30 April 2007

Final Secret Pal package

My third and final SP package arrived on Friday.

SP gift 3

In the box are 3 skeins of Patons SWS in a lovely red/pink/purple/grey colorway, 2 Russell Stove candies, some Dove chocolate eggs, some Peeps, and the One Skein Wonders book. Good job SP! The yarn is just the softest stuff ever. I have a couple of the other colorways of this yarn in my stash and I just love it. I've already picked out a couple of patterns in the book that I want to make. And candy! I loves me some candy!

Despite the fact that she gave me several clues, I have not been able to guess who she is. I am horrible at such things. Reveal yourself, dear SP!

Newlyweds no more

Yesterday marked our one-year anniversary. I thawed the wedding cake for us to eat, according to custom.

Wedding cake

Then we promptly forgot to eat it last night.

23 April 2007

Niddy noddys and sockies

First, the coolest thing ever.

Niddy noddy

I’ve been wanting a niddy noddy for a while. For you non-knitters/spinners, here is a picture of one in use. It essentially allows you to wind yarn and estimate yardage at the same time. There aren’t many occasions when I need to know the yardage of any yarn that I am working with, but there are times when being able to measure it out easily would be useful. For instance, if I ever want to knit 2 socks at one time, being able to measure the yardage so that I can split a skein evenly would mean that I could do so without having to work from the inside and outside of the skein simultaneously. Also, it’ll be easier to recycle yarn from old projects if I can measure how much yarn I’m reclaiming once the object is frogged. So, I had this idea. I’ve seen instructions on the web on how to make a niddy noddy from PVC pipe. I haven’t been too thrilled with that idea since white plastic pipe is not very attractive. Cheap? Yes. Aesthetically pleasing? No. Then one day Wendy was showing me this structure hanging from her guest bedroom wall that Pete made out of copper pipe. It looks a bit like a curtain rod, but shorter, and instead of curtains hanging from it, there are pictures hanging from it with wire. See, Pete is a plumber and has access to copper pipe. He’s been using it as a decorating medium around the house. I LOVE copper accents, so I had the idea that maybe he could make me a niddy noddy out of copper pipe. A couple of weeks ago, I was at Wendy and Pete’s house so I chatted with him about my idea. I just mentioned it, figuring I’d draw him a schematic later. I must have explained the whole thing better than I thought because a few days later he produced the above. It’s a perfect 9” niddy noddy. One revolution around it will equal 1 yard. It leaves my hands smelling like metal, but it’s so pretty that I don’t care. And it’s not as heavy as I feared it would be. The pipe is probably ½” to ¾” in diameter, so it’s actually really light. I can’t wait to find a reason to use it. Thank you Pete!! You’re the best!!

Next, my finished Mokey socks.

Monkey socks3
Monkey socks1
Monkey socks2

Yarn: Koigu PPPM, 2 skeins
Needles: 32” size 1 Addis (Magic Loop method)
Modifications: The pattern repeat is 16 stitches wide. I needed to be able to cast on at least 72 stitches, so I added one stitch at the beginning and one in the middle (after the 8th stitch) of each repeat. The modification worked really well; the untrained eye wouldn’t even notice it.
Comments: The heel flap on this one seems really large to me. I think maybe it’s because it is worked in stockinette instead of being slip-stitched. Conversely, the toe is a bit too pointy. In hind-sight, I would have changed to a slip-stitched heel, and rounded the toe more by stacking the decrease rounds one-after-another for the last few rows instead of alternating with plain knit rows to the end. Overall, though, I like them. Too bad it’s now too warm to wear them. They will sit patiently in my drawer until fall.

I must say, Koigu is amazing yarn. So soft, so sproingy, and the colors... Oy. I've only used 2 other types of sock yarn before, but this is definitely my favorite. I already have 2 more skeins wound for my next pair of socks. Knitting with this stuff is such a joy!

18 April 2007

What's your theme song?

A question I just read on the knittyboard was “What is your theme song?” I had to really think about this, as I have probably hundreds of favorite songs, but not just one song that I would attach to myself. I went to the iPod and dug around for a bit. Here’s what I came up with: “The Book of My Life” by Sting (of course), from the Sacred Love album.

