Kiddie Rollercoaster-Tastic Day

So. Today has been interesting. Up-down-up-down-up-down. Nothing big, just lots of little things making my mood swing all over the place.

• Zuzu wanted me to wake up early, although she hasn't been eating well, so it wasn't that she wanted breakfast, just that she wanted me to be awake. (And cross your fingers that she starts to find her food tasty again.)
• Made zucchini bread, because there was a giant zucchini left in the kitchenette at work, and I gave in and took it home. Two batches, one with cinnamon chips and the other with chocolate chips.
• Discovered that I need more loaf pans. Three pans are not enough.
  
• Saw a kingfisher outside, and ordered Neil deGrasse Tyson tickets. Whee!
• Left for work, and spent an extra half hour in the car due to traffic caused by a chemical spill on 271. People are rude, and apparently raindrops cause them to forget how to drive.
• Got to work, and distributed lots of zucchini bread.
• There was cake at work! Cake! Pink cake! YUM!
• When I sat down to work, I opened all of my tabs, did the daily media searches, and then the internet went out. My job is completely internet based. I waited for a bit, but then went home, because I can work here.
• Sat in traffic on the way home, too, because even thought the accident was north, lots of people were driving south.
  
• While in the car, listened to a groovy radio show that played some great songs.
  
• Nearly ran out of gas, but got to the gas station in time. Yay!
• The gas station guy liked my shirt (Down with Gravity!), and then started asking me questions like, "Where do you work?" and "Are they hiring?" when I really desperately wanted to go home and eat lunch.
• Oh! I saw the garbage truck that advertises the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. It isn't affiliated with the Museum; apparently the driver just likes the Museum.
• Got home, worked for a bit, ate my yogurt and string cheese, and then got distracted. Will spend more time working this weekend...
  

Anyway, that was today so far. I should have stopped for ice cream.

No other updates, as I have a lot to do this weekend... Have fun!

Get your velociraptor here!

So. June 14 is Bring Your Velociraptor to Work Day.

I live near a place that I like to call the Velociraptor Store. Although they definitely have fewer velociraptors now than they did around Christmas, so the store may need a new name. Velociraptor Store is more appropriate than just "Toy Sale," which is how they promote things.

Anyway, in honor of BYVTWD, I snagged some extra velociraptors to share with those who don't have dinosaurs at work.



Leave a comment and I'll draw names, and try to get the velociraptors sent in time for the winners to take them to work. Deadline is June 6, whatever time I think about it.

Just because you sat down next to me doesn't make me want to talk to you

This week has been hell. Yes, it is only Tuesday. That does not make it any more pleasant, especially since I missed knitting yesterday. Zuzu's tail on my foot kinda does, but just because I love my kitteh. Anyway, met Mike at the local bar tonight, because I really needed a beer. (I had two. Woo. Gulden Draak and Weihenstephan. Wow, I actually spelled that right. Gold star for my forehead, right next to the "L" tattoo!)

Anyway, I am happy that our local watering hole has wifi. I was able to send a few work-related emails after escaping, as well as browse Ravelry, while enjoying some sweet beer to ease the pain. Shared some chocolate chip cookies, and was mostly antisocial, although I laughed at a Pat Benatar beer joke (Helles is for children). Until some guy walks in with a buddy, sits down next to me, and starts talking to me. "What's the bartender's name? Who was the other bartender? Is he still here? What happened to him?" Dear Mr. Man: Please note that I am staring at my computer, and not looking at you. I do not want to talk to you. No offense, I just do not want to deal with people.

So I left, and went home to hang out with Zuzu. I love my kitteh, and would rather spend time with her than with most people.

I also wanted to gripe about all the construction around our house. Some days it feels like you can't get there from here. We need to go south before we can go north, and east before we can go west. Here is a map to illustrate, although I feel like I am missing more construction. Blue arrows show the route when the roads were open. Green arrows show the detours. Map not to scale.

One last gripe: Went through the Toxic Hell drive through at 4:45 today to grab some lunch. They forgot to put cheese on my cheesy rice and bean burrito. They also did not give me napkins. If that lunch had cost more than $2, I would be really peeved.

