....blocking the way.
Does the Sheep know what is in the fleece, or wilt thou go ask the Alpaca? Can Wisdom be put in a wood needle, or Love in an overplied single?
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Spike
....blocking the way.
Saturday, November 01, 2008
A list while eating chocolate
Taken from Jenn- this one word thing is hard. I've made up words. And some were impossible to answer in one word. I'm a rule breaker. Argh.
1.Your house? awesomessy
2.Your significant other? lost
3. Your hair? post-snake-frizzy (is too one word!)
4. Your family? wicked
5. Favorite place to eat? kadoya
6. Your favorite thing you can see right now? yarn
7. Where is your cell phone? beside me
8. Your favorite drink? soy vanilla lattes (free)
9.Your dream/goal? to have my own classroom
10. What Room you are in? living room
11. Your hobby? knitting
12. Your fear? driving alongside cliffs
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? in my own classroom
14. Where were you last night? coffee shop
15. Something that you aren’t? asian
16. Pie? apple
17. Wish list item? maid
18. TV show? Buffy
19. Last thing you did? grind beans for coffee
20. What are you wearing? pajamas
21. Vacation spot? New Orleans
22. Your pets? Spike the Spawnkitty Andrew
23. A best friend? Hordes of them
24. Your life? Busycool
25. Your mood? a little anxious
26. Missing someone? MY FAMILY!!!!
27. Your car? Imaginary
28. Something you’re not wearing. matching socks
29. Your favorite store? the yarn variety
30.Best memory?growing up
What have I done?

At least if I fail I can get one of those 'Nablopomo FAIL' badges. Thank goodness failing is cool now.
This also resulted in me finally downloading photos onto my new computer and it works just fine. Still need to do something about how huge my photos are but I'm going to work really hard at keeping them organized and named. I don't want them to get like they were on my old computer. I'm going to try to keep this computer as cluttered free as possible. No un-neccesary downloads, no random folders with stuff I have no idea what to do with, and so on and so forth. I know eventually things will get messy, but for right now I want to at least try.
So finally... here is a photo of my dearly loved old computer
There is (to be expected) a photo of Malcolm on my background now. Duh.
Well... I don't want to blog too much tonight/morning. Firstly I'm tired (subbed from Monday to Thursday this week! Go team!) and also I don't want to go too much into stuff as I need to save stuff for November in case all I do is work and have nothing interesting to say. So I'll leave you with some random pics and notes.
I am attempting crochet again! I met a lovely crocheter at a knitting get together a few weeks ago and was inspired~ this is the sweet pea shawl from Happy Hooker by Stroller. It's chunkier yarn than recommended so I chained less (but I lost count so I don't know how much less). It's not without its flaws on the first row but ah well (I had seven remaining chains when I needed ten, so I just skipped three instead of four than four instead of five~ you see I don't think that even made sense to me). It'll be fine.
Oh yes, and here's a photo of Spike with the new computer. If he wants attention he just sits or lays in front of the keyboard and stares.
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Tea helps
And knitting is still good- it has seriously put a crimp into *my* knitting and last night I had to bribe myself with ice cream (soy) to knit but it is alllllll good. I've knit over 30 scarves in just over two weeks.
And teaching is fine. I'm pretty sick so I couldn't work today or Monday- which is hard. It is so hard to turn down work. I wig out. I cry. I get irrational and start to think about how many scarves I would have to knit in order to make up the day. I start to think about picking up more shifts at the coffee shop (I'm working 20 hours there a week). I start thinking about the tutoring job someone emailed me about. I start thinking about my student debt. I think about how I ate out last week instead of saving money to pay off my debt. I start to lose my mind.
I realized what my problem is. I'm not use to making money. At all. Not even remotely. And the responsibility is causing me to become obsessed with it. Thankfully due to some self talks and a very tearful phone call to my Mom I've come to some enlightenments. Wanna hear them? Sure you do.
1. I'm going to be okay.
2. I'm freaking sick. And even if I do take a sick day it's okay because I have TWO other jobs. I'm sick. I was exposed to 120 kids last week- it was bound to happen.
