Kentucky Horse Park

sometimes my camera is too smart.

It has an auto focus feature, but sometimes focusing on the wrong object. Like those fascinating trees in the background.

Anyway, this morning was a very grey morning, and I have learned that overcast days will play an important part to how your pictures come out. I also need to get a cleaning kit for my camera.

I spent a good majority of my day in Lexington, at the Kentucky Horse Park. I have heard of this place and had decided that I wanted to visit it since I am here in Kentucky.

See, I am a girl, and sometimes I even act like one too. and it is a known fact that about 87% of the female population likes horses*, kind of like how the same proportion of the male population likes motorcycles.** Well, I love horses, so i spent the day taking pictures of them.

No, I didn't get any pictures of myself. I just got lots of pictures of random strangers on their horses.


I took about 700 pictures, every now and then you just keep taking pictures because sometimes when you take 200, you get that one that is just cool. Like this one. This is an Akhal Teke, which is a breed of horse that is highly spirited and very rare. the cremello coloring was what won me over. But I still remain a devout fan of Buckskins.



I think if I could learn to do anything horse related, it would be to learn how to jump 'properly' on a horse. I took dressage lessons for a bit back in 2006, but when I felt I was starting to go backwards, I stopped doing them. Maybe one day, when I have my life figured out, i'll learn how to jump a horse. But I ain't getting any younger. Besides, Skydiving is a higher priority on my 'bucketlist'.


But i still took lots of shots of random people jumping their horses. Lot's of jumping shots.


Truthfully, what I would really like to do is cross country, which is when you get on a horse and just race it along a course and jump over obstacles along your way. Why does this sound like a load of fun? Well, because One: racing a horse along the countryside is always a lot of fun and Two: Jumping over obstacles.

Plus you get to run through water. Just sounds like a lot of fun to me. And not nearly as showy and formal as show jumping.

Meanwhile, more random Horse Pictures.


More Akhal teke, in costume. I have always been fascinated by these horses


Little mini horse, pulling a cart. The buckskin paint is my favorite color on a horse.


Funky Ears. This kind of horse has a name, but it aludes me, and I'm to lazy to search the internet for it.


stick your tongue out at me. damn, how did I cut off it's nose? Maybe because I had the super zoom lens on? That might have something to do with it.


Just like the eye shots.


I love using the Macro lens.

I got a gob more pictures (like, 700+) but something tells me that most people might start to zone out once you start posting more then a coule dozen, so here is some of my favorites I took.

*this statistic was pulled out of my ass and is not based on any scientific findings regarding the percentage of the female population related to their love of horses, but it's still probably fairly accurate.

**When doing a survey, I asked roughly twelve random males in the army in the 17-36 age range if they liked motorcycles. Only one came back stating that they didn't particularly care for them (the 36 year old representative no less) while the rest enthusiastically stated their support for two wheeled motorized vehicular transportation.

What to Do?

Holy crap!

I've got the entire weekend off.

Specifically, I have been ordered NOT to come in this weekend. For any reason. Unless it's an emergency.

What am I to do with myself?

I'm thinking Lexington. Or Nashville. One of the two. Maybe both?

Now, I need to fish up somebody to go with me. That I don't see as Stalker material.

Damn, it sucks when everyone you know in the area is either married, in a relationship, working, or a Private.

The RNC

Did I mention how much I like Sarah Palin?

Let me reiterate how much I like her. By saying I really really REALLY like her.

No, I said that already.

For some reason my cable isn't working (not that I watch tv ever but now and then it is nice) so i had to streamline the RNC on my laptop, using my really poor internet connection so it was choppy at times, but what a terrific speech!

I may have mentioned I like Sarah Palin before, but I think its not so much of her being a woman, its the type of woman she is. And with all of the crap going on in the news about her right now, especially with her oldest daughter and what that poor girl has to go through having been thrust in the limelight, really there are some on the left who are beginning to disgust me.

I would like to see where this campaign goes, but I think the McCain / Palin ticket can only go up from here. They are attacking Palin, when it only brings out the obvious discrepencies in Obama's own run for president.

I'll keep the political commentary to a minimum, being in the service and all they like us to keep a non partisan viewpoing on matters, but still, I had a reluctant idea of who I was going to vote for before, but now I know I will be voting with pure conviction now.

Who'da thought that the choice of VP would shake things up this much?

Theme Parks and Loner-dom

So, since roughly Mid June, I have had exactly two full days off.

