It's Okay To Be A Dork

I felt so bad yesterday morning.

I was home for about an hour and a half, mostly to take a shower, eat something, and make sure the house was still standing before I went back to work.

Before I even managed to get my coat off, Vita ran up and threw her squeaky tennis ball at me, her tail wagging so hard I could literally feel a breeze. She looked at me, then looked at the ball. Then she looked at me again, and then back down at the ball. Then she nudged the ball even closer to me.

Guilt trips, she’s good at ‘em.

Don’t worry, she’s been getting lots of playtime with other members of the household. She’s just annoyed that I haven’t been putting my fair share in this week. Next week doesn’t look a whole lot better; all I can hope is that she doesn’t start leaving "presents" in my bed to emphasize her disapproval.

From the all too brief glimpses I’ve been getting over the past several days, it looks like that little bit of excitement about the BreyerFest Stablemates and Cleveland Bay SRs has retreated back to that "general feeling of disappointment" again. Not really a surprise; as I’ve mentioned before, there seems to be some segment of the hobby that takes pride in disapproving of almost everything.

Look, no matter how long the hobby is around, or how "popular" it will ever become, it’s an inherently dorky activity. Trying to dress it up as something more respectable and educational - and distancing yourselves from the goofier or less realistic aspects - can only go so far. (Ask your friendly neighborhood comic book fan!)

Yeah, it’s aggravating that the public will fixate on the weird stuff, but so what? It’s part of the hobby, too. And really, it’s okay to fly your dork flag, especially if the alternative is coming across like a snob. Or creepy, like some of the people who do Reborns.

Anyway, we still have a few more SRs as-yet-unannounced. It’s not clear if the translucent Ruffian counts as the Decorator special for the event, or if the Store Special Ballyduff "Killarney" will count as the Nonplastics special, either. I also have a suspicion that we might be seeing a new mold in the mix somewhere, either as an SR, or a Raffle.

The fact that both Raffle pieces are still unannounced makes me suspect the latter.

If the Cleveland Bay SR does have the roached/hogged mane in the production pieces, I think my Ticket SR choices are getting harder, not easier. (It’s just the two tickets for me this year. I had some faint hopes of volunteering again this year, but alas, I was not among the chosen.) Roached manes, like ermine spots, are one of those things that gets my attention, for the better.

We just don’t see enough of them in the model horse world, relative to the real horse world. It’s always those romantic "big hair" models that get the production nod. Sure, a long flowing mane is pretty, but boy howdy, when I see them all I can think about is the upkeep.

And Miss Vita, who went digging in the mulch last week in pursuit of a vole - ending up with nothing but a messy snootful of leaves. (Talk about a dork!)