Did I say "hate" before? Yeah, I definitely take that back.

                 These are some of the penguin blues (babies that aren't chicks) that I was taking care of in ICU 

Number of times I was pooped on today: More than 4, Less than 7.

Number of times Lionel snapped his monstrous beak at me: 3

Number of times something adorable or funny happened: Too many to count.

I immediately regret saying I hated birds. Today was AWESOME, and I'm really starting to grow quite fond of the little poop and fish regurgitation machines. You get used to the smell after a while, and they've all got funny little personalities and ways about them. I think some of them are starting to grow fond of me, as well. I won't go so far as to say some of them like me, because I'm sure they'd still tear one of my fingers off if given the opportunity.

I learned the following things today:

1) How to tube. This is the process by which you administer fluids to the penguins. A brave handler or volunteer with take the usually unwilling bird, hold him against their body, open the birds beaks and push a tube connected to a large plastic syringe down the birds throats. They then push the contents of the syringe down the tube and effectively into the birds stomach. It's important to be the tube down the throat, and not the air hole. Doing this could drown and kill the bird, which is why I was understandably a little nervous to give it a go. I didn't actually hold the birds while I tubed - that'll be for tomorrow. My volunteer buddy was a lovely British woman who held their beaks open while I tried my hand at tubing. She took a few nips in the process, and was still a total sweet heart to me the entire time. I love older people with accents.

2) How to successfully carry the penguins around. Sometimes those cheeky buggers don't really want to be picked up, and you've got to hold their bodies for dear life or they'll squirm around and either bite you, fall to the ground, or both at once. I got much better at it as the day progressed.

3) There is such a thing a projectile poop. And that shit can go far. 

(Sorry for the pun, I couldn't help it).

4) Do not look Lionel directly in the eyes. 

Lionel was walking about outside his enclosure today. I was enlisted in helping a fellow volunteer clean out his enclosure while he was having his stroll around the outside of the pen. This was tricky, in that Lionel is not terribly fond of me, and I had to enter his personal space (I give his personal space about a four foot radius). One of the times I made the mistake of looking him in the eye as I backed away, he extended his prehistoric wings and made a snap at my face with his giant beak. I let out a little yelp and jumped back about a foot, but I don't think anyone saw me, so I was saved the embarrassment of being scared in front of everyone else. 

When the enclosure was clean, I offered to assist my co-worker with getting Lionel back in the enclosure. This is when it got interesting. We approached the pelican from either side, trying to trap him against a door that led to the swimming pool for some of the penguins. Lionel, sensing our intent, managed to jump up on the thin gate that separated his area from the pool. He teetered there off balance for about 5 minutes, while we stood there scratching our heads. He then found a perch on the side of the pool, where he spent the remainder of his day lounging. He'd occasionally flap his wings (which are longer than I am tall) and snap his beak together. There was a time when the ICU penguins were going for a swim, and he longingly watched them like a fat man on a diet at a buffet. 

All in all, I'm starting to love it.