"The circus is a jealous wench. Indeed that is an understatement. She is a ravening hag who sucks your vitality as a vampire drinks blood – who kills the brightest stars in her crown and will allow no private life for those who serve her; wrecking their homes, ruining their bodies, and destroying the happiness of their loved ones by her insatiable demands. She is all of these things, and yet, I love her as I love nothing else on earth."

My new blog: http://kateszoolife.blogspot.com/

My Last Post As A Carnie

Well folks, I have survived the circus an entire year and I am soooooooo happy to announce that the Nashville Zoo has hired me as a zookeeper. It has been such an interesting journey since I first moved onto the train last June and I hope everyone has enjoyed keeping up with me. Because of high demand I will start a new blog when work starts up again- I will let everyone know the title so you can find it.

Love,

me

The Healing Continues

The thumb is healing well. The bloody mess is finally over with and now it is healed over with only my scar showing. It is still incredibly sensitive which limits my ability to really do anything with it. I am finally able to pick up a glass of water....it hurts, but at least I can do it. I went to the doctor last Friday and meet with people in the next few weeks to get a fake thumb and to schedule a surgery to improve the function of what I have left of the thumb. They basically will go in and cut the webbing between my thumb and forefinger. That will give me more depth there which will make it easier to grab a hold of things.

Life is still relaxing at home. I went to Mizzou this weekend and got to see some old friends. I had a GREAT time!

As Requested

here is an update:

i have been going to physical therapy once a week. the nub is looking much better and the pain is gone as long as i dont accidently hit it on something. i still cant really hold things very well, but i imagine that will get better with time.

the animal walk was great. i was able to raise $915. we had good weather and a really fun time.

since i have been home i have had 2 places call me asking me for an interview- safari-like places in both winston, OR and glen rose, TX. i interviewed with TX yesterday and am hoping that one works out. it seems like a great place and i am ready for a change.

casey was here this past week and we had a blast. we went to a concert in mps, saw the twins beat the sox friday night, hung out with the fam, celebrated his birthday, went to the mall of america and rode a rollercoaster and went to the falls.

it has been 4 weeks since the accident. hard to believe!

Thumb Update

i'm not sure if people are still checking this- but i figured i would give an update as to how i'm doing. circus flew me home last friday. i have been enjoying my time sleeping late, walking my dogs, watching tv, and doing whatever i please. i have been justifying eating ice cream for breakfast and watching tv for hours on end with the fact that my thumb was amputated :) i go to the doctor tomorrow to get stitches removed and hopefully get some idea as to how they next several weeks will go. i can't do a whole lot with my hand still. some things i can manage doing with just my fingers but i try to just leave it alone for the most part. my left hand muscles are still pretty weak and i'm hoping that in time i will build the strength up to what my right hand is...or i guess once used to be. the real challenge is going to start when i can "use" my hand/thumb (nub) but physically can't. i have no doubt that i will eventually get used to it but i know it won't happen without frustration, tears, many cuss words and an endless amount of patience. well- i will keep everyone posted.

check out my website- i accepted the challenge to raise $1000 for the MN animal humane society 2008 walk for animals on may 3rd. make a donation if you can! i am at $270/$1000. not bad after only 1 day!

http://events.animalhumanesociety.org/site/TR/Walk/General?px=1179745&pg=personal&fr_id=1060&s_tafId=5172

Goodbye Right Thumb

Yes....i am an amputee. there was an accident on loadin on monday, a forklift smashed my right thumb and there was nothing the dr. could do to save it so he had to cut it off below the knuckle. crazy. i fly home tomorrow and will take my time healing and learning how to be a lefty. gotta pack up and say bye to the circus world for now.

DC w/ Mom

Hard to believe that my mom has already come and gone. She came to the show on Sunday and by pure coincidence won the Asia elephant painting. Sunday night we went out to eat with Kathy Crawford and I enjoyed a big bed, a bubble bath and TV at the wonderful hotel. I had to work for a few hours Monday morning but we spent the rest of the day wandering around Old Town Alexandria. I think that this is the most beautiful part of the country I have been so far. I love the houses, the buildings, the cobble stone sidewalks, everything. We had drinks with my friend Tricia and met up with my mom's work friends for dinner. Tuesday was explored DC. We went to the National Zoo where I finally got to see a panda bear for the first time ever. We went to the Jefferson memorial, FDR memorial, and the National Cathedral. We ordered food to go from the Cheesecake Factory and rented a movie at the hotel. The next morning was back to the circus. Ugh. She left yesterday evening and I have been doing my best to stay positive and remember all the good things I like about this place. We have a few more days here then off to WV.

