And Nothing Else Matters

Jeez it's been almost a month since my last blog. I guess I have been pretty busy. This semester so far has been the busiest start that I have ever experienced. I've been boggled down with lots of homework. Much of which seems rather monotonous and common sense related, but eh its nice to actually know what's going on in class before getting there. My calender is already filling up with things to do throughout the semester and beyond. I'm still managing to work around 24 hours a week or more which is great cause I need the money. It gets pretty stressful though when I have work and a crap load of homework. I'm managing it all so far though. Now for some negative energy to be released in the form of typing oh boy oh boy.

So the other day this guy who will remain nameless tried to get Lauren to cheat on me and sexually harassed her. Needless to say I'm as angry as a hornet over the whole situation, but I do realize this thanks to some support from some acquaintances at OCC. This guy is a real piece of trash and Lauren held her ground during the situation and did not betray me at all. Everyone who I talked to that was in the room or even know the guy all told me the same thing that he is garbage and always tries to get with any girl he can. It's a shame that he tried Lauren as she is by far the most loyal girlfriend I have ever had and I love her very much. I'll do what I can to protect her, but it's nice to know that she won't crack to pressure and cheat on me. She's too good for that and for anyone who says she's with me cause she doesn't know better....... We've been together for nearly a year and by now I think we both know better and what we're involved in. I love her and she loves me. I would never cheat on her and she would never cheat on me. Speaking of almost 1 year.... Saturday night Lauren and myself along with a few friends from the Aquarium will be going to the New Jersey Devils home opener this Saturday to open up hockey season. I'm bringging Lauren along as part of her 1 year present. It should be loads of fun!!!!

What is the above logo you may ask. Well it's just one of the things that I am now starting to get involved with.I will be working with the Shark Safe Network in an effort to change Manasquan's Mako Mania Shark Kill Tournament. We are trying to change it to a catch and release tourny. Any support is greatly appreciated and I'll blog more information as I learn it for now though I just wanted to let everyone know that I'll be working with these guys in an effort to save the lives of not only Mako Sharks, but all species of shark around the world.


I also have some Sea Shepherd news I'd like to throw out there. Sea Shepherd will be launching it's next attempt to stop illegal Japanese Whaling in Antarctica on December 7th. Along with the flagship Steve Irwin, the Sea Shepherds will be accompanied by Earthrace, a boat that will change the the tide of the war in the south Pacific. This boat is going to be chasing and intercepting the speedy Japanese Harpoon Vessels and protect the whales they hunt. That all of course kicks off in December. For something more immediate. A couple weeks ago I emailed the SSCS and got a responce yesterday about volunteering onshore. They basically told me to fill out an application and once it's processed I will be able to help them out. This is a HUGE oppertunity for me and I plan to take full advantage of it even if it means having to cut back my hours at work for a little while. This organization has really helped to open my eyes to the trouble that a lot of aquatic life is in and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to protect them!

Semester Number 5/New Outlook

So I am almost done with the first week of my fifth and hopefully final semester at OCC. Here we go for this semester I have....

Sociology: This course I originally thought was going to be a really boring class that I would have no interest in. Well from what I gather from watching the first chapter, this class could actually be pretty interesting. It's like looking deeper than what we see. There's a lady walking down the street wearing skimpy clothing, carrying a child, and smoking a cigarette. By looks she may look like a scourge of society, but on the inside who knows what could have happened to her. She could be a poor lady who got raped and depressed into smoking. There's more than meets the eye and that's why this class actually interests me.

History of Civil Society: I don't know what to think of this class yet. It's the first time that OCC is offering this class. The professor plans to have several group projects in this internet heavy course. Again. I don't know what to think of this hybrid History and Politics class.

US History I: I have the same professor as I did for Western Civ II. If this class runs similar, which it sounds like it's going to, then I should be in fine shape to work this class.

New Jersey History: This writing intensive course sparks my interest due to it's projects. I have a feeling that my passion for sharks could come into play at some point during this semester. Lots of group work here as well.

