Made-up words?

Since when did "out-migration" become a word? I've been seeing articles in the paper this week, and they have been using this word. It sounded to me like it was yet another grammatical issue the TJ should be dealing with.

I did some research and found out that it is actually a word. I thought "emigration" was more appropriate, but there is a subtle difference. Emigration is leaving your home country to go to another. Out-migration seems to refer to leaving a region for another region in your own country. It seems like both can be used interchangeably, though, depending on which dictionary you read.

To answer my own question, out-migration has been in use since the 1950s.

That's what I learned today.

Progress

I finally managed to win out over the circular needles and I think I now have it under control. I ripped out the half job I started on the straight needles and rolled up the yarn to use later. I'm glad I went back and gave the circulars another try. It will look much nicer knit as all one piece.

I need to get more progress on weeding down my closet. I pared it down quite a bit, so I thought based on having 2 full bags to donate. However, the closet still seems to be full. I need to make room for my husband, so I am going to have to do another round. I may need reinforcements to help me, as I have a hard time getting rid of clothing that I "might need".

Lisa's truck loading is tomorrow night, so I will be heading over there to help and see her for the last time in a while. I hate goodbyes. I hope I don't cry too much!

Work was finally better today, I think in part because I got out of the office. I think I am in need of a road trip soon, get away from my office, see some colleagues in person, reconnect with the people I support. I realized today that I hadn't been to the store on the East side in so long that I had never met an employee who started months ago. I'm spending too much time at my desk, and sometimes I lose touch with that world. Some road tripping may do me and my colleagues good.

This winter, and so far spring, I found myself slipping into a state of apathy and laziness which has resulted in my house being more slobby than normal. I don't seem to want to get anything done. I hope I pull out of that soon, because the place can really use a cleaning. Maybe I can put a push on for that this weekend, seeing as how it's now going to rain.

I ended my phone call with John early tonight because of a couple of trips to the bathroom. I sat down at the PC to wait for the next wave, but seeing as how I've been here for a bit now, I guess I'm through it.

Projects & pastimes

I've been spending too much time watching TV lately. The evil thing about TV on DVD is the fact that you don't have to wait a week for the next episode; it's right there for the watching, so you can keep on going. I'm addictive that way, and ended up spending more time inside today than I intended. I finished the season, so perhaps now I can set that aside, at least until I buy the next set.

Overall, I've been enjoying the book club I joined last year, but I am having a very tough time getting into our current pick. While I did enjoy the last pick, I would have preferred something that wasn't similar for the next pick. I will continue to try and plow through it. Unless I absolutely loathe a book, I will see it through to the end. It's still too early for me to form a fair opinion on this book, I am just lacking in motivation. Maybe now that my addictive TV watching is done, I can get more reading done.

After a few false starts, I finally got going on a knitting project today. I am going to end up doing it in 2 pieces and weaving it together, something I didn't want to do. I tried avoiding that by using circular needles, but they just weren't working for me. The yarn is chunky and was very difficult to get it in the correct direction and I found myself screwing it up repeatedly. I gave up and decided to knit it in 2 pieces. I also abandoned my idea of doing seed stitch and am sticking with just straight knit stitches. With the chunky yarn, it doesn't really look any different or curl, so I think I'm ok. I'm a bit frustrated by my lack of skill. I feel somewhat defeated that I couldn't use the needles or the stitches I wanted... maybe I gave up too easily? I'm not even sure how this is going to turn out. Will they like it? Or will it be the equivalent of a 4 year old's drawing that gets put up on the fridge because his parents have to make a fuss about it? Is the thought and love in the making enough to make it good? I guess we'll see how it turns out.

Knitting is something I only was able to get so far with before Nana passed away. I went further and did more with embroidery than knitting, but hand embroidery is not something that is very popular anymore, thus it's difficult to find anything pre-stamped to work on. I just don't have the creative mind to think of something I can do, draw it, and then embroider it. If someone handed me something, I could do it. I want to get back to it; I don't want my skills getting rusty. Knitting and embroidery is a way for me to remember my grandmother and somehow stay close to her. I'll have to come up with something to work on.

