Older and Rounder

It's my birthday tomorrow! I will be a whopping 26 years old! Wow, I feel old. I am now officially MORE than a quarter of a century old. Actually, I don't feel old except for my level of physical activity has decreased significantly since starting this job over a year ago. I am starting to realize that the older you get, the harder it is to get back in shape if you have not been staying in shape. Just this past year I started to go running every day. I used to run 3 miles a day and it took me no time at all to get my muscles in shape and then I would just go and run it. This past year, however, I found that my body was screaming for me to walk more and I didn't have as much motivation to run the whole distance. I seemed to not be able to maintain that level of activity. It is really hard to come to terms with that and then it makes me mad that I do not have the time to work out like I once did. It is especially hard in the winter time when the days are short. I keep telling myself to wake up early and go running, but my bed is so nice and cozy.

When I first started running a few years ago, I had great motivation. I think I am going to create that motivation again this year, and I invite all of you to join me. I have twice run in the Revlon Run/Walk for Women to raise money for breast and ovarian cancer research. I think I am going to sign up for it again. It occurs on Mother's Day weekend in May down here in Los Angeles. The 5k marathon ends in the LA Coliseum and it is a tremendously touching experience.

Check out the website, then determine for yourself if you are interested in joining the fight against breast and ovarian cancer. Maybe I'll see you there in May!

http://revlonrunwalk.com/

Thoughts on the English Language

I couldn't think of anything creative to write about today, so I thought I would pass on this tidbit of information:

The European Commission has just announced an agreement whereby
English will be the official language of the European Union rather than German,
which was the other possibility. As part of the negotiations, Her Majesty's Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a 5-year phase-in plan that would become known as "Euro-English".

In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c". Sertainly, this will make sivil servants jump with joy. The hard "c" will be dropped in favour of "k". This should klear up konfusion, and keyboards kan have one less letter. There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced with "f". This will make words like fotograf 20% shorter. In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expected to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible.

Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling. Also, al wil agre that the horibl mes of the silent "e" in the languag is disgrasful and it should go away. By the 4th yer peopl wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" with "z" and "w" with "v". During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords containing "ou" and after ziz fifz yer, ve vil hav a reil sensibl riten styl. Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech oza. Ze drem of a united urop vil finali kum tru.

Zen ve vil rul ze vorld.

Buckin Broncs

They say you ain't a true cowgirl until you've been thrown off and gotten back on again. I guess I can say that I have had my fair share of being thrown off by horses, and then some. Yesterday was no exception.

I own a young thoroughbred filly. She's in the very beginning stages of her training. We basically have learned walk, trot, lope (canter), turn left, turn right, sort of stop, back up, and a little bit about moving to the side when I apply leg pressure. Well, it was made apparent, by yesterdays episode, that she hadn't learned enough. Or I hadn't been a very good teacher.

There's this one area of the arena that she is deathly afraid of...why? no one knows. She just one day got it into her little thoroughbred horsey brain that it was a scary place and that she wasn't going to go near it. So of course I have made it my goal in life to get her near that scary place and find out that the trees are not going to eat her alive, or that the boogie man is not going to jump out from behind the building there. Ah, the mind of the intelligent horse.

So yesterday, we were doing quite well, and we had walked boldy by that ever so frightful area of the arena. I thought, well heck, she CAN be taught! Things were looking up. So, being the gutsy cowgirl that I am (or think I am), I urged her into a slow lope, except in her case, there is no such thing as a slow lope. She pretty much has one speed...fast and out of control. But I was getting control...slowly. As we neared that part of the arena, I was prepared. I had my right leg in her side to help "push" her over towards the fence. All of a sudden, she remembered that she was supposed to be scared and she veered sharply to the right, into my leg pressure. My right spur dug deeply into her side and I had her head pulled around as well. She began fighting desperately to get away from the horrible danger that lurked beyond the arena fence just waiting for the right moment to pounce upon its helpless prey. The more she fought, the more pressure I put on her. She was literally running sideways now. I thought, "hey, no problem! I've done this before." And then, all of a sudden her legs got tangled up in each other and all 850 lbs of horseflesh careened violently to the ground, taking her helpless rider with her. This cowgirl found herself in no time being slammed recklessly into the hardpacked sandy arena and felt her leg and ankle being crushed under the weight of this four legged, unstable creature. Had it not been for the gruesome snapping of my neck over to the side, pulling all the muscles in my left side of my neck, and the shooting pain in my leg, I would have laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation. Imagine the scene: a rather large 4-legged animal, legs flailing about in the air, with the unfortunate rider rather haphazardly sprawled on the ground. It might actually have been funny! But like I said, the pain was in the way.

