Charlie

Well, I'm not quite sure what to say, but our cat Charlie had to be put down yesterday. My dad didn't tell me until this afternoon, he wanted to make sure I was done with classes. Charlie, our beautiful tuxedo cat, has been with us since November 2005, when she was just a wee-little take on the world bouncing kitten. I remember when mom brought her home, two weeks before Christmas as a total surprise. I was sitting at our family computer in the den when mom came in through the garage (we had a open ranch house) with a little stuffed kitteh with a silly gift bow, when I realized that she had a -real- kitteh!

Mom took right to little Charlie, and mom was a notoriously nonanimal lover, so it was remarkable how she took to Charlie. I always joked that Charlie would be my replacement when I'm off in college. Mom always calling her 'my baby' and having more pictures of her than me, it was a running joke. Charlie always followed mom around the house, watching her wash her face, clean the kitchen (attacking the washcloth while mom tried to clean the kitchen table and counters), sleeping with my mom every night... Mom's taking it hard.

But, I kept reminding mom over the phone earlier as we both sobbed and cried that we gave Charlie a wonderful life and that we're all better for having her in our family. Even Lucy, my cat, is giving mom some comfort. We just got to remember the good times and all the little Charlie-isms. Spring Break is the week after next so I'll be home for mom soon and we'll probably do some more crying and whatnot. Maybe we can make a special album for pictures of Charlie.

Charlie's usual fluffy antics at the computer desk, distracting with cuteness.

Way back when she was still a little kitteh rapscallion.

The most recent picture of Charlie and Lucy. She loved curling up for a hard-day's napping.

You'll always be in our hearts, we love you Charlie.

November 2005 - March 2011

Its been awhile

Ok so its been a few days since I posted anything. I feel the need to rant so I will. You've been warned.

So today I had another Chinese oral presentation. I totally bombed it, a horrifying experience. I didn't have much time to prepare for this one because yesterday I had to drive a total of 5 hours to bring my roommate back from the airport. I wrote out the presentation last night but didn't practice after class today. I tried going second and tripped up on my second sentence. I froze up and my mind blanked. I had to sit back down and go last. I screwed up so much, I feel sick just thinking about it.

Today in general was just a bad day. I don't know why, there's no reason it should've been really. I'm beginning to think that I should really check in with the Health Center's shrink. I don't think I can though. I don't want the school to freak out and then say I can't go to Japan because I went to talk to the shrink. I feel like I can't risk it. Its almost like I'm trapped. My other friend has also been struggling with some issues and she also applied to go to Japan and she's worried too. We're thinking of going to the Health Center and asking, hypothetically, if the shrink will have to tell the school and study abroad office if a student comes in. I admit, I'm scared. If I can't go to Japan, I don't know what I'll do.

I have my first midterm this Friday, and I'm not looking forward to it. Its for my American Politics class. I don't like that class, my professor and the book we use are so obviously biased. I mean, no one is perfect so I expect a little bias but the book is so, so, obvious about it. I've always expected textbooks to just present the facts and let you do the critical thinking and make your own judgements based on the facts and evidence. Not with this class. Its my biggest class and all the professor does is lecture or show videos, so there's not really a chance to discuss anything. Also, the professor is the department chair for the Government Department, which is my major, so I don't want to stand out to him anyway. At least my morning class on Friday is canceled, I just have to turn in a paper. Always got to look for the very faint silver lining.

Tomorrow I should be getting one of my makeup shipments. I ordered some Too Faced eye primer and it comes with some free samples. I'm excited! I'll finally have some decent eye shadow primer so hopefully eye show will actually stick to my eyes. It normally wears almost right off and creases like mad. I also ordered the Everyday Minerals Elements Water Special kit and that should be coming in soon. I'm also excited about this kit because I think the junior eye kabuki brush will be really good for loose eye shadows. Once I get these packages I'll see if I can post some looks with the Sweet Libertine eye shadows that I got earlier this month. I'll see if I can post some photos using my different, new make up.

There are some make up I want to check out on Etsy. I've been looking at various makeup websites like MAC, Sephora, Urban Decay and the like, but all of them are a little on the expensive side for me right now. So I think I'll go for the natural makeup from sellers on Etsy. I like supporting the online entrepreneurs, and I feel like I can really trust the quality because of the personal oversight of the products. But I'm not going to snub the big guys, I'm looking forward to Spring Break when I can go back to 'civilization', and go to the really big mall where there's a Sephora and MAC store. I also can't wait to go back to the two LYSes near my parents' house.

Save Planned Parenthood

I recently got an email from Planned Parenthood informing me that the Pence Bill, which would bad PP from getting any federal funding. This is ridiculous! The Pence Bill states that because PP preforms abortions that it should not be granted federal funding because:

“It is morally wrong to end an unborn human life by abortion.  It is also morally wrong to take the taxpayer dollars of millions of pro-life Americans and use them to promote abortion at home or abroad.

