I have no energy to download pictures so I can put them here, but I'll (hopefully) get caught up when i get home.
The flight to the left coast was long, but uneventful.
Monday was spent with some dear quilting friends from my days in Los Angeles. There will most certainly be pictures of that.
Yesterday was experienced at top speed on UCLA's campus. It was fantastic to be back there, if only for a day.
Today was set-up for the reason I'm here. A gigantic softball tournament. 35 college teams, 87 college games and 90 total games in four days on five fields. But the weather should be gorgeous, so we'll survive. Meanwhile, it's time to go back to the hotel and go to bed super early. I won't have another chance to sleep much until I'm home on Monday.
I'll catch all of you up on my life then.
Knitting update: There has been Wiggle Wrap knitting. It looks the same, just longer.
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Tigger’s Latest Greatest Adventure
I skipped WiP Wednesday because I hadn’t worked on anything that wasn’t finished. I’ll get to that finished thing soon. Meanwhile, Tigger wanted to show you what he’s been up to this month.
We started in Indianapolis, for some sports thing
After they handed out the big trophy, Tigger and I decided to drive an hour in the wrong direction before we went home. First we passed the great big new football stadium
Then we drove west on I-70 for almost an hour, then about 15 minutes north on Rt. 231. A good friend of mine took time out of his day for a campus tour (WOW, has it changed in the 18 years since I’ve been on campus!) then Tigger and I walked around on our own to show you DePauw University.
This is the main academic quad. Roy O. West Library in the center, Asbury on the right, Harrison on the left. When I was in school, there was a road in front of those buildings. Now it’s all pedestrians. Road totally and completely gone.
East College is the oldest building on campus and the “iconic” building for DPU (oh, yeah. If you ever wondered where my internet “name” came from? I went to DePauw University and they’re the Tigers. DPUTiger. A name I could remember.)
Just to the side of EC is one of the great campus landmarks.
The Boulder! There’s a little part of my brain that’s telling me it’s been moved, but since it had been almost 18 years since I’d been on campus (YIKES!), I’m not sure.
Anyhoo, since I was a history major, I had a lot of classes in EC, and walked by the boulder fairly often. And really, would it be a proper DePauw tour without seeing the Boulder? I think not!
One of my non-negotiable objectives once I was on campus was to stop at the bookstore. When you go to a small school like DPU, shopping for school gear on the internet isn’t exactly easy. You pretty much have to purchase in person. So Tigger and I stopped at the Union Building and paused to take a pic of North Quad.
These are the oldest dorms on campus. Lucy Rowland on the right and Mason on the left. When I was in college, Rector was a single large building in the middle. One morning when I was at UCLA, I was working out in the Wooden Center and some lame MTV-U “news” program was running on a loop. They kept showing a dorm fire and I kept thinking it looked familiar, but since there was no close-captioning and I couldn’t listen to the audio, I just figured I’d google “dorm fire” and the date when I got back to my office.
It was Rector. It was pretty much completely destroyed.
They built a “Rector Village” in its place. Super modern dorm-like thingies, lots of bells and whistles. Kids these days. Sooooo spoiled!
After dropping a bit of cash at the bookstore, Tigger and I headed towards my true former stomping grounds. A view of the Science and Math building (S&M … yeah) from across Bowman Park
When I was minoring in physics, that building was a bunker. No exterior windows, lots of brick, and built into the ground. It’s a little different now. What a rehab!
A little to the left …
… you see the Performing Arts Center. With another shiny huge new façade that’s good for natural light. But no Bowman Pond. Sad. That (farther away) browned-out chunk of grass? That used to be a pond. The particularly brave could ice skate there in the winter. Otherwise, it was mostly used for your typical college-type shenanigans that would be appropriate for an artificial pond that maxed out at about three feet in depth.
If you want to know where I spent about 75% of my collegeiate life during my last three years of schooling, this is it:
DePauw’s Center for Contemporary Media. That building opened second semester my sophomore year. People you have actually seen in the mainstream media were on camera for the first time in the far part of that building. I even directed some of them. It still houses the newspaper (The DePauw, Indiana's Oldest, Coolest and Best College newspaper), WGRE 91.5, your sound alternative, and the TV station. Good times.
Oh, and this was the only “academic” building I walked through on my own. And look what I found!
I wasn’t a knitter in college, but how cool is that?
Tigger and I finished our tour with a picture of my dorm for three of my four years of college.
Humbert Hall. It was so new when I moved in freshman year that my door didn’t have a doorknob yet. They weren’t finished installing them. Good times.
So that’s about it for campus. From there, we were hungry. And if it’s been 18 years since you were on campus at DePauw, there’s really only one option that’s acceptable for a meal.
MARVIN’S!
Heaven on a paper-lined plastic basket. Tasted just as good as it did 18 years ago.
I absolutely loved my time at DePauw, both during my four years as a student back in the stone ages and on my too-brief visit at the start of April. And I can guarantee it will be a lot less than 18 years before I’m on campus again. TIGER PRIDE, BABY!
We started in Indianapolis, for some sports thing
I worked. Tigger played and got his picture taken.
After they handed out the big trophy, Tigger and I decided to drive an hour in the wrong direction before we went home. First we passed the great big new football stadium
Then we drove west on I-70 for almost an hour, then about 15 minutes north on Rt. 231. A good friend of mine took time out of his day for a campus tour (WOW, has it changed in the 18 years since I’ve been on campus!) then Tigger and I walked around on our own to show you DePauw University.
This is the main academic quad. Roy O. West Library in the center, Asbury on the right, Harrison on the left. When I was in school, there was a road in front of those buildings. Now it’s all pedestrians. Road totally and completely gone.
East College is the oldest building on campus and the “iconic” building for DPU (oh, yeah. If you ever wondered where my internet “name” came from? I went to DePauw University and they’re the Tigers. DPUTiger. A name I could remember.)
Just to the side of EC is one of the great campus landmarks.
