So it's definitely almost the end of the semester (classes are over and I just have two more finals to take), and I'm all a-jumble with mixed emotions. It's not like I'm not looking forward to sharing a room with Kendra next semester. I mean, I'm sure we'll be able to cope with the differences in one another's sleep cycles, and we get along wonderfully (most of the time). But I'll definitely miss having all this space to myself (Mine! Mine!! ALL MINE!!!!) and my room looks so empty since Mom and Sixto came and made off with a bunch of my stuff. I'm excited about being home, but I know I'm going to have to clean my room at home or it'll drive me crazy. Which means doing a lot of hard work and throwing out a lot of stuff that I've kept for sentimental reasons over the years (and probably going head-to-head with more than one eight-legged creepy-crawly). I can't wait to get back to my old bookstore, but I still don't know if I have it in me to ask Claudette for that promotion, and even though it's silly, the idea of doing so fills me with anxiety. I'm looking forward to going to the gym with Mom this summer, and hopefully it'll make a difference for both of us.
Plus I won't get to see Mo all summer, and that seriously sucks.
But enough emotionally ambiguous riffraff. (And no, I don't need Aunt Joanne to tell me I used that word wrong.)
I just thought I'd let everyone out there in InternetLand know about what I did yesterday. First of all, it was without a doubt the nastiest, most disgusting and possibly the most vomit-inducing thing I've ever done. I had to take a thorough shower when I got back from the barn. I even brushed my teeth because my mouth felt gross. I washed my hands about 6 times and considered burning the clothes I was wearing.
Has anyone out there ever cleaned a gelding's sheath before? Put your hand down, Chelsea. I'm not talking about you.
So here's what happens: during the course of normal equine activities, a great deal of dirt and dust and other debris gets kicked up around the horse's belly. A certain percentage of this ish necessarily takes up residence in the horse's sheath-y region, mixing with all the various secretions that you find up there. In order to avoid infection and in some cases a great deal of pain for the horse, this region must be cleaned at least once a year (at the college barn we do it twice annually). Our horses are normally tranquilized for this, but Cami didn't want any of the horses doped up yesterday because we have a show going on this weekend. Tailspin was well-behaved for me regardless, but the one thing that I didn't like about the "No tranquilizer" rule was that... well... he didn't drop his man-parts for me. This meant that I had to go in after them. I will not go into detail because you probably do not want to know, but suffice it to say that this activity is one that makes cleaning a stall seem as pleasant as a Shiatsu massage. Imagine reaching into a part of a male horse that no sane person would willingly reach into and pulling out a greyish substance that feels like sticky Play-Doh and smells like a tire factory that has caught fire next to a road that has been freshly tarred and sprinkled with incredibly randy mildew spores.
If you've never done it before, you can't imagine what it's like. I will never be the same.In happier news, I also had to do my mane-braiding test-out this week, and I was told that I did a phenomenal job (it being my first official mane-braiding and all) and that I should seriously think about keeping practicing. Evidently I could eventually do it professionally. Perhaps I should perfect my hand with a pair of clippers too, and I could offer the whole package. Hey, if I could make some money at it, why not?
So what else has happened recently that's exciting? I posted my first YouTube video last week. That was pretty exciting. Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2n9Uxyq6rU I recommend watching it in High Quality.
I grow weary of typing. That means this blog is finished.