Five questions meme...
Jan. 27th, 2008 11:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
senoritafishBy way of ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
calypso72 (sorry it took me so long to do this)...
1. Leave me a casual comment of no particular significance, like a lyric to your current favorite song, your favorite kind of sandwich, o rmaybe your favorite game. Any remark, meaningless or not.
2. I will respond by asking you five personal questions so I can get to know you better.
3. Update your LJ with the answers to the questions.
4. Include this explanation and offer to ask someone else in your own post.
5. When others respond with a comment, you will ask them five questions.
Here are my five questions...
1. What is your favorite part about being a parent?
Maybe it's selfish, but probably the things that any parent loves; those first smiles, a spontaneous hug and "I love you, mom." Cuddling on the couch watching a movie on rainy Saturday,with popcorn. That they have a lot of the same interests that I do (science, drawing, animals - but that's only to be expected while they're young), watching them growing and doing well. Getting a Student of the Month in their classes at school - which they've all done at least once. That I have the most control over them than at any other time in their lives - Muah-hahahaha! No, just kidding about the last...
2. Least favorite part?
A few years ago it would have been diapers and sleep deprivation, but happily, those times have passed. I do miss some things about them being babies though. The alarm clock going off a 5:30 so I can get Angus ready for his 7:00 bus and myself ready or work. That it's like pulling teeth to get them to do homework or pick up anything (which ultimately must be my fault, I guess), and Angus telling me he hates school - there's a kid in his class that teases him and he has a hard time with that. That Avalon can't seem to go five minutes without bugging her brothers (that's a little sisters job, though, I suppose). That I can count on one hand the number of times John and I have been to the movies alone since we had them.
3. Describe a typical work day for you.
Mostly, pretty boring, so this'll be a composite. Let's see, after getting Angus on the bus, and getting Gareth and Avalon up and having breakfast, getting lunch together for myself, heading off to catch the bus just before eight. I take the OCTA #25 north for about half and hour, get off on the street my office is on, and since it's twenty minutes before my transfer arrives, walk about 4 stops down the street. Then catch that one and get off in front of my office, and birdwatch a bit on my walk behind the building to the door; saw a Say's phoebe on Friday, for the first time since last year. Up the stairs to my cube, turn on the computer and check my email for the first twenty minutes or so. The HMS management team wants some information on drift gill net landings in CA since '96 and which of those boats also used longline gear, so I connect to the state fishery landings database, run a query and download the proper data. I still need to analyze it, but I'm also behind on aging mackerel otoliths, which are needed by the Biomass Assessment Team in La Jolla to plug into their model. So I spend at least until lunchtime, and possible an hour or so afterwards, looking at fish ear bones to determine their ages. There are 25 pairs of otoliths in a sample, and depending on whether they are younger or older fish, take about half an hour to an hour to age. This involves putting them in distilled water, looking at them under a dissecting microscope, and counting the transparent rings. Harder than it sounds, because 1) they're not always very clear - sometimes it's more like a groove than a clear area, and 2) Pacific mackerel often have what are called "checks," which are transparent areas caused by other reasons than a seasonal change (spawning, not getting enought to eat, temperature changes). Lunch sometimes involves VT and I stepping out and going for a walk around the neighborhood. Then, the monthly conference call with other biologists on my project, where we all update each other on what we are working on. After we all hang up, talk with my co-workers on what supplies we need to purchase before the state cuts us off and we can't buy anything (early this year; normally it's not until late May, before the new fiscal year on July 1). Then, spend some time analyzing the drift gill net data and putting it in to a table, to be emailed out to the HMSMT. Have an email exchange with my boss is La Jolla, wherein I get an assignment to attend a conference call to the General Advisory Council to the InterAmerican Tropical Tuna Commission, since the Regional Manager will be unable to attend. Not that I have to present or say anything, but I have to take complete notes on what goes on. I put that on my calendar, and then work on a travel expense claim - I got too much in a travel advance, so I'm annoyed that I have to write a check back to Claims. Work for a bit on organizing my office; I haven't had much time to put stuff in it's place since I moved and am trying to spend 15 minutes a day on that until it's done. By then, it's about time to go catch the bus home; on the bus I either read or watch a podcast or two, or sometimes I people watch. Walk the block home and then stare into the freezer and try to figure what to have for dinner.
4. Would you rather be in the field or in the office?
I would much rather be in the field than in the office, although I only get to do that around once a month these days, unless someone is sick and I need to fill for them, or we are short on scientific aides. Getting to go out on a research cruise last summer was a special treat; I haven't gotten to do that for a number of years. Luckily, the department is focusing on getting back in being a research organization and not strictly a regulatory agency - the higher ups finally realized we used to be really respected for doing original research and we'd gotten away from it. My project is getting more into trying to quantify squid egg beds - but since I'm not certified to dive for the Department, the most I can help with that is being a boat crew person. Still, a day out on a boat is better than a day in the office.
5. What was your favorite movie of 2007?
Ha Ha, see number two! The only movie I actually saw in the theater was Balls of Fury when we went to the (fairly new) $2 theater to escape the smoke and heat during the fires. It had a few chuckles, but i mostly enjoyed the AC. I did get to see the latest Harry Potter when we got the DVD recently, which was a lot of fun, I can't believe how much Daniel Radcliffe has grown up (and how much he's starting to resemble my brother) and it was good to see the character standing up for himself more. However, there was some stuff left out of the book that would have explained things a bit more. I'm hoping to see Sweeney Todd before it leaves the theater, and I did notice The Golden Compass is playing at the aforementioned cheap theater, so maybe we can go see it this week.
calypso72 (sorry it took me so long to do this)...1. Leave me a casual comment of no particular significance, like a lyric to your current favorite song, your favorite kind of sandwich, o rmaybe your favorite game. Any remark, meaningless or not.
