Gandhi Spins

I just had a nice visit with Elizabeth this evening, where we talked a lot about spinning. It wasn't until after I left that I remembered that Gandhi spun yarn. Yes, that Gandhi.

Here's a clip:

I know that clip is only 17 seconds long, so it's hard to see what's going on.

Gandhi spun cotton on a Charkha. Take a closer look:



Of course, Gandhi's not on the second clip. I doubt green nail polish is allowed if you take a vow of poverty.

That's our history lesson for today, class. Next up, Genghis Khan weaves, Abraham Lincoln knits and Timothy Leary crochets.

Pink Snowballs (insert your own joke here)

Next Friday, we're having a pink snowball eating contest at work.

Yes, you read that correctly.

We're talking about the pink ones like these or these, not the kind that will get you in trouble with the HR department.

I'm not quite sure why we're doing this, but there is $50 prize for the person who eats the most in one minute. I'm excited because most of our past contests have involved shooting hoops with a nerf ball. I'm bad at shooting hoops, but I think I can handle eating snowballs.

But there are two things that concern me.

First, I couldn't find any snowballs at my HEB.

I don't think I've ever eaten one of these snowballs in my entire life. I remember my precalculus teach in high school used to eat them. That's probably the only reason I know what they are.

So if I want to devise a strategy, I should actually eat a snowball first. But how much work do I want to go through to find these? I had to go to HEB today anyway, but am I really going to search Walgreens, CVS, Randalls and other HEBs for pink snowballs?

The second issue is more existential. I'm fat, and I'm not ashamed. But if I win, I'll enforce every negative stereotype about fat people you can think of. But if I don't compete, I'll let those stereotypes hold me back.

Either way, I've already signed up. So I have about a week to find out if the contest meets IFOCE safety standards, if we can dip the snowballs in water like the pros and if they're going to have enough trash cans on hand for all the pink puke.

See all Grocery reviews at Expotv

I didn't know Kanye West was a knitter?

Apparently Kanye West is a knitter. Check out this excerpt from his blog:

I'M SOOOOO SORRY TO MEG SWANSEN AND CAT BORDHI FOR KNITTING THE YARN. I SPOKE TO CAT BORDHI RIGHT AFTER. MEG SWANSEN IS VERY TANGLED !!........... I'M IN THE WRONG FOR SPINNING AND CROCHETING!!!!!!!!!!!! I'M SORRY TO MY FANS IF I LET YOU GUYS DOWN!!!!! I'M SORRY TO MY FRIENDS AT RAVELRY. I WILL APOLOGIZE TO MEG SWANSEN 2MRW. WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD!!!! EVERYBODY WANNA BOOOOO ME BUT I'M A FAN OF SHEEP!!! Y'ALL KNOW!!! BOOOOYAAAWWWWW!!!!!! YEAH I GAVE MY KNITTING NEEDLES TO STEPHANIE PEARL_MCPHEE WHEN THEY DESERVED IT... THAT'S WHAT IT IS!!!!!!!!!! I'M NOT CRAZY YALL, I'M JUST BEING REAL. SORRY FOR THAT!!!MUCH RESPECT!!!!!

9/26/09

(Special thanks to the Kanye West Apology Generator.

If you don't get the joke, this should help explain it.)

This just in: if it weren't for Mr. Rogers, we'd all be weaving sweaters

If this is some joke, and I've mistaken it for an actual broadcast, I'd be relieved.

This clip was posted on YouTube in May 2008, and it references an article from the Wall Street Journal dating back to 2007. So this is old news, but it's new to me.

You may have noticed that I like Mr. Rogers. I think I really started to admiring him after reading Dear Mr. Rogers, Does It Ever Rain in Your Neighborhood?: Letters to Mr. Rogers. I was impressed by how patient he was and the care he took with each letter.

I was going to talk more about how Mr. Rogers does make kids feel entitled. Entitled to be treated as a worthy human being with basic rights.

I was also going to point out the value of positive reinforcement.

But something else caught my eye. Listen very carefully to the clip and then look at the article.

The article talks about Professor Don Chance, a finance professor at Louisiana State University. That's finance. Not psychology. Not sociology. Not child development. He didn't do the research. He's just talking about his own experiences and opinions.

The article does reference "a recent (in 2007) study led by a San Diego State University psychologist." But they don't say anything about the study examining the effect of watching Mr. Rogers on children. According to the article, the study finds "signs of narcissism among college students have been rising for 25 years." That's all it says. (And I can't even begin to figure out what study they're referring to.)

The clip from Fox News blurs the opinions of Professor Chance with this study out of San Diego State University. All of a sudden this finance professor's opinion is being considered the equivalent of empirical research.

This Fox News clip also refers to the "research" done comparing Asian students to American students. But the original article doesn't site specific research on Asian and American students. It says "Prof. Chance teaches many Asian-born students, and says they accept whatever grade they're given..."

If that isn't bad enough, here's the knitting related quote. (Look for it in the middle of the clip, in response to the e-mail from the lady who also blames Sesame Street and Dr. Spock.):

"It would be better if we went to school, went home and then made the butter, milked the cow and went onto the loom and made our own sweaters."

