Monday again

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Once again it is Monday and I find myself at work… the last place I want to be. I have no idea where I’d rather be or what I’d rather be doing, but work just isn’t it. It’s just a blah day… there’s no motivation to do my job, not even my paycheck.

My Thanks
Thanks to everyone who shared their sympathy over the fridge situtation. I think it’s a problem in any workplace with a communal fridge. I think it was just the last straw for me last week, and I snapped. But, a loud angry blog posting is probably better than me actually yelling and throwing things in the breakroom. (I don’t get out-right angry easily, but when I do I have a tendancy of throwing a fit… usually I just get pissed off or frustrated and I might give people looks and fume, but I tend to keep it to myself.) I’m thinking of inveting in a mini fridge. Kenmore makes a 1.7 cubic ft mini fridge that’s only like $60 at Sears. I figure that’s a worthwhile proce to pay to not have people taking my food… and who knows over time, if they keep doing it, the cost of lost food could eventually add up to the cost of the fridge.

RAOK’d!
Sunday, when I finally got around to checking for Saturday’s mail, there was a package from Marina containing a couple of lovely lavender sachets. I like lavender… I like all herb-y sorts of scents. One sachet came to work with me today in order to try to establish a sense of calm in my cube. *Crosses fingers* Here’s hoping it’ll work. I think the other will find its place amongst part of my wool stash. I have cedar balls in with the wool that’s in a dresser drawer, but my overflow is in plastic storage without anything to chase off pests or keep it from smelling plastic-y and stale. So, many thanks to Marina from me and my yarn!

Actual Knitting Content
I unofficially finished the Wool Peddler’s Shawl last night. It’s unofficial cause I am still working on the cast-off. I decided to go with the sewn cast-off from Knitting Without Tears; I think it gives a nicer edge, which I think this shawl deserves. But, it’s going to take forever. I started casting off last night and got about 8 inchs done in about half an hour. I think part of the problem is the ass long end I’m using, but I’d rather be using too much for the cast-off then run out an inch from the end, which happens more than I like to remember.

As soon as the cast-off is finish I’ll be casting on for the shawl for me… it shall be mine… mine, I tell you! Bwahahaha! *Clears throat* Excuse me, yes, I shall be making a shawl for myself. Of course, I could also cast-on a sweater for myself. I went to my LYS on Saturday and they were selling all their Cascade yarn at 20%. Couldn’t pass up a sale, now could I? I picked up enough Cascade 220 for Mariah in color 4148 (I think)… it’s a heathery mauve color.

I also got to pick up my drum carder while I was there on Saturday. Yea! Drum carder! Let the rejoying commence for my precious is in my grasp. Sadly, I’ve been so busy it is still in the box. *pout*

It’s That Time of Semester
While I have not yet redeveloped my eye twitch from last semester, the next 2 weeks could see it coming for a visit. I have a 20 page paper on the history of a California library (I’m researching the Mountain View Public Library) due in a week. I have 2 small Web projects due this Wednesday and next Wednesday. I have my History of Books and Libraries final exam on the 16th, and my final Web project is due on the 18th. *ack*

Secret Pal
A trip to the post office on Saturday saw off the last package to my secret pal, a goodie package to the person for which I’m a secret pal angel, and finally, the felted kitty bed for my sister’s new kitten. Yea!

Unfortunately, my secret pal (the one that was sending me goodies) has not revealed themself. Secret pal, are you out there? Are there email problems again? Have you revealed yourself in your blog and I some how missed it (actually, that wouldn’t be that hard… I had so much of a back log in Bloglines that I only skimmed the blogs, and then Bloglines started making me login every third blog.) If you have tried to get a message to me and I have missed please try my email again, or post a comment here. For now, whoever you are, thank you for being my secret pal. 🙂

Tears of Frustration

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I apologise in advance for the language… I just need to get this out…

GODDAMN MOTHERFUCKER SONOFABITCH! Who the FUCK do you think you are?! Food in the communial fridge is not there for you to take especially if it has someone else’s name on it. And no, you can’t just take a little and hope they don’t notice, cause they will notice. I noticed. I may not be drinking my milk that fast but I know I have not drunk that much. That milk is for my diet… I am trying to improve myself, to make myself a better person. And you’re not FUCKING HELPING. You have made me so angry and frustrated that I am on the verge of tears. If I knew who you were you would be getting more than an earful.

Did you take my fat-free cream cheese, too?

I was going to have some for lunch with my apple, but the container is gone. Did you just take a little bit that wouldn’t be noticed… everyday… till it was gone? Did you think I wouldn’t noticed the whole container missing?! COCKSUCKER!

I need to go find something I can kick…

Thursday? Already?

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Geez, how did it get to be Thursday already?

There was a great amount of grumpiness earlier this week. Every little thing made me want to bite someone’s head off. Thankfully, my mood seems to be improving. I “stole” some roses for my desk… The campus where I work has a ton of rose bushes (unfortunately, they’re only white and yellow… not enough variety for my tastes), so I cut off 3 and put them in water in one of the many company cups I have collected. Bright yellow roses certainly help with the grumps.

