Craptina

So Long Typepad!

Dear Typepad,

You've been a great hosting site for my knitting blog. You've seen my successful projects and disasters, my baking, travel adventures, and incessant kitty kat photo ops. We've suffered though long breaks without posting, navigating web tutorials for hours, and waiting patiently while I load too many photos at once. We were great at learning to blog together, but recently we've grown apart. You've been good to me, but I've met someone else. Someone who has more coding options and customizable interfacing. I think it's time we part ways. It's not you, it's me. Really.

We can still hang out, I just can't blog with you anymore. I'm still here for you, but I'll be over at my new blog. I will miss you.

Love,
Craptina

So about the bike....

 

It was stolen in the flipping courtyard of my building.

I don’t know what time it was taken. We have an overnight 7pm-7am security guard for christ’s sake. And he’s a great guy, but we often spend more time with him boozing it up in the courtyard than casting an unwelcome presence to our neighbors. The funny thing is that of the two bikes Big A and I own, they only took one, and the crappier one at that. The seat was terrible to ride on, that same seat was too low and my legs could never fully extend to rock some speed and only one gear handle worked. So I should be thankful that they took it, it’s an excuse to get another, better bicycle. But we can add Murphy’s Law to this scenario because I HAD a third bike and I sold it on craigslist last month.  

Ugh.

My bike was stolen. I'm so pissed.

podcasts!!

Not many of you know this, but I am a huge fan of podcasts. I listen to lots of shows and I'm a pretty loyal fan; it's rare I miss a show. Some of these are so good, I thought you should know about them if you don't already.

Sticks and String
This is a really great podcast about knitting, particularly about men and knitting. It's hosted by an Australian man, David Reidy, who is a teacher and lives with his two cats. The best part about this show is his essays. David is an excellent writer. He focuses on one aspect of knitting, and relates the rest of the show around the same idea. Some of his essays are about  knitting groups, giving projects away, how we face challenges, etc.  I ususally listen to this during my lunch hour, but I tend to skip over his musical choices. It's nothing personal, I never seem to like anything in the Podsafe music library, it usually sucks in my opinion. You can download this from itunes too :)

Knit Cast
Some of you probably already know about this show- and it's a shame there aren't more episodes. This show is set up like a news cast where Marie Irshad interviews knitwear designers. She travels to different knitting shows and conventions to interview various designers. The notice on her website promises to have new episodes in 2007. I'm holding my breath....

Savage Love
This is a podcast for those with a strong stomach. Dan Savage is a sex advice columnist, the author of Savage Love. He's a gay man with a partner and an adopted son. He's been writing for who knows how long; I've read Savage Love in the Village Voice and online every Wednesday morning for about 6 years now. The podcast is relatively new. The show is set up with live calls. Anyone can call in at 206-201-2720 and ask Dan a question. It's really hilarious to listen/read to other people's kink, questions, and experinces. He's written several books and you can find all of them on Amazon. On an interesting note, after the death of Ann Landers he won the auction to her desk.


How Urban Radio Saved My Life
This is a really great music show for old funk and 60s-70s dance. Lexi has a very insteresting style that I love to play on my computer at work when I need some backround tunes. It takes awhile to download from itunes, but it's totally worth it.

The New Celebrity
I don't really know how to describe this show, except to say that each episode is an entire farce. An old co-worker of mine, Chris Meyers, started this podcast with two of his friends just to entertain themselves. The first season is them maily poking fun at each other and making up stories, but  in the second season they got their act together a little more to incorporate some "reality-tv/raido" drama with love and murder. It doesn't quite make sense all the time, and you almost always want to smack Matt for being an overbearing dork, but in the end, it's a pretty funny show.


What podcasts or raido shows do you listen to?

6 weird things you don't want to know

Ok, I guess since everyone is doing it, I figured I would too. Therefore, without further ado, Six Weird Things You Probably Don't Know About Me:

1. I was a jazz enthusiast in junior high. I played the clarinet and I had a very modern Buddhist music teacher who would have me transpose Lester Young solos to clarinet. I was pretty good. In high school the music from the marching band was so awful I switched to the school orchestra. Apparently my guidance counselor wasn’t aware of the difference between the two, so I was the only woodwind in the orchestra. All the other kids played string instruments. Yep, it was kinda weird. The teacher was such a nut job-she was out sick for 4 months straight, and when she came back, it was just about playing a few measures and mostly talking about our teenage dilemmas.

2. I used to suck my thumb until I was 10 years old. Well, it wasn’t exactly only my thumb. It was my index finger and my thumb kind of twisted and pushed together. Anyway, I did this every day and night for so long that my right index finger is crooked.

3. Sometimes it takes me a moment to identify my right from left. I didn’t understand the difference as a child. Big A had this issue too. It’s part of what brings us together.

4. When I am very focused on something I bite on my tongue. It’s totally regressive, and I’m very embarrassed about it, but it’s one of those subconscious things that I don’t even know I’m doing.

