A year and a week ago, part 1

A year and a week ago, Jared and I got married. It was an amazing experience, and while the getting there might have had a few rough spots, the actual day was one of the more awesome days of my life. I promised some people that I’d post about it, and I’m finally getting around to it. Bear with me, cos this might be more than one post long.

Pretty early on in the planning, Jared and I decided to have the wedding at my Mom’s house just outside Oxford, Mississippi. The house had actually been built in the early 1930′s by my great-grandparents, and Mom was in the process of building an addition on to it to expand the living space. She’s ended up being the holder of a lot of the family’s heirlooms, like the dining room set made by a different set of great-grandparents, multiple sets of china, crystal, books, artwork, etc., so more room was good and highly needed. The house sits on 40+ acres that still belongs to the family. From a very young age, I remember this house as being one of the two places that family would gather for special events (mainly holidays), and everyone would be laughing and having a good time, while my great-grandmother would work her magic in the kitchen. Out front, there were hydrangea bushes that would be covered with huge blue and occasionally pink blooms. It’s also where Jared first met my Mom, and he’s felt comfortable there. Actually, everyone that’s ever been to the house has felt comfortable there. It’s just got that “vibe” when you get to it that just makes you relax.

So when planning the wedding “theme”, I ended up picking blue for me, grey for Jared, and hydrangeas over everything. We both like older films and he loves the Rat Pack, so we pulled a bit from the past with music choices and my dress. I’m a plus-size bride, but with “substantial assets” up top, and rather than deal with someone deconstructing a traditional wedding dress to deal with said assets, I chose to have a seamstress use a vintage Vogue pattern (V2903) to make something more appropriate for a low-key-ish wedding. I didn’t want white, so we went with a pale silver-grey with accents of blue. Jared didn’t want to sweat to death in what was going to be an outside wedding, so the guys went with suit pants, vests, and long sleeved shirts.

The Matron of Honor, Karen, got renamed “Best Chick”, because while she’s married, she’s not “matronly” and is a whole lot of sassy, which Best Chick fits a lot better. She was told to pick out a dress she looked awesome in. The Best Man, Robin, is Karen’s husband, which was even more fitting in my head, since they have a marriage I love, and I hope ours is just as good as theirs is. The kicker to this is back when I met Jared online with gaming, I’d sucked Karen and Robin into the same game as well. So they’ve known him as long as I have. There were a few phone calls back in the day consisting of me moaning that their plotting to get Jared and I to be more than friends was in retaliation for all the grief that me and some of our other friends had given them, back when they were doing the same dance Jared and I were doing, and Karen and Robin’s response of evil cackling. Well, more of Karen’s hysterical evil cackling and Robin’s attempts at “Who, us?!” innocence before he dissolved into giggles. Yep, there’s a reason we’re still friends. (Evil twerps.) (Love you.)

Invitations went out, RSVP cards came back, planning was handled and before I knew it, it was time to head to Oxford for the wedding. Jared and I went up early on Wednesday before the wedding, since I wanted us to have some time to relax and not be insanely rushed before the wedding. Mom showed off the freshly completed house addition and we started setting up various things that still needed to be done for the wedding. Karen and Robin arrived Wednesday night and promptly fell over at the hotel.

Thursday, I grabbed Karen and left Jared in her place for Robin and him to have a chance to talk and wander around town getting lost. I’d managed to get Karen in at the local hair salon that I’ve gone to for years in Oxford. Nice thing about small towns in the South, you can call up your regular hair stylist a week before your wedding and say “My Best Chick has a hair emergency. Help!” and they will squeeze you in, giggling the whole time. With Karen’s hair freshly done, we met up with Jared and Robin and took them to lunch at a local Japanese steakhouse. The food was excellent, the chef was a blast, and they got showered with gifts, thanking them for being kind enough to come stand with us. After lunch, we eventually ended up back at Mom’s, and by then my Dad and stepmother, Sue, had shown up. We all chatted for a bit, then Dad and Sue headed for the hotel to check in, while Mom finished fixing supper for Jared, Karen, Robin and I. Bags of birdseed were put together somewhere along the way, and schedules were confirmed for the next couple of days.

