Concateknit

Note to Self

Dear Elisa,

As much as I agree with you that it is unreasonable for Target to have the bathing suits already on display on January 6th, the fact remains that you DO live in California where in just a few weeks it will be warm enough to go outside without a coat on. And sooner than that, you'll start your crazy work travel season, which will take you to places where it will be warm enough for bathing suits and swimming pools and beverages with umbrellas in them. These things together mean that, as much as I understand why your brain simply said NO at the sight of the bikinis on display last night, the truth is that the NO had more to do with how snuggly your jeans were fitting than any kind of real objection to the idea of bikinis or swimming pools or cocktails with umbrellas in them.

So we must deal with the snug jeans. The cold, hard fact is that it's time to step away from the chocolate covered pretzels and manybeers and allthebread, and get back to a more sensible way of living, eating, exercising and being. It's time for drinking lots more water, having a healthy and tasty smoothie for breakfast, and saying no to Taco Bell for dinner just because it's easy.

Yes, work is stressful and anxious-making and sometimes even tear-inducing, but Elisa - it's almost always like that, and drive- through for dinner won't change tear-inducing work. And yes, work will also be full of the travel and full of the wierd conference lunches, and taking people for dinner, and being all super social and stuff, but Elisa - that's also not unusual, and most of those hotels you go to have nice gyms and even lovely running paths. You have to stop making excuses for why you can't get on the elliptical, go to the hotel gym, blah blah blah, and just deal with the fact that you are 37 years old and you get no more free passes when it comes to eating like crap and not exercising. You eat like crap = you feel like crap. You eat well = you feel well. It's so totally NOT rocket science, and yet you resist making the right choices sometimes with a stubborness that can only be fueled by white chocolate peppermint bark. Or egg nog. Whatever.

Anyway, Elisa, I'm writing this to you to say, sweetheart - suck it up. Make the time to exercise for 45 minutes a day, menu plan and cook so that you can easily make smart choices, and just keep in mind that you do not want to be the one wearing jeans in the shade while everyone else is in the pool.

Love,

E

National Elisa Thinks Conference Travel is Not as Fun as You Think

Here are some truths about conference travel:

1. You are often teased with the locations for your conference travel. Last year I went to a conference that was advertised as being in Washington, DC, and I love Washington DC. Unfortunately, the conference was actually being held National Harbor, about 10 miles outside of Washington, DC, which means that I only ever got to wave at DC on my way to and from the airport.
2. When you aren't teased with the location for your conference, you often don't really get time to enjoy the city you're in. The first time I went to Las Vegas since I was in my early 20s, I was staying at the conference hotel - Caesar's Palace - and I didn't actually leave the hotel for over two days.
3. You may be in a great location, and you may actually get time to enjoy the city, but you have to remember you're travelling with people from work, so you will a) likely have to spend time with your work people and b) do things, like go to dueling piano bars, with these work people because NOT going to the dueling piano bars will get you accused of not being a team player and maybe when you said "But I don't want to go to a dueling piano bar" the response you received was "That was maybe the whiniest voice I've ever heard you use" and so then you had to go to the dueling piano bar in order to prove that you a) were a team player and b) were not whiny.
4. You may be in a great location, you may get time to enjoy that location, and maybe you really actually like the people you're traveling with and no one, not ever, not once suggests that you go to a dueling piano bar because they all know that you have Feelings about such things, and they would prefer that you be happy and not whiny. Unfortunately, you still have your real job to do, and you have to use a goodly amount of that "free" time to get it done. The emails keep coming, the phone keeps ringing, the fires keep burning, and everyone needs all the same stuff from you that they would need if you were in the office, except that now they REALLY need it yesterday and OMG, the sky is falling!
5. Should you find yourself with a great location, time to enjoy it, people you like, and a job well done, it is possible - LIKELY, even, that you will have too much fun and end up having to pay for it the next day when the sky starts falling again and all of a sudden you have too many things to do, have to talk to eleventy millilon strangers, and stand on your feet in uncomfortable shoes while trying not to think about the number of Irish Car Bombs you had last night that seemed like Such A Good Idea at 1am.

