Secondary Highway

New Blog!

2008-07-11T16:57:00.001-05:00

We Have House!

...and I have started blogging our meager exploits in home improvement.

Waiting... and Obsessing

2008-04-07T08:58:00.004-05:00

After looking at this page for the first time in over a year I realized... that I haven't posted in over a year. I'm not sure anyone has even noticed.

Worse yet, the last addition to this blog was a very sad one, in fact, reading it again indeed made me cry. Losing a parent sucks. Seriously sucks, and not something I think you ever really fully recover from. It gets a little easier though, and for anyone concerned, I'm ok.

Lots of things happened over the past year. Finally started telling people we eloped (in October of '06), started coaching along with my husband for a trackday organization, got my racing license and won a Championship, which was totally an opportunistic win, gotten just for showing up (I'll explain later... maybe), and started looking to buy a house.

That last item is sort of why I'm scraping off the crusties on this blog. After reading several house-blogs, if we get the house we put an offer in on last week, we'll have some stories to tell. It wont be as exciting as buying a haunted house for a dollar and then moving it, living in Morocco (so much envy - I have wanted to see Morocco for a very long time now, reviving a crack house or dealing with carpets soaked in pee - but it's still going to be a lot of work. Keep your fingers crossed.

For the time being I'm obsessing about kitchen cabinets, appliances, flooring materials, researching plaster vs. gut and drywall, rain barrels, painting aluminum siding, and natural prairie landscaping. Eeps!

The Better Place

2007-01-08T14:26:00.000-06:00

I was just thinking, that I envy people of strong religious faith sometimes. It gets a little tricky when your own convictions are wishy-washy at best, coming from a childhood of church and Sunday school, but never having it be an overwhelming theme. No prayers at meals or bedtime, no threats of judgement. It was just something you did on weekends, being a religion far more liberal than most. Then you grow up and questions are asked and your beliefs fall more in line with being about a vague sense of energy and connectedness in the universe, that your upbringing was just one way of describing and packaging all of that.

I have envy because even though I feel a sense of connectedness still to my mom, not really a presence, but... some sense of her, I don't know what that means. I have envy because it would be nice to be able to say "she's in a better place, and she's looking down and watching over us and can hear our thoughts and prayers" and that's what that "sense" of her is, I just don't have that kind of faith. I can't commit fully to any thought other than what I've seen. That she suffered through an awful disease, finally let go, had her body burnt up and sealed in a crypt in a brass urn, and she's just... gone. I have envy that people can get comfort from their faith dispite those awful thoughts.

The place where she's buried, I saw something I'd never seen before. Urns on display. For a much higher fee than the outdoor marble crypts, one can have their remains displayed in glass fronted cabinets in a climate controlled chapel. The sight of this all at once interested and repulsed me. I liked the idea of having a diorama like display of a persons interests and life. Better to remember them by. You learned a lot more about the person laid to rest there when there was a photo included, or some small remnant of a hobby, like the vintage stork sewing scissors I have a replica of in one of the cases, but then at the same time it was somewhat eerie. Like some form of preservation, not unlike being frozen. I can't help but think I'd much rather be put straight in the ground, or cremated and spread someplace. My mom hated the idea of being buried, but I have to say if I'm going to beleive in the universe and the connectedness of everything, then it makes more sense that I be turned into dirt to grow new things.

Can she hear me when I tell her I'm sorry? That I appologize that I couldn't hug her or give her any words of hope her last night, instead of sitting there for hours watching her breathe as she slept, hoping she wasn't in pain and that hearing my dad and I talking could give her some small amount of comfort. That she was right, that I should have called more, and stopped in more often.

Whether or not she's looking down on us in the afterlife, being reincarnated, a part of the universe, or only living as a memory for everyone who knew her, if she was never going to recover, she is in a better place, I just wish she hadn't gone there so soon.

My Underpants are Haunting Me

2006-11-20T09:40:00.000-06:00

It's the third time in two months. The third time my underpants have haunted me.

The first time was almost expected, there's always something unfortunate hiding under the bed. In this instance it was a pair of fuschia boy-cut underpants under the mattress on the floor that made their presence known when a friend and his friend were helping me move some furniture around. Embarrassing, but nothing tragic. I mean, they're underpants. Big deal. The weird thing is that I'm not one to really wear a lot of pink, so it almost seemed like I had a dirty little secret exposed: I have pink undergarments. *Gasp*

The second underpants haunting happened when making up a bed for a friend who was visiting for the weekend. I pulled clean sheets out of the linen closet, threw the fitted sheet onto the guest bed in full view of the guest, and out flew a black pair of underpants. Again, they were boy-cut and this time in no way revealing of my inner secrets. I believe I yelled something to the effect of "not again", grabbed them, and ran away. As an isolated incident, this wouldn't have been a big deal, but this being the second time in a few weeks of my underpants showing up at inopportune moments, I was starting to suspect my under garments were up to something.

Now we get to this past Sunday. Brunch with friends/soccer teammates. This time we were out in public, and I'm desperately hoping that no one noticed besides me, that a pair underpants decided to come to brunch with us. About halfway through my scrambled eggs I reached down to my purse to check my phone, and laying on top of my purse there they were, black thong underpants. I was horrified. They were well out of sight, but how did they get there?? They must have traveled along, stuck to the sleeve of my black sweater, and fallen off at some point. I shoved them into my purse and started laughing.

