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Wednesday, May 31, 2006
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Moblog:
 Being dirty is fun!
I locked myself out of the house so I'm stuck throwing pottery in my work clothes. Isn't my little vase pretty?
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It's going to be that sort of day...
This morning on the bus I was stuck between a woman wearing a Feathers scarf and a woman who was CLIPPING HER FINGERNAILS. (And we're not talking just giving a quick trim to a snagged nail; she was doing a full-on manicure and - as far as I could tell - dumping the clippings on the windowsill.) The sad thing is, I really couldn't decide which was more offensive.
Monday, May 29, 2006
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Well, that was quick. Rogue's done!
 
Except for the zipper. She's so nice and warm! The 4-stitch I-cord edging down the front was harder to start than I expected. My first attempt turned out way too tight and curly. It took me a while to realize that my beautiful chain selvedge had one stitch for every two rows; therefore I needed to do alternate plain rows of I-cord between the rows where I joined it to the picked up body stitches. Then I noticed that my instructions had me knitting the last stitch and body stitch together through the back of the loop, which looked crappy when I then knitted the resulting stitch through the front of the loop on the subsequent plain row. (Trust me; it makes perfect sense when you're doing it.) So I pulled it apart and decided to always knit that last stitch through the back. Then there was the grafting... and while mine isn't seamless, it's good enough. (Personally, I don't think it's possible to seamlessly graft a four-stitch three-dimensional tube onto a four-stitch curled stockinette edging. But whatever.) There's some noticeable bulk there, but I figure that my zipper should end right about there anyway and that might disguise it. Once I find my zip, I think she needs one more good blocking. The sleeves could probably use another inch or two, and I still think that folded hem could lay flatter. But she's finished!
Bring on the Arockalypse!
Many, many thanks to Jussi for the surprise package of Eurovision winner Lordi's entire back catalog! I can't wait for my next run so I can rock out to such classics as "Hard Rock Hallelujah," "Bringing the Balls Back to Rock," "Would You Love a Monsterman?" and "The Deadite Girls Gone Wild."
Sunday, May 28, 2006
What happens when five bloggers - me, Amy, Rob, Morgan, and Andrew - all go out to dinner together? We race back home to see who can be the first to post about it! (I live closest to the restaurant; hence I WIN!) This was the Snook's and my second outing to Baja Cantina in Glebe, and while the food was again excellent, the service left a lot to be desired. We'll cut them some slack since they're new but they really need to pick up their game if they're going to survive. I went with the Steak Chimichanga tonight - very meaty and good - while the Snook had chicken enchiladas. (He said they weren't as "saucy" as the ones he's had before, but he enjoyed them.) We also sampled the chipotle prawn appetizer (fairly ordinary, I thought) and the red sangria (dangerously smooth and tasty). I can't decide which is the more amazing - that the Snook survived two hours as the only non-blogger in the group, or that there were four hardcore photobloggers at our table and not one photo was taken? I'm as surprised as you are.
Rogue Blocking
Blocking's one of those things you don't really get when you start out knitting. I'd read references to it in patterns and books, but it always seemed like a weird idea to iron my knitting. I just knew it was something you were supposed to do. I tried it on my first Gryffindor scarf, mostly because I'd seamed the thing and I wanted it to lie flat without twisting. Of course, I'd also knitted it out of crappy acrylic yarn and I didn't realize that applying heat would be a bad idea. I didn't melt it, but I definitely took a lot of the body out of the yarn. It went really drapey and limp. (My sister liked it though, so no harm done.) Eventually I learned that only animal fibres should be heat-blocked, and that for the fake stuff you have to just wet it and let it dry. So from then on, I blocked sporadically when it seemed like the pieces needed it. Blocking is also great for straightening up pieces before sewing them together, but since I knit most of my garments in the round, I haven't had this problem.
 But now there's Rogue... and she's been sitting in a bag for nearly a month while I got up the courage to seam. So tonight, I blocked. What a difference a steam makes! Look at these two sleeves. One flat and smooth and beautiful; one lumpy and curled and homely. (I have to just say, I am completely in love with the Naturally Harmony. This is the nicest wool I've ever knit with, and blocking just makes it even softer and nicer. I must knit more with it.) For the curious, I pinned out each sleeve in turn on my ironing board and then overlaid it with a damp tea towel. Then I used my iron to press down and steam the piece before letting it sit to dry. (I really am going to have to have the Snook help me make a blocking board soon.) And then I was so entranced by the lovely flat pieces that I just sat right down and started seaming! The Snook and I watched Laputa: Castle in the Sky while I patiently seamed the arms. I usually hate doing this; my seams always end up too rigid and bulky. But because I'd had the forethought to do a chain selvedge, it was easy as pie. Now all I have to do is set them in! Maybe I'll get to wear this beauty before winter's over...
Saturday, May 27, 2006
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And the Sale has officially begun! Now I'm going to chill.
Friday, May 26, 2006
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Can you do me a favour? Go to the shop website and tell me what you see. You should get a holding page since I'm working on the site. I just want to make sure I'm not letting anybody else in...
