Gray Skies and Sunny Days

A few days ago, it was pretty gloomy here, and I felt a bit drained. I felt like there wasn't much here, I'm still longing for the days when I move to a place closer to the ocean, and I'll be able to visit it anytime I want. There are a lot of days like that... but then there's comes something like today, where the sky was cloudless and a cool breeze was running through the warm air. North Carolina weather is usually very bipolar during this time of year, and I'm not saying that other places are better, but I would rather be leaning on the rails of a pier, looking out into the ocean, than sitting on my front porch. I guess I'm just longing for those moments I had back in California, whether it be at San Diego, visiting SeaWorld, or just having a walk on the beach in Oceanside. It's the only place that I've literally walked for miles, and didn't mind the time wasted.

I miss doing this most of all. Photo by RoyalDolphin.

Perhaps I'm just being a bit too cynical with my situation. I only have until the end of this year to finish up my community college education and then at the earliest, next spring, to move to Florida and start on my Bachelor's. It's not as bad as my heart thinks it is... I'm just very eager, and money is an issue.

That's a poor explanation for why I haven't been posting anything on this blog this month, but I suppose that I've been very busy over at PK Gaming, so let's use that as an excuse instead. I still have many ideas that I want to write about, but haven't fully developed them.

While you're waiting for more articles on this site (ha, like there's anyone who reads this blog), have a look over at these two fantastic blogs I came across:

The Middle Flipper

Diary of a Marine Mammal Trainer

They're for the aspiring dolphin trainer, so if you are one, definitely check them out, or if even if you just want to see what trainers write about!

Visiting the Aquariums of America: The Plan

As I mentioned yesterday, I'm going to detail my plan for the web series I hope to do. It's something I've been wanting to do ever since I graduated from high school, and the plans for it has changed quite a lot ever since I first conceived the idea.

At first, I wanted to visit every zoo, aquarium and natural history museum in the U.S.... in one summer. Yeah, that would never happen. Then I narrowed it down to just aquariums, but still, there's quite a lot of them to visit. So, instead, I divided aquariums up by their location. The first location of aquariums I want to visit will be in the Southeast. That will consist of around 23 facilities that will be visited in a span of around 30 or 31 days.

Friends have told me this route looks like a Manta Ray, how fitting!

Filming at these places won't have much narration, but just having the footage of the facilities so they can be used later when making the episodes. I suppose what I might do, is begin each episode introducing the aquarium in person at the beach or something, talking about the history of it, and then narrating over the footage we took over the trip. Yes, I said 'we' in that last sentence... because I won't be doing this alone, I will have two others traveling with me. Wouldn't you want to experience these places with someone else rather than by yourself?

I'll be talking about the aquariums I plan to visit in an article series each month leading up to the day I finally take this trip. The articles will consist of my expectations and what I'm excited to see there. Hopefully, this will remind me that everything I'm trying to earn now will be leading up to this trip. By 'everything I earn' I mean money obviously, but also my Associate's in Science that I should receive at the end of the year. This trip will be the start of my journey to become a Marine Biologist.

Window to the Sea

A little more than a week ago, I signed up for a free trial of Netflix, and I've been enjoying it so far. One program I found on the service was a PBS special about aquariums called 'Window to the Sea' featuring four facilities here in the states: The John G. Shedd Aquarium, the New England Aquarium, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and the Waikiki Aquarium.

Here's a preview of the program:

If you have Netflix, I suggest watching this if you have any interest in aquariums.

I bring this up because it relates to a web series I want to create that I mentioned in my preview in January. I guess it also relates to the importance of aquariums on the list, but I suppose the two ideas can be fused into one.

Anyway, tomorrow I'll be detailing what the web series will consist of. I'm not completely sure when the series will start specifically, but I'll definitely be starting it sometime next year.