Day One

A whirlwind of papers, signatures, SSNs, addresses, & copies, copies, copies.  Detail and redundancy and all that is the government.  Oh the joy.

But most of that busy work is done and complete with only a few forms remaining.  Computer problems exist to be tackled on the 'morrow.  Tech support and I are gonna be real tight I have a feeling.

Upon discussions with my superiors I discovered that most of my beginning work is going to be drafting letters to companies who are planning wind power projects in our area.  My letters will inform them of threatened and endangered species in their proposed project areas, demonstrate their area with maps and known locations of species of concern, and tell them how they can work around them - if they can. Pretty powerful stuff, no?  So thats exciting - and daunting.

I've chosen a work schedule deemed "Compressed (5/4/9)" which will have me working nine hours Monday - Thursday, eight hours on the first Friday, and allow me to have every other Friday off.  Three day weekends every two weeks will be really amazing.  I'm excited.

I'm also excited about this whole $$ thing.  In a year I'll have earned nearly 30K.  That will more than pay for my online master's certificate classes, and it will give me some more starter money for school or - what I really want to do a little bit of - travel.  Talking to one of my supervisors today about some temporary jobs in Alaska doing field work; he is one of the many who says I should really take six months to go up there and do it.  Getting there is the hard part, finding a place to live - Kenai, too! - wouldn't be impossible...  Its so tempting.  And something to think about.  And it would be such a resume booster (yet another!).  Oh dreams...

Pegasus (front) & Gracie (his mom)

After work I went to do equine things.  Without having a ring to work with starting Pegasus is more than unconventional.  But what did people do back in the olden days if they didn't have a ring?  What did the Native Americans do?  So I can't be entirely wrong, just not normal in most of today's standards.  Tough.  Its working so far.  He now understands how pressure in his mouth with the bit works.  I put a bareback pad on him, took him down to one of the fields and after doing some prelim groundwork I hopped on.  He seriously could have cared less.  So then we learned how to turn left, turn right, and slow down.  Oooh did he resist at first.  But he learned within the forty-five minute session that he didn't like that pressure on his mouth and that when he turned where directed it would disappear!  A good boy so far.  His worse habits - he's orally fixated on anything near his head & is super preoccupied about where his momma is (he was never separated from her - ever).

Multiple images of Orion's feet

After seeing Pegasus I went to see my boy.  I soaked his feet and fed him and walked him around.  He's not as tender today.  I'm optimistic to be riding him this Friday!  Silly boy and his tender feet.  He's getting there though.  And his health comes first.

All-in-all, a productive day. And I'm pooped.  Bring on tomorrow?