Oh neat! Bex designed a sock pattern for The Knittery, and it’s now available for download on their site for free! Well done, Bex. 🙂

More swimming fun…
Last night I had arranged to meet up and practice with one of the other girls in my class. I bought a swim cap, which made for some comical fun in the changing room as I tried to get the thing on my head. (I’d never used one before.) A nice lifeguard allowed us to borrow kickboards, and he even gave us a private half-lane to use. I managed sixteen half-lengths of the pool, which was a pretty good first workout. I started off using the kickboard, but eventually I tried a few lengths without it (just doing the crawl). It would feel natural for a second or two, but every time I came up for air it would start to feel awkward and complicated again. (I actually feel like I pulled a muscle on the right side of my neck while whipping my head up trying to get air.) I spent some time observing the “proper” swimmers in the fast lanes too, watching how they barely lifted their head and how effortless they made it look. I think I just need more practice. The Snook gave me the great idea to practice my breathing just standing in the pool, so I might try that next time.

HOWEVER – I had a big problem. Cramping. At various times during the half-hour, I got cramps in both feet and both calves. It KILLED. I’ve been doing some googling, and according to this page it’s a fairly common complaint. I did notice that it seemed to ease when I went slower, so I guess taking it easy and allowing my ankle to relax is key.

Knitabulous has posted a righteous rant about the bad displays and poor judging (my own jumper excepted, of course) at this year’s Easter Show. I think she’s spot-on.

Over on AskMeFi, somehow asks: “How do you define a cookie?” It’s not as easy as you’d think. I definitely agree that they have to be sweet (a bacon cookie is an awesome thing to contemplate, but it’s definitely not traditional), and I don’t think “bars” or “squares” should count.

Job News: When it rains, it pours. One of the companies has made me an offer. Now I’m just waiting to hear on the other one.

HIGHLY COMMENDED!
Holy crap! Some of the girls over on Ravelry went to the Easter Show’s “Arts Preview Night” tonight, and they reported back that my Road to Golden won a Highly Commended Award! That’s so awesome! My first official knitting ribbon. Of course, now I can’t sniff that my work is unappreciated in its own time. It’s a trade-off.

Update: The awesome Ailsa took lots of photos, and there are a couple of Road to Golden in there. [1, 2] I’m stoked that it got displayed on a mannequin instead of being stretched all to hell on fishing line. But this is weird: is my jumper holding hands with the one next to it??

Update later: The official results are now up!

No news. Job decisions are still pending. I think I’m getting another ulcer.

George Clooney googles himself. I do like the Clooney.

Still waiting. The latest news is that I should hear about the jobs tomorrow. (EEEEEK!) And the Easter Show website has been updated to say that the results will go live on Wednesday. (If any of you are going to the Arts Preview Tuesday night, let me know if you spot a ribbon on my jumper!)

Cute essay. An ESL teacher takes a Japanese student on a Goonies pilgrimage. I had no idea that movie was popular in Japan. (Link courtesy of MetaFilter.)