Those darn college kids.
July 10th is the grumpiest day of the year for me. I wake up cranky and slowly percolate throughout the day. Of course, this is my birthday. It is not that I mind aging - I accept this as a normal part of like - I just want one Hallmark moment.
Of course, that never happens. My almost Pavlovian response of adopting a bad constitution for the day can only serve to assure this.
So, I eventually got over my lousy mood upon arriving at work. The three college kids that I work with are charming, sweet and cheerful. Normally that would make me wince on principle, but these are seriously great kids.
The happy girls were as chipper as chickadees - someone brought in doughnuts and another anonymous someone brewed the good Hazelnut coffee. Not bad. We worked on a series of menial tasks associated with the launch of a new product and the lovely samples that go with it.
It is at this time of the day that we torture the youngsters with the Ideas Network of WPR… we graciously allow them to listen to mindless pop for a while in the morning, they are forced to recriprocate the kindness by listening to something found by we elders in the tribe to be of greater interest.
At lunch the girls ordered pizza, and I volunteered to take the drive to get the food. When I arrived back at work I saw the break room festooned with streamers. The girls, Kastrina and several friends (including the instigator, Malinda) were waiting in or near the bathroom, I couldn’t tell to surprise me. At last, a little Hallmark moment of my own! We ate, I was sung at, we had cake, I left for the day and didn’t even have to clean up.
It was hot when I arrived home, so I ran down to the front pastures to “water” the horses. I may be absurd, but it is one of the funniest things to see horses trotting to the fence to be sprayed down, while others head for the proverbial hills.
I took Kevin to Ambulatory Surgery for a second epidural cortisone inkection. He stayed awake, though numbed, while the Doc shoved a huge needle into his back. Kevin actually watched the series of x-rays that documented the needle’s progress through his body. I am phobic as hell where needles and spiders are concerned. To do this procedure on me, the hospital staff would have to cosh me on the back of the head with a fire poker.
Since this was his second experience with the injections, Kevin knew what to expect and was just fine within minutes. He sat chatting up a very funny nurse, sipping Sprite and eating those pre-packaged cheese and crackers things. The nurses even gave Kevin a “get welll” card.
When we arrived home, I recieved a phone call about one of my horses for sale. The woman had phoned before, but had wanted to schedule a visit to meet the horse. Since I was home and not terribly motivated, when the woman asked to come in an hour’s time, I agreed.
The woman and her 13 year-old daughter met all of the “really huge” horses, then spent some time visiting with and brushing Lerus. We tacked her up and put her to work on the longe line (she is not started under saddle yet) with the young girl directing her. It went well, the horse was happy and the girl quietly confident.
Next, we set up a trio of jumps in Lerus and Duncan’s pasture so the prospective buyers could see her natural jumping ability. Neither of the horses had ever seen jumps before, so we led them over poles on the ground and over tiny x’s to help them to understand what was going on.
When we set them free, both Lerus and Duncan came trotting to the jumps and bounded right over them. Granted, the horses are just over 5′6″ tall at the shoulder and the jumps were only 12 inches… they easily stepped over them, but that is the kind of response I like to see anyway.
We slowly elevated the jumps to just over 2 feet (still small, but since the horses were so young and it was their first experience, I felt that we shouldn’t ask too much and let the horses enjoy the learning experience). Both horses were very cooperative, but had different responses to the jumps. Duncan would come charging at the fences like a maniac and never slow down or hesitate a bit. Lerus would approach at a forward but not crazy pace, then would slow down, look and think before jumping. It seems a classic example of the differences between young boys and girls, regardless of the species.
At any rate, and before I digress much further, the people want to come out again next week to work with Lerus and get to know her a bit further. Even if she doesn’t sell to this family, she seems to relish the extra attention, so it is well worth my time and effort. It made for a good evening.
PackOne said:
Happy Birthday … Like it out not.
July 12th, 2008 at 6:31 pm #