Thursday

We're all over the map now as far as when we post goes. My schedule changes on a weekly basis and that makes it really hard to do anything with any sort of regularity.

So, it seems like we are having a sort of Cthulu week here. This drawing just cracks me up every time I think about it. It really shows Angelas twisted sense of humor at its finest.

Well, off to work for me. It's my personal Monday today.

--Abe

Tuesday Surprise

I got sent home early today so I've been getting things done so I can slack really hard tomorrow. One of those things was to scan this awesome picture that Angela drew of Snow White having a little trouble with an apple in her old age.

As usual, Angelas twisted sense of humor shines through her art like a beacon of depravity.

I upgraded my computer to Windows 7 last weekend and, it feels weird to say this but, I'm actually enjoying using it. The install was fast and painless. Microsoft has a great deal on a family pack of licenses which basically gives you three licenses for about 20 bucks more than a single license. The system starts up fast, shuts down fast, opens windows fast, its just fast and responsive. And, all of the games I've played so far run as well or better than they did in vista.

My favorite part is the changes to the task bar though. They took it out. It's gone. Well, actually its more like they merged the task bar and the quick launch bar into a beast thats similar to the Dock in MacOS. In any case, it makes managing windows, especially with applications that open a lot of different windows, really simple.

That's about all for now.

--Abe

Wednesday

So, turns out I'm a jerk. I know, big surprise. I did not get us the dvr bundle and Angela is now very sad.

I'm continuing to look for a job too, because my sense of the one I have now is that it is seasonal and that all the "there's a great chance that you'll be hired as a permanent employee" stuff they told me during the interview and hiring process was absolute bullshit. When I started training, probably 90% of the cubicles in the office were empty. Now its down to probably 60%. I bet by thanksgiving they will almost all be full. And my intuition tells me that by the middle of January or so they'll be 90% empty again.

Of course, unemployment is still rising and, just this morning, the news was reporting the "good news" that just 500 some thousand *new* applications were made last week in comparison to the 500 some thousand + a few thousand more new applications were made last week. Slightly less-bad news is good news! Up is down. Poverty is prosperity.

We haven't made a lot of progress on our debt since I started either because unexpected and unavoidable expenses keep coming up. Like Angela was sick and had to go to the doctor. I've had this weird pain in my side for like 6 months and it finally got so bad that I went to the doctor and it turns out I have some sort of lump that needs to be removed. My doctor told me that it was nothing to worry about "unless it's black and nasty looking when I cut it out of you". I actually really appreciate how direct my doctor is about stuff like that.

A rock hit our windshield last weekend when I was driving to work and now we have a dime sized star-shaped crack on the drivers side. It's directly in the middle of my field of vision but I think it's too far up to really bother Angela. We're going to fill it with one of those window repair kits but we need 15 minutes of direct sunlight to do it and it's been cloudy and raining for like 3 days now.

I have a half day of work today so I don't leave till 12:30 or so. The EQ2 guys are upgrading the hardware that my server runs on so I can't play. I've done a bunch of stuff around the house, read an entire web comic, posted here, looked for jobs, played with the dogs, done laundry and dishes. I'm bored and the future looks bleak to me right now.

--Abe

Cable TV. It's back.

So today, we got cable TV again. It was getting really frustrating to have the TV cut out at the punchline of every joke. Abe even got us Showtime for $1 a month for the first 6 months. I kind of hope I don't like it so I won't be tempted to spend $18 a month on it after that. We also spent the $7 to get HD TV just because it looks so amazing as I have been seeing on the air. And I think we got a DVR so I can watch shows later and pause them when Abe comes out of the computer room and won't stop talking to me.

I am pretty excited. I have to have something to do while I knit and I have a lot of knitting to do. I went a little nuts the last while on yarn. I have to finish my cardigan, though I just have to finish the second half of the second sleeve, the right front, and then the front and neck hem part. I also have to finish the Ganomy hat for Abe, which I think is turning out pretty awesome. The pattern is pretty simple, though I think I might fuss with it a couple of stitches here and there when I make my own hat. Then I have a Xmas present to knit for someone. It looks like a really fun pattern and the yarn is really nice, so that should be a good one. I will start that when I am done with the cardigan.

This weekend, I bought some yarn at Village Yarn and Tea. I bought the book Knitting and Tea, which I actually like a lot, and some yarn to make the striped gloves. I also got another Dong Boa ball of 1500 yards of Cashmere lace weight for $10. That makes three balls all in different colors. Not sure what I plan to do with them. The newest is brown and I think I will make the featherweight cardigan with it.

I also got some fleece tweed to make a cowl. I am not sure which pattern to use though. I really want to make the Ice Queen pattern and the Pretty Things pattern (the pattern is finally for sale on Ravelry). I think I will make the stockinette version of the Ice Queen with the orange Fleeced Tweed and the Pretty Things with the gray cashmere.

Anyways, now I will actually have things to watch while I knit. I think that is only 30% of the reason I am excited to have cable again. Another 30% is to have it not cut out on every punch line. Or big break through in the case. And another 30% is Marathons! Like Monk marathon weekends or Law and Order: Criminal Intent marathons. I freakin' love watching the same TV show all day. I am not sure why, but it just feels like the ultimate in luxury. I forgot what the other 10% was, but I guess that is why it was only 10%.

