Of Crafts and Cafes
So a couple nights ago, I sat down and untangled the giant mass that was my Blue Lagoon yarn, and Josh balled the Giant Peach and I now have workable yarns! Hooray! This is exciting!
I have spent the past...oh, I dunno, three or four days attempting to crochet socks. I've ripped them back about fifteen times. Now, let me give some backstory. I don't know how to knit. My Nana taught me how to crochet, and that's what I know how to do, and I've been very touchy about knitters who look down on crochet. I love my craft. That said...I am not so enthusiastic about crochet socks. If I do plain old single crochet they aren't so bad, but anything else is ridiculously thick, and could only be used in the winter. And as much as my fellow crocheters swear that crochet socks are just as good as knit socks...I'm beginning to develop the urge to learn knitting. I mean, I've always wanted to learn, but now I'm getting kind of antsy about it. Now I have to track Meeghan down and have her teach me. And not even teach me to knit things like scarves and dishcloths, but to teach me to knit socks. Because these are lovely yarns and I don't want to...I hate to say it...waste it on socks I don't really like.
And that's another thing. It is impossible to find CUTE free crochet sock patterns. They just don't exist. All the good ones are in books or magazines or they're downloads for sale. And it wouldn't be so bad if we had any of these books at work so I could just be terrible and borrow the book, bring it home, make the socks and take it back. (I'm poor and work allows me to borrow books; don't judge me!) But we don't. So I'm stuck with kind of fugly patterns, and at this point I have given up trying to follow one. I don't need something fancy. I'm fine with plain old sc socks, and I'll just make them toe up and adjust as needed.
Grrr. Just frustrated.
Class is over; took the exam today. Am rather optimistic about it.
After two weeks of 26 hr work weeks, next week I drop down to 13. It's such a huge disappointment, too. I started looking around and applying at other places when I wasn't getting any hours, and then magically I got two weeks in a row of actual shifts and then it drops off again because everyone's back from vacation. And here I am, in need of money for the GRE, grad school applications, bills and who's getting the hours? The people that leave in two weeks. The one effing person who plans on staying? Nope, screw her. We'll just work her to the bone during the semester so she only gets three hours sleep per night because the only time she can write papers is when she gets home from work.
With as much as I bitch about work, Josh is right. I really should seriously look elsewhere. I have given serious thought to Barnes & Noble, if only for the bitch factor of it. But...I hate B&N, and I hate Starbucks. And considering my cafe work, that's likely where they'd put me anyway. Le sigh. Sucks too, because I do actually enjoy working in a cafe. I like my job. I like (most of) my coworkers. I like (most of) my regular customers. I don't want to leave it. But...money's tight and sometimes you have to do things you don't want to. :( I guess I'll start looking around again.
I suppose it's for the best. I really should get a "grown-up" type job. Something that will look better for future careers than just retail experience. Hmm...there's a library in Exeter...look at me. Completely unable to leave the books. :) What can I say, I love books.
And I'm raaaaambling. Should get going. Still need to change and figure out something for dinner before work.
I have spent the past...oh, I dunno, three or four days attempting to crochet socks. I've ripped them back about fifteen times. Now, let me give some backstory. I don't know how to knit. My Nana taught me how to crochet, and that's what I know how to do, and I've been very touchy about knitters who look down on crochet. I love my craft. That said...I am not so enthusiastic about crochet socks. If I do plain old single crochet they aren't so bad, but anything else is ridiculously thick, and could only be used in the winter. And as much as my fellow crocheters swear that crochet socks are just as good as knit socks...I'm beginning to develop the urge to learn knitting. I mean, I've always wanted to learn, but now I'm getting kind of antsy about it. Now I have to track Meeghan down and have her teach me. And not even teach me to knit things like scarves and dishcloths, but to teach me to knit socks. Because these are lovely yarns and I don't want to...I hate to say it...waste it on socks I don't really like.
And that's another thing. It is impossible to find CUTE free crochet sock patterns. They just don't exist. All the good ones are in books or magazines or they're downloads for sale. And it wouldn't be so bad if we had any of these books at work so I could just be terrible and borrow the book, bring it home, make the socks and take it back. (I'm poor and work allows me to borrow books; don't judge me!) But we don't. So I'm stuck with kind of fugly patterns, and at this point I have given up trying to follow one. I don't need something fancy. I'm fine with plain old sc socks, and I'll just make them toe up and adjust as needed.
Grrr. Just frustrated.
Class is over; took the exam today. Am rather optimistic about it.
After two weeks of 26 hr work weeks, next week I drop down to 13. It's such a huge disappointment, too. I started looking around and applying at other places when I wasn't getting any hours, and then magically I got two weeks in a row of actual shifts and then it drops off again because everyone's back from vacation. And here I am, in need of money for the GRE, grad school applications, bills and who's getting the hours? The people that leave in two weeks. The one effing person who plans on staying? Nope, screw her. We'll just work her to the bone during the semester so she only gets three hours sleep per night because the only time she can write papers is when she gets home from work.
With as much as I bitch about work, Josh is right. I really should seriously look elsewhere. I have given serious thought to Barnes & Noble, if only for the bitch factor of it. But...I hate B&N, and I hate Starbucks. And considering my cafe work, that's likely where they'd put me anyway. Le sigh. Sucks too, because I do actually enjoy working in a cafe. I like my job. I like (most of) my coworkers. I like (most of) my regular customers. I don't want to leave it. But...money's tight and sometimes you have to do things you don't want to. :( I guess I'll start looking around again.
I suppose it's for the best. I really should get a "grown-up" type job. Something that will look better for future careers than just retail experience. Hmm...there's a library in Exeter...look at me. Completely unable to leave the books. :) What can I say, I love books.
And I'm raaaaambling. Should get going. Still need to change and figure out something for dinner before work.