Thursday, May 25, 2006
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Stupid Customer of the Day: So this Canadian lady was here on holiday and bought a $280 tapestry kit imported from England. When she got home to Canada, she discovered her local store was selling it for $80 cheaper. That's such a "huge discrepancy;" did we make a mistake? *blink blink* Okay, who doesn't know that it's more expensive to buy just about anything in Australia than it is North America? DURRRR. Example: The low-end MacBook costs USD $1099, which should equate to AUD $1461. Yet the price the Australian Apple store charges is AUD $1749, nearly $300 more! I found a six pack of Heineken selling for USD $7.49, which equates to AUD $9.95. Yet Coles are selling the same product here for AUD $15.99! This is the reality Australians live with everyday. We're bloody far from everywhere else, so that means a lot of stuff ends up costing more. And if you're some idiot from overseas who doesn't get the concept, that's not my fault.
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
The Snook would like it to be known that the emphatic answer to the question "What's your favorite beer?" should always be: "My beer!" Yeah, it's winter and he's in brewing mode again.
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My pottery class was very zen and relaxing tonight, mostly because I went very slowly and didn't screw anything up. I started by turning my kinda crappy straight-sided pot from the first week, which had finally dried to the "leather hard" stage. Peter showed us how to put a "foot" on the base. It turns out I rock at turning! My foot looked, like, professional. I'm not kidding. The girl at the wheel next to mine wouldn't shut up about it. (My inner Hermione was, pathetically, in ecstasy.) Then I cleared that away and got ready to throw another pot. As I'm a big nerd, I read through all thirty pages of notes Peter gave us last week so I felt pretty confident about the specifics of the technique. I centered it really quickly and pulled up the sides into my thinnest, straightest column yet. Then I decided to try "collaring" it, where you squeeze in with your hands to make it curve in. It worked! I then pulled up the top a little more and ended up with a lovely fluted vase. I can't wait to glaze it...
I'd totally buy shoes that talk to my iPod! And I'm not a sheep either, for I have waxed rhapsodic over interactive shoes before...
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
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DietBlog: We all got Bravo Stars tonight just for turning up. That's how nasty, cold, and wet it was outside. (Note to self: I know your Crocs are your lightest footwear, but next time rethink the decision to go out in a gale wearing shoes with holes in them.) It was nevertheless a good meeting for me though. I got to reconnect with Kathryn and - yay! - register another loss. Remember how I excited I was to see a seven? Well tonight I saw two of 'em! That's right baby, 77.6kg! (I'm less than half a pound from fifty pounds' loss total.) I honestly didn't know what to expect on the scales. Last week I was just in this stress and weather-induced CARB FRENZY and I seriously binged every single night. I didn't feel like I was putting on weight though; I felt more like my body was telling me that it wanted the extra energy. Then I had a blowout on Friday night - lots of red wine, tapas, and peri-peri fries. Saturday and Sunday were good recovery days though, and I've done a ton of walking and exercise. So I guess it all works out! This is just a crazy time for my metabolism and I probably shouldn't try to fight it.
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Ooh, Mary-Helen just alerted me to the fact that World Wide Knit in Public day is coming up soon! Any of you Sydney knitters interested in joining me? I'm trying to think where the best place might be. We've done the park before... How about Darling Harbour or the Opera House? I love the shirts but I don't know if we could get them in time...
Yay! Congratulations to my good friend Nat on defending his thesis and earning his PhD as, like, a rocket scientist or astrophysicist or something. (I suppose I should feel guilty for enabling all the beer he drink in London. I probably helped kill of the brain cells that might have gotten us to Mars!) And much love and commiseration to Staci and the girls for surviving this long process...
Monday, May 22, 2006
Huh. Rob dialed 911 last night (in a legitimate emergency) and it worked just fine! (The Australian number for emergency services is actually 000.) I probably would've done the same thing. When we last got robbed in the shop, I went to ring the cops and got paralyzed when all I could think was "911! NO! NOT 911! WHAT THE HELL IS IT?" So it's good to know that Telstra's got my back.
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The Baby stares into my soul...
I've started making my training public again, down there on the right. Might keep me more honest.
Sunday, May 21, 2006
ARGH. As we were walking yesterday I was admiring out the Snook's new cotton jumper - yes, I'm a very narcissistic knitter - when I noticed that one stitch on the back was sorta distorted. I started picking at it... and suddenly a centimeter-long end came poking out! At first I thought it was just a wayward woven-in end, but a closer look revealed that it was actually an unraveling stitch! My heart stopped. "FREEZE," I ordered. How in the world had this happened? I pulled it out enough that it wasn't going anywhere and we managed to get home and get it off without incident. After an exhaustive study, I can conclude that I made one of the classic knitting blunders (and one which I seem to be particular prone to make): while weaving in my ends, I got a bit overzealous with the scissors and actually cut off an end before weaving it in. (Yes, I know how to knit in the ends as you go; I just forget to do it. I did it on about half of the transitions, just not this one.) So I had to get another strand of cotton and painstakingly graft it back through the fabric, unravelling the cut end as I went until I had an end long enough to weave, and then weave in all three ends. WHEW. I'm happy to report that the patient survived and looks none the worse for the experience. Let my boneheadedness be a lesson for you all!
Trail Note: Holy crap! When did Google Pedometer start working in Australia? THAT RULES. The Snook and I just went for an hour's jog down through Newtown and Erskineville, and as we got home we wondered how far we'd gone. "Use that Google Pedometer," he suggested. "It doesn't work here," I said. "See?" And then it did! I mapped our whole route from tonight. That was just over 8km in an hour. Not a terribly fast pace, but we were breaking in the new Asics Kayanos we got the Snook yesterday at the Runner's Shop. I'm excited at being able to track my training distances!