Let me watch by the fire and remember my days
And it may be a trick of the firelight
But the flickering pages that trouble my sight
Is a book I'm afraid to write

It's the book of my days, it's the book of my life
And it's cut like a fruit on the blade of a knife
And it's all there to see as the section reveals
There's some sorrow in every life

If it reads like a puzzle, a wandering maze
Then I won't understand 'til the end of my days
I'm still forced to remember,
Remember the words of my life

There are promises broken and promises kept
Angry words that were spoken, when I should have wept
There's a chapter of secrets, and words to confess
If I lose everything that I possess
There's a chapter on loss and a ghost who won't die
There's a chapter on love where the ink's never dry
There are sentences served in a prison I built out of lies.

Though the pages are numbered
I can't see where they lead
For the end is a mystery no-one can read
In the book of my life

There's a chapter on fathers a chapter on sons
There are pages of conflicts that nobody won
And the battles you lost and your bitter defeat,
There's a page where we fail to meet

There are tales of good fortune that couldn't be planned
There's a chapter on god that I don't understand
There's a promise of Heaven and Hell but I'm damned if I see

Though the pages are numbered
I can't see where they lead
For the end is a mystery no-one can read
In the book of my life

Now the daylight's returning
And if one sentence is true
All these pages are burning
And all that's left is you

Though the pages are numbered
I can't see where they lead
For the end is a mystery no-one can read
In the book of my life


--

Looks like I’m going to Austin in May to attend the Council of Science Editors annual meeting. CSE is the professional organization that all of the MEs at AP belong to. I’m not sure exactly when I’m leaving and coming home, but I’m guessing I’ll arrive on the 18th and stay until the 22nd. I’ll be attending a short course all day on the 19th about publication management, then various sessions the next 3 days on topics ranging from open access, to dealing with non-native English-speaking authors, to changing trends in print and electronic journal production, and how to use Word to its fullest. I’m excited to be attending the meeting, but I’m not too jazzed about traveling with others. There are 3 of us in my department who are going, and while I get along fine with the others, I would just as soon travel by myself. Kinda sucks that I’ll be away from home for that long too. By my calculations, that will be a non-Brady weekend, so Shane will be home by himself. He’s not going to be too pleased when he finds that out. Poor guy doesn’t like to be without me for too long.

13 April 2007

Knitting Q&A

I can't remember who I took this knitting questionnaire from, but I thought it was interesting.


1. What's your worst habit relating to your knitting?

I hate swatching, so I cheat when I swatch. I completely understand how necessary it is, particularly for fitted garments, but I don’t like taking the time to do it. I often start a swatch, knit a few rows, pull it off the needle, and measure gauge. Then, I’ll check gauge again many more times throughout the working of the project to make sure that it matches my pseudo-swatch.

2. In what specific ways does your knitting make you a better person?

It gives me an outlet that I didn’t have before, which makes me a saner person. It allows me to focus on something positive when I’m stressed, and the methodic nature of knitting is very calming to me. It also gives me a creative outlet that I haven’t had since high school art class. Color is a great inspiration for me, and knitting has allowed me to be creative with color in ways that I couldn’t in any other part of my life. Also, knitting has made me a more generous person. I like making things for other people, and find that I make things for people that I wouldn’t normally buy a gift for.

3. How might you or your life be different if you were suddenly unable to knit?

I shudder to think. I would be quite depressed. It would be like having a death in the family. There would be a mourning period, then maybe I would find another craft to do as a creative outlet.

4. If money were no object, what one yarn, and what one tool or gadget would you run out and buy first?

Definitely Morehouse Farm Merino. I’ve been eying it for many months, but can’t justify the expense for a whole sweater’s worth. As for tools, probably the KnitPicks Options needles.

5. What knitting technique or project type are you most afraid of (if any)? What, specifically, do you fear will happen when you try it?

Fair Isle intimidates me. I am worried that my tension would be off and I’d end up with puckering. And steeking freaks me out. I don’t know if I could cut my knitting.

6. Who is/are your knitting hero(es), and why?

My knitting heroes are anyone who has managed to make a career out of this craft that we all love so much.

7. Do you consider knitting, for you personally, a mostly social activity, or a mostly solitary activity?

It’s mostly a solitary activity. I know a few other people who knit, but none of them has the obsession that I have. I’m part of an online knitting community that gives me advice and support, but otherwise, I’m by myself. While there are times that I wish I could share my addiction with someone, I also feel sort of selfish about this being something that is just for me.