Now you can weave a sweater. (Isn't Elizabeth Zimmerman's Bog Coat based on a way to make a sweater out of a piece of weaving?) But I don't think that's what this guy is referring to. We all know Mr. Roger's sweaters are knitted.

Or maybe he's right. I watched Mr. Rogers growing up, and I've never woven a sweater in my life. (A scarf, yes, but not a sweater.)

In related news, have you seen Outfoxed?



You can see the entire documentary here.

"We've got to be killing each other for something important, right?"

Last night Jules and I went to the video store, seeking some cheap entertainment. As usual, we couldn't agree on something we both wanted to say.

After going around and around the comedy section, we stumbled upon LA Riot Spectacular.

As the name implies, it's a satire. And it's narrated by Snoop Dogg. Awesome.

Here's my favorite scene. I think it still rings true today. (Warning - bad language and gun violence.)

I don't remember the truce between the Bloods and the Crips, but Jules does.

However, I remember when they banned red and blue clothes in high school. (That didn't last, but there was a ban on bandanas from sixth the grade on. Ah, memories.)

Anyway, I wanted to share this little overlooked gem. It's not for the faint of heart, and a lot of people would find it offensive. But its symbolism will make you think, and Snoop will make you laugh.

(BTW - Did you notice that the label on the 40 says "False Hope"?)

Back to Business

Apologizing for not posting enough is the ultimate blogging cliche. So I'm going to skip the part where I say I'm sorry, but the whole illness, fire and rehire thing pushed the blog to the back burner.

I haven't felt quite like myself because I haven't been knitting, crocheting, spinning or blogging. When I'm not at work, I've been watching TV, messing around on Facebook and taking naps.

So I've decided to start with the blogging, and the rest will follow. Although I feel unmotivated now, I know I'll start to feel better once I get back to things I love.

I think my elbow is better now. I went the morning they announced the layoffs, so I forgot about it for a while.

I didn't see my usual doctor, I saw someone else in the practice. I brought in my top secret project to demonstrate the motions I'd been making with my arms. It turns out she was a knitter. She was working on something from the new Mason Dixon book. She could even identify the yarn I was using for this top secret project. Awesomeness!

Meanwhile, I finally got some glasses, but none of these. I'll post a picture later.

The first two weeks with glasses were fine. I had no idea how bad my vision was until it was corrected.

Then the glasses started to hurt.

After several visits to EyeMasters, I realized that the nose pads were upside down. Apparently, this makes a difference. However, my glasses still hurt after turning them around, and then trying smaller nose pads. The skin on the bridge of my nose is raw. I've been choosing between the headache from eyestrain and the headache from glasses that don't fit.

I e-mailed EyeMasters customer service. I got reply asking for the location where I purchased them. I replied back. Hopefully I'll find a way to get around the 30 day limit on the money back guarantee.

Keep your fingers crossed.

Don't call it a comeback!

(This is one of the motivational phrases my boss likes to use.)

The past couple of weeks since they announced the lay off have been... interesting. Lots of drama.

Today was going to be my very last day. (Our team had officially had it's last day as a team on Friday, but they offered us the chance to come back this week for a project to keep our benefits another month, yada, yada, yada.) But still, last day.

And then they rehired me.

They rehired almost all of us.

I watched the season finale of I Survived a Japanese Game Show last night. When someone is voted off of the show, a gang of Japenese men wearing black suits and sunglasses comes and carries you away. They're called the Sayonara Boys, and everyone sings "Sayonara, Sayonara" as they take you away.

(You can see the Sayonara Boys at the end of this clip.)

I decided that was how I wanted to leave my job. I wanted the Sayonara Boys to come take me away. I was going to think about that when I felt sad.

On my lunch break I updated my Facebook status to reflect this.

When I got off the break room computer, I ran into a coworker who had just been rehired. It was one of the two internal positions I had applied for. I congratulated him, but I also thought this lowered my chances of getting rehired.

So I finished my lunch break and went back to my desk. I realized several people were getting good news. It was about that time one of the managers called me in.

I got offered a job. The one I wanted. It's not the lead generation I've been doing. It's more of account managing. It's hard to explain. All you need to know is that I'll be happier there. And I get to keep the supervisor I like.

So almost all of us are back on. Somehow there were more jobs available than we had thought. It's almost like the end of a movie. Unlike the lay off, I did not see the rehire coming. I would have cried tears of joy if I hadn't been so shocked.

It's time to call in the Congratulations Boys. They wear white suits, and they only come for the winners.

(Seriously, you have to watch this show.)

So there's still a little hiccup. I have one day of another project tomorrow. Then I'm off until I restart on Aug. 20, with a fresh, new project and a new start.

So let's see, I was off of work for most of June and July because of illness, I came back part time in late July, got laid off, continued to finish my time while job hunting, got rehired and now I'll have to go another week and a half without pay.

That makes for a pretty crappy "summer vacation." I hate the summer.

It's still not the worst summer I've ever had, but you'll have to wait for the novel to hear the rest of that.

Or maybe the movie.

Don't call it a comeback. I've been here for two and a half years.