HIMB

This weekend I went to the Hawaiian Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) on Coconut Island in Kaneohe Bay. It's on the other side of the island. It was beautiful--it's a whole different island over there. I am hoping to do research over there and probably will end up moving to that side of the island eventually.

Here are some photos :)





We also saw a Cassiopeia cnidaria there which is the "upside-down jellyfish." They sit with their bell on the bottom with their tentacles spread around above them in the water column. They have symbiotic bacteria that photosynthesize for them so they can just sit on the bottom and chill in the sunlight getting all the energy they need. Here is a photo of one that we picked up and put in a bucket. It looks right side up because when we released it, it had some air in it's bell. We fixed it later though :)



Afterward, I went to a friends house, drank some wine, and watched Jane Austen Book Club. When I went home, there were a million people out at the bars, dressed in very little clothing. I had a moment where I all of the sudden realized that I am old. If everyone around you is young--it stands to reason that you are old. So I'm old. I used to go out and have fun, but I guess my priorities are elsewhere now. Or maybe it's because I don't have time anymore. Now I know why scientists are always thought of as antisocial, lonely, nerds. It's not that we don't want to go out really, we just get caught up in all the research and forget how to talk to people, dance, flirt, or any other social graces. Oh well, soon I'll be living on an even smaller island and barely see people so I won't have to worry!