Bliss thy name is resignation.

Against my "only-giving-them-2-weeks" better judgment, I resigned this afternoon. Though it won't take effect until January 18, I already feel about 20lbs lighter and much, much happier. Here's to bigger, better (and unfortunately COLDER) things awaiting me!

A bed time story.

Once upon a time there was a girl who stayed home a little late on a Thursday morning to wait for the Fed Ex man to deliver a package. This was an ornery package from an unknown sender that insisted on being delivered to the home address, presented right at the door and signed by the girl. There would be no changing of the delivery to her work address, so she had to miss work and wait for the Fed Ex Man. Imagine the girl's surprise when this ornery package wasn't for her but was addressed to the girl who lived in the apartment before she did (a mere 1.5 years previous). She sadly handed the package back to the Fed Ex man and went out to her car to go to work. But then tragedy struck. Her apartment complex was working on the parking garage and she could not move her car from its appointed spot. So the girl sadly trudged back to her apartment, called in sick to work, and stayed home knitting all day long.

The end.

These and other great images found at NatalieDee.

The world I work in.

I work in a very strange conglomeration of military, academia and Hollywood entertainment. Which explains why at 4pm on a Wednesday afternoon I was standing in my boss's office (with a few of the other directors) watching THIS.

Of course what made me walk into his office in the first place was when I overheard this one blaring on his computer speakers.

Happiness is...

Making a list of all the things you do at work to give to your supervisor with your resignation letter so she knows how many things she has to reassign within that 2 week notice.

Santa on a bike.

This is truly the most interesting Christmas knit I've seen so far. Found here.

Thoughts on Laundry

The towering Mt. Vesuvius of laundry decorated the middle of the room; Sally glared at it menacingly armed with detergent, bleach and dryer sheets - there was only room for one of them in this small bedroom.

***
Sally sighed as she heaved the load out of the washer and headed outside to put it on the line to dry; this money laundering thing was a lot of work.

Into the Wild

Well things are back to normal at work, and the daily humdrum tasks leave plenty of time for reading. Today I finished up a great book, Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. I have read one of Krakauer's other works (Into Thin Air) and I have to say that I highly recommend both.

This book, now a major motion picture, is a reflective look at the life of Christopher McCandless, an educated young man who walked into the Alaskan wilderness to live off the land and never returned. There have been many arguments over the years as to whether McCandless was mentally disturbed, suicidal, naive or just simply stupid, and Krakauer explores all of these possibilities. The story is intense, much like I would expect McCandless himself was, and it was a consuming read.

Krakauer's books are not for the faint of heart - he describes in non-fiction autobiographical form the most harrowing adventures, the deepest darkest side of man and the harshest beauty of nature, but they are excellent reads and I would highly recommend them.

Thanksgiving Weekend Recap

* My sister and her boyfriend, my parents, Wes and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving feast and enjoyed mass quantities of turkey, pumpkin and chocolate.

* Wes & I watched You Kill Me starring Ben Kingsley. It was excellent. Totally wacky, totally odd and totally enjoyable. I would definitely recommend it. (The Puffy Chair, however, is the first DVD I have actually turned off and returned mostly unwatched. Don't do it. I warned you.)

* Food food food and friends! We had several great meals with my parents, and a fun lunch with my sister's best friend and my former roomie and her boyfriend.

* Wes & I rented and watched Rome: Season II (that's in Roman numerals for those of you who care....). Ten episodes in one week was a commitment, but we weren't sorry. It was just as good as the first season and left us both hoping for a season 3 - unlikely, but we can hope!

* The knitting. I had a little mishap with some gloves so I focused my energies on the Southwest Trading Company's Soysilk Man's Golf Shirt for the store. I finished it late tonight and can't wait to take it in. My only complaint is that the pattern lies - it asked for 9 balls of green and 4 of navy and somehow I had 4 of the green leftover. Now I'm no mathematician, but the sweater is whole and wearable and I can't figure out where 4 more balls would go.



* The first boxes have been packed. Let the moving begin. *groan*

What we're gonna do now...

Knitting nightmare.

