Motherhood

Well, I've survived my first week home w/Shannon. So far, motherhood is easy but I know that once I go back to work and once Wig & I get our own place it's going to become a lot harder. But it turns out I'm a natural born mother. I adapted to having to take care of a newborn almost instantly. I thought it'd take a few days or even weeks to get used to the sleep deprivation, clean up a particularly messy poop without gagging, and learn the different cues and types of cries for hungry, dirty, tired or plain cranky, but from day one none of that was a problem. Shannon is a perfectly healthy and happy baby, and my family has been a very big help. I don't try to take too much advantage of their help because A) they work full-time and have their own things to worry about, they can't watch a newborn all the time and 2) I don't want to get spoiled or complacent and be unprepared once I move out. But when they're home they'll gladly take her long enough to let me shower and eat or take a nap or get some important chore done. My dad who's usually so serious, stoic and strict turns to mush when he holds Shannon. The man who said he wanted to be called "Sir" when we were discussing grandparent nicknames is now a self-proclaimed Grampy and he'll hold her and talk baby talk to her. He's quick to give her back the second she needs to be changed though. And my mom insists on getting in some quality time with her before she leaves or as soon as she gets home for work. Even my sister has to take her for a little bit. But she won't feed or change her either. She just likes to hold her until she starts to get cranky - or starts farting too much.
Wig comes by whenever he can and helps me out, but he's still getting used to the reality of fatherhood. He feels insecure in his ability to be a good father and feels uncomfortable holding Shannon or feeding or changing her. But he is making an effort and soon enough he'll realize he's doing a good job. I feel he'll connect better once she's a little older and more interactive - sitting up, cooing and smiling. Wig takes care of me, though, and that's just as big a help. But for most of the day once my dad leaves for work it's just me and Shannon and I've learned to adapt to doing a lot of things w/just one hand or to work quickly before she wakes up. Once she has a little more neck strength I can put her in the carrier and just strap her to my chest so I have both hands free. I wanted one of those baby slings but they're all either really expensive or really ugly. I think it's a more comfortable and intimate way to carry the baby than the traditional carriers, so hopefully I can find one that works for me at a reasonable price.
Shannon's slowly starting to get on a schedule. She's almost predictable. She'll eat every 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours and usually nap the entire time between. Every so often she gets the urge to cluster feed & want to eat an hour or hour and a half later, but she's more or less predictable. She rarely gets cranky or overtired; she almost only cries when she's hungry or needs to be changed or is being changed or bathed - she hates being naked.
They say to sleep when the baby sleeps, but I can only really do that at night. I have too much of a second wind and running on pure adrenaline to nap during the day. Plus it's the only time I can keep up with housework and other stuff. I'm slowly getting back into crocheting and am working on new amigurumi when I have the free time. Right now I'm working on Pac-man, Ms Pac-man and the ghosts, Chain Chomps from Super Mario and Kirby. I also want to do Metroids and try to make hat versions of some of my amigurumi, particularly the Brain Slug. I also want to make replicas of the kids from South Park's hats, although I know Kenny's is going to be a problem since it's actually a hood. I want to branch out and do actual craft fairs this year. It's going to be a matter of money and balancing it with taking care of Shannon. But I'd probably sell a lot more than I do at the conventions so it could be worth the investment and I can make extra cash to put away in a savings account.
But I'm loving every minute of motherhood so far. Sometimes it's frustrating and tiresome when she wants to eat again, or won't sleep and wants to be held indefinately, but it's worth it for that look she gives me when I'm holding her. A working schedule is developing and will be in place within weeks and I'll have a normal life again - just with added baby.

Birth Annoucement

Wow, I really suck at blogging. I promised I'd blog all through the pregnancy w/updates but working at the new Toys R Us Express really sucked up a lot of my time since I ended up working 8 hour shifts 5 days a week, then of course preparing for the baby, sleeping, squeezing in as much of a social life as possible, and other tasks. So it's understandable I didn't have the time to type up a blog. There wasn't much of interest to post anyway; my pregnancy was the easiest & most inconsequential pregnancy ever. Nothing happened. I found out it was a girl, I got a bigger bump, she moved around a lot. But the delivery is quite a story, so here I am finally blogging.

So Shannon was due on the 23rd. Everyone had bets on when she'd actually be born. My mom wanted her to come on her birthday, the 21st. The most popular prediction was Christmas Eve. Even a psychic my mom sees regularly said the 24th.
The 23rd came & went. So did the 24th and I got through Christmas Day without a twinge. Then at about 1230 in the morning on the 26th I got up to pee & had bright red bloody show. A mild cramping soon followed & we headed to the hospital. While I was under observation for about an hour/hour & a half they became definite contractions, not very intense but regularly spaced 5 minutes apart. However, my cervix didn't dilate at all and I was still at only 1cm so they sent me home to wait out the early labor stages.
Now a massive blizzard was heading down to us later that day, so we were dreading that my labor would intensify during the worst part of the storm. I took a warm bath and shower and was able to doze a little, but the contractions continued to come. They weren't so bad early in the morning - like menstrual cramps, maybe a little more painful, something I could easily grit my teeth & wait out, but as the day wore on and the snow started falling they gradually got more uncomfortable. The pain didn't get worse but the pressure against my rectum and pelvis were tough to sit through. I was contemplating whether I would be able to wait it out through the night & go to the hospital the next day during the tail end of the storm. So far, my water still hadn't broken and there was no sign of further dilation. Finally, more bloody show was appearing and the contractions were so uncomfortable that we braved the storm and headed to Winchester. The roads were treacherous & visibility very low, but we made it there safely & as soon as I was checked I was 3cm dilated. Finally things were moving along.
I was hoping I'd be able to hold out & have a natural birth, but the combination of pain & pressure from the contractions were getting to much and I broke down & got the epidural. I'm so glad I did. It made it so I didn't feel a single contraction and I was able to sleep. Well, I would've been able to sleep if I didn't have this thing where I never sleep well in other beds (I never fall completely asleep at hotels either). But I dozed enough. They had pull-out bed for Wig & he slept like a log the whole night.
My cervix continued to dilate steadily throughout the night but my water never broke. At about 7AM Monday morning the doctor broke my water and I began to try to deliver my daughter. It was tough. Sometimes I could feel the pressure and need to bear down w/the contractions but other times I had to go by the doctor reading the monitor that said when I had a contraction. I was pushing well, and I was expecting Shannon to come out any minute but after an hour of pushing the doctor checked her head position & said her head was not able to pass through the pelvic bone & molding was starting. On top of that there was meconium & I had a low-grade fever & infection so all those factors led to csection. I was wheeled into the OR and prepped. Wig looked so adorable in his scrubs. He was so fascinated with the whole procedure and the fact that I was so numb I didn't feel a single thing while they rooted in my wide opened stomach cavity. Then at 9:48AM, Shannon officially came into the world kicking and screaming, weighing 7lb 12oz and 20 3/4 inches long.
They wisked her away to Special Care to treat her w/antibiotics and it took me neary 4 hours to finally see my little girl. But it was worth the wait. Everyone sees a little bit of someone else in her. I think she has Wig's nose & ears, others say she looks like me or my sister. Some say she has my mom's chin. She already has quite the personality. I'm so glad I have her. She's the best Christmas gift I ever got.

