Project Spectrum started 3 days ago, and I'm more on top of it than I thought.

Blue and White Handkerchiefs...

I finished the second one on the flight home from Memphis. No mistakes in the crochet border this time.

Gray project for SnB...
oh, wait... I can't show that one!

Gray and white hammie...

The hamster isn't as fond of wheat pasta as he is of wheat bread.

I couldn't help joining up.

1. You wake up at 4am because the heater turned on and is bubbling and gurgling merrily, but the sound of it is driving you insane. Do you:
a. keep your eyes shut and will yourself back to sleep?
b. poke your significant other until he wakes up and can share in your misery?
c. try to sleep for 30 seconds, get up and shut heater off?

You choose "c". Now when you wake up in the morning, it will be about 50 degrees in your apartment.

2. You need to get in the shower to not only to get clean, but to help you wake up and warm up. You turn on the shower, but the water is cold. Do you:
a. brave it and get in anyway?
b. skip the shower, get dressed, and catch your train?
c. run the shower for a few minutes, check your email for 15, and hope the shower found warm water in the inbetween?

You choose "c". Now you will miss your train and have to take the later one. And oh, the shower didn't find any warm water when you tried again.

3. Even though NJT's website reported all trains are on schedule, you are freezing on the platform and no trains are in sight. Do you:
a. walk back into the little waiting room that isn't heated, crowded with people, and smells like pee?
b. walk back to you car and drive to work?
c. remain on the platform freezing and cursing the weather and NJT?

You choose "c". The train is 10 minutes late, but fortunately gets you to the transfer train in time. The two rides aren't quite enough to warm you up for the long walk to your office.

4. You are now sitting in on the lectures that you must attend as part of your job. Since it is the first day of class, the professor will probably want to introduce you. Do you:
a. sit patiently waiting to be announced and stand up gracefully and wave to the students?
b. try to slink down in your seat so the professor forgets you are there and doesn't introduce you?
c. knit while following along on the syllabus you have in front of you that is resting on the lap desk that you folded out from the seat, attempt to stand when professor introduces you, bash your leg into the stupid desk-thingy, and look like a fool?

You choose "c". Now your leg hurts, but at least you are still red from the cold and not just red from embarassment.

5. Class ends uneventfully and your leg is even feeling better. You get back to your office and have to pee, so you head down to the basement bathrooms because they are usually cleaner and less trafficked. Because you are a creature of habit, you select stall number 2 because it is generally cleaner than stall 1 and you feel bad using stall 4 (the handicap stall), and stall 3, well one time stall 3 was really nasty and even though it is clean now you are still grossed out. You sit down and pee. You go to grab toilet paper, but there is NO toilet paper in the stall. Do you:
a. just pull up pants and hope for the best?
b. wait until someone else comes into bathroom (which might be a long time) and meekly cry out for help?
c. pull pants up slightly and make a stash into the next stall and hope there is toilet paper there?

You choose...

(This isn't so much a complaining post, as a "at this point I can't help but laugh" post.)

6. You are starving because it is nearly 2pm and all you ate was some yogurt around 8:30am. Do you:
a. eat the stale pretzels in your food stash drawer and drink some water that's been sitting around forever?
b. chew some gum and hope your stomach forgets to be hungry?
c. go to Panera, have a nice salad, and get a little bit of reading done?

You choose "c". Your stomach is happy and you got work done!

7. You return from lunch. Do you:
a. surf the internet until your meeting at 4:30 wasting the afternoon?
b. respond to emails and then surf the internet wasting the afternoon?
c. briefly check email, find books on Amazon that are mentioned in what you read at lunch and that might greatly help your dissertation (or at least give you more of that "I need to read some more first" excuse), actually add some material to your dissertation (some substantive, some numbers and results), do a few tasks/errands around the building, finish meeting with student 3 minutes too late to make the next train, blog until time to leave for later train?

You choose "c". Yeah, you'll get home a little later than you wanted, but despite the crappy start to your day, you got work accomplished and things are looking up! Tomorrow is the first of many classes wherein the students will be running the show, so you don't have to prep too much for that tonight. Just brave the cold outside little adventurer and get home to some snuggly time and knitting! (Oh, and remember to take the laundry detergent out of your car and into the apartment so it can thaw before you need to use it tomorrow for laundry.)

For the past couple of weeks, my laptop has been having difficulty maintaining a connection to the AC adapter. The computer runs fine, would power up and down fine, it just wasn't making a connection and thus having difficulty recharging the battery. This problem has been getting progressively worse, so on Friday Kevin and I went out and bought an external hard drive to back everything up in case of a computer catastrophe (important things like my dissertation and all my data for my dissertation are on the laptop, but are now securely backed up as well).

