Friday, February 28, 2003
1. What is your favorite type of literature to read (magazine, newspaper, novels, nonfiction, poetry, etc.)? My gut reaction is to say novels all the way, but in the last year or two I've developed a sudden taste for non-fiction. Biographies, travel books, philosophy... you name it. So it's probably 50-50 right now. 2. What is your favorite novel? Oh, good grief. I don't know. Douglas Coupland's Microserfs is probably the book that I've owned the most copies of. I just keep lending it to people and then having to buy a new one. The ending makes me bawl. 3. Do you have a favorite poem? (Share it!) I went through a period of affectation in high school where I memorised a bunch of Edgar Allen Poe's poems and thought I was, like, so deep. Nowadays I'm willing to admit that I don't care for poetry that much. It's one of my big problems with The Lord of the Rings, actually. As soon as somebody launches into a song my mind begins to wander. 4. What is one thing you've always wanted to read, or wish you had more time to read? To my everlasting geek shame, I've only read one Terry Pratchett book, and I haven't read any of the Dune books. I know, I know... 5. What are you currently reading? A biography of Lucille Ball, and Gregory Maguire's latest novel Lost. I also just finished The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton, which I loved. I'm going to have to rent the movie now to see how it compares. After that, the Snook and I are taking turns picking books for each other. I've got him reading the His Dark Materials trilogy, and I think he's going to make me slog through some James Bonds. Should be fun...
Thursday, February 27, 2003
 Gryffindor Stocking CapHere's my latest knitting project, a stocking cap that I whipped up earlier this week. As you can see, I'm still trying to use up leftover bits of Harry Potter scarf yarn. The pattern is pretty easy to follow and it's a good one to get familiar with using double-pointed needles (for knitting in the round). The only part I had trouble with was the tassel. Mine is all kinds of wonky. But the rest is cute, huh?
Wednesday, February 26, 2003
The show also included a number of interviews with people around Micheal Jackson: his parents, his make-up artist, etc. I was most interested in Debbie Rowe (his former wife and the mother of his children). I kinda wanted to see how she'd justify the whole "giving my babies to Micheal Jackson" thing. Turns out that I actually kinda understand her reasoning. He was her friend and he wanted kids, so she had them for him. I've jokingly made similar offers to gay friends in the past. So I can kinda see that. Overall Rowe came off a lot less weird than I expected. As I summarized below, the overall impression I had after the show was, yeah, Martin Bashir is sort of a jerk, but that doesn't mean Micheal is any less weird. In fact, some of the extra material they showed made him sound even more wacky. ("The chimps help you clean the house? Sure, Snow White.") I also liked the bit at the very very end, where Povich read some statement from Bashir that he really liked Micheal and he'd never seen him do anything illegal. It was so obviously such a "See? It's not libel!" moment. Way to cover your ass, Povich. (You know how you're supposed to add "... in bed!" to the end of your fortune cookie fortunes? Well, I inadvertantly invented a new version of that game for use with this show. It was during an interview with Jackson's makeup artist and she was all, "Bashirs will come and go, but Micheal... He will live forever." And I snorted, "Yeah... in his hyperbaric chamber!" It was really funny at the time. You can tack it on just about every soundbite in this stupid show for added amusement. I recommend it.)
Sunday, February 23, 2003
 Sock Monkeys Galore!Well, the Walk Against Want was today, and unfortunately yours truly was too sick to take part. I don't think this amoxycillin is doing the trick. Anyhoo, I still plan on tackling the distance (15 km) on the treadmill as soon as I'm able. To thank my three sponsors, I spent the day crafting sock monkeys for them. Aren't they cute? They're actually much better than the first one I made for the Snook (but don't tell him that). And don't forget, if you want one of your own you can enter my Oscar Contest. Saturday, February 22, 2003
 Last week I went to an "Introduction to Jewelry Making" workshop at the Bead Company near my house. I made the necklace, bracelet, and earrings pictured here. It was pretty much straight stringing; nothing as complicated as I'd already done with the flower necklace. But I learned how to use wire and crimps to make sturdier jewelry with nicer clasps. The necklace and earrings both use crystal-cut hematite and pink glass beads, while the bracelet is made up of funky cut glass and shiny silver spacers. I had a lot of fun at the Glebe Markets today checking out the price that similar stuff was going for. I saw earrings exactly like mine for $20! I can now make the same pair for $2. I'm never going to overpay people for stuff I can make myself again.
