Friday, September 28, 2007

Thursday, September 20, 2007

PSI: Boston

(cross-posted from SPK)

Knitting actually HAS been happening, I just haven't talked about it in ages. I guess I've definitely been in the mood to do rather than discuss. :) But I thought I ought to mention the Pine Street Inn Knit-A-Thon now that I've been knitting squares for the past several days...I kept hearing about the event, and thought it was such an exciting idea, but figured I didn't have enough time to get anything knit, because for some reason I thought it was taking place in late September. Luckily, I realized it's not until early November, and so I've got plenty of time to churn out some patchwork pieces! They are looking for 9"x9" squares that will be sewn together at the actual event to create quilts for the use of the guests who stay at the PSI. I have been really interested in that place ever since reading Another Bullshit Night in Suck City, so I am glad that I'll have a way to get involved with it now (even if it is just for a day).

Because I'm really uncomfortable with fundraising (I am just awful at it), I probably won't do any pledging, but let me direct you to Wendy's page if you are interested in making a donation & sponsoring her by the # of squares she knits! I think the concept is great...but I also do love that one can donate knitting by itself, without having to go the money route.

In any case, on to the knitting! I have a ton of yarn that Dan's grandmother gave to me a while back, most of which I can't use for anything of my own. I was thinking I'd pass it all along, but now I think I will hold onto it at least until the deadline for squares, and hopefully I can use up a good amount of it for a good cause! I'm also trying to learn several new stitch patterns while I work on these otherwise potentially boring squares. I've already completed 4 and part of a 5th:


See the Vogue Knitting Stitchionary there, underneath my blue & brown squares? :)

(And yes, those shoes in the background? They are this weird version of generic Crocs. I know, I know, I hate hate hate the ubiquitous things too, but I am pleased to no end that Bethany helped me find a pair that's not the usual awful shape & style. I needed a breathable closed-toe shoe that I could wear when I volunteer in the Women's Lunch Place kitchen (it's required by health code), so those were my best option for the summer. I apologize to anyone I've offended by owning them, haha.)

I'll post with more knitting soon -- I've been working on a sweater, a couple pairs of socks, a baby blanket, and I'm about to start a shawl/scarf. Fun! xoxo

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

addendums

(I typed "addendumbs" up there by mistake, and I almost left it, because it seemed quite appropriate, heh.)

I wanted to add several things:


  • The shoes I just posted about are bridesmaids shoes, for my sister Bethany's upcoming wedding. She let us choose anything we wanted, so I went with a pair (thanks for finding them, Sarah!) that I really liked & knew I would wear again. They probably won't even be that visible at the actual wedding, since my dress is so long.

  • I forgot to add another nice thing: that I also had a lovely weekend with (my other sister) Sarah (celebrating her 30th!) and my parents. We ate a nice dinner and shopped and crafted. We made these really cute fleece baby blankets that we'd both been wanting to try, but I got impatient (I hate working with fabric! I always forget that!) and mine was kind of messy (even though the dinosaur-print fabric was totally fun). Sarah's turned out beautifully, though. I should have snapped pictures!

  • And, a fun outing with Sally this weekend yielded me *square dinner plates* (I've been coveting a set for just about EVER) from West Elm over at Fenway. I decided on large red ones and smaller black ones, and I love how they look together. I can't wait to have a dinner party (I don't know how I'll manage THAT in my small apartment, but one can dream, can't they?) and get to set the table. I've never been this excited for tableware, ever! :)

  • Cake at work this morning. Can't start a day off better than that!


Okay, seriously, that's it for now. I just didn't want to leave out the important stuff! xo

on the bright side

Since I realized all my recent posts have been grumpy ones, here are some nice things coming up this week:


  • An awesome pair of new shoes! (This already happened, but I couldn't resist posting about it.) Yay, Zappos.com:

  • Fondue & Death By Chocolate to help celebrate Tara's birthday tonight!

  • This already happened too, but yesterday's 1/2 hour power outage at work was actually fun: we're a software company, so while there are backup generators, for the most part people enjoyed the break and had some fun.

  • Getting to see Kelley on Friday, finally! And going to see Live & Collective Soul with her!

