Silent Poetry Reading Day

Today, along with Groundhog's Day, is Silent Poetry Reading Day.  (Details available here.)

Drummer Hodge

  I

They throw in Drummer Hodge, to rest
  Uncoffined - just as found:
His landmark is a kopje-crest
  That breaks the veldt around;
And foreign constellations west
  Each night above his mound.

  II

Young Hodge the Drummer never knew --
  Fresh from his Wessex home --
The meaning of the broad Karoo,
  The Bush, the dusty loam,
And why uprose to nightly view
  Strange stars amid the gloam.

  III

Yet portion of that unknown plain
  Will Hodge forever be;
His homely Northern breast and brain
  Grow to some Southern tree,
And strange-eyed constellations reign
  His stars eternally.

-Thomas Hardy, published in his Poems of the Past and Present in 1901.  

Seen in the movie The History Boys.

Time to play catch up. Again.

Evidently, I am blogging again.  I think it has to do with the serious lack of free time.  What better way to actually fix everything in time other than to blog?

Wet kitty. Sad kitty. Cute kitty.

So, quick catch up:

• I moved to Illinois and started grad school.
• School is awesome, I love my classes, library studies was totally the right choice for me.
• My landlord everything that my classes are not.  In short, had serious electrical problems for the first month+ that I was here.  Despite calls every couple of days, they dragged their feet in solving my problems and attempted to make me feel like a jerk for being upset about the fact that out of an entire one bedroom apartment, three electrical outlets worked, along with four lamps.  Those four lamps were only located in two of four rooms, and same with the outlets.  Their solution was to run an extension cord from an outside outlet.  For a month.  And I'm going to stop writing about this cause my blood pressure will soon skyrocket. 

His favorite place to sleep, still.  I'm gonna laugh when he doesn't fit anymore.

• TheBoy and I broke up.  Maybe one day we'll figure out how to be friends, but not right now.  Long distance is tough and it amplified all of our problems and eventually, we got tired of fighting the same fights, dealing with the same problems and never seeming to get anywhere.  So, that's sad and stuff, but it is what it is and then you move on.
• Because I can't do anything the "easy" or "simple" way, my expected graduation date has moved up.  To August 2009.  Which means I will graduate with a masters degree at the age of 23.  Which also means that I'm taking 18 credits this semester.
• Classes include:  Adult Popular Literature; Higher Education and Learning Professionals; Libraries, Information, and Society; Museum Informatics; Medevial and Modern Manuscripts; and Rare Books and Manuscripts.  So far, I love all of them

Second favorite place.  Mostly so he can mess up the computer with those cute little feet.

• I got a kitten.  He's currently about 5-6 months old and very cute.  He also also very much trouble.  His (full) name is Indiana Schrodinger III, or Schrodie for short.  Or Little Man.  Or The Little Shit.  Or Trouble.  He responds quite well to "HEY!" by this point in time.
• Kit hates the kitten.  He doesn't get the whole personal space concept, but they're doing quite well.  They even occasionally curl up near each other.
• Over all?  I am happy.
• I hate winter in Illinois.  Hence the graduation date change.

Homework IS fun!

I may be doing homework on a Friday night, but I am still greatly entertained. See:

I'm reading about the role of the library, if libraries should allow and encourage fiction reading, and library usage. In the process, I've found these gems:

"Compared with library users, for example, nonusers are more apt to dislike change, do not want to try new things, avoid foreign locales, and are suspicious of communists and hippies." (emphasis mine)

And:

"Here in rank order are the activities, interests, and opinions that correlated most strongly with nonuse of the library by women:

1. All men should be clean shaven every day.
2. I get satisfaction out of cleaning.
3. TV is my primary source of entertainment.
4. I often wish for the good old days.
5. I like the look of a large lamp in a picture window. (again, emphasis mine.)
6. I don't feel safe outside home at night."

Those two statements have me snickering into my beer as I do homework.  Who says grad school isn't fun?

