Whack out good ol' time in Eau Claire

It's so nice to be home! I've been visiting friends, (Jaci what are you doing on Sat? I know I have yarn to pick up!) Working my tail off, (14.25 hours yesterday!) and I even made it to Knit Nite at Borders on Tuesday!! That really made my week!

Big things are afoot for the Christmas holiday! I'm finally going to finish a baby blanked that I started over 3 years ago. It's going to a very special baby named Wyatt (Wy-wy for short, I love it!) I'm hoping to get some pictures of him and (the mostly pink) blanket on the 24th. There will be many digital cameras, so i should be able to get some pictures sent to me! I really should look into getting my own camera, but that's neither here nor there at this point. Wy-wy is my cousin/sister's long awaited baby that she was finally able to conceive and have last May. Boy did all the hard work pay off too! He is one of the happiest babies I have ever seen! This is surprising only because of the extended family he comes from. . . Ah I'm not worried, the corruption should begin soon! (I'm just kidding by the way, my extended family has a wicked sense of humor and tend to be very sarcastic. This can be exacerbated by coffee and martinis/bloody marys. Christmas is almost always a riot in the Rohow household)

While I'm glad to be home, I'm also very happy to be heading back to Minnitonka to work after christmas. I like the office there much better. I like the dressing up and the protocol. I also really like the people I work with, well. . . maybe not so much the Dragon Lady when she's in one of her moods. . .

Speaking of which, I should get back to work! Break over man!

I'm going to try and write before the holiday, but in case I don't: Everyone have an excellent holiday season!

Working in Eau Clarie this week!! YAY!

Because of all the Overtime I get to do these next couple of weeks, and because of the holiday insanity, I was able to negotiate working in Eau Claire for the week!
I haven't slept in my bed for more than 4 nights in a row since june. I can actually work all the OT i'm needed to work, plus be at home with my kittys! I'm so happy! Time for a happy dance!

does happy dance
Come on you dance too!
grabs reader into pathetic yet jolly happy dance

I'm just happy to be home for a while. I'm calling it my "business anti-trip" since to work at a different office, I actually have to travel 99 miles less than if I were to go in to my regular office.
Don't get me wrong, I love working in Minnetonka. And after Christmas I will go back working there. There is more opportunity, and I know I work better with my supervisor when we are face to face rather than a conference call and web conference. Lots of work to do though. . . I better get going on it!

Ooooh. . . . I'm so excitied to be able to hang out at "the dog" this week!!

Last Minute Save!

I'm back in Minnetonka! Started a new contract job today! I was basically hired in 5 hours. . . that's the fastest I've ever been brought on! Now they just have to tell me what to do. . . Whoops! Gotta go!
More later!

Farewell to thee, Minnetonka?

I found out this past Monday that today is my final day here in Minnetonka. The project was winding down anyway, and my on-site boss is taking a new position in a different department. I've informed my temp company, but of course its going to take a couple of weeks to get hired somewhere else. Lo and behold! The admin assistant that sits just around the corner from me, she needs temp workers asap! So I happen to mention my last day is today and I am looking for any work right now. I also have the added benefit of being in this company's system! I have log-ins and e-mail/IM addresses and access. I even have my own extension and a desk, a computer already set up too! They are seriously considering me!!! My current boss gave me a glowing review and told the admin assistant I could run circles around the two temps they already have for this contract. I <3 my boss. She tried so hard to get me hired permanently!! This new contract would not be permanent, nor long term, but it is much much better than unemployment for 2 weeks to 3 months!! I should find out something by next week. :-D

Oh, and Dixie you are so lucky I found out Monday about my position ending instead of last Friday or I wouldn't have bought all that yarn in one sitting! :P But I'm already about 1/3 way done with my mom's first sock!

The Good, The Bad, and The Cripple

So, I've really done it this time. But I will get to that in a moment! PICTURES!!: Like I promised for Halloween, I have a couple. I'm waiting for a couple more and I will post them when I get them.

Here I am with my nephews Emerick and PJ. Emerick went as Boba Fett, and PJ is Yoda.



And here I am in my Renaissance costume pulling the wagon!



That was the good, here comes The Bad: I am once again SOL on my job. It will not become permanent, and I have no idea how much longer I have. Because of this I have put myself back up on the job market. It just really sucks because I like what I'm doing, but there isn't much work to be done these days.

The Cripple: *Sigh* I missed a couple of steps on Sunday the 11th and landed wrong on my right knee. I went down like a tree. I previously severely injured my right knee last July, and it took months to get it close to "normal" again. I'm back in a full knee immobilizing brace, and cannot stand on it for long. I can't believe I did this!! I'm looking at months of wearing a brace, not being able to stand or rough-house with the kids, or even doing simple things like carry laundry up from the basement!!! At least I didn't sprain my ankle this time around, but it still sucks something huge.

