Weblog Reflection: What I think about it, and why I did what I did.

In my blog I did not use it to prove any specific point, or use it to express myself. Rather, I wanted my blog to be a way for people to get to know me. I mainly used written rhetoric to do this. However, I used a lot of visual rhetoric because of the photographs in many of my posts. Some of the pictures I posted in my blog are ones that triggered some specific thoughts that I wanted to share, went along with the subject of a certain post, or pictured what a specific post was describing. I only had a limited amount of audio rhetoric that was in the form of videos. One of my gadgets was a cluster of videos from one of my favorite comedians, Brad Stine. I put this up because it shows some of the videos that I frequent on YouTube, and enjoy watching. Also, I have a list of links in which two are links to a commercial that I love, and Barack Obama’s inauguration speech. I linked these two videos because I would watch them more than once. As far as electronic strategies go, I used the Internet to post my blog link on my Facebook profile page as well as a mode for friends to get to know me better and keep current on what was going on with me.

Each of the written, audio, visual, and electronic strategies I used to represent the message of my blog were effective. If I were to rate which method of rhetoric was the most effective I would have to say written. By using written rhetoric the most, the viewers of my blog can really get a taste of who I am as a person as well as my weak and strong points in my writing. My use of audio rhetoric could have been more effective if I had used it more often. However, I do enjoy motion pictures, I feel that they are replacing writing. Therefore, I find myself leaning away from posting videos. At the same time, I could have found some videos that aroused thoughts worth sharing like many of the pictures I posted.

My blog is ultimately informative. This is because used my blog as a way for others to discover who I am as a person. There were a few posts that I wrote about my views on certain subjects, for example when I discussed the depletion in the population of Polar bears. Although, this presents my personal view, along with other posts, is only informing others about what I think about. Also, many posts are telling stories about my horses and why I love them. I do not interpret any of my posts as being persuasive in any way.

When I look back on my blog, I can see that it is portraying my identity fairly accurately. A majority of my posts describe horses and I personally cannot be described if horses are not described. I do recall at times I changed or edited posts because they 9were too personal for a weblog. This is because, a weblog is a good way to express identity, but at the same time it is out there for everyone to see. No person wants everyone to know everything about him or her; therefore, certain things should not be posted on the Internet. Overall, I do think my blog portrays my identity, the same one that can be observed in person, quite well. Mass media did not change what I would have told a person in a face-to-face conversation.

Freshmen year of college: Check

This school year has been completely epic. I have grown and changed in many ways, but I feel that is for the better, of course. The fears that I used to have about certain things, especially things that require exploration, are not really existent anymore. This is indeed a good thing, because I have found myself more. I know a lot more about what my views are on things, what I like, what I do not like, and how to protect myself from certain everyday pressures. Here are some things that I learned my freshman year of college that I would like to share. There is no specific order.
1. God is in control, not me.
2. Spark conversations with random people in the elevator, it is a great way to make friends.
3. Explore different churches and ministries.
4. Don’t work for companies who bounce checks, it will result in a heck of a lot of money in returned check fees, and if it happens overdraft fees. (NOT COOL)
5. Do not get a stadium-parking permit, because cars have to be moved for football games and your vehicle is not easily accessible.
6. Never get in a Maple elevator without a phone to call for help.
7. The UDCC is not all that amazing, in fact it is crowded and scattered.
8. If a guy comes up to you at a party and puts his arm around you, give him the number for the rejection hotline.
9. In fact, never go out without a guy friend anyway if you are female, it’s much safer.
10. Do research on whom to vote for, for any type of election. Google.
11. Live in a social dorm.
12. It is good to get good grades, but it is not everything, get involved in things on campus.
13. Take days off, like, Saturday, if possible sleep for half the day.
14. Clean your sheets, try not to be one of those people who doesn’t wash their sheets all year. That’s a tad gross (I observed this).
15. There is nothing wrong with laughing hysterically about simple things.
16. Wikipedia sucks butt, really really.
17. Orange juice causes heartburn.
18. After 6 drinks of tea and milk, do not try to read anything.
19. Beer is definitely an acquired taste.
20. Call your Dad he wants to hear how you are doing.
21. Duck tape is your friend.
22. Befriend a mechanical engineer or two, because they can take things apart, fix them, and put them back together. The best part is, they enjoy doing it!
23. Mountain Dew, glows in the dark, if you put baking soda in it and shake really hard.
24. There is more than just one type of good music.
25. Friends are family, and got your back.

