Jig.Jig.
Just spent half a day at JoAnn's, chatting with other knitters and crocheters. I actually taught one lady how to crochet in 5 minutes.
It was pretty amazing.
I worked on the vanilla socks. The heels are done. I used a little different style of short row heel this time, learned from another pattern used for some sort of potholder with a hole for the thumb...but I digress. A short row heel, where all you do is knit along the back of your sock to the last stitch, turn and slip 1 purl back up to the last stitch, turn, slip 1 knitwise, knit across to the slipped purl, turn and so on until you get to slip 1, purl 9.
Here's were it gets a little spooky (Halloween theme, right?). When you knit back across, knit the slipped stitch, and then pick up the grandmother in the gap, slip knitwise, slip the next stitch purlwise, then knit those 2 together--aka an SSK, turn, slip 1, purl across to the gap, pick up the grandmother purl and purl 2 together, turn, and repeat in that way, until all the stitches are used up.
My BFF in California told me about the mystery pattern in Holiday Knitting Group on Yahoo...and I knew immediately that one could adapt it to a sock heel. No idea how well it wears at the stress points, and I may have to add a bit of stitching there, but so far, so good.
The only thing I can't figure out, is that after knitting the heels, my color repeat is off by nearly an entire row, and I'm not certain how it happened! I'll get the colors back in line, even if I have to fudge it, but you know, it's on the foot part, and no one but me is going to see it anyway, so I'm thinking I'll just leave it alone, and allow the yarn to knit up any which way it would like.
The beauty of this short row, is that there are NO WRAPS. It's practically mistake proof--well, except for the yarn repeat being off, but that could be gauge--so I'm not going to make a big deal out of it. It's possible that I made a mistake on the first sock, and didn't on the second, but that's entirely my fault for trying to turn a heel in the middle of a store! I'm surprised I didn't put a purl row in where it shouldn't be!
So I'm going to chalk it up to gauge and keep going until I can try the sock on to see if the stress points are able to deal without making huge holes. Then I might just rip out the whole darn thing and try again with a different heel.
You see, I'm really trying hard to find a heel that I can make without having to always have a pattern at my side--something I can do from MEMORY that works every time, without fail, no matter how many stitches I am using and how big a needle I have. Before you say it....already have that book. It's a good book, no doubt, but it's not what I'm hunting.
The elusive sock heel-easy to make, easy to memorize, and mistake proof--meaning you can't go wrong. This one is close...but it may need a little modification--we shall see.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
It Was the Best of Times...
Sadly, over, much too soon.
Hubby returned home from work last night to tell me he'd gotten a raise. Now, that woke me up! So soon? Not that you don't deserve it, but what did you do to get it?
"I switched to the Midnight shift."
I'm sorry. Was that groan AUDIBLE?
This is a disappointment WAY off the charts. Not only do I have to come home and make supper every night again, but he's home all evening until he leaves for work, and usually in a surly mood because he has to GO to work (I'm that way in the morning, so it stands to reason, really.). Which means less time in the knitting chair!
The only good thing about it is that I get the bed all to myself, all week. The covers are ALL MINE. And then get no sleep at all on the weekend.
I won't explain that to you. If you don't know why, ask your mommy.
Not just that, but I get sort of scared home alone at night. It was the reason for buying a dog. Dog sounds the alarm, and I slip out the back window--but that's only if I get enough of an alarm. Mandy tends to be a heavier sleeper than *I* am!
And to make this completely unselfish, (ha! right!) he can't drive in the dark. He falls asleep at the wheel. So everyone
OFF THE ROAD from 9pm to midnight and 4am to 6am so that he can drive on the road uncontested.
Of course, there's always the deer he can't see, and the ditches that he finds when he nods off. (sigh) This was the reason we got him into a carpool. The option worked really well, too, until they kicked him out of his job. I guess that the carpool is still running people back and forth.
Naturally, I tried to be supportive. Yay! A raise! Cool! You're the most!
Until he tells me it's midnights. That was sort of a downer. Never mind that now he can take two of his classes and only has to drop one. Makes for a long day and night of 24 hour wakefulness. Remember--stay off the road.