Later: I just mapped out my Pyrmont run and it turns out that Jonathan was right; it's nearly 6.5km! Snookums just mapped our long walk to North Sydney a few weekends ago; that was 8.6km. Yesterday's walk home from Clovelly was even longer; we meandered through Centennial Park, checked out the Farmer's Market at Fox Studios, and wended our way through the crowds at the Surry Hills Festival for a total of 9km. And here's my route to work and back. That's nearly 5km total!
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Just in case any of you are too lazy to work out today's Foxtrot comic, I translated the Morse Code. [more...]
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Because I'm Bored...
Friday's Feast:
What is the last thing you had to have repaired?
Actually I need to have something repaired right now - my winter coat. When I bought it two years ago I had a tailor move the buttons over an inch or so (because it was a bit tight around the middle) but now that I've lost the weight it pooches out in front. So I need to have them moved back.
If someone gave you $2,000 with the stipulation that you had to spend half of it on yourself and give the rest to charity, where would you spend the $1,000 and which charity would receive your remaining $1,000?
I'd drop half that grand on a gym membership ASAP and then spend the rest on new clothes. (I told you: SHOPAHOLIC NOW.) As for the charity, I'd probably give it to the Cat Protection Society of New South Wales. I know there are probably more worthwhile groups in terms of immediate human needs, but the CPS has had the most impact on me in the past few years. I volunteered to work a few shifts in their Op Shop before but nowadays I don't have the heart to do more retail on my days off. It'd be nice to help them out a bit.
What is one of your favorite songs from the 1980s?
"Islands in the Stream" by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton. I love that song.
You enter a pet store. Which section do you go to first?
Do I need to answer that? Kitties! Although bunnies are cute too.
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how athletic are you?
Well, it depends. How low is the 1? Is 1 for the people that never exercise? Then I'd say I'm a 3 or a 4. I'm more fit than I was a year ago, but I still wouldn't say that I "love" exercise. While I'm doing it, I pretty much actively hate it. And it still hasn't become a real habit with me; I have to force myself to do it. So not too high.
Five on Friday: Bookworm
What was the last book you read?
Do comic books count? Yesterday I DEVOURED New X-Men Vol 3: New Worlds. I've got to start pacing myself though; I'm going through these at an alarming rate.
What book(s) are you reading now?
I've got quite a stack on my bedside table. I'm about halfway through both Peter Carey's True History of the Kelly Gang and Jeffery Steingarten's The Man Who Ate Everything. Next up are The Sandman Vol 4: Season of Mists, a re-read of Little Women, and then Geraldine Brooks's award-winning March.
Do you have a library card? Do you use it?
Yeah, I got a library card a few years ago, mostly so I could read the Lemony Snicket books without having to pay for them. I haven't used it in years though. The Newtown library had a woeful selection (and an ill-tempered dwarf) and I doubt the closest one to me in Chinatown is much better. Plus I'm a bit of a hoarder when it comes to books. I like to own them.
How do you choose a new book to read?
I go by other peoples' recommendations a lot. I picked up March because Mary-Helen raved about it. I started reading comic books because John sent me Joss Whedon's Fray and got me hooked. Sometimes I read books because the Snook thinks I'll like them. I don't have the time to be completely non-discriminating with my book selections these days, so knowing that someone whose opinion I respect has recommended a title saves me a lot of effort.
We all had to read books in school. Which was your favorite? Your least favorite? Do you think you would feel differently about them if you read them now?
I loooved To Kill a Mockingbird. I read it in one night. I actually liked Silas Marner too. Somehow I didn't enjoy Great Expectations very much, though I love certain parts of it now. (Mostly Wemmick and the Aged P.) Beowulf was okay (Hollywood Gossip! My brother-in-law Dan Carbo is working on the forthcoming animated version!) and The Canterbury Tales didn't suck. You know who does suck? Stephen Crane. I hated The Red Badge of Courage with the fire of a thousand suns. *shudder* I'm still ruined for Civil War literature to this day.
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Dammit! I was all excited to watch the Eurovision Final tonight after watching the Semi-Finals earlier this week. And the first thing I do this morning is open My Yahoo... and get spoiled. BLAST. The silver lining, however, is that the act I was rooting for won! [more...]
Saturday, May 20, 2006
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Oh my gosh. My sister (who lives in LA) needs to go to the Bluth estate sale and pick up some Arrested Development props for us. How awesome would it be to give Snookums a Cornballer for his 30th birthday??
New DeskCam picture... I've become a bit of a shopaholic. I go into shops and as soon as I discover that I fit into a Medium, I feel compelled to buy it. Tonight's acquisition was a teal Esprit turtleneck. I haven't worn a turtleneck in years because chubby girls in turtlenecks = not teh sexxy. But not this one!
Friday, May 19, 2006
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Can public library books give you diseases? That one's for Amy... who happens to be a librarian... and who has, you know, recently been suffering from a mystery virus. Spooky!
