kat.prettyposies.com

Take me out to the ball game...

Well, it's happened. I've given in. After living in New Hampshire for almost two and a half years, I, the rather passive but very loyal Yankees fan, am going to a Red Sox game.

I'm trying to justify it this way: plenty of people are fans of more than one baseball team. I've liked the Yankees and secondarily the Indians for years. This has worked out just fine. So why should liking both the Yankees and the Red Sox be any different? (Yeah. Right. I know how crazy that is.) This is my intention. We shall see how it goes.

P.S. Yes, I will be knitting a red sock while at the game.

Tired.

Yeah, I know you've heard enough of this from me recently. And I'll post something interesting soon. I promise. Probably not tomorrow, since I'm working from 8:30 am to 10 pm, but Thursday. Real knitting content. With pictures. I promise.

Yesterday was my first class. It was okay. Can't say it was terribly thrilling, but it's a core class, on management, so I didn't really expect it to be. It's not too too much work, I don't think. We'll see.

Let's break down my week and see how much time I actually have:

Full time job 40 hours, plus 5 there at lunch, plus about 3 hours a week commuting
Part time job 5 hours
School (Class, commuting, studying) at least 22 hours
Total: 75 hours

168 (a week) - 75 = 93

Sleep (theoretical 8 hours a night) = 56 hours

93 - 56 = 37 hours

And then you need to count laundry, dishes, other housework, cooking, paying bills, grocery shopping, etc. Plus getting dressed/undressed, showering, etc. Let's say that all that takes a minimum of two hours a day.

37 - 14 = 23 hours

That's actually way more than I thought, but still, it's not much. That's 3.3 hours a day to see my boyfriend and cat, read, knit, stitch, read and write blogs/e-mail, go out, watch TV, or whatever else. And since that's an average, there's much less on weeknights and more on weekends, probably.

Okay. So that's why I'm tired. And perhaps not posting so much at the moment.

Did you miss me?

Probably not, but I missed you. My phone mysteriously went dead this weekend, and since I'm on dial-up, that meant no Internet, either. I missed you lots. But I watched two movies last night, and actually finished my socks in time for the Knit-Out, so the time at least went to good use.

For once, my "It might fix itself" theory actually worked. When I got home from my boyfriend's house tonight, the phone was back. All by itself. No explanation. Amazing. You would not believe how happy this has made me. Really. Just thrilled. I was so not looking forward to trying to get a repair guy in here. And darn it, I missed you all, and I wanted to read Knitty. So now that I'm back, I am very very happy.

I also promised my boyfriend I would go to bed at a reasonable hour despite having two days of blogs and e-mail to catch up on, so I suppose I'd better do that. Coming soon: the Boston Knit-Out, my first day of class, a real live finished project to show you, and new WIPs!

Exhausted, again

This seems to be my general Friday-night state now. Blech. This evening, I actually uttered the phrases "I don't want to look at books" and "I don't even feel like knitting." My boyfriend was quite concerned.

So yeah, once again I'll get back to you once I get some sleep. In the meantime, go read the new Knitty.

I just want to park my car.

When I moved into this apartment, it was with the understanding that I was guaranteed a parking space. It was even in my lease (or would be, if I could find the darn thing). I thought I was all set.

I soon found that often, especially when I arrived home late in the evening, there were no parking spaces left. The first time this happened, I called jaQ in tears. When our combined powers failed to magically conjure up a spot, I parked in the parking lot next door and found a scary warning thing on my car in the morning.

Now, there really aren't very many options here. I've heard rumors of an overnight parking ban on all streets in my city, but I've found a few streets near by on which people seem to park overnight. I've parked there a few times and never gotten a ticket, so who knows. Tonight I parked in the grass by the side of my building, because I saw someone parked there this morning and they had no ticket or anything. I'll move the car into a space when I get up tomorrow.

Yesterday, there was someone from the rental agency that the landlord uses out in the parking lot measuring and such. I got him to actually state that there are sixteen apartments guaranteed spots, and, when everyone parks reallyclosetogether, a maximum of eleven spots. This is not good. They are looking into renting other spots near by. Yeah. I'll believe it when I see it.

I have a school ID, an overpriced textbook, and homework...

I'm starting to feel like a student. Sorta.