The first day was a sunday. I had nothing to do because everyone was in the field and I couldn't get out there to join them, because I suck at driving.

So I stayed home that day and did absolutely nothing.

Except maybe sleep a lot.

The next full day I had off was today.

I slept in until about sevenish.

Then I decided to use my pass to Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom so I decided to try to get there as close to opening time as possible. I got there roughly 0930, only to discover that they don't open until eleven.

So I went to a flea market instead. I hadn't eaten breakfast, so I looked for something to eat.

I bought a slim jim and a charlston chew.

Remind me never to get a slim jim again. And I don't have much of a sweet tooth so I ended up eating about half of the charleston chew before tossing both away.

I waited in line to go ride roller coasters for about thirty minutes. really, I came for the roller coasters and the water park. I discovered recently that I can't stomach twirly rides that spin you around.

I hit up three roller coasters in under an hour. Because Kentucky Kingdom was actually a little on the dead side for being a holiday weekend.

that can actually be quite nauseating.

Why is it the older you get, the less fun things as a kid are? I used to LOVE roller coasters. I still enjoy them, but they aren't as nearly as fun anymore.

So I bought a swimming suit and decided to hang out in the water park for a while. Except I am a loser who came here by myself. See, everyone else popped smoke on friday except for the CQ. And me. Because apparently I'm the only one who can track 1100 pieces of TA 50 that needs to be turned in on Tuesday so I've been coming in every day except for today to make sure it is ready to turn in.

HAH!

So excuse the dour mood if I didn't really have anybody to go with. But it is definitely one of those places that you don't go hang out at by yourself. You take somebody to hang out with.

Everyone I know is either to busy to go do things like this with, popped smoke on Friday and I have no clue where they are, married to another person and hanging out with me would look inappropriate, or in training and therefore, well, off limits for these kinds of things. But I can guarantee that the last demographic would have gone in a heartbeat.

Besides, I don't think anybody in training needs to see me in a bikini. I've been in uniform every day this summer. I think I blinded a few people with my pale swedish skin that saw sun for the first time in months this afternoon.

Yeah, I think next time I decide to go to a theme park, I'll drag somebody along with me. Regardless of how reluctant they are to go. I'll just plan it better.

Yes, I think this summer has finally taught me that socializing from time to time is a good thing! A very good things.

Now I should probably get to bed. I got a crap load of TA 50 to turn in in the morning.

McCain / Palin for the Win!

So, I've been kind of watching this political season from afar, starting with the primaries and finding the war between Clinton and Obama amusing, but overall not exactly thrilled with the choice I was given. For a while, I wanted Obama over Clinton, becuase I just don't trust Clinton, but the more I learned about Obama, the less I liked him. And Clinton was looking better and better as the Democratic Nominee.

But that left the conservative nominee being McCain, who isn't as conservative as I would like him to be. I like his stance on Pork projects (in that he hates pork) and the military, but there are a lot of things about him that I didn't like. It was making the third party candidates look more and more inviting, but I was becoming more and more of an Anybody but Obama voter, which would make me a freakin' hypocrit because I can't stand the thought of voting against somebody. I prefer to vote for somebody.

Well, the talk of the week is McCain's choice in his VP Pick of Sarah Palin. I didn't know much about her before she was picked, though I had heard her name mentioned. And when I found out that she was the Republican VP Nominee, I did my research on her and I have to admit something. I Like Her. And when I say I like her, I really really REALLY like her.

I mean, seriously, this is my kind of woman. She's a true conservative, she's honest, she doesn't play traditional politics, what you see is what you get. And she is a gun nut and lives what she believes. I can respect this woman, and I am not a feminist by any means. I believe that there are some jobs that men are better at doing then woman are, and not every woman is qualified for certain jobs. But some have the credibility to do certain jobs and I would vote for the right woman and this is just the type of woman I would vote for.

Palin adds a lot to the ticket. and it says something about McCain and the direction he may take us (and perhaps leaning more into conservative stances on issues) by choosing Palin as his running mate. I hope this is a clue as to where he plans on taking his presidency should he get elected, but as I watch the Obama / Biden ticket start to flounder and sink (hopefully? Remember, I actually posted a post rooting for Obama until I learned more of his policies and realized how horrible he would be for this country) I can just hope that I won't be let down should McCain and Palin get elected into office.

The political season has just picked up more gusto. yeah, I'm a little late on things, but come on! I work 16 hour days and just got my second day off since mid June today. I have every right to be a little late on the blogging front.

