rumours of my death have been greatly exaggerated....

no i am not dead, i just have a job. song lyrics leap through my head, the smiths obviously, but ive quoted them before about being miserable when finding a job, but it doesnt apply because im not miserable. alanis morrisette comes next with her little ditty about irony.

of course, she doesnt really know what irony is (jane austen on the other hand knew very well....) but it IS ironic that all i ever wanted when i was doing a phd was a job and money and a normal life and well, here i am... yes its ironic. while im on the subject, i am still working two part time jobs because i have the interview on friday to make the new job official, permanent and fulltime, but i dont want to quit my 2 day job until i have the contract signed (i lie, i do want to quit, i want to quit it RIGHT NOW but other people are telling me to be sensible). so i wont quit until next week when we have the paperwork done.

good news on the new job front is that i have been able to negotiate working from home two days a week and also to include a research component, which means i can keep working on the current project to do with nursing and for which i am going to wales in march (would you believe the 6 nations rugby final is on in cardiff the night i am scheduled to land in london....more irony anyone?) and also means i can bring my own work to the new faculty and apply for grant money with some very big names in the grant-getting business. they are already sending me to a one week writing workshop, and the work itself is interesting and varied, so i am feeling pretty good about it so far. i imagine i am going to feel a whole lot better again when i get my first fulltime pay packet. its not about the money....its about the MONEY! seriously, being a student put a lot of strain on us, i will glad to see the end of it.

however, the other pains of student life are fast starting to look rosy in my retrospective glasses, as the pinch of the real world makes itself felt. not that i want to be a student again, but it can be a nice life while you have it!!

in other news, i have finished the first of my christmas gifts. no not for this year, for last year. yes yes im hopeless. i actually dont subscribe to christmas consumerism and refuse to buy stuff for anyone anymore, but i did want to make 3 people in particular something meaningful. i didnt quite plan it out right, and ended up giving helen and jane one sock each with IOU tags attached, and to george i gave a box with half a weldon's scarf still attached to the needles inside. it was pretty funny watching her pull it out of the box and asking 'am i meant to finish this?' no she wasnt, i was, and i have. its not blocked yet but its so lovely. see:


because i dont plan (did i mention that already?) i also forgot to figure out how much yarn i used on the first border and then just knitted the body to as long as i liked with no thought for leaving enough for the second border. i got lucky:

this is knittery slim sock in merlot, too slim for socks i think, perfect for lightweight vintage lace scarves. this is actually my first official long lacy summer FO, i have another scarf (victorian ruby) on the needles i can go back to, and am starting the myrtle leaf shawl from VLT in jagger spun zephyr in black this weekend.

this weekend is looking kind of special. not because its australia day (tho some lamb might find its way on the barbie and there was talk of a pavlova) but because a whole heap of lovely knitty people are coming to spend the whole weekend and im so excited i cant stand it! hurry up and get here already! i promise i got the snake out of the pool :) (plus also the frog and the funnel web).....

kxx