Thank you Mia!

Socks knit in Garnstudio's Fabel
(they fit perfectly!)

Batman lunch box (love it!)


All the gifties inside


Details?
stuffed bat (love it!), LL in watercolor, stitch markers, Blackberry/Sage bat soap (smells heavenly), iTunes giftcard and a note


Mia, thank you thank you thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kinda, sorta moving knitting from here to here

Thanks

First, I gave my Monkey socks to my mom's yarn store and . . . I forgot to get pics! I'll ask her to take some and sent them to me.

Next, sockpaloo-ooza!

First, there is this:


Then this:


Wanna see a chevron scarf? All the cool kids are doing it --


Next, a custom pair of sneakers:

I gotta say that my sockpal's information for her socks was different than my last 2 sockpals. Neutral earth tones, nothing fancy/frilly/lacy.

I was at a loss for words when I read what she wanted. Granted, it's her choice, but I see socks as a way to have fun with your wardrobe. If there is one thing you can have fun with in a "corporate" environment, I'd say it would be your socks.

Unfortunately for me, I don't buy earth tone sock yarn. So, there was shopping involved -- I know, don't you feel sorry for me!!! I chose Koigu (if you're going to knit neutral earth tones, go for the good stuff), in brown for the most of the sock and a subtly shaded green.

As for a pattern, I went with something I'll know for myself later in different colors -- Roza's Socks from the Spring IK. It looks a smidge lacy, but that's due to the brioche rib. Other than that, it's your basic 3x3 rib.

It was either that, or plain stockinette socks, and I have 2 pairs of those languishing in my WIP basket. I love the way they look completed, but I'd rather drill an unsharpened pencil through my skull than knit a pair of plain stockinette socks at this point.

Oh, I recently finished a pair of Monkey socks, using Plymouth Sockotta. I'll take pics and post those this weekend.

I've decided that what I really need, other than my 2 cats and 1 dog, is a friend in New Hampshire. Not likely to happen anytime soon, where does one go to meet friends?, but it's what I need.

Trying to empathize with people who have just gone through a tragedy, when you yourself were unaffected. I, and everyone else, was saddened at the VA Tech shootings. But to go out on a limb and say, “I can only imagine their pain/loss/suffering, etc.” is a load of bullshit. You do not “imagine” someone’s pain. You do not have the right to try to put their feelings into context that makes it easier for you to categorize, tag and shuffle away for the next round of tragedy. You do not get that right, if you are not directly affected. You may sympathize, but you do not get to put yourself in their shoes to discuss the pain and tragedy. Lord knows they’d rather not be in their shoes, and they have no choice. You do. Quit it. It’s insulting.

Handing off your work to people who already have work. Yes, those that are busiest make sure it’s done correctly. And when they do the work, ‘cause you know they will, you are not allowed to take responsibility for it. Though any blame they receive for the execution os said work should rightly fall on your shoulders. You are more than capable and competent. Do the goddamn fucking work yourself.

Singling people out for “incorrect” answers to a question. If no one’s talking, and someone takes a chance, do not single them out as someone who “got it wrong” and let everyone know it. Give them credit for at least trying to have the correct answer. At least they, unlike other people, are trying.

If someone goes above you to get something resolved, do not call your “ally” to play the “I got burned card.” Chances are your ally already knows that, saw the volley and serve, and depending on the ally, may not back you up at all. After all, when your ally is in need of a friend, do you have their back? If yes, the ally should “stick up” for you; if not, all bets are off.

Do not come back to work after 5-6 months on FMLA and expect that we all will “bend over backwards” to do things the way you want them. Life did not stop when you were away, and business continued. I know it sucks that everyone didn’t fall apart when you were gone, but suck it up and deal. The sun does not shine out of your ass, and the universe does not revolve around you.

If you are the manager of a group of people, in the above situation, do not blindly take someone’s side against all others. Doing this may piss your subordinates off, make them wonder why it’s important, and may result in them slacking off for real. Though if you want a complete business turnover, be my guest.

