every time i go to wal-mart, there is an opportunity for me to photograph the oddballs that frequent said store and exploit them via the interweb. on a side note... jess and i had thought up the idea of "people of wal-mart" long before that website swept the web but we just didn't do anything about it. if you haven't been to peopleofwalmart.com, go there now. i can wait. back so soon? see? isn't it the funniest site? brilliant!
tonight was no different as far as possible specimens to photograph and mock. including but not limited to a young man working one of the registers wearing skinny jeans, with pale ass skin, jet black hair and other trappings worthy of pete wentz. oddly enough, he was wearing a name tag that read "ashlee". sorry but that shit was funny.
i asked my cashier if his name really was ashlee. i mean, it is possible that ashlee was his given name. look at gone with the wind. scarlett spends most of the book (and film) mooning over ashley wilkes. granted... it's not really considered a boy name anymore but it certainly could be. my cashier (an older woman) said that she thought that his legal given name was earnest. even better. i proceeded to make a sociological joke about how teens think that now one ever has or will understand them. and that by showing their individuality, they all end up looking the same as every other teen. (a point, i believe, i have made in past posts) well... old lady cashier interrupts saying, "well, in the bible, it says that we should love, first and foremost. jesus tells us that we should love one another and not judge." i looked at her and said, "i'm covered in tattoos. who am i to cast the first stone?" i'll take your jesus quote and raise you one, bitch.
1. why can't any of these frickin bible thumpers listen to what is being said instead of jumping to their own conclusions. and therefore judging the speaker, which old lady cashier said jesus said not to do? bitch, you don't know me. i bet i can out quote you in bible. i took two semesters of it in college, was a summer missionary for 6 years, went to a baptist university and was the vice president for the fellowship of christian students. i know my damn bible. i know what jesus said and i don't need you to tell me. you throwing jesus and/or the bible in my face to make your point just makes me tune you out. you become demoted to the level of religious zealot. and that just makes people uncomfortable like one of those crazy people who wear a sandwich board that says that the end is near.
2. why can't these same thumpers take a damn joke. i mean, really. i read an extremely funny book called, lamb by christopher moore. basically, it is the (fictional) gospel of biff, jesus' best friend. it is rather irreverent but very hilarious. but i'm pretty sure that old lady cashier would be the first to throw Lamb onto the bonfire. jesus is always portrayed with that droopy sad face but i have a feeling that he could totally hang. he's the son of god and god made giraffes and platypus and lady gaga. i know that god can hang and has one hell of a sense of humor. all i'm saying is... people need to lighten up.
this life is too damn short to take yourself so seriously. now, i will be the first to admit that i wear my heart on my sleeve and as a general rule, my face is an open window to my thoughts and feelings. being so emotive is good in that most everyone can plainly see how you are feeling. but it leaves one exposed. i feel very deeply and transversely i can be hurt, emotionally, very deeply. but i am learning to let it all roll off my back. a hard lesson, to be sure, but this world will add enough stress of it's own without my help. as the song says: Life is just a bowl of cherries. don't take it serious; life's too mysterious. so live and laugh. laugh and love. live, love, laugh at it all.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Back in the saddle again
So. it has been far too long since i have written on this blog. and now, with the recent drive to open and run my own yarn shop, i plan to really utilize this medium and record my thoughts and actions for those who care to read it (which, less face it, is no one because no one reads this blog) however, i hope to drum up interest in both me and my (currently non-existent) yarn shop, Knitterbugs of New Braunfels (it's a working title)
so... to catch you up on the last year...
in April of '09, Himself and i moved from sunny Florida to the greatest state of all, Texas. i worked at a bookstore while Himself searched for work, which turned out to be a bitch of a task as he was too qualified to do most work even within his field. after about a month at the bookstore, i scored a job at a theme park within their entertainment dept. of course it was in the costume dept and i hadn't sat a sewing machine in almost 10 years. but quite honestly, i wasn't half bad. i made several pieces for several shows and even made a few articles of clothing for myself (some without a pattern, which is no easy feat, let me tell you) after about 6 months, i moved to the tech dept (much more up my alley, i must admit) and have been doing tech work ever since.
do i like it?
yes.
am i frustrated as hell?
usually.
gotta lay it on the line for you here, dear readers, theatre and "entertainment" are not the same thing, no matter how one may tart itself up as the other. i have theatrical experience out the effin ass but here it tends to be all for naught. so that is why i want to open my own yarn shop. (which isn't totally true but makes for dramatic effect)
i want it to have all the warm coziness of a nest. a big work table where people can test the yarns, bring their projects to work on and gossip, or just sit and thumb through pattern books. i want to teach others how to create soft fluffy things by wielding sharp pointy sticks and/or a hook. i want to spearhead charities that will utilize my talents and give back to the community. there will be hardwood floors (or at least look like hardwood) and a reading corner. the shelves will be busting with gorgeous yarns of every color and texture. sock yarns, bamboo silks, hand painted yarns, thick chunky wools, delicate cashmere and angora. warm bamboo needles and hooks that feel like an extension of your hand which gives the yarn shape and purpose and allows you to bend the fibers to your will. i want to pass along the passion i have for homemade goods and give my customers a place to sell their own creations on commission. in my mind's eye it is inviting and warm and perfect. i can't wait to see what this venture unfolds.
