monochromatic girl

Bookworm

2007-02-08T21:13:00.000-05:00

Is anyone interested in going to hear John Banville speak at the Free Library on 13 March? I had to read one of his books for an Anglo-Irish fiction course I took at UCC, Copernicus, I think it was (I didn't care a lot for it, but I'm not as interested in historical fiction as others are), and I've been very interested in reading more of his work since he was first nominated for and then won the Booker prize last year. I'm not sure why, but it's the only book prize that holds any real weight for me. Anyhow, let me know if you'd be interested in attending.

We've decided not to move this year, but I'd like to continue with the paring down of our possessions. There are a great many books on our shelves right now, but aside from those that are yet to be read, I feel like I've really managed to rid myself of all but the most important books in my collection. What books or authors do you collect? I find that my 'can't-part-withs' fall into four categories: Neil Gaiman, Jeanette Winterson, contemporary Irish lit, and favorites. The first three are the ones I've decided that I want to collect (I love Gaiman and Winterson, and I want to be well-versed in Irish C.Lit), and the favorites is probably the most telling. Some of them overlap Sarah's collections, but I'll list them here anyway because even if she stopped collecting them, I would snarl and bite anyone who tried to take them away.

All Good Things... by Michael Jan Friedman
Wow, if a book ever changed my life, this one was it. I saw it at Meijer, and I thought, How sad that this huge thing is ending, and I've never known any of it... Well, I managed to convince my mom to buy it for me, and I read it, and then I started obsessively watching the show. I taped reruns and poured over books devouring every minute detail about Star Trek that I encountered. Then when my friends got into Trek and we found more friends, we formed clubs and wrote nerdy fan letters to the likes of Terry Farrell and Marina Sirtis (both of whom have provided me with autographed photos). We attended conventions and ruled our lives by the whims of the shows' producers. And I fell out of love with Trekdom for a while. Then, before I flew to Ireland--literally, on the car ride to Chicago-O'Hare--I reread this book because it was the most comfortable, stablest thing I could think of connecting with before my whole world dropped away from me. And I found reruns on Sky-One (I even skipped history lectures when my favorite episode of season seven aired), so my flatmates were converted. Now, Sarah has been converted, too, and we went to a convention together this past year (though it was dismal and unlike the ones I'd attended in their heyday). I love this book and everything it represents.

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
I honestly can't tell you why this book holds such a special place in my heart. I read it on a whim in high school, then I read it in French so I could have an excuse to not pay attention in my dreary French classes. I have two copies of it--the original copy I got from a used bookstore in the Homeland, and a beautiful, hardback, illustrated copy in French that Viviane's parents gave me when they came to collect her after our year in Cork. I think it's an important book, and I need to reread it soon.

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
This is unquestionably my favorite book of all time. And it's not for everyone, I know, but never before or since has a book made such a tremendous, profound emotional impression on me. I started rereading it as I was reading it because I just couldn't absorb enough of its magic and I didn't want it to end. It's been a while since I last read it, but I think I'd feel off not having it near.

On the Beach by Nevil Shute
Here is the book that's technically part of Sarah's collection as it falls into the category of post-apocalyptic fiction that she so adores. I read it last summer when I needed a 'beach book' to take my mind off of the screaming-children job, and it ended up leaving a very strong impression on me. I think often of its implications, and I have to admit that when I see a map of Australia with the names of cities that were visited in the book, a part of me cringes in sadness. It left me feeling this profound sense of loss, and unlike most of the books on this list, I think it's accessible to everyone.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Isn't this every angsty, teen author's favorite book? I wasn't actually as angsty as most, but I truly appreciated the frank portrait of depression that Plath created. I thought she was amazing, and I'm glad that I discovered her when I did because she opened up my entire creative world in a way I didn't know was possible.

Right now, I'm waffling back and forth between deep books (The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers and Weight by Jeanette Winterson) and fluff (Bill Bryson and nothin' else but), and honestly, I'm just glad to be reading. I have a tendency to fall into and out of reading spurts as my hobbies have problems getting along together. Tell me what you're reading or what your favorite books are.

Friends of the Aural Variety

2007-01-23T21:50:00.000-05:00

Since I quit the community center job, I've been doing temp work scanning documents. My attention span for music tends to be very short while I'm working, so I used the time to catch up on all the back episodes for the four or five podcasts I had subscribed to. With at least six hours a day or listening time, I quickly blew through all those archives and have been progressively adding new podcasts to my library ever since. I started out with knitting podcasts, and added some of the highly regarded ones that my favorite podcasters enjoyed, and eventually, somehow, I started checking out NPR.

I've tried getting into NPR numerous times since I first learned what it was in high school. Somehow, I just could not fathom what was so amazing about listening to classical music and bands I'd never heard of in between news segments. I didn't understand the format at all, and it just broke my brainy little heart that I couldn't be a part of this world of witty, informed public radio listeners. I felt so dull and unintelligent.