3. I love all my jobs. How fortunate am I that I can say that?
4. I'm going to be okay.
So I'm okay now. I was uber-productive due to guilt today which was good thing because this apartment is stellar clean. Oh... I just realized I did laundry and should go get it. Whatever. But I did realize that money is stressful and I have to make sure it doesn't get the upper hand. Evil money. But nice money. Evilly nice money.
This blog post was brought to you by Buckleys, Extra Strength Tylenol, and Stash Premium Tea. Any incoherence on the bloggers part is most likely due to one or all of them.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Just dip me in chocolate
And you know on the same rant; I'm enjoying TOCing (teacher on call). Today was my first 'rough' day where there was no lesson plans or structure but I survived and all is well. The rest of the time I'm really enjoying getting to go in and see how teachers set up their classroom and their different methods of teaching and I am really enjoying getting to meet all these delightful children with just awesome personalities. I am getting to rock the transit and getting to see parts of Vancouver previously unknown to me. It's also getting me really excited about teaching on one hand; where I see all this potential and get really excited about what my classroom will be like and all, but on the other hand it's also really nice to be a TOC. I come home and I'm just, you know- home. I'm getting to see people, go out, it's all good.
On that note, I've spent a LOT of money this month. Um... there was that new computer I bought (ooohhhh.... so pretty!), and of course the accompanying Sims2 games to go with it (why else would you ever buy a new computer if not to play Sims on it?), some really really really fancy undergarments because I deserve it (and I've got these massive bewbs), some work appropriate clothing and preeeeetty jackets (oh so pretty), and some shoes to work in that are nice but not heels. I became a little concerned last week that I was going to turn into a materialistic obsessive shopper. I think it was just the high that came from, well, actually shopping for once. It's funny because I've spent money on these big ticket items but I've been so good on my ususal suspects, like yarn, books, and sushi. I've gotten none yet this month! Crazy I know. But yeah, I think it's just something that I am freaking out about because I've never had an income before, but it's also something that is good to be aware of. Rant over.
I haven't downloaded photos on my new computer yet. I'm scared. I want to keep it pristine and wuvly. My photos were a MESS on my old computer and I don't want to do that again. I'm already very careful about having the right folders and labeling stuff. Anyhoo- basically telling you that to say there are no new photos on this post, but there is a photo of the most precious ever...
Goodnight Malcolm, I love you.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Stolen from Annika...
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Mark this day!
Cause you know, I'm a professional now and have a tonne of things on my to-do list. But today? I knit. I ate. I watched the first four discs of Heros. Sweeeeet (please say that in an Eric Cartman voice). I didn't mean to have a do-nothing day. It just happened. It was partly having to take care of Spike because the roofers came back today and I had to drug (totally homeopathic airy-fairy stuff, no need to call PETA) him so he would even consider coming out of the hole in the wall (literally- there is a hole in the wall of my front closet) to do anything.
Anyhoo, the whole point of this post is not to necessarily glorify my amazing laziness, but it's because I did it without guilt. No papers to write, no articles to read, no lesson plans to prepare~ sure I have stuff to do but it's not the same as university where there is the consistent nag and dread. I mean, I still did some stuff. I unloaded the dishwasher. And then I rewarded myself with icing! But overall, this day needs to be marked because it was a guilt-free-do-nothing day. Ahhhhhhhhh.
Though tomorrow will be back to reality. I may work, may not. So far out of a six (five?) possible working days I've worked 1.5 which is pretty okay for the first weeks of school. The two schools I've subbed at have been awesome~ one school I want to put my kids one day. And I have been very productive without school too (if I ever talk about school in a negative sense~ it's university; in a positive sense~ teaching). I've been reading, going out, doing a lot of organizing around the house, paperwork (whee), and so one and so forth.
Man, doing nothing is tiring! I want to talk about the schools but I'm all gapey and 'huh'. Okay, some quick photos then I'm off to make popcorn and hot chocolate!
And sorry for the furry photos. I dunno.
