<sigh>.....

Saturday was perfect - I had fun, I was productive, I cleaned! I felt refreshed...after a day of mostly work with just the right amount of play.

Today started well. Went out for breakfast. Stopped for some groceries. Saw some Pocket Puppies (oh my, there was the cutest, ugliest little dog in there with a pink sweater on. I believe it was some variation on a Brussels Griffon. Just thinking about its tiny, cute-ugliness makes me smile. And I'm in a crappy mood). And then I came home and had to start the homework that is due tomorrow.

I am tense. I hate it. And I can't (or won't?) finish it. I can hardly begin because this homework entirely builds off of the last homework which I clearly didn't understand.

And that is my Sunday. And hopefully, hopefully this is the last bitching post of November. Because I hate these posts. No one enjoys them...least of all me. So, I'll see you tomorrow with a fresh, happy mood (hopefully).

Knit 5, purl 5...

So...this summer I learned to knit. I have only completed one project since my introduction to knitting - a baby blanket. I ended up giving it to baby cousin E far before I expected to (in fact, the weekend I brought it home to clean it/weave in the ends was the weekend I gave it away. Without ever having washed it. E was only a few days old - I hadn't expected to see her for at least another week or two). Either way, I told you that whole boring story to explain why I only have one picture of the blanket.

And why that picture is not necessarily close enough to see the actual pattern/what I made. Ah well...either way, that blanket took me FOREVER and I was quite proud of it as a first project. Note: pink ribbon is just my way of wrapping the present for E.

My current project is also taking a long time - but only because I now have school. Which takes up a lot of my time. But, here's a picture of my scarf-in-progress:

Pattern from Knitty. My first foray into lace. I've done about 20 repetitions of the pattern (out of a total of 30 - 40 to make the scarf the length I want). Probably 2 of those repetitions were almost total disasters. Out of 20, on my first lace project...I'd say that is pretty great. And I was aware of the disasters as they were happening (ie: uh - oh, I have 30 stitches instead of 31) so I recovered as gracefully as possible.

I have 8,000 different things I want to make...I want to start making socks. And hats (hats!!). But I don't have the skill set yet...so I'm going to have to take another class (at my favorite knitting store ever). And with school, my time is so short that I don't think I'll be taking a class any time soon. Sad. But next up on the project list:

• Repeat of this scarf for a friend who requested it
• Functional scarf for the brother
• Harry Potter scarf for me
• Another blanket for another baby cousin due in April (much, much more time to finish it this time!)

Book quest update...

I was going to use today to update you on my progress knitting (my newest hobby). But I have to take pictures, then work with those pictures and blah blah blah...feel too lazy for that. So come back tomorrow to see my work-in-progress scarf and the baby blanket that was already given away. So instead...book quest update.

I should probably explain the book quest since there are tons of new people stopping by this blog (Welcome NaBloPoMo randomizers! Other readers, for a fun time/to find new and exciting blogs go randomize). Basically Time Magazine put out a list of the 100 best English language novels since 1923. I am going to read all of them (along with A and M, my partners in craziness). Add to this list the 30 books you should read before you die (chosen by librarians) and you get a list of 122 books (there is some overlap and we decided not to include the Bible. It just wasn't going to happen). So far I've read 42 (exactly 80 left).

Since we last discussed the book quest I have read 4 books (i think...). Right now I don't think I'll review all 4 but...maybe when I run out of things to say in late November I'll be revisiting those books...

Last night I finished Mrs. Dalloway. I also read To the Lighthouse some time ago for the quest, so I feel familiar with Virginia Woolf. I've decided that her writing is just not for me. She writes beautifully and sometimes I did find myself appreciating a sentence for its artistry. But in all, I found myself bored with the book. I got lost in some of the sentences and had to read them over. I got lost in the imagery and had to go back and figure out who was saying what. This could be attributed to my speed reading. But even when reading slow I found myself/my brain somewhere else. I just wasn't involved - and for me, I judge a book by my involvement with the characters. So eh, not a winner.