Oh well. I should stop complaining and do something productive. Just wanted to vent for a while. Hope no one is offended. And yes, I shared cookies with the guy that I didn't want to talk to, as well as the other people that I ignored for most of the evening. But I brought the rest home, because I need chocolate too, dammit. And Zuzu needs love. Time to snuggle until all is right with the world again.

Wildlife interactions

This morning, I looked outside to survey the landscape, take pleasure in the post-rain green, and I saw a rabbit. Haven't seen very many rabbits in our yard in the past, and I think I discovered the reason.

I was watching the rabbit graze on the selection of weeds in the brush just beyond the yard, when I noticed a small bird marching around in the same section of plants. The bird was not very big, smaller than the small rabbit's head, even. I look at the walk, the white belly, and realize that it must be a baby killdeer. Baby bird uses the distracting tactic of pretending to have a broken wing, and walks up to the bunny. Rabbit starts moving away, but apparently not far or fast enough, because next thing I see is the bird, with wing askew, running behind the hopping bunny. So that, my friends, is why we rarely have rabbits in our yard - the birds scare them away.

Anyway, it was a busy week for having little planned. Monday was the big event. (Thanks to Mary for posting a picture of the frosted cupcakes.) Tuesday I schlepped leftover cupcakes all around the east side of Cleveland (to Rebecca, in Mentor, to share with her knitting group; to Chagrin Falls to share with my friend Cathy, since we were scheduled for lunch anyway; to Shaker Heights to drop some off for the nieces, since Grandpa didn't share Tuesday's cupcakes; to Macedonia for Jen and Nick, because they missed Monday due to family obligations), stopped by the library to pick up a book and donated blood while there. Jen and Nick came over for dinner to help eat the non-cupcake leftovers (yay!), Mike poured me a beer, and I crashed hard on the couch. Monday was a very long day - 3am to 11pm, approximately, and Tuesday morning started at 6 (the post-kitty-feeding nap ended about then). Sleep was necessary. Wednesday was a long day - had an afternoon meeting at my morning client, and there were a few computer issues afterwards. They called me in from the parking lot.... Thursday was spent preparing for the server migration that didn't happen, and a good thing, too, because Friday was filled with other crises that couldn't have been ignored for user support.

Anyway, when I finally escaped work yesterday afternoon, I was very cranky. Jen sent me a note earlier in the day, asking if I wanted to visit the Pea. Of course! What better way to rid yourself of nasty work vibes than some yarn therapy, especially sale yarn therapy? I picked up Malabrigo in Vaa and Velvet Grapes, enough of each color to make the Hemlock Ring blanket. Theoretically, they will be the family Christmas gifts this year. I have enough Indigo for a blanket already, so one more colorway to go. Maybe. Actually, I already have yarn for another alpaca blanket, so perhaps my parents will get the alpaca (since one has already been made for my sister), and Mike's side of the family will get the Hemlock Rings. It's a beautiful design, and looks incredible in Malabrigo. (If you're on Ravelry, definitely take a look at the projects out there!) Apparently it's a relatively quick knit, not all that difficult, and looks impressive. And there are fewer of them to make, so they stand a chance of being completed before Christmas.

Oh, and to alert you to a tragedy in the yarn world - Malabrigo had a fire in their mill. We learned of it yesterday, when I unloaded 12 skeins from my basket, and the friendly Chickpea employees shared the news. I had to sit down. Hope they get everything back in progress soon.
Jen and I had thought about driving down to Medina to visit Studio Knit, but I'd called, as I am searching for some Malabrigo Silky and laceweight (for me and Elin), and they did not have what we wanted. Also, by the time we were finished at the Pea, we had only an hour to drive to Medina and shop. And 15-20 minutes is not enough time to explore a new yarn shop.

Anyway, that was the week. Not much knitting news. Worked on the "Museum" scarf in the car a bit here and there, finished Geno the Penguin (pictures to come later), and thought about starting the Great A'Tuin. Haven't wound the yarn yet, as I want to finish a few projects first. I have a few too many things on the needles to start more. I should finish the clogs, as they will go very fast - one pair that needs finished, then only one more pair to make as a gift, and then one for me. I could probably finish them this weekend. Maybe that should be the goal. I have a few more baby gifts to do - I think I will make toys, as they don't get outgrown before they are gifted. I need to finish my sweater - now I have the needle back, I can finish the sleeves and collar.

