I AM really bad at blogging

Well hi there. Another pretty long period without blogging. I don't even really have an excuse for it. I'm still out of work, still applying for jobs, only issue is there are not many places that are hiring right now. Dish Network has decided not to override their 6 month return policy and indeed has upped it to 12 months. So now, I can't reapply until I have been gone for a year. I was devastated when I got that email, but I'm starting to spring back. I just don't know what I'm going to do now. You wouldn't ever think it would be so difficult for someone with a college education to be able to find a job, but it is.
The only two positive things that have come out of this are that I have been able to spend a lot more quality time with my nieces, and I have been able to craft more. But I can only craft with what is in my stash since I can't buy anything new. My newest little obsession is those origami puffy stars. I can use old magazine, junk mail, cards, colored printer paper, anything! Yesterday I made 183 of them. I know it sounds like it's a lot, but each one only takes about 30 seconds, if that.
I also was able to make some presents for my friend Michelle, who is expecting any week now. I made her a chocolate strawbaby blanket (it was pink, chocolate brown and cream) with two matching bibs in chocolate & pink. The pattern I used was the Modern Baby Bib and they turned out soooo cute!! They almost look like little purses.
My aunt & I have started a catering business called The Aunts Catering and we have had a couple of jobs so far. It's not a steady source of income yet, so I definitely am still searching for another job. This week I'm planning on applying to Verizon and the Roanoke County & City school systems. Hopefully one of those will work out, but I'm not so sure. I'm kind of losing faith at this point, but I'm trying to just hold my head up. I can't begin to tell you how embarrassing it is to have to tell people that I am unemployed. I know I am not alone in this economy but it feels like it.
Well, that is enough pity party for now. I'll update my projects list & post some pics I took with my camera phone. My digital camera is still in storage 3 hours away, so the pics are going to suck. Sorry about that. But at least you can see how cute these bibs are!! :)



This chocolate brown baby bib has a strawberry button closure & an assymetric cabled neck.



This pretty little pink bib has the same cabled assymetric neck & a pastel pink button closure. Both are knit.


Blessed Be )O( Heather

The Adventures of the Unemployed

This whole being unemployed thing apparently only brings fulfillment if you are unemployed because you are a novelist, stay-at-home wife or mom. It is just not doing it for me.
It started out ok. As I think I mentioned before that I was trying to get back into school for the upcoming semester. At that time my unemployment had a definite end on the horizon and a purpose. At least, it had some upcoming event that gave me an excuse to content myself with the state of my life. Unfortunately, my financial aid did not come through in time and I was unable to return to school. I am now setting my sites on the fall semester at a cheaper school to finish out my bachelor's. I'll sink myself deeper in debt for my master's and go to a good school, even if it is far more expensive than the alternatives.
Normally, Echostar requires that a previous employee be gone for at least 6 months before they are eligible for rehire. I've been gone for a few weeks shy of 4 months, but am going to go ahead and reapply. They have made exceptions before and I left work on very good terms. In fact, the director of the center even sat down with me to try and figure out how he could save me as an employee. Unfortunately, my only concern is that none of the managers who have supervised my work (or know of my capabilities) are working there any longer. 2 have been reassigned to other centers and one was demoted. There are several of my peers and my direct supervisors who will probably go to bat for me, but one can never be sure of the perceptions of others.
On the positive side, since I've moved back in with my father I have been able to take care of him. He works so hard all the time and is not getting any younger. He doesn't have time to take care of himself. I've been cooking him 3 square a day and making little goodies for his lunch. And I've been able to take care of the animals; I'm there with them all day, so the dog gets lots of excercise and the cats get lots of love :) I've also been able to do some good knitting and writing but I don't have any income to be able to beef up my yarn stash. My digital camera is also in storage so I can't take or upload any pics. Boo to that. I'm working on the Monk's Travel Satchel right now in olive green, brown and a third undetermined accent color. Any ideas, ladies and gents?
Apart from that, everything is going ok. I have started my new diet. A week in and I lost 2.5 lbs. Not great, but every step forward, no matter how small, is at least not a step backward. I'll try and update more frequently but I have proven to be an inconsistent blogger at best. LOL. Hope is everyone is doing well. I'll post pics when I can.
Blessed be!

A short update

I will endeavor to keep this as short as I possibly can :) Last week, with DJ's help, I submitted my reaudition CD. I never got a straight answer on whether I needed a video format audition DVD or if an audio only CD would work. So, as a live accompanist was required & I knew none in the area who were free to help, I submitted an audio-only audition. Still live accompaniment, but they didn't have to see who it was :) Kinda sneaky I know, but if I hadn't done it that way, I never would have been able to get my audition in on time.

Now all that's left is to wait. And worry. This is the bad part about college... well this and the money worries. Haha. That comes after I know I'm accepted I suppose. We'll see how it goes. I may need to wait until next fall, but I hope I can get in this semester. I'll sign off now, more to come later. :)

Blessed be,
Heather

Still no new pictures I'm afraid

But I did submit my application & financial aid paperwork. It was a big step for me to do that all on my own. I became so reliant on the joint efforts that come as being part of a couple... now I'm starting to reinvent myself as a single & am learning to stand on my own two feet. Either once I'm back in school, or once I get a full time job if school falls through, I'll move out on my own & start that adventure.

