ahh! relief!

i am done with classes for the year! how exciting! this week went by very fast. i had my ISS final on thursday and then my last ecology exam today, so these past few nights have been filled with studying. but i feel good about them.

my finals week looks really good, for once. i only have two finals next week, one on tuesday, one on thursday. they are both later in the day, so i feel that i have a lot of time to study.

after my chem final on thursday, jess and i are going to This American Life Live! they are broadcasting a show live, through movie theaters! i am soooo excited! then i'm going home on friday morning.

jess is coming to kazoo for the westnedge hill garage sale on saturday so we can find some stuff for our apartment. woo!

i mentioned in my last post about my cat, holly. since that post she has died. it kind of makes me wonder if there is anything else going on to make two of our cats die in less than a year, but i know they are all getting old. she was a really great, loving cat, and i will miss her a lot.

i am officially going back to Heritage this summer. i have it all set up, i just have to go through orientation again. i'm a little nervous, but i think it will be fine.

i'm also very excited for our trip down to williamsburg this summer. i can't wait to see ali and david, and the wonderful town.

i must mention knitting to validate this "knitting blog". i have not done any knitting recently. i don't know why. i think i'm in a really big rut, and i just haven't felt like it. nothing has really caught my eye to knit, so whatever. i had to get a second storage thing for the yarn i accumulated this year. its kind of getting to be out of control. i think my knitting rut seems to have something to do with summer, whenever summer comes around i just don't feel like knitting wool hats. i know there are plenty more things to knit that are lighter and summery, but i don't know. i think i would rather read.

on to reading. i read the book Looking for Alaska by John Green over last weekend. its probably one of the most, if not the most, amazing books i have ever read. seriously. it is for teens and "young adults" but, i think everyone would be able to relate and enjoy it. also, i don't think i've ever cried so much over a book before. also, john green is one of brotherhood 2.0, so i may be a little biased, but whatever. my summer reading list is growing. i am looking to accomplish reading many books this summer, and hoping to read many different kinds of books. i have some poetry, some novels, the obligatory summer teen reading, and some nonfiction. i need more suggestions, so please leave a comment with a good suggestion for my summer reading! i really can't wait to start my list! i'm really looking forward to going to the library too!

so that is pretty much it. i'm still thinking a lot about post-graduation, but i think i will keep that to myself for a while. i probably won't update until i'm back home, and hopefully with something more interesting to talk about.

dazzled.

this is a quick post before class. just a small update i guess.

there is 15 days left in the semester. i am pretty excited. my finals are looking pretty good, i'm not too stressed about them. i just want school to be over for this year. i am very excited about summer.

i get to sign up for classes today, and i am excited for some reason. i guess just like furthering my education, getting that much closer to graduating. but i also get a little anxious because my schedule always takes a long time to actually schedule, and we are assigned a time to sign up according to credits or something, so my time is a little late because i am only a sophomore and i just hope that i can get in to all the classes i need.

anyway, my parents told me some sad news yesterday. one of our cats, holly, is dying. they said that she doesn't eat or move much and that makes me really sad. she's about 16, but she doesn't look it. she used to be pretty fat, but has been losing weight lately. the last time i saw her she seemed fine, but who knows. she's so sweet and cute, always on my bed waiting for me at night. i hope that i get to see her this weekend when i go home, but my parents don't know if she will make it. just like when dinah died it's a reminder that my pets are getting older, just like me. i've had these cats my whole life basically, so its really weird for this to be happening. just like how my home is slowly turning into something else, and will become something else entirely in the next few years. it makes me sad, but i know it has to happen. i mean, home in kazoo will always be home, but you know, it changes.

other than that, nothing has really been happening. like i said i'm going home this weekend, i'm pretty excited because i haven't been home in a while. i have also been thinking a lot about what i'm going to be doing after i graduate, but that's another post for another time.

in which my life became complete.

so. on saturday night i met ira glass.

no big deal right? WRONG! its a very big deal! it was the best night of my life. i'm not going to go into detail because my good friend jess (who was with me and shares my obsession with This American Life and Mr. Glass) wrote a really great blog about it. the link to her blog is over on the left, i suggest you read that post because it really sums up the night. i will, however, comment on meeting him. he was sooooo nice, even when we were going all fan-girl on him. he was a complete gentleman, and was so nice when jess was trying to get a clear picture of us. the absolute BEST part is when after the first or second try he LOOKED DOWN AT ME AND LAUGHED! AND I LAUGHED TOO! it is a moment i will never forget. he signed my book that i bought, that i was planning on getting this summer, The New Kings of Nonfiction. he does the introduction and its a collection of non-fiction stories. also, its for charity, 826CHI, which is a literacy program in Chicago. i'm copying jess and posting a pic of my signed book:


and here's the final picture of me and ira:


it was a really good night. the actual program was amazing as well, he talked about radio and it was just perfect. i love radio a lot, and especially this show. i suggest you listen to it if you have not already.

