I'm generally a patient person, but when it comes to EQ I morph into having the patience of a cranky toddler. The upcoming new season is one of the worst times for me. Constantly trying to decide who to get rid of, frustration at not being able to sell horse's normally worth millions for only small change. Racing crappy claimers that I know are going to FR'd to make room for my new 2yo's is endlessly painful. When I don't care about a horse any longer, the time taken to train and enter such horse feels like a complete waste.
Last week M and I were PM'ing as per usual, counting down the days to the new season. 9 days to go *arghhhh* 8 days to go, 8 days to go again...*argghhhhhhhh* seriously we started to worry that days were starting to go twice as long. Real life didn't seem any slower but in the world of EQ everything was crawling along. M is also a usually patient person, but she also suffers from the same condition as me. End-of-EQ-Season-Impatient-Itis.
It is now Thursday in Australia and still Wednesday evening in EQ. That means approximately a day and a half until the 'year' ticks over and all the horses age. Thinking ahead to all that exciting stuff I can do makes the condition worse. TW'ing the new 2yo's for the first time, moving some main barn mares and stallions to the breeding shed, breeding the first babies of the season and my personal favourite thing: FR'ing those useless, mangey, good-for-nothing, that are taking up valuable stall space, don't deserve to be called horses to the pasture in the sky forever...i'm getting non-sensical here...
So forgive me for the lack of good grammar and eloquent sentences this blog hasn't got today, my conscience is a day and a half ahead. End-of-EQ-Season-Impatient-Itis is ravaging my once sound (ish) mind.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Saturday, September 18, 2010
It's More Than Just A Cup
Last Saturday night was a nightmare for me, 1. I had a killer headache and 2. my most favouritest (it's a real word...honest) homebred filly was lining up as favourite for the Daisy Cup. I could have murdered Jackie when she picked her to win in the field write-up, especially as another filly worked a 120 as well like Faithy (Chocolate Faith LD). I am a true believer in the 'moz'. It might be an Australian term, might just be a term my partner and I made up when we watch races, I don't know. Basically a good example of a moz is when someone watching a horse race says "this horse is home.." and then the horse which was 2 lengths in front suddenly gears down to snail pace and gets beat.
Well when it comes to my horse's running in cups there is a few things I do not do. 1. I never, ever say out loud that my horse has a chance at winning and 2. I never, ever choose my horse in the handicapping contest. I would rather lose the tipping contest than 'moz' my cup runner. So when Jackie picked Faithy to run first, I was a little worried. Nevertheless the days before the cup were spent trying to push thoughts of having my first homebred cup winner out of my mind.
I went to bed later than usual on the saturday night with butterflies in my tummy, could've been the nausea accompanying my migraine but I put it down to the cup anxiety. We had to get up early to go to my in-laws for the day and I took the laptop to our room so I could check the results while still in bed. For those not familiar with the time difference Canada races run at 3am here and I find all the best cup races are typically run in Canada. I had a terrible night, tossing and turning, lightly dreaming of logging on and the news reading Chocolate Faith wins the Daisy Cup or having nightmares of her running last. I kept checking my phone for the time, 11.58pm, 12.45am, 1.30am, 2.13am, etc.. Finally it turned 2.58am and I turned the laptop on hurrying it to load.
I turn the laptop off at nights, especially being in my room that night the little fan sound would've bugged the hell out of me. As the computer loaded, my mind skipped ahead to all the possibilities that could happen. Would she win? Would she run second? Would she injure, run nowhere? Arghh the anxiety was fiercely pounding my sleep deprived body. I logged on right before the cup race had run (so no results to be seen on the front page) but one navigation away from my stable info and a new private message popped into the left hand corner. My earnings went up dramatically enough as well, though I can't remember if any of my other pixel ponies were running in Canada that night.
She had won! My little Faithy had won the Daisy Cup! My tired eyes could not beleive what I saw, was this a dream? I found the race results page only to see she had won by a nose. And I mean a nose. The second horse had run the exact same rating, I felt so lucky that it wasn't Faithy that had gotten beaten so closely. I don't know how I would've delt with it, probably still pleased I had a homebred cup placer I suppose. Thinking of her running second kinda hurts though so I must move on...
My headache still pounded yet as I laid down to sleep finally after shutting the laptop down, my heart had slowed to a steady beat, the butterflies in my tummy were gone. I managed a few grim hours before I had to get up at 6am dreaming of Faithy once more, hoping that when I woke up her cup win hadn't been a dream after all. When I got up I hurriedly turned on the computer, excited to see what article had been written about my girl. 'Chocolate Faith Wins Photo Finish in Daisy Cup' I smiled, knowing that it was all real, as real as winning a virtual horse race with a pixel pony could get.
Well when it comes to my horse's running in cups there is a few things I do not do. 1. I never, ever say out loud that my horse has a chance at winning and 2. I never, ever choose my horse in the handicapping contest. I would rather lose the tipping contest than 'moz' my cup runner. So when Jackie picked Faithy to run first, I was a little worried. Nevertheless the days before the cup were spent trying to push thoughts of having my first homebred cup winner out of my mind.
