winged orange

It’s that time of year again! Lights are up, sales are on, Christmas music is in full force. Ahhh, I love the holidays.

Today was also a special day for another reason: November 30 marks Scott’s and my dating anniversary. We’ve been together for four years today. And after talking and discussing and rehashing some key moments in our relationship, we came to an important revelation today.

We decided that four years is a long-ass time, and we’re proud of ourselves for making it there. We’ll be prouder next year for our fifth, and even prouder on our first wedding anniversary (whenever that will be), but considering all the crap we’ve gone through in the last four years – grad school, several jobs, three moves, long hours, moving back in with our respective parents, unemployment, working through debt, postponing our inevitable engagement for the millionth time – we feel incredibly lucky and incredibly strong to still be standing. To still be standing and still be happy with each other is an insane accomplishment in our book.

Every year around this time, with our anniversary upon us and New Year’s around the corner, Scott and I say, “Well, hon, this year wasn’t what we hoped. Next year will be better.” And every year, it gets worse! The first year on our own, I hated grad school and Scott hated his job, but we were comfortable. The second year, Scott had a demanding and underpaid position and I was looking for work. This year, between our jobs and America’s economic collapse, we hit bottom and had to move home. There’s nowhere to go but up, and Scott feels like this year will be our year. This will be the year that we finally both hit some kind of stability, and therefore the year we will also finally feel solvent enough to get officially engaged. According to Scott, 2009 is going to be the beginning of…well, the beginning.

I hope he’s right. I’m looking for a new job, this time as an elementary school teacher. Scott’s looking for a new job, preferably in the film or communications industry. He’s also been writing/producing/directing his own original webseries about a group of workers and customers in a comic book shop. It’s called Issues, and even though I’ve sometimes been a little bitter about how much of Scott’s time it’s required, I’m really proud of him for pulling it off. The first season wrapped today (without benefit of Scott; he took off for our anniversary), and he’s managed to write, produce, shoot, edit, and direct 7 or 8 ten-minute “webisodes” solely on a volunteer basis. He’s cast professional actors who’ve volunteered their time and talents, got a talented editor volunteering her cutting skills, and a volunteer cameraman with an HD camera. It’s pretty amazing what he’s managed to pull off for very little money, a lot of time, and a lot of determination.

He’s hoping he can sell the concept to a network to be developed as a TV series. He’s got an agent interested, so once the webisodes start to air, we’ll see how that goes. Webisodes will start going up mid-December. If Scott’s right and this truly is OUR year, he’ll be able to sell the show. How awesome would THAT be? :)

Also, wish me luck with the job search. I’ll be sending out resumes and letters of inquiry to a million school districts, looking for something for the fall. If this truly is OUR year, I’ll have my pick of several job offers, preferably with a salary that will let me quit my part-time job. Again, I ask – how awesome would that be?

So here’s to 2009 – may it finally be OUR year. :)

I have a love/hate relationship with winter. I love it up through New Year’s. I love the spirit of the season, the change from fall to something new. I even sort of love the chill of the first really cold weather on my face. Eventually, though, long about the second week of January, I’ve lost my patience with winter. Everything is dead, the holidays are over, and if there’s been any snow, it’s turned to gray slush.

Fortunately, I’m still in my annual “I [heart] winter!” phase.

We got a little bit of snow on Friday. And by “a little bit,” I mean that it snowed for 10 minutes and got everyone’s hopes up. It was snowing like it meant it, too – big flakes, coming down fast and furious. And then it stopped. That made me sad, because I had hoped it would snow into the weekend, and I would be able to snuggle in my bed with a cup of tea and holiday knitting, and I would make great progress on the gifts while I watched the snow fall.

Guess how well that’s going for me. Since it was nice out today, instead of knitting, I embarked on a shopping trip that could have been neither longer nor more unsuccessful. I went to probably nine stores, and emerged with roughly a third of the things I’d been after. It wasn’t even Christmas-related, most of it, although I did go on a dollar store scavenger hunt for strands of 25 clear mini-lights, reasonably priced cute holiday cards, gift wrap with a decent pattern, and gift boxes. I struck out on all counts.

I almost had a massive falling-down of the Christmas sort in A.C. Moore. The entire store is on sale for 20% to 50% off, and they had four aisles of holiday goodies! I freakin’ love Christmas stuff. I loaded up my basket faster than you could say “holly jolly,” and proceeded to the checkout line. While I was waiting, I had a rare moment of clarity, and actually removed myself from the line to reshelve most of my basket, because, really, what was I actually going to do with a large cylinder of 25 jingle bells? I was kind of proud of my restraint. Maybe I’ve matured a little bit? Or maybe I’m still feeling guilty about my spending at Rhinebeck. Or the fact that I haven’t finished any Christmas gifts yet. I think it’s that last one.

This is going to be a good week for me. There are two and a half days of school, which really equates to two days of teaching and one half-day of babysitting, because nothing ever gets done the day before a holiday, academically. Scott and I are splitting our Thanksgiving between my family and his, and we get to celebrate our four-year dating anniversary on Sunday.

