Book me while you can November 30, 2006 ~ 6:09 pm
Posted by Julie in : Random Insanity , comments closedMy schedule has this habit of being empty empty empty for most of the week and then filling up like crazy for the weekend. This weekend is no exception. Suddenly today I realized the rest of my week looks like this:
Tonight: go to Barnes & Noble to get a thicker yoga mat (Dr. Edbert said this was a good idea) and do some Christmas shopping. Come home, decorate house for Christmas, do data entry for Develop, Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, knit for Christmas.
Tomorrow: laundry night so I have clothes to wear. I am running out of unders and don’t have money to buy more.
Saturday: lunch/writing meeting with Jordana, stop off at knitting store to buy other carpal tunnel craft glove, yoga, dinner and nookie with Rick.
Sunday: brunch and window shopping with Lisa B. This is really an excuse to see the Christmas decorations on 5th Avenue and the tree at Rockefeller Center.
Monday: day off from work because I have to go see Dr. Skippy. He will be drilling out the medicated filling he put in a month and a half ago and either putting in a permanent filling, or doing a root canal. I’m really hoping for the filling, because Julie’s budget does not include $1,000 or more for a root canal. Send positive thoughts to me on Monday.
Tuesday: a mentor meeting with all of the current students in my old MFA program. Yes, I am a mentor. It’s scary. I sent an RSVP in today to the coordinator and said “Put me down as probable. I might be having a root canal on Monday.” His response: “We will have plenty of liquid refreshments to help with the root canal.” Hell, for free wine, I’ll go anywhere.
Wednesday: Stitch n Bitch. Since I haven’t gone in about three weeks, I should go.
Thursday: President’s (of the College) Christmas party, all afternoon. The evening is free. So far. I think.
I also do weddings and bar mitzvahs, if you’re interested.
Kickboxer November 29, 2006 ~ 12:49 pm
Posted by Julie in : Assorted Ailments, Da Cats, Rick , comments closedI slept with my cock-up splints on last night (oooh, that sounds dirty - love it). And let me tell you, with my hands in splints down to mid-forearm, I felt like I was getting taped up to do some kickboxing. Watch out, mothafucka, or I will get you! I will take you down! This morning the hands weren’t numb, which I guess is an improvement, but I kept waking up in the middle of the night as I tried to move my hands in ways that my new kickboxer accessories weren’t letting me. It was not exactly a restful night, but I guess as I get used to them all will be well.
Except there was cat fur on them this morning. Which leads me to believe that Joe might have gotten a couple of jabs to the head last night. That could explain why he was angry this morning. Or it could just be that hey, he’s a cat. Let’s hope Rick doesn’t end up with a haymaker to the jaw tonight.
I have a plan November 28, 2006 ~ 1:10 pm
Posted by Julie in : Craftiness Is Next To Godliness , comments closed
Cute boy in the woods ~ Woodstock, NY
And that plan includes subjecting the women in my office (all over age 55) to multiple playings of the Scissor Sisters’ Ta-Dah album, interspersed with Sting’s Songs From the Labyrinth. Oh, wait, camp rock combined with depressive lute playing is part of a different plan. Nevermind.
My new plan for Christmas is this: if I can’t get all my knitting done, the knitters who would have gotten knitted items will get the yarn, patterns, and needles to make said item themselves. Everyone else whose knitting I don’t complete will get a lovely photo of the yarn and whatever I’ve gotten done of the knitting with a note that says “Due to unforeseen carpal tunnel, I am unable to finish your present in the insane timetable I’ve set up for myself. I should have it to you by February. In the meantime, enjoy this picture and know that I am thinking of you and how much you need a scarf/hat/shawl/etc.”
This just might work. Guilt + photographic evidence = a compelling reason for a late Christmas gift, methinks.
Bilateral Cock-up Splints November 27, 2006 ~ 1:11 pm
Posted by Julie in : About a Julz, Assorted Ailments, Rick, The Girls, Urban Family , comments closedThat is my new favorite term, and it also happens to be what Dr. Edbert prescribed for my (wait for it) carpal tunnel syndrome. We caught the CTS very early, and Dr. Edbert thinks that wearing the splints every night for two months will get rid of it. Pity the cat and Rick, as I toss and turn a lot and at least one of them is going to get creamed by a splint during that two months. As it turned out, I didn’t have to have the much-feared EMG. Instead, Dr. Edbert hooked me up to some electrodes and then took a taser-like thing to my arm to measure how long it took the nerves to fire (it’s actually called an NCS). I now feel remarkably like the time I electrocuted myself trying to get a broken bulb out of a lamp with a potato, and this makes me very glad I took three Advil before I went to see the doctor.
