Hey y'all. I have just had a frustrating last couple of days... To top it off, I am siting in front of the TV watching my beloved Carolina Tarheels lose to our arch nemesis Dook. Should I bore you with the gory details? Well, what is a blog if not a forum for me to gripe when the desire hits?
Monday: Monday didn't suck too badly. I slept in and skipped my workout, which made me feel guilty. But, Eva met me after work. We went to visit Granite. She was surprised at how grown-up Granite looks (she hasn't seen him since summer). He was sweet and uber docile as usual. We had to rush off from the barn however and head over to our Monday Night Cooperative Extension Horse Management Class. The topic of the night was pre-purchase vetting and emergency care. I learned a lot! What I also learned was that the vet that gave the presentation (and who happens to work for the hospital that Granite now uses at Becky's barn) is cute and wears no wedding ring! He is so smart and he could have talked to (ok, maybe it was at) me all night long. Sadly, the 2 hours were over in an instant and we were on our way to the local dinner to indulge in some grease and de-brief the class and my new found crush on gorgeous, supremely intelligent young vet (please tell me how to get this guy to ask me out!).
Tuesday: 5:00am, Eva and I get up and endure an hour of Bob (from the Biggest Loser) push us through 3 levels of the Weight Loss Yoga DVD (have I mentioned that in 5 weeks of strict workouts, I have gained 4 lb-- screw you Mr. Scale! Ms. Measuring tape tells me I have lost an inch in my waist however). Oh, the joys of being a fat kid! I am off to work and there 30 min early (I wanted to allow extra time with Eva staying in the house and all). Work was crappy and I was so tried on the way home. I fell asleep on the couch while waiting on dinner. This is unusual and signaled something was off. I have had a dull stinging headache for the past 4 days, but thought maybe it was alcohol induced (although i only had 3-4 beers fri, sat, sun, and none on monday). I woke up from my nap with a scratchy throat. I then proceeded to watch 4 episodes of Unstable. The show annoys me to no end, but the alternative was American Idol in the living room with the roomie and her bf, but that show gives me a headache even when I don't ALREADY have a headache-- plus Unstable at least has horses and I love the theme song. I went to sleep early and slept restlessly as we have 30-40mph winds in the area and I was awoken to more than one tree cracking and falling in the 'woods' behind my apartment.
Wednesday: Alas, my alarm sounded at 5am to get me up for my hour of fun with Bob. I felt like I had been hit by a mac truck. Headache, sore throat, sore everything, sinus pressure! I am ALWAYS sick and went to the Dr. like less than 3 weeks ago for these same shenanigans. Needless to say, I rain-checked on Bob. But it really upsets me because I promised myself that I would work out 4-6 days per week for 6 weeks then re-evaluate. This is week 5 and I'm still on track (if I follow through the rest of the week). My day at work was great. My boss gave me a few new opportunities/responsibilities and in this early portion in my career, I am anxious for any extra work or opportunity to learn or meet new people. But without too much detail, what broke my heart and upset me big-time today was a comment I received in regards to my owning Granite preventing me from being able to cover my bills (including soon-to-come student loan payments) on my current salary. Granite is not only my pet (read: child), he is also my sport, and an investment (side note--good news, his 1/2 brother is up for sale for over 7 times what I paid for Granite and his 1/2 sister for 3 times --not to mention, I am of firm belief that his other 1/2 is better than the other 1/2 of those sibilings).
My question to you is, do you ever get push back from non-horsey people about the investment (of time and $) that you put into your horse(s)? Do people accuse you of irresponsible spending (like the comment I received) or skewed priorities? How do you make people understand? Or do you even try?
I don't want my superiors to think I am an irresponsible person. I keep Granite at a reasonably priced stable on pasture board. I don't take riding lessons, right now, I am not riding at all. And in order to take care of Granite I make sacrifices in the way of never shopping (or thrift shopping when I need work clothes), working out via DVD instead of joining the YMCA, shopping thrifty and foregoing fun events or trips.
Ugh! Its so frustrating! Maybe I'm just in a bad mood and am too sensitive.
Sorry for the grumpy rambling. I did have a lovely dinner with two friends and have a weekend of horse shopping with my Bestest to which to look forward :)
UPDATE: with 10:45 left in the game, UNC is now winning-- fingers crossed!
Awww, tough couple of days for sure. Hang in there. Over time I have run into more people who are generally supportive of rather than discouraging of how much I spend on horses and I bet you have too if you really dig deep, so try to focus on that. I try not to complain too much about the bills (and believe me with the vet bills I've had in the past year, I have much to gripe about), I just try to joke it off as "self imposed poverty", hahaha. Life ebbs and flows money wise and ultimately no one can judge you for what you spend your money on, especially coworkers of all people! Granite is your passion and people sacrifice everyday for their passions. They also sacrifice for their snot nosed children, and hey, at least you were smart enough not to have any of those yet :P
ReplyDeleteBig hugs from CA!
I'm sorry you're having a rough week. :-( Hope it gets better.
ReplyDeleteNon-horse people rarely understand horse people. Sounds cliche, but it's true. Most people view horses as an elitist, expensive hobby. They don't understand (and probably never will) how much satisfaction comes from all the time, money, and effort we invest into our horses.
It's great that Granite's probably worth more than you paid for him, but unless you sell him, it doesn't mean a lot. (Except to your pride). Only you can make the financial decisions that affect you, and don't let your nosy co-worker get you down.
Hi Rachel -
ReplyDeleteThanks for adding me, by the way!
Don't let people discourage you! I just read through your blog, and you seem far from irresponsible. You have your MASTER's DEGREE, a great job (with potential), and the drive to actually get up at 5 am to workout - not many people will do that. Not only that but it sounds like you're also attempting to volunteer with 4H and to possibly become a judge?? You go!!! You have alot on your plate and at your age (YOUNG) you seem to have so much going for you! Keep it up!!
Jennybean: Thank you SO SO SO much for those words. I am trying to make a difficult decision at the moment, and that is just what I needed to hear (um.... rather, read) at the moment I needed to hear it!
ReplyDeleteI think I have a natural tendency towards being lazy, so I run non-stop trying to combat it. It results in my overachieving in school, volunteering, working out, trying to have a social life, and pushing to move up the ranks at work.
Hope you can follow along for our journey. I know it helps for me to follow you all and see that we are all overcoming common struggles through our love of the equines!