My unmentionables are trying to tell me something. This morning, my new favorite bra broke while I was putting it on, and on the drive to work I swore there was something slightly silky hiding in my pants leg. I'm not sure what to do. How to you exorcise underpant demons?

Sockmonkey, a Photo Story

2006-11-01T17:12:00.000-06:00

The Sockmonkey Lives! Not only did I sell the two premade suits I had on-hand, but I've got a couple orders for more, and hear of one woman in CA who made the suit and won a costume contest! Hurrah! My original prototype suit made the rounds as one friend borrowed it for a party, and I made Christian wear it while he accompanied me to a couple of fire spinning gigs.

I did it for his own good, as he gets cold easily and I knew we would be outside a lot. He wasn't really into the idea at first, but by the end of the night was totally digging it. Unfortunately we had to leave one gig to go to another, which turned out to be a bust. It's unfortunate because I'm sure he would have won a costume prize. Ah well. Not really fair to recycle the same costume year after year I suppose.

The friend that borrowed the suit a week earlier nearly won the contest at the party he attended, but was beat out by a guy in a naughty nurse costume who got a flat tire on the way to the party, and had two cops stop to offer help. Eesh.

Anyway, here's Christian, dressed up as a sockmonkey, dressed up as a pirate, playing pool, and kicking my ass at it.

Setting up for the break:

Chalking up. (actually, red chalk and white knits are not a good combo)

Yes, yes he's calling the shot, corner pocket. Show off.

One handed, nearly blind, and he still made the shot.

He has since given me a good lesson in pool. I'm still terrible at it, but at least have a better understanding of how to make the balls go where they're supposed to, instead of just whacking at them like I used to.

Theme of Bigger Bikes

2006-10-30T09:59:00.000-06:00

So a couple weeks after riding an inline four for the first time, I was given the opportunity to ride one on the track. The idea was a little daunting since the TrackHawk is a fairly easy, low powered bike to ride compared to something like a race prepped inline 600. It turned out to be not so bad. Didn't get to the scary lean angle I've acheived on the TrackHawk, but by the end of two days, I was pretty comfortable and happy on the R6. The TrackHawk apparently has been sold, and so now I'm on the lookout over winter for a new track bike. I have no idea what to look for though, another Hawk? An SV650? Maybe an inline 600?

2000 Miles - Part Three

2006-10-25T10:10:00.000-05:00

Or, Does This Bike Make Me Look Fat?

Lunatic Fringer Ross found this pic of me going 5mph through Deal's Gap on the Barcalounger on the way back from Georgia.

I think it makes me look old and fat. It's more the jacket than the bike really, fancy new Cortech purchased at She Rides so that if it was cold on the way back I wouldn't freeze to death again. There was a guy behind us that had let us pass, and sever hours later he caught up to us again on the freeway, and followed us off at a gas station to "meet the chick on the FJR". I found this humorous, and it was kind of a theme, you get more props as a girl on a big fat bike than on a little sporty one.

Anyway, this was all several weeks ago, and many of the details are lost already. It was a fun trip though. Not sure I want to ride long distance again for a while, at least not without the proper equipment, but at least for now the Cortech might get some use if I can get my hands on a dirtbike and go ice racing this winter. Woo!

Here's what I posted to the Lunatic Fringers when I got back:

Haaarr... yeah, never made it to a coffee shop for internet access last night.

Did some errands and cooked up the only thing in my house: grilled cheese and tomato soup. That gallon of milk is doing something scary. (Richard and Harm know about my butch fridge situation. It contains nothing but condiments and beer, (although they're fancy condiments, and really good beer) along with the occasional take out container and tupperware containers of leftovers from Harm. I bought a gallon of milk a couple weeks ago, and that turned out to be a huge mistake.) Also ended up drinking 3/4's of a bottle of wine which put me straight to sleep.

The ride back was great in comparison to the ride down in the rain. I was seriously doubting any future long distance trips on Thursday, and it wasn't because of the bike. The Monster was actually totally comfortable. The only thing that was really sore were my shoulderblades. The airhawk probably saved it, and if I would have planned better and had my leathers, I probably wouldn't have been so miserable in the cold. If nothing else, it forced me to buy better gear. I love that coat, although the fact that it's puffy, and the squeaky boots make me think I should be hauling a snowboard around instead of getting on a bike.

I kind of expected Deal's Gap to suck so it wasn't really much of a letdown. Wasn't wanting to go fast on the Barcalounger anyway, although by the time I got back to the Mil I was pretty comfortable riding it and pushing it around on tip-toes. I wouldn't balk at having to ride one again for sure, but I don't think I really want one either. I don't think I'd ride it enough. Something medium sized would be good. Had the realization at some point on the way back that it's the first inline four I've ever ridden though, everything else has been a single, twin, or the viffer.

127 was a super nice road through TN and KY up to Lexington, along with whatever that "straight" road was that was supposed to get us to the freeway outside of the city. It's too bad it was too dark by then to see it.

