Snail Adoptor Needed

It turns out that my two aquarium snails are of opposite sexes and get a long extremely well. Since I don't want to be cleaning up snail eggs every two weeks, I would like to find Jeremy, the small golden apple snail, a new home. (FREE SNAIL!)

Jeremy is very easy to get along with. He doesn't demand much attention: a little fish food (algae wafers) with a bit of lettuce or carrot or other vegetable from time to time. Snails don't need the cleanest water and are great if you have an aquarium because they'll clean up little microscopic algae (although they prefer your aquarium plants). All Jeremy needs is a nice little bowl, water changed from time to time, a few plants (if you're feeling generous) and a little gravel (to make things look pretty.) A lid is a good idea, too. Occasionally, Jeremy might wander out of his bowl, but all you have to do is pop him back in.

Snails are quite fascinating. They move surprisingly fast and when they're inching (metering?) their way along the glass you can see the bottom of their foot and their mouth and it's just really cool.

http://www.applesnail.net/content/care.php

If you think you could provide a pleasant home for Jeremy, please let me know asap. Jeremy is waiting for a good home!

Snail Sex

She's done it again! I don't know which snail is the female-- I'm starting to think it might be Hector, given her/his wanderings of late-- but she laid another blob of eggs last night. And they weren't even IN the aquarium! She had crawled out of the aquarium, up on to the lid and laid them on top of the light housing! I did wipe them off and throw them away, as I really don't NEED or WANT millions of little snails invading my apartment. Forget the mice; if I'm not careful, I'll be waking up in the morning with snail eggs on my blanket!

I am currently in the process of finding Jeremy The Snail a new home.

Hector's Grand Day Out

I have never seen Hector crawl past the water line before. Never, in his months outside, did he (she?) venture out of the water. But it seems he's changed his sedentary ways and is leading a more active lifestyle now.

I feed the fish twice a day. In the morning they get their goldfish flakes (which they aren't interested in; they would rather eat the plants) and in the evening I drop in some algae pellets, which they all fight over. It is rather comical and entertaining to watch. But tonight as I sat there and watched them, someone was missing: Hector. I looked all over the aquarium for him, even lifting the lid in case he had crawled up there. I even checked the filter (heaven forbid!). But no Hector, not anywhere. He couldn't have gone far, right?

Wrong! In my reading about snails I learned that they sometimes crawl out of their watery homes and go for grand adventures. So I got out the flashlight and peered down behind the table. A little round shadow.... I quickly moved the boxes hidden under the table and reached back past the spider web for Hector. His shell was dry, so he had been out of the water for quite some time-- maybe even 24 hours, as I can't remember if he was there this morning or not. The concern with snails, however, is not being dry (they can live out of the water for two weeks) but that they will hurt their shells when they fall. Hector's shell seemed okay and I dropped him into the water with a hope that he was still alive. The tank is awfully empty without him.

Fortunately, as I write this Hector has come out of his shell and is crawling up the plants. He, too, would rather eat my plants than the algae pellets. I guess I shall just have to resign myself to buying a few new plants each month. But I am so happy that he is alright and nothing is broken. I hope he learned his lesson, but I somehow doubt it. (Yes, there is a lid on the aquarium, but he crawled out in a space beside the filter.)

To summarize what I have learned about my snails, Hector and Jeremy, this week:

1. At least one snail is a female. I like to think it is Jeremy, but if Jeremy is male and Hector is female then the eggs could be Hector's. Or it is still possible that Jeremy came from the pet store pregnant. The only way to determine that I have a male and female snail is to wait and see if anymore eggs show up. If not, then they both must be female. Which means I'm not so great at naming snails.

2. Snails are adventurous and far more entertaining than you would think.

Speaking of snail eggs, I moved Jeremy's/Hector's eggs into a vase. The eggs have to remain dry but they need to be in a moist environment, and hopefully I've managed to create that. I will post some pictures, eventually, so you can see what the eggs look like. I have read that it takes about two weeks for the eggs to hatch so I think they should be hatching at the end of next week if I've been successful.

Sobering

I drove by this on my way home last night. I left Toronto about a quarter to eleven. No sooner did I get onto the on-ramp for the 401 then I saw signs that the express lane was closed. This meant that the collectors were also jammed to the gills, but I had no choice to keep going forward. Fortunately it didn't take long to get by the accident (which was in the express lane, narrowing traffic there to one lane) and the ten minute wait didn't seem long. I thought for sure someone had to have been killed in that accident as it was a spectacular mess and there were some very mangled wrecks they were cleaning up. Fortunately, the news reports, no one was killed. That is amazing.

Speaking of gills and death, one my fish (the white one, unnamed) managed to off herself tonight. She somehow got herself stuck under one of the potsherds the provide hiding places for Leroy (the algae eater) and I didn't discover her in time. She is now fertilizing the garden.

Jeremy the Snail Laid Eggs!

Well, it looks like "Jeremy", my new snail, is a female apple snail-- he laid a huge mass of eggs during the night. What to do with all the baby snails I'm soon going to have?

