House of Steph

Ticket Part II

I know, it's been a little while...

Last Monday, I went to pay my stupid traffic ticket. This is AFTER I went to court on the 21st of last month to try having it reduced. That worked, but I had to sit with the masses after having been up all night the previous night with food poisoning. THAT was fun... The whole time I was there, I was seconds from going up to the DA's desk and telling them I would have to be back another time for fear I might barf near someone if I stayed. Luckily I was called quickly and I promptly went home afterward without staying to pay the fine. Thus, I went last Monday to pay it.

I parked about three blocks away--NOT New York City blocks, but Queen City blocks. I had plenty of time to get there, pay and be out before major traffic started, but I forgot I'm working on "Steph Luck". The security guy said hello, I tossed up my bag, my keys, and my shoes on the conveyor belt to be X-rayed. I beeped on the way through--OH, Whoops! I have a box-cutter in my pocket since I just left work!

Me: Oh God! I'm sorry, I just got off work. Here! You can keep it. I am so sorry. (Laughed) Didn't mean to bring THAT to the city courthouse...
Guard: Yeah, that's not going to make it.
Me: (Still chuckling nervously, but casually.) Really, I'm sorry.
Guard: You have an electronic device in your bag other than your cell phone.
Me: Must be my camera. Here--I'll show you....
Guard: Yeah, and do you keep a swiss army knife on your keychain?
Me: Oh, um, can you hold it for me if I take it off?
Guard: You're going to need to go back to your car and drop this stuff off. We can't allow you to pass.
Me: Fine.

I grab my purse and go back to the car.

This time, I get the wallet, my keys--SANS swiss army, and check through the monstrous bag and think to myself, eh--I'll just put the whole thing in the back. I have what I need. So I strut back to the courthouse (three blocks, in not-comfortable shoes) and get to the guard stand with plenty of time to get through to the cashier. This time I get through just fine.

Fine until the guard says, "You DO have a copy of your ticket, right?"
Me: Oh, DAMMIT! It's in my purse--in the CAR! THREE BLOCKS THAT WAY! (points)
Guard: Well, you can get another one from that office, right there.
Me: Ok, thanks.

I ask for a copy of the thing, and the lady says that the reduced fine is not listed. Still says 50 in a 35 zone, and my insurance is sure to go up if I don't get the original with the hand-written 40 in 35 zone stuff from the DA. Oh yeah, and if I don't pay today, it will have a late fee assigned for $100.

Me: $100? If I don't pay today? I HAVE THE WORST LUCK!! (Storms out of the office and back to the car.)

Ok, this time I'm walking FAST... IN TERRIBLE shoes that I've been wearing all day at work with no socks (because socks would not look cute with those shoes). Shit. Five till. I'm not going to make it. I grab the damn purse, throw on some Converse Chucks with my work outfit--ew--and then I start to run. YES, THREE BLOCKS, I run back to the courthouse. I don't run. Running does not work out for me. But this time, I ran like there was no tomorrow. It sucked very much.

Guard: Oh, you again. It's too late. They've closed.
Me: JUST LET ME THROUGH. WHERE'S THE CASHIER??

I still have the camera, phone, and no keychain this time, so I guess that's why he let me through. I'm sweaty and mad.

Guard: Go downstairs and to the left.

I RUN down the escalator and to the cashier window. All the lights are off and the curtain is being lowered to the ONE window that's no longer open....

Me: PLEASE!! (Running with ticket waving in the air.) PLEASE LET ME PAY MY TICKET!!
Clerk: I'm sorry, ma'am, we're closed.
Me: BUT, I WENT BACK TO MY CAR THREE TIMES! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! PLEASE!
Clerk: (Silence)
Me: (I'm talking through the curtain and under the small opening in the window) They told me it's going to get a late fee if I don't pay today... Could you please?
Clerk: Do you have exact change?
Me: I don't know how much it is.
Clerk: Let me see your ticket.