1. What is your most prized material possession? I'd have to say my iBook. It's the most expensive (I don't have a car or anything) and it's definitely the thing I'd grab if the house was on fire. Next is probably my copy of "The Gremlins", Roald Dahl's extremely rare first book. 2. What item, that you currently own, have you had the longest? It's hard to say, since all of my really old stuff is still in various family members' basements in the U.S. Most of the stuff I have here is fairly recent. The oldest thing here is probably my copy of "The Twenty-One Balloons" by William Pene du Bois. I bought it at a book fair in the third grade and I think I've read it about 100 times. It's dog eared and battered, but I love it. And I always smile when I see my third grade signature inside the cover. 3. Are you a packrat? Nope, I'm the opposite. I'm always throwing stuff away and then realizing later that I should've kept it. The Snook, however, is a HUGE packrat. Like, to the point of stockpiling cardboard boxes and styrofoam "just in case" we ever need them. We drive each other crazy, but he keeps me in envelopes and cardboard and I keep him from being a crazy old man in a house full of garbage. 4. Do you prefer a spic-and-span clean house? Or is some clutter necessary to avoid the appearance of a museum? I dream of a spic-and-span house. In the immortal words of Edina Monsoon, "Surfaces, darling! Surfaces!" Unfortunately the only time I ever even came close to this dream was the few short weeks in London when we had a cleaning woman come in twice a week. That was the best. 5. Do the rooms in your house have a theme? Or is it a mixture of knick-knacks here and there? The individual rooms don't have a theme, but believe it or not, the Snook and I had a "theme" when buying furniture. We decided we liked A) light wood and B) primary colors. Hence our unvarnished IKEA, blue couch, and red TV stand. But in terms of, like, decorations, we don't have much. We've got a shelf dedicated to our various Star Wars toys. We've also got a couple nice antique maps on the wall that were given to us as a going away present in London. But other than that, it's pretty bare around here.
Friday, February 21, 2003
She's a shoo-in to win, according to the entries I've received for the Oscar Contest. Check out those nifty pie graphs! Those images are all generated on the fly by PHP from the database tallies. There are some surprises in there. Like, I can't believe how many of y'all expect that Big Fat Greek Wedding woman to win. Yeah, I know it was a big cultural thing in the U.S., and it did okay business over here, but I never thought of it as Oscar-worthy. Maybe it's because most Australians actually know real Greek people... :) (Also, some people might want to re-think their tiebreaker guess. You're supposed to predict how many extra minutes the show will run beyond the allotted time, not how long it will be overall. A couple people had guesses up around the 3-hour mark. Just e-mail me if you wanna change yours...)
Thursday, February 20, 2003
 Snookums and the Art of ZenWe recently cleaned up our office and uncovered the long-forgotten zen garden. Here's what the Snook created. Any interpretations? Personally, I find it interesting that the rocks are "unbalanced" and seem bunched up on one side. Also note that he's "buried" the rocks beneath layers of straight lines. So perhaps this "unbalanced" side is something that's contained and buried deep within. Or maybe he just likes making straight lines with the little rake. *shrug* I dunno.
Wednesday, February 19, 2003
 Enter my Oscar Contest 2003!Since I always suck at predicting these things, I've decided to share my humiliation with y'all. How many can Academy Award winners you get right? It only takes a second to enter and the person with the highest score gets a custom-made sock monkey!
Me: So I took the antibiotics like you said and they made me feel better, but I finished them on Monday and Tuesday night I woke up with a sore throat and a headache. Dr: Sounds like you've still got the bug! He shines his little light down my throat again. Dr: They certainly look... juicy. Me: JUICY?? Dr.: I recommend that you have another course of antibiotics, and that you have your tonsils removed soon. Me: REMOVED?? So that appears to be that. The Snook thinks I should get a second opinion before agreeing to have bits lopped off. Personally I'm a little nervous about the whole prospect. I've never had an operation in my life. Any of you had your tonsils taken out? Tuesday, February 18, 2003
Monday, February 17, 2003
Anyway, my Pet Peeve O' The Day: people who touch your computer monitor while pointing at something and leave greasy fingerprints all over it. That drives me nuts! Okay, now it's your turn to vent...