All of the group work between NJ History, Sociology, and Civil Society, is more or less forcing me to have a new outlook on things. This week I have been more social than I think I've ever been in college. It's not really a bad thing as I mentioned in my first blog that I was thinking about trying to find new friends.... Well looks like I don't have much of an option now due to all this group work that I'll be doing.

Taking A Dive/Something Worth Fighting For

So this morning I went diving for the first time in a few years. It was so awesome to get back into the water and really enter a different world. This world is ruled by sharks whom have helped shaped nearly all life in the ocean. While I was diving I saw a bunch of both local and tropical fish. When I first started diving a couple years ago, I had a real problem in the fact that I could not get my ears to clear therefore I had a lot of pressure in them and to prevent them from bursting I could not get down more than 10-20 feet. I was down around the same depth today, but I had no problems getting the pressure in my ears to relieve itself. Some of the more interesting things that I saw down there today included a female Horseshoe Crab that was literally the size of a well... really big Crab. She was massive and had an entire ecosystem growing on her back from algae to mussels to sea stars. She didn't like it when i touched her and she bolted across the mussel bed leaving a trail of knocked over sea stars in her wake. Next I came across a little debris where there was this little fish. I have no idea what kind it was, but it was very, very upset that I was close to it's home and proceeded to latch onto my finger for a while. I didn't even notice him until I saw him attacking me. Then I saw a little Pufferfish. I grabbed and broke open a mussel. The little guy came rushing over and ate right from my hand. Then another one came and another. Soon there was 5-7 puffers around me. I had no idea where they came from, but it was funny to see them all staring at me and trying to nibble my finger once I stopped feeding them. I also saw a few tropical fish including Butterflyfish and possibly some little parrotfish.

My desire and want to protect sharks continues to grow and every day it seems that I learn more and more about these animals and learn more and more about just how not dangerous these animals are. I mean take this into consideration next time you go to the beach. More people have died in the last 10 years from stepping in sand sinkholes than from shark attacks. Next time you get a soda out of a vending machine think about this... More people die each year from a vending machine tipping over than by shark attacks. To me it's outrageous that sharks are not protected as well as they should be. Yes Shark Finning and Long Lining is illegal in about 16 countries, but that's nowhere near enough. Those bans are very rarely even enforced and Shark populations are continuing to be decimated. About 5 sharks were spotted off the coast of Massachusets this past weekend. If I hear anything about people killing these animals.... I might go a little crazy and really make my voice heard one way or another. Those sharks, believed to be Great Whites have every right to be off that coast. Two of the sharks I think, have been tagged by scientists to see where the sharks are going. The Great White Shark, considered to be one of the most vicious animal on the planet is quickly nearing extinction. Great Whites typically only have one pup. Granted most of the time those pups reach adulthood without threat from animals (not many things want to eat a 4 foot baby), they still take many years to mature and may only reproduce a couple times in their lives. However there is a glimmer of hope. Sea Shepherd as well as other enviormental groups are continuing to fight for sharks. Sea Shepherd is still activley doing a lot to help sharks despite not being able to go to Costa Rica or the Galapagos due to the Shark Fin industry's control of the areas. On Saturday August 22nd a U.S. Shark Fin Trader was sentenced. The following is from seashepherd.org

"Harrison was sentenced to 5 years probation, a $5000 fine, and a $75 special assessment. Harrison will have to spend 120 days in home confinement and pay the cost of his monitoring. He is forbidden to having anything to do with the shark fin trade, has to perform 150 hours of community service, and take out an advertisement in a major fishing trade publication regarding his criminal acts. Harrison International, LLC was sentenced to 5 years probation, a $125 special assessment, and a $5000 fine. His attorney represented in court that Harrison is now in financial ruin and that his only income is from a lawn care business he runs from his home. Harrison International, LLC is defunct and has no assets or income. Judge Vineyard still imposed the fines on both Mark Harrison and Harrison International and allowed Harrison to pay both over the five years of probation.