Dealing With Lower Beings

Most people who know me know I'm really laid back. At the same time I'm also high strung. But let's keep with the laid back trait for now.

I'm quite spontanious but at the same time, if I am given some time to think things through, I analize the best way to go over something, or how I should handle something. I have a very active mind and it races all the time if I am given an opportunity to sit and think about it.

So anyway, most of the time I sit back and listen and observe whats going on around me. I do that a lot in my job when I am talking to the Lower Beings (I have to speak in code when I talk about my job, notice that?) and sometimes they will say something to me and it catches me off guard and because I'm so laid back I don't handle it right then and there, but I will get some time to think about it and I'll chew them out the next day when i see them.

I would chew people out more often right then and there and let my high strung personality take over more often, but that is another story for later.

Such as the case with a certain person. I've taken ownership in a few people and have tried to help them when I'm not busy hunting down various items requested by others. Anyway, when they leave us because they can no longer train and they are getting processed out, we have to take them to another location who processes them out completely. The lower beings here have more freedoms, like surfing the internet watching tv and calling home daily, as long as they behave themselves. When I dropped off a few people, the people improcessing them are chilling, and I'm kind of in chill mode too.

The problem is, as I mentioned before when i talked about how easy it is to find me on the internet, one of them did.

More aptly, he found my Myspace page. I don't use Myspace all that often, mostly its a good way to keep in contact with people I haven't seen in years, and I'll find them on programs like Myspace and Facebook. But I'm not really big on using my Myspace page.

So this lower being decided that he would request to friend me through Myspace.

Wrong answer.

I even have a little disclaimer on my Myspace that tells lower beings not to contact or friend me until they are no longer in the status of Lower Beings or they get out completely. I messaged him back, told him he was still a Lower Being and not to contact me again and denied his friends request.

I went to this place today just to see who was still there and how they were doing, because we graduated the rest of our lower beings on Thursday. And i found out that this one individual who had requested to be my friend on myspace had been telling all of his 'buddies' that he knew me really well and we were talking all of the time and he showed them all my Myspace page.

This pissed me off.

I'll tell you why.

there is a reason that disclaimer is there. if a Lower Being is telling other Lower beings that me, a 'higher being' (because that is an acceptable analogy to use in this situation) is contacting them through electronic means (such as phone, internet, etc) and we are on friendly terms (and apparently he was suggesting we were more then just friends, and we knew each other before coming here, which is a lie), that could put me into some hot water. I could be placed under investigation and be removed from my job as a Hat. And I like my hat.

They brought him downstairs and one of my people told me later that he had never seen me that angry before when I chewed this person out. Later, during roll call, I was brought out in front of the entire troop and I publically humiliated this person for telling his buddies that I was his 'friend'. So it was quite clear we were not buddy buddy.

I nearly got into some hot water earlier in the cycle for somebody pranking me and telling me they were a 'lower being' through a text message and they had a cell phone. I pretty much told them that they were never to contact me again through that means. I then went through my chain and informed them what was happening so I didn't get in trouble for it.

This kind of thing gets me wired. I did mention I am high strung, right?

Mexican Food

About a week ago, I was really craving some mexican food. The thing was, it was kind of late, I just wanted to spend a couple of bucks and get something quick and take it home with me.

I'm not much of a fast food eater, and I hadn't eaten some Taco Bell in some time. There is only two reasons why I eat at Taco Bell. It's cheap, and it's quick.

Or so I thought.

I went to Taco Bell and noticed the line of cars backed up and thought 'eh, I'll just go inside.' so I went inside and got in line.

Ten minutes passed. Maybe fifteen. It was a while before I even got to ordering my food. I didn't really even think about it. For some reason, if I don't have someplace to be (which is usually RIGHT THEN) then I just turn off my brain and relax. Because most people who know me know I get really high strung when I need to be somewhere and have to wait around for a while. And I didn't really so much mind the wait to order my food right then, because it was an opportunity for me to just sit there and not think about anything for a bit.

So I ordered my food and sat down waiting to get it. There were about six other people waiting to get theirs too. We waited. And waited. And then I began to realize that we had waited for a while, especially when what appeared to be a mother of one of the patrons came in wondering why it was taking thirty minutes to get their food when she sent her son in to get it because it was to long to wait in the drive thru. apparently, they were pushing the drive thru people through and leaving us in the store to rot.

