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Gout
My ankles are still sore. I’m taking my medicine as directed though. I’m afraid I need to change my diet to make a real difference.

Knitting
I’ve finished a had and gotten about 40% of the way through another one. The hat is a baseball shaped cap with cables on the front. These are the first cables I have done. They weren’t too difficult, but I think I’m getting them too tight. I also need to work on making my gauge more consistent between knits and purls.

World of Warcraft
I’ve not played much lately because my AT&T aircard doesn’t work for shit at the house. Very soon I will be getting high speed internet.

Everything Else
I have finally gotten my money from my 401K. It’s a Saturday though and I can’t do anything with the check until Monday. Arrrggghhh!!!

Apology
To anyone who reads my blog and enjoys it I apologize for no posting often enough.

Knitting
I’ve been doing some “downtime” knitting lately. Every free span of a few minutes I get I’ve had a few projects that I pick up and work on. I’m in the process of making another on of my mini Jamaica Pouches. After it’s finished I’ll only have a million more to go. I’ve kept making progress on the Layla bag by Berroco. I will soon be starting a scarf pattern designed by a friend. You can find her at Night Owl Knitter. She’s a wonderful knitter and I think with enough motivation will continue to turn out quality designs. As soon as I finish my newest Jamaica Pouch and Layla I’ll post pictures.

Gout
Sunday I had planned to visit my cousin and enjoy the open beta of Warhammer Online (WAR for short). I have been to the doctor and I am trying to get my gout under control, but it pretty much laid me out for almost 48 hours.

Everything Else
Everything else is going. It isn’t bad, but it could be better. There’s not much to say about it until I have done something about it.

Knitting and Crochet

I’m getting closer to finishing the Layla bag I mentioned in my previous entry. I’ve got both sides of the bag done and I’m trying to decide how I want to attach the strap and exactly how I want to make the strap. It sounds silly because a strap shouldn’t be that hard to make. I tend to carry a lot of things in my bags and they become quite heavy. I also tend to wear them over my shoulder so I don’t have to worry about them falling off. I have to come up with a strap design that won’t roll and will stay comfortable and securely on my shoulder. I’m making it sound a lot more difficult than it is. I’m simply waiting till my mind is in the right place to work it all out.

I’ve also gotten some new crochet hooks that look very luxurious and actually feel really good to work with. They’re Brittany needles made out of sustainable harvested birch wood. They have a decoratively carved handle. If you have any kind of craft you do it’s always enjoyable to work with tools that look and feel good.

Feelings
Today is going well. I went to be about 2 am this morning and got up at 9:30. I had planned on coming over to visit Mom today. She sent me a text message when she was up and I came over so we could spend a little time together before she left for church. We’ll chat more when she gets home. I haven’t had much time for her lately and we’ve missed each other. My sister and my nephews keep her pretty busy. She knows that I enjoy spending time with her, but I tend to shy away unless we can have real quality time. I hope she understands that I try and sneak in quality moments whenever I can.

World of Warcraft
When I play MMORPG’s I enjoy having friends I can play with and a guild to belong to. Usually I just join whatever guild my higher level friends are in. I’m a decent player, but I like to take grouping much slower than most people. When I solo I can grind and just kill one right after another, but while I’m doing that I’m the only person I have to worry about. When I join a group I like to take things slow and cautiously. I like to keep everyone alive without needing to pull off a miracle each battle. I usually only group with guild members or people I know in real life. They tend to be more understanding and are willing to work with me and take things slow. Currently I have only one friend that plays on a regular basis. Her level is quite a bit higher than any of mine so our grouping opportunities are limited. I’m in her guild, but it doesn’t seem like a good fit for me. I like the idea of contributing to a guild. I’ve been in guilds before where I was promoted to an officer role so I know that I know what I’m doing, but I like for everyone to have fun and it’s hard to find people like that in these games.

Lastly here’s a picture of the character I’ve currently chosen for my main. I just want to include a picture to “spice” up the post.

I’m going to try and have a little structure to this post. Each section is probably going to stay on the surface of the topic.

Harry Potter
I’ve just downloaded and watched an HD trailer for the new Harry Potter movie. I’ve heard a rumor that they’re pushing the release back to summer of 2009. According to the rumor they are finished with the film, but they don’t want to compete with other movies during the holidays. In my opinion it’s ridiculous… While I was writing this post I thought I’d do a quick search and see how much of a rumor the move actually is. According to the Kansas City Star the movie won’t be released until July of 2009. Again in my opinion all the reasons listed come down to money.

Money Rant
Hey I love money. I need it and I want it. Just about everybody does. One thing I can’t stand though is putting money before everything else. Really we’re all guilty of it to some extent. My problem with the Harry Potter move is that they are trying to place the movie so it will get the absolute most money possible. They are trying to squeeze every single sliver of cash out of that turnip they can. I just don’t agree with that. I understand that in business giving up even a cent without getting something for it seems asinine, but there has to be some balance where even though you are a business you aren’t trying to take everything you can just because you can.

