real life is stupid and I'm against it.

Real life has been conspiring again to make everything No Fun. Between being busy with stupid boring (but necessary) crap, doctor's appointments, and work-related drama, I've been too busy and overwhelmed and exhausted to even think about blogging. Or do much of anything, really. Why is it that when you most need fun and a little R&R is when you're least able to have it? I'm sensing a conspiracy. (Doctor's appointments were not for any specific problem (unlike last time; ahem). I just had one of those weird convergences where all my regularly scheduled checkups fell into the same 10-day period. I feel like I'm ready to be shot into space.)
So, to break up the monotony of the whining a little, here's a cat picture. (Tactic shamelessly stolen from the Yarn Harlot.)


Work-related drama has made everything very fun and exciting around here. I've been stressed-out and nauseous for about a solid week. The problems seemed to arise from my steadfast refusal to read my coworker(s) minds, and my dogged insistence on coming in on time, instead of 20 minutes early. (Hey, I have to be at work early enough. Unless my boss tells me to, I am not coming in one second earlier. That's madness.) I know. I am a bad person and a worse employee. The storm seems to have passed for now; I'm still deciding whether or not I hate everyone I work with. Let's keep our fingers crossed that everything stays calm for a while. (And no, Oscar was entirely innocent in all this madness.) Here's another cat picture.


On the knitting front, I have accomplished absolutely nothing since blocking Patty's scarf, due to the above crap/drama, and pain in my hands due to overdoing it with Patty's scarf. I usually keep a range of projects in different sizes, gauges and materials on hand to prevent just this sort of thing, but I could not put this scarf down. It was absolutely addictive. I knit at red lights on this one; I just couldn't stop. It was a fascinating little knit and I'm extremely pleased with the results. My hands, however: not so much with the pleased. To make things worse, it was made from worsted-weight cotton knit to a tighter-than-normal gauge to make the cables stand out, so it's like tendonitis in scarf form. I'm sure I'll be fine; my hands are just kind of cranky right now.


Of course, not all the distracting things in my life sucked. My life has recently been consumed by rereading this


in preparation for this.


I finished it last night, and I could not be more pleased. Best books EVER.