Kittens, Knitting, and Random Blah

In one month, two days and approx. two hours, I will have been out of the womb for sixteen years. And since I might otherwise forget to let the family know what I want, here is my list:

Books:
The Yarn Girls’ Guide to Simple Knits
French language reference books (not dictionaries)
Great Knitted Gifts
Knit Wit (Amy R. Singer)

Magazine subscriptions:
Interweave Knits
Creative Knitting
Vogue Knitting
Knitscene
Family Circle Easy Knitting
Knitting Digest (best value, actually. 10-12 patterns/issue, bimonthly, = about 60 patterns/year, plus articles)

2 balls of NY Yarns “Fluff” in red or blue (go to Meijers and pet it to see why)

Double-pointed needles in any size (preferably sets of five needles)

$ for French trip (June ‘06)

Stuff for when I have to move out (already have silverware)

Gift Certificates always welcome :D
Payless Shoes (or any other shoe store)
Bath & Body Works
Claire’s/Icing
Borders!!!!
Malls

2006 Knitting Pattern-a-Day Calendar

Orange faceplate for my TI-84 Plus Silver Edition graphing calculator

So yeah, that's it. I plan on having a party the Saturday after my birthday, actually. Mmm...with cheesecake, or Boston Cream Pie. Mmm. The icing on store-bought cakes is just too weird for me. I guess it's the frosting equivalent of Red Heart yarns. I'm a frosting snob ^_^.

So yeah, Student Congress rocked. Probably the largest organized gathering of Michigan high school nerds this fall. That first picture is of my teammates and coach walking down the river trail thingy near the hotel where we started the weekend. I thought it was rather cool looking, like something we'd put on the album cover if we were a band. Hehe, our name would be Three Clarinets, a Trumpet, and an Old Guy, or Four Nerds and a Liberal.

And my wonderful Human Rights Committee. We did do a serious picture, too, but I like this one. More in tune with the character of the group, really. And we were all liberals with the exception of two. Including one who only confessed her Republicanism on the last day. But that's OK, we still love her!

And the floor of the Michigan House of Representatives, or as we tried to rename it, the Hizzouse of Gangstas, with all of our stuff scattered across the desks and a few miscellaneous nerds wandering about. The desk with the white thing on the chair (it was my cape, actually) to the far right, middle of the picture was my desk. The one behind it was Steve's.

Everyone interested should have the opportunity to do this in high school. What's unfortunate is that due to funding issues, fewer and fewer kids are getting to. Our school just cut our debate program, which was just started last year, actually. We only got to do this because it's considered a part of last season. Unless we can get some sponsors, it's the end of the line for us. The more kids that do this, the more fun it gets to be, too. I met some awesome people that we are all trying to maintain contact with that I will definitely miss. And without this, it is very unlikely I'd ever see them again.

Wow was this ever a blast! I got to see everyone from discussion again, and skipped school for two days, and got to sit on the floor of the Michigan House of Representatives. I sat at a 126-year-old desk in a room of the same age, walked on carpet still beautiful after years of feet. I tread the same paths as generations of legislators and Student Congress members. And I can be one of very few people to say I've knit on the floor of the House. Not the gallery, the floor. Where I started on a sleeve of my sweater.
But it really was just amazing. The Capitol is beautiful, and we pretty much had free reign. I will post pictures and further details when I have more time.

I took my sweater to school to knit on and I got an entire decrease repeat and a half done (that's 12 rows, which is something around 1200 stitches) It is coming along nicely. Once I got the hang of those circular beasts it began to go without a hitch. So far. And I'm sure I'll mess something up. But that's OK. It's my sweater and I'll love it anyway. Tom compared it to having an ugly kid...you love them anyway. I just may be able to wear it before February. Yay me n' my yarn!

Worked my first 8-hour shift today. It sucked. I got yelled at about the bacon twice. I was getting people's money, am I supposed to tell them "Hey, hang on two or three minutes while I get some bacon?" No, because then I'd get yelled at again. It is not my fault that every time I get asked to do it it's in the middle of a rush. And then I got yelled at about sandwiches because I wasn't doing them fast enough. It was my second time ever, OK, and my first time doing it all by myself. Lay off a bit, alright? Plus, I won't remember the difference between a classic single and a jr. cheese deluxe over a week. But, I did get my check, and did make a good $70-something this past pay period. Much better than the $36.96 from the last one. Not what I hoped for, but I suppose it's the best I'm gonna get. And you know, it doesn't make it any easier that one of the managers terrifies me. Reminds me of Miss P, only not so...well, it seems like they go from joking and happy to mad and yelling in the blink of an eye. Miss P goes in stages. I can do stages. I don't do blinks.
Guess that's better than if they'd trained me on front today. People make me nervous to begin with. Seeing them for 10 or so seconds while I smile, get them their change, and say "have a nice day!"; no problem. Seeing them as they wait in line, stare at me, order, get their change, wait for their food, and maybe even come back if something's wrong; problem. I can't even be out in a rush-period restaurant, how could I function as a focal point of one? Plus all those buttons to keep track of...

But yeah. Knitting has progressed on both projects. Much so.

Hmm...I was noticing how much I really am getting done knitting at school, and i was thinking that maybe I should like bring the sleeves of my sweater or something. I'm getting rather sick of just my Waiting scarf. Or maybe I should leave it home and just bring a book to read? Because I estimated that if I'd been knitting my sweater this whole time, it would be almost halfway done. But I'm so worried something will happen to it if I take it out of this house!

And I'd really like to see the new Knitty! I'm excited to see all the new patterns and articles and stuff. Need something new to lust after and plan for, now that I have needles to knit ANYTHING I want, thanks to my awesome Gamma.