I stopped by the LYS yesterday because I was in the middle of a knitting emergency. I am working on a pair of gloves on commission, and despite the fact that I actually SWATCHED for it, I seem to be in deep gauge doodoo (read: it looks a bit more like a leg warmer than a glove). While I was there on my lunch hour, one of the other employees was wearing a gorgeous sweater. Since I'm moving to frigid environs, I'm seriously on the lookout for good warm sweaters to knit. I immediately started thinking about what kind of yarn I'm going to use and what colors I want.

Which is why I then went home last night and dreamed that the LYS was completely, 100% totally sold-out of Malabrigo and never getting any more. *sigh* It was a nightmare of epic proportions.

Let's talk turkey.

I have always loved Thanksgiving more than any other holiday. Since my family doesn't celebrate Christmas, Thanksgiving was always our idyllic family holiday. When I was little, we would pile in the car and drive to my grandparents house for a day of cooking and fun and an overnight with my beloved Gramma. Sure there was turkey, but there were also candied yams (with marshmallows!), Gramma's stuffing (made from scratch!), pumpkin casserole, my mother's pumpkin bread, and all our family gathered around the table. In the later years, my grandparents would drive down to our house. Gramma would supervise in the kitchen, and my sister, mother and I would cook under her able direction. Gramma died in 2000. My grandfather is still alive, but is not doing well. This will be the first year he doesn't join us for Thanksgiving. However, I'm still happy that the holiday is here. I'm thankful that I get to spend it with my parents, my sister and her boyfriend, and my hubby-to-be. Beth and I are going to make Gramma's stuffing tonight, and everything tomorrow will taste just as it always has, of family and love.

There's one other tradition in my family. I have noticed that this is appearing on many other blogs as well, so apparently I'm not alone. But if you have a spare 20 minutes give this holiday tradition a listen.

Hope you and yours have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

The internet helps childrens learn.

Meet the Nutria.

I can neither confirm nor deny...

But I might have seen someone very special in my building today.

A momentous occasion.

As promised...

So here's the post with pictures. We arrived in Providence very late Friday night and got to have late night drinks with the bridal party and my sister. The last time I had been to Providence (where my mother grew up and much of our family still lives) was when I was 6, so there was lots to see that I didn't remember.



On Saturday my mom suggested that we all head down to Newport. My father desperately wanted seafood for lunch so we found a cafe down on the wharfs and wandered, shopped and ate. Then we went for a little drive around Newport to see some of the old mansions. With all the fall colors and the chilly, but sunny day, I got some beautiful photographs. A few are below.







Saturday night was the wedding. We went to the temple where my grandparents and most family members have been married or bar mitzvahed. Although I'm not much for religious ceremony, the wedding was beautiful and it was fascinating to be in a place that had so much family history, much of it for a family that I barely know. My mother was totally in her element, socializing with family and friends she's known since childhood. the bride and groom were beautiful and so happy and the evening was wonderful.

Sunday Wes and I met up with my friend M. and her husband. M. used to be my boss in LA way back in 2000, but has since relocated to the Providence area. Her husband, who's a history buff, showed us around Providence and gave us a little historical background on everything. The architecture was amazing. I got one really great shot - of the Rhode Island state capitol building which is the 3rd largest dome in America.


All in all it was a great trip. I'm not sure I recommend heading to the east coast for a weekend jaunt (between the time change and the long flight it was pretty tiring), but it was a great weekend!

Details to come.

I just got back from a whirlwind weekend on the East Coast for a family wedding in Providence. I met up with my parents, my sister and Wes and we had a great time at the wedding, and meeting all of mom's extended relatives. On Sunday I also got to catch up with my friend M. who is having a baby in the next 2 weeks. I have lots of pictures, but due to our red-eye last night they haven't left the camera. I promise a much better post at the end of the day!

Pinnochio, Attorney at Law

"Pinocchio thought he might have erred in choice of careers when, during a particularly exciting defensive argument, his nose poked the judge in the eye."

You've got mail.

I just got the best email...a big cup of coffee (to try and stay awake in my meeting) from Blenda of Oz. Too bad I can't actually drink it. (That's the actual picture she sent me.)

P.S. I decided to go with this email rather than the one I got from Philip Valenzuela (in my spam folder) about dating tips for sex addicts. Go figure.