Next up: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. I am about 30 pages in already and am enjoying it.

The 25th annual Katie _ _ _ bir-er-thday...

Title sung to the tune of "25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee." You know you've all seen the commercial. And, in order to make that work, you have to pronounce each syllable in the last name. Which is why three blanks...

So. Happy Birthday to me. In honor of (as Katy says) being a quarter of a century old, I will now do two birthday memes for your pleasure.

The first stolen from this blog. (must warn: this first one is tough based on my lack of memory. My available memory goes back about...5 years)

1. What is your favorite birthday cake?
   Well, at least this one is easy. My mom has made us some kick ass decorated cakes over the years (I remember a ghost maybe?). But for most of my life we had the yellow Duncan Hines (I think this company is right...but again, bad memory) cake with the chocolate frosting. My mom makes it to perfection. It is delicious. Had some just a week or two ago for my brother's birthday.
   
2. What has been the best gift you have ever received?
   Now here I get a little confused. I believe I received some Dots last year. And possibly a vacation to Disney (that was pretty damn good). But I always get presents I like. No bests here, all attempts appreciated and enjoyed.
   
3. How did you spend your favorite birthday?
   I'm sure I was young and running around in a grey cat Halloween costume (afterall, with a birthday 2 days after Halloween, the 2 blend together). In recent years I've spent a lot of time on planes on my birthday (not sure why) and moving to this here apartment. Today I go to work and school. I'm not one of those people that treats my birthday like a holiday. It's just a day of the week...where I get older (much like every other day). I do enjoy the fact that the snail mail virtually FLOODS in. At no other time (besides maybe Christmas) do all of my friends feel they are obligated to send me mail. AND I LOVE IT.
   
4. Do you make birthday wishes?
   Um. This one is a strain on the memory. Not in recent years. But I haven't blown candles out in YEARS.
   
5. Has a wish ever come true?
   Doesn't this question assume you said yes to #4? Which I only kind of did. So....sure, maybe long ago my wish for a barbie...or a cabbage patch kid with styleable hair...but I don't make wishes much anymore.
   

And the second, which I find much more interesting, is sprinkled all over the internet, but copied from here.

1. Go to Wikipedia.
2. In the search box, type your birth month and day (but not year).
3. List three events that happened on your birthday.
4. List two important birthdays and one interesting death.
5. One holiday or observance (if any).

Interesting November 2 events:

• In 1889 North and South Dakota were officially given statedom (States 39 & 40)
• Wah, wah, wah....1939...Mussolini creates/proclaims the Rome-Berlin Axis. Axis Powers alliance created. On my birthday. Bbbboooo.
  
• I cannot believe this is listed in Wikipedia as a significant event..and for the sheer stupidity of it, I'll list it here: 1998 - WWF hardcore title awarded to Mankind.

Two important birthdays:

• 1755 - Marie Antoinette, Queen of France
• you pick: k.d. Lang ('61) vs. Nelly ('75). Honestly thought Nelly was younger, he sure has a baby face.

A death:

• 1950 - George Bernard Shaw (he was 94!)

And, of course, my holiday observance:

It's the Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos). Your day (it says it's a Mexican and United States-ian holiday) to honor your dead ancestors. And send me a card.

And off I go...

Yesterday, one of my college friends J, wrote a post about how people who have bugs are gross (of the bedbug and cockroach variety). I have had my paranoid moments with the bedbug thing (Chicago has recently had an influx of bedbugs). In my paranoia, I researched this extensively. The thing here is: you can be the cleanest person in the world and still get bedbugs. They can travel shortish distances (if your neighbor has them...watch out). If you happen to stay in a hotel that has them you can easily bring them home with you. It doesn't take much with the bedbugs. And while I was sure, in my paranoid moments, that I had them, I do not.