pretty much nothing will ever get jess and i down ever again. we just have to think about the best night ever. haha.

anyway, this week looks pretty good, although i do have a chem exam on friday. but rachel is coming up to visit me! i'm so excited! today was pretty crappy though, it basically rained all day.

i also got new glasses. they are purple and i like them a lot. here is what i look like now:

so yeah, that is my wonderful life as of right now. what makes it even more wonderful is that there is only 30 days left of this semester! woooo! that makes me quite happy. that is all i have to share! have a good week everybody!

argh! snow!

uuuuuugh! it's snowing! in late march! i thought we were done with this! i thought we had spring upon us! although, this whole week has been pretty crappy. but ugh!

it's really annoying because i was supposed to drive matt and i home tonight. but i really don't think it's a good idea. its snowing pretty heavily and its wet and heavy and icy. i hate driving at high speeds in the snow. so unfortunately i had to call matt and tell him that we're not going home tonight. maybe he can get another ride home. i feel bad, but i really don't want to get in an accident or die.

i'm hoping to be able to get home tomorrow to get my new glasses and other stuff. jagjdlkaglkjl. <-- that is my frustration. grr. stupid michigan!

also, this is coming at you from work again. usually on fridays i don't really do anything besides read.

OH! this day did start off good though. i didn't think it was going to be when i woke up, and it was good for a while, but now its kind of bad again. but the good thing that happened was earlier this week i got my paper back from the one class i have to write papers for and i got a 3.75 out of 4.0! yes! and then i got my midterm back today and i got 89 out of 90! so that means i got a 4.0 on my midterm! YES! i was really worried that i didn't do very well, but i did! wooo! and i also got some really sweet shirts from Threadless! triple yes!

i started reading Stardust by Neil Gaiman yesterday. it's really good so far. so, i am going to get back to that. but i just wanted to vent my frustrations about the snow on my blog.

kiva.org

ok, so i'm taking this class, a university requirement for non-majors, thats about global interdependence. my prof is really cool, he's pakistani and he knows a lot about economics and global economy and politics. he's a really nice person, and you can tell he feels passionately about the subject. the material is a little boring to me, but ya know, thats just how it goes.

anyway, we just were talking about poverty and hunger in the last couple lectures. it was really depressing and hard to actually want to pay attention because its so depressing. i know there are a lot (how about that understatement?) of people in the world that suffer from poverty and hunger for many different reasons. it's hard to sit in a classroom, in a university that i pay thousands of dollars for, and try to connect, when i know that i really can't do anything.

well, i am wrong. i can do something, and i did. i heard about this site Kiva a couple months ago, thinking that it was a such a good idea. but then i went on with my life. then, as i was watching Brotherhood 2.0, that i mentioned in my last blog, they talked about it. throughout the project they have been talking about change and what people can do to decrease world suck.

this was just what i needed to try to feel like i've helped someone. so i went to the site, and it's incredibly easy, you click "lend", and then you have your pick of specific entrepreneurs from around the world. basically its a loan system. you lend a minimum of $25, and eventually that person will pay you back, so really, it doesn't cost anything. these people work really hard to bring themselves out of poverty. so that's what i've done. i lent to a woman in Tanzania who has a food market. kiva will send me updates on how my loan has helped. i'm pretty excited.

now, i know that poverty and hunger will probably never be solved or gotten rid of completely. i guess you could add this to Stuff White People Like, but i think that this site is a really great way to decrease world suck. and if world suck is being decreased, its a better place for us all. so if you feel like lending, i highly recommend it.

ETA: here's a really great video from one of the brothers, Hank, that pretty much sums up how i feel about microfinancing.

this post is brought to you by my boredom at the desk.

that's right, i'm at work right now. the lovely phillips desk, that i will be spending the next 8 hours and 45 minutes at. i usually work 2-6, then 9-12 every other saturday, but i picked up a shift for a fellow deskie to work 6-9, hence the 10 hour shift. now, at the time i thought it would be a good idea, sometimes i like sitting behind the desk for long periods of time. it helps me get homework and studying done because i don't have the distractions that i do in my room (actually i do, the internet, but thats besides the point). and i have ecology homework due on wednesday and i thought that i would be able to use this ample time to do it. for the homework we have to download this program called Vortex, which calculates the probability of extinction of a species, really light stuff you see. well, it can't be downloaded on a mac (of course) so i thought "ok, i'll use the computer at work, seeing as it's a PC".

