Updates and Bits

SUMMARY: CPE coming up; pricey dent; knee fine; distance work (Gamblers); lost youth

I'm swamped lately; hence, not a lot of personal posts. Just some notes for today:

CPE Coming Up

It's CPE this weekend, one of only 4 CPE trials I'm planning on doing this year.

Boost needs one Colors leg to complete her Level 3 title. Then, to finish Level 4, it's 7 Standard, 4 Colors, 4 Wildcard, 3 Jackpot, and 3 Snooker. It could concievably happen this year with 100% Qs and/or trials doubling up on a couple of games. Or--in other words--ain't going to happen. Then, AFTER that, it's 40 legs in everything to her C-ATCH. If I keep concentrating on USDAA and cutting back on total weekends, she might never get there.

Which is how I'm starting to think of Tika's CATE. We're fully capable as a team of finishing it, especially with her recent Q rates of 90-100% in CPEs. But we still need 2650 points, which is well over 100 Qs. Let's see, 10 Qs/weekend at 100%, 4 weekends a year--I'm still thinkin' we could get it by the end of 2010 or 2011, by which time she'll be 10, if still competing. Sigh.

To fulfill our minimum requirements in each of the classes, she still needs 1 Standard, 7 Colors, 6 Wildcard, 1 Snooker, 9(!) Jumpers, 3 Jackpot, and 3 Full House. We always always Q in Full House, and frankly I love this game for the challenge to have the highest score of all competitors at the trial, but I don't always enter because I'd rather get the harder legs first. Like Jumpers, where you have to keep all the bars up! Knock on wood with Tika for this weekend; I've not been doing bar-knocking drills, she's no longer in class (except a couple of runs in Boost's class), and my jumps have been set lower because we're practicing handling in tight quarters. Living on the edge--

It'll be a very small trial--only about 240 runs a day, of which we're 10. I'm also the chief course builder this time out, and my dogs are the only 24" dogs. So they should both be getting a lot of first places. I'll be so proud.

It Costs HOW Much?

The estimate to fix that little ding in my door is over $1700! Plus rental car if I need it! Glad someone else is paying for it.

Knee

Is holding up just fine.

Gambler Practice

I've yet to get a Masters gamble with Boost, so I've been practicing more "Out"s and actual gambles in my yard. We'll see whether it pays off. Two CPE trials coming up but not another USDAA until April.

Lost Youth

And that youth is Kevin Gast, a Bay Teamer whom I knew only slightly, but he is--was--younger than I am. I complain about the pains of growing older, but I'll try to remember that there's something in that joke that says growing older beats the alternative. Don't take your friends for granted. Sigh.