8. Is there a particular regional tradition in knitting that you feel strongly drawn toward (e.g., Fair Isle, Scandinavian, Celtic, Orenburg lace)? Any theories as to why it calls to you?

Fair Isle calls to me. As mentioned above, color is very important to me. I like the use of color in fair isle knitting. It seems like the possibilities are endless with the combinations of colors and motifs that could be used in a garment.

9. If you were a yarn, which yarn would you be?

Lamb’s Pride Worsted is probably most like me. It’s a hard working yarn, but not hard to work with. It appears to be rather no-frills, but the mohair content gives it a little complexity. The fact that it can only be hand washed makes it more high-maintenance than some superwash wools. And the color variety! Massive!

10. Some statistics:
(a) How many years have passed since you FIRST learned to knit?


Almost 4.

(b) How many total years have you been actively, regularly knitting (i.e., they don't have to have been in a row)?

Almost 4.

(c) how many people have you taught to knit?

3, but it stuck with only 1 of those.

(d) Roughly what percentage of your FOs do you give away (to anyone besides yourself, i.e., including your immediate family)

90%

11. How often do you KIP (knit in public)? i.e., once a week, once a month, etc. Where do you do it?

Now that I have a knitting group that I sometimes meet with, and we meet in a local coffee shop, it’s probably a couple of times a month.

12. If a genie granted you one hour to stitch-n-bitch with any one knitter, living or dead, who would you choose and why?

Virginia Woolf. Her writing has always fascinated me. I found out a couple of years ago that she was a knitter. She supposedly said, “Knitting is the saving of life.” I’d love to hear her thoughts on knitting and how it has influenced her.

13. What aspect or task in knitting makes you most impatient?

Aside from swatching, I would say seaming. I’m a perfectionist, but also a bit impatient, so when a seam doesn’t come out the way I want it to, I get frustrated.

14. What is it about knitting that never lets you get bored with it?

Seeing this lovely object appear from under my needles.

15. Describe how and where you most often do your knitting - where do you sit, what is going on around you, what tools do you use and how are they (dis)organized?

I almost always sit in the recliner in our living room, watching tv. Shane is either with me watching the tube, or in the office, on the PlayStation. To my right is an end table with a drawer in the front. That drawer holds all my notions, like scissors, tapestry needles, gauge finders, tape measures, cable needles, stitch markers, row counters, and crochet hooks. It also has lip balm, a nail file, cuticle scissors, and hand lotion. On the floor in front of the end table is a rectangular basket containing all my current projects—those are projects that I’m working on right now, not just any UFOs. Next to the basket is this small, old barrel thingy that has a hinged lid on it with holes in it. It’s a yarn keeper that I sometimes use.

16. Which one person is the recipient of more of your knitting than any other?

No one in particular, though mostly family members.

17. What's the oddest thing about your knitting, or yourself as a knitter?

The oddest thing about my knitting is the fact that I’m a knitter. It is an activity that is so opposite of the self-centered, anti-domestic, material girl that I used to be. Now I find myself sitting for hours at home knitting, and I’m always coming up with ideas for gifts that I can make my family and friends.

18. What do you see yourself knitting - if anything - twenty years from now?

Pretty much the same things that I do now, except I’ll be a lot better at it.

19. If you were stranded on a deserted island and could have only ONE SKEIN of yarn, which yarn would it be and what would you do with it?

I think I would grab the 3400 yd hank of laceweight that I have in my stash and some size 1s. That would keep me busy for a long time. I’d make myself a lace shawl that no one would ever see and appreciate, but me.

20. If you were allowed to own only one knitting-related book, which would it be? (you'd be free to browse others, but you couldn't keep them)

Probably the Vogue Knitting Techniques book (I think that’s what it’s called). Combined with my own creativity, I could keep myself going with self-written patterns for years.

21. Is knitting the new yoga? Why or why not?

No, because for me, knitting is not a fad. It’s a way of life, a culture, a community.

22. What important thing are you trying to put off doing whenever you knit?

Cooking, laundry, house cleaning, house painting, paying bills, going to the grocery store, washing the car.

