Doctor Rafa Discovers a Fish

It’s been an eventful day. It all started at 5:20, an hour that usually only exists for me as the tail end of a particularly good night (or a particularly lazy one).

A shuttle picked me up at my house, and proceeded to drive around all corners of Maryland for two and a half hours (which, by the way, is a longer time than my actual flight, especially since my very cheery pilot landed us fifteen minutes early). He was nice enough, with a very attractive Turkish accent (I think, I’m not great with non-obvious accents, a skill I’d like to pick up), but obviously didn’t know at all where he was going as the trip usually takes about an hour.

Another man we picked up was rather good conversation. Especially for 7:20 in the morning (which it was, by the time we got him in silver spring, usually about twenty minutes away). Spent most of the time talking about health care reform, generally not my topic of choice in the morning hours, but he was entertaining enough and had that new York caller personality to him that makes it fun to speak boldly and passionately.

Flight was uneventful, except that I lost my government ID somewhere in the time between getting off the plane and getting to the hotel in Tampa. Ah well, I’ll get back to Maryland somehow.

The rest of the day was great. I went to the aquarium, and I must say—I’m a sucker for aquariums. I don’t know what it is.

Or rather, I do I guess. I love the water. I’m fascinated by all water creatures. Especially those at the bottom of the ocean, but not by any means limited to just the bottom.

They had lights that shown through jellyfish (a creature I could just watch move for hours), and turned them all different, brilliant colors (I took pictures with my phone).

They had these sea dragons from somewhere in south eastern Australia that looked like they were made out of leaves. It was the most beautiful thing, I never imagined creatures could look like that. Or—well, I’ve seen stick bugs and toads that look like they’re fashioned out of wood, but this was different. There were ridges exactly like leaves and seaweed, in foam blue and translucent green and yellow-lime. It was so delicate, and they moved so slowly, every bit a waving tendril—it was like something out of a fae legend.

There was another sea dragon I loved too, but it’s particularly difficult to describe. I ‘ll post a picture of him, when I get a chance to charge up my phone.

I also fed stingrays (petting them is like stroking a wet feather; curious sensation), messed with crocodiles (glass between us, I’m not that stupid), looked over a great, burnt-sienna octopus that looked like every inch of its flesh was waving with constant, feather-in-the-wind motion…

Mm. I love aquariums. I have far too many pictures of fish on my phone now.

Other than go to the aquarium, I just sort of wandered around Tampa. Went to a movie theatre here to see Julie and Julia with my mother, we both got cocktails and then beers right in the theatre at our seat. It was awesome.

Movie was good too. Of course, now I want to cook…

Then ice cream, and torrential rain, and talkative cab drivers.

Now I’m in the hotel room, ordering room service soup and trying to work out how to make the room a little less frigid.