For all the Lewis Black fans, Jay and I ended up at the Cracker Fuck Barrel for dinner. I swear walking into those places makes my eyes burn.

Monday morning I headed up 421 to Indianapolis, splitting between Cincinnati and Louisville, and I'm really glad I did. Nice and curvy through Kentucky, lots of zen riding alone on the Barcalounger. I was a little nervous about riding alone on "not my bike", but it really ended up being pretty cool. I say that I hate people, or am not really a people person, but for some reason really love the random conversations you get into with random people when you're on a bike (which can be good and bad).

The second half of 421 kind of blew though, and by the time I hit Indy I just wanted to get home, and realized I needed to get home in time to pick up my leathers before Alexa (http://www.spyderleatherworks.com - she fucking rocks. Seriously, she's the bee's knees, and she's got a super hot daughter that races in CCS. If you need leathers worked on, send them to her.) headed out of town.

Anyway, much love and thanks to the Vocaire's for the lodging, pancakes, and salsa, and to T for trailering the Hawk down for me. I was really glad to get to ride it a little bit there. I dunno, I'm happy doing a couple cooler runs and then just socializing, although yeah, moving the location and hitting less crowded roads would be cool too. I'm super happy Babs was able to make it, and if Richard, Harmony, and T all end up in Charlotte in a couple years Keener, y'all will have a lot more of like minded souls in the neighborhood.

I'm off of Monsters now, and back into the Hawk. Maybe it's all the track time spent on one, but it just feels... right. I mean, the Monster was super fun and all, and I'd still think about robbing a laundromat to buy the S4 when Richard gets it, (uh, I still want to talk you into trading for the 325 and some cash) but I want to keep the Hawk. So, the SleeperHawk project begins.

2000 Miles - Part Two

2006-10-06T19:28:00.000-05:00

So, we made it to Suches. Mileage total so far, 1,200 miles.

I'm a little buzzed at the moment on Corona's so I make no guarantees as to my grammar or spelling, waiting for dinner. Yesterday was lots of riding in the rain, which kind of blew. At one point though, around dusk, the rain let up a little, we were on a road with long sweepers and the sky was pink, reflecting off the wet pavement, and it was beautiful.

We stopped in Pikeville, KY and stayed the night in a goofy old motel that was probably built in the 60's. Front office with mirrored walls and leather couches stinking of cigarette smoke. We got up early to get breakfast next door at a place with a great sign all lit up like Vegas.

The morning was chilly but right off the bat the iPod played an Edith Piaf song, riding through the Appilachians, and all was good. It was followed by The Frames and some Sixteen Horsepower and I couldn't even feel the chill. We saw all sorts of funny sights on the back roads through Tennessee and North Carolina like a pony in someone's front yard and three guys trying to break the bead on some huge tire that must have come off of some kind of huge earth moving equipment. Lots of yard sales and crazy stuff for sale. Jay nearly ran out of gas and we stopped at a tiny little gas station in the middle of nowhere that apparently has "hellacious" cheesburgers. We passed since we were still trying to make time.

This was after some great super twisty roads that were unfortunately wet, and covered in leaves. Wet leaves are terrible. They suck. A lot. Fortunately it stayed dry enought that I didn't have to put the Veruca Salt Blueberry suit back on that had to be worn all day yesterday.

People are talking and telling stories right now, so I'm loosing track of thoughts.

Ummmm... anyway.

We're waiting for food, we're drinking, telling stories, this is why I make this trip, even though this year is a little... um, awkward. Lots of laughing till your face hurts and lots of drinking and lots of completely fantastic roads.

Ok... more later... maybe I'll be more sober.

2000 Miles - Part One

2006-10-05T09:28:00.000-05:00

This weekend is the annual voyage to Suches, GA. We're currently at a friend's house in Cleveland, OH waiting for other members of our group to catch up from a late start. Last night my friend Richard and I rode about 420 miles from Milwaukee in wind and clouds. I hate wind. I think I hate wind more than rain, and I really hate rain. With about 150 miles to go, swerving back in forth in the lane trying to keep the bike going straight instead of sideways, I decided that this long distance riding thing is a bunch of hooey. Gimme track days and dirt trails and the long distance stuff can be covered by trailering to the good roads.

We have 703 miles to go, not all of it today, but probably more than half of it. Hopefully we can leave soon as the more time we sit around Jay's house, the less time we have doing the fun roads in Georgia and North Carolina.

We've been washing bikes and eating chocolate chip pancakes to pass time.

We'll be meeting Wally somewhere along the way, then Richard will split off to go to Charlotte, and Wally, Jay and I will go the rest of the way to Suches and T.W.O. where we'll meet up with Richard's wife and sister, Keener and Babs, Ihab, Ross, and T. (Hopefully I'm not leaving anybody out, not that anyone on the Lunatic Fringe list ever reads this blog, heh)

I'll be sad to have to give up Richard's sister's '96 Ducati Monster 900, which is what I'm riding. Once the money tree sprouts I'll have to start looking for one.

Wheeee... doubt I'll get to add to this before I get back, but thought since there was time it'd be good to get this down now.