The yarn stash/living room horror before:
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Knitting again.... ahhhhhhh
So knitting really suffered during my practicum. I think I went for an entire week without knitting at one point. It's so nice to be in a space where I can just come home and knit (if I choose to ignore housework- which I am very talented at). I've been craving getting some sweaters done- I do have skully but that sweater is *so* warm and I need to do something about the cast on edge as it rolls too much. My shawls are great but they are pretty fancy for everyday wear. All my other sweaters have been gifts so I've decided to be selfish and knit some for me, but I will be starting one for Julia soon, once I get the yarn from her :) (she's got the yarn and the pattern, it's just packed right now). So on Thursday I cast on for the Wallis Cardigan with some wonderful Silky Tweed. It's a good thing it's so beautiful because double knitting? Ugh. The thing about double knitting is it doesn't look like much but believe me, this is so much knitting here! It's just all hidden. Sigh. (and yes- those are star war sheets, thanks for asking)
Today was an uber fun day (and it's only 2:30!). I met my friends Tammy, Erin, and Hilary (so sorry Hilary! I have no idea who Heather is!) at Three Bags Full one hour before opening so we could be first into the store for the big sale. I knew what I needed so I kinda just went straight to the areas and looked nowhere else. I knew I was going to be spending money and I knew I couldn't spend any more than what I had alloted. I felt bad leaving so quickly but there were so many people in the store you couldn't move and I started to freak a little. I said bye but I don't think they heard me. I felt bad leaving them but I have confidence that they were able to carry on without me and buy yarn. I can't wait till they post on their blogs what they got! I also ran into my friend Katherine (Kipper) who was my childhood best friend (and very happily we are becoming awesome friends again) so we grabbed a coffee afterwards. Altogether I bought eight skeins of cascade in an off white in order to start my Wisteria and four skeins of Dream in Colour Classy (never thought I've ever be able to say that... FOUR skeins!) for Hey Teach.
And because I was so 'don't look at the other yarn, don't look at the other yarn' I was the first one to buy yarn which meant I got a gift! Holy smokes! It's a Denise knitting organizer and is spectacular! (and um... it's 55$ retail so totally insanely spoiled!) I actually want to clean now so I can find all my knitting knickknacks and put them in there. Woo! And as we speak Spike is sleeping on it. Everything is a cat bed in this place.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Ravelympic Gold!
Notice my new badge? I finished my ravelympic shawl! Here is the ramblings I had on my raverly project page... (note- usually ramblings on projects pages are much much shorter than this- one liners or nothing at all at times... this was special)
from Ravelry
Started: August 7th, 7am
Finished: August 16th, 4pm
Pre-Ravelympics: Holy Crap this snuck up fast! I need to start training now!!!
My goal is to use up nearly the entire skein of seasilk- however much that is. If it isn’t enough and the shawl is too small I will do the edging in Koigu probably but I don’t think that will happen. I will leave myself some room for leftover yarn since I don’t know how much to leave for the edging. My ravelympic dream will be realized if I can wear this shawl to my Grandma’s birthday party on the 23rd.
Day 1: One center repeat
Having difficulty with the pattern and spent a lot of time tinking. Finished the neck chart and one and a half of the middle chart.
Woke up feeling daunted by the scope of my project today. Nina (Nanaboo) is helping calm me down. Was able to finish another one and half center charts taking me to three center repeats. Am at 147 stitches. I’m worried I may run out of yarn too quickly so I’m thinking of going on a search for more seasilk but we’ll wait and see I guess.
Finished the fourth center repeat and a few rows today (also did report cards so all in all a busy day). I grew so concerned I was going to run out of yarn I ran over to Birkeland after stitch n bitch and bought a skein of seasilk that is more solid coloured but is based on the same colour palette as mine, just no purple. Then I got this skein home and was reading the pattern that came with it and it said that the yarn will grow 15 to 20% after blocking so now I’m so confused. I’ll just keep knitting. And also, I have no idea where I am at with this. Am I close? Am I far? Ugh. I’m going to bed.
Day 5: 5 center pattern repeats, 235 stitches (approx-all these stitch counts are approximate cause they are quick and only done once), 104 rows
What’s interesting is that now that I can actually just knit this without concern the rows are so long. My first day I spent most of it tinking rows back and they were so short back then! :) Anyhoo, still unsure about the yarn and unsure about my progress. However I am sure I am going to kill the neighbours across the alley if they don’t shut up soon. Back to knitting, okay yeah- did a lot today and kinda decided that a) it doesn’t matter how much other people are knitting, this is about me and b) even if I don’t finish in time I’m amazed at how much I have knit on this and how I have stuck to it! I have never been so loyal and steadfast to anything in my life! Hoping to finish the sixth repeat tomorrow. Tata!