She finally managed to heave herself up on her side, while I quickly extricated my body from the wreckage. She got to her feet and kind of stood there in a daze, probably wondering, "What the heck just happened to me? I don't think that was supposed to happen!" In the meantime, I grasped at my leg, which I could no longer feel below the knee, and looked around for help. Of course, there wasn't a soul around. I heard myself calling out for help, but once I realized no one could hear me, I figured I was on my own and would have to get myself up on my feet...somehow. I found that my leg actually worked, although I couldn't feel it, and I could sort of walk...or hobble. I gimped over to my horse, grabbed her reins and headed for the barn. By this time, someone finally saw me and came into the arena. It was one of the hired hands around the stable. He took her reins, while I dealt with the pain that was now coming back in my leg. It was as if someone set my leg on fire! I have been in some good wrecks before, but this one takes the cake for pain....well, maybe not...there was this other time....oh wait, I can save that story for later. That's a good one.

Long story short, I forced myself back up on her, and tried in vain to ride her around and finish the lesson I started. The pain in my right leg was so bad, though, that I eventually had to give up and realize that it would have to wait until another day. I got off and gimped to the barn, sweaty horse in tow.

So today, needless to say, I have severe whiplash in my neck, and my leg is the color of...well, it's lots of colors! It's darn near a rainbow, a dark and dreary rainbow I might add. But I thank God, because I know it could have been much worse. My boss tells me I should take up a less dangerous sport...like motorcycles.

On a Mission...From God

So the Beauti-Phil-meister says that we must get the Frogg a V-Day date. Hmm...I guess he's referring to me when he says that those that live down with her need to get her a date. Well, I dont' know. I like having Vday by myself. No pressure. No frills. No expectations. Just the cowgirl and her cowgirl self. But if the Frogg wants to experience the overrated St. Valetnine's Day, then so be it. I will succeed in my assigned mission or die trying. Well, not really...I'll probably just relax and enjoy the day. I'm not even gonna be aroudn for it! I have to be up in Norcal for the job! Lame. I cna't even relax in the comfort of my own home for V day.

For all the rest of you out there...you got one month...good luck.

The Cowgirl's in the Kitchen

I cooked the BEST dinner tonight that I have ever made in my life! Some of you who may know me, may be thinking...oh no, I've had her food, and its just what a cowgirl would cook...yuk! No, let me tell you...this was incredible. Actually, my mom and I cooked it together...it was definitely a two person job. I got this particular cookbook a few years ago called A Cowboy in the Kitchen, and it was full of Tex-Mex recipes from the famous Reata Restaurant. Recently, my copy of the book got destroyed when our basement flooded and soaked the box that housed that book. But fortunately for me, a cowboy friend replaced it for me. Atta boy!

So we picked out a recipe tonight...Roasted pork tenderloin with apple-poblano chili chutney and dutch oven potatoes with dried fruit. Now was that a mouthful or what? MMM MMM GOOD! For anyone that has followed a recipe before, you know that when a recipe calls for you to turn to page such and such to see how to make such and such...blah blah blah...that it is going to be a tough recipe. And it was a little complicated...lots of ingredients that the average person does not have in their household. I mean, who has jalapeno jelly, for cryin' out loud? That was the only thing I couldn't find in the grocery store, but wouldn't you know it...we actually DID have it in our refrigerator! That's weird. I dont' know what else you use it for, but I noticed that it is called for in more than one recipe in this book. The book also tell you how to make it, but I didn't have time for that too. The chutney is killer. I want to start putting it in jars and selling it...it's THAT GOOD!

And you can't go wrong with pork tenderloin...I mean, it's always tender! The potatoes were basically a different take on traditional scalloped potatoes. But, man, were they oh-so-good!

So, the cowgirl CAN cook. But I guess I shouldn't have said anything, because now you may all be expecting me to cook for YOU! ah, think again.