It took them 25 minutes from the time I ordered my food to actually get it.

And it wasn't even that good.

So it was cheap. I guess I got what I paid for, because it sure in hell wasn't quick.

I won't be going to Taco Bell again any time soon.

Meanwhile, a couple of days ago, again craving mexican, I decided to just take the time to go to a sit down place and order up some. I mean, if I have to wait for my food, I might as well enjoy it.

They sat me down and I ordered my food within three minutes. They had it out to me in another five. I was done eating and paying my bill in less time it took Taco Bell to give me my food. And I paid double what I paid over at Taco Hell, but the food was actually good. It wasn't like the slime they try to pass for cheese at Taco Bell.

Indeed, you get what you pay for. No, I won't be going to Taco Bell for a long time.

Hillary's Hands

Hehehe. The political season is ripening up.

Hat Tip to Rightwingnews

Google Me

I thought about the various ways to find somebody online recently, especially if somebody has the internet presence I have.

Or rather (fortunately) had at one time.

Yes, it is a good thing that I am not so prevalent on the internet, but I am not as easy to find on the internet as I once was.

So, because of the fact that some people may or may not try to find me, after this summer especially (for whatever reason, the largest being the fact that I take a lot of pictures and have had a lot of people asking about the pictures I take, to which I tell them to shut up), it just made me wonder how easy they could find me and email me. especially considering some people shouldn't be in contact with me in that matter.

So anyway, I looked at the various ways to contact myself. And how fast it took them to find this blog.

Google my first and Last Name: 7 out of ten links on the first page direct to me and various profiles of me on the internet. Several of the links in turn link to this blog. But no direct links. Hmm.

Google DS with my last name: Not on the first page at all. In fact, I don't show up in the first fifty hits. That's promising.

Google Drill Sergeant with my Last Name: Two hits, my milblog and indirectly, my LJ.

Google Risawn: Everything that hits is related to me. However nobody in the real world knows me as this.

So I am findable. But people have to work to find me. Unless they know my first and last name.

Promising indeed.

Guys and Bikes

So, I'm a girl in a boy's club. I 'hang out' (i use that term loosely) with a bunch of guys. all the time.

Guys that are basically restricted on what they can and can not do, and what they can or cannot talk about. At least when i am present.

when I drive around (how did I get stuck on driving detail anyway? i'm a horrible driver), I've noticed that guys tend to notice something more then anything else.

you know, I would think it would be members of the opposite sex. But no, because I am there, they know they can't say anything about me, or anything about women in general because I might throw a boot up their ass, and I make myself as unflattering as I can be (I wear ACUs and not a lick of makeup) as I don't want to attract undesired attention (i still do). But I degress, I don't notice the guys noticing women, and if they do, they don't comment on it.

They comment on Motorcycles. And I swear every single one of them do it. They see a motorcycle, they check it out. they gawk at it. they comment how much they miss theirs. They rattle off the make and model of it from a two second glance. they spend the next couple minutes talking about motorcycles until I tell them to shut up.

I've discovered that guys like motorcycles. Now, this may have been a well known fact, and I knew some guys did like motorcycles, but I wasn't aware of how many of them were into them.

Or maybe I just hang out with the select few guys that do like bikes, and because I hear about bikes from them, it makes me assume that every one of them likes bikes.

Well, I do have a confession to make in regards to motorcycles. I have a fear of them.

It might be related to the fact that I burned my scrawny little leg on the exhaust of one when I was four years old and for some reason I have been traumatized by them ever since, but growing up, my dad (who has always wanted a harley) would take advantage of the opportunity if somebody let him ride their bike and would give us rides. I was an adventurous kid, I enjoyed adrenaline enduced activities such as this. Which made me wonder, when I was reluctant to get on the back of a motorcyle with my father, why I was this way.

Later I kind of linked that perhaps this traumatic event that happened to me when i was four psychologically scarred me to a point where I now don't like motorcycles, but i think I'm past that. Or at least, I would hope so.

I mean, I ran into a freakin' tree snowboarding and I will still get on a snowboard even though if I was going much faster at the time it could have very well killed me.

But with the economy and gas prices they way they have been, a part of me was thinking of getting something to commute on that would be quick and save me some gas money. I was thinking more along the lines of a scooter or something, but after a little research, I think in the long run a motorcycle might be funner.

The only problem is that in the long run, it might not save me much money. With the cost of insuring such a thing and the fact that it would undoubtedly kill me.

