Got this via email.. AMEN! :P
BITCHOLOGY:
When I stand up for myself and my beliefs, they call me a bitch.
When I stand up for those I love, they call me a bitch.
When I speak my mind, think my own thoughts or dothings my own way, they call me a bitch.
Being a bitch means I won't compromise what's in myheart. It means I live my life MY way. It means I won'tallow anyone to step on me. When I refuse to tolerate injustice and speak againstit, I am defined as a bitch
The same thing happens when I take time for myselfinstead of being everyone's maid, or when I act alittle selfish.
It means I have the courage and strength to allowmyself to be who I truly am and won't become anyone else's idea of what theythink I 'should' be.
I am outspoken, opinionated and determined.
I want what I want and there is nothing wrong with that!
So try to stomp on me, try to douse my inner flame,try to squash every ounce of beauty I hold within me. You won't succeed. And if that makes me a bitch , sobe it. I embrace the title and am proud to bear it.
B- Babe I - In T - Total C - Control of H - Herself
B = Beautiful I = Intelligent T = Talented C = Charming H = Hell of a Woman
B = Beautiful I = Individual T = That C = Can H = Handle anything
'If you can't do something right, get a woman to do it.'
Friday, September 26, 2008
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Anonymous
Apparently, a recent post "Flying Changes" was percieved as "whining". I disagree. It was about being proactive about what you are doing with one's life and was based loosely upon a recent editorial in Horse & Rider- about NOT whining and doing nothing, but instead getting up and doing SOMETHING.
Some posts ARE negative for a reason, and generally those who take offense see themselves described therein. If the shoe fits... right? Those who do not, find them amusing because, invariably, they know someone who fits the description. That's the beauty of the human condition- there are all types; angelic and aggravating.
If it's offensive and whining because I will no longer allow the bickering, and complaining about other customers in the barn- then so be it. If it's wrong, instead of good business sense, to provide a quality service, and limit my involvement to what I get paid to do,- then so be that as well . At least it's clear what I think, and no matter how it's percieved, I'll sign my name to it.
Some posts ARE negative for a reason, and generally those who take offense see themselves described therein. If the shoe fits... right? Those who do not, find them amusing because, invariably, they know someone who fits the description. That's the beauty of the human condition- there are all types; angelic and aggravating.
If it's offensive and whining because I will no longer allow the bickering, and complaining about other customers in the barn- then so be it. If it's wrong, instead of good business sense, to provide a quality service, and limit my involvement to what I get paid to do,- then so be that as well . At least it's clear what I think, and no matter how it's percieved, I'll sign my name to it.
Was that supposed to be scary?
Sometimes, if you leave them be- they'll suprise you.....
If you've been to any of the NYS Fair horse shows that occur during the NYS Fair, you know just what a unique set of challenges are presented to anyone trying to exhibit their horse. It's almost unreal. Generally speaking, I don't like to bring young/green stock to this show. The possiblity of scaring them nearly irreversibly is very real.
This year, however, we have all youngsters, and for some reason they are ALL young ones possessed of exeptional amounts of brains, and poise. On the flip side of the "State Fair" gamble is the fact that if done right, and you get a horse through the show properly, they are broke enough at the end of it to handle almost anything.
There wasn't a single one of our horses that batted an ear at the fireworks. Nor did one of them care about the daily parade. (Just how many drums can one parade have?). We had 2 2YOs, 2 3YOs and 3 4YOs in the group. Of these babies, one 3YO had only been to one other show. She was simply the most impressive.
Sure, she was nervous walking through the barns. Have you seen some barn's decorations? *I* get a bit scared too. The most terrifying things were bags of shavings. Of course. White plastic cube-like shapes are ALWAYS to be distrusted. Very very dangerous things. Once you got into the arena- even the work pen, it was a differant story. As soon as you were astride she transformed from 3 to 30. Kids climbing on metal bleachers? Yawn. Strollers? Interesting, but only because they were potential buffets on wheels. You know, toddlers often have cool snack foods.
