Just because I’m an adult

Just because I’m an adult doesn’t mean I should stop wanting to be sparkly and weird.

Case in point. Check out my new boots!

Aren’t they awesome!

Cheap ($20) boots, from a display, and they are surprisingly warm as hell too. So far, it has not iced/rained since I got them so I don’t know how well they do.

Vimes’ Boots Theory continues and I’m just really hoping they last the winter months. If they do, this’ll be amazing and then I can go and wear my pretty black velour chunk shoes mom found for $5 (because she is magical) when it gets warmer.

If these boots survive, I can’t wear them in the warmer months because holy duck have my feet been sweating.

But still. Shiny shoes!!!

excited rambling

Possibly disjointed, excited rambling.

I’m still stupidly excited to be out of the department and into another one. The Queen won’t talk to me, so I guess she’s fairly upset that I’ve gotten to move away from that area. Carebear is sad that I am no longer in the department, but understands. Coworker B continues to make jokes about how she “probably shouldn’t be talking” to me because I’m a traitor before laughing.

I keep thinking of things that I get to do now that I’m out of the confines of the other department. I can wear dangly earrings again! I can wear necklaces! I can paint my nails if I so choose. I can, hopefully, wear shoes that won’t split within 2-3 months. I can do Victory Curls or other hair styles if I so choose. I can wear silly headbands or hats. I could dress all snazzy and wear a tie if I feel like it.

I do, however, need to be on the lookout for new pants because I’ve been able to get away with wearing my stained jeans on occassion, but now that I’m out of that department, I need to look a tad bit more presentable. Jeans are ok, and I can probably still get away with the one pair that’s getting worn at the knee, but the super stained ones are a bit frowned upon.

People seem to think that it’s weird that I don’t mind stocking. It helps me get into a nice zen-like state so I can continue working on getting my calm back from the bullshit I had to deal with in the other department.

—

Ok, time to stop talking about work

+ Knitting

Knitting! Have I been knitting? No.

I did, however, attempt blocking a thing and failed spectacularly. Which I figured I would and I’m ok with that. I’m going to have to try to figure out how to make the thing a different way.

I really need to work on getting through some of my stash (I found three skeins of yarn behind a tote in the basement. I swear, it’s like it spawns down there).

Oh, and I have decided that I am going to stop work on the Hufflepuff-inspired scarf and pull it apart. I have decided against giving it to the person I was originally going to give it to because I have learned some things about the person that I, personally, am not thrilled about.

One less project for me to finish!

+ Sewing

Have I mentioned making doll clothes before? I can’t remember. But yeah, I’ve been on the want to make clothes and the whole make-doll-clothes thing has come up with a “whenever you get to it” kind of opportunity, so I’m working on hand sewing a dress. I have a packet of patterns somewhere in this house, but still can’t find them. So, instead I found a pattern for a simple dress online and sketched it out from the computer screen and cut out a mock-up and stuck it on the doll and found that it fits.

I have learned that sewing the shoulders together first, and then attaching the sleeves is better than sewing the sides, then the shoulders, and then the sleeves. But hey, it’s been years since I’ve done more than patch a hole or two, so I’m using this as a learning curve. I figure, if I can fuck up on smaller items, it’ll help me when I make larger, me-size items.

+ Drawing

I haven’t done shit in days. And I am ok with that. I am working on using my energies to other things.

+ Writing

I’m…working on writing?

I’m working on a story that was a basic one-sentence idea from like…last year or something and just blathering on paper trying to figure out how exactly am I going to finagle this damn thing. I’m having fun with it.

Have I worked on any of the stories involved with the collection I wanted to self-pub next? Absolutely not. I have been writing down notes for myself for various other story ideas so who the fuck knows what’s going to happen next.

Am I almost done with one of the stories for the intended-next collection? Absolutely. And fuck if I know how I’m going to end it.

+ Life

Been working on the basement a bit to rearrange things. I have managed to empty two totes, find a busted tote, and do one round of laundry.

Jamie has pulled half of the bookshelves apart so now the kitchen is covered in books, which is hilarious. And now I’m off to see if I can help him fix one of the bookshelves.

a huge weight has been lifted

Great news! I am officially out of my department and permanently assigned to the one I was temporarily placed in while on medical restrictions! Y’all, I am so fucking relieved. Because, for real, I’d given myself a migraine every day for the last two or three days from the sheer mental stress of the possibility of having to go back to that department.

A huge weight has been lifted.

And Manager Nerd is the one who brought up moving me permanently because, apparently,  management has gotten nothing but compliments about me since I’ve been over there, it’s a “relief, honestly” to have someone answer the phone nicely, and I “seem so much happier.” So yay, I get to get away from the stress of that department. I told Manager Nerd that my stress level has decreased exponentially to the point where my hallucinations are down (because stress makes it worse) and my headaches have been going down and I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed being able to wander an area, while doing the job, and being able to help people instead of pointing in a direction and telling them where to go or just saying “sorry, all I can tell you is call our corporate number.” He nodded, seeming to understand, and stressed that how I handle things over there is a relief compared to how things have been over there lately. So I’m hoping my move will help improve that department.

