Knit and Crochet

My meetup group, Stitchcraft, is going to be doing a Knit/Crochet-A-Long for 2012. I went to my local LYS today and bought the first batch of yarn I’ll need. Only 16 balls to start. Here’s a picture.

Yarn for my afghan

I’ll be making the Chain Reaction Afghan published by Interweave Crochet. Click here to see what it will look like.

I decided to start early (today) since I knot and crochet slowly. So far so good. I’m making the Circles Around square first. My LYS had to order some yarn since they didn’t have enough in stock. If anyone in the Chicago area would like to join us, please check the meetup board for dates and location.

Right before Thanksgiving I finally submitted all of my application materials for the grad program at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. When I called to confirm they had everything, they told me it would be at least the end of January before I hear anything about an interview. I REALLY hope I get in. I’m tired of working in the private sector.

What I’ve Been Up To

I’ve been kind of busy since my last post. Yes, I know it’s been more than two years. So here’s the short version of what I’ve been up to.

I graduated from Dominican with my MLIS in August 2009. I had a bunch of things happen at the same time as when I graduated. I had been working as a document manager and docketing clerk for a patent and trademark law firm across the street from the Sears Tower. I was laid off the same week I graduated. While I was at the law firm, I was working a part time job at Dominican’s library as a reference librarian. That job ended the same week.

As most people, I found myself unemployed with no job prospects. I got a holiday job at Best Buy and very quickly found out what a lousy place it is to work. A couple of weeks after I started there, I got a permanent part time job at Lowes. I was there from November 2009 through April 2010.

I got very lucky at the beginning of April 2010 when a recruiter from TEK Systems called me for a contract position. I went on the interview and two days later had a permanent contract position as a professional researcher and technical writer. I’ve been there ever since and plan to stay as long as they will have me. I’d tell you where and who I work for but then I would have to kill you. Seriously, I’m not allowed to tell people who I work for. Let’s just say that I finally have a position where my sole purpose isn’t to help screw others over while helping my employer make gobs of money. My job is interesting, challenging and fulfilling, a first for me. Most days I go home exhausted but satisfied. I’ve had the opportunity to use my past work experience as an analyst and tester and combine it with the research and writing portion of my job.

I’ve been very busy with knitting and crocheting. This past Christmas I made something for almost everyone in the family. The pictures are posted separately. While I was in school at Dominican, I joined a meet up group through meetup.com. The ladies in this group are pretty awesome! The name of the group is Stitchcraft. We meet a couple of times a month in Oak Park, at the HIP (Harlem-Irving Plaza) and recently in Evanston and Skokie. I encourage anyone who’s into crafting to join us.

The Latest!

I haven’t posted anything in a really long time. I was very busy until recently. I finished school at the end of August. During the summer I took three classes, one was an internship, and had two jobs. I was also involved in the ALA Emerging Leaders project. It was really tough but worth it. Now I’m done, and received my diploma in the mail last week. My number one priority right now is to find a job since both of my part-time jobs have ended. I don’t know if I’ll be able to find a job in a library as there are almost no openings in the Chicago area.If anyone is interested in seeing the video I created for the ALA Emerging Leaders Project, it can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpwW6KQTbnE

As I sit here typing this, my cat has positioned himself next to the computer with his face in front of the screen. He spent most of the day and evening on my lap. One would think he had enough attention for one day, but I guess not.

Other than looking for a job, I’m still working on my knitting. I’ve started making the Christmas and Hanukkah gifts I plan on giving this year. I should have enough time to finish them. I find knitting to be very relaxing and it gives me the opportunity to create something, which I miss.

Sephora Update

Time gets away from me especially when I have class. Anyway, I did send a complaint email to Sephora after my experience and they responded quickly. I met with the Old Orchard store manager who was very nice and she apologized and gave me some samples as well as a gift card. Getting free stuff from them was not my goal when I complained. Letting them know how they were hurting their business in a very bad economy was my goal. So thank you to Sephora for being nice and showing that you really do care about your customers. Not sure when I’ll go back since I’m swamped between school and two part-time jobs.