Sunday, February 16, 2003
 "Tens of thousands attend Sydney peace rally." Yes, the Snook and I were among them, and yes, we made those T-shirts ourselves. (Full props to the ladies at Glitter for inspiring my slogan.) I've posted my pictures from the event here.Did you go to a demonstration? Did you not go for any specific reason? We wanna hear about it. Saturday, February 15, 2003
1. Explain why you started to journal/blog. The biggest reason is that I was thousands of miles away from my family and friends and, well, phone bills are expensive. It was an easy way for the fam to keep up with my life. In addition to that, I'm addicted to the Internet and I talk a lot. I like to code and figure out stuff. I'm also kind of a fame-whore. So yeah, it was all those. 2. Do people you interact with day to day or family members know about your journal/blog? Why or why not? Yep. Pretty much everybody knows about it. I even put it on my CV nowadays, just so employers aren't surprised if they discover it later. I know that some folks get off on the anonymity of the Web, but personally I find that rather dehumanizing. It's so much nicer to think that a website actually represents a real human person. That's why I made it a priority to be known and accountable on my site. It forces me and everybody who visits the site to remember that we're all individuals, and I think it results in less flamage and a higher level of discourse. Plus, like I said, I'm a big fame-whore. 3. Do you have a theme for your journal/blog? Not really. It goes through phases depending on my current interests - like now, when it's "Craft-O-Rama 24/7!" - but that's not really a conscious choice. As my header graphic indicates, the overall theme is probably just "Me". 4. What direction would you like to have your journal/blog go in over the next year? You know what? To be honest, I hope it continues on exactly as it has. We've got such a good little community built up here and I don't want that to change. I'm certainly not going to do anything different. 5. Pimp five of your favorite journals/blogs. My favorites are listed down on the right, and I love 'em all. If you held a gun to my head, though, I'd have to admit that the five sites I seem to check most often are Lots of Co., Sore Eyes, Scrubbles, defective yeti, and Krisalis. They all blog about such different things and they've always got new content up. I'm a sucker for frequent updates. :)
Friday, February 14, 2003
Thursday, February 13, 2003
Dr: What seems to be the problem? Me: Well, my throat started getting sore on Sunday night and Monday I just felt awful, with fever and chills and aches. I stayed home that day thinking it was just the flu. I haven't gotten any better though, and my throat is getting worse. Last night I looked at it and, well, it's pretty gross. Dr: Let me see... He shines a little light down my throat for, like, 2 seconds. Dr: Yep! I'll write you a prescription. You want a note for work? Have a nice day! That was seriously it. Elapsed time: about as long as it took you to read that. I walked out with my amoxycillin prescription and an excuse note for work. Plus since my doctor bulk-bills (i.e. only charges $25, which the government covers for office visits), I didn't have to pay a cent. It was seriously the best doctor's visit of my life.
Wednesday, February 12, 2003
Update: I've used .htaccess to block all external image serving. If I was hosting an image for you and it's now appearing broken, let me know and I'll add it to the exception list.
 Look what I made! I was feeling so crappy when I was home sick Monday that I decided to make myself something pretty to compensate. I started flipping through a bead magazine that Ma Snook recently sent me. There I found instructions to make this great "flower" necklace. I'm a sucker for these things, but I always feel ripped off when I pay some craft fair hippie ten bucks for one. It didn't look too hard so I decided to give it a shot. I nipped round the corner to pick up the supplies and then plopped myself down on the couch. I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but the end result is just gorgeous (if I do say so myself). The actual construction time was, like, 90 minutes, but that was with me watching Friends, Malcolm, and Millionaire at the same time. In other words, this is a super easy project even if you're a total beginner. If you want to make your own, just read on for the instructions! [more...]
Anybody up for joining me in a Yahoo! Pick 'Em game? They haven't posted it yet, but I'm sure they will. If there's interest I'll start one up... Tuesday, February 11, 2003
Monday, February 10, 2003
 Somebody recently e-mailed me to say that the pattern I linked for the Funky Chicken Pincushions has disappeared. In lieu I've written down the instructions as I remember them, along with a few crude drawings. Read on if you're interested... [more...]
