Wheeeeeee!

Today I jumped out of a plane!

For Valentine's Day, Husband got me a tandem skydive. It's my second time doing this.

In a tandem jump, I wear a harness and am clipped tightly to an experienced diver. The first time was with Ronaldo from Brazil, at least 5 years ago. This time it was with Johan from South Africa.

Both times were amazing. Both times we jumped out at 14,000 feet.

It was a beautiful, gorgeous day. Sunny, not a cloud in the sky, and warm -- 70F.

The most nerve wracking part was the actual push out of the plane, done by Johan. Then you're just free falling, air rushing past so, so fast, it's almost hard to breathe. Good thing they gave me goggles.

Then the chute opens, there's a bit of a jerk as your momentum suddenly changes and then it's lovely, and peaceful, floating. I could also see Stone Mountain from where I was up in the air in Carrollton, which is nearly to the Alabama border.

It's interesting. About a year ago, Husband and I went to Miami for something and he got me an appointment to parasail. But I just couldn't do it when the time came. I was just so afraid. I don't know if it was the hormones I was taking that made me so risk adverse. Or it was the stress of work that made me so risk adverse. I talked about the skydiving thing a few weeks ago with someone and it made me sad to think that I had become so afraid of parasailing.

But now that I've quit the old job in January and started my own consulting business (grant proposal writing), I am so much happier. And when Husband gave me the skydiving gift, I was just excited, not afraid at all.

Hothlanta 2011

So, I've quit my job and set up meetings with various people about setting up my own shop as a consultant, or finding another job, or things to do with the adoption, or just catching up with friends.

Then along comes the great storm of 2011 and puts everything on hold.

Atlanta got some snow. About 4 inches worth. Not much, right?

However, it is a rare event in the US South and there aren't enough snow plows, salt and sand trucks, etc to deal with it. Plus, the snow melts a bit when the sun is out and the temp rises, then refreezes at night. So the top layer of all the snow is actually ice. Makes for very slow going. The local news is full of warnings about "Don't go out unless you really have to!" Personally I've seen cars and trucks spin out and one pedestrian slip and fall on the ice. And I got stuck for a bit in it myself.

So schools have been closed all this week, along with many businesses. All my meetings have been postponed until next week at the earliest. As of yesterday, day 4 of the snowmaggedon, this graphic's been going around

I'm a home body, so I'm not suffering. I have many, many distractions:

1. Tai Chi and Yoga

2. Cooking, especially from One Big Table: 600 recipes from the nation's best home cooks, farmers, fishermen, pit-masters, and chefs

3. DVDs galore. I thought I'd rewatch Buffy the Vampire Slayer but have been rewatching Dollhouse Season 2.

4. Netflix Watch Instantly. I saw a tweet about this article http://beyondvictoriana.com/2011/01/09/56-ten-reasons-why-steampunks-and-everyone-else-should-watch-avatar-the-last-airbender/ and was motivated to figure out how to make Watch Instantly work.

5. Nook e-reader and knitting -- 2 things that were made for each other. I borrowed "And Another Thing..." book 6 in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. It's been a long, long time since I read the other books, but fortunately, they provide a "previously on..." section to catch you up. Especially since it's been years since the last book came out and the author died. This one is written by Eoin Colfer. And I'm still plugging away at Husband's stockingnette blanket. Talk about mindless knitting.

Speaking of Husband and blanket; so it's been cold and I had a lap quilt (made for me by Best Friend) across my legs. Husband wanted a blanket too and asked "is it the only blanket we have?" Pfft! I have made plenty of blankets! So I gave him the quilt and I'm using this blanket.

6. Going out anyway. Even I have a limit to how much nesting at home I can do.

Happy New Year! 2011

Resolutions for this year:

1. Become a mom through adoption

2. Find a new job

3. Be happier

We've restarted the adoption process. In Jan 2010, I started looking into it but stopped because of financial and work issues. Work has been really difficult in 2010 and I put in my resignation notice. My last day will be Jan 7, 2011. I have some vacation days still so may check out earlier.

Anyway, that nightmare will soon be behind me. I have not job lined up but Husband is very supportive as long as I am actively looking for a job. I'll be talking to some people who work in a job that I'm interested in going into.

