I’m Beautiful Like Me.

Since Monday, October 4th, for the first time in her life, I share a name with my Joy! It was very stressful for me leading up to it, but it was well worth the absolute jubilation she experienced at the news.

Last night, P and I went to see Clutch. That was a bit of a rude awakening. I have denied the gray hairs and faint fine lines in the mirror, but there was no denying how fucking loud that show was. I am obviously ill-prepared for Slayer/Megadeth/Anthrax next Tuesday!

School is very busy: exams, papers, club meetings, volunteering in the community and participating in Deaf events (Have I mentioned how very much I adore ASL?! ‘Cause I do.). There is so much reading. Good thing I’ve had lots of practice!

Considering that, I should be in bed. I’ve had a few manic episodes in the past week and that interferes with my ability to rest well. I’ve been in bed for hours, watching a bit of television between hours of reading and then rediscovering LibraryThing. Getting the nook for my birthday has really bumped up my ability to read more often. In the first month I owned it, I read every single Sookie Stackhouse novel. Right now, I’m reading Lamb by Christopher Moore. It’s fabulous.

Goodnight. Blessed Be.

My apologies for the extended absence. I have been very busy with life! This is my catch up post, but I’ll attempt to keep it to the abbreviated version.

We joined the YMCA on March 17. I did very, very well; going 6 days a week for no less than 45 minutes and increased my water consumption 1000%…. until I got sick with allergies about a month ago. I have been having a hard time getting back into it. I have lost some weight, but not enough to boast about yet. I’ve even made a new friend! And I’ve been keeping an online journal with my friend and confidant P.

As I stated in an earlier post, I applied to U of L and for financial aid to attend. I was accepted to the school. I immediately applied for several scholarships for which I qualified and today I got very exciting news: I received a $3,000 scholarship! Earlier, I received word that I qualified for and will receive a $1,000 grant from the state. Very exciting! I haven’t crunched the numbers yet, but I will when I find out about a Pell grant and the rest of the scholarships for which I’ve applied.

Even more exciting is that I may finally know what I would like to do with my life. I watched a show on the Science Channel called "Connected: The Power of Six Degrees" and learned about a developing science called Network Theory that absolutely intrigues me. Unfortunately, there are very, very few schools that teach it, so I need to find something similar to focus on in the meantime. It’s airing again soon, so try to catch it!

I have been spending unhealthy amounts of time on Facebook. I’ve tracked down all sorts of old friends! It’s a little funny since I’ve been feeling pretty anti-social in the real world. If you are on there, join me!

Husband and I have been helping a friend of mom’s to sell most of his and his now-deceased wife’s belongings. The wife was a bit of a hoarder and the widower is overwhelmed with the sheer amount of stuff. Between the two of them, they had somewhere in the neighborhood of a dozen kids and none of them have been very helpful in assisting their father.

We did manage to get out for Husband’s birthday last Friday: a nice, quiet dinner at the Olive Garden. This weekend, I’m taking him to see both the new Terminator movie and his mom, who is traveling to Ohio. We’ll meet her in Cincinnati for a day at the zoo or somesuch.

Besides skipping the gym, I’ve also skipped several weeks of knit night now. I’m just feeling rather uninspired  lately. I made mom a nice pair of socks for Mother’s Day and started on another pair of socks, but I’m not digging how they are turning out. I should’ve frogged them a long time ago. This past weekend, I got my nephew B for a night and he accompanied Joy and I to the library. I’m hoping flipping through a book or two will help me become inspired to start something fresh. I’d love to make my soon-to-arrive nephew some booties or something.

I finished reading both So Long and Thanks for All the Fish as well as Your Heart Belongs to Me. The Adams book is likely my favorite in the series. I really, really enjoyed it. The Koontz book is likely one of my least favorites yet. It was very slow starting and a lot of the storyline went nowhere for me. Aside from getting knitting and crocheting books on our trip to the library, I also picked up B is for Beer. I haven’t read Robbins in a very long time and look forward to reading it.

My last few posts, I’ve ranted about the things that really suck in my life, so I’m going to spend a minute to discuss the things that are great.