The Boulder! There’s a little part of my brain that’s telling me it’s been moved, but since it had been almost 18 years since I’d been on campus (YIKES!), I’m not sure.
Anyhoo, since I was a history major, I had a lot of classes in EC, and walked by the boulder fairly often. And really, would it be a proper DePauw tour without seeing the Boulder? I think not!
One of my non-negotiable objectives once I was on campus was to stop at the bookstore. When you go to a small school like DPU, shopping for school gear on the internet isn’t exactly easy. You pretty much have to purchase in person. So Tigger and I stopped at the Union Building and paused to take a pic of North Quad.
These are the oldest dorms on campus. Lucy Rowland on the right and Mason on the left. When I was in college, Rector was a single large building in the middle. One morning when I was at UCLA, I was working out in the Wooden Center and some lame MTV-U “news” program was running on a loop. They kept showing a dorm fire and I kept thinking it looked familiar, but since there was no close-captioning and I couldn’t listen to the audio, I just figured I’d google “dorm fire” and the date when I got back to my office.
It was Rector. It was pretty much completely destroyed.
They built a “Rector Village” in its place. Super modern dorm-like thingies, lots of bells and whistles. Kids these days. Sooooo spoiled!
After dropping a bit of cash at the bookstore, Tigger and I headed towards my true former stomping grounds. A view of the Science and Math building (S&M … yeah) from across Bowman Park
Hey, wait ... didn't there used to be a fountain there?
When I was minoring in physics, that building was a bunker. No exterior windows, lots of brick, and built into the ground. It’s a little different now. What a rehab!
A little to the left …
… you see the Performing Arts Center. With another shiny huge new façade that’s good for natural light. But no Bowman Pond. Sad. That (farther away) browned-out chunk of grass? That used to be a pond. The particularly brave could ice skate there in the winter. Otherwise, it was mostly used for your typical college-type shenanigans that would be appropriate for an artificial pond that maxed out at about three feet in depth.
If you want to know where I spent about 75% of my collegeiate life during my last three years of schooling, this is it:
DePauw’s Center for Contemporary Media. That building opened second semester my sophomore year. People you have actually seen in the mainstream media were on camera for the first time in the far part of that building. I even directed some of them. It still houses the newspaper (The DePauw, Indiana's Oldest, Coolest and Best College newspaper), WGRE 91.5, your sound alternative, and the TV station. Good times.
Oh, and this was the only “academic” building I walked through on my own. And look what I found!
I wasn’t a knitter in college, but how cool is that?
Tigger and I finished our tour with a picture of my dorm for three of my four years of college.
Humbert Hall. It was so new when I moved in freshman year that my door didn’t have a doorknob yet. They weren’t finished installing them. Good times.
So that’s about it for campus. From there, we were hungry. And if it’s been 18 years since you were on campus at DePauw, there’s really only one option that’s acceptable for a meal.
Frank’s Fries on the left, a half-GCB … garlic cheeseburger … on the right.
MARVIN’S!
Heaven on a paper-lined plastic basket. Tasted just as good as it did 18 years ago.
I absolutely loved my time at DePauw, both during my four years as a student back in the stone ages and on my too-brief visit at the start of April. And I can guarantee it will be a lot less than 18 years before I’m on campus again. TIGER PRIDE, BABY!
Tuesday, February 08, 2011
Life, in a Nutshell
OK, so the freelance gig is great. I have no complaints.
But the workload is tremendous, and will be until about April 5. I have four sports in season, so that’s eight deadlines a week. Again -- this is a great opportunity for me and I’m making it work. But it’s really killing my crafting time.
I wake up in the morning, make breakfast, have a cup of tea and work until bedtime with side-trips to the gym or other obligations. My knitting/sewing/weaving time is shoeboxed between when I get home from the LYS on Saturday nights and when I go to bed on Sunday night. That’s it. That’s the list.
So I ask that you, my loyal readers, bear with me for the next 2+ months. I promise I’ll catch as many WiP Wednesdays as I can. And when I have finished stuff, I’ll be happy to take a bunch of pictures and tell you all about them. But in between? There may be a bunch of radio silence.
Meanwhile, I woke up this morning to this:
I thought we were supposed to get 1-2”. We got a little more than that, but it was manageable. I shoveled the Incredible Shrinking Driveway …
Why is it shrinking? Because at this time of year the hardest part of shoveling is getting the new snow up-and-over the barrier of old snow. Ugh. But it’s done, and the Big Ball of Fire in the Sky had it completely clear and dry in no time.
And before you ask, yes, I still prefer shoveling snow to raking leaves. No contest. Yes, I am the freak that loves winter. Why do you ask?
I’m nearly finished with the mug rugs. With a little luck, they’ll come off the loom some time this week. Which means I’m winding my next warp. This time? Rep weave placemats!
Looks great, right? Well, I’m not quite done winding the warp. Why?
Yeah. I need 30 more yards (ish) from that nekkid core. (and another 30 yds from that skinny middle cone, but we're not going to borrow trouble on that one.) Obviously, that’s not going to happen, so I’m eagerly awaiting a make-good cone from the vendor. Since this was sold as a kit, running drastically short of one of the three colors is kind of a problem. At least it wasn't my project-planning error?
Oh well. These things happen. Fortunately, I am not on a deadline!
But the workload is tremendous, and will be until about April 5. I have four sports in season, so that’s eight deadlines a week. Again -- this is a great opportunity for me and I’m making it work. But it’s really killing my crafting time.
I wake up in the morning, make breakfast, have a cup of tea and work until bedtime with side-trips to the gym or other obligations. My knitting/sewing/weaving time is shoeboxed between when I get home from the LYS on Saturday nights and when I go to bed on Sunday night. That’s it. That’s the list.
So I ask that you, my loyal readers, bear with me for the next 2+ months. I promise I’ll catch as many WiP Wednesdays as I can. And when I have finished stuff, I’ll be happy to take a bunch of pictures and tell you all about them. But in between? There may be a bunch of radio silence.
