Friday April 4, 2014

Today I got a really early start. 

I took my water quality sample during extra-help, and then used my first block free to make calls.  I had figured that the best times to catch Isaac Perry and Myron would probably just when they came into the office, and I was right. 

Isaac answered the second time I called, which was around 8:15.  I called him to ask when I might possibly see the town’s “flupsy” and also to learn about the process of obtaining a permit and grant to farm oysters.  Unfortunately I wont be able to see the “flupsy” until later in mid May.  However, we have scheduled a meeting for next Friday at 1:00 PM to discuss permits and grants.  According to Isaac it is a very long and arduous process that needed to be discussed in person.  He sounded pretty tired just at the thought of explaining it all to me.  I’m excited to meet Isaac finally, since up until today I had only ever interacted with his voice mail.

Artist Rendition of a "flupsy"

Example of a "flupsy"

A “flupsy” is a floating upweller system.  It is one way of cultivating shellfish during their more vulnerable nursery stage.  The theory is that by increasing the flow past the shellfish, they will grow faster at higher densities, since there is more food filtering past them.  Some shellfish farmers believe this helps significantly where others are still skeptical.

I called Ketcham Traps right after I hung up with Isaac.  Myron sounded pretty busy, but we arranged to meet tomorrow sometime between 9 and 12 (those are the Saturday hours).  He said he would either show me around himself, or have one of his employees do so.  I am planning on bringing my camera so I can take pictures for my blog.  I’m pretty curious about Ketcham Traps.  (I’ll admit I’m pretty nosy.)  I explored their website for some time, but it’s hard to navigate and quite cryptic since you don’t ever seem find the information you were looking for.  Also there are no prices on anything.

Finally this afternoon I walked over to Eastern Bank to talk to them about small business loans.  My visit was not fruitful.  I spoke to a woman who essentially told me that the representatives I needed (the people who knew and were certified to talk about small businesses) were not there.  Apparently they will be back on Monday, so I will try again then.  However the woman did give me a website that she thought I could use as a resource.  It’s called SBA.gov and it gives some great articles for small businesses.  I haven’t yet had a chance to explore the website fully, but it shows a lot of promise.

SBA.gov Home Page

Going to the bank was really nerve-wracking.  I only ever go to the bank with my mom or to go to the ATM, so this was totally new and honestly quite scary.  I called my mom while I was walking there and figured out what I was going to say, and she told me that most people are nervous when they go to the bank to talk about loans so I wasn’t alone.  All in all, the trip was fine, even though it was not very helpful and I feel much more relaxed about going again on Monday.