i just tried downloading it, and it doesn't run for some reason. lovely. probably because this is basically a bare-bones computer, used only for emailing residents about loaner keys and packages and as a calculator.

so that means i'll have to go to a computer lab and work on it tomorrow. oh well. i have some reading i need to catch up on anyway.

but anyway, the first week back from spring break was alright, pretty slow though. day light savings really screwed me up, so i was pretty tired for the first half of the week. but i am enjoying that it is 7:30 at night and still light out. i love that. and i'm loving all the sunshine we are having, yesterday i didn't wear my coat to class! it was fantastic! it seemed like everyone was outside playing basketball or soccer or whatever and it was really nice.

but with on the onset of spring comes my annual bit of allergies. i have been feeling really itchy lately, which might not have anything to do with allergies, but its annoying and it kind of hurts. but my nose has been a little sniffly and i've been sneezing a lot. yay for spring!

i've also found this whole big...thing? on youtube where people are keeping in touch with each other and communicating with each other through daily videos. i first somehow found fiveawesomeguys, which are five guys who each have a day of the week and talk about random things and assign challenges to the other guys. its pretty funny, and pretty nerdy. haha. i also found brotherhood 2.0, where two brothers communicate text free for one year. they did this last year, but i am watching them all because they are hilarious and they also do challenges and other interesting things. it makes me want to do something like this, if i had a macbook with the camera built in and more video editing skills. but i don't, unfortunately. maybe someday.

so my goal today at work is to be nicer to people who come to the desk. i think of myself as a nice person, but i don't think that always comes across at the desk. for whatever reason. i think it has something to do with the people who come to the desk, i don't think they are always that nice. or when i'm sitting here reading, and someone comes up to the desk, and i don't see them at first and they just stand there. and stand there, until i look up and they scare me. i don't see why people can't be like "hello" or "excuse me?". but i also think i just assume that everyone that comes up to the desk is going to be mean, or not really mean, but not nice. if that makes sense. i don't know, but my goal is to be nice and try to be as helpful as i can. let's hope i can accomplish that.

i watched the movie Waitress last night. i liked it, it was really cute. it made me want to make my yarn shop a pie shop too. i like pie, and i would love to become really good at making pies. help me think of a name for my pie/yarn shop. something that would use both things, i usually like store names that are like other phrases. like with coffeeshops, "common grounds", etc. i think those are pretty cute. i wouldn't mind a really weird, obscure name either, some reference to something only i would know about and that i can laugh at whenever i see it. i also like the idea of a cupcake/yarn shop. so choose your favorite baked good/yarn shop and think of a name.

in knitting news, i ordered this $50 worth of yarn mystery pack, it was on sale so i really got it for $25. pretty sweet deal. i got some pretty good stuff. it was a good mix. i got a skein of kid mohair yarn, its really pretty and fluffy and white. and i started Wisp from Knitty. i got to the second round of lace when i realized that i was down one stitch. i can't figure out where i didn't increase. and its really hard to rip it out. so i think that i will just increase somewhere to bring the stitch count back up to where it's supposed to be.

ok, well there you have it. another long blog, hmm. i guess when i blog i really blog. i go large. so until next time.

40 shillings for your melon, oh yeah.

soooo, there is not much to update. spring break is almost at its end, which i am pretty sad about. i've gotten quite used to filling my days with whatever i fancy. it makes me want summer even more. knowing i have to go back to my dorm room, and actually go to class and take exams makes me kind of anxious. i always think that everything is going to be worse than it is. and it usually turns out not so bad. but gah, i hate that anxiety about stuff.

i drove back up to E.L. on monday night, after worrying all day about where i was going to park my car. it was really messed up because they don't have the buses running. and parking regulations were still in effect, meaning i couldn't park in front of my dorm without a permit. also i couldn't park in the commuter lot where i usually park because its miles away and i would have no way to get back. so it was pretty dumb. i ended up just parking on a near by street for tuesday and leaving early on wednesday. working was a waste of my life, i saw two people during my first shift and NO ONE during my second shift. luckily our sups let those who were working over break watch movies during their shift, so thats what i did. i watched most of the second season of the US version of The Office.

it was kind of nice being in the dorm with no one else. it was nice and quiet and i didn't have to listen to the girl next door scream at her mother! so yeah that was nice.