Long-Awaited Update, AnimeNEXT and News

Daaaaaaaaaaaayum I've been lazy/busy/forgetful/tired and haven't updated in FOREVER. This weekend was AnimeNEXT in Somerset, NJ. This was my first time driving that far, but everything went off without a hitch. We took 95 to 287 to avoid tolls and stopped at Friendly's in West Haven, CT for food and got to the hotel in about 6 hours. The ride back was going even smoother - we didn't make any stops and were flying through New Jersey and ConnectiCut - until we hit tons of roadwork in RI and MA. The return trip ended up taking about 6 hours too but it was at least an easy route - long but at least there weren't a lot of changeovers to other highways.
I've never been particularly fond of AnimeNEXT. It's not set up very well. 2 years ago when it was still in Secaucus it was horribly set up. That was the year that the Artist Alley was in a parking garage. The Somerset location does a slightly better job but it's too spread out. Last year it was in the Garden State Exhibit Center and the Doubletree Hotel, which wasn't a big deal because there was a handy covered walkway connecting the Doubletree and the Exhibit Center. But this year they added locations in the Holiday Inn and a training center across the street. It was too spread out. With Inyx in charge of the Artist Alley this year, the Artist Alley was better set up than last year. We ended up commandeering the entire corner since she was staff, so we had the staff table, 2 tables for our displays and then Sin's table for her studio. I can't believe I forgot to take pictures. It was impressive. Another beef with AnimeNEXT is there isn't much for quality panels or workshops. They don't get the best guests. They did have Greg Ayres this year, who is a very notable voice actor, but they usually don't get anyone bigger than that. The panels are usually lame. The only ones that are of any merit are the Bento and Sake panels but you have to sign up way in advance because they fill out so fast. The Adult Swim Revolution panel happens every year and it's great for Adult Swim fans who want to hear about new shows, see previews, find out what's been cancelled, what's coming back, what's on hiatus and just bitch about crappy shows and praise awesome shows. The panel is a mix of awesome and lame-ass bullshit. I've gone to it every year I've done AnimeNEXT - which is only 3 years, but so far it's progressively gone downhill. This year's panel went from talking about new seasons and new series to bitching about Family Guy and American Dad, and they barely talked about the new shows or any original Adult Swim content. Last year had a lot more information and the year before had free swag and I won a Murderface button by being able to correctly answer what Adult Swim's first time slot was. (I beat someone dressed as Space Ghost, that's epic)
But I think AnimeNEXT should've been renamed PokeCon this year as like, 85% of con-goers were cosplaying Pokemon, Pokemon trainers or Teams Rocket, Magma or Aqua. And everyone had PokeWalkers from the new DS games (mine took a nasty trip through the washer and no longer works, but Wig and Xaqu got plenty of items and Watts). Wig got lots of great pictures. I didn't get as many. I usually just take pics of the cosplays I like and if I got a picture of it at one con I usually don't take subsequent pictures unless the person did an exceptional job and it's extremely accurate or it's some clever twist on the normal character design.
Anyway, the Artist Alley wasn't nearly as busy as Anime Boston's. We still did pretty well. A small but comfortable $650 on Friday and a much better $800 on Saturday. I don't know the Sunday numbers because Inyx stayed to go to the staff after-party and we left early, so she hadn't counted it before we left. I myself only made $76, a far cry from the $101 I made at Anime Boston but still decent for some crocheted dolls and guitar pick earrings. Someone bought 3 of my $12 amigurumi on one sale - both mushrooms and the Dragon Quest slime. The mini Brain Slugs were the star this time, trumping their full-size counterparts. I don't know how PortCon will fare, it's a much smaller and less busy convention but I think people are a little more willing to spend on handicrafts there.

In other news, I'm pregnant. It's kind of shocking. I never expected it to happen this soon. Everyone who knows me knows how badly I want a baby, though, and I'm more happy than nervous. Part of me wishes it isn't happening now, but part of me is glad I no longer have to wait. I can finally experience pregnancy and have the baby I always wanted. I was kind of getting sick of a lot of my friends and old classmates having kids before me. I felt like I was being left in the dust. Me and Wig's friends Dan and Lindsey just had their 2nd baby, and Katie and Fetus (another Sean, everyone goes by nicknames) had Seamus in January. Not only was I jealous of people having what I want and couldn't have, I was disappointed that our kids would end up being far apart in age. Now they'll be close in age and get to play together. Wig isn't happy. He's convinced he'll be a horrible father just like his father and thinks he'll end up doing something bad that'll cause me to divorce him, kill him or have him arrested. I know him better than he knows himself and I know he is too sweet, caring and too desperate to not turn out like his parents and that he'll come out fine in the end. I don't know how we're going to manage raising a child right now. I'm confident in help from my family and friends. My parents don't have money to spare but my grandparents do, and I bet some of my friends will donate some of their old baby things. I have a lot of my old baby furniture down in the basement that is still useful and of course there's the baby shower. Finding full time work is gong to be tough. Wig is still having trouble finding a job, but I think Stop n Shop will work out if he just follows through, and he's finally expressed interest in going to school to learn a trade. I wonder if he pulls the "my fiancee is pregnant I really need a job!" spiel if that'll get him a job out of sympathy. Now that I'm not doing the Census I can finally focus on applying for full-time jobs again and I'm trying for some entry-level government jobs because even if you don't have any experience if you at least have a Bachelor's degree they'll train you. My aunt also knows someone with a music teacher job opportunity on the South Shore. She's going to give him my contact info and I'm just waiting for an email or phone call with the info. I haven't told my parents yet. I'm waiting until after PortCon, because if I tell them now, they'll either forbid me to go or bitch and moan that I'm going to another convention when I should be saving money for the baby and shouldn't be traveling and doing convention-type things when I'm pregnant. Plus I don't want to stress them out like that then take off like that. I don't know how I'm going to bring it up. But I'm going to tell my mom first because she'll take it better. They're going to freak out at first because it really is too soon. I'm not too young - I'm 25, which I think is a good age to have a kid (my goal was always between 25 and 30 for my first) - but working part-time with an unemployed fiancee and we both still live at home and have less than $700 between us isn't an ideal situation for having a child. But they won't forget that they were in the same boat when they were younger than me and that their parents supported them and helped them out. It could be a lot worse. Plus once they get over the initial shock and we figure out how we're going to work this out, they'll start to gush over the fact that they'll be grandparents. My sister is going to refuse to look at me during my 2nd and 3rd trimester, though - she's weirded out by pregnant women. All in all, I'm amazingly calm right now considering the news. It's surreal though. I'm still having a hard time believing it really happened and it happened so soon. I don't even feel pregnant yet. But it must be meant to be, so something good must be coming from it somewhere down the line. I'm not too worried yet. I'm determined to find away.

New items in the Etsy shop

For all you Tenacious D fans out there, I got some Pick of Destiny earrings. Now even regular joes can harness the awesome power of the Pick of Destiny.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_2&listing_id=40788270

Also updated the Dragon Quest slime amigurumi. The pupils are now made of safety eyes. They're also listed on Esty for the first time EVAR!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_1&listing_id=41003457

Check 'em out.

