So many things have happened this year. Bad things. First my foot which is just now beginning to feel "normal" again. Then, this week my tooth decided to die and develop an abscess. I just had a root canal today. They're not as bad as everyone says. Actually, I feel much better now than I did before the surgery.
At any rate, even though all of this bad stuff keeps happening, I'm seeing some doors open too. Currently I'm a computer desktop support technician. That's just a glorified way of saying I'm a computer mechanic....it breaks, I fix it. In the next 10 years, I see the need for people like me decreasing. Operating systems are becoming more stable, hardware is getting more interchangable, and computers are becoming so inexpensive, it will make more sense to just replace the computer instead of paying someone like me to fix it. Of course, a lot of my colleagues disagree with me, but that's where I see my job going.
At the same time, I've never been one to stay in one job more than a few years. I get bored really easily and though the world of computers has changed rapidly enough to keep my interest, I'm feeling that itch to do something else. And I keep being led back to working with horses and dogs.
I was asked this year to head up the horse show for the local fair. I live in a very rural area which has a very small fair and in the past they had a decent horse show. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, the people who did the horse show left and the other livestock people didn't have the time or energy to put into a horse show. So they sold off all of the jumps; tore down the ring and didn't have a horse show for several years. Last year a local stable owner offered to put together a show so her students could participate, but it was too much for her to do it all which is where I came in. A friend of mine at work is the Livestock Superintendent in the fair and she basically guilted me into putting the horse show together. I offered to do it then promply broke my foot in that car accident.
This year's show is going to be really basic, but I'm enjoying it and next year I'm planning to have a much nicer show. I'm going to write a grant proposal to the Maryland Horse Council to see if we can get some money to rebuild the ring and put in good footing. Maybe buy some jumps. I've also been asked to work with an extension agent's two horses and start giving her riding lessons. I'm hoping this will be a springboard to getting back into the horse community. Training, teach and giving clinics would definitely work much better with a family schedule. You can still teach riding lessons when you're pregnant.
With my background in management and computers, I can forsee starting my own business in the equestrian community. At some point, I'd like to create a US Pony Club branch on the lower shore. Not that 4-H isn't a good start, but I just don't see the emphasis on good animal husbandry that I experienced in Pony Club. The other livestock groups might do that, but they just don't have that background in the 4-H horse clubs. I see a need for people to learn how to properly bandage a cut leg and how to handle colic.
Hopefully, I'm really seeing new doors opening and the dawn of a new part of my life.
