Checking in! Options

[Jennifer]

Hi, Sammie! I've been catching up on my journal reading today. It's just amazing to see and hear about what you're doing. I have just a few questions. How's your sleep cycle? Have you adjusted? When you retrieve all the specimens from the ocean, what happens to them? What is a typical "day in the life" for you right now? Can't wait to see you when you return. Take care and stay warm!
Love and miss you,
Jennifer[/font]

[Samantha_Dassler_Barlow]

Hey Jennifer,
Thanks so much for asking me such great questions! I’ll do my best to answer them. I'd be happy to answer questions for Jacob too if he has any!
Love,
Sammie

How’s my sleep cycle and have I adjusted?
I am very well adjusted to the day shift now and I am probably one of the only few lucky people that get decent sleep.

What is a typical day like for me?
Most days are not very typical. I never really know what may happen from one day to the next because the schedule changes at a moment’s notice depending on the weather. Meals are really the only thing that happens at the same time each day. I eat lunch at 11, dinner at 5, and often fit in a cup of hot chocolate with Patty in the afternoon or late evening. It seems like I spend more time writing now than I did in the first 2 weeks because I have a backlog of journals and photos to catch up on. There’s so much to write about. I spend a lot of time during the day writing and talking with the scientists. I go down to the lab and observe or participate if possible. I also try to spend a little time on the bridge observing with binoculars and talking with scientists and crewmembers up there. At other times, I may be interviewing the scientists and crewmembers, attending a science presentation, answering questions like these on the website or by email, or attending a morale event like a movie or Bingo.

What happens to the specimens from the ocean?
Some of the specimens get sorted and counted, then stored in a freezer for later analysis at the scientists’ institutions. That analysis may include dissection, examining gut content, and analyzing certain tissues for different chemicals. Other specimens get preserved in a fluid and taken back to the lab where they will be counted and identified, then stored. Some specimens may be put on display to train others to identify the species. Lee says that he keeps just about everything, including the sediment samples, and that includes samples from as far back as the late 80’s. People sometimes call him and Jackie to request samples for further analysis. I never knew how much research went into food web models before meeting scientists like Jackie, Lee, and Jim!