Hoo boy

Yesterday, I essentially finished the computer training they had for me. I say “essentially”, because I’m sure there’s some lurking around somewhere for me later, as well as the one file that’s still busted and another that came up as a broken link. The busted file, they’ve said that if it’s still not working by Thursday, they’ll have me try it in the store manager’s office, cos for some reason it seems to have a better chance of working in her office than at any of the other computers. The broken one was a “/shrug Not that important, so don’t worry about it.” Okay! No prob!

All in all, that was “18 hours” of training I finished yesterday. Well, the computer said it was 18 hours of training. I think it was closer to actually 15, but it has it’s cute little estimated times, so that’s what it goes by. I have to say, by the end of the training, my brain was fried. I’d been looking over PDFs that explain how each department in the store is supposed to be set up. Let’s just say they were highly detailed, which is good. However, I have no idea what part of all those directions is supposed to be on me, and which are supposed to be on the sales associates. And at the end of the day, if anyone had asked me how to set up any department, even the last one I’d just read over, I’d have just stared at them blankly. Brain fry for the win!

Today should be… hectic. There’s a guy coming in that’s fairly high on the food chain to check over the store and make sure certain things are correct. When it was announced at yesterday’s morning meeting, everyone either sighed or looked panicked. Apparently he normally comes during inventory, which is this coming Sunday, but he can’t make it this time, so he’s coming early. Cue vague panic. I spent my time at the training computer listening to everyone racing around trying to get the store ready for his visit and semi-wondering if my time would be better spent helping them. Then I remembered I know next to nothing about their real procedures just yet, so I’d only be in the way. Durp durp.

But once I finished with training, the store manager told me “Good job! And I even know what you’ll be doing tomorrow! You’ll be with me on the floor…” cue my panic “…helping with inventory prep and merchandising!” Oh, okay, panic can subside a bit then. Whew. It’s still prolly going to mean being around a Big Guy, and I’m really hoping this is more of a “Gah! Here! Help me get this set up for inventory! We do it like this /shows method” than anything resembling throwing me to the sharks. More and more, I can’t wait til I go to the other store for a few days next week to get “real” training, and thus a better idea of what the hell I’m supposed to be doing.

Oh and did I mention I still have no idea how many people are on the Visual team? There’s me, and a guy I’ve not been introduced to. The guy is apparently leaving for another job/store/relocating/something that’s not being fired. Other than us, I don’t know of anyone else, but that doesn’t mean anything. I can’t imagine doing it all by myself, but we’ll see.

First, I just have to get through today. /takes a breath, gives kitties one last headnoogie to annoy them and leaves for work

Trainin, trainin’, trainin’

Yesterday morning was a little, well, dull for my side of things. Jared did his thing with his job, while I sat in the employee break room at my new job watching training DVDs. It’s the usual training DVDs: everything is common sense as long as you’re not a psychopath. I ended up keeping myself entertained by trying to guess what year the videos were filmed in by the clothing/hair/makeup. End result? 100% success rate. HR seemed amused when I told her that, after she asked me if I’d fallen asleep yet.

I actually got an hour for lunch, much to my delight, so Mom came over from her store to get me for lunch. I got to get out of the employee break room and have a nice change of pace. Granted, I traded one store’s back room for another, but at least at Mom’s store, I can relax a bit.

After lunch, back to training I went, but this time it was on the computers in the back room. Interactive training! Yes! I can do this!