I am a huge klutz. But a part of me is intrigued with the notion of getting over this fear of Motorcycles. If I stay here for any longer for whatever reason, I may even consider buying one.

So, is it anything like riding a bike?

My Dilemma

So I have reached a dilemma in regards to my forever incompatibility with my service in the military. that would be my hair.

I don't want to cut it ultra short, I did that once and liked it, but then I had to live with the pain of trying to grow it out to a length I actually liked. But I like it long.

the problem is that I have to keep it off my collar in a bun at all times whenever I am in uniform. And I'm a blonde, so i got the thin wispy blonde hair that breaks off. I shed like a cat. I brush my hair and it falls out in clumps.

guys don't have this dilemma, because they just shave it off and are done with it. I would look weird with a shaved head. And I would probably get my ass reamed.

But now I'm wondering if I should cut it or not, or should I wait until I get back home to cut it? Granted, while its long, and if I can wake myself up early enough to use plenty of hair goop to keep it in place, it stays cooler when its off the neck, and I'm thinking about cutting it short enough so that I don't have to wear it up and can leave it down.

Hmm. . .


this is the current length, taken by myself because when anybody takes pictures around here of anybody else, it is usually me taking them. And I can't resist making faces at the camera whenever I take pictures of myself because i feel like a retard when i do it.


the standard bun, so my hair is pulled back it looks like this. Granted, this was one of the days I decided to forego hair goop and it stayed *reasonably* back, but a lot of time it just wants to fall out in clumps.

So the question is should I cut it short, or just suck it up and leave it? Not so short that I have a butch dyke appearance, but cut it above the collar and let it be?

and no, I don't wear a lick of make up. There is nobody here i want to look good for. I've been in trouble enough for me to make appearances worse then they already are.

Anyway, this is about what I look like on any given day. I can't get creative with my appearance because I wear the same thing every day, and I don't want to attract any more attention then a short blonde female hanging around a bunch of guys attracts already. I fear i stick out a bit much already.

Not to mention i have a hat that nobody here sees regularly, which might as well be a flashing beacon yelling 'look at me!'

In other news, I'm the thinnest now then I have ever been in my adult life. It would be a good thing if I was actually maintaining it by working out regularly. No, I just don't eat that much. somebody commented that i eat like a bird. I guess he was probably right.

Creatures that Crawl

I may have mentioned once or twice that I like bugs, and I got this freakin' camera that's a monster and I got a Micro lens for it. meaning it can take pictures of things really up close.

I'm still working out the finer details of my micro (or is it macro? i forget) lens, and sometimes I get a little to close to my subject that only a portion of it comes out clear and the rest of it blurs, but it does take some fun pictures.

Several people have noticed my interest in taking pictures of bugs and commented on it. But a lot of people have also noticed that i lug around a massive camera. Well, since I've been here, I've been one to take pictures of various things. I don't always have a lot of time to blog about them however.

CICADAS

These are quite possibly some of the most interesting bugs you'll find around. They only come out ever seven years or so, and they are in mass for about three weeks. They live underground in the larvae stage and come out after seven years, celebrate by mating and then they die.

They are also very noisy, swarm in trees, and they are freakin' huge.



They also have this habit of flying around and landing on you, and just hanging out for a while until you notice that they are there. Like this one that landed on my camera strap and just hung out.



I thought he was pretty cool so I allowed him to crawl on my finger and tried to get some shots of him up close.



Until I realized that there was a pinching sensation and noticed his probiscus was starting to dig into my skin. I got a serious case of the willies and that sucker went flying as I flung him off my finger as quickly as I could.

Sometimes bugs do give me the eebie jeebies.

my Roommate

Actually, I haven't seen my roommate in a while, but I saw him crawling around by the window and couldn't resist getting some pictures of him. He's not very big, so I had to zoom in close, so I got a lot of pictures that blurred him a bit.



I tried several shots of this guy with and without the flash, some turned out, others not so much.



I'm not exactly certain why Spiders don't creep me out like they do other people, though I admit I wouldn't want a run in with a brown recluse. But this guy just looked cool to me, with his hairy legs and all. I think he's kind of cute. For a spider at least.

If spiders could be described as cute.



Granted, i don't think I would want to cuddle with him.

