Some days, I love just throwing myself into my work. Today is one of those days--I wish every day was like this. ;) I called the tack shop, and it looks like they aren't going to need me this week, which is fine, but if it's going to be like this on a regular basis, I can't do that. I started looking for other part-time jobs... as much as I love working at the tack shop, if she can't provide me with steady work, I'm going to have to find it elsewhere. On top of that, I can make double what I'm making through the shop, so it would make sense to go somewhere else. Maybe I can just work there on Saturdays or something... if she ever sells the shop, I think I need to keep my foot in the door. ;)
A co-worker is trying to set me up with a friend of his... ugh. He just mentioned one day that his friend is a "nice guy", hint hint, wink wink. He hasn't mentioned it since last week, so maybe I lucked out and he forgot, haha. Normally, the only friends that set me up with guys I actually like are the friends that actually know me. My co-worker doesn't know me well enough yet, so I can only see it ending on an awkward note.
It's going to be 74 this afternoon, so I'm going on a ride!! :) I'm also riding Riley later tonight, and cleaning the apartment after that--I began a major declutter project last night, and I'm getting rid of everything I haven't looked at or used since I moved, lol.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Monday, December 29, 2008
I went up to Omaha for Christmas, and had a great time. I brought my bike and trainer, and I was so glad I did. Jaiden had fun, too... Brody was really upset when I put Jaiden in the car, haha. I went out with Tennille and a few others on Friday night and saw a guy I dated a couple years ago. I'm not sure if he saw me. He probably would have frozen stiff and crumbled into pieces if I had said anything to him. He was a smart guy, but a social idiot.
Saturday, I went out with Eric, Becky and her friends. It was a wig and moustache party, and I ended up getting a blue wig at the last minute... I'm afraid to see the pictures.
My nephew called my cousin Todd "Uncle Toad", LOL. I still crack up when I think about it.
Saturday, I went out with Eric, Becky and her friends. It was a wig and moustache party, and I ended up getting a blue wig at the last minute... I'm afraid to see the pictures.
My nephew called my cousin Todd "Uncle Toad", LOL. I still crack up when I think about it.
Monday, December 22, 2008
I fixed my trainer!
All by myself! :P The part came in the mail today, and at first I thought they either sent the wrong part or misunderstood what it was that I needed. I took a closer look at the broken part on my trainer, and realized I just needed to move things around a bit. Anyway, I got it fixed and rode for 45 minutes. It's boring, but as long as I have some music, I'm moderately entertained, and I feel so much better now that I've ridden (I haven't ridden since last Sunday--eek). I have been taking Jaiden on long, hilly walks almost every day though, just to keep somewhat active.
Oh, and I got a bike light. A good one. So, Mom and Dad, you can quit worrying. :) Although I probably won't do night rides alone unless I get something that says "GET OUTTA MY WAY". Hehe.
I was working at the shop Saturday, and a customer was talking about a pony named Merrylegs (what a cute name for a pony). The customer's son used to ride Merrylegs, and she just adored him. For whatever reason, he stopped riding her, or the trainer put him on a different horse or something, and Merrylegs became despondent and depressed. :( This went on for a few months. Merrylegs just didn't respond to anybody else--she would do what she was told, mostly, but wasn't happy. She would only walk or trot up to jumps, and wouldn't canter to them. There was no "pep" in her. So the trainer put the little boy back up on Merrylegs, and she suddenly became happier again... held her head high, swished her tail, etc. I just thought that was such a cute, touching story. :)
Oh, and I got a bike light. A good one. So, Mom and Dad, you can quit worrying. :) Although I probably won't do night rides alone unless I get something that says "GET OUTTA MY WAY". Hehe.
I was working at the shop Saturday, and a customer was talking about a pony named Merrylegs (what a cute name for a pony). The customer's son used to ride Merrylegs, and she just adored him. For whatever reason, he stopped riding her, or the trainer put him on a different horse or something, and Merrylegs became despondent and depressed. :( This went on for a few months. Merrylegs just didn't respond to anybody else--she would do what she was told, mostly, but wasn't happy. She would only walk or trot up to jumps, and wouldn't canter to them. There was no "pep" in her. So the trainer put the little boy back up on Merrylegs, and she suddenly became happier again... held her head high, swished her tail, etc. I just thought that was such a cute, touching story. :)
Friday, December 19, 2008
New pony!
I went horseback riding Thursday night! :) Shama gave me the contact info for a woman that has a horse she needs ridden. I went out, and the woman, Kirsten, played up Riley's spookiness and antics quite a bit. Yeah, he's a bit spooky, but for the most part, he's a big teddy bear, although he can be rather opinionated, lol. He's an 18-year-old Thoroughbred, and he seems to be the kind of horse that needs to be finessed and "asked" to do something, rather than demanded. He's very willing and smart, and he seemed to try hard to figure out what I wanted. Hopefully I can take some lessons on him... he's very good with lateral movements, so he'd be a good horse to learn from I think.
The weather has been so nice the past day or two, and I'm going on a ride tomorrow morning before heading to work. It's going to get pretty crappy tomorrow night, so it looks like I won't be doing the Sunday ride with hottie. ;) I'll also be driving back to Austin next Sunday, so I'll be out for that ride (oh, and it looks like the weather is going to be PERFECT the entire time I'm up in Omaha... sigh). REI is sending me a replacement part for my trainer... hopefully I can figure out how to fix it. I've been taking Jaiden on walks lately. He's been whining a lot the past few days, and I'm not sure why, so I've been trying to pay more attention to him. I've been working about 55 hours a week, so he's probably feeling a bit neglected. Poor puppy.
The weather has been so nice the past day or two, and I'm going on a ride tomorrow morning before heading to work. It's going to get pretty crappy tomorrow night, so it looks like I won't be doing the Sunday ride with hottie. ;) I'll also be driving back to Austin next Sunday, so I'll be out for that ride (oh, and it looks like the weather is going to be PERFECT the entire time I'm up in Omaha... sigh). REI is sending me a replacement part for my trainer... hopefully I can figure out how to fix it. I've been taking Jaiden on walks lately. He's been whining a lot the past few days, and I'm not sure why, so I've been trying to pay more attention to him. I've been working about 55 hours a week, so he's probably feeling a bit neglected. Poor puppy.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Sunday ride
I didn't do so well on today's ride, but hell, I haven't ridden since Monday! I went to REI today to see if I could get my trainer fixed--once it is fixed, I'm planning on riding a few days during the week. The weather is nice enough that I can ride outside, yeah, but I refuse to ride alone at night for the time being. So anyway, we did our usual 35 miles today, and the headwind on the way back was, as usual, disgusting. I drafted off about three or four guys on the way back, and one of the guys that I ride with, a hottie that I've had a minor crush on, put his hand on the small of my back and pushed me up a hill several times, lol. A part of me appreciates the help and I can't help but giggle like a little girl when he does it, but another part of me wants to say, "I CAN DO IT!!" I hate feeling like the weak link! They all say I'm riding strong, but I'm still the slowest in the group, dammit.
A few of us made plans to go out to dinner after the ride, but it ended up just being me and hottie. It wasn't a date or anything remotely close, but it was definitely fun! I'm not holding out any hope, so y'all can refrain from asking me questions! ;)
A few of us made plans to go out to dinner after the ride, but it ended up just being me and hottie. It wasn't a date or anything remotely close, but it was definitely fun! I'm not holding out any hope, so y'all can refrain from asking me questions! ;)
Ollie
My parents had to put Ollie to sleep yesterday morning. :( He was having back issues, and couldn't use his rear legs anymore. He would have been 17 in January, and was getting "senile", so my parents made the decision to have him put to sleep.
He was such a tough little dog. There were so many times that I didn't think he'd pull through something, and we'd have to put him down... like a couple of years ago, when he fell down my parents' stairs. I thought for sure he would have damaged his back in some way, but he just ended up with a broken nail. He's gone through several bouts of not being able to use his rear legs, but he always pulled through in the past, which is pretty amazing.
When he was about a year or two, I picked him up to hold him, and Ollie being Ollie, he struggled to get out of my arms pretty much immediately. Well, I didn't have a good hold on him, and he leaped/fell onto the kitchen floor, then started yelping and running around in a circle on his shoulder because he couldn't use his right front leg. I'll never forget that image, although I'm not traumatized by it anymore. ;) Anyway, I was completely distraught, vowing that I would never pick him up ever again (as I was holding him in my arms to comfort him, haha). We took him to the vet, etc., and that little butthead milked it for all he was worth whenever he was around me. He limped for two weeks, and one day my mom took him out without a leash, and he suddenly took off. Of course, he didn't go far, but my mom had to show me that he was completely fine. I stopped babying him. ;)
I taught him how to sit, lay down, and "play dead" (all he did was put his head to the ground, eyes wide open, tail wagging). My dad taught him how to speak, lol. Ollie would sit next to us at the table while we were eating dinner, and he'd stare at dad. My dad would look down, and Ollie would immediately look to the floor, like he was saying, "If I can't see him, he can't see me." He did that for the longest time, until he realized Dad wouldn't do anything, and he stopped looking down.
He LOVED to sleep with us under the covers, as it was always warmer there, and he always somehow managed to push me to the edge of the bed, leaving him with nearly an entire bed all to himself. Our other Dachshund, Sammie (whom we had for just a few years and had to put to sleep for several health issues that he had--kidneys, back problems, skin problems) taught Ollie that laying underneath the blankets is better than laying on top of them.
Brody still hasn't caught onto that trick, lol. In fact, I think it freaked him out when he first saw Ollie get under the blankets on the couch. There were several times that Brody didn't realize Ollie was laying under the blankets. Brody would always make a wrong step, and suddenly we'd hear a snarling, growling racket coming from underneath the blankets, which would make Brody FREEZE and look at us like, "Help me."
My only regret is that I wasn't there for his last moments--I always promised myself I would be there for him. :( :(
Some pics of Ollie:
He was such a tough little dog. There were so many times that I didn't think he'd pull through something, and we'd have to put him down... like a couple of years ago, when he fell down my parents' stairs. I thought for sure he would have damaged his back in some way, but he just ended up with a broken nail. He's gone through several bouts of not being able to use his rear legs, but he always pulled through in the past, which is pretty amazing.
When he was about a year or two, I picked him up to hold him, and Ollie being Ollie, he struggled to get out of my arms pretty much immediately. Well, I didn't have a good hold on him, and he leaped/fell onto the kitchen floor, then started yelping and running around in a circle on his shoulder because he couldn't use his right front leg. I'll never forget that image, although I'm not traumatized by it anymore. ;) Anyway, I was completely distraught, vowing that I would never pick him up ever again (as I was holding him in my arms to comfort him, haha). We took him to the vet, etc., and that little butthead milked it for all he was worth whenever he was around me. He limped for two weeks, and one day my mom took him out without a leash, and he suddenly took off. Of course, he didn't go far, but my mom had to show me that he was completely fine. I stopped babying him. ;)
I taught him how to sit, lay down, and "play dead" (all he did was put his head to the ground, eyes wide open, tail wagging). My dad taught him how to speak, lol. Ollie would sit next to us at the table while we were eating dinner, and he'd stare at dad. My dad would look down, and Ollie would immediately look to the floor, like he was saying, "If I can't see him, he can't see me." He did that for the longest time, until he realized Dad wouldn't do anything, and he stopped looking down.
He LOVED to sleep with us under the covers, as it was always warmer there, and he always somehow managed to push me to the edge of the bed, leaving him with nearly an entire bed all to himself. Our other Dachshund, Sammie (whom we had for just a few years and had to put to sleep for several health issues that he had--kidneys, back problems, skin problems) taught Ollie that laying underneath the blankets is better than laying on top of them.
Brody still hasn't caught onto that trick, lol. In fact, I think it freaked him out when he first saw Ollie get under the blankets on the couch. There were several times that Brody didn't realize Ollie was laying under the blankets. Brody would always make a wrong step, and suddenly we'd hear a snarling, growling racket coming from underneath the blankets, which would make Brody FREEZE and look at us like, "Help me."
My only regret is that I wasn't there for his last moments--I always promised myself I would be there for him. :( :(
Some pics of Ollie:
Monday, December 8, 2008
I'm tiiiired
I went on a group ride tonight. I was sooo tired after just 15 miles--my ride on Sunday night was difficult, so my legs/knees were already spent before I even started the ride tonight. The wind was pretty bad, and after about mile 20-22 I had difficulty keeping up. It was so nice out, though, other than the wind. I wore a jersey and arm warmers and was sweating like crazy, although even without the arm warmers I would have been hot--I was hauling ass. I ended up with 27 miles. I don't think I'll have time to do a ride the rest of the week. :( I'm working until 6 every night. Sigh... I really have to get a messenger bag so I can ride to work.
Oh, and I almost got run into TWICE on the way home. On the way to the ride, I was actually a bit nervous... my "close call" last week wasn't really that close, but it was still on my mind. I ride relatively defensively, I think--always checking to make sure drivers see me, and keeping my hands on the brakes just in case. Anyway, one of the guys rode back with me to my apartment, and he had a pretty damn strong light. Actually, he even had TWO lights! Yet, we still had two close calls. Both drivers were coming up perpendicular to us on our right, making right-hand turns, and neither came to a complete stop. I'm guilty of doing this, so I can't really be too terribly pissed at them. It's still nerve-wracking, though. :( I don't think this night riding thing is for me. I'm going to have to get a $200 light for these damn drivers to see me.
Sounds like Shama's trainer will have a horse that I can ride... I'm still debating. I'd really just like to start training with Richard again. He was just so damn awesome. We'll see.
It's funny... a few times over the past month, I've run into cyclists on the group rides that rubbed me the wrong way. I've come close to running my mouth after my temper flared up, decided against it, and was grateful for it. One guy in particular has an enormous ego (he's young), he never points out debris in the road--another guy and I ran over some toy or something because it wasn't pointed out to us--and he's always "talking big". He's annoyed me several times, and I almost snapped at him tonight, but didn't. I'm glad, too, because he ended up helping me out when I got dropped, which was rather unexpected. Another guy that I initially didn't like because I thought he was an asshole turned out to be a nice guy. It's just funny, because when I was younger, I always used to regret not saying the first thing that came to mind, and now I'm grateful for it, although sometimes I can't stop myself from being a smartass.
Oh, and I almost got run into TWICE on the way home. On the way to the ride, I was actually a bit nervous... my "close call" last week wasn't really that close, but it was still on my mind. I ride relatively defensively, I think--always checking to make sure drivers see me, and keeping my hands on the brakes just in case. Anyway, one of the guys rode back with me to my apartment, and he had a pretty damn strong light. Actually, he even had TWO lights! Yet, we still had two close calls. Both drivers were coming up perpendicular to us on our right, making right-hand turns, and neither came to a complete stop. I'm guilty of doing this, so I can't really be too terribly pissed at them. It's still nerve-wracking, though. :( I don't think this night riding thing is for me. I'm going to have to get a $200 light for these damn drivers to see me.
Sounds like Shama's trainer will have a horse that I can ride... I'm still debating. I'd really just like to start training with Richard again. He was just so damn awesome. We'll see.
