The Pictures Say It All

I finally got a camera. No I did not buy one! My boyfriend's brother was kind enough to let me borrow his. I won't be molesting him everyday for his camera but because I have access to it, there will be more pictures than I thought on this blog while my boyfriend is away with his camera.

Knitting

Now for what you came for--Knitting!!!



Some finished Monkies! The yarn is Great Adirondack Yarn Company Soxie in some colorway I don't know the name of. The yarn is tough when you knit it, but after it is blocked, it's light as a feather on your feet, and soft too. I hope it's a sturdy sock yarn. Sadly/Gleefully, it's getting warm in Michigan so I may have to leave these socks for next winter. Who am I fooling, I'm keeping my winter knits out till June!

Just a long sidebar for you: I swear to you this is a true story. My freshman year of college, it was April and the sun finally came out to play. It was a nice 75 degrees Farenheit (is that how you spell it?). People were outside making out, doing homework, having picnics, and just having a grand ol' time with that wonderful ball of fire in the sky (have you realized yet that I LOVE warm weather?) Two days later, I lie to you not, a blizzard had come and dumped over 2 feet of snow on us!!! That's one of the reason's why I can't wait to leave Michigan and someday finally meet you, Del.

Sorry about that tangent. I just had to represent for my people who love sunshine and green grass. Moving right along to the Pomatamus sock.







Many of you have shown interest in this socks colorway. This is some Knitpicks Sock Garden in the Pansy colorway (I believe they've discontinued it). I have to say that though this sock yarn is not as luxurious as say, this sock yarn, it's pretty damn sturdy! One of my first pairs of socks is actually knit with them and I remember making those the winter before (December 2005), but I've been to Argentina and Brazil with them (their winter is our summer and I was there last May and June 2006), came back to the US and wore them most of our winter too. So that's 3 sets of winter all in a row and the socks finally gave up and started getting holes in the heel. I don't know how to darn socks, and I've tried looking for editorials on the Internet. Nothing. I would love to save the socks. Do anyone of you guys know how to darn socks? If so, send me the info.

So now for the final event. I present to you the finished front and halfway done back of my Green Spring Vest:



Sorry about the blurriness. I always tremble when I take pictures, so I guess I won't be a photography superstar like this guy. Anyway, I'm really enjoying this project, partly because it's coming along at a nice pace, given my school load, and partly because I'm working this out to be a pattern. It's my first time doing this so it's pretty straight foward and easy, but the lace pattern makes the design look feminine and more appealing, in my opinion. I finally got some time this week to work on this so maybe I'll be done knitting this thing up by next week. Don't hold your breathe, though. In the world of a college student, unexepected things always come up!

In My Past Life

Yesterday I was thinking about what I use to do before I became a knitter. Well in my past life I was a writer, a journalist, if you will. My senior year of High School (about 5 or 6 years ago), my school did not have a newspaper so I made one up. It was a monthly called The People's Voice. I remember staying up all night trying to type up the whole newspaper (we did not have Internet at my school) and make sure that the layout was perfect for printing. The last step was getting the paper approved by the principal before printing it and then passin it out. I found joy in seeing every single person at school reading that newspaper in class and during lunch time. I consider it one of my best accomplishments.

When I got to college, I continued by journalistic endeavors and started writing a dating column at my school. It was popular, to say the least. One girl actually told me that she would tear out my article and throw the rest of the paper away! Needless to say that I was flattered.

By my sophomore year my relationship with the newspaper had soured so I ventured off and created a website called TheGamut.TK (doesn't exist anymore). Again, another success, and I was absolutely thrilled to be doing the work.

After that, I went to Argentina for a year, came back, did school for another year and decided that I had to start writing again. The editor for the school newspaper job was up for election, so I applied. I was devastated when I did not get the job. In fact, this not talent ass of man got the position and I have not been the same since.

I thought maybe I could just write freelance for the paper, but then my research took up most of my time last semester. Currently, I'm still not writing and I'm about to leave school.

I told you guys this story because it has been burning me up inside for some time. When I applied for the editorial job, I worked hard to get it. I made a resume, a proposal, and went to every single interview meeting. The guy who has the position missed many appointments, because he was too busy or simply forgot about it. After he had stolen the position from me (can you say "bitter"?) he offered me the asst editor position. It was a paid position and he told me that I would get the same amount as he did. But my pride did not allow me to work for him. How different my life would be if I had just accepted defeat? I probably would have more career options right now, doing something that I use to love. I say "used to" because I'm not sure if I want to do it now. I mean, I write all the time, on this blog and especially for my teachers. But the blog is personal and my school work has not soul. My journalistic writing allowed me to be among the people which I loved.

