Sunday, June 14, 2020

Death by Homework

Summer semester began on Thursday.  I was in overdrive at work that week to wrap up my jobs so I could take Thursday and Friday off to study.

Had a little too much help from Murphy and his Laws again this week.  Washing machine supply line failed flooding the main house laundry room.
It wasn't all bad.  One of the highlights of any week is a visit from our farrier.

5 hours spent watching an artisan work.  Here he is putting custom orthopedic shoes on our pony with navicular disease. The terminal bones in Blue's hoof have rotated, with each step he gets a stabbing pain up his forelegs.  Having the cushioned shoes gives him quality of life he didn't have before. He can run now, albeit like a ballerina, but you do what you can in life.

Which is what I'm doing: running, no matter how ugly it is.
No longer bounding through the woods like a deer, I'm more like a wounded moose, almost twice as slow as my pace two years ago.

The Moose is loose.

Never give up. When you want something, grab a hold and don't let go.
Pertains well to a particular log obstructing a trail earlier this week.  The trail bisects a wetland area and the top and bottom of the log were flopped in the swamp on either side.  In order to cut one end properly with the chainsaw, I was trying to pry the top out of the water.  Two cottonmouth snakes were very perturbed by my activity and  started swimming towards me. Took me a fraction of a second to stand up, unholster my .45 and take a step back to flatter ground.  That's when I saw the mother of all cottonmouths come sailing up over the trail from the other side.  It's like she was shot out of a cannon, I saw her belly, then when she landed, her tail passed her and she took a moment to regain her composure.  I never regained mine.  I emptied my clip into this huge thing 5 feet away from me, dropped the empty and did the same to my spare clip to the two idiots behind me that were still advancing. 
Yes, I shat myself.  Took at least 10 minutes to stop shaking before I could start the chainsaw. 

But, I got my log.  Never give up. 

Oh, and yes, the sky broke open, lovely 20 minute drive back to the barn in the pouring rain. My motto:  any day outside is better than a day inside.

Proven by the two days cooped up inside studying.  

Plowing through Accounting homework on the first day until 1 AM .  The next day was Hell.  130 pages of Information Systems Management (computer crap).

I might have to kiss my precious 4.0 GPA adieu because of this class.  

I simply don't get it.  Staring into the computer screen for 12 hours left me contemplating suicide. Two weeks ago, Micah destroyed my $300 prescription reading glasses. 

I haven't had the time or desire to leave the farm to have another pair made. Time needs to be made.  The prisms in my specialty glasses corrected my double vision.  Using my spare drugstore +2.50 glasses only magnifies text, but does nothing for the doubling.  
By Saturday morning, I had migraine headaches and the arthritis in my hips was on absolute fire from being seated for so long at my desk.  This semester might just kill me.