anyway i came back home on wednesday and have been enjoying my time home even though its going too fast. i hung out with rachel last night for a bit at this coffee shop that neither of us had been to before. its called Dino's and its really nice (ali, its where Ali Baba's used to be if you didn't already know that). i think i like it better than Rocketstar now. Rocketstar has changed a lot and now it just seems to me a place to be seen and judged. Dino's seems like a place where all the people who used to hang out at Rocketstar, before all the high school kids invaded, go now or would go. now, Rocketstart hasn't necessarily changed for the bad, its just not where i would want to hang out anymore. i was talking about this with ali, who used to work there, and she made a good point in saying that its given all those high schoolers a place to go and hang out, which i totally agree with. but seeing as i am not in high school anymore, i feel that i should move on.

speaking of high school i went into my alma mater on thursday afternoon to visit my favorite teacher that i missed quite a lot it was really nice to see her. we chatted for a only a few minutes because it was parent-teacher conferences. but we made plans to have coffee tomorrow and i'm really excited. she did a lot for me during high school and shes an amazing teacher and now friend.

walking into my old school i got a little panicky. i think it was walking into a place where i spent 4 years of my life expecting it to be the same but knowing it was going to be different, there were kids everywhere that i had no clue who they were and that was weird. but walking in there makes me that much happier that i am no longer there. that i can walk out and not ever go back unless i really wanted to.

this is getting to be quite the long blog. i apologize if this is not interesting to you, i guess i lied when i said there wasn't much to update, haha. anyway i picked out some new eye glass frames today. they are purple and i like them a lot. my eyes were dilated and it felt pretty weird.

tonight i am hanging out with KT, we're going to go see The Other Boleyn Girl. i'm also going to show her the Mighty Boosh. i am vair excited to show her because i need more boosh fans in my life.

that is the end of this terribly long blog. goodday.

chimp eden.

there's a show i've been watching on Animal Planet called Escape To Chimp Eden. it's a really great show about a guy, Eugene Cussons, who works to rescue chimps that are being abused by humans all over Africa. chimps in Africa are used for meat and sold as pets, its really sad to see, but reassuring to know there are people like Eugen and the Jane Goodall Institute Chimpanzee Eden that are working to stop this abuse. after the chimps are rescued they are taken to South Africa where the sanctuary is located. Eugene works with the chimps to rehabilitate them to one day be returned to the wild in the best cases. most of these chimps were born and raised in a small cage, too small for their size. they need to learn how to become chimps again. many of these chimps have severe psychological problems and sometimes are distrustful of humans. its really great to see how the chimps learn and form connections with Eugene and the other keepers.

i mention this because i've become increasingly interested in primatology, the study of primates, lately. i've always been interested in behavior, and seeing how ape behavior so closely resembles our behavior and can show us how we may have evolved to where we are now. when i see this type of show, i feel an instant need to be doing this type of thing. i've felt the need to go to Africa for a while now, hopefully i will be able to do study abroad either in Kenya or Uganda next summer. unfortunately conflicts in Kenya make it unlikely that i will be able to go there even in the next year. i would love to be able to go to the sanctuary in South Africa to do the volunteer program, and i would be equally happy to adopt a chimp for a year. i think for my birthday that is what i will ask for.

i was also thinking about doing the Peace Corps after college. i think my degree in zoology would help me be able to work with people to teach them the importance of conserving their environment in Africa or South America or anywhere really. what i really want to do is just travel and try to make a difference, which i realize sounds to cheesy and cliche, but its just what i feel i need to do. i want to work in zoos to try to make them more of a natural area for animals, and try to keep animal populations that are decreasing throughout the world alive, even if it is in a zoo.

i want to do so many things, but i need to just focus on one thing at a time. i need to try to get involved in something, i need to start somewhere. i've been playing with the idea of volunteering at Binder Park Zoo this summer, but i'm not sure if i will have the time to fully commit to it.

well, this is the end of my i-need-to-make-a-change-in-the-world post. now enjoy a picture of Cozy, a chimp at Chimp Eden, he's probably my fave.

a whole big post dedicated to knitting! imagine that!

so i do realize that this is supposed to be a knitting blog. well, you can see that it isn't really, its not a really a blog even. i feel ashamed to call this a blog compared to my sisters, and others that i have been reading lately. i mostly read knitting blogs, they are so pretty and the pictures are beautiful, something that i hope to have one day. one of the blogs that i love reading is Ysolda, her blog is so beautiful and her designs are even more so. she also cooks and bakes a lot of delicious looking things. i also just started reading Kuky Ideas, which is so cute, and she is so talented with knitting and sewing! her little girl is adorable and so are her drawings.

i have been inspired by these blogs to post some of my recent knitting projects. i always find myself starting projects on a whim and never finishing them. so the other night i didn't have anything to do and my knitting stuff was all unorganized. i decided to organize it all, finish the things i could and rip out the things i knew i would never finish, i felt very accomplished. here are some things i have finished, which isn't much. two hats and a pair of mary-jane slippers. now in my defense i have had a lot of school work and work and stuff, so yeah. anyway on to the pics.