It's funny... a few times over the past month, I've run into cyclists on the group rides that rubbed me the wrong way. I've come close to running my mouth after my temper flared up, decided against it, and was grateful for it. One guy in particular has an enormous ego (he's young), he never points out debris in the road--another guy and I ran over some toy or something because it wasn't pointed out to us--and he's always "talking big". He's annoyed me several times, and I almost snapped at him tonight, but didn't. I'm glad, too, because he ended up helping me out when I got dropped, which was rather unexpected. Another guy that I initially didn't like because I thought he was an asshole turned out to be a nice guy. It's just funny, because when I was younger, I always used to regret not saying the first thing that came to mind, and now I'm grateful for it, although sometimes I can't stop myself from being a smartass.
Another great ride
I love my new job at the tack shop! I've been so busy there. I'm actually getting paid more than she originally told me (long story). I also found out we can buy stuff there at cost, so I basically get a 50% discount. I went out for drinks with one of the girls, Shama, that I'm working with. She talks a LOT, and while she's very nice and very cool and I'd like to hang out with her again, I couldn't help but feel somewhat exhausted after we went out, lol. Shama called one of her trainers to see if she had a horse I could ride (it's amazing the number of trainers here that don't have lesson horses), and she just called me to let me know that her trainer does have a horse I can ride a couple times a week! Geez... I'm getting even busier. The only bad thing is, I don't know if I can afford lessons right now, especially with me taking trips to go up to Omaha. Maybe after the 1st of the year.
My other new job is going really well, too. I've been pretty busy there the past week, too.
I decorated my apartment with Christmas decorations, and it looks pretty good! :) I'll be coming to Omaha in a couple of weeks... I'm not sure what days, but I'm thinking maybe the 24th-29th. I'd like to not come back on Sunday so I can possibly miss the worst of the traffic. Bleh.
I went on a group ride Sunday. We did 35 miles at about a 17-18 MPH average with a few big hills and a significant headwind on the way back. Chuck pulled up a biggish hill, and I thought I was going to die, but I couldn't let go of his wheel... not in that wind! They did eventually drop me on another hill, but they waited for me and another group that was behind me a ways. A couple of new guys joined us. One of them was having issues keeping up, and I felt bad for him. I know what it's like to be the person always trailing behind--hell, it's usually me! Scott thinks he may have got his heart rate up too much, and couldn't recover from it. Poor guy. Chuck has been impressed with my riding improvement. I guess I have gotten faster. I just need to work on my stamina now. These 35-mile rides will help, but I need to get in with more groups. The only bad thing is I now work Saturdays, which is great for keeping busy, but not so good for the riding effort. :(
Oh, and I changed my own headlight, which was, incidentally, a big pain in the ass! Maybe it wouldn't have been for a guy, but I couldn't figure out how to get the bulb out one-handed in addition to not being able to see what I was doing. I was seriously about to cry, not having any close guy friends that I could turn to, haha (I'm sure I would have eventually been able to find someone to help me if I had needed it, but for a few moments there I was feeling pretty helpless). I finally found an area underneath that I could get both hands in, and got it done. ;)
My other new job is going really well, too. I've been pretty busy there the past week, too.
I decorated my apartment with Christmas decorations, and it looks pretty good! :) I'll be coming to Omaha in a couple of weeks... I'm not sure what days, but I'm thinking maybe the 24th-29th. I'd like to not come back on Sunday so I can possibly miss the worst of the traffic. Bleh.
I went on a group ride Sunday. We did 35 miles at about a 17-18 MPH average with a few big hills and a significant headwind on the way back. Chuck pulled up a biggish hill, and I thought I was going to die, but I couldn't let go of his wheel... not in that wind! They did eventually drop me on another hill, but they waited for me and another group that was behind me a ways. A couple of new guys joined us. One of them was having issues keeping up, and I felt bad for him. I know what it's like to be the person always trailing behind--hell, it's usually me! Scott thinks he may have got his heart rate up too much, and couldn't recover from it. Poor guy. Chuck has been impressed with my riding improvement. I guess I have gotten faster. I just need to work on my stamina now. These 35-mile rides will help, but I need to get in with more groups. The only bad thing is I now work Saturdays, which is great for keeping busy, but not so good for the riding effort. :(
Oh, and I changed my own headlight, which was, incidentally, a big pain in the ass! Maybe it wouldn't have been for a guy, but I couldn't figure out how to get the bulb out one-handed in addition to not being able to see what I was doing. I was seriously about to cry, not having any close guy friends that I could turn to, haha (I'm sure I would have eventually been able to find someone to help me if I had needed it, but for a few moments there I was feeling pretty helpless). I finally found an area underneath that I could get both hands in, and got it done. ;)
Thursday, December 4, 2008
New tack shop job
Yay! :) I'm not being paid much, but I'm busy and it's a fun job. She's overstaffed, but I guess that isn't really my problem to worry about--maybe when I have my own shop. ;) It's a bigger shop than the one I worked at in Omaha, and not as "cozy" (the one in Omaha was small and stuff was crammed into every corner... and I loved it!), but it's awesome to have a busy life again. I'm riding a lot, working two jobs, going out with friends, I have my doggy to take care of, and I'm coming to Omaha again in a few weeks. Weee... :)
I went on a solo ride on Wednesday afternoon. It was so nice out, about 75 degrees. I was able to ride in just shorts and a short-sleeved jersey! Oh, and I bought new shoes. I'm turning into that girl. You know--that girl that has lots of shoes. :( I always prided myself on having a relatively empty closet, but I bought my first pair of good heels about a year ago, and realized that if I spend money on GOOD shoes rather than cheap shoes, my feet won't blister. ;) However, I got these on sale at Amazon for about 60% off. I really shouldn't be spending any money at all, but I really needed some shoes after Jaiden chewed mine to pieces. A Christmas present to myself, hehe.
I went on a solo ride on Wednesday afternoon. It was so nice out, about 75 degrees. I was able to ride in just shorts and a short-sleeved jersey! Oh, and I bought new shoes. I'm turning into that girl. You know--that girl that has lots of shoes. :( I always prided myself on having a relatively empty closet, but I bought my first pair of good heels about a year ago, and realized that if I spend money on GOOD shoes rather than cheap shoes, my feet won't blister. ;) However, I got these on sale at Amazon for about 60% off. I really shouldn't be spending any money at all, but I really needed some shoes after Jaiden chewed mine to pieces. A Christmas present to myself, hehe.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Have to get this off my chest, too...
I still have moments where I think about the crap that my ex said when we broke up, and I can't help but harbor a lot of resentment. Some days, I'm happily single and I don't care that we broke up. Other days I'm just so frustrated and hurt about it all, and I obsess about what he said. Today was one of those days. He made me feel like crap about myself, and it's days like today that I wish I could just shut that door forever and forget everything. I know I'm closer to doing that, and most days I really don't care anymore, but for today, I can't let go of the bitterness. Tomorrow will be a better day.
My trip to Omaha
I seriously hate the drive to/from Omaha. It's boring from Nebraska to Oklahoma, and once you get into Texas, the traffic is ridiculous. At one point, I ran into a construction area, and it took an hour to go five miles. Talk about road rage...
I had a blast in Omaha. I didn't get more than six hours of sleep each night (made for a not-so-fun drive back home). The dogs were so good, too! I was really worried, especially when Brody got more excited than usual--and Brody's normal level of excitement would give another dog a heart attack. But they eventually settled down. Jaiden actually didn't really seem to care much about Brody until Brody decided he wanted to play... Jaiden did his usual leap and bound trick, and Brody thought twice about playing with Jaiden after that. ;)
My brother changed out my rotors while I was down there. I was complaining about how the wheel vibrated anytime I applied the brakes, and he took it upon himself to fix it! :) Thanks, Timmy. :D
I took my bike down and did an indoor group ride on a trainer. It was nice to see everybody. My ex that works at the bike shop told me that they might start selling Kuota bikes--what the heck?! I nearly got one last year, but they talked me into getting a Felt instead. Arrrgh. Wonder if my 25% discount still applies... ;) Oh, and he also told me I still look good in cycling shorts. Zac, not sure if you read my blog, but I love you. Lol.
I went out to Crescent Moon Saturday night with Becky, Eric, Tennille, some of Becky's friends, and some of Tennille's friends. My parents even showed up to drink out of the boot! ;) One of Tennille's friends bought a few of us some shots... that pushed me over the "really drunk" edge. I was hurting in the morning, and it made for a looooong drive. It was worth it though. I had a lot of fun. Except for the falling incident... all the roads froze over while we were inside getting drunk, and I fell flat on my ass outside the bar. Of course, I thought it was just hilarious. ;) I screwed up another one of my fingers, though. Sigh.
I went on a short ride tonight, and nearly got run into. I really should get a stronger light... they're just so freaking expensive. I may be getting a part-time job at a local tack shop (yay!!!), so I should be able to get all this extra crap that I so desperately need. :)
I had a blast in Omaha. I didn't get more than six hours of sleep each night (made for a not-so-fun drive back home). The dogs were so good, too! I was really worried, especially when Brody got more excited than usual--and Brody's normal level of excitement would give another dog a heart attack. But they eventually settled down. Jaiden actually didn't really seem to care much about Brody until Brody decided he wanted to play... Jaiden did his usual leap and bound trick, and Brody thought twice about playing with Jaiden after that. ;)
My brother changed out my rotors while I was down there. I was complaining about how the wheel vibrated anytime I applied the brakes, and he took it upon himself to fix it! :) Thanks, Timmy. :D
I took my bike down and did an indoor group ride on a trainer. It was nice to see everybody. My ex that works at the bike shop told me that they might start selling Kuota bikes--what the heck?! I nearly got one last year, but they talked me into getting a Felt instead. Arrrgh. Wonder if my 25% discount still applies... ;) Oh, and he also told me I still look good in cycling shorts. Zac, not sure if you read my blog, but I love you. Lol.
I went out to Crescent Moon Saturday night with Becky, Eric, Tennille, some of Becky's friends, and some of Tennille's friends. My parents even showed up to drink out of the boot! ;) One of Tennille's friends bought a few of us some shots... that pushed me over the "really drunk" edge. I was hurting in the morning, and it made for a looooong drive. It was worth it though. I had a lot of fun. Except for the falling incident... all the roads froze over while we were inside getting drunk, and I fell flat on my ass outside the bar. Of course, I thought it was just hilarious. ;) I screwed up another one of my fingers, though. Sigh.
I went on a short ride tonight, and nearly got run into. I really should get a stronger light... they're just so freaking expensive. I may be getting a part-time job at a local tack shop (yay!!!), so I should be able to get all this extra crap that I so desperately need. :)
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Awesome ride!
Ok, first of all... I saw Lance Armstrong training! I was driving to the ride, and I looked over and saw a cyclist wearing a Livestrong kit (it looked something like that, but I thought I saw a yellow star on the sleeve...). I kind of wondered who it was... and I looked in my rearview mirror, and saw a black SUV following behind with flashing lights (you'll see this a lot with pro cyclists when they're training). When I got to the ride, Chuck told me that it was indeed Lance Armstrong--another guy actually got a close look at him, and recognized him.
I did a group ride this afternoon. We started out at a pretty aggressive pace for about five-eight miles or so, and then Chuck got a flat. It ripped a pretty big hole through his tire, so he and another guy, Scott, went back to replace it. After that the pace became somewhat reasonable, haha. For the most part, I was able to stick with the group. I got dropped on some hills, but they slowed down to let me catch up, heh. After 15 miles or so, we turned down some county road, and did a bunch of hills. At the end of that road, we all stopped to turn around, and the other girl on our ride rode back a ways for a "natural break". I stayed with the guys, and after a minute, one of them goes, "April, we need a piss break, so you gotta go that way." LOL.
At one point after we turned around, we were all together, and I got dropped on a hill. The guys kept going, and the other girl in the group was a ways ahead of me. After the hill, I got into the drops and actually started closing the gap. I eventually caught up at a light. We went down a longish hill, and I dropped the other girl on the ride. She teaches spin classes, and she's relatively strong, so I figured she'd catch up with me and drop me after we began a long climb. But she didn't catch up. I looked back at the top of the hill, and she was still only halfway or so. She never did catch back up, which was weird. I don't know, maybe she had a long ride yesterday and was tired or something. ;) Either way, I was really proud of how strong I rode. At one point, I passed Chuck, who was putting a jacket on. He caught back up a couple minutes later and goes, "Man, you're riding really strong!" :D We ended up with around 35 miles, and I had an average speed of 16, which is pretty damn awesome considering I rode alone for a good 10-12 miles into a headwind after we turned around.
I went out for lunch with Amber... maybe that had something to with it, lol.
Seriously, what is it with me and my fingers this month?! I was taking Jaiden on a walk, and he spotted a little dog coming our way. No big deal, I just gathered his leash in tighter (he's obsessed with the little guys). Out of nowhere, he gives a hard TUG on the leash just as the dog is passing, and it rips right over my thumbnail, bending it backwards 1/4 inch. Good lord it hurt. It started bleeding right away, and I couldn't do anything about it. Jaiden was a good boy on the way back, lol. My right index finger is still swollen/painful/numb (how it can be numb and painful at the same time is a neat trick) from my tree adventure. My left thumb finally healed up from the dog fight, but it's now angry again from the dog walk. Argh.
I did a group ride this afternoon. We started out at a pretty aggressive pace for about five-eight miles or so, and then Chuck got a flat. It ripped a pretty big hole through his tire, so he and another guy, Scott, went back to replace it. After that the pace became somewhat reasonable, haha. For the most part, I was able to stick with the group. I got dropped on some hills, but they slowed down to let me catch up, heh. After 15 miles or so, we turned down some county road, and did a bunch of hills. At the end of that road, we all stopped to turn around, and the other girl on our ride rode back a ways for a "natural break". I stayed with the guys, and after a minute, one of them goes, "April, we need a piss break, so you gotta go that way." LOL.
At one point after we turned around, we were all together, and I got dropped on a hill. The guys kept going, and the other girl in the group was a ways ahead of me. After the hill, I got into the drops and actually started closing the gap. I eventually caught up at a light. We went down a longish hill, and I dropped the other girl on the ride. She teaches spin classes, and she's relatively strong, so I figured she'd catch up with me and drop me after we began a long climb. But she didn't catch up. I looked back at the top of the hill, and she was still only halfway or so. She never did catch back up, which was weird. I don't know, maybe she had a long ride yesterday and was tired or something. ;) Either way, I was really proud of how strong I rode. At one point, I passed Chuck, who was putting a jacket on. He caught back up a couple minutes later and goes, "Man, you're riding really strong!" :D We ended up with around 35 miles, and I had an average speed of 16, which is pretty damn awesome considering I rode alone for a good 10-12 miles into a headwind after we turned around.
I went out for lunch with Amber... maybe that had something to with it, lol.
Seriously, what is it with me and my fingers this month?! I was taking Jaiden on a walk, and he spotted a little dog coming our way. No big deal, I just gathered his leash in tighter (he's obsessed with the little guys). Out of nowhere, he gives a hard TUG on the leash just as the dog is passing, and it rips right over my thumbnail, bending it backwards 1/4 inch. Good lord it hurt. It started bleeding right away, and I couldn't do anything about it. Jaiden was a good boy on the way back, lol. My right index finger is still swollen/painful/numb (how it can be numb and painful at the same time is a neat trick) from my tree adventure. My left thumb finally healed up from the dog fight, but it's now angry again from the dog walk. Argh.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Ouch
I don't think I've ever bruised the tip of a finger before. Lemme tell ya... it's painful. My right index finger is screwed up. The tip is swollen and bruised on the "pad", and I have a painful cut near the fingernail. And guess how I did it.
