The rollercoaster is going up!

So internships were looking bad, but now they're looking up!

My COMPASS contact told me today that the Exec Director doesn't want to have a new staffer for the new coordinator right away. That's understandable. So they're going to keep my contact info handy just in case maybe late summer things change, but it's not a reliable option. That's something I had already been banking on.

What was surprising, though, is she asked if I'd like her to send an e-mail out to other NGOs and such to see if they wanted internship help! I most definitely said YES. She's already had someone at the Nature Conservancy and CFFO (aquarium - ironic) ask for my resume so...who knows! The funny thing at TNC (The Nature Conservancy) is I tried with them before and nothing happened. Then again, I didn't really follow through either. The other funny thing is the same day that she e-mails CFFO and they respond back, the person I contacted 2 weeks ago at the CFFO e-mailed me back asking me for my resume and said he'd check with the policy group. I'm still going to try and aim for the Sanctuary one too. I'm sure I could easily double with them, especially if the NGOs and Sanctuary offices are all very close to each other and I think they are. So, it's a possibility. She also informed me Oceana (I tried with them a few times) has had several staff changes so that's why I haven't had luck there. That would make sense since the person I tried contacting in March suddenly didn't have a working e-mail address in April. :P In a lot of ways, this was just an unfortunate summer to look for internships!

My order of preference: COMPASS, Sanctuary, CFFO, whoever. Since COMPASS isn't available, Sanctuary would be next. Assuming the position sounds interesting enough, I'd take it over the CFFO if I couldn't double. Having federal contacts would be very valuable after I graduate and it'd look really good if I wanted to head towards a NGO somewhere. On the other hand, the NGOs are so close in Monterey that working with one would probably open just as many doors. So...like I said, if I can double, I would.

Anyway, I'm hoping next week produces some offers!

In other news, Shrimp Female #1 -- the first female to carry eggs -- has hatched her 2nd set of eggs. I haven't seen any evidence of any babies. She's been hanging out with the male today. He's not chasing her around or anything, so we'll see when she decides she wants her next clutch. She definitely is ready to have another set. If it follows like last time, it's basically she hatches the eggs, cleans out the area where she keeps the eggs, next day she starts getting picked on by the male, hours later she has a new set of eggs.

One of my plants is being pretty cool and has sent off a shoot into the tank which has started growing 3 new mini plants. So that's pretty cool. My logs are getting "algae hairy" again. My suckerfish are NOT doing their job! They're practically lethargic. One hides all day underneath the log. If you didn't know where to look and what to look for, you'd never find him. As is, I can only BARELY see the VERY tip of his dorsal fin and that's because he sucks onto the log upside down. The other one hangs out in the corners at the bottom. Weird. I'm going to have to rethink my algae eaters...the back wall I'm having to scrap the algae off and the rocks and plants get semi-gross. These guys are great -- when they eat. There are more expensive algae eaters, but they only really eat the algae off glass and I need my logs/plants cleaned too. The rocks I can just live with. When I clean the bottom I just jumble them around and it's okay. The little snails in my tank have exploded too. I think I had like 3 to begin with and it was a treat to see them and now I have so many I'm not worried if they're eaten, accidentally dumped down the sink when cleaning the tank, etc. LoL I guess they do help clean the tank, sort of.

Oh yeah, in regards to my bug bite...it got bigger today. It's not as red as it was yesterday, but the red ring has gotten bigger. It itched more today than it did yesterday too. It's a good 2.5 inches in diameter now (I measured it -- dork, I know). The location where the bug bite is redder than yesterday. So...I think it's healing...I guess I'll see after tomorrow. :P

Well, with that. Time for an early bed.