Today was my First Day of School, at least in part. It was orientation, so it was schoolish, even if there weren't actually any classes. And I survived. I got there virtually on time (registration started at 8:30 and had to be done by 10. I got there at 8:45.) and without any major mishaps. This was despite my normal parking lot being full (I found another that was farther away and twice as expensive) AND despite the craziness of the green line. I registered and sat through the orientation session and the lunch-with-advisor fiasco. (My advisor was delightful and not at all responsible for said fiasco. It was just a very complicated process to get everyone lunchinated and sorted out.) I survived the massive lines for the bookstore and a photo ID. I braved financial services to get a printout of my account history. I even made a friend--I ran into her on the T on the way home and recognized her from one of the interminable lines. Turns out she's in my first class and on the same library tour on Sunday. Exciting.

I was feeling rather conflicted through all this. Half the time I was wishing I was going to be on campus more to be part of all the groups and hang around in the library and really feel like a student again. The other half I was marveling at how young the undergrads seemed and how hectic/crazy everything was and longing for my nice normal adult life in sedate New Hampshire. I'm hoping that the way I'm planning this will give me the best of both worlds, but I'm afraid that it will just be the stress of both worlds. Already I'm making an unplanned trip to campus on Sunday for a required library tour, but it's from 11-12 and the Knit Out is 12-4, so it's all good.

Oh, and the Fish Ladder Socks came to school with me. I got a few rounds done during various line-waiting, until I acquired too much stuff to knit and stand and carry it all at once. But they made me feel much more at home.

Home again.

I'm home from the long weekend away. It was good over all, with the usual excitement my family has at parties/holidays. Meeting Lauren was certainly a highlight, as was going to Village Wool in Glastonbury... but you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see what I got, since I'm mean like that. (Really it's just because I'm tired.)

Tomorrow I have orientation at school. I'm sort of looking forward to it, but mostly dreading having to get to Boston so early in the morning. Wish me luck with traffic and the T!

Week in review

New job: Very good, but draining. Constantly learning new things. Exciting, fun things.
Knitting: Not nearly enough. My eyes are way bigger than my, err, what's the knitting equivalent of a stomach?
Stitching: Too dark. Must get floor lamp.
Reading: Barely any. Job tiring. No time.

Current state: Totally exhausted but pretty darn happy.

I'm going to go sleep now. See you when I wake up.

Blogging in the morning

Isn't it exciting? With this new job, I actually have time to do things in the morning before work! Of course, any interesting content I might have planned for this morning has been pushed aside due to the fact that my copy of my lease has simply... disappeared. I always keep it in a specific place, and it is just not there. And I really need to pay my rent, and the address to which I send the rent is on the lease. Yes, this is bad. And, of course, the leasing company is not in the phone book or online or anything silly like that. Argh.

Okay, off to my second day of work! Maybe I'll even blog at lunchtime. Wouldn't that be exciting?

The end of an era

Today was my last day as a full-time employee at the bookstore. On Monday, I start a position at PC Connection. I'm going to be a Technical Content Editor, which mostly consists of writing product descriptions for the company Web site. It'll mean more intellectually challenging work and the opportunity to write as part of my job. It will also mean a much better schedule, a cubicle with a desk and computer and phone and everything, and way more money. Enough to live on and even be able to buy yarn and stitching stuff and books. It's exciting.

But my feelings today are somewhat more mixed than I expected. I'm going to be staying on at the bookstore part time, so I'm not really leaving. But I'm still sad. Even with the crazy schedule and annoying customers and no money, I did love some aspects of that job. For one thing, my supervisor was the best boss I've ever had. And she won't be there much when I'm working part time, because that'll be evenings and she works morning-midday. So I'm really going to miss her. I'm knitting her the Skully sweater as a sort of thank you.

Oh well. I'm tense and slightly sad, but I'm keeping myself busy this afternoon by knitting madly on an exciting new project. Pictures as soon as I get the card reader back from my boyfriend, I promise!

More news, sort of!

I have a job interview this morning... wish me luck! Post about my birthday coming later, I promise.

News!

I know I haven't posted in forever, but at least I have news this time. I got into grad school! I'll be starting the MLS program at Simmons in September. Yay!!!

Just the cutest things ever.

Well, except for my kitten, of course. And my boyfriend. But really... Wee Forest Folk.

The best wedding site ever.

