Run of the Mill Update

I have several small bits of news. This time I will provide plenty of visuals!

Last Saturday, I had the opportunity to work for the dive shop again. It began as a transportation job but turned into me being an unofficial guide so that I could dive for free. I happened to bring my camera along because for me, it was a free fun dive and I had no official responsibilities until deciding to be the unofficial guide for the customers. We arrived at the first site and were told there was a bit of a current. Little did we know it was absolutely ripping. The short swim from the boat to the descent line proved to be so difficult that I had to rescue several customers, two people bailed before going down, another one panicked, and the remainder of the divers had about a third of a tank of air before descending. Once we reached the bottom, the current

Diving the Neptune

was much weaker but remained quite noticeable. The dive was actually nice in the end despite the incessant battle against the current. One of the divers had a great time, one got seasick, and the others hid their anger pretty well. It turns out the boat captain got a stinging furious online review from one of them the next day for taking us to the site with so much current.


Living in Coconut Grove

Artist explains her pieces to an art show-goer

(a quaint village in the heart of south-central Miami) has tons of perks. Small shops thrive here, it's the only truly pedestrian friendly area within miles, there are great restaurants and bars, residents get discounts from said eateries, and there is an annual arts festival of biblical proportion. Natalie and I went on Saturday. I knew the crowd was going to be large but I had no idea it would be in the thousands. Judging by the distance we covered and how thick the crowds were, I would guess there were upwards of 10,000 people there at any given point during our

One of many very crowded streets.

time there. The streets were shut down and filled to capacity with tents, people, and wonderful art from all over the country. I didn't make any purchases as the cheapest thing I could find was a small print for 75 dollars. In all honesty, I have no use for art now anyway so it's a good thing I didn't find anything worth buying. Don't get me wrong: there were some incredible pieces on display.

I've ragged on Ohio before; I know this. However, I willingly chose to stay there for 4 years of undergrad. To this day I don't regret going to Denison for a minute. It is a great school and I had a fulfilling experience there. Despite our incredible athletic program, one of the things Denison lacked was school spirit and nationally televised sporting events. Well what the University of Miami lacks in Physics department and close-knit programs, it easily makes up for in sports.

Shooting a free throw

A week and a half ago I attended my first college basketball game of my life and had an absolute blast. We lost to Duke (current national champions) but it was a good game and the atmosphere was electric making the experience well worth every bit.

I am a chair for an event coming up called Ocean Awareness Week and while you may hear me talk about it in the next post or two, I would rather not think about it right now.

Things with Natalie are going very well.

At the bowling alley

We're getting along swell and still learning new things about each other. This whole dating thing is really neat after all.

Finally, my job in Dr. Glynn's lab is going very well. I'm so productive that Dr. Glynn (THE Dr. Glynn who is world-famous in the coral world and THE Dr. Glynn who will be writing my letters of recommendation) invited me to lunch. I have no pictures from that but I hope to continue to make him happy for as long as I'm working for him.

Keep my cousin Claibourne in your prayers as she is going through pregnancy complications and almost had to deliver the baby two months early today.

Well, until next time, thanks for tuning in. That's All, Folks!