nipperknits

Kitty Junkie

I have created a monster. Doesn't she look frightening!?! My neighbor's kitty likes to think that since we live in a duplex that this entire building is her home. So, she hangs out in my house quite often, because there are no other kitties here to take away from her valuable petting time. I decided I would make a cat nip mousie like Wendy did for her Mouse-Along. The pattern is here. I probably should have taken a picture of the mousie before the kitty got ahold of it, but obviously the cat nip was affecting me as well. ;) If you want to see the (slightly disgusting) mousie, here it is.

I haven't been knitting much lately because my wrists and my Mount of Venus (the fleshy bit at the base of your thumb) are hurting. The combination of school and knitting are wreaking havoc on my hands. The fam has a history of arthritis, so I need to be careful. I made the mousie on Sunday and haven't knitted anything since. I need to finish my Cardi Raye, but as I haven't yet received the Rogue-ing yarn I'm not in any hurry. I do hope the yarn hurries up and gets here. I want to get started on them. Although, I'm not quite sure why I'm so impatient to start. I live in Florida. By the time I finish the first one it will way to warm to wear it and by the time second is done, it will be well into the hottest part of the year. God Forbid I would be knitting a heavy woolen sweater in a hot Florida June. Scary just thinking about it.

Very Sad.

I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to be maudlin today. If you are having a bad day as well, or just don't need to hear about other people's issues, then I won't be upset if you don't read this.

Last year, I applied for a job teaching English in Japan. I was beginning to get weirded out by the amount of time it was taking to find out about the job. Imagine, if you will, this time frame....

1.) Apply in November because the applications are due at the very first part of December.
2.) You will find out at the end of January/ beginning of February whether you get an interview or not.
3.) Interview at the end of February/ beginning of March.
4.) Find out whether you get the job or not in April. (I graduate in April.)
5.) Leave the country in July and once in Tokyo find out what city you are going to be living in.

Now, I hope this kind of up-in-the-air, keep-you-on-pins-and-needles-until-you-leave, give-you-3-months-to-get-your-life-in-order-before-you-leave-everything-you-know schedule would drive anyone insane, because it certainly was me. After waiting at the mailbox for the mailman every day for the past month, I got my letter yesterday. It was a small envelope. Anyone who has applied for university knows that the small envelope is never a good thing. I wasn't even offered an interview. :(

For the past 2 years, I have been telling everyone I know that I am going to Japan after graduation. I have, basically, based my entire life around getting this job. Now, luckily, in the past month or two I decided that it would be a good idea to have a "Plan B" just in case "Plan A" didn't work out. I started thinking about what I would like to study if I were to go on to Graduate School (Asian Art History/ Asian Studies) and looking into schools that offered those programs. So, instead of getting this news and freaking out because I have no idea what the hell I'm going to do now.... I have options. That doesn't mean that I didn't throw myself on my bed in an "I'm a 14 year old girl," screaming, crying, cathartic fit, but it means that when I was done with said fit, I got to work trying to figure out what to do now.

I called my friend Amy and I am now planning to go hang out in New York with her while I take the GRE and apply for Graduate Programs. I'll find a job in a gallery or teaching or something. If I find a really good job that I enjoy, I'll move there permanently and do Grad School later. Or if I can't find a good job, I'll go to school. Somewhere.

I'm glad I found out about this now, as opposed to in April after having flown to Atlanta to interview and waited another 2.5 months only to find out the month that I graduate. I would have really freaked out then. At least this way, I can put it behind me and not worry about it anymore. And figure out where I'm going from here.

Wow. This felt almost as good as my "I'm a 14 year old girl," screaming, crying, cathartic fit. Blogging rocks. ;)