"Last year, Planned Parenthood received more than $363 million in revenue from government grants and contracts.  During that same time, they performed an unprecedented 324,008 abortions.

PP performs many more services than abortions. I know that members of my community depend on PP for many different health services that they can't otherwise afford. I go to the PP branch that is in my town for free and cheaper birth control patches. I wouldn't be able to afford a constant supply otherwise. If you or others you know depend on PP, please email your Senator and tell them how you feel. I know abortion is a tough issue but there are other was to debate that issue, those who need PP for its numerous other services shouldn't suffer for it.


Visit this link to find out the facts about the Pence Bill.

Sidewalk Shawl

Over winter break I bought six skeins of Debbie Stroller's Bamboo Ewe in Twilight. I figured I should bring some color into my wardrobe, so I went with the pretty purple instead of the silver Mercury. I really like this yarn; its soft, flexible, light, wonderful drape, and cheap. I like the cheap part. I want to make my own shawl that's not a granny-shawl, if you know what I mean.

I tried starting the shawl last week, but I had trouble right from the get-go. The first try I simply could not understand how to make an increase shell. Silly, I know, but this is the mostly complex pattern I've used so far, so I had to decipher the 'crochetese'. I ended up starting over 3 times before I could get past row 4. Then, once I got to row 6, I had to rip it back to row 4. But, I think I've finally started to understand the pattern. Now I realize it's not all that hard really.

Today I got to row 18. Here's what I've got so far...

I really want to keep working on it, but I've got a lot of work to do this weekend. It's going to be really hard not to keep working on it! It takes pretty much all my attention to follow the pattern, Ms. McAlidin's pattern writing can be a little unclear.

On another note, I had to move my car across campus today. It's been snowing so much that the school parking lots had to be emptied and totally plowed over. So I had to walk across campus at 10 pm with my roommate to go get our cars again. It was 16F out so when we found my car I had to wait a while for my poor car to warm up enough to defrost the ice on the windshield. It was rather inconvenient.

我爱钩针编织！

大家好。我最喜爱的活动是钩针编织。我也要学习编织。可是，我看编织比钩针编织难一点儿。编织很难因为编织的时候，你用两个编结针。钩针编织的时候，你用一只一个钩子。我觉得钩针编织很好玩儿。我常常一边钩针编织，一边看电视。我能做一些东西。比如，我做这个帽子。票不漂亮？我无师自通做钩针编织物。我姥姥也钩针编织，可是她不再编织了。我给她一条围巾。我也给我妈妈一条围巾。现在，我做钩针编织一条围巾。这条围巾很大。这条围巾很难。我有一个朋友，她也做钩针编织。我请她：“请你帮我！”她帮助我了。我喜欢去再绒线商店。去绒线商店的人很有意思。我爱钩针编织！

I have a Chinese mini oral presentation tomorrow where I'm supposed to talk about my favorite activity. I decided to talk about crochet. I also talk a little about knitting. It's very simple and basic grammar, but I probably still got some of it wrong. I'll have to ask my T.A. to look over it. I'm supposed to talk for at least three minuets. I hope this is enough. I'll post a vlog of me speaking and practicing later.

Oh of the Glories of Roommates

I have two roommates that I get a long with pretty well. Its awesome most of the time, like a perpetual sleep over, but other times not so much. My roomie Richelle has a boyfriend. They like to have sex. A lot.

This wasn't always a problem. Last semester Richelle pretty much moved into his room with him and if I didn't have two classes with her I wouldn't have seen her at all really. But now she's moved back in, so to speak. The boyfriend is now here constantly, sleeping over a few times a week.

I mean, I get it. On the one hand it really annoys me when they get all mushy and she gets whiney when he's not around, but I probably wouldn't be all that better if I had a boyfriend. But what really annoys me is that I have to knock on my own door to make sure I don't walk in on them. On nights when he sleeps over they go into the girls bathroom next our room and do it in there. This is rather problematic when I want to use the bathroom for its actual purpose and they occupy it.

Richelle is a good friend. We all have our quirks. She doesn't study, she gets three day weekends, sleeps in everyday, has fun with her boyfriend, and enjoys the pleasures of life. Lucky her.

Following a Suggestion

Well, after reading fellow Rav member's blog, I thought I'd post a pick with ten facts about me. I apologize for the bad picture. I'm terrible in pictures! But, anyway, let's give it a shot.

~Facts~

I love dragons. I've always believed that they are somehow real and that they've had an impact on human history. I even wrote a paper about dragons in high school.

I'm a budding gun enthusiast. I know, it's not popular for everyone but I come a from a line of hunters.

My favorite food is sushi. Raw fish is delicious, I don't care what anyone else says.

Sadly, I usually have a low opinion of myself. It comes from not having high self-esteem. But I'm working on it!

I'm pursuing and Asian Studies & Government. I'm learning Chinese and Japanese. I think I'm better at Chinese.