I am down to 8 rows of lace left on the Wool Peddler’s Shawl. Hopefully, I can finish it this weekend. Then, block it and send it off to its intended recipient.

I must, absolutely must, go to the post offie tomorrow to send off my final package for my secret pal… I don’t think it’ll get to her till Monday though. Oh well. I just haven’t had time to finish it off (although I did get the needlecase done on Saturday) and get to the post office. Also need to hunt up some goodies for another person since I’ve been asked to be an angel. It’s fun coming up with little goodies to send out. 🙂

April Flowers

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Tomorrow I am hoping to go to the nearby nursery and get some new flowers for my balcony garden. I’m not sure what I’m going to get; I usually just walk around and see what strikes my fancy. I do have a dilemma to solve… I have a very large spider plant… the pot is not quite a foot and a half across. The thing is gigantic. I really don’t want it to be any bigger. First, because I can’t move it on my own as it is. And second, because it’s on a plant stand and a bigger pot won’t fit. The problem is that it’s broken its pot. A good sized chuck of pot just popped off the side, so when I water it the water just goes everywhere instead of staying in the pot (this is how I found out there was a problem). So, I’m looking for opinions.

The power to walk away from the cookies

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Just an friendly warning… this is more about my new diet then knitting.

Okay, that was hard… Today at work we had a safety faire (earthquake preparedness, rescue dogs, fire extingusher practice) which included a free box lunch. I picked one out with grilled chicken, and it turned out that the chicken was all I could eat. I had to toss the roll and the potato salad, and I left the chips and the chocolate chip cookies in the break room for someone else to snag. I love chocolate chip cookies, but I’m actually not fond of the brand they were handing out. How sad is that… I considered eating cookies that I don’t like just so I could have chocolate chip cookies. Where’s my knitting when I need something to soothe my nerves… oh, right, at home. *sigh*

Oh, look, an apple.

I didn’t work on the Wool Peddler’s Shawl last night… I should have. It might have stopped me from munching on popcorn. That’s one of the reasons I took up knitting… something to do with my hands. If my hands aren’t kept busy I’ll feel like I should be doing something, which can include eating when I’m not hungry.

I think I’ve eaten more fruit in the last week and a half than I’ve had in months.

Time Warp

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The closer I get to the end the further away it seems to be*. 16 rows of lace left on the Wool Peddler’s Shawl. I think it feels like it’s taking so long because I have my next project picked out. I can’t start the new shawl until this one is done, because I know I would leave the Wool Peddler’s Shawl behind, uncompleted. If I just finish it before moving on I won’t have to worry about it staring at me from the knitting bag I keep it in. Lace does that you know… stares glaringly when you have cast it aside for another project. At least my lace projects do. If you have a deadline for the lace project it mumbles incoherently as well; it knows it shouldn’t be forgotten because it has a debut to look forward to.

I’m still procrastinating on the main part of my secret pal’s last package. This time around I am blaming it on my yard stick going missing, which isn’t really much of an excuse. It’s just that it’s the only long straight edge I have. I’ll either have to find it or make do… most likely I’ll be making do, then I’ll find it when I no longer need it.

*I always think of Waiting for Godot when I think of the idea of approaching infinity. My English teacher even had an inclass demonstration… she put a garbage can across the room and told the student to walk towards the garbage can, each stride was to be half the size of the one before. He could walk forever and never reach the garbage can. For some reason she explained it better than my calculus teacher did.

For whom the dust floats

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The insanity of a trip to Ikea is not too bad when you know what it is you want and when you do it at 6:30 pm on a Friday. One desk, 4 bookcases, and 1 Pöang chair with ottoman. Saturday, I went off to the LYS while the Husband stayed at home, assembled new furnature, and did away with the largest of the old bookcases. Sunday, we moved the other old bookcase out of the living room and replaced it with a bookcase/drawer combo thing that had been in the office. And there was much dust, sweat, and rejoicing to have it done.

Unfortunately, all the dust set off my asthma yesterday and I had to go home early from work. Thankfully, a couple hits off my inhaler did the job. I hate the idea of having to go to the emergency room for an attack; the amount of medicine they give me makes me really ill. The Husband came home early as well to make sure I was alright, and he made me peppermint tea, which helped a lot.

Sitting around taking it easy yesterday afternoon allowed me to finish my Mom’s birthday gift. Then I did a couple more rows on the Wool Peddler’s Shawl… only 19 more rows of lace to go. I’m looking forward to this shawl being done, not because I’m bored with it, which I’m not, but because I want to get started on my Brooks Farm shawl for myself. Aside from the odd pair of socks, I haven’t made anything for myself in awhile. This time it’s my turn to get something pretty.