Day 6: One purl row short of completing the sixth center repeat but am so tired I am making mistakes. The picture is off the disappearing seasilk (where is it going?) since the shawl is getting so large it’s hard to take a picture of it without risking it falling off the needles.
Day 7: Six center repeats. More stitches than I’d like to count.
Finished the sixth center repeat and halfway through the seventh. No day seven picture. Was too tired to turn on camera and click.
Day 8: Seven center repeats. 295 stitches.
Finished the seventh center repeat while at coffee with friends. A small amount of the first skein remains but it is so not enough for another repeat nor the edging so I’m adding the second skein for the edging. Lots of details tomorrow as the past three days have been busy and I am tired. The end is in sight! The day eight photo is the one underneath the day seven. I wasn’t too tired to click but I was too tired to find paper and write on it.
Day 9: Finished! Seven center repeats; 325 stitches 156 rows
I wanted to start the edging last night but I was so tired I didn’t want to risk making a mistake. I woke up early for some reason this morning and started knitting and could not be stopped. I had to stop for laundry, coffee, and more laundry but I finished the edging and cast off at 4pm! The shawl has been blocked to an inch of its life and will hopefully be dry tomorrow for a photo op. I love the edging contrast colour. It’s a little small (hence the aggressive blocking) but it will be okay. Next time I will use larger needles.
So I have a confession. I’m a moron. I was so stressed out about this shawl because I thought you needed 29 repeats of the center pattern. After last weekend only getting 3 done I was freaking out because I didn’t know how I would ever get 29 done! But I kept on knitting and around Wednesday started to think… my goodness that shawl the designer made must have been huge- maybe I’ll only make mine 20 pattern repeats. And on Thursday I decided I simply had to go back to the pattern and look at the instructions again because I realized that a shawl with that many repeats would double as a queen sized bed spread. Yeah, most of you have probably already guessed… the instructions said to repeat chart 2 9 times. I am a moron. I am happy with my seven since my original goal was to use up all my seasilk and I used up even more than that!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
My Angst is your Angst
So I decided to start reading Angela's Ashes.
Yeah, so if my neighbours weren't worried about me before the heaving sobs coming from my apartment would make them so. I honestly don't know how people survive such grief. Once I got over that I went into the bathroom to wash my face and cried some more. So I decided to eat a peanut butter and jam sandwich. Despite the sadness, I am very engrossed in the book and will continue to read it only tonight I need to go work on my knitting some more if I am to finish before the end of the Olympics. It's not like anything I've read before.
And in a happy note? Drunken Monkey is putting out a clothing line! Woooo!
Friday, August 08, 2008
August... we are hardly getting to know you
I'm very grumpy tonight. Not having the best evening. I'm a little sad. But it's okay. I'm just self-indulgent and mopey.
And yeah. About the blogging. It's half laziness and half my computer is slowly but surely starting to die. Could be the heat. It takes me about 20 minutes to load up photos just off of my camera and even longer to get them onto blogger. And I love photos so my blogging has been hurting.
So I'm doing another photo documentary that I so love to do. If you are new to this blog you would think I'm freakishly egotastic since I'm in about four of the photos but if you know me you know I am egotastic so it's all good.
Here is Jubbers and I hanging out at the airport before she took off for Papua New Guinea (she's very selfish like that, jetsetting off to exotic locations for year long vacations- I tell you- that girl!). But seriously, both my sisters rock so much. I'm very blessed.
This is Spike in a very 'Spike' pose. His head is resting on the windowsill and his back legs are all splayed out. Spike has been a little worrisome of late due to our crazy heat and my sauna of an apartment. He's only eating about half as much as he use to but I make sure he drinks a lot of water and am keeping a very close eye on him. He's still active and crazy (well, except when it's boiling in the apartment and we are both lying comatose on the floor in front of the fan). When it was crazy hot the other day I decided to douse him in cool water. I have the scratches to prove it.
