Aquarium of the Pacific

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Hugh’s Top Ten Reasons For Volunteering 5000 Hours At The Aquarium Of The Pacific by Hugh

Me and Ellie the harbor seal sharing a moment.

No matter what part of the country my business travels may take me during the workweek, be it the urban maze of New York, the wilds of Alaska, the mountains of Colorado or the swamps of the Carolinas, I’ve always made it a point of getting back to Southern California in time to cover my Saturday volunteer shift at the Aquarium of the Pacific. Sometimes it’s meant taking a late red-eye flight or finding an unusual connection through tiny airports but somehow the majority of the times I’ve managed to make it back to cover my shift. In fact this month I’ve recorded my 5000th hour as a volunteer at the Aquarium.

To commemorate this personal milestone this week’s blog is a list of the top ten reasons why I’ve volunteered so many hours to the Aquarium.

Hugh’s top 10 reasons for volunteering over 5000 hours at the Aquarium of the Pacific

10: Preparing the food for the marine mammals brings out the inner sushi chef in me.

9: Playing fetch with a dog is OK but playing fetch with a sea lion is way cooler.

8: Octopus hickeys (from their suckers) are a status symbol.

7: Sea otters are fascinating critters. They are cute and fluffy yet calculating. Working with them makes me think that if they had opposable thumbs they’d probably take over the world.

6: Swimming with the sea lions is for their entertainment not yours.

5: Hugging a seal is a neat way to start your weekend.

4: Being covered with birds (lorikeets) and not feeling like you’re part of Alfred Hitchcock’s movie THE BIRDS.

3: Where else can you have a pademelon on your lap and people think that’s normal?

2: Learning new things every week like how to pet a porcupine (very carefully) or that harbor seal’s breathe doesn’t smell fishy (more like musky).

And the number one reason for spending over 5000 hours volunteering at the Aquarium of the Pacific is….

1: It sure beats sitting at home watching Nature show reruns.