I had my first performance in over 4 years on Sunday. It was a church choir performance, but any step toward a dream counts. On the 30th I'll have another small performance. I have also been given an open invitation to join a choir affiliated with my old college for the upcoming semester. Normally one would need to audition, but the director told me to "just register & come on out". Which is awesome, cause he's never heard me. He's working off of the word of my old professors & choir mates. It's a cool feeling to be remembered as a good choral voice. Even though I want to branch out & cut my teeth on solo performing, it's always been my passion. For pity's sake, I mean I want to be a choral conductor, of course choir would be my first vocal passion.

My fingers are starting to get back into shape on the piano front as well. Still not great, but working on getting better again. The Carpal Tunnel Syndrome keeps me from getting back to the level I was at before, but I'm becoming passably good once more. Now if only SU would call me & tell me they reaccepted me, and FAFSA could tell me how much aid I'll be getting, I could move on with everything else. I'm going to need to take out extra loans to live on when I go back, so I'd take them out this semester so I wouldn't have to take out extra for living expenses for the next semester. I dunno how that will work, I'll have to get with the loan people to see how much I will qualify for. I just hope financially I'll be able to make it all come together.

On a fun side, I went to a live show on Saturday night fell in love! With a band. The Dreamscapes Project. Kind of a folk rock kinda fusion band. They played a club in Vienna called Jammin' Java. It was an intimate performance that I thoroughly enjoyed. The lead singer/guitarist, Keith Center, is a charismatic & entertaining front man, while the bass & drum kit support the sound of the band nicely. The two musical "oddities" of the band add an interesting element to the overall sound of the group. The percussionist (bongo, cymbal, pretty much everything not the standard kit-already referenced in this post) added a depth of rhythmic structure to the set; while the cellist, Ben Guy (with whom I went to college ages ago), gives a beautiful, sometimes haunting, sometimes melodic, sometimes outright rocking additional point of melodic interest.

I went home & friended them on Facebook. I know, I'm becoming a Facebook junkie. But all is well if that is my only embarrassing vice :) For now, I'm signing off to vacuum.

@-v-- Heather

Lots of updates

Well, after four years being together, Brandon & I are no longer a couple. I have since moved to Winchester, VA because the house we bought is in his name, our car was in his name, so now I just have the F250, our computer was mostly his since I still had mine from college 4 1/2 yrs ago, and I had to quit my job since I didn't have a place to live. But on the positive side, I now know that I have friends who love me for me & not because I'm the lesser-known-half-of-a-couple. I'm currently living with my best friends Samm & DJ, and their two children Will, 4, and Sage, 2. I'm in the process of applying for readmission to college & financial aid. I'm really hoping to get everything squared away for the Spring semester of '09. Should be able to get it done by then if I can get my W2 from 2007 for the FAFSA. All in all I'm hoping this catastrophic event will work out for the best in the long run.

I've been going to a Universalist Unitarian Church up here & am in the choir. It's a good first step to getting me back in the swing of things. I also have a small performance coming up on November 30th. I'm doing one of two things: I'm either accompanying Samm, or I'm doing a duet with Samm. One or the other. The song selection is up to us, so it probably won't be decided for certain until about a week before the performance. But we'll pull it all together. Always do.

At the moment, my cat Aris is staying with my parents. Until I get an apartment of my own, I can't bring him up. Dropping him off & saying goodbye was really hard. What was also hard was driving the 4 hours from Pulaski to Winchester 6 times to bring all my stuff up to my storage unit. 8 hour round trips. Ick. Brandon said he wanted my stuff out as quickly as possible so he could get on with his life. I was reluctant to move absolutely everything because I still wanted something there so I would have a tie to him in some way. It was a sad thought & I see how it was a thought in error. Hard to see when you're in the middle of having your heart ripped out though.

On the crafting front, right now since I don't have a job, I've got plenty of time. I've started trying to draw.... well copy other drawings. I don't have the spacial perception to be able to create new art at the moment. Getting my "feet under me", so to speak, is the best thing I can do to work up to the point of creating original art. I've started a new scarf. It's going to be in stockinette stitch with a pocket on each end. On each pocket, I'll be duplicate stitching a broad maple leaf & scattered down the length of the scarf (and fading into the actual pocket) will be smaller leaves that I will embroider on. The scarf itself is a dark brown, the leaves will be dark green, wine, orange & a mustard yellow if I can find one. We'll see how it turns out. The embroidery & junk are originals so I don't know how they'll translate from my head to my stitching. I'll post pictures once I finish & have a computer of my own to use. I also finished an offering for my first ritual. I cross stitched the word rebirth in an ivy pattern. I backed it with music fabric & offered it in the fire during the Samhain ritual. That was a lot of fun & very enlightening for me. After the ritual we drank & sat around the fire. I tried my hand at drumming on the djembe. I found out that I drum like a pianist, haha. As the night went on, I got more into it & less self-conscious. I actually like drumming a lot. I might just have to get myself one & start doing it more often :) We'll see.

For now, I'm going to end this novella & pledge to blog again soon... seeing as how I don't have anything else to do, haha.

Blessed be,
Heather