…Well I can when their connection doesn’t randomly quit or have script errors that make the training program crash. The funny part? The chapter that kept crashing? Yeah, that was the one that actually has something to do with my actual job I was hired for. /facepalm HR said it’s been like that for forever, and I’d just try it later. It randomly fixes itself. /sigh

So instead, I found myself dealing with regular store associate training, like how to use their cash registers. I’m 3/4 of the way through that training. It’s estimated to take 3.5-4 hours. Gahhhhh. And then I get to take a test on it today! Wooo!

The one thing that caught me off guard was the morning 10 minute store meeting. Everyone that’s “sales floor” comes to one of the departments after it’s been announced on the store’s PA. At the meeting, announcements are made, store goals for the day are pointed out, and apparently new visual people are introduced. I had no idea there was a store meeting since every other retail job I’ve had was in something a heck of a lot smaller than this place. I got introduced, announced that I was going to be working with the visual team, and everyone made pleased noises and clapped happily.

My response? I blinked at everyone, smiled gingerly and announced “Okay, now I’m terrified.” Thankfully, they all laughed. I was expecting everyone to either smile and nod, or just blink at me. Not “round of applause.”

So now I’m really wondering who all I’m going to be working with. I still haven’t met anyone from the visual team, although I’ve heard mutterings from various people to make it sound like there are other people than just me. Hopefully I find that out today, in between finishing cash register training and arguing with a faulty Flash script to just work already dammit!

The day did end nicely, though. I got to take Jared home after he picked me up from work, then drive out to the yarn store for Monday night knitting. It was a lovely way to end the day and just unwind. Everyone cheered my first day of being employed again and commiserated on the training videos. Everyone’s projects were admired and while the sock class chatted away, the rest of us lounged on the couch at the front of the store and happily knit. A friend of mine and Jared’s, Mike, called from the road while I was still knitting. He was completely punch-drunk from driving since the wee hours of the morning, but he was thankfully pulling over soon to get a hotel room and get some sleep. At least he’s home with Heather tomorrow and has the rest of the week off. ^^;

So here’s to today: me continuing training, Jared continuing work, Mike getting home to Heather, and the cats to wonder where the hell Jared and I are.

New day, new job(s), new kid in school?

Saturday, Jared started his new job. So far, everything seems to be going well with it. It’s not ideal, as he’ll be working 6 days a week (6 hour days), and his day off is during the week, but hey, it’s money. Money = good. ^^; The people he’s working with all seem to be decent enough and he’s not come home stressed, just sweaty. Him not being stressed = excellent.

Sunday, Jared slipped off to work and Mom and I eventually wandered into town to look for me some pants and some shoes for work. Success was had, and we stopped at the local Baskin Robbins on the way home. Once we got home and after I’d relaxed for a bit, I headed off to the kitchen to start work on Jared’s birthday dinner: lasagna. He got home and got his presents from Mom and I (a book on wolves and a mug with Darth Vader quotes on it), we sacrificed the lasagna and followed it with the Baskin Robbins ice cream cake Mom got for Jared. All in all, a decent evening.

Today, I got up at what is now the ungodly hour of 6:30 am to get ready for work. I used to get up anywhere from 5:30-6am when I lived in Atlanta. I’ve been spoiled these past few years getting up at 8am, and recently whenever in the hell I damned well felt like it. And after this week of training, I think my schedule shifts to getting up at 5am or even possibly earlier. Since we have my car and Mom’s car, and 3 people with 3 different times to get to work, this is going to get interesting real fast. There’s a couple of options open to us, and we’re going to start looking at them soon. But until then, we’ll muddle through as best as we can.

The good news to the hours for me is that even though I will most likely have to be at work anytime between 6 and 7am, I also get off earlier than 5pm. So while the morning is a return to Atlanta hours, the afternoon is not. /happy swoon My schedule is only 32-38 hours a week, and from the looks of it, I have a 30 minute lunch break.