5. I have an insane ability to remember phone numbers. I can remember the phone numbers of my friends growing up. If someone tells me their number, I can usually recall it shortly thereafter. I have no memory for names, movie directors, or shoe size. I will remember things like your favorite food, but then forget your birthday.

6. I am a pesto freak. I’ll make a batch, (the more garlickly the better), and put it on crackers, toast, or just eat it plain. Of course it goes on pasta, but I cannot get enough of the stuff.

27 things

Happy birthday to me!
Happy birthday to me!
Me me me me me me me meeeee
Happy birthday to me!

I’m 26 today. Today I launch into the 25+ bracket on the insurance forms. I feel my head is getting wider. I’m suddenly concerned about plaque.

The last year or two, my sister and I have made lists on our birthdays of ultimate goals to be completed within the year. Anyone who knows me IRL knows that I LOVE making lists. It’s so satisfying to cross off that line. So I made a list today of 27 things to do by the time I’m 27. (Eeek! 27? My Saturn turning? Scary!) Now not all of these will not be accomplished, but many of them will be motivators for adventure and experience-- and that’s the whole point of it. I may never really make a turducken, but I’m damn fascinated by it.

There will be a party announcement shortly- Austin's birthday is 12/5, so we're having a double wammie in the beginning of December. A moustache party to be exact, details to come.....

1. Knit a garment out of cashmere.
2. Make a turducken
3. Go skydiving
4. Plan or go on another international adventure
5. Lose the “bingo arm”
6. Rock out karaoke (no chickening out!)
7. Make a whole turkey just for fun, not on a holiday.
8. Jump in, head first.
9. Start another savings account and don’t dip in it.
10. Finish editing the short story.
11. Take salsa classes.
12. Visit Aunt Faye, she needs visitors.
13. Get out of credit card debt.
14. Buy more flowers.
15. Learn crochet.
16. Build a functional piece of furniture.
17. Make pasta from scratch.
18. Write a song.
19. Redesign this blog already.
20. Plan to not plan everything.
21. Train in Alexander technique.
22. Finally read The Man in the High Castle.
23. Be less bossy.
24. See an opera.
25. Lose the love handles.
26. Learn glass blowing.
27. Master pad thai.

The Big Winner

Yes, I know I promised house pics and kitties, but it's going to have to hold a few days more. I'm on my way to Vegas for a long weekend, baby! Austin's brohter is getting married, so we are flying out to be present for the most holiest matrimonious of the year. My online poker and gum-snapping skillz are on. The penny slot machines are calling my name. The bell bottoms are packed for when Elvis takes my hand....because I'm walking into that Waffle House white trash and I'm coming out a winner.

Schminternet

Foiled again! Another night has passed and there's still no internet at my apt. It suddenly died last week and my roomates and I have been hackling with verizon to get it back. We actually bought a phone jsut to test the landline, I hope they'll return it! I'm dying to post pictures of new knitting projects, stash yarn, flip flops, and spider pics from the renegade craft fair. I can't get my camera to hook up at my work computer, and who knows when the internet will be back up at home. Maybe I'll just make a trip to FIX and get it over with.

I will say that I've started working up the Trellis Scarf from the Spring 2006 IK. You remember this Evelyn Clark scarf- the k7tog-(gulp!) clusters. I'm tackling it well and it's looking pretty good so far. More to come, I think I'm gonna be a good blogger this week....

ipoderino

APPLE KICKS ASS!
Two years ago I bought a 20g 5th generation ipod and as all people know, life with an ipod is quite convenient. But the 5th generation and I didn't always see eye to eye and once in awhile it would just...die. I'd try to play some Shakka Kahn or Midnight Oil and it'd look at me funny and say "I hate this song, I think I'll kill myself."

So everyone knows there's no talking down an ipod from a bridge- once they jump, they're goners and you're gonna need a replacement. I went through three new buddies that all seemed to hate my music choice. Each album had certain selections that never got played because they were "kill triggers". And as the end of my extended warranty approached this August, I was desperate as my last replacement died upon trying to play "Barracuda"

I cannot live without "Barracuda."

I called the Applecare replacement hotline earlier this week and calmly asked that since my warranty was going to run out and this next (and fourth) replacement was probably going to die and then I'd be with out warranty and ipod, maybe I could get a credit or discount towards a new one since the likely-hood of suicide was evident. And here's where I love Apple. They are just amazing.

They're not going to give me a credit or a discount, they're going to upgrade my bad boy to a 30g video ipod FOR FREE! Can you believe it?! I can play all the George Michael I want and No machine will judge me- no more sad faces or bridge-jumping babies. Apple, you are totally kickass for standing behind your product :SMILES:

Crappy blogger

The haitus is nearly over, and I have realized although I'm not a very good blogger, I have good intentions. I read your posts more often than you know, but am a retard about commenting.

The web-Virginia is not as flakey as the tangible-Virginia

Pictures on my new diggs, new office, knitting projects, and the complete thailand ablum shall be up soon. Life is finally slowing down.