If you had invoked me before you began this journey,

Let's see...

First) Rebar tie wire is a bitch.

Second) Trying to weave it is even more of a bitch. Particularly when one's just using pliers and a vice.

I need to make a shoe out of the stuff, and I don't want to do the standard contour-line version. Damn it! I'm going to at least try.

Finished my Matrix project last night. It was due today.

Final touches went ended at aboout 8 am this morning. and i think i forgot to completely balance the book...

What time did I got to bed? I crashed at about 4/4:30 this morning.

When did I wake up? An hour before my alarm went off at 7.


Do not lecture me about the joys of procrastination. I had most of it done, I just transferred the spreadsheet to grid paper. And that, and the color coding took eons.

Aahh yes - but it's fini. And I remember why I loathe pulling all-nighters. I think I've really only done it once before - freshman year in high school. Guess things are repeating themselves... And in this case, it's probably a good thing.

I'm really glad I had a large portion of it already finished, and just needed to print it out or transfer it to the grid. I know there are people who did the entire project from scratch last night. I may be sort of bad witht hings like this, but I refuse to do that. I'm not insane.

At least the class is cancelled on Friday. Granted, that's because of the field trip on Saturday, and I'll still be up at 7, but it's still nice. The field trip's to Phoenix's Turf Paradise, to take a tour of the office and such. It should be interesting.


And in other news -
a) squeeky_v. Younger sister. Finally joined the addiction community. I'm glad to see her. She's not posted (much) yet, but don't frighten her off... you know who you are... *glares*
b) llyfreneth. NYC on May 17th? *pleading look* You know you want to...
c) My braces came off yesterday. *dances*

Quite a nice weekend, if I do say so myself.

1) I got a start on the Matrix Project for Doug's class (did the purse and stall allocation worksheets as well as started on the one involving the number of races being carded). Mercifully, it's a 33 day meet - though I think management is an ass here and the number of races they want me to run are complete BS. I can understand the logic, but carding 11 on a Tuesday (simulacast purposes!) is a bit of a pain. On another bright note, he's not making us try and compete with other tracks for horses - our hypothetical Mid-Western track is the only one for area so we don't need to be worried about conflicting stakes schedules or other tracks taking our horses. We're also carding cheap claimers... Nice, middle of the road track.

Did I mention it's mixed-breed? And I know absolutely nothing about Quarter Horse racing. A small problem, but if I write a number of the same races, I should do just fine. (That's according to John Moss, who looked at what he'd done a few years back and then gave me advice on what he did wrong... I love my department.)


2) With the end of Battlestar Galactica, Friday nights at avilina's place continued. Stargate - The Director's Cut was on, but I think I spent more time talking and such than actually watching it. Heh. I think when this semester ends (or maybe before, as things are settling down) I'd like to find something good to do with my hands craft-wise. And trim is so damned pretty...

3) Tagged along when domnall went to Nico's and played World of Warcraft: The Board Game. Quite fun. Especially considering that I had absolutely no idea what I was doing when I started. Didn't take long to get the hang of it though. Next time? I intend on taking full advantage of tha hack-and-slasher I was playing and kill more. Errmm, yay!?

4) Bought Dad's Birthday present. When the first two ideas fell though (#1 because I totally forgot to order it in time and I like to give things on time was too busy to order it #2 because I found out he'd seen it), I went out to Barnes and Noble and bought a book by an author he quite likes. And the new(est) Paul Theroux? It's a gorram book of fiction - why couldn't I find it? *glares* Ended up getting him In the House of the False Lama. Looks interesting and I may borrow it myself when I get. the. time. to. read.

Then of course - this week involves:

1) Death Cab for Cutie/Franz Ferdinand concert tonight. Yay!!

2) Need to print out the English paper due later today... Grr... I have come to the conclusion that the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict is a load of BS. It's nice and makes the world think you give a damn, but when you read it and see who's signed/ratified the document, you realize that the countries where it exists? Yeah... Not happening.

And children in armed conflict isn't even my pet international issue. The Freedom of Tibet is...

3) Indv101 paper. Because economic development of India is so damned fascinating.

4) More Matrix work. I shall finish the worksheets and start writing the races this week. My stakes calendar will be a thing of great beauty. (Actually maybe not, but it shall be logical and sane and all will be happy.)

5) Looking at possible places for this summer/next year. I found a cheap guesthouse/cottage a few blocks from the University. (And within what I'd consider walking distance, albeit one that's a bit of a hike.) Downside? It's month-to-month (and no set lease near as far as I can tell), but it's cheap and if I end up liking it, I may just jump on the place... I guess we'll just have to see.

Back to the grindstone...

On a brighter side - about half the stuff I thought was due this week is in fact due in the next few weeks. So things aren't quite as chaotic as I thought they were.

Woot!

Hard to believe I have about half a semester left of my first year of college. I still need to get a place to live for this summer/next year. I think things should end up working out quite nicely there. I intend on staying here for a number of reasons, though I'll go back for a week or so to make sure that my family in New England knows I'm alive and well.