So I bought pizza tonight, and he tells me that he's only going to buy pizza OR take me to Denny's, but not both. This is another piece of hard cheese. So tonight, when I brought the pizza home, I then ate mine, called his step son for his, and put the rest in the oven for when hubby returns from his shift. Then I went into the bedroom closet and put clothing away. Hang ups that were lying on the floor from sometime this summer, and got things organized a little bit in there, so that we can put the air conditioner away. Yes, friends. It's October, and the air conditioner was still in the window. When Step son came to eat, I asked if he might assist with the air conditioner, and he helped put it away in the closet, and then I locked up the window.
But instead of getting warmer in here, it's getting cooler. I think I'm going to go around and lock down all the windows now.
Before snow flies.
All this, on perhaps 5 hours of sleep last night. I'm exhausted. Burning off fumes from the gas tank of wakefulness. If I should begin typing b's and v's, you know I've fallen asleep at my keyboard....
I haven't really worked on Rhiannon for a couple of days now. I need to get back to her. I will likely get some time after I finish this blog, and will stop to watch Medium, and then I will go to bed. I will go directly to bed. I will not stop in the kitchen for a snack. I will not snitch a cup of milk.
I have to be firm and resolute with myself, take my sleeping pill, lie down and fall asleep like a normal person.
I hope that I have a sleeping pill.
Hubby returned home from work last night to tell me he'd gotten a raise. Now, that woke me up! So soon? Not that you don't deserve it, but what did you do to get it?
"I switched to the Midnight shift."
I'm sorry. Was that groan AUDIBLE?
This is a disappointment WAY off the charts. Not only do I have to come home and make supper every night again, but he's home all evening until he leaves for work, and usually in a surly mood because he has to GO to work (I'm that way in the morning, so it stands to reason, really.). Which means less time in the knitting chair!
The only good thing about it is that I get the bed all to myself, all week. The covers are ALL MINE. And then get no sleep at all on the weekend.
I won't explain that to you. If you don't know why, ask your mommy.
Not just that, but I get sort of scared home alone at night. It was the reason for buying a dog. Dog sounds the alarm, and I slip out the back window--but that's only if I get enough of an alarm. Mandy tends to be a heavier sleeper than *I* am!
And to make this completely unselfish, (ha! right!) he can't drive in the dark. He falls asleep at the wheel. So everyone
OFF THE ROAD from 9pm to midnight and 4am to 6am so that he can drive on the road uncontested.
Of course, there's always the deer he can't see, and the ditches that he finds when he nods off. (sigh) This was the reason we got him into a carpool. The option worked really well, too, until they kicked him out of his job. I guess that the carpool is still running people back and forth.
Naturally, I tried to be supportive. Yay! A raise! Cool! You're the most!
Until he tells me it's midnights. That was sort of a downer. Never mind that now he can take two of his classes and only has to drop one. Makes for a long day and night of 24 hour wakefulness. Remember--stay off the road.
So I bought pizza tonight, and he tells me that he's only going to buy pizza OR take me to Denny's, but not both. This is another piece of hard cheese. So tonight, when I brought the pizza home, I then ate mine, called his step son for his, and put the rest in the oven for when hubby returns from his shift. Then I went into the bedroom closet and put clothing away. Hang ups that were lying on the floor from sometime this summer, and got things organized a little bit in there, so that we can put the air conditioner away. Yes, friends. It's October, and the air conditioner was still in the window. When Step son came to eat, I asked if he might assist with the air conditioner, and he helped put it away in the closet, and then I locked up the window.
But instead of getting warmer in here, it's getting cooler. I think I'm going to go around and lock down all the windows now.
Before snow flies.
All this, on perhaps 5 hours of sleep last night. I'm exhausted. Burning off fumes from the gas tank of wakefulness. If I should begin typing b's and v's, you know I've fallen asleep at my keyboard....
I haven't really worked on Rhiannon for a couple of days now. I need to get back to her. I will likely get some time after I finish this blog, and will stop to watch Medium, and then I will go to bed. I will go directly to bed. I will not stop in the kitchen for a snack. I will not snitch a cup of milk.
I have to be firm and resolute with myself, take my sleeping pill, lie down and fall asleep like a normal person.
I hope that I have a sleeping pill.
Monday, October 25, 2010
It was A Dark and Stormy Night...
Snoopy (of Charlie Brown fame, not the Rap guy), used to put his typewriter on top of his dog house and type out the beginning of his book this way. Snoopy was forever "starting" the book, and never finishing. It usually began with these words, and then devolved into the stories of the Red Baron and flying in a dogfight during the German occupation of France.![]()
Image via Wikipedia
It was a dark and stormy night.