But really, my big hope for 2011 is to adopt a baby and be a stay-at-home mom. After years of unsuccessful fertility treatments, we think this is the way to go. And after all this effort to have a kid, I want to stay home and be a mom for that kid.

I'm not thinking that becoming a mom will be all roses and I'll suddenly find happiness and all that. After all I know poopy diapers and temper tantrums will be part of the picture.

I just think that life is too short to not actively seek what I want out of life.

And 2011 will be the year to do it.

Happy New Year and may 2011 be a year that makes you happy too.

Must. Resist. New. Craft.

I ended up not going to work over the Thanksgiving weekend. As I reasoned, I wasn't planning on being here anyway so why go in? And here I sit at the office at 5pm EST Nov 30 done with most of my work, that's due at 8pm EST/5pm PST Dec 1.

Instead of going to work on Saturday, I went to the library. Browsed the craft books, mostly looking at knitting. But the embroidery books caught my eye. I'm knitting a toilet paper cover for Sister and her husband that looks like a roll of sushi (their request). It requires embroidering on the "filling."

Now I want to take up crewel embroidery. I've done it before, a long time ago as a kid -- a unicorn and rainbow if I remember correctly. And I have all kinds of cross stitch floss and needles, lots of inspiration books, and a blue marking pen for quilting that will wash out....

No. Must. Resist. New. Craft.

Life Work Balance

Debating whether or not to go to work today. If I hadn't gotten sick, then I would still be out of town today, so I had estimated that my to-do list could be accomplished without working Wed to Sun. Plus, it's beautiful outside: sunny and in the 60s F. Perfect day for lounging around the house, doing a little this and that, like hand washing the hand knit sweaters.

On the other hand, if I go to work today, then I won't have to work as long Mon, Tue, and Wed to meet my Dec 1 deadline. And Husband won't feel bad that he's gone to work but not me.

Our little day of the dead vignette doesn't have any advice for me. Maybe other than "No one ever went to their grave wishing they spent more time at the office." On the other hand, it is a grant proposal worth $75,000.....

I'll see how I feel once the hand washing is done.

ETA: note to self: knit with either machine washable yarn or knit smaller sweaters. This stuff is heavy when wet.

Happy Thanksgiving 2010

I hope it was a good holiday for everyone. I spent it in Atlanta because I was sick and didn't feel up to flying to DC to be with Sister, new Brother-in-law, and Brother Two.

So I did get to enjoy Thanksgiving with Husband at a friend's home. It was warm enough to eat the meal outside in sleeveless shirt and skirt. I was not at 100% and being out in the sun was lovely.

Over estimated how well I was, over ate and over drank, and felt pretty bad for the rest of the night.

However, it is Thanksgiving, so I give thanks for

• my family near (Husband, cat) and far (everyone else)
• being able to see my parents and have them come visit in October
• friends old and new
• a job that is meaningful and plays a part in making the world better, heck for being employed instead of unemployed like Brother Two (his company shut down and he was laid off)
• a job that offers paid sick leave, which I have used extensively this year for my mental and physical health

I've been reading a lot. Most recently Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld and the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. They're both really good books, written mainly for young adults. I just finished The Hunger Games this afternoon and when I put it down, I was just kind of stunned; it's just so good. Looking forward to seeing the movie adaptation. And compared to the dystopian world and emotional turmoil in the book, and in many places in the world, I'm thankful for the well-fed, safe and loving life I have.

Staycation weekend

been a week since i posted. what a week.

got a mongo proposal done and sent in. Grants.gov is a pain, but buys me time for when I don't have things ready the day before for Fed Ex. also squeezed out a grant report that someone else was supposed to do. not gonna even start with the work drama.

worked a zillion hours last 2 weeks to get it done. taking Monday off to recuperate, even tho I didn't work over this weekend.

Husband and i were supposed to go to Buffalo for his annual family reunion but I just couldn't do it, so I bailed. Husband didn't want to go without me so he didn't go either. awww how sweet.

We had a little staycation weekend instead. It's restaurant week in downtown Atlanta, where participating restaurants offer a prix fix menu. I made reservations for us at Thrive, a place we hadn't been to before. It was okay. the shrimp salad was the best thing there.

