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. ;)