Sea Otter

Today I got my aquarium ID! The funny part is that it says "Animal Dept" under my name. All the other divers' IDs say "volunteer." Oops! Ha ha.

On Friday I took the day off to dive at the aquarium. I had to use the vacation day or lose it, and I figured it can't hurt to accumulate aquarium shifts now because I plan to miss a few this summer. We dove in sea otter (no sea otter inside though, they gated him) and I got to use the vacuum pump for the first time. That thing is great! Vacuuming is one of my favorite cleaning chores on land, and in the water too, because sucking things up without having to touch them is fun. :) In sea otter we were vacuuming pieces of shells and algae. The exhibit is split into two tanks with a narrow entry between the two that we had to crawl through sideways. There were only 3 other people there and things felt a lot more laid-back than they do on Sundays. We spent more time chatting before the dive and then when we were done we all went to lunch together in the cafe. I had thought I'd be home by 3, with time for a nap before the BtS Gala, but between lunch and an impromptu sea lion show, and then a not-so-quick ride back to Manhattan, I wasn't home till 5. I had an hour to get dressed and meet Dr. Mike in the city. It was an exhausting beginning to the weekend, but it was all fun!