In the mail we got our Dragon*Con progress report. So we headed up to the pool with adult beverages to plan our Labor Day weekend plans. Well I did. Husband played Angry Birds on his iPhone. that is an addictive, and deceptively difficult, little game.

Saturday we went to the Ga Aquarium to see the shark exhibit. Husband's been wanting to see it so I got us tickets. For dinner we had trout :)

Yesterday Husband went to work and I finally finished the BSG Season 3 disc I had. The last ep on the disc was the boxing one which showed life of New Caprica and the Sam-Kara-Lee-Dee situation. As much as I like Dee, my favorite part was seeing Laura and Bill hangout under the stars.

I also watched some fitness shows on FitTV station on cable. Caught the end of a yoga show and followed along with the belly-dancing show. My verdict: yoga is harder.

Happy Birthday / Father's Day / World Refugee Day!

Today is June 20.

In my family, it's Brother Two's birthday. He turns 33 today. Just found out it's also my friend D's birthday. She and Brother Two were born on the exact same day.

In the US, it's Father's Day. In Taiwan, Father's Day not until August 8. But I'll probably try calling my dad anyway.

And it's also World Refugee Day to bring attention to an incredibly vulnerable population of people. The United Nations defines refugees as people who are fleeing their home country due to being persecuted due to their race, religion, political beliefs, and membership in a social group.

From the United Nations High Commission on Refugees website:

UNHCR was set up in 1951 to help the estimated 1 million people still uprooted after World War II to return home. Since then, we have helped find durable solutions for tens of millions of refugees and they remain our core constituency.

The latest figures available show that the number of refugees of concern to UNHCR stood at 10.5 million refugees at the beginning of 2009, down 8 percent from a year earlier.

A further 4.7 million registered refugees are looked after in some 60 camps in the Middle East by United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which was set up in 1949 to care for displaced Palestinians.

The refugees of concern to UNHCR are spread around the world, with more than half in Asia and 22 percent in Africa. They live in widely varying conditions, from well-established camps and collective centres to makeshift shelters or living in the open.

More than half of all refugees of concern to UNHCR live in urban areas. They all face three possible solutions: repatriation; local integration or resettlement

There's a website with streaming video at to commemorate World Refugee Day at http://www.refugeedaylive.org/

The Kiss -- Adama and Roslin

Watched BSG season 2.5 disc 1. Don't remember what the episode's called, but it ends with the tiniest of kisses between Roslin and Adama. I'm really looking forward to seeing how that relationship develops.

Also, I plan on watching the disc again with the commentary. I love the look on Lee Adama's face when he realizes how ruthless President Roslin can be.

Work is full of emotional highs and lows. We have a national training we're conducting where I'm supposed to be modeling women's leadership. Simultaneously I find out the day the training begins that my own leadership is being called into question.

The training has been wonderful and it's been 12 hour days since Saturday. So I'm taking tomorrow off to rewatch this BSG disc for the commentary. I also bought Leverage seasons 1 and 2, so will be watching those commentary too. Plus there are eps I haven't seen yet. I will be drooling over Eliot's hair.

Craft, Inc.

I am reading Craft, Inc.: Turn Your Creative Hobby into a Business by Meg Mateo Ilasco. Title is pretty self explanatory.

It's always been that I earned a living doing social activism, social change work and did art and craft on the side as a hobby. However, I always struggled with trying to find a way to make both work. 10 years ago when I was in graduate school, I remember talking about that in an anthropology class.

Now with the rise of Etsy.com and a resurgence in handcraft marketplace, there are lots of people making money from what used to be a hobby. It's something that I want to look into. However I have my reservations. If this is really going to be a business, how much time will I be able to spend on each piece, how much can I price that for in order for it to sell, and how long before I could make a profit and not just cover costs?

At work, one of our programs is helping refugee women start their own businesses. We have workshops on cash flow, marketing, pricing, writing business plans, etc. Many want to sell their handcrafts but it's a struggle. If you're making handwoven totebags, how do you compete with $5 totebags sold in Walmart, made from sweatshop labor in China?