I ran into a tree on last night's nighttime mountain bike ride. :D
My friend Chuck gave me an extra light, and it helped. My own light is actually more powerful than I originally gave it credit for. I was able to see somewhat well, but once we started going fast or down obstacles, I had to slow down. And those stupid trees. I hate it when they space them so close together--it really screws me up. So after I ran into the tree, Chuck told me to stop looking at the obstacles, and look where I want to go--otherwise I'll run right into whatever I'm looking at, lol. I fell a lot (and cursed a lot), but didn't really get hurt because my mountain bike doesn't have clipless pedals. I do have a lot of bruises on my legs, though. It was cold outside, but I was dressed perfectly, so it didn't bother me. It was so much fun. I did pretty well considering I haven't been on a mountain bike trail since last August or so, and did this trail, which I've never done before, at night.
We went to Red Robin afterwards (I didn't eat, just went to socialize) and talked bikes. ;)
I just pulled a piece of tree out from under my fingernail! Last night, I thought it was just dried blood, so I didn't do anything with it. But today, I knew it was something else, so I took a staple and wedged it underneath the thing. Good lord, that hurt. But it moved, so I figured I had to get it out of there or it would get infected. I was able to remove it just as a motherly type came into the bathroom, and directed me to the first aid kit, lol.
I've had to shake a few peoples' hands today, and I feel odd because I have to stick my index finger out to avoid it getting smashed, heh.
I ran into a tree on last night's nighttime mountain bike ride. :D
My friend Chuck gave me an extra light, and it helped. My own light is actually more powerful than I originally gave it credit for. I was able to see somewhat well, but once we started going fast or down obstacles, I had to slow down. And those stupid trees. I hate it when they space them so close together--it really screws me up. So after I ran into the tree, Chuck told me to stop looking at the obstacles, and look where I want to go--otherwise I'll run right into whatever I'm looking at, lol. I fell a lot (and cursed a lot), but didn't really get hurt because my mountain bike doesn't have clipless pedals. I do have a lot of bruises on my legs, though. It was cold outside, but I was dressed perfectly, so it didn't bother me. It was so much fun. I did pretty well considering I haven't been on a mountain bike trail since last August or so, and did this trail, which I've never done before, at night.
We went to Red Robin afterwards (I didn't eat, just went to socialize) and talked bikes. ;)
I just pulled a piece of tree out from under my fingernail! Last night, I thought it was just dried blood, so I didn't do anything with it. But today, I knew it was something else, so I took a staple and wedged it underneath the thing. Good lord, that hurt. But it moved, so I figured I had to get it out of there or it would get infected. I was able to remove it just as a motherly type came into the bathroom, and directed me to the first aid kit, lol.
I've had to shake a few peoples' hands today, and I feel odd because I have to stick my index finger out to avoid it getting smashed, heh.
First day at work :)
My last day at the old company was on Tuesday. Pretty anti-climatic. I don't like good-byes, so I just said, "I'll see you all on IM!" Heh.
I had a really good first day at work! :) The company is reminiscent of Medical Solutions, the last place I worked at in Omaha (or at least the Medical Solutions that I knew when I started). They're very cognizant of employees' needs, and they do what they can to keep their employees happy. The building we're in is an old gym, and they kept several of the aspects of the gym. On one side of the building, there's a rock climbing wall and a basketball court. On the other side is a full weight training area with cardio machines (including bikes!). The bathrooms also still have the lockers, mirrors for women that need to freshen up ;), and SHOWERS! That'll be useful when I start commuting by bike. They stock really good coffee--not that I drink it, but I might, lol--and they have two ovens (yes, ovens) and microwaves. OH. And they have a beach house in Port Aransas... which I can never pronounce correctly, because my brain is backwards or something... and it's FREE to use for all employees! I am so taking advantage of that, as I still haven't been to the beach.
I also had a beer at work on my first day, lol. Apparently, last week, the entire company went out to some camp or something for a team building exercise, and they had a bunch of leftover food and drinks. My boss (who seems very nice and laid back, by the way) had a margarita, heh.
I can't spend Thanksgiving alone--I'd be miserable here. So, I'm coming up to Omaha! :) I told my new boss about my Thanksgiving plans, and he said I could leave early on Wednesday if I wanted. So, I'll probably try to leave around noon or 1:00. That'll put me in Omaha between midnight and two in the morning on Thursday (yuck). Ugh, that makes me think of my first night in Austin, when we got into town at 3 in the morning or whatever, and Jaiden spent the whole night attacking his kennel because of the cats. I don't think it'll be that bad with Mom and Dad's dogs, though. It still makes me nervous, especially with the recent fight.
I had a really good first day at work! :) The company is reminiscent of Medical Solutions, the last place I worked at in Omaha (or at least the Medical Solutions that I knew when I started). They're very cognizant of employees' needs, and they do what they can to keep their employees happy. The building we're in is an old gym, and they kept several of the aspects of the gym. On one side of the building, there's a rock climbing wall and a basketball court. On the other side is a full weight training area with cardio machines (including bikes!). The bathrooms also still have the lockers, mirrors for women that need to freshen up ;), and SHOWERS! That'll be useful when I start commuting by bike. They stock really good coffee--not that I drink it, but I might, lol--and they have two ovens (yes, ovens) and microwaves. OH. And they have a beach house in Port Aransas... which I can never pronounce correctly, because my brain is backwards or something... and it's FREE to use for all employees! I am so taking advantage of that, as I still haven't been to the beach.
I also had a beer at work on my first day, lol. Apparently, last week, the entire company went out to some camp or something for a team building exercise, and they had a bunch of leftover food and drinks. My boss (who seems very nice and laid back, by the way) had a margarita, heh.
I can't spend Thanksgiving alone--I'd be miserable here. So, I'm coming up to Omaha! :) I told my new boss about my Thanksgiving plans, and he said I could leave early on Wednesday if I wanted. So, I'll probably try to leave around noon or 1:00. That'll put me in Omaha between midnight and two in the morning on Thursday (yuck). Ugh, that makes me think of my first night in Austin, when we got into town at 3 in the morning or whatever, and Jaiden spent the whole night attacking his kennel because of the cats. I don't think it'll be that bad with Mom and Dad's dogs, though. It still makes me nervous, especially with the recent fight.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
New friends coming out of the woodwork...
Just when I need it most! This Thursday, I'm doing a nighttime mountain bike ride (that scares me in so many ways, heh--and yes, mom and dad, I have lights). The girl that set up the Halloween pub crawl with me asked me to go with her to this mountain bike ride, and I think it'll be a lot of fun. I haven't been on the mountain bike in over a year, though. Hope it still works! Friday, I'm going out with Amber and her crew. Saturday, I'm going out to see Twilight the movie with some girls I know. Weeee...
I went on a group ride Monday night, and it kicked my butt. I ended up with around 28-30 miles. It was COLD, too! The ride started off at a relatively decent pace. We went up some hills, through neighborhoods, skipping the busiest streets (thankfully). We went down one hill in particular, and at the bottom of it, the temperature was at least 10 degrees colder. Then we turned around and went back up, haha. It was a lot of fun, but I wasn't dressed warm enough.
So I was thinking about everything I've been through in the last six months: 1. Move away from friends/family to unfamiliar city; 2. Take a mediocre, lower-paying job, end up hating it (oh, and I did 1 & 2 in a weekend--quit my old job Friday, moved to Austin Sunday, started new job Tuesday); 3. Interview for several jobs for the next 5-6 months, get close on several; 4. Move into new apartment; 5. Continue hating job--and as a person who defines herself by her career, this is a hard pill to swallow; 6. Finally get job offer--but it's for a part-time job. Take it anyway, because the company is impressive; 7. Continue looking for other part-time jobs; 8. Jaiden gets into a dog fight--$400 bill (though the fight itself was much harder to take than the bill); 9. Call it quits on relationship. I know I'm forgetting a bunch of others.
So. What's next? Gimme all ya got. ;) (Hm... okay, maybe I shouldn't tempt the fates... or whatever they are.) I just need a damn break! I've been giving up so much of myself since I got down here just to hold EVERYTHING together.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Sick & Single
I've been feeling nauseous all day for some reason, but went on a ride anyway. Damn, it was cold. By Austin standards, anyway. I really hate going out later in the day, though--the traffic is worse and there are fewer cyclists out. I like seeing other cyclists on my rides. :) So, anyway, I kept it short because I think I'm coming down with something, and I couldn't get rid of the nausea. When I got home, I was shivering so badly that I couldn't keep my voice steady.
I went out with Amber Friday night and had a blast. We started at a place called The Belmont, a ritzy, uptight joint. Many co-workers were there including Spermy Andy (a guy that thinks it's appropriate to talk about his sperm count at work... or anywhere, as it turns out). He had heard from his boss that I was offended about the fact that he was openly talking about his sperm count. I told him, "No, I wasn't offended. I just think it's weird." He then proceeded to talk about his sperm count again. He's an odd guy. Another co-worker bought a round of tequila shots (my favorite), and I was coerced into taking two. That started the night off right. ;)
I went out with Amber Friday night and had a blast. We started at a place called The Belmont, a ritzy, uptight joint. Many co-workers were there including Spermy Andy (a guy that thinks it's appropriate to talk about his sperm count at work... or anywhere, as it turns out). He had heard from his boss that I was offended about the fact that he was openly talking about his sperm count. I told him, "No, I wasn't offended. I just think it's weird." He then proceeded to talk about his sperm count again. He's an odd guy. Another co-worker bought a round of tequila shots (my favorite), and I was coerced into taking two. That started the night off right. ;)
Amber and I got hungry, so we left with another one of our coworkers, and talked about starting up our own business, lol. We ended up at some bar where a band was playing "Irish stout rock". After being out for about six hours, I was starting to sober up, my feet hurt, and I was getting a little bored, so we went home. Amber invited me to go to Corpus Christi with her and her friends, and I would loooove to go, but it's a three-hour drive, and I don't want to leave Jaiden alone for so long. I swear, that woman always has something going on.
So I'm single again. The past month or so, I've been going back and forth between wanting to be in a relationship and wanting to be single. It's for the best, but I am sad. Mostly, I think, because he said some pretty crappy things to me, and I'm having a hard time getting past that right now. That really sealed the deal for me. A couple of people have asked me if I'm moving back to Omaha, lol. Nope--here to stay for now. Plus, I'm starting my new job on Wednesday. I'm hoping to start commuting by bike--when I went in for my first interview, they showed me around and I saw a few bikes in one area. Looks like I'll be able to meet some other cyclists! :)
My friend Eric runs a t-shirt business on the side, and got me this shirt (I freaking love it!):
So I'm single again. The past month or so, I've been going back and forth between wanting to be in a relationship and wanting to be single. It's for the best, but I am sad. Mostly, I think, because he said some pretty crappy things to me, and I'm having a hard time getting past that right now. That really sealed the deal for me. A couple of people have asked me if I'm moving back to Omaha, lol. Nope--here to stay for now. Plus, I'm starting my new job on Wednesday. I'm hoping to start commuting by bike--when I went in for my first interview, they showed me around and I saw a few bikes in one area. Looks like I'll be able to meet some other cyclists! :)
My friend Eric runs a t-shirt business on the side, and got me this shirt (I freaking love it!):
Friday, November 14, 2008
Coffee
I went out with Amber and her friend on Tuesday night, and Amber created a Google group for a bunch of girls to join. So hopefully I'll have some others to hang out with. :) I'm also going out with some girls to see the movie Twilight! :D I'm excited. I need some more girlfriends--all my friends in Omaha are so cool and irreplaceable!
I normally bring energy drink powder and stir it in water, but I forgot it today (along with my damn breakfast). So I got desperate--I think I'm officially addicted to energy drinks/caffeine/whatever else they put in that stuff--and decided to make my own coffee concoction. I put a little bit of coffee in my mug thing, poured a crapload of creamer and sugar in it, and sat down at my desk. And waited for 10 minutes. Partly because I was afraid to taste it, but mostly because I always ALWAYS burn myself when it comes to drinking hot liquids.
So I tasted it. The taste was definitely worse than the burn.But really, I don't see how it's THAT much different than Starbucks. My coworker went to Starbucks last Friday, and got me an iced coffee something or other with chocolate and such in it. It didn't taste much different than what I just made.
I normally bring energy drink powder and stir it in water, but I forgot it today (along with my damn breakfast). So I got desperate--I think I'm officially addicted to energy drinks/caffeine/whatever else they put in that stuff--and decided to make my own coffee concoction. I put a little bit of coffee in my mug thing, poured a crapload of creamer and sugar in it, and sat down at my desk. And waited for 10 minutes. Partly because I was afraid to taste it, but mostly because I always ALWAYS burn myself when it comes to drinking hot liquids.
So I tasted it. The taste was definitely worse than the burn.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Rides, going out, Jaiden update...
I did 34 miles on Saturday, and another 20 on Sunday. The route on Saturday was really pretty--lots of scenery, cows, horses, etc., and very little traffic. I got a little sunburned again, though.
Amber and I (and probably some others from work) are going out on Friday, I think to Sixth Street--where I haven't been in months!--to celebrate my departure, lol. Another girl that lives here in Austin that I haven't heard from in a while sent me an e-mail. I didn't even realize she had my e-mail address. Maybe I can coerce her to go out sometime, hehe. Amber always says she wants to go out, but we can never seem to make it happen. Either we're broke or our schedules clash. Another girl I work with mentioned going out more often, too. I'm sure I'll meet lots of people at the new company--it's a fairly decent-sized place.
Jaiden's doing well. :) One of his sutures started to come out, so I took him to the vet on Saturday morning. Went to start up the car, and it started up rather hesitantly. :( I'm wondering if the battery is going out too! (Stupid white cars.) On our way to the vet, I was rushing, passed a cop going 65 in a probably 50 or 55 zone. As I was checking my rearview to see if he was turning around, my eyes drifted back down to the traffic in front of me, and saw EVERYBODY STOPPED. My tires squealed a little, and Jaiden ended up on the floor in the backseat. Poor puppy. That was so not a good morning. I was a little afraid to go on a bike ride, but it turned out okay, lol.
Anyway, the vet decided to not suture him back up--said he'd be fine "letting it stay open". We'll see.
I'm starting to think something kinda screwed with Jaiden's brain during the fight (not that I blame him). A few days ago, I found a wet spot on my quilt the other day, and didn't really think anything of it. Then I found that my cycling shorts that I had left on the bathroom floor (I was tired!!) were wet the next morning. Thought it was weird, but again, didn't think much of it. Then, after returning home from going out Sunday, I saw a couple of wet spots on the sheets. Yes, it was most definitely Jaiden. He sleeps on the bed when I'm not there, and I would have thought it was incontinence, but the wet shorts is what disproves that theory. I know he can hold it--he's never had issues before. So he's gotta be marking. Dangit. I've started closing the bedroom door when I leave.
UGH, and the little shit chewed up my FAVORITE pair of shoes Friday night! :( It'll cost me at least $70 to replace them unless by some miracle I can get them repaired (which I kind of doubt will happen). Grrr... the weekend was really not a good one for me.
Amber and I (and probably some others from work) are going out on Friday, I think to Sixth Street--where I haven't been in months!--to celebrate my departure, lol. Another girl that lives here in Austin that I haven't heard from in a while sent me an e-mail. I didn't even realize she had my e-mail address. Maybe I can coerce her to go out sometime, hehe. Amber always says she wants to go out, but we can never seem to make it happen. Either we're broke or our schedules clash. Another girl I work with mentioned going out more often, too. I'm sure I'll meet lots of people at the new company--it's a fairly decent-sized place.
