elanya

Yesterday I found out that I didn't get the job that I first tested and then interviewed for. It was basically a job doing exactly the same sort of stuff I'd done at my last job, so that was kind of a blow.

I have been making efforts. i finally signed up with a temping office last week, for which I had an interview on Monday. They have some things to put me forward for, but I would still have to get selected by their client and interviewed for those positions. I'm still applying to other positions on my own - I applied for one yesterday that is a part time casual thing at the library here, and wrote most of a cover letter for another museum position. There are still a ton of things I've applied to that I've never heard anything back from. Some I probably never will, but I had written off the one I interviewed for as well, since I'd applied in May and never heard a thing from it until...August, maybe? There are a few things I'm still hopeful about as well. So things proceed. In the mean time, I wrote to cash in on my Texas teacher's retirement plan thing, and will hopefully get some decent cash back out of them. Or at least something. Until then I have run out of money :/ I'm going to have to post an add to see if I can find someone to take over my gym membership, and I'm pretty sad about that, because rejoining at this point would be a lot more expensive. I need some more information from them before I can do that though - I need to know when my membership expires, what the fees would be for someone else after that time, etc. I tried to ask about stuff yesterday, but I didn't actually have a good grasp of what I needed to know. Now I do! Whee!

I have also inherited a bike, but I kind of hate it. The seat is at the right height for me to pedal, but then I can't touch the ground. I'm not really sure how to manage that. If I lean it to one side, or slip off the seat, I have trouble getting back on and balanced, and especially doing so quickly in the middle of traffic (at a light, say). I have never had a bike where this was an issue, and I don't really know how to cope with it - I can only really touch the ground if I'm wearing shoes with very thick soles. Also I don't have a helmet, and even if I did, wearing one requires me to completely re-do my hair every time I want to ride (I usually have it up, with a stick in it, which is not conducive to helmet wearing). Also drivers here are not good at dealing with cyclists, and the whole experience stresses me right the fuck out, even if I'm just going on the five minute ride to the gym -_-

Anyway, I did some adulting this morning to make myself feel better about life - sorted and put away some laundry, swept in the kitchen, child minded and took Nephew Jr. to the park, came home, made him and myself lunch. Look, I'm useful and helpful! Also yesterday I managed to cut Jola's nails all by myself in less than half an hour which, lemme tell you, is a triumph.

I feel like there were more things I meant to say here but I don't remember. I got N.K. Jemisin's The Fifth Season from the library, so I have actually been reading, and I am really really enjoying it so far. I got my copy of She Walks in Shadows the other day (the first of two crowd-funded women-author/character focused Lovecraftian anthologies I backed and unsuccessfully submitted stories to), but since I'm not on a timeline, who knows when I will actually read it >.> longpig got her copy of the Night Vale book yesterday, and I may read that next if she'll let me. who knows! But since I have been reading, I have been doing 0 knitting, because that's always the trade-off for me :p So I still haven't fixed my Art Deco shawl. And I may have to re-do the bind off on Tirceron and re-block it, because it it too tight. And I need to repair my big Malabrigo shawl as well. And make gloves... and maybe line my headband. Oh and post the pattern I used on Ravelry...

But the next thing I do is going to be finish my yuletide letter and sign up. Because I'm a damned adult, and I want to!

( Miramichi is only home because that's where nmy dad is, but that will do! )

But for all y'all, have my photogenic Canadian eagle ^-^



And in other Adulting news, this week I applied for a job in Edmonton and also submitted a book review to Historical Archaeology

Hung out with friend tonight - ti was nice! But not productive. I need to keep reading on my diss and maybe actually start writing something and start working on stuff for Webercon...

Also, I desperately need pants (trousers). I left a pair in Montreal, and I didn't have many to start with. I lost enough weight after being sick that I could wear some of my size 10's, but I only had two pairs of those... and I ripped the ass out of one of them tonight getting into the car when one of my pockets caught on the door lock. *weeps*

I got a very nice pair for Christmas, but after said weightloss they are super loose and I need to put on belt loops before I could even try and wear them without them falling down all the time :(

Why are pants so complicated?

I'm just going to have to live in dresses forever :p

I had a very full sounding day that still included a lot of sitting around on the couch doing very little.

