No worries, Joel…ya live, ya learn!!
[What’s even worse… I’m not a TV watcher. I really look forward to seeing only a couple of shows during the entire week and I’ve often missed those in favor of doing other stuff. ]
All I can say is I feel your pain and TiVo saved my marriage. Ok not really but it sure has helped. Now we watch the shows we want when we want to. He can tape stuff that he likes and watch it when I’m not around and vice versa. Hello freedom and no missed episodes of Alias!
Congrats on the job and school news, it’s really great to hear! Now you can really celebrate together with the kids go on their visit![/quote]
I’m not sure what pushed me over to finally do this, but figured what the heck. Here’s a starter list about me. As I think of more things, I’ll edit this post to add them on the end of the list.
- I was born (and raised) in Michigan.
- We moved five times before I graduated high school.
- Growing up, I used to listen to WLS (in Chicago) every morning, when Larry Lujack still did the morning show.
- Animal Stories rocked!
- I’ve seen a car on fire twice in my life.
- My largest school class size was over 400… the smallest was half that.
- My favorite sports teams are: Red Wings, Cubs, Lions and the Bears.
- I’ve attended three separate colleges.
- I’ve lived in Michigan, Iowa, Illinois (Chicago area), and Colorado.
- My wife and I met online, in a chat room.
- She’s from California.
- We got married, on a boat, on the Chicago River… the reception was held (on the same boat) on Lake Michigan.
- It was a 3 hour cruise.
- The dinner menu was called, SS Minnow.
- Luckily the boat wasn’t.
- I’ve been married for over 5 years.
- This year, I will turn 36. (Happened in June)
- My wife will turn 27 in October.
- I have two children, age 7 and 4.
- I’m allergic to (Cow) Milk and all related Milk Products.
- I’m 6’3” tall, but for humor, I’ll say I’m 5’15”.
- I’ve grown my hair out twice.
- At its longest, my hair hung down to the middle of my back.
- I’ve worn glasses since 4th grade.
- I’ve driven a car over 100 mph.
- It’s been nearly 15 years since I got a speeding ticket.
- I’ve been as far east as the coast of Maine (Bar Harbor).
- The farthest south I’ve gone was the Everglades, in Florida.
- I’ve also seen to the Pacific Ocean.
- I’ve never been to any other country besides Canada.
- My parents live 1,325 miles away.
- My in-laws live 1,321 miles away.
--------- Added 6/21/05 - I’ve participated in a Polar Bear Swim (brrrrrrrr).
- I play piano/keyboards.
- I played the Trombone for 9 years.
- I also played the guitar a little bit.
- I compose music.
- I had a good friend in college that weighed over 600 pounds. He got to almost 800 at one point in college.
- I have never cheated on my wife or past gf’s.
- Littering is a pet peeve of mine.
- I’ve had second degree burns.
- I have one younger sister.
- I’ve had up to 16 beers in one sitting.
- I used to study at the bar.
- I type at approximately 50-55 wpm.
- I read at approximately 300-350 wpm.
- I have never taken a speed reading course.
- The highest speed I’ve read at was over 800 wpm, in 7th grade.
- I really like reading these 100 things posts from everyone here.
--------- Added 6/28/05 - I have a really fast metabolism.
- My favorite food genre is Seafood.
- Steak and breakfast foods are tied for second place.
- I like just about every food on the planet.
- Lima Beans are one exception. Ugh!
- I don’t tan worth a darn.
- I wear size 13/14 shoes.
--------- Added 8/10/05 - I love doing webcam IMs and chats because you can see the other person’s reactions.
- Despite working as a technical and computer consultant, before coming to KH, I had never heard the term Blog.
- If I could afford it, I’d love to take a boat trip around the world.
- Of the cities I’ve lived close to, Chicago has so far been my favorite.
- I’ve never experienced an earthquake firsthand.
- I have been in several tornadoes.
- When I weighed myself this morning, I’ve gained another pound (30-40 more to go).
- I want to own several different businesses.
- My current car radio station presets cover the following genres: Classic Rock, Smooth Jazz, Hard Rock/Heavy Metal, Country, Orchestral/Classical, and Contemporary Christian.
- I have more online friends than IRL (In Real Life).
