A year later

As of September 28, I have been a traveling consultant for my company for 2 years.  What has that meant for me?

• I'm so tired these days I missed the 1-year anniversary of this job.
• I sleep in my bed at my own home (the one I pay taxes on) 3 nights a week.
• I consider the hotel (any hotel) my home.
• I've developed gastritis and duodenitis. Trying saying that five times fast.
• My yard is a disaster-zone
• Spiders are running my house
• I visit family twice a year and they're only 5 hours away.
• I have 300K frequent flier miles.  I am now Platinum Medallion on Delta.  I'm aiming for Diamond by the end of the year (My coworkers have been doing this so long that they think my mini-celebrations when I hit a new level are mildly amusing.  They're so jaded).
• I have 200K+ points with both the Marriott and Hilton chains. I like both, but I think Hilton sometimes edges Marriott out.
• I constantly feel stupid.
• I'm back to working 10+ hours a day just to keep up.
• I've developed the ability to fall asleep anywhere.

I've also learned the following:

• To be grateful I have a job.  Unemployment is at 10%.  Nothing can be taken for granted.
• That regardless of intentions, higher salary really does mean you spend more.  I can't understand how I'm spending more than I use to, but there it is.
• Savings are important.  Emergency funds are your friends.
• It is important to take time to enjoy the small things.
• The North has four distinct seasons.  I've now experienced them all and I like them.  The south has HOT, "I'm sticking to the car seats HOT", Hot, and cold snap.

I initially started writing this post on September 30 and was planning on publishing it that night.  However, I found myself unable to press the button and I still don't know why.  Possibly because it just didn't feel right, but now it does.

Twitter + Kanye

What happens when you combine pictures from the New Yorker with Tweets from Kanye West?

LMAO!!!!

Please excuse me.  I need to find a tissue to wipe my eyes....That was hilarious!

Investing

I've been watching Clean House all week. It's an exercise in amusement and bemusement.  My favorite part is watching the homeowners, who have presumably watched the show and know what's going to happen, try desperately to hold on to their stuff.

However, it is making me look around my house and wonder what I would get rid of if Niecy and company blasted their way into my house.  Thankfully my house isn't very cluttered, just slightly messy.  So I started thinking, what would Niecy and Company want me to get rid of the most, my Tigger?

Eh.  That might not hurt.

What would hurt?

The Yarn.  Yeah.  I would put up a fight over the yarn.  So, just out of curiosity, I pulled a spreadsheet from Ravelry and did some quick math to determine how much yarn I have.

$1,140.33

That was the total for the yarn, in stash, that I had prices attached to.  71 yarns didn't even have a price attached.  So, that means that I probably have over $2000 of yarn...


Whoa....

I have ~$2000 of yarn in my house.  That means that the stash is easily the most expensive collection of anything in my house.  The stash is worth more than the TV, the computers, any other single item.  I have in yarn what I am trying to save for wood floors.

Whoa...Clearly, I need to rethink some priorities. Perhaps I won't put so much in the yarn budget each month...

I'm glad I have alarm system on the house.

Vacation Crafting

I spent all of last week chained to the desk in my spare room doing work, so I wouldn't have to do any work this week (that plan failed.  I've checked the email everyday this week, even if I didn't act on it).

However I do have some knitting related items to share with you.
The Cambridge Jacket is 99% finished!

I still need to modify the zipper (the instruction called for a 26in zipper, I bought a 24in zipper, and it's still too big) but do you remember what I said about the size issue?

Yeah . . .It fits me.  This will definitely swamp my dad.  I'm a little worried about this.
(momentary pause to acknowledge that it is currently 89 degrees outside and I'm standing here in a wool sweater)

I have a few things I need to finish on the jacket (weaving in ends mostly), but the jacket is largely done.  I feel pretty good about it because it is my first completed sweater, it looks pretty decent and I learned a lot.  The Rubicon has been crossed.

I've also done some sewing this week.  I finished this in two hours last night.

The back of the DPN Case

DPN Case Interior

When it comes to sewing, I don't have a case of Startitis.  I can sit and look at the pattern and the fabric all day long and won't cut the fabric.  However, I have to admit that once I get started, I'm always pleased with the results.  I still sew decently well.

I've been working on this hat all week

M'Gonigle Hat

I loved the pattern when I saw it on Ravelry and I thought it would be a breeze, since the cable pattern has the look of the Bayerische socks I knit two years ago (wow, has it been that long?).

I've had to rework this hat 4 or five times.  Every day I end up tinking something because I either forgot to do a second repeat of the cables, or I messed up the pattern or I put the pattern where it wasn't supposed to be.  Either way, I goofed something.  But now I'm almost at the end of one skein of Stroll Sport Mink Heather and ready to finish this off.