Jaiden's doing well. :) One of his sutures started to come out, so I took him to the vet on Saturday morning. Went to start up the car, and it started up rather hesitantly. :( I'm wondering if the battery is going out too! (Stupid white cars.) On our way to the vet, I was rushing, passed a cop going 65 in a probably 50 or 55 zone. As I was checking my rearview to see if he was turning around, my eyes drifted back down to the traffic in front of me, and saw EVERYBODY STOPPED. My tires squealed a little, and Jaiden ended up on the floor in the backseat. Poor puppy. That was so not a good morning. I was a little afraid to go on a bike ride, but it turned out okay, lol.
Anyway, the vet decided to not suture him back up--said he'd be fine "letting it stay open". We'll see.
I'm starting to think something kinda screwed with Jaiden's brain during the fight (not that I blame him). A few days ago, I found a wet spot on my quilt the other day, and didn't really think anything of it. Then I found that my cycling shorts that I had left on the bathroom floor (I was tired!!) were wet the next morning. Thought it was weird, but again, didn't think much of it. Then, after returning home from going out Sunday, I saw a couple of wet spots on the sheets. Yes, it was most definitely Jaiden. He sleeps on the bed when I'm not there, and I would have thought it was incontinence, but the wet shorts is what disproves that theory. I know he can hold it--he's never had issues before. So he's gotta be marking. Dangit. I've started closing the bedroom door when I leave.
UGH, and the little shit chewed up my FAVORITE pair of shoes Friday night! :( It'll cost me at least $70 to replace them unless by some miracle I can get them repaired (which I kind of doubt will happen). Grrr... the weekend was really not a good one for me.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
The only thing I hate about Austin...
...will soon no longer be in my life! My job! :) I found a new job. It is part-time, but the difference in yearly pay isn't too bad. I'm currently looking for another part-time job to fill the extra hours in my day. I did offer to work part-time for my current employer, but I don't think they'll jump on it. Either way, I'm starting to think that these things happen for a reason. I had actually interviewed with this new company I'm working for about a month and a half ago. It was for my "dream job", and the company seems just fantastic. I didn't get the job, though, and was heartbroken. So, I started looking for part-time jobs for extra cash, and found this one. If I don't get to work part-time for the current employer, I'll probably go see if I can find a job working at a tack shop. :)
Anyway, I'm so loving Austin. It's November 6, and we're going to have a high in the 80's. With the exception of a few days, the forecast says we'll have highs in the 80's for the next ten days. :D
Monday, November 3, 2008
Doggy update
Jaiden is so spoiled. Sunday night, he kept "tossing and turning" in his kennel, where he normally sleeps. I think he just couldn't get comfortable with his sutured-up leg. I considered letting him up in the bed, but I didn't want to make a habit out of that. So I put a thick blanket on the floor, and put my robe on top for extra cushion (did I go too far in the spoil-my-doggy department?). Before I could even get the robe down, Jaiden realized what I was doing and came over to stretch out. ;) At some point, he did eventually go back to his kennel, but he's sleeping again on the makeshift bed right now.
I think I'll be traumatized for a while. I was watching a live feed of a webcam with puppies, and their play fighting kept reminding me of Harley and Jaiden's fight--how disturbing is that? Puppy play is supposed to be cute and irresistible. Sigh. I also kept thinking that I made a big mistake in trying to pull Jaiden's leg out of Harley's mouth (<shudder>... do they make pills that allow you to wipe out images/sensations from memory?). I think I only ended up causing more damage. Michael agreed with me. :( Just for that, I'm not posting anymore of his gory, bloody pictures like he wanted. Poo head.
Anyway, I've been feeding Jaiden sausages to help me with my guilt trip, lol. Hey, I wasn't going to eat it anyway. I give him a small piece--okay, a big chunk--of sausage morning and night with his meds. He's a good enough dog that he'd take the meds without any food, but so what? :D
The swelling has gone down almost completely. :) I started to think that wrapping the leg wasn't helping the healing process (I was trying to keep Jaiden from licking his sutures), so when I got home tonight, I took the wraps off. The skin is pretty red and angry-looking. I may have to get an e-collar/cone for the poor dog if he continues to lick. I think he's been leaving the punctures on his chest alone, so no worries there.
Sigh. I never ever want to experience something like this again.
I think I'll be traumatized for a while. I was watching a live feed of a webcam with puppies, and their play fighting kept reminding me of Harley and Jaiden's fight--how disturbing is that? Puppy play is supposed to be cute and irresistible. Sigh. I also kept thinking that I made a big mistake in trying to pull Jaiden's leg out of Harley's mouth (<shudder>... do they make pills that allow you to wipe out images/sensations from memory?). I think I only ended up causing more damage. Michael agreed with me. :( Just for that, I'm not posting anymore of his gory, bloody pictures like he wanted. Poo head.
Anyway, I've been feeding Jaiden sausages to help me with my guilt trip, lol. Hey, I wasn't going to eat it anyway. I give him a small piece--okay, a big chunk--of sausage morning and night with his meds. He's a good enough dog that he'd take the meds without any food, but so what? :D
The swelling has gone down almost completely. :) I started to think that wrapping the leg wasn't helping the healing process (I was trying to keep Jaiden from licking his sutures), so when I got home tonight, I took the wraps off. The skin is pretty red and angry-looking. I may have to get an e-collar/cone for the poor dog if he continues to lick. I think he's been leaving the punctures on his chest alone, so no worries there.
Sigh. I never ever want to experience something like this again.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Another dog fight :(
Ugh. It happened Saturday morning between Jaiden and Harley. I won't go into details because I'm trying to forget them (I just can't get the images/sounds/feelings of ripping skin out of my head... I literally felt like I was going crazy yesterday), but it was pretty bad. All three dogs were really wound up, and I should have known something was bound to happen. Anyway, Harley had a few cuts, but nothing too bad. Jaiden had two big lacerations on his leg, and a couple of puncture wounds on his neck and chest. I took him to the vet, and they kept him all day. I was pretty miserable--I'm so used to having him around that whenever I come home, I automatically look up to see if he's in the window. I felt so incredibly guilty all day. Anyway, they put him under, shaved the cuts, and sutured him up. When I picked him up, he was pretty loopy--not looking me in the eye, staggering, etc. He fought sleep for about an hour, and finally gave in, passing out for about three hours in his "spot" by the window. This morning, his leg was pretty swollen, so I called the vet and they said it was normal. I keep having to re-wrap his leg because it keeps swelling more. He's in good spirits today. Here are a couple of pics:
Note Michael's nasty wrist and the bloody shorts (shudder):
The whole thing was pretty traumatic for Michael and me. Not to mention the dogs. Even Molly tried to get in on it, but I think she was more or less just worried. Molly's a lover, not a fighter. ;) Needless to say, Michael and I agree that I shouldn't bring Jaiden over again. :( Which really sucks, because that means I can't really spend more than a few hours over at his place, and vice versa. During the fight, I remember being bit, and it should have hurt like hell, but I was so full of adrenaline that I didn't give it a second thought. At the time, I would have shoved my entire hand in their mouths if I'd had the chance to keep them from biting each other. Same with Michael--he had two pretty serious bites, but he doesn't even remember which dog did it, nor did he realize at the time that he had been bit. He ended up having to go to the emergency room because they were bleeding rather profusely.
The vet made me feel a little better about the whole thing. She told me about a pair of dogs that had grown up together--one day, someone just snapped, and they had a pretty serious dog fight. The dogs don't realize that fighting is "wrong"--they're just acting on instinct. The owners ended up building a chain link separation fence so that they could at least see each other, but never be together.
Michael told me over lunch that if it ever happened again (which it won't happen between Jaiden/Harley because we can't risk them being together), that I need to just stay away because he felt like he was not only trying to get the dogs apart, but that he was trying to keep me safe, too (aww). I just can't not help, so I'm not making any promises, Mikey. ;) I was reading that if a dog fight ensues, to use water to break them up. I have a seriously hard time believing that when a dog is so focused on maiming/killing another, water is going to stop it. Maybe a direct spray in the face, but they move SO FAST.
Anyway. Enough of that.
A girl named Cynthia and I set up a Halloween pub crawl bike ride for Friday night. We didn't have many people show up, but we (or at least I) had a blast anyway. At one point, Michael went off to who knew where, and we were standing around waiting for him. When he came back, he opened a sack and gave us each a 2 oz. sample of Maker's Mark. HA! That really got the night going. For me, anyway. It gave me the hiccups for a solid hour, too. You can't fake sobriety when you have the hiccups, lol. So anyway, we hit three bars and called it a night.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Tuesday night group ride
I finally did another Tuesday night group ride. I didn't have training, and I didn't have to go to the barn, so my Tuesday night was freed up. There were only 10 of us or so. I ended up wearing my fleece jersey because I couldn't find my arm warmers. Was I ever glad I wore it! It ended up getting cold after the sun went down.
Anyway, the ride was great! I was able to keep up with the group for about five miles (by far longer than any other time). We were going at a steady 30 mph at one point, with no headwind or downhill to help me out. ;) After that, I mostly rode alone, which was fine. Even alone, I was able to keep the pace at 20 mph or so. :D
Hopefully I'll be able to do more of those rides next year. Last night was the last night. :( Although, I hear they may continue doing the Tuesday ride through the neighborhoods around here... we'll see.
Anyway, the ride was great! I was able to keep up with the group for about five miles (by far longer than any other time). We were going at a steady 30 mph at one point, with no headwind or downhill to help me out. ;) After that, I mostly rode alone, which was fine. Even alone, I was able to keep the pace at 20 mph or so. :D
Hopefully I'll be able to do more of those rides next year. Last night was the last night. :( Although, I hear they may continue doing the Tuesday ride through the neighborhoods around here... we'll see.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
A rant on instructors
[rant]
If you tell a rider to do something ("ON THE BIT!") every three seconds for the first half of a lesson, maybe try explaining what you want out of the rider in a different way.
If you tell a rider "I'm not seeing anything happen", don't expect that to solve anything. If nothing is happening, it's not because I'm not trying. Perhaps, again, try explaining what you want in a different way.
Don't ever tell me, "your leg sucks". First of all, my leg most definitely does not "suck". Ten years ago, yes, my leg "sucked". It may need improvement now, but that is one of the many reasons why I'm taking lessons. Telling me something like that is counterproductive, discouraging, and doesn't make me ever want to ride with you again.
[/rant]
GAH. I had a rather... well... horrible lesson today. The first 30 minutes were just awful. I couldn't get the horse--I rode the mare Nokomis--on the bit for longer than 30 seconds.
But my "trainer"? She was of no help whatsoever. First of all, I had never ridden with her. I normally ride with Richard, who is excellent, but I happened to be riding his daughter's horse, so he had her give me a "lesson". And although he may yell at me and make me feel like a piece of crap, he never flat-out insults me. The woman was a self-righteous, egotistical, spoiled brat. I'm fairly certain by now that Richard must have "talked me up" to her, and she maybe felt a bit threatened by me--which would lead her to saying things such as "I don't think she likes you very much" (huh?) and something so far out of left field as "your leg sucks." Geez.
After she said, "I'm not seeing anything happen," I said, "Well it's not for lack of trying!"
Finally, after 20-30 minutes, Nokomas was soft, round, and attentive to my aids (mostly). We did leg-yields, shoulder-in, haunches in, a bit of half-pass... but I couldn't get the canter. (After nearly 15 years of riding, I'm just now being taught how to canter from the inside seat bone rather than the outside leg.) I tried maybe three times, and the instructor kept telling me to "make something happen", whether it be by running her into the canter or whatever. I'm sorry, but no. Nokomas already knows how to canter. It's me who needs the training, and running her into it is going to teach me nothing. At that point I was pretty frustrated, so I just said, "Why don't you get on?" Ugh.
By the end of the ride, I was exhausted, and I now have blisters on both ring fingers (one that opened during the ride and is now raw), even though I had gloves on.
Not a good way to end my last day at the barn. Oh well. I'm glad to be done with waking up at the butt crack of dawn every Saturday and being slave-driven at the barn for five hours.
If you tell a rider to do something ("ON THE BIT!") every three seconds for the first half of a lesson, maybe try explaining what you want out of the rider in a different way.
If you tell a rider "I'm not seeing anything happen", don't expect that to solve anything. If nothing is happening, it's not because I'm not trying. Perhaps, again, try explaining what you want in a different way.
Don't ever tell me, "your leg sucks". First of all, my leg most definitely does not "suck". Ten years ago, yes, my leg "sucked". It may need improvement now, but that is one of the many reasons why I'm taking lessons. Telling me something like that is counterproductive, discouraging, and doesn't make me ever want to ride with you again.
[/rant]
GAH. I had a rather... well... horrible lesson today. The first 30 minutes were just awful. I couldn't get the horse--I rode the mare Nokomis--on the bit for longer than 30 seconds.
But my "trainer"? She was of no help whatsoever. First of all, I had never ridden with her. I normally ride with Richard, who is excellent, but I happened to be riding his daughter's horse, so he had her give me a "lesson". And although he may yell at me and make me feel like a piece of crap, he never flat-out insults me. The woman was a self-righteous, egotistical, spoiled brat. I'm fairly certain by now that Richard must have "talked me up" to her, and she maybe felt a bit threatened by me--which would lead her to saying things such as "I don't think she likes you very much" (huh?) and something so far out of left field as "your leg sucks." Geez.
After she said, "I'm not seeing anything happen," I said, "Well it's not for lack of trying!"
Finally, after 20-30 minutes, Nokomas was soft, round, and attentive to my aids (mostly). We did leg-yields, shoulder-in, haunches in, a bit of half-pass... but I couldn't get the canter. (After nearly 15 years of riding, I'm just now being taught how to canter from the inside seat bone rather than the outside leg.) I tried maybe three times, and the instructor kept telling me to "make something happen", whether it be by running her into the canter or whatever. I'm sorry, but no. Nokomas already knows how to canter. It's me who needs the training, and running her into it is going to teach me nothing. At that point I was pretty frustrated, so I just said, "Why don't you get on?" Ugh.
By the end of the ride, I was exhausted, and I now have blisters on both ring fingers (one that opened during the ride and is now raw), even though I had gloves on.
Not a good way to end my last day at the barn. Oh well. I'm glad to be done with waking up at the butt crack of dawn every Saturday and being slave-driven at the barn for five hours.
Monday, October 20, 2008
New friend :)
I went out for drinks/dinner with Amber from work. We talked about work and lots of other stuff for a couple of hours. I said I needed girlfriends to hang out with, and she said she wanted to get drunk on Friday. So it looks like we're going out, lol.
So, last night we had training, and it totally blew up. Basically, we were given an account and asked to present ways on how to improve it. I failed to see the training involved in this, nor did I learn anything, although that was probably partially because at that point, I wasn't even open to learn anything--I was so pissed, my ears were closed off to the meeting. Before I left, though, I sent a professional, well-written, calm e-mail to my boss's boss about how I felt that the training needed to improve.
His door was shut for a good hour, and everybody wondered who was in there. I think he was actually responding to my e-mail, because I soon received an e-mail, and it was addressed to everybody in my department except the team leads. I didn't particularly appreciate the fact that it was addressed to everybody, but they all felt the same way that I did, so whatever. I did get kudos from others for sending it. In the e-mail, he pretty much told us that if we're "not a part of the solution, we're a part of the problem." God I'm tired of hearing that--every single time an issue is brought to the surface, we're asked to solve the problem. So we give them solutions, and they say, "we can't do that." He's basically saying, if you don't like the way we do things, STFU. I sent an e-mail back with some solutions, and also mentioned that I'd like to be moved to a different team if possible. I doubt that'll happen anytime soon.