--------- Added 9/12/05 - By the time I graduated highschool, I had earned (and saved) enough money that I could have bought a brand new car in cash.
- I went to college instead and I’ve been broke ever since. :roflhard:
- I have studied at least one year of the following languages (in high school/college) Spanish, German, and Japanese.
- At one time or another, I have also programmed in COBOL, JCL, VBA/Visual Basic, and SQL.
- At one point, I had enough music recorded on my home studio to put out an album, but never did.
- I successfully auditioned for a Christian Rock Band.
- I dropped out 1 week later, because I didn’t have the time to devote to practices. (I was both in school fulltime and working fulltime.)
--------- Added 9/13/05 - I like Star Trek… or at least some of it.
- I like Star Wars too, but havent seen all the movies there either.
- I used to really enjoy Battlestar Galactica.
- I read lots of different genres… Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Self-Help, Business, Technical, Christian fiction, and even some “bodice-rippers”.
- My goatee is the result of a romance story that my wife and I read together.
--------- Added 9/21/05 - I’ve played music/hymns for church services… alot!
- I average about 5 to 6 hours of sleep per night.
- I didn’t learn to like coffee until I became a parent.
- I graduated high school nearly 20 years ago.
- I graduated college nearly 10 years ago.
- Including time-off, going part-time, etc., it took me 8 years to earn my B.A.
- When I graduated high school, I weighed 135 lbs.
- By the time, I graduated college, my weight had climbed 25 pounds.
--------- Added 9/22/05 - I’ve seriously considered writing a computer book for non-techies.
- I used to have a dog that was 50% German Shepard and 50% Dachshund.
- My highschool graduation was held in the Pontiac Silverdome (in Michigan).
- I skipped my college graduation ceremony.
- It’s been VERY difficult to think of 100 things about myself.
- I would really like to live in another country for a year or two.
- I have never owned a brand new car.
- I want to own a motorcycle (but my wife is not keen on that).
- I can be in the Rocky Mountains in less than 30 minutes.
- In college, I used to walk over 2 miles to get to school.
- The coldest weather I walked in, was about -40 degrees Fahrenheit.
- At current we have one dog (a Jack-A-Beag) and one cat.
- I’m VERY analytical.
100 I finished my 100 things list! Yea!!
Potholder Attempt 2:
After frogging the whole dang thing, a couple of days ago, last night, I re-cast on somewhere in the 20-30 stitches range and purled the first row. I’m going to attempt this stockinette stitch again and see how far I get. I’m still having trouble dealing with the end stitches… and I haven’t figured out what I’m doing wrong yet. Maybe I’ll get take a pic of the ends and post it as part of the how-to threads.
Anywho… going for try number 2.
Joel, what an AWESOME list!
I LOVE alternative weddings…we got married at the Garfield Park Conservatory! Since you lived in Chicago, you may know where that is…Central Park and Lake Street.
I would DIE if I were lactose intolerant…gotta have my cheesecake!
I would bet that your end sts are a little loose, and that is another one of those things that will work itself out as you practice.
It’s been a few years since I lived in the Chicago area (I was in Schaumburg) but I do remember the name. And KK, you may find this funny… for our tables, my wife and I found (at Woodfield Mall) these candles, that we put into glass bowls of water, shaped like Life Preservers. 
We’ve known about my allergy since I was 6 or 7. Unfortunately, I love milk stuff too, I just can’t have it. In my case, I don’t exactly have a Lactose Intolerance… (LI usually causes symptoms like bloating, upset stomach, etc, and then when it gets into the actual body, it’s all good). In my case, basically, I get the equivalent of the flu (dependent on how much I have).
I can take the Lactaid pills, but for me to have a small, single serving of milk, means I have to take 3x the number of pills as the average LI person and its still no guarantee I won’t have mild symptoms anyway.
That is SO cute!!!
I would down an entire bottle of lactaid for one piece of cheesecake…
This second project has been a tough deal for me. I’ve actually ripped this project out three to five times already. For a dishcloth, that’s probably excessive.
Anywho… I learn something new each time I watch Amy’s videos. Since my last post, I learned another difference between garter and stockinette stitch. Garter lays flat, stockinette doesn’t. That was the reason I ripped it out this last time.
