Well my first paper as a graduate student is finally finished. I have a tad of fleshing out to do to answer some questions I posed, but otherwise, it is done. My gaming friends might find it interesting that I chose to write about the grammar behind leet, and its ramifications for grammar instruction. They might also be appalled to discover that I spent two years of my gaming life basically spying on the way gamers use leet, and how it morphs and alters words and phrases. Or they might just think I'm a loser. Whatev. It's definitely affected me and I use pieces of it in chat as humor or for ironic effect, or simply out of plain old laziness. Regardless, the damned paper is done. W00t! ;)


And since you guys are too lazy to guess, this is one of the projects I'll be working on over Spring Break. Pete designed his own hat, now I just have to chart it and knit it up. Isn't it cool?!? I'll probably be making a second one, once Nate sees how awesome it is.




I finished my part of the super super secret knit, so I'll have pictures of it next week once it's fully completed.

I've also been working on Unbiased from Knitty.com, in some Noro Silk Garden. It's a fun black/gray/brown/tan mix, that's sure to go with just about everything. I'll post some pics later this week. The camera and I are not friends this week, hence my lack of real pictures.

I saw this meme type thing over at Lick My Sticks, and since I love music, here goes:

Soundtrack of my Life

Directions: If your life was a movie, what would the soundtrack be?

1. Open your mp3 library
2. Put it on shuffle.
3. Press Play.
4. For every question, type the song that’s playing.
5. When you go to a new question, press the Next button.
6. Don’t lie and try to pretend you’re cool.
7. Don’t skip songs.

My Movie:

1. Opening credits: Give Me a Call - 311
2. Waking up: Hardest Button to Button - White Stripes
3. First day of school: Head Over Feet - Alanis
4. Fight song: I'll Be Here Awhile - 311
5. Breaking up: Teenagers - MCR
6. Happiness: Give Me Novacaine - Green Day (lol)
7. Life’s okay: Same Mistake Twice - 311
8. Mental breakdown: My Doorbell - White Stripes
9. Driving: From Chaos - 311
10. Flashback: It's My Life - No Doubt (fitting)
11. Getting back together: Forgiven - Alanis
12. Wedding song: Excuse Me Mister - No Doubt
13. Birth of first child: Black Math - White Stripes
14. Final battle scene: Freak Out - 311 (lol)
15. Death scene: All I Really Want - Alanis
16. Funeral song: Still Dreaming - 311
17. End credits: Freeze Time - 311

Guess there's a lot of 311 on my ipod, eh? Oops. Maybe it's time to diversify. It makes great running music though...

If you like it, consider yourself tagged!

agony and ivory

today has been vicious.

first, a rise-and-shine appointment with the evil tooth drill and it's maniacal master. i really hate a dental appointment, even just a cleaning. i have a wonderfully sweet dentist who runs his own dental 'spa', and still...keep the damn drills out of my mouth please. i can get a massage all day long, but turning on the drill is just going to ruin the effect. the soothing parts really are great though. i got to listen to my ipod, and snuggle under a blanket with a warm neck pillow while they poked and prodded. but i was there for four hours. FOUR simultaneous hours. almost upside down in an uncomfortable chair. agony. all to get a temporary crown and a tmj appliance. makes it sound like i'm walking around with a fridge in my mouth. luckily it's only mini fridge sized. and i only have to wear it at night, which i think i'll start tomorrow. today i'm too sore and bruised. i have a little mouth, and it only enjoys being stretched for specific, pleasurable reasons. dentistry is not on that short list. but cake is.

then i had to go to work. all drugged up and calling microwaves 'microsoft'. hey, they start with the same five letters, sue me.

then it was on to class, where i further made an ass of myself. i prefaced by saying 'i might be a tad out of it, but....'. maybe no one noticed the slurred speech and glassy eyes. i'm sure what i said was poignant and meaningful and....ah who am i kidding.

on a less stressful note, i am working on two super secret knitting projects!! so exciting!

ok, only one is really secret. pete and i were discussing the other project, and when i wanted details he photoshopped a design (cause he's super cool):

me: one insignia? text all the way around?
pete: hmm....yes. did you enlarge the pic? i even gave it a knitted texture.
me: i can tell
pete: you're not even remotely phased that i drew up what i wanted
me: it looks awesome, but i wasnt too surprised, you're a visual kinda guy
pete: i had to make sure it was manly and badass...in case you got any flowery and kitteny ideas
me: who? me? never
pete: yes you, i had no idea if Brielle (one of my old insane gaming characters) would take over during the knitting process
me: i personally detest flowers and kittens and butterflies too
pete: look at your sig, asshead
me: i made no mention of bunnies



any guesses?

go, now

I've been watching this story for a while, and I've really been shocked into silence.

The story is about Julie Amero, the substitute teacher in Connecticut who is looking at 40 years in prison for the porn ads that popped up on her computer during class back in 2004. I've been doing some more reading today, thanks to Scout, and from what I see, if they wanted to go after someone, it should have been the school's network admin. It's their job to keep this kind of thing from happening, not a teacher's fault if it does happen. And educators should have a yearly IT 101 class to help them troubleshoot for spyware and teach them the basics of operating their computers if they don't know already (and even if they do know, since technology changes faster than we sometimes can keep up with).