Here are some strategies I've developed for dealing with the truths of conference travel:

1. Research your location. If you're going to Schaumburg, IL (I will be going to Schaumburg, IL), resign yourself to the fact that you are NOT going to Chicago. You will likely not get into Chicago for the entire trip and you need to make peace with the fact before you get on the plane.
2. Look at the conference schedule. Are there breaks during the day or do you have to be on the tradeshow floor from open to close? Are there receptions or dinners that you need to attend? If there are, make peace with the fact that you are there for work, and work is not all about fun. Work is about work. And sometimes fun. But mostly work. And then more work. WITHOUT END.
3. Think about who you're traveling with. The people I'm traveling with absolutely influence the experience I will have. Sometimes I travel and get to go to the gym every day and get lots and lots of sleep. Sometimes, however, I end up staying out late (and having to take responsibility for being the creator of the terrible "travel pub crawl" where we pub crawl in every city, which isn't awful, except when we're in Las Vegas and I wake up with bruises that make me look like someone kicked my ass) and I wake up swearing I will never, ever pub crawl again. Until I do. The next time. Irish Car Bombs are so often a good idea that goes terribly, terribly wrong.
4. Remember that you are working and that you have a job to do first and foremost. Also, remember that you are a 37 year old growed-ass woman who rarely stays up later than 10pm when you're at home, and educate people that when you say that you're going to turn into a pumpkin at midnight, you probably mean it. (I mean it. There's no stopping the Elisa Pumpkin Train when it gets going.)
5. Be grateful that you have a job that allows you to travel, and see interesting places, even if you don't get to experience them, because you are working and are NOT on vacation. I complain about travel at times, but I am glad to be able to do it.

Speaking of conference travel, this post is brought to you courtesty of a wi-fi hotspot at LAX (HATE YOU LA). I'll be home for about 40 hours between this trip to San Diego and next week's trip to Phoenix, LA, and then RHINEBECK!

 

 

National Elisa Thinks There Are Worse Places to go Than San Diego

Or, hello, I will be travelling a lot this month.

Boy, oh boy, will I EVER be travelling a lot this month. It never fails that the Universe conspires to kick me in the ass every time I decide to commit to a NETSM. This year, though, rather than shake my tiny little fists at the Universe in rage, I will just try and go with it. I mean, we'll see how that works out for me, but that's my plan for now - going with it.

In the first installment of "Where in the world is Concateknit" I'll be travelling to San Diego for work. I'm going to be working a booth for my parent company, and although I've worked for my organization for four years now (how did that happen?) I am suddenly nervous that I do not know enough about my parent company. So I brought parent company type homework with me in an effort to alleviate my "I don't know enough about my parent company and I don't want to look like an idiot in front of Important Work Type People" nerves.

Because OH HAI, I am always the same worried and nervous person, even when I move across country and change industries completely (no, that shouldn't be surprising, but YES, it was surprising to me when I realized it). I have never claimed common sense as one of my charms.

For tonight, though, I'm packed appropriately for both the conference and the San Diego weather (it will be chilly because not every spot in California is 80 degrees and sunny every day), I've written my note (and check) for the dog sitter (we all LOVE Heather), I've got my knitting planned (three projects for two and a half days is reasonable, right?), I've got my books planned (Game of Thrones, anyone?) and I plan to shut down my computer after I post this and spend some quality time cuddling with my doggies, who may very well think that Heather is their new "That Lady" by the end of the month, considering how much I'll be gone.

Talk to you again soon from San Diego!

National Elisa Thinks She Doesn't Run Day, Except Apparently She Does

Or, isn't it fun to talk about one's self in the third person?

Actually, I find it a little creepy when people talk about themselves in the third person so I will try to never, not ever, not ever never, do that again.

But I probably will.

SO!

I am running a 5k on Thanksgiving morning. No one is more surprised by this than I am (and yes, I do remember hitting the "register" button and yet I'm still surprised). Not only am I running it, but my WHOLE team at work is running it too, and someone keeps telling people about this 5k and suggesting that these people might also want to run it, and these other people keep saying "Hey - that sounds like a great idea, how do I sign up?" and OH MY GOD it is ME that keeps telling people to run with us, because apparently I need the spectre of public humiliation to complete a health and fitness goal.

Honestly, though, I had this realization recently that to really live a fit and healthy life, I can't relegate exercise to a single 35 minute session per day, even if that session happens six times a week. To be healthy and fit, I have to live an active life, and to me it seems that I need to do that in addition to workouts that require special equipment or gyms. I need to be more active - walking the dogs, working in the yard, going for hikes (except - no hills - hills displease me mightily) - just generally using my body MORE and my remote control less.

Also, I have believed for pretty much my whole life that I. Can't. Run. And then realizing that just the idea that I couldn't run has kept me from running really pissed me off, and so - POW - I'm running a 5k.

(Are you also starting to think that this is sounding like a Flogic post? I am. Oh boy.)

