HaNdKrAfT

A little anxieity and a little lagniappe.

la·gniappe (ln-yp, lnyp) n. Chiefly Southern Louisiana & Mississippi: an extra or unexpected gift or benefit.

That is what I got from my One Skein secret pal Sherry.  She sent me the lovely tank top from the book, knitted in fantastic aqua Helen's Lace.  She also included a knit wire bracelet and it is gorgeous.  Thank you so much Sherry!

I have to say, I really needed her package this week- I have started looking for a new job, and I had forgotten how hard job hunting can be.  I have sent about 15 resumes out so far, and have had no nibbles.  All I can do is keep plugging away at it, and maybe by next year, when I need the job, I will have one.  I am not going to do what I did the last time, and wait until the last minute.  No, this time I am going to be pro-active, and spend at least one hour of every day working on my job search. 

The hardest thing about the search is all of the flat out- rejection that I have been facing.  I much prefer not getting a response at all as opposed to this response I got from a legal headhunting firm in the PAC Northwest: "As you know, our law firm and corporate clients pay us for our services.  They may take a look at you on your own, but are unlikely to pay us a fee.  They expect us to present them with qualified candidates with excellent academic credentials." 

Basically they said that my law school grades were not good enough for them to get me a job, or in so many words, that they would actually have to WORK to find me a job, and they could not get a quick $30,000 off of placing me in a firm.  Yeah, I know my grades were not great.  And I graduated from law school over 5 years ago, at the age of 23.  I was not legally old enough to drink alcohol when I started law school.  Chew on that for a while lady.

In other, fiber news, I have finished blocking my slouchy cardigan, and it is huge the way that it turned out.  Alpaca is not an elastic fiber by any means, and once I have the sweater finished, I am going to re-block it.  I have only the sleeves to finish on my pink cardigan, and then to knit the collar.  I am finding that if I block the pieces as I finish them, it makes sewing it together quicker. 

I also have to make some headway on the quilts this weekend- I have not worked on them in a couple of weeks, and need to get them moving, so at least the one will be done by Christmas.  I am considering paying to have the thing quilted, but I have a friend who has a long arm machine that I might be able to use. (for a trade)

Final SP 8 Package

Thank you SP!  I got home after a really crappy Monday at work to discover my last package for Secret Pal 8, who is the fabulous Laura.  Aside from spoiling me, Laura also spoiled my little guy as well.  This round, she sent some bark bars for him. 

While Laura and I share a fondness for Lorna's Laces, and a deep abiding love for our fur-babies, she is a sock knitter.  (and her socks do turn out very well.)  I completely respect the right of knitters everywhere to knit socks, but as I have bogged before: I don't do socks.  There is one lady at a lys I sometimes frequent that is on a mission; a crusade if you will, to convert me to be a sock knitter.  Now- understand, she does not try to convince me that they are easy, etc, as she is well aware that I am capable of knitting them.  I have made my opposition to investing my time and energy to knitting socks well known.  I slightly resent it when people try to convert me.

I don't feel 29

(and I am not yet, but will be in less than 48 hours).

I was at the midnight knit in at my fave lys yesterday, and realized that of the "group" I am the youngest.  And that I have more in common with people five to ten years older than me than I do with the people my age.  Added to that is that I am the youngest lawyer in my office by a good 8 years, and I am the ONLY lawyer under Thirty.  The gods honest truth is that I don't look my age either.  I look closer to 19 than to 29.  (Ok, maybe 19 is a bit of a stretch, but no way do I look older than 25.)  And if someone truly guesses my age I am a little horrified and offended. 

I have also started to identify more with the new Leanne Rimes song "Something's Gotta Give."  But I am still ambivelent about the kid thing.  I have a hard enough time taking care of myself and Jack, let alone children.  I am also in the most crucial time of my carrer - trial by fire as it were, and can not imagine dealing with alll of this with kids.

Aside from all of this is my ever increasing desire to get my own business up and off the ground, but it always seems that other stuff gets in the way.   My biggest thing so far is "branding," and coming up with a good logo.  I am not a graphic artist, and envy those who can just come up with stuff.