Meanwhile, I woke up this morning to this:
I thought we were supposed to get 1-2”. We got a little more than that, but it was manageable. I shoveled the Incredible Shrinking Driveway …
Why is it shrinking? Because at this time of year the hardest part of shoveling is getting the new snow up-and-over the barrier of old snow. Ugh. But it’s done, and the Big Ball of Fire in the Sky had it completely clear and dry in no time.
And before you ask, yes, I still prefer shoveling snow to raking leaves. No contest. Yes, I am the freak that loves winter. Why do you ask?
I’m nearly finished with the mug rugs. With a little luck, they’ll come off the loom some time this week. Which means I’m winding my next warp. This time? Rep weave placemats!
Looks great, right? Well, I’m not quite done winding the warp. Why?
Yeah. I need 30 more yards (ish) from that nekkid core. (and another 30 yds from that skinny middle cone, but we're not going to borrow trouble on that one.) Obviously, that’s not going to happen, so I’m eagerly awaiting a make-good cone from the vendor. Since this was sold as a kit, running drastically short of one of the three colors is kind of a problem. At least it wasn't my project-planning error?
Oh well. These things happen. Fortunately, I am not on a deadline!
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Rewind
Let me ‘splain. No. There is too much. Let me sum up: Buttercup to marry Humperdink in leetle less than half an hour …
So I alluded to a few facts of my last fortnight in Oklahoma and Beyond. We’ll do bullet points to catch up from there to here.
• It was hot. Really hot. Triple-digits with high humidity hot. I did a lot of sweating and drank my body weight in water. It was hot.
• The Worldwide Leader in Sports hijacked the air conditioned portion of the stadium that had been the press box for pretty much the last 20 years. So all of that hot? I was outside in all of it.
• I wrote a TON while I was there. If you care (and I don’t expect you to) you can find most of my posts HERE.
• The team I worked with for eight years won the whole shebang. Awesome. And I managed to make air (on TV) during the championship celebration. Yikes!
• I did my “Favorite things in OKC” again. Decided I didn’t need a new photo essay on the same subject.
• Also ate at Cattlemens with my friend Graham. If you look at the reflection in the door of the guy taking a picture of the door, that’s Graham. Heh.
• After my team won, I had a scheduled free day. I went down to Norman, Okla., and had lunch with a friend, then went to the aforementioned L&B Yarn Co., also in Norman.
• Leslie, the “L” of “L&B” is awesome. We chatted for about an hour while I stitched along on my Softball Socks and the store is so cool. Much fun!!! Here’s a little photo gallery:
Front desk with register and computers
Tigger with the Farmhouse Yarns section
Tigger with the Sekku. A laceweight Noro in pretty colors
Tigger with (most of) L&B’s sock yarn selection
A really bad photo of a really awesome lounge area.
There’s a TV with DVD player above the chair on the left.
• You’ll see my L&B purchase soon in a YPF near you.
• Then I headed northward to the Gourmet Yarn Co., which is close to Lake Hefner on the north side of Oklahoma City. They have changed locations since the photo shoot here, but the vibe is still the same.
• That night, my friend Karen and I went out to dinner, then hit Peachwave, an evil place. Tigger had yogurt
• I had intentionally scheduled my trip so I did NOT have to wake up at the crack of dawn. I had an 11:10 a.m. flight last Thursday. Which was canceled. Due to mechanical failure. Which meant another night in Oklahoma City on Delta’s dime. And an a new flight at 5:55 a.m. on Friday morning.
• If you need it eat in Oklahoma City, put Poblano Grill on your short list. Best fajitas and margarita I’ve had in a very long time. YUM!
• Got on the 5:55 a.m. flight on Friday morning. Flew to Detroit. Got off the plane in Detroit. Flight to Pittsburgh was canceled.
• Parked myself at Chili's and watched the South Africa-Mexico World Cup opener while enjoying a 10 a.m. cheeseburger for lunch
Cool fountain in Terminal A at DTW, the Detroit airport.
• Finally got on my 1:40 flight to Pittsburgh. It took off over two hours after I was supposed to land at Greater Pitt. The plan decided I was stinky and gave me a shower on the way. The bulkhead of the plane dripped during takeoff and landing. Lovely.
• Of course, my bag did not arrive with me in Pittsburgh. It was delivered to my house around 10:30 that night.
• Saturday I woke up and worked a full 10-5 shift at Bloomin
• Sunday, I drove to Columbus, Ohio, and spent the day at TNNA. Separate blog post for that one.
I think that’s about it. Even if it isn’t, that’s plenty for one post!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
More Tigger Travels
Roaming Tigger and I took a super fun trip last weekend. We got up well before the crack of dawn on Friday morning (I’m not kidding. 4:30 a.m.) and flew to Memphis. Got a rental car and drove down to Oxford, Miss.
Full disclosure here. I am extremely lame and didn’t manage to take any pictures of humans. Moron.
It was overcast the whole drive down and through most of the day. We were scheduled for a 7 p.m. first pitch at baseball. But then it started raining around 3:30 p.m.
Yeah. We got really used to that look. It rained off an on until about 9:15 p.m., when the game was officially postponed. It was coming down in sheets for a while. Fortunately, while we had lots and lots and lots of rain and thunder, we didn’t have any tornadoes.
On Saturday morning, Tigger and I were up earlier than our host (but not as early as his parents!) so we were nebby poked around a bit in the living room. Look who we found!
By the time the 3 pm game time (for a doubleheader. Yikes!) rolled around, we had nearly perfect weather. Tigger had his credential all ready to go and was psyched to get to work.
The press box has little bits of real estate shared among the Diamond Club area. Diamond Club tickets have many extra perks, including covered seats, an air-conditioned area, unlimited fountain drinks and a buffet meal. Since we were early for the game (!!!!), Tigger and I had plenty of time to check out all the amenities.
Have you ever seen such a swanky bathroom in a ballpark? Tigger hadn’t either. Tigger thought the sinks were plenty big enough for a bathtub for him!