So, last night we had training, and it totally blew up. Basically, we were given an account and asked to present ways on how to improve it. I failed to see the training involved in this, nor did I learn anything, although that was probably partially because at that point, I wasn't even open to learn anything--I was so pissed, my ears were closed off to the meeting. Before I left, though, I sent a professional, well-written, calm e-mail to my boss's boss about how I felt that the training needed to improve.
His door was shut for a good hour, and everybody wondered who was in there. I think he was actually responding to my e-mail, because I soon received an e-mail, and it was addressed to everybody in my department except the team leads. I didn't particularly appreciate the fact that it was addressed to everybody, but they all felt the same way that I did, so whatever. I did get kudos from others for sending it. In the e-mail, he pretty much told us that if we're "not a part of the solution, we're a part of the problem." God I'm tired of hearing that--every single time an issue is brought to the surface, we're asked to solve the problem. So we give them solutions, and they say, "we can't do that." He's basically saying, if you don't like the way we do things, STFU. I sent an e-mail back with some solutions, and also mentioned that I'd like to be moved to a different team if possible. I doubt that'll happen anytime soon.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Still an INTJ
On one of the online forums I frequent, someone posted a new thread about being an introvert. I was amazed at how many people feel exactly the way I do. I used to think of myself as shy, but as I've gotten older, I don't think I'm shy anymore... I'm just an introvert. I also used to be an INTJ on the Myers-Briggs personality test, and I thought that had changed until I took it again today. And damn, it hasn't--I just took it, and I'm still an INTJ (that site is very circa-1995)! After reading about it, I fit that profile to a "T". Anyway, I'm quiet, but I actually enjoy being around other people. I do like to stay in sometimes, but I like going out, too. It's just hard for me to strike up a conversation with a stranger, so it's been difficult for me to meet new people down here. I've gotten a lot better over the years, though, especially with people that are outgoing and like to talk--I find myself more open/willing to speak up more with that kind of person. Wow, enough rambling.
I went out to the barn for a couple of hours on Saturday. Richard and Susan were gone, so I had the whole place to myself. It was nice. I bonded with the horses--I really love Wal; as psycho as she can be, she can also be a real sweetie. While I was in her stall, she put her head down near me, and I started petting her nose, and she just put her head into my stomach and stayed there. Awww... I'll miss her. :( Although, Susan did say I was welcome to come back any weekend I have available.
I had a flat on Sunday's solo ride. My brand new rear tired. Grrr... I was having an awesome ride, too. I'm going to have to get another new tire at some point. :(
I went out to the barn for a couple of hours on Saturday. Richard and Susan were gone, so I had the whole place to myself. It was nice. I bonded with the horses--I really love Wal; as psycho as she can be, she can also be a real sweetie. While I was in her stall, she put her head down near me, and I started petting her nose, and she just put her head into my stomach and stayed there. Awww... I'll miss her. :( Although, Susan did say I was welcome to come back any weekend I have available.
I had a flat on Sunday's solo ride. My brand new rear tired. Grrr... I was having an awesome ride, too. I'm going to have to get another new tire at some point. :(
Friday, October 17, 2008
Nothing exciting here ;)
I've been kind of a bum the last couple of days, so I don't have much to write about. I got a book the other day, left it on my bed while I went to work, and Jaiden CHEWED ON IT. Yeah. He ate a book. Normally, it's shoes or boxes or those cardboard toilet paper things. But no, he chose my book that I had literally read one page from. It's still readable, but I still can't believe he did it.
Saturday morning I'm going out to the barn (and maybe doing a solo bike ride, too, since I haven't ridden in a while), and Sunday I'm doing another solo ride. So I should have more to say after the weekend. :)
TGIF! :)
Saturday morning I'm going out to the barn (and maybe doing a solo bike ride, too, since I haven't ridden in a while), and Sunday I'm doing another solo ride. So I should have more to say after the weekend. :)
TGIF! :)
Monday, October 13, 2008
Solo bike ride and a good lesson
I went on a solo bike ride yesterday. I had a lot to drink on Saturday night, so I was really not feeling up to riding, but I forced myself to get out there anyway. I kept it somewhat short, but I was actually feeling pretty strong. Although, I did get dizzy every time I stopped at stop lights, heh.
After cleaning stalls on Saturday, I had a lesson on Diamante ("Di" for short), their 23-year-old Grand Prix gelding. The horse is pretty big--about 17 hands--and he's somewhat hard to figure out. I know he's entirely capable of being ridden lightly, but he just feels so heavy and clumsy. The lesson was very good, though, and makes me want to keep coming back for lessons. I just can't afford it, though. So, anyway, we did some shoulder-ins, leg-yields, and even a few half passes! At the end of the lesson, we did a piaffe! :)
We were having issues with the shoulder-ins to the left. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to turn your shoulders to the left, and keep your hips straight (or even worse, to have to turn your hips to the right)? Sit in your chair with your feet flat on the ground. Now turn your shoulders (basically, your entire upper body) to the left, but keep your lower body/hips "looking" straight forward, with your weight equal on both seat bones. If you're like me, your hips wants to follow what your shoulders are doing, or you want to shift your weight--but you can't let that happen, or the movement will go down the drain. Now, with your shoulders to the left, try turning your hips to the right. Makes you feel like a contortionist, right? Now look and see how many people are watching you. Haha. Anyway, imagine having to do that on a trotting horse--it's difficult. I had to do that several times in shoulder-in to the left, because in that direction, we kept drifting off the track, and in order to correct it, I had to turn my hips to the right. It was really hard to do.
Apparently Aragon (the energetic little three-year-old I rode a couple weeks ago) ran off with a few riders last week. I can see him doing that. He tends to get a little uptight/scared, so if a rider gets on him, and he starts acting squirrelly, and the rider gets scared, it can spiral downward pretty quickly with a horse like Aragon. Richard made a mistake, in my opinion, by putting a "kid" on Aragon. While he's a smart horse, he's still very young and too spooky to put an inexperienced rider on. Even their big oaf of a colt, Antares, who wouldn't hurt a fly, is still too young to have a rider on him that doesn't know much about riding young horses. Oh well.
So, I have a big tack trunk that I keep on the deck of my apartment. It's not water proof, but it is pretty water resistant, so I've never really thought twice about it. I went to clean my bridle yesterday, opened the trunk, and saw that the saddle pads on the top were pretty damp. Not good, but whatever--they're just saddle pads. I dig a little deeper, and things are getting wetter as I go further down. I spot what I *think* to be my bridle, but that can't be it, because it's all sticky and there's like... stuff growing on it. I move some more equipment over so I can see just exactly what that thing is, and yeah, it's my bridle. I've never seen any bridle so covered in mold in my life--and I've seen some pretty nasty bridles. I mean, there was mold just CAKED on it. And the little leather keepers that keep the ends of the leather straps from flapping around were practically glued into the straps. :( It took me a good 45 minutes just to take the bridle apart. The metal keepers on the reins were so rotted out that I broke them, and had to throw them away. :( I took another 45-60 minutes cleaning the bridle and oiling it. It's so dry that the oil has soaked entirely throught the leather, and it's dry once again. Sigh. Hopefully I can salvage it, as I really loved that bridle. The reins were difficult to part with, because I loved those reins, too.
After cleaning stalls on Saturday, I had a lesson on Diamante ("Di" for short), their 23-year-old Grand Prix gelding. The horse is pretty big--about 17 hands--and he's somewhat hard to figure out. I know he's entirely capable of being ridden lightly, but he just feels so heavy and clumsy. The lesson was very good, though, and makes me want to keep coming back for lessons. I just can't afford it, though. So, anyway, we did some shoulder-ins, leg-yields, and even a few half passes! At the end of the lesson, we did a piaffe! :)
We were having issues with the shoulder-ins to the left. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to turn your shoulders to the left, and keep your hips straight (or even worse, to have to turn your hips to the right)? Sit in your chair with your feet flat on the ground. Now turn your shoulders (basically, your entire upper body) to the left, but keep your lower body/hips "looking" straight forward, with your weight equal on both seat bones. If you're like me, your hips wants to follow what your shoulders are doing, or you want to shift your weight--but you can't let that happen, or the movement will go down the drain. Now, with your shoulders to the left, try turning your hips to the right. Makes you feel like a contortionist, right? Now look and see how many people are watching you. Haha. Anyway, imagine having to do that on a trotting horse--it's difficult. I had to do that several times in shoulder-in to the left, because in that direction, we kept drifting off the track, and in order to correct it, I had to turn my hips to the right. It was really hard to do.
Apparently Aragon (the energetic little three-year-old I rode a couple weeks ago) ran off with a few riders last week. I can see him doing that. He tends to get a little uptight/scared, so if a rider gets on him, and he starts acting squirrelly, and the rider gets scared, it can spiral downward pretty quickly with a horse like Aragon. Richard made a mistake, in my opinion, by putting a "kid" on Aragon. While he's a smart horse, he's still very young and too spooky to put an inexperienced rider on. Even their big oaf of a colt, Antares, who wouldn't hurt a fly, is still too young to have a rider on him that doesn't know much about riding young horses. Oh well.
So, I have a big tack trunk that I keep on the deck of my apartment. It's not water proof, but it is pretty water resistant, so I've never really thought twice about it. I went to clean my bridle yesterday, opened the trunk, and saw that the saddle pads on the top were pretty damp. Not good, but whatever--they're just saddle pads. I dig a little deeper, and things are getting wetter as I go further down. I spot what I *think* to be my bridle, but that can't be it, because it's all sticky and there's like... stuff growing on it. I move some more equipment over so I can see just exactly what that thing is, and yeah, it's my bridle. I've never seen any bridle so covered in mold in my life--and I've seen some pretty nasty bridles. I mean, there was mold just CAKED on it. And the little leather keepers that keep the ends of the leather straps from flapping around were practically glued into the straps. :( It took me a good 45 minutes just to take the bridle apart. The metal keepers on the reins were so rotted out that I broke them, and had to throw them away. :( I took another 45-60 minutes cleaning the bridle and oiling it. It's so dry that the oil has soaked entirely throught the leather, and it's dry once again. Sigh. Hopefully I can salvage it, as I really loved that bridle. The reins were difficult to part with, because I loved those reins, too.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Went for a ride, and my car died.
Well not really. I went for a solo ride further north of Austin (less traffic, big shoulders, pretty scenery). I was feeling good, but not really up for riding, so I kept it really short. I did see a few deer on the side of the road that I would have totally missed had they run right in front of me--I didn't see them until I suddenly looked off to my right, and there they were, grazing on the grass on the side of the road. I've got to learn to pay more attention as far as that goes. When it comes to traffic, I'm always listening and watching, but wildlife is probably more of a danger than the cars, to an extent. I went up a big hill--not steep, but long--and it seemed easier than all the other times, even with a headwind. I was a bit fresher, so that could have had something to do with it, but I also had to change out my chain. For the last few months, it seems like pedaling up really steep hills has become a bigger chore than usual, and I'm wondering if it's because of the chain... I don't know. I'll have to go up Bluegrass or Yaupon to see, but it definitely feels like the pedaling is smoother.
A girl waved at me from the back of a car as I went by... that was kind of refreshing in a way.
So, the car. I got all my gear back into my car, turned the ignition, the radio started to come on (the volume slowly comes up after the radio turns on), and then silence. I figured it was a problem with the station, so I turned it to another station. Silence. Now, what are the chances that two stations would be having issues? If they're affiliated, maybe. Tried the CD player. Silence.
:(
I'm hoping it's just a fuse, but my friend Eric said if it's a fuse, there could be something shorting out. I'm thinking he's right, because after turning the radio off and turning it on again, the stereo kind of popped, and I think I saw the dashboard dim. GAH.
Note to self: NEVER BUY A WHITE CAR AGAIN. Will I ever learn my lesson? Arrrgh... White cars hate me. I totaled my first car ever, a Ford Probe, white car. My second car was a white Grand Am. The guy that sold it to us seemed nice enough. The car was spotless, so we believed him when, after telling us that the odometer didn't work, he told us it had 77,000 miles on it. One day, I hit a big bump, the odometer flashed on: 134,000 miles. It flashed on and off after that, and I had all kinds of issues with it. A friend that worked at a body shop told us to SELL IT because it was completely rusted out underneath. Third car was a Dodge Neon. Also white. It was a decent car, but I did have a few issues with it. The transmission went out, but thankfully I had an extended warranty on it. I also hit a deer with it. I become a rolling magnet when I'm driving white cars. In my current car, a WHITE Honda Accord, I nearly got into two accidents before I even got the damn thing plated, mostly due to bad roads and idiots that can't drive. And now I have to get the front bumper fixed, AND the stereo. :( My trip to Omaha is going to be so not fun if I don't have a stereo.
A girl waved at me from the back of a car as I went by... that was kind of refreshing in a way.
So, the car. I got all my gear back into my car, turned the ignition, the radio started to come on (the volume slowly comes up after the radio turns on), and then silence. I figured it was a problem with the station, so I turned it to another station. Silence. Now, what are the chances that two stations would be having issues? If they're affiliated, maybe. Tried the CD player. Silence.
:(
I'm hoping it's just a fuse, but my friend Eric said if it's a fuse, there could be something shorting out. I'm thinking he's right, because after turning the radio off and turning it on again, the stereo kind of popped, and I think I saw the dashboard dim. GAH.
Note to self: NEVER BUY A WHITE CAR AGAIN. Will I ever learn my lesson? Arrrgh... White cars hate me. I totaled my first car ever, a Ford Probe, white car. My second car was a white Grand Am. The guy that sold it to us seemed nice enough. The car was spotless, so we believed him when, after telling us that the odometer didn't work, he told us it had 77,000 miles on it. One day, I hit a big bump, the odometer flashed on: 134,000 miles. It flashed on and off after that, and I had all kinds of issues with it. A friend that worked at a body shop told us to SELL IT because it was completely rusted out underneath. Third car was a Dodge Neon. Also white. It was a decent car, but I did have a few issues with it. The transmission went out, but thankfully I had an extended warranty on it. I also hit a deer with it. I become a rolling magnet when I'm driving white cars. In my current car, a WHITE Honda Accord, I nearly got into two accidents before I even got the damn thing plated, mostly due to bad roads and idiots that can't drive. And now I have to get the front bumper fixed, AND the stereo. :( My trip to Omaha is going to be so not fun if I don't have a stereo.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
I quit the barn. :(
Yeah, it may not make any sense that I'd say I quit, and then add a sad face to the end, but I am sad. I'll miss the horses, and I'll miss the riding. It just wasn't what I wanted. I have learned a lot while riding, even the younger guys, but I'm sick of cleaning stalls (I did that in high school... A LOT). I haven't had a true lesson in a while, and they really only have one upper level horse that I can ride. I've just come to the realization that if I want lessons on a regular basis, I'm just going to have to pay for them. However, at this point, I can't justify spending $65 a lesson, so I'm going to try to pick up some more side jobs developing web sites. If I can get another web site job like the last one I had, that'll pay off my last credit card, along with 15 lessons. :) Anyway, so I'll be going to the barn until the end of October, and after that, it's up to me to fund my own lessons... wherever I happen to go.