In other news, I have been working on drawing up a story. It is only 9 pages, but I like it so far. Written, it is barely a page and a half. As much as I like anything I draw. Perhaps I should stop reading all these wonderfully drawn comics like The Abominable Charles Christopher and The Port because they give me a complex about my own drawing skills. But I think these are professionals who are actually making a living drawing comics as it is. And I only have time to draw about an hour a day (since I can't stop knitting). Anyways, since it is only 9 pages, I don't know what to do with it. I don't know if I should even bother sending it out to publishers since it is so short. Perhaps some compilation like Flight. Anyways, if I can't find anyone who wants it, I might just put it up here. It is from a story I wrote in 9th grade for a vocabulary extra credit assignment in October. I guess it is pretty appropriate that I am drawing it in October many years after originally writing it. Perhaps I can even get the whole thing finished by the end of October. We'll see. There is only about 5 words of dialog in the whole thing.

Friday pre-work quick post

Eating my breakfast and reading my favorite blogs this morning and I found this over at nakedcapitalism.com. I'm talking about the series of pictures of the sled dogs and polar bear.

My new pally is level 26 already with only about 11 hours /played.

I'm off to play her for a few minutes before I have to get ready for my multi-hours long bus ride. I actually enjoy riding across the floating bridge every morning. It can be really beautiful out there.

Abe

Wednesday

Hey! It's my first day off in a long time. We have been working on comics but none of them are ready to post yet. There'll be some new ones in the near future. No, really. I promise.

Last night we were talking about knitting and stuff. This happens a lot when your girl friend is as obsessed as mine is. Angela was telling me about the knitting apparatus that she wants to get and she came to something in her mental list that's name she had forgotten. She stumbled and sputtered for a second and then said "You know, its the thing where you lay something out and pin it down." and I said "Blocking." She stopped mid-word and stared at me for a second and then burst in to laughter. After about a half a minute of laughter she finally manages to sputter out "So you have been listening!"

Ah man it was funny.

I played EQ2 all day today. It was my day off. I made a new paladin and she is already level 18.

Comics coming soon. For real.

--Abe

Cooking has begun!

It has been a tiring week because our schedule is all out of wack. We will try to get the comics for next week done this week. But we have been having some delicious food. Yummy yummy. This first one is our chicken dinner from last night (Wednesday). I chopped up some green onions (or scallions if you are Abe) and mixed it with some garlic powder and some olive oil. Maybe a table spoon or two of oil. At the grocery store, Abe swore up and down that we had garlic at home. I told him I got to beat him up if he was wrong. And of course when we get home, no garlic. Well, there was some garlic that Abe had forgotten about but it was so old it had nearly turned to dust. Anyways, I washed and dried the chicken. Then I covered the chicken in the oil mix and set it on a broiling rack and sprinkled a little bit of salt over them (two chicken thighs with skin and bone). Then broiled it for 15 minutes. Flipped it and put more oil (and green onions) on top and a little salt and broiled for another 15 minutes. Delish. Plus some mashed baby red potatoes with sour cream and butter and salt and green onions. And broccoli. I want to try this recipe again with chicken breast and fresh garlic instead of powdered.

Then tonight (Thursday), we had hamburgers. I mixed fresh garlic and green onions and a little salt in just under a pound of hamburger and made giant patties. But we used 9% fat hamburger and they turned out too dry (to me). The Joy of Cooking suggests about 20% to be juicy but not too fatty. And I think broiling will help get rid of the fat (let it drip out). We also broiled some tater tots with the burgers. And had some delicious avocado. Abe had tomato, too, but I don't like tomatoes.

So here is the china cabinet we got from my aunt. Not bad, yeah? So we are painting it black and yellow and green. I think it will look pretty sweet. It is already full of tea and yarn dyeing supplies and some water color supplies. And a few random kitchen things. Once the shelf is in, it will hold the stuff across all the cook books, which is bowls and I think some cups. Seriously, all those books are cook books. And on the right are some cooking magazines. A couple years worth of Bon Appetite from the late 90s. I read somewhere that the average person has 7 -8 cookbooks. Abe and I blow that out of the water. Really, I blow that out of the water because most of those are mine.

It was missing the shelf, which Abe thinks was glass. So we got this board at Home Depot and had it cut to size. It is a skitch too short, but it will still work. We will make it safe by adding some dowels on either side to keep it from slipping and falling. They were really nice. We also got a drop cloth, the paint, and paint brushes. We already had the necessary sand paper, so we are good to go and now the weather just needs to cooperate.

Last Saturday is when we bought it and the temp was fine to start painting the bottom black. Essentially, our guideline is that vertical surfaces will be black, horizontal surfaces will be yellow, and the trim will be green. Eventually we will get a tiny bit of a reddish color to add to the trim in tiny doses. I think I might also paint some ferns or creatures on it, but I will get the whole thing painted first. So here it is with the first couple coats of black paint, then sanded and waiting to put on the last coat of black.

Last week I also finally finished my slippers! The pattern is from Knit 2 Together. I totally forgot what the yarn is. They are quite comfy and quite covered in dog hair in this picture because I have been wearing them all over the unvaccumed carpet. Neither of us wants to clean in our little bit of free time. I really like the colors, but I messed up when grabbing the stitches. I grabbed to far over on one. The one with more grey on the side looks better to me. And I really like the "argyle" look. I was considering putting a button or two on, but I haven't seen any I like.

Next up, New Shirts!! We went to Jinx! because they were having a sale. A bunch of shirts were $10 each. So I got these two. Terror Bot, which I will wear to the big corporate meeting tomorrow. Don't worry, I think it is pre-recorded. :) And the other is a great green shirt that say Math is FUNctional! Yea! That one fits great. I like the neck line actually, which is a lot loser than a regular crewneck. It is an actual ladies T.

And here is Abe's shirt. He only got one. Loser. Actually the ones he liked were sold out in his size, so I guess I lot of people liked the same ones as him. I wanted him to get one that said "Stop laughing! Computers are cool now." Anyways, this one "African or European" from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which I watched when I went home early because I was sick the other Friday. So this is the swallow carrying the coconut. Very funny. I like it.

--Angela