So yeah, there is no solution to this problem, if it really is one. I know there was not much knitting content but again, I needed to share something that has been in my heart for quite some time now with you guys. Just to make this interesting, what were you in you past life? Do you wish that you could go back? Why or why not?

A Realization Does Not Need a Camera

Hey everyone! There has been alot going on over on my side of the world, so let's get right into it.

The Boyfriend is Gone

Yeah. My boyfriend has left me...for Orlando! No, we did not break up! Last night he flew out to Orlando where he shall be for a whole month working at another warehouse for our company. Everything is paid for (his lodging, food, transportation) and he gets paid while down there! I'm really jealous, but I know that this is a great opportunity for us. We HATE Michigan (sorry for those of you from here)! The weather is shitty, the people aren't too friendly and there is not much to do where we are. Orlando is sunny, we have family down there, and there are definetely more job opportunities down there than up here. We're hoping that they'll like him so much that they'll offer him a job so we can move there soon. But don't wait to exhale. This is all a fantasy that may or may not come true in the next couple months.

As a Result...

I don't have a camera. Yeah, he took that too! So for the next month, all I have are my words to tell you about my FO's, which sucks!

Knitting

I finally have a pair of Monkeys! I blocked them yesterday morning when I couldn't sleep and now they are on my feet in all their purply goodness. I was so impressed with them that I finally gained enough interest in Pomatomus to turn the heel and pick up the stitches for the gusset. After that, I started working on the back for my spring vest. Once I have the pattern written up for this one, I'll see if I could get my boyfriend's brother to take some pictures of it, so that it can debut properly on the blog.

The Crusade

So today is Monday and I have to go back to class. Just to let you know, I have done all of homework assignments--accept the ones that are due in two days. This is not the first time this has happened. I have a tendency to do all the easy stuff first, my reasoning being, get all that crap out of the way so I can get to the more difficult stuff. The only problem is that now I'm a knitter, I'll just knit my whole week away! I'm not sure if it's senioritis but I have come to a realization, that I wish to share (you knew this was coming right?).

I've been very fortunate to have the opportunity to attend University, get the grades I have, and graduate with a Bachelors of Arts degree in Spanish and History. A couple months back I was thinking of graduate school. However, now that I think about it, that would be a bad idea, especially right now in my life. Graduate school would mean twice as much reading and writing as a do now, and as much as I love writing, I hate reading. I'm always reading and responding to historical work. I just want to knit, or be an entreprenuer or work in an office. I want to start my life, finally, after 17 years of school (5 years before that at home), I'm ready to get the F out of here and start my career. I know that I can't say now that "I'm never going back to school" cause I don't know what my life has in store for me. However, I can say that I'm really glad that within 5 weeks, all of this shit will be over and the only responsibility I will have is to get to work on time. I'll have more time for stuff I love (i.e. knitting, eating, traveling, and oh yeah, my boyfriend) and I will definetely be less stressed.

So I Got Sick

Yeah, Monday morning while I was tending to my sick man, I felt great. I went to work that afternoon and I felt like I was carrying a ton of bricks. I requested to be able to go home early that night and my boyfriend nursed me back to health (isn't he sweet, even though I know feel like a bitch for writing the last post). Anyway, I'm feeling alot better, so much so that I don't even mind that the weather looks like this:



This image courtesy of wunderground.com

Knitting

I told you I had some knitting I wanted to share with you:



I finished the front of my "Spring Vest" creation. The idea has come from my head so I believe this is an original pattern. I've written down good notes and I believe once I'm done, I just need to figure out how to write this pattern for more than one size (this vest is 34 inches around the bust) so that I can share this with you guys. The only thing I did not create from scratch is the stitch pattern, which I got from this book. I hope to finish this by April 13, 2007. That's when I shall be presenting my research at Purdue University. And if I don't get it done by then, it won't bother me. I've enjoyed designing and knitting this vest.



I felt that one picture wasn't enough. The second Monkey sock right after the heel has been turned and all the stitches have been picked up for the gusset. I have to admit that I'm enjoying knitting these socks more than these socks:



I think it's because Monkey is for me and Pomatamus is for a friend. I'm selfish like that.

It's pretty early in the morning here in Michigan, so I have to continue my homework crusade (I call it that because I have to fight my impulses to procrastinate).

Am I a Bad Girlfriend?

