GAH!!!!

So. As of yesterday, the Puddlejumper is no more.

I'm accepting it. Slowly. Not willingly. I've had that car for over three years. It was my first car. I bought it with the money from selling my horse. I mean, granted, I'll get another car, eventually. And it'll hopefully be a nice car. Dad asked me if I wanted to have his old car or if I wanted something sportier, like the twins have, and I had to admit I wanted something sportier. Plus, I drove his car the other day, and it's...all right. It doesn't have a RPM gauge which threw me off when I was guessing when to move it up a gear. But I'd still rather have my little Puddlejumper.

In addition to no longer having a car, I'm having trouble with even going on foot. Stupid warts STILL haven't disappeared. I even got the freeze-off stuff. Didn't help. Hurts to walk.

And my head is killing me. I just want to crawl into a dark hole and die. My head hasn't ached this badly in months.

And I've been at work since 1:00. I didn't even get to escape for dinner, since we had a meeting. So I've literally been in the ag dome for seven hours straight. Maybe that's the cause of the headache.

So...I'm really ready to go to bed. But I have to be here (officially) until 9, and I'll probably stay until 9:30ish, because I'm behind on hours.

Random Wrong Number

So, this morning, I woke up at 8. I figured, hey, the alarm's going to go off soon, why not get up and read the study guide for my test at 9:30. So I did.

8:22, I clambered back up into bed, reset my alarm for 9, and went back to sleep.

8:31, my phone rang (note to self: change ringtone, "God of Wonders" is a great song, but getting old).

I snarled. "Who's calling me at this time?!" I muttered. Linetta, my roommate, had just gotten up herself. She laughed.

I saw it was a number I didn't know, so I cleared my throat and answered the phone. "Hello?" I said, trying not to sound insanely grumpy, in case it was important.

"Is this Justin?" a woman's voice asked. Older, at least in her fifties. Probably a fairly fussy type, from what happened.

(huh?! Can't she tell that I'm a girl?!) Still fairly incoherent, I say "No."

A long pause. "Is Justin around?"

"No, you've got the wrong number."

A longer pause. "What number is this?"

(you dialed it, lady, don't you know what it is?) I tell her my number.

"Is this a cell phone?"

"Yes." (how is THAT relevant to the conversation?!)

Another pause. "Is this Justin's wife?"

(I'm fighting between the urge to laugh and the urge to bite her head off for just not getting it) "No. I don't know any Justins. There are no Justins around here."

"Oh. All right." (call ends)

So. Yeah. Don't know what that was about. But then I flipped over, laughed really hard into my pillow, and went back to sleep.

Changes in horse racing

http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=12901&source=rss

So, the NTRA has implemented some reforms that are going to have a big impact on racing...

* Uniform medication rules for each state;
* A ban on steroids in racing;
* Out-of-competition testing for blood-doping agents;
* Uniform penalties for drug infractions;
* Mandatory on-track and non-racing injury reporting;
* Mandatory installation of an inner safety rail at tracks;
* Mandatory pre- and post-race testing; and
* Implementation of placement programs for Thoroughbreds that can no longer compete.

This comes on top of New York banning steroids the other day, Kentucky banning steroids a couple months ago, the Breeders' Cup banning steroids around that time, and Churchill Downs, Inc., putting serious restrictions on the use of toe grabs this week.

It just makes me think...all it took to change racing was for a horse to die in the Derby? I never like seeing a horse die. But what about Barbaro being injured in the Preakness? What about Charismatic being injured in the '99 Belmont? What about Pine Island being euthanized and and Fleet Indian injured in the 2006 Distaff? What about George Washington being put down in the 2007 Classic?

Was it just because it was the Kentucky Derby? Was it because the horse died, instead of just being injured? Was it because it was a filly?

Crazy.