Katie

... is like crack. Seriously. You can pretty much find anything you want. If you can't, then chances are someone will make it for you.



Here are some awesome people I've been talking with & the awesome stuff they have in their shops:

Spamberly - works at MIT, but I'll look past that for now cause she's pretty cool
spamberly.etsy.com

HelloCrafty - I want some button soap. just because it looks so cool.
hellocrafty.etsy.com

leeleeoh7 - lives out in Buffalo... only the people who live there and National Grid employees know how depressing that can be sometimes ;)
leeleeoh7.etsy.com

Surrender Dortothy/Her Royal Majesty Bags - she has two shops and lives up in a small town in Maine that I've actually been to before
surrenderdorothy.etsy.com

Krystan - lives in Providence! and her boyfriend lives in Worcester. she should stop and make burritos sometime when she's driving up there. (just kidding) (not really) (ok maybe) :D
krystan.etsy.com

AllegroArts - lives down in St Louis and is male, which is considered the minority on Etsy (like girls at WPI, but worse).
allegroarts.etsy.com

lollibomb - has the best smelling stuff. seriously.
lollibomb.etsy.com


And then there are a couple of the Providence Roller Derby girls who are also on Etsy:

Jailbird Jenny jennybradley.etsy.com

and a newbie, Julie juliebcreative.etsy.com


and then of course there's mine: kcroteau.etsy.com
but it looks a little empty right now. I blame the sun for that. I prefer to take pictures of my stuff in natural light, and the only time I'm home when the sun is out is on the weekends. But I have stuff that I'll be adding this weekend! Yay!


ok, back to browsing and chatting.

oh, and getting some "real work" done too, I suppose.

all computers used on a regular basis in the house are now all run with leopard.

my laptop, ryan's laptop, and ryan's desktop are all apple machines.

the dell desktop used with the projector downstairs and now my dell desktop both have leopard on them.

me walking around on crutches
Some lady at work: Ooo, that must stink to walk around on those. Especially in the snow!

what I should have said: actually, walking on crutches is so much fun, I think I'll call up Tom King (our US CEO) and have him mandate the use of crutches for ALL employees! Don't you think that'll be a good idea?

===============================================================================

me walking in the Wal-Mart parking lot on my crutches. while its snowing.
Random lady: ooo be careful! Its snowing!

... no shit, lady.

===============================================================================

me looking at a website of a company who sells industrial blowers (fans)
co-worker: doing some research on fans?

what I should have said: yeah, I need a new ceiling fan at home for the kitchen - I just can't seem to cook anything without it burning!

78% John Edwards
77% Hillary Clinton
77% Barack Obama
74% Chris Dodd
70% Bill Richardson
67% Dennis Kucinich
64% Mike Gravel
63% Joe Biden
50% John McCain
46% Rudy Giuliani
43% Mitt Romney
43% Tom Tancredo
42% Mike Huckabee
30% Fred Thompson
24% Ron Paul

2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz

is so cold!

I'm gonna put my hat and mittens on just to hopefully stay a little warmer.

Yes, you, xb95 .

Go work at Etsy. And then get me a job. They're only hiring nerdy people like you right now. But then you'll need me to fill you in on how cool the site is and how fun making things is.

http://blog.etsy.com/jobs/index.html

Ok, so get on that. Thanks.


;D

sucks. I hate crutches.

( eww, gross. )

In other sucky news, our office is being relocated to Waltham!






ugh.

Dirty old men.

I was in a Low-Voltage Distribution Networks class on Tuesday. I didn't return after the afternoon coffee break. The instructor saw me later that night at the reception...
"You didn't come back to my class this afternoon."
"Yeah, I'm sorry. It just all started to blend together after a while."
"That's ok, I understand. You know, I'm going to be giving a 3-day course at National Grid in December."
"Oh, I'm signed up for that. I didn't know you'd be teaching it. I guess I'll see you then. But I'll be on crutches."
"Why's that?"
"I'm having sugery on my ankle."
"What happened to it?"
"The bones didn't form correctly when I was growing."
"Well the rest of you came out fine."

sheesh.

And then another guy was following all the young female engineers around during the entire seminar (3 days). He claimed he was "networking." Yeah, if networking = stalking. Some of the engineers I ate dinner with Tuesday night suggested I find a big fake engagement ring to wear to seminars and conferences. Funny that its all the old creepy guys who follow us female engineers around... not the guys who are actually our age.

when they're on their motorcycles, that is.

when I was riding around this weekend there were a lot of other people out on their bikes too. a lot of them would wave to me - just because I was also on a bike.

you never see people doing that while driving their cars.

it was kind of nice. to have people being nice to each other.

they exist. but they're like birthday wishes - if you tell them to anyone, they won't come true.

