Still living in middle Georgia, thus, still deranged.

Current annoyances:

Annoyance 1. Grammatically Ambiguous Situations.

Most people know that I am a grammar snob.
That might be an understatement.
I like having correct grammar. I like having correct punctuation. I text with proper grammar and punctuation. If the new keyboard protector on my laptop weren't out to get my typing fingers, my instant message punctuation would be nearly immaculate. But what I can't stand is the following situation:

"Did you mean to ask me what colour my penguin is or how much duller that linguist is?"

Now. When I respond to this, stating the question I meant alone, how do I punctuate it? "What colour my penguin is." is a question, but punctuated with a period (incorrect punctuation in this sentence is for both illustration and irony). But if you state "What colour my penguin is?" you accomplish two things: one, you sound unsure of an answer you're sure about, and two, you sound like an illiterate moron because AGH SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT (my biggest pet peeve, and surprisingly, the one I find most often in published speeches or advertisements, comma errors aside). Clearly, this is a grammatically ambiguous situation...which punctuation mark is correct? It's up for debate.

(What is not up for debate is that punctuation does fall under the category of grammar, so YES this IS a grammatically ambiguous situation.)

Okay. I'll stop being pedantic.

Annoyance 2. Cell Phone Etiquette.

Oh come on, people. The cell phone has been around since AT LEAST 1999. By now, I think we should have all figured out what is and isn't okay to do on a cell phone in public. For instance, if you talk loudly, avoid answering non-vital calls in crowded places. Or at all. And if you're anywhere with other people, like a coffee shop or museum, do not just sit on your cell phone and blabber loudly, especially about work-related things. Especially if you have a thick Southern drawl. Nobody around you cares, and those of us reading would really enjoy being able to tend to our books in the peace of mid-level conversation and elevator music white noise.

I feel like the world in general is losing its sense of decency. We are too caught up in our own lives that we can't have a face-to-face conversation with someone without texting another person that is not in the room, have to get to that red light just a little bit faster than everyone else, and forget that the customer service people and janitors and telemarketers are people too. All the old-timers will probably scoff at me for saying this, but whatever happened to friendliness? To decency? When did our own lives become so much more important than everyone else's that we forget basic courtesy?

And, while we're on the subject of courtesy and cell phones, when did a text message become more important than interstate driving? For crying out loud, I can't even text and WALK at the same time, much less text and DRIVE. Seriously. Put down the phone. The gossip can wait.

Don't even get me started on silencing all cell phones, pagers, and BABIES before a musical performance...

Annoyance 3. Having to wait for a blocked piece to dry, sewing seems, having to make two sleeves...

SERIOUSLY I WANT TO FINISH THIS SWEATER ALREADY. IT IS SO PRETTY BUT ARGHHHH I WANT TO FINISH!!!

However, there are good things in this world.

I met a friend this past weekend. I don't know whether to call her an old friend or a new friend; I have known her through a mutual friend and the internet for over a year and a half, but I just met her in person. She is a pretty incredible individual. She's been through a lot in her life and, most admirable of all, has stood up for what she believes against scorn and disownment. She's a beautiful person and I am very, very proud to know her. If I take away one thing from her, it is her tireless ability to stand up for herself. She's currently going through a rough time, but I've never seen anyone with a stronger will or a deeper desire to live her life on her own terms and to be defined by no one but herself.

Also, in the wake of me finishing a startling amount of hats in one week and teaching two people (aforementioned friend and my father) to knit, I started a knitting blog, seeing as this one was getting overrun with pictures of my current projects. I also wanted to be able to sufficiently get updates from/stalk my friends with Tumblr accounts. Thus, I am becoming bibloggal. The address to my knitting blog is as follows: http://knit2blog.tumblr.com/ . Happy reading!

I have needles and I'm not afraid to use them.

More like "I have lace patterns and I am FEARLESS."

So I started knitting lace. My first pattern actually turned out really well! I found it in the free section of KnitPicks and really liked it...so I used it as my "learn to knit lace" knitting pattern...not knowing that I definitely could have picked something easier. All things considered, I like how it turned out.



So then I started knitting another lace hat. I am visiting my birthmother on Saturday in Madison, so I figured I'd give her a little belated Christmas present. That is, if I can get it off the needles in time.



I hate the glare in that photo. Sorry.

Finally, my father is receiving his first hand-knitted present: a belated Hanukkah scarf. He said a scarf was pretty much the only knitted garment he'd wear. And we all know how boring scares can be. So I decided to make a textured one. This is a nice variegated yarn with a basketweave texture. Enjoy:



So this is my progress on knitting. And pretty much all I've been doing at home...oh wait. If you can't find me, it's because I'm buried under a pile of excerpts. I emerged to play Final Fantasy today...but I really do need to get back to the knitting...

Chocolate Mousse, French Fries, and Doomed Relationships

We all seem to want the things that are bad for us. I, for one, am in a constant state of wanting chocolate mousse. This is bad for me for many reasons, not the least of which being the fact that I am lactose intolerant and that no amount of lactaid can cure the inevitable stomach ache, etc that is my body's way of telling me "man, that was DUMB." But I digress from gross bodily functions.

I don't know what it is about the things that are terrible for us; maybe it's that they're "forbidden" in a way, and that giving in and letting ourselves supersize it or take the extra bite feels sinful. And that perceived sin only makes those golden potatoes more delicious, despite the fact that our arteries are screaming for mercy. I even get that way with procrastination; on the days when I have more to do than I care to recall, taking that hour to just do absolutely nothing feels better than anything in the world. It's like sitting back to enjoy an entree of french fries and then eating a large bowl of chocolate mousse afterward. It's absolutely divine in how terrible it is.

I'm starting to find that people get this way with other people. And I'm especially guilty.

Right now, I'm in a conundrum. I have mixed and conflicting emotions about several people, but the strongest emotions are for someone I know is doomed to hurt me. But then there's that optimistic side of me that says "but maybe this time will be different. Maybe you'll change her." But I don't believe in changing people--partially because people don't change. And you can't go into something wanting to perfect the other person.

So here I am at the precipice, tapping my toes on the edge and putting the tiniest bit of weight on it, trying to test it out. One would think that I'd look at the situation and think better of it and avoid the inevitable pain. But there's a huge part of me that knows that if I don't jump, I'll always wonder where I'd have landed. Maybe the water below isn't all that murky--or maybe it isn't water at all.

They say, whoever "they" are, that the definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over, expecting different results. But unlike the doomed battle of Rachel vs. the Chocolate Mousse, I feel like this isn't a sure situation. It's not destined to fail quite yet, and if I'm going to do something, I'm not going to do it half-assed.

So here's to another year of going out with a bang or going up in flames. I raise my glass to finding out which outcome.