Sephora Sucks!!

Tonight around 5PM I visited the Sephora in Skokie, IL at Old Orchard Mall. I went there to buy Bare Escentuals makeup. Besides me, there were three other people browsing in the store. We were all ignored by the salespeople. There were three salespeople that weren’t helping anyone. Two were very busy talking to each other, and another one that looked like she was the manager on duty was straightening. I was in the store for 20 minutes and not one of these three approached any of us. The one straightening looked at me as I walked by her and said nothing. I left and went next door to Macy’s. I spent $90 at the Philosophy counter. If the salespeople had been busy helping others I wouldn’t have minded waiting. 

In this economy retailers assume that the reason their sales are down is because people aren’t spending money. That is only part of the reason. The other is because of bad customer service. My experience at Sephora is an example of bad customer service. I would have spent my money at Sephora if I hadn’t been ignored. Companies don’t understand the impact of bad customer service. I won’t go to Sephora again for anything.

Can you say matchy matchy disease?

I’d really like to know what the merchandiser/window dresser at Macy’s in Skokie,IL was thinking when they dressed these mannequins!

The first time I saw them I did a double take. I wasn’t sure I was seeing what I was seeing. I came back about a week later and happened to have my camera with me, and since the mannequins were still there, I knew I needed a picture.

Political Stuff

I am not big on sharing my political views, but think the following article is important to read.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/11/opinion/11herbert.html?em

Invisibility

Have you ever felt invisible? I have had this issue most of my life. I am currently sitting in the snack bar area at Dominican trying to organize what I plan on doing tonight while at the reference desk. This is a very busy area with a lot of traffic, desks with computers that are back-to-back. I am sitting here minding my own business and people keep bumping into my chair. I am not sitting that far away from the desk, and am not blocking the aisle. There is plenty of room for people to walk behind and not bump the chair. But they still do. I don’t get it!

I’ve had this same problem while driving my car. It’s hard to miss my car as it is bright red. In fact, it attracts quite a lot of attention with it being a convertible. But still, others in cars don’t seem to see me. I almost had a head on collision with a truck on my way to Dominican. He was driving in my lane!!

All my life I have had people hit me with shopping carts at the grocery store, or walk into me at malls, on the street and in subway stations. This isn’t an issue of there not being enough room. For some reason they just don’t see me. I’m not a small person. I don’t get it!!

School

I’m having a hard time getting started this semester. Not sure why. The classes are interesting, and so are the people in them. All have a lot of work. 

As some of you know, I quit my primary job last week. My manager was crazy and has major control issues. She had a meltdown because I was trying to get some work started instead of waiting for her to grace me with her presence. Who would have thought a supervisor would have issues with a person trying to be prepared and save time? I guess I should have known since earlier in the week she told me I was working too fast. Oh well. I’m still on the 2nd floor reference desk at Dominican Monday nights, and am helping a professor do some research.

State Fair

 

State Library

Chris and I went to the Illinois State Fair this year. We left on Saturday morning and came home on Monday. Had a great time and cost me a fortune. Thought it would be inexpensive since it’s only 200 miles each way, but the expenses added up. Gas was only a little cheaper in Springfield, $3.76/gallon. We didn’t do much driving once we got there. We stayed less than half a mile from the capitol building and downtown Springfield, so we walked everywhere. It was hot but not as oppressive as here. No humidity. The Old Capitol building was really interesting. It’s free to get in and take the tour. The ask for donations but it’s not required. All of the rooms are roped off, but you can still see in them. These are pictures of the original state library. I love going to the fair and seeing the animals. We went on the last day so most were gone, but I did get pictures of the sheep in their pajamas. I was amazed by the cow made completely from butter. I could feel my arteries hardening. (See the picture page.) The Lincoln Library opened in 2005 and was interesting. They have a really cool 3D movie about archives. Price of admission is $10 for adults. I wonder how much taxpayer money was spent to build it. 

State Library