And the cockroaches. I want to confess that recently I've suspected I too have cockroaches. At first I was convinced they were just a beetley bug. I mean, if it was a cockroach it'd be the size of my finger, right? No. So I guess I'm gross. My mom is cringing at home wondering where she went wrong. But to be honest, I have NO IDEA where they are coming from. I've seen maybe 2 alive ones. 5 dead ones (cats, you rock!). They are about the size of...a longish pencil eraser. Not big. All in my bathroom upstairs. I've scoured that bathroom. I can't find any in there when I look.

I'll admit that my kitchen is sort of...messy. I'm not a tidy person. If I had ants or bugs in the kitchen I might shrug and say, "yeah well, i sucked at the kitchen." But the bathroom?

The thing is...they must be living in the walls. Which has nothing to do with my cleanliness. I live in an old building. It's not surprising. I'm honestly not even that grossed out by it. Maybe if I see swarms of them, yes. But all I can do is buy some roach motels and hope they carry the poison food into the walls with them.....

So with my first November post I proclaim to the world that I am gross. I have bugs.

UPDATE: I finally updated (mostly) my bloggy bloggertons. Small steps. I imagine that as soon as school is done I will begin changing the whole design of this blog.

The truth...and other news...

So it has officially been a month since I stopped blogging. And I still have no idea if I want to make this a permanent end or what. I've been so busy that I haven't had much time to think about it in general. I'm still totally undecided. Which, if you know me, is not a normal state of affairs. I'm usually a decisive individual....

While I was toiling over the decision one day at work (to blog, not to blog...) I came across this:


National Blog Posting Month. It's an interesting idea. Basically the idea is to post every single day for all of November. The exact opposite of what I did for October. I think it's brilliant - go from one extreme to the other. Maybe by posting every day I'll find I do have something interesting to say. Or, maybe it will convince me that I am done with this blog....either way, it will make for an interesting month. So...come see me November 1st. And every day after that...

Oh, and I thought I should tell you all of the reasons I felt I had to let go of the blog for a month:

1. I really did feel tired of saying the same old crap, always talking about myself. It felt like I was whining most of the time.
2. I was getting a mean comment every other day or so. And I mean, really rude comments (why, oh why, would you go to someone's personal blog and leave a mean comment? I will never understand). Part of me wanted to brush them off (there is no WAY this is the worst blog ever). But I realize that I already have a sort of "crusty outer shell" and the more I brush this stuff off, the "tougher" and more guarded I'll get. And I really don't want to be any crustier. So I had to let myself feel hurt by every single comment. And it just got to be a bit much - I was feeling bad about the blog and myself every other day. NOT FUN. So...if in November I start getting assy comments again, I'll probably turn comments off altogether. I love to hear from those of you who say funny, interesting things...but I won't do that at the expense of my feelings.
3. Finally...I've been crazy busy this quarter. And now I've just added to that. But...there are only a few weeks left.

It should be interesting....see you next Wednesday.

Time to start over...

It's fall. Officially fall. My favorite season of the year. This time always feels a little rejuvenating to me. Possibly because I am a product of the American school system and fall is always the start of a new school year. And while this is entirely irrelevant, I wish I could call it autumn and not sound all uppity, hoity-toity.

This blog....this blog may have to be a fatality to my 2006 start over. I am going on hiatus here for a while. I just feel like I wish I were actually SAYING something here. Which I'm not. I don't know what this means for the future of the blog but I'll be leaving it for at least a month (I'm forcing that...it'll be tempting to come back here and type the usual drivel. I just don't know if I want that anymore. Maybe after a month I will want that, maybe not. Who knows?).

During that time I promise:

1. There will be buttons. I already made about 10 days worth. I'm not sure when I'm starting with posting them. Possibly 10/15/2006.
2. I will probably mess with the design of this blog. Although with no promise of ever coming back. And if I do come back, with no promise as to what the content will actually be.

I hope you all have fun in the meantime...or in the long term...I wish there were some sort of atheist term for god speed...um...shove off and good luck?

This, my dear readers, is my own personal version of hell.