In sad news, Needles and Knobs in St. Petersburg is the newest victim of the economy.  I got her email yesterday saying she was going out of business.  I know I should run up there to see what is on clearance, but since I just spent $151 at A Good Yarn Monday, I'm holding off.  I'll probably go on Friday.

The Cambridge Jacket

I am trying not to say "I HATE SEAMS", but I'm really feeling that way.

This jacket is turning out really well.  I can see myself doing another sweater from my queue, but I need to find a better way to manage shoulder seams.  I have the side and sleeve seams down pat, but seaming in set-in shoulders is getting the best of me.

I am worried about the size, though.  I'm probably twice the size of my dad and I made this jacket in the 39" size.  Soo.....

Why do I fit in this jacket?  With room to spare?  This is very scary.  It will SWAMP my father.

Weekday Vignette: Sunday

Well, here's another travel update story.

Sunday (7/25/2010) was supposed to be an easy day.  I would sleep in, then drive to the airport to catch my flight to LaGuardia, drive up to Westchester, have dinner and enjoy the season's premiere of Mad Men.  Well, that didn't happen....Enjoy!

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9:00 AM:  Finish packing.  Take nap.

11:15 AM:  Wake up to the sound of the cell phone.  Delta is calling me to tell me that my "3:15 pm flight to New York--LaGuardia has been delayed to 4:30PM.  We regret any inconvenience this may cause . . ."  I smile and roll over to continue my nap.

2:15 PM:  Leave the house to head to Tampa.  I need to return some items to IKEA and this is the most time-efficient way to do it without using extra gas.

2:40 PM:  Phone rings.  Delta is calling me to tell me that my "4:30 PM flight to New York--LaGuardia has been cancelled.  We regret any inconvenience this may cause . . ."  SERIOUSLY!!!  You mean I just wasted my gas on a cancelled flight?  Nah, dude, you are getting me to NYC today.

The Final Stretch

I'm headed into the final stretch with the Cambridge Jacket cardigan.  All the pieces have been blocked.

Cambridge Jacket--Left and Right Fronts

Cambridge Jacket--Sleeve

Now for the sewing up part. . .

Progress

Isn't it a great feeling when you attempt something that serves to illustrate how much experience you've gained since you first learned to do it?  I remember the first time I made a sock. . .well, a sock-like object. That sock would only fit a person with extra-wide feet and cankles.  The important part, however, was that I followed a sock pattern and ended up understanding how socks were created, how gussets work, and why those weird instructions actually worked to create something that would cup the feet.

Since then, I've made plenty of socks and hats, but I still had my own personal Rubicon to cross:  Sweaters.  That's right, there are absolutely no sweaters in my repertoire.  Why?  Well, let me see:

1. I'm a plus-sized woman, which means:
1. There's a shortage of patterns to work with (Big Girls Knits, notwithstanding)
2. I don't like most plus-sized patterns
3. All those patterns require a great deal of yarn
4. I really didn't have the money to buy the yarn required
2. I tried making a sweater once before but it was a disaster, because
1. Instead of trying to follow a pattern and learn the basics, I tried to modify the pattern from the beginning.
2. The sweater in question wasn't even for me; It was for my dad
3. I was a really slow knitter, so I was easily distracted and bored

All the items above meant that sweater knitting, for me, was more of a hassle than a joy.  However, I started reorganizing my yarns last month and realized that it was a shame (and really ridiculous) that I had so many cardigans and pullovers in my Ravelry Queue, but I never knit them.

Hello Rubicon.

I had the yarn in question, I had the time necessary, I just needed the right project.  I started the Cambridge Jacket 2 weeks ago thinking that it would take me at least a month.  I am proud to report that at 5:20 this morning, I bound off the second sleeve and threw everything into the washing machine for a quick bath before blocking.

Now I wish I hadn't drunk so many cups of tea.  I need to sleep.

I'm making a statement.

This had to be the most hilarious thing I've read in a while:

I'm making a statement.

This SHIT would happen to me....

Occasionally I have one of those days simply meant for the record books.  Those days are few and far between, but when they happen, I can only sit in amazement that I made it through.  Usually, my body (or its unwillingness to listen to instructions) is a determining factor in this situation, but not always.

Yesterday, it was the only factor, in a brutal and embarrassing way. . .let me take you back about 24 hours. . .

(Author Note:  If you have a weak stomach, do not read any further.)

Weekday Vignette: Monday

This is a quick snapshot of my typical week.  Responses to stimuli may vary.

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12:01 AM:  Bags packed and in car.  Plane ticket and ID in back pocket of jeans.  Cell Phones are charging.  I've forgotten something.