These next couple of weeks, I’ll be finishing general training, going to another store for specialized training, figuring out what the “real” schedule is, office politics, what I’m really allowed to wear (skirts and heels do not make a comfortable “I’m working on a ladder” situation), and who all of these people are. While I was contemplating what the heck to wear tomorrow, it suddenly hit me: this doesn’t feel like “going to a new job” to me. This feels like when I would be heading off to school for the first time after summer break. I loved going to school, but I’m totally all nerves about this job, so I honestly have no idea if this is a good feeling or not. While I interviewed, I was confident about my ability to do this. But now, faced with training DVDs, I’m suddenly nervous. I mean, even in Atlanta, we never took a training course on how to not sexually harass someone (at least not that I remember). This is how “normal” companies work, and I’ve never been in this environment and I’m finding it a little unnerving. ^^;

So today, I walk out of the house, packed lunch in hand, heading off to “school” to learn how to do my job and play nice with the other kids and hope they don’t make fun of what I wear. And god help me if the principal calls me into her office with a disappointed look on her face, cos I think I might cry. ^^;

My god, it’s junior high all over again… /headdesk

Happy Birthday!

No, it’s not my birthday. Mine was in May. But today is Jared’s birthday. Sadly, he has to work today, but that just means Mom and I have more time to run around and get things ready for our tiny celebration tonight.

But here’s some cheers and confetti for Jared to see later and roll his eyes at me over. Happy birthday, sweetie! <3

July? I love you… so far.

Wednesday, Jared went off for a job interview. He came back sounding like things went well. Yesterday, I got a phone call offering me a job, one that I’d been hoping that I got. I said yes. Later yesterday afternoon, Jared got a call asking him to come in today for a second interview, this time with a different part of the company. Yey all around.

This morning, he left for his interview and I started getting ready to go into my soon-to-be-new job and sign papers. He came back, and I asked him how things went.

“Well, I start tomorrow.”

…Wait, what?

Yep, Jared got hired to do stuff like he was doing back in Meridian and then I went to go sign paperwork saying “yes I’d love to make this store look pretty and enticing to customers.”

There’s some other stuff that’s happened today, like us about to go to the movies to celebrate, my worries on what on earth I’m going to WEAR next week (trust me, it’s a valid concern), and a trip to the post office to mail of skein of yarn to a nice lady in Madison, WI, but so far, I’m cautiously optimistic that maybe, juuuuust maybe, we won’t get kicked in the teeth for a 3rd month.

(Okay, so the driver’s side window on the car randomly decided to no longer work, but at least it’s stuck UP instead of DOWN. So that’s something.)

Summer socks

The other thing that I’ve knitted recently was a pair of socks for me. Never mind that it was quickly getting hot here, but by god, I was going to knit a pair of socks that I’d adjusted to fit ME! I’d fallen in love with a skein of self-striping yarn from ONline that just seemed to be the perfect summer colors to me. Sure, it’s wool/bamboo/nylon, but dangit, it looks like summer in my head, and that’s what made them Summer Socks to me.

The fun thing about self-striping yarn is that you end up with something that looks a lot more impressive than it actually is. That and something that has a lot more visual interest that something that’s just straight knit (although there’s nothing wrong with that). But I wanted a pair of fun socks, something that could pull me out of the blahs in the middle of winter. These certainly fit the bill.

The problem that I’ve had with most sock patterns is that I have fat legs. No way around that really, other than to make adjustments. Usually that means adding a gusset to the leg somewhere or making a lot of ankle-high socks. These I wanted to actually use most if not all of the yarn. That meant mid-calf or higher, which meant I needed to add extra stitches (that gusset I mentioned) to the leg to get it around said leg without cutting off blood flow or having them fall down to the ankles. But I also like a tighter foot than “average”, so I didn’t upsize the foot, just the leg right after I’d finished the heel.

Oh, yeah, by the way, I knit these from the toe up, two at a time. Why? Cos Second Sock Syndrome hurts when it hits and by god, I wanted a pair of socks, not just one!