If you’re being a BITCH and someone has had ENOUGH of it, and is bitchy back to you, take it. You’ve earned it. And shut up already. No one gives a crap/rats ass about “oh my god, I’m so old at 26” or “oh my god, I’m so pathetic because I’m single.” There are people out there older than you who feel YOUNGER than you look, and people out there who relish in being single. Quit trying to play the sympathy violin. You’re out of tune.

Back in 2002, I moved from Massapequa, NY, to Orlando, Fl. I moved w/o a job an w/o friends.

I quickly found employment at TransContinental Talent, a talent agency that had backing from Lou Pearlman. Things went down hill roughly 9 months later when we re-posted "bad" checks so that payroll could be handed out. Then they told me they "fired" a friend to keep me on. I gave my notice less than 2 weeks later.

Fast forward to 2007, and what do you know . . . Lou Pearlman is a wanted man.

Oh, you want more?
There's also a book based on the company I used to work for.

Seriously kids, we were always waiting for the FL Attorney General to come raid the office!!!

Knitting to come, swear.

Sheesh, do you people have any idea how hard it is to work here? I mean you've got opposable thumbs and 8 fingers = 10 digits. Me? I've got 2 circular needles and a bunch of yarn. Quit your complaining an buck up buttercups. You could be me, a partial sock with 2 circulars sticking outta ya! It's embarrassing knowing you all can see the needles, and *gasp* the insides of me, the sock.







What do I got to do to get a little respect here????

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Edit: Too bad it's not working. Check it our Here instead.

@#*% LJ code! :)

* Woke up at 2:46am when the POWER went out.
* Woke up at 5:30am to go to work, still NO POWER
* Got dressed after lighting EVERY CANDLE I could find
* Took hair dryer to work
* Had to release the pull from the garage door opener as it wouldn’t open as there was NO POWER
* Then had to go clean off the fallen branches in the driveway
* Had to manually open garage door, pull car out of garage, then manually close garage door (don’t know how I’ll fix that the emergency release for that yet)
* Street lights are out as there is NO POWER
* Got to work and . . . work has POWER!
* Fixed hair
* Get call from my boss that XXXXXX won’t be in as she has NO POWER, explained to my boss that I was in the same boat and I got to work
* Still snowing
* Have to go to WXYZ (hope they don’t have POWER)
* There better be POWER on when I get home
* Living in NH/New England SUCKS

Virgo (Aug. 23rd – Sept. 22nd)
The good news is you are growing and stretching like mad this year, Virgo! The challenging news is it might be wackier, faster, and messier than your orderly self would have ever imagined or even preferred. Take the ride, keep reaching for the brass ring, and forget about getting it all perfect. (The trick is understanding everything really is perfect…just not the way you might define perfection!) You’re experiencing transits from many different angles that are prompting amazing changes in your life: On the one hand, powerful energies are pushing you to get into a bigger game (possibly at work), even if you don’t feel certain how to play, especially April 7th, 8th, 20th,21st, and 22nd. On the other hand, the relationships and structures you’ve depended on are suddenly shifting or even ending, leaving you to deal with a whole new set of circumstances and expectations, especially April 1st-3rd, and 28th-30th. Your job is to be smart enough to adjust your self image to meet these new challenges and to be creative enough to make positive use out of whatever goes on around you, which you certainly are, Virgo! Look at it this way: You’re in a personal growth marathon. You might not think you signed up for it, but you did. Prove something great to yourself.

Hmm, maybe? Taken from Crazy Aunt Purl. Love her, not too sure 'bout the Horrible-scope

Periodically, I "cube" myself. If you've never been "cubed" check out -- http://personal.ansir.com/cube.htm and Amazon.com.


It's a clean desert-scape. There's sand, and an oasis in the desert. The horizon is far off. The sky is a clean, clear bright blue. There are a few clouds in the sky, and a light breeze. The oasis is in the near back right area of the desert. The water sparkles and there are a few palm trees.