A thread on the knittyboard got me wondering about Samhain (Halloween). I want to dress up this year, but I'm not quite sure as what. I was thinking ball of yarn, but perhaps I'll try to recreate something I wore in one of my dreams. Or I could scare people and go as a bride of some sort. I like the dream idea.

Should I start going to Roman numerals? Not sure. Not many people seem to be able to read them anymore. I don't know why, they're simple. But anyway...

Successful library adventure; I checked out America Knits and The Knitting Experience: The Knit Stitch to read. Not necessarily to make things from yet, but to read. And found out they have a stash of Knitters magazine and Family Circle Easy Knitting.

And my sweater has not been touched in two days, but my waiting scarf has grown three blocks. Yup. Oh, and Spaz is still licking the lamp stick by the other computer desk.

Yeah. Homeowrk, or read, or knit, or all three now? Hmm...tough choice...or maybe even sleep? Or call the boyfriend? Hmm...

Check out the coolness of my peek-a-boo comments. Click the comment-viewer majig and Boo! There they are! No new page, none of that crap, just right there with the post, and the one before, and all the coolness. I'm proud of them, and me for figuring out how to follow the Blogger Hack's instructions on how to do them. Yay peeks!

And Mme Dowker is giving away old French books she doesn't use anymore, so I have one, plus the teacher's edition. Yay! If there's more still there tomorrow, like after school, and she doesn't mind, I'll take some more off her hands, no problem! Mmm...books...

My Gamma got a Mary Maxim catalogue, and she let me borrow it to look through, and I like it. I believe it's the Christmas one. Not that I intend to buy anything, but I just like to look through catalogues. Yarn, crafts, JC Penny, lots of them.

Oh crap, my library books are overdue if I don't ride them up to the library before 8. Crap. Guess I'll have to do that before I do my homework. I'll probably get back on afterwards, since all I have is one French activity reviewing the "mon, ma, mes" stuff. But I love to lurk the library, so I'd better go now. See ya!

As you can tell from the photo, Wiskers is not amused today. But I'm rather content. I have my knitting papers organized. I just need to put them all in the three-ring now. And I really need some ideas for what to do with those little free pattern thingies that hang by the yarn in Meijers and stuff. Right now I have them in weird little thingies I stole from the front of a 5-subject notebook. But I don't like it. It's just annoying to me. Don't know why, really, but it is.

And I have finally gotten pictures of those shoes I most recently acquired.
Wiskers kindly added his furry self to the photo, but I managed to get one with just the shoes. J'ai des nouvelles chaussures rose! Avec des "polka dots" blanches. Yeah, I know, "polka dots" ain't French. Sue me. But aren't they just so adorable? Not usually something I'd buy for myself, but they were cute, and I guess I was on an estrogen high or something. So yeah, pair #23 in all their pink polka-dotted glory. And for $5, if I only ever wear them once, they were still worth it.
I'm also now trying to wangle my way into finding one of those counter-thingies so I can see what's going on here in the way of traffic. And I have to make it ignore my IP address so I don't count. So yeah, I'll be messing with that a bit.

When is the new Knitty going up?? I've been lurking about the site for the ast couple three (Did you know that people outside of Michigan really don't tend to know that phrase? As in defined as "two or three" rather than the six you get if you actually do "a couple three") days hoping it will just BE there one of these times. But no, the summer issue is still there. Alas! I want something else to lust after for myself. I won't be knitting the boyfriend any sweaters or anything like for a while due to the Curse, so this issue was of no real use to me. Interesting, but of little use.

I thought I should make mention of it now since I haven't before and will soon be adding it to my sidebar in the links, the fact that the comic Oh My Gods! kicks some major ass. I'm putting several of them up in my locker at school as soon as I have the time after school to do so. I love them all. Especially Stan, Vincent, Vera, and Fina, though. Mostly Fina.

I got a little bit bored today and created a nation. It's here, my beloved Mangocia. I'm borrowing France's flag until I make my own. Because I'm lazy, that's why.

I'm trying to organize the little red three-ring binder I store my knitting patterns and articles in. And my room, but that's getting hard, because I think I'm getting an early start on the sick season already. Ugh. Not much, just a runny nose and that "I'm sick!" feeling. Gotta love it. And I have to march tonight, too. On a chart we just finished yesterday. And I'm front-and-center almost the whole time. Good thing all I have to do are straight lines, or I'd screw it ALL up tonight. We do have the F right now, though, so that's good. But I'm still worried. We are SO bad at the whole straight lines thing. Especially among the tuba/sousaphones, because they have blind spots. And the low brass in general. And the bass drums. Yeah...

But the good news is that there is an afterparty at Charlie's house. It seems that the band is very into the idea of afterparties this year. Last year, it was pep bands, which were a blast because we were out of uniform, free to wander off at any time, could sit with your friends rather than in your section, and always got into the game free. But afterparties could be great. Steffan's was fun last game, and only Josh, Sam and I went. His pool was FREEZING, but not all that horrible. Like the floaty type of cold rather than the get-me-out-NOW type.

Oh, and then I have a party to go to at my Gamma's house with the maternal family tomorrow. And I can bring Josh. If he doesn't have to work. Ooh, speaking of which, I get an entire 8-hour shift next Saturday. It's great. Really! I love working at Wendy's, it's usually lots of fun and it gets me closer to France.

Hmm...something in me is nagging me to practice my flute...oh yes, that would be the music in my veins. And the Band Fagism that has been passed down for four generations in the maternal line. Woo! But something else tells me it won't be tonight. Maybe tomorrow. I really have quite a lot to do, since I'm not coming home between the game and the party. Guess I should get off then, huh?