So, game plan: Work on clogs this weekend (and finish!). Work on sweater after that (until finished!). Baby gifts for two neighbors, and several friends (quick toy knits!). Finish Firebird. Start A'Tuin. Return to Baudelaire socks. Make Hemlock Blankets. Knock my Ravelry queue from seven pages into something smaller. (Yeah, right!)

Anyway, I should get moving - time to make the weekend productive! I am a sole away from having a pair of clogs finished. Will post pictures sometime soon.

Just wasting time...

Had a perfect Friday afternoon yesterday. Stopped at Cold Stone for ice cream on the way home - who knew that their birthday coupon wasn't a BOGOF, but truly a free concoction? - had ice cream for lunch, and then curled up with Zuzu to work on my sister's blanket. We listened to the Weakerthans, and snuggled. Zuzu loves alpaca. Nearly finished - just two rows and cast off to do. Anyway, it was a wonderful way to spend a chilly, gray afternoon - with kitty, blanket, and good music. And the sun came out just in time to drive to work.

Worked Friday night, as well as all day today. New experience - I kinda audited a professional development class on bullying and the media. Very interesting. I should explain, though, as I don't normally get paid to sit in a classroom. (Usually I get paid to sit in an office and knit.) As the class focused on media literacy, the instructor had many videos as well as a PowerPoint presentation to share. As aware as she is about the media, she is not tremendously technologically savvy. So I sat there and knitted, and assisted with any media transitions and computer issues. I think the instructor learned a few things in the past day and a half, too.

While I was disappointed to be away from the computer so much, I did get a bit of knitting accomplished. Made a pair of clogs in their entirety (well, they are not felted), and worked on the cabled hat. Ready to start the third cabled row. Not sure if I will make a fourth set of cables or not. Depends on how I feel, where I am, and what time it is when I get to row 25. Also helped a few people in the computer lab during lunchtime. That counts as an accomplishment, right? Even though I couldn't replace the exhaust fan in a printer? (We don't have the part on hand, not to mention that I don't know the first thing about how to replace it. Might have been able to figure it out, if I had to, but can't do it without the part.)

Oh, mild amusement, at least to me: Was enjoying last night's lecture/discussion, and the instructor mentions a fabulous book by Susan Douglas. I start looking for a pen so that I can scribble down the info, when she mentions the title: Where the Girls Are: Growing Up Female with the Mass Media. No need - I already own the book. Will have to bump it up on the reading list.

Killing time now between work and Muppets History 101. Won Cinematheque tickets (did I mention that already?) for this weekend, which is convenient because it is the weekend that I had planned to go. Muppets History 101 is at 7:00, and it made no sense to get home at 5:00 just to turn around and leave again at 6:00, especially when I'm about 20 minutes from University Circle already. Only issue is that Zuzu is home alone. Mike is on the SAAZ bus trip/pubcrawl to Michigan. I set up her feeder, so she should eat while we're gone. Dry food even, which means she's even more likely to eat. Silly kitty prefers kibble sometimes. Although maybe having kibble for lunch and dinner will make her appreciate the wet food for breakfast tomorrow. And she will be even more thrilled to see me when I finally get home.

Anyway, they are showing Muppets Musical Moments tomorrow, and I may go, just because I can. I think I have most of the clips (Muppet Shows, right?), but it's always fun to watch on the big screen. I love the Muppets. (Never would have guessed, right?)

Let's see, rundown of the last week: Monday was knitting. Fun. Tuesday was quiet, I think. Wednesday went to a lecture with Jessica. Worked on the cable hat, as blanket was too big and has metal (clicky) needles. Had dinner with Cathy on Thursday; was quite good to catch up. Gave her her clogs, she gave me a lovely plant. So that leaves Friday, which was a lovely afternoon, which is where we started. And I should probably catch up on Rav, and get moving - perhaps I can do some more knitting before the show.

Currently listening: Weakerthans and New Pornographers and Push (old band from Pittsburgh - they came to memory because I don't like coconuts)
Reading: Medical Apartheid by Harriet Washington
Watching: Veronica Mars and South Park, or whatever Mike has on TV. And tonight - MUPPETS!!

