Change is in the air here at OIMB. Most of the students have finished their classes and are now packing up for their moves back to Eugene or whichever part of the country they came from. A handful that are taking an intro stats class remain, but campus has quieted down significantly. Despite not being in class with them, I got to know most of them pretty well, and it’s been a pleasure spending the summer with a great bunch of up-and-coming marine scientists.

Due to fog and unfriendly seas, the urchin surveys didn’t happen last week. It was also a short week due to a mandatory furlough day for ODFW on Friday. Much of my time was thus spent assembling my Power Point presentation and measuring a few samples of pink shrimp that came in. The toughest part of my presentation is definitely the results section. I feel like I pretty much have the interpretation down, but the organization as far as slide order and how to tie it all together for effective communication is a bit tricky. Scott has, of course, been great with helping me to fine-tune it and in providing constructive criticism, but it’s ultimately up to me to finalize it and present it effectively. Oddly enough, the final “thank you” slide is also posing a bit of a challenge. The list of people to include is quite long, and as I whittle it down to be more manageable I feel a tinge of guilt as I remove names and relegate them to the “thanks to everybody else” category. These things must sometime happen. Other than that, I’m very happy with the way my presentation has come together. I look forward to the symposium this Friday with a little nervousness but mostly optimism and high hopes.

My last week here in Charleston may or may not involve sea urchin surveys. As with the previous week, it’s all weather dependent. So far the forecast is for more fog, so I’m not getting my hopes up. It would be so nice to finish up with some fieldwork, though. The last two weeks have largely been spent in the lab or in front of the computer, which I’ve learned is not my favorite place to be despite the satisfaction of seeing the results of my project and gaining much-needed software skills. There’s been talk among the remaining students here of having a bonfire on the beach tonight, so maybe I’ll do some sort of ritual to stave off the fog and reel in some sun.

I bid you peace.