Water From Above

I am a light sleeper. It's a pain in the neck sometimes, but every once in a while, I'm glad stuff wakes me up. Take 1:30 AM, for instance, like, just a few hours ago. I really do think I was in a deep sleep, but still woke up... I initially thought the noise was my blinds slapping against the window frame, (which happens with a fair bit of regularity) but once I made my way over to the window, I realized the noise was coming from further in my apartment. I turned the lights on, and to my horror, water was dripping from my ceiling all over my PlayStation2, right next to my TV and stereo! Noooooooooo!

I will briefly interrupt the story to state that I actually have occasional nightmares about water dripping into my home. The dreams are more strangethan what would happen in reality, though... for instance, I have had a few dreams where I move in to my new condo, only to realize that it only had part of a roof, and that rain and snow would accumulate on a regular basis. I hate those dreams.

Back to the story... I quickly unplugged all electronics in the area and moved them away from the region of drippiness. The drips were happening every 2-3 seconds I'd say. The thin puddle on the floor was a few feet in diameter.

Of course, I ran upstairs, and, feeling guilty, started pounding on my neighbor's door. He eventually came to the door, and I apologetically explained the situation. He and I examined the area where water ought to be coming from, but we couldn't see anything. The area in question was also next to the HVAC vent, but we didn't really think anything of it at the time.

So, I called the management company. The woman who answered (thank goodness for 24 hour service) said that she'd call maintenance right away.

An hour passes.

I call again. She seems surprised that I have not seen hide nor hair of said maintenance personnel. She assures me she will call them again.

30 minutes pass.

I call again. Same assurances are given. Dripping had stopped briefly, but started up again. I begin to strongly suspect the air conditioning unit of my neighbor.

30 more minutes pass.

I call again.

20 minutes pass. I am getting understandably vexed. Finally, there is a knock on the door. My wet ceiling and puddly floor are inspected. Maintenance dude leaves and knocks on my upstairs neighbor's door. I listen and hear thumps and evidence of possible progress being made in the a/c ventilation system.

Mr. Maintenance comes back. Evidently water is not draining properly from the drip pan of my neighbor's a/c. Instead, it is draining into my condo. The HVAC repair company has been notified and will *theoretically* show up first thing in the morning. My neighbor's a/c is turned off, and the dripping has stopped.

It is currently almost 5 AM; maintenance has been gone for some time now, but I am unable to sleep. The fear of damage to my home has my adrenaline pumping, and I am irrationally worried that the dripping will start again. My neighbor is very nice; he is not the type to turn on the air conditioning when he knows it will flood my condo. Intellectually, I know there is nothing to worry about, but I am still wide awake... and exceedingly tired. And of course, I can't sleep in; I have to get up and shower and such so that I am presentable for the next round of repair personnel!

Hahaha, that is kind of funny, considering the state of pajamitude I was in when the first guy got here! You'd think I would have had plenty of time to put on appropriate clothing (2+hours), but I was sleepy and was expecting him to call first, not just show up; I assumed I had appropriate changing time! However, there is something about middle-of-the-night visitors that makes pajamas seem more acceptable. Once daylight hits, it feels like I ought to have actual clothes on, yes?

I will close by stating that spell check has selected a couple of words as misspelled, but did NOT highlight "pajamitude". This surprises me!

Enjoying the Out of Doors

Last weekend, I spent some time at my parents' house. One of the things I did was go on a very hilly bike ride with my father... man, I am not used to those hills! And living where I do, I don't really get a chance to practice... let's be honest, I would not practice if I could avoid it! But, it's much hillier where my parents live, so I am forced into the hill climbs.

The next day, my left wrist hurt really badly. I think I put a lot of strain on my wrists when I ride. Not quite sure what to do about it.

I also took my camera into the woods and took some photos. Here are a couple of the ones I thought turned out the best. My parents live in the woods near some good granite quarry spots, and the old hollowed out quarried areas are full of water at times. See if you can spot the wee black tadpoles in the pool of water.

The Sun!!!

It almost feels like a miracle that the sun is shining. I quickly took advantage of it to take some pictures of a few projects I have finished up in the semi-recent past.

First up is the Counterpane Carpetbag, which I actually knitted eons ago, but never got around to sewing it up. I really like how it turned out. I did end up lining it, because I can just imagine stuff inside wriggling its way out through the knitted holes!


Next up, the 4 Corners Dishcloth. You knit one quadrant at a time, and then seam it up using a garter stitch graft, which I had never done before. Slightly different from kitchener stitch.



Next, the Chinese Waves dishcloth. Slipped stitches help to create a nice, waffly texture.


The Varanasi Socks are up next. It's a free pattern... actually, most of them are free, except for the Counterpane Carpet Bag pattern. Not too many people on Ravelry seem to have made the Varanasi socks yet, but I really liked the pattern. I enjoyed that the socks are different in the front and the back. There is a little ribbing up the back of the leg, kind of like a spine.


And finally, the one I'm probably the most excited about, the Easy Ripple Afghan! It's crocheted, and I don't crochet all that often. However, I am quite pleased with how it came out. I like the colors I picked, and the chevron pattern is easy to memorize. Don't you just love it?


That's all for now, folks... I have to go get ready for the weekend!