Thank the gods for podcasting, because now I finally feel like I'm part of the brainy in-crowd. Isn't it peculiar what things different people put on pedestals?

Jimmy, if you like podcasts or public radio at all, check out A Way With Words. Especially any archives that might be available because the male host who just retired is exactly how I imagine you if you got into radio. Fully of nerdy, punly goodness. Yea!

I'm now subscribed to probably 30 podcasts, almost all of which I've managed to remain updated with, which is almost sad when you consider who little human interaction I get daily. The podcasts are a result of that lack of interaction, though, not because of it. I guess the voices on the other end of my headphones keep me company, in a way. So even though I don't have friends to chat with throughout the day, I'm never lacking in good knitting/political/etymological/sarcastic conversation.

Insert Clever Title Here

2007-01-22T21:02:00.000-05:00

I'm feeling kind of restless this evening, though I've no real idea as to why. Perhaps there's a store of creative energy sitting around waiting to be utilised, or perhaps I am simply in need of some social interaction. In reality, both are likely culprits of my distraction. At the very least, they are aiding and abetting.

This past weekend, we had the Phillyknitters Secret Pal reveal, and I was pleasantly surprised all around. My pal, Megan liked the hat that I knit her (and it ended up being just the right color for her--hurrah!), and I found out that Sam was the one sending me gifties. Seeing as how I'm an utter crap blogger of late (okay, who am I kidding? it's been something like two years of crappy blogging...), I never posted to say thanks for the copy of La Dolce Vegan or the mix CD I received. I'm looking forward to cooking something tasty out of the book, and the CD is amazingly perfect for me. He even included geeky sci-fi songs like the Star Trek movie theme.

But best of all, he knit me a scarf! If I knew a smiley symbol that embodied the giddiness of receiving a hand-knitted item that I really, truly adore, well, it would be sitting in the space of all these words. It's a lovely reddy-colored, alpaca, lacy bit of softness that is completely comfortable and warm and unobtrusive. I really needed a scarf, and for all the lack of posting I did during the secret pal-ing, I am utterly gobsmacked that he made me something so perfect. So Sam, if you're reading this, thank you thank you thank you in spades (and hearts and diamonds and clubs) because you've been far and away the very best secret pal I've ever had.

And loosely related to a point in a previous paragraph, I would like to thank the ever groovy Jimmy for the mix CD you made for my birthday. I finally got around to uploading it to my ipod (labelling shit in itunes and then importing it and all that...sigh...lazy fuck that I am), and I have to say, your taste in music has certainly maintained its level of coolness. It rocks, and I'm totally with you on 'Lotion.' Fuckin' a, that's some fabulous psychosis.

While I'm yappin' about people, I'd like to welcome Holly to the blogosphere. Reading your blog makes me want to post more often.

Anyhow, I feel a little overwhelmed as I have a lot that I want to say, but I'm not sure how to get it out or put it together or anything, and I don't want to just blab it all at once and be silent for another two months. But I want to work on having a voice again and censoring myself less. Perhaps I'll post more often.

2006 Mix

2006-12-17T23:47:00.000-05:00

I just completed my 2006 Mix CD playlist. If you're interested in swapping, drop me a line at krista [at] monochromaticgirl [dot] com, and we can switch things up.

Stash Knitting '07

2006-12-17T22:37:00.000-05:00

One of the knit blogs I read regularly is Wendy Knits!. She and a friend have decided to seriously attack their yarn stashes by not buying more yarn for the first nine months of the year. I've decided to join them because I've acquired a bunch of yarn, and I've not managed to knit much of it. As such, here are the rules that I am following, adopted from Wendy's rules:

Knit From Your Stash 2007: Guidelines for Krista

1. The Knit-From-Your-Stash-a-Thon will start January 1, 2007 and run through September 30, 2007 -- a period of nine months (eep!).

2. I will not buy any yarn during that period, with the following exceptions:
a. Souvenir/vacation yarn does not count.
b. If I am knitting something and run out of yarn, I may purchase enough to complete the project.
c. I get one "Get Out of Jail Free" card -- I am allowed to fall off the wagon one time.

3. I am allowed to receive gifts of yarn.

I also plan on not knitting much for others. I said that this year would be my year of selfish knitting, and instead, I've ended up knitting less because I started so many things for others that I hadn't planned on doing. The fact that no one else will love my knitting as much as I will keeps slipping my mind, and I need to make it my knitting mantra. It would probably also behoove me to join a few knitting groups and go regularly. So that's my plan.

Idle Hands

2006-12-15T00:23:00.000-05:00

Originally uploaded by monochromaticgirl.

It's time for another self-conscious, downer girl post. Woo-hoo.

I'm feeling very sub-par today and recently. I'm not sad, per se, but there's a sense of mediocrity and disappointment wafting about me. And while I have Death Cab for Cutie on repeat, I thought it appropriate to vent. That's what any sensible goth girl would be doing, anyway. Life is pain, anyone?