Indiebride

And before anyone gets all excited, no, I'm not engaged. I'm doing research for the cake I'm baking for my friends' wedding. And, yes, daydreaming a bit, I'll admit. Just a bit.

Where am I? Good question.

Hi. I'm back, sorta. My phone is fixed, so that is exciting. I was all scared but I called and they came and fixed it. Woohoo. I did it. I'm proud of myself.

I've been in a weird mood the past week or so, though... I feel really busy and stressed but I don't even know what about. So that's why I haven't been around here much. I'm going to try, though. Really.

I've been knitting a lot, but not that much, really. I've started cross stitching again, and that's been fun. I'm almost done with a little stitching project so I'll take a picture of that for you when it's done.

Technical Difficulties

Hello! My phone is currently not working, so that means no Internet access at home. I'll be back soon, I hope!

I'm sorry...

It seems I don't really have much to say recently. I'll be back soon, I'm sure. Things are going reasonably well. I'm busy and more or less happy. That's about all I can ask for, really. :-)

Lip Balm Heaven

Lipmedic International Lip Balm Boutique

How could it be better?

After an exciting morning of yard saling (found a book I'd been wanting to read and artichoke salt and pepper shakers for my mom), I'm sprawled out on a comfy bed with my boyfriend and our kitten. He's playing a Star Trek computer game, she's napping on his legs, and I'm reading The Time Traveler's Wife, which is just amazing so far. Later we're going to his parents' house to have dinner and watch a car race, during which his mom and I will knit. Is this a good day or what?

Good morning

Hi. :-) Just in a very good mood this morning. That's all. Time for work.

Long day

The graduation last night went very well, aside from certain transportation issues. Today I saw the French Quarter, the Mississippi River and Riverwalk, and the Aquarium. Heard jazz. Got coffee and beignets from Cafe du Monde. Busy busy. I'm taking lots of pictures (over fifty at the aquarium alone), but I think I'm going to wait until I get home to post them--my computer time is pretty limited.

Tonight I'm going to the Sun Ray Cafe and Grill and then back to my aunt's apartment for dessert, and tomorrow morning we head out. Not sure if I'll get a chance to post again before that, but I'll certainly write from Connecticut tomorrow.

Hello from New Orleans!

Hello! I got to New Orleans yesterday, and finally made it online today. I couldn't get the promised wireless access to work, so I finally came up with the brilliant idea of dialing in. Yeah. Duh.

Anyway, highlights so far have been the zoo and the streetcar. I have to get ready to go to a graduation now (the whole reason for being here, after all) but I'll try to write more tonight.

I'm in CT!

Just a quick update for tonight--I managed to finish the packing, and made it to my parents' house in CT tonight. We leave bright and early tomorrow morning for New Orleans. See you there!

Packing Update 1: Progress!

I got a late start packing here tonight, due to an unfortunate incident with a wasp (although I did manage to free him without any harm to either of us), general busyness, and procrastination. So much for the going to bed early idea. Don't think it's going to happen.

I did, however, manage to pack all my needed clothes (except a few bras still drying) in one fifteen-minute or so frenzy. That was the part I was most stressed about, and it was surprisingly easy. I'm doing lots of mix-and-matching, so I just went by category and threw in my favorites of each--five tank tops, six pairs of socks, three pajamas, etc. I know I'm bringing too many clothes, but we don't really know what we'll be doing a lot of the time, so I want to be prepared. And don't even bother asking why, exactly, I feel compelled to bring my sexiest tank tops on a trip during which I will be in the company of my family practically 24/7. One can always hope, right? Maybe my cousin Elizabeth (the one closest to my age) and I will go off and do something ourselves at some point.

Taking a bit of a break for cocoa (yeah, it's 80 degrees out, I'm weird) and planning how exactly to eat most of my perishable food in the next three meals. Then it's on to the books!

Is it the moon or something?

It's interesting how on certain days the customers all seem to be in similar moods--good, bad, impatient, etc. Today they were needy. I don't know if it was the weather or the phase of the moon or what, but sheesh. Lots of hand-holding (figuratively, of course), lots of repeat questions, etc. Usually when I'm shelving I get interrupted every once in a while by a customer who needs help. Today it was almost constant.

