Absolutely Amazing…
Archives for the month of: October, 2007
They are here and they are well.
I will probably post minimum post this week. Don’t be alarmed.
Oh, and my dad likes the vests I made him.
Night.
… is out of commission currently. I had my laptop reimaged and somehow the wireless is not working.
My parents are coming to visit tomorrow for a week! Yay!
Red Sox rule!
I’m out.
I can’t believe it has been a whole week! As much as I like to travel, there is definitely no place like home. Puppies are very happy to see me. Here is the proof:
I was going through my bag on the floor and Mick put his head on my leg and wouldn’t move! I think he thinks that he is still only 10 lbs, instead of 100 lbs.
Also, some packages arrived while I was away:
Zephyr order
Color cards and some samples to try from Sarah’s Yarn
Schaefer Yarn and pattern
The Schaefer yarn Judith and the Diamond Spires Shawl pattern are for model knitting for Schaefer Yarn. Archiknist does design for them and when she ran into Laura at Rhinebeck, Laura had asked Archiknist to see if anyone from SnB would like to do model knitting. And here I am, with the beautiful alpaca yarn.
And I just want to say right here, Sarah’s Yarn has the BEST customer service, EVER! I had some questions prior to my order so I emailed my question via online form submission. In merely an hour, I got a reply back from Sarah herself! She was so patient (I must emailed her three or four times with different questions) and timely, it is hard not to do a plug for her on my blog. Also, the shipping is superb! Maybe it is located in Brooklyn so it is fairly close, but shipping is 1 day ground via UPS. It is not as much as I thought it would and super fast!
Oh, and here is the HRB progress:
It is a little hard to see since it is so much bigger now and I can’t stretch it out on my needles. I have to finish it soon so I can give it to my mom – although she doesn’t know it yet 
My parents are in the States and will be coming to visit on Tuesday. YAY!
Ok, the game is on. GO RED SOX!
Today was COR day. COR? What is COR? COR is Council of Reprensentative, the voting member of each section. We meet face to face at national conference to conduct SWE business. During the year, we will do conference calls, but it is not the same when there is 133 members sit in the same room, voting on behalf of each of their own section.
But before that, I met Laura for breakfast. Laura was in my region and was the CLCC team lead in my region. However, due to work relocations, Laura had moved back to Region G. We had a good time and did a little of ranting to each other, which was much needed and appreciated.
At 10:00 am, I went to the membership meeting. There I found out membership growth and rention, and also that there were 5003 people who register for conference. I have to say, the Nashville convetion enter is prettyh small for 5003 people. There were classes in the hotel meeting rooms, and in some cases, there were classes held in the Hilton Hotel, which is cople blcoks away and Vandebelt University. Luckily, I didn’t have any classes that were in those two locations. After the membershp meeting, COR meeting starts and we sat through 6 hours of business meeting – and it wasn’t enough time because we actually ran outta time and didn’t go over any of the reports! We are working very hard to try to reduce the time spent on a Saturday for all CORs. Hopefully next year it would be better.
Celebrate SWE! is the most exciting event all week. Our region dressed in Red, White and Blue with some “F” signs to be waved around. We tried for the spirited award, but another region end up winning it.
Our table
Our region on stage for the Spirit Award 2 min presentation. We change the words to the song “We are family” and used it as our main song.
All the RPI students and alumni at the event
This event concludes the SWE conference for FY08. I will be going home tomorrow late morning. The daily report of SWE conference bid you good bye and see you next year in Baltimore, MD!!!
Today started at 9am. I got up and went to the Collegiate Leadership Coaching Committee training. It was a short training and it was over before I know it. I had a lot of time before my next session, so I met up with Suzette to go to the Grand Ole Opry House. And while we were parking, we ran into Jonna, Jonna’s mom, Jonna’s son, Sherisse and Andrea.
However, the auditorium itself was unavailable due to a local school field trip, so we went to the museum instead. It was very interesting as I’ve never know some of these country singers before, and the rich history behind it. I actually really want to watch the movie “Walk the Line” now.
After the museum, we stopped at this place to have lunch in the Opry Mill:
Aquarium, An Underwater Dinning Adventure
We really felt like we were sitting under water! There is a huge “tank” (more like the whole wall) with sharks and sting rays and other fish. It was really fun and Jonna’s son really liked it. The food was great as well. I had fish tacos and it has this sauce that was super delicious. I think I’m gonna try making fish tacos at home at some point. Sherisse had given us a tip on making fish tacos and it just sounds so easy!
We barely made it back to our 1:30 seminar. After the seminar, I came back to the hotel room to unwind a bit, and then met up with Kim for dinner. Because it was Friday night, the line was super long, but since we both didn’t have anything line up for the night, we waited. The food was only so-so, nothing spectacular.
