Mark Rodeo

Weekly Reflection 2

Great week to put an end to Senior Project. It was essentially a continuation as week one, as we found ourselves on the water and in the construction setting. Similar to week one, I had lots to learn from week 2. We started the week on the water, it was our 3rd time going out but I had the best time that day out of all 4 days on the water. The weather was perfect and I kept getting bites, as I’d just figured out how to properly slow-pitch jig. Consistently getting fish on my line completely changed my perception of fishing, as I was no longer bored and not knowing what I was doing. I also started using my GoPro and got some clips on the head mount of me casting my rod out into a pod of Mahi tuna, and Jackson got some cool clips of hooked tuna underwater with it. That day, Jordan caught the biggest fish of the trip, a huge blackfin tuna, which he couldn’t eat by himself. We brought a lot of it home and made Nagiri over sushi rice, seared strips, and sandwiches from it. Cooking the fish you caught is a very rewarding feeling, and knowing how to properly prepare a high-value meat such as tuna is a valuable life trait which I am thankful to now have. 

Outside of fishing, to my surprise, I had more to learn this week. I continued to further my interest in construction, as I had 2 tasks specifically this week where I learned a lot about some aspects of the field. On Tuesday (5/16), I learned how to cut through metal. I used a circular saw and cut a ton of metal pipes into pieces small enough to fit into Jordan’s outdoor trashcan. I found out that I really enjoy using power tools with sparks flying. I also learned how to properly use a hammer, as I had to not only bang a ton of nails into place when making the deck in Jordan’s back yard, but I spent a lot of time this week hammering old nails through boards from the point side, then prying them out on the other side of the board with the forked end of the hammer. It was a tedious process, but my hammer skills have definitely improved greatly, as have my skills to build anything or do anything fishing related. Thanks to Jordan, I can now navigate my way around a fishing rod and a construction site. That’s what senior project is all about!