Thunder and lightning here all night long, and there is still some vestiges remaining. I guess it's not going to stop until late morning, according to the local weather service. Ah, well, rainy fall day.
My father and I used to buy books by the late Charles Schultz that included strips of the artist's earlier works when Charlie was a much younger boy. He grew during Charles' life, had many missed punt kicks of the darn football (the one Lucy was forever pulling out of the way just before toe to leather), and couldn't make a kite fly to save his life. I remember Linus' blanket and Pig Pen's dust from the rocks of millions of years before. Schroeder's piano and Beethoven's bust were also there, and Lucy's unrequited love for Schroeder---even though she tried every trick in the book to manipulate him, he never succumbed.
Image via Wikipedia
Charlie's love was the "Little Red Haired Girl", which he finally met (after much angst) in the later days of his creator's life, on a made for television show. It was one of my favorites.
![Cover of]()
Cover of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie BrownBut my favorite Charlie Brown show "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown", where Linus talks Charlie Brown into staying all night in the pumpkin patch, waiting for the "Great Pumpkin" who will dispense all the candy to those faithful enough to wait in the patch for Him. But the reason I love this one the most is because Snoopy slinks off to war to fight the good fight, and there is shooting and noise of war all around, and Snoopy is shot down!
And wouldn't you know? The show will likely be on tv this week. I'm going to try to catch it, now that hubby is working, I can watch what I want, without having to appease him because he's trying to study. It's going to be a great week. Just in time to watch my all-time favorite Charlie Brown tv show!
Dark and Stormy nights are great for staying in and taking trips down memory lane.
Image via WikipediaIt was a dark and stormy night.
Thunder and lightning here all night long, and there is still some vestiges remaining. I guess it's not going to stop until late morning, according to the local weather service. Ah, well, rainy fall day.
My father and I used to buy books by the late Charles Schultz that included strips of the artist's earlier works when Charlie was a much younger boy. He grew during Charles' life, had many missed punt kicks of the darn football (the one Lucy was forever pulling out of the way just before toe to leather), and couldn't make a kite fly to save his life. I remember Linus' blanket and Pig Pen's dust from the rocks of millions of years before. Schroeder's piano and Beethoven's bust were also there, and Lucy's unrequited love for Schroeder---even though she tried every trick in the book to manipulate him, he never succumbed.
Image via WikipediaCharlie's love was the "Little Red Haired Girl", which he finally met (after much angst) in the later days of his creator's life, on a made for television show. It was one of my favorites.
And wouldn't you know? The show will likely be on tv this week. I'm going to try to catch it, now that hubby is working, I can watch what I want, without having to appease him because he's trying to study. It's going to be a great week. Just in time to watch my all-time favorite Charlie Brown tv show!
Dark and Stormy nights are great for staying in and taking trips down memory lane.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Cheater, cheater mobius
When I'm finished knitting, I'll twist and sew ends together and wear like a necklace. Very easy to make.
Ravelry and Twitter: drapert/My blog: www.tothenines9.blogspot.com
Little Sheepy Bag and...
Five repeats on Rhiannon...she's coming along...slowly, because I was busy all weekend, and I haven't stopped except to take a little afternoon siesta today. The biggest issue, is that I'm running out of places to take pictures of her, and so you see her here, stretched across the back of my husband's car. She takes up the whole back end--you are only seeing a portion of her. She's just too big to get a picture of without destroying the detail in the design.
The sheepy bag purchased from Roseland Bags--it's a sock project bag, and I think it's just the cats meow. Sock project sold separately.
And I started a new project at JoAnn's yesterday--a cheater mobius cowl to wear around my neck on the mornings when I wash my hair so that my neck doesn't freeze. This one will take a while. Pictures later, but the yarn is really cool in the way it self stripes--Bernat Mosiac is the yarn. It's mostly wool, and very scratchy due to all the dye processing, but it will be warm.
Tomorrow is spinning day, and since I dyed some merino Saturday at a workshop, I have a little spinning to do. This will maybe make a hat, and will spin up into something resembling watermelon (my favorite fruit!). Then on Tuesday, I have my regular knit night in Lake Odessa. So I'm looking forward to some spinning and knitting, and a little extra time off for good behavior from the workplace, as I am taking my mother to the doctor on Tuesday and I have a doctor appointment on Monday before spinning.