More Faster-er

2006-09-15T13:16:00.000-05:00

Did a trackday at Blackhawk Farms on Wednesday. It was awesomeness.

First Official

2006-08-30T13:18:00.000-05:00

Spent the first night in my new place on an actual bed last night. Well, ok, so it's a mattress on the floor, only a minor step above a blow-up camping mattress, but I actually showered this time on account of having moved all my bathroom related junk over.

While in the shower this morning, I looked around, and realized that this is the first place I've lived in... what... jeebus... uh... many years. (T's: Weird mini 1' deep square tub. Superior St.: Short tub that was kind of icky. OB's house: Tiny tub. Warehouse: No tub, shower was a shower head sticking out of the bathroom wall, and a hole in the rubber lined bathroom floor. Rockstar house: Icky gross bathroom and boy roommates. Stuttgart: Weird tiny German tubs. Finally - Shauna's house in Minneapolis: Full sized claw foot tub, but never took baths due to not wanting to hog the only bathroom.) Many, that had a tub suitable for taking baths. Goddamn! Sweet!

The tub in the new place is regular sized, and clean. The sort of clean where the porcelain has been obviously scrubbed down many times, but pristine white. I squeaked a little bit, after years of hearing girls discuss the joys of bath bombs, and going into Lush shops only to have to overlook a huge amount of lovely smelly product due to it being strictly bath related (Uh, yeah, I'm a Lush fan, wanna make something of it?) this was certainly a happy discovery.

Maybe it's all because after this week of 14 hour work days to launch a huge project, while trying to move all my shit to a new place, a bath sounds like a really fantastic idea.

Anyway. I'm not sure I'm digging being in a lower flat. I had a choice of the upper or lower, but the upper is carpeted, and the lower is a little nicer with hardwood floors and a dishwasher. While unpacking some things last night I realized that leaving windows open is going to freak me out a little. Mostly because of this. Some of which occurred a block from my place. Sheeeit. At least they caught him, and the whole neighborhood is pretty vigilant about watching out for each other being on the border of the ghetto, but still, I'm going to have to find that cam shaft out of a small block Chevy that Justin gave me years ago and keep it by my bed, I mean, mattress on the floor.

Other than that, I slept better last night than I have in weeks, although I don't remember my mattress being quite that stiff, got used to having a luxe pillow top and was spoiled I guess. Viva la bed all to yourself!

What the Stars Would Say

2006-08-28T13:59:00.000-05:00

For almost every entry into and exit from a relationship I've ever had, I've done astrological compatibility readings. Now, before you start calling me out on my insistence that even though I have dreadlocks, I'm not a fucking hippy, please understand that I don't live or die by my natal chart, and big part of me thinks it's all a pile of hooey. That said, I've seen enough correlation in enough relationships that I think there's a kernel of truth there, and even if it is all bullshit, having something to springboard yourself into thoughts about how you interact with other people isn't a bad thing in my eyes.

So in my search for understanding what happened between me and the T, I found this:
"As long as the two of you can avoid playing the "insensitive bully versus vulnerable martyr" act"

And that instantly made a few things make sense. Since the beginning, I was irritated every time T would tell me, or our friends, that I was mean and demanding and "the boss" when it was entirely not true. I'd call him out on it and he'd say that it was just because he thought it was funny, but through repetition, I think we both started to believe what he was saying. I realize about myself that I can be quite caustic, and sometimes mean, but it's never out of spite or just to be nasty. I don't tease people to be cruel or hurtful. My meanness is poorly communicated honesty, which I recognize and have been working on. My bad moods are misunderstood quietness from a fairly even temper that is slow to excite or anger.

I grew weary of being thought of as a bad person by the same person who said they loved me more than anyone else ever, and by myself. I was starting to believe it.

Then there are the things within myself that I know about already, and have mentioned in other postings.
"Aries people need to have a goal. Without the goal, life is meaningless. The goal can be long-term or short-term (short-term is usually best, since this sign isn't endowed with vast quantities of patience), but there must be a shining vision at the end of the chase. The Aries partner needs a quest, and is constitutionally incapable of settling into chronic domesticity without the feeling that there's a new challenge just around the corner."

As much as I want to fight that tendency, it always factors in.

Burn Baby Burn

2006-08-25T16:27:00.000-05:00

Finally! Photos of me spinning fire staff.
Last night was a New Moon Spin Jam at the beach, and send off for some of our group who are headed out to Burning Man next week. After lots of unlit lunchtime practicing, it's starting to feel really comfortable and I'm getting sort of good at it. Since my career in track riding is probably going to go on hiatus for a good long while, it's nice to have this activity to satiate adrenaline rush needs.

Living Room Doubles as Campground

2006-08-25T14:28:00.000-05:00

On an impulse, when I thought Beth and I were going to Burning Man, I bought a tent and sleeping bag. We're not going on account of last minute planning and lack of funding. On the suggestion of a couple coworkers, I decided to camp in my new apartment last night since I've been having trouble sleeping at T's place anyway.

