Done with the critters
I have survived my final night of sleeping in Woodside, and am now looking forward very much to sleeping in MY bed, sans Pinto-Bean. I admit he is quite a cuddly boy, but he has many irritating habits when one is attempting to sleep. A sampling: Incessant (and loud) licking of various body parts; licking anything I leave exposed; burrowing under the covers to lick my toes (can you tell he has a licking fetish?); galloping around the house whining and barking at odd hours. I must admit though, that I probably would have gone totally insane if I didn't have him around. I have decided that even if, someday, I could actually afford it, I will NEVER EVER build myself a gigantic house out in the boonies where there are no lights.
Midget-man almost gave me a heart attack this morning. We were doing our morning check of the horses, who had just been fed. I did the two up the hill first, and as usual Pinto followed me up there to graze. I came down to check on the big red gelding and whistled for Pinto. The big red guy pretty much hates Pinto's guts, and especially when he (Red; I don't know his real name) is eating. He is convinced that Pinto wants to steal his food. Anyways, instead of coming straight down the hill, Pinto wriggled under Red's fence and cut across his paddock! Luckily Red didn't notice him until he was squirming under my part of the fence, but HOLY CRAP! If he had, or if Pinto had stopped on his way, I don't know what would have happened but it wouldn't have been good.
Yesterday was very sports-ful: I went to the Rose and Crown pub to watch the Champions League final between Arsenal and Barcelona in the morning, then went to the A's game at night. Arsenal lost 2-1, which was very sad, especially after they had put up such a gallant effort playing most of the game down a man (and with a 1-0 lead that they got right after their first string keeper Jens Lehmann was sent off). At halftime I discovered to my astonishment that both of the guys sitting at my table were Michigan grad students. Insane, isn't it??
The A's kicked the crap out of the Mariners, 7-2. Barry Zito looked very sharp, and this time the offense actually supported him. And the Tygs maintained their first-place tie with the ChiSox, beating Minnesota 2-0 on a two-run Vance Wilson homer. Justin Verlander was NAILS for eight innings, and Jonesy got the save. The Boys played a bit of an ugly game today but still came away with a 5-3 win. I watched it on Gamecast at work--today was my first day back at Wisnom's Hardware. Yes, the work is mind-numbing, but because of that it is considered completely acceptable for me to listen to my iPod constantly and to keep tabs on baseball games. If I work too fast, Jeff (one of my bosses) sometimes encourages me to slow down by reading ESPN articles or something like that. This job actually pays, the people are incredibly nice, and Allison (my other boss) has no problems working my hours around my baseball schedule. Woohoo!
In other news, I'm finally beginning work on the big backpage feature for fall about gymnastics injuries. I'm interviewing Joe and Jamie for sure, and perhaps Scott, on Sunday. I figure once I get all my gymnast info and quotes, I'll use that to make up more specific questions for whatever doctor I end up talking to. Such as, What are the long term consequences of competing with [fill in injury]? I need to read some archived backpages to see how I structure this. . . Should be fun!!! I can't wait to talk to the boys, as usual. I get such a kick out of it.
Midget-man almost gave me a heart attack this morning. We were doing our morning check of the horses, who had just been fed. I did the two up the hill first, and as usual Pinto followed me up there to graze. I came down to check on the big red gelding and whistled for Pinto. The big red guy pretty much hates Pinto's guts, and especially when he (Red; I don't know his real name) is eating. He is convinced that Pinto wants to steal his food. Anyways, instead of coming straight down the hill, Pinto wriggled under Red's fence and cut across his paddock! Luckily Red didn't notice him until he was squirming under my part of the fence, but HOLY CRAP! If he had, or if Pinto had stopped on his way, I don't know what would have happened but it wouldn't have been good.
Yesterday was very sports-ful: I went to the Rose and Crown pub to watch the Champions League final between Arsenal and Barcelona in the morning, then went to the A's game at night. Arsenal lost 2-1, which was very sad, especially after they had put up such a gallant effort playing most of the game down a man (and with a 1-0 lead that they got right after their first string keeper Jens Lehmann was sent off). At halftime I discovered to my astonishment that both of the guys sitting at my table were Michigan grad students. Insane, isn't it??
The A's kicked the crap out of the Mariners, 7-2. Barry Zito looked very sharp, and this time the offense actually supported him. And the Tygs maintained their first-place tie with the ChiSox, beating Minnesota 2-0 on a two-run Vance Wilson homer. Justin Verlander was NAILS for eight innings, and Jonesy got the save. The Boys played a bit of an ugly game today but still came away with a 5-3 win. I watched it on Gamecast at work--today was my first day back at Wisnom's Hardware. Yes, the work is mind-numbing, but because of that it is considered completely acceptable for me to listen to my iPod constantly and to keep tabs on baseball games. If I work too fast, Jeff (one of my bosses) sometimes encourages me to slow down by reading ESPN articles or something like that. This job actually pays, the people are incredibly nice, and Allison (my other boss) has no problems working my hours around my baseball schedule. Woohoo!
In other news, I'm finally beginning work on the big backpage feature for fall about gymnastics injuries. I'm interviewing Joe and Jamie for sure, and perhaps Scott, on Sunday. I figure once I get all my gymnast info and quotes, I'll use that to make up more specific questions for whatever doctor I end up talking to. Such as, What are the long term consequences of competing with [fill in injury]? I need to read some archived backpages to see how I structure this. . . Should be fun!!! I can't wait to talk to the boys, as usual. I get such a kick out of it.