New Year's Eve Pranks

I love tracking numbers. It's almost as good as driving the package cross-country myself, leaving it on the doorstep, ringing the bell, and running away.

(This is the Secret Project. As soon as it arrives, I can post the finished photos! *waits anxiously*)

Finished!

The Secret Project is done! Want to see a photo?

(Okay, that was probably mean. But I'm very excited to have finished so quickly. I'm hoping to mail it next week, so a real photo will be posted sometime in January.)

Knitting

Not much to talk about this week. All of my finals were on Monday, with my final project for one class being due at midnight on the previous Sunday, so the week was spent in frantic cramming and then recovery. You'd think I'd have learned better study habits by now, but obviously I haven't.

I did finish 2 knitting projects, and I've started another one:

The last of the Potato Chip socks for the Warm Woolies 10 for 10 campaign, which ended on November 30. Yes, I missed the deadline with these, so no yarn prize for me, but at least they're done and sent, and some kid will have warm(er) feet.

My scarf for the OFA's Red Scarf Project. This is actually the second one that I've started this year, because the first one has some fairly intricate cabling, and I didn't think I'd be able to finish it before the deadline. I'll keep working on that one after Christmas, and it can be one of my scarves for 2010.

I'm pretty pleased with how this scarf turned out, although if I make another one I may go down a size or two on the needles, because the fabric is a little loose. Then again, it's also made of Cotton Ease (cotton and acrylic -- Yay for free yarn!), so I included a note suggesting that it be sent to someone who doesn't have terribly cold winters.


I knit this lengthwise, circularly...

...and then steeked it, unraveled the edges, and knotted the fringe. It sure seemed to go a lot faster than the more traditional method of knitting back-and-forth across the width of the scarf! The stitch pattern is diagonal rib, and I changed direction halfway through, to eliminate potential bias stretching.

And here's the project that I cast on yesterday. Can't tell what it is? Good! Then the recipient of this gift, if he or she reads this, won't be able to either. I'll post a picture of the final item once it's been delivered.

Crud!

Carp, it was Friday yesterday, wasn't it? This weekend has been consumed by flailing and studying for finals, so I didn't notice. Regular blogging will resume next Tuesday.

(Smiley snagged from TSR.)

Late addition: A friend Tweeted this link, and I thought it was a very interesting e-mail discussion between two guys who have been friends for years. They're talking about gay marriage: why one guy has a problem with it, and why the other one thinks that he shouldn't. (Shouldn't have a problem with it. Was that clear? My brain is dead from studying.) Both of them remain calm and respectful of the other throughout the whole thing, which is amazing to me, given how my discussions with my sister have gone. Maybe she just needs to get an e-mail address so we can communicate that way?

A Movie You Should See...

*... or at least, some of you should see. If you want to. And know what you're getting into. But it's really, really good, and I love it! You should absolutely all see it. Every one of you. Unless, well,... [repeat from *, ad nauseam]

The movie? Shortbus (Warning: Wiki link. Contains SPOILERS.)



So, why am I hedging my recommendation? Well, there's a lot of sex in the movie. A Lot. If you have a problem watching sex, you're not going to like this movie. Also, for my readers with kids, you're going to want to watch it when they're not around. It's all reasonably vanilla. Even the scenes with the character who's a professional dominatrix are pretty tame.

The interesting thing is that, when I first watched it, the sex right at the beginning of the movie was... startling. A bit shocking even. However, as the movie went on, I wasn't startled or shocked at all. When I watched the commentary track, the director talks about how he actually showed less and less of the sex and more of the human interaction/connection aspect of it as the story progressed. So it wasn't just my skewed perception.

Another reason I'm hedging is because of a friend & reader who I think wouldn't have a problem with the sex, but might be bothered by the character who (SPOILER ALERT!!) attempts suicide.

I got the movie from Netflix and watched it probably at least a dozen times before I sent it back. And I've now requested it for Christmas -- from my Christian fundamentalist sister. (Hopefully she doesn't look too closely at it when she's shopping.) The commentary and documentary in the Special Features are also excellent and quite interesting. And if you want another, somewhat more coherent, review, here's what The Other Andrew has to say. (He's so much more articulate than I am.)

But really, how can you not love a movie that has one song that asks "How can I repay you for saving me and my hardwood floors?" (just ignore the weird video) and ends with a scene where a marching band shows up during a singer's performance and the whole thing becomes a raucous singalong?

Also? The film offers a different and interesting reason for the northeast blackout. Just thinking about it makes me giggle.

In Knitting News:

These are the items I managed to complete for Warm Woolies' 10 for 10 Challenge. Notice that there are only 9 of them. Rats.

You've seen the purple socks and the red sweater before, but the other three socks and two sweaters were all completed after my last knitting blog post (11/13/09). Here are individual shots for those of you who may be interested:

Potato Chip Socks in 3 yarns/yarn combos



Warm Woolies Mystery Knitalong Sweater II (aka Calda Lana at Ravelry)
I had to learn how to seam for this pattern. A good skill to have, I'm sure, but not my favorite at this point.



This is the striped version of the Warm Woolies Mystery Knitalong Sweater III. (You may remember that the red sweater was the solid version of this pattern.) And yes, the third pair of socks above were made with leftovers from this sweater.

Now, on to the scarf (scarves? We'll see how fast I am.) for the OFA's Red Scarf Project.

Calling All Knitters & Crocheters & Weavers

Image created by Gale of She Shoots Sheep Shots. Used with her permission.

Norma of Now Norma Knits fame has posted in several places over the last couple of days about the shortage of scarves that have (or really haven't) been received by the Red Scarf Project. (Yeah, they haven't received mine yet either. Their deadline is after the Warm Woolies one, and I promise I'll crank out that scarf as soon as I can. Maybe 2 scarves, if I can find another scarf's worth of yarn.)

If you've never heard of the Red Scarf Project, well, follow either of the above links for a bit of information, or click on the Red Scarf Project button to the left of this entry. Or check out the Red Scarf Project Blog. The scarves made for/by the Red Scarf Project are distributed by the Orphan Foundation of America (OFA) in Valentine's Day care packages. These care packages are sent to college students who have aged out of foster care and have no family or other support networks. Often the OFA care packages are the only mail that these students receive that's not junk mail or bills.

The Red Scarf Project needs good quality, handmade, unisex scarves that are 5 to 8 inches wide and at least 60 inches long. They must be made of sport, DK, or worsted weight yarn. (Lighter weight yarns aren't likely to produce a unisex scarf, and scarves made from heavier yarns won't fit in the boxes that are donated for shipping.) The good quality is important, and the scarves must be new.

The deadline for the project is December 15, although since they need another 2000 or so scarves, if it's a week late, they'll probably still be grateful to get it. If you can help out with this, or if you know someone who can, please pass the message along.