Which is great, because I was fully planning on having a discussion with him after my follow-up appointment on Tuesday when I will, most likely, be medically released. I know Coworker Carebear has been telling me I need to come back because she misses me and misses my being there to help while I’ve also found that they haven’t really made the attempt to find some way to fill my spot. I feel bad for her, and The Queen, and Coworker K, with a little bit of feeling bad for Coworker C. But I am fucking thrilled to get away from Timid and Weeaboo. I also hadn’t realized until yesterday that I’d been able to practically avoid the bullshit of Coworker Derp, the Cartoon Villain, and the rest of them.

Slowly but surely, my work/life ratio is fixing itself. Which is great because I want to work on getting my “I want to do [This]” list down a little bit.

(I kind of want to talk about writing, knitting, sewing projects. But, I think I should leave that for another post. Probably soon after I stop squeeing in delight over being able to get away from that department.)

eternally exhausted

I’m fairly sure that there’s something that I should probably be doing or working on. So, in fine tradition, let’s continue with the scattered thoughts. Because I am continually exhausted.

. We’ve survived the first part of the hellscape that is the Holiday Season! Two people got into a fistfight over a Black Friday item at [Store] and I was, thankfully (sadly) on the other side of the store being snarked at by angry middle aged white women because   they couldn’t keep their hands to themselves and began picking through the items over 2 hours before the event.*

. I should be released from medical restrictions when I go to my followup appointment on Monday (12/09) because I am back to my normal flexibility (yay hyper extended elbows!)

Honestly, I’m not looking forward to going back to my department.

. The other day I was asking a coworker of mine what was up. She said that Coworker Timid was going to be by himself from 2pm onwards. What.

Yeah.

Despite the fact that The Queen and the SM was informed immediately of restrictions (right after HR filed the paperwork and right before I informed Manager Nerd). No one bothered to take the time to fill my shifts in that department. So everyone has been fucked the last 2.5 weeks because every day I come in and everyone is absolutely shocked (shocked, I tell you!) that I am still on restrictions even though I’ve been telling everyone, almost every day that I’ve worked, that I am on restrictions until at least Dec. 9.

So yeah. Fuck that. I have no sympathy for you.

. The plus side to Black Friday, I wound up formulating the beginnings of a story that will go well within my intended story collection.

. I have also wound up with a small handful of notes for at least three other stories that do not belong with the collection I want to write, so I don’t know if I’ll do Turtle Tales, vol 2 next instead of the intended collection

. Yeah still being an ass, still not sharing the name. Why? I…don’t even know at this point.

. Out of the patterns that I have on hand, I still can’t find the doll clothes pattern. I have, however, found the kigu pattern that I’d misplaced months ago.

It was in the binder with the printouts for Turtle Tales, which I published 04/2019. Go figure.

I don’t even remember stuffing it in there.

. I now have a cheap ass cape to use as a pattern to make my own cloak! I bought it for a dollar (yay 90% off because no one bothers to look for seasonal stuff to send back to the warehouse unless it’s a giant pile in the middle of the store. Seriously. I used to find Valentine stuff around November fairly often)

. Speaking of patterns. I have found my pattern for the Golden Suit of Office I want to make at some point (because, why not. it’s a crazy idea. I’m a crazy person. it’ll be hilarious) but my Wizzard Robe pattern is MIA as well. I’ve looked everywhere and I’m even at the point where as I’m going through things in the catch-all of craft supplies in the basement keeping an eye out for them down there because you never really know, man.

. Tomorrow there’s a thing to “write a card and/or donate stuffed animals” for local nursing homes. I told the Higher Up manager, who happened to be there when this stuff was getting plastered to doors in the stock room, “you want stuffed animals? I got stuffed animals.” So I went through 5 totes, filled a trash bag with all kinds of stuffed animals and will be hauling that with me to work. I hope to make someone thrilled.

. I also managed to find one of my silly hats as well as a really nice jacket, so they got set aside to be washed.

. Oh! Jacket. I found out that the buttons for my peacoat are…a lot easier to find online than I had thought (honestly, I didn’t really ever look because the button broke off so long ago, and I’m so used to not buttoning that button, that I don’t notice like ever). Also learned that apparently my peacoat comes from one of the stranger times of “when the fuck were these things made” and “I don’t know man, how many buttons are showing?” to determine when around the time it was made. I’ve gotten it down to the 20-year window of 1919-1939 and I only know it’s pre-WWII due to family lore (where it came from) because some dead uncle had it before war was declared

* = if you pay attention, I’m sure you can easily figure out what company I work for. I do not mention them by name, because I enjoy flying under the radar. Which is also why I have nicknames for coworkers.