I better go, gotta get back to work!

Starting to feel a bit better

Its been a rough couple of weeks! I will get into that more tomorrow. Yess, I'm gonna try writing tomorrow too.

Tomorrow I get to to trick or treating with my seestor's boys for the first time! Yay!! *claps!*

Emrick is going as Boba Fett, and PJ is going as . . . . wait, get this: Yoda! He's SOOO cute as yoda too! The Yoda costume comes with a little soft had with Yoda ears and a wrinkly forehead. I do have a scary picture of me wearing said hat. . . . But it is disturbing:

I'm done and I won!!

Very very good day yesterday and today!
First off: I FINISHED THE WEDDING SHAWL!
*does obnoxious happy dance!*

Ok ok! I found the pattern here for a Pinecone shawl And I used less than 1000 yards of silk lace weight from Claudia's handpaints on a size 3 needles. . . and I almost went CRAZY. (I'm knitting the shawl in my profile picture)

I'm going to try and get pictures tonight, that's when I'm blocking it. It's going to be all ready to go for Saturday's wedding! Only thing is that I wish I would have made it slightly larger. The bride is very tall and willowly and I would have liked a deeper point. (longer point?) But my mental health wasn't worth it. And I don't think I would have gotten it done in time.

And I'm also getting sock yarn from Jaci!! Check out her blog at Confessions of a Knitting Diva (not like your going to get a ton of hits from my site, Jaci. :-D ) So now I can go back to working on everything else people want me to make for them. . . Keep wishing guys! Who knows when I will finish something else. Oh, wait. . . I also finished a hat for my nephew Wyatt from Shelly's quilt stich pattern hat. I will try and get a picture of that too. . . with him wearing it! He's so cute! So I guess I can't say that I don't finish anything. . . I just don't finish much!
Like that Print-O-the waves stole I put on hold to finish this shawl, I think that's next on the finishing list.

Cheers!

Another car accident

This time I'm the one who hit someone. Darn it!!! I rear-ended a 2007 Infinity with my good 'ol Buick yesterday at about 6:30am when I was trying to get from 94 east bound to 494 south bound in Woodbury, MN. They stopped really fast. I couldn't. My car stalled as soon as I hit them and I had to push my car witht the help of the other driver to the sholder past the bridge we were under. My airbag didn't go off, so I must not have been going that fast. I smashed their back bumper all up, and I do feel really bad because the guy I hit had two other car-poolers with him and we had to wait for an hour for the state patrol to get to us. . . . even though the nearest weight station is less than 7 miles away and we were causing a traffic jam on one of the busiest intersections in the cities. . . .

After the trooper arrived and left, I got to wait for the tow truck. That was another 40 minutes. Then the tow truck had to pick up another van and drop it off before he could tow me alllll the way back to New Richmond. I got home at 11 am.

Funny thing is. . . my car is running just fine. (knock on lots and lots-o-wood) I only have a bend license plate in the front of my car. I waited to start it at home just in case the engine stalled again. I am sooooooo lucky. Now I just have to wait and see how much my insurance goes up. This is only my second accident that I have caused. (I backed into someone 10 years ago. . . )

Now I get to see if I can learn from my mistakes and quit driving like an idiot!

Weight Watches and stuff. . .

So. My Mom is a lifetimer at weight watchers. She has dropped about 60 lbs over the past several years. Me? I could stand to loose about . . . well let's be brutally honest here, about 100 lbs. I spend 2 nights a week at my parents house now while I'm working in Minnetonka, and WW night just happens to be one of the nights I stay over. Mom hasn't gone for a while, but she has been wanting to start up again. So I went with. I know I need to do it. This is of course different than wanting to do this, but if I wait until I want to do this it could be too late in regards to some health issues. I'm so picky about my food that I don't like the idea of lists showing "good" foods and limiting portions. But I also know enough that food should not be a comfort, and that's what I use it for. (Like most other people who like to eat!!)

Le Sigh. It will probably do me a lot of good though. I have recorded my eating habits in the past, I'm not really afraid to do it. I'm afraid of the system they use. I don't like limits(aka the point system and core foods system). I'm also aware that I don't eat consistently enough through out the day, I usually have a huge meal towards the end of the day and don't eat much in the morning or early afternoon. But I do like making detailed lists and being anal retentive and sticking to a pattern! In this way I think I will do very well on the program. I also really like the support system.

