I think it is fair to say I am really behind, a week to be exact, but have no fear there will be enough to read in this update to last you until the next one! So with that, let's get started! I left you all last Wednesday evening when I was looking forward to moving into the housing that was offered to me through Margaux farm...
Thursday
It's move in day! The Margaux office opens at 8am and you better believe I pulled in 15 minutes early due to shear nerves and excitement! Of course I had mom and dad with me! After talking with a farm employee and following her over to the apartment we were allowed to move in. I am not actually living on Margaux farm but through a connection to the farm I am able to live on a farm that borders the property basically allowing me to stand at my kitchen window and see the barns at Margaux. To make things short, I am living in a renovated tobacco barn that was turned into a 3 bedroom 1 bath apartment and it is totally adorable!
After getting the cars unloaded and my things put into my room, we decided to head out through Lexington to go shopping and get things I would need for either the apartment or for myself during these next 6 months! We literally drove through Georgetown, KY 20 times and got pretty familiar with the area that I will be in. We made one last stop at the apartment before we went back to the hotel for a quick nap before we went to Keeneland to see the track, shop through the gift shop, and watch a little bit of the January Sale. I wanted to get mom and dad out to see some of the exciting things offered in the area and Keeneland is always a really cool stop! Basically after that, we met Sarah for dinner in the adorable town of Midway which is literally about a block wide and has a bunch of little shops and some great restaurants!
Friday
I have to say this was by far the most hectic and frustrating day I have had while in Kentucky. To start, we got out of bed, checked out of the hotel, dropped my car off for an oil change, went to breakfast, picked my car up, and then I had to say goodbye to mom and dad. I was really proud of myself for not breaking down into sobbing tears as I hugged them before they headed back to VA, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't shed a tear or two! Anyway, this is where it all went south. My plan was to leave mom and dad and head to Lowe's for some curtains and curtain rods for the french doors in my bedroom and then to Walmart for groceries. Once I was done with all of that, I was going to head back to my new home to hang curtains and get settled. It just so turned out that everytime I tried to get somewhere I got lost. So drive to Lowe's, got lost. Drive to Walmart, got lost. Drive home, got lost and so on. This isn't even the worst of it. As I am standing in the checkout line at Walmart for my groceries and the cashier gives me my total, my card is declined. Not once, not twice, but 5 times. So I insist of trying my credit card. Especially since I had literally just used it in the back of the store to buy a gps due to the previous problem I was encountering. And guess what happens, it was DECLINED! I had enough groceries in the cart to last me at least a month and here I am humiliated in Walmart because my cards are being declined. On some chance of luck, I begged the cashier to scan my card one more time on debit and it actually worked, THANK GOD! Mind you at this point I am in a full out sweat, I'm ready to cry, I've been cursing like a crazy person (not to the cashier, but to the piece of plastic in my hand that refused to help me) and I didn't have the slightest clue how to get back to the place I was going to sleep that night! So what does every 23 year old girl do? Call her mother of course! Who answers the phone and hysterically laughs and says "yeah I know, they emailed me thinking you were a fraud." Uhhh thanks for the warning there Ma! Just kidding, I love ya -- and you did get the discover card turned back on! But guess what, this doesn't even end the day.. Once I fight my way through the plastic seal of the gps packaging with an ink pen I was able to set my destination to get me where I needed to be, "home."
Remember those curtains I was so excited to put up on my french doors? Yeah, those come into play now! I get the entire car put away. I put my groceries away, head into my room and get out the curtain rods only to find out the ones for the actual windows are too big and the overall rod for the frame of the door was too small. It was at this point I claimed complete defeat and gave up on all things pretty! This doesn't even end the day. I had my very first orientation at 6pm for KEMI in downtown Lexington! At this, I was able to meet all 32 KEMI's for the first time, meet past interns, farm managers, board members and other influential people of the industry! For about 2 hours I was in the company of some pretty great people, which was greatly needed due to the day I had! I can gladly say Saturday and Sunday were much, much calmer!
Saturday
At last night's orientation (Friday) I was able to meet my boss for the first time in person and have the opportunity to talk with him for a little while about starting dates and various other tidbits of information. During this, he invited Danielle (my roommate, who is also working at WinStar) and I to the farm for a tour before we began actually working there. So around 11, Danielle and I went to WinStar to have our very first tour of the property and boy were we amazed and overwhelmed! WinStar is such a beautiful farm and it is amazing to say I have been placed there. We were able to go into multiple barns, drive around the property, ask Jeff plenty of questions, and get our first look into the place we will be working for the next 6 months! After our tour, Jeff invited us to lunch at Wallace Station which is a little sandwich shop that has been on the food network! It was delicious and it also gave us more time to talk with Jeff about various topics in the industry! From here, Danielle and I went back to Lowe's to exchange my curtain rods and went back to Walmart for some other little things. I spent the rest of the afternoon/evening hanging curtains and trying to get mildly organized in my room.
Sunday
Sadly, I didn't go out and do anything on Sunday due to the shear fact that I woke up feeling like I had been hit by a freight train! My body was aching all over, my throat hurt, head hurt, ears were burning, and had a slight cough. Everything from the last 3 weeks had finally taken its toll and I was down for the count! So today I took lots of vitamins, played lots of movies, and slept most of the day!
Monday - Wednesday
Now I am blocking these days because there I so much to truly talk about and it's easier to put them all together! Monday started my KEMI orientation week and it kicked off by meeting at the Kentucky Horse Park at 8:30am. We had two guest speakers giving talks on the industry and how to be professional in a farm setting. After lunch we visited with two farms and returned to the horse park to wrap up the day with a representative with the Jockey Club to give us a presentation on the program and what the Jockey Club has to offer!
On Tuesday we all met again at the horse park but instead of having a speaker to kick off the morning, we loaded the bus and headed to our first stop for veterinary day! Our first stop was to the Lexington Equine Surgery Center, then to Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, then over to Rood and Riddle Equine Clinic, and lastly we ended at Park Equine. Each of these facilities and hospitals is very similar yet very different to the other. In a sense, they all handle the same problems and cases but the mannerisms in which they handle these cases are different and to see each of these clinics individually was amazing! Our last stop for the day was back at the horse park with a presentation from the KEMI Alumni Association! After these last few days of craziness I was ready to take it easy and rest for the night which is exactly what I did!
Now for today! We met for the last time at the horse park to board the bus and head out for a day of viewing stallions and talking about caring for mares who are either getting ready to foal or who have already foaled! Our list of farms included; Dixiana, Spendthrift, Juddmonte, and Darley! Which each of these farms is known specifically for their own reasons and they were all truly amazing! We were able to get the day completed early which allowed me the chance to finally sit down and blog to you all!
My week will finish up with more stallion viewings tomorrow and a visit to Churchill Downs on Friday! It has been a slammed full week and has been an incredible experience so far! I will update pictures of everything going on later as it is getting pretty late and I need to head to bed so I can get up early in the morning! I do apologize for being behind on my blog entries, I have been so busy and where I am living currently doesn't have internet! It is to be expected to be in by Monday so hopefully I can be more organized and more readily available to my blog! As always, if you have any questions or you need me for anything, just let me know!
With love,
Melissa