Cowgirl Truth

I was just asked again today if I am a real cowgirl. That's a tough one to answer. I mean, if you ask anyone in my family, they would say that I am in fact a cowgirl. I ride horses, so that must make me a cowgirl, right? Also, I have a silver belt buckle, so that there is a dead giveaway, right? So you might agree with the family, but let me tell you what I think. I don't consider myself a true cowgirl. I was raised in Southern California and grew up riding horses in a drill team. I moved to northern california after high school to attend a junior college where I could take my horse and use him in some of my classes. My major there was "Pack Station and Stable Operations." A very unique major, I must admit. My major professor was also the owner of a modest ranch in the town. I would go out there and help work the cows. I didn't really know what I was doing, but I loved every minute of it.

I spent a lot of time on horseback during myh college years. I learned to start 2 yr olds under saddle and get them ready for sale. I would expose them to cows and do light cow work and rope off of them. (I can't rope worth a darn, but I do what I can) When I transfered to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (YAY!!!), I continued on in the animal science dept. Again, I spent most of my time on horses and even got paid to do it! I also spent a lot of time on one end of a rake...if you know what I mean. Job security, I guess you could say, cuz I got paid for that too! I worked a lot of cows and started a bunch of horses on cattle and took one to the Annual National Reined Cow Horse Association (NRCHA) World Championship Snaffle Bit Futurity Horse Sale. While at Cal Poly, I also helped at brandings, doctored cows, gave shots, dewormed them, etc. Yes, I rounded up cows and moved them out on the ranch. I don't call myself a cowgirl, though, because in my opinion, a cowgirl is someone who does all that stuff for a living. I unfortunately, am not at a point in my life where I have the privilege to do that full time. One day, I hope to do it again. Until then, I have just one horse that I ride and am training. She's far from being a cow horse, but I'll forgive her for that.

So there you have it. Straight from the "cowgirl's" mouth. Oh yeah, and since you asked "what do I sing?"...well, pretty much anything that I can. My biggest claim to fame is that I sang the national anthem for an Alan Jackson concert in front of about 8000 people. My dream is to sing at the National Finals Rodeo, the Grand Ole Opry and Carnegie Hall...hey, a cowgirl can dream, can't she?

Nighttime, sniffling, sneezing...what?

I took Ny Quil last night and today I'm...well...I think you all have a good idea of how I feel today. Need I say more? What's the deal with Ny Quil? What do they put in the darn thing that makes you feel like you're having an out of body experience? I mean, I've never really had an out of body experience so I don't have anything to compare it with, really, but I've heard about them (or seen people have them on TV) and I think the feeling you get from taking Ny Quil is very similar. But like I said, I wouldn't really know. Unless, I AM having an out of body experience when I take Ny Quil, and then I DO know. hmmm.....

I was supposed to drive to Temecula today, but when I woke up this morning feeling the way I felt, I decided that being behind the steering wheel of my car for an hour and a half wasn't such a hot idea. It's bad enough that the lulling of the car on a SOBER day puts me to sleep...how much worse would it be with Ny Quil? Isn't there a warning on the back of the package that says "Do not operate machinery or drive a car while taking this medication?" Well, I didn't check, but I am going to assume that there is and if my boss says anything, then I will just tell him that I can't violate the FDA. There is that other warning that states that it is a violation of Federal Law if I don't follow the instructions on the back of the medicine, so I have the government to back me up, right? Wait...I don't know if even that will work. Oh well, I'm not gonna drive down there anyway. I have other stuff to do.

So for all of you who are suffering through the winter sniffles, I raise my glass (shot glass that is) of Ny Quil to you! And here's to better (feeling) days!

Mudslides

Southern California took a beating over the last couple weeks and I have already had my share of the flooding fun. Today, I got a little taste of tragedy. Many may have heard about the tragic mudslides in La Conchita. I didn't even know where La Conchita was until today when I drove up that way to see a customer. The freeway was closed off and traffic was horrible. When I met with my customer, she informed me that a good friend of theirs had been killed in the mudslide. It doesn't seem as bad when you hear about people dying on TV, but when someone actually knows the person, it seems so much more vivid.

As I was driving up that way, I passed a few boarding stables and noticed there were no horses there. I was informed that some of them had been flooded out and the horses had to be relocated to other facilities. The destruction was incredible! The small creek had turned into a rushing river. There was mud lining the sides of the road and water spilling over.