...right?

bad things come in 3s, right? so what's the 3rd?

1. my Papa passed away last Friday night/early Saturday morning. he went in his sleep which I always think is the best way to go.
2. I have to have surgery to fix my ankle problem I've had since middle school.
3. ? (hopefully I won't have to find out)

1. Fine: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.

2. Five Minutes: If she is getting dressed, this means half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.

3. Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in "Fine."

4. Go Ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don't do it!

5. Loud Sigh: This is not actually a word, but a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to #3 for the meaning of nothing.)

6. That's Okay: This is one of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man. "That's okay" means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.

7. Thanks: A woman is thanking you, do not question, or faint. Just say you're welcome.

8. Whatever: Is a women's way of saying "Fuck you!"

9. Don't worry about it, I got it: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking "What's wrong?" For the woman's response refer to #3.


Luckily I don't really have to use these too often. :) All thanks to the zebras & indians. haha

Concerts/Events list so far:

May 19 -- Graduation
May 25 -- PRD bout
May 29 -- Red Sox game
June 30 -- PRD bout (& my favorite cousin's bday)
July 12 -- Tool concert
July 20 -- PRD bout
July 22 -- Red Sox game
August 1 -- Dave Matthews Band concert
August 2 -- Dave Matthews Band concert
August 17 -- Counting Crows, Live, Collective Soul concert
August 24 -- PRD bout


hmm, the concert list seems a little short this year... I'll have to work on that :)

Is boring.

I've been sitting here in my cube for the past week trying to think of other jobs I'd like to have besides this one.

I think the real reason why I took this job was because it was my only job offer. I thought I didn't have a choice since I needed some sort of income to be able to pay bills.

I don't like having a desk job.

Yes, once in a while I get to do some more interesting things - NOT in the office - but its not as often as I'd like. My best job was still when I worked for PSNH and basically got paid to hike. Once my alarm went off in the morning, I would immediately get out of bed because I was actually excited to be going to work.

Now that I have this job, I actually use my snooze button and set more than one alarm to prolong the process of getting out of bed. I never used to do that. Even for school - I was more excited to go to class in the morning than come to this job. The only days that I immediately get out of bed are when I know I won't be in the office.

I want a job where I can be outside a lot of the time.

I want a job where I can be proud of my work. When I do work here, it doesn't seem to go anywhere... yeah, my boss will say "Good job" but then it just gets placed aside or forgotten for a while. Its kind of depressing after a while if you keep doing work and you don't see any real results or praises.

I want a job where I am actually making something. Like being a pastry chef or a seamstress. There's a dress shop in downtown Uxbridge that I would love to work in - I don't care if I'd be cutting patterns out or doing just the initial piecing. I'd actually be doing something for a change. And in the end, I'd be making people happy and they'd actually appreciate my work.

I'm worried that if I completely change what I do for a living, I'd feel like I'm throwing away my degrees. Or that my parents will be upset since they helped pay for my BS degree.

I know that most people don't like their jobs. I know I'll probably be here for a little while longer just to get some experience... but I don't know if that'll really help since I don't think I want to stay in this field.

before:





after:


The 2nd picture is after the new roof & windows went on/in and obviously after we ripped out all the old bushes.

More pics here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ryanjmclaughlin/HouseDemolition
and here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ryanjmclaughlin/HouseRenovationsPhase2

First of all, one of the other newbies' husbands died the other night. Perfectly healthy 34 year old. Heart attack. We're all pulling stuff together for Fernanda. :(

Second of all, I thought I'd share this:

Skater girls? I'll see ya later girls
By Mike Seate
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, March 28, 2007

For the second time in recent weeks, a hipster friend of mine has invited me to check out a roller derby tournament. Why anyone who knows my "Masterpiece Theater"-watching, in-bed-by-11, Sunday-morning-antique-shopping butt thinks that I'd be entertained by a "sport" where tattooed girls dress up like car hops and beat each other senseless is beyond me.

But that's what friends are for -- they've always got some way to introduce us to things we don't want to experience.

And in that category, roller derby is right up there at the top. Don't get me wrong -- I'm not opposed to folks who deserve one getting the odd bloody nose and fat lip. And I find absolutely nothing objectionable about roller skating, despite the damage done to it during the disco years.