Granted, part of the marketing in knowing who to market to: people who understand or value hand-made items, and not just having the item. Hence the rise of Etsy and resurgence of handcraft fairs.

So what would my business be? I'm thinking handmade prints. They're easy to produce, unlike knitted goods which take forever. They're easy to mail, unlike pottery, which is heavy and take a long time to produce. And they're easy to reproduce. Once I have the linoleum cut, it's a matter of inking up and printing on paper.

Currently, I thinking about a name and website domain name. The one I'm thinking of is not taken and I'm considering registering for them now, just to make sure I have them before someone else takes them. However, I don't know that I really want to use my name (initials, really) for my business.

Plus there's the fact that I have not really done the research to see if this is a viable business idea or just idle dabbling because I want to leave my day job. Not that I would leave my day job until this printmaking business started turning a profit.

So I will finish reading this book, continue with my printmaking class, develop a print-style and a portfolio of linocuts. Afterall, I should probably see if I can do the production part of the business. Then develop a budget and business plan. Preliminarily I think I would sell through Etsy and do the production work on the weekends and maybe a Wed night.

All this while working a day job in a down market, trying to sell a house in a down market and then trying to adopt a kid after the house is sold. And still have time for a husband, who's the most wonderful guy in the world.

Also, just found this page on how to calculate profits on Etsy.

to the Georgia Supreme Court and dressy exercise clothes.

Tomorrow Husband's arguing a case before the Ga Supreme Court. It's his third time doing so, but my first time going to see him do his thing.

To fortify him, I'm making a roasted chicken with leeks and rutabagas.

In other news in my life, I visited REI yesterday. It's the first time I've been to the outdoor gear store to actually get anything for me.

Now that we live downtown, we've been walking more. For example last summer we regularly walk 2.2 miles one way to the baseball stadium. Lately, now that spring is here, we've been walking over a mile one way to dinner.

So I thought I'd get some clothes made specifically for this activity. I am not kidding. Among my junk mail recently was a catalogue from Athleta.com, a company that makes women's clothes for tennis, yoga, golf, swimming, hiking/adventuring, running/walking, and nicer stuff for hitting the town after a day for roughing it. It's a subsidiary of Gap, which is nice because I bought a pricy skort at Athleta and a cheap skirt from Old Navy which will be delivered together.

I also got a dress with built in support because I may walk 2 miles for exercise, but there is a restaurant stop in the middle.

Now I'm on the hunt for dressy exercise clothes. Hence the trip to REI. On their website, I saw some good candidates but wanted to try them on first.

I walked in and immediately felt out of place. I don't do any camping, rock climbing, etc. However, there was clothes shopping to be done so I forged on. I did find some skirts but not the dress I came for. Tomorrow I have a meeting near another REI so I'll stop in afterwards.

Fortunately with the popularity of yoga and people running errands after yoga/exercise class, there are dressier exercise clothes out there. I will be using mine for walking around a totally urban environment, that's all.

Tomorrow will be quite a day: Ga Supreme Court, immigrant rights meeting, REI.

Ahh

Had a great vacation with Husband in southern California/Los Angeles area. It was so relaxing. First a few days in Palm Springs/Joshua Tree National Park, then a few days in Santa Monica right on the Pacific coast.

Took lots of pictures, will organize and post later. Probably over the New Year's weekend when I have no plans.

In the mean time, I'm back at the office to meet some deadlines.

ETA: Photo taken on Twenty-Nine Palms Hwy just north of Joshua Tree National Park.

East Coast Snowcopalypse

There's a huge snow storm hitting the Eastern Seaboard of the USA. My friends in DC are posting about how they're stuck in their apts. If I was stuck inside this is what I would be doing:

1. Watching back episodes of Dollhouse season 2. It's getting really good. I missed eps: Meet Jane Doe, a Love Supreme, and The Attic. This morning I watched "Stop Loss" about Victor.
2. Continue watching Angel the Series. Jasmine, as played by Gina Torres, is about to show up.
3. Knit on either the Noro Furisode Log Cabin afghan or the Easy Top Down Raglan Cardigan I just started this morning.

That should keep me occupied for, oh, the next month or so.