If you don't knit or crochet or weave, or you don't have time to make a scarf, you can still get in on the act by donating to the Red Scarf Fund. (Paypal link here, or you can mail a check to the address on the Red Scarf Project Blog.) If you send an e-mail to RedScarfFund [at] gmail [dot] com with the amount of your donation, you will get one entry for every $5 into the drawings that Norma is organizing on her blog. Most, if not all, of the prizes are full of wonderful, fibery goodness. (If you're not into fiber, please remember that I am, and my birthday is very soon after Christmas. *wink*) The Red Scarf Fund provides "emergency aid because life happens and foster youth don’t have the safety net most people call ‘family.’ Red Scarf aid has paid for: medical bills, eyeglasses, musical instrument repairs, new tires to pass inspection, and sadly, funeral expenses."

So, who wants to help?

Fear

Fear: (n) 1. a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.
(from dictionary.com)

There are more definitions, of course, but this one fits pretty well. I am afraid. In general, I don't show fear, for pretty much the same reasons that I don't cry in front of people. In fact, there have been 2 occasions in the past 10-plus years when I have shown fear in front of my family. Both of them are still talked about.

One of them involved a very large spider that jumped out of a drain in an infrequently used sink while I had my glasses off. Now, I'm blind as a bat without my glasses. 12 point font is too blurry to be read at 10 to 13 inches from my eyes (depending on which eye I'm using -- my right eye is worse). Without my glasses on, I could clearly see this spider posturing, see the aggressive positioning of its forelegs and the movement of its chelicerae (mandibles in non-spiders. Yes, I looked it up.). Freaked me the hell out, because I'm really, really not a fan of spiders near me. They're fine away from me, killing bugs and all that. Just not if I can see them.

I yelped. My sister and the dog we were dog-sitting both came to see what was going on, and my sister wouldn't get within 6 feet of the sink because she could see the size of the spider and wasn't getting near it. Neither was the dog, but she's a known chicken. I put my glasses back on and dealt with it, although my sister urged me to just shut the door and stuff a towel under it until the dog's owners got home in a few days. (My sister and Phil Jupitus have a bit in common there -- the relevant bit about his living room runs from about 4:30 to 5:00, although the whole thing is funny. There are 3 parts to it, and I highly recommend them all if you have some time, although you'll need about 25 minutes.)

The other time involved school and applying to the HIT program. I think the problem that time was that, if I wasn't accepted, I had no idea what on earth I was going to do. This one doesn't get laughed about when it's brought up. I don't say much of anything, and my mom and sister look at me out of the corner of their eyes and then at each other with a "What the hell's wrong with her" sort of expression. Good times.

Right now, I'm afraid of this winter. I don't usually feel this bad until the middle of January at the earliest, and I've been fighting it since early November. I can't quite imagine what February's going to be like. And I think that I probably don't want to know.

Part of the problem, I'm sure, is that school is not going well, and I don't really expect to be allowed to remain in the HIT program after this semester. This means, of course, that once again I have no idea what on earth I'm going to do. I don't think I could manage a full-time job right now. There's no guarantee that I could find one, even if I could handle it. And yet, my mom's 65. She wants to retire next spring. I know that the fact that I'm not working makes her worry about retiring. In school, with decent job prospects when I complete the program, I think she probably would have risked it, since I'd be working within a year or so of her retirement. But if I'm not working, if I can't? I just don't know.

I'm sure I sound like a broken record here, but I really think this all goes back to the pneumonia in 2007. Before that, I could work. I could walk at least half a mile at one go, although it wasn't much fun. I believed that things would work out, that I'd get accepted to the programs I was planning to apply to, that I'd find work after I graduated, that said work would allow me to get my own place. Now, I don't think I can work, I can't walk, and I really don't believe such pipedreams. Maybe the antibiotics shouldn't have worked. Maybe I was supposed to die then. It sure as hell would have been easier, since I was so sick that I didn't understand how sick I was, so oxygen-deprived that I couldn't comprehend the danger I was in.

I almost wish I'd get H1N1 or something. Some real disease that sometimes kills people. Then I could die without it being my fault.

Question 20

20) How many times have I traveled out of the country?
a) None
b) One
c) Two
d) Three
e) Four

I have accomplished things this week! I have something to talk about! Yay!

...

Okay, my accomplishments are all knit-related. So what? That just means that you get to see photos!



I finally finished the WW MKAL3 Sweater! Yes, the one I started in July. But it's done! Woohoo!


I like it so much that I started a striped version. Besides, this purple yarn needs to be knitted up ASAP and sent back to Warm Woolies.


Three nearly identical pairs of socks for Warm Woolies 10 for 10 contest. I kind of doubt that I'm going to win at this point, but that's no reason not to try. These are also made of the purple yarn that Warm Woolies let me have to knit with, so they will be in the mail by next Friday at the latest. Hopefully I will also have the sweater done by then. A bit ambitious, but since I just started yesterday, I think I have a chance.

In other news, I've got a unit due Sunday night for my computer class. And there's homework for my HIT class as well. Joy. At least there's nothing for anatomy at the moment. Any vibes for motivation would be appreciated, since I've been struggling a bit with that lately.

Answer to Question 20: Two. Way back in high school (yes, in the Dark Ages), I had an opportunity to go to Europe over our spring break. In retrospect, perhaps I should have waited for a trip that wasn't "organized" by one of our most scattered teachers. Oh well. We got to see a lot of the Bavarian countryside while we were driving around lost. For hours. On quite a few days. In 2000 I took a cruise that stopped in the Bahamas, and that trip went much better. :)

And that's it for my questions. What on earth will I write about next week? Maybe I'll get reckless and post a snip from my NaNo. Assuming I've got more than 550 words by then.

These questions are coming from my 'How well do you know Beccaie Jamieson?' quiz on Facebook. Thus far, the high scores are 35% among my friends, 40% among my sister's friends, 41% for my mother, with my sister scoring 74%. I'm bringing the questions to my blog in the hopes that some more people will get to know me better.

Question 19

19) If I could travel anywhere, where would I go?
a) New Zealand
b) Canada
c) Washington
d) Wisconsin
e) Iowa

My HIT professor is praying for me. I don't know if I can quite express how odd that seems. You all know that I can't walk well, so it should come as no surprise that our field trips, with their associated walking, standing about, and note-taking-while-on-the-move were significant challenges for me. I've also been dealing with a Depression-Induced Lack of Motivation[TM] lately, which has extended to class attendance and even completion of some assignments. I managed to drag myself to my HIT class last Wednesday because we were scheduled to have an exam. Even though I was going to be guessing on every question, because this last unit has been entirely based on handouts and lectures, not anything in our textbook. As it turned out, the guest speaker went a bit long, so the test was postponned until tomorrow. (It's a 2 hour and 20 minute class, but the exams take a maximum of 1 hour, so there's always something else scheduled for exam days as well.)

At any rate, after class on Wednesday, my professor gave me all of the handouts and asked what was going on. I mumbled something about my lung damage and stuff. Said that I know it doesn't look like it, but I really am trying. She said that she knew, she could see that. (I don't really understand that part either.) She kept waiting expectantly, and I ended up muttering something about my depression, said that was exacerbating my other problems. She kind of focused in on the depression aspect of things, taking it more seriously than some of my (past) psychologists have done. She was very concerned that I don't have anyone to really talk to about it (since my family is ... religious ... about it, and I'm really, really not), and she asked if it would be okay if she prayed for me. (Is there a polite way to say, "Sure, if you want, I guess, but you're kind of weirding me out here?" I've never found one.)