These fines and the 120 days of home confinement are a slap on the wrist in the continuum of criminal penalties available to the government; however, and sadly, even this minor sentence is more than what is commonly handed down in US wildlife cases. While this reality must be changed (the laws strengthened, penalties increased, and judges and prosecutors informed) the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society salutes the judge, prosecutor, and investigators in this case for the outcome. Harrison International is defunct and Mark Harrison is in financial ruin. If only we could see all aspects of the shark fin trade criminalized in the United States and throughout the world and all those involved in the horrific trade be brought to ruin. Contact your elected officials and encourage them to outlaw the shark fin trade." To read the rest of this article head over to http://www.seashepherd.org/news-and-media/news-090822-1.html

Shark Finning is threatening the world's oceans, sharks, and even ourselves. If we loose sharks we'll soon loose ourselves as the oceans will quickly fall apart. Life began in the seas and if life ends in the seas, life on land will soon follow.

So Ends Another Chapter

Today was my final double shift between the Aquarium and Sea View. Basically all summer long on Tuesdays and Thursdays I would work from 9-2 at the Aquarium then head on over to Sea View to make ice cream from 2 till as late as 9:30pm. It was a lot of work between the two, but I have once again fought through it and came out just fine. Perhaps a little less sain, but otherwise I'm fine. I have one more day at Sea View and that will be on Thursday, then work through Labor Day weekend and then well...... Life goes back to normal. I'll be going to OCC for what is probably my last semester there. By there I mean as an OCC student. Chances are I'll be going to Kean College at OCC once I'm actually done with OCC. So with that being said summer is ending and fall is starting.

This summer as a whole was pretty crappy. Given some of the stuff that happened such as my accident and that stuff... I should be a lot worse off then I am right now. Had this been a year ago I'd be a depressed mess right now, but I'm not. I know the big reason too. I have a girlfriend who has stood by me through thick and thin. Lauren was there when I got in an accident. She sat next to me as I slipped in and out of sleep the day after the accident. Lauren and her sister got me beautiful flowers that helped to cheer me up. She carted me around when I didn't have a car and even put up with my mood swings from the medication. I really feel that this relationship could last for a very long time as it continues to get better and more serious with every meeting. No relationship goes without it's share of problems which actually says a lot. I'm not going to go into it here, but a few months ago I ran into some real problems that nearly cost me everything, but Lauren found it in her heart to forgive me and give us another try. We have not had a real fight or argument since.

Last October I got my newest pet, a baby Ball Python. I named him Maru and he was so tiny that he could wrap around my thumb. Now he's so big that he can wrap himself around my neck. He's grown so much in the past year that he's got himself a nice big tank with plenty of area to climb around. My little Bearded Dragon that I still say may be a runt or may have some sort of growing problem is still kind of small, but he has grown a lot over this summer. He still is a very aggressive eater as he nearly leaps clear out of the tank to get his food, but when he's not in feeding mode he has started to settle down. He's not as defensive and is much more calm while I'm holding him. The biting is also slowing down. Snake, my Corn Snake is also doing really well. This summer he's moved from being on newspaper to being on woodchips. Since putting it in he has been out and wandering much more. He's been a little weird eating lately though. He's eating fine, but in order for him to eat I basically have to put the mouse in his mouth as he is really not all into striking it anymore.

One thing did come out of this summer that has made me very happy outside of Lauren and that would be the fact that I have found myself in the center of a new passion. That passion is towards some of the world's oldest animals, the shark. It all really started with working on Shark Week at the Aquarium. I basically fell in love with these animals and I really think I'm going to be spreading the word about these misunderstood creatures. Sharks are not mindless killer, but perfect preadators who target the weak and injured. Humans are not they're prey which a lot of people do not believe. That belife has aided in the decimation of shark populations worldwide and now these animals are nearing extinction. I want to be able to bring my kids to Jenkinson's Aquarium, Adventure Aquarium, or any other Aquarium and show them a shark. I don't want to have to tell them the stories about how sharks used to rule the world's oceans, but man felt the need to kill them all off. I want them to be able to see them and have a chance to learn about these magnificant creatures. I will continue to talk about sharks as well as shark finning and conservation long after my term at the Aquarium is over. I may not be going to school for Marine Science anymore, but that does not mean I cannot continue to do what I can to help protect these animals by simply educating people about these animals.