There are great seats just outside of the glass, but you can watch batting practice or even the whole game from the tables in the Diamond Club. Tigger thinks there’s a great view from there!
You’ve seen Tigger with the logo on the tables before. They have high-top tables and regular ones, all with the logo on the top
There are tons of little lockers in the back part of the Diamond Club behind the broadcast booths. And when you come upstairs in the elevator, there are signs for when “Servicing” for the next game will be. I had to ask what that meant.
It means that Diamond Club people can stock their lockers with booze during that half-hour. No wonder Rebel baseball is so popular. There are 324 liquor lockers up there!
Since we knew we’d be booze-free for the duration of our stay, Tigger and I walked around a bit before Sunday’s game. There’s a nice little picnic area over behind the left field stands
And then we were ready for the Rebels to finish off the three-game sweep over LSU! Much fun was had by all, and since we got all three games in and they were all wins, RT and I are cleared for a return trip. Hooray!
We also spent some time at Bill’s house, and I got some great pictures of his dogs. The entire Flickr set is HERE. Meanwhile, here are some highlights.
Jackson is still Large and In Charge. He’s getting a little gray around his nose, but he’s still totally skinny, all legs, and pretty tolerant of the little hoodlum he shares the house with. What hoodlum, you ask?
That would be Peggy. You saw her when she first arrived in Oxford and was just a little bit of fluff. Now? She’s just full of personality and doesn’t do a very good job of sitting still for more than a few seconds at a time. Oh, and if you look at the post above and check the Flickr set, you'll see that some things just haven't changed.
But when it’s time for breakfast, she comes RUNNING. Thanks for bearing through the photos of my trip. I’ll have another whack of photos next week, when I get back from Maryland Sheep & Wool. Meanwhile, I have some stitching to get done. Have a great week!
Full disclosure here. I am extremely lame and didn’t manage to take any pictures of humans. Moron.
It was overcast the whole drive down and through most of the day. We were scheduled for a 7 p.m. first pitch at baseball. But then it started raining around 3:30 p.m.
Yeah. We got really used to that look. It rained off an on until about 9:15 p.m., when the game was officially postponed. It was coming down in sheets for a while. Fortunately, while we had lots and lots and lots of rain and thunder, we didn’t have any tornadoes.
On Saturday morning, Tigger and I were up earlier than our host (but not as early as his parents!) so we were nebby poked around a bit in the living room. Look who we found!
Do you see something familiar? How ‘bout now?
It’s the Christmas Hippopotamus! He lives in a place of honor on Bill’s entertainment center. Yay!
By the time the 3 pm game time (for a doubleheader. Yikes!) rolled around, we had nearly perfect weather. Tigger had his credential all ready to go and was psyched to get to work.
The press box has little bits of real estate shared among the Diamond Club area. Diamond Club tickets have many extra perks, including covered seats, an air-conditioned area, unlimited fountain drinks and a buffet meal. Since we were early for the game (!!!!), Tigger and I had plenty of time to check out all the amenities.
Have you ever seen such a swanky bathroom in a ballpark? Tigger hadn’t either. Tigger thought the sinks were plenty big enough for a bathtub for him!
There are great seats just outside of the glass, but you can watch batting practice or even the whole game from the tables in the Diamond Club. Tigger thinks there’s a great view from there!
You’ve seen Tigger with the logo on the tables before. They have high-top tables and regular ones, all with the logo on the top
There are tons of little lockers in the back part of the Diamond Club behind the broadcast booths. And when you come upstairs in the elevator, there are signs for when “Servicing” for the next game will be. I had to ask what that meant.
It means that Diamond Club people can stock their lockers with booze during that half-hour. No wonder Rebel baseball is so popular. There are 324 liquor lockers up there!
Since we knew we’d be booze-free for the duration of our stay, Tigger and I walked around a bit before Sunday’s game. There’s a nice little picnic area over behind the left field stands
And then we were ready for the Rebels to finish off the three-game sweep over LSU! Much fun was had by all, and since we got all three games in and they were all wins, RT and I are cleared for a return trip. Hooray!
We also spent some time at Bill’s house, and I got some great pictures of his dogs. The entire Flickr set is HERE. Meanwhile, here are some highlights.
Jackson is still Large and In Charge. He’s getting a little gray around his nose, but he’s still totally skinny, all legs, and pretty tolerant of the little hoodlum he shares the house with. What hoodlum, you ask?
That would be Peggy. You saw her when she first arrived in Oxford and was just a little bit of fluff. Now? She’s just full of personality and doesn’t do a very good job of sitting still for more than a few seconds at a time. Oh, and if you look at the post above and check the Flickr set, you'll see that some things just haven't changed.
But when it’s time for breakfast, she comes RUNNING. Thanks for bearing through the photos of my trip. I’ll have another whack of photos next week, when I get back from Maryland Sheep & Wool. Meanwhile, I have some stitching to get done. Have a great week!
Friday, June 26, 2009
Vacation: FAIL
Where do I even start? I guess I’ll start by saying that I’m very happy that June is almost over, since it has become one of the worst months I’ve had in recent – and distant – memory. Excuse the lack of pretty pictures. I have plenty of stuff I want to get back to, but I’m not “there” tonight.
As you may remember, two weeks ago, I found out my full-time job was going bye-bye come Sept. 1. On that same phone call, I arranged to take the first five of my 17 days of vacation during the week that ended today.
So last Friday, I shut down my work laptop and figured I’d enjoy a good solid nine days away from ye olde full-time job. A little time at the lake, an afternoon sewing at the quilting store … what could be bad about that?
Last Saturday, we had Ysolda Teague at the store. It was much fun, but was quite literally a 12-hour day at work. I was completely shot when I got home around 10:30 pm. I hope to post more about that day a little later on.
Sunday morning, I woke up and got my act together to leave for a few days at the Lake. I finally got on the road around 1:30 pm. One of the last things I did before I left the house was to apply my “6-10” (June, 2010) registration sticker to my license plate. The plan was to stay at Van Buren until Thursday morning, then head homeward in time to work at Bloomin.