I'm washing dishes and cleaning the stove--well, in all reality, the machines are doing that while I blog. Hubby wants me to find him some clothing and wash his pants. I want to get busy on Rhiannon again and start that 6th repeat--as there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and it's already 7pm!
I can't believe how fast this weekend flew by! I wish it were longer.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
I Don't Get This...
When I began working for the private sector, I thought that a job would be hard work, yes, but that employers would treat you fairly and that if you were good at your job you would get regular pay raises and recognition--and that it would be ALL you had to do.
Well, come to find out that most employers will take advantage of you if you are an exceptional employee. They also will mistreat you if they don't particularly like you on a personal standpoint. They will treat you well, AND PAY YOU WELL if you are exceptionally attractive, however they will and do mistreat you in other ways if you are exceptionally beautiful--I mean, it goes both ways.
This really surprised me when I started working. I thought all I had to do was be good at my job AND at other people's jobs, and it wouldn't matter that I had buck-teeth and bad hair days.
But apparently, it does matter. Clothes? Who knew? I work best in T-shirt and jeans. It doesn't get you very far in an office. No one will respect you.
Even so, I worked hard in the private sector, and never really got ahead. I remember always striving for better and better pay, never realizing that goal. The top pay I received in the private sector was pretty low by today's standards, but if I were to go BACK into the private sector at this point in my life, I doubt seriously that I would get much more than what I got then--since I'm not beautiful and while people seem to like me well enough, they simply don't seem to like me enough to compensate me for my worth. A boyfriend once told me that once he got past my dentition, I was really nice to know. Um, thanks for nothing.
And it's not that I have an over-developed sense of worth, either--before you get your angst up in a tizzy--but I would prefer that employers NOTICE me and compensate me MONETARILY, rather than with a pat on the back or a "good job" statement. Money talks, BS walks.
So it was with open arms that I accepted a job in the public sector, starting at twice what I was making in the private sector (which I admit wasn't much at the time), and doing half the work, and a fourth the responsibility.
I was still miserable. The raises came often enough in good economy, and THAT was inspiring, but there was still no RECOGNITION in the form of PROMOTION. So, I started looking for better and better with more difficulty/responsibility and a boss that would recognize me for the quality, speed and efficiency of my work, and compensate me with promotion (and more of the green stuff, of course).
Instead, I am now doing the work of 6 people in a bad economy. I am over-stressed at a time when I need to be taking care of myself and slowing down a little--meaning the cold and flu season. My sinuses are starting to plug up in the morning, and last night, I told my husband that today, he MUST get his step son to help take out the air conditioner. MUST. It's cold in the house, and we have no intention of starting up the corn stove until November 1. No matter how cold the house is.
Consequently, I am wearing clothing right now. It's still dark outside and nearly 6:30am! I'm also wearing a shawl over my shoulders to keep away the chill. I have on wool socks and shoes. In short, I'm almost ready for work--except that it's Saturday, and I haven't much to do except take out the dog and head for the grocery store for some hamburger buns, then over to a friend's house for a hand-dying party.
But all of that is not what I don't get.
I am about 8 years from retirement. I have worked hard and diligently all of my life, and I am proud of all my achievements--even if the boss didn't give me that promotion. Even if I didn't get the recognition I feel I deserve (sometimes it embarrasses me if I get verbal recognition, you know what I mean?). I am a talented, exceptional person. So when retirement comes, I believe that I will accept it and wrap my arms around it and say..
"Yes. This is what I've been waiting for all these years. Somebody to take my hand and say 'Job well Done!', and then pay me back for all those years I worked so hard by paying me for doing nothing."
Retirement looks like it's just on the horizon I'm heading for--and I believe that I will reach that horizon and literally touch the sun when I get there. When *I* retire, I will have knitting and quilting and spinning and crochet and my animals and my house and my car and the rest of my life ahead of me--and maybe that teaching job at JoAnn's that is so part-time. I have a life of fun waiting for me. Hopefully, I last long enough to get there and enjoy some of it.
My husband? There's the part I don't get.
My husband worked at General Motors his entire life. He retired when the economy tanked because he felt he just couldn't move to a different state AND he felt that it was the only way that he could come away, retire and get the most money in the effort. So he retired. He wasn't happy about it. He likes working. It's his identity and it's his hobby.
