Woahwoahwoah

So, apparently the month of July didn't exist.

Actually, it did, and it flew by so fast I hardly knew it was there.

So here's an update, from the end of June till now. In thirty seconds or less:

Iturned21June14thandtwoweekslaterIranfromatwisteritwasthescariestthingthathaseverhappenedtomethenIgotreallyhurtinafallfromahorsetwoweeksafterthatTeriwonReserveGrandChampionmeatgoatwithherhome-bredwetherGalileoandGrandChampionmeatpenwithherhome-bredrabbitsattheCrawfordCountyFairthenIfoundaduplexinColumbiaandleaseditGrandmaConnieandEdcameupforourfamily"vacation"mylastdayatthecavewasFridayandImovedintomynewhhomeyesterday.

Whew. Okay, so here is the whole, drawn out version. I'm just hitting the highlights here:

Turned 21 without fanfare or drama. In fact, I worked. Blah

Teri competed at the Meramec Community Fair and placed middle of the class all the way around with the goats. Better luck next year. The highlight of the fair was the tornado that touched down between the fairgrounds and I-44. I have never experienced mass panic and hope to never do that again. Everyone was still reeling from the deadly tornado that hit Joplin just a month earlier, so people were screaming and sobbing and running from this huge swirling monster. We never saw the whole thing; over half was hidden behind the grove of trees behind the barn. It was headed straight for the fairgrounds, towards Rodney Atkins and the midway and the livestock barns with our precious goats--the core of our herd (remember, this was show-- we take the best!) I just got a sick, sick feeling in my stomach and started running, along with Mom and Bobby, towards a ditch near the big lake. We didn't really have a choice, it was either run or get trampled. By the time we dared to look behind us, the twister had turned towards the hospital and was ascending into the clouds. No damage, no injuries, a lot of frightened people.

On the 30th of June, I went to get paid for a ranch-sitting job. The owners had just returned and had picked up their Haflinger mare from the trainers. Would I like to ride her? SURE!!!! I gleefully swung up into the saddle and off we went-- me, riding Cotton, and owner, driving her other mare.

To the trainer's credit, Cotton was definitely well-trained. I wouldn't have bet a nickel that a Haflinger could spin like this mare, and with just a lift of the reins and a tap with a heel! Amazing. Until she decided to beat Baby May back to the barn and took off in a full gallop.

Now. If you have never ridden an older (say, 14 year old) Haflinger mare at a high rate of speed, let me describe it for you:

First, Haflingers are DRAFT horses. They are powerfully built for pulling. Not for riding. It's something like riding a barge.

Their necks are like steel. Like a cylinder of steel, two foot in diameter. Try bending it to slow your barge.

Now, as I said, they are built for pulling, and their conformation reflects that. They have short pasterns and CHOPPY strides. So it's like riding a kayak in the wakes of a huge speed boat. Up down up down up down up down.

And they are stubborn. Add a loose cinch (hey, we were almost done with the ride-- I knew it was loose, but didn't bother with tightening it since we were ALMOST DONE.)

Sooooooooooooo... I still don't know if I hit the tree and was dragged off by a limb, or if I landed by the tree coincidentally, but the owner found me sprawled out on the ground, unconscious. Nothing like being knocked out to smash your ego. The saddle was dangling on the ground under Cotton, who was standing cheerfully at her hitching post.

The injuries are as follows: GIANT goose egg on head; huge purple bruise covering my upper left arm, shoulder, and part of my back; a little bruise on my right shoulder; injured ribs, and a large hematoma behind my left knee. As the days went by, everything went away except the rib pain and the black bruise that ran from halfway up my thigh to my heel. And the large cut from Cotton's shoe that graced the back of my knee.

Eventually, I went to the doctor. Apparently you are supposed to go to the doctor right after you fall off a horse?? Especially if you were knocked out. They radiographed my ribs and said that my ribs were not broken, but definitely bruised and there could be some damage to cartilage and intercostal muscle. Recovery time-- approximately 4 weeks.

Flash foward to the Crawford County Fair. Teri did much, much better here. Here second-generation home-bred wether, Galileo, took Reserve Champion market goat! If you aren't familiar with county fair livestock, winning Grand or Reserve in a market class is a big, big deal. Do it with an animal you bred and raised yourself-- pure ecstasy. She also won Grand Champion meat pen with bunnies she raised herself.

She won Grand and Reserve Champion Dairy Goat, and some awards in the Meat Goat division.

I won Grand Champion Meat Doe and Meat Buck with Lane and her son, Rory.

I also exhibited Stella, my Dorper ewe. I'm going to get back into Dorpers in a big way at some point.

And then I went apartment shopping. I didn't have the money AT ALL but amazingly enough, right before I had the time to go look for a place, Lindenwood sent me a check for $720. So I went to look at the first place I found, and it fit the bill. Cheap, two bedroom, washer and dryer hookups, and pets allowed. Best of all, they let me bring Honor (my Great Pyrenees, if you don't know him).