Countdown to the first convention of the season:
AnimeBoston April 2nd

So things had been pretty much the same old for a while, until a couple weeks ago it was decided my mom needed a hysterectomy because of the fibroids in her uterus. They weren't causing any problems until a month ago when she started bleeding excessively. She went in for surgery today and everything went fine. She was understandably loopy from the morphine when we went to visit her earlier but other than that she's doing well. She should be home Friday at the latest. It's up to me, my dad and Heather to keep up with the housework for the next 4-6 weeks, so we're gonna have our hands full. It'll be good for my mom to not do anything for once, cuz she overworks herself. We weren't too overly worried about the surgery, hysertectomies are more or less routine and we were all joking even after my mom came out of surgery. Like last night before she went to bed I told her to have fun and when she told me she was gonna have to have a blood transfusion too I told her "Don't get AIDS." Today when we went to visit her my dad was ripping on her the whole time. She was on the same floor as the pediatric ward and joked she was up there because she had the IQ of a child. LOL. That's just how our family is. Besides, laughter is a great way to get through stressful moments even if it seems in bad taste.

Meanwhile, I applied and took the test for census taker the other day. If I'm hired it's, like, $20 an hour part-time which will really help, even though it's only for a few months. Sure, I have to go door-to-door or call up strangers to ask personal questions about their home and family, but it's still a decent government stint. Wig applied too but he hit a snag since his driver's license is expired and he needs a valid ID. He'll be getting it renewed soon and also has an interview sometime this week for a job on kitchen staff in a nursing home. Someone his father knows works there.

I got to go out to Ludlow and visit the Flav and Ricky a couple weeks ago. We had a helluva time. I drove out Saturday morning and breezed in in under an hour and a half and we went to Northampton. I got to try Thai Garden finally and it was better than Tom Yum Koong although Tom Yum Koong comes incredibly close. Northampton's got so many fun little shops. Then later, an old friend of Ricky's and her husband came by for Simpsons Scene It and we all filled up on chips and Mountain Dew Throwback and talked for hours. Then we watched Sleepaway Camp, which is probably one of the most bizarre thrillers I've ever seen. Before I left on Sunday we ate at Peppa's in East Longmeadow and had a pizza that had french fries and bacon on it w/ranch dressing. It was almost like a potato skin pizza. I had a great time and can't wait to go back out there, which I guess will be when I go to see Finntroll w/them in April! Too awesome.

The other night a handful of TRU night crew people went out to Fridays. It was supposed to be a huge reunion event at Kowloons but first it got delayed a week so people'd have money, then it got switched to Fridays, then a bunch of people couldn't go for various reasons. So it ended up being only me, Wig, Dan, Mikey, Charlene, Hillary and Hillary's boyfriend. It was fun. Dan and I kept making Dayjob Orchestra references all night (look them up on YouTube. They're a Canadian prog rock band, but their most popular thing is their overdub videos where they take clips of Star Trek or politicians and redo the dialogue so it's the most bizarre shit but it matches the lips perfectly!) The best thing was I was the only one with a Give Me More Stripes card, so I got ALL the points :)

Finally finished the baby blanket for little Seamus. Pictures will be on Flickr later. Then I'll be getting cracking on amigurumi for the conventions. I'm also having a special promotion for Facebook fans and Twitter followers only. So become a fan at www.facebook.com/StringTheory101 and follow twitter.com/StringTheory101.

Popping in

Just popping in so the blogosphere doesn't think I'm dead. Lately I've been busy with work or being in pain because of work. If it's not my back it's one of my knees. Or my feet. Or my arm. I've been constantly getting headaches too and while they're not severe I hope it's not a sign that I could end up getting cluster headaches like my dad. Plus I've started getting panic attacks at work, something which none of my coworkers have any sympathy for. It took them 15-20 minutes to get someone to cover for me so I could go to the break room to calm down. And yesterday my manager Steve told me I should just quit. The only people seemingly on my side and willing to help me out at work are my other managers Ed and Aaron, who actually produce helpful solutions. Ed has recruited not one but three people to work RZone overnights with me and on nights I'm not there so more stuff is getting done. And the other day Aaron actually ran over to Shaws to buy my Advil when my backache was unbearable. Aaron also almost looks like Rick Astley so whenever he's working I have Never Gonna Give You Up stuck in my head the whole time. This time of year's always horrible and there's always some things that get worse and some that get better. I try to remind myself that there's only 3 weeks left, but those are going to be three loooong weeks.

When I'm not working or in a stupor trying to recover from work, I'm working on 3 crochet projects - 2 scarves, one for Wig's sister and one for his mom, and a blanket for our friends Katie and Fetus' baby. They found out they're having a boy and are naming him Seamus Joseph Conley. Fetus is fiercely proud of his Irish heritage. I have a feeling the middle name Joseph is for our friend Joe Tilton who died last September. Fetus was really close to him. All three are made up of granny squares so I'm seeing granny squares in my sleep right now. Other than that most of my Christmas shopping is done. I have a few more people I need to get gifts for and I don't know what to get them yet. My dad finally broke down and got a Wii for my mom so me and Heather are going to get Wii Fit Plus so now she doesn't have to complain that I won't move the system into the living room. Me and Heather are getting dad an iPod Nano and I got Wig a Nintendo DSi bundle that we had on Black Friday because it was too good to pass up and his DS is broken. Heather asked for Aquasaurs, these prehistoric fish you hatch in an aquarium.

Speaking of which Heather's actually STILL working despite threatening to quit when the manager failed to have the schedule out on time and then told her last minute she had to work when she already had plans. Instead the manager apologized and said it was all his fault. She's actually going to stick out through the whole Season and however long into January ToyZAM is open for. She might even transfer to Spencer's once it closes (they're owned by the same company) but that's a might. She jokes that she's going to work for three months every 19 years.

So after seeing many Etsy CreateCrochet Teammates and a few of my close friends make fan pages for their Etsys (Etsies?) I jumped on the bandwagon and made one too. I'm planning on some fun Fan-only promotions in the future. I've spent a lot of time in the past couple weeks networking and connecting with everyone on the CreatCrochet team- following any blogs or Twitters they have, favoriting their shops, and becoming fans on FaceBook. The more connections, the more word spreads. The CreateCrochet team is a great community. We recently did a swap where we were matched up and got to know our partner through convos and we had to make a secret gift for each other. I was matched with a woman from Vermont and it was fun getting to know her. I felt bad because she had a mild stroke and it's crazy because she's only in her late 20s. But she's doing OK now. She made me a reuseable Swiffer pad and a scrubbie and I made her a set of regular-sized and mini brain slugs (Mommy and Baby to represent her and her 2-year old daughter) in the same variegrated pink I made Flav's out of. I'm aiming to join a couple more teams, one for my jewelry and hopefully find some local ones. If you're on Etsy and not on a team yet look it up. It's a great way to network, get your items some more views, get tips and support and have fun doing your craft.

Tonight I'm getting together with a group of former Toys R Us Medford coworkers. It's something we do 2 or 3 times a year to catch up, have some drinks and have fun. We'll be going to Border Cafe in Burlington. Jill usually orchestrates the plans and other regulars always include Lynnette, Noelle, Joanne Ellard, Amy Struppa, and Melissa Cashman. Last time we got together Aimee Walkup was back in the area after moving the North Carolina and getting married. It was funny because a lot of us were wondering whatever happend to her after she quit and boom there she was. LOL. But I look forward to getting buzzed on margaritas before pulling an overnight LOL.