Besides, I could only deal with sleeping on the couch for about a week or so...

Lots of nice Baronial stuff this past weekend. I was only able to make a few hours on Saturday (the day where the weather was actually nice), but I stayed the entire time on Sunday. Quite fun, and for those who care, I've got a few pictures...

Tonight I'm spending the night down at work. We've got a new foal, Pickle (she was born about a week ago). However, her mother died, and so she's an orphan. As a result, she needs to be fed and people are taking shifts and doing them whenever they can. She needs to be fed every three hours, and so I'll end up with lots of time to do more school-work. Mixed-bag (up all night, but it'll make me do my school-work), but it'll be good for me.

And to finish up, I shall provide Pickle photos.

( Orphaned foal cuteness )

ETA: Tonight shall be spent in my own bed as Laura (boss) just called and told me that one of the mares is due, and so there will be students out there on foal watch. So she's pressing them into service as they'll be there all night anyway.

Classes start again today.

I'm actually kind of looking forward to it all.

Heh.

Yeah, yeah, yeah... I’ve been abandoning you all.

It it a bad sign that for the past couple days I’ve been telling myself I should really update my LJ...? *looks at Erin and glares*

At any rate, here I am.

With little to say.

Go figure.


Those of you who’ve spoken to me on AIM have been hearing the on-going saga of Marrty, my the weanling I’m working with in one of my classes. He’s a sweetheart and I really need to get pictures of him for everyone to see. The little guy is growing up quite rapidly. And I sound like a proud parent when I talk about him. Most of the time... little guy is getting a bit studdish at times. Though that’ll be remedied soon.

Finally got around to joining the SCA. The school's group, that is. A bunch of slightly odd medieval (and renaissance) reenactors is what they are, at the most basic. They also cover a number of other cultures from the same time. If the people of Europe had contact with them (so mainly eastern cultures), chances are they’re covered. I’ve not been around long, but I feel like I have. Nice, welcoming bunch.

Also looks like I know what I’ll be doing when I go home for Christmas, where there’s a sewing machine (which I intend to swipe)...


Very nice out here, though it’s cooling off. Talked to dad the other night, who said in Newport it’s cold and wet. Here, it’s cool and dry. Makes me sort of happy, as the temp, while cool, is pretty close to what I like. Makes a change from the heat we’ve been having and makes work a bit more enjoyable.


After the little stress-attack last week, I feel better. Time to sit back and think about what I’m enjoying here is a good thing. I’m thoroughly enjoying the time away from my various family members and haven’t spoken to anyone other my parents, my sister, and a few friends in several weeks. Aahhh... *relaxed sigh* The lack of them around is doing wonders overall for my sanity. I know a few of them have (or found) the address of this journal, but anything I really want to keep away from them/personal chaos is locked, and so I don’t really care. Though my little sister commented that she’s learned more about me and my life from my blog then when I talk to her. Eerrr... yeah.

Also- November is the Music Issue of Vanity Fair, which equals, usually, a massive Woot!! from Willa. This month however, the cover is “graced” by Beyonce, and the portfolio is Hip-Hip. *is not amused* I want teh pretty fold-out covers of the past few years and a varied portfolio. Now, some of the pics are pretty damned nice, and so I’m not going to complain on that front, but still... It’s made up for by The List - Sheryl Crow’s top 25 Road Trip Albums. The woman has very good taste. Some Stones, Dylan (Highway 61 Revistied and Nashville Skyline), Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Beck, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, and some other stuff. Yep, it’s all good.


And now, I must flee, as English calls. I officially hate 9/10 of what I’ve written in the class.

Grrrrr...

First off, let me do a fangirl squee.

*OHMYGODSQUEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!*

I saw the Dalai Lama today. Which was just... wow.

He talked about how peace can be achieved in the modern world-how we need both internal and external peace. And the internal leads to the external. It was something else, it really was. He's an amazing man-completely and utterly. So open, so genuine, so happy. You couldn't help but smile as he talked, and feel good after he finished.



It's funny here, I've changed, but not. No parental units here mean that I've felt a bit more free, willing to try stuff, and meet more people. Andrea (my roommate) is really fun, and so that's great. I feel really loose around her, and she's introducing me to more music and some other stuff. Totally not the type of person I'd have imagined as a friend a few months ago, but she so is.

On the class end of things-I'm busy. Really busy. English keeps me drowned in work... and Horse Science is a bit of a bitch. My Trad class is a bit of an annoyance, as the Prof gets her mythology wrong at times. and we were doing "ancient animals" (dragon, unicorn, etc) today, and stuff was off. i finally got up the nerve/courage to mention it to her and she shrugged it off. said it was "just for fun." damn it, if you're going to mention pernese dragons, get them right for chrissakes. *sigh* Math I could probably sleep through and still do well. Weanlings is a load of fun-even if Marty's been a bit of a bastard lately. I still got a 46/50 on my quiz/practical-which made me feel really good.

Yep-life here is good, if tough. I've got a job at the school's Agriculture Center (aka The Farm). I clean stalls and feed horses for minimum wage. Woot!

Still though, I like it very much.