I'm the resident computer geek in my office, and in every office I've ever been in. Just today I taught someone how to use Outlook, and showed another employee how to burn a file to a CD. Both very basic operations. And I feel pretty sure that when I'm working at a school I'll be helping other educators with their computers. Not knowing what to do when a computer isn't operating properly is not a crime. The crime lies in letting this sort of incident inhibit the way we use technology in classrooms.


This link goes to Julie's blog. Please donate if you feel so inspired. I certainly did.

incoming: long post

i feel like i've been away forever, and i have a ton to talk about! so i'm just going to spill it and not edit, cause really, who has time?

when i'm not reading for classes, writing papers (although my writing here constitutes far more than i've written on my paper due next week...oops), or working and being stressed about work, i'm doing a lot of thinking.

thinking about everything. my finances and paying off my sizeable debt; my student teaching next year, which is not a paid gig; my current job situation and how to rectify it; how to shave off 15 lbs; how to focus on class better and think more critically about what i'm learning and what it means (cause it matters for my dissertation); how to keep my marriage from imploding thanks to all the stress i'm under; how to fit in time to knit and work out and run errands and afford to eat...want more?

in thinking about all my thinking (metacognitive much?), i'm realizing that if i don't put some organization and order into all the things manifesting themselves right now, i could easily quit my job, leave school, and find myself naked in the street insisting that the light poles are lying sons of bitches. so, i'm seeking balance, structure, contentedness, sanity, and far less stressful environments. the libra in me demands serenity now!

so i've added a few blogs to my bloglines account: zen habits and ririan project. they are both inspiring me to get things done, focus intently, and most importantly...breathe. i hear this breathing thing is good. gonna keep doing it.

to get better organized i've been reading Getting Things Done vicariously through nate (can you read vicariously?), and i'm trying out a system called tracks, which is based on the GTD system. so far i find it very useful not to have all these things on my brain, but rather stored somewhere that i can come back to them later and focus on what needs to be done right this moment. doesn't keep me from being distracted by the hot & spicy cheezits calling my name, but that's another problem altogether.

i also picked up you: on a diet. honestly, i never would have read this book if it weren't for laurie's recommendation. and what an awesome book it is, once you get past the silly similes and metaphors. it provides incredible insight into how our bodies work, in lay terms, so that we can really get a good idea of how our food affects us. and the chapters about the psychology behind 'going on a diet' is so dead on for me. i'm definitely an all-or-nothing kind of girl, so when i sabatoge a diet it is dead to me, in a mafia sort of way. but i'm really starting to embody the u-turn idea, so that when i make a mistake, it's no big, and i'll just eat an apple and call it even. me and apples are going to be bff, ya'll. i also love the idea about automating meals. i love oatmeal with some walnuts, half a banana and maple syrup, so that's been my breakfast for the last few days. yum. i'm also walking every day too. i'm up to 40 miles on my trek to 100 by april 1. i feel behind for about two weeks, but i'm picking up the slack now. i average two miles a day, so i'm not worried about making the goal.

i introduced my mom to the book as well, and ya'll...i'm soooo proud of her. she's always struggled with her weight and never done well with diets, and this book has made such a huge difference for her. just understanding why she has high blood pressure and what it's doing to her body has completely changed her way of thinking, and she's eating better than she ever has. i got all weepy in the grocery store while talking to her on the phone about it. it means so much to me for her to succeed, because my 'why' for working hard and dieting has always been 'i don't want to look like my mom'. i know that's kinda sad, but it's true.

and in honor of her success (i hope she lets me post before and after pics, cause she's rocking the hell out of this 'no diet' thing), i'm bringing sexy back. next week i'm cancelling my gym membership, since it's too far away now, and buying a weight rack and a bench to add some definition to this formerly hot frame. i have had literally zero interest in sex for at least the last two months (longer to be really honest, and that is a scary amount of time for this formerly sex-crazed chick), and i realized today that it's because i don't think i'm sexy anymore. and that's a damn damn shame. so i'm going to put in some work and get my groove back. and it will be awesome stress relief from all this other crap.

wow, that was a lot of typing. if you made it this far, bless your heart, you deserve a lie down. and now, back to my paper and being scholarly and junk.

love, peace and harmony.

<3

Happy V-Day to all of you! If you don't have a valentine, consider me your surrogate. But the job description includes flowers and jewelry, and also cookies, so come prepared.

Nate and I don't do the whole card/flowers/chocolate thing at all. Last year we went to Zaxby's for dinner...because we were hungry, not because of what day it was. (And also because everywhere else was totally packed.) The way we figure, people are grossed out by our mushiness 364 other days of the year, so we don't have to rub it in their faces on what can be a painful day for some. Tonight we'll go to our favorite restaurant (Thai, of course) for dinner, and then find some dessert. No cards, no gifts, no contributing to the corporate sponsored you-must-show-someone-you-love-them-or-else day. Regardless, I hope all of you have a great day!

And thanks for all the nice comments about my version of Central Park! I wear it almost every day, and it is so warm and snuggly!

Central Park...Cardi

Central Park Hoodie, sans hood.
Began: 12/24/06
Finished: 2/3/07
Yarn: Knitpicks' Swish
Needles: Denise size 8



Didn't notice until I posted this pic that the sweater is laid out crooked. It's actually very symmetrical and perfect.



Leather buttons by Joann's. It's almost comical that I chose a washable yarn, and dry clean only buttons.



The collar works very well. I just picked up the stitches all the way around, knit in 2x2 rib for four inches and blocked.