Mice

Things have been stressful at work, most of which I can't blog about. The part I can blog about is the return of the mice. Last Friday, I found one on a trap in my office just before lunch. I stopped by the office tonight and from the other side of the room, I'm pretty sure I saw something furry and gray in the same spot on the new trap placed there. I wish they would go away and leave me alone. Thank God we're moving offices in a few months and I won't have to deal with that anymore, or at least until the building gets old enough that they sneak in. Since it's brand new construction, I should be safe for a while.

Mice are torture for me after having gone through the Great Mouse Invasion of '04. It's disgusting to have things go through all of your stuff and poop on everything, and I mean everything. My employer is going to have to do something about this situation. There must be some kind of health & safety regulation I can fall back on. I can't keep working in an office where I feel like my skin's crawling all the time.

I don't want people belittling me. You didn't go through what I went through, and I don't want to go through that ever again. You may not understand or agree, but just don't belittle me. It's torture, and I can't handle it anymore.

Ring. Knock. Knock. Ring.

Go away. I'm not answering the door. I know you're a kid because I saw the bicycle helmet bob through my front walk. That means you're peddling something, and I don't want to buy. Get the hint and stop ringing and knocking.

Robots

If it's robots you're looking for, then perhaps you need to go robot shopping. There isn't anyone here who can help you.

Rio remakes

"Rio" by Duran Duran seems to be getting attention these days -- not good attention, in my opinion.

1) Video spoof

Hedley has done a spoof of Rio in their video for "Never Too Late". I don't mind the spoof, it's kind of funny, but the band and the song suck, so overall I hate it.


2) Song remake

"Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls just dropped her new single, and it's a synth-ful cover of Duran Duran's "Rio" that will make you appreciate the vocal stylings of Simon Le Bon more than you ever thought possible." --E! Online

This remake makes me want to hurl. And then shampoo my hair. I hadn't even read past the part that said "remake" and I had already pegged it as an ad for a hair or body care product.


Step away from the Duran, people. Step away.

Annoyed

We're having a going-away pot luck party at work today. I was the third person to sign the attendance list and specify what I was going to bring. I decided since the choco-peanut butter cookies I baked for the last book club seemed to go over well, I'd try those again for today. The first two people to sign up hadn't picked cookies, so I put myself down for bringing "chocolate peanut butter cookies". I walk into the lunchroom today and to my dismay I see a container full of... chocolate cookies with a peanut butter cup in the middle. Someone who picked after me obviously didn't care that they were duplicating.

It's not a matter of ego -- if the other cookies are better than mine, I don't really care. I don't want to compete with anyone else in what I make. It's the fact that someone else was presented with the list of food items people would be bringing, and they seemed to have either not read, not cared, or deliberately chose to bring the same as me. I would have happily made something else just so we could have as much variety as possible. There have been a couple of occasions where I have volunteered to make a similar dessert, but have always made sure it was a different variety (i.e., if I was making cheesecake, I'd make sure I picked a different flavor, that way it isn't duplicated). Why did this person not say, "ok, I'll make another variety of cookie?"

I'll get over it, but I am annoyed right now.

UPDATE: the other cookies were chocolate with a caramel cup in the middle, not peanut butter. I guess I can't be annoyed anymore, it's not like she knew they were going to look very similar to mine.

UPDATE 2: I was later told that she picked caramel cups because she couldn't find peanut butter!!! GRRRR!!!

Ward 1 "choices"

If you are one of those people who wants to see Common Council totally cleaned out and replaced with new faces, Ward 1 isn't offering much in the way of choice. Out of the 5 candidates, two are incumbents, two are former councilors who were voted out of council in prior elections for a reason, and one new candidate.

As for the incumbents, I'm meh. I think we need new faces and a fresh perspective. I don't know much about the one new candidate, but he is likely going to get my vote just because he hasn't previously been on one of our many crappy common councils.

I have no use for councilors who were in office 20 years ago and trying to make another run for it. Your time is past, and I think you should have stayed out of the mix. The worst candidate, in the "at large" category, is an 82-year old veteran of council who... well, let's just say he has issues. SJers being the type who vote according to name recognition, this candidate will likely get a slew of votes. Thankfully, last time he ran he missed the cut... barely. SJ doesn't need the "good old days" with councilors from the 80s.