I rode my bike Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. I got home early on Saturday after my barn chores, and Michael and I went on a ride. We had a strong headwind on the way out, and a nice tailwind on the way back. We did 32 miles or so, and I felt strong (actually felt somewhat restless) after the ride. Sunday I did a solo 24 mile ride--I'm really starting to love my Sunday rides--not as much traffic, I can go as far and as fast (or slow) as I want, and have only one thing to think about: riding. I took a side road into a subdivision called "Caballo Ranch" or something, but only saw one horse facility. The wind has been pretty strong the past few days, so I had a bad headwind on the way back. Monday's ride was even harder, even though it's a recovery ride. Normally we do some pretty big hills, but this time it was mostly flat, and I was still having a hard time.
We had a HUGE thunderstorm last night! I woke up to it, and I swear, it seemed like the lightning was striking right next to my apartment window. And the thunder was so loud. Jaiden normally isn't bothered by it, but I think he must have been a little worried last night. When I woke up, I just stayed in bed for a few minutes, and suddenly I heard Jaiden give off his "OMG! There's someone in here that I don't know!" bark that scares the hell out of me every time. I think he just heard a noise in the kitchen, so I went to him, touched his side, and he wagged his tail and laid down at my feet. Lol.
I rode my bike Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. I got home early on Saturday after my barn chores, and Michael and I went on a ride. We had a strong headwind on the way out, and a nice tailwind on the way back. We did 32 miles or so, and I felt strong (actually felt somewhat restless) after the ride. Sunday I did a solo 24 mile ride--I'm really starting to love my Sunday rides--not as much traffic, I can go as far and as fast (or slow) as I want, and have only one thing to think about: riding. I took a side road into a subdivision called "Caballo Ranch" or something, but only saw one horse facility. The wind has been pretty strong the past few days, so I had a bad headwind on the way back. Monday's ride was even harder, even though it's a recovery ride. Normally we do some pretty big hills, but this time it was mostly flat, and I was still having a hard time.
We had a HUGE thunderstorm last night! I woke up to it, and I swear, it seemed like the lightning was striking right next to my apartment window. And the thunder was so loud. Jaiden normally isn't bothered by it, but I think he must have been a little worried last night. When I woke up, I just stayed in bed for a few minutes, and suddenly I heard Jaiden give off his "OMG! There's someone in here that I don't know!" bark that scares the hell out of me every time. I think he just heard a noise in the kitchen, so I went to him, touched his side, and he wagged his tail and laid down at my feet. Lol.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
I rode Crazy Horse!
I went out to the barn this morning, and rode two horses that I'd never ridden before, including the gorgeous, crazy Wal. She was actually really good. She's a pretty easy horse to ride, all things considered. We just did some walk and trot, and a few leg-yields.
I also rode a three-year-old named Aragon. The first time around the arena, he spooked at something and jumped out of the arena--about six inches, so not much, but he shook his head and bounced around a little bit, so it sort of unsettled me. I got him to quit, pet his neck to calm him down (and partly to calm me down, haha), and gave him a minute or so, then led him back into the arena. After that, he was fine for the most part. He spooked a little bit at random stuff around the arena, but nothing like that first time.
What amazed me is that I was able to get this relatively untrained horse to canter just from a shift in my weight and little bit of encouragement from the inside leg, rather than sliding my outside leg back, like I was originally taught. He got a little bit excited, but not too bad, although he did make me a bit nervous--the little horse is just so energetic!
I did a solo bike ride on Sunday morning (although a guy caught up with me and rode with me halfway), and another ride on Monday. There's a hill called Yaupon that SUCKS... it's pretty long, and it's steep too. Last time I rode it, two weeks ago, I had turned off a side road halfway up, and felt like I had cheated, so my mission on Monday was to ride all the way up, and I did. People said I was going up pretty strong, too. Ugh... it was hard. I bailed out on the rest of the ride a little while later, heh...
I also rode a three-year-old named Aragon. The first time around the arena, he spooked at something and jumped out of the arena--about six inches, so not much, but he shook his head and bounced around a little bit, so it sort of unsettled me. I got him to quit, pet his neck to calm him down (and partly to calm me down, haha), and gave him a minute or so, then led him back into the arena. After that, he was fine for the most part. He spooked a little bit at random stuff around the arena, but nothing like that first time.
What amazed me is that I was able to get this relatively untrained horse to canter just from a shift in my weight and little bit of encouragement from the inside leg, rather than sliding my outside leg back, like I was originally taught. He got a little bit excited, but not too bad, although he did make me a bit nervous--the little horse is just so energetic!
I did a solo bike ride on Sunday morning (although a guy caught up with me and rode with me halfway), and another ride on Monday. There's a hill called Yaupon that SUCKS... it's pretty long, and it's steep too. Last time I rode it, two weeks ago, I had turned off a side road halfway up, and felt like I had cheated, so my mission on Monday was to ride all the way up, and I did. People said I was going up pretty strong, too. Ugh... it was hard. I bailed out on the rest of the ride a little while later, heh...
Monday, September 22, 2008
I said "y'all"... :(
I said it would take 12 months. Michael said six. Actually, originally, he said four, and he was closer with his first guess. It took four and a half months!
Michael was leaving for a business trip, so I was (still am) staying over for the week to watch the house/dogs. I had brought Jaiden over to his house yesterday, and while he was packing, all three dogs were getting on my nerves. So, I said, "Y'all need to..." and paused. Then, "Oh crap, I said it!" It's funny, because even as I was saying the word (I refuse to even type it anymore than I have to), I was fighting it, but it just slipped out anyway.
I still can't believe I said it.
Michael was leaving for a business trip, so I was (still am) staying over for the week to watch the house/dogs. I had brought Jaiden over to his house yesterday, and while he was packing, all three dogs were getting on my nerves. So, I said, "Y'all need to..." and paused. Then, "Oh crap, I said it!" It's funny, because even as I was saying the word (I refuse to even type it anymore than I have to), I was fighting it, but it just slipped out anyway.
I still can't believe I said it.
More horsie rides
On Wednesday, I went to the keuring to watch Wal. I went after work, however, and she had already gone. I spoke with Richard and Susan for a bit, and the guy that was helping them out spoke with us, too. Apparently, he had tried to get in with Richard doing what I'm doing (helping out with the horses in exchange for lessons), but Richard had told him he wasn't a good enough rider yet. During my lesson on Saturday--more on that in a bit--I was riding one of their mares, and the minute I got on, Richard told me to get her to lower her head and neck so she would relax. I was able to do it immediately, and Richard stopped me for a moment. He said another student of his had tried to do the same thing, and throughout the entire lesson, couldn't get the mare to relax and lower her head. So he told her he didn't have anybody for her to ride! I appreciate that kind of honesty, and I'm flattered (and privileged, I suppose) that I'm good enough that he's happy to have me riding, but if someone had ever told me the things he's said to some of these riders, I'd be heartbroken. I mean, we all have to start at the same place--right at the beginning. His reasoning is that he doesn't want someone else to ruin his horses, which is understandable I suppose. The guy that helped them out on Wednesday took the criticism the way it was meant to be taken, and has been working hard to improve his riding. He's a better person than I am... I would have taken it personally. :)
I rode two horses Saturday--Nokomas and Dansk. Nokomas (pronouned "nuh-KO-muss") is a cute little bay mare that was actually pretty fun to ride, but slightly difficult for me. It was easy for me to get her to reach for the bit at the walk, but the trot was more challenging. Eh, she's a mare, and therefore prone to pickiness. We did some shoulder-ins and leg-yields, some good, some bad. The canter was difficult to pick up. I'm still learning this whole "ask for the canter from your seat" thing, instead of the leg. It's almost like I have to shift my weight to the inside seat bone while also pushing with my inside seat bone to the outside. Yeah, it's hard.
Dansk was pretty good. At one point, and I'm still not entirely sure what I did, but during the canter, I must have shifted my weight to the outside seat bone, because he suddenly did a canter stride almost on the spot, changed his bend, and then continued on as though nothing happened. Richard said he thought I was asking for a flying change. I don't know. He did kick out at the canter at one point--apparently I let my outside leg slip back. Oops. We had a beautiful shoulder-in to the left. Sigh... when it's good, it's GOOD. When it's bad, it's... well... really bad.
I'm really curious as to what kind of rides I would have on these horses had this been three or four years ago. Probably a mess. I also wonder if Baloo wouldn't have been such a squirt (that's putting it very nicely) if I were to ride him today. My very first trainer accused me of turning him into a jerk--he was actually like that before I bought him, but it did get worse--and while I realize now that maybe she's partially right, #1 she shouldn't have put me on Baloo, much less let us buy him, and #2 she should have trained me correctly in the first place so that our issues didn't escalate.
I rode two horses Saturday--Nokomas and Dansk. Nokomas (pronouned "nuh-KO-muss") is a cute little bay mare that was actually pretty fun to ride, but slightly difficult for me. It was easy for me to get her to reach for the bit at the walk, but the trot was more challenging. Eh, she's a mare, and therefore prone to pickiness. We did some shoulder-ins and leg-yields, some good, some bad. The canter was difficult to pick up. I'm still learning this whole "ask for the canter from your seat" thing, instead of the leg. It's almost like I have to shift my weight to the inside seat bone while also pushing with my inside seat bone to the outside. Yeah, it's hard.
Dansk was pretty good. At one point, and I'm still not entirely sure what I did, but during the canter, I must have shifted my weight to the outside seat bone, because he suddenly did a canter stride almost on the spot, changed his bend, and then continued on as though nothing happened. Richard said he thought I was asking for a flying change. I don't know. He did kick out at the canter at one point--apparently I let my outside leg slip back. Oops. We had a beautiful shoulder-in to the left. Sigh... when it's good, it's GOOD. When it's bad, it's... well... really bad.
I'm really curious as to what kind of rides I would have on these horses had this been three or four years ago. Probably a mess. I also wonder if Baloo wouldn't have been such a squirt (that's putting it very nicely) if I were to ride him today. My very first trainer accused me of turning him into a jerk--he was actually like that before I bought him, but it did get worse--and while I realize now that maybe she's partially right, #1 she shouldn't have put me on Baloo, much less let us buy him, and #2 she should have trained me correctly in the first place so that our issues didn't escalate.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Crazy Horse
I went out to the barn Tuesday night. One of their mares, Walkeure (the W is pronounced like V, and we call her "Val"), was scheduled to go to a Keuring the next day, which is basically a ratings test of sorts for breeding. Normally you only see mares, stallions, and foals--rarely geldings. The ratings are pointless for a gelding unless, I suppose, if you want to sell him. Or for bragging rights I guess.
Anyway, so I put Wal in the crossties to bathe her to get her ready for stardom the next morning. She watched me intently as I gathered everything--shampoo, brush, hose. I turned the hose on, and started at the legs to get her acclimated to the cool water. I hadn't seen the wrath of Wal yet, so she took me by surprise when, seemingly out of nowhere, she started flinging herself around in the crossties. I began talking to her in a low voice to get her calmed down, but when she flung her body back against the crossties holding her, I got the hell out of there. I was worried for her, but worried for myself first. I realized the hose was still running, and turned it off, thinking the sound of air coming through the hose scared her (makes a faint popping sound). I continued talking to her, but she wouldn't stop flinging herself around and pulling against the crossties. I was really worried she was going to get loose, or worse, flip herself upside down and break something, but I couldn't get close enough to her to unlatch the crossties.
Then, suddenly, she just stopped. I stood there for a minute, not particularly wanting to get closer until I was sure she was done with her little temper tantrum. She was still wild-eyed and breathing heavily, so I kept talking to her, my heart racing, and then went to her head. I wasn't too keen on turning the water on again, but it had to be done, and I didn't want to go back to Susan, telling her I couldn't do it, haha. I waited a few minutes for her to calm down, and sloooowly turned the water on. I talked to her the entire time, and she flicked her ears in my direction. Every now and then, she'd start pulling back on the crossties, and I would turn the water off again, and she'd be fine. Once she dried off, Susan (Richard's wife) helped me put a blanket on her, and I led her back to her stall. Once again with the firecrackers. That mare was wound up tight! She pranced around me in a circle, and I gave the lead rope a few quick, sharp tugs. We walked further a little bit, and again, she pranced around me, getting faster, pulling the lead rope out of my hands until I was practically lunging her. I figured the best thing for both of us would be to let her free (we were already in the pasture leading to her stall, so all I had to do was shut a gate). So I let go of the lead rope, and she took off into her stall.
Guess the trade-off to her good looks is that she's a damn psycho.
Anyway, so I put Wal in the crossties to bathe her to get her ready for stardom the next morning. She watched me intently as I gathered everything--shampoo, brush, hose. I turned the hose on, and started at the legs to get her acclimated to the cool water. I hadn't seen the wrath of Wal yet, so she took me by surprise when, seemingly out of nowhere, she started flinging herself around in the crossties. I began talking to her in a low voice to get her calmed down, but when she flung her body back against the crossties holding her, I got the hell out of there. I was worried for her, but worried for myself first. I realized the hose was still running, and turned it off, thinking the sound of air coming through the hose scared her (makes a faint popping sound). I continued talking to her, but she wouldn't stop flinging herself around and pulling against the crossties. I was really worried she was going to get loose, or worse, flip herself upside down and break something, but I couldn't get close enough to her to unlatch the crossties.
Then, suddenly, she just stopped. I stood there for a minute, not particularly wanting to get closer until I was sure she was done with her little temper tantrum. She was still wild-eyed and breathing heavily, so I kept talking to her, my heart racing, and then went to her head. I wasn't too keen on turning the water on again, but it had to be done, and I didn't want to go back to Susan, telling her I couldn't do it, haha. I waited a few minutes for her to calm down, and sloooowly turned the water on. I talked to her the entire time, and she flicked her ears in my direction. Every now and then, she'd start pulling back on the crossties, and I would turn the water off again, and she'd be fine. Once she dried off, Susan (Richard's wife) helped me put a blanket on her, and I led her back to her stall. Once again with the firecrackers. That mare was wound up tight! She pranced around me in a circle, and I gave the lead rope a few quick, sharp tugs. We walked further a little bit, and again, she pranced around me, getting faster, pulling the lead rope out of my hands until I was practically lunging her. I figured the best thing for both of us would be to let her free (we were already in the pasture leading to her stall, so all I had to do was shut a gate). So I let go of the lead rope, and she took off into her stall.
Guess the trade-off to her good looks is that she's a damn psycho.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Flat #3
Saturday, I went to the barn. Hurricane Ike was hitting us, but--OF COURSE--we missed all the rain, and just ended up with a lot of wind. I worked some of the horses on the lunge, and rode Antares, the three-year-old. He's such a good boy. Even with all that wind, he was a saint. Young horses can be a little "weee!" when it comes to wind.
I went on a solo ride Sunday morning. The wind was still kinda crazy, but I've had worse. I had a strong headwind the entire way out, but I knew it would be awesome on the way back, so I went further than I really felt like doing. I turned around, and immediately ramped it up to 22 MPH. It was awesome. Half a mile later, I was doing 25 with hardly any effort. Less than a mile after I turned around, someone passed me even as I was going 25, and I heard a POP and tsssss... I had secretly hoped it was him (deep down I knew it was ME), hoped that he would stop to help me, haha. He did look back to make sure I was okay, but kept on. Oh well, it's about time I fixed my own damn flat.