These things may be really simple and kind of reek of the “duh” factor. Still, I learned these things with first hand experience, and enjoyed every minute of it. I will never forget what I experience freshman year, and I am so pumped that I have three or maybe more years of college. Yes, classes can be tough, and make me angry sometimes, but classes are not everything. I can admit I used to think it was all about classes and grades, but it really isn’t. There is so much more to college than grades. I thought I was doing kind of stinky, but then I talked to my adviser who was thrilled with how well I was doing. New take on the whole grade thing has emerged, and I am so glad it did. Allowed me to sit back, and chill, well, one day a week at least.

It has been a good and successful year, and I will take it and the many stories that have come from it with me forever. One too many inside jokes between me and my friends, but that is something that I completely cherish.

Meet My Peeps

Many of my former blog posts have talked about the horses that I work with, but only twice, I have put up a picture of reference. Therefore, I decided that it would be very cool to go to the barn and take some "profile" pictures of all the horses. Now, I hope that you can create a visual in your mind of my so called peeps, who annoy and crack me up all at the same time. They are all joys in some respect or another, and it never fails that I end up with a story or two at the end of everyday. So, here are some profiles for my favorite equines, along with the human counterparts I have come up with. Hopefully, that can give you an idea of what their personalities are.

Meet Joe a.k.a. "Tommy Boy"


A popular little pony among my stories, Joe, is quite the character. He may not be the sharpest tool in shed, but he definitely shines with help. I call him "Tommy Boy" on occasion, named after the film with Chris Farley and David Spade. Tommy is not the brightest, but he definitely is hilarious, just like Joe. Joe is easily confused. He often goes into the wrong stall and wrecks havoc in the barn, but the truth is, he can't help it much. However, his massive states of confusion have diminished over this past semester. He is finally getting the idea that he will not be able to find food if he goes into a stall that is already taken by one of his buddies. One of Joe's best qualities that he is always chipper, and does not get into disagreements with the other ponies. He finds a way to be himself, no matter what he is up too.

Meet Marek a.k.a. "Richard"


On the contrary to Joe, Marek is a pretty smart little pony. He has a tendency to be a little bit of a party-pooper and standoffish. Which brought me to calling him "Richard." If anyone is going to give Joe a hard time in the pasture it is going to be Marek. He is also a little bit of a terd to the others around him, but he can be nice from time to time. Basically he knows how to do it all, but does not really apply it. He may be on the small side but he could kick your butt if you let him. Also, he is not going to be last and if there are only two horses in the pasture, him and someone else, he's got their back.

Meet Scarlet a.k.a. "Jackie Burkhart"


Scarlet is a bit of a controlling girl, which brought me to the calling her "Jackie" referring to That 70's Show. If it is not going her way she is going to tell you and make sure that you know that she is right. Other than completely stubborn, she is starving for attention and will do anything to make sure that you are looking at her and admiring how pretty she is. Her reasoning is not always the best, but she has a good expression most of the time, minus when the other horses make her mad. Although she may be popular, no one really likes her all that much on the surface, but deep down, she is loved to death.

Meet Frida a.k.a. "Eleanor Roosevelt"


Frida has definitely gotten wisdom with her years. She is the oldest pony in the barn, but is not going to let that get her down. With age has come grace when it comes to Frida. In the barn she is quiet and reserved, but keeps all the rest of the herd in check, specifically Joe. I call her Eleanor from time to time, because Eleanor Roosevelt was an amazing woman, and Frida is an amazing little pony. She always keeps trucking along, and does not let anything stop her from being a pony. Particularly when it comes to who gets the food in the barn first. Hey, she may be Eleanor Roosevelt as a pony, but she is still just a pony.

Meet Tobey and Al a.k.a. "Hitch and Albert"


Tobey and Albert are the epitome of "tall, dark, and handsome" and "short and cute." Therefore, I refer to them by the characters "Alex Hitchens" and "Albert Brennaman" from the movie Hitch. Together they are best friends and take care of eachother through there everyday challenges of being horses. They have gotten into some disputes, but they both got over them. When the two of them are together not much can bring them down. Tobey has got all the game, and Al has the humor. They are both super friendly, and fun to look at together, because they couldn't be more different.