On our way back, we met up with Kristine and few other fellow Region F members and went to Cayote Ugly. Yes, five girls went there, and no, it wasn’t fun at all. We must have stayed for total of 10 mins, and we left and went to Cadillac Ranch. On the second floor, they had a mechanical bull and Kim gave it a shot:
We stayed on the second floor for quite awhile and had a lot of fun watching people trying out the bull riding. As we were going downstairs to check out the dance floor, we bumped into more Region F members.
The RPI girls – L to R: Mary, Ashley, Meaghan and me
It was a fun night overall. Although, I do have to say I can’t believe this conference is almost over. Time flies when we have fun!
Before I start the daily report, I want to tell y’all about a…
CONTEST!!!!
Robin is running a contest for her Blogiversary!!! Click over and leave a comment to her so you can win some woolie goodness!!! Don’t forget to mention you got there through me!
Ok, back to the daily regular programing…
The conference officially started. We had a keynote breakfast and the keynote speak Adrian Brown is the CEO of Honeywell Transportation and Consumer Goods division. Adrian was a very good speaking. She was engageing and true to herself. Very articulated concise with her message. I feel very energized after the breakfast.
After that, it was ALL SWE business. Approximately 150 women, COR (Council of Representative, sat in the same room for the next three hours and discuss the mega issue of the year – how to make COR more effective? We had a really good discussion but it is not over. We will continue the discussion and vote on the potential solution on Saturday.
By the time I was done with COR business, I went to the region meeting. I made some progress on HRB while I was there, but it is not quite done yet. After I got outta there, my brain was so fried I decided to sit in my hotel room and relax a bit. I made a little progress on SotS during then and watched the good ole Law and Order.
I met up with few of my friends after few episodes an went to Bailey’s (a local bar) to watch the Red Sox game. It was a close one the whole time (2-1, Red Sox), but the Red Sox won anyways!
L to R: Emil, Kim, Denise, Kristine, Emily, Alexia, Trish, me, Carrie and Suzette posing in between the games
After the game was over, Kristine, Emily, Alexa, Trish and I went here:
The suite is run by few some senior members of the SWE. It is very fun and usually I learn a lot by going over and talking to them, not just leadership skills or technical things, but also the SWE knowledge, the fun and memorable time.
Tomorrow, I will have some time for workshops and maybe going to see the Ole Pry. Oh, and no I didn’t get to meet the Ravelry friend yet. Conference is apparently too crazy!
I woke up this morning with a really bad sore throat. It is like this EVERY convention! I think it’s the hotel air system. I called it “my date with the sinus infection/cold”.
I met up with Jen, Mary and Ashley and went on the bus for the Jack Daniel Distillery Tour. Pictures are worth a thousand words, so here is my pictorial tour:
Jack Daniel Distillery
Jack Daniel and us
Tommy, our tour guide, showing us the way they make coal for the Mellowing Process
The maple pallets that were waiting to be burned to coals
The safe that killed Jack Daniel
Fermenter
Mellowing
The three different stage of the barrel – barrels are handmade in JD and were only used once
For the Quality Engineer in me
Miss Mary Bobo’s Boarding Housing where we had our lunch
Lunch includes friend chicken, corn bread, friend okra, mash potato, pull pork, lama beans, and apples… boy those apples were strong (all food has JD in it)
After lunch, we got on the bus and went back to Nashville. Around 6, I went to the region networking event and then Ice Cream Social:
L to R: Trish, me, Jonna and Suzette
L to R: Trish, me, Jonna and Suzette
And when we walked into the Ice Cream Social, we were handed these to wear:
All of us with the Pink bracelets for Breast Cancer Awareness
This picture is for you, Knelley!
After the ice cream social, bunch of us went to the hotel lounge to watch the Red Sox game for awhile. When we left, it was 13 to 1 Boston, which ended up to be the final score. GO RED SOX! We then went to BBKing, the local bar/restaurant and had an awesome time dancing.
Well, I’m tired and I have a full day ahead of me. I’ll be meeting up with a fellow Raveler that I talked about in my previous post. So Excited!
Today was ‘me’ day. I didn’t get up until 8:30, which is 9:30 EST. I had two goals – eat good food and go to yarn stores.
If I had not emphasize enough that Ravelry is awesome, here is where I show you its awesome-ness in two ways:
1. I went to the Nashville Knitters group to find out where the LYSs are and there was a whole thread about it. There are 6 locally, but only 2 of them are within reasonable distance to where I’m staying – Angel Hair Yarn and Haus of Yarn.
2. And by continue reading its forum, I came upon thread made by a knitter, Kasiaiscarly, who resides in Virginia and is coming to the conference in Nashville!!! Small world, huh? So I think we will meet up at some point during the conference to knit.
I did my research and put in the addresses in my trusty GPS for the yarn stores, but first thing first – a girl is gotta eat some good breakfast before all the yarn fumes! So I went on Foodnetwork and searched $40 A Day for Nashville, TN – there it is! Bongo Java was Rachel Ray’s favorite pick for breakfast. So I put the address in and off I went. I got there in about 15 mins and it was raining. The parking situation is pretty bad since it’s all street parking and this coffee shop is right across the street from Belmont College! Lucky for me, I found one and walked half of the block in the rain to get there.