I don't really think so. My life isn't really so melodramatic. I go to work, I come home, and between bouts of semi-fulfilling sleep, I manage to live a life that I feel too privileged to really despair. On some level, I recognize that I have enough. More than I need, really. That part of me is the one aching for the gentle, cleansing balance of a Buddhist takeover of my world. A contradiction. What I feel like. I'm happy in my head, and yet I'm not. Things just aren't very clear about me to me anymore.

The person I was is not the person I am. Is not the person I am going to be. But where do all these beings exist together? The common thread is what I'm seeking. In addition to fulfillment. But what is it that I want? What do I want to do? Want do I want to care about or be good at?

Feh.

My apologies for disappearing for such an extended period. I am starting to recognize that people do care when I go away, but it's really difficult to convince myself of that most of the time.

Ramble, Ramble

2006-11-04T20:44:00.000-05:00

Maddie is giving me the evil eye across the room. I don't know why, but I'm sure she doesn't either, so I guess everything is okay.

Today has been slothful and full of television. When I got up, it was too cold to feel motivated, and after I showered, I realized that it was probably even colder outside (though I may very well be wrong about that last conclusion, what with the no heat in our apartment thing), so what was the point in going out? I can handle a good degree of chill in the air outside, but when I'm faced with a frigid building/house/room, I am oddly frozen in place. Coincidence or pun, I am not sure. Perhaps I will feel a stronger pull to go outside tomorrow.

I think that if I could conceive of a good place to go and just hang out that didn't require me to spend money, I would have better impetus to go there, you know? To go to a cafe or coffeeshop, one must buy a snack, meal, or beverage. To go to a yarn store, one must be either interested in buying something or willing to chat with anyone who enters. I like many of the staffers at my LYS, but I don't always want to chat in order to spend time somewhere. Can one go to the library and sit and knit or is that frowned upon? On weekends, I often consider hopping onto one of the regional rail lines and riding the train until the end of the line so I have somewhere to knit in relative peace (SEPTA allows anyone with a transpass to ride the regional rail for no extra charge on weekends). I guess I don't do that because it implies a serious time committment. Trains run infrequently on the weekends, so if I felt the need to turn around at any point along the way, I might have to wait a while for an inbound train to collect me.

Ramble ramble.

(Or wrangle, wrangle.)

So anyhow, I'm here at home doing not much. I am working on the last few rounds of a proto-type hat pattern. It's a really nice pattern (nothing especially complicated), and I've gotten some compliments on it from non-knitters. When I'm done with that, I'm going to finish up the first in a pair of socks I was working on for my grandmother's birthday. It's been sitting in wait for a few weeks, but I'd like to get a few more things off my needles, so I'm going to try and do that. I hate having 18 billion projects in the works, you know? In order to unclutter the project section of my brain, I'm also going to be frogging some truly languishing UFOs soon. Why make myself feel guilty with my good intentions that never materialized?

Slackluster

2006-11-02T21:12:00.000-05:00

You know, it's funny how much time I spend thinking about knitting at work and throughout the day. Then, when I get home, I waste so much time watching tv and doing nothing. There's so much I want to do...why am I not doing it?

One would think that after all these years of longing to be more disciplined and focussed in my life, I would have actually managed to make some kind of headway. Some part of me wants to try again like I did in college...with my lists and setting goals and such. I'm not sure that it made much/any difference, but I often felt productive back then, and that has to mean something.

I just think that if I bothered to put as much effort into knitting as I do into thinking about and planning for knitting, I would have more finished objects. And perhaps I would feel more of a sense of accomplishment. I guess I don't know where to draw the line in my time between slacking and doing the things I enjoy.

Awesomeness for Today

2006-11-01T21:43:00.000-05:00

1. I got to chat with Dave from Chub Creek and some other dinks in the Dink Chat this evening. I could hardly contain my squees of joy. Woot!

2. My super awesome secret pal sent me a box of vegan chocolate. Big thumbs up for free sweets that I can eat! Thanks a whole lot pal! You rock!

The Future of Food

2006-10-15T19:47:00.000-04:00

During my senior year at Albion, I took a course that started floating around in my thoughts as I watched The Future of Food--Great Issues in Science (which is the lame title that all Honors science classes got). The film is a documentary on the relationship between agriculture and big business, and much of the focus is on genetically modified foods. In Great Issues in Science, one of the many philosophical discussions our professor forced upon us (primarily so that he could also force his opinions upon us and browbeat any who disagreed) surrounded the proliferation of these genetically engineered foodstuffs as potential savior of humanity in our fight against hunger versus any and all detrimental effects these GE products could have on the people consuming them or the environment in which they were grown. I remember that class period being one that I left feeling very angry and disgusted because I seemed to be the lone voice of concern over the unknown effects of genetic engineering.

And that feeling came back to me tenfold during this movie.

I know that I shouldn't be surprised any longer by the way the government is so heavily influenced not by the people of the country but by the corporations of it, but I am consistently astonished at the level of that influence and the general lack of concern that is focussed on the citizens of this country.