I think part of the startle-factor about it was that it's a secular school. If I was still going to one of the Lutheran schools I've attended in the past, I'd have been expecting that kind of reaction. And I know that just because it's not a religious school doesn't mean that none of the professors are religious. I do get that. I just really wasn't expecting that reaction. And I wasn't expecting her to be concerned. Very odd. It's been on my mind enough since then that I'm getting a little worried about tomorrow, and if it will be weird to see her again. (I am going to class though. There's an exam. One that I can even study for, now.)

Also? The director of the HIT program walked by us as the professor and I were walking out together. She's also been worried about me, and said she was glad to see me there. Maybe I've just worked for uncaring corporations for so long that human concern is baffling? I dunno.

I have done some knitting this week. In fact, I've finished 3.5 socks, and I'm almost done with the yarn from Warm Woolies that I'm using for the socks. Then I'll just have the sweater yarn left to knit up. Pictures next week, okay?

Answer to Question 19: Iowa. Canada and New Zealand are too far away. Well, most places are too far away for me these days. I've been to Washington (to see ArwensRose and Pansy and their homes/towns/city), but not to Iowa (to see Deenie and hers), so Iowa's my choice. Besides, it's just barely possible that I could actually go there someday. Wisconsin... I love Wisconsin, especially the Northwoods. I first went up to our family's cabin when I was 6 months old, and even though our current cabin is on my grandparents' land and not my dad's (because the lake by their property is both bigger and more accessible from our land), regardless of the fact that the cabin that's now there wasn't built until I was 5 or 6, the land and that lake are the home of my heart.

That said, I don't think I'll ever go back up there. The cabin just isn't accessible enough for me now. It would be hard to manage the steps down from the "parking lot," as we call the end of our road under the trees. I can't sleep on a bed without a lot of pain, and the chairs there are old and don't recline, so my dependent edema would get too bad if I tried to sleep in them. The shower stall is so tiny that I probably couldn't use it, since I wouldn't be able to sit down halfway through. And the hill is far too steep for me to be able to walk down to the lake, even if we still had a boat there that was licensed to go out on it.

Another problem is the political views of the people in the area. I used to dream about living up there, winterizing the cabin (or more likely building a small house in its place). Getting a job somewhere near enough to make winter commuting practical. But the area is very, very conservative, and realistically I couldn't live with that. When my mom and sister were up there this fall, they attended a community meeting about the area's elk population. Given what they've said about that, it's a good thing I wasn't there because my head might have exploded from the pressure of keeping my mouth shut. Then again, I wouldn't have gone to the meeting in the first place. But I have trouble looking past people's political views sometimes. I can't quite decide if I'm getting more intolerant, or if it's just that I'm noticing the political views of people I used to be completely neutral about. I can get past political stuff with friends, but if an otherwise benign stranger has political views that I vehemently disagree with, there's just not enough positive force there to keep my feelings about them at neutral. (If that even makes sense to anyone else.)

And then I remember my dad's last trip up there. It was about a month before he died, maybe 5 or 6 weeks. He knew he'd never see it again, and it was so hard for him to leave. Maybe I just don't want to do that myself. As things stand now, I have lots and lots of memories from up there, but I don't remember exactly what happened the last time I left. Realistically, I know that the last time I was up there was the time that my sister and I took three days and rented a U-Haul to bring my grandma's dining room set back down here so my sister could use it. I imagine that, when we locked up the cabin that time and I climbed into my car, I was just so relieved to be able to sit down and stop manhandling furniture up the slope and into the truck. But that's all reasoned out, not vivid memory. And I don't want my final memory of there to be fighting tears as I drive up the road, knowing my heart will never go home again.

These questions are coming from my 'How well do you know Beccaie Jamieson?' quiz on Facebook. Thus far, the high scores are 35% among my friends, 40% among my sister's friends, 41% for my mother, with my sister scoring 74%. I'm bringing the questions to my blog in the hopes that some more people will get to know me better.

Question 18

If you live in Maine, VOTE tomorrow! NO on 1!


Live in Washington? VOTE tomorrow! YES on 71!

There is no valid reason to legislate inequality, or to overturn legislation which prevents it.

18) Which is my favorite Harry Potter book?
a) One
b) Two
c) Three
d) Five
e) Six

I have no content this week. I tried all weekend to think of some, but I couldn't. What I have instead is whining. Aren't you lucky?

• I have a 1 to 2-page paper to write for class today. The class at 2 p.m. I haven't even started yet. There are 10 questions I need to answer in this paper, and I have all the answers written down and organized. I've had that part done since last Monday. By the time I answer those questions, I'll probably need to shrink my font size to make it fit on 2 pages. All weekend, this paper has been hanging over my head, dripping big glops of doom onto my head. But I can not get it started. Why is this paper kicking my ass?
  

• My mother is home already. She Will. Not. Stop. Talking. To. Me. Whyyyyyyyyyy? She knows I'm trying to finish this blasted paper.
  

• I haven't started NaNo yet, and my plot/idea has fled.

• There's a thing about the blogs I've been reading this week that I want to whine about, but I can't figure out how to say it. You can thank me later.

• It has been over 18 months since I've had a hug. This is not right.
  

Answer to Question 18: Book 3 is my favorite. Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and early enough that the government isn't so blatantly evil? Yes please!

These questions are coming from my 'How well do you know Beccaie Jamieson?' quiz on Facebook. Thus far, the high scores are 35% among my friends, 40% among my sister's friends, 41% for my mother, with my sister scoring 74%. I'm bringing the questions to my blog in the hopes that some more people will get to know me better.

Blogs

Yes, this post is a week eight days late. Let me distract you with pretty pictures.





Both pictures are from here. This is another of the several new blogs I've found lately. I haven't finished all of the archives yet, and sadly The Other Andrew is no longer writing, but I've still got over a year's worth of entries to keep me happy. And a list of blogs to check out after that.

In case you're interested, I've now read all of the archives of Ted's, Mel's, Kenny's, Chris's, and Paul's blogs. I finished James's, which I mentioned starting last time. Oh, and I've read a blog by another Chris as well, about coming out at age 48. I've enjoyed reading all of the blogs (or I wouldn't have done it), but this Chris writes about parts of my life. There are a jillion differences between us, really obvious ones (I'm not a gay man, for instance.) and more subtle ones (I'd never have had the courage to come out in his situation, no matter how soul-destroying it would be to continue to deny such a large part of myself.) that a lot of people don't necessarily know about me. But some of his posts articulate things in my life that I'd never say, don't even like to think about. Like his post about the holidays. If you read it, don't forget that my birthday is right after the New Year. Four kicks for me.