  • Finally picking up some tailored pants that I've desperately needed to rotate into my wardrobe for quite some time! (It's like new clothes, but hopefully slightly cheaper....)

  • Spending some quality time with Danny!


I think that's it for now. I am sure there are other fun things, but that'll have to do for now, because I have GOT to go get work done! (And try to keep my mind off this credit card fraud thing.) xoxo

you bastard

Well, I certainly now know how Karen feels! I went to check my credit card account online this morning like I regularly do, and I saw a $600+ charge made to my card that was definitely not me. I immediately called the Citicard fraud department and was told that that wasn't the only problem: someone has my number and has been making crazy purchases all over the internet! $100 here, $200 there, etc. UGH. I hate people so damn much. Luckily I've gotten over the feeling that I've been specifically targeted - it's not like someone knew who I was and grabbed something of mine, knowing I was a sucker - but, still. It's a shitty feeling. I just hope Citicards can figure out which were my charges and which weren't...or however they go about doing all that. The last thing I need to do is shell out several hundred dollars when I can't even afford my own living expenses!

Another thing I seriously do NOT need is my credit card being shut down & mailed to me AGAIN: I just spent the last month trying to get them to mail my card upgrade to the right place. They finally managed it last week...and now, here I am, back at square one, with no card. And probably carrying a balance now while I pay bills out of my bank account and can't charge anything to my card. God, I hate this shit. I guess it's better for me to learn how to live without a credit card, but it's not like I was spending beyond my means...I just liked being able to accrue points and kind of be able to pay for everything all at once, with my end-of-the-month paycheck. Gah.

Well, at least I don't have to worry anymore about the fact that my credit card was printed with an expiration date of Halloween...yes, of this year! I thought I was going to have to call and go through another month of hell just trying to get that card updated. Now, I still have to worry about getting my card mailed to the right place, but at least this time it's also hopefully cutting off some asshole who is buying him- or herself lots of fun presents and charging ME for it. Ugh. I don't even know what you could BUY at Sprint for $600 all at one pop! Unless it was like 8 cell phones at once. Which, doesn't that look kind of suspicious...?

Arg, I hate this feeling. Maybe I just need to go without a credit card for good. What pisses me off the most is that I check my online account every day, but these charges started on September 14, and this was the first day I saw them come through. So basically I've been victimized for several days, and was blissfully unaware. I wish my credit card company could do something like my bank does, and display both pending and cleared charges. That way, maybe I could have seen the bastard earlier!

It still makes for a shitty day. :( And another stressful month worrying about money, good stuff. Thanks so much, you jerk.

Thursday, September 06, 2007

angry afternoon

Someone came into my cube and took one of the empty cartons that's been sitting on my desk (I had several things delivered here a while back, because it's more reliable than at my place where no one is there to sign), and I'm (irrationally?) angry about it.  Not about the box, I could care less about the box.  But the fact that they came into my cube!  That really bothers me.  Is that weird?  I know it's work and it's not like I've got anything to hide, but just...even though it technically belongs to my company, shouldn't this be MY personal space?  I respect everyone else's spaces.  Granted, I may stop into one of my coworkers' desks to leave a note or something, but I KNOW this isn't someone I know, and I KNOW they TOOK something.  Without asking!  While I wasn't there!  It feels so sneaky.  I keep wanting them to come back so I can entrap them, haha.  I don't even know what I'd do.  But I'm feeling really violated right now.  I guess I mistakenly took my cube area to be a (kind of) sacred space.  I'll have to revise that notion.

I just think it's one thing if someone stopped in to find me and I wasn't there, but it's quite another to be presumptuous enough to walk in, TAKE something, and leave.  Without even letting me know.  Maybe even hoping I wouldn't notice??  I hate presumption, it pisses me off.

Now I'm cranky, and not getting any work done.  Blah.  

I've got to go back to that. xoxo

p.s. I'm also now VERY curious about corporate law's views on what a company owns.  Like, do I own those boxes or, because they were on company property, the company does?  And if that's the case, do they also technically own anything I walk in with everyday (cell phone, wallet, keys), and the clothes on my back?  That seems a little creepy.