Contrary to what the pet store people might tell you, apple snails are not the best for controlling algae in you aquarium, since they much prefer eating the real plants, which you do want to keep. Apparently they can do quite a lot of damage. The apple snail is the only one that comes out of the water to lay its eggs above the waterline. And in Asia, apparently, they are the bane of a rice farmer's existence. The egg mass Jeremy left is about an inch to an inch and half long and as big around as my thumb. Jeremy would have been impregnated at the pet store by some other fresh water snail (get it? fresh?) since I've only had her a week or two at the most. Female snails have the ability to carry the sperm around for a while until they're ready to use it. Talk about planned pregnancies....

What to do with the eggs? I don't want a tank full of snails (which will just mate and create more snails) but I am awfully curious about this whole process. I kinda would like to see them hatch. I have a few options-- and a little bit of time, since it takes 12 to 14 days for the babies to hatch--to decide.

1) Leave them be, watch the fascinating process and then try to get the baby snails all out of the tank after they've hatched and then dispatch the babies;
2) Move the egg mass to another container and watch them hatch there and dispatch the babies; or
3) Drown the eggs by topping up the tank (the embryos will drown if they are submerged in water) and let the fish and snail eat up the dead eggs.

Obviously any of these options means killing the snails at some stage of their life cycle--- that is unavoidable, unless I can find homes for 50 or more baby snails, which I doubt I could. I am actually leaning towards choice #2, since it will be easier to get the snails out of the tank before they hatch than afterwards. However, whatever I do, I DO NOT want to be ecologically irresponsible by releasing them into the wild--be it in a garden, a pond or even through the sewer.

One thing that amazes me already: how did all those eggs come out of that tiny snail? How could there have been any room for her inside her shell with all that stuff there, too?

The University Experience

This afternoon as I do my homework I'm listening to CBC Radio's Cross Country Checkup. It's not a show I usually listen to (I don't have much appetite for phone-in shows) but the topic today is the university experience. Being too chicken to actually call in, I emailed my submission. Here it is reproduced for you, to disagree with--or agree with-- as you wish.

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I graduated from Glendon College, York University, in 2003 with a BA Honours in History and Linguistics. I was fortunate to get into a related field immediately: museums. I worked in museums for over two years before I decided I was ready to attempt graduate studies. I am now at McMaster, doing a second BA in Classics to prepare for graduate work.

Although I have a history degree and I worked in museums, it was not the facts that I learned in class that were most important to my short-lived career. The most important thing you can learn in university is... how to learn! How to inquire, question, research, analyze, synthesis, write and communicate knowledge and ideas. To do this, you must engage.

Being back in university the second time around is a different experience. It is more of a sacrifice financially and I am determined to work hard and succeed. Being in classes with people ten years my junior lends a different perspective to the learning process. While there are those who do work hard and really do want to be there, it seems that there are many who have landed in university by default. It saddens me to see so many people playing computer games or cruising the internet on their laptops during lecture and endlessly complaining about have to do readings and essays. If you are not serious about learning then perhaps university isn't for you.

I pay tuition for the privilege of learning. The expectations of easy marks that I see in students around me is sad. Students are too ready to complain about professors being "hard markers" and to sign up for the "bird courses", but they are not so quick to take a real look at why they (the students) are there and the work they are actually producing. Grade inflation to make sure these people pass only cheapens my own marks and degree. Professors and TAs who can look at students' work and show them where they need to improve are a valuable resource.

A lifelong student,

Last Day

It was all rather anti-climatic. The day was dreary and there were few visitors. I only had a few small tasks to complete on the exhibit, sign my termination form and hand over my keys. Most of my work friends weren't in today. It was a slow day. Kinda slipped out unnoticed, no real acknowledgment of the things I had done ("thanks for the effort"), only a few passing comments to unfortunate situation. But I am relieved to be done there, to be free from the problems and harassment and all the other crap.

Done.

The New Job

I'm going to try to get everyone on the same page with this new job thing in one fell swoop. We'll see how it goes...

First off, I am a marking TA for a second year course in Greek History. I attend lectures, mark tests and essays and exams. I will have office hours in October during essay time. I get free copies of the textbooks. And I get paid for all this! I also get my own desk in one of the offices to use for the semester.

The professor I am TAing for is delightful. I have had classes with him before--and have one with him this semester. He is brilliant, but very nice and very helpful. I met with him and the other two TAs for an hour today to discuss our duties and his ideas of marking. His ideas are very similar to mine and he is very approachable when it comes to questions.

Earlier in the day I met with the department secretary, a lovely, lovely woman who got me set up with a key and desk. I still have a few more forms to sign, but I think I am going to frame the first one--the letter offering me the job. I have signed so much today that my signature is barely legible.

I also got my textbooks today for most of my classes. The most expensive one was $85; fortunately I already have textbooks for two of my classes so there's not too much for me to buy. This morning was Clubsfest, and I was there dressed in my peplos to help represent the Classics club.

It has been a long and exciting day and I am still very tired from my trip to Montreal. Tiredness is getting heaped on top of tiredness at this point, so I am going to bed.

Back... And Tired

Lots of exciting news!!!

1. I had an amazing time in Montreal! Absolutely fantastic! Some former Glendon aquaintances are now friends and we all had an absolute blast. I may blog about it when I recover-- little sleep and two 7-hour drives makes for a very tired me. Special thanks to Justin for driving me and my car back to TO and letting me crash there.

2. My TAship for the coming semester was confirmed. YAY!

3. I quite my museum job (finally). Walking in to say "I quit" was the most glorious thing I think I've ever done.