I hand it to her and explain that I was sick on the day I came to court, etc., and that I've been working 60 to 70 hours per week since then. She glances up to me, and says it will be $130. I only have 20's.

Here's $140 and you can keep the change!
Clerk: I can't take your money...
Me: But you deserve it! Please, can I still pay?
Clerk: Okay, I'll do it.
Me: Sweating and almost whining--THANKS! THANKS SO MUCH!

She was counting her till for the day's deposit.

So she takes my money, and I drag myself back to the car only to sit in traffic for an hour after all that. I glanced down at the receipt from the parking deck. I arrived at 4:41, paid the ticket at 5:09, and didn't get home until after 6:30. What a sorry-ass weird afternoon.

The worst thing is that when I called B to let him know I'd be detouring to the courthouse before coming home for the day, he reminded me about all the stuff I carry in my purse that might keep me from getting through....

Okay, yeah, okay, I said.

(I hate it when he's right.) You win, B. You always do.

A new green thumb?

I present to you the new kids, in all of their beauty!

I have a new love for the outdoors, thanks to living in the LOWcountry last year. I brought a little back to my new place. Seems I'm really jonesing for something organic these days. Usually I am the kiss of death when it comes to gardening. When shopping for flowers and plants, it's as if flowers all look the other way, shuddering to think I might take them home and KILL them. Poor plants, I love them so. Hopefully I will have better luck this year.... Hope is not all lost--yet. I brought our ivy plant from last summer back to life by trimming and grooming him. I must say I'm quite proud! The porch is going to be fantastic when we finish replanting everything in their new planters and baskets. Keeping fingers crossed that there will be no casualties until then.

Oh, and lately I've been on somewhat of a crafter's shopping spree! I can't be stopped. Here's a sample:

Mmmm! Fabric and yarn and books and magazines and patterns! I seriously need help. There's no finished objects to show! Hope I don't fall in a slump due to supply overload. SO MANY things in my mental queue...

I gotta say, I really LOVE Sewing Arts Studio! I remember a day when I cursed them for their shop hours, but their fabric selection and stylish pattern choices make up for it ten-fold! I always find something EVERY time I go there, even if I'm "not" looking for anything (...is there ever a time I'm not looking?).

I got the below fabrics at the Charlotte Quilter's Guild Annual Quilt Show last month. I found another new vendor, and she only carries Japanese import fabrics! Hope to talk her into getting some Kokka or Yuwa stuff, because as of now, she doesn't carry it.... These are pretty cute, though!

Okay, now I'm off to make something--RIGHT NOW--even if it's really small. Must have finished object.

I say, Let My People Be Weird

I've had a few days off from work and have lately had time (and inclination) to reflect upon the last few years of my life. For one reason or another...um, I dunno...seems the pictures speak volumes...I have come to the realization that the people I know are completely insane. Yes, I include myself, but everyone already knows that. And yes, mom, I mean you. But I also mean B, and my brother, and of course, Roosevelt, and Joe, and alll my cousins, and Shannon, and the people I've liked at work, and especially Dad--we all knew Dad would be in the list, right? I laugh so hard with my family and friends. What a crazy bunch of fools. Check the sample of freak-dom:

Dook, you definitely take the cake. Fo Sho.

Beach Bound!

I missed it so bad I decided to take a short-type road trip! :)

See ya on the beach!

20/20 hindsight

I never thought the day would come when I would miss that Island in the Stinky South. Alas, the time has come. Nothing was simple there. Nothing. It felt like it took an hour to go ANYwhere even if it was five minutes up the street. The traffic was stupid. The people were dirty (and mostly stupid). Work was TERRIBLE. I will never miss anything about the job aspect. However......

The weather was fantastic, and so was the scenery. I think it was the organic flow of everything that made people love it there. Once I got used to the shops around town and found my way with that, shopping wasn't really that bad. And most of all, nothing was cookie-cutter about any of it--something I didn't appreciate until I was gone.