I'm "going about as fer as I can go"

Well, after a long, uncomfortable fall it looks like Wes and I have resolved where we'll be in the New Year. If you're familiar with musicals, you'll recognize the title of this post as a song from the musical Oklahoma entitled Kansas City. I have a lot of emotions about this.

First of all I am relieved that we have pretty much come to a decision of what our future holds, mostly because I hate uncertainty. I am also excited that we will get to begin our life together (living together in the same city) and in a place that won't be as financially taxing as Los Angeles.

I am also frustrated that I couldn't make it work here in LA, sad that I am going to have to leave my family and friends, and really unsure how well I am going to do 1500 miles away from my support network.

I do, however, feel that this is the right move for Wes and me to be making right now. I'm already drowning financially in Los Angeles, and we need to be in a place where we can afford to start our life together. Wes has received a wonderful offer from a firm in Kansas City, an offer that will give me a little time to figure out exactly what it is I want to do and find the right job. It certainly isn't my first choice of places to live, but we have decided to give it a few years and see how it goes.

Current plans have him slated to start towards the end of January, and I'm aiming to be out of here around the same time. I'm still negotiating breaking my lease, and figuring out how to get all my belongings from here to there. Let's hope there are some great yarn stores in Kansas City because I have a feeling I'm in for some serious knitting and I'm going to need lots of warm sweaters!

To Dye For

As inappropriate as it may be, I have taken great pleasure in coming home each day and going into my bathroom. That's because my pretty skeins were in there drying. I finally wound them up tonight and got some better photos. Less fun in the bathroom, but more fun for my stash.

The big day.

Today's the big day, the event I've been preparing for during the last two weeks. The day has already gotten off to a most inauspicious start with my boss pointing out typos in the program (which she got to proofread multiple times and never caught) and being turned down for a job. Clearly things can only get worse from here.

Why yes, that is a half empty can of diet coke sitting on my desk.

ETA: We're at least an hour behind and I'm on overtime now. Woohoo!

Out of the pressure cooker.

This week is better than last. Most of the deadlines are more relaxed, the deliverables are done and now all that's left is to actually attend the events for which I have been preparing. I think my brain checked out on Sunday. It's too bad I don't start vacation until this Friday.

I thought that once the pressure was off, my blogging mojo would return, but I found today to be sort of blah and uninspirational. In fact, I came home this evening and didn't even want to knit which, if you know me, is highly unusual (and prompted Wes to suggest I call 911).

The truth is I'm coming to grips with all of the next few months. This Friday we're heading back east to attend a family wedding. Then it's Thanksgiving and Wes' graduation just a few short weeks later. Then Christmas and the New Year. We're still mulling over options on where to live and where to work, and I expect we'll have made a decision within the next few weeks. After that I think the time will just fly by. I'm excited, nervous, a little sad (at the thought of leaving my life here in L.A.) and relieved that Wes and I will finally be together.

And that's all the news that's fit to print.

It only looks like a bathroom...

But in all actuality it is a dying and drying studio! Today I took a dying class at A Mano Yarn Center. I'd always wanted to do it and it was a lot of fun, if a little messy. The products of my labors are in the bathroom drying as I type. There's a cotton thick and thin in a chartreuse/magenta combo, a cotton rope in various shades of purples/reds/browns, a cotton ribbon in magenta/orange/teal and some silk/cotton in a rainbow of shades. I also did a little sock laundry.


I also spent quite a bit of time knitting this weekend. I knit a bunch of gifts (no pictures!) and I finished the back and began the front on the golf shirt for the shop. I picked up a cabled gloves commission and I finally picked the openwork dress back up and finished it all except the sleeves.


It was a totally relaxing weekend and just what I needed. I even got in a little nap this afternoon in front of the fireplace while it was misty and rainy outside. If only tomorrow weren't Monday....

The ONLY thing Bush ever did for me.

And half of California had to burn for it.


Please be advised that as a result of President George W Bush's declaration of Southern California as a Federal Disaster Zone (due to the occurrence of the worst fires in the state's history), CDMRP has delayed the proposal receipt deadline in Grants.gov for the following 6 mechanisms to Monday, November 26, 2007, at 11:59 PM Eastern Time.

So my week ended a little more relaxed. I got the program to the printer, the DVDs are almost ready to copy and I'm just about ready for the review next week.