However, I am not stuck at home but rather at the office in Atlanta, just south of the snowcopalypse. I'll be out of the office for a week, but deadlines still loom. I've also taken home the plants in my office. They deserve a vacation in my sunny apt too, instead of sitting alone in my darkened office while I'm gone.

Ouch

Had a tough staff meeting today. Told everyone that starting Jan 1, 2010, we were all being furloughed one day a week. I gave them a simplified version of the budget that showed in black and white the gap between income and expenses. Even with pending grants that I feel confident that we'll get, there's still a gap. We do have fundraising efforts going, so I'll reassess at the end of March.

No one's happy about it, some more so than others, but I hope everyone will realize, that the glass is 4/5th full, not 1/5 empty. The unemployment rate in Atlanta is 10.5% so....

Still, not a happy meeting.

Can't believe I just furloughed myself.

Ups and downs, at least holidays are almost here

I've been blogging for a few years now, but it was only recently, in about the last year, that I've really gotten into it.

I use this space to write about the important and trivial things rattling around in my head. I've discussed issues like race, politics, gender, social justice, art, craft, TV, knitting, celebrity crushes.

This week has had more than the usual amount of ups and downs and the past few posts have been really serious. Can't get much more serious than death.

Friday was the memorial service for Errin which went from 11am to 2pm. Well, actually the service started about 11:45 but that was time spent sharing condolences with family, or reading the Facebook homages. After sharing my condolences with the family, I sat in the pew for 45 minutes, waiting. I watched other people in the "audience" share hugs, tears, memories with each other. I saw people I knew and could have approached them but didn't. I was shy. I was tired.

Husband wondered why I was hit so hard by the passing of someone he's never heard me talk about. Where to start? First, Errin was so young, only 35. Second, she was so bubbly, always so happy and upbeat even in times of stress. I mean, last time I saw her, she was just laid off, but still focused on the silver lining: she had her own consultancy business and had 2 job offers, even in this economy! Third, she did so much for the causes of women's rights and human rights (which is how I first met her) and did so much good in this world. Her being taken from us so soon is proof that the world isn't fair.

There were also the personal aspects that got to me. During the service people got up to share stories, memories. We laughed, and we cried. Whenever someone talked about how happy she and her husband were, it broke my heart. I love my husband so much and the thought of not having him, like Dana not having Errin anymore, just make me grieve for Dana. Or was it for my future self? At some point, Husband and I will be parted and I dread that day.

In other happy news (not), today is a board meeting where I'm going to ask the board to approve that we cut staff hours and hence pay, including my own. I know that I have the support of Husband so the impact on our household will not be as bad as in other staffers' households. But the fact is that the money just isn't there. Fundraising is just difficult across the board for all nonprofit organizations.

I am looking forward to this coming week, Thanksgiving week here in the US. Sister and her Fiance are coming, as is Brother Two. They arrive Tuesday and leave Saturday. I have the menu all planned out and will hit the grocery store on the way home from the office this evening. I wonder if that's wise...

This will be the first Thanksgiving without Brother One, because he is in Taiwan with our parents. The good news is that we will call for Father's birthday, which falls around this time of year. And Brother One has access to e-mail so staying in touch with our parents (and exercise their English comprehension skills) will be so much easier and cheaper than phone calls.

Weird head space

Feeling weird today. Possible causes:

1. My friend Errin is dead, from a car crash yesterday morning. Having a hard time wrapping my head around that.
2. Had a couple of scotches from an impromptu memorial last night. Note to self, Glenlivit a much better scotch than Chivas Regal, my mom's drink of choice.
3. Trying to squeeze more money out of the work budget than is there.

Most likely, all of the above.

In a bit, I'll be off to meet a friend for lunch, then go to the pottery studio if it's open. I missed class last night for number 2 above. I waffled on coming to work this morning, but figured as long as I was up, I might as well. But taking the afternoon off.

Testing Temptation -- the LYS version

My favorite yarn shop, Knitch, has moved and today's the reopening. I have tomorrow off, since I'm working on Saturday. I'll be selling Chinese batiks and my handmade pottery at the Harvest Market in the City of Riverdale. The proceeds will benefit the organization I work for.

So... Friday, I will come to the office and pick up tables and chairs for the event, and probably do some work. Then I'll go to the pottery studio for open studio time to throw some more pots and carve up the ones that have reached bone dry stage.