Ten Months

Wow. I have been here for ten months. That is two months short of a year! The past two days at work have been tiring. Since we are outside it of course has been raining. There is nothing I hate more then mucking out wet stalls. I must have burned 5000 calories today. We had a split show today- I worked for 15 hours. I just got home now at 10pm and have to return to work in 9 hours. What a crappy feeling. But... my mom flies in tomorrow! She will be here until Wednesday night :) Today 2 of our horses left us for retirement. :( We were all crying and hugging them and they had no idea what was going on as we were shoving treats in their mouths and giving them handfuls of fruit. So Acoma and Domino will follow all the other retired horses from Ringling and go to a nice big pasture out in Florida. 3 shows tomorrow and 2 on Sunday. Ugh. I need a day off.

Saint Louis

It's hard to believe my trip to saint louis is already over. I am currently sitting at my gate waiting to fly back to DC. I had a fantastic time here- it was good to get away. Casey and I went to the arch yesterday- took the egg elevator to the top- all 630 feet. What a view. For those of you who don't know baseball season started and some of you know what a rare breed the cardinal fans are. We were downtown already from visiting the arch, so we stopped in at TGIF and had a few beers and happy hour priced food. While everyone was decked out in red and white, Casey and I strolled in with his NY Yankees hat and my Colorado shirt (apparently they played Colorado yesterday) Whoops :) I had my interview this morning- Same gig as last time- started with close to 100 people, now down to 6. They finish interviews tomorrow and I imagine I will hear within 2 weeks. I'm keeping my fingers crossed because I have no doubt in my mind that these other people have a lot more experience. One of the things I would be doing with this keeper position would be to 1-2 times a week gear up in my scuba stuff and dive in the hippo pool and vaccum all the crap out. When Casey and I wandered over to see the hippos, 2 girls were getting ready to do that! It was funny to listen to all the people comment oh, "oh my gosh, can you imagine if that was your job.... oh my gosh, who on earth would ever want to do that.... oh my, they must smell so bad after doing that.... do you think that is in the job description?...." we were both giggling to the side. So now here I am, ready to go back to the circus. This Friday will be 10 months since I first joined up in Omaha. Hard to believe I have almost made it a year. I'm ready to be done! And no matter where I go, I somehow always end up being pulled back to this state- So in the mean time, I will just keep my fingers crossed......

The Show Must Go On

Today started off a little crazy. We had 3 shows as usual on a Saturday- 11:30, 3:30 and 7:30. We also had out normal bus schedule of 6, 8, 9 and 10am. Preshow starts at 10:30. Because our management team is so great at planning ahead (insert high levels of sarcasm here), they didn't take into account that today in washington, DC was the annual cherry blossom festival where they block off half of downtown DC. So.... let the chaos begin. I was on the 8 bus. What should have taken 15 minutes to get to work took over an hour. So by the time the 8 bus returned to pick up the people waiting for the 9 bus, it was already 9:40 so you had the 9 and 10 bus people trying to get on. Long story short- maybe 3 performers showed up for preshow. Because animal crew is always there early we had to improvise preshow. I got to bring out my pony, Prince and let all the kids touch him. Some of them were getting so excited they were completely falling into him. Good thing he is such a good boy. The show was held 15 minutes to allow everyone to get there. It was a crazy morning so I took a break after the first show and went to Caribou Coffee to wind down a bit. Tomorrow is going to be hell. We have a 3 show load out. Since the next town is Fairfax and only 25 miles away we are also loading IN tomorrow night. My day will start at 7am and I predict we will be done sometime around 7-8 am the next day. Imagine- 24 hours of straight work- in a normal work environment, i would only have 16 hours left of work for the week. YA RIGHT! THANK GOD I GO TO SAINT LOUIS MONDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Day of Sightseeing

Today was great. Last night my college friend, Tricia picked me up at the train and I got to stay at her house. It is always so nice to get away from the train. I got to sleep in a big bed, play with 2 dogs, walk barefoot and not feel gross and have a great time. Today we got lunch just outside the city then we did the whole tourist thing. We saw the national mall- Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, WW2 Memorial, the White house, Smithsonian Castle and the Natural History Museum. We ordered in chinese food for dinner and watched some of my favorite TV shows. She brought me back not too long ago :( Back to reality tomorrow. Work from 7am-9pm. Yay. I leave for St. Louis in 6 days........

