Headline from today's paper* "New Laws Protect Victims- and Bears".

*I'm not supposed to get Monday's paper. I pay for a subscription for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I generally get Monday's anyway, as an extra-special bonus, I presume.

I had my first Turkey Shoot related freak-out today. It was of the "OMG! I can't get it all done!" type. Which, I can get it all done. I shall list what I still need to do.

1. Order targets (we have enough to get started with. I've requested quotes.)
   
2. Laminate the colored targets (groups shoot by target color).
   
3. Buy passes (am getting check tonight).
   
4. See if any Jaycees want to buy a shirt.
   
5. Shift captain training.
   
6. Check gun locks.
   
7. Hang new sign.
   
8. Buy snacks/drinks for manpower.
   
9. Figure out why my keys don't work.
   

In other news, I rode Dodi yesterday. Now, a TB/Percheron cross has always been my dream horse. She was fabulous. Sweet, willing, although a bit slow to pick up things. She's still a baby, so she's got lots of growing/training yet to do. I may change the horse I lease.

I check my stats fairly regularly, and I know that there are more people reading than my regular commenters. (Hi regular commenters! Love you!) But! Guess what? Today is a great day to de-lurk. Leave a comment, let me know who you are. You can leave an anonymous comment if you like, as long as it has clues (such as your e-mail address) that let me know who you are.

If you're reluctant to do that, at least shoot me an e-mail, mmkay? watergirl.michele at the google mail.

• I've been busy at work (so very very strange!) and with the Turkey Shoot, so I've not been around much.
  
• I may or may not be going to Atlanta the weekend after the Turkey Shoot.
  
• I want to buy Dodi. She's up for lease, and there is a lease-to-own option, but her price goes up $2,000 in January. And I can't have the rest of it by then. But, I've never fallen for a horse like this before. She needs some work, but she's young, which is why she's cheap. However, she moves well, which is what you want to look for.
  
• Woke up at 2AM this morning. I'm not sure what woke me up, but I probably wouldn't have been quite as awake if Orion hadn't jumped 3 feet when I pet him.
  
• After going back to sleep, I woke up again to a very strange sound. I couldn't figure it out, and then I realized it was rain. Rain!
  
• I have 530 T-shirts in my car.
  
• Bud cracks me up.
  

OK. That's about all I can think of. For now, anywa.

Nor did I run off with a carnie, as was the rumor at work.

Yes, I did spend a good 10 days at the NC State Fair. Running the Turkey Shoot. (We now have a new sign. Is much better. Go me!) (Also, we do not shoot turkeys. You win a turkey. A frozen turkey.) I haven't finished running numbers yet, but indications are that it went well and I most likely met my goal, fundraising-wise.

Then I spent a few days recuperating. Tonight I'm selling tickets at the Haunted House. Tomorrow I shall finally vacuum my house so that it no longer looks like I've been stabling horses in there. (Turkey Shoot has hay. Hay gets caught in pants that are cuffed because even though one is spending days surrounded by fried insert-any-food-you-can-think-of, one's pants are becoming too big. One comes home very late after 12-14 hour day, forgets about hay, takes pants off, spilling hay all over bathroom. Cats spread hay throughout house. Repeat 10X.) Also tomorrow: getting ready to go to Atlanta for the weekend.

Oh, but on the exciting front, I have a follow-up phone interview tomorrow for that position in Chicago. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

So, I drive around the southeast a fair bit, and I have noticed a few things.

Virginia has signs saying, "Speed checked by RADAR and VASCAR" and "Speed limit enforced by aircraft." The latter causes me to picture A-10s strafing speeding cars. That would slow people down! Even me (maybe)!

When I drove into Georgia last night I saw a sign that read, "Speed detected with detection devices." GA is all, "Yea suckers! We have detection devices, and we are going to use them. What ever they are!" (Eyes could be considered detection devices, no?)

In South Carolina, you will see exits labeled things like, "Exit 27. Road 99." South Carolina is all, "We're too lazy to name our roads. You think we have detection devices?"