And just like that...it's winter again

I am sitting at home, watching it snow. Wimped out on the museum lecture, as I headed home after work because it was cold and rainy and I didn't feel like camping out somewhere for three hours, plus a friend was supposed to come with me, so we could carpool back up, and the closer I got to home, the worse the weather became. Rain turned to freezing rain to sleet to snow. And snow it stays. The ground is covered, the cars are covered (Mike is brewing, so cars are on the driveway), and the road is covered. I am cold and depressed.

Okay, life is slightly better now. We just had dinner. Breakfast for dinner, to be exact. I am warmer. Mike's watching the Pirates play the Yankees in Florida. (On TV, of course. Do I need to specify something so obvious?)

Anyway, life has been full of bad drivers lately. Last week, after stopping at North End for a drink with Mike after work on Saturday, I was approaching a traffic light. Watched a Lincoln coming from the road to the left stop at the green light, get passed by a pickup, finally decide to make a left turn, and then veer into the left lane, right into oncoming traffic. Luckily the SUV that would have been hit was more observant than the Lincoln driver, and stopped. I think Lincoln decided to turn around after that.

After that, I needed to make a left turn. I used my blinker, and waited for the oncoming traffic to clear. The SUV that was nearly hit by the Lincoln started into the intersection, then stopped. I waited, as the intersection was blocked. Next thing I know, the SUV is making a left turn behind me. No blinker - in which case we could have both made our left turns simultaneously, and with the other clearly in sight. Oh well. The whole episode was clearly a case of "WTF?!?!?!?!"

Trying to keep this week calm. Skipped knitting group this week (Monday) to stay in and watch a movie with Mike. Little did I know that my Thursday dinner would be cancelled, and we'd get snow today, so I'd wimp out on the lecture. I'm sorry to miss it, as the lecturing curator is always entertaining. Last night we went to a Monsters game. A few WTF moments there, too. Most notably the mascot, an eagle. They are the Lake Erie Monsters. Logo is a Nessie-ish aquatic lizard-like creature. The costumed mascot was an eagle. WTF? The hockey team has cheerleaders. WTF? Okay, I gave in and looked at their site. They claim that the eagle is a seagull that has seen the Monster. Best part of that whole bit are the Mullets, who imitate the Hanson brothers while working on the ice. It was 80s night, so the music made me laugh, even though I still find it difficult to tolerate AC/DC. Damn you WEBN!!! Stupid station even bled through the stereo when I was trying to listen to CDs. Yet another reason I no longer live in Cincinnati.

Over halfway done with the blanket. It's just far too easy, although now it's a bit on the bulky side. Brought it to knitting on Tuesday afternoon, and the kids and teachers asked me to work on it, because they didn't quite grasp the concept of HUGE needles and fluffy yarn. A row is about 1/2" of fabric, so it goes quite quickly. Haven't worked on much else other than hats. Finished Matt's hat, with the exception of weaving in the ends. It is in the car, so that won't happen tonight. Started another hat, probably for Brad, because he was the recipient of one of my first hats, and I want to prove that I have advanced since then. Plus he likes blue and wool. I am using the Hat Attack ribbing pattern (p2-k2-p1-k2) to start, and will probably throw in a few cable crosses, but not in the binary pattern.

Haven't frogged/restarted the Fibonacci glove, although I did pop it off the needles so it can be frogged. I've decided that I will make the smaller size, too. Used it as an example to show the HS knitters stockinette stitch. They've mainly been doing garter stitch, but I taught a few how to purl. Not sure that they will remember it when they get back from break, but you never know. Too many projects, too little time. And here I am posting rather than cooking and knitting.

Yes, I should be making cakes tonight. Or at least cassata filling. I should have tomorrow evening, though, as well as Friday afternoon/evening. I am such a procrastinator. Haven't even really invited anyone outside of the knitting group to the event. I want to make at least six cakes, but there will only be um, 14? 16? people there. So if you're lucky enough to be one of the few invited, bring your appetite! Maybe I should buy more milk.........

