Hi

It's been a really odd few weeks here at Casa Hip Hip. I don't do well with large unexpected changes and I feel like there's been a lot of them.

First, bad news seems to be permeating the internet. My real-life friend Heather had to say goodbye to her beloved cat Olive. Catherine, who I know only thru mutual blog reading, has just gone thru the unimaginable tragedy of losing a second son to stillbirth. And Jessica of Cancer,Baby, who I knew only thru reading her blog, lost her battle with ovarian cancer on Friday. Please go take a look at her blog, she was a wonderful writer and a courageous, truth-telling woman who will be greatly missed.

Though it seems like small change compared to the things I've just listed, there's been some turmoil in my life as well. My car decided it like Park so much it wanted to stay there, leaving me stranded by the mailboxes at my complex. It would unPark sporadically but it was a crapshoot if I could hit Reverse or not. The brake switch was finally replaced (for free, as it should have been) and the car's working fine now but it was nerve-wracking wondering if I was going to get stuck somewhere.

Then, right when I had my school schedule planned out nicely for the rest of my education things imploded. A course I wanted to take at U of A (something not offered by Pitt) was cancelled for the Fall meaning I had to shuffle things hurriedly and take it this summer instead. Since my Pitt class is going to be tough, I was hoping for something easy to balance it out, but instead I'm now going to have two hellish classes at once, one with a whole new online system to learn.

This did gave me the opportunity to see how glad I am I didn't do the U of A program. It took them a week to answer an email and three days to return a phone call. And I don't even want to get into the drama of trying to fill out the online application. You shouldn't need a graduate degree to fill out a form to go get a graduate degree.

There's also been the whole ordeal of trying to do my field placement. I started the process before having to switch my schedule around and I think I'm going to be very happy with Good Sam's library but the process to get in is crazy. I have to be an official volunteer and so far I've had a 2.5 hour orientation, two TB tests, a trip back to get the TB test read, blood drawn and an MMR vaccine. Next is the orientation quiz and the paying of the $20 for the oh-so-flattering mandatory polo shirt. And let's not forget that khaki pants are preferred. You could wear blue or black or white, but really khaki is preferred. Strongly preferred. So now I have to go shopping for pants which is my idea of hell.

Let's talk about the MMR for a second. Measles, mumps and rubella. All very nasty viruses with very nasty side effects (sterilization, deafness and, oh yeah, death). Very good public health policy to require people to get vaccinated for them. But I can't get a measles titre to (almost literally) save my life. I'd been injected with the MMR vaccine 3 times and the solo measles version once. First as an infant, next before college since I got the infant one too early in development, then again when I worked at Merck in the department where they make the friggin' MMR and the solo shot prior to hospital employment. The next hospital I worked at, I signed a waiver saying I wouldn't sue them if I died from measles so I was able to skip it. Good Sam won't do the waiver thing and doesn't carry the solo version at Occupation Health. So injected full of live, attenuated viruses I be.

And that made me have to cancel lunch with a friend who can't be exposed to live, attenuated viruses, such at the type I am currently shedding all over Phoenix. And I will bet any of you a skein of Noro that I won't have an acceptable measles titre when they retest me.

It hasn't been all bad. I completed a few things. One can't be shown yet since I'm hoping it will be published at For the Love of Yarn. Suffice to say, Lucy may not be speaking to me if I make her do any more photo shoots. I also did the entire leg of my kneesocks (I decided to go for socks) and have the first inch done on the second one. Once I feel up to it I will start the whole heel-foot-toe thing. I finished a couple of headbands and a wristband for some schoolmates children but haven't been able to get a good picture.

And I finished this.


It went in the mail only one day late for Mother's Day, which may be a record for me. It's made of fabric strips from a pattern Mom gave me a loooonng time ago. I made the knit version but the picture of that is blurry and they look very similar. It sheds like a mofo and was hard on the hands, but I'm glad I made it. I think Mom will like it, as long as she doesn't use it while wearing black.

Other good things. I got to see Dramarama Saturday night without injury. And Melanie and I got to meet Rico, who was a bit too Suave.

Melanie added a member to her family in the metallic form of Scarlett Sunshine.

And Eva got a huge, happy surprise held in the claw of a lobster.