There will be more info forthcoming, when I back into the swing of things. I don’t have much to share now, but I’m sure I’ll think of something.

More later!

In other news, I have had tons of altibajos in the last two weeks (love that word… Spanish for “ups and downs”) and there’s probably plenty I could have talked about, but for some reason, whining is less appealing when it’s on the world wide web. There will be continued posting, but the posts will continue to be few and far between as final creep ever-closer. Gross.

Also: HAPPY 50th POST EVERYBODY! I know that’s absurd… but I don’t know of it’s absurd because the number is too high or too low… Whatever. Happy 50th to all of you! And thanks to everyone who’s left a note to tell me what you think! Special gold medal to Mirie, for being the bestest blog-reading friend in the history of bestest friends.

Snowman art follows quickly– we’ve got some creative kids, but none quite as good as the iconic Calvin.

If only we got a little more snow...

Heh. Yeah, I said that too, Bambi. Just you wait…

I don’t want to turn into one of those chicks that only ever talks about the cute boy. I think it’s stupid, because there’s more to life than that. And if that chick ever gets the guy, he’s still all she talks about, and she stops hanging out with her friends and only ever hangs out with him… and then they break up and her whole world shatters. Thanks but no thanks. I’ll wait for the next train.

But seriously… I think I’m at least slightly messed up in that regard. I think about CFB a lot. When I see him, I get butterflies. I know that I talk about him at least once at every meal, and when he talks to me I think about it all day, analyzing it. Mostly trying to make sure that I let him know I like him without flinging myself at him like the girlies in his harem.

WARNING: If you do not want to read what is basically a twelve-year-old’s diary entry, stop here and have a nice day. You do NOT HAVE to read what is below. Not even you, Miriam. I’m only putting this down for my own mental health, in the hopes that I get it out of my head. Feel free to consider this the end of the entry.

But today I can’t stop thinking about him at all. Today in class he complimented my hat (not important, except that I was wearing one and don’t usually) and made me kind of giddy, but then class proceeded as usual from there. We always talk in class, but it’s usually about silly stuff. He mentioned it was his roommate’s birthday and I told him to pass along birthday wishes from me. I complimented his No-Shave-November scruff, and he said he was getting a haircut. Blah blah blah… then later he flirted with me a tiny bit, but that wasn’t unusual. It was after class that I got my surprise.

On a typical day we’ll either leave the classroom together, and then walk to lunch, or one of us will end up leaving first and we don’t walk together. If I leave first, and he’s right behind me, I’ll slow up a little and wait under the pretense of asking about his plans for that night. Obviously that’s a delicate thing, because I don’t want to be sketchy. But today he left first, so I figured that was the last I’d see of him.

When I got to the stairs, I was a few people behind him. I saw him look back up the stairs, looking for something/someone. To be honest, I told myself it was for another girl in class who is a part of the flock of groupies. I did consider that it was for me, but I’m trying to be pragmatic. To my utter and total shock, I got outside and he was standing there, waiting. When I walked over, he fell right in step and asked about my weekend plans. He walked with me to lunch.

I’m so surprised. I did not expect him to do that. He never has before. I always thought he was kind of a passive friend– he let me initiate because I usually did. But we’ve gone to lunch separately a lot recently because I’ve been hesitant… I didn’t want to fling myself at him. But then today he initiated. Which has pretty much boggled my mind. I’ve never seen him seek out one of his harem-girls… this is good news. Very good news.

So that’s my story for today. Also– the eye infection is totally gone, but I have a tiny scar on my cornea. But I can wear contacts again! CELEBRATE!

I love college, mostly because it makes me laugh. I came back from my class and, having skipped breakfast, searched for some form of reasonable sustenance. I found Cheerios! And milk that’s not expired! YAY! Too bad that I had nothing to eat it out of… nor anything to eat with. Dishes are such a hassle. I DID LAUNDRY LAST NIGHT, GOD! WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!? IS IT TOOK MUCH TO ASK TO FIND A CLEAN SPOON IN THE DRAWER?!? I ONLY HAVE ONE!! But no. I ate my cereal with a measuring spoon. The one-tablespoon spoon. Ad before you ask- yes, it was the one from the coffee creamer. And yes, it still had coffee and creamer in it. Yum.

Today is my one-week checkup with the eye doctor. I get to go in and see if I’m allowed to wear my contacts again, which I *should* be able to do, because the white spot is gone. WHICH IS AMAZINGLY GOOD NEWS. I can’t wait to look human again. I hate my glasses. Plus they’ve been giving me headaches for the last week. 

