one of the more frustrating (yet somehow entertaining) aspects of being at an ivy league university is the complete stupidity of some of the legacies. they're only here because daddy donated a building or something, and boy, does it show.

jared cracked me up just now with the following introduction to a student's exam essay.

Q: Explian Quillian's model of semantic memory, making sure to define the terms hierarchical organization and the principle of cognitive economy. ...

A: Quillian's model of semantic memory was a model of how he believed semantic memory worked. It had a hierarchical organization meaning that it was organized in a hierarchy.

this kid better hope daddy's got an opening for a vice president of booking tee times when he graduates.

still horseless, after alllll these years

07 May 2003 - 10:59 am

after tossing the idea around, i just can't afford kate. i just can't. my monthly income: $1613. minus rent ($500), IRA contribution ($167), cell phone bill ($40), i'm left with $906. karl pays all the other bills (electric, gas, landline, dsl, cable, tivo, godbless'im). i have a $300-$400 credit card bill every month (granted, i could probably cut down on that) taking me to $500-$600 left to spend.

kate's purchase price would be $5000, spread over 10 months. already, that's eaten up the last of my montly income. then there's her board, which is $450. i could work off $400 of it, by working two days/week at the barn. or, i could try to pick up some shifts at the restaurant. if i got a weekly evening shift, i could probably make $100/shift.

so that takes me down to $50/month in board for kate, but then i have to pay for shoes ($55/6 weeks, or ~$40/month) and wormer ($15/month), so a total cost of $105/month. i'm in the negative already. and i'd need to figure out a way to buy a saddle ($800-$1500), bridle ($75-$200), blanket ($200), halter ($50), saddle pad ($30-$50), and grooming tools ($30). i could buy those over time, but still.

and godforbid, she got injured or sick, and i had a $100-$2000 vet bill.

so i can't do it.

yesterday, i asked jm, the barn owner and kate's owner, if i could lease her. he said that i *could*, but that he wasn't going to take her off the market. damn. so, i'll just keep doing what i'm doing, which is a pretty good deal, and riding her 2x/week, in addition to my lesson, for free. i expect her to be sold pretty quickly. she's cute, and well-behaved, and young, and a proven broodmare, and is extremely well-bred, and has the potential to be a great jumper. dammit. i wish i weren't quite so poor--i think i'm missing out on a great horse because of bad timing.

oh yeah, on a slightly related note, i found out where the money's coming from for two women who ride out there. so one of them has one horse, a new SUV, a horse trailer, the best gear, and at one time was considering buying her own farm. she's 24 years old and not married (e.g. to a CEO). works part-time at a local tack shop, but otherwise seems to spend most of her time at the barn. the other, her riding buddy, has recently added two horses to her collection of animals, also has all the best gear, recently got told by her accountants that she couldn't afford the ~$40,000 horse she wanted, and has been overheard to talk about her $30,000/year vet bill. so anyway, yesterday i found out that they are of merck and sc johnson wax money, respectively. it all makes sense now. only reason i didn't figure it out earlier was because they're both so nice, and hard-working (when it comes to riding, anyway), and down-to-earth. testament to them, i guess.