Thursday, May 18, 2006
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I should probably explain what I meant by saying I was having a "crappy week." See, I'm a worrier. I'm always worrying. And right now at work we're leading up to our annual sale, which happens to be when we do most of our business for the year. It's really, really important that the sale is successful. I also want the sale to be successful on our website, since that's my particular baby and I want to justify all the effort I put into it. So all this sale preparation is stressful at the best of times... and then you add in the fact that we're extremely low on staff this year. I love the staff that I do have; I think they're all awesome at what they do. But I don't want to kill every bit of enthusiasm they have for their jobs by piling on too many hours and too much stress. And then there's the bigger issue of reliability... *sigh* Because just because a person is good at their job, doesn't mean they always turn up. So for all of these reasons, I worry. And everybody else tells me not to worry, and that makes me worry even more. I mean, somebody should be worrying, right?
Anyway, I trudged off to my ceramics class last night in the hopes that sticking my hands in some clay might bring some Zen balance to my head. Surprisingly, for a while it did! I made a nice, big thick bowl and then my first reasonably successful straight sided pot. We also learned how to "turn" our work from the week before, which basically consists of spinning it on the wheel like a lathe and carving off bits with a wire tool. (Mine were a little too wet still so I'm saving them til next week.) Then I tried to throw one final pot, but the worries were starting to creep back in. And you know what? It's impossible to center a pot when you're not centered yourself. In the end, I scrapped it. I guess knowing when to quit brings a kind of balance too...
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 The Mother's Day Classic Official Race Photographs are now online! (They've disabled direct-linking but such strategems are no match for the Snook.) They got a funny one of me running, a nice one of Snookums charging towards the finish line, and this lovely one of the two of us immediately after finishing. (I'm still not used to how I look.) Now we need to set our next challenge. I'm thinking we definitely need to do the City 2 Surf in August, which is 14km through the city out to Bondi Beach. A month after that is the Blackmores Half-Marathon, which is 21km. What do you runners think? Is four months enough time to train for a half-marathon? Or should we just make the City 2 Surf our big event for this year and do the shorter (9K) Bridge Run the month after?
Moblog:
 Flowers for me!
Look! Some sweet person sent me flowers to cheer me up from the crappy week I've been having. (I think it was Raelee.) Secret flowers are the best!
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Dude! How did I not know that Adam Savage (of Mythbusters fame) is a fellow MetaFilterian?
Hooray! Veronica Mars has been renewed for a third season. Now at least we'll get to find out what the McGuffin in Kendall's briefcase was...
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Just found a nice photo tutorial on wheel throwing, which should be helpful for me at my second pottery class tonight. We did all that stuff in the first class but it's hard to really see the hand positions when everything's moving around. I especially like the pictures where they've cut the pot in half so you can see exactly what you should be doing to pull the sides up.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
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DietBlog: I'm doin' the dance of joy! I lost another 400g to take me back down to 78.1kg. That means I've fully recovered from the setbacks of the past month and I'm once again within my healthy BMI range. (And I successfully made up for the burrito!) My official total loss now stands at 22kg. (I'm only about 1.5lb shy of 50lbs lost, which is going to be a big milestone.) I'd still ultimately like to get down to about 75kg, and I think I'd also like to get into a size 12. As it is the 14 is a little roomy, so I'd rather not end up stuck in between. And since it surprised my sister the other day, I'll just add that Australian sizes seem to run bigger than American ones, and I'm pretty sure I'm a 12 already in the U.S. At any rate, the size 14 jeans my Mom brought me from Old Navy are wicked loose on me. So yay! (Okay, I'll stop bragging.)
Our meeting tonight was a lot of fun, mostly because I sat next to an awesome new girl named Roberta. She lost 2kg in her first week! Her enthusiasm and excitement just took me back to my first week, and it really fired me up to see this journey right through to the end. It's also funny to see how nothing has really changed since that first week for me. I'm still talking up a storm in the meeting and happily collecting my Bravo Stars for my accomplishments. (Tonight's was for the Race. My little Star Corral is getting full!) Only two more weeks til I get the "Key" charm for my keychain and get to become a Lifetime Member. I'm nearly there...
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Hmm. I just went to my Recent Documents list and saw... this.
See the problem? It looks like my little sign didn't stop the abuse...
Monday, May 15, 2006
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The Race results are now available! Snookums and I finished 916th and 917th out of 1060 runners. In my gender/age group I was 139th out of 161, and he was 60th out of 62. Amongst all females, I was 592nd out of 711 and he was 325th out of 348. You know, that makes our performance sound a lot crappier than it was. I'm going to chalk it up to the fact that the 8K run is pretty self-selecting, and most of the people who go for it are the "serious" runners. Everybody who was really unfit or just out for a laugh did one of the 4K events. So I refuse to let my feelings of accomplishment be diminished!
Addendum: The Snook would like it to be known if the race had taken place two months later (i.e. after his 30th birthday), his standing within his age group would have been much better.
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Why is Canberra so much cooler than the rest of Australia? Fireworks... porn... civil unions... Why can't we get us some of that in New South Wales?
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Apparently my brother Anthony, like, graduated from university today. (Nice of the fam to let me know!) Congrats, brother. Welcome to the work force!
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We finally watched the film version of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Man, that suuuuucked. It really looks like Connery's going to pull a Brando in his final years: getting fat, phoning it in, and cashing in on his reputation. And what's up with Saddam Hussein playing Nemo?
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Happy Mothers Day!
