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Please pick a random number. (It tells you why afterwards.)

Note to Snookums: Oh yes, we will be making Alton Brown’s box fan beef jerky this summer!

Okay, verdict on Idol so far? I’m very happy that Damien (my Irish hobbit boyfriend) and Dean (my non-threatening emo boyfriend) got through. I really want Chris to make it through on the Wildcard show though. (I think he will.) The other guys were mostly snoozers, though I was disappointed that Brendon (who seemed so cool in the auditions) turned into such a Guy Sebastian wannabe. Go back to the cool, Brendon!

Anyway, the girls. Why do I find the guys so much more interesting? I adore tiny little Jessica, but even I was saying to the Snook: “This was my sister’s favorite song in second grade.” Not exactly what the kids today are listening to! That Atlanta chick kind of weirded me out, and I kept trying to peg which Scandinavian country she’s from. (Answer: She’s not, but she *is* in Bjorn Again. Who knew?) I really want to like Klancie but, well, her chin bothers me. I can’t explain it. And I wish she’d quit crying! Lastly, I have a complete girl-crush on Reigan, mostly because I’ve always dreamed of having masses of naturally curly hair.

So who’s floatin’ your boat? (I can’t WAIT to see Bobby “Love Child of Willem Defoe and the Snook’s Hair in 1996” Flynn perform tomorrow night…)

This is, indeed, the awesomest picture I have ever seen. (Link courtesy of John.)

MetaFilter Jobs has launched… and the closest position is 9,000+ miles away from me. Oh well!

How do you picture the calendar in your head? Mine is definitely monthly, but the months run from right to left, January through December.

The original plan was to head into the city to David Jones to get fitted for some new bras. (More on that in a minute.) Snookums decided to accompany me so we headed off down George Street. Just as we were coming up to Central, my jaw dropped. “Dude!” I said under my breath. “What?” said the Snook. “That guy we just passed is from Idol!” I had to ring Amy to confirm. It was indeed James Steele, Tassie drummer, dad, and member of the final twenty-four. Excellent! My first sighting of the year. Anyhoo, next stop was Capitol Square so the Snook could price some laptops. I wanted to go to “Capsule Paradise,” having been recently told by a customer that they had awesome Hello Kitty gear. And they did! It’s at the back past all the purikura booths (which I still find rather bewildering). It’s basically a wall of those prize machines you see outside Kmart in the States, but with awesomely inexplicable Japanese toys. I got a Hello Kitty “Zodiac” charm for my phone (she’s wearing a cow suit, which I think indicates “Taurus”) while the Snook got a crazy robot with guns coming out of its head. Very fun.

Eventually we made it to DJ’s and I managed to get someone in the lingerie department to fit me. As soon as she saw my current bra, she was like, “Yeah, you need to go down a size. You’re a 14 now, not a 16.” Woohoo! So after dealing with the embarrassment of having a total stranger see me topless, I got to try on about ten different bras and ended up buying four. The next time you see me, I will be much more statuesque. To cap off the outing, we decided to try Ichi Ban Boshi for the first time. The Snook was hoping to get some of the famed tonkotsu ramen but alas, it was long gone. I had the popular Tokyo ramen, while the Snook went for the spicy tantanmen. We also shared some gyoza, and I have to say they were some of the best I’ve ever had. Very crispy on one side with juicy, perfectly cooked pork inside with just the right amount of ginger. Thirty minutes later, we sloshed out of there with our bellies full of soup. It was a tiring excursion…

Ring Around the Collar
And just like that, we have a collar! As previously mentioned, I had to do some serious modifications of the pattern as this point. The depth of my neck shaping meant I ended up with a lot more stitches than the pattern called for, so I had to add in a bunch of extra cables and twists. I also wanted to cast it off with the red, so I ended up knitting it about a centimeter longer than I might have otherwise. But I like it! I think the zipper’s going to go all the way to the top of the collar so I can zip it up into a funnel-neck. It’s gonna be a warm jacket!

Cross stitch sampler dedicated to the Internet. That is BRILLIANT. See, I just need to figure out a way to use the cool stuff stuff people are doing with this craft on the Internet to reinvigorate the interest in it in Sydney. (Link courtesy of Moire.)

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