The Trials of a Marine Biologist in a Landlocked State

Hi, it's me again!  I'm alive!  A lot has changed in the past three years.  So here's the tale...

I was in Florida.  I was working in a job I loved that barely paid a living wage.  And...I needed a change.  I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do.  I decided to move back in with my dad over in Vero Beach.  Leaving Charlotte Harbor was probably the most difficult decision I've ever made...and yes I cried when I told my boss I was leaving, much to his horror.  I could work at the fisheries lab in Melbourne while I figured out what on earth I was going to do with my life.  What I really wanted...for years, really, was to move back to Colorado.  Yes folks, this marine biologist was born and raised in Colorful Colorado.  I think there comes a time in everyone's life when you decide you need to get back to your roots.  Well, I missed my family, I missed my mountains, and I missed my home state.  So, I saved up a bit of money over the next few months and made plans to move back to the Centennial State.

It was a long, long drive with 3 bunnies, 2 guinea pigs, and 2 buckets of fish.

In September of 2014, I hauled 3 bunnies, 2 guinea pigs, 2 fish tanks' worth of fish, and all my crap almost 2,000 miles.  It was one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do (and I've pulled nets in alligator-infested water during thunderstorms).  I took a leap of faith and moved west without a job.  I had family I could land with while I was job hunting, and after a few months, I was offered a position with La-Z-Boy.

Honestly, I was scared out of my wits.  Checking gill nets in murky water at the mouth of a creek during an outgoing tide surrounded by baby bull sharks?  No problem!  Sales?  Sweet Jesus.  Well, somehow I managed to survive the sales world as an introverted scientist.  I had dealt with difficult people people before, but egad, people lose their minds over furniture.  Not to mention that furniture salespeople are considered one of the "least trustworthy" professions out there.  Honestly, that really bothered me, as silly as it seems!  I stuck it out for about a year and a half.  Seriously, unless you really love sales and are a "people person", just don't.  My body tried to tell me to get the hell out by making me suffer from major bouts of IBS.  Yeah.  Fun.

I do at least own some of the world's most comfortable furniture now!  For real, if you can buy La-Z-Boy, do it.

Anyway, on a whim I applied for a job with a pet waste removal service.  Yup, I got the job.  Yup, I am a professional pooper scooper.  I was back outside!  I could play with dogs!  It's also a ridiculous amount of work and is breaking my body.  And I really, really miss doing what I love.  It's certainly been interesting though!  I've met some dogs I absolutely adore.  I've fist-bumped a homeless guy I met.  I have attempted to understand what my drunk customer (at 9 a.m.!!!!!) was saying.  I've been hailed on.  I almost hit a deer before sunrise the other morning...yeah, there has definitely been some excitement.  I need a "real" job now though.  I can't do this forever, and I really need something that pays better, because the cost of living out here is insane!

If you ever want buns of steel and a thigh gap, try scooping poo for a living.

I have basically been job hunting for about 3 years now.  I am exceptionally sick of it...I want a career home.  I miss being with co-workers who are interested in the same things as me.  I am a science nerd, damn it!  Hopefully one of these days, the right job will come along, because I am a marine biologist out of water.

P.S.  Yes, I am still rescuing bunnies, just at the base of the Rockies instead of the edge of the ocean!