Quotes from: Ross, Catherine Sheldrick, "Ch.1.1-1.3. The company of readers", in Ross, Catherine Sheldrick, Lynne (E.F.) McKechnie, and Paulette M. Rothbauer, Reading Matters: What the Research Reveals about Reading, Libraries, and Community. Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited, 2006. Pp.1-27.

alive-ish

Um, hi. I'm still alive, though some might doubt my sanity more than usual.

Working and living at the horse farm again for the summer. Prepping for the move to IL. Attempting to enjoy my time with TheBoyfriend before moving. Getting an awesome farmer's tan.

And watching TV via my slingbox and wondering... what happens to the cakes that do NOT win on the Food Network Challenge show? (Just saw the end of the Princess cake and the start of the Villain cake episode.)

Also, enjoying the new washing machine downstairs.

Post-Brewery Blogging

Weee, tipsy blogging. Not drunk blogging, as I am still able to stand on one foot and touch my nose with my eyes closed and not fall over. Sober persons attested to this fact and thus, I am only tipsy. Which is sad, but tomorrow is another day. And next weekend is Blue and White Weekend, and not only will TheBoy be here, but a ton of other people will as well. And it shall be fun.

That said, I got a graduate assistantship. I think my references basically completed the interview for me, for I know they called at least one of my references before my interview. And I think they went into the interview planning on hiring me, so long as I didn't totally mess it up. So, I have a graduate assistantship for 20 hours a week in the fall. For those twenty hours a week, they shall pay me about $17 an hour. While I will need to dip into savings to pay tuition the first few semesters, I think I will mostly be able to live off of my salary and that includes paying rent.

Now I have to answer super important questions such as: TIVO or no TIVO? I think it is about $13 a month. I DON'T KNOW. I get the impression that TIVO is one of those things that you can't not have once you have it. Am I willing to make that leap, knowing I will be working for about oh, $30k a year after graduation? Hrm, I shall have to debate this one.

That said, I finished the second sock of a pair of socks of which I have not posted pictures. If it were not 1am, I would take pictures now. So, just know that they were knit out of KnitPicks yarn in the Waffleweave Pattern that I wrote and that lo, they are awesome.

And as a reward, I am attempting to start a sock from New Pathways for Sock Knitters - the riverbed sock. I really dislike toe-up socks, and I am remembering why. I attempted to start the sock at work last night and just massively failed. I could not handle the figure eight cast on, let alone Cat's LLink and LRink increases. I just gave up, used Judy's Magic Cast On, and used an increase that I could manage for the first round. We'll see how it goes from here. And for my self that manages to forget things, yarn is ArtYarn's Ultra Merino, 6ply, with US 1 needles.

And I picked up US 2 needles today, so now I need to decide if I will be knitting the Eagle's Flight socks again. As much as I hate the idea of frogging YET AGAIN, I kinda can't handle the idea of NOT knitting those socks perfectly. So, we'll see. If I can't bring myself to wear them as is, they shall be frogged and re-knit. I have proven to myself that I can knit a sock in about a week and I most certainly do have the pattern memorized by now...

Orts and Bits

Really, do I ever write anything that is not some sort of random collection of the things floating around in my head? Finished Object posts, you say? Those don't happen all that often anymore, so I'm going to say "not really."

That said, on to the random collection of stuff that is floating around my head:

Sleep: I have gone to bed after 6:30am more times this semester than I have before midnight. This is not cool. This needs to change. (I do not see how this could change in oh, a month and a half.) If I am not asleep by 1:30am, I am considering just not sleeping tonight. I woke up around 2pm, so really, it would only be at the start of a three hour class that I would be awake for over 24 hours - that's totally doable. And then I can nap for an hour on the way to a rock climbing field trip and then climb for three hours. I SEE NO FLAWS WITH THIS PLAN.

School: Ugh. Do not care. I graduate in a month and a half. GRADUATE. They'll give me pieces of paper that make it official and everything! (Fools.) However, there are some ... 55 pages that need to be written between now and then. GAH. On one hand, I want to graduate and not thing about papers or anything, on the other hand? Graduate? Only real people, ready to face the real world graduate. Also, those people have learned something in the last four years or so. Have I learned anything? I do not know.

