Gauge makes no sense

Ever notice how the math involved in gauge makes no sense?

Like, I knit Treads using worsted weight yarn. The pattern says size 5 needles for a gauge of 6 sts to an inch. The Bernat silky was a loose yarn, so somehow dropping 3 needle sizes worked out perfectly. Now here I am with some lion brand worsted trying to knit the same pattern again. At us2 I'm getting a measly 4 1/2 sts an inch, dropping down to 00's gives me only a 1/2 sts increase to 5 sts an inch. What? The majority of the people who knit this pattern did so using size 5 (or bigger!) ??? Is my personal knitting really THAT lose in comparison to other people? Is it really such a shock that Hey-Teach turned out too big for me despite frantic swatching? Am I just really dumb and doing something retarded with my ruler? Only time can tell. (Or, possibly, any knitting goddess that may or may not exist.)

Meh. /rant

In other news, incase anyone was wondering. Apparently, I am still a 12-year-old girl. Was at the mall the other day getting sibblings' hair cut and wondered into Claire's..... and had the teenage girl version of a 'kid in a candy shop' glee attack. I think I was hyperventilating at one point. I spent a lot of time freaking out over all of the zipper themed jewelry.... I scored this ring :

But there were dozens of variations on necklaces and earrings too. This was my first time seeing the zipper motif in jewelry, and I felt like I'd died and gone to heaven. Of course, appropriate time was spent ogling the skull-and-cross-bones jewelry and the skeleton key necklaces, but those are all old hat compared to the zipper.

Oh, speaking of hats.

Ok. I think I'll stop now. Suffice it to say that, what started out as a chore (Mall, kids hair cut, remember? ) turned into an early Christmas for me. lolz.