So he went to school and started the remodel on the basement. I thought that would be plenty to keep him busy--something for his mind and something for his body--but of course, he's not making money, and that's what he wants. More money.
So he continued to look for employment in the worst Michigan economy since 1977. Go figure.
I knew the day was coming. Yesterday, his employer of choice offered him a job.
Yes, my retired husband has a job in the private sector. He is happy and unhappy at the same time.
And of course, you knew that I would know this, right?
First off, the job is NOT at General Motors. So the pay scale is about 1/3 his skilled trade. Even so, this is not why he's unhappy.
Secondly, the job is afternoons. This bothers him more than me. *I* am tickled with the idea. I can come home in the afternoons, and don't have to make dinner until I'm really hungry. Then I can make supper at my leisure, put something in the frig for him, and go about my own retirement for the day--knit, spin--whatever I want to do! This is the best thing for my stressful daily life. I see this as the best coping mechanism that I could offer myself. Hubby on afternoon shift! Wonder of wonders! Maybe I'm a little too happy about it, but I don't care. I need the relief.
Thirdly, and what he doesn't know yet, so it's really not part of his "unhappy" yet, but *I* know that he will not be union, and therefore pretty much unprotected by the hateful bottom line (read that "the ones who look for profit, rather than loss on the income statement) readers who are more likely to be unreasonable when he loses his temper--of course, the fact that he could be considered mentally challenged (and I mean that in a NICE way) won't do him any favors either.
In any case, I expect he'll be let go (or quit) in short order, and by the time it happens, which I expect will be sometime between Monday and Tuesday, he will be more than happy to embrace retirement--and this time with a smile on his face.
Which doesn't bode well for *my* happy that he'll be on afternoon shift!
Therefore, I am opting for a "we'll see" sort of attitude. I hope the best for him, but I really think a job in the private sector will be his undoing. Even so, I think inactivity will kill him just as quickly. I suppose that work of any kind is preferable to sitting in a chair, inactive, and dying from congestive heart failure due to having no hobbies.
Of course, this is going to play havoc with this school schedule this term. He intends to continue with one of the classes--but unless he can reschedule his other two for a different time of day, he's going to have to withdraw from two classes that are already paid. THIS of course, turns that frown into an even deeper frown. He enjoyed learning new things (not going to class, but the learning). He hates wasting money. He needs to wake up early on Monday afternoon (well, that sounds weird) and get his classes in order, and then GO to class, then to work.
And he will be expected to do more than he ever did at General Motors, and I doubt that they will allow him to sit and read a book while he waits for a die to crash.
Perish the thought!
No, he will be asked to push a broom or sort nuts and washers before he'll be allowed to sit on his collective for even a moment's time. Private sector doesn't understand the word "breaktime".
I expect his first day, he will arrive at home EXHAUSTED, and tell me that he's never worked so hard in his whole life at GM.
Um, yeah. I knew that was coming. I will then have to remind him...yes, but aren't you so proud of yourself? To which he'll reply...yeah, but I'm not paid enough and I get no recognition for all the "other" stuff I took on that went WAY beyond my responsibility and experience.
Um, yeah. I think I saw that one coming, too.
So I sit here in the early morning, blogging, thinking about all these things, and Rhiannon is waiting in the wings--13 more rows to do before another repeat is done. I just couldn't bring myself to stay up another second last night at 9:30pm. You see, I'm getting older, and I want so much to slow down, but the employer and the economy have a different plan for me, I guess. I have been working hard, taking breaks after completing every difficult task (difficult only because there is SO MUCH TO BE DONE.), going to lunch and going home--all these taking a toll on my health.
I have a sinus headache now. I will be at the doctor's by Monday. Life is too busy for me right now. I am turning into a "gee, can't I just sit here and knit?" sort of person. I want the world to slow down so that I can hop off. So I don't get this "I'd rather be working" mentality that my husband has. He's actually happy he got a job, and he doesn't even NEED one, other than to satisfy his identity problem. And with so many people out there unemployed, who could really use that job to care for their family? I don't know. I suppose that the real reason that I don't get it is that I don't have such identity issues. I work and play far too hard to have identity problems. Maybe when I retire, I will have similar issues, because I've worked all my life--but women are different from men, in that they get their identity from home and family...and I am no exception. So I guess all this means is that I'm on the fence about his new job. I hope it's satisfying for him. I hope he doesn't lose it the first week. That would be demoralizing for him. On the other hand, if he does, can I support his decisions in the long run.
