Leviosa Lacquer: Flakes on My Nails, Flakes in the Sky, Winter Jam, and Ocean Trawl

I'm dedicated. So dedicated that, despite being out on the ocean this week working, I still wanted to write a new post.

Even if my manicure experienced some wear before I could photograph it.

Even if my hands and cuticles are super dry due to long exposure to the cold over the past few days.

Even if two of my nails on my photo hand broke (doh!).

Because I figured, a crappy manicure is better than no manicure at all, right?

I guess you will be the judge of that.

So this weekend/upcoming week has been pretty busy for me. From Friday until this upcoming Friday, I've been scheduled to work Ocean Trawl.

"What's Ocean Trawl?" Well, I'm glad I narrate this blog to pretend like you asked.

Five times a year, I go out on this research vessel (that's "boat" to you and me) to collect data on what kind of fishes are swimming around off the coast of New Jersey. We computer generate about 30 or so random locations along the coast called "stations".

On the way to Cape Mayyyyy

Once we get to a particular station, we drop this huge net in the water, drag it around for about twenty minutes, and then bring it up on deck and empty it out on this big table.

Then begins what is the most tedious games of One of These Things is Not Like the Other. We have to sort everything into bushels or buckets by species. Sometimes, this takes 5 minutes. Sometimes, this takes an hour or more.

It's basically exactly like this. (I'm only partly joking)

Once everything is sorted, we weigh the bushels and record that data. Then, we measure individuals of each species and record that data before releasing everything back into the water.

I also get to dress incredibly sexy.

The information we gather helps us see what is abundant during different times of the year, what fish are steadily decreasing in population, and more. It's basically like a census of the sea, if you will. And once the January survey is over, I go back to collecting unemployment and applying for jobs in my pajamas while eating cookies for breakfast until April.

Thanks, Obama

It's pretty interesting stuff, but also incredibly tedious and physically/mentally demanding. Physical labor aside, the days are anywhere from 12-18 hours, and since I just got promoted to hourly biologist, that means I have to work every trawl day, back to back.

Which is why I was so excited that a little snow flurry cancelled two days of trawl (conveniently enough, Saturday and Sunday!) and I was able to go to Radio 1045's Winter Jam in Philadelphia to see MSMR, New Politcs, Switchfoot, and twenty one pilots.

And to bare witness to this guy in a Chewbacca jacket.

I highly recommend you see New Politics and twenty one pilots if you ever get the chance. From climbing on the stage tent to playing drums on top of the crowd both were spectacular entertainers.

Drumming. On the audience.

And while I was in Philly, I took a little time to do a quick manicure inspired by workinggirlnails (go check out her IG!) called the Opal Maniure. I figured it would be pretty enough to blog about, but low maintenance enough for ocean trawl. I'm not going to be that upset when this chips out at sea, because it didn't take me hours to do.

The technique involves layering flakie/glitter nail polishes on top of one another and then finishing it off with a sheer pink shade. It is a truly beautiful look that has sparkle and depth that my phone camera just can't capture.

Polishes used

My favorite flakie polish of all time is Essie's "Shine of the Times". Basic bitches are paying $12+ for this hard to find, coveted shade. I found mine in a clearance bin at my local beauty supply for $2.50. And why wouldn't I grab it?! Look at that rainbow of colors!