2. I will respond by asking you five personal questions so I can get to know you better.
3. Update your LJ with the answers to the questions.
4. Include this explanation and offer to ask someone else in your own post.
5. When others respond with a comment, you will ask them five questions.
Here are my five questions...
1. What is your favorite part about being a parent?
Maybe it's selfish, but probably the things that any parent loves; those first smiles, a spontaneous hug and "I love you, mom." Cuddling on the couch watching a movie on rainy Saturday,with popcorn. That they have a lot of the same interests that I do (science, drawing, animals - but that's only to be expected while they're young), watching them growing and doing well. Getting a Student of the Month in their classes at school - which they've all done at least once. That I have the most control over them than at any other time in their lives - Muah-hahahaha! No, just kidding about the last...
2. Least favorite part?
A few years ago it would have been diapers and sleep deprivation, but happily, those times have passed. I do miss some things about them being babies though. The alarm clock going off a 5:30 so I can get Angus ready for his 7:00 bus and myself ready or work. That it's like pulling teeth to get them to do homework or pick up anything (which ultimately must be my fault, I guess), and Angus telling me he hates school - there's a kid in his class that teases him and he has a hard time with that. That Avalon can't seem to go five minutes without bugging her brothers (that's a little sisters job, though, I suppose). That I can count on one hand the number of times John and I have been to the movies alone since we had them.
3. Describe a typical work day for you.
Mostly, pretty boring, so this'll be a composite. Let's see, after getting Angus on the bus, and getting Gareth and Avalon up and having breakfast, getting lunch together for myself, heading off to catch the bus just before eight. I take the OCTA #25 north for about half and hour, get off on the street my office is on, and since it's twenty minutes before my transfer arrives, walk about 4 stops down the street. Then catch that one and get off in front of my office, and birdwatch a bit on my walk behind the building to the door; saw a Say's phoebe on Friday, for the first time since last year. Up the stairs to my cube, turn on the computer and check my email for the first twenty minutes or so. The HMS management team wants some information on drift gill net landings in CA since '96 and which of those boats also used longline gear, so I connect to the state fishery landings database, run a query and download the proper data. I still need to analyze it, but I'm also behind on aging mackerel otoliths, which are needed by the Biomass Assessment Team in La Jolla to plug into their model. So I spend at least until lunchtime, and possible an hour or so afterwards, looking at fish ear bones to determine their ages. There are 25 pairs of otoliths in a sample, and depending on whether they are younger or older fish, take about half an hour to an hour to age. This involves putting them in distilled water, looking at them under a dissecting microscope, and counting the transparent rings. Harder than it sounds, because 1) they're not always very clear - sometimes it's more like a groove than a clear area, and 2) Pacific mackerel often have what are called "checks," which are transparent areas caused by other reasons than a seasonal change (spawning, not getting enought to eat, temperature changes). Lunch sometimes involves VT and I stepping out and going for a walk around the neighborhood. Then, the monthly conference call with other biologists on my project, where we all update each other on what we are working on. After we all hang up, talk with my co-workers on what supplies we need to purchase before the state cuts us off and we can't buy anything (early this year; normally it's not until late May, before the new fiscal year on July 1). Then, spend some time analyzing the drift gill net data and putting it in to a table, to be emailed out to the HMSMT. Have an email exchange with my boss is La Jolla, wherein I get an assignment to attend a conference call to the General Advisory Council to the InterAmerican Tropical Tuna Commission, since the Regional Manager will be unable to attend. Not that I have to present or say anything, but I have to take complete notes on what goes on. I put that on my calendar, and then work on a travel expense claim - I got too much in a travel advance, so I'm annoyed that I have to write a check back to Claims. Work for a bit on organizing my office; I haven't had much time to put stuff in it's place since I moved and am trying to spend 15 minutes a day on that until it's done. By then, it's about time to go catch the bus home; on the bus I either read or watch a podcast or two, or sometimes I people watch. Walk the block home and then stare into the freezer and try to figure what to have for dinner.
4. Would you rather be in the field or in the office?
I would much rather be in the field than in the office, although I only get to do that around once a month these days, unless someone is sick and I need to fill for them, or we are short on scientific aides. Getting to go out on a research cruise last summer was a special treat; I haven't gotten to do that for a number of years. Luckily, the department is focusing on getting back in being a research organization and not strictly a regulatory agency - the higher ups finally realized we used to be really respected for doing original research and we'd gotten away from it. My project is getting more into trying to quantify squid egg beds - but since I'm not certified to dive for the Department, the most I can help with that is being a boat crew person. Still, a day out on a boat is better than a day in the office.
5. What was your favorite movie of 2007?
Ha Ha, see number two! The only movie I actually saw in the theater was Balls of Fury when we went to the (fairly new) $2 theater to escape the smoke and heat during the fires. It had a few chuckles, but i mostly enjoyed the AC. I did get to see the latest Harry Potter when we got the DVD recently, which was a lot of fun, I can't believe how much Daniel Radcliffe has grown up (and how much he's starting to resemble my brother) and it was good to see the character standing up for himself more. However, there was some stuff left out of the book that would have explained things a bit more. I'm hoping to see Sweeney Todd before it leaves the theater, and I did notice The Golden Compass is playing at the aforementioned cheap theater, so maybe we can go see it this week.