Highlights from this weekend:
Seeing Lori lick Maxwell Caulfield’s head.
Meeting Rick’s Ex’s family. They were surprisingly nice and are Steeler fans. I am now their Terrible Towel hook-up.
Watching Rick teach Thabs backgammon, and then watching Thabs kick Rick’s ass at it. Apparently this did not happen (see comments). My perspective was understandably skewed, as I was watching the game from the kitchen, where I was helping to make the meal.
Seeing my knitwear on national television: the Youngest and her devil hat were on camera very briefly at the beginning of the Macy’s Parade.
Bowling with the kids Friday night. It was the Youngest’s first time without gutter guards, and she and her sister both did very well.
Learning that the Oldest has seen Rocky Horror. Which led to several choruses of “Sweet Transvestite.”
Playing air hockey for the first time in years. And even with carpal tunnel? I’m still pretty damned good at it.
Hope all of your Thanksgivings were just as good. Even if they didn’t involve cock-up splints.
Countdown to tryptophan haze November 22, 2006 ~ 11:54 am
Posted by Julie in : About a Julz, Urban Family , comments closedThe menu’s set, the guestlist is done, the turkey will be picked up this afternoon, and Hillary Clinton just sent me a “Happy Thanksgiving” email. It must be the holiday.
This year I get two Thanksgivings. One with Rick’s family on Saturday (the scheduling was just better for all of us that day), one with my urban family tomorrow. Urban Family Thanksgiving is a much beloved tradition that started when I was in grad school and we realized that none of us could spare the time away to be with our families. So we invited everyone we knew and Urban Family Thanksgiving was born. Some years it was smaller than others, some years we had it the day after Thanksgiving to accommodate those of us who actually got away for the holiday, but it’s always been something I love doing. Thanksgiving with friends generally involves far less drama and yelling that Thanksgiving with any family members other than my mom. Those family meals probably would have been better had I been of legal drinking age, but since I wasn’t, I much prefer my Thanksgivings now.
I am missing one crucial New York City Thanksgiving tradition since my friend Ginny moved to Philadelphia: drunken Parade watching. The best way to survive the crowds and the colds is to bring alcohol with you (screwdrivers are especially nice since they just smell of OJ), but no one else is interested in going to the Parade with me, even if alcohol is involved. Tomorrow looks to be rainy and cool, so this year I don’t blame them. I’ll just TiVo the damn thing and fast forward to the good parts.
It’s in the water November 21, 2006 ~ 2:51 pm
Posted by Julie in : Academic Office Monkey , comments closedOne of the women in my office has been having problems with her leg. She thought that it was a circulation problem (she’s in her 70s), but the doctors say that’s not it. They’re now testing her for a nerve problem - sound familiar? She can’t walk right now, though, so her problem is a little more serious than mine. I’m really starting to think there’s something in the water, though.
In the meantime, we’re all busting ass to cover for her. We’ve got a major amount of candidates for graduation split amongst six lists (based on what they still need to do to meet their requirements) and we have to proof every single one of their audits to make sure they’re supposed to be on these lists. The lists were originally due Tuesday, but I managed to talk the Powers That Be into giving us a little slack and they’re now due by the end of next week. Still and all, we have a shitload of work to get done today and tomorrow so we can get the lists themselves (as opposed to just the audits) generated and proofed. My boss did not understand exactly what was going on until I ’splained it very carefully. I’m sure she’s pissed that I’m skipping out of a two hour meeting right now (this meeting is always pointless for me to be at, especially since she and our Big Boss will both be at, but she likes to share the misery), but this list is much more important.
Burn, Julie, burn!
Can you say “referral”? November 20, 2006 ~ 1:31 pm
Posted by Julie in : Assorted Ailments, Craftiness Is Next To Godliness , comments closed
Drips ~ Woodstock, NY
I went to see Dr. Jed this morning (I could call him by his last name, but I kinda like having Dr. Jed and Dr. Skippy). Unfortunately Dr. Jed was a little backlogged, so I had to see his partner who has no fun first name but is also very nice. Dr. No-Name said I don’t sound like I have asthma and that my breathing is in the normal range (they made me blow into a tube to determine this and although I thought I was wheezing like an old lady, apparently this was not the case). She said the hyperacidity, aka Zuul, was probably caused by my fondness for caffeinated soda (I have one a day on work days). She also took enough blood to test me for everything under the sun, methinks.
