ABC WEDNESDAY.

As anyone who knows me will verify, I am not a big fan of Homo sapiens as a species. I find our arrogance and aggression distinctly unpleasant and I am appalled by our endless capacity to destroy other species. That being said it is not without a slight modicum of surprise that I find myself actually doing a post about a person this week. Don't worry I am not about to get all mushy about my 'mate', I'll save that for another time ;) And no, I am not regressing to some bizarre school girl crush! This week for ABC Wednesday I am posting J is for Jamie.

When I first started working at the Museum the two other people who were working in the Animal Care division were, lets just say, a little lacking in their dedication! Whenever I went away on vacation I would be filled with a sense of dread as to what I would find upon my return, and trust me, it usually wasn't anything good! Anyway, on one occasion on returning from a trip I find that one of them has been fired and the other one has handed in their notice! So within a week of coming back I was on my own! For a while I did three peoples jobs on my own and then we managed to do some hiring. One of the people we hired was Jamie. Jamie has now been at the Museum for almost three years and I can't begin to tell you how much she has improved my work environment.

I will be honest, when we were interviewing I had my reservations, she seemed so young, I wasn't sure how she was going to stand up to the tasks, but lucky for me, my colleagues saw her potential and we went ahead and hired her. Just occasionally a person comes into your life and provides a wonderfully positive force and that is exactly what Jamie has done. She has worked her way into the position of Aquatic Animal Technician and she is totally in her element out in the field with her hip waders on and her net in hand.

I have yet to meet a more positive and cheerful person, even when we are rushing round like headless chickens at work without enough hours in the day to get everything done, she still remains upbeat, but not in an annoying way. And the most amazing part of it is, she actually is a good influence on me!! I am a self confessed, cynical, grumpy old fart. But with Jamie around, because she is so great, she actually makes me behave in a slightly better manner towards my fellow humans! And believe me when I tell you, that is no mean achievement!

It is very rarely that I meet someone with the same dedication and devotion to the animal kingdom that I have, but Jamie has it. Her work with all our animals, everyday is concrete proof of that fact. But one of the things I like best of all about Jamie is when we are out in the field and we find something cool, she is always more than happy to oblige when I say 'hold this Jamie, I want to get a picture of it for my blog!'

Doesn't matter what it is.....................

Large or small, Jamie steps up, and so her hands have been on many of my posts!

So thanks Jamie, for being such a breath of fresh air, for being such fun to be around, for being such a phenomenally hard worker, for helping to look after all the animals in our care so well, for making my return from vacations an entirely non-stressful event, for making me the most outrageously delicous chocolate cake for my birthday, and for making me a (slightly) less grumpy old fart! YOU ROCK!!

For lots of 'J' posts from all over the world, check out ABC Wednesday.

Photo Credits - CJT