This week has been a pretty mellow week overall. Keeping in line with my experience with Sea Grant, I was recruited to other projects again. My post today will jump around a bit between all the different things I was up to, which is fitting to describe the events of this week.

Sunday I helped out with the Sea Grant booth at Da Vinci Days, a local arts and music festival in Corvallis. Even though it was raining out, I had a lot of fun. Most of my time was spent working with kids teaching them about watersheds. Once upon a time, I worked in childcare for four and a half years. Working with kids is hard, but incredibly rewarding, and working at Da Vinci Days reminded me of that. The best quote I took away from the day was from a young boy, who said this in response to a question regarding how we prevent motor oil from getting into the ocean:

“We could dig a hole in the middle of the ocean, put a plug in it, and when we want the bad stuff to go away, we’ll pull out the plug, let it drain, and have the ocean fill again.”

The most eventful day of my week was Wednesday. That day, I was given the task to write up a proposal outlining all the different options that have been considered for the Workshop I’m planning. The deadline was pressing; I had to turn around the proposal that day. Needless to say, I spent my Wednesday furiously writing to meet the quick turn around that was needed. I actually enjoyed having the quick deadline. Maybe it’s the adrenaline junkie in me that likes the thrill of a challenge that gets my blood pumping.

The rest of this week has been low key. Like I mentioned before, I’ve been recruited to doing impact statements, which have been the main task of my week. I’ve finished most of my projects I was given to complete, so right now I’m sitting and waiting for other projects to develop. While it’s not particularly thrilling, I’m actually really enjoying not being under perpetual work stress. My senior year of college was unbelievably busy where I was constantly under pressure of deadlines, working myself to the bone. Having work days that are mellow and don’t force me to run at 100 mph 24/7 is actually really refreshing.

Other breaking news of this week: the incredibly annoying, man-eating wasp that has been bothering me in the office all week has been slayed! Earlier today I let out a yelp and ran out of the office because the wasp was buzzing around my head. Rick, a Sea Grant staff member in the office, came over and killed it with a magazine. Whew! Crisis evaded.

And that is the news from Planet AnnaRose. Stay swell and remember to eat your vegetables.