The Cube dominates the desert, from this angle. It's not big, but it's the focal point of the area. It's not huge, but the cube is about 5'x5'x5'. It's close enough to me that I can touch it, so about arms length if not closer. It's cool to the touch, but kind of malleable. It moves a bit. It's kind of translucent, the sun glints off it and shimmers. It seems to be hollow, but the outer walls are sturdy. There are a few dents and marks on the cube, but those appear to be on the bottom of the cube, as if it’s been moved to its current location across the sand. It's sitting on the sand.

Pretty, flexible, awe-inspiring, strong, fragile

The ladder is a standard wooden ladder you would use around a home. It's not new, but hasn't been used often. It's about a 6' ladder so -- 20 rungs? I'm not sure. It is lying horizontal on the ground, but propped up by the cube. It appears to be sturdy, with no missing rungs, or broken pieces. It’s sanded smooth.

There is a horse in the near distance, but moving closer. It's a strong, light brown/tan horse with a white marking on its nose. It's moving quickly, but not running. There is no saddle, but there is a bridle. The bridle is new-ish, with little wear, but not a lot. The ends of the bridle are over the horse's back.

The storm is passing through. It comes through every so often to keep the oasis refreshed and the palm trees watered. It's a light rain shower, nothing too harsh or heavy – just enough to take away the dryness, the heat and leave everything refreshed and cooler. It's off in the distance, in the back right, as it's just rained in the scene. It does dampen everything -- cube, ladder, horse -- but does not damage anything.

The flowers are in flower pots. There are little pink, red and white roses in two separate flower pots. They are next to the oasis, which is behind and to the right of the cube and ladder. Each pot has 1 rose of each color. The roses smell sweet.

I don’t know if everyone is as obsessive about Bloglines the way I am. Seriously, I check them all the time!!!!!!!

So, want to hear interesting? Good.

March 6. Was a Tuesday morning.

My “bedroom” is part of the living room (it’s fine, I’m the only one who lives here other than the menagerie) – kind of a side room that once had a door.

Anyway, back to March 6. I woke up because my cats were going apesh*t. Seriously. I opened my eyes to see . . . a bat flying in the house. I was freaked out enough to dive under the covers and hit the snooze button. Before I got up, I think the cats tried to attack b/c I heard something sound like it had been killed and was going through death throes.

I get to work, call my mom. She says call Animal Control. Animal Control, once she calls me back, tells me to “catch the bat when you get home” and to call the Public Health Nurse in Concord b/c I will probably have to start Rabies Vaccine.

The Public Health Nurse out to be shot. Instead of answering my questions and being calm, she freaked and started talking about bites (apparently, you won’t feel it if a bat bites you – I think that’s a load of shite) and Rabies Vaccine.

Long story short, I had to order Rabies vaccine and start the series of 5 shots (no longer in the stomach, thank the LORD) the next day.

I get home that night, and have called someone to come over to see whether he could “capture” the bat. Needless to say, the bat is MIA (die you little bat!) but he comments, “you know, with your housekeeping, it would be hard to find the bat anyway.” Whatever Mr. I-work-nights-at-the-state-prison-and-live-at-home-with-my-mother-and-I’m-probably-45 – F*** YOU!

So, I start the shots the next day – and come to find that my insurance will not cover the vaccines. MF insurance! So, I’ve had my Day 0. 3. 7 and 14 shots. All that’s left is Day 28.

And what do I have to say to my insurance company, the Animal Control Officer (she “rehabilitates” bats anyway, come get it yourself bitch), Public Health Nurse and “Bat”man? F*** YOU ALL TO H-E-L-L!

Maybe I’ll start drafting my letter-to-the-editor about the incompetence of the system – Animal Control/Public Health Nurse.

On brighter notes: I get to go to TNNA in June (so excited), I think I’ve got my sock knitting mojo back (maybe), I lost my first 10% on WW, and I’m now caught up on the last 4 episodes of Lost and CSI:NY.

On a downer – one of my “co-workers” is returning this week after being out on FMLA for, oh, 6 months. She can be a b*tch, and has hung me out to dry 2x before – once in front of my Area VP.

Like the title? Hee hee!

Btw -- I'm all set against Rabies, and won't be getting sick. But I was really upset for a while.