This is the Thorpe hat by Kirsten Kapur. it was really nice to knit because it was top down, starting was a bit tricky, but once it got going it went really fast. it calls for a crochet border, and before friday night i was dumb when it came to crochet. my mom showed me how to do the border and it wasn't that hard! i really like the little touch the border adds to the hat. plus now i am hooked on crochet! hahahahaha, what a great pun.

i used Mmmmmalabrigo aka the best yarn in the world. i had like a blue, purpley colorway and a pretty grey colorway. I used size nines like the pattern called for, but my gauge was off so i just knit the large size and it turned out perfect. i love the little ties and the garter earflaps.


Next i made my second Earhart Aviator cap from Head Huggers. you can see my first one in my profile pic. for this one i used Lamb's Pride worsted in a maroon colorway. it turned out a little tighter than my other one, maybe i should block it to stretch it out a little.

i made simple mary-jane slippers from some scrap yarn i had. they're not that great so i'm not going to post a pic of them.
but i will post some WIPs (works in progress for you non-knitting folk)
first a cabled slipper sock made with Lamb's Pride worsted in hot pink. the pattern is from the book One Skein. i started it one night wanting something warm for my feet, someday i will finish. haha.


second is the Squirrel and Oak mittens from helloyarn. i got Knitpicks sport weight wool in squirrel heather and garnet heather. the gauge is off so i'm thinking of going up a size in needles. i'm not sure yet if i want to pull it out. we'll see.

i really love these mittens and it gets me started with some nice norwegian type fair isle. its special to me because i am norwegian, so i feel a connection.

i also started some thrummed mittens back in the fall, they are pretty cool. close to being done on the first one. i used Debbie Bliss cashmerino aran in orange and roving that is maroonish/purpleish. i really like thrumming, and i think they will be very warm for next winter...if i finish them in time!


and last but not least my first crochet thing! i am planning on trying an amigurumi, which is a little knitted or crocheted doll. this is the start of the head. i'm using a G hook and the left over Malabrigo from the Thorpe hat. its not much, but its something!


ok, so that is alllll the knitting i have done in a while. whew.

this past weekend was my mom's birthday so i went home. it was really nice since i hadn't been home in a while. it was really great to hang out with my parents and brody dog. we went to Cheeseburger in Paradise for dinner and it was delicious! it was a good weekend. i am going home again this weekend for spring break, then back up on monday night to work all tuesday then back home wednesday morning to spend the rest of the week at home relaxing. i'm looking forward to it. here are two pictures i'm throwing in, one from the weekend, with me and brody, and proof that i love the hat my dad brought back from Canada.


the one with brody is so cute, i was laying on the floor with him and had my arm out holding the camera, and he rested his head on my arm. he usually looks away from the camera, but that night he was a ham. silly dog. thus ends the gigantic update post! now i will probably not post for a month! haha!

pardon me sir what's that awful stench? must be standing near an open trench.

soooo here i am again blogging monthly. oh well. i've been busy. kind of.

spring semester has been good so far. my classes look like they won't be as intensive as last semester, but i could be wrong. i guess i'm just thinking that because i don't have all science classes. we'll see.

my winter break was lovely. christmas was good, ali and david came up for a few days and we had a lot of fun. that fun is mostly becasue of the WII we got for christmas!! my mom kept it a secret for 6 months! good job mom! and she got us a few other games and 4 wii-motes and nunchucks. it was great.

over break i saw 5 movies! it was great because i never really go to the movies when i'm at school and there were so many movies i wanted to see. ali, david and i saw Sweeney Todd and the Golden Compass together. Sweeney was AMAZING and totally deserving of the golden globe it got. johnny depp was amazing as well. i just bought the soundtrack and i can't stop listening to it. the Golden Compass was good, out of order but good. the ending was off, but we'll see what they do with the second movie, if there is one, haha.

i also saw Juno, which i loved a lot. i also got the soundtrack of that and it is excellent. the movie is wonderful and i want to be friends with Ellen Page and Micharl Cera. Liz and i went to see Enchanted and I Am Legend. both were great. Enchanted was really cute, amy adams was great as a disney princess brought to life. I Am Legend was frightening and very very sad. will smith was great though.

so that basically sums up my break. it was nice to be home for the holidays.

i'm working a lot more this semester. a lot more on the weekends anyway. its kind of nice because then i'm not sitting around doing nothing.