After that I may go to Knitch to check out their new digs. Depends on traffic. I also have a frequent customer discount to use by Nov 11 :)

Not the Usual

Husband went out of town this weekend for the Wisconsin-Iowa game. So this is how I whooped it up while he was gone.

I made a cake, from scratch, seen above. Chocolate cake with coconut frosting. Ugliest cake, but tasty. As someone who prides herself on making things that are both functional and beautiful, this was not my best. However, it does taste good. And considering this is my first effort in making a cake from scratch and not a boxed mix, I'm pretty happy. Plus this is my first time making frosting ever.

But still, in that picture, I did include things I have made that are functional and beautiful, like the green flowerpot, and my Malabrigo afghan.

This week I also started my pottery class. In the cake picture are three bowls I brought home to dry. The biggest one on the right is 11 inches in diameter and 4.5 inches tall.

I did not work on the Sunrise Circle Jacket, because the fluxuating stitch count was driving me up the wall. I worked on my Noro Furisode Log Cabin blanket instead. I wound up all but one of the skeins into cakes:

On Saturday I worked, speaking on a panel about the challenges of reaching out to refugees for the US Census. I barely had a voice, despite all the honey and tea I've been drinking. Basically, I said that one fear that refugees in particular have about the census, is that in their countries of origin, the census was used by the government to identify and target people of different groups for ethnic cleansing. No wonder then that refugees are reluctant to answer the census.

On the flip side, in some countries, specific ethnic groups were barred from being counted in the census, so now they're really eager to be counted.

After the census thing, I went shopping, something I don't really do anymore because very few things fit right and many stores are eliminating their petite sections. However, I did buy a dark teal blue jacket, black ankle boots, and red suede flats. Even though the jacket is a petite, I still have to have the sleeves shortened.

In another break from the usual, I didn't watch anything by Joss Whedon! Instead, it's been a Neil Gaiman and NCIS weekend. The next Angel DVDs haven't come from the library yet (actually, they have, but I probably won't go get them until tomorrow.) And, okay, I watched the most recent episode of Castle, where they wore the blue gloves. That's the closest I got to Whedonverse this weekend.

Rather, I've been watching the NCIS marathons on USA cable network. It's like Law and Order. Each episode stands alone and they're pretty straight forward who-done-its. I like the characters, especially Abby Scuito the goth forensics tech who also knows sign language. It comes up every once in a while, like when she and boss Gibbs will sign to each other when they don't want others to understand what they're saying, or when lipreading surveillance videos. Plus she has the best wardrobe.

I'm listening to "Stardust" by Gaiman on CD, read by Gaiman himself. He's pretty good as a reader, doing voices too and not sounding cheesy. I'm also reading "Fragile Things" a collection of his short stories, and the movie "Coraline" just came in from Netflix. As a crafter and especially as a knitter and someone who's done clay work, I'm really looking forward to seeing the "making of" feature. I hope there's a making-of feature!

ETA: alas, there is no making-of feature for Coraline. Plus, Brother One gave me two Buffy comics: Predator and Prey, a compilation of issues 20 to 25 of Buffy Season Eight, and Buffy Omnibus One. It was at the office when I came in this morning. On Saturday, I stopped by the office and saw that there was a package in the common area, but I was in a hurry and didn't look closely. If I had, I could have had some new Buffy for the weekend, but I'm happy with the way the weekend turned out, as it is.

FlashForward prediction, as distraction from stress

Work angst continues. People don't want to do what they have to, funding situation still up in the air. Yesterday I told Husband that if the 3 grants I feel pretty confident about don't come through, I may have to go part time. That set off some financial angst on his part that just made me feel crappy and unable to sleep.

On top of that, our renter lost his job and his aunt's house got flooded out by the torrential rains we got in Atlanta. So she and her kids and dog moved in but we still haven't gotten a rent check for October. I've been trying to straighten that out, but until the aunt calls me back, not much I can do.

On the other hand, the biggest of the three grants came through today (Hooray!) and I'm making progress with the aunt/potential renter.

To the rescue comes TV. Ah, escapism at its best. Caught the last bit of FlashForward lastnight (will watch on Hulu later).

