I awoke today at 4 AM and when I went to wash my hands, no water again. Boy! Does this get old fast.
This time I fell asleep until 6:20 AM. I got up and fired up the computer to work on my blog entries. The cloud gods have decided not to rain today, and I am glad. No sun, but no rain either.
Yesterday, I decide to take an empty gallon water bottle to the Library and pour the dehumidifier water into it as my own private water stash. This morning I throw on some clothes and head to the Library to get the jug of water. I will use it to wash my face and hands, etc. Luckily one of the sinks in the bathroom still has one of those old fashioned sink plugs on a beaded chain. I can plug the sink, pour water in, and luxuriate in no salt water! Actually, this might as good a place as any to discuss that my face absolutely does not like salt water as a permanent washing medium. I truly look forward to a real, well water shower and cleansing on one fine day in the middle of May.
I dress for breakfast now, pack my computer, backpack, baseball hat and walk the path to the Library to dump my computer off, and head further down the path to the cafeteria. The tide is incredibly low. Dennis follows me in and says to sit outside on the porch. I agree. Lo and behold if it isn’t a big old sea lion sitting in a foot of water with her head stretched way back enjoying herself. I can’t believe I don’t have my camera with me. I truck the darn thing everywhere, but not today. Then we see a Great Egret (all white) checking out the intertidal volcanic rocks for snacks. Then we see a Great Blue Heron. Then we see a shore bird that is not in my Wildlife of the Galapagos book. Dennis thinks it’s a curlew, but I will have to look this up. This why it is important to have Internet access while writing! I can verify my facts and hyperlink to cool things. Anyway, it was quite the morning for wildlife and I didn’t have my camera!
It is 7:58 AM and the Library opens at 8. I gotta move! I usually talk to all of the marine iguanas on my way from the cafeteria to the Library. Me and Dr. Doolittle, I guess. I see a man turn into the walkway to the Library, and Whoops! I’m not at my station. I yell to him, Here I am! He says the first door is unlocked, but the Library door is locked. Hmm. What he doesn’t know is that it has only been unlocked since I dropped off my laptop less than 20 minutes ago. So he introduces himself as Brian Milstead, Head of Something, and he is looking for aerial photos. There were aerial photos taken of the islands in the 1940s when Baltra was a big military base (fortified to protect the Panama Canal). I am at a total loss. He says that they are in a locked cabinet. Well then, there ya go. I don’t have a clue what’s what. They are not in the regular map case, so I’m no good to him. He says that he will write Susana (you know, pregnant in Quito) to find out. I ask him to cc the Biblioteca when he does. Okay, thanks. Good to meet you. Ciao.
Mandy comes in to look at the other maps and asks if it is okay to bring in her laptop to plug into the hub. Sure, the more the merrier. She goes and comes back. I tell her that I have been reading the Outlook Inbox since I arrived and that the Biblioteca is on the Foundation/Station distribution list. There are 880 emails in the Inbox. Within the last year, no one has ever deleted spam, or announcements, or any such rubbish. I have been doing this since I found Outlook on day 1. I tell her that there are announcements for internal presentations (which seem to happen once a week), bingo, bikes for sale, etc. She mentions that she knows of a bike for sale. I jump on it. Oh yeah? Someone she knows in town wants to sell one. A girl’s bike? Yes. How much? $50. Like Whoa! I tell her I am interested. She says that after I am done with it she would like to buy it from me. A perfect situation. I say that I don’t carry that kind of cash around, but will get it at lunch. Good. We will see.
Paola comes in to ask me, How are you doing? I get some of my Library cataloging questions answered and Paola shows me where the aerial photographs are locked up. Mandy is there and she wants to look them over. I immediately write Brian Milstead that Paola showed me the locked case, and Mandy was here at the time. The convention at the Station is to read email after 5 PM. Of course, that’s definitely not me, and I will use it as I need it. At Eastern, I leave it open all the time. Here, I open and close it maybe 4 times a day.
It is lunch time and I always go to the dorm to wash my hands, well, yeah, there’s still no water. But I have my private water stash. I can wash my hands and do, and head back to the cafeteria WITH my camera this time, just in case. I sit with Frida, Frank and his wife, Frauke, and we have a fine conversation, mostly about Windows XP and Vista, and printers, etc. There was a big run on lunch today. The chicken choice is all out, and there is beef or fish. Frauke chooses fish as do I. Frank will eat whatever is ready. Men!
Lunch is over, not one specimen of wildlife to take a picture of, either. Hopefully tomorrow morning there will be a repeat performance. I head back to the dorm to brush my teeth and read. I remember my $50 bill and put it in my wallet and head to the Library again. The Library is a happening place. It must be my karma.
The Polish woman comes in for her last day in the Library and she has brought me thank you gift of Polish cookies: E. Wedel, Delicje Szampanskie Pomaranczowe. They look to be vanilla cookie with an orange topping and chocolate covered. Wow! She left me her business card and I gave her mine. Maybe I will get a copy of her book on the Galapagos in Polish someday!
A woman working on her thesis on her laptop is in the library. At 5:20 PM, I tell her that the Library will close in 10 minutes and she starts to clear out. Paulina, my direct boss, comes in for a chat and to see how I am doing. I tell her about my introduction to Brian was this morning. I tell her that I have never been a solo librarian and it is very different from being a head of a department.
OMG, I almost forgot! This morning a CDF gofer walked in with 3 new Charles Darwin Research Station STAFF shirts for me. Like Whoa! One golf shirt; two V-neck Tees, one white, one dark blue. Yeow! I tell Paulina thanks for the shirts.
Again, my early evenings are filled with checking my Gmail and answering them. I tried to get to the Z:/ drive at ECSU tonight. I’m sure that I will need the Sistemas guys (like Juan Carlos) to help me. Ugh. I walk home in the almost pitch dark tonight. Mari is in the room. First question asked: Do we have water? Yes. Excelente!
If tonight is the night for the lunar eclipse, there is no chance that the cloud cover will clear at the right time, or for long enough for me to see it. Drats! Now that would be one for the blog! I eat dinner (yeah, this time cereal, raisins and cream!) while watching a soccer game with Dario. I wash my bowl, and take a hot shower. This time, water, even saltwater, flowing out of the showerhead feels great.
Back in the room Mari asks me, What are you doing tonight? And I tell her, You know. Write my blog. She finds something to do, but eventually everyone is outside our door playing bongos, guitar and singing. Someone either has or has fashioned a castanet, and that is added to the musica. It’s great to have them playing outside, and esp. outside the screen door as I type. Wonderful rhythms and then some song that everyone knew and sang together. Just like camp!
It is 10:35 PM. Time to hit the head and wrap it up. If Mari stays up a little longer (and outside), I will read until she comes in for lights out. Yet another good day.