So I start driving. It’s my first trip up for the year, but I’ve made this drive a million times. I’m listening to “Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me” on my iPod. The world was good.
Two hours later, I’m still headed northbound on I-79 and am just south of Erie, Pa., when my cruise control clicks off. No big deal … until I hit the gas to get back up to speed and nothing happens. I hit the hazard lights and coast at 35-40 mph for two miles to the next exit. When I brake at the bottom of the exit ramp, I truly have no car left, so I coast at the speed of frozen molasses to a stop on the side of the road. No cell signal, so I climb a nearby hill to call AAA, the Hubster and my parents (at the Lake).
Tow truck takes me to a dealership in Erie, where my parentals meet me. I get to hug my dad for Father’s Day and then he starts driving back to Pittsburgh. Mom and I grabbed some dinner, then headed back to the cottage.
My timing belt had stripped at 70 mph. Pistons and cylinders collided, also known as “catastrophic engine failure.” The car has been donated to the Butler County Humane Society.
Which leaves me car-less and job-less. Hubster was budgeted for the next new vehicle, but now we’re crossing our fingers that his Corolla with 117,000 miles holds on for a few more years.
Earlier today, I test-drove a few cars and picked what I think is going to be a winner.
[Side Note: Knitting Friends have been invaluable through the Car Debacle of 2009. Knitting Friend #1 has a mechanic husband who was very helpful through the “fix it or trash it” debate. Knitting Friend #2 has a husband who has business relationships with a number of dealerships in the Pittsburgh area and has really been a huge help with the purchasing process. Don’t want to think about how much more icky this whole thing might have been without their guidance.]
I though I had weathered the storm. We’re on track to drive home a new vehicle tomorrow after a half-day of work at Bloomin. I went to knit night at Borders tonight and stayed longer than I had planned with LaurieG and CelticQueen. Much fun!
And then I came home. And checked my least-used email address. And found out that I’ve been let go from the first job I picked up when I moved to Pittsburgh. The one closest to my heart.
I don’t know when I became radioactive, but I’m ready for it to stop. Seriously. Stop.
Is it July yet? I know there are only four days left in June, but I’m starting to think I’m not going to make it.
As you may remember, two weeks ago, I found out my full-time job was going bye-bye come Sept. 1. On that same phone call, I arranged to take the first five of my 17 days of vacation during the week that ended today.
So last Friday, I shut down my work laptop and figured I’d enjoy a good solid nine days away from ye olde full-time job. A little time at the lake, an afternoon sewing at the quilting store … what could be bad about that?
Last Saturday, we had Ysolda Teague at the store. It was much fun, but was quite literally a 12-hour day at work. I was completely shot when I got home around 10:30 pm. I hope to post more about that day a little later on.
Sunday morning, I woke up and got my act together to leave for a few days at the Lake. I finally got on the road around 1:30 pm. One of the last things I did before I left the house was to apply my “6-10” (June, 2010) registration sticker to my license plate. The plan was to stay at Van Buren until Thursday morning, then head homeward in time to work at Bloomin.
So I start driving. It’s my first trip up for the year, but I’ve made this drive a million times. I’m listening to “Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me” on my iPod. The world was good.
Two hours later, I’m still headed northbound on I-79 and am just south of Erie, Pa., when my cruise control clicks off. No big deal … until I hit the gas to get back up to speed and nothing happens. I hit the hazard lights and coast at 35-40 mph for two miles to the next exit. When I brake at the bottom of the exit ramp, I truly have no car left, so I coast at the speed of frozen molasses to a stop on the side of the road. No cell signal, so I climb a nearby hill to call AAA, the Hubster and my parents (at the Lake).
Tow truck takes me to a dealership in Erie, where my parentals meet me. I get to hug my dad for Father’s Day and then he starts driving back to Pittsburgh. Mom and I grabbed some dinner, then headed back to the cottage.
My timing belt had stripped at 70 mph. Pistons and cylinders collided, also known as “catastrophic engine failure.” The car has been donated to the Butler County Humane Society.
Which leaves me car-less and job-less. Hubster was budgeted for the next new vehicle, but now we’re crossing our fingers that his Corolla with 117,000 miles holds on for a few more years.
Earlier today, I test-drove a few cars and picked what I think is going to be a winner.
[Side Note: Knitting Friends have been invaluable through the Car Debacle of 2009. Knitting Friend #1 has a mechanic husband who was very helpful through the “fix it or trash it” debate. Knitting Friend #2 has a husband who has business relationships with a number of dealerships in the Pittsburgh area and has really been a huge help with the purchasing process. Don’t want to think about how much more icky this whole thing might have been without their guidance.]
I though I had weathered the storm. We’re on track to drive home a new vehicle tomorrow after a half-day of work at Bloomin. I went to knit night at Borders tonight and stayed longer than I had planned with LaurieG and CelticQueen. Much fun!
And then I came home. And checked my least-used email address. And found out that I’ve been let go from the first job I picked up when I moved to Pittsburgh. The one closest to my heart.
I don’t know when I became radioactive, but I’m ready for it to stop. Seriously. Stop.
Is it July yet? I know there are only four days left in June, but I’m starting to think I’m not going to make it.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Stanley Cup Champions!
Hi! I still exist!
I survived my 18-day road trip for work, got home, recovered for a week, and was terminated on Friday. Effective Sept. 1, 2009. I'm better off in the long run, but it was a serious shot to the ego.
[SIDE NOTE: I'm extremely fortunate that this will not put us in dire financial straights, and it looks like it's not going to affect my professional reputation. I was terminated because the boss doesn't want this position telecommuting anymore and I'm unwilling to move. If you know where my employer is located, that makes even more sense. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine, the Universe has a plan and all that.]
What made my crappy day much better was Friday night's Stanley Cup Final win by the Penguins! Since I went to the Steelers parade back in February, I figured "why not!" and went downtown today to the Pens parade.