I mean, considering the freedom I'll lose when he's home again? Sigh.
I sure hope so. In the meanwhile, enough with deep thinking. I'm going to grab something to eat, then get busy on Rhiannon and finish that repeat.
Well, come to find out that most employers will take advantage of you if you are an exceptional employee. They also will mistreat you if they don't particularly like you on a personal standpoint. They will treat you well, AND PAY YOU WELL if you are exceptionally attractive, however they will and do mistreat you in other ways if you are exceptionally beautiful--I mean, it goes both ways.
This really surprised me when I started working. I thought all I had to do was be good at my job AND at other people's jobs, and it wouldn't matter that I had buck-teeth and bad hair days.
But apparently, it does matter. Clothes? Who knew? I work best in T-shirt and jeans. It doesn't get you very far in an office. No one will respect you.
Even so, I worked hard in the private sector, and never really got ahead. I remember always striving for better and better pay, never realizing that goal. The top pay I received in the private sector was pretty low by today's standards, but if I were to go BACK into the private sector at this point in my life, I doubt seriously that I would get much more than what I got then--since I'm not beautiful and while people seem to like me well enough, they simply don't seem to like me enough to compensate me for my worth. A boyfriend once told me that once he got past my dentition, I was really nice to know. Um, thanks for nothing.
And it's not that I have an over-developed sense of worth, either--before you get your angst up in a tizzy--but I would prefer that employers NOTICE me and compensate me MONETARILY, rather than with a pat on the back or a "good job" statement. Money talks, BS walks.
So it was with open arms that I accepted a job in the public sector, starting at twice what I was making in the private sector (which I admit wasn't much at the time), and doing half the work, and a fourth the responsibility.
I was still miserable. The raises came often enough in good economy, and THAT was inspiring, but there was still no RECOGNITION in the form of PROMOTION. So, I started looking for better and better with more difficulty/responsibility and a boss that would recognize me for the quality, speed and efficiency of my work, and compensate me with promotion (and more of the green stuff, of course).
Instead, I am now doing the work of 6 people in a bad economy. I am over-stressed at a time when I need to be taking care of myself and slowing down a little--meaning the cold and flu season. My sinuses are starting to plug up in the morning, and last night, I told my husband that today, he MUST get his step son to help take out the air conditioner. MUST. It's cold in the house, and we have no intention of starting up the corn stove until November 1. No matter how cold the house is.
Consequently, I am wearing clothing right now. It's still dark outside and nearly 6:30am! I'm also wearing a shawl over my shoulders to keep away the chill. I have on wool socks and shoes. In short, I'm almost ready for work--except that it's Saturday, and I haven't much to do except take out the dog and head for the grocery store for some hamburger buns, then over to a friend's house for a hand-dying party.
But all of that is not what I don't get.
I am about 8 years from retirement. I have worked hard and diligently all of my life, and I am proud of all my achievements--even if the boss didn't give me that promotion. Even if I didn't get the recognition I feel I deserve (sometimes it embarrasses me if I get verbal recognition, you know what I mean?). I am a talented, exceptional person. So when retirement comes, I believe that I will accept it and wrap my arms around it and say..
"Yes. This is what I've been waiting for all these years. Somebody to take my hand and say 'Job well Done!', and then pay me back for all those years I worked so hard by paying me for doing nothing."
Retirement looks like it's just on the horizon I'm heading for--and I believe that I will reach that horizon and literally touch the sun when I get there. When *I* retire, I will have knitting and quilting and spinning and crochet and my animals and my house and my car and the rest of my life ahead of me--and maybe that teaching job at JoAnn's that is so part-time. I have a life of fun waiting for me. Hopefully, I last long enough to get there and enjoy some of it.
My husband? There's the part I don't get.
My husband worked at General Motors his entire life. He retired when the economy tanked because he felt he just couldn't move to a different state AND he felt that it was the only way that he could come away, retire and get the most money in the effort. So he retired. He wasn't happy about it. He likes working. It's his identity and it's his hobby.
So he went to school and started the remodel on the basement. I thought that would be plenty to keep him busy--something for his mind and something for his body--but of course, he's not making money, and that's what he wants. More money.
So he continued to look for employment in the worst Michigan economy since 1977. Go figure.
I knew the day was coming. Yesterday, his employer of choice offered him a job.