It's been a hard couple of weeks. Maybe I'll post more about it later, and maybe I won't. It probably wouldn't be much fun for you to read anyway. Some school stuff, some crap with my sister, and some of it's just the ever-decreasing amount of daylight around here. I hate -- HATE -- knowing that things are going to get worse before they get better. H.A.T.E. But at least knowing that means that I won't have to wonder what's happening, what's wrong with me. I guess that's an improvement. Have to believe that it is.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some blog archives to escape into.
(Yes, KD, you were very, very right about that. Even though I hadn't put two and two together yet.)

Question 17

17) What city was I born in? (Kindly ignore the bad grammar.)
a) Clam Lake, WI
b) Addison, IL
c) Melrose Park, IL
d) Elmhurst, IL
e) Hayward, WI

I have a knitting photo! Are you as excited as I am?

This is the front of the Warm Woolies Mystery Knitalong Sweater I. I still have to finish the neck shaping. The back is done up to the armholes, but since it was knitted in the round, you can't see it in this photo.

Nothing much has happened this week. I had a lot of homework last weekend (which I'd had a few weeks to accomplish, but it wasn't due until Monday), and then I had a paper & presentation due in HIT on Wednesday. I haven't had to do a speech for a while, and if I need to do another one, I'm going to have to get permission to be seated during it, because I was really having trouble getting enough air towards the end. I hate looking like I don't know what I'm doing, and I'm sure that I did. However, there's no way to change it now, and I didn't realize that it would be a problem before I began, so whatever. Other than that, I think it went pretty well.

It's been raining a lot here this week. Not huge amounts of water, with all the associated flooding concerns, but just days of slow and steady rain. Luckily it's been on days when I could stay home, so I've been able to enjoy it without worrying about losing my footing. I've also finished reading all of the archives over at QueerJoe's blog. I'm working on James' blog now. He lives in New Zealand, and some of his photos are excellent proof that WETA didn't do too much to the scenery in LOTR.

And that's it for this week. Not much blather, since I've got 2 exams this week. I should probably get back to studying.

Answer to Question 17: Elmhurst, IL. I've lived almost my entire life in Addison, but the nearest hospital is in Elmhurst. Melrose Park is where my mom's family lived, and where I went to high school. Clam Lake is the nearest town to my family's cabin in northern Wisconsin. Hayward is the nearest town with a hospital. I suppose that this question was skewed a bit towards local friends, but I didn't have any local friends on Facebook when I initially wrote the quiz.

Question 16

Yes, I'm late again. I apologise. It completely slipped my mind yesterday that it was Friday. I finally remembered when I was heading to bed at about 1 a.m., so I guess I can honestly say today.

16) How many companies have I worked for since leaving school?
a) Four
b) Six
c) Seven
d) Eight
e) Ten

I have no knitting photo (again) this week. Instead, let me distract you with a picture of Lilac in her cat bed. She is scrupulous in upholding her reputation as our princess cat, so she will not lie in the bed unless it is placed on the couch.


Yes, it has a padded base and a coordinating pillow on top of that. Princess.

I suppose that I should post a photo of Spare, for equal time and all, but I don't really have one. This is because I don't like her much and she returns the favor. The only time I think she looks at all cute is when she's cuddled into her cat tent -- at the far end of the laundry room (which is at the opposite corner of the house from the room I'm usually in).



Oops, that's Lilac again. She's not a fan of flash photography. :)

Nothing exciting has really happened this week. I ended up ditching my HIT class on Wednesday because I couldn't find parking that was within walking distance (for me), even with my parking permit. Anatomy ... continues to try my patience. The good news is that he handed out practice midterms for us, and I got an 87% on it. Even though I haven't read several of the chapters yet, and we haven't even had lecture on 2 of the organ systems that will be on there. (The midterm is on 10/14.)

I also tried to go to the zoo on Thursday. I used to love going to the zoo. I've been a member (myself or on my parents' membership) since 1979. There were some years when I went about twice a month. Now, with the walking & breathing, I haven't been there in years. I went to their website a couple of months ago and discovered that they now have ECVs (Electronic Convenience Vehicles) available to rent, and I got all excited. Unfortunately, even though I'm under the weight limit, I can't fit into/onto the seat. The handlebars and controls are too close. I wish I'd known that before I got there. It was quite the disappointment.

On a brighter note, I've found another knitting blog that I enjoy. QueerJoe's actually been blogging since 2002, but I have spent large periods of time residing under various rocks, so I never got over there until very recently. I'm in the process of reading all of his archives, and am now up to 11/26/07. I am, perhaps, unreasonably excited by the knowledge that I own the same color of Malabrigo Laceweight Merino that he bought back then. (He knits with the most beautiful color combinations.)

Answer to Question 16: Eight. I'm not going to list them by name in case of future Googling. By description, they're as follows: (1) a department store outlet, (2) an answering service, (3) an office temp company, (4) a steel grating manufacturer, (5) another office temp company, (6) a data entry company, (7) the same office temp company as #5, so it doesn't count towards the total, (8) a real estate title insurance company, (9) #5 AGAIN, and (10) a car dealership. Ten jobs, eight companies.


These questions are coming from my 'How well do you know Beccaie Jamieson?' quiz on Facebook. Thus far, the high scores are 35% among my friends, 40% among my sister's friends, 41% for my mother, with my sister scoring 74%. I'm bringing the questions to my blog in the hopes that some more people will get to know me better.

Question 15

15) What is my middle name?
a) Louise
b) Susan
c) Kathleen
d) Lou
e) Lois

I have a knitting picture!



This is the 7th pair of Potato Chip Socks for Warm Woolies, and these are quite a bit larger than the first 6 pairs. You see, there was a 6 for 6 challenge over the summer, which required 6 vests, sweaters, or pairs of socks that would fit a 6 year-old (or older). The socks were required to be at least 6 inches long in both the foot and the leg. This pair is for the 10 for 10 challenge, which--as you might guess--requires that the sweaters or socks (no vests this time) fit a 10 year-old (or older). The socks must be at least 10 inches in both the foot and the leg. I wasn't positive how much length the heel and toe would add, so I estimated a little long. (The leg is 12 inches and the foot 11.)

I'd hoped to have a finished sweater to show you, as well, but I'm still working on the second sleeve. Oh well. Something for next week.

I'm also not going to complain about school this week. Surprised? Me too, a bit. But I ditched HIT on Monday, and A&P was cancelled that evening, so I probably didn't spend enough time in class to justify moaning about it again. Besides, a few readers have already heard about it. lol

Answer to Question 15: Louise. Susan is my sister's middle name, and Lou my mother's. Kathleen (and Katherine) were in the running for my first name before I was born. I tossed Lois into the mix because I already had 2 L names, and also for Lois McMaster Bujold. (Remember her? My favorite author.)

These questions are coming from my 'How well do you know Beccaie Jamieson?' quiz on Facebook. Thus far, the high scores are 35% among my friends, 40% among my sister's friends, 41% for my mother, with my sister scoring 74%. I'm bringing the questions to my blog in the hopes that some more people will get to know me better.