Even during show-time, which occured mid-day, (i.e. when the Coliseum was FULL of spectators) nothing penetrated that extreme bubble of calm. It was all very interesting, but you do realize that if you don't go around like an crazy monkey then you can check more of it out? Applause? Gee, is that for ME? True, a lot of it may have been due to putting her in a class that was of average size and full of more experienced "troopers". It's always good when you can give them a good example to follow. Still, it is the NYS Fair, and anything can (and usually does) happen.
It's always nice to take a baby through a potentially traumatic situation, and have them ask you back, "Was that supposed to be scary". That weight off your chest afterward? It's called starting to breathe again.
If you've been to any of the NYS Fair horse shows that occur during the NYS Fair, you know just what a unique set of challenges are presented to anyone trying to exhibit their horse. It's almost unreal. Generally speaking, I don't like to bring young/green stock to this show. The possiblity of scaring them nearly irreversibly is very real.
This year, however, we have all youngsters, and for some reason they are ALL young ones possessed of exeptional amounts of brains, and poise. On the flip side of the "State Fair" gamble is the fact that if done right, and you get a horse through the show properly, they are broke enough at the end of it to handle almost anything.
There wasn't a single one of our horses that batted an ear at the fireworks. Nor did one of them care about the daily parade. (Just how many drums can one parade have?). We had 2 2YOs, 2 3YOs and 3 4YOs in the group. Of these babies, one 3YO had only been to one other show. She was simply the most impressive.
Sure, she was nervous walking through the barns. Have you seen some barn's decorations? *I* get a bit scared too. The most terrifying things were bags of shavings. Of course. White plastic cube-like shapes are ALWAYS to be distrusted. Very very dangerous things. Once you got into the arena- even the work pen, it was a differant story. As soon as you were astride she transformed from 3 to 30. Kids climbing on metal bleachers? Yawn. Strollers? Interesting, but only because they were potential buffets on wheels. You know, toddlers often have cool snack foods.
Even during show-time, which occured mid-day, (i.e. when the Coliseum was FULL of spectators) nothing penetrated that extreme bubble of calm. It was all very interesting, but you do realize that if you don't go around like an crazy monkey then you can check more of it out? Applause? Gee, is that for ME? True, a lot of it may have been due to putting her in a class that was of average size and full of more experienced "troopers". It's always good when you can give them a good example to follow. Still, it is the NYS Fair, and anything can (and usually does) happen.
It's always nice to take a baby through a potentially traumatic situation, and have them ask you back, "Was that supposed to be scary". That weight off your chest afterward? It's called starting to breathe again.
The Good Ol Days
There has been a lot of discussion about change. Change nationally (THE buzzword of this presidential campaign) and change locally. EVERYONE seems to be in some sort of flux. Dramatic changes in the economy usually precipitate change across the board. Not that our economy is really "bad" by classic definitions. People are still going out to eat, they are still spending on recreation- but with the cost of fuel having rose so dramatically, people get nervous, and they get more careful about how they spend their money. Fuel is often a large component of the cost of anything, so it's unsurprising to feel the effects of this increase in nearly every aspect of living. That's just one sort of change. In the good old days (just one loooong year ago) fuel was only $2.80. It seemed like a lot at the time, but man, we sure do miss it.
On a more immediate level, we had our last scheduled Appaloosa show of the season. This coincided with the NYS Pinto Futurity (as it does every year). Last year I felt like I was on my deathbed showing Ollie (our then 2YO HUS paint) in the futurity. I don't recall much of that- credit to the drugs I was on. I was about as sick as I've ever been. This year, fortunately, I enjoyed much better health. (and, oddly enough, minus the cold medicine, MUCH better balance...hmmm) Additionally instead of having 18+ stalls, we kept it down to 8 and only 5 trainers. What an "Ah Ha" moment.