The plans are layed

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Tonight, the husband and I will be venturing forth to Ikea to partake of their no sales tax sale. There shall be much office furniture buying. And yea, the middle bedroom shall be transformed into his cave (his choice of words, not mine). We’re looking at picking up 2 tall bookcases, 2 short bookcases, and a desk. The desk that’s in there now suffered heavy damage (okay, so 2 legs fell off and had to be glued back on) during the last move. The 2 short bookcases chall go under the window while the 2 tall bookcases will replace the aged bookcases already there (shelves shouldn’t bow, nor should the sides of the bookcase try to separate itself from the shelves). I’m not entirely sure that we’ll be able to fit it all in the car in one go, so I’ll probably take some knitting to keep me company if I have to stand guard over the second load while the husband runs the first load home.

Tomorrow, I shall be leaving him to his own devices to put together said furnature (it makes him feel like a man, so why not?). In the meantime, I shall be scooting myself down to the university to return books (crap, I just remember I can’t just drop them in the book return… one has to be turned in all special like cause it’s from SFSU). I am considering stopping by Peanuts (this tasty, greasy food joint next to the university) to get one of the best Philly cheesesteak sandwiches ever… of course, it isn’t exactly a Philly cheesesteak the way I order it… chicken instead of beef and mushrooms instead of bell peppers, but it’s still got onions and gooey cheese (it’s going to take something like 8 of my weekly points (Weight Watchers) but, damn, it’ll be worth it… way better than the 4 glasses of wine I could get for the same amount). Mmmmm…. okay, now I’m drooling on my keyboard, that’s bad. I only get to get one every now and again since I don’t actually have to go to campus for my classes. Then, on to the LYS for an afternoon of stitching and bitching with the colorful lot that frequents the place, and to hopefully, pick up my new drum carder (must remember gift certificate so I can actually take drum carder home with me). Mmm… drum carder. I could start washing up that merino fleece I just got and then carder it without it taking forever.

It’s been one of those weeks…

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Otherwise, I would have posted a lot more.

Haven’t really been knitting.

Haven’t done any spinning.

On Monday:

  • I found out I got a raise ($0.52 an hour).
  • I found out my grandfather was hospitalised on Friday because he was experiencing breathing problems. According to what my dad (it’s his father) has told me my grandfather’s lungs are like swiss cheese, and both sides of his heart are weakened. There’s talk of a hospice… it could be 1-2 months or 1-2 years… after seeing the results from the cardiogram, the doctor said maybe 6 months. (This is kind of depressing but not terribly surprising… my grandfather has had a couple heartattacks and smoked a lot when he was younger… and my grandmother died in August, right before I started this blog… He’s the stoic one in the family… my grandmother was the backbone.)

On Tuesday:

    I started Weight Watchers…. well, actually I had my first weigh-in. *ugh* I started following the Core plan on Wednesday. Only a couple bumps in the road so far… the soy milk I’ve had my cappucinos made with was not plain like I thought (it’s got a little bit of sugar)… and eating lunch at work is a pain in the ass… a big, giant, pain in the ass. My near-by options are fast food, which is out, and all sorts of fried things. *sigh*

Today:

    For some reason, my cube is freezing… I might need to open a maintanance ticket with facilities. My finger tips should not feel like ice cubes.

Friday and weekend plans

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I actually woke up at 7:30 this morning and felt ready to get up. I wish I could say it’s because I’m finally getting used to Daylight Savings Time (which I loathe with a passion), but I think it’s more likely that I just finally got a good night’s sleep after seeing my chiropractor yesterday. Having my neck and lower back adjusted gets rid of the stiff back feeling I’ve had every other morning this week.

After the storm we had whip through here yesterday and seeing some blue sky this morning I thought it would be safe to ride my scooter to work. My scooter is now getting it’s first bath. Between the wind and the rain pourin down you’d think it was January.

I’m still feeling some knitting blahs and didn’t work on anything last night. I looked at the Wool Peddler’s Shawl and thought about working on it, but then proceeded to completely ignore it. I think I mihgt take the Brooks Farn yarn to the LYS with me tomorrow and see if I can garner suggestions… I should at the very least get opinions. 🙂 If you’ve ever been to the Rug and Yarn Hut, you know what I mean. One important thing I need to take care of while I’m there tomorrow is ordering a drum carder. *squee* The husband and his parents went in together and got me a gift certificate that’ll pay for half a drum carder, and I should be getting my bonus for Q1 in a couple weeks, which’ll cover the other half. If it’s anywere near as nifty as I understand drum carders to be, I just might have to name it “My Precious.”

Speaking of names… I think I have finally come up with a good name for my scooter… Sake. It’s a Yamaha, which means it’s Japanese, and it’s a Vino scooter, which is Italian for wine… so, Sake — Rice wine. *hehe* Bad, I know. But it seems fitting.

The most important part of this weekend will be Sunday. The husband has arranged for a sauna/hot tub session at Watercourse Way in Palo Alto to be followed by massages. Mmmmm….