At first we thought maybe the site where the adapter connects to the back of the computer had been pushed back in too far and that was the cause for the problem. After emailing with a few computer repair places (and several that didn't return my email), the main thought was that the motherboard needed resoldering, but that no one could do this on-site, it would have to be shipped away.

Now, I can't live without my laptop for 2 weeks. While everything is now backed up on the hard drive, I can't really carry that around and plug it into surrogate computers. I use the laptop in class. And besides, sending off my laptop to some random company, who knows what they'll do, and if they'll look at my personal files.

Yesterday this situation became more critical as the computer and adapter decided that they had finally called it quits and wouldn't speak to each other at all. As I searched for other repair places in the area that I could call, I suddenly remembered that my mom had pushed for the super-extended Dell warranty when we got the laptop. I immediately started searching Dell's website and found out that I do indeed have 2 more years of warranty. I resigned myself to the fact that the computer probably had to go away for a while, but at least the Dell people would fix it for free.

I called Dell and talked to a very nice gentleman who asked a lot of questions, and then told me he was going to ship me a new AC adapter and cord. I thought that was odd and a minimal type solution considering the others said it was most likely motherboard related. Now I'm thinking, these cheap bastards are just sending me a temporary solution that won't work and I'll have even longer with a minimally functioning laptop. The guy asks a few more questions including asking me to look at some numbers on the back of the adapter. After I give him the numbers, he puts me on hold while he starts processing the order. Despite every day (and often several times a day) winding the cords around the adapter to pack it into my backpack and tote my laptop around, I am looking at it closely for probably the first time. This is what I see...

The end were it connects into the adapter is split and frayed and little silver strands are sticking out. I don't tell the Dell guy because now I'm embarrassed that the problem was so simple and straightforward. I do ask him why he thinks it is the adapter, and he tells me that usually if the computer runs off of the battery that that means the motherboard is ok, and the problem is the adapter.

In about 3-5 business days, I'll have a new adapter and be back in business. So remember that the answers to problems are usual right in front of you, if you would actually look to see them.

Oh, and just because, look at this angry, sleepy hamster face!

(argh! my camera is being a piece of crap again)

1. Articles to read for class, and more articles to read for dissertation
2. Save the Dates to mail out
3. Interweave Knits to study (I don't like the new format. I totally missed the first few pattern pics because I thought they were ads. There needs to be some separation of ads and patterns pictures.)

(I had a much better post, but the computer wouldn't cooperate, so all you get now is this short nothing post).

Cocktail Capelet from IK Spring 2007

I love this Cocktail Capelet. I don't know why. It is utterly useless and purely decorative. I don't know what I would wear it with, or that I could even pull it off. But I love it and really, really want to make it (and I really, really want to be done with my SnB knitting!).

Clementine Shawlette from IK Spring 2007

I really like this too. It is slightly more practical, but I'm afraid I'd have to walk around all day like this

But I think she is really, really in love with the shawl...

(click for bigger picture)

*snuffle* *sniff*

When I woke up this morning still in a Wegman's knock-off Nyquil haze and saw the ice on the ground, I decided to have a sick day. I still accomplished some work (read articles for class and dissertation [tomorrow I will write!], addressed a lot of Save the Dates). I was hoping that the little bit of extra sleep and rest would help push me past this cold, but it seems that it is still building up to its worst point. At least we had a super yummy meal since we went grocery shopping yesterday morning and stocked up on the good stuff (lamb, potatos, cookies!).

(There were chocolate covered strawberries too, but we ate them all yesterday. Sooo good!)

I am feeling really good right now. I mean, I'm still snuffly and tired, but I did a bit of kick-ass work yesterday and today on the dissertation. Here's what's left of the writing process...

1. Abstract
2. Study 2 Results (3 parts - Frequence, Consequences, Coping)
3. Discussion Part 1 (summary of all results)
4. Tables tables tables
5. Add a few references, check all references are correct
6. Add an acknowledgement that some portions will be published

6 items! The hardest is number 1 (but that will also be last). Number 4 and 5 are busy work. This is totally doable. And so I see the light at the end of the Writing Tunnel.

Notice that that's the Writing Tunnel. After the Writing Tunnel ends, you get a very brief glimpse of sunlight while the advisor spews red ink all over the document. Then it is into the Revising Tunnel. The Revising Tunnel isn't quite so long, but tough because it is hard to judge where the end is. Then there's the Presentation Prepartion Tunnel, which isn't too bad. And finally, there's the big one, the Defense Tunnel, after which I hear you get to swim in the tranquil pool of alcohol.