I got a Ravelry account… it’s supposed to help you keep organized So far it’s just adding knitting projects to my list and not helping me finish them…   Oy vey. But the other good news is that I’m making progress on the socks!

Picnik + Time I should be studying = This.

I also did a test run for potential hairdos for the Fall Party. Because my friend Cat agreed to do my hair, we had to figure out what we were going to do and if it would work/stay put. It’s staying! We put my short hair up into little baby curls and I pinned it back on the sides. Kinda cute, if I do say so. I’m getting really excited for this dinner… aaahhh!!

Oh, and I don’t know if I managed to mention this, but I thought it should be pointed out– the boy I was dating at my summer job broke up with me just before school started. I think I told Miriam, but I didn’t put it here. So on the off chance that someone has actually been reading this whole time (and keeping track), no I did notmeet CFB until I was once again single. Nor was I rebounding, because I was totally, one-hundred-percent okay with the breakup. Plus, he’s so cute. Not that that has anything to do with it except as motivation to keep after him.

Ahywho, I’m on a high from caffiene, a 1960′s romantic comedy, and lethal amounts of hairspray, so I’m not going to continue blathering. It might be dangerous.

Everyone go watch V for Vendetta, and celebrate Guy Fawkes Day responsibly! (AKA with FIREWORKS!!! What? No fireworks on GF Day in America?!? WHAT IS THIS WORLD COMING TO!?!?!?)

It’s so strange to me– only a month and a week until this semester is over. How did that happen? After that, my high sch college career is 3/8 over… and yes, I really did accidentally type that. Freudian slip, anyone? Ha ha… still. It’s freaking me out. I think my mind is still in high school, and the rest of me is in college. There’s some cognitive dissonance going on here– majorly.

Good news- I finished the scarf. And the project in accounting class that will hopefully help save my grade, but that’s not as important as the scarf!!!

I love it so much I should just marry it. Forget stupid boys.

I also finished up the earwarmer, but E has already claimed it so I will have to wait and creepily Kinnear her while she’s wearing it… mwahahaha. The Skinny Scarf has been frogged– five times. I can’t seem to figure out the right yarn/needles/patience combo. The set I showed you last time was all too small– the scarf was going to end up three feet long and an inch-and-a-half wide. Bad life choice. Then I started over with bigger needles– the yarn was too lightweight. New yarn: wrong color choice. Third yarn: zero patience left for casting on 400 stitches. So I have scrapped that for now in favor of a new pair of socks… yes, SOCKS! HOORAY! I have only knit one pair of socks, because I usually wait until I’m in the mood to knit mindlessly for several days with only minor instant gratification in order to avoid Single Sock Syndrome. I have to cast on the second sock before the first one has been properly celebrated.

That’s not the whole toe of the sock– that won’t happen until I join in the round later today. But it’s already pudging out like it’s supposed to, so you get the idea. I’m really excited for these socks. I can’t decide if I’m going to do them all in stockinette (for speed) or something more complicated (to keep me engaged). Decisions, decisions… and speaking of which, here’s the HIGHLIGHT OF MY DAY: Someone wrote “VOTE DR. HORRIBLE ’08″ in sidewalk chalk on the steps in front of HAL (the building where all my classes are). Someone else wrote just below that, on the ground in front of the steps, “CHUCK NORRIS ’08″. Luckily, we’ve managed to retain a sense of humor about the whole thing.

I love knitting. I just want to reiterate that. I guess a lot of people find it a strange hobby for a college kid, and even more so when people meet me and then find out that I knit– it tends to throw them for a loop. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that someone “wouldn’t have pegged you for the knitting type.” What, suddenly there’s a type? Regardless, it’s something I’ve grown to absolutely adore over the last year, and it keeps me sane. Repetitive actions like a stockinette hat are great therapy, and the challenge of a new pattern is exciting. There’s something for everyone, and every mood. It’s great stuff.

So I’ve decided to do a Works-in-Progress, Knits-in-Progress, Unfinished Objects post, to let y’all see what I’m up to when I’m not blogging, writing, doing homework, or goofing off with people here. (Forgive the crappy pics– my camera batteries died and I had to take these with my cell.)

Here’s the earwarmer/headband that I was prototyping in the last post. Note that the pop-tops were replaced by paperclips this time… E is really excited for her (belated) birthday present, since I let her pick the colors for the actual gift. I’m pretty excited, because this is turning out really well– it’s soft and warm and looks to be the right size– quite unlike the prototype…

The grey-variegated scarf I’ve been working on for myself for a couple of weeks now. I really love this yarn– it’s soft and fuzzy but very warm, and also pretty darn cheap! I forget what it’s called, but I’ll look it up if anyone wants to know. This is a plain old 2×2 rib, perfect for mindless knitting when I need a study break.

