A dream job

Everyone has one....the job that you secretly (well, maybe not always secretly) covet. (And yes, I just used the word "covet" because it just sounds so naughty.) I always wonder what moves us down the other path at that fork in the road, away from what we TRULY want to do. Someday my children (if I ever have any) will come up to me and ask, "Mom, did you always dream of working in online ad operations?" PFFFFTTTTTT....NO.

When I was in elementary, jr. high, and high school, and for two years at Purdue, I was convinced that I wanted to be a veterinarian. I worked at a vet clinic during high school even. But, in college, the classes made me MISERABLE. I shunned the overwhelming amount of math and science, and decided a change was needed...I needed a way to let out the creativity that was being bottled up by these monotonous equations and formulas....and the fucking 3-hour lab classes that started at 7:30 a.m.. I came to the quick realization that I didn't want to be in school forever. Had I kept down this path, I would have only recently been able to graduate. I mean, that's just fucking nuts...I've been working down my current career path since 2005 when I finished up at Purdue. So, rather than become a professional student, I headed toward a new major, Agricultural Communication. *Insert wisecrack joke about talking to corn here* Basically, folks that head into this area generally become ag journalists, but many move onto different specialties whether it's PR, web design, etc. Think of it as a regular communication major, with just a twist of agriculture.

After Purdue, I moved to Phoenix and did a short year-long stint of working in human resources. This was not my idea of fun...I hated it in the end. I was working at the big media outlet there, The Arizona Republic/azcentral.com, while I was doing the tailend of my HR work. All of a sudden, some opportunities opened up there in the digital media department. I got the job I wanted, switched departments, and spent a few years learning the ropes of online media, got tired of Phoenix, and found a better job at The Seattle Times Company....so here I am...Seattle...ad operations...doesn't it just sound THRILLING??? (The Seattle part, yes, but the ad operations part, maybe not so much.)

What you can't see from this little spiel on my career path, is that on the backside of all of this, I was working with horses. I moved my horse to Phoenix and boarded him at a small family barn. They only had few boarders there, and no one was really on the show circuit, but rather they used their horses mostly for trail riding. Once I got a few of the riders to come to my shows, an interest was sparked, and I eventually started doing some training for, and giving lessons to....the barn manager. This lady, one of my now really good friends, Monica, was by far the best student I've ever had. She works amazingly hard, asks a lot of questions, and is just damn good at learning. I helped her purchase her first "real" show horse, which she has kicked ass with down in Arizona. She is continuing to develop, and I'm only sad that I can't be there to help out...although, I am helping her scout out another new show horse to buy ;). Teaching and training is just so amazing to me. When a rider "gets it" it's truly an awesome thing to see. And when they accomplish their goals....well, you accomplish your goals right along with them.

So, if you can't tell by that previous paragraph, horses are my passion. If I had my way, I would give riding lessons and train for work...the manual labor doesn't bug me at all. I used to work all day long all summer long at an old trainer of mine's horse barn...hardest work I've ever done in my whole damn life, but also one of the best times of my life, and a point in time where I felt really accomplished. But, there is a dark side to this type of work...it's a very very hard business to start and make a name for yourself. Another rough side of this industry is that it's very expensive to compete, so a lot of the clientele can be snotty brats that have just had everything handed to them on a silver platter. My tolerance for this bullshit is minimal, so sometimes it can be quite frustrating....you get the idea.

It's nuts, but I know of the perfect place I could start this business, and it's back home in Indiana. I used to board at this amazing barn about 15 minutes away from my parents' house, and now it's used as storage...there are only a few horses there, and no trainer renting it out. But to move back to the middle of nowhere, and begin a startup business...well it just seems impossible. The amount of money involved would just be outrageous. Who knows though...maybe a golden opportunity will present itself to me one day...like I'll win the fucking lottery or something.

The folks that know me here in Seattle and down in Phoenix, well, from first glance, most of them had no idea that I rode horses or grew up on a farm, but as you can tell, it is deeply rooted in my life. There are hints of it everywhere. Gotta love my shoes by the door of my apartment...Pumas, flip flops, and boots with spurs....quite the combination.



I'll always appreciate what I've learned from riding, and feel even more appreciative that I've been able to pass that knowledge onto others. So, who knows whether or not I will ever have my dream job, but it's something to hope for.


Song of the day: "We Weren't Crazy" Josh Gracin (because who would have ever thought we would end up where we are)