This morning the three of us (Boku on left, Mona on right - click to enlarge if you'd like) went to the vet. Boku seems to be getting in the carrier just a little bit (ok A LOT) easier than Mona these days. Basically she corners herself in the pantry and I shove her in. I chased Mona around for 15 minutes plus. There was angry yelling (on BOTH of our parts) and some angry tears (on my part only). Eventually, they both ended up in their carriers. I ended up out of breath (that is some work out) and with serious muscle pain in the left arm. Stupid me got a tetanus shot yesterday and am experiencing some muscle soreness.

My vet was observing Ramadan so I saw some weird stand-in vet. He had SO MUCH nose hair and what appeared to be crusting bogeys surrounding his right nostril. He was quite passionate about his job. In the process of the appointment I learned:

• Vet tech and vet taught me how to safely clip their nails. I'm going to buy clippers next time I'm at PetSmart and try it out on Mona. (ha! yeah right for Boku)
• Distemper shots might be causing tumors in cats that get them every year. There was a lot of argument at his last convention (all cats get all shots in the same place - so how can it be blamed on distemper?). Much discussion on whether or not indoor cats need this shot once a year. He thought not. Especially in Mona's case (she had all her kitten shots on time). For Boku...we have no idea if she had her shots as a kitten and she therefore needed a shot this year. One next as well(with Mona). And then they'll be every 3 years.
  
• Boku is a bit older than I was originally told. I thought she was a young Mom, they estimated she was 1 when she had Mona. Mona was 2 in June which puts my Boku estimation at 3. Vet says her teeth show that she is at least 4. Possibly 5.
• Both were well behaved (when you compare them to Allie in her younger years, they were both pure angels). Neither tried to bite. Boku didn't even really try to run.
• Vet decided that even though Boku's file said she was the problem one, she had behaved better than Mona (!!!). So now, Mona is classified as my problem kitty. Ah, Boku. You're almost a socialized cat. Any day now.
• Vet also made me out to be a serious hero for taking Boku. He can't believe she was allowed to stay in the foster organization for as long as she did (almost a year) and believed that if she had been in a Chicago shelter she would have been put down. More than once he praised me for saving her. I must say, it was nice to have an bit of ego inflation
• Boku needs to go back in 3 weeks for a booster shot. I don't know if I'm willing to do it. Seriously. Taking them to the vet is an emotional (and today physical) disaster. I can almost handle every 6 months (but am leaning towards once a year if not every 3). But in 3 weeks? We might not have recovered by then.
• Boku is classified as a fat cat. This means I have to brush her intensely all along her back because she can't bend to clean herself and so is prone to mats. Fatty.

Hope you all have a relaxing and fun weekend. For me the rest of the day involves 50c hot dogs, Battleship, homework and possibly Indian food.

My love affair with the TV...

I watch too much TV - I'm sure you know this about me. You should all be proud because it looks like this year, at nearly 25 years old, I am finally watching almost all "grown-up" shows. As in I think I only have one WB show anymore and that one almost isn't a teen drama anymore. I thought I'd run through the season premieres that I was looking forward to (or still am) and tell you what I thought of them:

House: This show is one I like a lot because it feels just a little smarter than most shows I was watching last season (think Gilmore Girls, One Tree Hill, OC etc). I think the premiere was good, but I am a little disappointed already (I think we're three episodes in) because I was hoping that there would be some kind of love story-line this season (possibly triangle? House-Cuddy-Cameron?). So I'll file this one in neutral.

The Class: Thought it looked good. I like Jason Ritter. I like that girl that used to be on Related (which I liked as a show A LOT. Damn you CW). The show itself felt sort of stale. Some of the lines/jokes felt like they were not delivered well/ were cardboardy. I can only hope it will get better.

How I Met Your Mother: I wasn't able to watch this show last year for some reason. Wrong day I assume. But I really like it. It is always funny. And I love Freaks and Geeks boy as well as Doogie Howser.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: Think this one has promise. I enjoyed it. I can imagine it fitting in among my favorites. I think I need more time to get attached to characters. But you can't go wrong with Bradley Whitford and Matthew Perry - who work really well together. I think maybe Matthew Perry is the "Friend" who makes it after Friends.