I went to bed later than usual on the saturday night with butterflies in my tummy, could've been the nausea accompanying my migraine but I put it down to the cup anxiety. We had to get up early to go to my in-laws for the day and I took the laptop to our room so I could check the results while still in bed. For those not familiar with the time difference Canada races run at 3am here and I find all the best cup races are typically run in Canada. I had a terrible night, tossing and turning, lightly dreaming of logging on and the news reading Chocolate Faith wins the Daisy Cup or having nightmares of her running last. I kept checking my phone for the time, 11.58pm, 12.45am, 1.30am, 2.13am, etc.. Finally it turned 2.58am and I turned the laptop on hurrying it to load.
I turn the laptop off at nights, especially being in my room that night the little fan sound would've bugged the hell out of me. As the computer loaded, my mind skipped ahead to all the possibilities that could happen. Would she win? Would she run second? Would she injure, run nowhere? Arghh the anxiety was fiercely pounding my sleep deprived body. I logged on right before the cup race had run (so no results to be seen on the front page) but one navigation away from my stable info and a new private message popped into the left hand corner. My earnings went up dramatically enough as well, though I can't remember if any of my other pixel ponies were running in Canada that night.
She had won! My little Faithy had won the Daisy Cup! My tired eyes could not beleive what I saw, was this a dream? I found the race results page only to see she had won by a nose. And I mean a nose. The second horse had run the exact same rating, I felt so lucky that it wasn't Faithy that had gotten beaten so closely. I don't know how I would've delt with it, probably still pleased I had a homebred cup placer I suppose. Thinking of her running second kinda hurts though so I must move on...
My headache still pounded yet as I laid down to sleep finally after shutting the laptop down, my heart had slowed to a steady beat, the butterflies in my tummy were gone. I managed a few grim hours before I had to get up at 6am dreaming of Faithy once more, hoping that when I woke up her cup win hadn't been a dream after all. When I got up I hurriedly turned on the computer, excited to see what article had been written about my girl. 'Chocolate Faith Wins Photo Finish in Daisy Cup' I smiled, knowing that it was all real, as real as winning a virtual horse race with a pixel pony could get.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Managing Real Life Around EQ Addiction
Every morning I wake up the first thing I do is turn on my laptop and while I wait for that to load I make myself a coffee. I think to myself I'm one of the lucky ones, at this stage in my life I am a stay-at-home mother so I get full computer access all day, every day. Except for instances when we go places, etc.. With horror I think of all those other EQ'ers out there who have to juggle school or work around their EQ addcition, often unable to get the hours needed on EQ to satisfy their habit.
But that's only a fleeting thought and I soon get back to drowsily sipping my coffee and typing 'eq' in my browser to bring up the EQ site address. I try to make sure I get up each morning before my toddler gets out of bed so I can have a few minutes alone with my 'drug of choice'. Usually it would be results I first look at, followed by a quick visit to the forums to see what's been posted. Ahh I feel at ease, any anxiety soon passes after a few minutes of time with EQ.
I am quite secretive with my habit, other than my partner no-one in my real life is aware it has such a hold on me. He is quite familiar with "Just a minute, I need to quickly enter these horses..." or "Just a second, I have to reply to this forum PM..." To him it is just a game and I know he'll never grasp the real truth. Holidays are a nightmare, especially when we have no computer access. I can only imagine what my pixel ponies are doing without me.
But what about other EQ'ers? I know i'm not the only EQ junkie out there. A perfect example is my good friend 'M'. She works in an office job and has all day access to her precious pixel ponies. I imagine her walking to work (as she does everyday) not agonising over the mundane tasks she has to complete but rather excitedly imagining what pony has busted out a new 120 rating for her. Her addiction is a secret too, her employers certainly don't envision her playing EQ as part of her duties. She'd have it down to an art now, talking to a client on the phone whilst secretly spewing over the fact her favourite 2yo has dropped in TW rating.
At the end of the day us EQ junkies might juggle our real life to fit in with EQ, but is it truly a bad thing? EQ has brought me such joy with 120 rating homebreds, quiet satisfaction when a horse I buy cheaply sells on for many millions and heartbreaking sadness when my favourite horse runs 4th in a cup. I have found new friends in my own country and on the other side of the globe, whom I would've never met any other way. All those other, 'normal' people don't know what they're missing. EQ Addicts Unite!
But that's only a fleeting thought and I soon get back to drowsily sipping my coffee and typing 'eq' in my browser to bring up the EQ site address. I try to make sure I get up each morning before my toddler gets out of bed so I can have a few minutes alone with my 'drug of choice'. Usually it would be results I first look at, followed by a quick visit to the forums to see what's been posted. Ahh I feel at ease, any anxiety soon passes after a few minutes of time with EQ.