Question 14

14) I am a good liar.
a) True
b) False

I think I'm going to start doing my blog posts on Fridays. I mean officially. I thought that Thursday would still be okay, since I don't have classes. However, my classes on Wednesday go for long enough that I'm usually a bit (or more than a bit) wiped out, and then I spend most of Thursday recovering and not thinking too much. So Friday it is. At least until these next 23 class days are done.

Hmmm? What's that? I wasn't counting down, you say? Well, tough. I am now. I was going to count down by weeks, but because of the way some days off fall, that makes it sound worse (12 weeks, plus finals) than it really is (23 classes, plus finals). Okay, not much worse, but still worse.

This Wednesday, my afternoon class (HIT - Health Info Technology) was as bad as my A&P class, and that's saying something. We were supposed to have a computer-based lab, and getting proper access set up for all 15 students (the prof never did get her own set up) took the first 1.5 hours of the class. Not the prof's fault, since apparently someone on the IT end at the service that hosts the labs didn't get the permissions set up properly. However, it was still really annoying. That's also the class that we had a test in on Monday. When we got to the lab, we were told that we'd have to retake the test this coming Monday because there'd been 2 Question 24s on the test, and someone had (against the prof's instructions) answered them both, throwing off all the rest of their answers, etc. The usual ScanTron problem. I was appalled, but most of the class seemed excited by the prospect of improving their scores. I guess I was one of the few who was satisfied to start with. But then the prof decided to just drop that test from the possible points for the course. I guess that's marginally better than having to retake the test, but I'm still a bit irked. All that studying for nothing. Oh well.

A&P was just its usual frustrating self, complete with Doritos chick fondling her Doritos bag. I promise you, that's the most innocuous word for her actions that I can possibly come up with. She reminds me a bit of Dr. Evil stroking his cat. But louder. And more annoying.

My computer class remains my favorite of this semester. That's probably due in large part to the fact that it's online, so I never have to meet my classmates. I really expected to be frustrated by this class more than by the others, since this is one of those required-for-my-degree classes that covers really boring stuff. In fact, part of one of our assignments was to write an introduction including our reason for taking the class, and every single one of us is taking it because it's required for some degree or another. Not one person mentioned anything about being interested in the subject matter. But it's my favorite class at this point. *rolls eyes*

In non-school whining, I had my 6-month check-up this week, and got a flu shot. Apparently I was also due for a tetanus booster. The appointment was on Tuesday. There's still a lump on my arm, and it's still rating somewhere between sore and outright painful. Stupid tetanus.

Trying to move away from whining altogether, my mom and sister got home from vacation last Sunday. They brought all kinds of northern Wisconsin goodies with them: bran muffins, cashew turtles and brittle from a wonderful candy shop, cheese, sausage, etc. I asked my sister to bring me some soap from Gitchee Gumee Soap Company in Bayfield, but she hasn't given me any. I hope she's just saving it for Christmas.

No knitting pictures because no knitting has been accomplished. I really need to find a way to study and knit at the same time, since I've got a lot of yarn to knit up for Warm Woolies by the end of November. And, of course, November is NaNoWriMo, so I'd really like to finish the knitting before it starts.

Answer to Question 14: I say True. When my sister took the quiz, she said that she can always tell when I'm lying, but that she thought my answer was true anyway. I think that, if she can always tell, she's remarkably adept at not indicating it, but perhaps that's beside the point. If nothing else, I'm wonderful at lying to myself, so it's true on that score. I do try not to lie to people who matter to me. It's just that some people who don't matter too much (people like co-workers who I used to see once a week, or fellow students in one of my classes whose names I haven't even been told) seem to think that they should matter a lot.

These questions are coming from my 'How well do you know Beccaie Jamieson?' quiz on Facebook. Thus far, the high scores are 35% among my friends, 40% among my sister's friends, 41% for my mother, with my sister scoring 74%. I'm bringing the questions to my blog in the hopes that some more people will get to know me better.

Question 13

13) Why don't I knit more socks for myself?
a) It takes too long.
b) I don't wear socks.
c) Different sized feet & difficulty adapting patterns.
d) a & b
e) b & c


Not a whole lot has happened in the past couple of weeks. I've been enjoying the solitude while my mom & sis are on vacation. They'll be back on Sunday. *sigh* Luckily, they're bringing me some wonderful semi-local to our cabin food, so that will mitigate their reappearance. That, and the fact that the cats will be happy to see them. I'm getting a bit sick of the yowling. (Both cats are lonely and miss my mom. I am clearly an insufficient substitute, not even good enough to pet them.)

Classes have been going okay. The prof for my evening (anatomy & physiology) class has an unusual lecture style, and I could live happily without ever having another class with some of my fellow students, but it's still okay. Less than 16 weeks left now, you know. (I know this because we have 16 week semesters, not because I'm counting down frantically. Yet. That may come.)

I have gotten some knitting done. Specifically, I've finished the first sleeve on 2 of my sweaters-in-progress, and have begun work on both of the second sleeves. I've also cast on for the second Potato Chip Sock, because last night I really needed some mindless knitting.

Then there's the package that arrived yesterday.


That's a 14 x 18 x 10 inch box. Full of yarn. F.U.L.L. Curse Webs and their semi-annual sales! You know, in that Curse-them-but-they'd-better-not-be-late-with-the-next-sale-flyer kind of way. I obviously mis-estimated how much yarn I'd need for a pair of socks, because I thought I'd get about 8 pairs from the yarn. I must have been really, really tired when I was doing that math. But this should keep me happily knitting through most, if not all, of next year. It could be worse.

I could be out of yarn.

Answer to Question 13: E
I don't really care how long a project takes if it's a pattern that interests me. And socks are usually pretty interesting. Even the plain ones have heel and toe shaping, and it's pretty cool to watch a knitted item become a 3-D shape, at least to me. That knocks out answers A and D.

I don't wear socks. This is mostly because they don't seem (to me) to go with Crocs, and I wear my Crocs year round. Also, I think the little bumps on the insoles of my Crocs would probably be pretty hard on socks. I can't imagine knitting socks and then abusing them like that.

It's also true that my feet are different sizes. Not length-wise. It's the widths that are off. This means that the only matching socks that I could really knit that would fit my feet would be plain, solid-color socks. For them to have any chance of fitting inside my shoes, they'd have to be made of sock-weight yarn. Maybe lace-weight, on days when my feet are swollen. Do you have any idea how many stitches that would be, with teeny-tiny solid color yarn, worked round and round (forever!) in stockinette stitch? I'll stick to other projects, thanks.

Outer Alliance Pride Day

I'm squeaking in under the wire with this, since they've chosen September 1 for Outer Alliance Pride Day, and I just found out about it (since I don't really write much of anything, and thus don't get to a lot of writer sites). Here's the text/link they asked for:

"As a member of the Outer Alliance, I advocate for queer speculative fiction and those who create, publish and support it, whatever their sexual orientation and gender identity. I make sure this is reflected in my actions and my work."

