Third Week Hump Day

Well, I am half way through my third week and my body is starting to adapt to the fact that I am actually using it during the day (What a novel concept!).  My brain is also having to adapt to a lower stress, lower intensity environment.  Unfortunately, when the level of stimulation is suddenly decreased, it seems to have a weird effect.  If you were to place yourself in a situation where you couldn't see and where you only had white noise as a background, it has been proven that our brain will start to construct hallucinations, sometimes in a matter of minutes, in order to keep itself occupied.  In my case, my brain was creating things to worry about and this combined with working alone most of the day posed a challenge.  I have been taking a two pronged approach to addressing this unforeseen issue: 1) I try to take in the beauty that I find myself constantly surrounded by, and 2) I listen to audiobooks on the way to and from work and ponder these when the anxious part of my brain kicks into gear.  My third week has been going much better than my first week so I think my solution is working.

Anyway, this minor issue aside, I am loving it.  My days are very similar in terms of work load and tasks, but the details are where the magic lies.  The pauses to pet a chicken or having a sheep rest its head on your shoulder make it all worth it. 

As I was driving to work today, I was trying to get a weather report, but the station that I was listening to was getting interference from another station.  After spending a couple minutes trying to parse the information from the station I wanted to listen to, I realized that this was somewhat of a metaphor for my last life.  So often it was a case of too much information coming in and I find my new simplicity to be a welcome change.  When I am at work, my purpose is pretty singular and I would recommend that more people try out the experience.

Well, I am sure that anyone who actually comes to this page probably does so for the pictures more than my ramblings, so here are some of my favorites from this past week.  Wish you were here!




This is Blossom.  Some of my old co-workers may recognize her as the piglet that was on my lap in the picture where I was wearing the red jumpsuit (Convict suit).

 


The pigs and geese both love the pool, although the pigs prefer working on their tans to swimming.




My favorite juvenile "cow-boys", Oliver and Elliot.  Oh, they grow up so fast!




Oliver is ready for his close-up.




My first cow-buddy Whitaker.




A real California Happy Cow, Whitaker.