Welcome to D.C!

What a beautiful city :) We loaded out in Baltimore last night and stayed at a hotel there. We left this morning at 6AM to beat all the traffic heading into DC. Set up was at 7 and we walked around 1. There was a HUGE parade- clowns, blankets on the elephants w/ "I LOVE DC" written in glitter, dancers, the ring master, bello hair and clown noses. There was a lot of stop-go for pictures. Wonderful for the public and all the kids- big pain in the butt for us :) oh well. It was a gorgeous walk. The cherry blossoms are in bloom and color the city in pink and white. The houses are so damn cute here. Blue, yellow, green, brick, purple. We saw the capitol, the white house and more stuff that I would have to look in my book to figure out what it was. We have off tomorrow then we have 11 shows in 4 days. I get to spend tomorrow with one of my college friends I haven't seen since graduation :) YAY.

Belated Asia Pictures

as you can see there are new pictures of asia and i. these were taken in winter quarters in orlando. jumping on top of an elephant sounds and looks a lot easier and looks more graceful than it really is!

the flu finally passed through my body yesterday. i had about 5 days where i didn't eat a whole lot and everything i ate ended up coming back out one way or another. i think i lost weight :) not quite as effective as my last years weight loss solution called, "get raging food poisioning in thailand and lose 15 pounds in 7 days". but what can ya do? we are still in baltimore. i went out for st. paddy's day. a group of us got a limo and i enjoyed free drinks all night courtesy of my drunk coworkers. today during practice, the zebras spooked and we had colorado springs incident #2- 3 zebras bolted through the curtain and ran outside onto the streets. thankfully, no one was hurt and i dont think the media saw :) we have 1 show tonight, 2 friday, 3 saturday and 2 show load out sunday. then off to DC. i got my haircut today. finally. well- im going to take a nap before i have to clean my boys.

Sick w/ the Flu

Yup- gotta love being sick with the flu when you live on a circus train. what started as a small head cold, quickly moved to the flu and ended up with me in the hospital yesterday for 10 hours being pumped full of fluids through an IV. yuck. my temp was over 101- your brain is supposed to boil at 104. Now wouldn't that have been nice. They released me around 1am and it took me almost 2 hours for a cab to pick me up since i didn't have an EXACT address other then, its the circus train. i didn't go into work today and slept most of the day. i doubt i will go in tomorrow. and we have monday off. so hopefully all of this rest will serve well. i havent eaten anything in two days. ugh. 15 days until st. louis/casey. cant wait

Baltimore, The Herion Captiol of the World!

Wow- I haven't been able to get on my blog for awhile now- a lot has happened! saturday and sunday in craptown, OH was absolute HELL. i'm sure most of you saw on the news about the ohio winter storms- yes, we were hit. and of course, we were outside that week and of course our heaters in the tent decided to go kapoot and die. saturday was miserable. i have never been so cold in my life. it was snowing, raining, sleeting all 14 hours of work and the wind was just awful. sunday was loadout- thank god it was only one show. we had a hell of a time taking the tent down considering it was totally frozen. what a day. we are currently in baltimore, MD. i have never seen so many crack heads having such in depth conversations with trees and concrete walls. i even saw a guy bowling with a rock. we opened today. i have been fighting a nasty cold the past two days- i would say about 1/2 the people on the train are sick. not good! last wednesday i had an interview with the st. louis zoo for a keeper position working with elephants, rhinos, hippos, zebras, cheetahs and more. today they called me asking me if i would fly in to do an in person interview. :) hopefully this one works out better than the last. i will be flying out april 1-3. wish me luck :)

More Reasons I Hate This Place

1. roaches. roaches all over our train car
2. mud pits. the past 2 weeks the train yards are ankle deep in mud
3. idiots. someone threw a beer car down the toilet so now as a result they locked the toilets and showers on our car.
4. Sh*t*y management- do you think they do anything to help the situation? No- there is a reason you don't take a retired clown and put him as general manager.

Craptown....I mean Youngstown, OH

What a crap hole. I am currently sitting in Ty, the ringmasters truck waiting for the animal walk. Weather forecast for the week is freezing rain every single day. There is nothing in this town. I drove around for 20 minutes trying to find fast food. Nothing. So then I said to myself, Kate just eat something from a gas station. Nothing. Apparently people don't need gas in this town either. All I have seen is rain, train tracks, run down houses and more rain. Thank God we only have 5 shows. I got a call at 8:45 this morning saying the animal walk would be at 9. I rushed out of bed, didn't have timeto get coffee from downstairs and drove like a bat out of hell to get here on time. Now, 2 hours later I am still waiting. I think Friday I am putting my 2 weeks in. I am tired, I miss home, I miss my puppies, and I really miss Casey. I have lived in this crazy world for 9 months now (holy crap) and I think it is time to pack my bags and start something else- whatever that might be. To all the ladies in my life- if you have read the email regarding the maxipad letter- that is how I feel today. Keep all potential life threatening weapons away from me today and for the next 4-5 days because I might endanger someone!

