Totally Mundane Self Congratulatory Shit

I was productive today, so here I am congratulating myself, wheee!

Well, I launched Kickstarter attempt 3.0- https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/819514122/polished-yarns-version-30

I moved all my Storenvy merch over to Etsy, which involved setting up a new Etsy shop. Tedious, but I got it done. https://www.etsy.com/shop/MadOCatOKnits

I'll probably want to re-photo a bunch of those items, but for now, those photos will do. I also re-did the graphics for the header.

I completely butchered a sweater and got 1650 yds of lace weight out of it. For $8.50, that's not a bad deal, considering I didn't even get as much yarn out as I could have, and I'll probably make about... *does math*

$100. That's between the yarn salvaged that I can dye and sell as yarn, and the yarn that isn't in long enough quantities to sell, so I'll be keeping it for myself to dye and knit into something to sell.

(ha, got distracted there, just got my first Kickstarter backer!)

So... before shipping expenses, that's a pretty fucking sweet profit margin. And shipping yarn and knit goods is pretty cheap. (I was gonna put the math here, but I can't brain right now, I'm on a caffeine high and Billy Idol is singing about being a lover, HAVE MERCY BABEH!)

I think it's a viable business to get serious about, and it's confirmed now that I sort of mathed it.

Enough about today though, I almost forgot how awesome yesterday was. First good day I've had in so long- I wasn't struggling, I wasn't fighting to survive, I wasn't sitting around being miserable and cranky. I went to the medieval fair in Fort Tryon with a friend (coincidentally, my first KS backer) and her boyfriend, and we had a riotously good time. I ate a gigantic turkey leg, had mead and beer, and laughed my ass off. There were some really great vendors there too. Afterwards, I went down to 14th st, and had dinner and wine with a friend (and her sweet feral rescue cats!) before giving her a knitting lesson. We ate New Zealand lamb, Persian Silk carrots (whatever those are, they're fucking tasty!) and some kind of cheesy shredded potato thing. She's a chef/ pastry chef, so this woman can cook. On top of it all, I got to see Thumbs, the stray cat I feed from time to time, on my way home. I want to find a rescue to take him in, but sometimes he's not there, and I don't know where he goes.

Knitting time now, I've got a hat to finish so I can put it in the shop. WOO!

Belly Up.

I had a spiritual experience a few days ago. I submitted completely to the Universe, to the namesake of this blog (my patron goddess) and I decided to stop struggling and start listening.

She spoke to me.

However rapturous the experience was though, it's not paying my bills. I'm still stressed, still panicky, still feeling bogged down one minute and horribly optimistic the next. I have been told repeatedly now to study the ancient knowledge, to learn... I don't even know what exactly I'm supposed to learn about. Or what texts I should be studying. What subjects I should be concerning myself with. Regardless, it's not going to help me make money TODAY. And I cannot concentrate on anything other than my financial situation when my financial situation is in dire straits.

In other news, my sister is getting married today, and obviously, I'm not there... I don't make it a habit to hang out with my abuser (the aunt I grew up with). My sister knew I wasn't going, months ago. She hasn't talked to me in months, hasn't bothered to pick up the phone to see how I am, didn't bother to invite me to her bachelorette party which was RIGHT HERE IN THE CITY... and yet, she cried when I reminded her on the phone that I wasn't coming, denying that she remembered the two conversations we had about it. WHAT THE FUCK, WOMAN. So I felt like rancid, rotten shit. I never, ever would want to make my sister cry. But seriously, what the fuck.

So, rotten fuckery all around here. Regardless, I'm plodding on. It's all just a slow march to death anyway. 

Fun While It Lasted...

Eeyore made it personal, her dislike of me. And apparently I'm just the latest in a long line of people who got fired because of it. It's ok- I can now add knowledge of Quickbooks to my resume, and the biggest perk is that I don't have to see her anymore.