I wonder when we're putting up our tree. Probably this weekend or next weekend. My dad has a reputation as a Scrooge or a Grinch because he hates Christmas decorations. He just doesn't like the hassle of digging them out, putting them up, and then having to clean them up after the holidays. I'll admit the tree is a bit of a pain in the ass, hauling it upstairs, putting it together. (I'm allergic to pine so we can't have a real tree. Real trees are a hassle too though. Cutting it down or going to the lot and picking one out, hauling it back home, trimming it, watering it, sweeping up shed needles) And of course our cat Wyatt always has to try to climb it, and we have no idea what the new one, Frankenstein, is going to do when he first sees the tree. But I can't wrap any gifts until the tree is up because I have nowhere else to put them. If I try to shove them back in the back of my closet while they're wrapped, the wrapping could get ripped. So, no wrapping until I can put them under a tree.

Beating up a zombie to Queen's Don't Stop Me Now is one of the greatest moments in cinema history. Why don't I own Shaun of the Dead on DVD? Watching it edited on Comedy Central is subpar.

Seasonal Update

I have to get back in the swing of blogging more frequently. It's been too long since the last time I updated. So even though it's 2 months before New Year's I'm going to make a resolution to update my Blogger, Twitter and FaceBook on an almost-daily basis.

So I think I'm having a quarter-life crisis. I'm turning 25 this month. On the one hand that's not old at all, but on the other it's 5 years from 30, and nothing I had planned to have accomplished by now has come to fruition. I'm still living at home, and I'm no closer to starting my career and getting married. I realized that subconciously I've been trying to recreate my youth. Over the past year or so I've been slowly collecting all my favorite childhood shows on DVD, the most important being Peanuts specials. For some reason, Snoopy will always stick out in my mind as being a big deal when I was growing up, and recently I've been rewatching the specials I already have on DVD or VHS and have been trying to collect the rest that are available on DVD (no small feat as there were over 130 made between the 1960s and early 2000s and not all of them are on DVD yet) I've been on the Peanuts wikipedia page and I found out there's a Charles Schultz museum in Santa Rosa, California that I MUST go to - and there's even a statue of Charlie Brown and Snoopy in Santa Rosa center. Other series from back in the day I've amassed in my nostalgia stupor include Garfield, Adventures of Pete & Pete, Darkwing Duck, Inspector Gadget, Clarissa Explains it All, Alf, and Punky Brewster. Not to mention all the old movies I have as well. I'm too young to be freaking out about my age and trying to recapture my youth, but right now the desire to relive the simpler times in my life is at full force. But it's not necessarily a bad thing. Those were some great shows and the fact that they're on DVD and I can watch them whenever I want is great - especially when there's bonus features because I'm a trivia whore.

They're having a Price is Right Live event at Foxwoods now through the 18th. Being the game show whore that I am and the fact that it's only 2 hours away and $25 for a ticket, me and Wig are thinking of going next week. Who knows? We might luck out and win some awesome prizes. It's worth the shot. I'd fare a lot better on Cash Cab, Wheel of Fortune or Jeopardy though, it's less up to chance and more reliant on my unending cache of useless random trivia. Also I just found out that there's a little sci-fi convention being held the 21st and 22nd in the Framingham Sheraton (the castle on the Mass pike) and fucking Brent Spiner is going to be there. Only my favorite actor who played my favorite character in the entire Star Trek universe. And tickets are only $35 for the whole weekend. I've already started overnights for the season, and getting weekends off is normally impossible this time of year, but my manager is a fellow nerd and he totally understood. I only really need Friday off so I can sleep and be well rested and get there early then I can do my normal Saturday overnight after I get back from the con. I don't need to go Sunday unless I miss Brent on Saturday and he's going to be doing signings on Sunday too. But I think Sat will suffice. But if I couldn't get the days off, I could function on a couple hours sleep and still work and go to the con. I can forgo sleep for one weekend for Brent Spiner. I know I'm being a total spaz right now, but this is a big deal. I've been a fan of Star Trek: The Next Generation since I was eight and Data has always been my favorite character, so this is a lifelong dream.

In other news, I had a couple Etsy sales a few weeks ago. Two in a row. I also joined an Etsy Team. It's the CreateCrochet team and it's wicked fun. Every month there's a new challenge theme. This month's is "winter" and the possibilities are endless. You make your item, list it, and it gets featured on the blog and in treasuries. Every week there's a featured seller and I was the featured seller 2 weeks ago. I got much love for my brain slug amigurumi as usual and a bunch more hearts but no sales. We're also doing a swap right now where we were matched up with other members to convo back and forth and get to know each other and make each other surprise gifts. I have to work on the swap and the winter challenge item plus some new ideas I have for the shop. I don't know what I'm going to do for everyone for Christmas yet. I have a lot of ideas that cost a lot of money but no money to pull them off, but I don't know what I can crochet for everyone that I can get done in time. But I'll think of something and pull it off last minute.

I actually had a decent Halloween for the first time in years. Me, Wig, Inyx, Sin and Ed went into Salem. It's so overrated and overcrowded and has been totally ruined by the tourists. But the highlight of the day was seeing a DeLorean decked out just like the one in Back to the Future! Complete with a Marty McFly and Doc Brown for photo-ops. They were collecting donations for TeamFox for Parkinson's Disease research and any donation allowed you to take a picture in the driver's seat. I love the Back to the Future trilogy and I love DeLoreans because we share the same initials, DMC. My dad used to joke I was named after the DeLorean Motor Company, and I'm even considering keeping my maiden name when I marry just to keep the coolest initials ever. More pics on my flickr.

I had a job interview a couple weeks ago. While the position was in Beverly I had to go to the main office in Sudbury for the interview. It was for a part-time music teacher for a daycare/school called Next Generation Children's Center. I thought the interview went really well but I got a rejection letter literally 3 days later. With my license still pending and no experience, it's next to impossible to get a job in anything remotely teaching related. But I'm not giving up yet. I have a list of online resources for private school job listings someone my mom knows sent her for me, and there's the option of private lessons. I'm also seriously pursuing the idea I had for a children's book: Hayden Go Seek. I don't know whether I want to do it like an I Spy book or for younger children where you lift open flaps to find items, but the plot is that you have to find specific orchestral instruments, parts of the musical staff and composers. Also my eBay sales have been steady. No huge hauls but I'm getting a few bucks for things I don't need anymore (or promotional items I got for free or for as little as a penny!). Although I'm having some issues with a couple buyers not having paid yet. They're already late, it's been over a week, but I try to be understanding and lenient. I mean, there could've been a death or medical emergency and they haven't been online in a week. Who knows? But if I still get no reply or payment in a few days I will file a claim with eBay. This is the first time I've had this problem on eBay, although I had it once on Etsy. Generally I get paid instantly or within the first 3 days. I pride myself in having 100% positive feedback and everyone praises my fast shipping and communication. I'd hate for my reputation to be tarnished.

And my car has been in the shop TWICE in the past month for leaking coolant. The first time was a cracked something-or-other valve and then 2 weeks later the radiator went. When they were replacing the radiator, they found that the transmission lines were rusted and one broke so those had to be replaced. Fortunately, the guy that does all my repairs is a close friend of my dad's and didn't charge any labor. I still owe my dad and my grandmother a ton of money for helping me with car parts and repairs. :(

And we have a new kitten! Heather's friend couldn't keep him and she didn't want to see him go to the animal shelter, so she brought him home. We were supposed to find a new home for him but we got too attached and kept him. His name's Frankenstein. He is the most obnoxious pet I ever owned but he's adorable. And my parakeet Gemini died the other day. Sad, but not devastatingly sad as I wasn't too attached to him, and he was old for a parakeet and I think het got sick in the past couple months.

