Technical Indulgence

Friday October 13th felt a lot like Christmas to me. For one, there was snow on the ground. Not so welcome in the middle of October! Then, the Fed Ex truck came bearing a package containing my new MacBook. Wheeee! My old Powerbook was showing signs of blowing up, and it seems I broke down and ordered the MacBook just in time. I'm still in the process of setting it up. But I am feeling quite technically indulged right now, what with the shiny new laptop and my beloved camera...hey, I even own an iPod (albeit a Shuffle). Now if I could just get a new car...:-D

When I had Monster at the track, Lorna was working for her friend and fellow trainer Marty. I was always grateful for the help and generosity Marty and Lorna showed me with Miss Monster. Putting up with an owner/breeder is never easy! I would go in and help out and do my thing with Monster, and Marty would always say, "You're living the life I'm dreaming of," one of his many favourite sayings, I think! At the time I felt far from that, what with my struggling n=1 Stable (as I liked to call it) and the ongoing battle of trying to make a go as an artist. I was always broke and stressing over the logistics of having a single horse in training and the realization that those hours spent chasing the dream with the horse took time away from the things I did that made money!

Anyway...I know 2004 was a hard year. Monster got injured and I made the decision to retire her. Marty lost his battle with cancer. 2005 ended up being kind of tough as well, though there was some good to balance out the bad. Now in 2006, things seem like they might be coming together. My barn is full of beautiful horses, Monster is back to work contemplating a new career, and the art thing is happening. Lorna's got her own stalls filled with some very nice horses who always seem to show up when they run, and she's condo-shopping. I know some days I feel like I'm looking over my shoulder, waiting for it all to disappear again. We still whine and complain about things of course, but really, for the moment, things are pretty good. And I certainly think that Marty, were he to be standing around the corner watching, would be shaking his head and say we're both living the life.