My Grandmother, Connie, and her husband, Ed, came up for a week. My aunt, uncle, and cousins came back up for awhile, too. It was a lot of fun and I found some AMAZING deals to furnish my house. I'll have to add it all up, but I was able to furnish this place for less than $300, easily.

Lane, my Grand Champion Meat Doe (two years running!) died. We don't know why. Heartbreaking; she was my herd core, the base of my foundation.

And then I moved. My last day at the cave was sad, but that's okay. Life is about moving on. I rented a U-Haul trailer and loaded everything (well, almost everything) and started the two-hour trek. And now I am settling in with Tippy and Honor and Loki (the fish) and waiting on Mom and Teri to bring the rest of my things.

And that's just about all for now. I have teambuilding camp ("VET") next week, and classes start the week after that. It's happening!

Update!

Where to begin.... whew. Luckily not too much has happened since last time...

I'm done with school! Well, Lindenwood, at least. I finished up with 4 A's and 1 B and a 3.74 overall GPA. Not as good as I'd hoped but hey, I did my best, and it was good enough.

I've been out for a month and all my stuff is still in the living room. That isn't a shocker.

My room is still a mess, too. I have a psuedo-path to my bed.

I've still not found a good place to live. Just no where within a reasonable price and with a yard and allows pets... phooey.

Fair season is coming up!!!!!! I can't wait! Meramec Community is first, then Crawford Co. I'm entering a bunch of home economics items in the exhibit hall at both fairs, and my goaties at Crawford. I <3 fairs!

Oops... I'm supposed to be cleaning. I'll sign off for now, and hopefully get back here in a bit...

Gulp

Okay, here I go! I have to go sign into oral comm, watch a presentation, then head back to my dorm. I'll pack up the last little (erm... lot) bit into the car once Mom and Teri get here, and then I'm headed home.

Oh, I can't forget-- my friend Alex is giving me two rats! They were part of her animal behavior study, and the home she had lined up for them backed out. So... they're mine! Their names are Remi and Leelu. I'll post pics of them later.

I ripped the headliner of the jeep with my fridge... grrrrrrrrrr. But I have about 70% of my things packed up and ready to roll... the other 30% will *hopefully* go in the blue beast when it arrives... if not, I guess I'm picking and choosing what stays and what goes.

Tonight we have to process some baby goats and move some animals around, then....

It's time for the semi-annual yay-school's-out-all-night-movie marathon!!!!!! Teri and I stay up as long as possible to watch movies. Not at all sure what the line up will be, but we'll figure it out.

It's just about time for class to start, so I'll sign off. I hope to be out of here, rats and all, by 1:30. I heard the Cards did well again yesterday, so I'll pick up a 25 cent drink... then drive away from LU for the last time. Bittersweet.

Now is the time!

I just got excited again. Not that I haven't been excited, but I was a little sad about leaving everything I've come to love in these last three years.

I thought I'd be used to it by now... I felt the same way after high school, the same way after moving to Bourbon. Now I'm feeling it again and I know I will when it's time to leave vet school.

Growing up sucks.

The Cards game on Saturday was fun, but I realized that Dr. Welsh reached a whole new level of professor evilness when I found myself sitting, at the Cards game, with my microbiology book open on my lap and my final spread out in front of me. Yeah. That got me some strange looks. We went out to Outback for dinner after the game, and I learned that my sister doesn't understand rhetorical questions. For example, if I, glancing at the last piece of delicious warm bread, ask the rest of the table, "Does anyone want that?" most people would say, "No, go ahead!" or "Nope, all yours." Teri, on the other hand, pounces on the bread and pops it in her mouth with the gusto that would accompany a line such as "Don't mind if I do!" or "Hey, thanks for offering, I didn't even see that there!" Thus the demise of the last piece of delicious warm bread.

On Monday, I went out to eat for breakfast with my World Lit class. It was fun and I'm glad I went, but it was sort of unnecessary. Professor Cole, Vykky, Amanda, and I went out to Trailhead for lunch (noticing a trend here? Too much food!) These three people are just about my favorite people in the world... I had such a good time that I forgot to be sad until we were leaving. Sigh.

Then it was time to go to Dr. Little's. Even though I only see these people about once a week, I'm super attached to them. Luckily we were just the right balance of busy to allow us to chat and have fun, but stay busy enough that I wasn't thinking about the fact it was my last day there. Beth bought a huge delicious cake for me (ahem... more food. Tora's weight loss plan was SHOT DOWN over these few days) and we all enjoyed.

Dr. Little's son stayed with us at the clinic for awhile. What a cute kid! His favorite word is "No" and he uses it all. the. time. I'm going to try to hang out at Elm Point a couple days before I head off to MU and maybe over Thanksgiving break. I miss those people already :-(.

And I have to edit my paper for biochem, write up a cheat sheet for biostats, buy AAA batteries for my calculator, and pack up my room. Then I am done with this life and headed towards the next.