I am quite secretive with my habit, other than my partner no-one in my real life is aware it has such a hold on me. He is quite familiar with "Just a minute, I need to quickly enter these horses..." or "Just a second, I have to reply to this forum PM..." To him it is just a game and I know he'll never grasp the real truth. Holidays are a nightmare, especially when we have no computer access. I can only imagine what my pixel ponies are doing without me.
But what about other EQ'ers? I know i'm not the only EQ junkie out there. A perfect example is my good friend 'M'. She works in an office job and has all day access to her precious pixel ponies. I imagine her walking to work (as she does everyday) not agonising over the mundane tasks she has to complete but rather excitedly imagining what pony has busted out a new 120 rating for her. Her addiction is a secret too, her employers certainly don't envision her playing EQ as part of her duties. She'd have it down to an art now, talking to a client on the phone whilst secretly spewing over the fact her favourite 2yo has dropped in TW rating.
At the end of the day us EQ junkies might juggle our real life to fit in with EQ, but is it truly a bad thing? EQ has brought me such joy with 120 rating homebreds, quiet satisfaction when a horse I buy cheaply sells on for many millions and heartbreaking sadness when my favourite horse runs 4th in a cup. I have found new friends in my own country and on the other side of the globe, whom I would've never met any other way. All those other, 'normal' people don't know what they're missing. EQ Addicts Unite!
Monday, September 6, 2010
The Plight Of The Sophomore Stallion
As breeding season approaches in EQ, I spend a good chunk of my time browsing the many stud line-up threads that are published by my fellow EQ players. When I read through a stud post, I will closely inspect the racing credentials of a sparkling new freshman. Full of promise, stunning lines and great racing achievements, freshman lure the EQ player to breed one of their fabulous mare's to him. And we do so happily, nothing is more exciting than introducing new bloodlines in your barn.
After I've done inspecting a player's freshman prospects I will briefly pass over their somewhat less sparkly sophomore stallions. I think to myself that it's best to wait to see what this boy produces before sending one of my prize mares to him. That then begs the question, what's so different about a freshman and a sophomore? Is one season all it takes for an exciting freshman to lose his sparkle and become a dull sophomore? Well the answer is obviously yes. The fact of the matter is sophomore stallions will see the least amount of mares from anyone, including their owners. When a freshman is in your barn, you will send as many mares as you can possibly part with to him. The sophomore, well he has to wait until at least a few weeks, when the owner can see how his first crop debuts.
As for outside breeder's, well the temptation of new sparkling freshman or a 120 producing superstar stud, far outweighs the rather dull looking sophomore. Sure he has great racing credentials and fabulous breeding, but he has a whole bunch of yearlings waiting to be tested on the track. Why breed now when we can wait a month and survey his progeny a little? Even then why wait a month when next season we'll definately know how his 2yo's are performing. I know I won't 'waste' my fabulous mares on an outside sophomore stallion. Even my own sophomores are gingerly offered 4 maybe 5 mares if they are lucky, meanwhile I keep checking their new 2yo's to see how they are going, hoping i'm not making a huge mistake!
The fact of the matter is only time will tell if a stud will become a superstar, a complete dud or even a Joe-Average producer. Meanwhile the poor sophomore will have to wait his bogey season out with the hope that his 2yo's can do him justice at the races. Once his foals pass the test, he will line up in his junior season at stud with a little more prospect of pulling some more mares like he did as a freshman. I only can be glad that this season I won't be worrying so much about the plight of the sophomore, because this season I don't have any in my barn!
After I've done inspecting a player's freshman prospects I will briefly pass over their somewhat less sparkly sophomore stallions. I think to myself that it's best to wait to see what this boy produces before sending one of my prize mares to him. That then begs the question, what's so different about a freshman and a sophomore? Is one season all it takes for an exciting freshman to lose his sparkle and become a dull sophomore? Well the answer is obviously yes. The fact of the matter is sophomore stallions will see the least amount of mares from anyone, including their owners. When a freshman is in your barn, you will send as many mares as you can possibly part with to him. The sophomore, well he has to wait until at least a few weeks, when the owner can see how his first crop debuts.
As for outside breeder's, well the temptation of new sparkling freshman or a 120 producing superstar stud, far outweighs the rather dull looking sophomore. Sure he has great racing credentials and fabulous breeding, but he has a whole bunch of yearlings waiting to be tested on the track. Why breed now when we can wait a month and survey his progeny a little? Even then why wait a month when next season we'll definately know how his 2yo's are performing. I know I won't 'waste' my fabulous mares on an outside sophomore stallion. Even my own sophomores are gingerly offered 4 maybe 5 mares if they are lucky, meanwhile I keep checking their new 2yo's to see how they are going, hoping i'm not making a huge mistake!
The fact of the matter is only time will tell if a stud will become a superstar, a complete dud or even a Joe-Average producer. Meanwhile the poor sophomore will have to wait his bogey season out with the hope that his 2yo's can do him justice at the races. Once his foals pass the test, he will line up in his junior season at stud with a little more prospect of pulling some more mares like he did as a freshman. I only can be glad that this season I won't be worrying so much about the plight of the sophomore, because this season I don't have any in my barn!
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