I love watching The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and The Colbert Report. They are the only news-type program I can watch.

I will one day run a bakery. It will happen. Nothing will stop me.

Ravens are the smartest birds. Each flock can develop their own culture, the can speak, learn and solve puzzles, and use and make tools.

I've been to 47 states and lived in 6 of them.

My aunt's cat Blondie is immortal. Seriously, he's older than me.

Those weren't really facts but I think its ok if I put up these things. Close enough.

St. Lawrence County Crafters!

Well, I just started my own Ravelry group and I'm excited. It's called St. Lawrence County Crafters, SLCC for short, and Foxdaughter2 and I are going to mod it. I really hope this works. There's a Rav group called North Country Knitters, but its not all that active. I'm hoping that this group will help bring in some students around here. Who knows, maybe we could start a club! Yarn and notions payed for by the school? Epic!

I wanted it to be mostly for SLU and other local students, but Foxdaughter2 thought that that'd be too narrow. She pointed out that she's met a lot of older, cool crafters at the LYSes. So why not? It's worth a try. We're going to design a flyer to put up around campus and town (and when we can, in the other towns around here too). Maybe we can get people who aren't on Rav to join up. Sweet, huh?

I've got some plans for the group. I was thinking maybe we could set aside a time maybe once a week or biweekly to get together and craft. Depending on who becomes members, we'll have to chose a suitable place. If it's mostly students we could just meet in the student center, but if it's also non-student members we could try the bookstore, or one of the cafes around here. Sort of a stitch'n'bith thing going on. We could also do mini yarn crawls. I'm going to see about posting flyers in the LYSes.

I'm thinking some sort of charity work too. I haven't mentioned that to Foxdaughter2 yet, but I'll see about that once we've got some members. If all goes well, I'd really like to start a club here on campus. It'd be awesome to give crafting some notoriety among us young people. Hell, maybe we could yarn bomb the campus! I'll try to keep progress posted here.

Make Up Stash~

Here's those vlog I mentioned, I had to do it in parts. Please excuse the poor lighting and my lack of makeup. I also stammered a little, sorry.

 Pt 2 is coming soon...

Of the New Obsessions

Well it's been awhile so I figure an entry on my latest obsessions is in order. Namely, my new found love of yarn-craft and makeup.

We all need creative outputs. I'm very excited to add crochet and makeup to my first creative expression, cooking. Over winter break, which was longer than usual this year (about 1 month), I had the time to really dig into crochet. I've dabbled in crochet in the past, but in high school there was literally no time for it. Last summer, however, I had a lot of time. So, faced with tons of time, I picked up Crocheting for Dummies. I found that I'd been crocheting all wrong! Using a basic pattern from the book I made a  scarf for my mom, which she's worn a lot this winter. I decided that I'd work on a blanket for my brother. At first I was going to do a simple, continuous granny square with colors that reminded me to the ocean. I talked my mom into taking me to a yarn shop (it was a little out of the way) and bought some awesome yarn. Before I started though, I thought that he'd like a Tetris Blanket instead. So instead of one really big granny square, I'm going to sort of quilt together smaller granny squares to make the Tetris blocks and possibly a black background. I've got a handful of squares, but it's going to take a while.

Also, last semester I made a new friend who knits and crochets. She also introduced my to Ravelry, an awesome resource for knitters and corcheters. We also found two LYS (local yarn store) that we've visited quiet a bit. It's really amazing. There's nothing quiet as satisfying as making something beautiful, soft, and practical. Over break I made myself a newsboy hat made of awesome baby alpaca wool. The yarn is so soft and the hat is wonderfully warm. The best part, though, is that I made it. I feel so industrious when I crochet.

I'll probably rave more about crochet later. Now on to makeup!

I never would've guessed that I'd ever be into makeup. I'm not very feminine and I'm not very stylish, so it never occurred to me to think about makeup. But after watching Lauren Luke on Youtube, I realized how creative a person could be with makeup. I wear a lot of black, grey, and dark blue, so makeup, particularly eye makeup, is a great way for me to add color to my general appearance. Despite the darker colors of my clothing, I really do love bright and vibrant colors but I can never seem to find clothes in colors I like in styles I like too.

So recently I've bought a bunch of makeup, probably more money than I should've spent. I'm going to do a vlog on all my makeup soon. I just got to do it when my roomies aren't around, don't want them to think I'm obsessed or anything...

I've found a lot of inspiration on the web lately. Between Ravelry, with all its members, and Youtube with its huge community, it's an amazing overload of creativity. I found another beauty girl on Youtube, Michelle Phan. Lauren Luke and Michelle Phan are, well, inspirations. They're not only creative artists but down-to-earth, successful entrepreneurs. They're able to take a passion and make it into a profession. How often does that happen these days? That's the true capitalist spirit and they give me hope that one day I'll be able to make my own living off something I love.

On another note I can't wait for Lauren's makeup brushes to come out! She said they'd be coming out in late January but they haven't yet.