the sometimes senseless ravings (and the occassional rant) of an aspiring marine ecologist who may enjoy killing things a little too much

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Bermuda, Bahama, Come on Pretty Mama...

i don't know what's wrong with me lately, but i just haven't really felt much like posting. i've been stuck in the lab, mostly, slaving away over the HPLC. monday night i went out to dinner at banana docks with a faculty candidate, just (remember him? the spanish prof at DISL?), and another grad student. it was surprisingly enjoyable. we sat there for a long time, just talking. i don't think that guy is going to get the job, though. he was a major dork (not that that's always a bad thing), and the other candidate just had more pizazz. oh well. i got a free dinner (blackened grouper salad) out of it.

in other news, the coral reef ecology class that i'm the TA for starts in a couple of weeks. it sort of snuck up on me. it starts on may 7. and we leave for the bahamas on may 11... and we'll return may 19. for those who are paying attention, yes, that means i will be in the middle of NOWHERE with little or no phone or internet access on chad's and my three year anniversary. i haven't shared that little bit of news with him yet. i'm sure he's not going to like it. i don't really like it, either, but at least i'll be back so we can celebrate the weekend after. that makes it ok, right? ok maybe not, but there's nothing i can do about it now.

despite being there on my anniversary, about which i am bummed, i am really starting to get excited about this bahamas thing, i think. we will be visiting the cape eleuthera institute, which is apparently in the middle of nowhere, so if i get attacked by a shark, i'm screwed. according to their website, they are 40 minutes from the nearest clinic, and a reasonable estimate of the time it would take to get to a real hospital (in either nassau or florida) is something like 6 HOURS. oh my god, can you tell that freaks me out a little? well, it does. their staff is all medically trained, which is supposed to make us feel better, i guess, but they make us fill out medical releases like nobody's business, and they do that for a reason. oh, and let's not forget about the special insurance we have to by in case they have to "evacuate" anyone (meaning, if anyone is seriously injured enough to warrant an actual hospital. you know, one where they can actually perform surgery), the cost of which is something like $50,000.

before today, i didn't realize just how isolated we're going to be on our bahamas trip. it should be a good time, though. i'm keeping my fingers crossed.

3 comments:

Vanessa Mae said...

Casey went to Eleuthera for vacation once and from the looks of her photos, the place is absolutely gorgeous. Spain last year, Bahamas this year. You get to see the world at the expense of academia. Isolated or not, I think it's a pretty darn good deal.

We have to have some sort of Stanley Cup playoffs watch party sometime at your place, after you get back.

LaTina said...

yeah, it's definitely a good deal. and this time, i'm actually getting paid to see the world. it's only $15 an hour for 20 hours for the week, but still... cash AND a free trip to the bahamas (and this time the food is covered, too!)? it really couldn't get much better.

you should definitely come over and watch some sweet HD hockey when i get back. we'll plan it all out once we know the schedule for the finals.

Anonymous said...

Yes, I did go to Eleuthera! It is gorgeous. Its all locals..not many tourists at all..driving the golf carts around is fun..haha. Have a BLAST..and don't get fried like I did. Sunscreen is your best friend..but you know that already :p