I'm sneaking up on this whole running thing by doing the Couch to 5k program, and here's the really fun thing - I'm doing it with my herd of little dogs. Yep - imagine - Concateknit who really has no idea how to run, interval training with three little dogs. The fact that the little dogs don't really have to run in order to keep up with me? Well, we're not worrying about those kinds of details right now. We're also not worrying about how I look running with three little dogs (who can keep pace w/out running) while carrying bright purple "LOOK I AM A RESPONSIBLE PET OWNER I HAVE PICKED UP THEIR POOP FROM YOUR LAWN" bags in my leash-carrying hand.

A minor aside: One awesome thing about interval training with a herd of little dogs (at least, with MY herd of little dogs) is that my little Miss Rosie girl greets every morning  now with three (little dog) big barks, and then immediately starts to run. She's at least 9 in dog years, people, and totally kicks Zorro and Dezi's butts at the whole running thing. I start off every run with a big laugh at her silly exuberance.

But! Also! So! Later this week I will get to do my whole "kind of running, but more like jogging, okay, let's be honest, it's really more like a quick weird shuffle-step" thing in San Diego on the water and I am totally looking forward to making myself look like an ass, which y'know, is a good thing, because I do that whole "look like an ass" thing on a pretty reliably regular basis.

I don't run, but I guess I do. Or something. #POW.

 

Hi

Do you ever read through your own archives? Sometimes I do, and I'm always...surprised, I guess. I find myself surprised at something that makes me laugh, or reminded of something I had completely forgotten, or wondering how something cleverly written possibly came out of my brain. Ultimately, what I get from reading my archives is an opportunity to get to know myself better, to remember my own life and adventures, and to gauge just how much has changed since I started blogging in 2004.

It's also interesting to find themes in my own writing, and to see how those themes influenced some of the major decisions we've made, whether we were aware of the themes or not.

One of the major themes in my life for the last two years that I lived in Boston was crazy work stress. When we moved, I had a blessed few months off, and when I accepted my current job, I did so knowing that the responsibilities, stress (and pay), would be much less than I had with my job in Boston. I found it hard to adjust to my new job - I felt at loose ends, it was weird to have to start building my reputation here from the ground up, and I felt very alone. In Boston, I had a great support system and was surrounded by friends, and when I started my new job, I was painfully aware of just how few people I knew here. I not only felt alone - in many ways, I was alone.

Now I've been at my job here for almost six months, and certainly I feel much less alone than I did. One of the reasons that I took this job was because I knew that I'd have a great boss, one who could potentially be a friend, and lucky for me, she felt the same way. I've met some great girls via Ravelry, and I know that if we lived in Fresno I could be a much more active member of the fiber community here. We're beginning to put down roots here - getting invited to events, learning the neighborhoods, spending time with friends, and feeling more connected to the people here.

And yet...I read through my archives, see pictures of our old apartment, think of all the good times we had there, together and with our friends and family, and I can't help but feel some sense of loss. I live in a gorgeous area, I ate lunch outdoors in 70+ degree weather today, I have a cute little house, two amazing dogs, and am beginning to put down roots here by making real life friends, and yet...I feel pangs of loss for the wonderful community that I left when we moved to California.

I try not to dwell on the past, but I do think it is important to understand the themes and events that lead to us make major decisions, because even though I still believe that moving to California was the right thing to do, I want to be sure that our actions are deliberate and thoughtful, not reactionary.

Probably there's not much point to my post except I wanted to get some of these prickly thoughts out of my head and preserve them for posterity. I also just kind of wanted to chat with you today, too. So, hi. How are you?

When Did I Become A Grown Up?

Or, reflections on a (almost) 32nd birthday.

See, this coming Monday I will turn 32 and letmejusttellyou, 32 seems like a way more serious commitment to my 30s than 31 did. At 31, I still felt like I was playing at being in my 30s, but 32? I am now In My 30s, and it makes me feel a little freaked out, er, reflective.

Reflective because although I don't feel like a grown up, I know, in fact, that I am.

My first inkling that I was becoming a Grown Up Type Person came when I realized that teenagers and kids listened to me when I told them things. This was both cool (because I like to get people to do things that I wouldn't do myself, and so people who will listen to me are Fun! And Entertaining!) and freaky (the first time a teenager called me ma'am and didn't mean it in a snarky way? I nearly cried). 