So I have a lovely summery-colored pair of socks that I have yet to actually wear. Why? Cos it’s too danged HOT! /sigh Hopefully Fall will get here soon and I can start wearing socks again. In the meantime, I still love these and want to knit another pair for myself again. Well, right after I finish a few other projects first. ^^;

Breaking news!

I have rejoined the ranks of the employed.

That’s right, I HAVE A JOB, BITCHES!

/cackles wildly and goes off to celebrate

Fingerless knits

Once I started wandering Ravelry’s database of patterns, I discovered fingerless mitts and quickly got addicted to them. They’re fast, quick fun knits that give almost instant gratification. I liken them to Lay’s potato chips: you can’t knit just one.

Eventually I succumbed and joined the Fingerless Glove Fanatics group on Ravelry, and joined them just in time for the “Knit 11 Pairs in 2011 Knit-a-long” fun to begin. 11 pairs would be easy. Hell, I’d just finished knitting 4 pairs for a friend (although one of them met with an accident via a customer’s small child and some scissors before they could be sent to her /sigh) in around 2 weeks. This would be cake!

Well I’m now up to pair 7. I finally finished it two days ago. I’ve already posted pairs 1-3. Here’s 4-7:

Springberry Mitts, made from Fallberry Mitts pattern, knitted on sz. 2 needles, using S.R. Kertzer Down To Earth Cotton in Fern colorway.

Manos Nalu Mitts, knitted from the Nalu Mitts pattern, with Manos Silk Blend, colorway 3302 – Deep Sea, using sz. 3 needles.

Green Budding Mitts, from the Spring Buds Fingerless Mitts pattern, knitted in Rowan Purelife Revive, colorway Grit, on size 4 needles.

And the most recent pair, Fiddle de Dee Mitts, knitted from the Emilee Dee Mitts pattern, using Louisa Harding Willow Tweed in colorway 10 on size 4 needles.

So that’s 5 more pairs to go and it’s just now July. Yep, I can do this, even with the other things I’m working on, project-wise. I feel so… productive!

Wrecked in the Sky

After I saw the Hanami pattern in Ravelry’s database and decided that one day I would make it, I stumbled across another shawl that I promptly fell in love with. It was different enough from Hanami that it would be a new challenge, something that I could learn even more techniques from. After I finished Hanami at the end of March, I knitted a few other things (I’ll post them tomorrow or later this week), but I was searching for that next Big Project, something that would take up time and make me think. I remembered that other shawl, went to the local yarn store (Knit1 Oxford, lovely place with lovely people), got yarn, came home, rummaged for beads, and started attempting cast-on methods (I’ll explain in a minute).

And now I have this to show for it. Meet my version of the Shipwreck Shawl: Wrecked in the Sky.

This was a huge project for me. What I find amazing is not only did I end up learning three new things (knitting with beads pre-strung on the yarn, the Russian Join, and starting a circular shawl from the center), but that I finished it in such a relatively short amount of time.

I mean, I started this at the end of May and finished it just a few days into July. That’s insane for me, especially when you count in the two weeks that I wasn’t really able to work on it, since I was helping with Mom’s store’s move. So it took really maybe 3 weeks? Just mind-boggling.

Oh and did I mention how soft this thing is? Cos it is. 100% alpaca lace yarn that is amazingly soft. 1130 yards of it, along with 1400-1500 clear silver-lined 8/0 beads.

So why “Wrecked in the Sky”? Well, it’s called Shipwreck Shawl, but the yarn that I was using reminded me more of a pale sky than anything to do with the ocean (unless you’re talking the foam on ocean waves). And, well, when I was knitting this, before the center got blocked, it looked like a hot mess. I couldn’t see the patterns in the center section at all, not even when I took a little part and stretched it out. So I just sighed and trusted that once I started blocking it, everything would turn out okay. And what do you know, it did.

So that’s my latest Big Project. I’ll show off the latest fingerless mitts and socks tomorrow, but for now, I’m going to go start swatching the next project I have my eyes on. Heehee!