Work Blog...

...is what's been keeping me busy of late. My boss was 'let go' about two weeks ago, and I'm still not entirely sure why. I was reassured, though, that it had nothing to do with me. While I was pleased to be told that it had nothing to do with my performance (which i didn't get. why would the fire him because i was bad at my job? wouldn't they just fire me, instead?) I feel bad for him. Nobody likes to be fired.

What this means for me is that I'm handling any leftovers from projects he was working on, and now I'm sort of in charge of our company blog. Our readership is pretty low, but we're building. And we'd gotten to the point where we would have at least two entries per week, and some pretty good content. The original plan was to put the blog on the back burner, but I sort of persuaded my new boss (one of the owners of the company, which is pretty weird) that we didn't want to lose our momentum. And, being an ass who never knows when she has enough work, I told him I'd be happy to provide content. If you're so inclined, you can head on over to blogDOTamericanmuscleDotcom (i'd provide a link, but then my whole department would be able to find the blog, and i'd be paranoid for all eternity) and see some of my finely crafted prose. Anything that's by AMStanger is me. It's been an adjustment, learning to write for the company blog, since the audience is so vastly different (largely men, who read at about the eighth-grade level). It's kep me busy, but I think it might have earned me some points, too.

What else have I been up to, you ask? Well, I've been battling a sinus infection for several days now (i broke down and saw my doctor yesterday, and i'm glad i did) and it was a losing battle for a while. However, I now have good drugs, and am on the mend. I've also been knitting busily away on some of the many, many scarves I have in progress. I promised myself that when everything I'm making for someone else is done, I can start a lace shawl for me. I'm leaning towards Adamas, but we'll see how that goes. There is still no spinning to report. Christmas took over my living room, and it's more trouble than it's worth to me to try to access my wheel and supplies right now. Soon, though, the clutter will be put away and I can spin again.

In other news, I went to the mall with a couple of lady friends over the weekend and got my finger sized. It's a size seven, which is a good thing, since that's the size most jewelry store sample rings are. And while we were there, I happened to try a few one. And since Colleen was with me, she took a few notes to pass along to Jim. I know he won't be looking for a ring with any seriousness for a while, but it was kind of nice (and very, very surreal) to see a bunch of pretty diamonds on my hand. Momolla thinks this is a strange way to go about things, and that we'll be married pretty soon (not likely). I think it was just a fun way to pass some time at the mall. And it means more to me that Jim is thinking about us getting married, because he doesn't normally think of the future the same way I do. It's nice to know he's thinking about us spending it together, though.

In review:

--If you Google search 'alien spine baby', this blog is the first thing that pops up. It's probably wrong, but I think that's incredibly cool.
--'Alien lung baby' still lists the blog on the front page.
--Sinus infections suck
--I'm writing for the company blog now, which is a very strange thing.
--I love Christmas, but can't wait to pack everything up this weekend.
--I have too much stuff. Time to donate!

Here's to 2009...

...The Year That Could Have Been Worse. That's how I think of it in my head. Sure, '09 sucked it's share of unpleasant male anatamological parts, but it could have sucked more of them, and harder. And through all that sucking, I learned a lot.

For instance, I learned that you really do find out who your friends are when you need them. You find out right quick, in some cases. You'll discover who takes days off of work to come visit you while you recover, or who attends a fundraiser to help you get back on your feet.

I learned that there are more people than I ever imagined that care about me. That's an incredible, and an incredibly humbling, feeling. Just when I thought I was the most alone, the most isolated, I discovered that I had a huge extended family to lean on. My family spans continents, and the globe, and it's full of people that I'm proud and honored to be loved by. This blog, and you, my darling readers, gave me more support and love and strength and hope than I ever imagined possible.

'09 taught me that I am stronger than I gave myself credit for, by far, and that no matter what, I am never broken. My mate lost his job, I had major health issues, lost three months of income, and still made it through in tolerably good mental shape. In fact, I'm happier and more comfortable with myself than I have been in years. I have overcome major obstacles, and I managed to do it without spending too much time as a soggy, weepy mess.

In 2009, I learned to let go of the things I can't control, and to accept that sometimes, I can't control everything, even by sheer force of will. '09 also taught me the power of karma. If you put good out into the world, it will come back to you, whether you feel you deserve it or not.

