#kyrrahaf

[deaadcrush]

kyrrahaf replied to your post:ugh

ugh? ugg! /throws happy boot your way

omg

[alovingmess]

We, being me, kyrrahaf, and whylurr, went to Halloween Horror Nights tonight and it was my first time and we had so much fun. We did six of eight houses and the two we missed were two we weren't planning on doing so nbd. Seriously guys, I had a really great night and even bought a t-shirt.

[anneriawings]

okay I really need to watch gravity falls don't i

*DEMONIC CACKLING*

yes

yes you do

http://www.watchcartoononline.com/gravity-falls-episode-1-tourist-trapped

FIRST COUPLE OF EPS ARE A LITTLE SILLY AT FIRST BUT THE CONTINUITY IS AMAZING AND THE SHEER DETAILS IN THE BACKGROUNDS AND STORY IS INCREDIBLE AND THE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT AND THE SECRET CODES AND THE MYSTERIES AND THE

JUST WATCH IT

[brinnons]

September 15, 2014

11:51PM, local time.

(written on September 16, 11:45 AM)

Wow! It was such a long day that I couldn't even muster the energy to write about it last night. I'm on lunch now so hopefully I'll be able to get most of this written before I have to leave to go watch more presentations!

As many of you know, this is not a traditional IMATA conference. It is actually a joint AZA & IMATA conference. Since this is my first time going to the conference, I'm not sure what is the norm as far as IMATA-only conferences go. I'm just going to write about my experiences, because I took advantage of it being a joint conference and checked out some AZA stuff as well. If you have any questions about the conference, or anything I didn't write about, I'll be happy to answer them!

-

Elise and I got up at 9AM (we skipped breakfast so that we could sleep. I was up until 12:30 the night before to fix my resume), after breakfast, the first thing we did was find seats in the IMATA room for the Education Presentations, starting at 10:30AM. First there was an introduction and a video of trainers working with animals. Then there were four presentations in a row:

(IMATA) The Reproductive Management of Discovery Cove's Bottlenose Dolphins while Maintaining Quality Guest Interactions

(IMATA) Magic's Story: Neonatal Critical Care and Hand-Rearing of a Bottlenose Dolphin Calf

(IMATA) Prenatal Monitoring and Care of a Neonate Grey Seal

(IMATA) Successful Reintroduction of a Beluga Whale and Calf Based on Observational Learning, Surrogate Rearing and Husbandry Training Techniques

I took notes on all the lectures I watched, by the way, so if you want to know anything about a specific one just shoot me a message!

After the first 4 presentations we had lunch in the Exhibit Hall, which was free and delicious! It was a sandwich (on fancy bread) with a free drink, cookie, and chips. 

At 2:00 PM my 3 friends (Elise, Kyrrahaf, and CetaceanNerd) went back to the IMATA room to watch the Behavior Presentations, but I really wanted to see two of the AZA Conservation Presentations, so I went to watch those and joined back up with my group for the last IMATA presentation:

(AZA) 96 Elephants Campaign

(AZA) Shark Conservation Advocacy

(IMATA) Increasing Motivation during Dolphin Interactive Programs by Utilizing, and Mixing, Concepts and Providing Participation Opportunities

I have to say that last IMATA one was my favorite so far. The facility (Dolphin Adventure) had some really innovative ideas, and the presentation had a lot of videos to clearly explain what they were! I also noticed that there was a big difference between AZA and IMATA presentations. The IMATA folks are (for the most part) younger, mostly women, and the presentations are longer and more lighthearted (they make jokes, include a lot of videos, etc.). The AZA folks are mostly older men who are the heads of their zoos/institutions and have been in the field for many years. They also tended to be more serious and focused on talking rather than showing ideas with photos and videos. Nevertheless, both were interesting to watch!

at 3:30 PM, there was a refreshment break in the Exhibit Hall with snacks (even gummy worms!), and several types of drink coolers. We walked around to some of the exhibitors and then headed back to the IMATA room once again for the Research Presentations at 4:00 PM. Kyrrahaf and I decided we wanted to check out the Public Opinion Panel from the AZA folks so we caught the first half of that before heading over for the last two IMATA presentations. During the panel, they talked about what negative media zoos and aquariums have been getting lately, how it affects us, and what we can do to disprove those negative comments. Blackfish was also mentioned twice, which is the main reason we wanted to see the panel, to see what they would say about it. Again, if you want to know details just shoot me a message!

(AZA) Public Opinion Panel

(IMATA) Directed Research Training in Marine Mammals - The Benefits of Working Collaboratively

(IMATA) Bridging the Gap of Public Perception, Trainers as Advocates of Dolphin Research

At 5:30 PM, there was a "Party" on the Exhibit Hall Floor, with wine and cheese as well as some other snacks. On our way there, we actually met up with @oh-macaw-ed and talked as a group for a while. (Congrats on the new job, lady!) 

By that time we were exhausted, so the 4 of us (me, Kyrrahaf, Elise, and CetaceanNerd) went back to the hotel room and I took a little mini-nap. We also had to change into interview clothes because the Career Fair was later that night. When we got back to the Conference at 7:45 PM, we caught the tail end of a presentation, and we were able to see Mark Simmons give a short presentation on his book about Keiko. I met him later that night too and got a photo!

At 8:00 PM the Career Fair started. I was expecting it to be a large room with tables for a lot of marine parks, and I was expecting to be able to have long-ish conversations with the employees/trainers of those marine parks about their positions, their programs, and what would be good for my future. I was a little disappointed with how the fair actually went. It was a small room with tables for a few marine parks (only some of which had cetaceans/pinnipeds) and a few colleges. I had very short, uninteresting conversations with the employees, and only two of the marine parks had actual paid job openings. The rest of them were only looking for interns, or not hiring at all. I didn't feel like, at the end, the career fair really put me any closer to being able to land a job in the field, which was disappointing. HOWEVER, some good things did happen. I said hi to my old Gulf World friends and got some updates on their park/dolphins, I gave my resume to several other marine parks, and I saw Cat again and she gave me some good advice about what to do if I don't get a marine mammal job right away. (Turns out I also met trainingisteaching, but I didn't realize it was her at the time because I didn't know what she looked like. Oops!)

We spent almost 3 hours at the career fair: we took off on our own to talk to the facilities we were interested in, and met up outside at the end. At the end of the night, around 11, I picked up a quick to-go dinner and the four of us met up in the hotel room again. Elise and I said by to Kyrrahaf and CetaceanNerd because they weren't planning on coming back the next day, and after eating my dinner, I went to sleep. 

[cetuscetus]

Ninja behavior? :O /EXCITED FACE

You might have seen in it some videos, apparently its actually called a revahue. She comes up for a backflip but then spins around like a corkscrew and lands on her side. It’s pretty crazy! [video] [and another angle]

[sahloknirs]

kyrrahaf replied to your post: i want to post a selfie but i only hav...

DO THING

i will do thing 

[protoguy]

The Orlando Museum of Art is an educational institution whose mission is to enrich the cultural life of Florida by providing excellence in the visual arts. The Museum has dedicated itself to collecting, preserving and interpreting notable works of art; to presenting exhibitions of local, regional, national and international significance; to developing first-rate educational programs; and to presenting creative and inclusive programs to reach every segment of a diverse community.

[nerdynalani-blog]

Had a great day at SW and got to hang out with kyrrahaf and Kymm! (it won't let me add you in the post!!) Nalani came down and said hello then chased kyrra around, which was hilarious on both ends. Tili did awesome in the dine and Trua was having fun with his eed. Katina got is pretty good in One Ocean so we were effectively soaked, but it was awesome!