Now on the knitting front. After reaching 361 stitches per row, I have finally started working on the edging on the wedding shawl!! HOORAY! I have 16 days to finish and block the f*#ker. Then I. Will. Be. Done.

Then back to socks! Just in time for Socktoberfest!!

Come on people!! It's a '93 buick for chirssakes!!!

So I get up this morning at my sister's in Coon Rapids MN to go to work and head out to my car at 6am. . . . Why can I not get my key into the door of my car?!?!?! I'm in a darker corner right by the entrance so I can't see the lock. I try to open the door. . . yep. It opens. Someone broke my lock and busted into my car.
Great.
Nothing is missing (I have my garment bag in there and a grocery bag full of used clothes that need to be washed. No electronics in the car what so ever. I even still have the original tape deck!) Doesn't even look like they rummaged through anything.
I go back to the apartment and buzz my sister to let me back in. I knew this could take a couple of minutes because she is sleeping, and her husband has a hearing loss, so he can't here the buzzer without his hearing aids in.
I buzz.
I call.
I buzz. I buzz some more.
I call. Cell phones, home phone.
Even my nephew isn't waking up!!!
After 15 minutes of buzzing and calling, the door unlocks.
You think with three home phones she would put ONE in her bedroom!! (no, that one's turn off because she gets so many wrong numbers at 3 am. . . )
So the police come, and they go, and I go back down to leave. . . .
My steering wheel casing has been broken. I didn't notice it before.
*SIGH*
Call the police again to add to the report. Turns out it looks like someone was not trying to steal stuff from my car, they were trying to steal the CAR.
Oy people!!! Get a life! There are better cars out there than my POS Buick with 100,000 miles on it, no CD player, and its not even clean anyway!!! I don't even carry comprehensive insurance on my car because its not worth it! (I DO have liability on my car. . . I'm not stupid!)

Thank god I do take out all the yarn out of my car. I mean, what if somebody was stupid enough to try and break in?!?!?!

I have been chastized

I ran into Jaci this weekend at the Eau Claire International Festival while knitting out front of Yellow Dog Knitting.

"Why haven't you blogged!?!?!"

Cause I'm lazy? . . . Maybe.

Cause I don't have an easy way to put pictures up on my blog?. . . Probably!

Here's a picture of me I lifted off my sister! We were at Faith's wedding (that's Jessie's best friend.) Faith is totally anti-knitting (yet she wants me to make her stuff. . . go figure) So of course I brought knitting! Here is me knitting at her wedding recieption:

This is a wedding shawl for a very good friend that is getting married on Oct 13th. I'm up to 325 stiches per row, and I'm going inszane. Yes, inszane. I still have to knit the edging, and that means right now if I stopped I would have 650 rows of edging to do between 7 - 15 stiches. . . I'm not sure what's going to be worse: trying to get to about 400 stiches, or knitting the edging. . . I'm going to get a better picture when I'm finished with it. No way I'm not recording this for postarity!!

Well! Gotta go! Work is demanding my attention. Boo.

Knitting? Knitting!!

No way! I'm knitting again! It's dangerous working in the cities. There are so many yarn shops to go to. I've been checking out the local shops one at a time for the past couple of weeks. So far I've found totally awesome sock yarn at Borealis Yarn in St. Paul, that I can't find the label for to save my life. I know the colorway is call BahamaMamma, and it's a gorgeous yellow to green to teal to blue to purple and back again. Reminds me of tropical fish! I'm doing a sideways sock out of it. I'm also curing my lack of camera. Maybe I can con my cousin into using hers tonight.

I also bought some of Claudia's Handpaints at The Yarnery and also Shelly's Slip-Stich Quilted Baby Hat pattern. It's really cool! Again, I will try and shanghai someone's camera to show awesome pictures of nummy projects that I don't have time to work on because I actually get to work overtime this week.

I love run on sentences! Just an FYI.

Oo! Oooo! Shelly is also having a contest. You should go to her blog and check it out!

I better go. I shall rrrreturn.

Adventures in Nail Clippings!

So last night Fraggle jumped on me while I had a good work shirt on and her claws got caught on my shirt. Luckily there was no damage to my shirt, but I went upstairs and got the clippers. She won't sit for me if Hime is in the room, so I took fraggs into the other bed room (because hime usually leaves us alone there for some reason) and started clipping. Fraggle is really good at letting me hold her on her back while I clip her nails, I'm really lucky! But then Hime came in.
Now, there is no way Fraggs is going to lay on her back while Hime is in the room, it makes her too vulnerable. But I glared at Hime and talked to fraggle while I did it. Then when I was done I pounced!