Why are men such babies when they get sick? My boyfriend woke up Saturday morning with a high fever. I thought some rest and lots of water would take care of it. By Sunday I was administering drugs to him (tylenol to be exact) and I thought "Yeah that should do it." However, throughout the day I'm trying to get my work done and he's interrupting me with requests for water, more blankets to keep him warm, and food. I had enough when he woke me up 5 o'clock in this morning so that I could keep him company while he was sick. He had been in pain all night and the tylenol stopped working. So I did what any responsible girlfriend would do--I called a doctor. Turns out the fever he has had all weekend is because of the flu. The doctor prescribed some more powerful painkillers and now he gets to take a day off and fight the flu (lucky dog gets to stay home on a weekday). I really want him to get better, but when he woke me up this morning, even in my weak, sleepless state, I was ready to choke his ass. After 15 minutes, though, my irritation subsided and I really wanted to help him feel comfortable and get better. Hopefully he gets over this flu soon so he could get back to work tomorrow.

Knitting

I did alot of that this weekend but I haven't taken any pictures and I feel as if no pictures would be cheating you guys, so I'll talk more about the weekend's knitting tomorrow.

Blast From the Past

This past weekend, my boyfriend and I went to the Historic Adventist Village in Battle Creek, MI. It wasn't voluntary. I needed some credit for this class that I'm taking about the history of the Seventh-day Adventist church. Here are some pics:







It was not too bad. I actually enjoyed some of it, but after 2 hours, and only seeing the welcome center and the home of Ellen G. White, we were starving and it was that time to go. So we headed over to Hobby Lobby to pick up some DPNs (no pic) because the last set kept on breaking, and then we headed over to this Chinese buffet restaurant.

Just to go off topic, have any of you guys noticed that no matter what "ChinaMan" buffet you go to, wheter it's in Florida or Michigan, Maryland, or Mississippi, they all look somewhat similiar? I mean many of them have the same set up, some even have the same furniture, and of course the majority of them have the exact same food items for sale. I figured that maybe there is some kind of Chinese mafia that helps the people that work there get green cards so that they can enter the US and start making money. The only requirement that the mafia places on them is that they start up a restaurant that looks just as how the mafia says, That's just my imagination speaking. Seeing that China is a communist country, not many people are leaving (I don't think) and so maybe the people at alot of Chinese buffets could be Korean, or Japaneese. Unfortunately, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

Man that last paragraph sounded so ignorant. In my attempt to not offend, I think I might of offended readers of this blog of those particular backgrounds. I'm just trying to show you guys my thoughts, no hard feelings?

Knitting

Now for the real reason why you are here:



My boyfriend is so talented, isn't he? He designed the intarsia motif himself and it was his first time doing this type of technique! Even though we're both knitters, he doesn't do as much pre-planning as I do. I got to make a swatch, wash it, let it dry, check the gauge, find a pattern I like or draw up one of my own then find a stitch pattern I like (yeah, reading this sentence alone gets you tired). My boyfriend, on the other hand, never makes a swatch and if he has to rip it out, he does, no cursing or tears involved. My type A personality when it comes to my knitting is completely opposite to his knitting personality. I guess that's a sign of me wanting everything to come out perfect the first time (that also includes non-knitting things like school work). But I won't be loosening up any time soon.

Back to the hat. The hat is for his 70-year-old aunt who is teaching Native Canadians in northern Saskatchewan. He absolutely adores her and were going to visit her this May. He hasn't seen her in about 10 years or so. It will be an interesting experience.



Yeah, I know I haven't finished these, but the weather in Michigan has been getting so nice that I could not resist working with cotton (I guess in an attempt to quicken the death of winter). The design is my own. I really just wanted to do some lace work with out having to use thin yarn and small needles. Plus, I like knitting garments that are fitted and wearable, so sweaters, tops, and vests are my favorite things. But I do like accesories so hats and socks are cool too.

This week is looking good. Spring break comes after Wednesday, so I'll get 10 days off of school (that includes the weekends). No, I'm not going on vacation. I'm staying put, working at night and doing school work in the day. I know it is a time to relax, but I still have assignments that need to be completed and turned in after spring break. But seeing that it's my normal class load, I won't be breaking a sweat (unless I procrastinate). So pray/wish/grant me the desire to not procrastinate these next 10 days.

This Post Does Have Pictures Because...

The camera is finally behaving. First the yarn from Stash and Burn:



Isn't it pretty? Again, I haven't begun to think about what it shall become. I'm so swamped with school right now, I haven't even been able to pick up current projects.





