Homesick

I have a confession to make. I really, really, REALLY miss Omaha, Nebraska. One would think that the Chicago area would provide enough distractions that I would forget about Omaha and move on with my life, but not living there has created a hole in my soul that I've never figured out how to patch up.

I've been picking at the scab recently by joining this flickr group. Pictures by waitingline and BoomerangThang specifically have been particularly wonderful and heartwrenching. While you're there, check out BoomerangThang's super cool retro house and photos from a zombie walk in Benson. I'll be at my desk, daydreaming about Homer's Records and Tapes and the Bemis Center for the Arts. Oh, and LaCasa's pizza. YUM.

Small Stuff

Since I've started making my own patterns, my projects have been getting a little too big for their britches. I love dramatic fonts, but that means hours and hours of stitching - so I decided to give myself a break and do a couple of cuties this week.

Inspired by the show Firefly:



and this is just an old chestnut that I heard most recently on You Look Nice Today, but they used to use this line on Mystery Science Theater 3000 A LOT. It never failed to make me laugh:



I'm about to start working on the Obama pattern from Subversive Cross Stitch for my Mom's Christmas present. Anyone who heard the story of the Obama sign in episode 16 of Emergency Pants knows she'll love it! I'm also still working on a portrait that beelisty put together for me, and I have some plans for some modified samplers in my future. My fingers are gonna HURT.

Secure (to do my thing) Area

I work in a profession that asks for friendliness without actual friendship. You need to be personable without actually ever knowing anyone personally. Recruiting means one day you might be offering someone a job and three weeks later you might looking to replace them again, so a certain amount of professional distance is needed just to stay sane.

Also, I'm pretty sure Human Resources is the only corporate profession whose trade magazines have articles on what to do when someone takes over your office with an automatic weapon.

Due to these factors, I leave about 90% of my personality at home when I go to work - where I swipe my badge 3 times before I get to my desk. I feign interest in American Idol and local sports franchises. My freak flag is securely stowed throughout the day.

So when I heard Josh Weinstein, while being manhandled by guards, say: "Ok, ok... the sign said "secure area" - I thought it meant secure to do my _thing._" in the Wasp Woman DVD from Cinematic Titanic, it really struck a chord with me.

This may not make much sense, but then I rarely do. :)

Etsy regret?

Let me start by saying that I love etsy so much, I want to make out with it. I've found so many wonderful things there, like this from therunnybunny,
this from trixiedelicious, and this from mincingmockingbird. Also, selling some of my stuff has kept me in vintage cross stitch leaflets, Cinematic Titanic dvds and, well, stuff I found on etsy... Hmmm. :)

But last week I sold four of my favorite stitches, and the area where I store my completed stitches (and by that I mean a Ziploc bag in my closet) seems so... empty. I don't know what I would do with all the stuff that I make if I didn't sell it, but at the same time it makes me a little sad each time I sell something that was an original design like this one.

Does anyone else experience this?