Thar be whales!

I had the nice surprise of being able to spend my morning with one of my nieces. I got to see her at work. The Today Show was doing a remote broadcast from the Georgia Aquarium where my lovely niece is a whale biologist. My niece is on the left. That's Meredith Vieira on the right and that's either Nico or Maris in the water.

I was able to see my niece in person and in action on the opening day of the aquarium. It was awesome seeing her dive. It was wonderful to watch her interact with the whales. They love her. Who wouldn't??

I'm also amazed at how fearless she is around these huge yet gentle creatures. She's also seems fearless when she dives. She had the privilege of going to Taiwan when the aquarium acquired more whale sharks. (The sharks were taken out of the allotment that the Taiwanese normally use for human consumption.) She talked about how awesome it was being in the ocean with these gentle creatures as well.

Yes, I am amazed. I still so vividly remember the little girl who would run at the sight of a small lizard. Come to think of it, she still runs at the sight of a small lizard, but whales are a different story.

It was nice spending the morning with you, E! Your aunt is proud (she's proud of all of her nieces and nephews). More important, your aunt is so very happy you're doing what you love. Of course, your aunt would be happier if you did what you loved closer to her....

Comments

[Claire]

This is too cool. You've told me about your aqua-loving niece! I'm sorry I missed it this morning!

[Jennifer]

Claire- I got a heads up yesterday and should have mentioned it, but I was neck-deep in the youngest lamblet's science fair project.

FYI- there's still a little bit on! I forgot it goes until 9CT. Duh.

[blue girl]

Too cool! Good for E!

[Snag]

Whales - the moose of the sea!

How nice it must be to have family members with interesting jobs that don't involve pushing paper around in circles.

[Kathleen]

that's awesome! I wanted to be a marine scientist when I was little. It's great to see someone actually grow up and do it!

[Mary Jane]

Very exciting and impressive... My personal thrill lately has been how far electronic communication has evolved in my lifetime... What an awesome treat to be able to show your neice off to the rest of us with the simple touch of a button!!! ...when I was a kid I had no idea you could even dream of such a thing. My mom just told me to stay away from boys and my dad told me to find one who would take care of me...

[Brando]

J's niece: Where in the world is Matt Lauer?

Orca: BURP!!!

That's awesome, Jennifer. I also had the marine biology interest when I was a kid until I learned its one of the few jobs where you could be a snack.

[billy pilgrim]

I like whales.

[The Uncanny Canadian]

Think of how great the whale version of Delicious or Disgusting could be ....

[fish]

I didn't know you were related to a whale. I know a couple of them that are biologists. Good folks.

[Jennifer]

fish... are you drinking BP's Kool-Aid? Hmmm?

Let me clarify... My niece is a biologist for whales.:-p

[Snag]

I ate whale once, when I was young and there wasn't this liberal aversion to blubber in a can. It tasted like soylent green.

[fish]

My niece is a biologist for whales.

I have heard that whales are excellent employers.

Sorry I can't help myself.

It keeps reminding me of the old Monty Python skit where they are discussing Stonehenge. At one point the narrator says "One theory is that the stones were brought here via Wales" and then shows a cartoon whale with a stone strapped to its back.

[Jennifer]

I knew it was only a matter of time before Wales came into the picture.

fish- you're just jealous of the beluga's hot blood.