Category Archives: Goals

California, Discovery, Goals, Haiku, Unicorn

WHALES! (And More)

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Whale!

Trinidad retreat
Beach, BIG trees, Banana slugs,
WHALE of a good time!

On my last weekend as a Redding resident, we indulged in a three-day Trinidad retreat (north coast of California). We rented a gorgeous house with this view from the backyard:

Home Sweet Home

There were delicious home cooked meals with fireplace peep s’mores for dessert. We walked on the beach…

Beach

and through the forest. In the picture below, my friends humored me when I suggested they spell “BIG” with their bodies in front of what is known as the “BIG Tree.” Good people 🙂

BIG tree

We even surfed a fallen giant!

Surfing!

WE SAW WHALES!!!!

Whale!

Two whales!
Two whales! (You have to find these ones for yourself 😉 )

I literally jumped for joy when I heard from another beach visitor that there were whales within sight of shore. We also saw whales from that beautiful backyard oasis pictured above and that happens to be where these pictures were taken. This was a dream come true, and it inspired the first draft of the haiku for this post:

Whale! Whale! Whale! Whale! Whale!
Whale! Whale! Whale! Whale! Whale! Whale! Whale!
Whale! Whale! Whale! Whale! Whale!

I know, a masterpiece!

Not to be outdone by its massive marine mammal competition, the redwood forest banana slugs put on quite a display. This little guy is a mighty muncher!

This one was the funniest of the bunch:

Banana^2
Banana Slug Banana

It was a grand way to end my time as a northern California resident. Thanks friends!

California, Flux, Goals, Haiku, Unicorn

New Job!!

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Welcome to the BLM Bakersfield!
Welcome to the BLM Bakersfield Field Office!

New city, new job:
Bakersfield Biologist
Excited to start!

I am thrilled to share the news that I have accepted a full-time, permanent position as a Wildlife Biologist for the Bureau of Land Management Bakersfield Field Office in Bakersfield, California. This is a terrific opportunity, and I am excited to begin on May 18.

If I had any doubt (and I don’t), there was a giant sign that told me I was going in the right direction: the BLM Bakersfield office is literally on the corner of Pegasus and Unicorn!!!

The BLM Bakersfield office is literally on the corner of Pegasus and Unicorn!!!
Too good to be true – but it is!

Over the weekend, I went on an apartment search with my wonderful mom who flew out to help. She also served as the “Newest Resident of Bakersfield” photographer, enjoy:

The sign on the Wikipedia page – welcome to Bakersfield!
Bakersfield Trader Joes!
Bakersfield Trader Joe’s!

I think great adventure and learning lay ahead! Thank you to everyone who has helped me to get this far. I look forward to this being only another beginning!

Goals, Haiku, Running

Preoccupation

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Race Outfit

preoccupied thoughts
race bib, outfit, weather, food
marathon draws near

A little more:

I am running the Redding Marathon tomorrow, January 18. It starts at 8 AM pacific time on the top of Shasta Dam and traverses the Sacramento River Trail to the Sundial Bridge (course map). I have been training for 14 weeks using a Carly-fied version of the Hanson training plan. I am nervous, but I think I am ready. Please send good thoughts!   : )

From Friday:

Selma

‘Selma’ reminds us
peaceful protests overcame.
Still there’s work to do.

Elaboration:

I saw the movie ‘Selma’ on Friday night. It was excellent: powerful and moving, but also difficult to watch. Being confronted by heinous acts on a big screen made me cringe with disgust and remorse, but I am grateful that the movie triggered these feelings, because I am afraid of what could happen (and maybe is happening) if we forget the courageous acts of these many ordinary people. They have done so much for us and our country, and now it is our turn to continue their march.

For an illuminating interview with the director, Ava DuVernay, visit this link: The Sounds, Space And Spirit Of ‘Selma’: A Director’s Take.