i'm working again soon, i guess this is it. i will not make an empty promise to blog more, so i will blog next when i feel like it, haha.

i'm a bad blogger.

i'm bad at keeping this updated. but i will try harder. or not. we'll see.

everything has been pretty good. school got pretty stressful the week before thanksgiving, so it was nice to have 4 days of not doing anything. thanksgiving was good, just my parents and i. mom and i braved the stores on friday. we only went to Target, World Market and JoAnn's. at target i only wanted some Gilmore Girls, they had them on sale for $15! it was awesome, i got two seasons. mom got some other stuff, including christmas presents for ali and i. haha. at world market we got some cool stuff, as always. and joann's was crazy, but we got what we needed. it wasn't that bad. and we got pretty lucky with parking spots and finding secret checkouts at target!

the break was really great as i said, nice and relaxing and i made sure that i really savored my time at home. i kept busy with a special project that i will not mention here as it is a secret. i will post pictures at a later date though.

i'm pretty excited for winter break. two weeks of classes and then finals week. winter break should be great as ali and david are coming up on the 22nd. i am really excited to see them. christmas should be great this year. as ali mentions in her blog, i always try to find something perfect to give to people and always end up with something ok. so i really took time to think about what i wanted to give/make for people. i think i came up with some really great ideas. and i'm excited to give these things to my family and friends.

i got a new car! its a 2004 Hyundai Elantra. its a really nice car. a nice ruby red, so of course i named her Ruby. i drove back to school today all by myself! its not a bad drive, and it was pretty uneventful. i'm pretty happy about it.

oh! another thing i am excited about for winter break is going to see The Golden Compass with ali. whenever i see trailers for the movie on TV i get really excited! the movie looks like its going to be amazing, and i really hope it doesn't disapoint. i loved the books and i felt a real connection to them. it sounds cheesy but its true. the characters and the story are amazing and draw you in. if you're looking for a great read or a great gift to give, get the His Dark Materials trilogy! we're also going to try to see Sweeney Todd, which looks AWESOME!

i have to go to work in about a half an hour, so i better get ready for that. hopefully i will update this, but like i said, we'll see! haha.

20 years.

this short post is to say that HOLYCRAPI'M20! well technically not until like 7:30 tonight. but still. SECOND DECADE. its crazy, and i'm still trying to deal with it.

it sort of feels like any other day, and then i remember thats its my day. which makes me wonder why we celebrate birthdays and all that. but its still fun.

although, tonight is busy, i have to study for an exam basically all day and night tonight, with small breaks for dinner with caity and HEROES!

i got my hair cut pretty different from what i normally get. i will post pics soon. also i plan to post pics of my room, and other things. but sadly my camera is dead and i haven't had time to go get batteries. so boooo.

anyway, i have to go to class. i have a quiz. hooray!

the weapon we have is LOVE!

its been a while since i posted. i am now at school, one more day before classes start. i love my room and living in Abbot. i think my job will be perfect during the semester.

my week of being home was pretty uneventful. i hung out and saw the people i wanted to, which was really nice. being home was good, i really enjoyed my time home before i left again. i guess i'm really growing up now that i am not home that much. it makes me sad, but i don't think home will be my home much longer. i mean, it always will be, but i will be moving on to an apartment or whatever. i really love kalamazoo.

like i said, i love having a single room. its pretty great. its nice and cozy. and my building is close to everything. which is awesome. my job is great, will be great. learning everything is a little daunting. there's a lot of stuff you have to do, lots of paperwork and keeping track of keys and money and such things. but i think i will be able to handle it.

i had a little bit of a crisis. i just felt like this semester is going to be very difficult. and i don't even know if i want to do what i thought i wanted to do anymore. more and more jess and i are considering the whole yarn shop idea. its pretty much our ideal. so i dunno. i could get a BA in zoology, which i would only need 64 more credits to achieve. i'm not sure what i would do with that before we get the yarn thing going. so who knows. i am going to take this semester to think about it, and try to decide so i can make the necessary changes by next semester.

i've been listening to Harry and the Potters pretty non-stop lately. they are really great. as the name suggests it is a rock band that sings songs about Harry Potter. there is a whole new genre of music based on the world of Harry Potter. its huge, i mean really huge. you should check them out. one of the taglines of wizard rock is: FIGHT EVIL, READ BOOKS! its pretty awesome.

speaking of HP, i loved Deathly Hallows. except for the epilogue. it was...well, i won't get into it. i don't want to spoil it for anyone.

thats about it. sums up my life since i left virginia. i'm going to try really hard this semester, like studying and reading. i dunno how well thats going to work out. but we'll see. wish me luck.