I saw Boondock Saints II: All Saint's Day. If you haven't seen the first one, what the fuck are you waiting for?! And if you have, see the sequel you'll fucking love it! It was much like the first one with the action and the spurts of comedy but it had a deep backstory that Saints fans will appreciate. Wig and I both give it two thumbs up.

Well, I think I'm going to work on some crochet projects and rest before my overnight shift. I'm going to try to blog more often so my few readers know what's going on. Until then...

Keeping Up Appearances

Haven't blogged in a while, so just posting so the few people who do read my blog or who will eventually come across it don't think I'm dead.



Since I last blogged, I saw AC/DC at Gillette Stadium. The concert was AMAZING but traffic to and from Foxboro SUCKED, especially trying to get out of the parking lot. It took me 3 hours to get home. THREE FACKING HOURS! But man, I'd go to the ends of the Earth for AC/DC. I hate to admit it, but they're starting to show their age a little bit: Angus looked more tired than usual and I think he slipped up on the TNT solo and he picked the intro the Thunderstruck which is always does hammer-ons and pull-offs live. But he still kept going non-stop the entire time and except for those 2 little off moments was as perfect as any performance. As always, they put on the most high-enegery, electrifying rock show ever.



That same week, I drove to Hartford, CT for ConnectiCon, the last anime convention of the summer. ConnectiCon's a big one because we always have the Artist's Alley Networking Party. It's a way for fellow artists to get together and share their craft and make connections to get their work out there and also to unwind and get drunk and have some fun at the end of the con season. Sales were great, and I sold a Super Mario Invincibilty Star to a cosplayer who was doing a spot-in Billy Mays impression selling 1Up Mushrooms and throwing in the invincibility for free. You can see it on YouTubes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojwo7ioDEIo and buy both 1Up mushrooms and Invicibility stars at my Etsy, stringtheory101.etsy.com.

And if driving to Foxboro and Hartford wasn't enough, the following Tuesday I then went to Mansfield to the Comcast Center for Mayhem Fest, which has effectively replaced the new defunct Ozzfest as the must-see metal festival of the summer. This is only Mayhem's 2nd year but they were able to get big names both last year (Disturbed) and this year (Slayer). Slayer was a BIG DEAL to all the metalheads there. Marilyn Manson and KillSwitch Engage were also headlining. KillSwitch played their cover of Holy Diver, which, no offense to Dio (especially since Ronnie James Dio is a fellow mini-guinea and we's gotta stick together) rocks harder than the original. We left early to try to beat the crowd, we like Marilyn Manson, just not that much. We stayed for the popular songs like Disposable Teens, Dope Show and Beautiful People. He did his cover of Sweet Dreams too. But with leaving 15 min early and our optimal position in the parking lot, we made a "Leaving Comcast Center" record of 5 mins! We hit a little bit of traffic on 95 because everyone was rubbernecking to watch firefighters put out a burning bus, which I can only assume was a Fung-Wah or Lucky Star bus since they have a history of exploding or tipping LOL.
So between AC/DC, ConnectiCon, Mayhem Fest and work, I spent more time on major highways and in traffic in 2 weeks than I have in the 7 years I've had my license.

And now that the con season is over, I can relax on the amigurumi a bit and work on other crochet or craft projects. I made some new guitar pick earrings and I finally finished the Shit Pickle amigurumi. The Shit Pickle is a cartoon pickle covered in shit that bounces around and repeats its name a la Pokemon. He's got a big buck tooth and cross eyes and is only there to be annoying. He is the creation of independant filmmaker James Rolfe, who is world-famous on YouTube for his Angry Video Game Nerd webisodes where he reviews the crappiest games and consoles of the 80s and 90s with hilarious results. I was inspired after seeing the Shit Pickle in some of James' videos and seeing that Shit Pickle had a bit of a cult following. Other fans have gotten tattoos, drawn fan art, made a Shit Pickle version of Monopoly, cookies, and decorated their XBox 360s. So I said, man, a Shit Pickle would be easy to crochet! So I did. Then I emailed James Rolfe about sending him the first and so far only Shit Pickle. I also asked for his permission to sell them on Etsy, but he said they don't know what they're planning on doing with Shit Pickle for merchandising right now. He's tied up with contracts from Spike.com and MTV (they own GameTrailers.com which hosts his newer Nerd videos) and he's an indie filmmaker running his own small business so I respect his rights. It's different from Nintendo characters where it's such a huge corporation and they're already making millions and they'd barely notice one person on Etsy selling 1Up mushrooms.
Another project I was able to finish was my Pint o'Guinness. Wig's friend Fetus, being fiercely Irish, always drinks Guinness when he's over Wig's. I thought it'd be cool to make an amigurumi in the shape of the trademark curved glass, complete with a big head of foam. I was working on a rug using the same crocheting and increasing in the round I use for amigurumi to make a spiral design, and it was coming out pretty well but it was getting tedius, so I stopped for a while and made an Oreo cookie. I also plan to make some more scrunchies. I have too many ideas for crocheting and not enough time to do them. I'm also trying to get my name out over the interwebs more so I can get more traffic to my Etsy. Sales have stalled out since last month, but I'm hoping they pick up soon.
But that's all for now, hopefully I'll write sooner next time.

