PJ Trader

Hey everyone.  This is your resident girl-geek.

I have been trying to win a new computer through a contest called 31 Days of the Dragon.  31 different tech-blog sites are having various contests.  I’ve entered 7 of the 9 so far.  On the first one, at AbsoluteVista.com, I came in 2nd, but that didn’t help much.  I was really bummed too, ’cause my story (while weak at the end ’cause I rushed to finish it) was far better than most of the entries. 

But the good news is, on another site, I’m a finalist.  But in order to win, I need your help!  I need votes and they have to be in by 6pm Eastern time on May 13th - that’s Tues night here in the US. 

To see the whole contest, CLICK HERE:

I’m finalist #8.  Please make sure you notice my artistic arrangement.  I didn’t know I could send in more than one picture of my stoof.

And you could win a prize too.  To vote for me, send an email with the subject line “And the winner is” to dragoncontest@bostonpocketpc.com.  Put my finalist number (#8) and a comment on why you think my gear bag is the winner.  Include your full name in order to be eligible for a drawing for prizes that include a neat vertical gear bag, a Xbox 360 game, or a portable hard drive.

Here’s the official rules, in case I missed something.

All comments, votes and feedback will have to be in by 6PM Eastern Daylight Savings Time US May 13th 2008. The winner(s) will then be notified by email and posted here on Boston Pocket PC with their name and winning entry on May 14th 2008.

Again those that give feedback and comment (1 per person) on who should win - (by giving the Finalist# and why they should win) by sending an email with your full name to: dragoncontest@bostonpocketpc.com with the subject “And the winner is” will be entered in a random drawing for some other prizes mentioned here. To be eligible for the random drawing you have to submit the requested information.

And if you’re looking for reasons why I should win, feel free to be creative.  After all, that’s one of the things we do best!

Thanks so much in advance - I owe every one of you who send in a vote a drink!

P.S.  Feel free to vote using your husband’s name, get your coworkers and friends to vote for me too?  This is one of the few contests where we have some control over who wins and I’d appreciate every vote I can get.  I don’t want to be a bridesmaid again!

Unfortunately, it’s only one vote per person, so keep it legal!

M. asked if he could help me take out the trash today.  Sigh. 

I was whining to Lisa last night about my next two weeks, being stuck in a large meeting all day long.  One of the problems is that I don’t have an active role in this meeting.  I’m a sort of gopher-coffee maker-runner person who also has to try to learn what these people do for a living so when I go out to train them this summer, I sound like I know what I’m talking about.

The upside of sitting in this conference is M.  M is from Greece.  He sort of looks like Goran Visnjic’s brother.  Need I say more?

Saturday I had to venture over to the big city of St. Louis to attend a local RWA chapter meeting.  After a nice gabby lunch with fellow writers, I took myself over to a LYS in Kirkwood, fittingly called the Kirkwood Knittery.

I went to buy a ticket to Stitch ‘N Pitch.  On May 28th, I will join hundreds (???) of other St. Louis needlework enthusiasts to root on the St. Louis Cardinals.  We’ll sit in some nosebleed section of the stadium and play with our yarn and needles.  I’ve heard there are tote bags full of goodies, a drawing to go down on the field and watch batting practice, and who knows what else.

When I was buying the ticket, the salesperson asked me to fill out a slip for a drawing.  Since free stuff is always good, I filled away while asking “what for?”  A trip down to the field to watch batting practice.  Apparently I actually am one of the few women in the shop who likes both baseball and needlework, as a I mentioned that I hoped we’d stop leaving runners stranded by the end of May.  (The saleswomen in the store didn’t have a clue what I was talking about.)  I wonder if we should knit up some baseballs to give to the guys if I win that drawing?

Since it would be rude (wouldn’t it?) to have gone into the store for the sole purpose of buying a baseball game ticket, I carefully explored each bin of the cramped store to see what they had.  A lot.  I didn’t recognize many of the brands, and the rather high prices were a shocker ($63 for one hank I petted).  Since, of course, I am queen of the cheap acrylic yarn.

But I found this Malabrigo laceweight towards the front of the store on my second circuit and I couldn’t put it down.   (And I was thrilled that 470 yds of this 100% baby merino was only $10.  THAT I can afford.  Although apparently the Addi Turbo needles I bought cost more than the yarn.  Hmmm.)

The pattern color is called “Loro Barranquero”, which means “Burrowing Parrot”.  Here’s what they look like: 

The store also sold me a pattern called “Restuarant Stole” because I liked the display model so much.  Very simple pattern, they said.  (Uh, picot cast on?)  A very interesting element is that you “kill” the stole during the finishing process by ironing it on high heat with lots of steam! 

Maybe I’ll make the stole at Stitch ‘N Pitch. 

No, better not.  I might spill mustard from my hot dog on the yarn!