Sunday, July 24, 2022
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On Saturday a bigger group of us went back to Sandy Point Beach for a day in the sun. We went in two cars, each car full, and each of us had signed up to bring an item for the midday lunch break (I brought turkey lunch meat). It was super hot out. We staked out a small collection of blankets and towels, littered with umbrellas of various size. After applying sunscreen to the group and waiting for it to dry (quite unsuccessfully as we all started sweating), we ran out into the ocean together with frisbees and balls ready to cool down. The sand was scorching hot so it was very nice to walk into the water. Within 10 minutes of being in the ocean, panic struck. Taylor O. swam over to the group, with a confused and yelping Lucy in tow. Lucy told the group something had happened, and her neck down to her chest felt like it had been burned. Since so many people were out we had ignored the jelly fish advisories on the shore, but by that point both Taylors and Lucy had been stung. We went closer to shore to collect the group and got out of the water to see what to do. You're supposed to pee on jelly fish stings, right? Well apparently that's not recommended but we didn't have any vinegar. Thankfully, Taylor C. had brought a first aid kit with rubbing alcohol which is a substitute, according to Emma who read an article and was the local jelly expert. She told us they can still sting after they die, and the tentacles floating alone in the water also sting. The frightened group of us watched little children fishing jelly fish out of the water and bury them on the beach. After a while I finally got to see some swimming myself and they were very pretty. They were white/translucent, resembling blobs of snot when not clearly seen. When close to shore they became elegant blobs, pushed to the hoards of beach go-ers by the tide. The only other jelly attack was when Emma sat on one and it stung her butt. All in all, 40% of interns got jellied.
Other than that, a lot got done in the lab this week. We did some (hopefully good!) data sets taken on Friday and I’ll see what the final results look like tomorrow! I also just got back from a concert at The Anthem; I got to see Beach House with Div and Gizem. Earlier this week I had a virtual movie night with my boyfriend where I watched Green Book (for the second time). The NIST crew also successfully planned the NIST tour for the other interns! It went really smoothly I think. Currently I’m making some French toast and that’s the week.
Valeria Viteri-Pflucker