I'm working at the yarn store tomorrow, watching a movie with my sweetie and being TOTALLY LAZY on Sunday (other than cleaning in preparation for vacation and Wes's Thanksgiving arrival). More knitting pictures and news towards the end of the weekend. Enjoy it!

Oatmeal brain.

I am barely coherent tonight. Mostly this involves me staring blankly at the tv and being non-responsive on the phone to Wes. I can't even really knit in pattern - I've just been doing stockinette stripes on and off all night.

For good measure, this is the night that KnitmeisterS seems to be looking for synonyms, adjectives and good words for his works of genius. Sad to say I'm not a great contributor tonight.

Strangely enough, however, I seem to be entirely capable of producing Scrineworthy sentences.

Midnight in the garden of spice and evil

The story of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden would have been so much different if the sex had been vanilla and he had preferred Saffron, whom Eve only referred to as “the Snake”.

Life is like a box of chocolates

Pepe lived his life like a box of chocolate: some days he was nutty, some days he was fruity and some days he was just dark and sweet.

Word lovers unite for rice.

Thanks to Carolyn, I've been hooked on this game all day (not good since I'm in a boring meeting... or wait.. maybe it is good). If you're good at words and definitions then this is for you: FreeRice.com

A little math.

Sexy black peep toe heels at DSW - $59.99

Jeans and button down work shirt at Express - $30.00

Black gold for the car - $40.00

Yummy pasta and Prosecco - $25.00

Sharing dinner and laughs with friends when you most need it - PRICELESS!

Is it hump day yet?

You may have noticed my silence (as opposed to when I just fill all your readers with endless posts). I'm surviving, but barely. I've almost quit too many times to count... let's hope Friday speeds up.

Alright - the good news now. It's not really mine, but I'm sharing anyway.

I'm and AUNTIE! Yup I'm Auntie Fluffy. Light had her baby last Thursday and she's absolutely adorable. Grandma sent me a picture last night and I talked to Light yesterday as well. Mom and baby are home and enjoying each other (dad too!) and supposedly I'm getting a pic of the little darling in my knits. I can't wait!

Second, Wes got a job offer this morning! I knew all along he'd get one from this company, but I'm so proud of him. He's got a few more interviews this week and then we'll discuss and decide over Thanksgiving. We're getting closer and closer to knowing where we'll be and I'm so glad and excited (and nervous!)

That's the news from here. If I don't surface by Friday send in the rescue operation.

Picture borrowed from here.

And here comes Monday.

This weekend provided a much needed respite after the long week last week (and in anticipation of this upcoming week). Saturday was a relaxing day at home with the family, working on the wedding Save the Date cards (thanks to Frogpod Letterpress for the printing!), and discussing wedding plans. I now have a whole new to-do list.

Saturday evening Mom, Dad and I went over to the Outback Steakhouse for dinner. Then Dad and I headed up to UCLA's Royce Hall to see The Tiger Lillies. I'd never heard of them before, but they have a huge cult following. The Tiger Lillies is a group of 3 musicians who are crude, absurd and inflammatory. The director of Royce Hall introduced the group as "the performance garnering the fastest complaints in Royce's 77 year history." And they did not disappoint! There were a few moments that were intensely uncomfortable (there's nothing like lust and hag, prostitute songs when you're sitting next to your father....) but it was an utterly enjoyable evening. My Scrine post sums it up perfectly:

One should not attend The Tiger Lillies concert if one is offended by crude comical opuses (opi?) on religion, bully boys and quite possibly kicking babies, and old ladies, down the stairs.

I actually did get quite a bit of knitting done this weekend, but most of it was on gifts for the holidays so I have very few pictures to share. I have included up top however, my contributions for week two of the San Diego 8" Fire Squares project. Now it's back to knitting and tv and praying to whomever can help me end this week as soon as possible.

Busy busy... here's a quote.

"The marvelous thing about the theory of relativity is that the math is simple and each logical step is simple. You can follow each logical step, but eventually you find you have been led to conclusions that are totally preposterous, like Alice falling down the rabbit hole."

-Alan Lightman, Adjunct Professor of Humanities, Creative Writing, and Physics at MIT and author of Einstein's Dreams