... paved with good intentions

keep meaning to post, but never actually do. If H-E-double toothpicks should freeze over this weekend, it isn't because the Cubs won the World Series (seriously, that's a strong possibility). But due to my father, brother and I being in the same room for the first time since 1978. Like most families we had some disfunctional times, drifted apart, rarely spoke, then little by little we joined up again. I don't think my father and I have the typical father-daughter relationship, but it's good. Trouble free anyway. He and my stepmom are coming up for a long weekend visit, and we're all meeting at our Michigan place on Saturday. Cool 'n groovy.

Knitting: did lots with very little to show for it. Made another checkerboard baby blanket . Made a baby hat and baby socks (my first, and not nearly as scary as I thought). Never finished the niece's (3) cardigans, or the nephew's pullover. Got selfish knitting for everybody else so now have 2 sweaters on the needles for me, and another planned. Seriously in the MYTICKIML (more yarn than I can knit in my lifetime) category, but there's so many cool things to knit! Just ordered some sinfully expensive (but on sale - clearance, only one color left) cashmere. Cashmere! Enough for a sweater! As I write this I'm eyeing a stole on sundayknits.com -- reminds me of the mexican stripes shawls.

Working on which is an embroidered cardigan. I'm using Elann Bamboo fusion which is super splitty but super soft and drapey. Bought enough of the embroidery colors to make a striped tank to go underneath the cardigan.

Also working on "Frida's Sunshine". Using TLC Cotton plus and knitting in size medium. Having the hardest time with the 12 row zigzag pattern, keep finding mistakes 2 or 3 rows back. Knitted the same darn rows 5 times already.

Work's been crazy busy lately. We changed to a new quote system in my department, between that and the layoffs (less workers, but not less work) I've been hopping.

I'm thankful to have a job - most of the time.

Be careful what you wish for -- my company laid off around 10% (just shy) a week and a half ago. Wait, I think I wrote about that already. Anyway, somehow I'm supposed to roll out 40 computers between now and Christmas. Let's review shall we; tomorrow the opthomologist, so I'll only have the morning. Thursday planned (like for 2 or 3 weeks now) lunch with 'the girls' from my department (IT, so not a lot of girls!) Friday the department party - in house lunch - supposed to be an hour but we'll see how that goes. Next Tuesday is the department I support's holiday lunch, and next Wednesday is half day. So I'm figuring that gives me about 44 hours. Guess I can do it if I ignore everything else. Yeah, good luck with that. I could blow off the three lunches (but I don't wanna!). So guess I'm working late between now and Christmas. Happy bleeping Holidays.

On a positive note, it'll be bleeping done, and not hanging over my head any more. Wait, maybe their rushing me so they can lay me off in the next round. Oh, screw it, I'm not gonna think about it anymore. I do wish management would roll out a couple of these, just to see what we go through. I've had folks want me to move the icons on their desktops because they "think it used to be over there" (we copy their old desktops, so they're probably wrong. Although I do clean up old-no-longer-of-use icons, so gotta give them the benefit of the doubt). Something is always missing, a printer, a shortcut, they don't know their password(s) to this website service or that. They hate the new monitors, or they love the new monitors, but can I make everything fit it better? Please recreate my quote screen so that it's purple instead of blue. Alot of "hey, as long as you're here, been meanng to ask you...." Why is my e-mail so slow. Why do I have to get rid of the e-mails with jokes or the pics of the grandkids, can't you just increase my server space? I bet I get 50% you-got-to-be-kidding-me questions and requests. Oh well, pays the mortgage, right?

DH wants me to apply at the nearby hosiptal, there's always sick people right? I'm worried that I won't be able to get a M-F only job at a hospital. Guess it won't kill me to send 'em a resume. Didn't I say something yesterday about getting out of this funk? Not doing so well so far...

I'll never get em done before Christmas

Who am I kidding? Christmas is what, like next week? Wait, ok maybe the week after. Whatever, I'd need to take 3 days off work to get the nieces and nephews knitting done. Where does the time go? Oh, I know where. 2 weekends spent painting bedrooms. Working late many nights. Sleeping instead of knitting on the train. Running around doing errands. Life keeps interferring with knitting, darn it!

The company I work for laid off around 10% last Thursday. I'm still gainfully employed. This is the 5th layoff I've been through, one of which I was part of the 20% let go. The pins and needles are the worst. Waiting for the phone call, the ax to fall. Convincing yourself you'll be one of those laid off, then talking yourself in to why you won't be. Loosing sleep, not to mention productivity. It's kinda hard to be motivated when you think there's a possibility of a pink slip in your future. Then there's the whole We-feel-sorry-for-those-laid-off -- but-thank-God-it-wasn't-us water cooler conversations. Tough times for all I know, but it's my blog and I can b*tch if I want too.

Someone 'sides me is reading this blog! My cousin-in-law mentioned it in her Christmas card. Shoot, Christmas Cards, gotta get to those...

Happy Birthday to me!

Today's my birthday. So far it's been lousy. I had oral surgery to remove a molar last night, which reallly hurts. OK not as bad as it did last night, but it hurts. I can only open my mouth a bit, which means I can only eat what can be cut in tiny pieces. And I have to be super careful chewing on the right side so nothing gets stuck in the stitches on th left side.

It's a good thing it's frowned upon to bring guns to work, I'd surely be locked up by now if it wasn't. What a bunch of whiners.

Tonight we're painting the master bedroom cause the new bed is getting delivered tomorrow.

So my treat to myself for this birthday is to feel sorry for myself. Don't worry, I'll get over it.

Cableing

I keep screwing up the Truck pullover for Gavin. If you think cableing (sp?) is hard, uncableing (sp?) is twice as bad. Friday I totally skipped the decrease part, so had to ravel 2 rows. Today I missed one lousy purl (I'm blaming Metra, the lights kept going off on the train) and had to ravel back through 5 cables. At this rate, the kids will get their Christmas gifts for Valentines day.

I'm in the middle, actually the start, of new computer rollouts at work. Today 2 things happened that pissed me off. My boss wants me to rollout a computer to the biggest whiner in the department, I wanted to make him last out of principle! And... there's an application update that has to go out now, of course after the majority of the 78 machines I'm rolling out are built. So each one won't be done after plug-in, they'll all have to be updated. (again) What a pain in the butt. I don't have time for this. I can't work late tomorrow or Thursday, tomorrow's haircuts, Thursday I'm having a tooth removed - surgically. Dentist swears I can go back to work Friday, good thing cause I'm out of days for the year, I think. I may have one left, but don't want to waste it on toothy problems! Next week I've scheduled a presentation for the department I support on how to manage your contacts, and I don't have a quarter of the presentation done. Ugh. How do I get in to these messes?