Can We Get a Different Vintage?

11/2/2016

The "whine" you've been serving here is getting old.

I know. I am sorry, and this post will have some sort of a riding connection, eventually. But first ...

First World Problems ... you suck!

I am so tired and cranky from buying this unbelievably awesome house that I can't even come up with my own meme. Loser.

Yesterday, a bunch of furniture got delivered, but all I could do was complain and stew about a banking error I made (forgot to turn off autopay on the old mortgage - holy hell!). First World Problems really suck.

It's starting to come together!

All of this extra life stuff has really put the damper on my desire to ride though. I drive out to the barn out of habit, but then I think of a reason not to ride. I did ride Saturday, and I am sure that post will be interesting once I write it as Mr. Whip and Ms. Spurs did an awesome job of convincing Izzy that forward at my tempo was the best choice.

Then it rained on Sunday and on Monday I took my fifth graders to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library down in Simi Valley. It's a little more than a two-hour bus ride which meant I didn't send my last kiddo home until 4:30 p.m. By the time he waved goodbye, I was done.

I dragged myself out on Tuesday with every intention of popping up on Speedy, but when I did, he was lame, lame, lame. Nothing new. The ranch owner had brought in a new mare who he fell in love with. They've had a few days to court one another. Unfortunately for Speedy, Willy came back Monday (or possibly yesterday). When I pulled in, I saw Speedy aggressively guarding his new mare by whirling and pacing and snapping at Willy any time he wandered close.

The horses are all separated, but Speedy doesn't want Willy anywhere near his new love. I hopped on him anyway for a 5 minute walk just to give his little brain a break. He'll be fine after another week or two, but I sure wish he'd quit hurting himself.

Since I had only been there 10 minutes and felt guilty about leaving, I threw Speedy's rope halter on Izzy and hopped up on him bareback. I haven't done that in more than a year. He got pretty sassy with me, including threatening to buck and then flat out refusing to go forward.

There's not much I can do with muck boots on, but I gave it a Pony Clubber try. I whaled on his sides for a few minutes until he reluctantly gave in and walked off. We did some laps around his paddock working out a bit of a power struggle. He tried a few more evasive tricks, but I got my way. I finally hopped off and did a little lunging for respect on the ground.

While I technically got on both horses, neither effort could be called a ride. I am truly cutting myself a break though. Late fall is always hard for me. I've just come off a summer of at least 100 rides, and I am worn out. I always bounce back around Thanksgiving.

Speedy doesn't care if he gets ridden; he just wants some attention. Izzy doesn't necessarily need any exercise, but he does need some reminding about who is the boss. As long as I keep doing something where I win, we'll all get it back together by the end of the month.

In the meantime, I really, really need my life to settle down. I know it will, just as soon as I take care of my erroneously paid mortgage bill, the roofing bill, the appliance repair, the plumber, my next two furniture deliveries, a rug delivery, and getting my gardener to take care of an extra job.

Sitting in a hut worrying about what my husband managed to hunt down for dinner is sounding pretty good about now. I'll take a slice of that gazelle please.

jenj

11/2/2016 06:43:59 am

I'm pretty sure Instacart can deliver your gazelle, already cooked to perfection.

I sure hope life slows down soon!

Bakersfield Dressage link

11/3/2016 04:50:37 am

Bwahahaha! That is too funny!

11/2/2016 07:49:14 am

Me, too, jenj ... me too. But like I just told a friend, it's hard to complain about being blessed. And really, I bring this on myself by simply having too much fun. On Saturday, we're driving back into the LA area to go to the Breeders' Cup - yet another BUSY and LONG day. Although, my husband bought those tickets several months ago. Had we known what our life was going to feel like right now, we might have passed on this year's event. :0)

lytha

11/2/2016 09:48:25 am

I asked J today what he's got tomorrow and he said, "A full day of 5th graders!" I said, "Oh, oh, you have to tell them about that show Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader! or as I call it, Do you remember the 5th grade better than a 5th grader!" Not likely to happen. He was so exhausted, he said he doesn't remember his day. I said, "Well let's hope the kids remember it better than you cuz they'll be tested!"

I was trying to explain to someone "1st world problems" and had to go on and on, because that is not a concept here.

Have fun at the races, win!

11/3/2016 04:59:20 am

This is a hard job for sure, Lytha. I work about an hour and a half extra every day (unpaid). I've added it up before, and I work almost my entire summer "vacation" during the school year by coming early and staying late every day.

I love the time off, but it is not a three month paid vacation like most people think. Number one, it's only about 8 - 9 weeks, and two, I only get paid for 183 days which does not include the holidays or summer.

Your husband is lucky to have a partner who gets it. :0)

11/4/2016 12:59:22 am

There is an aphorism here, "Lehrer haben morgens recht und nachmittags frei." It means' Teachers are correct in the morning, and free in the afternoon. But teachers all roll their eyes cuz they know they're not free, they've got grading, and then lesson planning without end. During the vacations, like you said. You might like the year plan better though, it's 2 weeks off for Spring and Fall and Winter break, and 6 for Summer. This Fall break J was at the school regularly doing physic experiment supply inventory, and we went to the University to borrow some experiments that the school could not afford to buy. I was shocked to see the University because it was so run down and dirty.

I looked around and realized that is what a tuition free University looks like.

11/4/2016 06:28:21 am

yep. Yesterday was a looong day. I got to school at 6:20 and worked without a single break until just after 4:00. My paid day goes from 7:20 to 2:50. I also had a group of kids working in my room during the lunch hour so i didn't even get that time off.

Teresa link

11/3/2016 08:02:07 am

Life gets busy at times and it's okay to put riding on the back shelf. Of course if you are like me you start to feel guilty about that......

Anyway it will settle down- a new house is a lot of work.

11/4/2016 06:25:44 am

Exactly! Thankfully, fall starts a period of vacations for kids and teachers. We get Veteran's day off, a week for Thanksgiving, and then two weeks for Christmas. Those chunks of time help me make it through the darkest months without going crazy.

11/4/2016 10:10:15 am

My dad lives in a town on the Olympic peninsula (WA state) called Shelton, and there is a school nearby. There is a sign out front, "Parents, do not drop off your kids before 8 AM, there will be no one here to look after them." J and I laughed - no one!....!?

Cuz lately J has been needed at the school at 7:30 to be the observer (??) to watch for pre-school-hour incidents. School starts at 8 (with bells that ring across the neighborhood!). I guess someone has to be there to guard against accidents.

The kids mostly walk to school in Wuppertal, but where we live, there are normal city busses that carry kids every morning to school. I don't know if I'm allowed to use them, but I see them full with kids every morning. Also, there is no "lights flashing do not pass" so apparently kids here do not run in front of their bus to cross the street. And drivers are allowed to pass school busses stopped letting kids off. It's crazy! There isn't a distinction between school bus and normal bus, so naturally, car drivers cannot know. I really need to do a blog post about some of the strange differences between my home and Germany.

11/11/2016 10:08:22 am

Being a teacher drives me crazy sometimes. We do entirely way too much for our kids here in California. If people would just take better care of their children we wouldn't need to have so much state sponsored supervision. Our signs read no supervision until 7:20, but we have kids who get dropped off before 7:00. Our gates are locked so they can't come in, but if supervised everyone who showed up, we'd have to have a yard duty person 24/7!

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Not-So-Speedy Dressage