2009 taught me about commitment. Through the entire Alien Spine Baby Saga, Jim went to every doctor's appointment, every test, and every procedure with me. He held my hand through everything, and was as strong and steady and hopeful as it's possible for someone to be. When times got tough, Jim got tougher, and taught those tough times that they didn't know the meaning of tough.

This past year was an eventful one. It had its good moments, and its dark ones. There have been worse years, and better ones. But if I had to pick one word out to describe 2009, it would be: love. Love may not conquer all, and it may not make heroes out of cowards. But it will grant courage to a failing heart, compassion to a friend in pain, and hope to a despairing family. So, since I'm not going to make resolutions this year (i have my 101 to work on still, and that's keeping me plenty busy), I'm going to pick a theme for 2010, and it is love. Plain and simple and beautiful. So, happy 2010, blogfamily. I love you all.

In review:

--2009 was crazy. Straight up crazy.
--I'm not at all sorry to see it go. Not even a little.
--Reading my blogs from earlier this year is depressing.
--2010=love
--Love is wonderful, but it would be okay with me if 2010 also equalled increased personal fortune. Just sayin'
--I have a girl date this weekend. We're going to the mall. Where there are jewelry stores...

The Best Ever!

There's a running joke in my family that each Christmas is The Best One Ever, because each holiday is filled with love and laughter and warmth and goodness. This year was no exception. Christmas Eve, Jim and I woke up late, packed the bounty of presents we would be distributing into the car, and headed to my parents' place. We got into town and discovered that Jersey ended up with far more snow than we did for once, and we were pleased to have that be the case. Once we made it safely to my parent's place, the good times commenced. There was food to be eaten, punch to be drunk, a tree to be decorated, and presents to be wrapped. It was a lovely evening, and Jim and I spent the night next to the Christmas tree again.

Since it has been brought to my attention that my family finds my childlike wonder and glee a bit excessive on Christmas morning, I elected to read for a bit once I woke up and spare them the usual antics. Nobody noticed, naturally, nor was particularly thankful for my forbearance. Kate and her man wandered over early (7:30, which is about our usual time, i think) for breakfast and presents, and we had a lovely time discovering how good we were to each other. I ended up with a brulee torch (i have wanted one for years, i feel every home renter should have one), some gorgeous laceweight that will be a shawl for me, and a shopping spree from Jim, among other things. Jim was gifted with two bottles of his favorite vodka from various housemates, a fancy keyboard, and an Xbox controller. He's decided he wants an antique rifle, but because of the weather last weekend, I wasn't able to get it for him before Christmas. Still, better late than never, no?

After a lovely brunch, we headed back home for the next round of presents with Jim's family, and to start dinner. Once again, we were spoiled lavishly, and returned the favor in kind. Kate and Patrick came up for a dinner of ham, mashed potatoes, and various vegetables. The company was wonderful, and the food was pretty tasty. The best part, though, was that Jim's mom did the dishes! After dinner, we all sat around keeping each other company, and Patrick and I played a round of Left 4 Dead 2, our current household obsession.

The rest of the weekend has been peaceful and quiet, and thanks to the rain yesterday, most of the snow is gone. Jim took me out for the first round of my shopping spree, and our first stop was wonderful. Since I spent so much time in a work uniform before this job, and so little in presentable clothing otherwise, I asked for clothes for Christmas. Jim gave me a gift card and free reign. We stopped at Ross and picked up about eight different shirts (only two or three of which are black. i'm trying to add some color to my wardrobe. it's sort of working) and a gorgeous cranberry-colored blazer (it makes my waist look tiny and my bust look enormous. i am in love) and then headed for the mall. That, dear friends, was a mistake. We sat in traffic for about forty five minutes after what is normally maybe a fifteen minute ride. We finally made it to the mall, and it was crowded. We dared to try a jewelry store so I could get my finger sized. No such luck. They weren't very busy, but they were definitely trying hard to ignore us. This was the case in very nearly every store we went to, sadly. I came away from the mall with nothing but a new bra, since I need one without an underwire. Still, I have a good chunk of money left on my card, and we can shop some other weekend, when things are less frantic.

Today, I'm relaxing and knitting one of the scarves I've promised to various people. I'm also going to find myself a gorgeous lace pattern to make a shawl out of. Since there's no time limit, and I've managed a basic piece of lace, I'm feeling adventurous. We'll see how this works out.

