Blog hop: Play

Welcome to the Blog Hop. 

I hope you can join in the fun.

In case you are new... or as a reminder:

Each week I post at least one prompt.
Respond as you wish on your blog or in a comment.

Or, just link your blog to mine if you

care to share something else about yourself.

The part I like most is having blog hoppers

complete their blog posts (or comments) 
by asking a question of us.

I am really enjoying answering your questions,

and look forward to seeing other responses, too.

I think it's a great way to have a conversation of sorts!

Link your post to the Hobby Horse Blog Hop

by using the Linky Tool below.

Click where indicated, just after it says

"You are next...."

Or...

Leave a comment with your thoughts 
on my blog, down below.

Visit other participating blogs on the list

and respond to their questions in your comments on their pages.

Hobby Horse Blog Hop Prompts - Week 14:

1. Imagine that you are once again 8 years old. You have just received the best present, ever. (Ponies and pets are not included on the gift list!) What is it?

Ok, so based on the release date, I must have received this gift when I was 11 or 12, not 8, but I would say it was one of the coolest gifts I received as a child (besides my pet lovebirds of course). 

One of the first e-book readers ever. via the Buxton Collection (a cool site documenting revolutionary technological devices)

 I have always loved to read, so having a library of books only a dial-up connection away seemed completely amazing to me. I think one of the books I had on it was Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. However, figuring out how to download and buy the books was rather complicated, the selection was limited, and the device had a big battery pack on the back that made it uncomfortable to hold while laying in bed, so I can see why this early model didn't catch on. In recent years, I received a Kindle as a gift, which is even more convenient, but I haven't totally abandoned good old paper books.

2. What kinds of toys do your animals enjoy playing with?

I don't have any pets right now, but until a few months ago, I had a Betta fish named Fausto. He was a well-educated fish who lasted almost all 4 years of my college career, and one summer (when I had way too much free time on my hands) I taught him tricks. Unfortunately the only video I took of him swimming through hoops has long since expired on the FlipCamera site, but I have witnesses and I swear it happened. Fausto was an Olympian.

Very distinctive coloring.

A note Fausto left for my roommate once.

3. I know you have seen some sort of recreational activity on TV, or in real life, that you would just love to try. What is it?

Foxhunting!!! I have dreamed about it since I read Rita Mae Brown's foxhunting murder mystery series (when I was 12 and probably too young for it, but whatever). 

via Rita Mae Brown's author page

The problem is the expense of joining a club and properly attiring myself. Oh yeah, and having a horse that is up to the challenge. And getting myself up to the challenge, though I'm sure I would begin with just capping for one day with the hilltoppers. So for now, this is a long-term goal that I am looking forward to.

 

My question:  What is your favorite game to play with your animals?

I thought of this because my boyfriend was joking that if he ever gets a cat, it's going to like me more than him because he was raised by his mother's bevy of cats and thus would be competition for the cat. He wants attention only when he wants attention, and as a kid he always played "tag" with his cats, AKA chasing them around the house and probably scaring the crap out of them. If you've ever had a couple cats that tear around the house at 3am for no apparent reason, you get the idea.

I used to have a Malamute/Husky mix (he was adorable, but I won't be able to retrieve my pictures of him till Tuesday) that I would make jump courses for on my lawn. I think for me, the most fun is training animals and I see that as a kind of game. My horse in high school was a champ at "Stay," and he would not budge even if I left his stall door wide open.

Blog Hop: Firsts

Here are the rules:

Answer one or all of the prompts. Link back to Living a Dream's post. Visit other blogs. And don't forget to ask a question of everyone else!

 This week we are asked about some of our "firsts". This might include:

• pony
• pet
• child
• riding lesson
• job
• home-cooked meal
• speeding ticket
• ??? You decide! Anything goes!

I'd love to hear (and see) you first blog post. Who, or what, got you started in blogging? When was your first post? If you care to, link to it for us!

First pet:
My first pets were a string of parakeets, all named Tweety, Featherbrain, or Fly Away Home (that was a movie about geese that came out when I was little).  I don't really remember them, but I've been told that I sat on one of them and killed it. Um...oops? Toddler me was not the brightest.