AHHHH! SO EXCITED!

so i am VERY excited! tonight at midnight i will be recieving my copy of the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows. oh man. i haven't been too excited or even thought about it really because 1) i have none of my rabid HP fans with me, and 2) i want to be surprised, and free from too much speculation as to what happens. nobody at work really likes it, except my somewhat jerk of a boss Mr. Vann, which surprised me. we had a nice conversation about the book and the movie. it was cool.

anyway, our trip to MI was good. i had a lot of fun with everybody. it was a little hard to come back here. but i am also making really cool friends here, which i'm sure will be hard to leave as well. the train ride back was CRAZY! definitely not as enjoyable as the ride up. oh well, again something does not want us to go into DC!

i got the new white stripes album finally. i like it. they're probably one of my favorite bands. i just like jack white's voice and his guitar playing. haha.

um, so thats about it. i thought that i should update. theres not a whole lot of stuff going on, which is pretty good. i'm going to try to stay up as long as i can to read tonight, although i do work 2-10 tomorrow. oh well.

summer part 2: family visit, first sock!, workin'.

well, its been a while. but i've been busy. my parents and cousin came to visit us. it was a blast. it was great to see them and we had a lot of fun. we went to the ocean! It was tons of fun! i don't really remember the first time we went to the ocean, only that it was reallllly salty. it was still reallllly salty, but the waves were HUGE! and it was really fun/scary to swim in them.

i've been working a lot lately, which is ok i guess. i think i've been transitioned to box office from now on, or at least this whole weekend and part of the week basically. we had a meeting today just to basically tell us that we need to get motivated. it might just be an age thing, or maybe its because of my first job, but i've noticed that i don't need to be told to do things, like wipe down counters, or sweep the floor. i don't really want to be standing around the whole time, and i know that a lot of what the customers are looking at is if we have a clean place. so i look for things that need to be done. i dunno, but a lot of my co-workers don't do these things. its ok i guess, but i can see why the managers are frustrated.

anyway, i have finished my first sock! its lovely! i took a break from starting the next one, i figure i can do that on the train up to MI. it was pretty easy, i liked turning the heel, it was fun almost. haha.



oh yeah, alison and i are going up to MI for a couple days. i can't wait. i miss everyone, and kalamazoo. we're taking the train, which will be very exciting.

i also miss MSU, surprisingly. i think i just miss my two (haha) friends there. and the dairy store, and campus. and i am really excited for my room this fall! i have very good feelings about this school year.

i'm watching the Prairie Home Companion movie. i like it a lot. ali and i saw it in the theater. it reminds me of summer and the cottage. which we will be going to when we are in MI! another thing i am very excited for. good stuff.

who's a pretty kitty?!

so far things have been pretty good. work is going alright, getting better because am working box more often, and it is SO MUCH BETTER than consessions! woo.

ali is done with school on thursday, thats exciting. we will be able to do more stuff. like go get manicures and pedicures for her birthday! hurray!

we went to the yarn store today! i got a hank of lorna's laces in the beautiful colorway Bittersweet. its a mix of magenta, purple and a peachy/orange color. i've started my first pair of socks, Monkeys from knitty. i hope everything goes well. i don't have enough for a whole pair of socks, so i am doing ankle length by only doing two repeats of the lace pattern on the top. we also went to this upscale consignment shop and ali found some really cute shoes!i took of a picture of the yarn while i was winding (by hand!! mom, dad, for my birthday you can get me a ball winder! haha) here it is. the colors are a bit off. the colors are a lot brighter, but they looked washed out in the picture. anyway, i love the yarn.

i made a tam also! i scrapped my anthropologie inspired scarf and opted for the Big Blue Beret pattern, once again from tragicherione. i used my alpaca silk and it is sooo soft! i alternated the green and the purple and it turned out quite nice. why yes, i do like wearing wooly hats in 90 degree weather, thank you for asking. i think its going to be nice for cold days on campus. plus it makes me feel cool.

i'm reading The Golden Compass right now. its by Phillip Pullman. its part of the His Dark Materials trilogy. they play the trailer for the movie all the time at work, it the movie looks awesome, so i thought i would read the books before the movie(s) come out. they are like child/teen fantasy, but its kinda like Harry Potter. i like it a lot so far, and i can't wait for the movie!

ali and i are watching the series Rome right now, and i am going to go back to my socks!

summer part 1: DC (whole lotta pictures)

so i am here in Williamsburg, VA. its been great so far! i flew down to DC last thursday, and i think that someone doesn't want me to come down here because this is the second time my flight has been delayed. lovely fog! but other than that it was fine. i flew into Ronald Reagan, which is soo much better than Dulles! we flew right by everything! we went right downtown after i got in, and we walked around and saw the sights. i'm gonna show you some pictures now.
one side of the white house.