I hope everybody's holiday was full of warmth and love and laughter and wonderful people and good food. If it wasn't, you can feel free to come spend the holiday with us next year, we'd be happy to show you a good time.

In review:

--Christmas rocked! Hope yours did, too
--I am never going to a mall on December 26th again. Ever.
--Lace knitting is on the horizon. Once I get through these plain scarves, anyway.
--There's too much stuff in my house for me to spin right now. That makes me all kinds of sad.
--Four-day weekends fly by like you wouldn't believe.
--Comment moderation has been turned on because some of my posts are getting spammed. Sorry, guys.
--Jim told his sister it was okay to take me ring shopping. I'm trying not to make too big a deal out of this. Probably not succeeding, though.

Almost Ready...

...for Christmas, of course! The house is decorated, the tree is standing proud (and tall, much to colleen's dismay) and is covered in lights and ornaments, and at long last, almost all of the shopping is done. We got some snow this weekend, and were only just able to get out to shop for a few hours today.

I'm not sure what our final snowfall totals were, but I'm inclined to call it 'enough' (it's drifted in a lot of places, but it comes up to just about my knees). Jim and I went out to grab some groceries yesterday and check road conditions, and things were gross. We decided to cancel all of our plans and stay inside. Dadumms and I had planned on doing some shopping together today, but things were still pretty messy when I woke up, and I decided it would be better to try to get some of my shopping done locally than to risk heading down to Jersey. I missed shopping with Dadumms this year, we go every year we're able to shop together. It's a lot of fun, unless we've both got the flu and are pumped full of cold medicines.

We've only got a three day week coming up, because Jim and I both took Christmas Eve off. It was a delight to me to just be able to submit a request and have it approved without threats, drama, or other types of insanity. I could get used to this.

Jim and I are heading down to my parents' place Christmas Eve, then back up here Christmas Day, where we'll host dinner with his parents. Kate and Patrick might come up, if they're feeling like making the drive. I invited Momolla and Dadumms, too, (and el, naturally) though they don't like to travel on Christmas. Momolla's response was that they would come up when I had small children. Hopefully, she realizes that there will be no children here for years yet. I'm finally starting to get my life back into some semblance of order, and I'm not prepared to start a family until I've finished school and made a few other changes.

Our company let Jim and me spearhead our annual Toys for Tots drive, since our landlady is involved with the organization, and we wanted to contribute this year. Last year, we were all incredibly broke, and we bought as many toys at the dollar store as we could. I sacrificed some of my already tight decorating budget for it, but we were determined to bring some toys with us. This year, we were able to pick up several toys of our own to donate, and our co-workers helped us fill the back of my Jeep. Our goal is to raise two truck loads next year. We are nothing if not ambitious.

It felt really, truly wonderful to be able to give to charities and to help people who needed it. This has been an undeniably tough year all around, but I am finally in a position to help. I'm not rich, but I'm also not forced to choose between food and fuel for my truck any more. There have been so many times, especially this past year, when people have stepped forward to offer me support and assistance. It was fantastic to know that I was able to do the same, albeit rather more anonymously. There are still things I want but can't afford, but those are all luxuries. I have enough, more than enough, to survive comfortably, but there are so many people out there who don't. We also donated to a huge local food drive put on by our favorite radio station every year. They raised over 150 tons of food. I can't wrap my mind around that number, it's so high. This food drive is one of the primary sources of supplies for the food bank they support, and the donations are put to use year-round. Because of the economic upheaval the country's gone through, demand is even higher than ever. Amazingly enough, so were donations. Just when you think there would be less donations, less support, less resources, people dig even deeper and surprise you.

Some people tell me Christmas is for kids. They see how excited I get by the lights and by the magic. Maybe that's the part we lose as we get older, the magic. But to me, it's always there, every year. Because for a span of a few all too brief weeks, people are willing to come together to help one another. We believe that one day, there will be peace on earth. We give because it's right, not because it's easy or makes us look good (though there really is no wrong reason to give). People see the potential for kindness and compassion that we have, and they go out of their way to realize it. We concentrate on the people we love, even the ones who drive us batshit crazy, and we are softer to them (unless they are eating all our cookie dough or refusing to let us get a big christmas tree) , and to ourselves. There's magic in getting a present, in realizing somebody loves you enough to give you something. There's even more magic in giving something to the people you love. There is magic in being surrounded by family (and we all know that two people can be a family, and that family of the heart is as valid as family of the blood) and friends. There's so much magic in sharing warmth and laughter and comfort. The beauty fades and the magic wears off so quickly, we have to savor it while it lasts.