Ballet: Was awesome. I probably would have gone to that show even if I weren't taking a class that required me to do so. TheUrmily, however, ditched me in favor of BATTLESTAR GALATICA. There is nothing more that I can say here, other than to also mention that she canceled Thursday plans for Mad Mex because it was raining. Just .. fail.

Apartment: In theory, they have mailed the lease to me. I have not yet had it show up in my mailbox, but they most certainly went ahead and cashed the check I sent them. However, we suddenly have a new problem: Any assistantship I might get would start on August 16 - the lease starts August 18th. Tomorrow, I shall beg them to let me move in three days early. They keep claiming that they'll have plenty of time to clean and paint and remodel between July and August 18th, so what would three days be, now really?

Running: After trying to be nice and offer someone an onion ring, I have been roped into a weight loss challenge. Apparently, the goal is to lose 9lbs by the end of April. That's about 21lbs a week, which I think is pushing it a bit. I think I have talked the rules committee into accepting a weight loss goal of 7lbs for me, which I fee is much more reasonable and also, healthy. But, if by the end of the month, you have not met your goal of 9lbs, you owe $5 per pound remaining. Those who do make their goal get to split the pot. (Also, I find it interesting that a) I am the only female involved and b) this is a challenge set up to work best if some fail and some don't fail. We don't like it when everyone succeeds, it would seem.) So far, I have no idea how this is going, as I have eaten chocolate in some form or another every single day. And on Monday I had a milkshake.

However, in hopes to not owe $45 at the end of the month, I have started the Couch to 5K program.  Someone else has already done all the thinking, I just have to follow instructions.  To help me do so, I purchased an Eddie Izzard show in CD and have been running to that.  I will admit, it is somewhat difficult to run when you are laughing, but it is much more fun.  Also, you get great looks as you jog along, giggling merrily to yourself.  As you pass all the frat houses.  Ah, college towns.

Knitting:  Oh, right - the theoretical point of this blog.  I stopped by the yarn store the other day to purchase what I THINK are the correct size needles for the ill-fated Eagle's Flight Socks.  Only, they didn't have them.  No, seriously- they did not have them.  WTF, world?  Apparently, US2, 2.75mm, have been on backorder for some time.

So I came home and very carefully redisprited the tail I had left myself during my cast on.  And now, I can wear the sock without cutting off circulation to that foot.  I am still debating if I want to rip out the toe and reknit a slightly longer toe, so that the foot will be the correct length.  I think I will end up doing so, I just can't face the idea of messing with that sock anymore.

I am also currently turning the heel of the second KnitPicks sock that I am knitting for Klunk- that one should be done in a week or two, and then I get to play a new pair of socks!  I am excited.

Time to wrte another to-do list.  I write a mean list - pity I rarely manage to cross anything off.  And I can't even add things like "eat chocolate" to my list anymore.

See Below

Random Saturday Update Only Because I Am On Campus And Attempting Homework But One Cannot Do Homework That Requires Both Paper And A Computer In This Building Because The Computer Logs You Out After 30 Seconds Of Inactivity And Thus, You Cannot Write Anything Down Without Then Having To Log In Again Posted A Day Later Because The Computer Hated Me:

-Eagle's Flight socks: they will not be the exact same size. I no longer care, as dude, they are socks. You wear them on your feet. They stretch out over the day and smell by the time they join the laundry pile. So long as both fit and seem to be intended for the same general size of foot, I shall be happy. Besides, I think my right foot is a little bit larger than the left, and thus, I can argue that really, I just knit socks to reflect that.

-Dandia on Fire: these people are crazy and I will be forced to eat pizza (or not eat at all) twice in one day, while standing in the back of the auditorium, flipping a clipboard (minus the clip) up and down to block a projecter during an Indian Dance competition. Also, Harry Potter? IS NOT PART OF A TRADITIONAL DANCE FROM FROM A STATE IN INDIA. Neither is Michael Jackson's Thiller or The Pink Pathner.

