Well, here’s a treat. Right after work today, we are taking a field trip to Madera, California. Madera. It is near Fresno. It is one of THOSE kind of drives. The kind where the getting up has to be REALLY early to drive there Sunday morning and I am just selecting turning it into a Fun Vacation. So, last night I packed up the car. Bought some snacks. And late this afternoon, me and the team will drive through the predicted thunderstorms to near Fresno. To the Super 8 Motel! This is sort of a luxury digs, not the normal Motel 6. We upgraded by 2.

I know. I am an anomaly in the dog agility world being a one day of trial go-er. I have a small business that is just a pain in the ass to leave on Saturdays. Can be a pain in the ass to ever leave it. It involves horses. And their people. And my control freak self. So while all of you pack up and drive to dog agility on Friday evening and spend a couple nights there, have 2 whole days (or, in the case of the mega trials, 4 whole days) to get your Q’s and work out your bugs, I have one day. It’s just how my dices roll.

Every so often I have orchestrated the mission that is taking a day off of work. And actually gone to a dog show on a Saturday. It was helpful to have an extra day, like 2 chances for Standard Q’s! A day to work out the bugs that are the bar knocking and the zombies. Steeplechase! This is the big reason I orchestrate the mission, because Steeplechase is always on Saturday and how would I do Steeplechase otherwise? Or DAM team? Do you see the problems I wrestle with in my life? I am like the only person with no ADCh. Which now will be a Performance ADCh. Someday. Since we had to start over with Performance Q’s and Still No Super Q’s. Whine. Like when I was a kid and I was the ONLY girl with the Hot Wheels lunchbox. I KNOW I picked it out, Mom. It’s the one I Had To Have. It is my own consequences and I should just shut up now.

And, on the shiney side, with multiple dogs, multiple days of dog showing every month would be really, ouch. The entries. The motel. Lots of you sleep in your cars, I know. And work full time at the trial doing hard jobs. I am not a car sleeper. Or a good and cheerful all day worker. More of gate person/pole setter for some lunch worker. I am more like the discount shopper of the dog agility. Working to make money on Saturday, instead of spending more money at the dog show and losing money at work, even my bonehead accounting skills can work out that one. So one day-er I am. And usually not a motel-er, but for Madera, I’m making the splurge. Fun! Vacation! Motel!

I will have Illinois to think about driving out there. Do you like Sufjan Stevens? He is making a cd of each of our nation’s 50 states. I just put Illinoise in my ipod. It is sort of like Simon and Garfunkel if they had a giant marching band and orchestra and made a film score for a movie that was about history and maybe quasi religious butterflies. I think that is super suitable for driving to near Fresno in the rain on Saturday after work with 3 small dogs.