1. DSC_0105.jpg, 2. DSC_0139.jpg, 3. DSC_0210.jpg, 4. DSC_0115.jpg, 5. DSC_0082.jpg, 6. DSC_0085.jpg, 7. DSC_0072.jpg, 8. DSC_0155.jpg, 9. DSC_0169.jpg, 10. DSC_0223.jpg, 11. DSC_0014.jpg, 12. DSC_0080.jpg, 13. DSC_0040.jpg, 14. DSC_0047.jpg, 15. DSC_0187.jpg, 16. DSC_0030.jpg, 17. DSC_0161.jpg, 18. DSC_0117.jpg, 19. DSC_0151.jpg, 20. DSC_0208.jpg, 21. DSC_0095.jpg, 22. DSC_0060.jpg, 23. DSC_0132.jpg, 24. DSC_0034.jpg
To hit some of the highlights and recap my day as I did back in February ...
• Leave house a few minutes before 11 a.m. Stand on the T platform at Castle Shannon for (no joke) 25 minutes before the first car comes by.
• Stand the whole way in. Realize that Hubster was dead-on that this parade will be more heavily attended than the Steelers parade. Think this is a combo between better weather and the fact that school is out.
• Exit the Steel Plaza T station at 11:57. Yep. Grant Street is packed. Troll the sidewalk on the "uphill" side of the street for a bit, realizing that I'm not going to be elevated enough to get any decent photos.
• Attempt to get to the New Jersey barrier. Realize that with people five deep, I'm never going to get decent photos from there.
• Try to take photos anyway when Mario Lemieux drives by. Fail miserably, but get a half-decent crowd shot. (I like the energy and motion of the shot)
• Climb up on one of the concrete flowerpots in front of the Allegheny County Courthouse. Perfect spot for photos. Highlights:
ICEBURGH!
My old boss. From 15 years ago. Yeep!
SUPERSTAR!!! Max Talbot is the guy in the white sweater. Sadly, he never turned towards me. :-( Bill Guerin is the guy on the left with the video camera.
Flower with the Cup!
• Parade wraps up around 12:40. I hung around for a few extra minutes to let the crowd thin, then headed over to the supplier of Dan Bylsma's Magic Burritos to grab some lunch
• Get on an inbound T at 1 pm sharp
• Listen to the crankiest T driver ever: "Yinz keep touchin stuff you don't know nothin' about. Now we're gonna be stuck on this here hill!"
• Walk off the Castle Shannon platform at 2 pm. Head home. Do minimal work for remainder of day. Take a nap.
Tomorrow's plans include starting my workout routine and doing the minimum amount of work necessary for survival. If I get motivated and remember to take pictures again, hopefully you'll start seeing regular blog posts from this here URL again!
I survived my 18-day road trip for work, got home, recovered for a week, and was terminated on Friday. Effective Sept. 1, 2009. I'm better off in the long run, but it was a serious shot to the ego.
[SIDE NOTE: I'm extremely fortunate that this will not put us in dire financial straights, and it looks like it's not going to affect my professional reputation. I was terminated because the boss doesn't want this position telecommuting anymore and I'm unwilling to move. If you know where my employer is located, that makes even more sense. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine, the Universe has a plan and all that.]
What made my crappy day much better was Friday night's Stanley Cup Final win by the Penguins! Since I went to the Steelers parade back in February, I figured "why not!" and went downtown today to the Pens parade.
1. DSC_0105.jpg, 2. DSC_0139.jpg, 3. DSC_0210.jpg, 4. DSC_0115.jpg, 5. DSC_0082.jpg, 6. DSC_0085.jpg, 7. DSC_0072.jpg, 8. DSC_0155.jpg, 9. DSC_0169.jpg, 10. DSC_0223.jpg, 11. DSC_0014.jpg, 12. DSC_0080.jpg, 13. DSC_0040.jpg, 14. DSC_0047.jpg, 15. DSC_0187.jpg, 16. DSC_0030.jpg, 17. DSC_0161.jpg, 18. DSC_0117.jpg, 19. DSC_0151.jpg, 20. DSC_0208.jpg, 21. DSC_0095.jpg, 22. DSC_0060.jpg, 23. DSC_0132.jpg, 24. DSC_0034.jpg
To hit some of the highlights and recap my day as I did back in February ...
• Leave house a few minutes before 11 a.m. Stand on the T platform at Castle Shannon for (no joke) 25 minutes before the first car comes by.
• Stand the whole way in. Realize that Hubster was dead-on that this parade will be more heavily attended than the Steelers parade. Think this is a combo between better weather and the fact that school is out.
• Exit the Steel Plaza T station at 11:57. Yep. Grant Street is packed. Troll the sidewalk on the "uphill" side of the street for a bit, realizing that I'm not going to be elevated enough to get any decent photos.
• Attempt to get to the New Jersey barrier. Realize that with people five deep, I'm never going to get decent photos from there.
• Try to take photos anyway when Mario Lemieux drives by. Fail miserably, but get a half-decent crowd shot. (I like the energy and motion of the shot)
• Climb up on one of the concrete flowerpots in front of the Allegheny County Courthouse. Perfect spot for photos. Highlights:
ICEBURGH!
My old boss. From 15 years ago. Yeep!
SUPERSTAR!!! Max Talbot is the guy in the white sweater. Sadly, he never turned towards me. :-( Bill Guerin is the guy on the left with the video camera.
Flower with the Cup!
• Parade wraps up around 12:40. I hung around for a few extra minutes to let the crowd thin, then headed over to the supplier of Dan Bylsma's Magic Burritos to grab some lunch
• Get on an inbound T at 1 pm sharp
• Listen to the crankiest T driver ever: "Yinz keep touchin stuff you don't know nothin' about. Now we're gonna be stuck on this here hill!"
• Walk off the Castle Shannon platform at 2 pm. Head home. Do minimal work for remainder of day. Take a nap.
