Utah on my mind

Last night my mind started to wander, and arrived at "what was i knitting during the last winter olympics?" That started a big, fat roller coaster of memories!

Lets start a few months before that, fall 2001. [Wayne's World time warp music. doodle-oot, doodle-oot] I had recently left a failed long-term relationship. I spent the previous school year as a high school science teacher (8th and 9th grade). Even though everyone says the second year is easier, I was utterly traumatized and just couldn't bring myself to go back to teaching. I had no idea what i was going to do with myself.


In december i went to visit my brother, who was studying in Copenhagen for the year. I knit him a sweater as a christmas present and i remember sitting in Heathrow during my layover, finishing seams and darning in yarn ends! I spent New Year's Eve in Berlin with a college friend and i witnessed the changover from the Mark to the Euro. Very, very awesome. Half of my backpack was full of Noro Kureyon because i was knitting the first version of the kureyon sweater (now my beloved Rosedale U.)



Back to the US for january, where the story gets depressing. Living completely on my own for the first time, hip deep in debt, i worked 3 jobs to get by. I worked as a Denny's waitress, math tutor, and at a local yarn store (where most of that paycheck went right back to them. employee discounts are evil). I lived in the crappiest efficiency apartment on the face of the planet. 1 room, made from a converted garage; it had terrible insulation and a big pole in the middle of the room. and BURNT ORANGE SHAG CARPET. Because heat was included in my rent, the landlords locked the thermostat at a ridiculously low temperature. I used to put ziploc baggies of ice cubes on it to force the heat to turn on. I had no friends and no social life, so i got a lot of knitting done. And i watched every possible second of the 2002 winter olympics.

Stick with me, i really am going somewhere with this.

Things were about to change. In the spring i got a "real job" in Worcester, MA. I moved to a nice apartment, got two adorable kittens, and started to make new friends. While there were still many roadbumps, things were looking up. (I would've never guess in early 2002 that Mitt Romney would later be my governor!) I settled into a new career and became a published scientist. I made so many wonderful friends and really loved my new city. I travelled to some cool places, learned to scuba dive and drive a scooter. Eventually, i met Big Orange and fell in love again. (awwwww.) This fall we started a whole new chapter in our lives. We moved to a new city, he started a new career, and i'm working towards getting a PhD in biology. Of course there are always bumps (grad student stipend, OUCH) and i really miss my "worcester family". But i'm very happy with my life in general, and i'm really amazed at how much things have changed in the span of 4 years. It feels like that was a million years ago. And i'm definitely going to reflect on that as i knit and watch the 2006 olympics!

What were you knitting/doing during the 2002 olympics? and 1998? care to go further?