Oh, found out that the makeup weekend for the work I missed is the weekend that I'm supposed to go to Knitter's Fantasy. Don't know if I will have to work or if someone will cover for me.

Zuzu is being a pest tonight. Poor Mike is very annoyed, as she will not leave him alone. Especially when he is trying to do some brewing calculations.

Anyway, I should get this posted, so I can work on something productive. I Will.Not.Ravel for the rest of the evening. Yeah, right. We'll see how long that lasts. Probably not long, as I need to research recipes online, and whenever I'm online, I log on.

Losing it

So I have been losing things lately. DPNs (not just the missing 8s, which of course turned up as soon as I brought the replacements home, but individual needles, so I'll have sets of 4 rather than 5, stuff like that.), an Amazon certificate that I set aside for safekeeping, stuff like that. Maybe I am also losing my mind.

Have been too busy to knit very much lately. Even at work today, I've been too busy. (Imagine that, working at work!) It's about an hour before I leave, and I haven't touched all of the stuff I brought with me. Worked on a hat last night at a lecture. Very intense stuff. The speaker was great, but she kept me awake longer than I wanted. The Explorer lectures are usually about an hour, followed by 30 minutes of Q&A. She spoke for nearly 2 hours, answered a few questions, and it was off to the book signing. Looking forward to reading the book, but expect to cry quite a bit. It's awful what humans can do to other humans. I guess I did get home about the time I would if I'd worked, but I expected to be home earlier.

Made chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast this morning. Yum. Zuzu wanted my milk. (Gotta have milk with pancakes, right?) She kept trying to get close to the glass. At one point, I leaned back and held the glass in an outstretched arm, thinking that she'd have to leave my lap to try to get to it. Oh no, little kitty climbed up my chest and across my arm to get to the milk. It was as if she realized that if I couldn't move my arm, she had a good chance of getting the milk. She was right. I let her have a pawful for her effort. She's not supposed to have dairy because of the calcium, but a drop or two of milk can't hurt too much, right? There wasn't much in the glass, and she was so intent on drinking some, I couldn't turn her away.

Very foggy on the way to work. Was very foggy on the way home yesterday, too. It was hard to see our house, even.

Accomplished very little last weekend, of course. Vegging is quite the thing to do when there's so much snow. Most of it has melted now, just in time for us to get more. Hopefully not much.

Went to the North Coast Knitting Guild's meeting on Monday with the SNB. Learned about some decorative cast-on techniques, and got my picot in a twist. Took a Fair Isle class on Wednesday. Learned the difference between Fair Isle and Intarsia, and also learned what I'd been doing wrong when doing Fair Isle. Whoops. Most of what I'd done got felted anyway. Or was included in socks for Mike, and he doesn't care. But I know better now.

Worked on my sister's blanket a bit, too. I am 3/8 done. Have done no knitting today, even though I had high hopes of knitting a lot. Again, it's terrible how I've had to work at work. There's been a lot of work going on during the week, too. I don't want to talk about a certain brand of server. And if you have a problem that is important enough to require me to drive over to you, don't leave. Please. Enough venting.

Thursday was Member's Night at the Museum. Always a good time, talking to the curators and running around the offices and whatnot.

Oh, and won tickets to the Bang and the Clatter's production of Essential Self-Defense on Sunday. Should be interesting, assuming I can convince myself to leave the house.

Looking forward to having a small birthday party for my knitting group next week. It should be just the core group, those who have been part of the group for most of its existence. Looking forward to making lots of cakes, too. Cheesecake, chocolate cake, butter cake, and a few other kinds. I haven't decided on all of the recipes yet. Yum. Will include some cake in a swap package, too. (Which reminds me, I'll need to pick up a few more things to include in that, as well.)

Oh well. I should pack up to go home now. Perhaps I will finish my Fibonacci gauge swatch tonight, now that I found my size 8 DPNs. Although I'll probably start them over, since I think I can make the smaller size rather than the larger ones. Really looking forward to making that sweater.

One more thing - Won't You Be My Neighbor Days are coming up. Be sure to wear your favorite sweater on March 20! I will need to sew the buttons on my cardigan and wear it.