Sightseeing and Other Things

So, Wednesday, Wig's cousin JT flew in from Mississippi. He's originally from Texas, which is where his mother - Wig's crazy aunt Marilee - moved back in the 80s, but didn't spare any time moving away from her once he was 18. So, he moved to Mississippi where his father is. Anyway, he's up here for the week and is staying w/Wig. Wig's mom Susan has his grandmother's van for the time being because she (Phyllis, the grandmother, not Susan) isn't in the best of health right now, so Susan went to pick up JT from the airport and Wig and I went on for the ride. I stayed w/the van while they went into the terminal to find JT and everything was fine until literally a minute before they came out when a statie told me to move. So I think I'm just going around in a circle, but I somehow ended up on the far end of the terminal, then spent about 10 minutes following signs until I got back to where they were. Fucking Logan airport. Then we went to Phyllis' for pizza. Phyllis had two mild strokes about 2 weeks ago, but you wouldn't be able to tell just by seeing her. She looked really good considering her recent health. Apparently, she also had a stroke back in November and didn't bother telling anyone, not even her 3 children. Wig's family is fucked up, but more on that some other time. I think her deteriorating health has mellowed her out, because when she saw me, she gave me a big hug and I don't think she's ever hugged me once in the 8 1/2 years I've been with Wig LOL.
So Wed we just chilled since it was about 8PM by the time we got back and JT was kinda tired. We played some video games and watched TV and the boys smoked. JT likes pot too, and he's into the same kind of music and video games as Wig and Gahm, so there was no awkwardness at all. I finally played Portal - which is an awesomely addictive puzzle/shooter game for the PC/360/PS3. If you've ever heard the phrase "the cake is a lie!" or the song "Still Alive" (not the Pearl Jam one) this is the game they're from. Basically you have a gun that makes holes in walls, ceilings and floors that transport you to other areas and you use these portals to get through mazes and move cubes around to unlock doors. The computer, GLaDOS, says some really bizarre, funny things and then sings the ending credit theme, "Still Alive" which is incredibly catchy and has some fucked up lyrics.
Today we wanted to show JT some of Boston so we took the train into Fanuiel Hall. We just walked around and looked at the shops and bought some Boston Chipyard cookies. We watched one of the street performers - an escape artist get out of a straitjacket and ropes while hanging upside down. Then we came back and got some subs and then I dropped Wig, Gahm and JT at Jack's house - which is where Wig and Gahm go every Friday and Saturday night to hang out and play video games.
Also this week Wig, Gahmstead and I made the best investment of our video game collectors' lives. Toys R Us was having the greatest sale ever: Guitar Hero: World Tour Super Bundle (that's the full setup w/drumset, guitar, microphone and game) for $99.99 regularly $189.99. But that's not all. You also got at $10 gift card. Then factor in my 10% employee discount plus a 15% off coupon and a $10 off coupon. It ended up coming to $61. That's split 3 ways between me, Wig and Gahmstead. While my mom and Heather would definitely play Guitar Hero with me (they loved the PS2 version), I don't really have the room in my room or in the living room for a drumset, and I'd play it more frequently w/Wig and Gahm anyway, so we're keeping it at their house. That also decided whether we get the Wii or the 360 version. If we got the Wii version, I could take it to my house whenever, I don't have a 360. But Wig and Gahm do, and the 360 has a lot more downloadable content so we settled on the 360 version. Sunday we christened it and me, Wig, Gahmstead and his girlfriend Janice rocked the shit out of it. Then Wednesday I finally got the AC/DC Live Rock Band track pack (yes, Guitar Hero and Rock Band instruments and games are 100% interchangable, at least on 360). My only beef is the pitch recognition on the mic for both Guitar Hero and Rock Band isn't very accurate. Or I'm just a shitty singer...No I can sing all right if I don't overdo it, but trying to follow the pitch bars can throw you off, especially if you naturally sing lower than the pitch bars want you to.
But I can't do my Brian Johnson impression as usual because it doesn't register as the right pitch, which sucks cuz I can't sing AC/DC songs without doing a Brian Johnson or Bon Scott impression.
Speaking of AC/DC, the concert at Foxboro Stadium is next Tuesday and I CAN'T WAIT. First time in 8 years seeing them! And I'm going to be completely decked out in AC/DC gear. I got the limited edition AC/DC Chucks, I have an AC/DC shirt, AC/DC skirt, AC/DC hat, AC/DC hairclips - even AC/DC underwear :) Then Thursday I'll be leaving for ConnectiCon, the last convention of the year unless we go to Another Anime Con in November. This is the big one, as almost everyone in our anime circle goes and we have the Artist Alley Networking Party. We book a suite just for Saturday night and get tons of pizza and booze and everyone shows up and just networks and draws and gets drunk. Expect tons of pictures on my Flickr, and when I get the chance I'm going to upload pics from past ConnectiCons too.
Tomorrow Wig's sister comes back from Texas where she's been staying w/Marilee - the crazy aunt and JT's mom. Marilee's coming back with her to see Phyllis. I wonder if I'll finally get to meet Marilee. From all the stories I've heard of her, I kind of want to avoid her at all costs, but it's been 8 1/2 years and I have to meet her sometime. It's kind of a morbid curiosity, like "I have to see for myself how bat-shit insane she is." Examples: She "doesn't believe in" cellphones. Something about brain tumors I guess; in high school, she lied about having cancer just to get attention; she tried tightening something broken on her car with her teeth and broke all her teeth; she shot at her cheating husband and HE went to jail for kicking out her car windows; she attacked a carjacker with a field hockey stick. Yeah...so I'm gonna just leave on that note there, cuz this woman's too fucked up for words. Talk to you later blogland.

Long Time No Post

Yeah, I've been lazy, I know. I haven't updated my blog in weeks. I haven't been on Facebook either. I'm not good at this online social networking thing, so sue me LOL.

Anyway, I've been surviving, doing the same ol' same ol'. A couple weeks ago Wig's father took us to see Gary Charone perform with his Who cover band at Tequila's in Danvers. Fitzy (yes I call my future father-in-law by his nickname. I call my future husband by his nickname. They're both Seans, it's just easier this way) has been close friends with Charone since high school and actually used to tag along on Extreme's tours once in a while. They even have an inside joke together. ("Sides of cows," since Fitzy knew a butcher and could actually get a whole side of a cow worth of steaks and would give some to the band) It's not the biggest deal knowing someone from Extreme since the band was made up of people from Medford and Malden, but Extreme was pretty big in the 80s and 90s and Gary Charone was also in Van Halen. Anyway, the show was awesome. I don't know a lot of Who music, basically the common songs like Baba O'Reilly, My Generation, Tommy, etc but they put on a hell of a show, especially Charone who was all over the place. I kind of hate going to see shows in small, cramped bars and clubs like that because people just shove you around, you can't see shit and it's wicked hot and stuffy but I endured. The funny thing is they had to temporarily shut the show down because the fire marshall had to make sure we weren't over the max capacity. So they made everyone leave and stand out in the parking lot until the bar was completely empty, then shuffled us back in single file so they could physically count us. We lingered as long as we could and were some of the last people out so were were some of the first back in which meant once we got back we were right up front near the stage, which improved the cramped situation a bit. The show continued and it was funny, Charone kept leaning against the people in the first 2 rows, especially this one large girl, and at one point he just laid right on top of the first 2 rows' shoulders. I'm surprised no one dropped him LOL. Anway, we were supposed to meet up w/him after the show but because of having to stop in the middle and how late it was and how long it probably would've taken to wait for him, we didn't stick around and Fitzy said he'd call and try to set up going to a rehearsal instead. Wig's already met him twice, once when he was younger and again probably 3 or 4 years ago. It's good that he's got some business connections as he tries to get Umbilical Cord off the ground. Too bad his dad's marriage didn't work out, his former stepmom Maria had a lot of connections - including being friendly enough with Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant to have gone bowling with him on numerous occasions.

I also finally took up exercising daily again. Since purchasing Wii Fit, I did it every day or almost every day - up until early September when I got really sick for a whole week. I just couldn't get back into the swing of things and then was really busy w/the holiday season, but since 2 weeks ago I've been doing it daily again (except for last Friday, Sunday and yesterday). When I was weighed for the first time since Christmas, I had dropped to 131...I was floored. Last time I weighed myself i was 135 - how did I lose 4 pounds doing nothing?! In the past two weeks I've fluctuated between 128 and 132 as I get reaccustomed to exercising and trying to improve my diet. No matter what, I'm finally in the Normal BMI bracket. Sure the Wii balance board isn't the most accurate piece of machinery, but it is pretty damn close.