I think for now I’m heading to bed. It’s midnight, and I’m starting to feel a little sleepy. Maybe I should just pick a movie for tomorrow and buckle down on the knitting.

I know. It’s been since Halloween that I’ve posted and it’s now the 15th of November. I know. I just can’t think of anything interesting to say lately, partially because by the time I get done with teaching (and the kids have been monstrous lately, if anyone is interested), and then again with tutoring (three days a week), I’m kind of fried by the time I get home. I have, like, an hour to myself before I either need to be in bed, or before I fall over dead from exhaustion. Not a lifestyle conducive to…anything, really. I’m looking for a new job, but not a whole lot has popped up, with the economy being where it is and all.

Mostly I’m trying to make it through to Christmas, because we have twelve (!!!) days off for Christmas this year, and because, as a famous LolCat once said: I freakin’ LOVE Christmas! I didn’t catch that I will actually have twelve days of Christmas this year, even though the majority of the days off are in fact after Christmas, but no matter. Days off are days off. I takez wut I can getz.

I kind of wish I had an extra 12 days for the holiday knitting, though. I sort of bit off more than I could chew this year, perhaps inspired by last year’s noble victory, and didn’t take into account that I have two jobs and I’m tired all the time. Also, I didn’t consider that I’d rather spin than knit these days, and that I can’t really knit a scarf in a weekend. So, a la Katie (viridianflare), I present to you: How Christmas Knitting Stole Christmas, and Other Holiday Tales. This production stars only Ravelry links, and one photo during intermission.

Act I: Fetching Iris (Or, How I Set Myself Up for Failure)

• Decide that because Scott’s mom loves purple and because her job requires a lot of typing, and because she loved the Argosy scarf I made her, that she should have a handknit gift. Yes.
• Decide on Fetching mitts, because they are quick.
• Take a whole week to knit one mitt, which is way longer than it SHOULD take.
• Cast on for second mitt. Knit one round.
• Leave on desk, thinking, “It’s only a mitt. I’ll finish it later. And I have until Dec. 27 for these, so it’ll be fine.”
• That was on 11/2. No second mitt.

Act II: Dad’s Manly Scarf (Or, Are You Sure You Wouldn’t Rather Have a Tube Top?)

• Decide not to knit anything for Dad this year, because he doesn’t really use stuff that one could knit.
• Go to Rhinebeck. Shop, spend, enjoy. Become utterly captivated with a 665-yard skein of chocolate brown alpaca. Purchase for self, and plan fingerless alpaca gloves.
• Return home from Rhinebeck. Show family purchases.
• Gape in horror when Dad picks up chocolate brown alpaca and says, “Ooh, is this for my Christmas scarf?!”
• Smile and nod, saying, “Of course, Daddy!” because how often is it that Dad asks for anything knit?
• Find suitable manly scarf pattern that also promises to be quick. Hold yarn doubled and use size 10 needles for maximum quickness.
• Dad says he wants a wide scarf, so cast on 36 stitches. Knit about an inch, look at scarf, and say, “Holy shit, this is a tube top, not a scarf.” Show it to Dad.
• Dad claims it is fine, and in fact, may not be wide enough. Explain to Dad that you think you may only have enough yarn for a potholder at that rate. Explain again why you can’t “just go get more” because that would require a 3+ hour trip to some place in upstate NY.
• After three days, convince Dad that perhaps a few repeats can be trimmed off the edge. Frog scarf, cast on the suggested 26 stitches, and knit.
• Knit forever.

Intermission (Or, This Is How to Stop Christmas from Coming)

• Decide that holiday knitting needs a time out. Also, carpal-tunnel-ridden wrist “hurts”.
• Take a weekend break and spin two ounces of merino/tencel instead:

Act III: The Most Famous River in Egypt (Or, Shopping As Knitting Replacement)

• Have off from work last Thursday and Friday for Teacher’s Convention. Muse that no teachers ever seem to GO to the Convention and decide it’s actually an ecstasy-induced rave.
• Make a plan to do the whole of Christmas shopping in one day.
• Run around like a nut from 8:00 AM until 6:00 PM, store-hopping and dropping cash like there’s no tomorrow.
• Complete whole of Christmas shopping. Feel accomplished, and decide that Christmas will come even without handknit gifts.
• Spin some more in celebration!

Act IV: Oh, Yeah. Christmas Knitting. (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb)

• Realize that Christmas is approximately 40 days away, and that all I have finished is one fingerless mitt, 10″ of scarf, and 1″ of dog sweater.
• Realize that I still have 62″ inches of scarf, five fingerless mitts (two full pairs and the one half-pair), the rest of the dog sweater, and a pair of socks to knit before December 25.
• Decide that somehow, a time paradox will create itself and everything will be finished on time.
• Spin some more.

How’s your holiday knitting going, eh?