In the midst of this terrible destruction, and the tragedy in Indonesia, let's just remember to pray for the families of those lost and whose property has been destroyed.

Flooded in Southern California

As many may be aware, So Cal has been hit recently by a number of successive, severe (i love alliteration), torrential rainstorms. Today was the first clear day (in the LA area) in over a week. I had to drive out to Indio. Indio, for those of you who don't know, is way out past Palm Springs. Pretty much in the middle of nowhere. Surprisingly, there are a lot of people out there. I guess land was cheap there at one time, but just like everything else in California, it is completely unaffordable for the common folk these days. Ah well...but I digress.

So I went to call on a horse trainer out there. His facility sits back off the road a ways and you have to take this dirt road to get there. I stopped as I approached the entrance to the dirt driveway. There was pretty much a lake of muddy water guarding the entrance. I took a deep breath, decided that my mighty, mini Honda Civic could in fact make it across and once across I was probably over the worst part. So I ventured in. I let out my breath as I reached the other side and was now safely on the slick, muddy driveway. In some places there were ruts deep enough to trap...well, a Honda Civic! And trap me, they did. I was about halfway down the main drive when I, vainly trying to stay on either side of these deep ruts on "dry" land, slipped suddenly into them and high-centered my poor vehicle. My front tires just spun and spattered mud all over my doors, etc. I tried putting it in reverse, but to no avail. I couldn't believe it! I started to laugh. Here I was, a salesperson, calling on a customer, and I was stuck in THEIR driveway! I got out of the car and walked sadly to the house.

Once there, I found that he wasn't even there. His girfriend was in the house nursing a mass migraine headache, so the two ranch hands offered to pull me out with the tractor. What a sight that was. While hooking up the car, the UPS man drove up on the other side of the fence lining the driveway and simply states, "That's why I DON'T drive up to the house." Thanks, buddy. It wasn't long before we had the little Civic unstuck and I was able to be on my way to meet up with the trainer at the neighbor's ranch down the road apiece.

But the story doesn't end there. I couldn't leave Indio without leaving a mark either. I hadn't done too much investigating in that area, so I decided to drive around a bit and take a look at the horse facilities in the area, maybe drop in on one or two. Well, I picked the perfect one to drop in on. I pulled down a long dirt driveway (one with NO RUTS) and when I couldn't find anyone around, I went to turn around. All of a sudden I wasn't going anywhere, although my foot was on the gas. turns out, the ground wasn't as dry as I had suspected. It was an illusion, I tell you! As I stepped out of the car feeling totally hopeless, both my feet sank into the dry-looking ground. I had no idea what to do. Since I didn't know where I was, I could't call AAA to help me and there didn't seem to be anyone home at the ranch. I tried to stuff pieces of wood under the spinning tires to gain some traction, but was unsuccessful. Finally, a woman came out of one of the ranch houses and offered to help me. She got a hefty rope and the 4-wheeler. We tied it to the same place we had pulled from about an hour before that and back to the 4-wheeler. She went ahead to pull and all of a sudden the 4-wheeler flipped up and she fell off the back. I was horrified initially, but then as the reality of what just happened sank in, I began to laugh. Thankfully she was okay and we retied the rope to the ball-hitch on the 4-wheeler and she pulled me out easily enough. I wanted to die of embarrassment, because here I was trying to solicit their business and I get stuck in their driveway! They didn't even know who I was! I left my business card, jumped into my car and quickly drove off. I don't think I will be going back there for a while.

I think I had a Monday on a Tuesday. The saga will continue tomorrow...

No Habla Espanol

Okay, I dare to bring up the age-old argument of this country's national language. What is it, anyway? As far as I knew, English has been the dominant language in the United States. But apparently, the United States Postal Service thinks otherwise. Last week at the post office, I noticed the poster that explained the rates of express and priority mail. To my surprise, I saw that it was in spanish! I looked around for the english version, but couldn't find a second poster. I then looked closer and noticed that both languages were represented, but the english was in smaller print and listed second to the spanish. Now, mind you, this was posted in a post office that is located in a neighborhood of predominantly upper middle class to upper class WHITE or ASIAN people. The few hispanics or latinos are usually found as gardeners in this town. Now, don't take this the wrong way and think that I am racist, because I am most suredly not. I am simply stating the truth. The majority of my graduating high school class was asian and white. I would have to look up in my yearbook to see if I had any hispanic classmates. There may have been a handful. So why is there Spanish plastered in BOLD print on the walls of our post office?