Tomorrow's plans include starting my workout routine and doing the minimum amount of work necessary for survival. If I get motivated and remember to take pictures again, hopefully you'll start seeing regular blog posts from this here URL again!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Bawk!
Three or four Saturdays ago, I walked in to the store for my shift at Bloomin Yarns and Michelle said "Do you want to knit a chicken?"
Of course I said yes. By the time I left (early) at 2 pm, I had all the green chicken-bits (including beak and legs) all made up. Others in the store have knit other chickens. This past Saturday, Michelle asked me to keep working on getting the chickens ready for their debut. I knit two beaks, seamed up Mr. Pink and crocheted a pathetic pair of legs for Mr. Pink.
They need some beans in their butts, stuffing, beady eyes, combs and tails. I think they're awesome.
I'm off to Salem, Va., until Monday night. I'll try to post while I'm gone, but who knows what life will have in store. Don't get into any trouble while I'm gone.
Pattern is "Gordon, Jamie and Hugh Chickens" from "Rowan Purelife, the Organic Cotton Kids Collection." It's a great book with patterns for many animals and kids age 0-8
Of course I said yes. By the time I left (early) at 2 pm, I had all the green chicken-bits (including beak and legs) all made up. Others in the store have knit other chickens. This past Saturday, Michelle asked me to keep working on getting the chickens ready for their debut. I knit two beaks, seamed up Mr. Pink and crocheted a pathetic pair of legs for Mr. Pink.
They need some beans in their butts, stuffing, beady eyes, combs and tails. I think they're awesome.
I'm off to Salem, Va., until Monday night. I'll try to post while I'm gone, but who knows what life will have in store. Don't get into any trouble while I'm gone.
Pattern is "Gordon, Jamie and Hugh Chickens" from "Rowan Purelife, the Organic Cotton Kids Collection." It's a great book with patterns for many animals and kids age 0-8
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Field Tripping
Last week was a blur. I worked Monday and Tuesday. In fact, Tuesday was at World Headquarters (my dad/brother’s business) because the contractor was refinishing the floor and it smelled awful here at the house.
Wednesday morning, I woke up at 5 a.m. and drove to my nation’s capital. Landed at my swanky hotel (thank you, ncaa!) shortly after 10 a.m., then high-tailed it over to the Verizon Center to start my volunteer duty at the hockey championship. Four press conferences on Wednesday afternoon (one for each team) then back to the hotel to collapse from exhaustion.
Oh, and by the way? My roommate was a college student from Denver. Who flew out to volunteer for the championship. And who slept from 6:30 p.m. Wednesday night to 11:30 a.m. Thursday night. I kid you not. She was a peach, lemme tell ya!
Anyhoo, I was up reasonably early on Thursday morning, worked for a few hours in the hotel lobby (free internets in the lobby, not so much in the rooms), then woke Sleeping Beauty on my way upstairs to get organized to meet a college friend for lunch.
By the way? If you’re in DC and in Chinatown/near the Verizon Center/near the National Portrait Gallery? Proof has a great $12 lunch. We had to eat on our laps, but a really good entrée and a glass of wine for $12. No complaints here.
Then I started the Tourist-ey stuff. Took the Metro to Smithsonian with College Friend, hoofed it over to the Jefferson Memorial (too many people to make good photos), back over to the Washington Monument, then straight down the middle of the Mall to the Capitol Building, then zipped up to the hotel to shower and head for the rink for the semifinal games.
Friday, I got up and basically went straight to the rink for press conferences with the two remaining teams. Worked with their reliable and strong (and free) wireless at the rink for a couple hours, then started my Quest.
Stopped at Fahrney’s and got myself an awesome new pen (theotheramanda? I love it!), then walked over to The Ellipse, where I took a bad picture of the White House from far enough away to make me mildly cranky, then headed onto the Mall.
First the World War II memorial, where I took possibly my favorite photo of the trip (#11 below). Can I just mention how ironic I find it that there are a TON of signs at the WWII memorial saying “Please respect the memorial. No wading. No coins.” And yet? The entire center fountain portion of the fountain was lousy with tourists wading. Until a mounted Park Police officer showed up and made four laps to get everyone out of the water. Grrr …
And yet? There were maybe two signs on the reflecting pool, but no tourists wading in the water. Yes, that’s because the water is gross, as only stagnant water can be. But still. One is obviously a memorial and yet people are more important than respect for our veterans. But I digress.
After WWII, I hoofed it over to the World War I memorial. If I won the lottery, I’d start a fund to clean that thing up. I really enjoy it, but it looks as if it’s in desperate need of a good cleaning. Then I sucked it up and walked down the reflecting pool to Lincoln. Which was crowded.
Then it was over to Einstein, up to Foggy Bottom and George Washington's campus to catch a Metro back to the Portrait Gallery, then over to Verizon to watch the Hobey Baker Award presentation, then back to the hotel. Up to Union Station for some food, then over to the Capitol Building to take some night pictures. Shower. Sleep.
Saturday was rainy, the first bad weather day I’d had on my trip. I took the Metro out to Cleveland Park and had lunch with same College Friend from Thursday, then zipped back to the hotel to change and head to the rink. We had to be there four hours before the game (I’m still not sure why). Puttered around. Had a group photo taken at center ice (fun!) and got down to work.
Sunday morning, I met a former co-worker for brunch, then hit the road home. All in all, a very fun trip. And I’m reminded of how much fun it is to be a tourist in Washington, D.C!
1. DSC_0103.jpg, 2. DSC_0057.jpg, 3. DSC_0104.jpg, 4. DSC_0031.jpg, 5. DSC_0093.jpg, 6. DSC_0037.jpg, 7. DSC_0118.jpg, 8. DSC_0135.jpg, 9. DSC_0049.jpg, 10. DSC_0100.jpg, 11. DSC_0041.jpg, 12. DSC_0083.jpg, 13. DSC_0059.jpg, 14. DSC_0106.jpg, 15. DSC_0086.jpg, 16. DSC_0089.jpg, 17. DSC_0112.jpg, 18. DSC_0077.jpg, 19. DSC_0064.jpg, 20. DSC_0034.jpg21. Not available
Minimal knitting or other crafty stuff has been taking place. The renovation is juuuust about done. I’ll try hard to get back to some regular blogging in the immediate future.