so why now? why a yarn shop? can't people buy yarn at wal-mart or a another chain craft store?
sure they can... if they want run of the mill yarn. but for hard core, die hard yarn crafters, wal-mart ain't gonna cut it. there is something quite intoxicating about walking into a shop filled with all the lush beauty of premiere yarns. i have a friend at work. he is as passionate about carpentry and building, as i am about yarn and yarn craft. hardware stores are his church and he worships gladly at the alter of craftsmanship. blood, sweat and (sometimes) tears go in to his projects and while our focus is definitely skewed, it is our kindred spirit in our varying crafts that link us as friends (and why we should both be supervised when going into stores catering to our passions i.e. yarn shops and hardware stores.) when a passion ignites the soul, it is hard to extinguish the flame. i want to feed the flame so that consumes others. i want others to taste the empowerment of making something out of nothing. that is why i want to open my own shop.
as for the "why now"... why not? granted, i'm only in my 30's but i'm not getting any younger. and as i always say... a life lived in fear is a life half lived. i understand very well that i may fail at opening my shop. i understand that it may just be a pipe dream that will never come to a reality. but, for those of you who know me, well... you know that i'm not easily dissuaded by a fear. i wanted to work in theatre professionally and i did. i wanted to teach myself to knit and crochet and i did. i wanted to teach myself to bake bread and to cook on a hobby gourmet level and i did. once i have made up my mind to do something, i'm like a bull shark. i won't let go. i won't relent until my goal is reached.
so there it is. to be honest, i may not be able to write everyday. but i will make a great effort to write as much as i can. to keep everyone in the loop, as it were. there are great things on the horizon. i'll be interested to see how it all unfolds from here.
so... to catch you up on the last year...
in April of '09, Himself and i moved from sunny Florida to the greatest state of all, Texas. i worked at a bookstore while Himself searched for work, which turned out to be a bitch of a task as he was too qualified to do most work even within his field. after about a month at the bookstore, i scored a job at a theme park within their entertainment dept. of course it was in the costume dept and i hadn't sat a sewing machine in almost 10 years. but quite honestly, i wasn't half bad. i made several pieces for several shows and even made a few articles of clothing for myself (some without a pattern, which is no easy feat, let me tell you) after about 6 months, i moved to the tech dept (much more up my alley, i must admit) and have been doing tech work ever since.
do i like it?
yes.
am i frustrated as hell?
usually.
gotta lay it on the line for you here, dear readers, theatre and "entertainment" are not the same thing, no matter how one may tart itself up as the other. i have theatrical experience out the effin ass but here it tends to be all for naught. so that is why i want to open my own yarn shop. (which isn't totally true but makes for dramatic effect)
i want it to have all the warm coziness of a nest. a big work table where people can test the yarns, bring their projects to work on and gossip, or just sit and thumb through pattern books. i want to teach others how to create soft fluffy things by wielding sharp pointy sticks and/or a hook. i want to spearhead charities that will utilize my talents and give back to the community. there will be hardwood floors (or at least look like hardwood) and a reading corner. the shelves will be busting with gorgeous yarns of every color and texture. sock yarns, bamboo silks, hand painted yarns, thick chunky wools, delicate cashmere and angora. warm bamboo needles and hooks that feel like an extension of your hand which gives the yarn shape and purpose and allows you to bend the fibers to your will. i want to pass along the passion i have for homemade goods and give my customers a place to sell their own creations on commission. in my mind's eye it is inviting and warm and perfect. i can't wait to see what this venture unfolds.
so why now? why a yarn shop? can't people buy yarn at wal-mart or a another chain craft store?
sure they can... if they want run of the mill yarn. but for hard core, die hard yarn crafters, wal-mart ain't gonna cut it. there is something quite intoxicating about walking into a shop filled with all the lush beauty of premiere yarns. i have a friend at work. he is as passionate about carpentry and building, as i am about yarn and yarn craft. hardware stores are his church and he worships gladly at the alter of craftsmanship. blood, sweat and (sometimes) tears go in to his projects and while our focus is definitely skewed, it is our kindred spirit in our varying crafts that link us as friends (and why we should both be supervised when going into stores catering to our passions i.e. yarn shops and hardware stores.) when a passion ignites the soul, it is hard to extinguish the flame. i want to feed the flame so that consumes others. i want others to taste the empowerment of making something out of nothing. that is why i want to open my own shop.
as for the "why now"... why not? granted, i'm only in my 30's but i'm not getting any younger. and as i always say... a life lived in fear is a life half lived. i understand very well that i may fail at opening my shop. i understand that it may just be a pipe dream that will never come to a reality. but, for those of you who know me, well... you know that i'm not easily dissuaded by a fear. i wanted to work in theatre professionally and i did. i wanted to teach myself to knit and crochet and i did. i wanted to teach myself to bake bread and to cook on a hobby gourmet level and i did. once i have made up my mind to do something, i'm like a bull shark. i won't let go. i won't relent until my goal is reached.
so there it is. to be honest, i may not be able to write everyday. but i will make a great effort to write as much as i can. to keep everyone in the loop, as it were. there are great things on the horizon. i'll be interested to see how it all unfolds from here.
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