I am also not opposed at all to learning a second, or even a third language. I traveled abroad and spent time in other cultures. What I noticed most in my travels was American lack of education in foreign languages. I also noticed that other countries don't accomodate english in the same way we accomodate other languages. True, people from other countries are required to learn english starting at a young age. But I don't walk into a post office there and see bilingual posters. Thankfully, I was able to remember an adequate amount of French to get by in France, but it was also the kindness of strangers that helped me out. I did not expect whatsoever that these countries I visited would bend over backwards to put MY language first.

I realize that hispanics, have contributed greatly to our economy, especially here in California. That does not mean that we need to cater to them the way that we have for so many years. They are allowed to take their driver's license exam in Spanish! I couldn't do the same in their country! I couldn't take their driver's license exam in English, now, could I?

So what next? Is the next generation of American children going to take English as a Second language to Spanish in our schools? Okay, maybe I am overreacting. I just thought that it was rather astonishing that instructions for mailing packages was boldly in spanish. If I hadn't taken a second look, I would have thought that it was strictly for spanish speaking individuals. Maybe its just me, but this doesn't seem quite right.

It's funny how many can graduate high school without being able to create grammatically correct sentences or even spell, and instead of alleviating this problem, we just focus on another language entirely.

American Justice at its BEST

Okay, time for another cynical look at today's issues. This one hits close to home cuz it happened to me! I guess that means it HIT home!

Uninsured motorists...need I say more? I was in a car accident a couple weeks ago. NOT my fault. A speeding motorist passed me on the freeway and while trying to merge into my lane in front of me, swerved to miss another merging, speeding vehicle and lost control of her own. She swerved right and left, completed a full 570 on the freeway when her car finally came to rest in the front left fender of my poor little Honda Civic. Thank God no one was hurt and the damage initially looked minimal. At first I was going to get a police report, but when our esteemed CHP put me on hold for 5 minutes, I got sick of waiting and just went ahead with exchanging information. Thankfully she had insurance. Eventually, CHP DID show up and made sure that everything was "okay," and after about half an hour, I was on my way home with my steering completely out of alignment.

Fast forward to today, a couple weeks late, and I call about my car. It was supposed to be ready on the 7th, but I find out it won't be ready until the 11th. No problem. I've got the rental car and she's insured so her insurance company is going to reimburse me for all my out-of-pocket expenses for the rental (I owe 20%). Then I call my claims adjuster just to touch base and make sure that all fault was determined to be hers. He confirmed that it was and when I asked how much I had to pay for my deductible (to be reimbursed later by her company), I was politely informed that it was going to be covered by none other than my own Uninsured Motorist insurance! WHAT?!?!?! I couldn't believe it. Apparently, I had just THOUGHT that she was insured. But it turns out that she hadn't been paying her insurance company and they had cancelled her policy. Go figure! so here's the kicker. The cowgirl here gets to pay for my 20% of the rental car. My only other option??? Take her to our highly esteemed small claims court. Boy what a waste of time. Even if I did win, I would have to go through all the stacks of paperwork and crap that goes with it. All for a couple hundred bucks??? and then you have to demand your fees, and half the time, the person doesn't pay it anyway, and the courts don't enforce it!

So I called my insurance agent, whom I've known since I was a kid, and ask her what this lady is going to get as a penalty for not having insurance? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. She gets off scott-free for not having insurance, which is THE LAW!!!! And who's going to enforce that? No one, it seems. But the Cowgirl gets to pay for it. Don't you just love our justice system? The GOOD people pay hundreds of dollars a year for car insurance and get screwed when they get hit by someone who is not insured. I had no choice in the matter in regards to a rental vehicle. The cowgirl makes a living by driving, so I had to have one! And besides, I kind of liked my big, luxury 2005 Nissan Maxima with a V6, 260 HP engine, dual climate controls, cd player, automatic windows, automatic driver seat, moonroof, and a bunch of other stuff that I never did figure out.

So now the question remains...do I bother taking her to small claims court? Is it worth it just to prove a point? What would you do?