11 April 2007

Unexpected goodies

Steph called me yesterday afternoon and told me to come to her desk, as she had a gift for me.

yarn & needles from Steph

That's 7 skeins of Pinguin Fleur de Laine 100% wool yarn in a classic hunter green, 2 sets of 13" Clover bamboo size 5 needles, 1 pair of 13" Clover bamboo size 3 needles, 1 pair of 13" Boye aluminum size 5 needles, 1 pair of 13" Boye aluminum size 7 needles, a set of 16" Boye aluminum size 5 circulars, and a gauge finder. She had never told me this before, but many years ago, she took a knitting class at Yarn Barn. Ultimately, she decided that the counting involved in knitting wasn't as relaxing as she thought it would be, so she never got past the first few classes. She's had the materials for a sweater in her closet for years. Here's the pattern book that went with the class:

book from Steph

The receipt from the class was still in the bag, and it was dated 1991. I was still in high school! I couldn't find the brand of yarn in the Yarndex, so I suspect it's not a brand that exists anymore. It's actually pretty soft wool.

Here's the pattern that she was going to make:

Steph's sweater

I've decided that I am going to make her a sweater-vest with the yarn. I briefly contemplated making the intended sweater, but it's not really something she'd wear anymore. Styles were different 16 years ago, you know? Not to mention that it looks like miles of moss stitch, which makes my wrists hurt just thinking about it. I think I'll do something with a large cable up the front, possibly V-neck, with accent ribbing and a large cable up the front. I should have enough yarn for it, but I might add a contrasting color, for interest. Hunter green is her favorite color, which is why I wasn't surprised when I saw the color of the yarn. It is so not something I would ever use for a garment for anyone but her.

This works out really well because I was thinking about making her and Lisa ("work" Lisa) something for Christmas. I can do the sweater-vest for Steph and a Lady Eleanor shawl for Lisa. I can get a little more creative with the colors for Lisa because she has taste similar to my own. Steph is much pickier, so it's only fitting that she purchased this yarn herself.

05 April 2007

How many movies have you seen?

I stole this one from Poops. I used to be such a movie hound that I couldn't resist seeing how many on the list that I've seen.

