UMD blog hop

In keeping with all things Terrapin in honor of my upcoming impending graduation on May 21, I'm participating in a UMD-flavored blog hop.


1. Where are you right now? (You can answer literally, or you can stop giving boring answers to every question you’re asked, and think outside the box.)
I am at the least likely place for me to actually accomplish anything on my to-do list--my desk. I don't know why, but the standard-issue wooden hutch-style desk they give you in the dorms just inspires me to do anything BUT write an essay. So I'm blogging instead. I'm also in the doldrums about my car, a Ford sedan that is only six years old, but about as suicidal as your average horse (very). It's in the shop to fix an ominous rattling noise, which has created logistical problems and  general money and horse-lacking sadness.

2. What keeps you blogging? Your pride? Your mom? Wanting someone other than your cat to tell you that you’re awesome?
I think it's pretty obvious that procrastination fuels my blog. OK, OK, not exactly. I love writing this blog because it makes me feel like my horse obsession is actually valid and not a waste of time. It allows me to look back on my riding progress and look forward to having my own horse one day. Plus I hope that I can help future college riders to sift through the many options available to them.


3. What blogs or bloggers do you look to for inspiration, ideas, or just to get the blog side of your brain turned on?
I love getting small doses of horse from HORSE NATION's contributors all day. They have contests and frequent posts of all different lengths--some are journalistic, some are reflective, and some are just awesome:

Horse Nation disqualified from FEI pictogram contest

Here's a taste from the same article the above picture came from, describing Horse Nation's failed attempt to design the pictograms for the Olympic equine events:

“They rejected our entries,” said Wylie of Horse Nation. “I don’t get it. I guess they didn’t understand our artistic vision.” 

“It was like a six-year-old ate a box of crayons and then threw up all over our computer screen,” the FEI spokesperson continued. “We’re looking for something a little more sophisticated.”


 I would have to say my favorite individual horse blogs are Cob Jockey and Panic and the Pony. Both are training chronicles of sorts--I would say Cob Jockey is more about training the horse (a Welsh Cob named Castleberry's Contender), and Panic and the Pony, as you might guess, is more about training the rider--or at least, trying to quell the anxiety of training a green, opinionated Arab mare. Both are written in a very compelling way--I can tell the writer of Cob Jockey really knows a lot about training, and she has a definite plan for her pony. It's just as exciting to watch a nervous rider's progression toward improving her abilities with Panic and the Pony, though.

4. What is your most Terp-like quality? Is you’re not a Terp, well, I’m sorry, but you should be. Go out and get Terpy. Then report back with your newly acquired Terp quality.
Retreating into my shell. In my personal life I'm pretty introverted, and I have some serious Stranger Danger--I avert my path to avoid people handing out flyers; I'm not very forthcoming with what I actually think (aside from class, when I always have my hand up, all "Pick me! I know the answer! I did my homework!"); and I spend most of my time holed up in my room working. I mean, plotting.

5. If you could pick any celebrity or politician to give your blog a shout out via Twitter, who would it be?
I tweeted Jane Savoie the other day. We'll see if she gets back to me. Beezie Madden would be awesome too. I actually just got a shoutout from Rafalca Romney (Mitt Romney's dressage horse). Does that count?

Here's our conversation:
 

  Collegial Equestrian ‏ @RidingInCollege

A weird look into the future of #dressage http://collegialequestrian.blogspot.com/2012/04/future-of-dressage.html

  Rafalca Romney ‏ @RafalcaRomney

Great post @RidingInCollege! The "genetically modified weirdos" bit reminded me of my owner, #MittRomney. Keep up the great writing/riding!

6. Congrats. Wallace Loh stumbled upon your blog and wants to host an all-night party to celebrate your genius. You get to pick the campus building and the two professors who will be in charge of DJ-ing and food/drinks. Go:
I would choose the backyard of the Benjamin building. Inside, it's nothing to write home about, but out back there's a lovely garden with seating and shade where we could all listen to Belle and Sebastian and make crepes together.

As for professors...hmm. Manel Lacorte, the seriously humorous Spanish professor who really challenged me in Spanish Linguistics would be one. He also has an adorable little girl and another baby on the way so they would definitely be invited. And I'm not sure how down to party she would be, but I would love Leigh Ryan to come by. Though I've never had a class with her, I worked for her as a tutor in the Writing Center, and she has been incredibly generous and helpful with her time and advice when I was researching and creating projects for conferences, and especially now as I try to navigate my way toward a writing/editing job.

7. And finally, a serious question. What have you learned from blogging? Did you learn about writing? Did you learn about people? Did you learn how easy it is to get distracted on the internet? (But j/k on the last one; you already knew that, of course.)
I think I turned about half of these into serious questions already cause I'm a party pooper (my idea of rousing fun is crepes. But seriously, crepes rock). 

Sike, I love parties...fancy parties! This was my 21st birthday party. It was awesome.

I think I'm learning to stop second-guessing myself and to finally assert how important having horses in my life is to me. They're my escape and my challenge, and they are important in my life. I've always scrambled for a way to ride with the resources I had, but until writing this blog, I always thought of it as a luxury, as an "extra."



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