After burning on the beach and then going out for a couple drinks, (being single is really hard on my liver, not to mention my lungs since I've started smoking again) I went to the new place to set up my tent in the living room, in front of the fake fireplace. Well, it turns out that the little, cheap, lightweight, backpacker's tent I'd purchased needs to be staked out in order to stand up, which made it totally useless on hardwood floors. (I'm sure the landlord would not appreciate me staking into the floor.) I didn't want to set it up outside because I don't know my neighbors and the neighborhood is on the border of sketchy areas, so I skipped the tent, and slept under the vast "sky" of coved ceiling and beautiful woodwork instead.

Decided to keep the stuff set up so that I can do it again if I don't get my bed moved this weekend since I've been crashing at friend's places here and there and don't like to impose.

Staying true to actual camping, my planning involved a change of clothes and a pillow, but completely forgot about towels and a toothbrush, so today, I steeenk. As for the tent, that stupid thing is being returned. What good is a tent if you can't set it up in your living room? I mean, c'mon.

Erased

2006-08-23T12:04:00.000-05:00

When I moved out of the Old Badness' house, I made an attempt to erase myself from his life. I dug out the first postcard I sent him and took it along with a few other things. This was mostly due to the fact that they were lumped in with all the letters from all the other ex girlfriends, and it was my way of defining the boundaries that my relationship with him after the breakup was going to be different than the relationship he had with them. That I wasn't going to allow myself to become and issue between him and whomever he ended up with next, unlike the issues we had with all of his other ex girlfriends.

This time around, I didn't want to erase myself from T's life, because unlike the OB, he's a genuinely good guy. I'm hoping that moving out and being separated would allow us to hang out and have fun again without the daily drudgery of living together, but he seems to be erasing me himself. The rational mind knows that that's his way of dealing, and hopefully healing, and he has every right to cope with the breakup in whatever way he needs to, but the emotional mind, well it still makes me terribly sad.

I have no interest in erasing him. If our relationship is disintegrating, maybe that's what needs to happen to allow for it to eventually be put back together again in a shape that works better for both of us.

Perfect for a knitting metaphor - if a stitch isn't working with yarn that you love, when it's the right color or texture or weight, but the piece is misshapen, you pull it apart and start over. Yeah, the yarn will be all kinked and bent out of shape, possibly even a big knotted up messy ball, but once it's knit back into something that works, the deformities are all pulled out and disappear and you end up with something better than before.

I Wanna Go Fast

2006-08-18T10:01:00.000-05:00

It pains me to post these, because I snagged them off of the photographer's website which I really should be purchasing but can't because that $65 need to go towards paying rent this month. Anyway, at least I can give here props - she's a great photographer, and super cool to boot.

These are a couple shots from a trackday at Road America last weekend. I'm still a mile away from getting my knee down, but damn that was a super fun track to ride. That's Ike behind me, the riding coach for the group I was in.

Rubbing It In

2006-08-18T09:31:00.000-05:00

If you didn't already know, Mr. T and I broke up a couple weeks ago. It's been hard to write about in public places, but it seems it's been long enough that it's not salt in the wounds.

I think it was a long time coming. Dispite our being the absolute most perfect couple on paper, the application of it hasn't been working out quite right. It could be blamed on Aries/Pisces conflict, the water puts out the fire, and the fire makes the water steam. We never communicated well. It could have been that it's impossible for me to cohabitate with anyone, this isn't the first time this has happened. I don't know, it's frustrating that I can't pinpoint what went wrong, because I still deeply care for him and his daughter. Just typing that makes me incredibly sad.

On the other hand, I signed a lease on a new flat last night, and I spent about an hour taking pictures, measuring rooms, drawing little diagrams and was consumed by the joy of having a new place that I absolutely love. There are trees and birds and grass and lots of space, and the knowledge that I'll be alone, with my own space again.

Last weekend, I got to spend a little time with a group of people I had just gotten to know. One of the guys, who is a bit older than me, and very goofy, but also very smart made an observation after seeing Mr. T and I interact. I was shocked, because I hadn't considered it, and it was completely astonishing that someone could read me so well. He said that it's obvious that I'm over it, while Mr. T isn't, and at the same time he can't imagine anyone ever lasting very long with me, and that it would be hard for people to keep up. I don't think that I'm hard to keep up with, but I do get bored and listless pretty easily.

I just stared at him, blankly, turning that over in my brain. It's true, but it's something that I've been repressing for a long time. I am the most unhappy when standing still, and the gravity of being unhappy just drags me further down. Which is really too bad for anyone kind hearted enough to hang around and tolerate it.

So, there it is again, the edge of the abyss, toes curled over for grip before jumping in.

More Fire Tool Photos

2006-08-17T21:34:00.000-05:00

Practice was cancelled tonight on account of some rain, so I dumped a bunch of photos off of my camera and found the shots from Bastille Days.

Marilyn with poi

Gene with staff

Gene with ball and chain

...more ball and chain

and more

Beth with hoop

Beth on the ground with hoop

Beth, Marilyn, and Anna hooping

3 hoopers

Basic Fire Tool Primer

2006-08-09T12:32:00.000-05:00

So far I've gotten to light up four times now, the last time was an impromptu performance downtown during Gallery Night which was the first time I lit up with my new tool - a fancy aluminum contact staff that had just arrived from New Zealand. I'm liking staff more than poi because it seems like dancing and movement is easier and more important, kind of like with hooping.

