Bit of Ivory

I’ve been meaning to write a good LJ post for ages now, but I’m so out of the habit it just keeps not getting done. But dude, I’m going to do it. So. Here is an update on my life, broken up into easy-to-read sections. If you’re not interested in certain things, feel free to skip. For that matter, feel free to skip the whole dang thing, ’cause I’ve been gone so long I doubt any of you care any more any way.

Work

Still unemployed. I’ve been applying for the minimum required jobs to collect unemployment benefits (2 per week), but to tell the truth, it’s hard finding even that many jobs to apply for. And since there’s a glut on the market of experienced admin-type people, they’re all asking for oodles more experience than I have, and can choose to be incredibly picky. I’ve only had one legitimate interview request so far (the rest have been for scams and/or telemarketing companies), and while the interview went well, I wasn’t among their top candidates brought in for another interview. It’s okay right now that I’m not having any luck finding work, but it does have me worried that when I do get seriously serious about looking for a job (i.e., when I finish my thesis and/or my unemployment runs out, whichever comes first), there still won’t be anything out there. Most of the previously good sources of jobs are on hiring freezes right now, and who knows how long those will last. Ah, well. C’est la vie.

School

So since I’ve got all this free time on my hands and the absolute drop-dead deadline for my thesis fast approaching, I’ve been concentrating on getting that done. I’ve actually made a bit of progress– still no official first draft yet, but I’m hoping to get it done by the end of the week. I have until Oct. 30 to schedule my defense, and Nov. 13 to actually defend, in order to graduate in December. As an accomplished procrastinator, having an actual deadline is great motivation. I’m also in a much better frame of mind still, and have been able to get work done. Not as much as I would like, and I still am having trouble getting motivated to just sit down and do it, but still. Some progress is better than no progress at all.

Books

When I’m not working on my thesis, I’ve been mostly re-reading old stuff: Georgette Heyer galore, Shannon Hale, Jane Austen, L.M. Montgomery, Robin McKinley, etc. Oh, and re-reading Harry Potter. Did you know that those books are delightful? And J.K. Rowling is a genius? Yeah, I’d almost forgotten just how wonderful they are. Not quite, but it’s always nice to be reminded. I’ve also read some new stuff, though, especially The Hunger Games and Catching Fire (Suzanne Collins is EVIL. EVIL, I TELL YOU). Thanks, Pam, for giving me a new literary obsession. I’ve also been trying to *beep* rj_anderson‘s Spell Hunter wherever I can. I actually found it on the shelf at the BYU Bookstore the other day, so I was finally able to fulfill my dream of taking it off the shelf, walking to a cashier, and proudly telling them “my friend wrote this!” as I purchased it. Now I have a hardcover that isn’t signed, so I can trash it with multiple rereadings and/or lend it out without worrying too much about it not coming back.

TV

I do manage to watch some TV as well. Right now I’m loving Leverage on TNT (we started watching it because of Timothy Hutton, who we all fell in love with after seeing him as Archie Goodwin in the sadly short-lived A&E Nero Wolfe Mysteries series), which has some wonderfully geek-tastic references in it some times (like when Nate’s stash of fake IDs were all names of actors who had played the Doctor :P), recently guest-starred Wil Wheaton (who they referred to as the Kobyashi Maru!) and is just plain fun. We also discovered Lark Rise to Candleford on our local PBS station, which sadly has only aired the first season so far, and shows no signs of airing the second yet. But who wouldn’t love a BBC costume-drama series? Loving the final season of Monk (He’d better solve Trudy’s murder before the end, goshdarnit!) and excited to get Numb3rs back in the fall. Have also newly discovered NCIS in reruns. Gibbs is the bomb-diggety.

Knitting

Because I am nearly constitutionally incapable of sitting in front of the TV without doing something else at the same time (which is why my laptop gets so much use :P), I’ve also been getting some knitting done, finally. Unfortunately I’ve been a lazy bum when it comes to taking pics, so I can’t show stuff off at the moment, but I’ve recently finished a Dalek for R.J. Anderson, a beautiful lace scarf an equally-beautiful lace beret, a baby blanket for my 9-month-old niece, a baby hat for Jen’s darling girl, and several dishcloths. My queue of projects I want to do is still incredibly long, I have at least 3 started-but-not-completed projects on the needles at this moment, and my yarn stash is starting to get out of hand (as in, I need to think of another storage solution for fitting it AND all my books in my bedroom. It’s not going well). Oh, and did I mention that I’m trying to get a Jane Austen/Regency gown sewn in time for an early-October Disneyland trip? When my queue will shrink I have no idea.

Miscellaneous

In the meantime, my sister decided to go back to school after being let go by my former employer (it’s a long complicated story, but suffice it to say she got the shaft and was treated absolutely terribly by a company she’d given 3 years of loyal service to) and has moved in with her twin in Provo to cut down on commute time, leaving me home alone with the parents. It’s taken a bit of adjustment. My nieces and nephews continue to be the brightest spot in my life– they are all just adorable in their own ways. Anna is 3 now, and is extremely verbal and smart. At the moment she is obsessed with various Disney movies (although Beauty and the Beast is , I think, her favorite, she also loves The Little Mermaid and Pinocchio right now) and can sing a lot of the songs all by herself. Her little sister Molly is 18 months, and is our only brown-eyed grandchild so far. She’s just starting to string more than two words together, loves crocheted/knitted blankets, and has a decided sweet tooth. My nephew Thomas will be 3 in November and is the most adorable little boy EVER. He isn’t as verbal as Anna, speaking mostly in one-word phrases (“juice!” “car!” “broken?”), but he’s a smart little cookie as well. He loves cars and Curious George and Thomas the Tank Engine. He’s got the biggest blue eyes and his eyelashes absolutely SLAY me. Abigail is 9 months, and is an absolute cabbage patch doll. She’s chunky and cuddly and kissable and is generally a very happy baby, except when she’s not. She’s crawling and pulling herself up and is loving eating solid food, and does this adorable thing where she scrunches up her face and breathes through her nose at you.

My mom’s going to go back east (Illinois and Wisconsin, mostly) with her parents and sisters this week, so I’ve been helping her can the harvest from our garden and the various other things we do each fall. So far we’ve got frozen corn, canned beans, tomatoes, V8 juice, beets, pears, and peaches. When she gets home we’ve got more peaches, beans, apples, taco sauce, chile sauce, and who knows what else. I love having fresh produce from our garden. While mom’s gone I’ll be chief cook. The menu is spaghetti, fajitas, chicken pot pies, Chicken Azkaban, and probably take-out. One of the days she’s gone will be a football game, and I’m not sure if I’ll pack some sandwiches or if we’ll just buy something there. Gotta consult my dad on that one.

Speaking of football– home opener for BYU is this week. We’re taking on Florida State, who we should be able to beat judging by their last two weeks. I love home football games. Nothing’s quite like sitting in the stadium with 64,000 other insane BYU football fans. *sigh* I love fall.

Still sleeping terribly..

So, that’s my life in a nutshell. I’m really, really going to try to update at least once a week from here on out.

Really.