The film gives some of the history of basic agriculture (farmers cultivating seeds from their crops and sharing them with neighbors in addition to using them for the coming season's crops) and the more recent history of genetic engineering of agricultural products (creating seeds which would grow into plants that would survive the onslaught of harsh herbicides), and then it went into a discussion of the introduction of these engineered seeds into the world of patents. Until a few decades ago, there had never been a patent on a living organism, and now, patents exist for a huge variety of seeds.

What is troubling about this is that since these seeds were patented, their proprietary company (Monsanto, in this case), has filed numerous lawsuits against farmers whose fields were contaminated with GMO seeds claiming that the farmers were in violation of the company's patents, regardless of the method by which these seeds arrived in the fields. And Monsanto won several cases or reached settlements with the farmers. Additionally, any plant that is found on any piece of land which hails from a genetically modified seed, regardless of how it arrived there, now belongs to Monsanto.

Monsanto and other companies holding these patents are trying to gain patents internationally that will allow them proprietary rights to ANY PLANT ANYWHERE, which could have serious consequences on farmers in third world countries.

While this is horrifying (nothing like sitting around watching the wolf devour a sheep), I am even more disturbed by the fact that the US government is so insistent on not labelling products which contain genetically modified food. Food that was bred by splicing plant genes with fish genes and e.coli genes and only they know what other genes. When I was in Ireland, EVERYTHING with GM ingredients was labelled because people in the EU insisted on their right to know what they were consuming. People who otherwise have no allergies to food are having toxic reactions to genetically modified corn.

Equally dispicable to me (I actually stopped the movie to look this up and make sure it was real because I couldn't even fathom that someone would allow this to happen) is the fact that Myriad Genetics has patented one of the genes that cause breast cancer. They have patented portions of the bodies of people in our own country--Myriad Genetics OWNS part of you if you contain that particular gene. Think I'm making this up? Think again.

Basically, they want to make money off the tests that they have developed to detect this gene. But in the process, they're creating this really questionable area of where proprietary ownership ends. Researchers who were trying to find a cure for breast cancer who were using this gene prior to the patent are no longer able to research the cure using that gene. And that means that one company controls any hope of a cure for breast cancer related to that gene. In whose interest is finding a cure now?

In the end, the film offered the options of organics and eating locally produced food as things we can do to help fight the good fight, but once again, I'm compelled to wonder what effect that will have on anything. How can the American people, who are by and large ignorant of the effects of genetically modified food, compete with multi-billion dollar international corporations?

If the government won't listen to our concerns about the war in Iraq or the exchange of our civil liberties for 'national security,' how can we expect them to hear that we want to know what we're eating? Oversimplification, I realize, but it's exactly how I feel at the moment. Utterly without recourse.

That said, I think that this is a worthwhile documentary to watch. Honestly, I want to invite everyone I know over to view it. It made me think, and it made me angry, and it made me want to do something about the issue.

Philly Knitters Secret Pal Thingum

2006-10-09T22:18:00.000-04:00

This one goes out to my Secret Pal. And anyone else who feels a pressing need to know about all of my weird fiber habits/interests.

1. What is/are your favorite yarn(s) to knit with? Do you like solid or variegated colorways? What fibers do you absolutely NOT like? Are you allergic to any fibers? I *heart* wool and alpaca. I don't know if I have specific favorite yarns these days (Rowan Polar used to be my absolute favorite, but I've kind of gotten over the loss of it and realized I like thinner yarn). I am not a big fan of variegated yarn. For instance, I love Koigu, but most of their KPPM line is not my style. I like yarns that have one color in multiple hues for small things like socks and hats and gloves. Subtle variation pleases me much more than big color changes. As for fibers I don't like, I've determined that I do NOT like acrylic, primarily because I can achieve the same density and sproinginess with wool, and acrylic hurts my hands to knit. I'm not a big fan of cotton, but I do like some mercerized cottons. I am not allergic to anything that I'm aware of.

2. What do you use to store your hooks/needles in? We have a lovely vase for our straight and circular needles, and the dpns sit on the shelf next to them, sometimes in sets, sometimes not. The dpn organization sucks, but we've just gotten some coils to try and amend the problem.

3. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate, or advanced? I've been knitting for two years this month, and I would consider my skill level to be intermediate--I am no longer afraid of learning or trying new skills, I'm pretty adept at basic techniques in texturing (though colorwork is not in my skillset) and shaping, and I'm willing to modify things a little when I need to. I have yet to finish a sweater yet, though, so that kind of holds me back a little.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? I do.