-Macs: I have apparently forgotten how to use a Windows system. While having trouble with DVDs not reading in the DVD player, we hooked up a windows laptop and lo, I was lost. I find that kind of sad and also, very frightening. Do people normally lose brain cells that quickly?

-Grad school: I applied for, and was accepted, the seeminly awesome apartment in Champaign. They are mailing a lease to me so I can sign away all of my savings, to be spent in only one year! However, I am excited and happy that I got the apartment. I think signing the lease will make things seem that MUCH MORE REAL and dude, I am also freaking out about this whole thing because I am suddenly VERY MUCH AWARE that Illinois? Is not, in any way, shape, or formed, what one might be able to consider "close" to West Chester.

-Paying for Grad School: I applied for a bunch of assistantships that were listed on the website for Illinois on Thursday. By Friday, I had already receieved an e-mail asking when I would be available for an interview. Either I look really really impressive on my resume, I wrote kick-ass cover letter in about 5 minutes, or they just want to fill the position. All of those seem to be good things for me, but now I'm freaking out about the phone interview. 45 minutes? On the phone? Answering questions while mentally telepathing "HIRE ME. YOU WANT TO HIRE ME. IF YOU HIRE ME, YOU WILL BE HAPPY." Seriously, an assistantship will be the difference between loans and no loans. I have, in various bank accounts, enough money to have about $500 a month for the two years it should take to get my masters. That's all well and good, but rent and utilites will be a bit over $700 a month. Not to mention food, the cat, or oh, I don't know, paying to tuition. Or the car. Or anything else.

An assistantship would mean that I'd only have to pay the difference between in and out of state tuition - about four thousand, if I take 12 credits or more. Plus, I'd get about an extra $600 a month - enough to cover the rest of rent, to eat, buy cat food so the cat(s) doesn't(don't) eat me, and take care of the car. Of course, I could also get a regular old job, but an assistantship would also allow me to get exprience and everyone keeps telling me that experience = good when applying for jobs.

-Sunday: is going to suck. I have to lead class discussion for three hours on Monday, which means I have to actually read the assignments for this week. And meet with a classmate to put together questions. And write a 2-3 page response paper. And all of the assignments for another class that I have ignored all semester because, really, why do them before they were due.

They're due Tuesday.

Gack, time to run back to work and continue working on my natural pallor from spending all free time on weekends in a dark theatre.

It is a really good thing I like these socks..

So, I managed to knit an entire Eagle's Flight sock in less than a week.

While nearing the toe, I started to get really nervous, as there wasn't a lot of yarn left.  I do have faith in knitters and the Internets, but I wanted to finally FINISH these socks so I could wear them.

Knitting in the dark, on a bus headed back to State College from New York City, I finished the second sock.  And lo, I was happy, for there was just enough yarn to finish and weave in ends.  See?

And then I looked closer.  A lot closer.  And realized that these two socks must not have been knitting on the same size needles, for though they had the exact same number of pattern repeats and rounds in the toe and the heel.. they were not the same size.  So, of course, I ripped and restarted.

And got about this far when I realized that I must not have used US 1 needles either, because there was no way that sock was going to fit my medium/large feet.

So, in conclusion:
- I had just enough yarn.
-I did not use US 1 needles for the first sock.
-Which means that I used US 2 needles, for those are the only DPNs I have for socks - US 1 or 2.
-Which means that my pink plastic needles that I thought were US 2s are not US 2s, or rather, because they are so slippery, my gauge is not quite the same.
-Which means that I no longer have a set of bamboo US 2 DPNs.
-Which means I am re-knitting the second sock - for third time (though, the 6th time I have cast on and started the second sock) - on US 1.5s that I am borrowing from a friend.

Also?  Blogger hates me, as I had to upload the pictures for this post four times.

Apparently, these socks require mulitple attempts.

Eagle's Flight Socks

Last time we checked in on the Eagle's Flight socks, I had finished the first sock, knit past the heel of the second sock and then... I lost the second sock.  Sock, needles, yarn, and all.