Cincinnati

What a tiring week! We had an awful load in that lasted about 6 hours longer then it should have. We opened shows on Wednesday- also my 23rd bday (not my 24th as my parents thought). I had a margarita for lunch and went out that night with a few people and had some beers and got a bouquet of roses from the people i work with. I got to try the famous Cincinnati chilli- not so great! Yesterday from buddy from college came to see me- we stayed at a hotel and had a blast at an irish pub until early this morning. i was exhausted allllll day but it was so much fun to see her. we have a 6 pack weekend and loadout tomorrow. next town is a piece of cake- 5 shows in 3 days! YAY!

Things You Don't Have to Deal With

1. Going without showers- We are in Cincinnati. It is cold. Water pumps are frozen and therefore I cannot shower for the next 2 days unless I go to a hotel that I have to pay for. Do I smell bullshit?

2. Not being able to do laundry- Again- water is frozen so for the next two days I have to wear my dirty blacks to work that are covered in mud thanks to load in.

3. Standing outside in the freezing rain for 11 hours- Set up yesterday took 11 hours thanks to all the house trailers that were supposed to be there before us. But- being a performer is more important right?

Train Party

tonight we had a party at the train- food, drinks and too much fun. one of the guys rented a blow up ring where 2 people stand on mounts and try to knock each other off w/ the big sticks. we had a blast! i was horrible, but challenged everyone! enjoy the pics!

Georiga Aquarium

Last night we had what we call around here a "punch party". Everyone hangs outside the train and engages in drinking adult beverages. I was a good girl and went to bed around midnight so I could get up today and make it to the aquarium. What a neat place! I finally got to see a whale shark- biggest fish in the world. They had everything- beluga whales, sharks, sting rays, crab, jelly fish, otters, and much more. I am back at the train now- my body is begging for a nap so I am going to upload some pictures then hit the pillow!

I've Been Lazy....

I've been told by several people that I need to update my blog more often. I guess I have gotten lazy! We are in Atlanta now- Casey left on Friday and it was soooo sad! He went back home to Mississippi and is working a much better job (hours, pay, everything really). So I have been trying to keep myself busy. He is going to try to come to the next city for my bday, but tix are incredibly expensive so that probably won't happen. Not a whole lot has happened so far. We have had 10 shows in 4 days- very tiring. We had bad storms yesterday- tornado watches, flooding, hell. The barn was a disaster. If you want a full upper body workout, muck out about 500 pounds of wet shavings in 24 hours. We have the next 2 days off. Tomorrow I think I am going to go to the Georiga Aquarium- biggest in the world. Weds I think I will go to MLK's gravesite, birthhome, and all that jazz. Well- see ya next time.

well it looks like God has a different plan for me. i beat 59 ither people but sad to say, one girl beat me out for the position. ive cried my tears, now it is time to start over again and keep looking. tomorrow is loadout- also casey's last days. maybe i will have a few more tears! it has been a long week. we head to atlanta next and will be there for 10 days. well- im bummed out and tired so i think i am going to head to bed.

night

Round Two....

So the interview went well and they liked me enough to invite me back for a 2nd interview. I found out that they had over 60 applications for the keeper position and they will take on 2 new hires. We load out tomorrow and head to Raleigh next- only about 20 minutes from Durham. I will have my in person interview this Tuesday at 4pm. Wish me luck!

