pretty neat stuff. So basically we are doing some benthic ecology work, I am assuming mostly on invertebrates. I'm excited to learn the new species I'll be seeing down there and I'm excited to do some research in a place I've dreamed of as pristine (out of McMurdo Station at least), wild, and gorgeous.
Stacy sent along a few Web sites that you could check out. Our team doesn't have a Web page yet, I think I'm supposed to do that - but that won't be happening until the end of June at the very least. I get the biggest kick out of this site: http://www.bigdeadplace.com/welcome.html. This one is the real deal for people actually going but who knows, maybe you want to look at it too! http://www.usap.gov/travelAndDeployment/contentHandler.cfm?id=540
Oh - and a disclaimer. I still have to pass my medical and dental exams. I can't imagine any reason why I wouldn't pass - but ya never know. Once those are passed, I'm off at the very end of September and will be back mid-December. WOW!
And the other big news - the new job! I'm leaving Everett Community College after I finish teaching there in mid-June to go back to science and management. I was hired as a shellfish biologist for the Swinomish Tribe in La Conner, WA. It is only a 20 minute drive from our house! Super exciting....and the reservation is beautiful. Most of their trees are still standing and the office is right on a channel with big cedar trees drooping over the office. Nice spot! I couldn't believe they wanted to hire me with Antarctica dragging me away from the job only a few months after I started - but they did. I'm not super sure what the detailed aspects of my job are yet, but I can tell you a few things. One, the coastal tribes in WA control, by law, 50% of the fisheries. This is basically because white settlers took everything from them. When treaty was drawn up in the late 1800s, which the tribal leaders couldn't read, it said the white folks got everything but the tribes were entitled to keep fishing. This was because people believed fisheries were inexhaustible then, fisheries would always provide right? Wrong! But in a famous decision in the 1970s a judge interpreted the treaty to mean that the tribes were entitled to 50% of all the states fisheries. As a result, the individual tribes all hire biologists to help them effectively manage their fisheries. I'll be developing an intertidal clam fishery as well as helping out with the management of the geoduck clam fishery. They also need me to set up a diving protocol for the geoduck divers. I bet I will be helping out with the Dungeness crab and spot prawn fishery as well. Another fun part about the job, I think, will involve working directly with the fishermen. I enjoyed this a lot in my old job at DMF and hope this will be as entertaining. I start part-time in 2 weeks and full time in June. I may loose my mind in the next 2 months as I juggle teaching 2 classes at Everett, 2 classes online for Northeastern University, and 20 hours a week for the tribe. When am I supposed to swim?!!! Lucky for me, I have a great guy at home who cooks me healthy dinners. After June I will only have to work normal 40-hour weeks (except for field days, but I like those). I can't wait!
Long post eh? Here are a few photos of me and Jay cross-county skiing last weekend on the flanks of Mt. Baker. Enjoy! Christina arrives on Monday and I've really got to get back to work so I won't have much to do when she gets here.
Yes, you can laugh at us. The snow started after this spot - but the photo cracks me up anyway.
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