Pictures from Friday's

Yankee Swap at Friday's on December 18, 2008:

Deciding what to eat...
Matt and Randy

... the menu can be challenging when there's a lot of options.
Steve M.

Anthony (in the white) why do you look so down?

Clearly I wasn't sneaky.
David

John, Rick, and Karen

Joe Q.

View down the table, part 1.

View down the table, part 2.
Oh look, Dan's in a picture!!! (Green stripes)

Clearly the best gift of the night. Her boobs jiggle.
My supervisor, Ken

Checking out the gift.
Ricardo, Steve D., and Ken

Some funny faces with Matt and Randy.

Massive Snow Storm

Oh yea, there's a huge snow storm outside. I'll be back in my room in an hour or so and I'll be uploading new pictures. Stay tuned!

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December 20, 2008 1:30 AM

Getting a ride back with Steve. 93 South, North of Boston.
Zakim Bridge in the background.

All's quiet on Westland Avenue.

Still no one on Mass Ave. (I was dropping off my blockbuster movie.)

Bundled up and ready.

Huntington Avenue and Opera Place. (Outside of Speare Hall.)

The Nano Dog covered with snow.

Looking towards the Student Center.

Looking towards the Library from the Student Center.

Looking out onto Sweeney Field and nearby Huntington Avenue from my window.

New Blog

Hi everyone! I have a new blog that I started a few days ago. It's dedicated to talking about my co-ops, engineering, and work. My Books & Hooks blog used to be about everything, but now it's mostly about my favorite topics of interest. So take a peek and see what's been on my mind.

http://mysocalledengineeringlife.blogspot.com/

Thanks for viewing!

Not So Funny...

So today went by pretty quick. Of course it usually is when you have a lot of things to get done. Hopefully the snow stays away until later in the day tomorrow. I need to finish a test report, a very long one. I have a doctor's appointment in the morning so I won't be in until noon if the weather holds.

So after work we gathered at Friday's. Everything was going great and everyone was having a good time and lots of different conversations were happening at the same time. About an hour in we started the Yankee Swap. There were some cool gifts and some not so cool ones. My favorite was the one my boss picked out. It was a top half of a women with bouncy jelly like boobs. OMG. It was hilarious. It was suggested that we put it on the shake table. Haha. That will make Art and Cristian's day.

At the end of it all I got a $20 Au Bon Pain gift card. Hey, college kids never turn away free food. Lisa, one of my co-workers gave me her scratch cards that were part of her gift. The first one had nothing, the second one had $1, and the third one had $2. The last one looked the same as the other ones and the prize was $10,000. I proceeded to scratch the pyramids one by one and then in front of my eyes... $10,000. I was like... serious? No way... I was so happy that I shed some tears. Then someone suggested that I sign the back to claim it. So I turned it over and I started reading...

It was a fake. It had stuff on the back like "Write to [...] the NorthPole" and "Winners only get laughed at by their friends." Something along that line. Great. There are two things I hate doing and I did them tonight. 1. I cried in public and 2. I was made a fool. At one point during my happiness I yelled out that I was going to go to Europe with that money. Guess not. Oh well. My tears of happiness became tears of sadness and disappointment.

Money's always been an issue in my family. We always just had enought to make do. Since I was 9, my mom has raised us, Joy and me, single handedly and gave us everything, though she had nothing. When I was 16 I understood the debt my mom was living in and wanted to help. I've been working every summer and every school year since then. The only time I wasn't working was when I was in San Fran for two months this summer. Every other paycheck up until my second co-op went to my mom to help pay for the phone bill, the electricity, and other expenses. Even now I'll go home and give my mom $500. It's something to help her out for all that she's done for us. I love her and I can't say no if she's feeling pinched.

So when I saw that $10,000 I thought of what I can be doing with it. I would put half towards my trips and the other half will help pay off some of my schooling. To find out that it was fake was very disappointing. I'm not sure who put it in or why they bought it. Maybe they didn't know it was fake, maybe they thought it would be funny. The wrong person got to scratch that card and definitely didn't take it as a funny joke. I think the people around me felt awkward because here I was so happy and finding out it was fake totally killed my happy mood. Well next time I'll read the back before jumping up and down and making a cake out of myself.

Mr. Cactus and His Hat

Okay, so I'm a bit ridiculous. I finished Mr. Cactus today. Then I sat back and realized that transplanting a cactus to the Northeast was not a good idea... he'll get cold. So I crocheted him a little ear flap hat. OMG! It's sooo cute! Hope you guys like it!!! He's going to be sitting at Azure Dynamics. Us co-ops can't keep plants alive. =)

Mr. Cactus (Amigurumi World)

I just made the little hat pretty much out of nowhere (actually off the top of my head).

Okay, so I also made a little scarf...

... clearly having too much fun.

Almost Done!