Yes, today was the day of our big race. It really crept up on us! The Snook and I got up at the butt-crack of dawn so we could be down in the Domain in time for the 7:30am start of the 8K run event. It was cold but the sun was shining and I felt cautiously optimistic for our performance. I haven't been able to do much training in the past few weeks - what with my Mom's visit and my hamstring injury - so I told the Snook my only goal was to finish in under an hour. We strapped on our ankle timers and, after a fair amount of warming up and stretching, we joined a thousand or so other people at the starting line. Soon we were off. To my delight, my legs felt great. People were passing us, of course, but I think we did a pretty good job of running at our own pace. (The only person to lap us was the race leader, who was clearly a running cyborg from the future.) The clock was ticking past 25:00 as we started our second and final lap. We actually made it to the 5K mark before needing a walk break. That's when I started to hurt. It wasn't my leg; it was my lungs. I was gasping for breath and I had a stitch threatening the whole time. We shuffled onwards and with every step my body felt heavier and heavier. My brain was saying "I can't do this" and I had to fight to keep from walking. I can honestly say that it was only Snookums that got me through the last two kilometers. If I'd been on my own, I'd have walked that whole way. As it was, I just tried to ignore all the pain and focus on keeping up with him for a few more feet. Soon the Finish Line was in sight and getting over that mat and STOPPING became the one and only objective in my life. And then it was over. The final times are yet to be released, but it was roughly around the 53:00 mark. Success! I was never so glad to be done with a run in my life. Here are a few pics:
   
The first three are us before the race. Yeah, I'm rockin' the terry wristband again. Good grief, I look skinny. Compare with me four years ago. I can't get over that. Snookums still can't get over the fact that I talked him into running a race. And he hadn't had any coffee, which is why he looks cranky in all the pictures. The last one is us after the race, which is why I look so dazed and vacant. My only thought was to force down a Powerbar before I yuked. Fun times! Hopefully the official race photographs will be up in a few days. I think they got at least a few good ones of us.
The aftermath: Yeah, we're both wicked sore. The hamstring's good though. I guess the time off really helped with the injury, but at the same time I took a real hit in terms of overall fitness. I'm looking forward to getting back into shape. Only a few months til the City 2 Surf!
 Long-Sleeved Cotton Polo
At last, a Finished Object to report! I've been working on this jumper for the Snook for well over six months. It's based on a Wendy pattern (#5101) which I converted to be knit in the round. To tell you the truth, it was pretty boring through most of the body and the sleeves and only really got exciting once I finally got everything together on one needle. The raglan shaping and vee neck took a little brainpower; I ended up using an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of all the decreases. The collar was supposed to be knitted separately and sewn on. As if. I just picked up around the neck and knitted it on. I have to say, I'm really, really pleased with how this turned out. The yarn (Jo Sharp's Soho Summer DK Cotton) was an absolute beeyotch to knit with, but the finished garment is so soft and warm that I'm already planning one for myself. All that's left is to get some appropriate buttons for the placket neck and she's finished!
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 My Deflated Ego
As I mentioned the other day, I ended up telly again Thursday night. (Yeah, I was knitting. I'm like the knitting equivalent of a talking head. Whenever a Sydney PR person needs somebody cranking away on a sweater in the background, I'm the one they call.) So this time we were promoting this weekend's Knitting for the Homeless event down in Darling Harbour. Once again I found myself at Channel 7 waiting for my annual audience with Nuala, the weather girl. Above you see a screengrab from the footage. Isn't that nice? Doesn't the Neopolitan look great on TV? Oh, what's that? You want to know where I am? I'm right there, right behind Nuala's great big freakin' head. *sigh* At least you can see a split-second of me in the video clip (4.4MB). I think I'm going to have to take a break from the fame-whoring. You go to all this effort only to be (literally) eclipsed by a giant head. Whatever.
I did go to the knitting event on Saturday though. I'd planned to hit the trifecta - Inner City Knitter's Guild meeting, Homeless event, and then over to SSK - but I didn't make it back over to Newtown. There just weren't many people at the event, and I felt like I ought to stay and at least crank out whatever squares I could. I ended up having a really nice time, and it was a beautiful day to be out along the Harbour. I should do more charity knitting.
Saturday, May 13, 2006
I think my new niece or nephew is going to be getting a Mitred Square Baby Blanket from me. That looks awesome.
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How to make a Teddy Bear Remote Control. That is BRILLIANT!
Yesterday I was contacted by a reporter from a suburban Chicago newspaper called The Daily Southtown. The reporter explained that he was "writing a story about a guy who filed a lawsuit asking that a judge restrain his neighbors from referring to him as Willy Wonka. The guy sells gumballs and the neighbors complain his sells them out of his home and creates a bunch of problems." He wanted to know my opinion, as a Roald Dahl fan of some standing, on whether "Willy Wonka" was actually a negative reference. So I emailed him back with a few thoughts... and got quoted in the article! That's the wackiest story I've seen in a long time. How funny! (Although I will add that the Michael Jackson bit was an afterthought. They cut my bit about how a lot of people found Gene Wilder's Wonka menacing and got the idea that Wonka somehow deliberately bumped off the naughty children. But I guess that wasn't as fun as my offhand reference to pedophilia!)
Friday, May 12, 2006
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Oh a whim, the Snook and I wandered up through Glebe tonight to see if the rumoured new Mexican restaurant had opened yet. It had! It's called "Baja Cantina" and it was absolutely packed. Luckily the table in the front window opened up just as we walked in. "Damn," I grumbled. "We can't properly foodblog this without a camera!" Words will have to suffice. [more...]