They also suggest posting "a short example of queer speculative fiction." And since I don't write much, the only thing I have that qualifies would be a snip from my very, very unedited 2007 Nano, which I don't think I can really get post-ready before midnight. (Especially since I still have homework for tomorrow.) So go read my friend KD's, because it's good, and it has one of my favorite couples in it.

Question 12

12) Crocheting is...
a) tedious
b) time-consuming
c) faster than knitting, but boring as all get out
d) something I used to do much more
e) all of the above

Poor, neglected blog. I'm late again, and I haven't even named my newest 7 dragons yet. Heck, I haven't even entered my new egg into my spreadsheet. This school thing is sure time-consuming. More on that later.

I haven't done much knitting this week, either. Partly school and partly getting my mom ready for her vacation -- she left Friday morning for 16.5 days. Ahhh, the peace. And I get to shut off the cuckoo clock. Shhh, don't tell. ;) Actually, the reason that this didn't go up on Thursday was because I didn't even get to the computer until very, very late, and then I didn't have enough brain power to write coherently. My mom has a truly amazing gift for creating panic when faced with packing. You'd never think that she's been taking at least one major vacation a year for the past 50+ years. The reason it wasn't posted on Friday is because I slept most of the day, recovering from Thursday. I have no excuse for Saturday.

Sorry, I wandered a bit there, didn't I? I was talking about knitting. I think that part of my problem at this point may be that I don't really like to knit sleeves. I currently have 3 sweaters-in-progress that are at the sleeves stage. I have another one that's approaching the sleeves. I think I may not like them because I have to pay attention and count rows, and I'm not too fond of doing that. Or maybe it's that sleeves come in pairs. Then again, so do socks, and I can whip those out when using worsted weight yarn, and the sleeves are all in worsted weight or thicker, so I'm not sure that holds water. At any rate, I present Potato Chip Sock number 7a. This is made with the yarn I got from Warm Woolies, held triple. It looks huge because it is -- the foot is 11 inches. This will be for their 10 for 10 campaign, and those socks have to have a foot length of at least 10 inches. I erred on the side of caution.




So, school. It started last Monday. I've got 2 classes that meet twice a week, and one that's online. As some of you may know, I still haven't met the professor for my evening class -- he was on vacation this week. The first week of the school year. Without leaving any information for his substitute beyond the syllabus and the fact that we were to cover Chapter 1 and part of Chapter 2 (but not how much of it). An interesting approach to teaching. It's really funny, because 90% of our grade is based on 2 tests (midterm and final), so the syllabus reads like he's a bit of a hardass. And then he, he ditches the first two classes. I am puzzled. And sort of looking forward to meeting him, even though I suspect he'll greet us with a quiz, particularly since most people probably aren't expecting it. (There was a phrase in the syllabus that made me think this.)

The other class is Intro to HIT (Health Information Technology). It's interesting because it's a class that's specifically and only for HIT students. It may become interesting in a broader sense after we get through the first couple of chapters. I'm working hard to learn everyone's names, since I'll be working with these women for the next 2 years. This is a little difficult since I sit in the back row, and therefore may not recognize them if we meet face to face. It's coming along though.

I ... um ... haven't done much of anything with my online class yet. Oops. (Although the first assignment isn't due until 9/14, and the first week of classes isn't over yet. By several hours.)

Answer to Question 12: All of the above. My mom and sister tried to argue that crocheting can't be both time-consuming and faster than knitting, but that's just because neither of them can do either. Besides, the question never says that knitting isn't also time-consuming. At any rate, since I learned how to crochet years (decades) before I learned how to knit, it is indeed something that I used to do more. However, I do find it tedious. It may be faster than knitting, but it surely doesn't feel like it. Then again, I haven't knitted as many baby blankets and afghans as I've crocheted, so perhaps if I do that, I'll find knitting tedious as well.

But that's just a very good reason not to cast-on for any kind of blanket.

These questions are coming from my 'How well do you know Beccaie Jamieson?' quiz on Facebook. Thus far, the high scores are 35% among my friends, 40% among my sister's friends, 41% for my mother, with my sister scoring 74%. I'm bringing the questions to my blog in the hopes that some more people will get to know me better.

More Dispiriting Scores

I forgot to post the explanation for the questions with my last post. So here:

"These questions are coming from my 'How well do you know Beccaie Jamieson?' quiz on Facebook. Thus far, the high scores are 35% among my friends with my sister scoring 74%. I'm bringing the questions to my blog in the hopes that some more people will get to know me better."

Normally, I would figure that wasn't important enough to mention. However, I've got 2 new scores to add. My mother (who isn't on Facebook and doesn't read -- or even know about -- my blog scored 41%. (This is because I didn't ask her a couple of the questions, like I did with my sister.) My Sister's Friend, Julie, got a 40%. Yes, that's right. My sister's friend scored better than any of my friends. (She also doesn't know about my blog, and she's new to Facebook.)

Question 11

11) Who is my favorite fictional character?
(NOTE: published fictional character)
a) Mary Russell
b) Dag Redwing (later Dag Bluefield)
c) Ivan Vorpatril
d) Ista dy Chalion
e) Miles Naismith Vorkosigan

Good heavens, is it Thursday already? How did that happen? I have no knitting photos (again) because I've hardly knit at all this past week. I'm not entirely sure why, but I'm leaning towards blaming the cuckoo clock. I've been very, very tired since we got it hung up. It's closer than I'd like to my bed (then again, everywhere in the house is closer than I'd like the cuckoo clock to be), and I think that it's twice-hourly festival of noise may be disturbing my sleep. It doesn't wake me up entirely, but I think it might partially. Perhaps I'll get used to it.

I do have a bit of knit-related content, if anyone's interested. I've been subscribing to Interweave Knits for about a year-and-a-half now -- since shortly after I began knitting so much. Several knitbloggers recommended it, and I enjoyed the free trial issue enough to subscribe. The articles are interesting and informative. There's almost always a pattern that I want to make. I even like the ads. I usually flip through it quickly and then spend 3 or 4 weeks reading it at a far more leisurely pace. Basically, if you're new to knitting magazines, give this one a try. (If you're not new, you probably already get it.)

In contrast, I received my trial issue of another knitting magazine today (which I'm not naming because I didn't like it at all). I found the articles frustrating, for reasons ranging from bad grammar/vocabulary to insulting and patronizing tone to sheer idiocy of the author. As far as I could tell, their yarn feature's theme was "pink," which is a nice enough color, but not really enough to connect 20 very disparate yarns. A couple of the patterns were nice, in a "That's pretty, but I don't know anyone who'd wear it" kind of way. A couple of them were just insane. I don't know people who'd be caught dead in the same room as those items, much less wear them. For example, there's a "capelet" that's made out of 1 strand of heavy worsted held together with 1 strand of yarn that I'll call super bulky only because I don't know of a thicker category. The recommended gauge is 1 stitch or 1 row = 1 inch. The pattern uses size US50 needles. Those have a diameter of 25 mm! (For comparison's sake, a reasonably thick wool sweater would be about 5-6 stitches or 6-7 rows to the inch, on US7 needles, which are 4.5 mm in diameter.) And this capelet is photographed with a "little black dress" type of outfit, hairdo, etc. It reminded me of nothing so much as a show poodle, like this. *shudder* Although I think the poodle pulls it off better.