I couldn't take the cycle of the same 2 knits any more. I'm chugging away on the SnB project and should be finished in another couple of days (I even talked to Debbie Stoller on the phone yesterday!!!), but I need a break from it now and then. And I can't even look at the Circle of Friends baby blanket. I have about 21 more squares and that makes me depressed. So like any good knitter, I started a new project.

This is the Clementine Shawlette from the spring Interweave Knits. The yarn is Malabrigo Kettle Dyed Merino. I have 2 skeins (each 216 yards). The yarn weight and gauge isn't even close, but I'm hoping that what I get is a bit larger than the shawlette. Since it is knit as 2 identical halves that are grafted together, I figure I'll use up one skein per half. If it doesn't seem like it will be big enough, I can probably pick up another skein knit another middle section.

We really don't have pink snow here, although that would be cool. My camera is just insane.

(This is my second attempt at the Clementine. I started it Thursday night and got so caught up in ER that I didn't follow the pattern and it was all wrong. But the yarn is so soft and yummy, that I ripped and started over [though I did contemplate just continuing as is]).

Kevin and I did some shopping this weekend. On Friday, Kevin asked if I wanted to go to Kohl's on Saturday because he needed a few things, and of course I said "yes!" I hate to be so gender stereotypical, but I love shopping at Kohl's. Kevin's got on some new jeans and socks in this picture. I bought a couple of tops all in shades of blue. I guess I'll be sad when this Project Spectrum month ends.

In the far end of the picture is the hamster cage. His food and snacks are currently sitting in front of the cage because we think we might have some extra rodents around. Last night we heard some critters running around in the ceiling. We haven't found any evidence of them being inside, but we've taken some precautions (moving the hamster food to a more visible area, putting away leftovers, and setting a few traps).

On the black chair is the SnB knitting. I should hopefully be finished on Tuesday. Then I just have to write the pattern up from my many scrawled notes.

And most importantly! Our formerly red couch is now blue! We had a red cover that tucked in over the white couch cushion covers. The red cover was driving me crazy because it would come untucked after sitting on it for only a few minutes. We went to Ikea back in the beginning of January to look for new cushion covers (because they only sell them in the store). The only one we liked was out of stock. We just got a card last week to say they finally got the covers in, and they'd hold them for a week. So we took a drive out there this afternoon. Let's just say, Ikea + Sunday + President's Day weekend = CROWDED!! The sheer volume of people in the store was absolutely insane. But now we have new cushion covers and I love them!

Now off for a snack, some knitting, and sleep!

From the Onion

I really want to get back to knitting on the Clementine Shawlette (it is totally addictive) because the super scary lets talk nonstop about it on the news snowstorm is likley just going to make things messy tomorrow, but not be bad enough to be a snow day, so you get an update via list...

1. Of the 30 some jobs/postdocs I've applied for, I've received 2 rejections and 3 phone interviews. I hate phone interviews. I don't like talking on the phone, so I don't think I come across as good as I could in person.

2. Kevin and I went to see Reno 911 in the movie theater this afternoon. It was very funny. Too much was given away in the previews, but it was just like watching an 80 minute episode.

3. Class and job 2 are keeping me super busy, but I should have some slow down in March with alternate weeks for Spring Break.

4. I finally sent a draft of my dissertation to my advisor. I've been obsessively checking my email to see if she's replied, yet each time I check, I'm relieved when she hasn't.

5. There was more, but I can't remember... back to knitting!

Just in time to fall within the Project Spectrum blue February. I finished the Clementine Shawlette on Monday night. The yarn is Malabrigo Kettle Dyed Merino; the shawlette perfectly used up 2 skeins and is a perfect size for a shawlette. Ok, I really don't know what the perfect size for a shawlette is, but I can wrap it around my arms/shoulders and tie it in the front, so that must be perfect. I love, love, love the color. Surprisingly the picture is a fairly accurate representation of the color, although the flash made the subtle variations stand out a bit more.

After the initial false start, I only made 2 little errors in knitting (in both cases it was forgetting or dropping a yarn-over). I mostly fixed it in the first place and only sort of fixed it in the second, but 2 little flaws are not worrysome. However, if you are a perfectionist type (and I sometimes am, but decided that I didn't care here), the grafting of the 2 halves together is not a pretty thing. It is obvious and stands out quite glaringly (at least to me). There has to be a better way to bring the 2 halves together. Of course, I don't feel like undoing it and trying again, so I've made peace with the bit of ugliness. (Maybe you'll get a picture if I can remember to take one).

Overall, I'm very happy with how this turned out!