wow nelly -- the work life does seem to have sucked me up... although part of the last three weeks have been :o) as I had visitors for part of them - the last 2 weeks have certainly seen me more or less hiding in a hole and working away... the last 2 weeks have been rather tough on my morale I must admit. Aspects of work and just a whole bunch of other curve balls thrown at me ... and this feeling that you somehow landed yourself in a pool a little too deep for you to be able to safely swim either to the side or to the shallow end. Perseverance here though is the key ... so i am sticking to it, trying to stay focused and disciplined and getting enough rest and exercise to keep my endorphin levels as high as possible!!!

I am about to escape to get a bit of fresh air-- and fresh it is! - only 7 degrees, but I thought I'd post a couple of pictures from a hike I did when my friend Mike was visiting and Cara, a friend of the family was still in Vancouver as well - out to Eagle Bluffs. It was absolutely spectacular and fantastic - the day was perfect weather wise too, bright sunshine, blue sky, you get to walk through bits that are open, passing by numerous little lakes with orange trees pondering their own reflections...and then a whole stretch through the forest ... before coming out to a steep cliff with an absolute STUNNING view of Vancouver and Mount Baker to the south in the distance, whilst out west you could see the edged contours of Vancouver island sticking out black from the water. That hike definitely belongs to one of the most incredible hikes I've done since moving here.

As for work -- well, TAing (mostly marking assignments and exams) has been taking up quite a bit of my time ... reading what the students have been writing & their attitudes makes me wonder sometimes what the school system has become...
Then i need to hand in a draft of the write up of my Caribbean model results by the first week of November. It's making me nervous as - although I've got most of it together, there are so many things I feel are out of control or I don't know about or simply haven't had a chance, still, to wrap my head around. Hence, I've decided to take myself out to Halifax so i could spend some time with my friend Marta and have her inculcate some her Ecopath wisdom to me!!! I'm looking forward to it ... I think if I am absolutely honest with myself, I've terrified myself more than necessary by this model; and I simply need to jump with both feet and immerse myself in it. I am actually looking forward to it! As Dwight Moore taught us at a workshop I recently attended ("getting on track with your thesis") that would put me at developmental level D3 - i.e. I have moderate capacity but HIGH (to variable) motivation!
and here I go - back to my mediation functions - in other words describing how sea turtle cropping influences predator prey interactions in seagrass beds!