Poor :\

Well, as a graduate student I've always been poor. However, my time as a grad student is ending with the new year, and so I'm about to be poorer. (Hopefully ending with a Masters degree I'm trying to eck out, but possibly not even). My priorities in life have changed: I don't want to do science all the time ever forever. I'm considering getting a real-person normal job, or becoming a high school teacher. The teaching position would allow me to still play with science (and ponies all summer!), but the normal job would pay more, especially over time. I do love teaching; I had wanted to become a professor at a small college but I can't get over this hurdle of being that dedicated to research during grad school, and the idea of chasing grants and papers for the rest of my life is..... tedious, as is moving all around for a job. I do still love science but I don't want to be a lab tech for 10 bucks an hour for the rest of my life either. I can tolerate teenage exuberance well, but licensing requirements are midly obnoxious and may take a bit of time anyways to obtain.

So yes, I can relate to all the heartbroken people I see who in financial times cannot keep their horses. One must give up luxuries in hard times.

I would like to affirm that I am prepared for harder times. This is how:

1) Dante has always been paid for out of my secret second job. I work two days a week at Blockbuster, 6-12am, and his board is 210 a month. That's about maybe 30 hours of work per month, and at 12 hrs a week, this is easily covered in 3 weeks, with the extra money taking an edge off vet/farrier costs. This doesn't intrude on a normal 9-5 work day for me. His feet are thankfully pretty easy and slow-growing, and I give my own vaccinations (he gets just about all of them available). His teeth haven't needed to be floated yet (he eats fine, too trust me!- I made the vet check each time), and since I kept him all summer for under 200 dollars (excl. farrier) by letting him munch at my in-laws, he can be a cheap horse. I don't show, well okay my showing costs were 16 dollars this year! (15 for the fun show with a dollar for the ride-a-buck event). I did spend money on building supplies for saddle stands and cavalettis (which need buildin), and I did buy Truck. These were all extras with money I had from BB.

2) If my hard times get really hard- I have the following option: I can bring him to my in-laws, buy hay, and wait till it warms up and give him the winter off (MN is frickin cold to ride outside, and often dark, and other than practicing some yeilds in a barn the size of a round pen.... eh). I can always borrow a horse for free where I'm at now and keep up my skills, Dante will not forget everything by waiting a few months.

3)I have paid for Dante's board through to January. I have the next month's cash ready to be given to keep him through to February. He has not damaged his blanket.

4) Were there some sort of colic-emergency type thing: I have credit. Veterinary stuff is not to be skimped. Ever. Nor is farrier work. Our tack is all manageable, if something broke I could borrow. Truck can break, car can break, I'm okay. I also own half of my brother's house, and he's getting antsy to buy me out so if I need money for a while I have that option.

5) All of this does not involve my husband's income, which is steady. However I generally support myself- we don't fight over money. Grad students only make 20K a year where I am, so nearly any full time job will more than compensate what I was at.

6) I can if spending a period of time unemployed, work at the farm for 10/hr and apply that directly to board.


I do not have the option of leasing him out. He failed at that. I could to the right person, but do not want to deal with such worries.

So maybe I will be on a Ramen/multivitamin diet, but he's all set!