A few people have gotten really confused and/or curious when I talk about spinning fire so it seems like a good idea to show a few pics of what it looks like.

These shots are of SnowFire members during Riversplash, earlier this summer and a first attempt at photographing fire performance so the shots are not that great yet.

Anna with Poi

Eric with Poi

Eric on the ground with Poi and Gene with Staff

Beth and Anna Hooping

I think there's some shots from Bastille days on my camera, so once I get them off I'll post a few more.

Cuteness Overload

2006-08-09T11:51:00.000-05:00

While looking for some fire spinning pics, I came across a bunch of weird pictures of the cats, and hey - I haven't posted ridiculous/meant to be somewhat ironic cat photos in a while so here you go.

Lola likes to sit on/in things, like the sink, or like when she tries wearing my pants:

Unbeknownst to me, Mr. T has a habit of taking pictures of the cats on me when I fall asleep on the couch:

Then there's the sneak shots he gets when I am awake, but encumbered by a cat and cannot protest having my picture taken:

(I guess I wear things on my head a lot at home)

So once, I was able to get him back:

Fame Tracker for the Sockmonkey Suit: Part 4

2006-08-09T11:49:00.000-05:00

It's finally going to be on! Set your VCRs and TiVos!

Fire! Fire!!

2006-06-02T11:04:00.000-05:00

Last night was my first burn.

Let me elaborate. After a couple months of learning moves with practice poi (beanbags on the ends of nylon cord with handles) the group decided last night that at practice I'd get to do my first burn. Woo! Really need to finish up my own set of fire poi and get chains and different handles and wicks. Beth let me use hers which is good because she uses small wicks that don't make huge flames. The noise the whoosing fire makes as it spins around your body is almost deafaning, and if it weren't for me being ultra super insecure about my skills and everyone standing around watching me, it would have been rather trance-like. Ok, I would have also had to have gotten over being kind of shakey and freaked out too, but you end up feeling like you're inside a rotating ball of fire.

After my few elementary moves we put the wicks out and everyone else practiced for their performance tonight. I've been lax with practice but after seeing how good everyone else is, I have a renewed motivation for practicing and getting better.

I'll be working sound tonight, and hopefully I'll be able to get some photos to post, it's gotten pretty barren around here.

Social Lives of the Anti-Social

2006-05-31T11:17:00.000-05:00

In an attempt to combat a slight bit of social anxiety, I've been forcing myself to be social. Blogging has fallen victim as a result of my time being taken up by off-computer activity, which while time filling, isn't exactly interesting. Nobody cares that I spent however much time on the elliptical cross trainer thingy, or that I learned a new minor poi move.

The kits are getting along alright, they can sit near each other without growling, but they still swat and hiss when one or the other gets too close. They take after mom in that respect.

I'm off of crafting it seems. Not much inspiration and my stuff covered in dust isn't very motivating. I knitted a scarf this weekend though, while watching movies with The Kid. Looks like the Sockmonkey will be on TV sometime in August.

Tonight is bowling night, to keep my chops up over summer I've organized a bi-weekly drunken gathering at the Landmark for bowling with co-workers. So far it has turned out to be really pretty fun, even if the lanes at Landmark really suck.

Last night after getting tortured by my trainer, I watched The Sheltering Sky which is a terrible movie, but still beautiful, and reminded me how much I'd like to see Morocco.

When did I become so much of a watcher rather than a doer? When did doing things become such a pain in the ass?

Ketchup

2006-04-17T13:25:00.000-05:00

1. Thank you for the birthday well wishes! Stefan - I missed yours too. Bah! Happy Birthday!

2. I got hit in the face AGAIN on my birthday during a game, so no mo' soccer for me. I joined Ballys instead to gets me some excercise. I'm also going to start learning fire dancing with a coworker who is in a local group. She spins a flaming hoola hoop. Badass.

3. Since the Miata is cursed and got hit with a spray of rocks, after that damage is fixed, it's going to be sold. I already have a 1989 BMW 325i sitting in the driveway waiting for a new transmission to be its replacement.

4. We went to California to visit friends and hang out for a bit at the Grand Prix of Long Beach. Rented a convertible Mini Cooper S and put 530 miles on it while we were there.

Ok, back to work.

Tiny Bit of Hope

2006-03-13T19:23:00.000-06:00

I checked the HGTV web site today and it turns out that some progress has been made, but there's still no clear date for when Season Two is going to air. Anyway, here's my name! Woo!

Also, my head is feeling much better. Thanks for all the well wishes.

All About the Brain

2006-03-08T11:09:00.000-06:00

That last posting about Carty was really pretty random, but then I found myself thinking about him again yesterday, while I was getting a CT scan of my noggin. He did a record called AMAREI (MRI) based on the sounds he heard during his many brain scans. I could totally hear it.

No word from the Doc yet about my results, but I for sure had a concussion, and I for sure still have a pretty bad headache. It's improving, and after the range of physical tests, there's really no neurological damage, but they wanted to make sure I'm not bleeding into my brain or something like that. Fun!