 If you're anything like me, you often visit Scrubbles and get depressed by all the cool things Matt seems to acquire. Not that they aren't great... just that seeing someone with taste makes me feel guilty that practically our whole house is furnished by IKEA. Anyhoo, on Sunday the Snook and I were heading out to breakfast (lazy people!) when we discovered that a nearby vintage antiques store was going out of business. We bought all kinds of stuff, but the things I was most happy about were these two sets of aluminum drinking glasses. My aunt's had a set for ages and I always thought they were just the coolest things ever. So now I've finally got some! Each set of four comes in it's own little picnic carrying case with a bottle opener. I'm so in love with them that I think I'm going to have to collect some more. So if you come across any, let me know!Sunday, February 9, 2003
[Edited to add: Okay, I just realized that sounds very Asshole American "Where's the McDonald's?" Tourist, which wasn't what I intended. See, they already have regular Vanilla Coke here. I'm just annoyed that they haven't brought out a diet version. The Golden Grahams thing is more a reaction to the lack of cinnamon and graham flavored products here. (No "Big Red" gum either.) Okay, the Dinty Moore thing is ridiculous, and I can't really fault them there. I just miss it. But as for the TiVo... I really don't get this. A) They already have a PAL version they did for the UK. B) It's not like they'd have to translate any of the menus or documentation. C) There are several existing cable setups here that, I can only imagine, would love to offer a bundled system. So what's the damn holdup? Anyway, just trying to prove I'm not being totally irrational here...]
Saturday, February 8, 2003
Friday, February 7, 2003
1. What did you have for breakfast this morning? If you didn't have breakfast, why not? Nothing. I was hungover like a dog. Why do 'morning afters' get worse as you get older? I don't remember feeling this crappy ever in college. 2. What's your favorite cereal? Golden Grahams. I'd kill for a bowl right now, but I can't find it overseas and I don't want to pay $10 a box to an importer. 3. How often do you eat out? Do you want that to change? We eat out a lot, at least once a week (if not more). We're lazy, we can afford it, and we enjoy good food. I just always have a nagging feeling of guilt about it. Must be the Hoosier upbringing. 4. What do you plan on having for dinner tonight? Got a recipe for that? The Snook is making me his Thai green curry. It's phenomenal. Chicken, coconut cream, lemongrass, garlic, onion, and lots of wonderful veggies... I'm salivating. 5. What's your favorite restaurant? Why? It changes a lot, mostly because there's so much variety here. I mean, my favorite Newtown cafe at the moment is Lamina, which is right down the block. They have great coffee and food and I like the atmosphere. In terms of a proper restaurant, I love Wagamama's, a chain of Japanese noodle bars. And if you're talking really fancy, you can't beat Rockpool. I took the Snook there for his birthday last year. It was one of the most memorable dining experiences of my life.
For future reference, I'm really happy to have people put the Valentine on their sites. I've gotten some great thank you comments in the past week or two and I'm just glad that folks like it. But if you want to display it, save it to your hard drive, upload it to your own web host, and source it from there. (You're welcome to link - as in, <a href="whatever"> - to it all you want. I'm just talking about people who do this - <img src="whatever">.) I know this is a controversial issue, and I've had lengthy arguments about it with the Snook. Some people think that everything posted on the 'Net is fair game. I think of it as more a question of courtesy. For example, consider the little old lady that gives away samples of food at the grocery store. Sure, they're free, and theoretically you could sit in front of her all day eating the samples without any intention of buying the food. But it's a jerk move, you know? Just because something is free doesn't mean you should hog it, especially without asking the permission of the giver. Am I in the minority here? Does that sound totally irrational? I'm really asking, because it just seems like there are fewer people who care about such niceties, and more people who are only interested in taking whatever they can. And it didn't help that I was hungover today. Thursday, February 6, 2003
 I'm too sexy for this scarf.I've been waiting for Moire (who just set a wedding date!) to receive the scarves I made her before I showed them off. Since she got them today... here they are! {Don't worry, Moire; he doesn't have cooties.} The Gryffindor scarf shown here was acrylic and turned out really long. The Slytherin was 100% wool (some gorgeous soft Tasmanian stuff that I'm now obsessed with) but is wider and shorter. Read on to see more of the Snook's modeling poses. [more...]
