"I Would Rather Have Been Merry Than Wise"

I have been reading Emma for a while now. I'm sure I must be swayed by my partiality for all things English, but I really do LOVE this book. It is so funny. I even find myself laughing out loud in some sections. Certainly I can equate the characters presented in the book with many of the women I work with in today's world. I find it so funny that with all the advancement for women, all that as a gender women have "achieved", we still seem to care only for those things which were important to women hundreds of years ago… status, status, status. Whether it be a barouche-landau or a Cadillac, the finest silk slippers or the highest Christian Louboutin's, a grand estate or a cramped McMansion, most of the women I know are all about the status and the objects that reflect upon it. But, don't get me wrong. I am neither a feminist nor a social whore. Living somewhere in the middle ground, and being insignificant enough to observe people in a most unsuspecting state, I simply find these observations striking. The only difference between today's world and that of the past is that people are rude (perhaps I should say poorly mannered?). I would be willing to bet money that not even 50% of the people in my age bracket know who Emily Post is. But, here I am standing on my little soap box and (unless you agree with me) that's just annoying.

Lately I have started reteaching myself how to knit. I'm not making anything in particular. I just found that I needed something to do with my hands while in between cross stitch projects. I know exactly what pattern I am going to work and have even prepared my fabric, but I just haven't felt that desire to start working on it. So I knit onward. The "knit" stitch is actually really easy. So easy in fact that I often get my stitches overly tight. The "purl" stitch is not so easy yet. I can do it faster now, but I have trouble keeping a firm tension while creating this stitch. I guess it must have something to do with the yarn in the front of your work instead of behind (which I find to be a more natural state). Next up, the "stockinette" stitch!

Spring classes began today. I cannot say I was "excited" about it, as I normally am, but I was ready. And, there are certain things about the first day of school that I really love. For instance, nothing can compare to the pristine inner zen one feels when writing on that first page of spiral bound notebook paper. That one moment, when pencil touches paper, is tranquility in itself. Another bit of good fortune is that there is a guy in my class who I had previously been classmates with in an earlier semester. I am definitely sitting by him next time. The seating arrangement today was such that on my left a valley girl was (not so quietly) talking to a guy friend throughout the whole class period and on my right was a funky looking Asian guy who smelled like Starbursts and coughed… a lot. The guy directly in front of me was nothing short of "man-child" status, even going so far as to question the professor on his explanations and procedures. Seriously? To those people, I sometimes wish I was whimsical enough to say, "Well, why don't we just give you a doctoral degree now since God obviously made you smarter than everyone else?" I'd probably follow it up with some expletive or another as well. But, I am not that person. So, I just sit back and curse them in my head for doing nothing more than stroking their egos and causing the rest of us to stay later than necessary. As for the professor, I'm not real sure about him yet. Right now I would say I don't like him. He is clearly smart, but talked in such a way that I felt like he thought we were… not so bright. But, that aside, I actually did not care for his teaching style. He tends to mumble, is very unorganized, and somewhat unclear. I am going to watch him very closely this semester. This is the kind of math teacher that most student encounter over 90% of the time and it will be interesting to compare his teaching style with what I would like mine to be, hopefully making me a better teacher in the future.

Just knitting to knit.

The "knit" stitch.

The "purl" stitch.

In closing I will say that I have found I cannot go a day without some sort of crafting and be in truly good health. I know this sounds nuts, but it is true. I don't care if it is knitting, crochet, or cross stitch, but I have to do something with my hands at the end of each day. It just melts away all the stress and anxiety I hold in. It doesn't have to be a marathon of crafting either, just a handful of stitches and already I feel better, easier, more relaxed. Now if only I could get this way about the dreaded ex (exercising, that is)!