Here's the countdown, folks. Exactly four weeks from today, I'll be flying out for five months in Kentucky. Yes, it's only five months because I chose to stay home until after the holidays. It just means I'll have to work even harder when I get there!
Trufflez is almost to her new home for the winter and spring at the Children's Farm Home in Corvallis. I'm incredibly grateful to Debby for helping me out with this. It's such a load off my mined to know that my horse will be well cared for by someone I know and trust.
Here we go! T- 28 days!
Monday, December 10, 2007
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Happy Thanksgiving!
It's Turkey Day, folks! A wonderful Thanksgiving to you all and for my international friends, I wish you a wonderful Thursday.
Bought my ticket for Kentucky. I'll leave January 7 from Portland and come back on June 16th. Techincally, I'm only gone for five months, but it's still going to be wonderful.
One new development is that the internship doesn't have the credentials to fill the requirements for student loan deferment. So that will be one bill that will follow me east. Grr... Shouldn't be that hard to deal with as long as I have a laptop to take along.
The countdown has begun!! Forty six days until I go to Lexington!!!
Bought my ticket for Kentucky. I'll leave January 7 from Portland and come back on June 16th. Techincally, I'm only gone for five months, but it's still going to be wonderful.
One new development is that the internship doesn't have the credentials to fill the requirements for student loan deferment. So that will be one bill that will follow me east. Grr... Shouldn't be that hard to deal with as long as I have a laptop to take along.
The countdown has begun!! Forty six days until I go to Lexington!!!
Sunday, November 11, 2007
On My Way!!
Friday morning I received a phone call from Taylor Made -I've been accepted! They have mailed out a letter of acceptance to me as well as their list of policies and procedures to look over. Once I look at that and agree to them (which I don't think will be a hard task) I'll reply positively to their offer. I'm going to Kentucky!!
I'll leave sometime after Christmas, as quickly as I can manage. If I'm here for New Year's, cool. But I'm anxious to get over there and start learning as much as I can from them. It's going to be a wonderful adventure and I'm ready to meet it with my full forces.
The greatest feeling is knowing that they see me as the type of person who can handle a grueling and intense internship. I was hoping they would see me as a hard-working, passionate girl who is looking to get her start in the horse industry. (on a side note, is it bad that I'm excited about doing hard manual labor?? *grin*)
Wish me luck, my friends! I have just under two months left, and a boat-load of logistics to work out. But I'm glad for the challenge. Once I have everything in order and my horse is properly cared for, I'll be heading off for the greatest adventure of my life!
I'll leave sometime after Christmas, as quickly as I can manage. If I'm here for New Year's, cool. But I'm anxious to get over there and start learning as much as I can from them. It's going to be a wonderful adventure and I'm ready to meet it with my full forces.
The greatest feeling is knowing that they see me as the type of person who can handle a grueling and intense internship. I was hoping they would see me as a hard-working, passionate girl who is looking to get her start in the horse industry. (on a side note, is it bad that I'm excited about doing hard manual labor?? *grin*)
Wish me luck, my friends! I have just under two months left, and a boat-load of logistics to work out. But I'm glad for the challenge. Once I have everything in order and my horse is properly cared for, I'll be heading off for the greatest adventure of my life!
-> Please check out Taylor Made at www.taylormadefarm.com <-
Sunday, October 21, 2007
The Second Interview
I just got back from two glorious days in Kentucky. And it truly was glorious.
We got into Kentucky a day late because our flight from Portland to Chicago was delayed, thus making us miss our flight that night to Louisville. It wasn't a terribly bad situation once we realized that the airline was putting us up for the night and paying for two meals. I'm just thankful we didn't have to spend a night in the Chicago airport. Ugh.
After navigating two unfamiliar airports and taking off on the unknown highways of Kentucky, we got into Lexington. It was warm, a little humid, and absolutely goregous. Lexington is every bit as beautiful as some would dream. Acres upon acres of pasture lined by four-rail black fencing across gently rolling hills. The houses that sat on these hills were simply lovely. Everything is built with brick because lumber is much more expensive than in the northwest. And then, there were the horses. Pastures are full of Thoroughbreds. And the barns look nicer than some of the houses.
Thursday afternoon was spent at Keeneland Race Course. Mom had never been to a race, so I thought it would be fun to go. I've been to the races in Portland, but it's a new world in Kentucky. Everything is cleaner, nicer, and full of all the traditional regalia of horse-racing. Mom was marveling at how many people dress up to go to the races, and I was marveling at how much money must be floating around in bets. One race will easily accumulate $26,ooo in placed bets. And these weren't even the high profile races.
Friday morning, it was time for the interview. I didn't sleep much the night before and didn't get to stomach much breakfast. I was just too nervous. Our drive to Taylor Made took us through the type of countryside that most only see in the movies. I used to wonder why Kentucky had such a romanticized reputation; now I know.