Things That Trigger

2006-03-05T01:07:00.000-06:00

Watched the Independent Spirit Awards tonight on IFC. Afterwards there was a long promo for the revised Henry Rollins show. Seeing Henry Rollins makes me think of Carty. We saw Mr. Rollins do a spoken word performance together probably ten years ago. God. Ten years. It still sucks to think he's only been gone for two.

Not really much else to say about it. I guess this can just stand as another rememberance.

(That last link is to an old journal entry from about 7 or 8 years ago, written a few days after I'd found out about his first tumor - it's pretty poorly written but hey, I was pretty torn up at the time.)

Face Used as Blocking Device

2006-03-03T08:53:00.000-06:00

My nose isn't broken, but my sinuses are definitely pissed off. Last night I was standing in the wrong place at the wrong time as a soccer ball that had a tremendous amount of force behind it, ricoched off of my face. We won the game though! We actually won two games which was fantasic seeing as we lost every other game this season... by a lot. I tried playing for a little while for the second game but was overcome by the headache, dizziness, and nausea. I didn't barf and it didn't feel like a concussion - I woke up this morning and all is well. Well, except for the bridge of my nose being in a lot of pain and this headache. Fortunately there's no bruises and really very minor, superficial swelling. Ah sports.

Finally got pulled over this morning for having expired tags on my car. I noticed on MONDAY that my registration expired in DECEMBER, but I'd never gotten a renewal notice. Argh. The very nice lady officer gave me a warning, and now I have a month to pay the DMV and stop by the cop shop to show off the new tag. I've got "Predator" hair today (dreads in a big poufy ponytail and a bandana makes me look kinda like this guy.) and so it would have been kind of funny to be pulled over replete with a black and blue face... like I'd been beating the crap out of Arnold Schwartzenegger all night. Or maybe not.

Arrrrrrgh!!!

2006-02-20T10:29:00.000-06:00

No, it's not pirate day.

I got an e-mail over the weekend telling me that the new season of That's Clever has been pushed back to July. I have a bad feeling about this and am starting to worry that the ladies of Milwaukee episodes will never see the light of day. This will make me so terribly angry. Here's the message:

*****
Hi, this is an email to let you know that the schedule for the new season is being shuffled again. I know some of you are hearing from us for the first time, so please bear with me. HGTV has notified us that the season premier has been put on hold, and that the first episode will not air until sometime in July. As of now there are no set airdates for any episodes, including the ones that had received airdates. I apologize to those whom I have given airdates to. I know this rescheduling is hard to follow. I'm not sure when the new airdates will be available, but I'll let everyone know as I get them. Please do not email me unless you have a specific question that this email does not address, as there are over 200 people receiving this. Thank you.

Pu 'erh Tea

2006-02-16T14:04:00.000-06:00

Tastes a little bit like brewed horse poop...

...or at least what I would imagine brewed horse poop would taste like. And no, this tea has not been through the digestive tracts of any small indonesian mammals. It's tea that is roasted and aged moreso than regular black tea. It's supposed to be good for digestion. I really have a hard time getting over the pungent aroma of buckwheat and honey, which is what's in sweet feed for horses, but... mustier.

Also, if you drink a lot of it, it makes you crazy jittery on an empty stomach. Best to drink it after a meal because it's not a good awake kind of jittery that lots of coffee gets you.

City Services Defining Socioeconomic Status

2006-02-16T13:45:00.000-06:00

Or... They ain't got no salt in the ghetto.

Every time there's a heavy snow here in the Mil, I'm more than happy to drive around in it. Rear wheel drive + Snow tires + Four or more inches of snow = Most fun ever.

It's pretty crappy out today, sleet, at least four inches of wet, heavy snow and now it's sleeting again. The co-op was my lunchtime destination which takes me through a couple different neighborhoods between the store and work.

The office is in an out of the way light industrial park, and the minor road to get there hadn't been plowed yet, but as I got closer to main thoroughfares, it got progressively slushier, wetter, and less snowy. This is probably due to the literal tons of pre-emptive salt that's been thrown down all winter. Basically, the roads were pretty good - until I crossed from one municipality (wealthy) into the next (poor) where the road was a sheet of ice. Seriously - ice with few strips of snow. It wasn't a gradual change, no, it was a distinct line, and where the ice had sort of broken up it was like driving on really slippery gravel roads.

I would say that this was really appalling, until I got to the co-op, where I spend twice as much on groceries than at a regular chain store, and they hadn't bothered to do squat with their parking lot. Again, a sheet of ice. You'd think that with everyone spending $10 on three bananas, they could at least afford to sprinkle some organic cat litter around.

By the time I got back to the office, after crossing the line into the nicer suburb, all of the roads leading back to the office were plowed. Not just one little strip - but fully plowed side to side.

This was even more frustrating not because I could no longer do doughnuts in the middle of the road, but because I was trying to figure out how one city could be so efficient as to have all their roads clear, when another couldn't even get a main artery safe to drive on. What about public safety? What if someone needed an ambulance? I guess all those poor people will just have to wait a little longer.

Crap Art... Absolution

2006-02-09T11:00:00.000-06:00

This whole creative block thing I've got going on can end now. No now. I mean... now. Yes. Right now. Ok... now. Bah.