Meet Fanny a.k.a. "Dorothy"


Fanny is bit lost at this point in her life. She is young and is definitely in search of a good friend and her talents. I call her Dorothy, because of just that. Dorothy went on a crazy journey, and I think that in her own little world Fanny is too. That is my reasoning when it comes to the fact that she never seems quite there. If she clicks her heels and says "there's no place like home" maybe she will return to reality.

Meet Silver a.k.a. "Jack Sparrow"


Silver wants to know why the rum is always gone. He enjoys a good party, and all he wants to do is go to the parties, drink rum, and hit on the ladies. However, like "Jack" he is not the most successful in the lady department and tends to get a good slap in the face, that he probably deserved. Still, he is comical and does not always have the best footing and tends to wobble.

Meet Sammy a.k.a. "Scotty Smalls"


Sammy just wants to be accepted, and will do whatever he can to fit in with he herd. Like "Scotty Smalls" from The Sandlot, Sammy will put himself in a little bit of danger just to be like all the rest of the kids. Whether that means climbing over a fence to get a ball back from a killer dog, or being brave and standing ground on his own hay pile. Either way, Sammy or as I call him "Smalls" is socially awkward, but is working his way to the top of the herd.

Meet Sangha a.k.a. "Princess Buttercup"


Sangha is classically beautiful and quite the princess. However, she is not the average damsel in distress princess, she can fend for herself, some of the time. She does need her knight in shining armor to come, but like "Buttercup" from the movie Princess Bride, she can defend herself for good period of time. She does it with out getting disgustingly dirty too.

Meet Kelsey a.k.a. "Big Mama"


Kelsey, who I call "Big Mama", is only called "Big Mama" because she is indeed a girl, and is very large. I am not a short person and her wither is a good six inches above my head. Kelsey is laid back and sweet. Although she is very large she makes the phrase "Gentle giants" a true statement. She is by far one of my favorite horses of all time.

Meet Graham a.k.a. "Happy Gilmore"


I call Graham, "Happy Gilmore," because he is grungy, goofy, and has a little bit of a temper. He is definitely a hockey player and not a golfer. Graham is loud, impatient, and is ecstatic when he has his Subway, or hay rather. Still, those who have his back will stand by him though all of his episodes, and temper tantrums. Besides, when he gets angry, it is complete hilarious.

Meet Claire a.k.a. "Michelle Obama"


Claire is like Michelle Obama because she has a loyal temperament. Whoever Claire is working with, she does what ever she can to please them and do what is right. If something stumps her, she will be honest about it, and then try to work to find the right answer. She also, keeps an eye on her family in the herd.

Meet Hank a.k.a. "The Terminator"


Hank might not look like much here with his sleepy face, but he definitely does a lot wear and tear on the ground he walks on. The Terminator may have turned good, but he is still a tough dude. Hank, is a muscle machine too, just travel sized. Overall, Hank will help you out, but be careful, if you push the wrong button he will kick your ass.

Meet Whinnie a.k.a. "Miss Daisy"


Whinnie is a bit of a grumpy lady, like Miss Daisy from Driving Miss Daisy. She is hard to please and wants everything to be done for her. Out of all the other horses, she is by far the most important, but she will not take you handoffs of affection. You need to just appreciate her without her telling you to do so.

Meet Sweet Pea a.k.a. "Dot"


Okay, so Dot is an ant, but she is the perfect character to describe Sweet Pea. Sweet Pea, is adorable, just like Dot. She may be young, but she is using what she is learning positively and becoming a small but awesome little pony. She is so smart, but don't let size fool you. Sweet Pea is definitely establishing herself as an alpha mare.

Meet Dancer and Gabe a.k.a. "Doug and Steve Butabi"


So Dancer is on the left and Gabe is on the right. These two are completely inseparable, and a little odd too. Like Doug (the short one) and Steve (the tall one) from the movie A Night at the Roxbury. These two have no game at all, but they like to think they do, or rather, they have no idea they are completely insane. What is love? Enough said.

