when the tide is up and the waves are crashing in on me

that title lyric is very fitting for my morning. my alarm didn't go off at 6:15 like it was supposed to (or maybe it did and i missed it somehow?) chris woke me up at 6:30 and i rushed to get out the door in 20 minutes. we made it to class just before 7. normally class isn't till 10, but low tide was at 7 so we had to be there. we did transects of the intertidal zone this morning. we counted all of the creatures and plants in 1/4 square meter boxes from the edge of the water all the way up the shore. we started at the bottom and the tide chased us in, but we finished (long before it could wash us out) at 8:30. still earlier than i normally would have woken up.

no complaints though - it was fun to be out there. quite cold, but fortunately i didn't get splashed. half of the time i was reading the level a safe distance away from the waves. i saw one awesome wave creep in from the side and soak everyone... i looked around to see their shocked faces and landed on kevin, who was still dripping. good thing he was in his head-to-toe yellow rain suit.

we counted different algae varieties, muscles, limpets, chitin, sea anemones, and bunches of things i can't even recognize. even just watching the waves crash on the rocks was neat. now i've got four hours to kill before we go back for class at 1. after lecture and some playing around with the data, i'm going home! i get my braces off tomorrow! so exciting. then friday i'll be on campus for some meetings then to celebrate alex's birthday - yay! i also have like 5 other birthdays wishes to deliver while i'm there - why were all of my friends born in april/may? it should be a fun weekend. i'm going home saturday night so i can be with mom on sunday for mother's day - i'm really looking forward to that too.

i love it here, but i get excited when i get to go home and see people. yesterday chris and i were talking and we realized there's only one month left in this quarter! i can't believe how quickly it's gone by! my vacation is over half over, and i still feel like i'm just getting started! the beach and the wildlife are great, but i think the best part about being here is just not being busy all the time. ya, there's work to do for classes and plenty to do for fun on the weekends, but there isn't the imminent rush and stress of living on campus. i walk home from school in the evenings and am done. i've still got homework, but i can curl up in my apartment and not be surrounded by school. i miss the activities i participate in at school, especially the kids i tutor. but other than that, it's really nice to have a break from it all. going back to visit friends that barely have time to see me - although they do a great job of making the effort :) - makes me wish i could bring them here so they could just relax for a little while. this is what i needed. i accomplished my biggest goal in coming here - getting some rest. not just physically sleeping more, which i am definitely doing, but also mental and psychological rest:

from the drama of balancing friends and a social life
from thinking about boys all the time (it is fun alex, but i needed to clear my head)
from trying to please everyone else
from the pressure of the other 299 kids in the bio core who all seem more intense (and often smarter) than i am
from everyone seeming to know where they're going - i like not having a plan; where ever i go... i'm already there

that last bit is kind of buddhist. speaking of which, stuart invited me to go with the soco folks to tassajara again this year! that would be so incredible - i love it there!

another fun thing that happened yesterday: i was having lunch with chris and dani at first awakenings when in walked 2 guys from the aquarium. one of them looked familiar and we made eye contact so i asked him, "are you gil?" (the brother some of our family friends from our church in louisville) he was! when i reminded him who i was he instantly pulled me out of my seat into a big hug! we talked about the aquarium and caught up a little bit and he offered me another free tour anytime. i love louisville people and the way we take care of each other :)

well i think i'm going to try to get some stats out of the way so i can not worry about that this weekend. i've still got plenty of time to kill. see you all soon!