I have been absent from the blog much more than I like recently, because after I spend my entire day on teh interwebs putting out fires, I pretty much come home and goof off, then go to bed. I still love my job, but it's becoming apparent to me that my company is not as strong on the planning front as I would like. We recently started a promotion in conjunction with two of the forums we work with to offer a $12 gift card for $10. It's a pretty good deal, and we had good, strong sales on these cards (one guy bought 110 of them. i hate him). We also offered 'random' car parts and gift card upgrades. What we forgot to do was find a let people buy a $12 card for $10. Our computer generated about 370 $10 cards, which we sent out to customers. Once we caught the error, early last week, we spent the whole week running around trying to fix things. It's been a long, exhuasting, irritating process, and the whole sorry mess could have been avoided if any of us had stopped to think. A whole lot of people looked at this promotion before it went live, and none of us questioned how we'd make ten equal twelve. but for all that, I still have the best job ever.

In review:

--Tree? Check!
--Lights? Check!
--Tchockes? Double check!
--10 does not equal 12. Assuming it will if you just tell people it does will not make it so.
--We were able to donate to a food drive, and to Toys for Tots. It feels great to give back.
--Spinning? What spinning?
--Snow is really pretty, until you have to dig your car out and shovel your walk. Then the novelty wears off really fast.
--Holy crap, it's going to be 2010 soon. Shouldn't we have flying cars and food replicators by now?

December 5 Word Blog

Tonight, we're getting a tree!

Where Did November Go?

I don't seem to remember much of it, but I know it must have happened, because tomorrow is December. Let me see if I can recall a few details. If not, I'll distract you with some pretty pictures, like this one of the scarlet silk I've been spinning. I'm not quite halfway done, because it's slow going. I've discovered that your hands have to be in really good shape to spin silk hankies, or this silk catches on the rough patches on your skin and doesn't spin well.

The new job is going really well, so far as I can tell. We've been running a promotion on one of our forums for most of the month that turned out to be a lot of work for me, but it's been a good experience overall. I'm starting to settle into my job and get the hang of what needs to be done and how best to respond to questions, comments, and gripes on forums. Since I'm representing the company on several fairly large public forums, I have to be casual, yet classy and grammatically correct. It can be a difficult line to walk, but I'm learning. I probably still err towards the formal rather than the casual in my public writing, but that's only when you compare my writing to what a lot of people put up on message boards.


Thanksgiving was especially lovely this year, because I spent it with family, and because it resonated with me. There are so many things I'm thankful for. I try to remember them and remind myself on a regular basis, but it's nice to have a holiday where I can really focus on being thankful for the amazing people, circumstances, and things in my life. Here's hoping I have this much to be grateful for next year. (the three spinning wheels gathered for thanksgiving. momolla, kate, and i all spun together, after dadums adjusted my wheel)





Christmas is right around the corner, and I'm starting to be excited. This weekend, Colleen and I are decorating. This year, I'm putting lights up outside the house, as well as inside. And we're hoping that perhaps the world's ugliest coffee table will be gone. If it isn't, we'll just go with last year's plan and cover it with wrapping paper. We're planning on hosting Christmas dinner up here again this year, and I'm hoping to have as good a time as last year, but with better food. My parents have already bought me a ham for Christmas, and I'm planning on doing some actual baking this year. This is one of my most favorite times of the year, and I'm hoping to make a little magic for my loved ones. This is the handspun I'm most proud of, because it's turned out to be beautiful. I look at it and feel smug, which is probably wrong for a lot of reasons, but the yarn is smooth and the colors are gorgeous and my friend Laura will love this (i won't tell her it will break my hear to part with it).


And hopefully this scarf will make somebody happy come Christmas. It's the first handspun scarf I mentioned forever ago, and I've finally gotten a picture of it. From a distance, it's striped. But if you get right up close and look at it, you can see all the layers of color that it's made up of. It's soft and colorful and drapey and hopefully will be well-loved.