America's Next Top Model: Already I think it will be better than last season. Even the twins are interesting to me. Hopefully the photo shoot "themes" aren't too lame, because that can make or break the show. Can't wait for the makeovers!

Grey's Anatomy: SO GOOD. I was afraid, indeed very afraid, that the premiere would not live up to what it could be. But I really enjoyed it and am hopeful for the rest of the season. Possibly my favorite show on television right now.

The Office: Enjoyed it. Would have liked Jim and what's-her-name Jenna Fischer to be together. I didn't watch last season. Or the season before. But I have recently discovered that I do find the show funny. And I heart Jim.

My Name is Earl: I don't know why I have a season pass for this one (oh look at my Tivo speak). I know my sister and her sig-fig love this one. I don't really find the show funny. But eh, I'll keep taping it I guess. I just tried to figure out if sig-fig is actually slang for significant other and didn't find much (I didn't look for long, maybe 10 seconds?). But I did find that my thinking of significant others in this kind of shorthand makes me a sciency geek. Per this blog: "Can I just say that whenever I think "significant other" my mind first thinks "sig fig" as in "significant figures" a la way too many science classes".

ER: Meh. I still watch the show because I love Neela and want her to be with Ray. Some of the stuff sort of bores me. But it was a fairly OK season premiere. Hopefully the whole Sam craziness is done now because that bores me.

Still looking forward to:
Ugly Betty (it's on on Thursdays, but it also shows on Friday evenings on some ABC channel - ABC family I think - so I'll see it next Friday).
Brothers and Sisters - hope this one doesn't disappoint.
Gilmore Girls - Can't wait! My sister told me that the writers for Everwood are now Gilmore's writers, which is very exciting since Everwood was an amazing show. Sad. Will miss it!
Lost - Hopefully no disappointment here either.

Sort of looking forward to: Crossing Jordan, Las Vegas.

Would love to hear any other TV lovers' opinions/disagreements/agreements with my opinions.

P.S. - Guess who's starting to mess with her blog's CSS? That would be me! How do you like my fun with colors? Baby steps....

And in this dream tell us are you satisfied with...

Lately my dreams have been crazy. I don't mean just weird, I mean crazy. Last night Dave Matthews died in my dream. I can remember being distraught and talking with my sister about it (I believe we were both crying). Thinking how I'd never see the band live again and being so upset about it. But then, the sister laid a bombshell on me.

Dave had died in scandalous circumstances. He was shooting some kind of dirty movie and was dressed up like a woman at the time of his death. At this point, the dream morphed into some kind of reality show, involving a very complicated group obstacle course/maze.

Lately I've been thinking about music a lot. I used to live for seeing DMB live. And I can remember (which is shocking) many great shows. After high school the crowds got worse and worse until it has been virtually impossible for me to go to a show and sit on the lawn. Even in the seats inevitably there will be a girl behind you peeing or drunk obnoxious businessmen next to you wooing in the lead up to Warehouse. I HATE those woos.

I haven't been able to listen to Coldplay for at least 6 months. I don't know why. I just CAN'T listen to it. I can't figure out why and I have tried to force myself but to no avail. I feel this way about half of my music right now. Coldplay is probably the worst, I can listen to maybe two of their songs. Dashboard is right behind them, followed by DMB. I am not even really enjoying Death Cab. It all makes listening to the IPod really difficult. Hopefully my distaste for all my music will fade...

Make it stop...

For the past week (at least) I've been feeling seriously crappy for a few hours and then miraculously cured for a few and back again. Last night I went to bed feeling chipper and breathing through two nostrils quite happily and woke up with a clog in one nostril and wetness in the other. I'm sure this is what you want to read about - my bogeys.

But yeah, with my health all over the place so is my mood. Some minutes I'm cranky as a tired toddler and others I couldn't be happier.

This is one of those posts that has absolutely no purpose, but I'm going to put it out there anyway. Cause if you were sick, I'd read about it on your blog.