And yes, the title refers to me freaking out yesterday when I realized it was the seventh of August already and I had barely realized it was August at all. Trying to explain to ESL students the concept of 'time flies' is really challenging fyi. And oh yeah, my job was extended for three extra weeks so if I ever blog in jibberish you know why. It's good, don't get me wrong, just by the time Friday rolls around I'm a little, you know, crazy.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
So yeah...
AUGH facts:
ripped my nose ring out last night! Now, no nose ring just a bruised bloody spot on my nose :( Will get it re-pierced as soon as it heals. And yes- it hurt and yes- I tried to get the stud back in but I just couldn't. It was 1:30 at night and between the pain and the blood I probably gave up too soon but alas.
saw a man holding a double barreled shotgun while getting a money shipment from a bank. This isn't a gun-rights/control AUGH... this is a 'oh my god that man over there is holding a double barreled shotgun!' augh. It was very late at night and all I could think (besides AUGH) was if it is so dangerous to get the money that you need to carry in your hands a massive shotgun, why do it in the middle of the night? I'm sure there is some reason but still.
so this dude who seemed new to Vancouver asked me on the bus about one of the stops and since I'm a nice person I kindly told him it was the next stop. He started chatting and I was like, whatever- he's getting off on the next stop and I'm a nice person so I'll chat back. Then the stop came and I was like 'oh, here's your stop' and he said 'oh- I'm going downtown'. Jerk. So that was just a line to start talking and you know your way around Vancouver. Double jerk. And one thing I've noticed that I won't go into here cause it's a difficult issue to talk about but there is a type of guy who has pick up lines and will very quickly start asking inappropriate questions and will come into your personal space bubble and I realized he was one of them. Than he continues to talk and I'm pissed but I'm a nice person so I wasn't rude. Than he started asking questions like 'do you like to shop downtown' (in which I answered 'no') and do I like live music (again-no, I don't like anything. Ever. Leave me alone) and do I like Paul McCartney? Again- no. Can't he see I'm disagreeable? But then he started singing to me. Yes- singing. On the bus. PUBLIC TRANSPORT! And there was a line on the song to do with 'kissing girls' in which he leaned into my personal space bubble and made a kissy face at me. And imagine that but right then my cell phone went off (nobody else could hear it but believe me, it went off) and I had to reach into my purse and answer it (all along polietly apologizing about answering my phone) and lo and behold, it was my friend Sheena (amazing since she was in Seattle and not on her cell phone) and yeah, had to take that call. So I had an imaginary conversation with my friend Sheena for about 15 minutes until my stop at which point I got off and DID NOT say goodbye. That's right. I'm mean when I need to be. Still. AUGH.
So last night (bear with me on this one) I madea hot chocolate and when I picked it up the handle of the cup was really hot so I jerked my hand a little causing the hot chocolate to spill on my cellphone and jeans. My cellphone is mostly okay, the side thingies are sticky but it works, but I took the jeans off right away cause, you know, hot. I ran them under some water in the sink so the hot chocolate wouldn't fester and then...*** and this requires a back story. I had a bath yesterday after a very long walk around the sea wall and had a glass of orange juice which I did not finish while in said bath, so you can go ahead and guess what will happen here*** and then I threw my jeans into the bath tub cause they were wet and I would wash them in the morning and yes. When I threw them into the bath tub hitting the orange juice getting it everywhere. So I just turned the shower on for a couple of seconds and did the laundry in the morning.
WHEEEE facts: (which will be quick cause Jason is here)
I have a two week job teaching ESL so I can buy groceries next month when I get paid!
I was hired with the Vancouver School Board! This requires its own post cause it was amazing- I have a job I don't have to move I have a job but yeah. More on this later.
I'm going to get a kitten! Soon! When I can get one for free!
I'm going to The Dark Knight tonight with my parents!
I was able to hang out with Jubbers for an awesome amount of time beore PNG and she did this awesome post that I would like you all to read. She's cool.
And also... I do have the coolest family ever. Evidence.
I have an uber haircut. I need to get some good photos. Its got some long pieces in the front and growing shorter till the back which is really short. So it's weird because when I look in the mirror it is like I still have a lot of hair but it's all an illusion cause there's none in the back. But it's all good.