"It’s been alleged that if you’ve seen over 85 movies you have no life. Mark the ones you’ve seen. There are 239 films on this list. Copy this list, go to your own blog, paste it in and put x’s by the ones that you have seen. Add them up, figure out whether you’ve got a life or not, and post it."
(x) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(x) Grease
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest
( ) Boondock Saints
(x) Fight Club
( ) Starsky and Hutch
(x) Neverending Story
( ) Blazing Saddles
(x) Airplane
(x) The Princess Bride
(x) AnchorMan
(x) Napoleon Dynamite
(x) Labyrinth
( ) Saw
( ) Saw II
( ) White Noise
( ) White Oleander
(x) Anger Management
( ) 50 First Dates
( ) The Princess Diaries
( ) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
( ) Scream
( ) Scream 2
( ) Scream 3
( ) Scary Movie
( ) Scary Movie 2
( ) Scary Movie 3
( ) Scary Movie 4
( ) American Pie
( ) American Pie 2
( ) American Wedding
( ) American Pie Band Camp
(x) Harry Potter 1
(x) Harry Potter 2
(x) Harry Potter 3
( ) Harry Potter 4
( ) Resident Evil 1
( ) Resident Evil 2
(x) The Wedding Singer
( ) Little Black Book
(x) The Village
( ) Lilo & Stitch
(x) Finding Nemo
( ) Finding Neverland
(x) Signs
( ) The Grinch (I'm assuming this is the Jim Carrey one)
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
( ) White Chicks
(x) Butterfly Effect
( ) 13 Going on 30
(x) I, Robot
( ) Robots
( ) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
( ) Universal Soldier
(x) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
(x) Along Came Polly
( ) Deep Impact
(x) KingPin
(x) Never Been Kissed
(x) Meet The Parents
(x) Meet the Fockers
( ) Eight Crazy Nights
( ) Joe Dirt
( ) King Kong
( ) A Cinderella Story
( ) The Terminal
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
(x) Dumb & Dumber
( ) Dumber & Dumberer
( ) Final Destination
( ) Final Destination 2
( ) Final Destination 3
( ) Halloween
( ) The Ring
( ) The Ring 2
( ) Surviving Christmas
( ) Flubber
( ) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
(x) Practical Magic
(x) Chicago
( ) Ghost Ship
( ) From Hell
( ) Hellboy
(x) Secret Window
( ) I Am Sam
(x) The Whole Nine Yards
(x) The Whole Ten Yards
( ) The Day After Tomorrow
( ) Child’s Play
( ) Seed of Chucky
( ) Bride of Chucky
(x) Ten Things I Hate About You
( ) Just Married
( ) Gothika
( ) Nightmare on Elm Street
(x) Sixteen Candles
(x) Remember the Titans
( ) Coach Carter
( ) The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
(x) The Mask
( ) Son Of The Mask
(x) Bad Boys
( ) Bad Boys 2
( ) Joy Ride
( ) Lucky Number SlevIn
(x) Ocean’s Eleven
( ) Ocean’s Twelve
(x) Bourne Identity
(x) Bourne Supremecy
( ) Lone Star
( ) Bedazzled
( ) Predator I
( ) Predator II
( ) The Fog
(x) Ice Age
( ) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
( ) Curious George
(x) Independence Day
(x) Cujo
(x) A Bronx Tale
( ) Darkness Falls
( ) Christine
(x) E.T.
( ) Children of the Corn
( ) My Bosses Daughter
( ) Maid in Manhattan
(x) War of the Worlds
(x) Rush Hour
( ) Rush Hour 2
( ) Best Bet
( ) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
( ) She’s All That
( ) Calendar Girls
( ) Sideways
(x) Mars Attacks
( ) Event Horizon
( ) Ever After
(x) Wizard of Oz
(x) Forrest Gump
( ) Big Trouble in Little China
( ) The Terminator
( ) The Terminator 2
( ) The Terminator 3
(x) X-Men
( ) X-2
( ) X3
(x) Spider-Man
(x) Spider-Man 2
( ) Sky High
( ) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
(x) Catch Me If You Can
(x) The Little Mermaid
(x) Freaky Friday (The Jodi Foster one?)
( ) Reign of Fire
( ) The Skulls
( ) Cruel Intentions
( ) Cruel Intentions 2
( ) The Hot Chick
(x) Shrek
(x) Shrek 2
( ) Swimfan
(x) Miracle on 34th street
(x) Old School
( ) The Notebook
(x) K-Pax
( ) Krippendorf’s Tribe
(x) A Walk to Remember
( ) Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
(x) The 40-year-old Virgin
(x) Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
(x) Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
(x) Lord of the Rings: Return Of the King
(x) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(x) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(x) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
( ) Base-ketball
( ) Hostel
( ) Waiting for Guffman
( ) House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devils Rejects
(x) Elf
( ) Highlander
( ) Mothman Prophecies
( ) American History X
( ) Three
( ) The Jacket
( ) Kung Fu Hustle
( ) Shaolin Soccer
( ) Night Watch
(x) Monsters Inc.
(x) Titanic
(x) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
( ) Shaun Of the Dead
( ) Willard
( ) High Tension
( ) Club Dread
( ) Hulk
( ) Dawn Of the Dead
(x) Hook
(x) Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
( ) 28 days later
( ) Orgazmo
( ) Phantasm
( ) Waterworld
( ) Kill Bill Vol. 1
( ) Kill Bill Vol. 2
( ) Mortal Kombat
( ) Wolf Creek
( ) Kingdom of Heaven
( ) the Hills Have Eyes
( ) I Spit on Your Grave
( ) The Last House on the Left
( ) Re-Animator
(x) Army of Darkness
(x) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
( ) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
( ) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(x) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(x) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(x) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
( ) Ewoks: Caravan Of Courage
( ) Ewoks: The Battle For Endor
(x) The Matrix
( ) The Matrix: Reloaded
( ) The Matrix: Revolutions
( ) Animatrix
(x) Evil Dead
(x) Evil Dead 2
( ) Team America: World Police
( ) Red Dragon
(x) Silence of the Lambs
( ) Hannibal


Okay, that's 85, and since there are a ton of movies I've seen that are not on this list, then I guess I have no life.

04 April 2007

Fastest Knit

We had a wedding shower yesterday for one of the women in my department. It was a casual lunch thing in the break room. I had forgotten that we were doing this until a reminder was sent out last Friday. I could have contributed money to the big group gift that the others in my department were planning. Instead, I decided to knit something. I did a frantic web search for something simple. My first thought was a lace garter. I found what I thought was a simple free pattern. It used crochet cotton and ribbon. Upon closer inspection of the pattern, I realized that there was some hand-sewing required, and I wasn’t really up for that. I continued searching. Then I found the pattern for the Generations Purse. I went to Hobby Lobby after work on Friday to look for yarn and ribbon. I didn’t want to spend a lot on yarn, as I don’t really know the bride that well. I found the perfect inexpensive yarn: Baby Bee Sweet Delight Pomp, which is a Hobby Lobby brand, in a color called Naked. It’s an off-white light-worsted weight acrylic with a satiny thread wrapped around it. For an acrylic, I actually liked working with it. It’s very soft, and not at all squeaky like acrylic can be. For the drawstring, I wanted to use a contrasting color (her wedding colors are ivory and periwinkle), but I couldn’t find ribbon in the right shade of periwinkle, so I opted for a matching off-white satin cord. Here it is!

