Anyway, down to the nitty gritty; some recent events. A couple weekends ago, we wanted to act like we were camping, without paying money to camp. We had recently cleared a fair amount of brush, so we decided to make our own little bonfire. Success! Trip was so excited that he bought us a sixer of decent beer, which I happily participated in the disposal of. We also set up his tent in the back yard and slept outside. It was really chilly out there, I think it got down to 38 that night. We had the strings of our mummy bags drawn as tight as we could. I had a blanket inside mine, but it didn't help much. Poor Woodford didn't get a sleeping bag, he just slept on my legs. Hmf.
Here you can see why I should never have children.
If you heard a rumor going around about my job getting steroids, you heard right. Currently I work ~20 hours/week (at the bug job), and they asked me if I would start working 40 in January. This girl is going on maternity leave for a few months and they need some help in the lab. They also hinted at the strong possibility that there may be a permanent full-time position opening soon. So, I think I might take it. Its a very complex situation that twirls around in my head every day. I think; should I go to school or work? Well, the whole point of going to school is to get a teaching degree, which is a job I can take anywhere with me later. However, if I ended up getting a full-time job at Virginia Tech, then I could slowly take classes (1 free one per semester if you're salaried staff) to get my degree over the course of a few years. Then, if I really wanted to go somewhere, I'd be good to go. Or, if I wanted, I could stay at Virginia Tech and move up in the ranks with fellow beetle-rearing specialists. It sounds win-win to me.
Last weekend I made a very poor decision. My horseback riding friend, Greg, asked if I'd like to join him on a trip to the horse auction in Mt Airy, North Carolina with an empty trailer and a (his) pocket o'money in tow. Of course, I accepted. I only had a few dollars cash on me, enough to buy a grilled cheese and sweet tea for dinner. Upon arrival, we perused the aisles of the barn. He was looking for a Tennessee Walker gelding, I was looking for something pretty to make my "stable-shopping" worthwhile. He wasn't impressed with anything he was seeing, and I wasn't either, really.
So in the last leg of our loop, we passed by this dim corner of stalls containing horses at the bottom of the barrel. No other people were in this corner, it was pretty depressing. I passed by this one stall, and a full black mane got my attention. I peered inside to find a scared, thin, narrow-bodied horse with a beautiful color and markings. He stared at me through his dense forelock, eyes wide, notrils flaring and plastered himself against the wall of his stall, trembling. I moaned, "Oh Greg, I found one." My throat swelled, and eyes hazy. He waddled over, and in his southern accent "Oh that thing? That'd be like sittin' on a fence rail!" Seeing that I was about in a puddle, he said "Well go on in."
I entered the stall, the horse would have climbed the wall if he wasn't tied to it. With some low murmuring, eyes averted to his shoulder, and a slow indirect path over to him, I let him look me over. Once he visibly relaxed, I slowly lifted my arm to his left shoulder, he anticipated my touch by nearly vibrating his skin. Once I felt him, he relaxed, let me rub him all over. He was afraid, but he didn't want to be that way.
I'm not going into details, as I have enough already. After a very stressful couple hours of waiting, and Greg's numerous offers to loan me money and a pasture, he entered the ring. I could see why he was so afraid, watching the man on top of him. He was a purebred Paso Fino, and sold for 95$. I snapped a couple pictures with my phone.
Again mentioning Trip's cousin, Justin, he asked Trip to be his best man in the wedding. Exciting news, looks like we'll be back to Illinois a few times next year! Plus, Trip will have a new cousin-in-law when its all said and done, alright Natalie!
Speaking of the bite-sized man, he and I have been talking of Christmas lately. We are actually both excited to go home and spend the flu season with our families! We will also take gifts in the form of 100$ bills and a shiny VW Golf (just surprise me with the color). Thank you in advance.
And I'll leave you with another long-winded story, as the oven is telling me to take the pumpkin pie out of it:
Today I did something I've not done in some time; I raced the setting sun. With gusto!
Back in the days of McNaughton Park galavanting greatness, I wanted nothing more than to be inside the forest for every moment of sun. I would run until my quads begged for mercy, clutch my handlebars like prayer sticks while screaming down hills like cliffsides, and listen to the earth throb under my ambling mount's hooves. The sun set early in the forest, and as soon as her bottom would graze the crown of the tallest sycamore tree, the checkered flag dropped; Go! It taunted me like a squirrel on a tree trunk waving it's tail just six inches above the bouncing dog's highest attempts. I'd run or pedal as hard as I could, cursing my body for its reluctant pace, or hiss my steed into a more lively gait.
So long as I reached my destination before her last beams headed west for the night, I won. When I accepted her challenge, I never lost, I'd just ask to play again tomorrow.
Tonight, atop my 3-speed cruiser, I lost. There are more hills in Virginia than McNaughton.
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