After trolling Raverly, I sent a message to a nice person who had used Opal's 4-Ply Uni Solid in color 1263.  She was so very kind to mail me her remaining yarn, with which I have started the third sock.  I am fairly certain that I will have enough yarn to finish this sock, and I am thrilled to be knitting these again.

Of course, I also have no idea what size needles I was using before, so I had to guess.  I also attempted to cast on in a moving car in the dark.  Actually, the casting-on part was the easy part.  The hard part was the second patter row, working into yarn overs located right before and after a purl section.  That I attempted while sitting at a bar, drinking a very yummy margarita.  I think the fifth time was the charm.

I am currently kicking myself for not blogging these socks more.  Just think of the trouble I could have saved if I had noted the size needles!  Or you know, never have lost the sock at all.

But at this point, that seems like wishful thinking.

And because I uploaded them for perhaps no reason, please accept the following photographs:

The loveseat that my father took off the hands of a friend after said friend's mother died.  We have two other loveseats in the house.  He also accepted a matching couch.  I am trying to convince him to buy a slipcover.

My current favorite new member of the household.  Meet Scooba.  He happily does kitchen floors so I don't have to.  Well, minus the whole ripping out old floor, replacing with new titles two days before Christmas bit.  Even after all that, I still love him.

Oh, right. The blog

Um, hi.  It has been a while.  Mainly because I have been too lazy to drag my camera out and take pictures and really, who wants to read a picture-less post?

I'll try to make this quick, as there's a lot to catch up on.

Things that Have Happened Since I Last Remembered That I Have A Blog:

-Spring break.  It was a week.  It was short.  I got food poisoning - not recommended.  I was busy.  I don't understand how I can be trying to pack so much stuff into one week when I often find myself bored and lonely on a Saturday night simply because I FORGOT THAT IT WAS SATURDAY and therefore, other people would be around and able to do something.  Having Wednesday as your Friday is not always a good thing.

Um, yes.  Spring Break.  There was sleep, there was spending time with TheBoy.  There was TheBoy's birthday and lots of yummy sushi.  Mm... sushi.  And there was lots of time spent at the barn.  I realized just how excited I am to be going back to work at the barn for the summer.  I love the people, I love the environment, I love the access to a swimming pool.  Getting paid is also a really nice concept.

I also spent all of Spring Break bemoaning the fact that since I was home, I was not at school to check the mail AND WHAT IF ILLINOIS RESPONDED?

Um, they did.  I got in.  I still haven't quite processed that yet.  Or the fact that I applied to four grad schools - without taking the GREs - and got into four grad schools.  Even though two of the four never received my transcript.  My letter of recommendation writers ROCK.  I should knit them socks.

Ok, the whole bullet (and quick) idea has gone to the wayside.  You'll get to read whatever I remember to write as I type.  Lucky, lucky you.

Yesterday, on Craig's List, I found a listing for a couple of AMAZING looking apartments.  Three buildings managed by one real estate company, with multiple units in each building.  New(ish) stainless steel appliances.  A dishwasher.  Laundry facilities located in the building.  Parking included.  They will accept up to two pets per apartment.  Hardwood floors.  The pictures look really nice.  Furnished.

Of course, I am waiting for a catch.  I might have already found it, for I tried calling the number listed on the website and NO ONE ANSWERED.  I called about once an hour for 4 hours or so, and never did I hear a live person.  I don't think that requiring a person to leave a message to get back to you is the best method to actually get people to rent your apartments.  It just seems weird to me.  So, great apartment that I really really really really like the look of, and I can't get ahold of anyone.  Also, not sure if it would matter because I am in Pennsylvania.  The apartment is in Illinois.  That's not quite a weekend trip and I don't want to sign a lease without seeing the place.  I doubt they'd hold it for me.  So, I don't know. 

So, to sum up the squee factor for this post:

-Accepted into Illinois

-Accepted into Wisconsin

-Accepted into Phi Beta Kappa, the honors society

-Got to see TheBoy

-Ate Sushi

-Am going to NYC on Saturday to eat sushi, go to Dylan's, Serendipity, and a museum that has yet to be decided

-there was something else, but I can't remember.