The 6 Month Report

So, in 43 minutes, it will be the last day of the 6th month of the year... close enough for me to feel as though it is time for a 6 month report on my New Year's Resolution... which was to "spend less money and reduce my debts". In reviewing the post I made about said resolution in January, I can safely say that a lot of the changes I've made have not only become second nature, but have really made a difference in helping me reach my goals.

To briefly review, I first took a look at all of my bills and cut/reduced what I could - quit the gym, changed my cell phone plan, reduced my cable package and Netflix package, and so on.

After trimming whatever bills I could, I decided to write down every penny I spent. I have been doing this every single day since January 1, and it has been very illuminating. Here are a few things I have learned:

1. Coffee and bagels are a slippery slope, and the few bucks add up. Better to make coffee at home, and if you really "need" a bagel, buy them at the grocery store.
2. Writing things down sort of automatically makes me spend less - you can't be in denial about where the money is going.
3. I spend about $350 a month on groceries, eating out, and entertainment. This is actually pretty good, in my opinion. I also think that this is a lot less than I used to spend - again, keeping track seems to be helping.
4. It is a lot harder to earn money back to pay off a credit card bill than it is to just not spend it in the first place. Is that splurge on a fancy new outfit REALLY worth it? Possibly every once in a while, but definitely not every time the urge strikes.
5. My desire to buy new stuff has been seriously dampened. This goes for yarn, too. I've spent about $60 on yarn all year so far, and all of that yarn was either required to finish a project I had already started, or was for a gift I did not have appropriate yarn for.

As for making extra money, I have done various odd jobs, as described before on this blog. The one odd job I continue to do is test knitting. Check this out - I'm on my 19th "for-pay" knitting project since the beginning of the year! Amazingly, during that time, I have also managed to complete 13 projects for myself, including 3 sweaters, 7 pairs of socks, and various other projects. Not too shabby, I must say. I can only imagine how small my stash would be right now if I had been only knitting with my own yarn!

And, finally, I should mention that I am keeping up with my "debt pay-down" plan, as well. I am optimistic that at some point within the next 36 months, I will be able to say that I no longer have a student loan or a second mortgage. Now, that sounds really nice!

So, that's the 6 month status report. I am optimistic that the rest of the year will go well, too. Wish me luck!

Maxi Dress - I'm Confused

Soooo, this spring, everyone is advertising and selling maxi dresses - halter top or spaghetti strap dresses, frequently with an empire waist, and trailing alllll the way down to the ground. I was excited to see this style, because I think it would look good on me. In fact, I actually bought one the other day at Target, and it looks pretty cute!

My confusion is this: who in the world are they making these dresses for??? The one I bought (as well as all of the others I tried on) came all the way down to my feet - the hem actually touches my feet, people! For any of you who have never seen me in person, I'm 5'11" tall... which places me in the top 1% of all women... which means that these danged dresses really couldn't possibly fit anyone whose shoulders are any closer to the ground than mine are, without the dang thing dragging on the ground.

Personally, I am as pleased as punch - a cute, trendy look that I can actually carry off! However, I'm sure it's a look that will fade fast, since the other 99% of women are going to pick the dress up (if they can actually REACH the high-up rack these dresses have to hang from), hold it up to them, and realize a foot of fabric is lying on the ground. A non starter - that dress will never even make it into the dressing room!

ANYWAY, I intend to rock this style for as long as it's still cool - it's a nice way to look glamorous but still be comfy - the dress I got is a knit jersey fabric... nice!

Apologies to the other 99% of women out there... if you have a sewing machine, perhaps you can hem a maxi dress to your liking???

Thankful

At this time of the school year, I am incredibly thankful that I did not receive a pink slip on the 15th. Dozens and dozens and dozens of school employees received them, but I did not receive one. True, most of these people will have these pink slips rescinded prior to the first of the fiscal year (July 1), but they have to wait and worry until then, and my heart goes out to them. I attended a union meeting today, where we discussed possible concessions that we as a unit could offer up to the school board, so as to preserve as many jobs as possible, and I am hopeful that negotiations will go well.

It was hard to sit at this meeting and look around at all of the anxious faces - one woman noted to our table that her husband had just been laid off, and that she also just received a pink slip. What an absolute nightmare!

I worry that things will get worse before they get better, but I am incredibly grateful that I am most likely safe for one more year.

Tossing Some Crochet Into The Mix!

Although I am a knitting fiend, I do also know how to crochet. I've been rather successful in my efforts to bring little to no new yarn into my home, and have been 'shopping the stash' any time I want to start a new project. This past weekend, I didn't really feel like picking up any of my current WIPS, so I impulsively dragged out a BIG bag of acrylic yarn that I bought some time in 2008 (an impulse purchase at the time; no idea why I had planned to make a crochet afghan). What better way to blast through a BIG bunch of stash yarn?

Of course, it is an ill timed project... who wants to keep a big, warm, cozy afghan on their lap while they are working away on it? However, after only a couple of afternoons of work, it's already 16 inches long... at that rate, it will be just over 5 feet long in 8 full evenings... not sure whether those 8 evenings will all be soon or later, but they will happen eventually, I suppose! Irritatingly, I think I will have to buy more yarn to finish the blankie, but if I buy it on sale, it won't be too expensive to complete.

The colors are quite pretty, and it's decent acrylic - check it out so far:



I feel like the colors are a bit richer and prettier in real life. Interestingly, a lot of the colors match the stripey chair I have in my living room... I'm not sure if I'll keep the blankie or give it away... but considering the matchy aspect, maybe I'll keep it!