Last but not least:

Meet Kevyn a.k.a. "Denis the Menace"


Kevyn is a menace and one of a kind. He is the cutest little pony with a great sense of humor, and he definitely knows how to get himself in and out of trouble like it is his job. But, hey, maybe it is his job. I call his name, and he looks completely guilty. Makes me wonder what he has been up too, when I have not been watching him. I look into his eyes and I can envision him screaming "Hey Mr. Wilson!!" Kevyn is a trouble maker, but fills all who deal with him laughter.

BPD, ADD, RAD

This evening I joined my friend Bunmi, and went to a presentation about Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). It was really interesting. It touch upon a disorder that I do not want to work for in my professional career, but it did get me thinking about what I did want to work with. I will get to that later. I went to the meeting for Bunmi, and to be there for support. In the end it turned out to be worth it, and Bunmi mentioned that there were a few topics that made her uneasy. Overall she was very glad that she had company.

While I was listening to the doctor talk, I began to think of other disorders. I am really interested in Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). This goes back to developing a therapy program that uses horses as the primary replacement for medication. Horses can be great therapy because they make you work for their affection. This goes concurrent with having to work to build relationships with other people. Good relationships do not happen over night. I hope that this can help those who struggle with RAD. Those who have been diagnosed with RAD, suffer with relationship issues because they did not have the needed intimacy from parents or guardians in their critical periods. Horses can help to rebuild the relationship building skills that are needed for all walks of life. Once a person obtains a relationship with a horse, like people, they need to work to keep it.

Similarly, horses can help with ADD. This is because, it takes a lot of focus to ride a horse, and take care of it. They can train minds to focus on one thing at a time and finish it before beginning another task. After that point, riding a horse takes a lot of coordination, which also takes a lot of brainpower. This helps with cognitive development and focus.

It is crazy that all this came into my mind while listening to a lady talk about BPD. I was listening to her, but the more she kept talking the more I really thought about what was of interest to me. I do think horses can be therapy to more than just RAD and ADD sufferers, but with my knowledge of horses, I can conclude that they would be most effective in the use within those disorders. This is all in the thought process, but is it ever too early to start thinking about things that interest you? Never, how else would I ever find anything that I was interested in if I never thought about it. This is good, I think if I get bored this summer, I am going to do some research on equine therapy.

Students Lead Worship

Yesterday at my church the university students lead worship. We each had a role, and a few of us volunteered to speak for a few minutes during the sermon about the spring break mission’s trip or in my case, what I did on spring break. Earlier in the week, I was not exactly sure what I wanted to talk about. Did I want to talk about how CPC had affected my freshman year, or did I want to talk about Big Break? My friend Ryan was very helpful when it came to my articulation of thoughts. He asked me, “What affected you more, CPC or Big Break?” It took me about a second to answer, “Big Break.” From there I went to tell him about the biggest lesson I learned, and then got my heart set on the topic that I wanted to talk about. My topic was the lesson I learned, which was to not be afraid to share my faith. I was relieved to get that out onto the table, and was very thankful that Ryan asked me the questions that he did.

However, I left that conversation with the intention of going forth and writing down some notes. But, with all the events last week, it slipped my mind until about 10 minutes before the service started on Sunday morning. I knew what the Bible verse was and I knew what I wanted to say; I just had to come up with an introduction, support, and a conclusion in a few minutes. As soon as I started thinking about it, I forgot my initial idea, and then got very nervous. The first thing I did was pray, and then boom, Doug was finished and it was my turn to speak. I walked up to the podium, my hands shaking, my heart pounding, and my mind fuming with different thoughts of completely failure. As soon as I got to the podium, I glanced at the audience. All my friends in the front row looked at me and smiled. Seeing their smiles, my thoughts slowed and I knew exactly what I was going to say, and how I was going to do it. Of course I was still nervous, and I was very thankful that the podium was hiding my knees knocking together rapidly. I began with talking about how I was scared on the first day of Big Break, but quickly discovered what I could do with my words. I learned that if I hide my faith and what I know about God, how could I ever be a light in someone else’s life. When I said this, I could see many people in the church, thinking. Their facial expressions changed to wonder and then to smiles. I became more comfortable behind that podium. My short speech did not have the best conclusion, but what can I say, I came up with it on the spot. Can you say extemporaneous?

