a day in the life

so the first half of this post will be "a day in the life of Krista" just because today was so awesome and I would love to get to share it with you all so you can experience it too.

so being the AUX is awesome. the aux shift is the "extra" in case someone gets sick, or wants o leave early, or someone calls in, etc. which means you get to staff some of our extra exhibits for a few hours while they decide what to do with you. which means you get to see new things, get asked new questions, and generally have a new day. so here is my today. it's not my normal everyday, but all of this was my AUX day.

8:45am. arrive at SW. enjoy a cart ride to the office instead of walking the 3/4 mile walk.
8:55am be informed that the new pilot whale who arrived last week has been moved to a facility accessible and open to the education staff to get to see.
9:03am go see freaking adorable pilot whale and ooh and ahh at her for 4 minutes.
9:07am arrive at dolphin underwater viewing. enjoy the air conditioning for the hour that you have it. talk to kids all about the cool things dolphins do.
9:24am flamingo parade arrives in dolphin underwater viewing. WHAT?! there are flamingos in here? apparently when the heat index is high, they parade into the air conditioning (smart birds) instead of continuing their park parade. enjoy being 4" from a flamingo. tell the guests to be sure and see the new flamingo chick (ADORABLE). it is, after all, baby season at SW.
9:37am enjoy watching a little boy have giggle fits every time a dolphin swims by him.
10:28am enjoy watching a guest who brought a slinky, and watching the dolphins watch it.
11:00am get new assignment: go to arctic for 7 minutes to relieve someone who has a meeting. arrive to find out that the brother/sister polar bear pair are in the exhibit together today, are awake, and are SWIMMING AND PLAYING in the water. bask in your luckiness as you have never seen the polar bears move more than a few feet. inform all guests nearby to take full advantage of this moment.
11:42am arrive at the sealions. answer the questions "is it dead?" about 8 times. "yes, we have dead ones in here for you to look at." just kidding. the answer is "no he is just napping. he can crawl back over the rocks. I promise he didn't fall and get stuck." point out the sea lion pups for this season.
11:56am arrive at dolphin nursery. enjoy announcing and pointing out the 4 day old baby dolphin.
3:36pm answer the question "is he dead?" several more times in reference to the seaturtle......."nope." answer the question "are turtle shells bulletproof?" with your eyes. oops I'm not supposed to flinch. but why would you ask that? answer the question "what happened to the turtle?" in reference to the seaturtle shell you currently have in your hands. "ummm he died." why do we hold that silly thing? everyone is more concerned about the has-been turtle than touching his shell. I promise we saved 523 other ones last year! we really tried!
4:06pm don't collapse under the pressure of a school group with worksheets about seaturtles. you can answer high school questions about seaturtles. I hope.
5:14pm clock out. what a day!
7:01pm arrive at the dogpark with your doggy who had such a long day at home by himself! meet lila, may and bug, and enjoy an hour and a half with your nonhuman bestfriend. remember the time that rhett came home and said "so that's how you're supposed to use those doggy baggies" and remember wondering "well what were you doing before?"

I hope you all had fun with me today!

Rhett has been at his summer offsite since thursday afternoon (I miss him oh so much) and he gets back tomorrow evening (before I do!). can't wait for our now-postponed-to-wednesday date at aquatica? it was going to be monday evening but I was able to switch my schedule around so that we could make it to....drumroll please.... Texas A&M vs. UCF women's soccer game! WHOOP! the aggies storm orlando!! we are so excited. thank you central florida texas a&m club for paying attention and letting us know they are coming!

tomorrow before work my daddy's cousins are coming up from west palm beach to visit SW, and I am excited to get to see them and spend a little bit of time with them before I have to clock in. can't wait to meet their kiddos!

I also put in job apps for a few more places. I will know by Thursday the SW situation. : )
more soon!