The week flew by!

Last week I spent temping for the local newspaper's real estate publishing division doing data entry. It's actually a glorified copy n paste and confirming/deleting information from a database through searched on the internet. A bit tedious, but it's work and more importantly it brings money in! So yes, I'm happy. 

Initially my placement agent quoted the job at 1 to 3 weeks in length. The next morning, I walk in at the new placement and within a few minutes am informed that the placement will be 4 to 6 weeks... Bonus!

So on my 25 minute commute I crochet more of the Africaan flower motifs, this time to make a carpet for the bathroom floor for when we get out of the shower. I'll have to back it with a couple of those non skid mesh rectangles that are used for lining cupboards, and stopping carpets from flipping over. I love that rubberized mesh that comes in all sorts of colors and takes abuse quite well. A few weeks ago, I made a cover for the toilet in the same colors (navy blue & aqua) I'm using for the carpet. Now that the landlord has covered up the glaringly loud royal blue paint, the seat cover and carpet will look very nice. I won't be making the carpet that usually goes in front of the toilet. The bathroom is tiny and the carpet would overwhelm an already tiny space.

I'm also looking at our large footstool that Gambit has been using as a scratching post and bed ever since we got it. He's managed to destroy one side of it with claw sharpening. We tried everything, duct tape, foil paper, shooing him away, but all in vain. He will defiantly walk up to it, flop over and attack it with claws, dragging himself on the floor along the full length of the stool. He looks like a horizontal mountain climber. He'll also wait to do his nefarious deeds when we're not in the same room.

 

I'm likely going to make a cover with the same motifs but in different accent colors with a dark background. At least it will hide the damage his majesty made to the footstool. I'm not posting a photo of what it looks like now, it's embarrassing. Let's just say that in the 2 years we've owned this poof, it looks like it's gone through a rather nasty war involving sharp objects. 

For those who have not been following my blog, introducing..... the Master of all Evil Kitties, Heeeere's Gambit! Yes, yes, I know... he's so cute! but he's also soooo evil!

How time flies

Now that I have time again, I thought I'd post. So here I am, 4 months after my last post dancing about getting the job of my dreams... How time has flown.

Update on the job of my dreams... turned out it wasn't the dream job I wanted. I should have known right from day one when I found out I would be working for 2 bosses from 2 departments. It might have gone better if they had not competed for my work to the point that I felt like the baby that King Solomon threatened to cut in half.

And to add insult to injury, one of my bosses turned out to be quite abusive. Didn't matter what I did, it wasn't good enough. She yelled and cussed at me pretty well daily. I didn't dare say anything because we needed the money badly and the job came with a health plan. Whee!.. yeah..right... not worth the abuse.

Last Monday, I worked late getting a powerpoint presentation printed and bound for one boss. (the one who was never satisfied) She lets me in on a "little secret"... that the other boss has been gunning to get rid of me... ."Oh wonderful" I think to myself. I've reached a point where I'm tired, emotionally and physically of all the crap getting thrown at me, so the next morning I face the other boss and ask her why she wants to get rid of me. She gives me a blank look and asks me where the hell I got that from. So I tell her, she flies into a rage and goes into my other boss's office and all hell breaks loose. I'm asked to go in the office, the one who told me the other boss was gunning for my dismissal denies ever saying that and it just goes downhill from there. Wednesday morning, the axe fell. I was dismissed. Never got a chance to defend myself, explain, etc.. just out, immediately. Talk about a slap in the face. Like I said, should have known that nothing good would come of this, working for 2 competitive bosses. Lesson learned.

Why can't I get a break? Doesn't matter what I do, I always end up on the losing end. What's wrong with wanting a decent job with decent money so we're not struggling from pay cheque to pay cheque? Seems that I always have to give things up, as if I can't have more than one part of my life that's happy. It's always a struggle for me and I'm tired of the constant fight to even have just the basics of life. I have a wonderful loving husband who is plagued with health problems that can't be healed. I get the wonderful job that on the surface looked like this was it, but turns out to be a pile of crap on a fancy cracker. Mind you, looking for work a week before Christmas is not what I'd call optimum time but I don't have a choice. Don't want to end up on the street. Scary when you realise you have very little to go on. Merry frakking Christmas to us. :(

Hey, at least I can get caught up on the housework. The apartment looks like it should be declared a disaster area and get federal funding. The only thing that I managed to keep up with tenuously during the weekends while I was working were the dishes and the laundry. The rest kind of slipped away from me. I was too exhausted to do much of anything on the 2 days I was off. I'd get groceries when we were low, dishes and laundry, get the recycling out and that was it. Even switched to disposable paper plates to lessen the dishes that needed washing, sad huh.

Doesn't help that my neuropathy kicked into high gear, preventing me from sleeping decently which meant I'd wake up tired and have to drag my way through a hectic work day with feet and hands sending my brain phantom pain messages strong enough to make my foot or hand jerk in response. The stress I was under didn't help my diabetes either with blood glucose readings yo-yo'ing from one extreme to the other during the same day. I know, you're probably thinking now that I'm better off without this job. I agree, but we need money to survive which means I have to work.