Then Sunday, I got my car towed for the first time ever. Not realizing it was going to be considered a snow emergency because there wasn't that much snow on the ground, I parked on Wig's street all night and when I left at midnight, the entire street was empty. I'm like "FUCK!!!" So, I had to call home to get picked up then drive over to Export and pay $122.05 in cash to get my car out. I didn't get home until 130 between getting yelled at over the phone, waiting for my mom, calling Export, then actually going to Export and getting the car. The stupidest thing is the fact that Wig's neighbors recently moved out and I can park in their driveway until the house gets rented or sold again but I don't like doing this often because I don't want to suddenly be smacked with a trespassing charge. Plus everyone knows how much of a bitch it is to back out of a driveway on Harvard St, especially when this house is right by the intersection of Main St. So I usually only use it as a last resort. I should've parked there Sunday, but I forgot about the fact that they tow people off that street when there's a snow emergency. Still I got my car back no problem - except that I'm $123 broker with a $25 parking ticket on top of that - at least I have a little more time to pay that. Good thing my tax return should be coming in the next week or so.

I was supposed to spend today getting a lot of things done and I failed. After my workout I was going to take pictures of some of my finished jewelry and post it on Etsy, post some more stuff on eBay, apply for a substitute teaching job, play some violin for the first time in almost 2 years, and finish some Brain Slugs. So far, I've taken pictures of my jewelry and posted them on Etsy. It doesn't help that I didn't wake up until 1030. Then I sat half-naked and watched Crocodile Dundee instead of getting dressed - I'm so lethargic in the morning and it takes forever to get me moving regardless of how much sleep I got, and I don't know why. But finally I got up and did my workout and it was about 1PM by time I was done. So I had some lunch and got to doing the pictures - which took forever because the lighting in my room sucks and it took forever to get halfway decent pictures. I also had to check my email since I failed to do so yesterday and was pretty backed up - lots of surveys and Publisher's Clearing House entries LOL. Then I could finally start posting to Etsy. I posted, like 7 new items. I have a bunch more guitar pick earring and 2 new hemp necklaces. I finished that about halfway through Jeopardy. I'm going to apply for that sub job now and then either do some crocheting or reorganize my DVDs, books, CDs and games. Probably the crocheting, cuz the organzing takes hours and I don't want to be up all night. But I've been putting it off for too long and I won't have time the rest of this week. We'll see. But I wanted to get a blog in so that all two people who read my blog don't think I'm dead, which is almost worthless because one of those two people I talk to on the phone on an almost-daily basis. LOL.

Pwned

So for the past month, the website T-Shirt Hell has been having a 10% off sale and emailing their subscribers with the regretful news that they're closing their doors. Today founder Sunshine Megatron sent out the "last" newsletter with the news that ha-ha it was a practical joke. An early April Fool's joke. It was a very clever ploy to up sales and thus save the company in this shitty economy. They fooled EVERYONE and it worked. So many people thinking it would be their last chance to get these hilariously offensive shirts ordered them like mad. Except me, cuz I'm broke and can't justify buying a $19 shirt, no matter how funny or clever it is. But I'm greatly amused. I think more businesses should try this tactic to draw more consumers in. Imagine if Circuit City is also just fucking with us? Nah...it wouldn't work with bigger corporations. But it's certainly effective for little privately owned businesses, especially with cult followings.

Anyway, haven't blogged in a couple of weeks so time for an updatey. Last week was my grandfather's retirement party. It was held at Anthony's in Malden which is one of the many Spadafora businesses strewn about the city. My grandfather had a very cushy government job for the DCMA/GE doing quality assurance for airplane parts and stuff. The party consisted of the majority of his coworkers and close family: my parents, me and my sister and my aunt, uncle and cousins. They did a roast - with hilarious visuals via PowerPoint - where they poked fun at classic "Choff" traits like his intense skill for getting away with napping at his desk, his alter ego Al Coupon (a play on Al Capone if you didn't get it) and many inside jokes that I only really ever heard reference of such as the infamous "third chair" and the term CFC which I forget what it really meant but it's more common meaning was "Can't find Choff." After 43 years with the DCMA, everyone was sad to see him go and after all the ribbing there was plenty of bittersweet moments too, and he was also presented with a beautifully framed and engraved picture of the USS Constitution which is reserved only for people who worked there for 35 or more years. It's about time my grandfather retired, but everyone in my family are workaholics. I think he's going to go stir-crazy with nothing to do at home - that is between trips (my grandparents have and always will be avid travellers).

Valentine's day was rather inconsequential. Wig and I were thinking about going for lobster since neither of us had it in a long while. But then I had a total girly moment and was having a hard time deciding what to wear and getting really frustrated. Wig almost insisted I wear a skirt cuz he loves how I look in a skirt and I almost never wear them. But I wasn't liking how any skirt/top combinations were looking, plus it was too cold for skirts and I didn't want to be too dressed up for a casual restaurant. Finally Wig surrendered and freed me from the skirt requirement and I wore my skinny jeans with a long black shirt with some beading on the hem and these new black high heels I got a Hot Topic a while back. Meanwhile we were debating about the lobster, since there's no "in between" lobster restaurants - it's either really expensive and fancy like Legal Seafood or it's a clam shack kind of place like SeaWitch, and we didn't want to spend too much but wanted to do something nice for Valentine's Day. So we decided to save lobster for the summer since it's more of a summer meal anyway and we'd go to this place in Rockport where you can sit outside and watch the sun set over the ocean while eating the freshest seafood, which would be more fitting. So instead we considered Cheesecake Factory or Outback for their "middle of the road not too casual but just casual enough" atmosphere and "special occasion" pricing and settled on Outback since we hadn't been there longer. They have an awesome new S'moretini which is vodka, Kahlua, chocolate and marshmallow flavoring with crushed graham cracker around the rim and topped with marshmallows. Damn it was strong. They also have the Bloomin' burger, which has pieces of a Bloomin' Onion on it and comes with the same dipping sauce, which is perfect since Wig hates onions so I can't order a Bloomin' Onion since it's too much for just me. So I still got to have a little bit of Bloomin'. They should make individual sized Bloomin' Onions. Then we decided to stay in and watch The Love Guru which I rented from Blockbuster Total Access. It was really funny, but that immature retarded kind of funny (which I'll always love). All the jokes were, like, cheesy middle school jokes. I'm like "Did a 12 year old write this script?" but we enjoyed it nonetheless. Then I busted out my "surprise" a red negligee I bought at Kohl's. It's hard to find sexy lingerie that fits my tig ole bitties and supports but with the help of Flav I lucked out and it went over very well and Wig and I went wild. In contrast my sister was downstairs in the living room watching TV with her boyfriend and wearing feetie pajamas LOL.

The sucky thing was I also started to come down with a cold on Saturday, which still hasn't fully gone away. One nostril is still completely stuffed up and I can't even blow it. But then it starts to run. I never understood the physics that make it possible for a nose to be both stuffy and runny at the same time. But I should be right as rain in a day or two. My colds always are somewhat extreme for a few days then gradually improve. At least I'm nowhere near as sick as I was back in September when I had that virus that left me practically comatose.

Also, Flav and I are getting into shape. I picked Wii Fit back up today and although I was rusty, I came back pretty strong. When I got weighed in at the end I was shocked to see that I was now 131 lbs and 24. something-or-other BMI and finally made it down to "Normal" on the BMI scale (I'm literally just under the line between Normal and Overweight so I just made it). Last time I weighed myself (at Christmas at my grandmother's house cuz she still has the same electronic digital scale she's had for over 20 years!) I was 135 so this is amazing since I haven't really changed any exercise habits until today and barely changed my eating habits. But Flav and I are going to walk a lot more now that it's warming up again and we're going to start doing DDR again too. What I need to do most myself is tone. I'm a little jiggly in places and I'd like to firm up. So wish us luck.