What I really wanted to say is that I wish I weren't sick so that I could enjoy the weather. I walked out of work this evening and it was chilly and it felt like (and smelled a little like) fall. And I love it!

Health update...

Obviously no news on the pap - that takes a week+.

But instant gratification on my cholesterol. It has quite improved. But someone (I'm going to go ahead and blame George W. Bush) has lowered the acceptable LDL limit (if you don't know what this means, go here). Which means that in terms of what they were comparing my LDL cholesterol to last year (needs to be below 130) I am golden. In terms of this year (needs to be below 100) I am not meeting this limit. I am only really slightly above this limit. So George W. - I blame you for my still sort of slightly high cholesterol. Because before? Before I would have had low cholesterol.

As for my HDL? Looking awesome. You're in a good position healthwise if it's above 40. Anything greater than 65 is a negative predictor for heart disease. Mine is just a tidge greater than 65. Way to go HDL!

And how will my health insurance handle this? We'll have to wait and see (until March...don't hold your breath).

Me + stirrups + a speculum =....

It's that time of year. AGAIN.

I need you all to cross your fingers (or legs - that seems more appropriate) that my womb has behaved. That it has grown like any normal womb (which I picture to be fluffy, velvety layers). That it is no longer wacky.

How about a chant. Nor-mal pap, nor-mal pap, nor-mal pap!

In any case, the goal here is:

1. Be allowed to have a pap smear only every 6 months? Or better yet, only once a year like the rest of you?
2. To have a normal womb so that my health insurance can take the rider off of my policy - no payment for cervical dysplasia. That way, if my womb does eventually go all dysplasic I am covered.
3. To never, ever have a colposcopy again.

And as a side note, let's hope for a normal cholesterol level. Then the cost of my individually purchased health care policy will go down.

Let's have a party...

A pity party.

Do you ever have one of those days where all you want is someone to email you? Right now I feel like I'd be happy if I got an email from one of the many online stores that emails me. But no one is emailing me. Partially my own fault...I mean, it's not like I have a lot (or any?) of emails out there awaiting response.

In the end it all boils down to 2 things:

1. I am bored stiff here at work. I feel like I might not live to see 5:00 because every minute is taking an hour.
2. I am not feeling well. So I am really mopey. Having a grand time pitying myself over here.

And of course, there is the impending doom/boredom of my Thursday night class. I think this class is going to be the one that is so hard to go to. My body will resist every Thursday. The content is similar in boredom to my Monday night class...but my Monday class has something Thursday doesn't: a very cute deaf man. Why does this matter? Because the class is translated for him by two signers (that's not a real term/word is it? sign-speakers? That doesn't make sense either). And, I don't know if everyone has this reaction, but watching sign is mesmerizing.

So yeah, try to ignore me here. I just needed to pity myself a little, get it over with...and now I'm moving on.

Crafting frustration...

With school on, I rarely get as much time as usual to craft. Past crafts include color books and cards. The current craft is a seriously large knitting project (I don't want to tell what it is because there is a small, very slim chance that the recipient of said craft reads this blog). There have been many varied frustrations with the knitting project. At one point I had to unknit about 500 stitches to make a yarn switch look better. I dropped half a stitch at one point and couldn't figure it out. Basically Mary over at the Knitting Workshop has been an invaluable resource.

But tonight, tonight I have a frustration that is not of my making. I am about 20 stitches into a row when all of the sudden my skein produces a knotted piece of yarn. I assume I made a loopy knot (easy to correct). No. Not so. The skein has a knot in it, connecting two cut pieces of string. That is bad business! The skein can't be doing this to me! I'm in shock. I called Mary and left a message...and I'm going to see her on Friday. So frustrating! I'm going to have to waste half a skein with a yarn switch that isn't necessary. And, I can only imagine that Mary or the yarn producers are going to think I cut the yarn accidentally and made the knot myself. Which is annoying.

One of the worst parts is that I can't work on the project anymore tonight - my one night off a week when I have time. I feel like it is NEVER going to be done!