1. I used to ride horses and in college I did some buying and selling. I would take a horse from an auction or a horse trader and try to better their situation by making the horse more attractive to a more appealing owner. My favorite sale was this very tall, spotted, appaloosa type mare. The horse trader wanted $1,000 for her, so I priced her at $1,500 immediately. The first person who came to look at her brought a sleazey trainer along. As the buyer was getting the saddle out of the car, the trainer whispers to me "The price of this horse is $2,500." I am trying to make some money, so a higher price sounds good to me. They decide she is the right horse, so the plan is for me to trailer her to the trainer's farm for a vet check. Of course, the buyer will be conveniently out of town so the trainer offers to purchase the horse and the buyer can pay her back later. The problem is that there is $1,000 extra going to this trainer for nothing, so I tell her that I want half. She said that was her money and she shouldn't have to split it with me. I told her I was prepared to lie for her and I wanted half. She said that she was not lying that the horse was priced at $2,500 at her barn. Whatever... I want half. So we agree. I arrive at the barn. Keep in mind that I am probably 18 years old. The trainer tells me that I do not know what I am doing. I assure her that I do. She says "The horse trader wanted $1,500 for the horse didn't he?" I said no. The trainer says "You mean you already tacked on to the price?"..... "Yes." She wasn't happy but, I received my share.
2. I am a Certified Financial Planner. Most people think I'm a dog trainer, vet tech, or some other animal professional. I decided not to do something that related to a hobby because I decided that there probably wasn't anything in life that I want to do for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.....including my hobbies. So at some point in high school I decided to do something related to investing. Financial planning is a cool job especially now that I work for such a wonderful, little company. The pay is decent, you learn how to plan your own future, its fun to help clients, and every situation is so different.
3. I'm impatient. There is this illusion that since I train greyhounds I must be patient, but really I am not. Hubby, Stephen, knows this better than anyone. With the dogs, I am understanding of the process and the time it takes to accomplish things. But when things don't occur as planned, I can feel pretty inpatient and I try to hide it.
4. I have never been drunk. OK, maybe once, but that was actually a year or so ago at the age of 30 and my boss made me do it. Stephen and I were at a company dinner party and my boss was serving a multi-course meal with a different wine for each course. With my lack of experience and tolerance, I probably should not have tried to keep up. Luckily, I am just a sleepy drunk and didn't do anything stupid.... but I did throw up on the way home. So I was never even close to drunk prior to age 30.
5. I attended a monkey picnic in Branson, Missouri once. A friend of mine had a baby java macaque monkey and I was roped into driving us there. She had a suspended license from too many tickets. She was willing to drive, but it takes a licensed driver to rent a car and I wasn't about to let her drive the car rented in my name. The little java macaque played on our dashboard and hung from the steering wheel. We had a CB radio so it was fun to hear the truckers trying to figure out what they just saw. The monkey picnic was quite interesting. People from all over the country with all different types of monkeys came to Branson for the big event. They stayed in hotels. At our hotel there were monkeys everywhere. The most unbelievable part of the whole experience is that a restaurant actually allowed us and the monkeys in for dinner. We had a huge table set up and there was a monkey in a high chair just about every other seat. Some of the patrons weren't very excited about our visit. We were not even seperated into a special room. Spider monkeys are my favorite. If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend a monkey picnic for a monkey fix, but I do not recommend monkeys as pets. They are extremely high maintenence toddlers that never grow up. They will pull your hair and throw poop at you.
Spider monkey at the restaurant (above left). Here I am chilling with a spider monkey (above right). Little caupuchin ordering off the menu (bottom left). Snow macaque (I think) chilling with his mom. I think he was actually potty trained because he didn't have to wear diapers.
6. I am a lacto-ovo-pesco vegetarian... I think. That should mean that I am a vegetarian that eats dairy, eggs, and fish. I have been one since I was 14 years old. I was a good, little animal activist when I was a kid.
I will tag Todd and
Kathy next.