The last couple of months were so bad, I couldn't share with my darling husband since he had his own beasties to battle. His blood pressure climbed to scary heights for no apparent reason about a month ago. He gets palpitations, racing heart beat and never seems to be warm enough. He's on blood pressure pills which were upped but that didn't seem to help in the first few weeks. He's still getting a high bp reading and we still don't know why. 153 over 96 is NOT normal! A heart rate over 100 beats/min is NOT normal! And this is while he's just sitting there, never mind what happens when he climbs a set of stairs or tries to do any kind of physical work! Add to that chronic kidney stones and now you know why I couldn't share what was going on at work with him. Last thing he needed to hear was that I was struggling trying to keep a job that wasn't working out.

In other news, I haven't stopped knitting or crocheting. With a 5 hour round trip daily commute, I knit/crochet my way through hats, scarves, wristwarmers, Halloween decorations, slippers, cowls, anything small and portable. Some I took pictures of, most I didn't and gave them away. I know, silly of me not to take at least one picture!

Currently working on presents which I intended to send to family. I'll keep making the items, but they'll have to wait until I'm working again before I can send them out. At least I don't lack for yarn thanks to my wonderful daughter and friends.

I also created a slouchy hat pattern that I like well enough to wear it myself! It's a nice big slouchy beret. I hate tight hats and since I wear my hair in a bun most days, a regular winter hat didn't fit well or was too tight.

On my needles, I have a neck warmer for my husband. I'm using Bernat's wool blends in the off white colorway. I really liked the owl hat pattern I'd used in the past and thought it would make a very nice neckwarmer.

Circular letdown

I never thought I'd see the day when I would break a circular needle, but that's exactly what I've had happen last night. I was knitting quite happily on my sister's Adamas Shawl when the left hand needle of my 10" circulars suddenly didn't feel right anymore. I look down and *gasp* I see loose stitches and no cable! Sure enough, the cable snapped off where it joins to the needle. It's the only size 10 circular needle I have and I knew before I started the shawl that it would likely be too short when I got close to the end. I just didn't realise the weight of the shawl or the sheer number of stitches on the needle would break it. Live and learn I guess. You can see in the picture the cable just sticking up and the metal part of the needle capped at both ends so I don't lose those stitches off it. I'm just happy it happened on a purl row!

I stopped by the Hart store on my way home after work tonight hoping they'd have a size 10 circular needle but no luck. To get to the other stores that may carry size 10 circulars means waiting until the weekend to go since I have to take the bus. None of them are within walking distance. The joys of not having a car.

So right now I'm working on a bunny rabbit. The pattern is from Heart Strings. I needed something that was a no brainer and this did the trick for me. It's going to be cute, pink, fuzzy and loveable I hope...

Started a new placement today. Working reception and accounts payable for the next 7 business days at an HVAC company. Today the person I'm replacing was in to show me around and teach me the routine. Tomorrow I'm on my own. Should be interesting to say the least.

And this is Monsieur Remy LeBeau aka Gambit in all his glory on his new bed. It's actually our new settee, but Monsieur deemed it was good enough for him and took possession within moments of it's arrival in our living room.

Ugh

Today is my first day of the new year that I am migraine free.. at Last!

I came down with a migraine that wouldn't go away on Christmas day. This thing was a monster that started with tooth pain and just got a life of it's own. Taking painkillers would only send it to the background. Yesterday it finally decided it wasn't going to recede or take stage left for a break, it came back full force and boy did it hurt! I finally decided that a trip to the local hospital's emergency department was the answer albeit not something I was looking forward to since this more than likely involves a 3 hours or more wait to be seen. I sat in the waiting room with my poor husband in tow. Wore an icepack on the right side of my face and a towel over my head as well as dark glasses since the waiting room lights felt like the sun was 2 inches from my nose. I finally get called into the 2nd waiting room and my poor husband gets left in the main waiting room which is rapidly filling up with screaming children. When I was finally called into the examining room I wouldn't budge until they let my husband come in with me.
The doctor checked my neurological responses, eyes, tongue (no clue why) and ordered a shot of morphine mixed with something like demerol. And told us that if that didn't take care of the migraine, I'd have to come back for a different treatment using steroids. Got home last night, by the time we walked home, I was starting to feel better. Had something to eat and fell into bed.When I finally woke up this afternoon, the migraine was thankfully gone!

I also started a new temp position on Friday. This one is dispatch for the city's parking department where I live. I felt like I was on The Prisoner with using the officer's numbers to call them over the two way radio; "Control to eleven, control to 11" and would wait for the officer's response "11 to control". Just felt a bit surreal. The radio itself as an ancient microphone that looks like something from the 60's.

The woman who is supposed to be training me for the position is missing a very important talent; an aptitude for training others. That in itself precludes my learning the job since she's the rambling type. Starts to show me how to do something and then mumbles her way through most of it with an "you'll get it once you're doing it" comment. Thankfully my supervisor noticed how badly she was doing the training and made sure that I knew she was available to help me whenever I needed the help. I'm seeing this as a learn by the seat of your pants type training. Should be interesting.