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Moblog:
 Gutted But Not Gone
I was happy to see the sign outside St. Barney's today. Looks like the University has lent them the Great Hall to hold services in this weekend. That's so nice! |
Thursday, May 11, 2006
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The Snook and I just watched the Veronica Mars finale. EEEEEEE! That's all I can do, make high-pitched noises. EEEEEEE! [more...]
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I was talking to the fabulous Miss Fee tonight after our television appearance (more on that soon), when she happened to mention offhand that she told her friend Jay about the Star Wars quilt and he thought it sounded really cool. "Wait a sec," I said, knowing that Miss Fee circulates high in the echelons of Australian celebrity-- "Jay Laga'aia??" "That's him!" she said. "CAPTAIN TYPHO???" The very same. Padme Amidala's Head of Security is now aware of the quilt my Mom made and thinks it sounds cool. HOW INSANE IS THAT?
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
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 Tonight was my first ceramics class over at the Creative Arts Centre. I really didn't know what to expect. I've never seen anyone do wheel-throwing in real life, and all I knew was that it was hard to do. Now I know that it's hard, but it's not that hard. I think my biggest problem was that I was afraid to really push the clay around. Instead I kept trying to shape it with my little fingers, and therefore making my first bowl took me AGES. Then I watched the instructor sit down and knock one out in about ninety seconds flat. Damn. So I tried to get a little more fearless, and ended up with a couple useless lumps of goo (a lot of which you see spattered on my pant legs and shoes here; my upper half was just as bad). In the end I managed one decent bowl (which we're going to "turn" next week) and one semi-okay sorta-straight-sided column thing.
You know what drives me up the wall though? The way stuff like this always turns me into Hermione Granger. I wanted to do the class to try something new and maybe pick up a fun hobby. No stress, right? But as soon as our wheels fired up I was immediately mentally comparing everything I did with everything everybody else did. I have to try to be the top of the class. I was irrationally jealous of one lucky guy who just seems to have an innate knack for this stuff. Why?? You'd think at nearly thirty years of age I could do a group activity where I didn't compete with everyone else. Sadly, you'd be wrong. And no matter how much I tell myself that it's okay to be mediocre, that I don't have to be good at everything, that the world will not end if my very first pot isn't perfect... I still do it. Every damn time. Tell me you guys are like this too, right? (I mean, I know Kel is...)
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DietBlog: I'm back on track! What a difference a week makes. Last week I was tired and depressed; this week I'm 1.2kg lighter and a hundred times more optimistic. That brings me back down to 78.5kg, erasing two-thirds of what I gained over the Easter/Garberick holiday. Sweet. And I actually did it without much exercise! I'm still trying to rest the hamstring as much as possible before this Sunday's run, so I've really only had a couple short jogs and that long walk last weekend. Really, it was just watching my food and religiously tracking my Points. I also have to constantly remind myself that it's OKAY to be a little bit hungry. I don't have to stuff myself every time I eat. Now I only have 3.5kg left to go!
And on a related note, my size 14 pants have been feeling a little loose. I wasn't sure if it was due to weight loss though, or them just naturally loosening up from being worn. So I went into Esprit the other night to try on some new ones. Every size 14 I tried on was pretty roomy! I even tried on some 12s and, while I did get them zipped and buttoned, they were a little too, uh, bootylicious for my liking. But I have a feeling that 12 is where I'm eventually going to end up. That's an unexpected bonus!
Holy crap! When the Snook and I left to go to work this morning, we were surprised to see fire trucks blocking Mountain Street at Broadway. We couldn't figure out why they were there... until we suddenly realized that St. Barney's Church was GONE. It had a massive fire last night. As the Snook quipped, "It looks like the publican finally won."
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Great article and interview with my favorite Chicago improv-artist (and Buckeye) Tara D. And she worked in a Boone's Farm reference! If you are in Chicago, you must go see one of her shows.
Tuesday, May 9, 2006
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Yay, Helga's getting married! I'm very happy for her. I remember meeting her that first week of freshman year and not being quite sure what to make of this stern sounding German girl from Ohio. It only took a week or two to realize that she was actually wickedly funny and had no problem playing the straight man in our schemes. I remember one night we had her read us this list someone had e-mailed me of "Ways to Torment Your Roommate" (back in the days when people actually read e-mail forwards) and it took hours and by the end Liz and I were just crying with laughter. One of my best college memories... Congrats, Helga! (Link courtesy of Nora.)
Monday, May 8, 2006
Neat! Check out this London Poverty Map from 1898-1899. It turns out that the area I lived in as a student was seriously posh. Hammersmith, the area I lived in with the Snook, looks more like well-to-do farmland. I'd look up the area where the Snook first lived in London - because if it was that ghetto in 1999, it had to have been the ghetto a hundred years earlier - but that site is slow and I'm going to bed.
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It's a man, baby! Dude, Megan Gale is normally super-beautiful, but she totally looks like a tranvestite in this Logie photo. Her hands are gi-normous! And she has an Adam's apple! No wonder she's flipping off the photographer.
Please spare a moment today to remember Eames. I'm going to go read Mama Cat to Dr. Amy...