I grabbed Hime and started with the same thing. If she wants to come in and taunt fraggle while getting her nails clipped, then Hime can have her hind claws clipped too! This is a good idea anyway since Hime's back claws are very very pointy and sharp. I have no idea how she keeps them that way!

Hime doesn't like to be held in the first place, so I was careful with her, and got her into position. She's looking at me now with wild eyes and starts to meow. Really meow. Not her usual high squeaky "I'm gonna do something bad" meow. Then I grab her hind foot. This really freaks her out. It freaks her out so bad she tries to get away, using said hind claws. She nailed me, right in the upper palm of my left hand.

Now I'm pissed, but for once I didn't go into Earl Syndrome*. I think I didn't go Earl on Hime because I realize how bad I freaked her out. So I wrapped her up in a handy bed sheet and talked her through it. And also explained to her that if she's going to come in and bug fraggle while I clip nails, she's going to get hers clipped as well. Next time I think I will just keep a file handy though. . . her nails were not overly long.

I still want to know how she gets them sharp like that!! Fraggle, buddy and Reeses all have very long, blunt tipped hind claws.Today, there is a cut about 1/4 of an inch long about 1/2 inch below my index finger. Damn it stings when I wash it, and band aids won't stick on it!

* a note about Earl Syndrome: Earl was the name of my grandfather who was famous in the family for loosing his temper in certain situations. Typically in my family it's called "going Earl" when you start getting really really pissed off about something very quickly

Working again!

So here I am over in Minnetonka. I'm working at the headquarters of one of the big health companies on a temp project. Can you say huge complex? There's a frickin' convenience store on the bottom floor next to the cafeteria that has five different selections in food prep (like grilling, salad, deli and such). And if you feel like eating outside, please eat at one of the tables next to the pond that has a foot path going around it with objects d'art for your enjoyment. I feel like I'm at a lawyer convention because everyone is in suites and ties. Security is tight too! My badge didn't work this morning and security had to come out and check me out to make sure I wasn't a bad person trying to break in. You have to have security clearance to select any level above floor 3, there is a place to swipe your badge in the elevator!!!

Well, the drive is also a bit long. I wonder how I'm going to last on that. Gas is going to kill me though. . . .

Back to work!

Resume nightmare

So, I start a new job in Minnetonka this Monday. It is only a 3 month temp job. I still am on the lookout for that permanent job. Then I get an email today. It's from a former co-worker and a good friend. It was brought up to her through a strange set of circumstances that there are several spelling errors on my current resume.
The resume I have been sending everywhere.
The one that is suppose to be my professional resume.

Can I just go curl up a die somewhere? All I can say now is: ouch.

I promise I will write something about knitting soon, I just have to get over this resume thing. . .

Waiting. . . . more waiting. . . .

So here I am. Still waiting for that job to come out and find me. I keep waiting for the temp agency to call. They have a lead, and I know these things take time, but DAMN do I want to get my life started again. I really think this is my best chance.
I've also started looking at apartments in the Cities area. Mighty pricy, compaired to here, where I can find a 2 bedroom duplex for under $500. Mind you, it would be a crappy duplex, but a duplex none the less!

Anyway. Not much other wise going on. I should be calling more places about work, but I really want this cities stuff to work out.

Why do I have to be so lazy?

I was busy, now I'm not, but things are better. . . I think

I do have a new fridge, its just pretty empty at the moment.

I also emailed my resume to a temp agency in the twin cities. They called me within 15 minutes. This was Monday. I was in their office on the west side of the cities on Tuesday. Things are looking good. I haven't heard back from them, but I'm going to call this afternoon.

My birthday was great!! I had the day off (first time in a long time!) and the weather was soooo gorgeous! I did spend the day knitting, and taking skills tests for the temp agency.

I also went to my friend and former co-worker's house, Nancy. We had a good time. We miss each other. I'm so glad I went to see her!

Well, tonight my friend Matt is playing at a local bar. Gonna have a good time. Gonna maybe have some drinky-poos.

Yes, I still need to get a job very badly. But things really don't feel that bad anymore. I'm recovering my groove.

I can tell this because I am knitting again.
Someday I will get a camera so I can put pictures up! I finished a pair of socks for myself out of Mountain Colors Bearfoot, the Mountain Fiesta colorway.

Oh! And I have to get a job so I can get the yarn to start my friend's wedding shawl. It's going to be out of Cherry Tree hill silk lace weight yarn in the African Grey colorway. It's going to be really funky, but Jayne is a funkalicious lady! And well worth the work.

I'd also like to congratulate several people I know who are graduating from college: Jackie (brother's girlfriend), Hankey (drummer in our band!) Speck (one of my very very good friends) and Jayne (way to go on your second Masters degree!)