Finding Crawlies

I saw this guy wandering around on a plant when i went for a hike a couple months back (before we picked up a cycle) and saw a bunch of bugs, including this guy, who I wanted to get some pictures of so I let him crawl around on my arm as I tried to get pictures of him. I kind of like the look of him with my watch blurred out. You can even make out the date this photo was taken.



Plus the time I went on my little hike to take nature pics. Yay for nature pics.



These little green bugs would just jump every which way before I could get my shot. So I had to sneak up on this one.


I really like these uber blurred shots, but it is really hard to get these to turn out. This is one of my more successful close ups with bugs digging around in flowers. often times, if I leave the auto focus on, the camera will focus on anything but the topic I want it to focus on. Very frustrating when it does that.


You can't necessarily notice it from this pic, but this is a really small fly.


It was hard to get this one to turn out, because of the monochrome and lack of contrast, the moth just blends in with its surroundings. But I like how I appear to have caught it's attention to get it to look directly at me.

I've been taking quite a few pictures here (not all are of bugs, but some topics are quite annoying). It is not uncommon for me to snap four hundred pictures at one time. When i try to stay busy sometimes it is hard to get over where the action is and take some pictures, but sometimes you have to take a gob of pictures to see if you can get that one perfect shot.

though with bugs sometimes its hard to take that many pictures of a single subject. But I want to work on getting some more pics.

Maybe i can even get some with me in them? Hey, probably not.

Bipolar Episodes?

Ok, I'll admit I've been in a bit of a pissy mood lately. Little things set me off, and I've just been easily irritable. That's life. There's more to it but I choose not to go into detail at this time.

Well, today started out as another day of great irritation for me when something strange happened.

I acquired some bolts. A lot of them. These are the little bolts that go on the end of screws, but they are a special kind of bolt. - Doh, you got me. Nuts go on the end of bolts. Screws don't need nuts, or bolts. Chalk another one up to those double X chromosomes.

Suddenly, I became happy.

I don't know how to explain it, but a bunch of stupid bolts put me in a good mood. This is actually quite odd come to think about it. I got to thinking as my thinking became a little more rational, why am I having these bipolar episodes right now? I mean to put it in an understatement, the last few days I've been downright moody and apathetic. I just did not care. Suddenly, I acquire a bunch of bolts, it sets off a good mood, and I become eager and willing to please again.

Bolts? Why Bolts? What is going on in my head? I'm not exactly sure but I should probably look into it.

Because describing my mood swings as Bipolar is quite appropriate. I have also discovered, as time goes on for me, that I am a forgiving person (though I get mad as hell at people and can hold a vendetta out for a short time) and will generally look past people's faults. There is only one person in my life that I have really held a grudge against for a long period of time and I've pretty much let that go as well. I mean there are a few people that have irked the living crap out of me, but right now I feel like everything is alright in the world, when not more then four hours ago I was thinking how much certain people irk the crap out of me and also feeling extremely paranoid, like people are out to get me. I don't feel paranoid right now. I just feel calm. And strangely relaxed.

Work continues, it can be related to a bunch of my stress and frustration, and probably a good deal of my mood swings, though I will state that right now I'm not exactly working in the job field I came here to do (though that should hopefully change here in the next couple weeks, give or take a few days). I've been learning a lot, and at the same time discovering what it feels like to want to maim people. At least I'm getting off work at a reasonable time lately. That helps me unwind. But there is never a problem with staying busy. I've always got something to do.

Still, I think I need to talk to somebody about my intense mood swings. They can't be normal. And this is beyond the usual crabbiness that females get during that certain time of month, this is outright insanity.

Oh well, I never was one for claiming to be sane.

Life Goes On

I returned the blog to how it was. Mostly because I'm not posting that much on it anyway and I like the way it was better. And if anybody has a problem with me having pictures on it like this, that's their problem. This is still my personal blog.

Life has been pretty much nil lately, the exciting stuff I'm not really at liberty to talk about and my free time is quite nearly non existent. I haven't even had a huge opportunity to work out so even though my 100 push ups idea is on the forefront of my brain, I can't get myself motivated enough to do them because I have a billion and one other things at work that have my time occupied instead.

So what do I do when I am not working my butt off?

ROCK BAND : This game is my release. It finally came out for the Wii and since I don't have time to hit a karaoke bar, I can just throw it on and sing a couple of songs on it, or play some faux drums or guitar. I think I like the singing the best, but I'm stuck on this one song that for some reason I'm completely tone deaf on because I can't beat it to open up the next level of songs on the solo version.