We received a substantial amount for our tax returns, so we were able to (once again) pay off all of our bills and even put quite a bit in savings. It was really nice to give my mom a huge chunk, too, considering all that she has done for us in the past (six months, especially). We still had quite a bit left, so we all got new shoes, Joy got some new school clothes, Buddha got some new toys and Husband and I got ourselves a little something each, too. He got some "nerdy computer stuff" (as Joy calls it) and I got myself the Knit Picks Harmony interchangeable needle set I’ve been ogling for forever now. They are beautiful and simply divine to knit with!

I’ve been working on perfecting my Skulljoy Armwarmers pattern with them, made a cozy for my French Press and have a sock for Husband on my needles right now. I’ve never knit socks with worsted weight yarn, so these seem to be breezing by quite quickly! I’m going to make them with afterthought heels (also called short-row heels), so I have to wait for the book I ordered (Teach Yourself Visually: Sock Knitting) to arrive before I can proceed. I’ll have both cuffs done before it gets here.

My good friend P dragged me to see the movie "Twilight" before I started the final book Breaking Dawn. I haven’t seen a movie in the theater since the first Harry Potter movie! It wasn’t horrible and I’m not sorry I went by any means, I just wish my own image of Edward hadn’t been tainted. Sorry P. I did finally finish the saga, though and hafta say that I really rather enjoyed it. Thanks to all those folks online for turning me on to some new reading material. As soon as I catch up on the DVR (which will give me a chance to do some serious knitting), I’m going to start something new - maybe Wicked or Dean Koontz’s The Darkest Evening of the Year. It is so good to be reading again.

I quit my job at the downtown restaurant last week. It was the most reckless thing I’ve done in a long time and it was very liberating to just not go in. Those people (the ones who own it, that is) are complete jerks and I’m glad to be rid of the feelings I’d have just before going in. In the meantime, I’ve applied with the county school system for several jobs, did the clerical testing, paid for the background check and fingerprinting. Now they just need to hire me!

I also applied for financial aid and at University of Louisville. If only I could decide what the hell I want to do when I grow up! I’m leaning towards either a Mathematics degree of maybe Justice. I need to make an appointment to talk to an advisor, I think. My education is at a stage where I really need to know which direction I want to head in.

And it’s really super-cheesy and maybe a bit morbid, but I’m excited that the latest episode of one of my favorite shows "The First 48" is airing a local homicide. My love for cop and law shows is what has me considering a law-type degree.

Finally, the basketball team at Joy’s school has made the finals! It’s very exciting for these little guys and I’m really proud of them. Here’s the latest video from their game last night.

I called in to work last Friday. I didn’t necessarily have a good reason, but I didn’t need one. The boss told me to take Monday off, too, since it was a holiday and we’d be slow: banks were closed and our restaurant’s guests are primarily bankers. I went in on Tuesday, but heard from the others that it was even slower than on Monday and ultimately, I was relieved early.

My brother, Big Rob, had taken the day off from his job and came in to lunch at my restaurant just as I was headed out. My parking meter was already paid up for another hour and a half, so we decided to have lunch together somewhere else. We passed a sushi restaurant just browsing the streets of downtown Lou-Evil and he really wanted to eat there. I don’t particularly like seafood and am really very unadventurous when it comes to exotic food anyway, but I told him I would keep him company. I did try his Ginger salad and liked it, so I ordered my own. I even ate it with chopsticks!

We talked about the new business our mom is in negotiations to buy that Big Rob will operate. I offered to help and we discussed that at great length. It was nice having lunch with my brother. We have a long and complicated history that is marred by long separations of both distance and spirit. It’s good to have him back in my life and I hope he knows that I don’t take it for granted.