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Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport
I was interviewing another American chick at the shop the other day and I asked her if she was a "dualie" (meaning dual citizen) yet. "No, not yet," she said. "I've still got another year of residence to go. What about you?" And I suddenly realized that, yeah, I'm probably eligible for Australian citizenship. So I came home and double-checked my passport. Yep, I'm a permanent resident who's been here for more than four years. I surfed on over to the Australian Citizenship website to check out the details. "Whaddaya know... I can apply online!" So I did. Fifteen minutes and one-hundred-and-twenty bucks later, Kris is going to be an Australian! Okay, so I still have to go to an interview and show them that I can speak English and I know the principles of mateship and the Australian way of life (it's all about lamb, right?), but it's pretty much a done deal. In a month or two, I'll get to attend a ceremony (ooh, please let Clover be there!) and say the magic words and get a tree or something and yadda yadda yadda, I'll be 'Strine. (Don't worry; I've already been to one so I know what to do.) You are, of course, all invited to participate in this momentous occasion. (For some reason, I think it would be really funny if the Sydney Photobloggers showed up.) And then, you guessed it, we will be throwing the mother of all winter barbies, the Web-Goddess Becomes a Right Aussie Sheila Party. Details will follow once we know the date.
Whenever I feel mildly ill and my neck is stiff, the Snook and I joke that I might have meningitis. I will never make that joke again. YEOWW! Poor Gadgetgirl!
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AskMetaFilter comes through with ideas for labelling your food in communal food storage situations. Some of those are pretty funny. My favorite is the guy who put "MILK EXPERIMENT" on his milk cartons.
Sunday, May 7, 2006
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The weekends go so fast. Saturday the Snook and I went on a major hike from our place through the city, across the Bridge, and all the way to North Sydney. Along the way we stopped at Kings Comics to pick up our free comic books and then at Giordano so I could buy a pink cotton cardigan I've had my eye on. Our eventual goal was Dave's Home Brew so the Snook could pick up supplies. It took us about two hours all together and by the end of it, my hamstring was hurting pretty badly. I relaxed at home in a hot bath with Epsom salts. I also successfully shortened the Looking Glass Jumper by about six inches. (The yarn seems to have dropped considerably, and it was just way too long. Sunday I worked on the Snook's cotton jumper while he brewed up a British bitter. We also went for a nice jog around Pyrmont. (My leg was feeling much better.) I made some roasted vegetable soup and we watched several episodes of Buffy. Is it time to go back to work already?!
Friday, May 5, 2006
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Better Homes and Sheeple
The past two months have been a real eye-opener, as far as the Australian craft industry is concerned. It all started when I got contacted by Better Homes and Gardens to help them out with a knitting pattern. Apparently there's quite a lot of sharing that goes on between the international BHG's, and the Australian branch had a French knitting pattern that they wanted to feature. The yarn was obscure though and they needed a local equivalent. They gave me the details and I worked that Superbaby was probably the best substitute. They thanked me and said that they'd list us as the stockist for the yarn. When the magazine came out, the level of interest caught us completely by surprise. I had no idea how many people would want to make something just because it was featured in a TV show's magazine. I mean, it's a nice pattern but it's not the be-all and end-all of scarves in the world. Yet still, here they came streaming in the door, clutching their issues and asking for the Superbaby. I was astounded by how many of them didn't even want to deviate from the colour used in the photograph (which was of the French scarf; it wasn't even the same yarn!). We also had a number of people ring us up to ask about the pearl beads used to embellish the scarf; I told person after person that we didn't supply the beads, that the stockist was clearly listed at the end of the article after our name. (It was an American company with no Australian presence. Go figure.) I was just left reeling by how much power this one publication has to generate sales. I mean, we never see this soft of wave for patterns from Creative Knitting or Yarn. I guess Australians just really, really love their lifestyle programs.
And the saga continues! BHG next wanted me to help them out with Australian equivalents for an elaborate crocheted blanket (done all in French yarns). I worked it all out for them, but warned that it was going to be a pretty expensive item to knit. (It used wool, cottons, metallics, and mohair.) That issue went on sale two days ago. I didn't expect anywhere near the same response we'd had with the scarf; crochet isn't as popular and just from looking at it, you can tell it's going to be pricey. Yet we've had half a dozen calls about it already. Today I actually totalled up the price of all the yarns needed - $630. Isn't that nuts? (Not to mention the fact that they neglected to print the quantities needed for each yarn, so everyone who's even remotely curious about it has to ring us to get the bad news.)
I just kind of find the whole experience a little disappointing. Better Homes and Gardens clearly has a huge amount of influence and power over the weekend crafters of Australia. I want to help them to use this power for good, not evil; to feature knitting and crochet patterns that will teach people to be creative, not to slavishly copy something they saw on telly. I'm just disheartened to see so many people that clearly want to make something, to craft something with their own hands, yet who lack the creativity or confidence to do something other than what everybody else in the world is doing.
Thursday, May 4, 2006
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I rang up my hairdresser Paige the other day to discover that she'd had a "vision" for my next hairdo. It's still blonde and short, but now it has pale pink and purply-chocolate streaks through it. Check it out. We're calling it the "Neopolitan." (Hey, if I can't eat it, I may as well have it on my head!)
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Monkeys in cowboy hats. I'm the #2 result, baby!
Aussie Comic Book Fans: I just learned that Kings Comics on Pitt Street will be participating in Free Comic Book Day 2006. Sweet! Check the website for retailers in other capital cities.
Wednesday, May 3, 2006
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Mark the date, folks. As of today, my student loans are under $20,000! Woohoo! (I don't know whether to laugh or cry.)
In case you missed it, an honest-to-goodness Amazing Race contestant left a comment on my site! Thanks, Bill, and good luck to you and Tammy in the Cincy Marathon. Say hi to the rest of the family for me!