It was the second flat I've had in (almost) a week. I never did get any CO2 cartridges (to fill up the tire really quickly), so I had to use my hand pump. Every single cyclist that passed me asked if I was okay/had everything--that was nice. Yes, I did have everything, but some CO2 would have been nice. The hand pump was a little difficult for me to figure out since I had never used it before, and it took probably five minutes to fill the tire up. Even then, I probably only pumped it to 60 psi, when the tire should be at 100. Anyway, so after all that, Michael's team ride passed me up right as I was getting going again.
At their rest stop at Starbucks, Michael found a rather large hole in the sidewall of the tire, so we went to a local shop to replace the tire. $60 later... sigh.
Monday, I went on the same group ride I had been on last week. We took some of the same roads, including a construction road. There were some spots of gravel that I had to navigate (road bike tires do NOT do well with gravel and sand), but it was fine... at first. We were going fast, came around a curve, and the one and only guy in front of me slowed down and went off to the left without warning me, so by the time I realized why, it was too late for me. I went through an area of 3" deep sand and rocks for a good 20-25 feet or so. I was going somewhat fast already, and figured I could either grab the brakes and have a good chance of crashing (plus I knew there were people behind me, but I didn't know how close), or just sail through it and let my momentum carry me. I chose the latter, giggling the whole way (although the adrenaline was coming on full force), bouncing so roughly that my tail light rattled loose, flung to the ground and apparently made some impressive air--but I made it. Nobody knew why I went through until I told them I didn't know it was there until I was already going through it!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Interview two.
I had a second interview yesterday for a job that I really want. No offer. :( He said he had what he thought to be a better candidate, but that I'm a "strong second". Sigh. He might as well tell me I suck, because if I didn't get the job, second place means nothing!
Anyway, for some weird reason, it felt like I got dumped. I figure the best way for me to get over a guy is to start dating other guys, so I started looking for other jobs, and bam, I might have another interview. Here's the crazy part: the company is in the same building I'm working in right now. Ha! That'll be convenient for an interview. :)
It did make me feel better, though, a little bit.
Anyway, for some weird reason, it felt like I got dumped. I figure the best way for me to get over a guy is to start dating other guys, so I started looking for other jobs, and bam, I might have another interview. Here's the crazy part: the company is in the same building I'm working in right now. Ha! That'll be convenient for an interview. :)
It did make me feel better, though, a little bit.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Rides, rides...
I went on a ride on Monday and Tuesday. As it turns out, work decided to cancel training for Tuesday, and have us come in next Tuesday AND the following Tuesday. That means I would have to cancel on Richard three Tuesdays in a row. I sent my team lead an e-mail saying, "No, I can't do that." They should have had their shit together.
The ride on Monday was supposed to be a "recovery" ride, but we ended up going up a ton of hills. We did a hill called Yaupon, and on the way up, I noticed Michael and another rider turned off about halfway up, so I did the same. Afterwards, I felt like I had cheated. Next time, I'll go up the entire way. It was a fairly long, steep hill, and pretty hard. I decided at the last minute to join the Tuesday night ride last night. Some parts of the ride, I felt strong, while others, I couldn't go faster than 10 MPH. A guy that I see on a lot of the rides I do said he was going to report me for doping. He thought I did really well on Monday night, lol.
I've noticed that a lot of times, the people that I've had conflicts/arguments with are also the ones I end up getting along with the best, for the most part. Lindsey... I hated her for a good six months when I met her (I later found out she hated me too). Randi... she set me up with her ex, Justin, but I soon realized he still had a big thing for her, so instead of hating him, I hated her. But then after Justin and I broke up, I started hanging out with Randi, and we had a blast. I recently had an argument with a guy on BikeForums.net about women and dating. We got into some heated arguments, but now we're talking on friendly terms. I no longer talk to Lindsey or Randi, though.
Oh, the drama in my life. ;)
The ride on Monday was supposed to be a "recovery" ride, but we ended up going up a ton of hills. We did a hill called Yaupon, and on the way up, I noticed Michael and another rider turned off about halfway up, so I did the same. Afterwards, I felt like I had cheated. Next time, I'll go up the entire way. It was a fairly long, steep hill, and pretty hard. I decided at the last minute to join the Tuesday night ride last night. Some parts of the ride, I felt strong, while others, I couldn't go faster than 10 MPH. A guy that I see on a lot of the rides I do said he was going to report me for doping. He thought I did really well on Monday night, lol.
I've noticed that a lot of times, the people that I've had conflicts/arguments with are also the ones I end up getting along with the best, for the most part. Lindsey... I hated her for a good six months when I met her (I later found out she hated me too). Randi... she set me up with her ex, Justin, but I soon realized he still had a big thing for her, so instead of hating him, I hated her. But then after Justin and I broke up, I started hanging out with Randi, and we had a blast. I recently had an argument with a guy on BikeForums.net about women and dating. We got into some heated arguments, but now we're talking on friendly terms. I no longer talk to Lindsey or Randi, though.
Oh, the drama in my life. ;)
Monday, September 8, 2008
This company is such a bastard.
On the third Tuesday or something of every month, we're supposed to stay late for training. We missed last month, so they're making up for it this month. By the way, these training things are worthless--we end up sitting around BSing for the most part, so on the last one, we did this for two hours, and I got up and said I had to go. Why haven't I gotten fired yet? ;) Anyway, so we "might" be doing training tomorrow, but we still haven't gotten word, and it's now 2:43 on Monday. Regardless, I had to cancel on Richard for Tuesday because I didn't want cancel on him last minute.
So, my team lead sent an e-mail to me and the other guy on our team, but it was basically just to me. I had to ask for time off on Wednesday. I told him about this on Thursday, so that's 5 business days, right? Close enough. However, he had wanted me to send him an e-mail, and I didn't do it until today. He sent this e-mail a bit later, and I'm 92% certain that he BCC'd his boss on it. (Something has changed recently, because he's suddenly a bit more professional. We'll see how long it lasts; I have zero respect for the guy anymore.)
Hey I just wanted to update you guys for the future. If you need to leave early for any reason (aside from sick leave) please ask 5 days in advance at the latest. While I understand that things do come up that you will need to work on personally, we do have a business to run and a primary commitment to our clients. To this point I believe we have done whatever is necessary to make sure that when we need to leave early when you need too and I intend on continuing that practice. That being said, early leave will be at my discretion in the future if you have not asked off prior to the 5 business days. I appreciate your understanding on this issue.
I rolled my eyes, thought about it later, and replied with this:
Then I need at least five days’ notice to work late (training), work over lunch, etc., and anything within the five days will be at my discretion.
I’m being SOMEWHAT sarcastic, but it’s a valid point. I had to cancel plans (a second job, actually) due to this “maybe/maybe not” training tomorrow.
I IM'ed the other guy on my team saying I'm surprised I haven't been fired yet, and he goes, "that was well played... don't worry, you're not the only one trying to get fired ;)" LOL
So, my team lead sent an e-mail to me and the other guy on our team, but it was basically just to me. I had to ask for time off on Wednesday. I told him about this on Thursday, so that's 5 business days, right? Close enough. However, he had wanted me to send him an e-mail, and I didn't do it until today. He sent this e-mail a bit later, and I'm 92% certain that he BCC'd his boss on it. (Something has changed recently, because he's suddenly a bit more professional. We'll see how long it lasts; I have zero respect for the guy anymore.)
Hey I just wanted to update you guys for the future. If you need to leave early for any reason (aside from sick leave) please ask 5 days in advance at the latest. While I understand that things do come up that you will need to work on personally, we do have a business to run and a primary commitment to our clients. To this point I believe we have done whatever is necessary to make sure that when we need to leave early when you need too and I intend on continuing that practice. That being said, early leave will be at my discretion in the future if you have not asked off prior to the 5 business days. I appreciate your understanding on this issue.
I rolled my eyes, thought about it later, and replied with this:
Then I need at least five days’ notice to work late (training), work over lunch, etc., and anything within the five days will be at my discretion.
I’m being SOMEWHAT sarcastic, but it’s a valid point. I had to cancel plans (a second job, actually) due to this “maybe/maybe not” training tomorrow.
I IM'ed the other guy on my team saying I'm surprised I haven't been fired yet, and he goes, "that was well played... don't worry, you're not the only one trying to get fired ;)" LOL
Solo ride
I'd had a flat on my ride on Friday, and Michael noticed a small hole in my tire. He said I'd be fine on it for a while, so I changed the tube with his help, and off we went again. So, for my Sunday ride, I didn't have a tube, and the shops didn't open for a few hours, but I didn't want to wait. I got lucky--no flat! I'm planning on doing another ride today after work, so I'll have to stop at a shop and get some stuff. My right calf muscle is kinda sore, so we'll see how it goes. I really need to start drinking more electrolyte drinks.
I went on my first solo bike ride in a long time on Sunday morning. I did Parmer again, as it's just so nice to have a big shoulder. Plus, on Sunday mornings, traffic isn't bad at all. I normally turn around at 1431 (which is about 10 miles out), but I was feeling really good, so I went for another 6 miles or so. I rode relatively slowly, so a few riders passed me, but I was actually doing really well considering that after I turned around, I was riding into a good headwind for parts of the ride back. I kind of wanted to go further out, but I had no tube, was pretty far from a shop in case I flatted (and Michael was on his bike, so he couldn't bail me out), and was running out of water, so I decided the smart thing would be to turn around and head back. I stopped at a gas station and got a low-calorie electrolyte drink after I ran out of water. I ended up with 33 miles. The bad thing is, because I hadn't planned on being out very long, I didn't put on sunscreen. So I have a slight burn. AGAIN!
I went on my first solo bike ride in a long time on Sunday morning. I did Parmer again, as it's just so nice to have a big shoulder. Plus, on Sunday mornings, traffic isn't bad at all. I normally turn around at 1431 (which is about 10 miles out), but I was feeling really good, so I went for another 6 miles or so. I rode relatively slowly, so a few riders passed me, but I was actually doing really well considering that after I turned around, I was riding into a good headwind for parts of the ride back. I kind of wanted to go further out, but I had no tube, was pretty far from a shop in case I flatted (and Michael was on his bike, so he couldn't bail me out), and was running out of water, so I decided the smart thing would be to turn around and head back. I stopped at a gas station and got a low-calorie electrolyte drink after I ran out of water. I ended up with 33 miles. The bad thing is, because I hadn't planned on being out very long, I didn't put on sunscreen. So I have a slight burn. AGAIN!
Thursday, September 4, 2008
My parents' visit.
Welp, my parents came into town and we had a blast. They bought me a television (woot!). We went to San Antonio to see the Alamo and went on the Riverwalk. We ate at County Line BBQ for dinner on the Riverwalk. It was pretty cool. We went to Hula Hut for dinner on one day. I took them to Mt Bonnell on their last day, and up to Iguana Grill for lunch. We had dinner with my cousins Corey and Jenny and their mom Mary, and a few other people. We also went to my favorite restaurant in Austin, Z Tejas, for lunch. It was sad to see them go and to come home to an empty apartment. :(
So, with the departure of Borneo (I thought it was Bolero), I looked on dreamhorse.com for Westfalens, which is the breed of horse that Borneo is. I found this guy, currently at third/fourth level. While I'm not too impressed with his YouTube videos, overall he sounds like exactly what I would want in a horse. (I'm ONLY looking!) They're not even listing his price, so I'm guessing he's well above $50k. I mean, heck, this Westfalen is only schooling first level, and they're asking $27k for him. Although, this guy WON at Intermediare 1 (a couple levels below Grand Prix), and he's only at $45k. Okay, I need to stop looking. It's depressing not being able to afford something like that. ;)
So, with the departure of Borneo (I thought it was Bolero), I looked on dreamhorse.com for Westfalens, which is the breed of horse that Borneo is. I found this guy, currently at third/fourth level. While I'm not too impressed with his YouTube videos, overall he sounds like exactly what I would want in a horse. (I'm ONLY looking!) They're not even listing his price, so I'm guessing he's well above $50k. I mean, heck, this Westfalen is only schooling first level, and they're asking $27k for him. Although, this guy WON at Intermediare 1 (a couple levels below Grand Prix), and he's only at $45k. Okay, I need to stop looking. It's depressing not being able to afford something like that. ;)
Friday, August 29, 2008
TGIF... seriously.
I may have gone a bit overboard with my team lead, haha... okay, on Fridays, we do reports for our clients. They get reports every other week. My team lead sent out a report list that included a client that had already received a report from me last week, and I figured he had just made a mistake, so I gave him crap for it. Here's the convo (from now on, I'm just going to refer to him as 'him'):
April
DUDE
I did a report for [his client] last week
him
DUDE
April
yeah, got nothing to say, huh punk
him
it will take SO LONG
April
what? you want me to do another one?
him
do you have head phones on ?
April
si
him
You're REAL BALLZY over IM and in emails
however in life..... [??? I speak very openly to him in general, and he never did explain himself when I confronted him about that little passive-aggressive comment.]
anyways
YES
April
why?
him
DO ANOTHER ONE
QYB
I don't want to hear your crap
April
I don't know what that means.
him
QUIT
YA
B
ing
April
give me a reason
her account has been sucking.
him
ummmm,.,,......we suck ?
April
no, give me a reason why we're doing another report?
him
because.....
I
Said
so
?
April
then you can do it?
and I'll do [my client's report]?
him
APRIL
first off
I already did [my client]
the reason we need to one is she asked for one specifically last week and this isher normal week to get htem
they could you not do one this week? what is the issue?
April
are you not listening to Shawn and I??????
christ, you make me see red
him
what the hell
April
we want reasons for doing this shit, is that so much to ask?
him
I just gave you one?
April
"i said so" doesn't cut it
YEAH, AFTER GIVING ME SHIT ABOUT IT FIRST
him
because she normally receives on this week
I decided to NOT say what I want to right now
but
We need to get her a report this week simply because this is her normal "cycle" for one, even though she asked for one last week
this way we can ensure that she has the info to give to her boss, as we know that she is on a tight schedule in her reporting
April
okay, thanks for the explanation
UGH. He absolutely INFURIATES me sometimes. And I deal with this BS on a daily basis! I could have acted more professionally, but when it comes to him (and this company in general I guess), I really don't care anymore. I shouldn't let him get under my skin, but I CAN'T HELP IT. After going back and reading our conversation, I can see his reasoning, but come on. "I said so"? What the hell? Are we in 2nd grade again, and he's our teacher? By the way, I do call him "teacher" to his face sometimes. Lol.
April
DUDE
I did a report for [his client] last week
him
DUDE
April
yeah, got nothing to say, huh punk
him
it will take SO LONG
April
what? you want me to do another one?
him
do you have head phones on ?
April
si
him
You're REAL BALLZY over IM and in emails
however in life..... [??? I speak very openly to him in general, and he never did explain himself when I confronted him about that little passive-aggressive comment.]
anyways
YES
April
why?
him
DO ANOTHER ONE
QYB
I don't want to hear your crap
April
I don't know what that means.
him
QUIT
YA
B
ing
April
give me a reason
her account has been sucking.
him
ummmm,.,,......we suck ?
April
no, give me a reason why we're doing another report?
him
because.....
I
Said
so
?
April
then you can do it?
and I'll do [my client's report]?
him
APRIL
first off
I already did [my client]
the reason we need to one is she asked for one specifically last week and this isher normal week to get htem
they could you not do one this week? what is the issue?
April
are you not listening to Shawn and I??????
christ, you make me see red
him
what the hell
April
we want reasons for doing this shit, is that so much to ask?
him
I just gave you one?