When I had gotten down and back to my seat, my buddies whispered praises into my ears and complemented on what a great job I did. Anne even gave me kudos at the end of the service. Many were surprised that I just spoke on the spot. I responded with I like to live on the edge, and I thrive on improvisation. In the end, I really did like speaking. I would rather speak to smaller groups of people, but I really liked it. I can’t wait to do something like that again. Specifically, speaking on a topic that I feel strongly about and have a great interest. Hopefully in the years to come, I can, but not only can, will.

Veishea Stories: What a Weekend.

Well, Veishea weekend has come to a close, and I have to say I am relieved that there will be no more locked doors 24/7 in Maple. My friends and I all stayed safe, both Friday and Saturday night, along with my car. But, I consider myself very lucky, that my car was not mistaken for someone else’s.

Veishea Story #1: Busted Car
I walked out to my car parked behind Oak Elm at about 7 a.m. on Saturday morning. Being on the tired side I looked at my feet a lot while I was walking, making sure I did not trip over anything and completely kiss the ground. I wandered slowly to my car, until I noticed an awful lot of glass that had taken up home on the ground. The first thought that came into my mind was “oh great.” But, I looked up to observe that my car was parked right next to a car that was vandalized. The car had a rock thrown through the back windshield, all the tires were slit, and there were various forms of graphite on the roof, and all four doors. Wow. I am assuming that whoever vandalized this car did not do it out of drunken rage, but rather to a specific person’s car. Maybe a cheater owned the car, or someone broke up with someone, or forgot to invite them to a party in the ninth grade, or maybe the backseat smelled like pickles. I will never know. However, I am forever grateful for not being the person the "vandalizer" was mad at. Phew, I am a lucky duck; because I have a green Ford Focus and the vandalized car was a green ford focus. Could have been an easy mistake.

Veishea Story #2: Losers
We went to some concerts on Friday night. We being, Nicole, Joe, Brian, Anne, Kayla, Kylie, someone I cannot remember, and myself. When we got to the concerts, there were not many people there yet. However, the band that was playing had tight purple pants, and horribly colored holey tee shirts. Their hair was choppy, and short on top, and long on the bottom. I am calling the style, modern day mullets. I could only endure about two songs of theirs before I decided they were Greenday wannabees and it was time to leave and come back later when the music was going to be actually good. What we all left to see was not much better than the emo band from Cedar Falls who made me have to control my gag reflex. We went to central campus to see a dude eat and cough back up money. It would not have been that entirely nasty if, the coughing guy did not giggle like the Pillsbury doughboy before he spit out a quarter. He would smack his chest, make horrible hacking noises, giggle like the doughboy and then spit quarters, rings and such into a dish in front of him. Brian thought this was freaking hilarious, but really, the giggles haunt me at night. I had a giggle nightmare. Everyone was giggling and spitting out quarters. Good thing, I found a happy place and got over the weird giggles. But I can say, that I will never go see a man who coughs up quarters, giggles like the Pillsbury doughboy, and to top it off, talks with a fake Irish accent. Lamez.

Veishea Story #3: Pancakes Float My Boat
After we returned to the concerts and listened to Red rock the house, we went to get some pancakes. The line was freaky long, but it was moving quite fast. Once we got into line and got our plates, the professional pancake flippers flipped four pancakes onto our plates. First of all the system of griddles they had to make the pancakes was off the hook. The second coolest thing I had ever seen in my life. The first being, a combine, anyway, we sat down. Joe wolfed down his pancakes and then finished Anne’s. Joe is the kind of person who if there is food on his plate he is going to eat it. It is like MAGIC. One second it is there, then poof, it is gone. In the midst of our pancake eating, somebody tripped over the master extension cord and the power in the tent went out. It was awesome. We sat and ate some pancakes in the dark. Once the lights were turned back on, some dude thought it would be funny to throw a pancake at Kayla. Little did he know that she was going to throw some pancake back. Just to add some more insight into this, she was completely sober unlike the other guy, therefore when she threw some pancake back she actually hit him. She did not hit him in the face or arm or anywhere like that, but rather his hat. He was wearing a fireman’s hat, and the pancake landed on the brim of it. However, this guy was too drunk to notice that the pancake was sitting on his brim. So, he laughed hysterically and was commenting on how she missed him. His friends, did notice the pancake, but felt “Tushay” was needed in respect. We watched as the guy got up proud of himself and threw his plate away, to then notice the pancake fall off his hate and into the trashcan. Our table burst into laughter and then the guy came over and shook Kayla’s hand. Team Victory.