5. What’s your favorite scent (for candles, bath products, etc.)? I'm kind of picky. I don't like strong scents for candles, and they absolutely cannot be contrived (like 'rainstorm' or 'childhood memories'). They have to be natural smelling (i.e., real vanilla, not commercial plasticky vanilla). And I really, really want to try out soy candles because they burn cleaner and aren't as intense smelling. As for bath products, I'm even pickier. I hate to seem snooty here, but I'd honestly rather not have anyone buy me anything I won't use. I do love a lot of the stuff at Duross & Langel, so if you feel it absolutely necessary to bathe me in aroma, that would be a better bet than anything else.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? What’s your favorite candy or snack? Ye gods, do I! Well, I'm a strict vegetarian (basically a vegan without the super strict restrictions...which I'll talk more about later), so that limits me a lot. I no longer crave chocolate because I don't like bittersweet chocolate, but my favorite chocolates in the whole world were real, Irish Cadbury's bars and pecan turtles...if I ever find vegan pecan turtles, I think I will weep or piss myself with glee. I don't know which is more likely. Right now, my addiction is the vegan oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies that they sell in the bakery section at Whole Foods. They're so hard to find, so I buy a whole bunch when I find them. I love cookies. I used to be a cake girl, but vegan cake so far doesn't impress me. Feh.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like? Do you spin or do other fiberwork? I'm kind of getting into sewing, but not enough to really warrant action on the world's part. I don't spin or do any other fiber-related thing.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s (in case your buddy wants to make you a CD)? I'm quite the eclectic, and I find it very hard to describe the songs that give me shivers. My favorite artists are Franz Ferdinand, Imogen Heap, the Beatles, Cake, Tori Amos (I used to be such a devotée, but I find it hard to like some of her more recent stuff...Scarlet's Walk was my favorite album), and Dar Williams. I like Sufjan Stevens, Modest Mouse, Interpol, Simon & Garfunkel, and Green Day a lot too. I know that sounds kind of narrow, but honestly, some of my favorite songs are by artists like Dvorák, Broken Social Scene, Kanye West, and David Bowie. I like a lot of stuff.

9. What’s your favorite color? What color can you not stand? My favorite color is green. Rich, verdant, luscious green that you can only truly deeply feel and understand if you've seen Irish grass. I think that's the green I keep searching for. I should mention (though this proves my lameness and fashion ineptitude), that my new neutral is brown. I'm really trying to get away from black (though I do enjoy a good gray now and then). So earthy tones and rich tones are excellent for me. Pastels, not so much.

10. Do you have any pets or children? Is there a difference between the two? I have two awesome, wonderful cats named Indy and Maddie. I heart them immensely.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens, ponchos, wrist/arm warmers, gauntlets, and/or legwarmers? Yes, yes, yes, NEVER, no/no, yes, no. I don't like bulky scarves, I like snug-fitting hats that cover the ears, I'm pretty open to mittens as long as they're not scratchity (same for gauntlets).

12. What is/are your favorite item(s) to knit? Hmm. I don't know that I have a favorite. I knit a lot more socks than anything else, and I think that's a medium I really enjoy. However, hats might be more of a favorite for me because of the ease and the more instant gratification factor.

13. What are you knitting right now? What am I not knitting would be a better question. On my needles are: the Heelless Sleeping Socks from Knitting Vintage Socks, four pairs of toe-up socks, the landscape shawl (which is currently a little in limbo because Indy sort of removed part of it from the needles, and I can't seem to get it back on right, so I keep setting it aside), and Leo from Knitty (for my skinny-as-a-mongoose younger brother). That's what I would consider in potentially active knitting...semi-UFOs are a whole other issue...

14. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, or plastic? I love circs. I find that I knit better on them, too. I'm not as averse to using bamboo as I once was because my Crystal Palace bamboo dpns are pretty great, but it's not my favorite. And plain aluminum I am not much of a fan of anymore. Plastic used to hold a special place in my heart, but I have since moved on. My new needle love is the Inox/Prym line. They're my absolute favorite, and without fail, I will choose them over any other brand unless the size/type isn't available.

15. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? We own a half-assed ball winder. We do not have a swift, though I want one someday (part of me is also a little scared of them...dork!).

16. How did you learn to knit? Mac taught me one fall afternoon in 2004.

17. What is your favorite holiday? I honestly don't know anymore. I have lots of things I love about different holidays, but I don't love the days so much anymore. I do love seasons, however, and my favorites are fall, followed by spring which is tied with winter, followed very, very distantly by the behemoth heat-monger that is summer. I love everything about fall though. I'm from Michigan, so the crispness in the air and the cool breeze is invigorating to me. I love the leaves changing color and the culinary change into heartier fare. I feel like autumn holds so much promise. And winter I don't love here so much because people are such freakin' pansies about it. And there's hardly any snow to make dealing with the cold feel worthwhile.

18. Is there anything that you collect? Technically, yarn, but that is simply by virtue of the fact that I have so, so much of it.

19. Are there any books, yarns, needles, or patterns out there that you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? If you don’t have any subscriptions, which knitting magazines do you read regularly? I'm interested in books about stitch patterns, primarily. I have several pattern books, and I find them inspiring, but I would love some good stitch sources. Yarns, well, I am always interested in trying interesting animal fibers. I'd like to try some soy-based yarn, too. No needles or patterns, though. I subscribe to Interweave, and I'm not really interested in other magazines. If I knew of another really consistently good one, I might be inclined, but Vogue Knitting and Knitters and the other ones I've found don't pique my interest. I like new takes on classics much more than trendy things, which is probably why I prefer Interweave.