Honestly, I spend most of my days feeling like a decidedly UnGrown Up, but for these things:

• I have a Big Girl Job where Professors and other Really Smart People ask my advice, and then TAKE IT and say Thank You.
• I am responsible at work for millions of dollars. Oh god, typing that freaks my shit out.
• Conversations with Mike's kids: They are wonderful kids, and I love them very much, but they both have TEENAGE BRAIN. I never feel more grown up (read: old) than after I've talked with them about their world views. Or what is appropriate attire to wear for job interviews. Or the advisability of getting a big ass tattoo two weeks after your 18th birthday (and see - for Kim's 18th birthday present? I paid for her tattoo. But now? At almost 32? I think it's the dumbest idea EVER. Except not for me. God, these double standards are killingme).
• My sense of style has, er, evolved. Although my tummy is still relatively flat, I am not in favor of belly shirts any more. Nor do I think wearing 70's polyester jackets with a black bra and only one strategically buttoned button and really low slung pants with Doc Martens is appropriate work attire (there are people who knew me during this phase of my life who can attest to these fashion statements of mine. Luckily, there are no pictures).
• Furniture shopping is fun.
• The idea of buying a house is now Fun and not Being Brainwashed by The Man.
• Getting up at 5:30am seems more reasonable than going to bed at 5:30am.
• I now think that meetings are "lame" and a "necessary evil" rather than "cool".
• I think about buying handbags that have zippers so that my wallet can't get stolen easily rather than leaving all my crap on the front seat of my car (I've had my car broken into about 5 times, and I'd say that in almost all cases I had left something stupid out in plain view).
• I understand the necessity of chore lists.
• I do not think there is a right time or place for drinking jaegermeister.

I could go on and on, but well, I won't.

I will just say this - I realize now that my parents felt just like I do, and they made it all up as they went along, just like me, too. I don't think we ever FEEL like grown ups, I think we just become them throughout a lengthy maturation process that consists of knowing (I am amazed each year about how little I Know) less and understanding more. We'd like to believe that we never grow up, but I think it is a fact of life that we all, in fact, do grow up - it's just that being a grown up isn't a hell of a lot different than not being a grown up. I'm still spontaneous, and goofy, and completely inappropriate at times (my ability to use foul language at Exactly the Wrong Moment is LEGENDARY), and I am sure that wiser people than I hear the things that come out of my mouth and think that I am a hopeless idiot, but that's cool. It's where I am on the mature-o-meter right now. Somewhere between wanting more tattoos for me and wanting none for my (almost) kids.

Keeping It Real, Part II

On New Year's Eve, I started knitting a sweater for myself. I decided that knitting from stash yarn, and having at least 5 sweaters worth of yarn on hand meant that I would finally knit a few things for me (I have this thing where whatever I knit I want to give away - it isn't that I don't love it, it's just that I have this compulsion to give virtually EVERYTHING I knit AWAY).

Last Friday, as I prepared to divide for the sleeves, I realized that I had completely misread the directions and everything I had knit past row 10 had been Wrong.

Here's my first frogged object of 2006, folks:

Mike was sitting at the computer while I was frogging the sweater, and the following conversation ensued:

Mike: Do you really have to frog the whole thing?

Concateknit: Well, at least back to Row 10, and since I have a birthday sweater to knit, I'm just going to put this on hold until after that is done.

M: When did you start knitting that?

C: New Year's Eve.

M: Were you drinking?

C: (pause) Maybe. It was New Year's Eve.

M: (smirking) Maybe you shouldn't knit and drink.

C: *insert a few unladylike comments here*

Oh, and it is also worth mentioning that I said this was my FIRST frogged object of 2006 - not my ONLY frogged object of 2006...stay tuned for my next post titled "How I Discovered I Don't Like Lorna's Laces"...

Keeping It Real, Part I

So, I've told you about my Big Girl Debt. I've told you about how I can't hoard all the sock yarn (stop looking so happy about that, you) this year. I've told you about how, even though I may not have a duffle bag full of sock yarn, or big tubs full of sock yarn, I have a drawer full of sock yarn that makes me Very Happy, every time I open in.

What I really need to do though, is Keep It Real. I've decided that for your Concateknit, 2006 will be the year of Keeping It Real. So, if all of a sudden, I start to act like I Have All The Money in the World, please remind me that I am supposed to Keep It Real, and although sock yarn makes me Happy, I can not knit myself a weatherproof house out of it. Although...

