Feb

29

I’ve Tipped my Hand

Filed Under aggie stuff, cattle, school | 5 Comments

I’m not sure how often (if ever) I’ve mentioned in my blog that I would someday like to own Hereford cattle. I’m not sure how often I mention it in real life, but I’m pretty sure it averages something like every 30 seconds.

I remember last semester when I asked Doc why we didn’t have any Hereford magazines in the big magazine case outside the ag offices. He explained that all our magazines are donated and the Hereford association had refused to donate theirs when he talked to them. I was bummed, until they started showing up this semester. I’m guessing someone emailed the association, detailing the fact that eight other beef breeds donated their magazines to the university, mentioning that Herefords were completely unrepresented which is quite unfortunate because there are some ag students who are very interested in them, and telling them that their donation would be much appreciated and giving them the appropriate address.

Yesterday in Bovine Repro we were talking about some information Doc had received recently which listed the largest beef breeds by weight. We were trying to guess the number two breed and the people to my right had already guessed some continental breeds (they tend to be bigger than the British breeds). “You’d think it’d be a continental breed,” Doc said. “Kalin, it’s your turn.”

I knew it was probably a British breed, so I took a wild guess. “Uhm…Angus?”

“Kalin, it’s your turn,” Doc repeated.

“HEREFORD!” I exclaimed, much to the amusement of my classmates.

We moved on to number three on the list and Doc stood in front of my table. “Say it now,” he said.

“ANGUS!” I said gleefully. It was around this time that I realized I was probably thought of as “The Overenthusiastic Hereford Girl” to my classmates.

This hypothesis was substantiated today in my Livestock Evaluation class. We got tests returned to us today and most people were very displeased with the results (for the record, I got an 86% with a class average of 72%). The really tough part had been having to identify beef cattle breeds. We looked at slides of the breeds and had to write their name along with whether they should be used as a paternal or maternal breed.

Doc decided to give us an opportunity to get some points back with extra credit. “You’ll write a 2 - 3 page paper on a breed of your choice,” he explained. My heart soared, but then he continued. “And you,” he said pointing to me, “can’t do Herefords!” I gasped. I fell to the floor and sobbed and had a seizure. When I woke up, Doc was in the middle of a lengthy rant about the fact that I had drawn “stars and love stuff,” as he said, next to Hereford on my test, and how he hadn’t needed to turn it over to know without a doubt it was mine. But honestly, I only drew one heart and spelled Hereford in all capital letters. It was very tasteful.

Luckily, Doc relented and I am indeed doing my paper on Herefords.

This is all rather unfortunate for one reason: Operation Shetland Valentine was originally planned around a large/cheap poster I ordered off the Hereford association website. It was going to be the crowning decoration of the whole affair, but it didn’t arrive in time (actually, it still hasn’t arrived). Since the poster wasn’t here in time, my plan was that I would just discreetly slip it into Doc’s office after it arrived, leaving him scratching his head as to who had put a Hereford poster on his wall.

Somehow, I don’t think it’ll take him long to figure it out.

Feb

27

Thanks, Lil

Filed Under dogs | 2 Comments

Lil pointed out to me once that Olio is the equivalent to Harry Potter’s Dobby the House Elf.

I accepted this but perhaps didn’t believe it with my whole being.

Until now.

Feb

25

Baby Animals

Filed Under fond memories | 4 Comments

Everyone loves baby animals, right?

I’ve always loved baby animals and I’ve been in this game a long time. I’ve been around long enough to see greenhorns get burned out from the sheer adorableness of it all. I’ve seen old friends burst into a puddle of goo from a baby animal that was cuter than they could handle.

Not me, though. I’m an old pro.


This snapshot was taken during the rigorous training sessions of my youth. In order to understand a baby animal, you have to be a baby animal.


Notice how young I am, yet I am totally old hat at handling baby animals. Some squares like to delicately cradle a kitten while supporting their weight to give them a sense of security. Not me. I like to casually throw one over my arm before posing for pictures. Kittens love that.
Note: The “squares” to whom I refer are also pictured.


Look at the expression in my eyes. It’s clearly saying, “If only I was surrounded by 500 more of these bunnies, that would be awesome.”