Road Trip!!!!

through the wonderful world of technology and verizon wireless internet air cards, i am currently sitting shotgun in casey's car, driving with him to our next town- charlotte, NC. we just ate at crack n barrel- YUM! it is about a 7 hour drive- i have to help set up the animal compound tomorrow at 7am. we are driving through a lot of hills and mountains. very pretty. loadout was yesterday- tiring of course. it was nice to sleep in a hotel room- with a normal size bed, clean shower and a tv. :) i'm sure most of you have heard by now- i might be leaving the circus soon. i got a call from the museum of life and science in durham, NC for an animal keeper position. i talked to the lady sunday and we have a phone interview this friday. it is a position where i would learn to handle all 150 animals of 70 different species ranging from snakes, turtles, possoms, domestic farm animals, black bear, lemurs, red wolves, crocs, etc. the pay is ok- good for starting zookeeper position and through quick research of durham, living costs are reasonable. plus- i would be by the duke campus- YAY! if offered the position, my last day will be the 8th- i would drive home, pack up my life once again, pick up DRE DOG (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), this is if i can pry him out of my dads hands, and start over once again on the east coast. well-- i am going to put the computer away and enjoy the drive and my day off.

keep your fingers crossed for this new job! im ready to leave this crazy place!

Loving Nashville

nashville has been a lot of fun. just like vegas- i had too much fun and got too little sleep. our first night here a big group of us walked across the street from the train and went bowling. at 99 cents a game, i think we played about 5. on opening day, during my break i walked around downtown and stopped into the gift shops, got a picture next to an elvis statue, had beer cheese soup and tried on some cowboy boots. last night, 3 of us went to a bar and watched a friend of ours play a gig. aspiring country singers had the stage all night and were pretty damn good. tomorrow is 3 show load out. i am exhausted and happy to say i am staying in tonight. i will go overland this week to the next town (charlotte, nc) which means i get to stay in a hotel 2 nights!!! big bed, big shower, and TV! gosh...i need to get back to the real world. well- it is about time for bed.

night.

Back in the Stocks

Here i am once again, riding the stock cars with my babies. it is 10:15 Pm and we are currently in atlanta, headed to nashville. i will ride all night and into the early morning. animal walk is sometime tomorrow-whenever we arrive. i am stocked up w/ 2 books, 6 movies and my computer. the water tanks froze so our horses have been drinking our bottled water. how spoiled. not much else going on..... excited to get to nashville!

this week we are right in the heart of USC campus. we walked right down greek town for our animal walk. the college kids loved it, animals hated it. at least it was a short walk. thursday night, casey, tripp and i went out downtown to a strip of bars called, five points. man did we have fun! and the best part of the night? you can buy SIX PACKS of beer right at the bar! how cool is that? so cool that i had to call my mom and midnight and tell her! the weather here has been exceptionally crappy. rain almost everyday. of course, the animals are outside this week so our barn has been flooded everyday. mucking out wet shavings is NOT easy. tomorrow we load out and head to nashville. should be fun. not much else has happened this week- ready to see the next town.

Carolina, Here I Come

Miami was great fun- but I am ready to leave the heat behind and get to some real winter weather (not that Carolina really has that, but at least it won't be 85 and humid). I got to spend one more day at South Beach, sunning myself and escaping from jellyfish in the ocean. Our loadout was hell and made leaving FL that much better. We have been on the train now since Sunday night. As I type, I am staying in the stock cars with my animals. They built a room for us- bed, table, shower, toilet, fridge, microwave, etc. Much bigger than my room- plus I get paid to stay in here and make sure my babies are ok. We are about 5-8 hours outside of Columbia, SC. We open Thursday and have a pretty easy schedule. See ya then.

Loving Miami

miami has been great. our train is parked by water where everyday we see manatee (although, i have yet to still see one), 4 ft iguana, and a variety of other exotic animals. because we hadnt done shows in over a month our opening night was a little shaky. i just laughed through it all, because afterall that is the best thing to do. i got bit by something while at work and in turn my leg swelled up like a balloon. my fat foot was enough for me to never want to gain weight- how ugly! the dr. gave me meds and cream and 2 days off of work which i accepted with a smile. i spent yesterday at south beach with casey and jake. we walked down ocean drive and saw all the old hotels. we ate at a hole in the wall mexican restaurant and paid $25 for 3 drinks at a bar- i could never afford to live here! only one show tonight- yay!

Crazy's Are Baaaaaaaaaaaaack!!

Last night we arrived in miami. we had the animal walk at 11pm-- thank god it was a short walk since it was about 30 degrees out. i thought we were in florida?? our good friends from PETA are back to harass us. they caused some problems last night- got in trouble with the police. they are going to be a real pain in the neck this week- i can just feel it. today we have off- it is warmer, though not what i imagined miami weather would be. the arena is right by the ocean and i have been told that dolphins and manatees make several appearances each morning. i will keep my fingers crossed. it is hard to believe we already start up shows again tomorrow. sucks. back to 15 hour days. ugh. i think i will enjoy this last day off before my life becomes consumed once again by the greatest show on earth.