Pissed off

First, I went to drop my kiddo off at school. Today was Field Day, so I walked to her class with her, to be told to come back at 11:15 am by one of the room parents. So I did, and missed the whole fucking Field Day. 11:15 was lunch time. I'm so not happy.

Second, I got a call from the stinkin' Colorado Unemployment people telling me that there's been "an issue" with my account since April 23. Umm. That would be over a month ago. And my guess is it has to do with the week I filed a day late. Thought that issue was cleared up. Lady told me it was... No wonder I've not received any money since then. Damn them.

ARGH!!!!!!!

UPDATE: So I talked to this guy about my unemployment, of which of I have received all of $200 so far, after having been out of work since March 14th. And you want to hear the biggest goddamned joke ever? I have to pay the $200 back, because some stupid dip-shit misrecorded my severance pay so I was over paid! Ok, fine, but where the hell is the money for the more than 6 weeks following that???

And hubby's telling me to keep filing because I'm entitled to the money but he's not the one that has to deal with the frustration. I've done everything I am supposed to have done. And I get nothing but hassle from it. And to call and complain requires sitting on hold for hours waiting to talk to a real person. Meanwhile, I just have to scream, because they just can't expect a person to live on $200 for 6 weeks and then take the money back!

And now I am going to spend the rest of the day with sore, puffy eyes and a snotty nose because I am so frustrated I'm crying.

I thought about buying myself

a new T-shirt for the Estes Park Wool Market. But then I decided that I could just spend that money on yarn at Estes!

I plan to go up to Estes on June 14th, which just happens to be Worldwide Knit in Public Day. I shall of course take a project with me to knit in the park as my kiddo plays and maybe even whilst watching the sheepdog trials. Or maybe I will find some sock yarn at the market and cast on right there! Socks are so nice and portable...

i'm a terrible sport

I do not like to lose. In fact, I hate it. So why the hell have I been running battlegrounds in World of Warcraft?? ARRGH! I hate dying every few minutes. It pisses me off. I finally had to stop because I was going to either burst into tears or break my keyboard.

So it must be time for some nice calm knitting. I think I shall go pick up some stitches for my heel and finish my non-aggressive sock...

What a pile of poo

The state of Colorado Unemployment system sucks big time. They make me go out and apply for a certain amount of jobs every week, then every two weeks I have to file my claim. I was one day late several weeks ago and they had a hissy fit. But they finally supposedly approved my claim.

Meanwhile, my last check was for the huge sum of $200 (that's the amazingly livable amount of $100 per week, woo hoo!). That was a month ago. I've not seen a penny since. Absolute crock of shit. How the hell can they expect anyone to live like that?? So I must file in a timely manner, but they don't have to pay me in a timely manner? Bullshit.

And then, as if it's not hard enough, now they've decided that checks aren't safe enough for us, and they've issued us each a Chase debit card that they will automatically deposit to. Someday. But the problem is, Chase charges you to take the money off the card. And they won't let you have it all at once. Meanwhile, I need the money in my checking account so I can pay bills...

So, I filed last Sunday, and ya know what? I'm not doing it again. It's a big fat waste of my time for very little return. Which of course is what they count on. They make it a pain in the ass to do, so that you will get so damned frustrated that you just give up.

It's worked, because I just can't take it anymore. So I am going to sit on my fanny for the first few weeks of June and enjoy some time with my kiddo. Along the way, if a job comes up that sounds interesting, I will apply for it, instead of applying for shit jobs that I don't actually want because I have to.

And the state of Colorado can kiss my ass.

Too much

going on. I can't really even begin. All I can say is I've been on an emotional roller coaster since Mother's Day.

One thing I know for sure. We aren't moving right now. It's not what is best for everyone in the family, so we will stay for now. And honestly, I see the point. If we were to buy a house now, the Midwest would certainly be the place to do it. But to rent, it's exactly the same. So why spend the money that moving would cost us and uproot the kiddo?

The job thing has me worried though. Both of us being unemployed as of June 2, scares me to death. And while he comes off pretty casual about it (money in the bank, blah, blah), I know that inside he's messed up about it as well. He just doesn't talk about it.

