Step, step, step, step, THUD! Sounds of the postman bringing knitterly joy to my porch. My package arrived from The Loopy Ewe with the half skein of Blue Parrot. Now I can finish my father’s socks! I had apprised him of the status (unfinished, waiting on yarn) and he said he’d forgotten about them! Bad Daddy.
Wednesday I called W. to follow up on the job interview, the one where we had talked salary and they told me that they “don’t see any reason not to hire you.” They just had to do the background check, and then they’d get right back to me. Wednesday made it six days. There’s nothing in my past that would ever come back to haunt me on a background check, but even still, that long a wait had me worried. Did they talk to people who didn’t like me? Was there anything in my “permanent record” that I didn’t realize was there? The time when I was four and took an extra cracker in preschool, was that in there? Holy shit, I was getting more and more wound up. When I finally called, I was really on edge. Not to worry, I was told, there was just “one more piece of checking they had to do” and that would be it (they are a jewelry store, they have to be thorough), and they’d call me the next day, but they were “definitely going to bring me on board.” I squee’d very loudly, scared the cats, and ran into G’s office for a hug.
The next day, the manager called, and we made an appointment for 3:30 for me to come in and sign paperwork. Then came the job of finding clothes to wear. The three months I’ve been out of work I’ve been sitting on my ever-spreading ass, and it showed. The outfit I picked wasn’t ideal, but I’d have my coat on. “Where’s the flood?” G asked of my nearly capri-length pants. “They’re supposed to look like that!” Problem is, they never used to look like that when I was thinner. Oy. I stuck with the pants anyway, and went.
An hour after I arrived, all the paperwork was finished and signed, and I’d read the dress code and code of conduct. The dress code was going to (again) be a sticky wicket. It is more professional than what I had to wear at C., and I am heavier anyway. I drove to the nearest Dress Barn Woman for some help. They’re having a suit sale, and while I was initially against the idea of a suit (too restricting), the saleswoman quickly showed me how versatile it could be. I picked out a stylish black pantsuit, several tops, a black skirt with pink embroidery, some black and some brown socks, and three jackets. They gave me a 20% off coupon for one item, the suit was on sale for $40 off, the socks were 4 for $10, and they cajoled me into signing up for a Dress Barn charge. “Even if you don’t get approved, you get an additional 10% off.” I capitulated. There’s a check coming in the mail this week and I’ll pay off the charge right away. I saved $117.84 all told, and I’ll be able to mix and match with what I already have that still fits.
I joined the Knitters for Obama group on Ravelry, since I’ve finally made my decision on whom to support. I’ve had a “Barack Obama – President 2008″ bumper sticker on my little Jetta since W got reëlected back in ’04 (it covers up the “Defend America – Defeat Bush” sticker that no longer applied), and I’ve been explaining his attraction for a long time. I think what confuddled me was that I felt slightly traitorous in wanting to support him versus Hillary, she’s a woman, it would go against my gender, I have a slight crush on her husband, you know, important reasons. Watching the L.A. debate, I finally made up my mind. Their policy differences are so slight (except that he’s been against the war from the very beginning), and he’s so fucking inspiring, is what did it. Maybe he’ll ask her to be his Vice President? They’re both championing my main cause, health care. You couldn’t find a better pair to run this country.
There’s a Ravelry Knitters for Obama group donation thingie where we’re raffling off some pretty neat prizes. One is a wicked cool group afghan that Jenean started a KAL for, it should be awesome! If you’re not yet on Ravelry (my god, man, get to it!) email me and I’ll send you a list of the prizes. Meanwhile, you can click on the link above to donate to the cause, tickets are $5 each (but the minimum donation is $10). I’ve made a set of eight stitch markers to donate, I think I’ll make more. Hopefully someone will want to win them!