On a nice day like today, where it's slightly breezy and sunny out, I miss the beach. I have come to miss feeling like I'm a lone soul finding my way through the middle of nowhere. I miss the emptiness. I miss my yarn shop and my little kooky quilt shop (although my shops here are MUCH better...). I especially miss the fantastic thrift shops and boutiques. I almost want to say it's time for me to take a road trip to Savannah just to get some shoes! Why in a city that's so posh and materialistic can't I find any shoes??? It blows my mind.

I miss my duck pond and my weird little town home. I miss my great sewing room and listening to music in there! (I DON'T MISS the horrible street our neighborhood was on, though.) I miss knowing the codes to get into places and having connections all over town. I miss the May River and I definitely miss the quiet. Isn't it just how it always goes... You want change so bad for 18 months, and when it finally comes...well? Maybe it wasn't so bad after all. Places become different when you're only visiting I guess.

Department of Motor Vehicles

Somehow things really come back to get you... I think the DMV Gods must have heard me talking shit.

Tuesday, March 11, which was one day before my driver's license expired, I went to the DMV to get my renewal. Dread. Last time I went, back in 2003, I was there for six and a half hours. I went in the afternoon, thinking that by 2 or 3:00 the idiocracy would subside a bit. Nope. I walk in, and there are groups of people sitting all around and a desk in front of me. I walk up to the desk, which closely resembles a type of check-in desk. There are a man and a woman standing there talking. They look at me, and the man says, "Ma'am, you need to wait in line at the sign." Okay? There's no one in line and the sign is ten feet behind me. Fine. I walk back to the sign. TWO seconds later, "Ma'am, can I help you?" GRRRRR. Mustn't get too ruffled.... "Sir, I need to get my license renewed." He hands me a ticket after pushing the button that reads quick transaction. Score! He tells me to find a seat in the group of chairs in the middle of the room.

The group in the middle looks packed in like sardines and miserable. I mean desparately miserable the way everyone looks when they're in the DMV. They must have been there forever.... I find a seat on the back row, which is completely empty. Good. Out comes the knitting. Not 30 seconds later, the man from behind the desk comes over and says, "Ma'am, you need to find a seat over here with everyone else. These chairs are for the people who are taking written tests today." But there's no one in line to take tests!!?? Whatever.

"Sir, there's no seats left. I didn't want to disturb these folks."

"Well, you'll need to stand along this wall (points to wall) and wait for a seat, then. These chairs are for people taking tests today." Okay, fine.

I grab my shit and move to the wall. Still knitting, I stand there. Two other girls come in, and they line up along the wall next to me.

The woman from behind the desk now comes over and says, "Y'all need to find a seat or you may not receive service today." What??

"Excuse me, but there are no chairs available right now. Can we not just wait here?"

She points to a chair that seemingly came out of nowhere.... "There's one right over there."

Okay, let me just state that there are probably 40 people seated, waiting to be called, and the chairs are set up in rows closer than theater seating. Knees to backs, I mean. Right? The seat she rudely pointed out is along a cubicle-type partition all the way in the center of the room dividing the group of waiters from the people receiving help at the desks. No one looks up. I slam myself through the crowd and plop in the goddamn chair. Maybe I can get some knitting done now?

I turned my cell phone to silent after I notice a threatening-looking sign on the wall that says no cell phones.

I look at my ticket. Number 180. The board says 168 when I walked in, but now it's up to 171. Not so bad. Several other people in the 340's, then the 400's are called up. They seem to be staggering the "quick transactions" with the not-so-quick ones. Fine. There might be hope. Thirty minutes. Forty minutes... We're at 175 by now. Ten minutes. Twenty more minutes... They've stopped calling the 170's. What happened??