Purple Tiger Stripes???

Yesterday was one of the most emotional and bittersweet days I can remember.

To start it off, I was up until 3:00 AM with Irene and Gaby at Steak n' Shake, studying for our micro exam.

Then, at 9:59, Dr. Ronnie Elmore from K-State called with the news I've been waiting for... I was accepted to Kansas.

Which, of course, was exciting and terrifying and confusing all at the same time. I asked for a while to think about it; he gave me until Monday. I cried.

Then, I made it through the last day of undergrad classes, and my last day of classes at LU.

I finished 101 of my 200 question take-home micro final.

Then I went to the LU Biology graduates' dinner. Of course, I'm not graduating, but I am leaving for grad school, so the faculty invited me along. Everyone is being so nice. And I cried a little.

And then I went home to discuss this whole K-state vs. Mizzou thing. All day yesterday, I really couldn't decide. I talked to everyone and everyone had a different idea or view or point to make. On one hand, Kansas is my dream school. On the other, MU is practically in my backyard (if my backyard extended for 2 hours). MU is cheaper. KSU gives out tablet PCs and microscopes. MU has a 2 years lecture/2 years clinical curriculum. KSU lets second years do spays and neuters.

I've definitely lost sleep over this and cried and prayed and thought and discussed and basically made myself sick. Part of me wants to be rash, accept K-state, move to Manhattan, and live on my own for 4 years. The other part of me still is set on moving to CoMO and being with my friends.

This morning, I knew what I needed to do. I'm headed off to make the phone call to close one door...

What is this feeling?

Indifference, I think.

I should be uber-stressed and panicking about now... but I am just chilling. I have a clinical microbiology exam tomorrow and I simply don't care. I've studied a bit, here and there, all week, so I may just be more prepared than I consciously think I am. But the fact remains, I should be doing something productive.

I think I'll go to Mobil On The Run and get a 25 cent drink. Love my Cardinals.

I just want to go HOME and be done with this school. I think my indifference is tinged with irritation. I am ready to move on. Mentally, I've quit school and am in the summer mode. Which isn't as relaxing as you might think... once I'm out, I'm allowing myself a couple days to recuperate. Then:

Figure out housing ASAP. <<< This is stressing me out, majorly
Figure out financial aid
Figure out my summer schedule
Apply for jobs
Go through everything I have acquired over the past 20 years and 11 months and see what goes with and what stays behind (this includes animals!)
Make money, make purchases. I'd love to get a road/street bike and cut down on gas (not to mention get fit) by biking as mush as possible. And I want an ipad/netbook/slate/whatever for taking notes in class. And I need a new phone. Too much, too much.

Well, I suppose I should head to MOTR and get myself a drink. Then it's really back to studying and cleaning. One more day of class! Then three days of finals and it's over.

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

YAY I'M ALMOST THERE!

I can see the end... it's close... really close.

The end of undergrad, that is. I can't really believe it's almost over. I feel like I've not had the chance to really live the college life. I'm definitely okay with it, just a bit melancholy. I'm a little sad about leaving my friends... the other rising seniors who I am leaving behind, and my fellow leaving-students who are traveling to all ends of the earth. Obviously, there's Facebook, and I'm going to make new friends, but it's just... weird.

So as far as my list of to-do items. Here's an update:
Biochem take-home test, due tomorrow.
Microbio exam in-class, Friday
Seniors' dinner, Friday night
Cards game, Saturday evening
Work, Sunday
Microbio take-home exam, due Monday
Lunch with Amanda and Mrs. Cole!! Monday
My last day at Dr. Little's (Definitely going to cry a little over that), Monday
Biochem gene annotation paper, Tuesday
Biostatistics final exam, Wednesday.

And there is the Cards game on Sunday, and my lunch date on Monday, and then on Wednesday, on my way home, I think I'm gathering up the greatest little five-year-old in the world and keeping her for a couple days.

Oh yeah... my room... bleh. It needs HELP. It's bad.

On the home front... The goats are doing great... we are going to try a new homeopathic treatment on the whole herd and see if it makes a difference. I'll keep you updated on that.

AND... THIS happened last weekend:

Baby Shakespeare!! He's out of Teri's doe Noel and our old buck Toby. He's HUGE and has white spots on his neck!

Cute cute cute. He's a keeper, for sure.

Ginger Belle and Ladybug continue to improve. I am not sure Ginger Belle ever ate grass before she came to us... she didn't know quite what to do with it at first. Then she started munching away greedily on the dark, thick chunks of grass while the other goats nibbled on the tender, lighter shoots far away. I think they were making fun of her for eating the grass growing out of the poop piles. Both girls have gained about 15 pounds each since their arrival.

Time to get back to my homework. I do have a presentation today but I don't think it is that big of a deal. Once that is over, I'm dedicating the afternoon to this silly biochem take-home and studying for my micro exam. Probably ought to spend about an hour or so on my room, too. We'll see what happens.