Yes, my retired husband has a job in the private sector. He is happy and unhappy at the same time.
And of course, you knew that I would know this, right?
First off, the job is NOT at General Motors. So the pay scale is about 1/3 his skilled trade. Even so, this is not why he's unhappy.
Secondly, the job is afternoons. This bothers him more than me. *I* am tickled with the idea. I can come home in the afternoons, and don't have to make dinner until I'm really hungry. Then I can make supper at my leisure, put something in the frig for him, and go about my own retirement for the day--knit, spin--whatever I want to do! This is the best thing for my stressful daily life. I see this as the best coping mechanism that I could offer myself. Hubby on afternoon shift! Wonder of wonders! Maybe I'm a little too happy about it, but I don't care. I need the relief.
Thirdly, and what he doesn't know yet, so it's really not part of his "unhappy" yet, but *I* know that he will not be union, and therefore pretty much unprotected by the hateful bottom line (read that "the ones who look for profit, rather than loss on the income statement) readers who are more likely to be unreasonable when he loses his temper--of course, the fact that he could be considered mentally challenged (and I mean that in a NICE way) won't do him any favors either.
In any case, I expect he'll be let go (or quit) in short order, and by the time it happens, which I expect will be sometime between Monday and Tuesday, he will be more than happy to embrace retirement--and this time with a smile on his face.
Which doesn't bode well for *my* happy that he'll be on afternoon shift!
Therefore, I am opting for a "we'll see" sort of attitude. I hope the best for him, but I really think a job in the private sector will be his undoing. Even so, I think inactivity will kill him just as quickly. I suppose that work of any kind is preferable to sitting in a chair, inactive, and dying from congestive heart failure due to having no hobbies.
Of course, this is going to play havoc with this school schedule this term. He intends to continue with one of the classes--but unless he can reschedule his other two for a different time of day, he's going to have to withdraw from two classes that are already paid. THIS of course, turns that frown into an even deeper frown. He enjoyed learning new things (not going to class, but the learning). He hates wasting money. He needs to wake up early on Monday afternoon (well, that sounds weird) and get his classes in order, and then GO to class, then to work.
And he will be expected to do more than he ever did at General Motors, and I doubt that they will allow him to sit and read a book while he waits for a die to crash.
Perish the thought!
No, he will be asked to push a broom or sort nuts and washers before he'll be allowed to sit on his collective for even a moment's time. Private sector doesn't understand the word "breaktime".
I expect his first day, he will arrive at home EXHAUSTED, and tell me that he's never worked so hard in his whole life at GM.
Um, yeah. I knew that was coming. I will then have to remind him...yes, but aren't you so proud of yourself? To which he'll reply...yeah, but I'm not paid enough and I get no recognition for all the "other" stuff I took on that went WAY beyond my responsibility and experience.
Um, yeah. I think I saw that one coming, too.
So I sit here in the early morning, blogging, thinking about all these things, and Rhiannon is waiting in the wings--13 more rows to do before another repeat is done. I just couldn't bring myself to stay up another second last night at 9:30pm. You see, I'm getting older, and I want so much to slow down, but the employer and the economy have a different plan for me, I guess. I have been working hard, taking breaks after completing every difficult task (difficult only because there is SO MUCH TO BE DONE.), going to lunch and going home--all these taking a toll on my health.
I have a sinus headache now. I will be at the doctor's by Monday. Life is too busy for me right now. I am turning into a "gee, can't I just sit here and knit?" sort of person. I want the world to slow down so that I can hop off. So I don't get this "I'd rather be working" mentality that my husband has. He's actually happy he got a job, and he doesn't even NEED one, other than to satisfy his identity problem. And with so many people out there unemployed, who could really use that job to care for their family? I don't know. I suppose that the real reason that I don't get it is that I don't have such identity issues. I work and play far too hard to have identity problems. Maybe when I retire, I will have similar issues, because I've worked all my life--but women are different from men, in that they get their identity from home and family...and I am no exception. So I guess all this means is that I'm on the fence about his new job. I hope it's satisfying for him. I hope he doesn't lose it the first week. That would be demoralizing for him. On the other hand, if he does, can I support his decisions in the long run.
I mean, considering the freedom I'll lose when he's home again? Sigh.
I sure hope so. In the meanwhile, enough with deep thinking. I'm going to grab something to eat, then get busy on Rhiannon and finish that repeat.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)