That evening, Husband and I spoke a long time about my crazy. For the short period of time that I was at work on Tuesday, I felt the prickly butterflies of an impending panic attack that left as soon as I walked out of the restaurant. I had talked with Big Rob about it, too. Of course, he thought the relief came with his arrival (and perhaps it did - he has a commanding presence that attracts attention, therefore distracting me from my introspection). In any case, I suspect the general feeling of oppressiveness is originating from the people for whom I work. I want so badly to like this job but I just cannot talk myself into it. I’m very unhappy there. I work a measly 3 - 3.5 hours only to feel completely mentally and spiritually exhausted for the remainder of the day. I dread going in. I need something else and very soon.

Blissfully, the boss called me Wednesday morning and told me to take the day off since we’ve been “so damn slow.” Husband and I took care of a few errands and took the baby to lunch. While at lunch, he got called for a job, which he handled later in the afternoon while Buddha and I went shopping. Big Rob stopped over and I typed up some papers for him.

I didn’t get a call on Thursday morning, so I begrudgingly went in. We were so painfully slow, the day dragged. After work, I rushed over to an appointment - I got a call back for the job interview I had last week. I’m still nervous about getting my hopes up, but I did hear that not everyone got a call back. I also heard that it’d be about a week before I’d know if I make the final call back: a one-on-one interview with the doctor. My heart sank at that one: I’d hafta go back to the restaurant for at least another week.

Sigh.

I woke up in good spirits today, though and held a good mood for most of the work day, despite the incessant telling-me-things-I-already-know from the boss. I noticed for the first time that the kitchen manager shows preference to one of the waitresses and will sell her food before everyone else’s. I had one table that waited over half an hour for 2 fish sandwiches and a cheeseburger. These people are on their lunch breaks and don’t have time to fuck around this long for a bite to eat. One of the ladies asked to speak to the boss. When I went to fetch him, he screamed at me for “talking to my tables too much,” and proceeded to get into a pissing match with the woman, who stomped out angrily. Seriously. That fouled my mood a bit.

After work, I kidnapped Joy from the last hour of school to take her to get that haircut she’s been buggin’ about for the past two weeks. The lady in the office informed me that she’d had 8 - EIGHT!!! - tardies this school year! Joy pouted and wanted to know why I was picking her up early since she’d be missing the classroom ice cream party. I scowled at her and said nothing. We got into the car and I told her we were going to get her hair cut and she immediately perked up. She asked me not to be mad at her about being late. I agreed to drop it as long as she promised it would never happen again and she’d do dishes all weekend without complaint. She agreed and we had quite a good time. I don’t particularly care for the long side-swept bangs she got, but she likes it and - as I told her - that’s all that matters. We had dinner together at McDonald’s and stopped to get the boys something on our way home. She ran out as soon as we got home to show off her new ‘do.

A bit later, Big Rob came over and accompanied Joy and I to her school’s basketball game to see the Step Team in action. Big Rob got all sweaty and quietly complained, “There are a lot of people here.” He asked if I would be upset if he left after Joy performed, but decided he needed to see the outcome of the game. I think he ended up having a pretty good time. The game was very exciting. Our team won by 3 points (YAY!).

January 23, 2009 Louisville KY STOMPIN’!!!

And of course, I took video. Joy is best noticed by her new bangs. The video isn’t super-great, since I was trying to avoid recording the people that kept walking in front of me, but it does the trick.

Joy’s report card came in yesterday and she got great marks. She has brought home numerous certificates and acknowledgements this year that reward her for various academic achievements. So tomorrow, Husband will take her out for lunch in honor of that - just the two of them. I’m very happy to see them getting on so well lately.

I hope to get this house cleaned up and to finish reading Eclipse and work on the cowl I’m knitting some more. I have a whole mess of shows on the DVR to catch up on, as well as about 7 movies that need watching, too. Should prove to be a good weekend. Enjoy yours!

As I have stated several times already, Joy joined the Step Team at her school. They perform for assemblies during school hours and at half-time during basketball games every Friday of the season. Last Friday was her first game and the house was packed! Unfortunately, the video I got last week was quite terrible. But I made up for it this week. Can you find her in the mix?

Stompin’!!!

She’s in the dark blue pants and the only one of the team NOT wearing white shoes (she forgot to change  them before we left and we were already running late. I just had to run out to Borders to buy New Moon, Eclipse and Wicked!). When her line forms on the far left, she is the last in her row.