My cell phone rings. It's B. He probably is wondering where the hell I am. I crouch down to hide while talking whispering with him--quickly! "Hey, I'm still in the DMV. I can't talk. I'll talk to you when I get out." He says something about what we're going to do and when I might be home... Then I hear this L.O.U.D., "MA'AM, NO CELL PHONES! MA'AM! MA'AM!! NO CELL PHONES, PLEASE. YOU'LL NEED TO GET OFF YOUR CELL PHONE OR GO IN THE HALLWAY. MA'AM, NO CELL PHONES!!!" The lady from behind the desk is standing and pointing at me, yelling across the room!

I say to B, "I got to GET OFF THIS PHONE before SOMEONE GETS KILLED in here today!! I'm getting CALLED DOWN FOR THE FOURTH TIME in this place." Click.

What is the matter with these people?

I FINALLLY get called at about 4:30. See they're rushing now, since you know, they don't work past 5:00. I get my license and go home with a massive headache. Who the hell gets called down in the DMV four times in one visit?? I'm just a normal person--decidedly not ghetto, decidedly not snobbish or uppity--just me. Normal. Guess that bothers them? Who knows. At least I got the damn thing--I needed it.

Last night I got a speeding ticket on a road that has three lanes on both sides but the speed limit is still only 35. This, after working two and a half hours over my shift at work. I was on the phone calling work back because I forgot to tell the night manager something. Originally I had cruise control on, because I had one of those feelings...

First ticket in probably 10 years. Way to start 30 off right, eh?

It was a bowling ball!

...and it is PINK!

I am pumped about the new ball! I can easily say that I've been wanting it since well before Christmas--perhaps even the end of last summer. Can't say it will make me bowl any better (high score = 125) but at least I will have a pink ball of my own! :) Now we see why I was not allowed to touch the box...

P.S. I almost bowled a turkey on my B-day when we went. Strike, Strike (GASP), Spare. Boo. Next time.

Birthday Girl

I woke up to breakfast in bed. Wow! I did not expect it. :) B is so good to me. There's a really big box I've been dying to shake--it's sitting on the kitchen table toying with me and begging me to poke at it or something... B made me swear I wouldn't touch it and Phil has been babysitting me anytime I come near it.

A little catch-up on some knitting... I've taken a breather from the squares again. I need some in-betweeners every now and then (Knitting ADD? Yes.) I completed a wash rag (I just can't call them WARSH rags--sorry Ann and Kay) about a week ago and decided I needed another one since that one came out so nicely. I think B threw out my multi-colored one when we moved because I washed the car with it and he didn't deem it worthy of bringing back in the house. Whatever. It was nice and faded and USED and I miss it now. Life goes on, I guess. I'll use this one just as much!

More birthday stuff later. :) Oh god, what will the thirties bring?

Thirty is rapidly approaching...

Wanna hear something funny?

I've been checking around for the Interweave Knits Holiday 2007 issue since it's now sold out, according to their website. I emailed Charlotte Yarn to find out if they still have a few copies--nope! I practically bribed mom to give me hers (or let me "borrow" it) while I was in TN. I felt guilty for that, but I really wanna make the Koolhass hat...

Yeah, it's on the bookshelf. At home. Right where I left it. Whoops.

I took a nap today for two hours, even though I got a full night sleep. Coincidence?

Also, I've been knitting and un-knitting the first two or three rows of the body of the Juilet cardi. (BTW, when I say un-knitting, I mean UN-knitting, not ripping. Ripping would be much less time consuming to some people, but once I get those stitches off the needles...yeah...it's not pretty.) WTF is wrong with me? Usually I'm okay with knitting patterns... Ya know? I have been knitting for several years now. Several people--probably hundreds by now--have made this very pattern, and it *seems* like they haven't had too much of a problem with it... Turns out I just can't read. Dumbass? or just dyslexia, maybe. I'm on the road again with the pattern, and now that I'm into the lace pattern things might go a little more quickly. Seriously, I thought I would be just about finished by now, since visiting mom and dad...

Help? I'm going mad.

And when am I going to drop this GD freshman 15 I packed on while living at the beach? Huh? Guess I better head for the treadmill or something. TTFN

Stealing time for myself is very tiring

I just knew we'd get some snow! Yeeeah!