The place is pretty big but it was PACKED! I ordered Willy Tilly (Vanilla Latte with caramel) to drink and Juanita Burrita for breakfast and because it was so packed, I shared a table with a lady who has her daugher with her. She was very friendly and started chatting with me – I guess it is like this in the southern states everywehre. Then my food came and I couldn’t believe how big it was and was wondering how I was gonan eat it!!!
There was so much food I couldn’t finish it all! So I took the coffee togo and off I went to Angle Hair first. It is double store wide and it has quite a selection on yarn – almost full line of Rowan, Twisted Sister, Habu, Plymouth, Malabrigo, Manos del Uraguay, Artyarn, Koigu, Colinette, just to name a few.
right side of the store
Left side of the store
One of the knitted item I found in the store caught my attention. I couldn’t leave it! I ended up asking permission to photograph it:
A beautiful necklace
Isn’t it gorgeous? It is from a Colinette pattern book and I ALMOST bought it, but with the price and me only liking that one pattern, I couldn’t justify the cost. However, I did came back with these:
Noni Majolica Bag pattern, Summer Cable Cowl by K1C2 pattern and Holiday Cheers by Diakeito pattern, and a skein of Shokay Yak
Not Pictureed: 2 soak trial packs – aquae and scent for celebration
Not Pictureed: 2 soak trial packs – aquae and scent for celebration
I have never felt the yak yarn before and it is super soft. I decided that it was gonna be Pidge knock off and now all I need is buttons. Also the Noni pattern was full price, but the others were only 50 cents each! What a deal!
The staff at Angel Hair are super friendly and a lot of fun. When I went, there were people sitting around. Also, it turns out the staffs were on Ravelry as well!!!
R to L: Pam the co-owner, me, Ellen, and Charisse
I had so much fun with them I think I was there for 3 hours! Although I think i can easily achieve that in any yarn stores.
After Angel Hair Yarn, I set out to find Haus of Yarn. The location is kind of weird and on the side of a big complex, which is hard to find if you didn’t pay attention. It is a lot smaller feel compare to Angel Hair, but it carries a full line of Noro. Some other lines it carries are Malabrigo, Koigu, Cascade, Colinette, Lorna’s Lace, Anny Blatt. (This is not the full list)
The staffs were really nice in this store as well. I had a lot of fun just petting Noro. I also found this line Shibui Knits, which I’ve never heard of before. One of the things I should also mention is that couple of the staffs had contribute to the book One-Skein Wonders and 101 Designer One-Skein Wonders. I wish I brought my copy with me so i can get it autographed! And from this store, I came out with these:
2 skeins of Koigu KPPPM, 3 skeins of Shibui Sock, 2 Pattern books in half off, 2 ceramic buttons for my Pidge Knock off to be Not Pictured: 3 nail files with Yarn images on them.
I was very proud of myself because I had set a budget for today’s adventure and I met it. Now, I will not be buying anymore yarn unless I have some FOs!!! (This is where David would say – You don’t need anymore yarn anyways! We have NO ROOM!!! He isn’t here to say it, but I know he’s thinking about it at home.)
By the time I left Haus of Yarn, it was almost 5pm. I met up with some of my friends that came today and we went out to dinner at Jacks – it is a really inexpensive place, you paid for what you want first and you grab a seat where you like. The food was great – I ordered a pull pork sandwich with roasted apples. I don’t think I spent more than 7 dollars!
From L around the table: Jen, Ashley, Liz, Michelle, Kristine, Andrea and Jonna with Zack.
Although we are all from CT, we never get to really see each other until the conference! We had a good time and chatted away for quite a bit.
The conference officially starts tomorrow. I have a Jack Daniel Tour all day. I am very excited about it. I think I will bring HRB with me for the trip since it is about an hour away from downtown. I can’t wait!
I can’t believe I am actually here already! I mean, it seems like I booked the conference only yesterday! But here I am, sitting in my hotel room, with the downtown Nashville staring at me back…
The very grey sky of Nashville
On the flight here, I worked on HRB and watched Foodnetwork – I flue Jetblue. During the duration of the flight (almost two hours), the yarn only broke twice, once while I made a yarn over, which was good, because it wasn’t stitches down a few rows, time it was actually like 10 rows down!!!! I found it when I stretched everything out to see what it looks like. No worries, I got it all fixed
I got to Nashville safe and got my rental car – I got a Outlander, it’s pretty cool because it’s high up but it’s not exactly a SUV. I took the above picture while stopped at a red light.
Nothing exciting happened today but i will be going to few yarn stores tomorrow, if I don’t get lost!!! Or if the weather willing.
Oh, guess how much this bottle cost me? Well, cost Schick:
$3.50 + Tax. I buy them at Stop and Shop for a dollar. nuf said.