Pictures from yesterday's presentation at the history department of my school. Yes, I'm wearing my vest! My professors were very impressed with my work. One suggested that I work on the paper a little bit more to submit it over to the Michigan Historical Review for a student papers contest. If I get accepted, not only would my paper get published but also I'll win $1000, and what girl does not want that? Another professor told me in private that I started something very exciting and if I worked on it even more it could become a book in 3-4 years. I thought that would be pretty cool to be a published author some day, but that would mean that I would have to work even harder than usual because the book would all be dependent on my ability to stay focused on getting it done. I'm not saying that I'm going to be turning my research paper into a book someday, but the idea of becoming a history professor did come to mind.



My boyfriend (who took these pictures) expressed to me something that I would like to share with you guys. Lately I've been wanting to return back to Brazil to teach English for a couple months. There is an Adventist University down there and seeing that they do have programs for people that want to be English translators, I figured I could be a teacher's aid there, and I could finally learn a language that I love, Portuguese. Unfortunately, this is one of many ideas (possibly 10) that have come to mind concerning my life after I graduate in May. I keep changing my mind and this frustrates my sweetie because he (as well as I) wants to be apart of my life and wants to have a sure plan that we stay together. He told me something that described my condition to a T.

He said: "You don't believe that you will be sucessful in a career so you're trying to delay actually working as long as possible so you don't have to make a decision. But if you continue doing more school, by the time you get out you will be over-qualified with no experience."

After thinking about it for a couple minutes, I finally agreed with him. I have terrible self-esteem issues, in other words. I'm constantly doubting my abilities and am very critical of my skills and achievements. I guess I saw it as having an attitude of always bettering myself, but maybe I'm being too hard on myself. Understanding what my boyfriend told me does not mean that I don't want to go to Brazil any less. I'm only 22 guys! I don't have any children nor am I married and if I wanted to do something as crazy as go to Brazil to teach English, then now is the time to do so. Afterward, not only would I most likely have a better career plan, but my obssession with Brazil and Portuguese would be satisfied and I could do something else with my life.



I guess another reason why I'm so indecisive about my future career goals is because since the 10th grade, I've been moving around the globe. In the 10th grade I started attending boarding school and I haven't lived at home ever since. I was always living at school or traveling abroad. And unfortunately, the older I have gotten, the less I go home, which sucks because I love my family and wish I could see them more often. In addition to this, being a nomad is fun for the most part, but it doesn't allow you to have strong connections with many people. You end up loosing your old friends to new ones and at a turnover rate of a year, that doesn't look too good on my resume.

It is for this reason that I have signed up for counseling at my school's career and counseling center. I know that I could get through my low self-esteem issues with a little professonal help. Hopefully after Brazil, I will be less indecisive and more focused on staying in one career field for more than 1 year (like I've been doing for the past 8 years of my life).

This Post Would of Had a Picture But...

My computer doesn't seem to want to download the picture I took of the yarn I received from Jenny and Nicole, hosts of the Stash and Burn Podcast last Tuesday. I'll describe the yarn for you now. It is Lisa Souza sock yarn in a colorway entitled "Mars Quake". The colors aren't necessarily something I would pick out for myself but it was free and you can't beat that. Plus I've been wanting to knit with this yarn for quite some time now so when I get to it, I'll tell you all about it.

Another situation that deserves a picture is that my one of my size 1 US bamboo DPNs broke unexpectedly yesterday while I was knitting Monkey. That was the second one too! Now I'm down to three DPNs made out of bamboo and one made out of metal. I know that spells disaster for gauge purposes but I've done this with another pair of socks before and they came out fine. Maybe I need to invest in some metal DPN when they get that small.

In non-knitty news, I'm somewhat nervous about my presentation on my research for tomorrow. All of the professors of the history department and my fellow classmates will be there to hear what I have to say. I just hope I sound professional. In addition to this, I got a letter in the mail this Saturday from Purdue University. Apparently, they've accpeted my paper for the Clement S. Stacy Undergraduate Research Conference and they want me to do a 7-9 minute presentation on my topic. The good news is that I would be able take a day off of work. The bad news is that I now have to worry about being professional in front of total strangers. Well, I have a month to figure it out so I won't worry about it now.

To close, the agenda for this week is survival. I just finished a take home exam, I got another midterm in a couple hours, and I still have several pages to read for two other classes. I'm glad my 17 year run with school (since kindergarten) will be over in less than two months.