In review:
--November? Where? I haven't seen November! We must have skipped right over it!
--Time flies when you're working overtime and battling a series of minor colds
--Knitting is nice, but finishing things now and again is even nicer
--Things I am thankful for, the short version: health, loved ones, chocolate, books
--The camera that died in August couldn't be fixed, so Jim goaded me into upgrading, and this one is wonderful... So far...

I'm Still Here...

...I just gave myself a bit of a break after Blogtoberfest. Regular blogging will now resume. Well, as regular as it ever gets 'round these parts, anyway.

There will not be a lot of status blogs this week, because the rest of my week will be a lot like today. Let me preface this by saying that I started the shinier, newer job full time last week. And my boss was out of town at a major industry event. So there wasn't much for me to do. At all. Like, even less than usual. So I did what I could, then tried to study what I could and pick up as much various assorted information on Mustangs as I was able to. Last week was a good week, though it feels like I didn't actually accomplish anything. This week? Well, this is an ambitious week. This week, we are giving away free t-shirts on one of our forums. I am in charge of giving everybody who pm's me a unique, one-time-use coupon code to make a special t-shirt free.

Now let me just say that I have noted many things about the many forums I am charged with monitoring and tending. One of those things is not the number of active members. So when I was told about this venture Friday night, I did not think too much of it. How hard could it possibly be? Even when one of my co-workers, who helped generate the coupon codes, told me that there were fifty thousand, yes 50, 000 coupon codes and they hoped that would be enough, I was not worried. Surely there wouldn't be that much interest. Surely we wouldn't need that many codes. And besides, they would trickle in a few at a time and I could handle them as I went.

Ha. This is a forum that has over 100, 000 active members. Well over that number. The t-shirt giveaway was announced(at about 1 pm) and within an hour I had a hundred messages to respond to. By the end of the day, I had six hundred and fifty. I only managed to get about one hundred and fifty of those requests filled, and all of those came in during the day, many during regular office hours (which begs the question, don't any of these people have jobs?) and as more people log on and send me messages, there will be more. I'm really sort of dreading opening my e-mail at work tomorrow. I'm still sort of bemused by the magnitude of the response we've received. Though to be honest, it's not so bad. Sure, it's busywork, but it's helpful, and it is my job. And at least it's solid and quantifiable and will make me look good. We'll see if I'm still this positive about it by Friday, eh?

In other news, there has been spinning. Oh, there has been spinning. And some knitting, too. Very soon I will have proudly completed two whole pairs of socks. And a day of reckoning is coming for the socks that will not be named. Oh, it is coming. But let's not think of that. Let's think of the beautiful llamney I spun, that's all thick and warm and soft and maybe a little enthusiastically plied. It will be something for me, I think. Unless somebody falls in love with it, but they would have to offer me a compelling bribe to take it away from me. And then there's the merino that I spun and plied and washed and whacked. It's so pretty that I look at it and can't help but indulge in a little pride. There's purple and blue and the smallest bit of green in it. This has somehow turned out to be a light, slim yarn, probably a fingering weight (i should really find a ruler so i can determine these things). And I have started spinning the scarlet silk. It's not something I can do when I've just been washing dishes, the rough spots on my fingers stick too much, or right after I've put lotion on, which makes drafting practically impossible. But it is something that I can sit down and do for a while after work or before bed. This silk is spinning so prettily that I look at it and just want to giggle a little for the sheer joy of it. Having said that, the whole rest of the batch is going to be a ruin. Ah, well. Sometimes all you can do is tempt fate.

Momolla and Dadumms came up for dinner yesterday to celebrate Jim's birthday. Jim's parents were supposed to come, too, but there were some difficulties and they couldn't make it. So we had a lovely beef stew dinner. I prefer chicken soup, but Jim requested the stew, and I sort of winged it. It turned out pretty well, I used a couple of bottles of beer to cook the beef in and that gave it a nice flavor. It also gave me a good starting point for the broth.

In review:
--It's going to be a long, busy week at work.
--By Friday, I will never again want to hear the words 'free t-shirt'
--My parents came up for a visit, it was great to see them
--I have finished two skeins of yarn, started a third batch, and done some knitting
--Very soon, I will officially have knitted two full pairs of socks. No, really. Honest!
--I have been roped into knitting another ugly camo scarf, because I have a soft spot for people who admire my handiwork