Crafty Craft

So I FINALLY finished the Brain Slug and posted it today on Etsy. I would've posted the long-waiting jumbo Gryffindor scarf tonight too but it's tough to get a decent picture of myself modelling the scarf even with the self-timer. I can only put the camera on top of my TV or my Wii to get the right height when using the self-timer and the light's reflected in the poster behind me causing crappy glare. So I'm gonna ask Flav tomorrow or Wig Wednesday to help me get better pics, then I'll post that. The Gryffindor scarf only took so long to post in the first place because I initially wanted to make a matching hat and mittens and sell it as a set - differentiate it from the dozens of other Gryffindor scarves on the site. But I wasn't happy with the mitten pattern I had and was too busy with other projects and holiday stuff to look for patterns so at this point I'm like "fuck it" and am just going to sell the scarf by itself. But I've been preoccupied with work and random shit so I got to get cracking on crafting. Especially since I got to look for a full-time job to afford to pay these student loans and once I get another job I'll probably have less time. Right now I'm finishing projects too slowly, I gotta get on the ball. I also need to make some new jewelry, I haven't made anything since before Christmas. But that stuff is quick to make so I should be able to chug out a bunch of pieces in one day. So expect to finally see some more action on my Etsy.

X-mas Yummies and New Beginnings

Wow I just opened a blogger account! You may ask me, "Danielle, why would you go and do that when you have a LiveJournal, a MySpace and a FaceBook you haven't posted to in nearly a year?" Well, today for Christmas I got my very own shiny new HP Pavilion laptop, which means finding time to sit and use the computer won't be an ordeal because I can properly multi-task and be online in my comfy room or my living room, my kitchen, a pretentious coffee shop, or even work once they get wi-fi (although it's just a rumor). So now I can actually make regular updates to a blog. But now which blog do I keep up with, or do I update them all at the same time? I have some friends on LiveJournal that aren't on FaceBook or MySpace and vice versa and thrice versa (I think I just made that up, but what would you say when you had 3 things instead of 2 to vice versa?) I could just copy and paste, cuz I'm certainly not going to type the same thing over again 3 times. But then I decided why not creat a Blogger which is so sleek and shiny and make just one post and link to it from my other three thingies? That way people only on one or the other networking site can still access my bloggies but without the repetition of it actually being on each site. This is also fruitful for my LiveJournal buds so that my often-long posts won't clog their friends page. Plus I don't know, all the cool kids have a Blogger and I'm such a sheep sometimes. (Although I believe the singular should be "shoop" and only the plural be "sheep." It sounds more natural that way. Gives new meaning to the Salt n Pepa song too)

So I stole the title of my blog from Wig; it's the name he gave his wireless router network *shrugs*

So I'm sitting here in my bedroom blogging on my new laptop which is on a Belkin lap desk that has a USB powered cooling fan in it that keeps the computer from overheating and chills my thighs at the same time, nestled in my new AC/DC fleece blanket, eating my grandmother's galleano cake and watching a Star Trek: The Next Generation marathon. It's a good Christmas. The Next Gen marathon was a gift to Trekkies everywhere since no one plays Next Gen reruns on a regular basis anymore. Spike TV went from having 6 hours of 3 different Star Trek incarnations every weekday to showing Voyager at like 2AM on Thursdays or something. And while I'm on Star Trek - I didn't find out that Majel Barrett Roddenberry died earlier this week until today. Again I'm the last to know. While Sci-Fi is playing 24 hours worth of Next Gen, TBS is continuing Christmas tradition with it's Christmas Story marathon, which made Wig and I think of combining the 2 marathons. So me, Wig, Fontana and Gahmstead began assigning Next Gen characters to Christmas Story characters and boy was it silly:

Captain Picard: the father
Data: Ralphie
Wesley Crusher: Ralphie's little brother
Geordie LaForge: Ralphie's friend
Worf: the bully
Dr Crusher: the mother
Deanna Troi: the leg lamp (cuz she was mostly eye candy on the show, I mean for an empath she was always stating the obvious: "I sense...great anger" while the aliens are like, screaming in rage and shooting photons at the Enterprise)
Riker: the Santa that says "You'll shoot your eye out, kid" (cuz he's got a beard)
a bunch of Vulcans: the waiters at the Chinese restaurant

This is what happens when geeks get together on the holidays...

Also, I got Wig and everyone to watch the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode for Santa Claus Conquers the Martians. At first they were just like "What kind of drugs were these people on?" but by the end of the movie they were thoroughly entertained and glad I brought it over. It also has Wig and Gahm wanting to get their PS3 fixed sooner so they can take advantage of that new commentary feature Blu-Ray movies have. The first movie they want to "Mystery Science" is Mamma Mia. LOL. But they have to see more classic MST3K movies like Squirm and Soultaker.

So I have have NO side mirrors on my car. About 2 months ago I side-swiped a parked car on Spring St - a notorious street for this to happen cuz of all the cars parked on both sides and the sometimes almost impossible task of 2 cars passing on both sides at the same time. The replacement is still in its box in my dining room - my dad hasn't had time to find anyone to attach it nor have I been home from work when he's home from work for him to be able to bring it in. Then last night I was at Wig's house and he lives on Harvard St now which is also notorious for side-swipes. And his house is the 2nd in from Main St, right on the intersection and I was parked right in front of the house and I was a little further out on the street cuz of the snow in the way. I came out at midnight to find my driver side mirror shattered to bits. Now the side mirrors on the Pontiac Grand Prixs of the early 2000s are made of really, really thick almost indestructable plastic. When I broke the passenger side one, the casing was completely intact, I just knocked the actual mirror part out. The plastic casing of the driver side mirror looks ripped to shreds, which means someone going really fast and/or a big truck smashed right into it. I'm kinda not surprised, it was bound to happen on that street sometime. Changing lanes on the highway's gonna be a bitch for a while.

So tomorrow (well, technically today since it's 130 AM) I don't have to work until 1030 AM, which is a novel experience after either working overnight or having to be in at 6 or 7 AM for the entirety of the Season. I feel like I haven't slept since October. It'll be good to get back to a normalish schedule. Also, I'm technically graduated! Professional Music chair Kenn Brass e-mailed me back after I sent him my final project summary with a congratulations and told me that he sent in the necessary paperwork. There's no actual grade, but the credits are there on my transcript which means I have credit for the course I didn't have to take and have all the required credits for graduation. I just don't know if they're going to mail me my degree or if I have to contact someone at the school. Now I just have to obtain my actual teacher's license and I have a possible job already lined up at the McGlynn middle school. The principal, James Devaney, has been asking my dad about me for years (my dad's a janitor there for those of you who don't know) since he found out I was going to Berklee for music ed. He's wanted me to be a music teacher at his school forever and he hasn't even seen me teach yet! Especially now that he can no longer stand one of the teachers there who's a total cunt. So I could be replacing her within a year or 2. I have to look into how to apply for the license - I got my degree and I passed the licensure exam a year back, I think I still have to student teach. I might also look into substituting untl then.

So now that it'll be easier to blog, I'll be updating more often.

Also visit my Etsy and buy some handmade jewelry: stringtheory101.etsy.com. More on that in later blogs.