20. Are there any new techniques you’d like to learn? Continental style knitting for sure. I'm just not able to get my tension right. Someday, I will delve into fair isle, but I'm not interested right now. I'd like to know some more methods of casting on (I know the thumb cast-on, which I love, but I'd like to have the knowledge of other methods).

21. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? What are your hat measurements (the measurement around your head)? Yes, I am. I knit more socks than anything else. Though I am so damned slow. I wear a size 10 shoe, and my foot is about 10 inches long with a circumference of between 8 and 9 inches. And my head is 22 inches around.

22. When is your birthday? 8 December 1981. Squee!

23. Are you a vegetarian, vegan, or have other dietary restrictions? I'm a strict vegetarian. No meat, no eggs, no dairy. I'm not super super obsessed about things like where vitamins or food coloring are derived from. I eat honey, but not gelatin. If the allergy information says it contains milk or egg ingredients I don't buy it, but if there's no allergy information and I'm not sure what the source of the stearyl lactylate is, I will likely buy it. I choose to eat this way mostly for my health, but also because of the environmental effects of commercial animal production. I don't believe eating meat is wrong, but I do want to lessen my environmental footprint. Global warming and ecological sustainability are becoming very important to me.

24. Do you have any blogs (personal or knitblogs) other than your LiveJournal where you regularly post? I don't actually post much (ahem, ever) at my livejournal, but I do post at http://www.monochromaticgirl.com, which is my blog. I'm not a great poster these days, but I'll make more of an effort because you're reading.

25. Do you have any blogs (knitblogs or otherwise) or websites that you visit often (besides LiveJournal)? This piece of info is to help your Secret Pal learn more about the things that interest you. I read the standard knitblogs--Yarn Harlot, Wendy Knits, Grumperina, and See Eunny Knit. My main haunts outside of the blogosphere are metafilter (particularly AskMetafilter), Flickr, Netflix, Google (ahem...), Nabisco's free Mah Jongg...because I like the sounds and the ease..., Vegweb, the site for the Ritz theatres, and lately, random Indian cooking websites (ohmigod, am I obsessed with Indian food of late).

The House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III

2006-09-10T00:44:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since I read a book (which is disheartening, I know), and an even longer while since I reviewed one, but why not, eh? I've become skeptical of any book baring Oprah's seal of approval, but I try not to hold that against authors, and I think I'm glad I ignored her good taste.

I say I think because this book was tense, and reading it had my stomach in knots on far too many occasions. The book has an ensemble cast of three protagonists and the various people in their lives, and of those three, I really only liked one. The gist of the story is that Kathy Nicolo loses her house to the county due to a paperwork snafu, Lester Burdon is a cop who helps evict her, and Colonol Massoud Behrani is a naturalized US citizen who has the (good) fortune to buy the house from the county without any idea of Nicolo's circumstances. Nicolo and Burdon get involved, and they spend the novel trying their damnedest to have as much sex as possible and get her house back, all the while, Behrani tries to start a new, better chapter in his family's life--finally, something honestly good for the first time since they were forced to flee Iran.

There's a really strong sense of forboding throughout, and though I knew something horrible and tragic was going to happen, I was anxious about who tragedy would strike. I was surprised about the outcome, and I felt really defeated in the end. It was kind of like watching a foreign film where things have the potential to go well for the characters, but instead, everything ends very sadly and you leave the theater wondering why people are so selfish and inconsiderate.

The characters were very well developed, and their individual stories made it very easy to sympathize or despise them. In a way, aside from what happened in the story, the book made me sad about the world we live in. I can't fully explain why, but it has everything to do with the people all around us everyday. The things that motivate us and how blind we are sometimes to the strife we cause. But in spite of the sadness the book left me with, I think it was a worthwhile read. I think that it's important to partake of books and movies and music that make us feel profoundly.

Self-Portrait with Cat (Not Really)

2006-08-25T14:01:00.000-04:00

Close-Up
Originally uploaded by monochromaticgirl.

Mmmm....baked goods....

2006-08-23T13:08:00.000-04:00

Well, flickr won't let me add a blog at the moment, so hopefully, this link will work: Click here, Sarah!

Muahahahaha!

Updaterrific!

2006-08-21T10:45:00.000-04:00

Down on the left, you can now find two feeds for the blog. It turned out that it was just a matter of moving things to public_html. That was the same problem with all the monthly archives over there, too, so those should be working now too. For some reason, blogger just sends them there. Perhaps I should fiddle around some more with my settings. Hmm.

Lots of big, crazy plans for today, man. I have yet to shower, so that's still on my list. I have to go get groceries and go to Reading Terminal Market for cheap produce, I have three ads to write and a career counselor to call, and then there are some other earning money related things to do. It's almost like my day will have structure! Holy unexpectedness, Batman!