It's just when the two concepts are combined, the results are, well, to paraphrase the Geico commercials, so lowbrow a caveman would find it in bad taste.

Why do I despise the roller derby? Well, I happen to be old enough to remember this carnival-attraction-turned-mainstream-entertainment the first time around.

Even back then, there was nothing cool or sexy or even vaguely athletic about roller derby. But that's part of the problem with nostalgia. Whether they be neo-Nazis, neo-rockabillies or neo-roller derby enthusiasts, people tend to ignore the ugly parts of a pop culture epoch, choosing instead to view them through the rose-colored cat-glasses of revisionism.

But you know the truth? Women beating the snot out of other women isn't sexy or hip, or of all things, entertaining. Roller derby was just plain dumb entertainment for people too dumb to even know they were being insulted.

Even during its brief heyday in the early-1970s, roller derby was aimed at a certain audience -- an audience no one with three active brain cells wants to be identified with. And who were these fans? Well, remember your poor, dumb third cousin who lived in the shack out in the countryside? You know, the one who dropped out of school in the sixth grade because, at 19, she figured it was high time to settle down and start a family? The one who found it too intellectually taxing to follow the intricate plot developments and multi-level characterizations of "Hee-Haw?" Well, roller derby was created for them.

And that aunt, if she's still watching TV today, has quite likely moved on to something less sordid and violent. Like professional wrestling.

Mike Seate can be reached at mseate@tribweb.com or (724) 320-7845.

and then here are a bunch of responses... haha

Get 'em while they're hot!

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/13537

So, you LOVE Providence Roller Derby and want to get into every bout without waiting in long lines or remembering to buy your tickets online for the discount rate, huh?

Well, we've got the answer. This year we're offering season passes!

PACKAGES
GENERAL ADMISSION SEASON PASS -- $45
-Save over $5 on fees
-Photo with you and your favorite Providence rollergirls!
-Wicked cool season pass card with your name on it!
-No waiting in line!
-Much more!

WICKED HOT/IMPORTANT PERSON SEASON PASS (WHIP/VIP) -- $150
-Track side seating--Yes, on SEATS!
-Your very own derby girl wait staff--Never miss a second of the action!
-Goodie bag!
-A photo of you with your favorite Providence rollergirls!
-Save over $5 on fees
-Photo with you and your favorite Providence rollergirls!
-Wicked cool season pass card with your name on it!
-No waiting in line!
-One bout free!

SCHEDULE
Sunday, April 15th -- Brokeback Boutin'!
NERD vs TEXAS Rollergirls' Hell Marys
Rhode Island Convention Center

Friday, May 18th -- Asphault Assasins!
Home Teams TBA
Bank of America City Center
(Rain date: Sunday, May 20th)

Saturday, June 30th -- Southern Discomfort!
RI Riveters vs. NC Carolina Rollergirls
Rhode Island Convention Center

Friday July 20th -- Summer Shovin'!
Home Teams TBA
Bank Of America City Center
(Rain Date July 22nd)

Friday, August 24th -- Derby Inferno!
Home Teams TBA
Bank Of America City Center
(Rain date August 26th)

Friday, September 21st -- Rumble in the Urban Jungle!
CHAMPIONSHIP BOUT!
Home Teams TBA
Bank Of America City Center
(Rain date September 23rd)

VENUES
Bank of America City Center
(formerly, Bank of America Skating Center)
2 Kennedy Plaza, Providence, RI 02903

Rhode Island Convention Center (RICC)
1 Sabin Street, Providence, RI 02903

1. derby
2. school
3. work
4. house!

1. Derby will be getting more intense - especially when the weather warms up and we can practice outside (outside practices = more practices per week). I'm getting better, but I still need to work on my hitting/blocking. Hitting more than blocking, but still need improvement on both.

2. I need to be able to focus on completing these two classes. I really need to graduate in May - I won't be able to handle taking another class or two. I want to be done with school mostly so I can do other things with my time.

3. Work is getting busier. Well, lately its trips to Albany for classes. Or down to New Haven, CT until 2 in the morning...

4. Ryan and I are going to be moving into his great uncle's house. Once the renovations are done. Demolition is this week, this weekend we'll start framing out the new rooms and setting other things up. We should be done in a couple of months (done enough to move in - meaning the floors might not be in, but no big deal). Its gonna be pretty sweet once we're done. We're taking before & after pics, so those will be up somewhere at some point.

So if I seem to be missing for the next couple of months, I'm probably in my cube, on skates, or covered in paint. Yay!

( weeee )