I’ve been trying to take on too much I think:
- I have been trying to Purl and Knit both.
- I’ve been studying both Continental and English styles.
- I’m attempting to make less mistakes.
- Trying to learn how to fix the mistakes I have been making without ripping out the whole damn thing.
- Learn how the stitches work so that I can reinsert the needles properly when my stitches do come off.
- Improve my tension and eveness of stitches.
And I’m sure there’s more but I cant think of what it is right now.
So… I came to a conclusion. Get back to basics.
For a guy who’s only been knitting a month that seems like a strange statement. And it’s going to be somewhat tough for me to do. I’m a borderline perfectionist, analytical, and tend to bite off more than I should in an effort to ramp up quickly, something that in the consulting world, is a must do!
With that change in goal and attitude. I’ve frogged this project for the last time… I hope. I’ve gone back to doing just the garter stitch (knit only) and I’m concentrating on learning the continental style of knitting. I want to learn the fast knitting and the only way to do that is to practice that style until I have learned it.
The PURL will have to wait.
Tonight, I did about 6-8 rows in a couple hours while watching a movie with my wife and yes there are mistakes in there that I really feel a need to correct. But for now, I’m fighting those perfectionist tendancies that want to shread this dishcloth and start it over and doing it as is. It’s not even, its not pretty (in my mind) but it is getting done and when I find a way to ask someone about these mistakes and have them explain both th mistake and the fix, instead of just fixing them, I will learn.
On a more positive note… I’m using the other dishcloth I made (my first project). I still need to run it through the washer and see how it holds up but I am using it.
Joel, you need HUGS. 
You put ALOT of pressure on yourself!! 
You can solve the rolling problem of stockinette by knitting the first few rows, then the first few (3-5) sts of each row, giving yourself a garter st border around your piece.
Also, all of the issues you listed CAN work themselves out concurrently with practice…they did for me! Except, maybe no. 2. Maybe you want to stick with the one style of knitting that just “appeals” to you right now, until all those other things work themselves out.
Dont give up on THE PURL! I have faith in you! 
Yes I do… which is something I continually have to fight not to do.
Aye Aye Captain! (you’ll just have to imagine a saluting emoticon) I’ve decided to concentrate on the Continental style. I would eventually want to learn it anyway for the speed. So figure heck with it. I’ll learn it now before I get too used to the English style. As for this project, I’ll do the garter stitch via the knitting only. Next project will probably be another dishcloth using “reverse” garter stitch… via only Purls. Not yet sure, for now, I’m concentrating on only one project at a time. I have enough trouble making time to work on one at a time let alone multiple projects.
The biggest thing I feel I need to do after working on the Knit and Purl is learning how the stitches are put together and learn how to identify what I’ve done so that I can figure out what mistake I’ve made and the best way to fix it… without undoing each stitch one at a time… potentially for several rows.
I looked into a knitting class in my area… the only one I found is held in the middle of the day during the weekdays (like that’s an option for anyone who works outside the home). I’ve been considering hunting down that lady at the front of our community and offering to pay her for private knitting lessons or something. Knitting doesn’t seem to be that big out in my area, maybe because so many people do outdoor activities here.
Oh I totally agree with you! Once I figured out how the stitches wererelated it was very easy to see what the mistakes were.
Amy’s video on insterting the needle to a destination row was a eureka moment for me when I first started. I was like “wow! you mean i DON’T have to totally start over???”
So, I need a spanking emoticon…
I’ve been a bad boy… not practicing my knitting as much as I should. I’m still on my second project. I’m still attempting continental knitting and my tension still sucks.
Without going into all the details… stress has caused me to lose some weight and I need to lose about as much weight as a housefly. That same stress has also kept me from knitting. For some of you, that will seem strange because knitting is totally relaxing for you. And in a way it is for me too, but I’m still too bad at knitting (and too much of a perfectionist) to relax doing it yet. I make way too many mistakes and get frustrated with my tension issues, which is NOT relaxing.
Anyway, I’ve mananged to deal with enough of the stress that I was able to begin knitting again. And last night, webcam’d (IM) with Denise for a while. Watched her knit and had her watch me and make pointers. It was a good conversation, in my opinion.