Listening to the SXSW coverage on NPR's website. The weather was so bad last weekend that even the radio station cancelled shows, so I missed my Sunday morning rituals. And to think I'd wanted to go grocery shopping. Save that for tomorrow, I guess.

Finished "The Wit and Wisdom of Discworld" the other day. Very quick read.

Haven't had time to watch much of anything lately.

How life has been...

Please enjoy this video, as it is I've been feeling over the past few weeks, and will probably feel for most of March. Windmills of Your Mind - Muppet Show

Anyway..... Watching the Muppet Show tonight. It's a quiet evening at home, as I could have gone over to North End with Mike, but decided not to deal with the weather. It's not that bad, but ice is accumulating on cars and stuff. Ahhh, Veterinarian's Hospital....

Yesterday was a long day, as the server that is limping along while The Server That Makes Me Cry is waiting for its replacement crashed. Overheated, apparently. Luckily the data was safe, but it took until after 6 to get things backed up.

Just anti-slipped two pairs of slippers. Shipped a few out yesterday, with some goodies. Still have a few packets to send, as I didn't have everything packed up when I went to the post office yesterday, and I could only spare a few moments away from Server Hell. Will try to escape tomorrow, maybe.

Awww, I love Rowlf. And his cute little snoozing puppy. (Anyone who cares, I am watching Episode One of Season Two, with Don Knotts.) I wonder if they drugged the dog. Or sleep-deprived him for several days - poor puppy is really tired. Or well-behaved.

Nearly finished with yet another pair of clogs. Only 4 more to go! Hopefully I will get a decent bit done tonight. Worked with high school kids again today - my student picked up knitting very quickly. Within an hour, she had learned to knit and purl. She'll be knitting circles around me soon, probably.

Feeling a lot better now. Yesterday was a bit better than the weekend, but I still passed out on the couch around 8:30. I had wanted to have a beer, but was too tired (and apparently didn't need the assistance sleeping!). Perhaps tonight. Oh, made brownie cupcakes on Sunday. Good stuff. Remembered the flour this time. Had hoped to send some away today, but ended up sharing with the kids and other knitters.

What else? I really need to add some variety into my knitting. Let's see how many more clogs I can get done this week (it's only Tuesday, right, and I work this weekend), and then I'll start another new big project. I still need to find my size 8 DPNs for my glove/gauge swatch. I think that's the size I need, as 9 seems just a tad too big. Maybe tonight's plan should be to finish the clog-in-progress (just need to attach the second sole), and then organize, so I can find my needles and work on the gloves. Also want to start B.S. Johnson. Not sure what yarn I want to use, but I'll figure something out. Although I will probably start another hat tomorrow, as it's a lecture. Oh, crap - more babies are due. Which isn't a bad thing, but I need to get back on the baby hat kick. Oh! I bet my missing needles are in the baby hat bag. That's the size that I was using with the Cotton Fleece. And I still need to work on my socks. Maybe I'll do that instead of the gloves. I am far too indecisive. Suggestions, anyone?

Ahhh, breathe. Just an update...

It has been a long week. Had an awful morning on Tuesday. Any day that starts with a "server down" phone call is not good. I won't go into more detail about the rest of the morning, but will warn everyone to back up their data if they try to defrag a computer that hasn't been defragged for years.

Tuesday afternoon, I volunteered over at Success Tech. There's a group of us that are teaching some of the kids to knit/crochet/whatever. I was a bit discouraged at first, partially bad day, partially I am not the world's best knitting teacher, but it took a while for my student to catch on. But when she got it, it clicked, and she was off and running. Anyway, that is a Tuesday commitment for the rest of the school year. Should be fun.

I should have gone to the SAAZ meeting on Tuesday night, but wimped out. I needed some quiet time with Zuzu. I had a few beers and played on Ravelry. Mmmm chocolate stout and belgian trippel. Yum.

Wednesday wasn't much better of a day, especially since I forgot my purse at home, and didn't have money for lunch. Nice part was that I went home early, and watched movies with Mike. I had to run some errands, but combined that with a pizza run for dinner. I think I knitted something, too, but I don't really remember. Oh! I started the Fibonacci fingerless gloves. They are a gauge swatch for my Fairfax Fibonacci Sweater, and I need smaller needles. Must find my size 8 DPNs somewhere. I am very confused about needle sizes - I originally thought that my Foliage hat was on size 9 DPNs, then on size 8s, but really it was on size 7s. I have been working on that tonight at work. I have done 1.5 of 3 pattern repeats of the body. Row-wise, I am just above 50% done. Since the crown has fewer stitches, stitch-wise I am not nearly that close to being done.