First riding lesson:
I'm not sure that I remember the exact lesson, but I began my riding career at age 11 at J-Mar Stables in Monkton, MD. I was not a natural. My instinctual position was the fetal position, hunched over and bouncing like a potato. I do remember that we always stopped by Grohl's market for goodies after the lesson though since it was so far away from where we lived and we got hungry.

First job:
I was a veterinary assistant at a cat and dog clinic about two miles from my house. I couldn't yet drive when I started, so on my first day, I walked to work in a long-sleeved blouse and slacks...without having eaten breakfast or drank anything...on a summer day...in humid, stickily hot Maryland. I was fine for a few hours, then colors started looking weird while one of the Vet Techs was trying to teach me how to fold surgical drapes. I asked to be excused to go to the break room, and all of a sudden I was laying on the floor in the arms of the guy my age they had hired at the same time as me. He caught me so I didn't hit my head as I fainted.

Maybe it would have been romantic if he wasn't so creepy/insistent. It took me weeks to get him to stop offering me rides home. (This sounds mean in hindsight, but he was seriously annoying.)

I thought it was going to be a dream job that would be my first step towards being a veterinarian. I'm one week away from graduating with an English degree, so it didn't quite work out that way. Aside from changing my career plans later on, I was terrible at the job. Although I was pretty strong for my age from karate classes, I was still only 5'4" and barely 100 lbs. Restraining panicked Mastiffs while they got their shots was not my forte, and cleaning up an endless supply of animal body fluids gets old reeeeealllly fast. Unless it's horse poop! Then it's a great way to get moving in the morning.

First blog post: Here. I started my blog trying to ride on the coat-tails of Gentle Giants being featured on SnarkyRider. It worked at first! But now my pageviews are nowhere near that level so after graduation I'm dedicating myself to the pursuit of internet fame.

First car:
I walked home from the bus stop one day my sophomore year of high school, pressed the code for our garage, and inside was my mom and a white Ford Focus. It was a great surprise :) There were of course some stipulations--I had to chauffer my little brother home from private school and occasionally I traded cars with my mom when she needed better gas mileage. Not a bad tradeoff for a high schooler. Although these days, that car needs to earn its way back into my graces since it's been so finicky and problem-prone lately.

Tales from the Trail's question:  In what way are you spoiled with regard to horse ownership?
I don't own a horse but I feel pretty spoiled to be able to ride for free. I am so happy that I've finally accrued the skills (more or less) to ride rescue horses and to exercise theraputic riding horses.

My addition: First horse show.
Mine was a totally surreal day that did a 180 from awesome to terrible. I was 12 years old, and a family friend took me to a 4-H show on "SoCo" AKA Southern Comforts (it was years later before I found out that was a liquor! I just thought it was a nice name.), a big old chestnut TB gelding from my lesson barn. In the pictures I look so nervous and pale (no scanner here so will post some later). I got two third-place ribbons out of three classes. I didn't place in the jumping class because SoCo picked up the wrong lead, but I didn't expect to place at all in my first show! I was ecstatic and I couldn't wait to show my mom when she came home from work.

When I came home, there was a white van with the Mapaw Husky Rescue logo on the side. My heart dropped. My mom had threatened to return the dog we had had for the past 6 months, but I didn't think she would actually do it. Sonic was an incredibly smart Wooly Husky (again, will post photos after this week). He knew Sit, Shake, and even Go Upstairs/Downstairs. I would often set up jump courses out of brooms and chairs in our yard to burn off his energy--he would have made a great agility dog. However, he had severe separation anxiety and had broken out of 3 metal crates, scratched up one of our doors, escaped multiple times (he could unlock the basement door) and done a number on our carpets. I still think we should have just kept working with him or medicated him, but I think my mom's point of view was that she wanted a dog to lessen stress, not add to it. It was still really sad so I remember my first show day with mixed feelings.

Sorry my responses were a little depressing this week! I have a lot of tragic pet stories but I figured people would have interesting memories from their first show day.

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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