I got my roomie to help me take my cat to the vet in the morning to get some shots (though I realize I forgot to pick up Jola's flea and heartworm stuff - d'oh!), then treated myself to Subway for lunch ($5 footlongs :V). In the afternoon I had an interview for Tag Wrangling Staff, which I think went really well, and officially the longest interview I have ever had for anything. But computer stuff goes slower by its nature. I think it went really well though, and now I wait for them to finish other interviews and hear back from Volcom :3

After that it was minor hose things, like cleaning the cat box and doing dishes. Excite! I am working on weaving in the ends on my Night Vale socks, but there are a lot of them and I am not very good at it yet, especially where there is a lot of pattern to deal with. And there are 6-8 ends per sock :( I have four done in total. I think the ones on the toes were the worst though, and I did both of those. They were knit in black yarn on size 0 needles and I have a very tight gauge, so they are tiny and impossible to see. the advantage is that the fabric is so tight that I don't think it would be noticeable at all if I fucked it up (which I surely did >.>) If I remember tomorrow I'll bring my ruler downstairs and tell you the stitches per inch so you can shake your heads at me ;p But for reference, I was comparing gauge with tethys123 and to get the gauge she has on 0's, I would have to go up probably at least two needle sizes. The purple ends I have done were definitely easier. Never knitting in black on 0's again @_@

Tonight, other than end weaving, I watched another episode of Person of Interest with naryrising - now up to s1e5 :D I'm really enjoying it so far and I hear it keeps getting better, so score!

Gonna try and finish weaving in ends tomorrow, and if I do i will cast on my firelight vest. I also meant to clip Jola's toenails and somehow she escaped that fate for now! The other thing I would like to do if I have time/don't spend all day knitting and gaming, is to start working on background stuff for my changeling LARP that I am going to run at this year's Webercon. Because I am a masochist, or something @_@

So, I think I mentioned a while back that I bought a used washer and dryer set for, I think $250 all in, with delivery. I think I have since mentioned that the washer leaks. I should have called the guy as soon as I noticed, but I thought that it might have been something I did when moving it in to place as I was.....somewhat less than gentle. Ask me about the tiles in my kitchen someday, I dare you :p

Anyway. It leaked in the front, not at the hoses (although...also that, but that's a different story...), so I knew it was something Involved. now, because I bought it second hand for cheap, I didn't want to invest money in a repair person, so I decided that I would check it out myself. I armed myself with some internets research (this page is really helpful!), and finally found/made some time to see what could be seen.

So I fought with the damned thing half the morning trying to get it apart. I got water all over the floor at various stages - disconnecting various hoses mostly - despite my best efforts. It doesn't help that I'm a silly fool and started doing everything backwards. But anyway, I now know a lot more abut taking the damned things apart and how they fit into their housing cabinets, wooh! Life skillz, right? ;p I finally got it apart, and went to see about checking for leaks. Which involves pouring water into the washer (I didn't have the hoses attacked, because I needed the space.... including the drainage hose.... more water on the floor... -_-) and seeing if any comes out, to start. Well, none did, which is a shame, because that would have been easy and cheap to fix :p

Since that didn't work, I looked more for corrosion. And I found it alright - the pump had been leaking, corroding away the bottom clamp holding it in place to almost nothing, and also the shaft holding it to the motor.... the motor itself has some visible corrosion as well, mostly just cosmetic, but certainly not *just* cosmetic, meaning that even though it seems to be working alright now, it probably hasn't got a long healthy life ahead of it.

So, a new pump runs about $30 (+ shipping).... a new motor runs about $130... You see the issue here, I'm sure. I can probably find another machine for in the range of $150-200... Since I get paid on Tuesday (I think?), I could theoretically afford that, ish, though it would make a tight march. Maybe I could sell this one for parts? Maybe I could find better condition used parts? then I'd have to be sure I can put it back together in some reasonably functional way though.... Ugh. Meanwhile, I can at least do laundry at work - I wouldn't be the first :3

Being an adult sucks sometimes.

...On the other hand, sice I started writing that, I had a very adult afternoon of visiting with Megan :) Her new dog is a total sweetie! And is doing much better, for those who were wondering :)