I've finished a few more clogs, I think. Made some red and white ones that are really crying to have red hearts put on the foot, but as they're for a guy, I may restrain myself. I might not, though - I haven't decided. I don't know why I am in a Valentine's Day mood. Especially since my big VD excitement was buying cheap candy. I don't celebrate Hallmark holidays, but I needed chocolate.

Thursday was another long day, and we won't talk about the afternoon. The evening was great, though - I met several girls from my knitting group at Moko Coffee downtown, and we went to see Wicked. Had a lot of fun, and really enjoyed the show, especially when I talked to an usher during intermission and spent the second act somewhere other than my original seat. I could actually move my legs there! The seats at the State Theater are incredibly cramped. Legroom is very limited. I am not the world's tallest person, but my knees were pushed up against the seats in front of me. Since my knees aren't very happy when confined, I was experiencing intense pain by the end of the first act. The lights went down, and I stood up. Anyway, the show was great. I am not a huge fan of musical theater, but was very impressed with Wicked.

Driving home last night was miserable. Nothing like being on a snow-covered interstate and exhausted. I have no idea how people could see their lanes, what with the road being white and all, but there were lots of people going 50-60 mph in the snow. Oh well. I made it home a bit after midnight, and went straight to bed. Zuzu woke me at 4, as usual, and I curled up on the couch after feeding her breakfast. She crawled under the blankets on the papasan chair, and snoozed there until I was ready to leave.

Anyway, took a nap this afternoon, and am at work now. For another 30 minutes, as I type this. It's been a quiet evening, which is good. I like having downtime at work. Not sure if I'll finish Foliage tomorrow, or get back to clogs. I still have Nina's hat to finish, and the Baudelaire socks to work on. Somehow I doubt that they'll be done before the end of the month. Maybe I will just hibernate them and start something else............ I really need to try Magic Loop. Must make more socks.

Next week should be calmer, as I only have events on Monday and Wednesday (well, maybe Tuesday, depending), and I have the weekend off. Things will be picking up again in March - three lectures the first three weeks, and an event every night during the week of the 10th. I think I have five events at the museum in March.

As I haven't done this for a while, let's try now:
Reading: Collapse, by Jared Diamond; Best of the World Cafe by David Dye
Listening: Challengers Executive Edition, New Pornographers; Magnetic Fields
Watching: After Sex; In the Valley of Elah; Supernatural

I feel like someone is shooting at my feet, yelling, "Dance! Dance!"

Whew. It is only 11:00 am, and I have already visited all of the buildings that I support at my morning job. 4 of them. Granted, one was a "keep you in the loop" kind of visit, and another one was just a 30-second errand, but still. Four places in three hours. Luckily my last 30 minutes seem like they will be calmer. (Assuming that I didn't just jinx myself there.)

The Server That Makes Me Cry has been put on queue for replacement, which is good as it's been awful since Day 1. It is currently less than a month old. And it truly did make me cry yesterday, with its random reboots during OS reinstall and whatnot. So today is a much better day, knowing that the manufacturer is going to replace the evil thing. Let's hope that they test the replacement.

What else? Got a bit of knitting done on Monday at SNB, as well as a bit yesterday during the failed installation. Um, not much else to report since Groundhog Day, I don't think. Just wanted to share with the world that I have been busy this morning. I should go through all of my posts and tag them and whatnot. Someday. Someday, when I am all caught up with everything else. Like that will ever happen.

Oh! Zuzu has a new toy. The container from her Pounce kitty treats. There was one treat left, so I set the whole container on the floor. She carried the container around, batted it a bit, and finally pawed the inside to get that last treat out. Now she has been sniffing the can and playing with it, in the hopes of getting all the crumbs out. It's fun to watch. If my camera was still alive and not on its way to Texas for repair, I would have taken pictures. I love my silly kitty.