My last day of co-op is December 19th -- this FRIDAY!!! Omg. I can't believe it's almost over. It's been super quick. I have an end of the year/co-op review tomorrow and my boss is taking me to lunch. Yay! On Thursday we have a Yankee Swap after work at TGI Friday's. I'm excited! I'm making an apple pie for Thursday. Friday I have a doctor's appointment in the morning, but I will be in around noon. Not missing the CRD seminar hosted by Beth for the world! Should be an interesting topic... She's putting together a slide show about what our customers have been doing with our DMOCs and motors. Fun! Okay, gotta run to my sister's now. =)

Cutie's Sweet Set

I have been crocheting non-stop! I'm currently finishing up my handwarmers. The scarf came out great! Here are some pictures. My ravelry username is PVeeraplin. You can find more information about the patterns there. I added embellishments to all the patterns: picot flower and/or contrast edging.

One Skein Scarf by Denise Cozzitorto (Stitch 'N Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker)

Basic Fingerless Mittens by Julia Vaconsin

Whoa There Crochet Addict!

Okay, so I made more stuff...

Baby Owl (Amigurumi World)

Natural Cap to Crochet (Bernat Designs)
I added the contrast trim and flower.

Crochet Picot Flower by SkaMama

La Vie en Rose Lyrics

I was watching Wall-E and this song was playing during a scene. I heard it before but never figured out what it was called. <3

La Vie en Rose

Hold me close and hold me fast
The magic spell you cast this is la vie en rose

When you kiss me heaven sighs,
And thou' I close my eyes I see la vie en rose

And when you press me to your heart
I'm in a world apart, a world where roses bloom

And when you speak angels sing from above
Ev'ry day words seem to turn into love songs

Give your heart and soul to me
And life will always be la vie en rose

When you kiss me heaven sighs,
And thou' I close my eyes I see la vie en rose

When you press me to your heart
I'm in a world apart, a world where roses bloom

And when you speak angels sing from above
Ev'ry day words seem to turn into love songs

Give your heart and soul to me
And life will always be la vie en rose

Catching Up

Okay, so I've been a bum and haven't updated my blog in quite some time. So here's an update. I won't say it's a quick one because I can write on and on about nothing. Hm. I rant.

Crochet Projects:
After weeks of intense crocheting, I decided to give it a break and get back to my romance novels. I managed to read 3 of them in the past two weeks. I made my aunt's cloche, 15 mini Christmas stockings, and started Chris's convertible mittens and a tiger amigurumi. I'll post up some pics soon.

San Fran:
I went to San Francisco, CA for Thanksgiving and stayed there until the Tuesday after. While there I went to Sausalito, Tiburon, and the Marin Headlands on Friday. Took in a Raiders game on Sunday afternoon (they lost) and went on the Alcatraz Night Tour on Monday. Sean took most of the pictures so I don't have much to put up on Facebook. Alcatraz was pretty cool, though it gave me the creeps... just a bit. The Raiders game was an interesting experience. I have the worse luck... every time I went to the concession stands they would score a touch down or field goal. =( We had really good seats in the Season Ticket Holders area. Section 139 Row 42.

Work:
My co-op is winding down to a close. I have about 2 weeks or so left. Originally I'm supposed to work until December 19, but that might get extended to the 23 or 24. I planned on going home on Dec. 20, but I'm going to aim for the 24. I can't wait to see my mom and doggie again.

Random:
While I'm on the subject of home, I plan on bringing up some of my yarn stash and taking home random clothes that I don't plan on wearing anymore while I'm up here.

School:
The upcoming spring semester is my last. I'm almost done! Last day of class is April 15 and commencement is May 1. I'm sooo excited!!!

Upcoming Trips:
I plan on going to Thailand mid-May and then Europe at the beginning of July, both for a month. Well, it depends on my financial situation next year... sad story.

Okay, I think that's about it for now. =)

Thanksgiving in San Francisco

I am spending Thanksgiving in San Francisco, CA! I'm so excited. My boyfriend, Sean, and I have been planning this for the past month and a half. I'm leaving on the 8 am flight out of Logan Int'l Airport on Thanksgiving Day and I'll be landing in San Francisco Int'l Airport around noon. I'll be there until Tuesday, December 2. I'll make sure to take lots of pictures and post them up here soon. Three days of work this week and next week. Two full weeks after that and I'll be done with co-op and one month closer to graduation!!!

Good night, sleep tight.

Convertible Mittens: Update

Making some convertible mittens for my friend, Chris...

(www.crochetandknitting.com)

Amigurumi Koala!

He's done! It took me a few hours since I had to take breaks after I've been sitting in front of the computer for hours...

Amigurumi Koala (Tiny Yarn Animals by Tamie Snow)

Why Can't You Bag Groceries Properly???

Do they not training people to correctly bag items at the grocery stores anymore? I go grocery shopping once a week at either Shaw's near the Pru or the Stop & Shop near Brigham Circle. Both places I hate to leave the bagging up to the bagger. They never do it correctly. Who puts the bread and other delicate items at the bottom? I normally bring a reusable bag that I bought from Shaw's with me. Since it's bigger I feel like these kids just toss my stuff into it...