I had to laugh a bit at how uniformly horrible it was. I did get 1 useful piece of information out of it though. You see, Interweave Knits had an ad for a company that does craft cruises, with classes in knitting, crochet, mixed media, and other crafts available on the "at sea" days of mainstream cruises. I was looking at their website, checking out the knitting cruises in a "if I win the lottery in the next 6 months" kind of way, and I liked the look of 2 of the cruises. However, the instructor for one of those cruises wrote an article in the second magazine. Having read it, there's no way I'd take a class with her as the instructor, much less a cruise-worth of them. So if I win the lottery in the next 6 months, I'm definitely signing up for the cruise to Bermuda. Heck with the one to Canada & New England.

(If anyone's really interested in the bad magazine, leave a comment and I'll contact you with the name of it.)

Answer to Question 11: Mary Russell. She's the wife and partner of Sherlock Holmes in the books by Laurie R. King. Yes, his wife. And she reads Theology at Oxford. It's a very interesting series.

The rest of the characters are by Lois McMaster Bujold. (You remember her, right? The answer to my favorite author?) Miles Naismith Vorkosigan is the protagonist of most of her Vorkosigan saga/series. Ivan Vorpatril is his cousin. Ista dy Chalion appears in The Curse of Chalion and is the protagonist of Paladin of Souls. Dag Redwing/Bluefield is the male protagonist of the Sharing Knife series. (He takes his wife's last name when they marry, as is the custom among his people.)

Question 10

What is the very first thing I would do if I suddenly won millions?
a) Make a will
b) Pay off all my bills
c) Buy my own place
d) Seek medical treatment I currently can't afford
e) Hire a personal assistant

I have no knitting photos for filler this week. I did finish Clue 1 of the WW MKAL1 Sweater, but it looks very much like the photo from last week, except that it's now 12 inches long instead of 8 or 9. I have also added some length to the Potato Chip Sock. You'll get a photo of that when there's a pair, since that shouldn't take too long. (Note: shouldn't, not won't)

I don't think I've told you yet that I started my scarf for the OFA's Red Scarf Project. (Red Scarf Fund donations can be made here.) I'm making a variation of the DNA scarf this year, but it's not long enough yet to show well in a photo. Plus I'm using a dark yarn, and I'll need daylight to get it properly photographed.

And that's it for knitting news this week. I've barely done anything, because of an amazingly wonderful gift that a friend sent me on Sunday. I don't know if I'm supposed to talk about it, so I won't, but it's ZOMG SO BLOODY SHINY!!!!!!!1!!111!!ONE!!

*ahem* Not that I'm ridiculously excited about it or anything. I don't know how you got that impression.

Just in case anyone really was holding their breath for it, here's a bit about my Taco Bell Epiphany mentioned a couple of weeks ago. As most of you probably know, I had pneumonia pretty badly in early 2007. While I have recovered, I still have not achieved the level of general health that I had before getting sick. This is ... not always on my mind, but it's never very far from my thoughts. I'm not sure if this is morbid preoccupation associated with depression/dysthymia, or if it's a semi-normal part of getting used to life with a chronic ... medical condition. (I mean, it's not exactly a chronic illness. I dunno. Apparently I'm less good with words than I thought I was.)

Anyway, it suddenly occurred to me (and I have no idea what about driving to Taco Bell triggered this) that breathing problems are not exactly new to me. Yes, they're worse now, but they're not new. I mean, if I think back objectively, I was orthopnic when I was in 3rd grade, for heaven's sake! Granted, I didn't know what orthopnic meant back then, and no one (parents or doctor) told me that it's Not A Good Thing, but I couldn't sleep when lying flat. I had a wedge-shaped pillow that kept me closer to sitting upright than your average bedrest pillow would nowadays. (Those weren't as common back in the ancient times of my childhood.) And it wasn't just when I was in 3rd grade, but that's the earliest year that I'm absolutely certain I was using that pillow. I was hospitalized with some sort of lung problem when I was about 18 months old. Maybe I wasn't a lazy child, I just didn't like to run (literally run) as much as my friends did because of that whole breathing thing, and the trouble I had with it.

Maybe I started out as a healthy baby, but every time I got majorly sick, I just didn't bounce back to quite where I'd started from. So I was a healthy baby, was hospitalized, and then was a mostly healthy kid. Except for the wheezing and the orthopnea, which I was told were allergies (except that I was supposedly only allergic to mold and the problems lasted all year long). Then in 6th grade I had mono and was out of school for around a month, maybe a little longer. Sports got harder after that. I got really sick when I was away at college, in February. And I failed all my classes for the Spring semester because I had trouble walking all the way across the (really not that huge or anything) campus, even after I was better. And then the next big one was the pneumonia in 2007.

Maybe I didn't fuck everything up somehow. Maybe I'm just sick. Oh.

Answer to Question 10: Make a will. I'd probably do most of those things, but the will would be first, because it's all well and good for money to go to the nearest relatives and all that, but if I've actually got enough money to shake a stick at, there are other people and places to which I want it to go, as well. Then I'd pay off my bills, hire a personal assistant, buy my own place, and maybe get around to seeking medical treatment. (Note: This quiz was written before the Taco Bell Epiphany, so that wasn't really taken into account when I figured out the answers. Having had the TBE, the medical treatment would definitely be sought, perhaps even before I got my own place. Definitely after the personal assistant though.)


(These questions are coming from my "How well do you know Beccaie Jamieson?" quiz on Facebook. Thus far, the high scores are 35% among my friends, with my sister scoring 74%. I'm bringing the questions to my blog in the hopes that some more people will get to know me better.)

Question 9

9) What is my favorite season?
a) Spring
b) Summer
c) Fall
d) Winter
e) Doesn't really matter to me.

I know, I know, I'm late this week. In my defense, I was hardly able to touch my computer on Thursday and Friday *twitch* since my mom had commandeered it for an online renewal course for her chemo certification. *twitch* I'm still suffering some withdrawal symptoms, even though I've got it back today. *twitchtwitch*

My sweater progress also suffered from this separation, as the patterns are all stored on my beloved computer, (my printer having long since given up). Normally it's easier to deal with the patterns on the screen anyway, but it does have its downside. I have finished one sleeve on the WW MKAL2 sweater (the aqua one). One more sleeve and some seaming, and it will be finished. I haven't worked on the WW MKAL3 sweater (red) at all this week, but I haven't posted a picture of it at this stage yet, so it's in the group shot, as well. I'm up to the sleeves clue on that one, as well. The dark green is the WW MKAL1 sweater, never before seen on the blog in this incarnation (yarn). I'm still working on Clue 1 for that one. The purple bit is the start of another pair of Potato Chip Socks, in a larger size this time. I'm using 3 strands of wool because it's the free wool that Warm Woolies will send (if you meet their Yarn for Volunteers requirements), and these skeins are somewhere between sport and worsted weight. (Meaning that one measuring system tells me it's sport and another says worsted.) Three strands seems to be the same approximate thickness as all the other PCSocks that I did with the recommended 2 strands of worsted, so they should be okay.