Wednesday morning, I woke up at 5 a.m. and drove to my nation’s capital. Landed at my swanky hotel (thank you, ncaa!) shortly after 10 a.m., then high-tailed it over to the Verizon Center to start my volunteer duty at the hockey championship. Four press conferences on Wednesday afternoon (one for each team) then back to the hotel to collapse from exhaustion.
Oh, and by the way? My roommate was a college student from Denver. Who flew out to volunteer for the championship. And who slept from 6:30 p.m. Wednesday night to 11:30 a.m. Thursday night. I kid you not. She was a peach, lemme tell ya!
Anyhoo, I was up reasonably early on Thursday morning, worked for a few hours in the hotel lobby (free internets in the lobby, not so much in the rooms), then woke Sleeping Beauty on my way upstairs to get organized to meet a college friend for lunch.
By the way? If you’re in DC and in Chinatown/near the Verizon Center/near the National Portrait Gallery? Proof has a great $12 lunch. We had to eat on our laps, but a really good entrée and a glass of wine for $12. No complaints here.
Then I started the Tourist-ey stuff. Took the Metro to Smithsonian with College Friend, hoofed it over to the Jefferson Memorial (too many people to make good photos), back over to the Washington Monument, then straight down the middle of the Mall to the Capitol Building, then zipped up to the hotel to shower and head for the rink for the semifinal games.
Friday, I got up and basically went straight to the rink for press conferences with the two remaining teams. Worked with their reliable and strong (and free) wireless at the rink for a couple hours, then started my Quest.
Stopped at Fahrney’s and got myself an awesome new pen (theotheramanda? I love it!), then walked over to The Ellipse, where I took a bad picture of the White House from far enough away to make me mildly cranky, then headed onto the Mall.
First the World War II memorial, where I took possibly my favorite photo of the trip (#11 below). Can I just mention how ironic I find it that there are a TON of signs at the WWII memorial saying “Please respect the memorial. No wading. No coins.” And yet? The entire center fountain portion of the fountain was lousy with tourists wading. Until a mounted Park Police officer showed up and made four laps to get everyone out of the water. Grrr …
And yet? There were maybe two signs on the reflecting pool, but no tourists wading in the water. Yes, that’s because the water is gross, as only stagnant water can be. But still. One is obviously a memorial and yet people are more important than respect for our veterans. But I digress.
After WWII, I hoofed it over to the World War I memorial. If I won the lottery, I’d start a fund to clean that thing up. I really enjoy it, but it looks as if it’s in desperate need of a good cleaning. Then I sucked it up and walked down the reflecting pool to Lincoln. Which was crowded.
Then it was over to Einstein, up to Foggy Bottom and George Washington's campus to catch a Metro back to the Portrait Gallery, then over to Verizon to watch the Hobey Baker Award presentation, then back to the hotel. Up to Union Station for some food, then over to the Capitol Building to take some night pictures. Shower. Sleep.
Saturday was rainy, the first bad weather day I’d had on my trip. I took the Metro out to Cleveland Park and had lunch with same College Friend from Thursday, then zipped back to the hotel to change and head to the rink. We had to be there four hours before the game (I’m still not sure why). Puttered around. Had a group photo taken at center ice (fun!) and got down to work.
Sunday morning, I met a former co-worker for brunch, then hit the road home. All in all, a very fun trip. And I’m reminded of how much fun it is to be a tourist in Washington, D.C!
1. DSC_0103.jpg, 2. DSC_0057.jpg, 3. DSC_0104.jpg, 4. DSC_0031.jpg, 5. DSC_0093.jpg, 6. DSC_0037.jpg, 7. DSC_0118.jpg, 8. DSC_0135.jpg, 9. DSC_0049.jpg, 10. DSC_0100.jpg, 11. DSC_0041.jpg, 12. DSC_0083.jpg, 13. DSC_0059.jpg, 14. DSC_0106.jpg, 15. DSC_0086.jpg, 16. DSC_0089.jpg, 17. DSC_0112.jpg, 18. DSC_0077.jpg, 19. DSC_0064.jpg, 20. DSC_0034.jpg21. Not available
Minimal knitting or other crafty stuff has been taking place. The renovation is juuuust about done. I’ll try hard to get back to some regular blogging in the immediate future.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Roaming Tigger Does the Frozen Four
1. RTwash, 2. RTmall, 3. RTholocaust, 4. RTcastle, 5. RTjeff, 6. RTarchives, 7. RTart, 8. RTcapitol, 9. RTwhitehouse, 10. rtWWI, 11. RTlincolnext, 12. RTlincoln, 13. RTeinstein, 14. rtWWII, 15. RTportrait, 16. RTbench, 17. RTrail, 18. RTice
Friday, March 06, 2009
A Roaming Tigger Travelogue
Visiting with the Wild Alligators in Alabama
(Wild alligators? Really? There are tame alligators? Who knew? Either way, we couldn't find any gators inside the fence at the gas station/convenience store. Probably best.)
Funnel Cake at the field. Yum!
(we split it with an 11-yr-old. Kaci's mom -- the sanity-saving Karen -- wouldn't let her have a whole one by herself, but funnel cake was approved if someone would share. We were volunteered, but it didn't take much to convince us.)
Sticking our toes in the sand on Panama City Beach
We took a half-hour walk on the beach after our games finished for the day yesterday. Right at sunset. At high tide. Still, it was fun and I'm hoping to repeat the experience tomorrow morning and Sunday afternoon/evening.
Feels like we've been on the road for a month. We get home Monday. I already know I have renovation stories to tell, but they'll keep.
Sunset, Panama City Beach, Fla., Thursday, March 5, 2009
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