Spoiler alert if you haven't watched it yet:

Here's my prediction:
First episode: Janis's flashforward is that she's pregnant. Demetri saw nothing.
Second episode: in Utah, D meets another person who didn't see anything in the flashforward and then she dies. Back in DC or wherever they are based, D gets called into the office at 3am and talks with Janis. She convinces him to post this flashforward on the Mosaic website. Then as he leaves the office, D gets a call that he'll be murdered in March 2010.

So my prediction is that due to working long nights together, D and J get together and D is the father of J's baby.

What I'm enjoying about the show:

Clever use of our wired, social networking world. People can post their flashforwards on the Mosaic website and try to contact the other people in their flashforwards. Clever.

The question of pre-determination and free will. Just because it's in your flashforward, does that mean it will definitely happen? Or can you still change it? For example with Janis's pregnancy. She said she doesn't feel the biological clock ticking, yet now that she has this flashforward that she's X months pregnant in April, will she get mating at the appropriate time to make sure that flashforward happens? It may be subconscious but it's there.

What about Mark's drinking and his wall of pictures? Because those photos are in his flashforward a certain way, he's primed to look for those specific things and pictures. The flashforward becauses a self-fulfilling prophesy. What about the drinking? That he had under control before, can he still?

And Demetri's death? The caller specifically says murdered. Does he take steps to avoid it? But how if he doesn't know how he's killed? And is the caller telling the truth? It's one thing to believe in your own flashforward. It's another to believe in what someone tells you about it.

Tricky, tricky. I missed the "Lost" bandwagon, but I think I'll get on with FlashForward. And when will we see D's fiance Zoe? Is that a shout out to Firefly? Or just wishful thinking on my part?

Also, it's a toss-up on what I'll watch tonight at 9pm: Dollhouse or the series premiere of Stargate Universe. Or we may be watching some sports event or not watch anything at all. Ah, the beauty of Hulu. And I'm sure Syfy will re-run SU a zillion times before the next episode.

Leverage

Ugh. Today started out okay, then there was very disappointing news today at noon. Went to the office for an event for one of our programs. Checked the mail. Found out that one of the grant proposals we submitted was not accepted. I now have a $200,000 hole in the budget to fill. Our entire operating budget is $570,000.

About one third of our expected income is not happening. Damn.

I'm also not very happy with the way I broke the news to the staff member who's most affected by this not-happening grant. Gah.

That grant would have paid for all of her salary, and percentages of other staffers' salaries, including my own. Argh.

So I came home and knit and watched an episode and a half of Leverage season one. I am quite enjoying it. I liked Ocean's Eleven and Thirteen (didn't see O12, heard it wasn't all that good) and Leverage is like that.

I say only 1.5 episodes because Husband came home and we went to the gym. I was reading "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" but had to put it down when I got to the point where they were trying to find an investor to keep their business from going under. A little too close to what I'm dealing with at work.

Hence, again, the escapism of shows like Buffy, Dollhouse, and Leverage. Leverage I'm getting through Netflix, and I've requested Angel from the public library. It's ready for pickup.

As loathe as I am to leave the house on Sundays (I love having a day where I don't leave the house at. all.), I may run to the library tomorrow to get Angel. And run over to Knitch to pick out a button for the sweater I finished knitting today!

I still have to wash, block, and weave in ends. And sew on the button and the label that says Hand knit by me. But I'm counting it as done.

Still have 3 works in progress on the needles, but itching to start a new blanket project. WIP run down:

1. mohair shawl on size 11 needles. It's an on again off again project. Started years ago, pulled it out of hibernation just this summer.

2. portable scarf project on size 8 needles.

3. Sunrise Circle Jacket on size 7 needles. I just started it a week ago.

I have 5 skeins of chunky Noro Furisode yarn in colorway 2 that I want to make into a garter stitch blanket. A soothing mindless knit with gorgeous yarn. Perfect for TV watching.

And movie watching. Tomorrow is Can't Stop the Serenity, the fundraiser for Equality Now that shows Serenity on the big screen. A garter stitch blanket is perfect for knitting in the dark.

Okay. Gotta go. I have a blanket to cast on for.