I’m going to the doctor on Thursday to have the doc look at my mouth and see if she can determine what’s been causing so much pain. Hoping I can get this dealt with before Saturday, because we’re going to the Renaissance Fair for my birthday/father’s day.
And that’s the latest… 
take care of yourself Joel.
good luck with everything.
have fun at the Ren Faire!!! :cheering: :happydance:
HUGS, Joel!
Today is the first day without the pain in my mouth that has been constant for nearly a week. And today is the first day in that same amount of time, I haven’t had Aleve to help try and deal with the pain.
YEA!
I got another couple of rows done on my project… no, they’re not even but I’m really working on that and I’m sticking with the continental knitting. Denise (Foldedbird) was explaining that I need to keep my index finger (holding the yarn) closer (like to 1/2 inch) which i’m working on but the dang yarn keeps coming off… so i gotta figure a way to keep it from doing that, keep the stitches from getting too tight, and even out the rows. So far no holes in this one but i still have a lot of rows to go.
And i cancelled that Thursday doc appt.
I have been knitting for almost 2 months!
This week has been interesting for me. I got over being sick. Now, my wife isnt feeling so hot. 
But she has different symptoms so not sure what’s going on there. I had my birthday on Saturday, we stayed at a Hilton Garden Inn on the south side of Denver, (Hotwire is wonderful). My wife, our neighbor (our neighbors stayed in a different hotel about 2 miles north of us) and I went out to a very good restaurant for my birthday dinner. Great food, good beer and great company.
Then Sunday was Father’s Day. My wife, our neighbors, and I went to a Renaissance Festival (Ale theme weekend). That’s a weird thing to do on Father’s Day without your kids. (The kids are still with their grandparents in California for another few days.) It was in the 90’s, sunny and dry.
I got to open a couple of gift my kids gave me for father’s day presents. They were really great pictures of them set in some decorated wood frames, (that I might take pics and post) and my oldest daughter also gave me a really cool school project. According to her school project, I’m 45 feet tall and weigh 1000 pounds. :roflhard:
My major purchase of the weekend for myself, besides food and ale, was music recording software. (I bought this Saturday before dinner.) I’m looking forward to getting some of my compositions onto it.
A purchase we got at the fair, for my wife, was a hand held yarn spinner. This hand spinner is pretty cool… (yes we bought her a bunch of wool to spin too). My father is big time into genealogy and we found a shop that looked up the history of our family name and our family crest. So we bought a history (and plan to frame it for him) then we bought him and each of his brothers, a keychain with our family crest on it. We’re planning on giving it to him/them at our family reunion (in July) for his birthday (which happens to be right in the middle of the family reunion).
For my FIL, we bought him a cool “horse” head made out of wood for a Father’s Day present to put into his office. (western theme)
In addition to all of that, I got to knit in the car quite a bit since I wasn’t driving this time. I tested out the continental knitting suggestions here: http://www.knittinghelp.com/knitting/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2153 and may have found one that worked… I seemed to go alot faster and my rows evened up. (I havent had a chance to take a pic yet…) They still aren’t perfect but way better then they were. :cheering: And I managed to do probably 10-12 rows this weekend.
Well that’s enough for now… I’ll probably think of something else to add later. 
hey joel! I just read your blog so far, and I gotta say “huzzah” for you knitting! whoo hooo! and, I’ve seen two cars on fire, too!
It took me a L O N G time to GET knitting - the ‘theory’ behind it. It comes as an ‘a ha’ moment, and it took me learning continental and by just knitting and purling basic scarves for ever.
I just think it’s soo cool that you’re doing this!
Happy belated Pop’s day, too and hoping everyone’s soon feeling better in your household
Joel, its so good to hear you sounding not-so-frustrated with your knitting!! :cheering:
I LOVED Ren Faire the one time DH & I went…had to get a flower garland/ribbon thing for my hair…it made me feel like a princess! :shifty:
Sounds like you’ve been in “present heaven”…both giving AND getting! YAYYY!
For those of you following this blog… ive added a few more things to my
30 things about me and expanding post.
Enjoy!
Whew! Got my 2nd project finished finally. It doesnt look like much but hey its a dishrag and this time it doesnt even have holes in it!
So, I’ll post pics on the FO thread.