Knitting
I’ve been working on the Layla by Berroco. I’m using sari silk that I got from a friend. It’s interesting to work with and I like the way it works up. Since knitting is a significant part of my spare time I’m going to try and add a little more knitting content here from time to time. I’ll also post a picture of my version of the Layla bag when I get it done. For now here is a picture of Berroco’s version.

Me
I’m doing ok. My gout is still giving me some trouble so I’ve scheduled a doctor’s appointment for tomorrow at 9:30. I don’t have insurance any longer so I hope the financial shock won’t be too bad. I did manage to make it into the Shop today.

My sum total for today looks like it’s going to be close to zero. On my little scale that doesn’t mean I didn’t do anything. It simply means I didn’t do more constructive activities than non constructive activities. I’ve actually been knitting for a better part of my waking day. My gout has crept up overnight and is causing a major annoyance, but I’m mobile enough for the time being. I am going to call tomorrow and schedule a doctor’s appointment for Monday. I’ve really got to get it under control. I’ve lost my insurance so it’s also going to be quite a trial. All along I had planned on living for a short time off of my Wal-Mart 401K and Profit sharing. The only problem is that I haven’t gotten it yet and I hadn’t planned on getting it until the end of next month. It’s a challenge, but I’m good with challenges so I’m not too worried about it. To most people I would expect that sounds insane. (I wouldn’t necessarily disagree)

I am a little disappointed that I didn’t get out at all today. I did finally feel well enough to cut my hair and take a shower. It has helped my mood considerably. It’s also put me in the mood to write. Hence this post. I’m pouring all this out without much thought though. While I was considering it I told myself I would sit down and concentrate and create a well written post. Like most of my endeavors though this is as far as I got. I hate thinking and planning so much. I end up planning so much and analyzing things that I don’t ever get anything done.

Tomorrow is a new day so I’m going to quit here and find out what it holds.

It’s been 5 short days since my last post. I’m still feeling good. I’ve been making decent progress at the shop. Once I’m finished creating the product list I’m planning on heading down to Dallas for a mini vacation. The weather is starting to cool and I’m hoping that will trickle down to Texas.

I’ve been playing WoW as much as I can lately. I haven’t really been able to play much. Of course that’s relative. Even when I had a full time job I could have played as much as I have been. I’ve also been trying to sprinkle in some knitting here and there.

Lately I’ve also felt like I haven’t had enough time to spend with Mom. I got her a Wii for her birthday. She really likes it. I’m hoping to get the Wii Fit for her as well. I played Wii Sports a few times and the game is really fun even though it looks like crap. Of course a lot of the Wii games just get you up and out of a chair.

Lastly I really really need to get my passport. I think I’m going to have to pay to have it expedited. I’ve known about it forever, but this is the kind of thing us procrastinators have to deal with.

I’m still accompanied by a little discomfort in my right foot, but overall things are going. I’ve been “working” these past two days and I’ve made some progress. I’ve even managed to do a little knitting. A friend had been worried that I wouldn’t be knitting any because I’ve been working at the yarn shop. I broke my knitting fast last night though after I was given some sari silk! I’m going to make a bag out of it. The limited amount of mental capacity I have fro creativity right now is not enough to think of something else to use it for. Because of its nature its use is limited. I included a picture to represent then change in how I feel from a week or so ago, and in case you were wondering I do need a haircut.

I have been the very definition of lethargic for most of the past week. I’ve had a flare up of my gout and I’m having trouble dealing with it. Since I’ve quit my job I have to find out what I’m going to do for insurance. For the moment I still have insurance. I’m worried about how much it will cost for me to keep my current insurance. While I was working my out of pocket was $120 a month, and supposedly that was only 1/3 of the cost. I’m feeling better today and I’m actually getting some work done.

I’m very close to getting some product up on Knit Wicks. I’m also glad I’m learning and I can apply some of my previous work experience to what I’m doing. I’m also hoping that this whole “project” will result in a very good professional reference.

Today isn’t going so well. I’ve woken up with quite a few aches and pains. My right foot is making a good start to ruining my day. I’m not sure if it’s gout or full blown arthritis. I’m only 31 years old so I hate that it would be either. I still got up at a reasonable hour this morning, but I am making a slow start.

I’m currently up at my LYS Knit Wicks. I am going to make an attempt to get something meaningful done while I’m here. It is going to be difficult though.

I had expected today to be a somewhat slow day. It did end up dragging on, but not out of my own design. I accompanied my aunt to get her car serviced this morning. We arrived at the dealership for an oil change and a quick once over. She ended up getting 4 new tires and almost her whole driver-side back end replaced. We were there from 11 to 1:30 before they did any work at all. At 1:30 they offered to drive us somewhere so we could get some lunch so we went to the mall. We ended up eating at the food court and then reading a little in B Dalton. Then we waited more and more and more. Finally at about 5:30 we got to leave. After we returned to my Aunt’s house I said hi and by to everyone and headed home. The kicker here though is that we have to take her car back tomorrow for almost the whole day again. This time I am going to take her home in the meantime though so we don’t have to wait there. We’re going to try and have an “Avatar the Last Airbender” fest. I have all 3 seasons on iTunes. So I’m hoping tomorrow will be a much more relaxing day than today.