My long weekend

This weekend has been insane--and I guess that is why it has taken four full days and it is still not over.

On Thursday, early afternoon, I left home, down there in the bottom part of the state, and drove to Kankakee--where it was a full 45 degrees colder than it had been at home. I made a stop half way there in Champaign, and it was getting cold--which is when I realized I had not brought a coat--and if the snow on the ground and harsh wind was any indication, that was going to be a serious mistake. While I was running my errands at U of I, I bought a coat. Okay, maybe two. I think there is something wrong with me, and if I did not know, Barry pointed it out on the phone today. Blech on him.

Anyway, I got to Kankakee, checked in and immediately started busting my butt reading transcripts. I read half the nite, then got up early and started reading again. No exercise since the pool and exercise room were closed. That sucked, but it got me to the prison close to on time, which I already told you about. I stayed there half the day and then attempted to drive 78 miles to my next destination.

That was northwest, almost to the edge of the state-and the farthest I have ever been that direction. My GPS that dad got me said that it would take 2 hours and 15 minutes. WTF? I was not walking there. Maybe this thing was stupid, or did not operate well in the cold. That could not possibly be right.

But it was. It took forever to get there--I mean forever. The further I drove, the more snow was piled up on the sides of the roads, and the colder it got. I think it was about 3 degrees when I pulled into town--much later than anticipated. I was so exhausted from being up so late that I laid down to take a short nap so I could be up for my dinner with a friend at 6 pm---

But she had to cancel, and I slept and slept and slept some more. It was a beautiful thing.

Back to my room I went, realized I had not eaten and went to the hotel restaurant. It was not even 9 and they were trying to close up but they gave me chicken. Back to my room I went and watched TV, read some more record, and finally fell asleep at about 2 am. My equine repro class started at 8 am Yesterday--and was scheduled to last until 6 pm, with a lab until 8 pm where we would actually do some stuff, like learn to inseminate mares and collect a stallion. The best part was that I got to meet Joie who I have known online forever and who was the host of this event, so it was her horses we were going to work on.

This thing lasted ALL DAY. ALL DAY sitting on my ass in a lecture. And if I learned one thing I did not already know on Saturday, it was that progestins can cause an asthmatic to drop dead, so I should stop being so sloppy with some of the drugs I use on mares. I was glad to know that I already know all that stuff, because it reassures me that Dr M is as good as I believed him to be because he already taught me all this stuff that Mr Big Time Expert was teaching us. Still I was a little disappointed to not be getting some new info.

Last nite, we went to Joie's farm and learned to do some stuff--that was pretty cool. Although I have done some of this stuff, I have never been on my own like that, and it built my confidence some to be able to do it again. Definitely I learned that there are things I do not need a vet for on my own mares.

Today, we were back at it again at 8 am. The most important thing I took away from today was that we are basically doing everything right...especially when it comes to the way we handle him for breeding. I would tell you some interesting breeding stuff, but I kinda guess no one cares about that. Probably you would not enjoy or appreciate in-depth descriptions of what happens when foals are trying to get born backwards, or if a stallion gets a tail hair in his way when he is live covering a mare, or that when a stud ejaculates, he does so at 35 mph. I did learn a cool trick for collecting semen from a stallion who has a pecker problem---which would also make a kinda cool torture device for men who act up.

Joie and I had lunch and after the class was over at 6, I hit the highway again to come home. I knew full well that I was too exhausted to get all the way home, so I planned to stop somewhere along the way to sleep-- I needed to stop short of Springfield, because the governor's impeachment trial is starting tomorrow and the press will have sucked up all the hotel rooms. While I was plotting all that, guess what happened?

The police got me just outside of Peoria. Damn it. Evidently I also drive too fast. But I did have my registration. As always I only had expired insurance cards. I think ol boy felt sorry for me, as he told me I looked exhausted and to get some rest, and slow down--no tickets for Paige!

For sure, I need to sleep though, so I just stopped, scored another nice hotel at state rate and have the entire second floor to myself. I am sleeping in, in the morning and taking a personal day to recover from all this drama.

I cannot imagine what is waiting for me when I get home tomorrow-- it is cold at home again, and I miss my puppies and my piggy and my ponies.