 As some of you know, the Snook and I participated in the Walk Against Want last year. The Walk raises funds to help poor communities in over 30 developing countries worldwide. The Snook and I managed over $150, thanks mostly to the kind donations of you readers. Thanks for that.Well, it's that time again. This year's walk will take place in a few weeks and I've decided I'm going to do it. I've signed up for the 15 kilometer walk, which is over 9 miles. Anybody want to sponsor me? American dollars and British pounds go pretty far here, so you don't have to donate very much to make an impact. You can even use PayPal to send me the cash (and I'll cover the transaction costs myself). In addition to the warm glow of helping out your fellow man, each person who donates will also receive something hand-crafted by me. I'm not sure what it'll be yet (it depends on how many people donate), but I'm leaning towards marble magnets and maybe even sock monkeys (for the very generous). If you're a tight-ass, I can even send you a receipt so you can deduct it from your taxes. So what are you waiting for? Send me an e-mail or leave a comment if you'd like to help out. Wednesday, February 5, 2003
My brother is a sophomore in college and I asked him recently what he'd like me to knit him. He said a hat would be nice, and that "the more unique the better". This is what I came up with. (Don't worry; he never reads the site so it won't ruin the surprise.) I based it on this pattern for an "ear flap hat". Instead of using the provided zig-zag design, though, I decided to try my hand at doing some fair isle knitting. So I laid out a design using the name of his university in their school colors. It came out pretty well! Slightly wonky shaped, but I figure some blocking this weekend (i.e. me wearing it around the house a lot) will square it up. Now I'm wondering... Should I put a pompom on top? He said "unique." Would any of you guys actually wear a hat with a pompom on it? Is this whole discussion moot because it's so dorky he'd never wear it regardless? Please advise. (I've set up a poll to register your thoughts on the issue.)
Tuesday, February 4, 2003
 Which Operating System are You?Nooooooooooo! Nobody tell the Snook. He'd never let me hear the end of it. (Link courtesy of John.)
I've said it before and I'll say it again: Michael Jackson needs a good PR person to tell him to stop talking about children whenever he gets interviewed. And before the psycho Michael defenders get all up in arms, I didn't say anything bad about him, just that the fact that his name and "kids" keep getting linked in the media repeatedly isn't good. You know, what with him being an accused pedophile and all. Later: Okay, we just watched "Living with Michael Jackson", the big special interview he did that's airing in, like, every country this week. I actually found myself feeling sorry for him at times. Of course, he's still a complete nutjob. He's clearly got some body dysmorphic disorder going on. And what was up with his special climbing tree? It had steps! "He's a cheating bastard," said the Snook. I had to agree.
Monday, February 3, 2003
Sunday, February 2, 2003
In short, I went in expecting to complain. Instead I came out raving. This is, like, Moulin Rouge good. Oh, and I felt really cool for correctly spotting "Mya" as one of Cell Block Tango girls. :)
Saturday, February 1, 2003
1. As a child, who was your favorite superhero/heroine? Why? Much like every other girl of my generation, I had Wonder Woman Underoos. Why? Because she kicked ass and looked pretty! 2. What was one thing you always wanted as a child but never got? A Snoopy Sno-Cone Machine. 3. What's the furthest from home you've been? At this very moment, I am 9,438 miles from home. London was only a third of that distance. This is definitely the farthest. 4. What's one thing you've always wanted to learn but haven't yet? Korean. I've got the books, I've got the CD... I just haven't gotten around to it yet. 5. What are your plans for the weekend? Today we're going to see Chicago (the movie) with our friend Steve. I'd also like to go to the gym, clean up the house, and finish my dad's birthday present.
That said, I'm wondering what you veggos think. (Like my Aussie slang?) Do you thinks she's overstated improvements in the industry to justify her meat cravings? (Link courtesy of John, who already has a heated discussion going on over at his site.) |
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archives
You can search through the archives by post keyword using the form on the left, or you can browse by month using the links at the bottom.
"Moblog" refers to posts and images posted directly from my mobile phone.
"PW Blog" refers to posts recovered from my very first weblog, which dealt with news related to my college dorm. |
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