The days in the summer in Alaska are long, so this means that we who live here tend to get up earlier and stay up later. I think that biological changes go hand-in-hand with the lengthening and the shortening of the days. I think this would be worthy of a study, but I can’t imagine what this study would entail.

As of late, I’ve been hearing the phrase “crazy busy” repeated quite often. Okay. We have extra time to do things because there is more daylight. And this makes us maniacal. Crazy busy – those who don’t have the time to stop what they are doing and talk, I don’t have the time to even stop and talk to them.

This is an excuse, used to prioritize in a negative way. If someone who someone regards as really important approaches, the crazy busy person stops what they are doing. I have seen this happen. It also has something to do with an inflated sense of self-importance – importance as in “I can’t give you my undivided attention because I am crazy busy.”

One defining characteristic of crazy busy is the sense that one is overwhelmed. And a defining characteristic of overwhelmed is the erroneous belief that one will never catch up on what it is they are doing. I have a great deal to do but have not felt overwhelmed in some time. I have in the past. I do at times feel despondent because I am not getting much writing done. But feeling despondent and feeling overwhelmed are two different things.

Bones for Life – today it went okay. Teaching does not come easy to me. I have a hard time being observed. And the teacher is very exacting, so much so that I don’t stand a chance in hell of getting things right the first time. I know this to be true. I have learned this by experience. It’s Culhane’s law – the more the teacher knows, the more the teacher expects the student to know.

After class Pete and I returned to Palmer and went to a barbecue put on by Sarah, the woman who organized the horse scent clinic. Had a good time talking horses – tried to get the instructor to be specific in talking about horses and how he trains them. I discovered that he has holes in his knowledge – in talking about positive and negative reinforcement, he does not know what negative reinforcement is. And all he could say about obstacle training was that horses must learn to move in a lateral direction. I asked him how he taught this and he said he used a spur. Say if the obstacle is on the right side, and he wants the horse to move closer, he uses the left spur. I did not say what I was thinking, which was that this was not my way of doing things. Instead, I just kept asking questions. I could have but I did not ask him questions to which he had no answer because this would have been like handing him a shovel and asking him to dig his own grave. This, like spurring a horse, would be unfair.

Next: 187. 7/10/17: Eyes Wide Open Shut