Generations Purse

The amazing thing about it is that I started it Friday night and was finished by Sunday night. Two days! That is definitely the fastest I have every completed a project.

--

I went to lunch with the girls today, and as we walked into Papa Keno’s, guess who was walking out? The X. I couldn’t believe it! I must have jinxed myself by reading that old letter I wrote to him. He looked me in the eye, but there didn’t seem to be any recognition. I just brushed past him and he left. That is the first time in almost 3 years that I have run into him. Ugh, how awkward. The sad thing is that the only thing I could think when I saw him was “Oh, I hope he doesn’t recognize me.” Not because I didn’t want to talk to him, but because I am easily 40 lbs. heavier now than I was when we were together. My weight was always so important to him, and it makes me feel weird that he would see me at my present overweight state. I just know he’d think, “Boy, did she let herself go.” I did let myself go after we broke up. And the reason I let myself go was him; a reaction to the horrible pressure he put on me to be thin. Of course he doesn’t know this. He probably wouldn’t care if he did know. There is still this part of me that wants to look thin and gorgeous if I ever see him again. Not because that’s what he would want, but because I would not want him thinking or saying any of the horrible things I’ve heard him say about people he knew who gained weight after he knew them. It’s completely stupid, I know. I’m happily married now. Even if I wasn’t happily married, I would never want him back. I can’t believe that I ever had feelings for him. I think it’s just that wish that all past boyfriends would kick themselves upon seeing me again—that they were missing out something by not being with me. It’s that whole “living well is the best revenge” thing.

03 April 2007

Happy Birthday Brady!

Brady turned 8 yesterday. We had him last weekend, so we celebrated on Saturday. Wendy and Pete went with us to see The Last Mimzy. It's the first movie we've seen in the theatre since Hoodwinked last year. I highly recommend it. Good sci-fi kids movie. After the movie we went to dinner at Brady's favorite restaurant, Applebee's. Then we went back to our house to open gifts and have cupcakes. Brady had a really good time. He kept saying that he was 8 on Saturday, then when he went back to his mom's he'd be 7 again, then 8 again on Monday (since we had to celebrate his birthday early). Oh, and he shushed Wendy and me during the movie previews. Don't think I've ever been shushed by an 8 year old before.

---

I couldn't sleep last night so I got up around 11:30 and went into the living room to watch tv. I started rifling through the drawer in one of end tables, looking for some craft thread that I knew was in there, and I stumbled upon a letter that I wrote the X the 3rd (but not final) time we broke up. It wasn't dated, but I must have written it in May 1999. He had just broken up with me, and I wrote the letter as a way of telling him off. If I remember correctly, he didn't have much to say when he ended things; he just wanted it to be done, so I didn't get a chance to say much. Reading that letter, I can't believe that I ever felt anything for him. He was horrible to me even back then. I should have just moved on. But, no. He called from Germany two months later whining about how lonely he was and begging me to take him back. I'll never understand why I agreed, or why I stayed with him for 4 more torturous years. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

---

Looks like Shane may get screwed out of a decent raise this year. He had his review this afternoon, and his boss tried to give him a 2.5% raise. Shane just told him that he needed to do better than that, and walked out of his office. He has averaged between 55 and 60 hours the last 8 months (oh, and he was made salaried this time last year, so he's not getting overtime anymore)--the company can afford to give him a good raise. I generally believe that everyone in every job is replaceable, but in Shane's case, AP would be in a world of hurt if they didn't have him. They should pay him what he's worth instead of continuing to take advantage of his loyalty. I'm guessing they think they can get away with paying him shit because he has been there for so long (16 years this year), and he's not likely to quit because of a bad raise. I guess for the sake of our family, I can just hope that I get a good raise in May. But, I also work for AP, and I've been here long enough to know not to count on it.