And a self portrait...

I'm so tired. Tired really isn't the word. It's more like exhausted, spent, sold, gone, whacked, worn-out, weathered, bushed, and/or beat. All I can think about when I'm out doing what I do is that I want to come home and make something. Something! I have fabric to make two shirts and the patterns that will make it happen. I have fabric to make a quilt from the Bend the Rules Sewing book--it's really good, too. I want to work on Juliet. Three days have gone by without my working on it. I still lack four rows before I can start the body. I would like to start working on a sweater with the new yarn. I want to make a hat for a girl at work. I want to start some flip-top mittens. I have one flip-top mitten that I made from the pattern in Handknit Holidays but the flap is way pointy. No likie. I intend to frog it. Gosh, it must have been two years ago that I made that thing! Anyway, I'm so TIRED when I get home that all I can do is mope around aimlessly. The things I want to do don't really match the things I need to do, which would consist of giving Roosevelt a bath, doing the rest of my laundry, organizing my crafting supplies, and a whole slew of other random but necessary life things.

I managed to steal an hour to make this sweet little needle roll tonight, and the feeling of satisfaction is overwhelming!

Now I'm going to steal 35.4 minutes to get those last four rows done! And I might squeeze-in just a little bit of TV. Yawn. Goodnight.

"A picture speaks a thousand words" or "How'd that happen?"

I beat the Champ.
Score: 110 (top score--ever!) to 104 (B's worst ever). Three games over 100. How'd that happen? Sweet, sweet victory.

Word.

Last Minute Gifting

I'm meeting tonight with some work friends who tried to keep me sane during my stay here in the stinky south. We're exchanging gifts. :) Nice. However.... With all the moving, etc., I was not prepared to give gifts until today! Three years ago, these sweet little gifts would have taken me ALL NIGHT long. Now, each one of these took about an hour, cut to finish! And the best part is, they're exactly what I wanted to give!

Rebecca has been wanting a roll-up crochet hook case for I don't know how long, so I waited until Christmas to get one done for her.

Ruthie loves the Amy Butler fabric I used in my pleated bag so I made her a little book bag with the leftover fabric. :)

I would have loved to make her a pleated bag, too, but I simply ran out of time. I also made her a scarf, but it turned out a little too short, so I might not gift it just yet.

Anyway, I'm off to pack a few more boxes and make a run to the trash dump to get rid of some dead weight. We're moving into a slightly smaller apartment, so I don't want to clutter a bunch of shit in the new place, ya know? B wants me to get rid of ALL of my thrift shop stuff in the garage, but we will definitely have to negotiate. He doesn't understand... When you find good fabric, notions, etc., you have to get it or you just won't have it for later. I'm FAR from a pack rat, but there are certain things I will keep on hand (WITH DEFINITE LIMITATIONS, mom!) for later use when it comes to crafting. Maybe we'll be in the new place by the next time I post! Hooray! Only one more day!! Movers come Monday!

Still on the Countdown

Time seems to be at a stand-still, yet many things are happening with the move, etc. I'm still hanging in there. Only ONE week and three days until the movers come!!! Wheeeeee!

No blogging lately because I've fallen ill. Hopefully more stuff to come soon. "Cough, cough! Sniffle..." Being sick sucks.

P.S. I've started working on the One Skein Wonder. Am I way behind or what? Not much progress at this moment. Too sick to knit. Now THAT's SICK.

Rest in Peace

Grandpa, we all loved you. I am thankful that you made my family possible. We celebrate your life this holiday season, even though we will miss you greatly.

I'm coming HOME!!

I'm coming home! I'm coming home! I'm coming home! I'm coming home! No more island living for me. I want cold and scarves, please. And friends and SHOPPING, and traffic that doesn't make you feel sorry for people.

Movers will be here before you can say, "Ho, Ho, Ho". Merry Christmas to me (us), indeed! Hooray!