Congratulations all of you!
Ro

I didn't need that fridge anyway. . .

Sure, why not! Sunday I woke up rather late after going out with my younger brother drinking, took out the milk and thought: "my this is rather warm"
So I looked back in the fridge. It didn't smell too good.

Please Lord, no!

I opened the freezer.

Yep.

After crying for about 40 minutes, I called my friend Sam. I was trying to see if I could fix the dishwasher when he arrived. (that broke last summer when the roommate put chopsticks in the dishwasher, and one of the sticks broke in the engine) I realized it was a lost cause because we didn't have a special tool needed to open up the engine.

5 trash bags of rotting food later, the fridge is cleared.
Of course, the land lord is still driving back from Indiana. I called around for a fridge and hopefully I found one for about $100. That's where rent is going.

Now I'm just procratinating about applying for jobs. Sigh.
I don't know why I'm so hung up about it. I have to do it!

Off to the library to print out stuff!

No Job Tuesday

Yesterday was strange. . . really strange. Besides losing my job, I got a call from the recruiter who said there was no job on Friday. There now is a job. Can I please come in for an interview on Tuesday at 2pm? Sure! Oh, and a phone interview for a different department on Wednesday? Great!
An hour and a half later: Same recruiter: Oh, for some reason the supervisor doesn't want to interview tomorrow. They canceled it.

Sigh. . . I should have seen this one comming. Yes. No. Yes. No. I really wish people would make up their minds!

Oh and tomorrow I get to be a temp server for a luncheon at a hospital. Woop-de-shit.
4 hours of $8 per hour. Yeah, that will get me through the month.

Hey! How about I talk about some knitting. Since I have oodels of free time I have worked on both my cousin's baby blanket and my knee-high sock out of fleece artist. I'm going to see if my friend Angie will let me borrow her crappy camera so I can post some pictures.

I have to say, I'm reallly lucky I hit bottom last friday (see my first post) because it made all the difference Monday, when I really needed it.

I would like to also send a big shout out to everyone who is thinking about me at this time. The folks, the siblings, the many good friends. (Sam, Angie, Joe, Greg, Hankey, Becky, Jess, and the cats)

Tomorrow should be interesting.

You have got to be kidding me

Call this morning at 7:45. I'm sleeping of course. Don't come in, your contractor doesn't need you anymore. There isn't enough work to keep you.

Wow. Didn't see this one coming. Har-dee har har.

I've already been to the job center and called a recruiter this afternoon. Now I get to go pick up the loads of shit at the temp office they cleared out of my desk. I bet its at least 2 boxes if not 3! I'm a pack rat.

Heeee!

Let's start this again. . . .

Hi! My name is Sarah and I'm a knitter here in Eau Claire. As you can tell from my previous post I'm having a bad month.
My generally upbeat personallity has recovered (though my spelling has not) and I am much improved over the last 3 hours. Especially since my friend Angie and I are planning to go out and get shit-faced tonight.
I usually don't drink. Ever. Ask my friends and family. I can count on one hand the number of drinks I've had since the new year. That use to be the case for an entire year, but I started playing in a band, and we happen to play at bars. So I have been drinking a little more. The last time I got pissed? More than 3 years ago. Wasn't pleasant. I tried to laugh and cry at the same time. Kinda hurt.
So its time to get pissed!
Then start looking for jobs again on monday.

Downward spiral

It's not the best day for me to start a blog. My up-beat happy self is gone for the month, leaving a dark stain of hopelessness.
Let me 'splain a little why: (and if you don't want to hear me whining you better leave)

I've been a temp worker for 3 companies in the past 5 years.
I have a college degree (completed less than 2 years ago)
I have no idea if my career choices are that piss poor, if the job market in this area sucks that much, or if I am just that unlucky with jobs.
I have not had any benefits in over 5 years. I do not qualify for any state benefits because I make too much money ($9.50 an hour. . . go figure) I have no dependents (and this is a very good thing).
I pay for all my ADD meds out of pocket. I have a mouth full of cavities and bad teeth.

My job I'm at (through a temp agency) decided that working till 9pm doesn't constitute 2nd shift any more and cut my pay by a dollar last month. I've actually gone down in frickin pay.
The company I work at didn't inform my temp agency of my change in pay. When the temp agency found out, instead of sticking up for me they said I was over paid and took the difference out of my next check!!! With friends like this who needs enemies?
I have just been rejected for 2 jobs.

K
I might write some more later on. But right now I'm sick of trying. I'm sick of losing. I'm sick of work and being screwed over. I'm sick of hurting.