We were stalled where we used to stall before we outgrew the area, which in regards to ammenities, is no better or worse than our more recent stalling area. What it did do was reinforce the similarities between this show and "the good old days" when showing was still a lot of fun. We were able to spend quality time with everyone and all the horses. We were able to get enough sleep to keep our senses of humor, instead of running ourselves right to the raw, zombie edge of grumpitude. I actually got to watch a class. That is the first time I got to watch a whole class (where I wasn't coaching immediately on rail) in a very long time.
So that's one change (hey, I did SAY "stay tuned"). No longer will we be taking large numbers to the show, and we'll be limiting the number of "haul-ins" - so that the number of horses we work with stays managable. It's EXTREMELY difficult in a service based business, where the "customer is always right" to say "No". However, in this line of work, there is a very high burn-out rate. Sometimes it becomes necessary. We had allowed others to start to pressure us and dictate how we did things- and found ourselves running, not walking, down that road to burn-out. As though somehow, bigger, and more, is better. It is NOT. This is too expensive an undertaking to not have fun at it.
The helm is firmly back in our hands. The emphasis will be returned to quality versus quantity. Sometimes, if we need to, we will say "no" because we are, (at least for the forseable technological future) only human, and sometimes we need to take a break to re-group. If we want to take an hour or two to ourselves, we will. So instead of being on call 24/7 we'll only be available, 22/7. - well, it's either that, or adding an hour or three to the day, and since I've not mastered manipulation of the space/time continuum yet, cutting back will have to suffice. (if you can warp time., you can email me at....)
So there- that's one change. We're going RETRO... (trendy huh?) and cutting back to the way it was in the "good old days", so we can ALL have fun, they way we used to.
On a more immediate level, we had our last scheduled Appaloosa show of the season. This coincided with the NYS Pinto Futurity (as it does every year). Last year I felt like I was on my deathbed showing Ollie (our then 2YO HUS paint) in the futurity. I don't recall much of that- credit to the drugs I was on. I was about as sick as I've ever been. This year, fortunately, I enjoyed much better health. (and, oddly enough, minus the cold medicine, MUCH better balance...hmmm) Additionally instead of having 18+ stalls, we kept it down to 8 and only 5 trainers. What an "Ah Ha" moment.
We were stalled where we used to stall before we outgrew the area, which in regards to ammenities, is no better or worse than our more recent stalling area. What it did do was reinforce the similarities between this show and "the good old days" when showing was still a lot of fun. We were able to spend quality time with everyone and all the horses. We were able to get enough sleep to keep our senses of humor, instead of running ourselves right to the raw, zombie edge of grumpitude. I actually got to watch a class. That is the first time I got to watch a whole class (where I wasn't coaching immediately on rail) in a very long time.
So that's one change (hey, I did SAY "stay tuned"). No longer will we be taking large numbers to the show, and we'll be limiting the number of "haul-ins" - so that the number of horses we work with stays managable. It's EXTREMELY difficult in a service based business, where the "customer is always right" to say "No". However, in this line of work, there is a very high burn-out rate. Sometimes it becomes necessary. We had allowed others to start to pressure us and dictate how we did things- and found ourselves running, not walking, down that road to burn-out. As though somehow, bigger, and more, is better. It is NOT. This is too expensive an undertaking to not have fun at it.
The helm is firmly back in our hands. The emphasis will be returned to quality versus quantity. Sometimes, if we need to, we will say "no" because we are, (at least for the forseable technological future) only human, and sometimes we need to take a break to re-group. If we want to take an hour or two to ourselves, we will. So instead of being on call 24/7 we'll only be available, 22/7. - well, it's either that, or adding an hour or three to the day, and since I've not mastered manipulation of the space/time continuum yet, cutting back will have to suffice. (if you can warp time., you can email me at....)
So there- that's one change. We're going RETRO... (trendy huh?) and cutting back to the way it was in the "good old days", so we can ALL have fun, they way we used to.
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