It's one of those things. He hates the job, but he's been there most of his adult life. So while on one hand there's the sense of relief at not having to put up with all the politics and such that has made his job ugly, on the other hand, he used to love his job. He loves where his job is, he likes not flying a desk.

He thinks I don't understand, but I do. I may not have been at my old job as long, but I was there 6 years. And I went from loving my job to absolutely despising it at the end. Not the people I worked with, but the crap coming down from above. And I also loved the safety of it. I had a job. My boss was brilliant about things like time off, or me leaving to get a sick kid.

So yeah, I know about mixed feelings. But I also know that he should be feeling damned proud of himself. Because since they announced he was leaving the company he's gotten email after email saying, "Wow. You will be missed." From both people he knows well, and from people he barely knows, but who's jobs run easier because of the things he does. And the coolest thing is, he's had group leaders, people who have been there year after year and worked with him, tell him they're sad to see him go. So he knows he's done his job well and that he has the respect of a lot of people.

I actually feel bad for his assistant, because she has huge shoes to fill when she takes over. (Although personally, I really don't care for her and part of me feels great relief that he will no longer work with her, but still I do feel for her this time. I can afford to be generous now, yes? )

Anyhoo. Sock the Second is still in heel flap stage, though I only have 6 more rows to knit on that. I expect I can finish it by the weekend. Though I must say, I am thinking that it may not be a good thing to not have a project on the go once the husband is done with work, lol. But again, that could be the motivator I need to cast on for my shawl. It scares me, you see. Or I could cast on the kiddo's socks. Hmmmm.

Men!

What do you do with them?

Birthday Butterfly

Okay, here it is, the butterfly cake I made. I did have to ummm, repair a bit at the tip of the wing as it didn't want to come out of the pan (the rest came out fine). But since the butterfly pan doesn't hold the entire cake recipe I had extra cake to work with, so it was ok.


Not bad for a novice cake decorator. Next time I will outline the actual cupcakes first, then fill in with frosting, rather than doing the entire thing in white. Now you can't tell which bit is a cupcake, lol. But the dear daughter loves it, which is most important.

The 4 undecorated sections are for the munchkins to do this afternoon. I have visions of frosting and sugar granules all over my just mopped floor, lol. Then again, that's why the mop hasn't gone far.

These are a few of my favourite things...

(A.K.A Mother's Day hint list for the hubby and child, lol)

1. New body pillow. My old one is flat and my back is getting achy again. Got it! Yay for the hubby who listens and loves me


2. Socks that Rock, light weight, Ruby Slippers. Yes, I know it ends up a $25 pair of socks but it's red, and I love it! Though I could live with 2 balls of Volcano Twist from KnitPicks. (But really, could someone tell me why red sock yarn is so hard to come by??)

3. Harmony wooden dpns, #90303 Size 2 (2.75mm) - 6" from KnitPicks. I love wooden needles and these look lovely and sharp.

4. Options Interchangable Harmony Wood Circular Needle set. I love circular needles, and I really do need a 24" US 10.5, but KnitPicks doesn't have a single one, so why not buy the entire set and I could fill in an awful lot of my Ravelry needle chart...

IN other news: Sock the Second has been cast on. I'm actually getting close to the heel flap.

And the kiddo turns 8 tomorrow, so the house is filled with the scent of chocolate cake. I'm trying my Butterfly Pull Apart Cupcake pan that I bought for a pittance from that place that I used to work. It's cooling now.

If I have learned anything about silicone bakeware, it's that when the directions say, "lightly spray pan with non-stick cooking spray," you spray the bejeezus out of the pan. And when it is done baking, you let it cool completely. If you do not, the cake will stick. And you will become incredibly pissed off.

It's a clever idea. When you bake them, they kind of rise over the top of the pan and bake together. Then you frost it as one piece, but each bit can be pulled off as a cupcake. The plan is to frost it and decorate most of it, but leave a few pieces for the ladies to decorate themselves tomorrow. I will post photos as soon as my battery recharges. Bloody thing isn't holding a charge well at all.

Presenting...

Sock the First, version 5. I grafted the toe this morning. Once I learned how to actually read, the heel was not bad at all.