I would like to play with other people, but everyone I know is either to busy to play or they are not allowed too. Like I said, my limited free time is mostly non existent.

PHOTOS : I've been taking a lot of pictures of various things. I have my camera on me most of the time and when I get the chance, I go out and take pictures. Most people have no problem with me taking pictures because I turn around and share them. Most pictures I do not have the option of posting online because I don't have permission from the people in them to post them. But then there are the other items that I get pictures of. I tend to get a lot of pictures of bugs.

I'm learning a lot about my lenses. I'll have to share later.

MOVIES : The last movie I saw in the theaters was Incredible Hulk. I wasn't too impressed. Edward Norton did a great job, but I guess I haven't gotten into the Hulk craze. If there is such a thing. The idea behind it isn't as appealing to me as other super hero movies I've seen. For some reason, I like the idea behind Spiderman and X men more.

The last movie I saw before that? I think it was Indiana Jones 4. I haven't had a lot of time to go see movies.

WRITING : You know what my outlet has largely been? Writing my strange twisted stories. I haven't had a lot to blog about so I haven't really been blogging (have you noticed?) but I do enjoy writing. One of my stories I'm working on has topped 650 pages. When I started writing it, I didn't have that intention. I think if I could write a story that had a semi readable storyline, I would really enjoy being an author. I have discovered that I really do enjoy letting my imagination go wild, but sometimes it goes a little to wild.

WORKING OUT : Hah, I haven't been. I do what I can when I can do it. But the only time I really have to work out is in the evenings, and I'm a night owl. If I work out after seven, I get the adrenaline going and won't go to sleep until midnight or later. And then I won't get up the next morning, which is early.

Which leaves me for the things that I would LIKE to do if I can get the chance.

COMBATIVES : I think my favorite thing I've done recently that I didn't think I would enjoy as much as I do is Combatives, though its kind of an Mixed Martial Arts thing. I'm level one certified and I would really like to do Level Two, even though I would undoubtedly recieve a black eye and get the crap beat out of me when I go for it. If I could get up to level three I would really like too, but I can only expect so much in my position. But I think I just need to get in and roll more often. It's hard to do combatives because you really need to do it with somebody you trust, but it will give you a fantastic workout and will kick the snot out of you. I haven't been working out as much as I would like, but I think if I were to find a hobby such as this I would really enjoy it. Though is 27 to old to really start getting into something like this? I hate getting older, and I can already tell where my body is going to give out on me.

Whatever, I really need to find a hobby I can deal with that keeps me physically active. I'm going to be here for a little while, I just need to keep busy and my mind off of certain things and I think in the long run I'm good to go.

REPELLING : I love to do this kind of Hooah crap, and there is opportunities around here where you can learn how to do more adventuristic things, like Repel off of rocks and off of towers. I think when I get home I'm going to invest in some repelling equipment and find a big tote and throw it in there and go repelling more often. I need to take a class on it actually, maybe in the civilian world. Or maybe get into a class to do it with my current employer. But not just the bssic three bounces and you are down type of repelling. I want to do the crazy stuff too. Maybe I can get into Rock Climbing as well?

SKY DIVING : September, I'm going to find a place that does skydiving, and I'm going to scratch this off of my bucket list. I am going to jump out of an airplane as a reward for surviving this summer.

If I'm lucky maybe I'll even survive it.

SNOW BOARD : It's still the summer time. But I think this winter I'm going to get more snowboarding in. For the killer winter we had that gave us feet of snow, I didn't take advantage of it nearly enough.

When I listen to a bunch of people talk about what they do for fun out in the real world, it makes me really appreciate the time I have when I'm not working and makes me want to do more and be more active.

The problem with that is it generally costs money. And I like to do things with crap I already have.

Why are my plethora of hobbies so damn expensive anyway?

March of Cambreadth

How Many of Them Can We Make Die?

This is a great song. My brother showed it to me last year and as I heard it, all I could think was 'this would make an awesome cadence!'

I'd have to alter the ending slightly, or just leave it off as cadences don't always lend well to choruses, but look at the words. If this isn't a motivational marching cadence, I don't know what is.

MARCH OF CAMBREADTH
(Author: Heather Alexander

Axes flash, broadswords swing
Shining armors’ piercing ring
Horses run with polished shield
Fight those bastards ‘til they yield

Midnight mare, blood red roan
Fight to keep this land your own
Sound the horn and call the cry
How many of them can we make die?