Veishea Story #4: Locked Out and Upset
After Cartel on Saturday night I went back to Maple at about 1 am. I was tired, and totally Veishea’ed out. First of all the concert was a blast. My favorite part was not the music, but seeing two people be literally carried out of the venue by security. Brian and I found this to be very comical. I am not much for crowds and neither is Brian, so we chilled toward the back of the crowd. This allowed for the observance of multiple people being thrown across the crowd and falling down, getting up, and laughing about it. They will have some bumps, bruises, and massive headaches that will last well into next week. After the concert I went back to Maple, to encounter a poor and unfortunate soul who had forgotten his access card. When I got into the building, he asked “do you have an access card, could you please let me on the elevator? It took me 20 minutes to get into the building but no one will let me on the elevator.” I decided that I would be a good Samaritan and help this guy out. Besides, I recognized him, I knew he lived on the third floor. I answered, “sure, let’s go.” So, we got onto the elevator and the guy continued to ramble, in what appeared to be complete exhaustion. “Thank you so much for letting me on the elevator. I left my wallet in my room because I did not anyone to steal it, and my access card is in my wallet, and I just want to go to sleep. Thank you so much again, you totally saved my night, I can go to sleep now.” I answered, “No problem, man, you have a good night.” He walks off onto third floor to turn around and say, “Really, thank you so much, you have no idea how hard it was to get up here.” Being polite, I answered, “no problem,” but while I was saying this I was thinking “of course I know how hard it was to get into Maple, you have been telling me about if for the last 5 minutes.” Anyway, I proceeded up to my room, to then brush my teeth, and crash with 10 minutes of getting back. Sleep, is really underrated.

Overall, the weekend was a good experience, but if I never participated in another Veishea, I would not miss it. It was cool, but not that amazing. Maybe in a few years when I actually know where the good stuff is, I can rock out more.

Veishea Disected

Today I got myself some Battle of the Bands tickets for Veishea. I am pumped, because not only are some cool people coming to perform, but also the ticket was $8 for two nights and the opportunity to see several musicians. I thought that was a pretty good deal. Also, I will be going with some cool buddies of mine and that always makes for a good time.

Still, I am a little uneasy about the whole “Veishea” thing. I understand the concept, but what goes on, is a little peculiar. The statistics say that alumni start most of the riots and a majority of the people arrested are alumni. First of all what is the point of starting a riot and assaulting people? People would not do that everyday, so what makes Veishea any different? It really is only a big party to honor Iowa State, not to go out and get arrested and molest people. Really, that is very disrespectful not only to the people around, but the university itself. People really need to get some dignity, and in my mind, being disrespectful takes away all the dignity that may have existed. Not to mention, Maple will be locked at all times starting at 7 pm on Friday for the safety of the residents. Holy cow, our safety, my safety is at stake. That is not cool, I better not go anywhere alone, not that I would anyway, but still, are my car tires going to slit? I wouldn’t be surprised, or maybe it will even get tipped in the parking lot. That would totally suck, I need my car. Imagine if that happened. I would have to get a new car, and the people who did it were probably laughing hysterically in the process. Losers. My safety and belongings are at stake because of people are irresponsible and idiotic and above all drunk as anything.

Among all the craziness, I am looking forward to the music and the all you can eat pancakes for $1 on central campus Friday night. That will be cool. I will make sure that I avoid all the drunken people who many have been drunk since Monday, but that’s ok, I will not be, so I will remember if anything good happens.

Today was also Reese’s cup day in Oak Elm. There is one good thing about Veishea. Hershey is a sponsor, so there is lots of “free” chocolate, and they finally dished out the good stuff. The question is, if we have a meal plan, is the chocolate really free? No, but it makes everyone feel better when they can tell themselves it really is free candy because of Veishea. That just cracks me up. I guess I just between the lines too much. However, I am not the one who is going to vandalize public property and get arrested. I love Veishea.

What I thought was messing up, is really getting better.