As for the numbness, well, she doesn’t know what it is. It’s almost definitely related to my ulnar nerve, but isn’t “presenting” as carpal or cubital tunnel…I think that’s what she said. What it boils down to is that I have to come back next Monday to have this done to me. As the movie title goes, can’t hardly wait. I am not really looking forward to having needles inserted into my muscles - I saw the procedure done on House, and unless my doctor looks like Hugh Laurie? Not so enthused. The best part is that the doctor’s name is Edbert. Dr. Edbert.
I took the whole weekend off from knitting (actually haven’t knit anything since last Tuesday) and the computer (except for playing the occasional game of Snood using my left hand to control the mouse), and didn’t really show an improvement. So this week I’m saying “Fuck it” and knitting again. I will do yoga and use heating pads, and save the work on the knitters in my life until last (because if worst comes to worst, I can buy the size needles needed for the pattern I picked out for them and give them needles, pattern, and yarn as a present), but dammit, Christmas knitting needs to be done. My poor brother needs a watch cap and scarf.
Eye Candy Friday November 17, 2006 ~ 12:50 pm
Posted by Julie in : Adherents of the Repeated Meme , comments closedFor all intents and purposes, no real blogging today either. Let’s hope Dr. Jed figures out what the fuck is wrong with my arm on Monday.
Summer’s End ~ Woodstock, NY
The house wins. The house always wins. November 16, 2006 ~ 4:55 pm
Posted by Julie in : Academic Office Monkey , comments closedI am dying here, people. Dying because I can’t blog/type and write these damned letters to students. That would be just too much for my It Could Be Carpal Tunnel to handle. And since the audits and letters for the students need to be done by tomorrow, the job wins out over the blog. Which blows. So until I can blog, I will distract you with a picture of a Mighty Hunter (he’s actually hunting a light reflection from my watch, but what the hell).
Break’s over. November 15, 2006 ~ 10:01 pm
Posted by Julie in : Adherents of the Repeated Meme , comments closedAfter a couple of hours of “resting” my arm (ie, not knitting, not typing, not doing anything), I realized I was really bored. It’s just not in my nature to sit around and watch TV without doing something else at the same time; I must multi-task! I am so not used to seeing the TV in anything but dribs and drabs, briefly looking up while I’m knitting or blogging. But in an attempt to keep resting the arm - okay, in a renewed attempt, although I’m not convinced that using a drop spindle is harmful to CTS or whatever I have - I will make this a short post.
I found this meme on Scout’s blog (all knitters, if you haven’t already found Scout, you should go see her post-haste. She is a blogger, and she’s also an enabler the owner of a kickass online store.)
1. How and when did you learn how to knit/crochet? Who taught you?
I learned two years ago next month. Nobody actually taught me, since I learned from the Klutz Guide to Knitting and expanded my skills via Debbie Stoller’s Stitch N Bitch books. However, my grandmother crocheted a lot (thus my tendency to shudder when I see Red Heart yarn), and my father’s sister was a knitter (my Barbie and Ken dolls had very stylish sweaters), so I apparently come by it honestly. My mother has told me that she knitted before she had me, the more complicated the pattern the better to keep her interest. However I don’t think she got the same amount of joy out of it that I do, since she’s not doing it anymore.
2. How has this craft impacted your life? (besides financially!)
It’s given me so much, really. Every time I finish a project I still get a thrill that I made something that cool with two sticks and a piece of string. Knitting calms me down when I am feeling completely stressed: it’s a form of meditation that gives me a sense of accomplishment at the same time. And I do feel a sense of my place in history every time I pick up my needles, a connection to all the women (and men) who have knit before me. I’m just the latest link in a chain that goes back a long, long way.
3. Pick at least one person to talk about who you have met through the knit-world and why you are thankful to have met them. Feel free to get all mushy.
I’ll pick two people who I met through the blogoverse before I realized they knit as well: ESC and Aimee. I knew I liked them from reading their blogs, but when we found out that all of us knit, it was like a switch went off for me. These are the people I spend all day emailing with, talking about our lives, our crafting, our jobs - I can tell them anything and they’re my best sounding boards. I’ve met them both in person (Hell, ESC invited us both to her wedding reception two weeks ago) and I love them like sisters. They’re the best.