Answer to Question 9: Spring. Summer is right out -- all that heat and humidity. Blech. Winter can be lovely (I even enjoy the "character builder" days ... as long as there aren't too many in a row), but snow does make things more difficult, so it's not my favorite either.

Spring and Fall both have the transitional weather that I like (temperatures, amount and type of precipitation). For a long time, I used to say that Fall was my favorite, because the coming of Fall meant relief from Summer and its yuckiness. However, for the past several years, I've been enjoying Spring more, even with Summer looming at the end of it. Part of it is that, as my mobility issues have increased, getting around in the winter is more and more difficult. Fall provides relief from Summer, but Spring now provides relief from Winter. Spring has looming Summer; Fall has looming Winter. The more trouble I have in the Winter, the happier Spring makes me -- and this past year in particular gave me a troublesome Winter.

Fall has also lost ground as I've come to violently dislike the Fall and Winter holidays. I was never much of a fan of Thanksgiving. I no longer like Christmas at all. And Halloween has all those kids. *shudder* (I live with 2 cats. I have a cane. I'm practicing my yells of "You young whippersnappers." Soon I'll be a card-carrying member of the Old Fogey Association. I'm sure they'll be happy to waive the age requirement.) True, Spring has Easter (of which I am also, shockingly, not a fan), but at least that holiday has the decency to appear on its own, not as part of a gang.

So, Spring it is.

(These questions are coming from my "How well do you know Beccaie Jamieson?" quiz on Facebook. Thus far, the high scores are 35% among my friends, with my sister scoring 74%. I'm bringing the questions to my blog in the hopes that some more people will get to know me better.)

Question 8

8) What is my favorite show currently on TV (not in syndication)?
a) NCIS
b) CSI (the original)
c) CSI: New York
d) LOST
e) I don't watch TV.

No knitting pictures this week. I suppose I could take a picture of the 9 inches of sweater body I've completed of the Warm Woolies Mystery Knitalong #1. However, since it's not yet to the end of Clue 1, I haven't bothered yet. I also did not finish the WW MKAL2 or WW MKAL3 sweaters by last Saturday. For the record, I didn't make a pair of socks for the 10 for 10 either. I didn't even knit at all last Friday, thus blowing all of my goals for that 2 week challenge. Feh.

Not much has happened this week. My mom was off tons and tons of time (9 days out of 13), although she has worked the last 2 consecutive nights -- for the first time since July 14. I'm thoroughly enjoying my nighttime solitude, believe me.

Nothing new on the job front either. The dealership that called last week was looking for someone who could work full-time, and my school schedule will preclude that. The one class that I absolutely Must take this semester (unless I want to wait and try to get into the program again next year) is from 2 to 4:20 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays, which conveniently nixes most day and evening jobs at once. Handy, that.

I had one of those probably-blazingly-obvious-to-other-people epiphanies today, when I was driving to Taco Bell. (Yes, I'm still on unemployment. What? I don't do it very often.) I think I'm going to mull it over for a bit before I inflict it on all of you. It's either angsty or depressing, and enough other people are having real problems right now that I'd feel weird (read: self-centered and self-indulgant) posting about it. Stay tuned! Next week you may get to read all about it! I suggest you hold your breath. That way you may be unconscious by the time I post it.

Answer to Question 8: NCIS, hands down. I usually watch CSI, and occasionally CSI: NY, but I can do without them easily. I haven't bothered with LOST since Season 2. And yes, I do seem to only consider TV shows that have initials instead of titles. (Except for Pushing Daisies, but that's not around anymore anyway.) Oh, and if watching the shows online doesn't count, then the answer is E.

Late Edit: I do have a photo for the week, after all. This is the Siegling's bag that I received from Pansy earlier this week. It's currently full of all three of my WW MKAL sweaters-in-progress. I think it wants to go home to Washington state, where it might have to carry gardening tools in the crazy heat, but at least it wouldn't have to worry about exploding. lol

.............
(front and back, with and without flash, respectively)

Question 7

7) What Facebook app do I play most?
a) Farm Town
b) myFarm
c) (Lil) Green Patch
d) Send Good Karma
e) Castle Age

Photo Filler for the Week: Warm Woolies Mystery Knitalong 3 (WW MKAL3). Sweater is shown at the end of Clue 4. (I'm working on the sleeves now.)



I have also almost finished one sleeve of the WW MKAL2 sweater, although I don't have a photo yet. I had actually worked the entire sleeve through the ribbing and cast-off, but when I put the sweater pieces together, I saw that the sleeve was definitely too short. So I've ripped back the 3 inches of ribbing and I'll lengthen it. I've had bad luck with the measurements on this sweater, and I'm a little concerned that the neck is too wide for Warm Woolies, but it's a nice pattern. I may try to add a collar or something, although I'm not sure quite how I'd do that. We'll see.

Also, last week I joined a challenge that ends this Saturday, and I set my goal as finishing these 2 sweaters and working through Clue 1 of the WW MKAL1 sweater (or a pair of socks for the 10 for 10 (scroll down), but I think the sweater will be easier). My mom's been off a lot lately (7 days out of the last 9), so I don't know if I'll make it, but there's still a chance.

In non-knitting news ... I'm not sure if there is any non-knitting news. Hmmm.

• I got a phone call today about a potential job at a dealership up in Schaumburg. I'm not sure if I really want to commute so far again, and I don't yet know if it's part-time or full-time, but at least it's a potential.
• I haven't heard anything yet about my permit to register for my HIT class, which I was supposed to have received by now. And the program director hasn't responded to my e-mail either. Fun!
• I have been completely eaten by novel-snips and fanfics from a not-yet-published author. Sadly, this means that I can't share the novel-snips with you. The fanfics and 4 original fic snips are linked on her blog. I keep staying up waaayy too late, rereading her stuff. She's very good. (Seriously, the last time I complusively reread stuff like this was when I discovered Lois McMaster Bujold's The Sharing Knife series.)
  
• In an odd bit of ... recurring theme? cycles in life? something like that. Anyway, as I've become less involved with most aspects of the Shieldmaidens, I've been getting more active (truly! "More" is a relative term.) with Sporkers. (ie. the author in the previous bullet point is a Sporker.) And this summer, a number of the Sporkers have started Walking to Rivendell. So far as I know, I'm the only crossover between the two groups. And I've never even made it to the Stock Road.
  

Answer to Question 7: Obviously this isn't a terribly important question. However, as the quiz was made on Facebook, it seemed like decent filler. I play all of the listed apps, but Castle Age is my favorite.

(These questions are coming from my "How well do you know Beccaie Jamieson?" quiz on Facebook. Thus far, the high scores are 35% among my friends, with my sister scoring 74%. I'm bringing the questions to my blog in the hopes that some more people will get to know me better.)