I had a riding lesson today, and I have not had once since the beginning of October. Therefore I was ready for it to be a little tough, and I had set in my mind that Dancer was not in the best of shape. My coach is not one to give out complements very often, so when you get one, whatever it was about must be looking pretty damn good.

I got to the barn earlier than I had initially expected because I got done with my immediate homework in good time. This always puts me in good spirits and then going to ride my horse just put me in the best of moods. I got to the barn, and chatted with some people, watched bits and pieces of a lesson, and got Dancer and started brushing him. It must be spring finally because he was shedding like a beast. It was at a point where I could not open my mouth because I would get a mouthful of hair. That is just gross, so I made sure my mouth stayed closed along with my eyes at some points. Dancer had a lot of dried mud in his hair and all over his legs too. It is crazy how dirty my horse gets when I go home for a weekend. It seems like he misses me so much that he gets distressed and has to roll around in twice as much mud as normal. His main and tail were all up in shambles and had hay sticking out of several strands. He was quite the sight for sore eyes. Maybe, he gets himself this dirty when he misses attention. If he gets really dirty, he knows someone will get out a brush. All these things are in the workings in his walnut sized brain. Dancer is a bright dude. This makes me wonder if his master plans have anything with taking over the world. Although, if this is the case, he LOVES me, so I will be okay. The sad thing, is I probably would take the horses side in a battle against people and horses. But, maybe that really is not a sad thing.

Anyway, I got Dancer all tacked up, and went out to the arena. We started walking around and right of the bat, complements started flowing. “He looks good,” “He’s tracking up nicely, “Why he looks nice and jolly.” One important thing to know about horse people is that, we do not need complements like “You look good,” “Wow, you are energetic,” “You are all smiles today.” No, we do not need those. Real complements in the mind of an equestrian are those given to his or her horse. If my horse is looking good, I am thrilled and that probably means I am looking good too. You see it’s similar to prom. It’s all about the dress; once you get the right dress you are pretty golden. Well, similarly, it’s all about the horse; once you get the right horse, you are pretty dandy. If your dress is good, you probably look good in your dress. If your horse looks good, you probably look good on him or her. See, it is not a complex concept.

Like I said before, my coach does not give out complements very often, so when my lesson started out with complements, I knew it was going to be a good day. We did lots of stuff, but did not have to spend much time on each individual thing because they were all being done so well. Not bad for someone who had been able to ride 20 this semester. I think about this because apparently Dancer is riding better than he has been, ever, but I have been putting less time into it. What does that mean??? Am I mastering the art of riding horses? Am I conducting quality rides rather than lazy ones? Does Dancer love Iowa State as much as I do? These are burning questions. However, there is not exactly anyone worthy to answer them. I guess, riding when I can, the best I can, and always with a splendid attitude has good results. Not being able to ride as much as I used to, makes me more and more pumped to go and ride and it clears my head better than ever. It is funny how little things can make a difference. This whole year I thought how college was messing up my riding skills, but it has been making them better and better the whole time. This is crazy strange, but completely awesome. I am so pumped to go home and ride this summer. I miss riding so much; I don’t think I could get sick of it. I will cherish every moment, because come fall, I will lose many of them. In the end, if I have nothing, I will be able to say, I can ride a horse, really really.

Duppies vs. Sprinkles

It was a tradition in my family to go out to get ice cream on a nice summer night once in a while. We would all get our ice cream and eat together outside on picnic tables or in a nearby park. I always looked forward to these little ice cream adventures. My ice cream of choice used to be chocolate chip cookie dough with chocolate sprinkles. However, growing up in my family, we called sprinkles, “duppies.” Therefore, I had no idea that duppies were also known as sprinkles until I was about 11 years old. Some may say that is a long time to not know what the real name of sprinkles really was, but I truly did not know the difference. Besides, there was never a reason for me to question duppies.

Normally when we went out to get ice cream my mom was the one who ordered for me. One time when we went this was the case, but the ice cream people forgot to put my chocolate duppies on my ice cream. I decided that the ice cream just did not taste the same without my chocolate duppies. So, I decided to be brave and go up to the counter and ask for my chocolate duppies. I walked out of the picnic table area, into the playground, across the driveway and waited in the line. The line was not too long, but it felt like I was waiting for years. The ice cream in my dish began to melt and the cookie dough chunks were becoming very visible, and looking more and more tasty. My mouth soon began to water. To keep myself occupied I swirled the ice cream around with my spoon. I made it look like it was an ice cream castle, and imagined the chocolate duppies would be all the people who wanted to get into the castle. Finally, I had reached the window.