As a result of dealing with all this neediness today, I'm now home and feeling rather needy myself. Heh. Of course, I don't have anyone toward whom to direct this at the moment, so I think I'm going to go make some cocoa and read e-mail and blogs and stuff. Maybe it'll pass by the time I go watch TV with a friend tonight. I hope so, because I really don't want to inflict this upon anyone. It could be a whole vicious chain.

On a to do list?

On an e-mail discussion list I read, there has been a discussion recently of "to do lists for life"--a list of things each members wants to do or accomplish some day. (So you know the context, this list is comprised primarily of young professionals, in their twenties and thirties.) A few things on my list, for example, were getting a book published, living abroad, and knitting a real Aran sweater. :-)

One thing that shocked me was the percentage of people who included "get married" on their lists. I didn't count, but I think the great majority of unmarried repliers had it there in some fashion. I was one of the very few who didn't. It didn't even occur to me, frankly. And after I saw this on others' lists and thought about it, I still didn't want to put it on mine. Sure, all else being equal, I'd probably like to get married some day . . . but putting it on a to do list? I don't get it.

First of all, it implies, at least to some extent, getting married for the sake of it. I don't see marriage itself as an end goal. Getting married isn't the point. IF you find someone you want to be with forever, then getting married provides a certain security, social/legal benefits, etc. (I'm not going to get into whether marriage is really necessary at all.) But making a goal of getting married sounds like the state of marriage is more important than the person. And I don't understand that at all.

In addition, putting something like that on a to do list seems like trying to have way too much control. Sure, there are things you can (and perhaps need) to do in order to find a spouse, but you can't totally control it. I don't like the idea of putting on a to do list something that I don't know that, with the right amount of work, dedication, effort, etc., I could accomplish. Some people want to get married but, for whatever reason, never do. Why set yourself up for failure like that?

So yeah. I'd like to get married some day. But I might not. Who knows? So I'm not going to include it in my criteria for a successful life. And I'm not going to put it on a to do list as just one more thing to get done ASAP and check off.

I am now a redhead.

The Great Hair-dyeing Adventure went quite well this morning! And my friend Vickie took pictures so you all can feel like you were there! (Just what you wanted, I'm sure.) Please excuse the icky clothes (there was dye involved, after all) and lack of make up, etc.

Christine dampening my hair:

Erica applying the dye:

Rinsing out the dye:

Conditioning:

Toweling it off:

Christine playing beauty parlor with the blow dryer:

The three of us at the end (Erica's hiding behind the flowers):

All done! (But still a bit wet.)

And a close up at the end:

It will take some getting used to, but I think I really like it. I can't wait to see what my family thinks when I see them next week.

A bunch of random thoughts

Sorry, I don't have the brainpower for a more cohesive entry tonight.

The Great Hair-dying Adventure is tomorrow. Wish me luck. Stay tuned for pictures!

I thought of a plot for a Luna Books submission. I'm pretty excited about it. It involves libraries.

I tried a new restaurant tonight, which was exciting, but I got the wrong food. I tried to order a dish called "Vegetarian Paradise" but apparently the waitress heard "vegetarian pad thai." It was okay, but I wouldn't order it again--not that I ordered it the first time, come to think of it. It was also $4 less than what I ordered, so there was some benefit. (At least to the person paying, who wasn't me. Which was also nice.) And they didn't seem to find it weird that I brought my own chopsticks.

I think/worry way too much. I really need to figure out how to shut off my brain occasionally.

I should read more, both in general and in other languages. I don't want to forget everything I worked so hard to learn. And I want to learn more.

Love Actually is a great movie. You should see it.

I miss my kitten. And my mommy.

And, last but certainly not least, next week had better not be as stressful and draining as this one was. You can see the result. It's not pretty.

Will visitor 2501 please stand up?

2501? Are you out there? Looks like it was someone using AOL, who lives in the central time zone and got here from Step Into My Thimble.

So, why am I asking for 2501? Well, the contest was rigged. Totally unintentionally. But, umm, if you're ever doing something like this, don't say something like "Hey, the next person who goes to my site wins! How exciting!" to someone on IM. (It really didn't occur to me what the result would be.) Surprisingly enough, that person was the next visitor to the site. But that doesn't feel entirely fair, and he'd probably be on the postcard list anyway, so visitor 2501 wins too. Are you out there?

2500 yet?