12:30 AM:  iPod now syncing with computer.  Useless exercise anyway; I will listen to every podcast on it before I land in NYC.  Really need to bite the bullet and subscribe to Audible, but I like getting my books in paper form.

12:45 AM:  Stack Dishwasher.

1:00 AM:  Go to bed

4:00 AM:  Receive call from Delta.  My 7:15 flight has been delayed until 8:53.  Curse out the automated voice, not for calling to tell me (I'm grateful for that), but for calling me at 4AM!!!

No Willpower

I don't have a lot of weaknesses but I readily admit that I lack willpower; That's why I'm overweight and have too much yarn.  However, I believe one of the keys to life is knowing which battles to fight and which battles to leave be.  Below are two personal battles I've learned to leave be:

Useless battle #1:  Yarn Diets

Random Questions

About a month ago, I sent out a random question to see what my friends my think of me:

If you saw ME in the back of a police car, what would you think I'd been arrested for?
Reply to me alone, then forward to your friends:

Interesting responses.

Something New

I'm determined to start blogging again, so I'm learning ways to get faster and more interesting blog posts out to you. That does mean that you may occasionally get a stinker, but I thought that, as much as I "tweet", I should be able to update on the fly.

Anyway, last night I finally blocked the Lakehouse socks. Yes, it's true; the sock have been complete for 2 weeks, but I didn't bother to block them until last night. Anyway, I pulled them out of the washing machine and put them on my feet and blocked them to my feet exactly.

Swatching

I'm doing something I rarely do: I'm swatching for a project.


I'm a process knitter. I enjoy the calm progress of a project. If it fits at the end, great. If not, oh well it will fit someone. This attitude is also why I mostly stick to sock knitting. But the yarn that I'm using, Elann Mercurio, is discontinued and that means that there is no room for mistakes.

Seen at LaGuardia

Perhaps someone should tell them that they are at LaGuardia, not JFK.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

New Reading.....FanFic!!!

I have a new obsession.

FanFiction.net

Right now, I am on pins and needles waiting for the next Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire Mysteries book to be released and I didn't know what to do. I haven't read fan fic in years, but last week I thought (rather randomly) that I should check to see if there were any fanfic out there for consumption.

Ticked

I think Blogger must be out to ruin my life. The moment I figure out how to modify my blog to a three column layout, here they come with that and more....

ARRRGHHHH!!!

I'll update my blog to take advantage of all the new features this weekend.

Looking good

For a blog I don't update much, I sure did spend a lot of time updating it. . .Let's see, what have I done in the past 5 days:

• Modified the entire blog into a three-column blog!
• Modified all the headings, footers, paddings, margins...everything.
• Modified the Works in Progress widget to display all the yarns being used and
• Modified the Works in Progress widget to put all my current WIPs in order by most recently cast on.
• Modified the posting code to allow for the "Read More" option, instead of having super long posts...

If you ask me, Blogger has finally gotten the idea to catch up to Wordpress's beauty and ease of use. Did you see that they've finally added Pages?!?!?! I couldn't believe it and, now that they have pages, I don't have anything I would want to put on a page.

A consultant's life

consists of sitting in airports, driving to airports, and navigating the security lines!

I'm glad that Tampa has such a nice airport. Horrible TSA agents but a nice airport. They even have a "Business Center" in the airport with outlets and desks for laptops and free wi-fi. So when my flight is cancelled/delayed/whereabouts unknown/"manually defrosting at the gate" (read "sitting in the sun until the frost melts off"), I can sit in the business center and work.

So, I promised to update this blog over a month ago and, in true Victoria fashion, I haven't done it, I've been racked by shame at my inability to find anything to write about, and I'm resolved (daily) to do better. So here I go:

1. The best way to follow me now is Twitter (www.twitter.com/veiland). I'm forever updating Twitter with the silly stuff I see in NYC and my consultant's life.


2. I've been knitting like a fiend. In the past month, I've finished, well....look at the FOs in the side bar. Lots of hats and a pair of socks...(now realizing I left a hat in the washer after spinning the water out to block it. Oh well).


3. I'm a loyal Delta Airlines Fan. As much as Delta has been screwing me this month, I still prefer Delta. Don't know why....I just do.

90% Done

I am 90% done with the Lordana Boucle Jacket, but I have a problem.

I keep looking at this jacket and thinking to myself, "I want to frog this..."

I was rereading "Knitting in Plain English" and I realized that this is one of those sweaters that needs seams. The sides need seams. The shoulders need a better bind off. I need to finish both sleeves...

And looking at this pictures depressess me because I realize that this item has been a UFO for almost 2 years now....that's pathetic.