I placed my ice cream dish on the counter and looked at the ice cream man.
“You forgot to put the chocolate duppies on my ice cream.” I said. The man looked at me with a very confused daze, so I repeated my statement. “You forgot to the duppies on my ice cream.”
“What are duppies?” The man asked.
“You know, the little things that go on top of ice cream.” I answered.
“Oh, you mean sprinkles?” The man asked for clarification.
“Sprinkles?” I answered more confused than he was.
“Yeah, they come in rainbow and chocolate. Do you want me to put on some chocolate sprinkles?”
“No, I don’t want sprinkles, I want duppies.” I answered. I took my ice cream off the counter and walked back across the driveway, through the play ground, and too the picnic tables where my mom and siblings were sitting.
“Mom that ice cream man is crazy, he didn’t know what duppies were. He kept trying to give me sprinkle things.” I told my mom.
“Well sprinkles are duppies.” My mom answered. Thoughts of utter confusion ran through my mind and I had to ponder this. If duppies are sprinkles, then sprinkles are duppies, but why did I never know this?
“We call sprinkles duppies, duppies is just a made up name.” My mom said for more clarification. I could hear my brother and sister begin to giggle, and then I realized that for 11 years of my life I thought that duppies were duppies, but the whole time they were sprinkles. Why did nobody ever tell me this? I made a fool of myself asking for duppies, when really, duppies do not even exist to anyone but me. Because of this I confused that poor man at the counter and was brought up under false pretenses.

As a result, I will never ask for “sprinkles” on my ice cream nor will I ever put sprinkles on my ice cream in the safety of my own home. I was traumatized at 11 years old because what I thought was my favorite ice cream topping really was not a real ice cream topping. I now refuse to believe that sprinkles exist and are eaten as an ice cream topping. I only want to see them on cookies, but even there, they better be sparse. I will forever only eat hot fudge and whipped cream on my ice cream, because sprinkles can not be trusted.

Easter Rocks my Socks

This weekend was one of the best ever. Not only did I get to go home and relax, I planted 247 trees! The best part was, that I thought planting trees was a total ball. I got to get really dirty, dig holes, cut roots, spread mulch, and do other sorts of “farmer” works. I learned a whole lot about trees, like, when to plant them, what time to plant, and what trees need more space than others. I learned all this from the famers and decided that I love Iowa farmers. They are hilarious, and love to tell you what to do, but in a good way. It is funny how quickly they get to know you too. They would not let me near any machinery, which bugged me at first, but then I thought about it. I love to explore and experiment, they could not have me do that with expensive machinery. This is funny, but I really wanted to drive the tractor.

I took lots and lots of pictures planting trees and even had some others steal my camera and take pictures of me. While digging in the dirt I found a worm. This worm was a total fatty, chowing down none stop on the dirt. I thought Cornelius was a respectable name for him. My reasoning is, how often is the name Cornelius used? Not very, and I am big on being different, so Cornelius King of the Dirt, it is. I am very excited about the tree planting because in a few years there will be a windbreak for my house. Therefore the wind won’t hit the back of my house like a freight train and rattle the windows. Also, I will be able to go in my backyard, and be in the woods (kind of) and not have to look at brown dirt in the spring, winter, and fall, that sort of thing or corn at all. Well directly behind my house anyway.

Other than tree planting I got to spend time with my dog, dad, and friends. I went to the barn and brushed my pony that is shedding like a Wildebeest, at least that is what I am going to call it, hair was everywhere! It was awesome.

I even got to rest up this weekend. I did not do any homework, on purpose. All my major stuff I did the week before and now I just need to edit it and realize how much I do not like it, and think about how I do not know how to change it. The usual. I am excited that it is Veishea. I initially had 4 tests this week, but can push 2 off to next week, I am so thrilled about that. Two tests this week two next week, seems like a good balance to me. Well, got to get cracking on that studying that I do. Happy Belated Easter y’all!