yay for tourists!

capitol building!

other side of white house.

lincoln memorial.

world war II memorial, it was really nice, and way bigger than this.

mr. lincoln himself.

washington monument from the lincoln memorial.

me squishing the washing monument! yes!

you can see the washington monument reflected in the vietnam memorial.


whew, thats a lot. but it was fun. and hot. it was really warm that day. it was also a little surreal to see all of these things. it was hard for me to actually comprehend that i was actually there, seeing this historic place. i've seen it all before right? movies, TV, ya know. but i liked it.

i also go myself a job here in williamsburg! its going to be great. i'm working at the movie theater that is right by the apartment. they give employees and family free movies! yes! i won't have to pay for any movies this summer! which is awesome. i start tomorrow (thursday). starting a job is always a little nerve wracking, but i feel okay about it.

in knitting news, i finally decided what to do with some alpaca silk that i had lying around. oh yes, i decided that i wanted to make the Anthropologie Inspired Scarf. so i started it last night, and since it is knit horizontally, that means i needed to cast on enough stitches to make it long enough. i ended up with about 328 stitches. yeah. not so fun, but i really think it would be a nice and cushy scarf! i am going to soilder through, its only about 28 rows. ugh, wish me luck. here's a pic of my three rows. its a little dark, but you can see allllll those stitches! fun fun!

anyway, i have to do some laundry. yaaayyy!

totally knitting related!

ok, so i felted my slippers! they turned out great! i can't wait to use them. here's some pictures:




last night i made a double pointed needle roll. i wanted to take my needles and stuff down to VA with me, but they were everywhere. so i made this to keep them all together. the poodle fabric is on the back, the plaid is on the inside, with the polka-dot fabric is the pocket. it was really easy, i just made it up as i went.






it works great for right now! i think i am going to practice sewing and make a more intricate one later. i'm excited! this time tomorrow i will be in DC with my sister! wooo!

WOOOOOO!

I'M DONE I'M DONE I'M DONE!

hurray, hurrah! this week didn't go by super fast, actually monday was quite long. but other than that this week was ok. all my finals were alright. i don't think i failed any of them, but i'm not so sure about my math or chem final. but overall i think everything will turn out ok.

so i've decided that when i leave this room in the next hour or so, i am also leaving all my bad feelings about this whole semester here. i don't want to carry those feelings around with me. also i don't want to talk about my roommate anymore. yeah, it kinda sucked, but it definitely could've been worse. and this type of thing happens all the time to many people in college. everything that has annoyed me in the past week, month, semester i've decided to put into a "box" and that "box" is staying here. whew. i'll be glad of it.

anyway, i leave for WILLIAMSBURG, VA in a week! wooo! i'm very excited! hopefully i'll be able to see all the people i want to see this week, but theres also some time in august to hang out.

so long to this room, and my first year of college. its been weird, fun, hard, interesting, but most of all, its been real...haha. but really i'm not that sad to be leaving. i'm on to bigger and better things. mm hmm.

unfair.

everyone that i know that goes to another school is done. why is that? we started before labor day, when most started after. i just don't understand why we have to go one more week. its very frusterating because i reallllly want, no, NEED to get out of here. my roommate is driving me crazy. to the point where her just existing is annoying. yes, yes. i know, only 7 days left. BUT ITS NOT GOING FAST ENOUGH!


another thing thats not fair is the fact that i was scheduled by the university to enroll in classes tomorrow. its not fair because most other people have already enrolled, meaning that a lot of classes are already full. so i am stuck with the short straw. luckily most of the classes i need have not filled up, but a couple of my labs have. and that makes things difficult. but wouldn't it make sense to leave a couple spots open for the people who are assigned to sign up last? i mean come on.


i'm looking forward to:
interestingly enough, finals week.
thursday may 3rd at 10 am=GOING HOME!
saturday may 5th=GARAGE SALE DAY!
thursday may 10th=flying down to VA for the summer.


i'm sure it will just fly by, but right now, its moving at a snail's pace. i need some sunshine.

EDIT:
here are my clog slippers that i finished. i still have to felt them, and i'm debating whether or not i should do it here. because i realllllly want to felt them, so i can have them. here's a picture of my unfelted clogs.




yes, they are mismatched. i used up my leftover yarn from my pinwheel sweater. i like them a lot. and i think they will be nice and warm, and good for walking to the bathroom next year. i'll post a pic of the felted ones when i actual felt them.