Reposting this since it got pushed pretty far down. I expect to have a winner by the time I get home from work!

If that number is 2,500, take a screen shot and e-mail it to me. Whoever does will get a postcard from New Orleans next month! If no one does, I'll try to figure out who the 2500th visitor was, but no promises.

(Thanks to Theresa for the idea.)

My new nephew :-)

I realized I'd never posted this--it's me with my brother's new puppy, taken in January.

Isn't he cute? Lots bigger now, of course, but still cute.

Well, it's over.

I have officially survived the overnights, plus my first day back at my normal shift, which is taking some readjusting. I'm exhausted. I was supposed to go to the laundromat today but I'm just too tired. So. Priorities for this evening:

1. Make a decent dinner. (Can't remember the last time I had a real meal at a normal time... maybe Sunday?) I'm thinking sauteed asparagus over angel hair pasta. How does that sound?

2. Start getting the apartment back into shape. Probably in 5-15 minute spurts, a la Flylady. I didn't worry about cleaning while my schedule was all weird, and it's time to start getting it back together.

3. Knit! I didn't knit at all yesterday because my hand was shaking as a result of a certain repetitive task at work.

4. Do some catching up online, including writing a real blog post, with the long-awaited Otis pictures. I promise.

So, basically, I'm trying to more or less take care of myself. I was talking to a friend at work today who said that he'd gotten sick after every overnight he'd done, and I don't want that. I've been reasonably healthy recently, and I'd like to keep that up.

Speaking of which, anyone know any good sites for yoga or other stretches? I'm particularly interesting in back, shoulder, neck, and hand stuff.

I should have known.

I've been trying to figure out how to get more comments here. I know people are reading, but do they want to talk back about knitting, books, politics? Nope. But one post about ramen, and there are tons of you commenting! Sheesh. :-)

Two overnights down, one to go. I'm functioning, more or less. I have a headache and my arms and legs feel very very heavy, but I slept for about six and a half hours today, so I should make it through the night. Diet Coke is my friend.

One down...

The first of my three overnights at work is complete! I went in at nine last night, and got home a little after 6:30 this morning. Got up at 10:30 because I have to meet a friend at noon to go shopping (for a dress to match the sweater I'm knitting. I have my priorities straight, no?). Then the kitten has a vet appointment at five, Stitch 'n Bitch is at seven, and I'm back to work from 10 pm to 7 am. Fun fun fun. I'm hoping to maybe get another little nap in there somewhere.

The real "evil empire" threatening Boston.

The real "evil empire" threatening Boston isn't the Yankees. As anyone who has recently moved to the area can tell you, it's clearly Dunkin' Donuts. People here are . . . addicted. That's the only way to put it. The bookstore where I work has a cafe, from which employees can get free coffee. Nevertheless, several of my coworkers consistently show up with cups from DD. Personally, I've never seen what's so special about their coffee. There are theories that they put crack in the coffee to get people addicted. No one seems to care much one way or the other about the actual doughnuts.

I'd long been a hold out. I'd tried to frequent other doughnut shops, other coffee places, other breakfast venues.

As you can see, I've given up.

The first thing that got me were the sourdough bagels.

I'll freely admit that I'm a bagel snob. I get it from my father. My family lives in Connecticut, where nearly-genuine New York bagels are findable, and my dad finds them. As a rule, I haven't found any bagels up here that seem "real." Whenever I visit my family, Dad buys me a dozen bagels to take back with me and I eat them twice a day for a week so they won't get stale. I love bagel. Real bagels.

But I also love sourdough bread. So when I saw the sourdough bagel at DD, I had to try it. And. Heaven. I eat them plain, no cream cheese or butter, not toasted, not even cut. Just a hunk of dense yummy sourdough goodness. Mmmm.

And then, last week, I discovered iced coffee. Actually, I think I discovered it last summer, but I'd forgotten it during the interminable New Hampshire winter. And while I don't see DD hot coffee as anything special, their iced coffee seems far better than what I can get anywhere else--even for free, at work.

And really, who could resist a coffee this big?

So that's it. I'm addicted too. I go about twice a week at this point, and that's really all I can afford. I no longer make fun of my coworkers coming in with their cups of coffee and bags of muffins. What evil plan does Dunkin' Donuts have in store for us once they finish their Boston-area takeover? I don't know, and I'm not sure I care, as long as I can keep getting my sourdough bagels and iced coffee.