If I have time, remind me to show you a couple things I've been knitting. I futzed around with flickr a bit last night, and I might as well share, you know?

The Sequel

2006-08-21T09:52:00.000-04:00

So for all of you frothing at the mouth about Snakes on a Plane, you should check out this fabulously depicted idea for a sequel by one of my favorite bloggers, Franklin Habit. I may be waiting for the DVD of the original, but I'll be first in line for the sequel.

Blog Feed...Hmmm....

2006-08-18T11:35:00.000-04:00

So srah mentioned that she would read more often if I had an RSS feed, and technically, I do--it's sitting amongst the files when I'm in the CPanel. But it's not in the public_html file, so I'm not sure if that means it's not public, and I don't really know if it's supposed to be there. Any ideas? What am I supposed to do with atom.xml and rss.xml?

Meme from Crowyhead

2006-08-17T17:38:00.000-04:00

Leave a comment and I'll give you a letter. Then you must think of 10 song titles that start with that letter (as well as the artist), without using Google or other cheats.

I got T.

1. 'Take a Picture' - Filter
2. 'Today' - Smashing Pumpkins
3. 'Talula' - Tori Amos
4. 'Tiny Little Mustache' - Stephen Lynch
5. 'The Twist' - Chubby Checker
6. 'Tiny Dancer' - Elton John
7. 'Tusk' - Fleetwood Mac
8. 'Trouble' - Coldplay
9. 'Tender' - Blur
10. 'This is the New Shit' - Marilyn Manson

Job Free

2006-08-16T16:42:00.000-04:00

I quit my job yesterday. And even though it's been almost 24 hours since I left the center for the last time, it hasn't actually sunken in completely. But the huge weight of 'I wish I didn't have to go to work today/tomorrow/Monday' is gone, and I haven't yet felt the potential panic that being unemployed without a long-term plan might bring.

Since I haven't had a 'vacation' in almost a year (and does going home for a week really count?), the rest of this week is all about doing whatever I want, and next week, I'll start making appointments with temp agencies and looking for a different job. I need to put more thought into what kind of longer term work I should be doing. I don't need something awesome, you know? Just something where I can wake up and be okay with going to work.

Weekend End

2006-08-14T08:47:00.000-04:00

And another week is upon us. How was your weekend? I have no complaints.

On Friday, I cooked us a good old fashioned Midwestern meal--roasted potatoes and gravy with corn on the cob, and then we watched a bunch of M*A*S*H. And we slept late on Saturday, and I made Sarah breakfast. I popped down to the farmer's market at Rittenhouse Square and got a whole mess of tasty things--corn, garlic, peaches, pears, cucumbers, summer squash, and a watermelon. And carrying it home, I managed to acquire the most peculiar bruise on my shoulder. It's a single very thin line of bruise--as thick as the line of a felt-tip pen. The whole area's very tender though, so I know now not to carry so much in one spot for so long. Ah well.

After that, we got a car and went to run some errands. Including getting groceries at Whole Foods. Now, I'm totally going to gush for a moment, so deal, but since I'm making an effort to buy and use more eco-conscious products and be less wasteful, Sarah has totally jumped in and kept pace all the way. And that makes me so warm and happy inside, I can't even tell you. It's the little things that really get me, because they add up. I was pleased when she agreed that we could get the energy star bulbs, and then when she got enthusiastic about the prospect of recycling. But when she's looking for good, wholesome things with me and on her own at the supermarket, well, I'm astounded and bowled over with joy.

Yesterday, I knit and did a little tidying after we went and got pedicures (I got the new girl...all of maybe 14?). I finished a sock, and we actually have nice, reasonable lunches for a change.

My only complaint about the weekend, and this is really more of a complaint in general, is that I wish I had knit more. I don't knit really quickly, and I get so distracted by thinking or other things sometimes, that I don't ever knit as much as I want to, you know? I have all these projects on the needles or sitting in UFO (unfinished object, for non-knitters) purgatory, and I can barely get through anything.

I kind of think that a lot of my 'why don't I ever have enough time for X?' and 'why don't I do more of Y?' questions would be answered if I stopped watching tv. I'd have more time to knit and read, and I'd have to think more, like I used to. I really do think tv has a way of fucking with your thought patterns. You get so engrossed in a world that explains itself to you, and then you have no reason to wonder or care between bursts of mindless entertainment. I remember being told that one of a writer's greatest enemies is television. It's something to ponder, I guess.

Anyway, the teens are about to get in here, so I need to go. Perhaps I shall have more to say later.

Greaaaaat Timing...

2006-08-10T09:49:00.000-04:00

Well, since there were some terrorists planning to do shit to planes, there are some new restrictions on carry-ons in effect. And Sarah is flying home today. With the plan to not check anything.