While we are on the subject of stompin’ - our little Buddha has developed quite a temper. I can’t ever imagine who he inherited it from, either! We’ve incorporated various methods as consequences to see what’s most effective. So far, this one proves to be promising.

My apologies for a long absence. The truth is that I’ve been otherwise occupied and trying to limit my online time. I will try to catch you up without dragging on.

I was offered a job with a starting date of January 5th. So after the latest incident at my job, I quit on New Year’s Eve. The family spent the day running about town on errands, just being together. After, we headed out to P’s place for another ringing in with their family. Last year was a great success and I’m rather fond of building traditions. I told P that she was forever stuck with us celebrating transformation - the end of one year and the beginning of another.

We had a great time. We paid for it dearly the next day, but it was worth it. We spent most of the night outside in the gazebo with candles, space heaters and a small firepit, drinking and being belligerent. Big Rob had to have a photo of P’s “eyebrows” made by shadow cast from candle and eyeglasses. P’s sister H joined us, as well. When P’s husband B arrived sometime after midnight still very sober, I managed to catch this picture of him in the unfortunate position of being in front of our empty bottles. It’s my favorite picture.

P and I; L and Joy; me and Buddha (still sober)

P’s “eyebrows”; Husband and I; L, Joy and C

P, P’s sister H and Big Rob; classic Big Rob; P’s husband B’s unfortunate position

Suffice it to say that New Year’s Day was spent in a haze of frequent bathroom trips and fitful sleep.

On the 5th of January, I started my new job, also waiting tables. It’s a great job: the hours are awesome as the restaurant only operates 11-3 M-F and closes on all major holidays. The pay rate is slightly higher than average ($2.85 vs. the usual $2.13 per hour), the guests are mostly regulars and I’ve made pretty decent tips every day that I’ve worked.

There are some down sides, though and they mostly center around the restaurant owners (a married couple). They are unfriendly, rigid and absolute control freaks. The man tends to follow me around in front of the patrons and nitpick every.little.thing I do that isn’t to par with his standards, as though I have never waited tables and he thinks I’m an idiot or has little faith in me or both. I’ve tried to convince myself that the trade-off is worth it. Nonetheless, I have started searching for new work. I’m happy to report that I had a job interview yesterday that went pretty well. Hopefully, I’ll hear something very soon.

In the meantime, I’ve been knitting and reading a lot. I made 3/4 of a purse for my niece for Christmas (I got to the hand-sewing part and just stopped), started and frogged a sock, and finished a leg warmer. I’ve enjoyed reading so much that it’s been over a week since I’ve even thought about knitting! I’ve finished both Odd Hours by Dean Koontz and Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. I’m eager to start another book. Last year (or was it the year before? Wow, time is flying!), I purchased the last book in the Harry Potter series and never read it. Same story with Dean Koontz’s The Darkest Evening of the Year. Of course now, I’m eager to continue to New Moon, as well.

Buddha is as obnoxious as he is cute and Joy had her first pep-rally and basketball game last week. I took video, but it wasn’t very good. I’ll try my best to get better video to share when we go tonight. The Step Team was so good, they received louder cheers than the basketball players and the cheerleaders! Naturally, Joy is very excited to be a part of all this and I’m thrilled, too.

“The major problem - one of the major problems, for there are several - one of the many major problems with governing people is that of whom you get to do it; or rather of who manages to get people to let them do it to them.
To summarize: it is a well known fact, that those people who most want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it. To summarize the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job. To summarize the summary of the summary: people are a problem.
And so this is the situation we find: a succession of Galactic Presidents who so much enjoy the fun and palaver of being in power that they very rarely notice that they’re not.
And somewhere in the shadows behind them - who?
Who can possibly rule if no one who wants to do it can be allowed to?”

If you recall, some time ago I started The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams. I read this chapter a few days ago (finally!) and it summarized my feelings on the matter of the upcoming election better than anything else I have read, seen or heard in quite some time. I felt compelled to share.