Still have a pulse, but it's weak and needs socks...

No, really, I am still alive. I just don't look it.

Work is killing me. We are a bit understaffed, and I am pounding out a grand total of NINE SHIFTS this week. Six days, three of which are doubles (about 13-14 hours). I am going to have to start remembering that I need to eat in the middle of the day whether the restaurant thinks so or not. They put food out for us every day (we call it family meal, because everyone comes in early and sits together like a family) but yesterday, some ball was dropped and we were not fed. If I had realized this, I would have hit up the crappy fast food places all around my restaurant on my break, but I was kinda counting on the free food, so last night was awful. Low blood sugar does not help you remember to ring in someone's Caesar salads. And getting over this horrible creeping crud infesting my lungs and sinuses was not helping either. Wah.

In lighter news, I made a hat with monkeys all over it. There's a guy I work with who seemed to really enjoy the fact that I look like I am twelve years old when I am actually thirty (use your moisturizers, ladies!) and I knit. He would tease me mercilessly until I said to him, if you don't stop it, I will never knit you a hat. So now, all I ever hear is where is my hat? I want my hat! Turned the tables on that, eh? If only he would shut up...

I will post pics of the hat when it is finished and I can get him to model it. Let's just say that my Fair Isle designing is far beyond my sock designing. Oh, yeah, the sock....

I am so sad about the sock. I was really excited about the sock until the heel. I converted a textured pattern out of a Stitchionary into the round and was merrily working away on these flame red socks. I was happy. I was ignoring the fact that the variegated colors looked not as great in the purl background as they would have in stockinette. I was not paying attention to the yarn that liked to split when I worked the cross-overs in the texture pattern. I was just pleased and forgiving about the mishaps of the sock, until the heel.

I wanted less textural contrast, so I decided not to do the usual slipped stitch heel flap I know is so sturdy and durable. I decided hourglass heels would be nice and make an easy transition from the textured leg into the sole of the foot, as they look all stockinette-y (not a word) and the sole would be stockinette, with the texturing continuing on the instep. Apparently, I do not know enough about short rows to successfully pull off an hourglass heel. Let me correct myself: I winged it. I figured I know what a short row is, I know what it does for shaping, I know how to make one, let's just go, go, go! Hmmm. Apparently, one must also know how many short rows one needs and where they must go and whether one needs a plain row or two. Or fourteen. I swear, the heel looked rather, hmmm, nipular (also not a word).

I thougth I could rip back and pick up the stitches. The yarn had other plans.

So, you know how when you are in a relationship, when one thing goes wrong, all the things you have been forgiving for so long about this person come glaring out into the light? You have always said to yourself something like "You know, maybe he leaves his wet towels on the floor, but I love him anyway." And then he forgets the second anniversary of your third date and those wet towels are the most offensive thing you've ever seen? You take them personally, you just know he keeps putting those towels there to piss you off, you pick fights over the towels and then break up and realize you could never live with that guy for the rest of your life anyway?

Have I taken the metaphor too far?

All of a sudden, I hated the pattern. And I knew that with less difficult stitches to deal with, the yarn would behave more like yarn and less like Sybil. Less splitting, more color showing off. I broke up with the pattern and am trying to move on.

Jenn was nice enough to frog the poor sock on the ball winder with me.

And for anyone thinking they are clever and reading between the lines, Yoshi and I are fine, even though we are working hard schedules lately and don't see each other much. We still get to sleep next to each other every night, and that's enough for now. Especially since he always hangs up his towels (me, not so much. I leave them everywhere.).