Remember when you were a kid and you wore your [ballet tutu/soccer uniform/whatever] for a week straight? I'm doing that now with my new riding boots.

Except I'll be taking them off shortly because leather is painful before it's broken in.

The lady at the tack shop gave me an earful about caring for my boots and half-chaps and tack I don't even own yet. "When you start riding every day you'll need to do this and this before that and after this." Wait, what? I walked out of the store with a business card for the Central Texas Hunter Jumper Association feeling a little bit dazed and stressed about all of the work I had ahead of me.

No no. Nevermind. I'm taking lessons once or twice a week. I don't even have a leading rope or a brush to call my own. Stress: gone.

Why do people always expect all or nothing? In spring semester of 8th grade I asked my private lesson teacher for clarinet if I could switch my lesson day from Wednesdays to Tuesdays because I was going to be riding Monday/Wednesday/Friday. The next day during band class I had a letter sitting on my chair from her. She "really enjoyed teaching me" and "saw such potential in me," but she "could not continue our lessons if clarinet was not my top priority."

In retrospect, WHAT?!

I quit band after that year literally just to spite her.

I guess obsession loves company. Like when you are looking past the stomach ache to conquer that second round of cake/pie of the day, and your sister says "I'll do it if you do."

Something like that.

Happy trails. Don't fence me in. Snake in my boots. (Or something)

If any of you have talked to me in the past 6 months you know that I've been in serious need of a hobby/something-besides-work to do.

Idle hands are the devil's tools.

...But I guess that doesn't really apply here considering all I've done with a large majority of my idle time is watch TV and create random errands to waste time. Although sometimes I think those errands are from the devil, and I think my bank account would agree.

Errands. That word really puts a responsible spin on "shopping," doesn't it?

Anyway, the point is, I was always busy in school. If it wasn't with class/school itself, it was with clubs and friends and parties and who knows what. There was always something going on, and there was never enough time to do all of it. Then in the blink of an eye UT gave me the farewell boot, I went to the Seton administrative offices for orientation, had my hands blessed by a chaplain, stuck my purple thumbprint on a welcome posterboard, and the rest is history. On the days I work, that's all I do. Work, eat, shower, sleep. It's a long day - so much can happen in 12+ hours.

On the other hand, 3 days of nothing-but-work still leaves me with 4 days completely off of work. They usually aren't in a row, and they don't always include the weekends, but they're there somewhere.

And I've been bored. Really bored. What should I do when I'm at home and the rest of the world is at work? Join a gym? Find some volunteer work? Try a new sport? Try to jump back on the running bandwagon? Learn to freakin knit? Shop like I need more things?

Last night Emily told me her friend started taking tennis lessons for a while and enjoyed doing that, and something about that conversation brought up an obvious solution that I should have thought of sooner.

And, with that, I did some google searching, made some phone calls, and I'm officially going to start getting back into horseback riding lessons. I used to ride hunter/jumper in middle school and part of high school until I just got too busy to keep up with it. I wasn't big into competition and showing like some of the other people I rode with, nor was I some equestrian prodigy by any means, but I really loved it. I'm really excited to do it again. I'll have to start back with the basics, I'll probably even need help remembering how to tack up a horse, and this will probably make for some sore legs - (slash) arms, back, entire body - you'd be surprised - for a few weeks.

But man, I'm so excited.

To seal the deal after I spoke with the trainer I went out and got a general lesson helmet (for fear that my old one has a shelf life and would crumble into dust or something) and some boots and riding tights, and I've got some half-chaps and gloves at Mom's that should still fit. Word.

Dare I say I'm even excited to pick a horse's hooves?

(I'm sure that part won't last long)

So here we go people. I was bitten by the puppy bug a year or so ago, and I have a feeling this is going to be much, much worse.