Taylor Made is the #1 consignor of Thoroughbreds, and it shows. What small percentage of the grounds I got to see were immaculately clean, organized, and the very picture of professionalism. The stallion complex is made up of 5 two-stall barns, with separate paddocks and pastures extending from each stud's stall. All the stallions were out, but still within perfect view of us. They have sons of AP Indy, Storm Cat, and Unbridled (if you know sire lines), all of whom are doing quite well for the farm. I hope I wasn't drooling too much as we walked around.
So, the interview came and went. I sat down and talked with three staff members and answered basic interview questions. My impression was that they know I would be capable of handlign the work but it's a matter of which applicants are going to be the highest quality worker. Things went fairly smooth, and if I don't get the internship it would most likely be because I'm not determined to stay within the Thoroughbred industry. (I'm trying to keep my career options open and subject to change.)
Now I get to wait. They still have a few more applicants to interview before they make final decisions. It appears that there are seven positions for interns and approximately thirteen applicants. We'll see what happens. I really have no idea how well I did compared to other applicants.
Keep praying for me! God's got a plan somewhere!
We got into Kentucky a day late because our flight from Portland to Chicago was delayed, thus making us miss our flight that night to Louisville. It wasn't a terribly bad situation once we realized that the airline was putting us up for the night and paying for two meals. I'm just thankful we didn't have to spend a night in the Chicago airport. Ugh.
After navigating two unfamiliar airports and taking off on the unknown highways of Kentucky, we got into Lexington. It was warm, a little humid, and absolutely goregous. Lexington is every bit as beautiful as some would dream. Acres upon acres of pasture lined by four-rail black fencing across gently rolling hills. The houses that sat on these hills were simply lovely. Everything is built with brick because lumber is much more expensive than in the northwest. And then, there were the horses. Pastures are full of Thoroughbreds. And the barns look nicer than some of the houses.
Thursday afternoon was spent at Keeneland Race Course. Mom had never been to a race, so I thought it would be fun to go. I've been to the races in Portland, but it's a new world in Kentucky. Everything is cleaner, nicer, and full of all the traditional regalia of horse-racing. Mom was marveling at how many people dress up to go to the races, and I was marveling at how much money must be floating around in bets. One race will easily accumulate $26,ooo in placed bets. And these weren't even the high profile races.
Friday morning, it was time for the interview. I didn't sleep much the night before and didn't get to stomach much breakfast. I was just too nervous. Our drive to Taylor Made took us through the type of countryside that most only see in the movies. I used to wonder why Kentucky had such a romanticized reputation; now I know.
Taylor Made is the #1 consignor of Thoroughbreds, and it shows. What small percentage of the grounds I got to see were immaculately clean, organized, and the very picture of professionalism. The stallion complex is made up of 5 two-stall barns, with separate paddocks and pastures extending from each stud's stall. All the stallions were out, but still within perfect view of us. They have sons of AP Indy, Storm Cat, and Unbridled (if you know sire lines), all of whom are doing quite well for the farm. I hope I wasn't drooling too much as we walked around.
So, the interview came and went. I sat down and talked with three staff members and answered basic interview questions. My impression was that they know I would be capable of handlign the work but it's a matter of which applicants are going to be the highest quality worker. Things went fairly smooth, and if I don't get the internship it would most likely be because I'm not determined to stay within the Thoroughbred industry. (I'm trying to keep my career options open and subject to change.)
Now I get to wait. They still have a few more applicants to interview before they make final decisions. It appears that there are seven positions for interns and approximately thirteen applicants. We'll see what happens. I really have no idea how well I did compared to other applicants.
Keep praying for me! God's got a plan somewhere!
Monday, October 1, 2007
Phone call!
Woo hoo! We're into October, which means I'm about two weeks away from my interview. Crazy. I'm so anxious! I can't believe that this is really happening for me. I'm actually going to fly out to have an interview with a leading agency in the Thoroughbred industry. The chance to work with them would be absolutely amazing. I'm so excited.
Got a phone call from Taylor Made today. They just wanted to double check that plans for the 19th are still on. Of course they are! I wouldn't miss this for the world.
I just need to book a hotel for the night in Lexington. The rental car is taken care of, as is one of the two nights in Louisville. I guess I better start figuring out how to pronounce that city correctly. Here in the PNW we put it into three syllables: Loo-ee-ville. Apparently the correct way to pronounce it is to get lazy: Loo-ville. Don't want to sound like too much of a foreigner, now do I?
Wish me luck, friends!
Got a phone call from Taylor Made today. They just wanted to double check that plans for the 19th are still on. Of course they are! I wouldn't miss this for the world.
I just need to book a hotel for the night in Lexington. The rental car is taken care of, as is one of the two nights in Louisville. I guess I better start figuring out how to pronounce that city correctly. Here in the PNW we put it into three syllables: Loo-ee-ville. Apparently the correct way to pronounce it is to get lazy: Loo-ville. Don't want to sound like too much of a foreigner, now do I?
Wish me luck, friends!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
