Still Alive...

Here I am. I'm still among the living. Here's a pic of Jeeves looking rather moose-like with his winter coat coming in.

Today is the first time in several weeks that I feel human. Work was crazy. I was putting in 70 hour weeks, which, on top of basic animal care, doesn't leave time for much of anything else...including sleep. I was supposed to be on vacation Thanksgiving week, but had to work. It was even looking like I was going to have to work on Thanksgiving day, but fortunately, we got a break with the project and not only did I get to take the Thanksgiving weekend, but I got to take my vacation last week.

However, just as I was starting to recover from being overworked for so long, I came down with a nasty head cold. Ack! So, instead of catching up with a lot of my chores around here and getting back on my poor neglected horse, I spent far too much time on the couch. Today, I still have a stuffy nose and some sniffles, but I'm feeling relatively human again. And, of course, today I'm back at work. But, I should be able to work a more normal schedule of 50 or so hours/week instead of the intense schedule I did through November. And, no, I am not paid hourly, I am salaried, so I earn the same no matter how much time I put in,

I hate to complain, since I am grateful to have a job when so many have lost so much. But, I do hate it when I have to put so much extra time in to it. While I don't hate my job, I wouldn't say I love it. I work to support my animals, as I'm sure many of you can relate to. I don't mind working hard, but I also want to spend time doing the things I love to do in life--ride, play/train with my dogs, garden, and sometimes just relax on the couch. A few months ago, someone I know on one of the online forums I frequent obnoxiously called me an "underachiever" because I'm not in the top 15% of wage earners in the country. That did make me think for a bit. I know that if I had applied myself a bit more throughout my life, I could easily be making much more money. But, would I be happier? Not a chance. My happiness and my sense of success comes from so much more than just how much money I make and how well I do my job. A wonderful ride on my horse gives me so much more satisfaction and elation than the completion of a project at work. The soft nickering of my horse as I trudge through the snow with his bed check hay brings me so much more contentment than a happy customer at work does.

The backside of this is that, while I do earn a good living, I spend most of it maintaining this little farmette for the critters. I have a small pool of savings. I've been scared to look at my 401k balance since the market took the dive in September, so I don't know what I have left in there. If I lose my job, in this economy and at my age in this high-paced, youth oriented industry it would likely take me quite some time to find another job. I could lose all that I have worked so hard for. But, if that happens, I will deal with it. I will still have the satisfaction of knowing that I did achieve my dream and lived it for a few years. How many people never even get that? How many people don't even dare to dream?

So for now, I turn my attention back to my job. But, I hope to catch up with the horsey blogs that I've been neglecting as well as get back on Jeeves as soon as the mercury rises above the 20 degree mark. Maybe tomorrow will warm up enough.