The Agony and the Ecstasy of Sock Knitting

I have a conflicted relationship with sock knitting.  Much like fellow knitting law student Emilee, I'm not really a huge fan of knitting socks.  I find them to be fiddely.  Sure its easy enough to make the cuff and then flap but then you need to remember the proper way to turn a heel and pick up stitches and then decrease those extra stitiched you just picked up.  Now I'm not saying that knitting a sweater is straight forward either but at least the needles aren't so darn tiny and fragile.  I know I've bent several sets of DPNs out of shape.

But then you know wool socks and are just so nice.  They're cozy and warm.  I have one pair of socks I made that actually fits, the others suffer from gauge issues and picking up too many stitches, and I wear those socks all the time.  I'd wear them everyday if it was socially acceptable to do such a thing.  I sincerely believe that the key to happiness in a New England winter is wool socks and a good pair of boots. 

So how do I deal with my dislike of sock knitting but love of the end product?  I knit them anyway and hope that I'll learn to love the process.  I do think its growing on me.

But more importantly, does one sock count as an FO?