HA! Just read this bit of gossip about the Biggest Loser cast, which alleges that they were all boozing it up at Una's on Broadway. Good grief. If their party was anything like ours, they've all fallen off the wagon in a big way. That place is a DIET KILLER.
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DUDE! Now that's how you get your heart rate pumping. I just had a serious row with an irate customer and it feels great. No, stupid lady, I will not give you a refund because the wool doesn't knit up the way you thought it would. No, it was not defective. No, our policy is perfectly legal. You can have a credit note, or you can suck it. Woo! I feel like going to kickboxing.
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DietBlog: Last night was my first Weight Watcher's meeting in three weeks, and I really needed it. I've been struggling here a little bit lately to recover from the dietary fallout of the Garbericks' visit. It's just been so cold and wintery lately, and my stress levels at work are starting to ramp up a bit. (*cough* SALE! *cough*) I've been feeling constantly hungry, and though I can deal with those feelings when I'm properly mentally-armoured, I just haven't had the willpower these last two weeks. I've been binging - not on bad stuff, but still binging - and neglecting to track any of my Points. I'd normally count on exercise to bring me out of this funk, but with this damn hamstring injury I haven't been able to do much. (It's finally starting to feel normal again, but I'm seeing a physio tonight just to be sure.) So all in all, I knew going in to the meeting that I was going to have a gain. My only goal was to keep it under 80kg. And I did! I'm back up to 79.7 - yeah, overweight again - but I'm trying to keep things in perspective. I have less than 5kg to go to my personal goal weight. I am not going to allow my journey to get derailed when I'm so close to the end. The meeting itself wasn't great - we had a substitute leader and I didn't really warm to her - but just being there, being surrounded by folks who were doing what I'm doing and who really believed it was all possible... it was like flipping a switch in my head. Things are only hard if I let them be. I'm going to get there.
And a special thank you goes out to the old college buddy who contacted me two weeks ago to thank me for inspiring him on his own weight loss. He's down forty pounds in the past year. How awesome is that? These are the people I think of whenever I get embarrassed about sharing this stuff online. It's incredibly gratifying and humbling to think that my experience is rippling out and helping people I don't even know about.
Tuesday, May 2, 2006
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I'm arguing against having periods again over on MetaFilter...
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Albert: I think one of those weird angora guys is here, if you want to go say hi.
Me: Which one? Angora Man 1.0 or Angora Man 2.0?
Albert: How should I know??
So I went to have a look. It turns out that it was the most rare and elusive Angora Man 1.0! We haven't seen him in, like, a year and a half. He looked the same as ever: shuffling, mumbling, sporting a massive combover, and wearing the original women's white angora jumper that he'd had on when I met him. I asked him what had happened to the one we knit him. "It was too big," he mumbled, "so I sold it." And now he wants another one knitted. So that's another $700 sale... All in a day's work at Sydney's #1 Fluffy Emporium.
A MeFite wants to know: What are the most important animals in your neck of the woods? I had no idea that some of these Indiana species were endangered...
Yay! I just had a phone call from the lovely people at the Pine Street Creative Arts Centre to let me know that they've added another Beginners Ceramics course this term. And since I'm on the waiting list, I get first dibs at the class! So I booked in. Starting next Wednesday, I'll be learning "wheel forming" for nine weeks. I haven't made anything with clay since, like, the third grade. This should be fun!
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Oh my gosh. I'm still laughing at Staci's "Dinnertime Conversation" video. It starts out so quiet... (Make sure you don't have the volume up at work.) The look on Ruth's face as she happily joins in just cracks me up. Screaming babies that aren't in my house are fun! :)
Monday, May 1, 2006
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Books
Awhile back I joined the Kinokuniya loyalty club, and today I found an e-mail in my Inbox with a couple 20% off coupons. That's as good an excuse as any to go book shopping! I've been wanting to read March by Geraldine Brooks ever since Mary-Helen recommended it so I picked up a copy (one of their last!) as well as a new copy of Little Women. I've read LW several times before (and I'm sure it's sitting in my Mom's basement somewhere) but I figured I ought to read it again before I tackle March. I also put in an order for Jeffrey Steingarten's The Man Who Ate Everything (since it's always out of stock). Then I moseyed on over to the comics section - I love the looks on the geek guys' faces - where I was excited to see that Batman: The Dark Knight Returns was finally available. I've always liked Batman, and I'm trying to hit some of the big high points in the comics canon. (Did I mention I read The Watchmen? That's a whole 'nother post, really...) So that's three new books to add to the pile on my bedside table. I'm currently about halfway through Peter Carey's The True History of the Kelly Gang, and so far I'm really enjoying it. (Ned Kelly was sorta the Australian equivalent of Jesse James.) Yay! The only thing that makes chilly winter nights bearable is a warm husband, a thick duvet, and a stack of new books...
Trail Note: Yesterday I had my first substantial run since hurting my hamstring last Tuesday. I feel pretty good! The Snook and I kept the pace slow-ish and I stopped every so often to have a stretch. It felt a little sore, but I didn't have real pain at any time. So that's good. In other race preparation news, the Snook has been to the podiatrist and his new orthotics are on order. Now we just need to get him some real running shoes. I can't wait to get our Race T-shirts and numbers!
Created and maintained by Kristine Howard ©
2000-2008.
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