It's a new year, but there's a crumb in my keyboard

So, here I sit exactly one year to the day from when I first arrived in Bimini.  Initially, I had grand plans for this anniversary and the first new entry in my blog.  However, those plans are likely to become slightly spoiled by the terribly annoying crumb in my keyboard that is shifting around and making certain keys impossible to press.  With that in mind, I'll give it my best.

257 cm female Bull shark

I've never really been one for resolutions, but after my epic fail at continuing my blog upon returning to the Sharklab, I've decided that this year I'll test my worthlessness.  You might think I sound a bit harsh on myself, but I promise you it's an adequate description.  If you're not convinced, look at my first entry upon returning as staff, the one where I describe my grand (bullshit) plans to essentially become an environmental journalist blogging about all that is wrong in our polluted world...Long story short, I followed that claim up with a single post complaining about brain dead film crews, which, in all fairness, are about as enjoyable as kidney stones.

To be honest, the real reason I stopped blogging was because my daily routine here at the lab changed a lot.  Before, as a volunteer, I was out in the field every day and there were a ton of new experiences each week such as sharkdives, hammerheads, and raging dolphin hippies.  *On a brief side note, dolphin hippies never get old.  Just last week Emily and I overheard a woman explaining how dolphins altered her DNA.  One World, One Pod! 

Read the shirt...

After returning as an assistant manager, however, I spend a lot of days around the lab working on fixing and maintaining this glorified double-wide trailer.  I guess I just didn't think anyone wanted to hear about my struggles with PVC plumbing, outboard engines, and pet dogs with chronic cases of the shits.  I lost the inspiration and found it impossible to sit down and write; for those of you who know me well, if you thought my stories take a long time to tell, just imagine when I have to write them down.

Anyway, I realized that it's not simply the field work that makes this place fun and interesting to read about, and that most of you would actually probably enjoy me describing my epic battle with a 20 year old boat ramp.  That may be slightly egotistical, but then again you probably don't know how much fun it is to play with a crowbar.  The past seven months have been a whirlwind of sharks, fiberglass, fuel filters, and Bahamians who I'm still not convinced are actually speaking English.



So, while I can't promise this won't be the first of two posts in 2011, I can say that I'm going to do my best to keep it going.  While it might not always be an episode of Sharkweek, i'll try to make it enjoyable and representative of the incredible experience that is the Bimini Shark Lab.