Finished, at last!

Hooray! I finished the clapotis yesterday! I am very pleased with how it came out! The pattern was very easy (just repetitive). I can't wait until the fall to wear it! The nice thing about the clapotis is that you can wear it as a scarf or a shawl (I'll probably go for the former).

I tried to block this, to even everything out. First of all, I didn't have a surface big enough to lay it out on (I suppose I could have pinned it to the carpet in our living room?) and second, I didn't want to stretch it out any more than it already was. I plan to wear it kinda scrunched up (like in the photo above) anyway, so I think I'll be OK.

I've seen a lot of people knit clapotis with sock yarn - that'd be nice too - I think it'd make for a very soft, cuddly final piece. The Handmaiden Sea Silk is cozy, but it's definitely more silky. If I ever re-visit this pattern, I'd like to try making a clapotis with sock yarn.

On to the next project: finishing the second sock for DH? Learning cables? Another pair of socks? Continuing on the Central Park Hoodie with Larissa? Probably some combination of the above....

Garden Sweet Pea - the Smell of Contentedness

Who doesn't enjoy a nice yankee candle every now and then? I've got one burning right now, called Garden Sweet Pea, and it's spring-y and sweet. I'm relaxing tonight because I passed my PMP exam (Project Management Professional, for those of you not in "the biz") earlier today and feel super-relieved! It's a professional certification offered by PMI, the Project Management Institute. I studied for about the past 8 weeks and I gotta say, I'm glad I did because the exam wasn't a cake-walk. I will say that I'd rather take a standardized PMP exam than a Finance final exam or any of my undergraduate exams
(especially a ChE 210 Thermo exam - I shudder just reminescing back to the midterm, where my professor wrote "Assume Comet = Carnot Engine...? Nice try, -40"), but there were a substantial number of topics that were challenging in preparation for the PMP. I'd advise others who plan to take the test to relax because it's not rocket science, but know that it does require preparation.

Everything went smoothly during the exam, UNTIL I CROSSED MY LEGS. 2 hours into the exam, I shifted my weight and crossed my legs and the computer monitor screen went blank. In the process of crossing my legs, I must have clipped the monitor input wire and pulled it out. 2 hours in, I was about 2/3 of the way thru the exam. I looked up, saw the blank screen and my heart did start to race - not necessarily because I thought my 120 answers out of 200 had vanished for good, but because I kept thinking of the seconds ticking away as I fumbled to replace the cable, while tying to raise my hand to summon a monitor. I kept a decent pace on the exam, but did find that it was taking me longer than when I'd practiced at home, so I was time-conscious. A monitor did came over by the time I'd plugged the cord back in, so she just confirmed the exam was proceeding as normal (thanks?!?!) and I continued along. Those exam monitors must have some sort of "corrections" background because they are completely directive and order test-takers around continuously ("stand here", "wait here", "do not put anything there") - and I can see why they behave that way - they need to keep the setting very controlled so the test environment is suitable for exam-takers. But if you're looking for a comforting comment such as "don't worry, your computer is fine", you can forget it.

This exam experience is way better than when I took my GMATs - I remember then that when I sat down to take my exam, the girl next to me started crying because apparently she wasn't doing well and wanted to withdraw from the exam. Now that was a bit un-nerving. Happily, there were no crying test-takers this time.

So back to the candle. I'd bought this a couple weeks ago and was waiting to burn it - I didn't want to light it the week I was taking my exam because if I didn't pass, I was afraid I would have some sort of sensory association with the smell of the candle and failure - I envisioned encountering the scent outside years from now, walking thru a park or a garden perhaps, and immediately starting to choke, feeling my stomach knot up, or having my throat close for some "phantom reason". So I wanted until now! And I am happily enjoying this lovely, floral scent as my evening continues. I am excited to go back to knitting and cooking (and planning for the house) in my free time now. Yay!

Supper is Super

Hello there! It's been a while since my last post - things have been pretty busy!

Tonight I met DH in the city for dinner after work. We went to a place my friend and colleague Ritesh suggested: Supper, located in the Lower East Side. If you're in the neighborhood and looking for a good Italian place, I definitely recommend it. The restaurant is small and cozy, but still has an energetic vibe. Supper offers "family style" seating on the main floor, or a few smaller tables scattered about (we sat downstairs at a table for 2). We were surrounded by brick walls, rustic art (wooden paintings of various religious officiants adorned the walls), candles, and wine bottles. I kept staring at the exposed pipe running everywhere that was painted gold, with a floral design! Anyway, the food was very good. We had polenta topped with Gorgonzola cheese to start, which was delicious. DH had spinach gnocchi with a cheese and marinara sauce, and I had a butternut squash ravioli, both of which were fantastic - home-made pasta is the best. I think I liked DH's dinner more than mine, which always seems to happen when we go out. He says it's not that the food is better, but that I just enjoy it more because it's his. That's not true!! (OK, maybe a little bit true?). And we split a hazelnut pannacotta for dessert - very rich! My only critique of Supper is that it's cash only. Boo! Other than that, I definitely recommend it!

OK, so - we found a house. We love it. It needs new paint and carpets, but other than that, it's great!! We've completed attorney review and are finishing inspections (all this house activity is actually why I've been delinquent on my blog posts!). It is a HUGE RELIEF to finally have found something that we like. We'd been looking for 16 months! Granted, we are picky - but we can be, since we are just renting and don't have kids. So fair is fair. I feel relieved but still concerned that something could go wrong. My friends keep assuring me that at this point, we have very little to worry about since home inspection is done (we're just having an additional inspector come to look specifically at the fireplace). I'm still nervous! But with every milestone we complete, I feel better and better. Please still keep your fingers crossed for us!!!

Tomorrow we'll be running a 5K race, my first one ever, so that's going to be a lot of fun! I think our carb-intensive dinner at Supper will serve us well, and hopefully we won't pull a "Michael Scott" - recall episode 4.1 where Michael carb loads by downing a plate of fettuccine alfredo immediately before running a 5K (the Race to Cure Rabies) and winds up barfing everywhere, shortly after starting the race. So assuming our stomachs are settled, we should be OK! I'm looking forward to tomorrow, especially because a bunch of friends and co-workers will be running with us too!!

I haven't had much time to knit, but I'm almost up to the decreases on the clapotis. At this rate I should have it done by the fall! Just kidding. I'd like to have it done by the end of the month. We'll see!