Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Mojo and Motivation

Last week I blamed the time change for my steady exhaustion.  I could not get enough sleep no matter what I did - Getting out of bed is a pain.

I should have been able to catch up this weekend.  It was just me and the plants at my place, so I had no one's schedule to worry about.  Just me and my sleep pattern - yet when Monday rolled around I still had to pry myself out of  bed.  So what gives?

It may have something to do with my lack of movement.  I work a desk job, not a whole lot of calories burned there.  Ya, I'm a fidgeter, but not so much as to get my heart-rate up.   I need to find some motivation to go running (which I hate), join the gym, or plow down one of Monroe's bike trails.

Plus, working out is fun.  Once I do it life seems pretty darn good; I've accomplished something.

On a completely different note - I am a Gardener!  I have no green thumb skills, but so far my tomatoes and strawberries are doing awesome.  I declare that I now have good Mojo with plants.  Hopefully this will last long enough for me to actually harvest those tomatoes and strawberries.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

These are the Days of Our Lives...

Today has been one of those days...the type of days that make me wonder what I have accomplished in my life, and think not much actually.

This year I turn 28 years old. Fortunately, there is nothing overly significant about turning 28. I can already vote and drink; I've made it past the quarter century mark (25 was a surprisingly rough birthday for me); I'm not quite to the next decade; and being 40 is still a bit in the distance.

It's hard for me come to terms with the fact that I'm not 21 any more. I know I'm getting older, but I don't feel like any more of an adult that I did in my teens. I live alone, no pets that I can even call my own. I own a mini-futon, not even a real couch. My bed consists of a mattress and box-spring on the floor. My kitchen table is a folding card table, generally covered in paperwork, bits of mail, and a pop can or two. I still have clothes on my bedroom floor waiting to find their new home, folded laundry on my living room floor, waiting to be put away, next to my home phone and cable. I do own a TV but my "TV Stand" is decidedly college dorm. (The last was the observations of M last weekend as we cuddled up before falling asleep, an honest time for anyone.)

Wow, I sound like I need stuff to make me feel like an adult - hm, this may be the case. It's stuff that make a place feel like home. Pictures hanging on the wall, a couch with a blanket draped over the arm, pots and pans in cupboards (or wherever pots and pans should go), a pantry. Which just brought the realization: I want a home. I want to come home to something more than a Netflix movie and my laptop.

I want feel like a real adult, not someone floating through life. Somehow I always pictured myself having it all figured out by this point - or at least be on some sort of path.

Growing up is the pits.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

We aren't Friends

Today should have been a wonderful day. To start it's Saturday - the only thing better is 6pm on a Friday evening. To put some icing on this particular Saturday I had plans to hit up some local yarn shops. Yet, for some reason, I was racking my brain Friday night on how I could get out of going. Me, trying to avoid yarn shops. Ridiculous you may say, but it all comes down to the company.

I'm new in town and attempting to meet people, and knitting a fellow knitter is especially exciting. So when a woman I had just meet asked if I'd like to go check out the Cat and Crow, which opened a few months ago, I jumped at the chance.

She picked me up (I was pretty sure she wasn't an axe-murderer, so I didn't feel freaked to get into a stranger's car) and the interior of the car was pretty clean. I'm always appreciative of a car that doesn't have fast food wrappers, pop cans, or the like skewed about. It wasn't until we'd traveled a few miles down the road that I notice the smell - a weird musty, barn like smell. I ignored it, because really what do you say?

So we continued down the road. I asked her how long she'd been teaching - and this lead to a long rambling story. She started teaching to pay her way through grad school, and it was all down hill from there. Grad school was great, but the actual job after the fact was not what she wanted it to be - at least I think that's what she was getting at. Thank goodness the Argyle Fiber Mill was close by, allowing for a pit stop and gap in her life history.

Life had not gone as she planned - it was one disappointing position after another. Also, she knows my boss and man was she surprised that I am actually enjoying it there. Not even the Cat and Crow or the Sow's Ear could uplift the downer. To her credit she was very nice, when we discussed knitting it was a really good conversation - but it always came back around to her career and how life gave her a raw deal.

When I arrived back home all I could think was: 1) I spent too much money in those lovely shops and 2) what the heck was the smell in her car?

She's a nice woman, we have the same hobbies, similar other interests (attempts at gardening, kitchens, local culture) and I really have no interest in becoming better acquainted. It's weird to me - but I might even avoid knitting groups that she is a part of...tragic.

Yarn Shop Reviews

Cat and Crow - The women are exceptionally nice. They carry local spun yarn, and even some yarns sheared from local sheep and alpaca. The big down fall - you won't find any of the less expensive yarns - which was annoying. I could understand if the shop intended to only carry local, or even American, yarns but there was plenty of mini mochi from Crystal Palace which is spun in Asia. So obviously the goal isn't to promote Local only. The book selection leaved something to be desire as well. It's a new shop, and I understand them not wanting to put a lot of capital into the store, but I'll check back in a few months and make up my mind then. I did find a book to add to my collection, The Opinionated Knitter. Nice find I felt.

Sow's Ear - A very nice shop. Coffee in the front, with plenty of tables to sit, enjoy a cuppa, and work on a project. All around is yarn, samples of completed projects, and accessories. (I finally found soles for my cable slippers.) They didn't have as many local yarns, but did have a lot of American yarns. And my favorite yarn brand, Cascade! I know it's not the fanciest, but its good quality and knits up wonderfully. Anyway they also have a great selection of patterns - I purchased the Swirl Shawl pattern. Unfortunately they didn't have any more of the yarn in the color I wanted. I guess I'll just have to go back and check again.