Feb

22

Ate Ohw-Toooooooooo!

Filed Under aggie stuff, cattle, school, university farm | 1 Comment

“Ate Ohw-Toooooooooo!” is what I spend approximately 15% of my waking hours screeching these days. Usually the few seconds of “Ooooo” sounds are at decibels only dogs and the occasional talented gypsy can hear.

And here is the cause of all my fussin’ and hollerin’:


This is 802. He has become a favorite among some of the Bovine Repro students because he’s so dang cute.


Oh…hey, 801. What? Favorites? No, of course we don’t play favorites.

Back to what’s important.


802. ♥

Feb

21

Modern College Life

Filed Under school | Comments Off

The other night I had laid down for a bit of a nap since classes were canceled for the next day (not thanks to any weather, but rather to a university conference). I was awakened a little bit later by loud pounding on my door courtesy of Shipley, who was simultaneously calling my phone and calling for me.

I crawled out of bed and stumbled to the door. Upon opening it, Shipley walked in and announced, “[Our mutual friend] is being sued! We’re going drinking!” I stared at her for a minute, partly because my contacts had sealed themselves onto my corneas and blinded me, but also partly because I had no idea what the heck she was raving about.

It turns out our friend is being sued by former roommates for not paying rent/utilities after she moved out. Naturally, this required us to have dinner and drinks in order for Shipley and I to draw upon our combined sketchy memories from the Business Law classes we took years ago in order to offer her vague advice while reading her lease contract.

Feb

18

Falling Down

Filed Under school | Comments Off

If you are ever walking with me in conditions that are less than perfectly ideal, you will soon become acutely aware of my intense, burning desire to not fall.

I don’t fall that often, really. Maybe once or twice a year. But that is enough to make me extremely cautious when the ground is slightly damp or a little frosty or shady or at a slope of more than 9.257 degrees.

I used to fall when I was a kid, but that’s normal. Then I went for several years and never even thought about falling because I never did it. Upon entering my final years of high school and then onto college and I started falling more. My friends started falling more, too. Is it because we wore flimsy flip flops that become sled-like at any presence of moisture during rain storms and sometimes when there was frost on the ground? Maybe, I don’t know, I don’t want to talk about it.

There was one time I was walking through campus after a rain in my green flip flops and hit the slick sidewalk square. It’s a piece of sidewalk that becomes skating rink-like when wet. My flip flops flew out from under me and I scraped up my toe. I was on my way to a friend’s dorm room to work on homework, so I hobbled the rest of the way and burst into the room, announcing that I had fallen and sticking out my bloody toe and rotating my foot back and forth so that everyone could see it in all its glory.

That was back in the day when falling was entertaining. Now, however, the very prospect of falling is terrifying. I’m 21 now, after all. I might break my hip.

On Saturday I was hanging out with Lil when I became very concerned about falling. We went out to eat and consumed approximately 500 ounces of fluid between us before heading off to browse around Target. The Target restroom was out of order, so we decided to walk next door to another store in order to find a working restroom. We stepped outside and the misty rain, coupled with temperatures right around freezing, had created a sheet of extremely slippery ice on the entire side walk. I slipped a little bit and from then on I insisted on taking very small, slow steps, twisting my foot on the ground each time to make sure I had enough traction to stand.

This morning I drove to campus and I’m sure you can imagine my horror when I saw people falling everywhere. The sidewalks and parking lots had been plowed from yesterday’s snow in such a way that created a smooth sheet of ice over all of them. I pulled into a parking space in time to see the girl next to me step out of her car and fall immediately. I think I stared at her — my eyes bulging and mouth gaping — for a good minute or so.

It took me a good long while to get to class, thanks to my overly cautious gait. I managed to stay upright, but my paranoia is at an all-time high. I’m going to fall, I just know it. I don’t know when, but I’m going to fall.

Feb

17

Sometimes I feel like they don’t like me much…

Filed Under aggie stuff, cattle, university farm | Comments Off

Do you ever get that feeling that you’re being talked about?

Or that someone’s making faces behind your back?

Do you ever walk past a group and feel a certain sense of disdain radiating off of them?

Maybe I’m imagining it…

Or maybe not.

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