To say that I am a wee bit nervous is really, really putting it mildly. She can't bring a drink onboard. She can't bring toothpaste. And she can't bring any of her liquid make-up or proactive or anything like that. She just called to tell me that the security line at Seattle--the friendliest big airport you could go through--is three hours long, and she and the rest of the passengers are waiting at the end of the line in the parking garage...yeah. She is sooooo not going to be in a good mood when she gets home.

I just hope she doesn't get too disgruntled about her loss of fluids with a security guard and end up getting severely frisked or arrested or something. Because I mean, I would love to go to Seattle, and this weekend is as good as any, but I don't think that going there to bail out my girlfriend is any part of the makings of a good time.

Keep your fingers crossed, and I'll keep you posted about whether or not I'll be making any unexpected voyages westward...

Holding Back a Scream

2006-08-08T11:19:00.000-04:00

Today, I don't think I can handle this. It took less than five minutes of being around these kids to be blinking back tears. They were raised to not respect authority, and they don't.

Camp is over at the end of the week with several weeks of post-camp to deal with. I can't wait to see what kind of mental snapping happens before September.

Big Brother is Checkin' Me Out

2006-08-08T09:56:00.000-04:00

I just had to have my hand scanned so I can start scanning in and out of work and lunch. Just like at the Crimson Permanent Assurance. Only creepier.

Sigh.

Comca$$tic

2006-08-04T12:37:00.000-04:00

The weekend is finally almost upon us. To say it has been a long week would be all too accurate.

We've been having a lot of problems with Comca$t this week, and it looks like they don't want to resolve them...or that's how they want us to see things, anyway. Our internet is technically 'working' in that we are connected. However, we've gone from having a decent connection to one that makes even my sad little 28k modem from 1996 look awesome. Pages time out, outlook times out when trying to send or receive. On our little network properties, we're sending and receiving like 400 packets in 20 minutes when we should be doing much more. It wasn't like this before.

So we called Comca$t, and they made an appointment for us for Saturday (mind you, we called them on Monday...this was the only available slot that wasn't during the workday on Thursday). We get a voicemail on Tuesday that says, 'Sorry we missed you. Please call back to reschedule your appointment.' So Sarah called back and complained, and we got our Saturday appointment back.

Twice since then, we've gotten voicemails from them stating that the problem is fixed and our modem is connected and that our appointment was cancelled. They've been having outages in the area, and they keep bumping our problem into that group, so the cancel our service request when the outage is fixed. And if they get your voicemail and not a real person, they automatically cancel your appointment...because clearly, we should be sitting on the phone while we're at work waiting for them to call and let us know our totally unrelated problem is fixed.

When they cancelled our appointment via voicemail yesterday, we lost our Saturday slot, so now we've got one one Sunday. If they don't cancel it. I've got my phone in my pocket with my loudest ringtone on so even over very loud kids, I can hear that Comca$t is calling to continue their subjugation of their customers. And I will be making a very polite but angry phone call to them letting them know that I expect compensation for their abomidable customer service in addition to their technical problems.

So no one will see me online until Sunday at the earliest. At least this means I am forced to ignore the computer for a day or so instead of wasting all of my time in front of it. I think that's one of my chief disappointments about myself (and the folks in my generation)--we're drawn to wasting all of our time in front of the new idiot box. Sure, it's a smarter idiot box, but it's still an idiot box. Hopefully, I will be able to get a lot of knitting and tidying done in the meantime.

Loops by the Loopy One

2006-08-03T12:00:00.000-04:00

One of my morning groups is huge, but not huge enough to split into two groups, so inevitably, the kids have to share computers. This group also happens to be the age where people start getting mean and catty with each other. So I have a couple of outcast girls who know they aren't liked, and the other girls won't share with them, so they just come in and take a seat up at the front of the room while the other girls play (it's happened twice, and even if it looks like I'm playing favorites, they're going in first from now on because some of the other girls are serious bitches).

Anyhow, one of them colors pictures for me during class, and the other just sits and chats with me. Today, she wanted me to show her how to knit, and so I showed her, and then she insisted very politely and enthusiastically that I let her try. So I did. And she could be good at it, I think. There were several other girls who seemed interested, so if I teach her, maybe others will want to try it...that scares me. But she's nice and lonely, I think, and I would like to show her how. Sigh. I guess during post camp, I should just bring in the needles a former coworker gave me (a whole mess of straight size 7s) and the acrylic yarn we wanted to unload, and see what happens. It could be worse.

My own knitting is plugging along...nothing really interesting. I'm working on mouse bodies, and last night, I finished the heel of my first toe-up sock. I think I kind of want to try Wendy's method next time...it won't be a substantial heel, but maybe it will be easier. Or I could try the heel from Widdershins from the latest knitty. That might be nice--traditional feeling heel, but toe-up. Hmm. I just think it would be nice to keep working and not have to go back and work the heel later (which is what I did this time). As soon as I get the mousie count (I'm almost done with the last two for the blogathon), I am going to try a little 'project monogamy' and only work on one thing until it's done. I'd like that kind of focus right now--just working at one thing and then working at one other thing and so on.