Anyway, a few days ago, Savannahchik posted a list of all her sock yarn, and I thought that I'd do the same, since it seemed to be in keeping with my newfound commitment to not being a crazy in debt sock yarn hoarder who wears skeins of sock yarn as hats because she has no money and a cold head and lives in new england where hats are practical even though they make her look like an asshole. In that vein, here goes:

1. 2 skeins Knit Picks Sock Memories - Fly Fishing - currently a WIP
2. 2 skeins Knit Picks Sock Garden in Geranium
3. 1 skein Mountain Colors Hand Paint in Elderberry
4. 1 skein Mountain Colors Hand Paint in Sierra
5. 1 skein Schaeffer Anne (dark greens and blues)
6. 2 skeins Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in River
7. 2 skeins Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Wiggle (blues/reds/oranges)
8. 2 skeins Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Tuscany (dark greens/oranges/reds)
9. 2 skeins Dorchester Farms Hand Paint (purples/browns)
10. 2 skeins Dorchester Farms Hand Paint (rusts/browns/blues)
11. 1 skein Woolarina Superwash Merino (bright greens)
12. 1 skein Woolarina Superwash Merino (bright greens) each skein will make 1 pr of socks
13. 2 skeins Sheldridge Farms Hand Paint (greens/browns)
14. 2 skeins Artyarns Supermerino #114 (reds/purples)
15. 2 skeins Artyarns Supermerino #127 (sherbert/pinks)
16. 2 skeins Artyarns Supermerino #117 (olives/purples) (bought the day I became engaged)
17. 1 skein Opal Handpaint in bumblebee colors
18. 2 skeins Paton Kroy Socks in hot pink
19. 2 skeins Regia Mini Ringel (browns/corals)
20. 1 skein miscellaneous running something in pinks and greens
21. 1 skein Plymouth Sockotta (browns/beiges)
22. 1 skein Lana Grossa Mega Boots (blacks/oranges)
23. 1 skein Socks That Rock in Xmas Rock
24. 1 skein Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in Java
25. 1 skein Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in Flames
26. 2 skeins Nature's Pallette in Coral Bells
27. 2 skeins Koigu KPPPM #P33552 (mixed purples/oranges/melon)
28. 2 skeins Koigu KPPPM #P107330 (greens/pinks/reds/blues)
29. 2 skeins Koigu KPPPM #P20066 (light pastels/pinks/purples)
30. 2 skeins Koigu KPPPM #P603 38 (bright oranges)
31. 1 skein Twinkletoes (mixed pinks)

There you go. I guess it isn't too bad. If I knit one sock per week, then theoretically I have enough yarn for an entire year, right? Right?

Also -  I wanted to send a shout out to all you wonderful peeps who gave me advice about the ass yarn - I feel confident that the yarn  can be reclaimed and that I will not have to hand over an aromatic birthday gift. Yo. You rock.

Also, speaking of someone who rocks - go visit Amandamonkey, okay? She's got some terrific news!

A is for Ass

So, before I acknowledged that if this were Victorian England I would be living in debtor's prison, I may have placed an order with elann.

And I may have ordered yarn for two sweaters (not sock yarn, though - which is some kind of victory, right? Right?).

And that package may have been waiting for me when I arrived at work this morning (having worked from home yesterday).

  Yarn on the left? 15 skeins of Austermann Naturwolle. This is destined to be birthday gift sweater yarn. That's all I can say about the intended project. Ahem.

Yarn on the right? 12 skeins of Peruvian Collection Quechua for "A Somewhat Cowl" by Knit and Tonic.

So, although I made this purchase while I was being fiscally irresponsible, I am not feeling guilty about it because it isn't like I bought the yarn TODAY or anything. Sheesh.

There's only one problem, though.

This shit smells like ass.

So, all you smarty-pantsy folks out there - what's a girl to do who needs to spiff up 15 skeins of birthday present yarn?

Oh - and comments about how this is Debtor's Karma catching up with me are not welcome. Sniff.

Resolutions

Mike and I made some joint resolutions for 2006. We want to eat healthier, exercise more (in our effort to Stop Being So Fat), pay off our debt, save for our wedding and a house. A little ambitious, you say? Well, yeah, but these are all really wonderful and exciting goals. Really, the only negative side effect of Our New Plan to Kick Ass in 2006 is...

imuststophoardingsockyarn.

There. I said it.

Lots of bloggers are writing about wanting to knit from stash yarn, and I say, hey, more power to them. Me? I want all the yarn. All.The.Yarn. I want to knit from stash yarn if I want to (I've got 3 sweaters and the yarn to knit them on my To-Knit List) but I want to buy new yarn for new projects if I want to, also. Oh, and also I want to have lots and tons and oodles of sock yarn. I want to swim in sock yarn. I want to buy every kind of sock yarn there is. I....Um, well, I can't.  See, there's a problem with my being such a hoarder. It seems that I *don't* have all the money in the world (I know, it surprised me, too).

The dirty truth is that I am In Debt. Big Girl Debt. And so, all the sock yarn? Well, it won't be for me this year.

I know, I'm sad, too.

So, what were your resolutions, if you made any?