Today my apples got bruised, last week my zucchinis were almost squashed. WTF?! I used to work at Costco (summer after freshman year) and we pack carts (think bagging but on a bigger scale). I did an amazing job. =) When I bag my own groceries everything makes sense. You put the frozen and refrigerated foods in one bag, cans and odd items in one bag, produce in one bag, and boxy items in another. You can combine them together by putting the heavy big objects at the bottom and work your way up to the top with the lighter, delicate items. Sometimes I just want to teach these people how to bag properly, but it's not my place... I blame it on their supervisors and trainers.

There was another pet peeve, but at this point I don't remember what it is... =P

Thin Walls = Not Cool

One thing I hate about on-campus apartments: thin walls. I was sitting here on Facebook minding my own business when I heard one of my roommates and her boyfriend having sex. Um, yeah, I totally didn't need to hear any of that. Why did I hear it you ask? I had music going in the background and it was in the middle of a transition to another song and that was when I heard it. Good thing most sexual intercourse lasts about a few minutes. Haha. As I'm typing this one of them just went to the bathroom. Whew, I'm ignoring any awkwardness in this. Moving on...

I'm starting a new crochet project: driving gloves.

Oh yea, so I joined Ravelry. If you want to look me up and friend me my username is PVeeraplin. That seems to be my username for a lot of websites. Okay, back to work on this project.

Stockings Sweet Stockings

Okay, so I finished two so far. They were made using two different weight yarns so one's bigger than the other. Well, I extended the pattern a bit for the brown one. I have a lot of random color yarns... I think I'll go buy red and green yarn to be traditional, but I swear that's it. No more yarn until Christmas. =)

I think I'm gonna go have dinner and watch a movie. My sister went to the University of Delaware for an Ultimate Frisbee tournament so I'm gonna be lonely this weekend. I guess I'll hang out with my other friends. =)

Mini Christmas Stockings (Learn to Crochet)

Stroller Blanket (Crochet Today! Nov/Dec)

So cozy!

Mini Christmas Stockings

I have until the end of this month to make as many Christmas stockings as I can so it can be shipped to Iraq. These mini stockings are going to a special Engineer Battalion, "a unit that neutralizes the IEDs; checking and clearing territories for other troops in Iraq. According to the unit’s chaplain, 1/2 of the troops do not receive anything in the mail from home." (Ravelry Boston Yarn Party group posting)

I just want to do something special and use my yarn for something good. I'll even include a special note in the stockings. =) For more information: A Call for Help Service Project.

Oh, by the way, I'm addicted to www.ravelry.com. I finally got my invite two days ago and now I'm an addict! It's a website devoted to the knitting and crocheting community. SWEET!

Update for November

I clearly have too much time on my hands. So this is an update video. It's just funny watching myself communicate via video. I finally got to register for classes today. I was worried that I wouldn't get a spot in the Basic Drawing class, but everything worked out. Here's what my days look like:

M - 2:50 - 4:35 PM (Capstone)
Tu - None
W - 2:50 - 4:35 PM (Capstone)
Th - None
F - 1:35 - 5:05 PM (Basic Drawing)

**Independent study to be schedule in there. M - 10-2 AM and W 10-12 AM?

And that's my schedule. Seems like a very slacker schedule, but I earned it. I only needed Capstone and an elective to graduate, but I'm also doing the independent study. I'm redesigning the labs for the Dynamics and Vibrations course. If you asked me to tell you what they used to be, I couldn't tell you because I don't remember that lab at all. =)

So I'm a yarn addict and it's gotten worse. I think it's time for an intervention. No more buying yarn until Christmas... *sighs*

Okay, that's it for now. I leave you with this video to amuse yourself. I'm a dork. I fully acknowledge it.

Little Octopus!

He's done!!! Super cute!

He's all smiles!

He has eight arms or is it called tentacles?

Current Work In Progress

Hi everyone! I've been working on many projects simultaneously again. Don't mind me in work clothes. I just felt like updating and didn't bother to change into something more comfy yet. But I will... I'm going to read my romance novel for an hour or so then I'll continue my little octopus. Then I'll work on the stroller blanket.

This is the start of my little octopus. (Ana Paula Rimoli)

I still need to make his 6 other arms.

Baby stroller blanket for my friend's daughter.
(Crochet Today Nov/Dec)

My Lion is Done!!!

He's done!!! My lion is sooo adorable! See below...

Roar! So cute!

He even has a little tail.

Halloween crochets and new projects...

So I've been busy making hats, candy corns, and other cute stuff. Now I'm trying my hand at making amigurumi animals and objects. Here's some pics of what I've been up to...

Candy Corn! They're about 3" tall. (Lion Brand)

Pin Wheel Candy (Lion Brand)

Snuggly Hat (Crochet Today Nov/Dec)

Floral Cloche (Crochet Today Sept/Oct)

Puff Stitch Newsboy Hat (Mary Jane Hall)

Puff Stitch Newsboy Hat- front view

Puff Stitch Newsboy Hat - back view

Work In Progress (WIP) - Lion (Ana Paula Rimoli)