Friday, July 31, 2009

I Woke Up For This?

Actually, I've not been to sleep yet. Flipping channels late at night and I catch an infomercial for Time-Life and they are advertising Sweet Soul of the 70s. I am instantly hooked; my mind is racing - I can't sleep. I want this CD collection so badly, but not enough to call as requested by the infomercial. I just get out of bed and I'm at the computer, looking up the actual cost (because it was advertised for the "introductory" price of $9.95 with free shipping). I tell myself as the computer boots up that if it's under $50, I'm buying it. There were so many good songs I could not keep up with them.

I sense you doubt me. Let's examine my top ten songs from the infomercial (in no particular order):

1. Earth, Wind & Fire - That's the Way of the World
One of the greatest bands of the 70s. This is my favorite, but I also love Boogie Wonderland, Shining Star, Let's Groove, Fantasy (...and we will live together until the twelfth of never...).

2. Diana Ross - Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going Go)
Hearing this song brings up feelings that I had when I graduated from high school. And I don't mean my general feelings about graduating from high school, but literally getting ready to walk into the auditorium as a candidate for graduation.

3. Smokey Robinson - Cruisin'
"If you want it, you've got it forever, this is not a one-night stand". Smokey is my answer to Barry White.

4. The Stylistics - I'm Stone in Love With You
Always wondered how you get "stone in love" with someone.

5.Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr. - You Don't Have to Be a Star (To Be In My Show)
Love this for several reasons: Marilyn McCoo hosted Solid Gold for a while and I was a Solid Gold fanatic (which aired right before Dance Fever on Saturday nights); Marilyn and Billy were in one of my other favorite groups - The Fifth Dimension; and, finally, as a kid, I always dreamed about who would be my vocal partner while we sang this song to each other.

6.The Stylistics - Betcha By Golly, Wow
Best chorus ever. Musical equivalent of saying "lmnop" really fast as a part of your abc's and making it sound like one word.

7.The Chi-Lites - Oh Girl
It's the harmonica in the beginning that gets me everytime.

8.Tavares - It Only Takes a Minute
I didn't know the name of the group that sang this until tonight.

9.Rufus and Chaka Khan - Sweet Thing
"Love me now or I'll go crazy". Been there, done that.

10.George Benson - This Masquerade
Very jazzy. I think my dad would even approve of this choice.

Back to my dilemma. I really, really want to splurge and buy this collection. It's 11 CDs! And I want all 170 of the songs promised on the infomercial! I can afford this little luxury, can't it? I can justify spending $50 for all this great music.

So I log onto the computer and type in timelife.com. I click on "Sweet Soul of the 70s" and up pops the price of

$149.00


And my dream ended.

I went to YouTube video and played the songs I wanted to hear, getting my fix for the night. And now I'm off to bed.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Recent Projects

My socks aren't the same color! I swear I started from the same center pull for each sock. Why didn't they come out the same? The dye lots were the same number on both skeins. My model, who wears men size 9.5, said they are too big for him. And you can see the toes through the socks! Argh. Onto the next pair and hoping that they turn out better. I'm getting tired of the basic socks, but when I attempt to do anything with a cool stitch pattern, it comes out all sorts of crazy. I find it hard to diagnose just where I screw up when it comes to socks.



I knitted a dishcloth for my mom, and I'll probably mail it to her with a cute card. I want it to be sort of a surprise - who doesn't love to receive a nice card in the mail? I feel very obligated to my mom, who provides me with emotional support and she tries sometimes to do more than that. It's the "more than that" that sometimes causes hard feelings. And I hate myself when I think I've hurt her feelings.

Monday, July 13, 2009

No Soup for Me

Today was a really crappy day. And then it was night, which wasn't much better. I realized that the farthest I have ever lived from my hometown is 75 miles, and that's not very far. This is not comforting to me; perhaps I've used it as a crutch. My dealings with my parents usually end with me compromising my desires to accommodate theirs. And, if I get hard-headed about something, well, it is that much more painful when I eventually cave in. This realization is one of those things that just sneaks up on a person - like when I realized that I'm really overweight - and I can't imagine how I tricked myself into believing anything other than what is obviously the truth. It's like I live in my head and then I suddenly become grounded with the full weight of the truth (no pun intended).

My conversation with my mother tonight made me realize that she honestly believes that it is in my best interest to have a partner who can financially take care of me. I had to explain to her that I know that I will always be responsible for my own well-being, even if I get married. How naive of her. It makes me laugh - as if there is some big bowl of man soup out there and I have to keep bobbing for that man who can provide for me financially and emotionally. Actually, I can reverse the argument and consider how well I am suited for a partner; I have a decent job (perhaps not enough to support a family) but am I of any value in providing someone emotional support and love? For some reason, of which I can't really place a reason for, the promise of financial stability means relatively little to me these days. Perhaps this is due to the reality of the economy these days. People who used to be so secure in their jobs and careers are quickly learning what it is like to have the rug pulled out from under them. Planning for the future is a nice gig, when you are raising a family or young enough to enjoy the ride, but me...I don't fall into either of those categories. I'm not trying to be nihilistic; but I am a pessimist by nature. And just a simpleton who can't see how any of this really matters; I just needed to satisfy my need to vent in public.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

The Weekend Rules

I don't like commitments on the weekend. I'm very greedy when it comes to my time away from work. I feel like I need to protect my downtime from unnecessary stress or from being used for anything other than my happiness. Therefore, making plans for the weekend is serious business. But don't think that this means I make exotic or exciting plans; it just means that I'm really selfish with my time.

I met with a friend this weekend to help her out with some computer problems she was having. She repaid me by inviting me to stay for dinner, which was a delicious spanish meal of pink beans and rice and pork chops. She even packed up leftovers for me. I made tentative plans with her for future weekends, but she obviously doesn't know me well enough because who knows if I will deem it important enough in the future.

This desire and need to control my time is based on my current occupation, wherein I get absolutely no say in anything and random events and straight-up craziness rules what and when I do something.

This weekend I finished a new sock, which I made too big for me, which sucks because I think the colors are really cute. I have a bunch of new sock yarn, purchased from eBay. The sock fits a man's shoe size 9-1/2 (see the pictures below).





So I will knit the companion to this sock and pray I can convince my model to wear them in public.

Finding My Treasure

Now that my shawl is complete (yarn purchased during the Orange Blossom Yarn Crawl in March), it is just hanging out in my foyer until I de...