My fella got kicked to the curb too, because of the merger at his company. They said no new hires, and since he was still temping, out he went. In the meantime, I'm enjoying being able to lounge around with him. We are making it fun to explore ramen and cheap meals, of which I am gleefully gathering all my old ramen tricks and ideas. I've also got time now to properly take inventory and weigh and wind and measure my coned yarn stash, precious time that I no longer take for granted. So... thanks, Eeyore! *thumbs up*

So, the job search begins again. And I've got a few projects on the needles to finish, which I'm a little grumpy about because they've been on so long I wish they would just finish themselves. One is a very, very delicate Echo Flowers, knitting up in turquoise cobweb weight merino I dyed myself. That's for my best friend's mom. One is the Dragon's Hope Shawl, which I have become a little superstitious over... I feel like the more I knit, the more my good luck increases. And then there's a pair of fingerless gloves I'm whipping up for a friend, who held on to yarn she found in a bar we used to go to (RIP, Bar 82!) for THREE YEARS, thinking it had to be mine, because who else brings yarn to a bar? Well, it wasn't mine, but it is now, and she's getting gloves out of it. (Just did a quick search on Rav to confirm it's Paton's Classic Wool, colorway Rosewood.)

I also went to my new thing as a painter's assistant, not sure if I mentioned it here. It's unpaid, but the guy lives within walking distance of me, and I'll be helping him stretch canvases and prime them and I'll be learning more technique and getting feedback on my own work as well. He's really, really good and fun to hang out with, so I think this will work out well. His roommate is really cool and a talented painter also. I'm slowly beginning to accept the fact that painting is what I was born to do, so I might as well fucking do it and make money at it, eh?

OK, I should probably go do some work on my room here. Still not fully packed, still haven't gotten rid of everything I need to get rid of, but I just installed Spotify on my shiny new phone, so I've got some company while I do crap I don't want to. Argh. 

Just One Of Those Days...

...where at some point, I wind up literally HOWLING in rage/anguish/consternation/frustration/all of the above. But then I got over it, and that was that :-P

For starters, Metro Piece of Shit, my beloooovvvveedd phone service provider, decided not to tell customers explicitly about the network changes happening since the merger with T-Mobile. As a result, I was utterly clueless as to why my phone was having issues connecting to the network. On my way to find out, the strap on my brand new purse decided to completely rip off. Grumble grumble... and then I discover the only way around the phone problem is to BUY A NEW FUCKING PHONE. You fucking assholes, I was totally prepared to come in in a few weeks after my first few paychecks and get a new phone- I needed one, badly. The guy tried to tell me that the cheapest option was $90 flat for some phone I've never seen before... HAHAHAHAHA I was born in the morning, but not THIS morning! This made me briefly consider dropping MPCS altogether and going somewhere else, but I knew it would be cheaper to stay, especially because I just paid my fucking bill. So I went home and did some research, with my fella's help. We decided on a phone that would have cost 29.99 after the instant rebate- and it's a sweet phone too, the Kyocera Hydro. After calling around, the 125th store said they had it. Ok, cool! I had to head back up to Harlem anyway.

Of course, I get out of the train, and it's POURING. My shoes instantly soak it all up, which made it all the more uncomfortable. I slog to the store, and I am then told, "Ohhhhh, we must be out of it still, from last week..." SUCK A BOX OF COCKS YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT SOMEONE SAID YOU HAD IT NOW WHERE THE FUCK IS IT?! Wound up going for choice number two, which was considerably more expensive, but also a good phone. Get on the bus, head to my place in Harlem... and cannot find my fucking keys. Upon inquiry, my fella informs me they're with him. Well, at least I didn't lose them somewhere, but FUCKING HELL. On top of all this, it's the first day of my period and I felt like DEATH. So I said fuck this shit... and came back to the 'wood. Had some Thai for dinner, some ale, and I figure I'll head back to Harlem tomorrow.

Days like this don't happen often, so I figure I'm safe for a while. Plus, I have a shiny new phone to play with, wheeee!