Kasettetape's Homepage

General Vibe

The past couple weeks I've just been focusing on getting through commissions, because I have to. It's how I make my living. It's genuinely difficult and distressing to try and do when you are completely aware of all the horrible shit going on right now, though. I'm really really tired from being on edge all of the time and constantly in survival mode. It makes me thankful for my day job. I love taking care of the animals in the vivarium, and it's one of the few jobs out there I can do and know I'm not contributing to a corporation that takes advantage of people or a for-profit institution. Even if I'm poor as shit, I feel good about what I do.

Lover's Cove

My coworkers and I went on a collection trip recently where we basically get to go tidepooling and get paid to do it. We have permits to collect certain species for our tanks for educational purposes. Normally I'd take pictures, but the process is dangerous enough I decided leaving my phone in my backpack was for the best. The journey down to the collection spot necessitates a bit of free climbing down a crumbling cliffside. Once there, the surf is relentless against the sharp volcanic rock jetties and, when revealed by the low tide, those stones are covered in slick kelp and algae.

Some notable species we found on this trip are:

• Aplysia californica - California Sea Hare
• Megathura crenulata - Giant Keyhole Limpet
• Kelletia kelletii - Kellet's Whelk
• Pisaster ochraceous - Ochre Star (these were HUGE, healthy specimens which was good to see, as many of our sea stars have been suffering from wasting disease.)
• Mopalia mucosa - Mossy Chiton
• Strongylocentrotus purpuratus - Purple Urchin
• Pagurus samuelis - Blue Banded Hermit Crab

We also had a great octopus sighting, and while it's not reliable, based on the size and color it definitely looked like a Giant Pacific Octopus and not the more common Two-spot or "bimac" that is found in Southern California.

Overall, it was a successfull trip and a beautiful day to be out. I will probably snap some photos of the animals from the tanks this week to post here!

New PR

I picked up running seriously in January. I needed something to work towards that got the anxiety and nauseua to calm down, and exercise usually does that for me. It wasn't some resolution, it was because I saw an add for a 5k in Feb and thought, "I bet I could do that". And, since I couldn't afford softball last year or this year, it was the perfect outlet. After a month of training I ran and finished 278/1148 with a time of 30:25 - a pace I've never achieved which I'm really very happy with. I'm not what you'd call a fit person and not super thin, but I'm athletic and have good endurance and that was enough. I really wish I had a running partner, but it does give me some quality alone time.Unfortunately now I'm already looking forward to the next race, collecting these medals is way too satisfying.

Back to School

I'm going into my 3rd semester as an embedded Bio 102 Tutor - another job I take on during Spring and Fall. I really enjoy working with the students, especially the ones who struggle or like to pretend none of this is worth their time. By the end of the course they always find something to get excited about. I think it helps that I'm not the best student either - I got a 55 on my first exam in this class - so I know what it's like to dig yourself out of a failing grade.

As for my own classes, I'm taking a math course to prepare for what will be my biggest hurdle - Calculus. In highschool, I never got past Algebra I.The jump from that level to this is unreal. But I'm trying to stay laser focused on what I need to do to succeed. I registered for a Spanish class for late semester, which I am really looking forward to because I need some formal guidance. I'd love to be able to converse with my partner and his family, but I'm slow and need to get over being too self conscious to speak.