I still, however, refuse to misspell "doughnut."

Hooray for Spring!

Spring has finally come to New Hampshire. Isn't this tree gorgeous, up against the old building like that?

Click here for a somewhat blurry close up of the tree.

Winter used to be my favorite season, but recently I've been really liking spring and summer. Part of it is that I just get all excited about whatever's coming up, I guess. But really, what could be better than walking down Main Street in a tank top and jeans, eating an ice cream cone? (Yes, I got to do that yesterday. On the way back from the library. How perfect is that? Miraculously, I avoided the lure of the yarn store, perhaps because I was eating ice cream as I walked past it. This may be a good method to remember for the future, as I simply cannot afford to visit the yarn store every time I go downtown.)

Lots of knitting recently, but no pictures tonight--sorry! The bpt is coming along, and I started the Peace Shawl, but that deserves an entry of its own. Let me just say for now that this shawl is perhaps the most simultaneously frustrating and intriguing thing I've ever knit. And that it took me three hours to get the yarn into a ball. Ugh.

It's getting late, so I'll leave you with one more springish picture I took today.

What is with the booing?

By the Red Sox fans, of course, I mean. Booing the Yankees just for . . . existing? For showing up to play them? What would they rather, the other team not show up? I don't get it. When I've gone to baseball games I've clapped for everyone when they're being introduced. It just seems polite. I guess sports fans aren't polite. (Although I don't remember anyone ever audibly booing in any auto races I've seen, and I watch a fair amount of those.) And poor Alex Rodriguez. You'd think he'd killed someone or something, from the way they react to him in Boston. (I'm not, of course, saying that it's only Boston fans who do the booing thing. That's just what I'm watching now.) And this will be all anyone will be able to talk about at work tomorrow, of course, and I'll have to just try to keep quiet and not get too annoyed at the quantity, more than the content, of the talk. Ohh, the trials of being a semi-apathetic Yankees fan in New Hampshire.

Happy Easter!

Just wanted to leave a quick note for everyone. I'm visiting my parents, so you might not get a real post until Monday or Tuesday. :-) Hope everyone has a great day!

Happy New Year!

Hi everyone! Yes, I'm still alive. Sorry I haven't posted--I'm in my new apartment but don't quite have Internet access set up there yet. (I'm posting this from jaQ's.) I'm headed to CT for my parents' New Year's party now, but I should be back and online from my new home by tomorrow afternoon. See you then!

Stress

Yeah. Lots of it. Holidays and packing and yeah. I have no idea how I'll get it all done. Ack ack ack. I probably won't have anything terribly interesting to say here for the next week or so. But we'll see.

I GOT IT!!!!

I got my apartment! Yay!!! There was still no word when I got home from work today, so I called the guy I was dealing with, and he said yes, I definitely had it, and he was very sorry to leave me hanging like that. I guess he thought his partner had called me or something. They are currently renovating it (new shower, among other things), and he said they're about 60% done. My lease will start 1/1, but they're letting me move in a few days early.

I cannot even verbalize how exciting this is. I was so worried. And this is my first apartment all my own! (I currently have a roommate, and he moved in first, so it's never been just mine.) I'm so excited. Heehee.

Now I just have to pack.....

Panic

I just really started panicking about my apartment situation for the first time. Before this, I had been stressed and worried, but not panicked. Now I am. A little back story: my current lease is up December 29. I saw a place on Monday that I really liked and yesterday I put a deposit down on it, and they said they were taking it off the market and just waiting to check my references before it was sure. And I didn't hear either way today.

Well, I was talking to my aunt about it a few minutes ago and realized that if this falls through, I almost certainly won't have time to find anything else before the 29th because of Christmas and all. Ack ack ack ack ack. I do have somewhere I can stay for a while if necessary, but I don't want to move twice. Ack. I NEED to get this apartment.

Isn't she cute?

This is Etta the Pointsettia. Our eyes met across the carts in the grocery store entrance yesterday, and she agreed to come home with me to try to make my apartment more Christmassy. We're very happy to have her. Miss Tesseract has not yet tried to eat her, so all is good thus far.

Speaking of Miss Tesseract, there's nothing like cuddling up on the couch with the kitten after a long day: