I need your help!

http://kellymurphy00.wordpress.com/ride-for-a-cause/

 

I am now in the fiinal weeks of fundraising for the Ride-A-Thon and I need your help to meet my goal of donating $200 to River Valley Riders. RVR provides therapuetic riding to children and adults with disabilities. They are a fantastic organization and you can read more about it on my blog, the link listed above.

 

Every donation makes a difference - 20, 10, even just 5 dollars - the same amount you would spend on a coffeeshop latte, a pack of smokes, a tip at a restaurant, a combo meal at a fast food restaurant, or two twelve packs of soda. Help me help this organization that is so deserving!

 

Thanks for reading.

Kelly

Pennsylvania - the experience.

My perceptions before I left - they are a very well run conference, on the ball; thought they might be a bit more like the Boston/East Coast interpreters that I have met; Baltimore was going to be a scary metropolis to drive through; the hershey tour was going to be just a blip on the radar; flying is a torture to be endured.

The first part of my trip looked grim - the two part flight on midwest was cancelled due to the rain. I stayed in good spirits while waiting for the ticketing agent to print me a new ticket for NWA. Its good to be first in line and kind - the ticket that was slide across the counter to me was a first class ticket. What an experience! Number one, I had never realized just how hard flight attendants work - they’re job is very hard AND they have to do it with a smile; number two, first class is totally the way to travel - flying could be fun!

So arriving in Baltimore, I went to the rental car place and got a fun car - a ford mustang, that just happened to be black, my favorite color. Thankfully it wasn’t too much of a splurge price-wise, but it was really something else to be behind the wheel of a machine like that. (Roar is the word that comes to mind)The drive up to Gettysburg was a little harrowing, as it was 11-12 o’clock at night and VERY dark. The interesting result was that I experienced the change in scenery more by smell than anything else. Baltimore had a hint of salt on the air, and there were many forests that I went through, that smell of the loam on the forest floor. Then the scent of farm country hit me - so like home - horse and cow mostly, soothing known smells. I got into the hotel about 1am and fell into a dreamless sleep.

Saturday morning came bright with opportunity. I checked in with the Conference head and then headed out to Hershey (needed to get chocolate for the shareshop attendees anyways). I figured it would be something small, a cute brief tour and then some free samples. I did not expect the giant complex and beehive of activity. Its a great place to take kids, so long as they can handle the sugar high that is rampantly running through the air. I only had time to see a small portion, but I would definitely return for further exploration.

Drove back and attended another workshop about Technology for Interpreters. Good stuff, I feel I learned quite a bit. Even though I consider myself pretty competent with technology, since I am mostly self taught, there are always things that I miss that would have made my life easier. Came up with an idea that I would like to implement - an anonymous compliment board. (Recently in the latest Update, our MRID publication, there was an article about spreading compliments instead of gossip) Too often we, as interpreters, spend a lot of time tearing each other down - a shared crab-in-the-bucket mentality - instead of taking the time to build each other up.

So the shareshop itself went really well - despite the temperature in the room being a steamy 90 degrees, they stayed with me - they were fantastic participants. Their questions were very insightful and as always, I feel like I learned as much from them as I hope I have given them. They wre great about sharing their stories and talking about the choices that they had made in the past and applying the new terminology and understanding they were given. And as always, when it came time for the samples, they really dug into them and worked as a group analyze them and create a model interpretation. Its such an honor to be around people like this - and have the privilege of witnessing those great minds at work.

Saturday night I was restless and had a hard time falling asleep - too much chocolate maybe?? - so, knowing my hubby would be up, I gave him a call. Just hearing his voice was the soothing I apparently needed to fall asleep - got off the phone and was out like a light. Didn’t even have a chance to put the cell on the nightstand! LOL

Sunday driving back was fun - testing my sense of smell to see if I was right, and for the most part I was. I don’t care what your self-esteem is prior - once you’re behind the wheel of a beautiful mustang you can’t help but feel cool. Add to that some classic rock coming back, and I am reminded just how much I love to drive and the time to be introspective and take in the landscape with appreciation.

The flight back was coach, so it sucked, but I made it home alive and that’s the important thing.

I would definitely present for Pennsylvania again - what a pleasure.

~Kelly

On the road again, just can’t wait to get on the road again . . .

Well, tomorrow I leave for Pennsylvania state conference. They are a very well organized conference, very on the ball. I appreciate that the interpreters for my workshop have already been in touch and we have done some prep. My workshop is not easy, let alone if you aren’t prepared for it. I get frustrated when the interpreters expect me to summarize everything five minutes before we begin - when I would rather finish setting up and talking to the folks in attendance.

I fly out on friday to baltimore and then I am getting a rental car - I love to drive so that should be fun. And it will give me the opportunity to take a side trip up to HERSHEY, PA - the Mecca for all Chocoholics. I hear they even have a chocolate spa . . . .

But I digress. I am really looking forward to the PA conference - it will be my first upclose taste of east coast interpreters. I did a little research on their ITPs in the area and I believe they have two four year programs and one two year program - very similar to Minnesota.

I will actually have some time to hit the other workshops, which will be nice. I think its rather ironic that they have me scheduled for saturday night. Here in Minnesota, Saturday night has been traditionally reserved for the entertainment. I guess my topic could be seen as that [chuckle] but I sincerely want people to find it useful.

So wish me luck and bon voyage and all that jazz!

~Kelly

Why are interpreters behind the times?

First of all, a small disclaimer - I am not a hardcore techno-geek. I like shiny new toys as much as the next person, but they aren’t the end all, be all of life. I am just as happy working with the earth as I am the latest software programs.

Here’s what I don’t understand - why do more “veteran” interpreters seem to fear technology? The ability to use programs out there to keep their freelance business organized; programs like Quicken, Quickbooks, etc. The desire to learn about new technology that might (and probably will) be pertinent to the deaf consumers that we serve. The attention to detail to put out a PROFESSIONAL looking invoice and other business associated documents. Utilizing the online video sharing services to extend the range of mentoring possible. (I recently submitted and article to the RID Views about that very subject - hopefully they will publish it) Using digital camcorders to record our work and analyze it. Using email and text messaging to stay in touch - especially in this rapid response world.

I know this next part will be a bit of a rant - but maybe it will help. As part of my day job, I often page out interpreting jobs and then process their invoices later. I can honestly tell you that if you don’t have an e-mail address that I can send the “page” out to, I am not likely to take the extra time to call you. Email gives me the ability to do 3-6 things at a time and a phone call requires too much concentration and time. I have had assignments where the difference of ONE MINUTE meant whether or not you got the assignment - you have to be able to respond quickly or you will miss out. And the invoices that I see leave me very disappointed - l have seen HAND WRITTEN invoices, which is simply not professional, period. Not a whole lot better are invoices that are simply MS Word docs that have the information on there without rhyme or reason. (MS Office Online has some great templates to work from, and they’re free, people) I have tried to suggest gently to these folks that they need to “up their game” but it falls on (pardon the pun) deaf ears. Even some of the business cards I’ve seen leave me shocked - they are just not top notch. It really seems that the longer an interpreter had been in the field, the more poorly they present themselves on paper.

I would love to offer a workshop helping folks get up to speed, but the people who need the help would not attend.

We are far more likely to ask for help with our interpreting skills than to ask for/admit that we need help with our business skills - its all the same, you go to the folks who have a good handle on it and ask them to help you get better. But they won’t ask for/get help with the business side of things. What’s wrong with this picture????

In an effort to continue growing as professionals and as our code of conduct dictates, we should be cognizant of what’s out there. And as a capitalist society, we should always be thinking about how to integrate this new learning to get ahead and become more skilled. And most of all, we need to be capable of change - just because that WAS the way it was done, doesn’t mean that’s the way it should always be. GROW AND LEARN is the motto of the interpreter and it holds true in all aspects of this business.

[climbing down from soapbox now]

~Kelly

YEAH! Trailrides

Saturday I hooked up with a friend and we went up to the barn. One of my barn friends has two horses, one of them an aged gelding who is starting to sway because he isn’t being ridden as much as he should but he’s a great babysitter - and a good “guest” horse. The friend I brought doesn’t ride that often but is very physically capable.

The sky was overcast and the wind chill, threatening rain. I pulled out the “guest” horse, who seemed very surprised and delighted to be taken out. Then I called for Griffin, who I could not see from the one dry spot in the pasture. I whistled and called and heard a responding nicker - there is nothing better than that sound. I called for him again and he peeked around the corner with a “Time to go?!” look on his face and ambled on up through the mud.

While we were grooming them a trailer pulled up in the driveway. We don’t get a lot of strangers and we are a very small boarding community, so anything like that is off great interest. It was a mom and daughter (?) who had come by to use our indoor arena - with our barn owners permission. (I hope they are paying them for use of the arena, it would be the polite thing to do) Its always enlightening to see other folks riding style. These were hardcore western people - the horse’s head/neck did not really move while they were riding her (very pretty mare though).

We toodled around in the arena working on controls and collection. Then we headed down the road. We are very luck to have a nice long dirt road and then a dead end shortly at the end of the pastures. Typically, when the footing is good, we head down the road, turn off onto the deadend and then trail ride through the woods at the end. Well, since its mud season, the deadend is only 3/4 good - so we went down and turned back around. The ponies of course picked up their pace thinking “woo hoo - time to head back to the barn!” Well as we got to the beginning of the deadend and back to the dirt road, we turned them away from the barn and rode all the way down to the end of the dirt road. We had a moment of “Are you sure you don’t want to head back to the barn? Really Really sure?” and then they settled down and headed off. We got some nice measured trotting in, a brief canter and even went past the noisy scary dogs without issue.  As we came back down the dirt road, the horses’ eagerness to be done prompted me to make an executive decision to head back down the deadend again. They turned off mostly without issue, but I did not turn us back around until they settled. When we got back onto the dirt road, we saw that some other boarders and the barn owner were just heading down the road, so we decided to join them. [the uber goal is to be unpredictable and keep the horses out of a pattern] They went down the dead end and they were all walking well - my horse for once being willing to be in the pack rather than leading it. We went into the bad footing at the end of the deadend carefully. One of the male boarders decide to ask his horse to go into the impromptu creek that had formed in the ditch. The horse went through it fine, but coming back decided it would be just better to jump it - ha ha that’s a sight - jumping in a western saddle. (Maybe that little appaloosa really wants to be an eventer?) Then the same rider decided to move into a canter once we got into the good footing. I have never been prouder - my boy did not move out of a fast walk - he would normally have been chomping at the bit to race them. The really interesting sight was the barn owner on her Clydesdale, who REALLY wanted to race, being held back to a parade trot. What a beautiful thing to see - that clyde really moves in collection, wow.

So we returned to the barn and untacked and finally gave the horses what they’d been waiting for - a few cupfuls of grain. (They only get this when they’ve been working, so its quite a treat)

I live for the weekend days like this - when all is right with the world and we just move at a pace that is natural, no rush no fuss - just spending time.

~Kelly

For the Interpreters Out There ~

We all have taken/are taking different routes to achieve
certification and competency. For the interpreters working on this
milestone now, it would be great to have a list of the ways people
have gotten there. It would save the younger generation from feeling
like they are reinventing the wheel and give ideas for other avenues
to try - and having it in one place would make it convenient for all
involved.

I would love for people to send me, privately, their story - I will
do my best to remove all identifying information when the summary is
finished.

If you already have certification/ competency, what was successful
for you? What wasn’t? What was your situation as you were trying to
achieve this? What would you thought would you want to share with
the next generation?

If you are currently trying to achieve certification/ competency,
what are you doing now? What have you tried? What seems to be
working? What hasn’t been as successful? What thought would you want
to share with the more experienced generations?

The goal is to create a “menu” of sorts, and share that with the
community - and add to it as we find new ways of “making it.” And of
course share the words of wisdom between the generations.

Please send your story or any questions you might have to my e-mail
address, kemurphy00@yahoo. com.

Thank you!
Kelly

I Ride ~ Author Unknown

A Simple Statement “I Ride”
 I ride.  That seems like such a simple statement.
 However as many women
 who ride know it is really a complicated matter.  It
 has to do with power
 and empowerment.  Being able to do things you might
 have once considered out
 of reach or ability.  I have considered this as I
 shovel manure, fill water
 barrels in the cold rain, wait for the
 vet/farrier/electrician/hay delivery,
 change a tire on a horse trailer by the side of the
 freeway, or cool a
 gelding out before getting down to the business of
 drinking a cold beer
 after a long ride. The time, the money, the effort it
 takes to ride calls
 for dedication. At least I call it dedication.  Both
 my ex-husbands call it
 ’the sickness’. It’s a sickness I’ve had since I was a
 small girl bouncing
 my model horses and dreaming of the day I would ride a
 real horse.  Most of
 the women I ride with understand the meaning of ‘the
 sickness’.  It’s not a
 sport.  It’s not a hobby.  It’s what we do and, in
 some ways, who we are as
 women and human beings. I ride.  I hook up my trailer
 and load my gelding.
 I haul to some trailhead somewhere, unload, saddle,
 whistle up my dog and I
 ride.  I breathe in the air, watch the sunlight filter
 through the trees and
 savor the movement of my horse.  My shoulders relax.
 A smile rides my
 sunscreen smeared face.  I pull my ball cap down and
 let the real world fade
 into the tracks my horse leaves in the dust. Time
 slows.  Flying insects
 buzz loudly, looking like fairies.  My gelding flicks
 his ears and moves
 down the trail.  I can smell his sweat and it is
 perfume to my senses.  Time
 slows.  The rhythm of the walk and the movement of the
 leaves become my
 focus.  My saddle creaks and the leather rein in my
 hand softens with the
 warmth. I consider the simple statement; I ride.  I
 think of all I do
 because I ride. Climb granite slabs, wade into a
 freezing lake, race a
 friend through the manzanita all the while laughing
 and feeling my heart in
 my chest.  Other days just the act of mounting and
 dismounting can be a real
 accomplishment.  Still I ride, no matter how tired or
 how much my seat bones
 or any of the numerous horse related injuries hurt.  I
 ride. And I feel
 better for doing so. The beauty I’ve seen because I
 ride amazes me.  I’ve
 ridden out to find lakes that remain for the most
 part, unseen.  Caves, dark
 and cold beside rivers full and rolling are the scenes
 I see in my dreams.
 The Granite Stairway at Echo Summit, bald eagles on
 the wing and bobcats on
 the prowl add to the empowerment and joy in my heart.
 I think of the
 people, mostly women, I’ve met.  I consider how
 competent they all are.  Not
 a weenie amongst the bunch.  We haul 40ft rigs, we
 back into tight spaces
 without clipping a tree.  We set up camp.
 Tend the horses.  We cook and keep safe.  We
 understand and love our
 companions, the horse.  We respect each other and
 those we encounter on the
 trail.  We know that if you are out there riding, you
 also shovel, fill,
 wait and doctor.  Your hands are a little rough and
 you travel with out
 makeup or hair gel.  You do without to afford the
 ’sickness’ and probably,
 when you were a small girl, you bounced a model horse
 while you dreamed of
 riding a real one.

 author unknown

Karmic Benefit

Sometimes when it feels like an uphill battle, all you can do is try and hope it all works out. And often the universe will provide.

Case in point - one of my good friends was in an abusive relationship for years and it seemed like anything that could go wrong, did. Then she decided to leave (one of the best days in my life for sure) and every roadblock she faced, which was many, something or someone came along to help her get through it. Don’t get me wrong, it was not easy - by any stretch - but she kept her head up and kept working. And now she is free of him and building her own life.

So what’s the point of sharing that story? Well, besides the fact I am immmensley proud of my friend, there is another point I want to remind myself.

My husband an I are struggling right now. With him having been out of work for over three months now, its becoming serious crunch time for us financially. And I have to say I am scared. Of losing what we have worked hard to build and the life we hope to live someday. I have tried to keep my head up and just keep going - hopefully doing the best I can - and trust that the universe will deliver.

However, if you have any suggestions or ideas of what we can do to get through this time and get him back into the workforce - I would love the ideas. I am pretty sure that you’ll get back to me before the universe does.

~Kelly

The Mud Season

Right now just about all the snow has melted up at the barn and what is left is sucking ice cold mud. YUCK! And of course, as horses sometimes laydown, Griffin was covered, eyelashes to hooves, in dried mud. He is also shedding his winter coat like mad. It took me over an hour to groom him yesterday and I had to use a pitchfork to pick up all the hair. The good thing in all this is that it means that spring and summer are well on their way. The horses are getting spring fever pretty bad and the rough housing has increased - so I got to discover some lovely bites on my poor pony. (Don’t worry, he gives as good as he gets)

Speaking of bites and owies - they need to be treated to some extent. So I broke out my handy ani-septic aerosol spray and found out my horse has a serious aversion to the sound. WHEEEE. Not. Its a breathtaking thing to see a 1000 pound animal stand on his tiptoes, nostils completely distended, ready to explode in whatever direction is away from the sound. My normally flappable pony was suddenly a snorting blowing barrel of TNT. Well a few rope burns and half the can expended in desensitizing later, he finally let me put the spray on him - even though he still wasn’t happy about it. (I think its like iodine and stings like a mo-fo)

Still, despite all the theatrics, never once did he try to walk over me or push me around - very impressive. Though he did try to hide behind me, which was pretty cute.

Prior to all this, we went for a short trail ride, through the mud and water and soggy pasture. He was quite the trooper - went through running water with only a moments hesitation and slogged through the deep sucking mud like it was nothing. The horse behind us, when we went through the improptu pond, stopped and started pawing and splashing - covering all of us with ice cold muddy water - brrrrrrryuck.

For those of you who ride, here’s a link to an interesting article regarding saddle pad materials and which are the best for riding. http://www.5starequineproducts.com/SaddlePadsArticle.html

Just another day in the pony adventures!

Kelly

Turning 30 . . . . .

So tomorrow is my birthday. I will officially be 30, and I have to say I am somewhat melancholy about it. Its a slide into true “adulthood” - that may sound silly but it feels like when you’re in your 30’s you should have a good handle on your life.

 Where’s the white picket fence ya know?

 Over and Over again I am struck by the fact that life is not our preconceived ideas of right and wrong - success and failure - stability and chaos. Our lives are what we make them and you set your own destiny and decide for yourself what fulfills you.

I never thought that I would love Brad as much as I do - it catches me off guard - needing him in my life. My concept of an independent woman was very different - I am learning that taking the risk to be open to someone and then having them be there for you is a place of shocking tenderness.

It feels GOOD, people.

I didn’t want to age (once I got up to 21 anyways) because it felt like I was being pitched into the vast unpredictable future and that I would be doomed to repeat the patterns I saw around me. But I don’t have to - I have a choice and so do we all.

We make our own happiness - if you train your eye to see what you have, rather than what you don’t, life is a beautiful thing.

 So, um yeah - its my birthday tomorrow.

Kelly