Follow orders as you’re told
Make their yellow blood run cold
Fight until you die or drop
A force like ours is hard to stop

Close your mind to stress and pain
Fight ‘til you’re no longer sane
Let not one damn cur pass by
How many of them can we make die?

Guard your women and children well
Send these bastards back to Hell
We’ll teach them the ways of war
And they won’t come here anymore

Use your shield and use your head
Fight ‘til everyone is dead
Raise the flag up to the sky
How many of them can we make die?

Dawn has broke, the time has come
Move your feet to the marching drum
We’ll win the war and pay the toll
Fight as one in heart and soul

Midnight mare and blood red roan
Fight to keep this land your own
Sound the horn and call the cry
How many of them can we make die?

Axes flash, broadswords swing
Shining armors’ piercing ring
Horses run with polished shield
Fight those bastards ‘til they yield

Midnight mare and blood red roan
Fight to keep this land your own
Sound the horn and call the cry
How many of them can we make die?
How many of them can we make die?
How many of them can we make die?

I'll march to it too and from details. But I think I want to work on the 'killing the baby seals' cadence too.

One Hundred Push Ups

Somebody pointed me to this, and I decided I wanted to try it. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays will have to be my days to do it however. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are run days.

I'll see if I can do it though. I've been keeping pretty busy with work these last few weeks, but finding a rhythm to get things done. Definitely never boring!

hence part of the reason for the lack of posts lately.

If nothing else, I'll try to keep updated on my Push Up Progress. :)

Global Warming is Coming! Run!

Right out of a horror Movie.



with the hysteria surrounding Global Warming, I wouldn't be surprised if something like this were to happen as crowds panicked.

Hat Tip: Glenn Beck

I Love the Whole Wide World

Discovery Channel has some cool commercials. You know, even despite how messed up things are, this really is an awesome world.

Hat Tip : My friends in LJ Land

Day at the Downs

In honor of Big Brown's shot at the triple crown, which died a really ugly death yesterday when he came in dead last at the Belmont.

Ever since I was a young girl, i wanted to go to Churchhill Downs and see the Kentucky Derby in person.


I have since learned that this is probably not going to happen, because of the nature of the Derby and everything, if I were to actually be able to make it to Churchhill Downs that day, I would likely be in the infield and not see a horse all day. People in the infield just go there to party.

So now that I'm in Kentucky, I decided I would make a trip to Churchhill Downs and at least see some horse racing there. Even if it isn't an event as prestigious as the Kentucky Derby. Oh well, less people here this way. And I got some good shots of some horses.

Because life is busy, my only day off is Sunday. I sometimes get off early on Saturday, but sometimes not early enough to go out and do some things that is more conducive to an early day, like going to see some Horse races.

I went early enough to see the Kentucky Derby Museum, and got in on the Barn and Backlot tour, though looking back I would recommend doing this earlier in the day so you can see the horses exercising. Because I came on a Sunday, the earliest time was 1130, at it was before all the horse races. It would have been nice to do it during a race to, I would have liked to get some shots with the spires in the background.

Anyway, I took my camera out and decided to try out action shots with horses running. The tv really does not do these horses justice, they are FAST! when you see them running down the stretch, they generally zoom in and it gives the appearance of them moving slower then they are.


This was the fourth race that day. I missed the first, got some shots of the second from the stands, but I wanted to get closer to the track. The third race was ran on the turf, and the turf races didn't really turn out. I didn't bet on any of the races, but I got a good look at the third race horses and as soon as I saw the eventual winner, I knew she was the horse I would have bet on if I were the betting type.

No big deal on that missed opportunity, she was the favorite so the payout wasn't that great.


I love this shot, mostly because of the other view you can make out on the screen in the background.


The crowd goes wild when their horse takes the lead in the last stretch.


Just like this shot.


One of the turf races. they don't have a lot of turf races, the turf being difficult to maintain and all. This would have been a great shot too, if that darn rail wasn't in the way.


These animals are beautiful. Yes, I'm a horse lover.


This is the cool down lap where they bring the horses back at a light gallop so they can get the saddle and reweigh it.


I wanted to get some shots of them watering down the horses after they ran, this one seems to be relishing in it.

So there are some of my action shots today while hanging out over at Churchill Downs.

Um, I'm pretty burnt. Didn't think I would be spending that much time in the sun.

Young Hillary Clinton

Hahaha!

That girl is to cute looking to actually pass for Hillary.