And this crazy pile of yarn is going to be the Skinny Scarf– I just cast on for it last night, and I can’t wait to work on it for real! The combo of linen stitch and working it lengthwise is going to be gorgeous… plus I love these colors. Microspun is such beautiful yarn, even if it does tend to split.

Well that’s what I’ve been up to for the last few days. Sounds like fun, no? And Miriam, I know I promised you that birthday present earlier this year, but it’s most likely going to be in an entirely different form, and arrive disguised as a Hanukkah present… we’ll talk.

Soon I’ll be getting started on my holiday knitting, and then I’ll have KIPs and FOs like crazy to show off to you!! I’m excited! If anyone has any suggestions for what to knit for two pre- and teenaged boys, and a teenaged girl, please let me know! I have more siblings than projects in mind!

I know I mentioned a few days ago that I had iritis. Essentially my right eye was red, teary, and really painful. No contact lenses allowed– that made it worse. I finally went to the doctor on Monday when on Sunday night my eye burned and teared and turned blood red. It looked like I was half-possessed.

The doctor poked my face and burned my retina with his little flashlight thing. Then he asked if it was pinkeye. I kind of just looked at him. Then I said, “I don’t think so… I was hoping you would know.” He ignored me and asked a few more questions and eventually ruled out pinkeye. Then he declared it iritis, and the epic journey to RiteAid for the eyedrops-that-cost-more-than-a-novel-at-Borders (take a wild guess where I would rather have spent that Andrew Jackson) and by Tuesday night I was pretty well convinced I was on the road to recovery.

Then yesterday I had a checkup appointment with the health center. Just wondering– is it only me that sees a flaw in the logic of having a different doctor examine the improvement in a condition than the doctor who orginally diagnosed it? Just my theory. Anyway, I pointed out to this doctor that, while the pain and redness had gone away, the white spot that had appeared on my cornea on  Monday was still there.

He dropped his flashlight/torture device and looked at me funny. “What white spot?”

Oh shit.

“Um, the one on my cornea. At the top edge of my iris.” He brought the flashlight/bane of my existence back up, and did that stereotypical doctor “Hmmmm…” which made me quite nervous. Then he pronouced that that spot should not be there, and was a bad thing.

Thank you Dr. Obvious.

Then he sent me to the eye clinic in town so that they could look at it more closely with their opthalmology tools/instruments of Satan. (Are you getting the gist that I hate having my eyes checked?)

Today was my appointment down in town and the first thing they did was spare me the heinous amounts of paperwork generally required when one switches opthalmologists. I think they have a special policy for dealing with kids from the college. Then they let me sit in the waiting room for like half an hour. Which I spent knitting, but more on that later.

Then I was taken to my exam room, and the tech asked me to tell her about my eye in great detail and several times over. She shined a light in my eye for about ten minutes straight. It hurt. I cried. Not happy. She announced that she saw no spot. Then she left me alone in the room for another half an hour. I knitted some more. Then the doctor came in, asked me to tell the whole freaking story once more, because he couldn’t interpret the nurses notes, which should have been court-stenographer-quality considering how many times I told her. He again shone the light in my eyes (I was seeing those rainbow spots everywhere at this point…) and saw the spot.

Turns out it was a infiltration– most likely the site where the cornea was breached and the infection in my iris came from there. It’ll take a little longer to heal than everything else, and I can’t wear contacts for another week, but it’ll heal. And the really nice chicky working the eyeglasses counter took one look at me and said “Oooh… you’re looking a little crooked…” referring to my glasses, which are old and have been stepped on/eaten by various human/nonhuman members of my family. Then she took them and fixed them, so now they sit straight on my face and no one will point out to me that my face is crooked. Yay!

KNITTING: I mentioned that I knitted at various points during the excursion. I’m working on a last-possible-second birthday present for my friend, and I took it with me to work on. I wanted to show you the level of improvisation that was required by my procrastination.

Yes that is a soda can pop-top I'm using as a stitch marker. Cause I'm sweet like that.

So this is a tiring prospect, and having such a low grade in that class means I have to pull up the other grades also to compensate for what at the most will only be a C. Upsetting. No time for NaNoWriMo, and most likely a long stretch of tired, grumpy blogging. I apologize in advance.

Also– it snowed today! And it’s snowing right now, even though there’s none left on the ground from this morning. It’s technically too warm for snow, and it’s not going to be here long. But it’s pretty!