April
"i said so" doesn't cut it
YEAH, AFTER GIVING ME SHIT ABOUT IT FIRST
him
because she normally receives on this week
I decided to NOT say what I want to right now
but
We need to get her a report this week simply because this is her normal "cycle" for one, even though she asked for one last week
this way we can ensure that she has the info to give to her boss, as we know that she is on a tight schedule in her reporting
April
okay, thanks for the explanation
UGH. He absolutely INFURIATES me sometimes. And I deal with this BS on a daily basis! I could have acted more professionally, but when it comes to him (and this company in general I guess), I really don't care anymore. I shouldn't let him get under my skin, but I CAN'T HELP IT. After going back and reading our conversation, I can see his reasoning, but come on. "I said so"? What the hell? Are we in 2nd grade again, and he's our teacher? By the way, I do call him "teacher" to his face sometimes. Lol.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Great lesson! :)
Again, with the bugs here in Texas. GAH! I was totally creeped out on Saturday at the barn. There were these ENORMOUS, noisy, fat bugs buzzing around. They'd come really close, make me freeze/cower, and buzz away before I could get a good look at what the hell they were. I'm pretty sure they're hornets, though. I was riding Antares, and I saw these damn things buzzing all around us (the horses didn't seem worried, so I tried to take solace in that), and asked Richard, "WHAT are these ENORMOUS BUGS?!" He said he had no idea (comforting), and that they all hatched a couple days before. Ugh!
I had a fantastic lesson today on Bolero (I love that guy). The first 10-15 minutes, I was getting yelled at for not getting him to lower his head/neck, which in turn will raise and relax his back. He's very tight in the back, although I couldn't really feel it until he actually relaxed, and then I could tell the difference. We started off with probably 10 minutes of walking, doing shoulder-ins, leg-yields, and I believe haunches-in (can't remember). Then we went into the trot, and worked on getting him supple and elastic. I played with the reins a lot, and tried to keep my upper body upright. I have a tendency to roll my shoulders forward--hell, I do it when I walk! We did some leg-yields, and shoulder-ins. My issue is, I'm so used to having to "force" a horse to do a shoulder-in, rather than just letting it happen, so I "ride too hard" as Richard puts it, and end up confusing/upsetting Bolero, and have to do the exercise over again. But when I finally relaxed and just focused on feeling what Bolero was doing, and changing my aids to adjust to him, rather than "riding too hard", it just happened. Same with haunches-in, though those were much more difficult. Richard throws so many commands at me, I seriously can't keep up. However, he did say I had the best trot he's seen on the horse in two months!! :)
We also did flying changes (where the horse switches leads at the canter)! I've never done an actual flying change, at least not on purpose. ;) They were difficult to say the least, and we did them on the "short diagonal", so I only had half the arena to get it done, which made it even harder. I kept panicking as we got closer and closer to the next corner, and I would cut the corner, and Richard would yell at me, and we'd start all over again. The really good thing that came out of this is that I actually felt what I was supposed to be doing in the canter depart. God, it's exhilarating!!! I can't describe it. His canter is awesome, but to be able to feel him lift up in the canter just from me shifting my weight is completely thrilling. I can't believe how much I'm learning, and I actually feel I'm progressing a lot every lesson. It's unreal. Richard says, "We'll make you a Grand Prix rider yet." HA! He did say I'm a beautiful rider, and that I'm good in that I can change the way I ride from "trying to force something to happen" to "changing how you ride by the feel of the horse". And when I do the latter, it IS beautiful--I can feel it! :) (Michael, I've seriously gotta get you out here to take pics one of these days... :) ) Richard says he was very happy with the lesson. Yay. :)
Bolero is supposed to be leaving in a couple weeks (boo), but apparently his owner hasn't paid her bill for the month, nor have they been able to get ahold of her. That's very odd, as the horse was pretty expensive (I'm not entirely sure, but considering that he was imported from Germany and that he's trained to Grand Prix, I'm guessing $50k-$100k... wouldn't be surprised if it was more). People who buy expensive horses don't neglect their bills--barns can take a lien on a horse for that. So it's a little odd, but I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding or something.
I had a fantastic lesson today on Bolero (I love that guy). The first 10-15 minutes, I was getting yelled at for not getting him to lower his head/neck, which in turn will raise and relax his back. He's very tight in the back, although I couldn't really feel it until he actually relaxed, and then I could tell the difference. We started off with probably 10 minutes of walking, doing shoulder-ins, leg-yields, and I believe haunches-in (can't remember). Then we went into the trot, and worked on getting him supple and elastic. I played with the reins a lot, and tried to keep my upper body upright. I have a tendency to roll my shoulders forward--hell, I do it when I walk! We did some leg-yields, and shoulder-ins. My issue is, I'm so used to having to "force" a horse to do a shoulder-in, rather than just letting it happen, so I "ride too hard" as Richard puts it, and end up confusing/upsetting Bolero, and have to do the exercise over again. But when I finally relaxed and just focused on feeling what Bolero was doing, and changing my aids to adjust to him, rather than "riding too hard", it just happened. Same with haunches-in, though those were much more difficult. Richard throws so many commands at me, I seriously can't keep up. However, he did say I had the best trot he's seen on the horse in two months!! :)
We also did flying changes (where the horse switches leads at the canter)! I've never done an actual flying change, at least not on purpose. ;) They were difficult to say the least, and we did them on the "short diagonal", so I only had half the arena to get it done, which made it even harder. I kept panicking as we got closer and closer to the next corner, and I would cut the corner, and Richard would yell at me, and we'd start all over again. The really good thing that came out of this is that I actually felt what I was supposed to be doing in the canter depart. God, it's exhilarating!!! I can't describe it. His canter is awesome, but to be able to feel him lift up in the canter just from me shifting my weight is completely thrilling. I can't believe how much I'm learning, and I actually feel I'm progressing a lot every lesson. It's unreal. Richard says, "We'll make you a Grand Prix rider yet." HA! He did say I'm a beautiful rider, and that I'm good in that I can change the way I ride from "trying to force something to happen" to "changing how you ride by the feel of the horse". And when I do the latter, it IS beautiful--I can feel it! :) (Michael, I've seriously gotta get you out here to take pics one of these days... :) ) Richard says he was very happy with the lesson. Yay. :)
Bolero is supposed to be leaving in a couple weeks (boo), but apparently his owner hasn't paid her bill for the month, nor have they been able to get ahold of her. That's very odd, as the horse was pretty expensive (I'm not entirely sure, but considering that he was imported from Germany and that he's trained to Grand Prix, I'm guessing $50k-$100k... wouldn't be surprised if it was more). People who buy expensive horses don't neglect their bills--barns can take a lien on a horse for that. So it's a little odd, but I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding or something.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
My first lesson
I rode three horses yesterday. I arrived at the barn at 7:30am, and I had a lesson immediately. Richard put me on his mostly-retired 23-year-old HUGE Grand Prix horse (I can't remember what his name is). Although he's big, he carries himself very well. We did a lot of walking to start. He was rather difficult to get on the bit, but he had just had a tooth pulled a few weeks ago, and I was the first one on him. One thing's for sure that I hadn't even noticed until now--he made me feel 100% safe. The older guys have that effect. Though, when we started cantering, it was another story... more on that in a bit.
I did some shoulder-ins and leg-yields. The leg-yields were somewhat difficult. I have a habit of trying to use the inside rein to bend the neck, which is NOT the way a leg-yield is supposed to be ridden. Basically, you put your weight on the outside seat bone, and the horse follows it (that's what Richard says anyway). The way Melissa taught me is to put weight on the outside seat bone, "push" the horse over with the inside calf, and support with the outside rein so that the horse's shoulder doesn't start drifting. Anyway, we also did some shoulder-ins (which, amazingly, I found much easier than leg-yields), and lots and lots of circles.
Then the canter. My previous trainers have taught me to put my outside leg back to cue for the canter. I realize this isn't actually the correct way to ask for the canter, but it's easier on both the trainers and riders, so that's just the way I've been taught. The correct way is to actually put your weight on the inside seat bone at just the right moment. Finding that moment is difficult for me, apparently. It took several tries to get the canter, but when I did, it felt like magic. I had never had a "true" canter depart before. Oh, and the canter itself was atrocious. Apparently I'm DRIVING with my seat--the horse got faster and faster, and actually started bucking a bit--when I always thought I was just following the horse's movement. This is something else I'm confused about. The only way I could do this was to stay totally rigid in the saddle, almost to the point of standing in the stirrups, which goes against everything I've been taught. But, once I did this, Richard said "good". I had been told by a previous trainer in a clinic where I was riding Baloo that I have bony seat bones, and that I may be digging into my horse's back, causing him to buck. I'm starting to wonder if maybe that really was the case. He was still an ass. ;)
OH! And we did a piaffe!!! I think Richard was just trying to get me excited, as a piaffe isn't something that riders at my level get the chance to do. It felt pretty amazing, to say the least. I don't think it was all that great, and I doubt we would have received even mediocre scores in a dressage test, but I don't care. I was able to actually SIT it, too!! :D
So, I'm rather confused with the way Richard has been teaching me, and once I get a new job (sigh), I plan on taking lessons with some other trainers in the area to make sure I'm gettting a well-rounded, correct "education". I'm not saying he's wrong--I just don't want to develop more bad habits. His horses are all (well, mostly) very well-behaved and well-trained, though.
I rode another Grand Prix horse (I think his name is Bolero?), and I really really like this guy. Too bad, as he's leaving in a month. :( He fits me perfectly, and I love his gaits. You know, it's really amazing to me that these gorgeous, upper-level horses have such wonderful, springy, free gaits and I can actually SIT them!! Whether this is a product of good training, which is unlikely, or increased abilities on my part to be able to sit these guys, is a mystery to me. Anyway, Bolero is a very sweet horse, imported from Germany, apparently very expensive, and I just love him. He's the first horse that I saw when I came to Richard's--his wife was riding him and doing some fancy stuff. We didn't do anything too fancy. Some leg-yields, shoulder-ins, and I actually tried my hand at haunches-in, which is a rather difficult movement. I did okay, but it's helpful to actually learn on a horse that KNOWS how to do it, rather than trying to teach a horse how to do it at the same time that I'm trying to learn how to do it.
I rode Antares again. He was feeling pretty strong, and he jumped out of the arena a couple of times. Little bastard. He's learned a weakness of mine, and I can't figure out what it is.
Michael and I went on a bike ride this morning. I think that crazy ride I did on Thursday royally screwed up my back. It takes a lot of back muscles to be able to climb hills, and Friday night my lower back started hurting. Plus, I was sore this morning from my barn activities Saturday. So, I was a little apprehensive about riding this morning, but I tried anyway. We met up with his team ride after a warm-up, and I hung back with the "slower" group. We were still doing 18-19MPH. If I put a lot of effort into it, my back would protest, so that kinda sucked. I met a woman named Stephanie that stayed with me once I fell behind on the hills. I was still doing really well though, all things considered. Once on Parmer, a long stretch of road, the guys hammered it, and Stephanie and I attempted to keep up with them at our relatively slow pace of 30MPH. We still couldn't catch up to them even then, so we slowed to about 20-22MPH until we hit the re-group point at Starbucks.
After that, Michael and I went home as I just didn't want to push it anymore. It was a good thing, too. I was completely toast by the time we got home. I couldn't get out of a chair without my back hurting like hell.
I did some shoulder-ins and leg-yields. The leg-yields were somewhat difficult. I have a habit of trying to use the inside rein to bend the neck, which is NOT the way a leg-yield is supposed to be ridden. Basically, you put your weight on the outside seat bone, and the horse follows it (that's what Richard says anyway). The way Melissa taught me is to put weight on the outside seat bone, "push" the horse over with the inside calf, and support with the outside rein so that the horse's shoulder doesn't start drifting. Anyway, we also did some shoulder-ins (which, amazingly, I found much easier than leg-yields), and lots and lots of circles.
Then the canter. My previous trainers have taught me to put my outside leg back to cue for the canter. I realize this isn't actually the correct way to ask for the canter, but it's easier on both the trainers and riders, so that's just the way I've been taught. The correct way is to actually put your weight on the inside seat bone at just the right moment. Finding that moment is difficult for me, apparently. It took several tries to get the canter, but when I did, it felt like magic. I had never had a "true" canter depart before. Oh, and the canter itself was atrocious. Apparently I'm DRIVING with my seat--the horse got faster and faster, and actually started bucking a bit--when I always thought I was just following the horse's movement. This is something else I'm confused about. The only way I could do this was to stay totally rigid in the saddle, almost to the point of standing in the stirrups, which goes against everything I've been taught. But, once I did this, Richard said "good". I had been told by a previous trainer in a clinic where I was riding Baloo that I have bony seat bones, and that I may be digging into my horse's back, causing him to buck. I'm starting to wonder if maybe that really was the case. He was still an ass. ;)
OH! And we did a piaffe!!! I think Richard was just trying to get me excited, as a piaffe isn't something that riders at my level get the chance to do. It felt pretty amazing, to say the least. I don't think it was all that great, and I doubt we would have received even mediocre scores in a dressage test, but I don't care. I was able to actually SIT it, too!! :D
So, I'm rather confused with the way Richard has been teaching me, and once I get a new job (sigh), I plan on taking lessons with some other trainers in the area to make sure I'm gettting a well-rounded, correct "education". I'm not saying he's wrong--I just don't want to develop more bad habits. His horses are all (well, mostly) very well-behaved and well-trained, though.
I rode another Grand Prix horse (I think his name is Bolero?), and I really really like this guy. Too bad, as he's leaving in a month. :( He fits me perfectly, and I love his gaits. You know, it's really amazing to me that these gorgeous, upper-level horses have such wonderful, springy, free gaits and I can actually SIT them!! Whether this is a product of good training, which is unlikely, or increased abilities on my part to be able to sit these guys, is a mystery to me. Anyway, Bolero is a very sweet horse, imported from Germany, apparently very expensive, and I just love him. He's the first horse that I saw when I came to Richard's--his wife was riding him and doing some fancy stuff. We didn't do anything too fancy. Some leg-yields, shoulder-ins, and I actually tried my hand at haunches-in, which is a rather difficult movement. I did okay, but it's helpful to actually learn on a horse that KNOWS how to do it, rather than trying to teach a horse how to do it at the same time that I'm trying to learn how to do it.
I rode Antares again. He was feeling pretty strong, and he jumped out of the arena a couple of times. Little bastard. He's learned a weakness of mine, and I can't figure out what it is.
Michael and I went on a bike ride this morning. I think that crazy ride I did on Thursday royally screwed up my back. It takes a lot of back muscles to be able to climb hills, and Friday night my lower back started hurting. Plus, I was sore this morning from my barn activities Saturday. So, I was a little apprehensive about riding this morning, but I tried anyway. We met up with his team ride after a warm-up, and I hung back with the "slower" group. We were still doing 18-19MPH. If I put a lot of effort into it, my back would protest, so that kinda sucked. I met a woman named Stephanie that stayed with me once I fell behind on the hills. I was still doing really well though, all things considered. Once on Parmer, a long stretch of road, the guys hammered it, and Stephanie and I attempted to keep up with them at our relatively slow pace of 30MPH. We still couldn't catch up to them even then, so we slowed to about 20-22MPH until we hit the re-group point at Starbucks.
After that, Michael and I went home as I just didn't want to push it anymore. It was a good thing, too. I was completely toast by the time we got home. I couldn't get out of a chair without my back hurting like hell.
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