I made this piece of crap for an art auction at The Eisner Museum of Advertising and Design. They have an auction every year and give out boards to people to make a "Square Foot of Art" to sell and raise money for the museum. It's better than what I made last year, which was even crappier, but it just didn't turn out like I'd hoped. Part of the problem was knowing I couldn't easily start over. It wasn't supposed to be so... stark, and white. I built up the thickness of the board and added canvas thinking of painting a background but I didn't want to mess it up. The other thought was that the felt would be a little embroidered but I ran out of time for that. Oh well.

In happier news I found out today that the Eisner's website won something at the 2006 Madison ADDY's. I'm not sure what it won, but I'm still pretty chuffed about it. (I designed the Eisner's site.)

I also designed two t-shirts for the Eisner that I'll post pictures of when I get samples of them. The print coordinator guy called me yesterday to tell me that he saw them on press and thought they looked really outstanding and just had to let me know. How cool is that? Totally made my day.

Fame Tracker for the Sockmonkey Suit: Part 3

2006-02-08T14:20:00.000-06:00

We have an Airdate!
Friday, March 17, 2006 - Watch the show "That's Clever" on HGTV to see ME showing the world how to make a Sockmonkey Suit! (and a bracelet) Just keep your fingers crossed that they didn't make me look like a complete fruitcake. Hoy.

Note: I'm not sure when I'm going to make it into their episode guide - but I'll be on HCLVR-216 (right now it only goes up to 215 - argh!)

The Obligatory Cat Post: Part 5

2006-02-07T00:05:00.000-06:00

The promised photos:

Lillie being well lit by light reflecting off of the carpet. She's actually hiding under a bookshelf.

Faceoff under the bed:

Faceoff in the kitchen:

The Obligatory Cat Post: Part 4

2006-02-06T09:53:00.000-06:00

You getting sick of these yet? Well, too bad. (Although this will probably be the last one for a while - and it's not like I started opening Catster accounts or anything - but I do have some photos from this I need to pull off of my camera.)

This weekend was the big kitty face off between Lillie and Lola Kopi Luwak. Surprisingly, it went really well. Lillie isn't real fond of Lola yet, but I think has resigned herself, and has stopped hissing and growling at a distance.

It's actually really fascinating you know. I've long enjoyed being an observer of relational interactions of humans and the subtle power swings within groups of people. I'm no good at this when observing myself mind you, as I have as of yet to perfect any kind of ability to have out of body experiences. (Not like I'm trying or being at all serious either.) It's harder with animals since their language is so different but over the past few days I've been looking up a lot of info on the finer points of cat behavior - eye, tail and whisker movements and meanings behind vocalisations.

After a weekend of watching the cats interact, I've been surprised to discover that while we thought Lola would be put in her place, I'm not so sure that will be the case. It's almost as though even with Lillie putting on a big show, little Ms. Poop Coffee has the upper hand in her calm demeanor and sweet attitude towards the humans in the house. Meanwhile, both Mr. T and I have a few scratchmarks as a result of Lillie's anxiety. After two days, we can finally pet her again. So I wonder if she panicked, sensing a shift of power in the house. I don't think Lola is by any means some sort of tyrant, but it looks like she's winning the war by taking the peaceful - super cute purring bunting and kneading route. I'm still hoping to one day catch them cuddling, but for now, I'm just happy that they're tolerating each other's existence.

Ok, you're right I need to get out more. (Which I did do Friday night - so there.)

Another Reason ...

2006-02-01T14:11:00.000-06:00

... to name Lola after poop coffee: because that little cat lets out the nastiest farts ever.

The Obligatory Cat Post: Part 3

2006-01-31T10:23:00.000-06:00

Photos! Here you go Stefan - die neues Katze!

This picture shows a little more of her funny coloring - I've never noticed this kind of pattern on a cat before, it's not totally clear in the picture, but the tabby base has tortie spots in it, ergo the color name "torbie":

Her name from the shelter was Lola, as mentioned previously. I'm taking opinions as to whether or not to re-name her Kopi Luwak. Kopi is Indonesian for coffee and Luwak is an Indonesian name for the Civet. The two together is the name of the most expensive coffee in the world. A very hard to get brew made from coffee beans that have gone through the digestive tract of a Civet. Yes, it's poop coffee. It seemed kind of appropriate since her purr kind of sounds like a percolator. I'm still undecided. Lola and Lillie is a good combination with all the alliteration.

The Obligatory Cat Post: Part 2

2006-01-30T12:08:00.000-06:00

So Lola came home in a small kitty transporter, she seemed perfectly fine with the whole thing. Having been a stray, and then going to two different shelters in her short life have probably made her used to upheaval - strange for a cat. She exhibits some traits of a kitten who was weaned too early or was separated from the litter and her mother. Very needy and loves attention. If I lay on the floor, she rubs through my hair and starts chewing on the dreads.

We put Lillie in our bedroom, and then brought Lola into The Kid's room and let her out. It didn't take her too long to start exploring, and while she's a little skittish, she just wants to know who's coming into the room when the door is opened, and then comes out of hiding.

Lillie was pretty unaware of there being another cat in the house after we let her out of the bedroom until she saw me go down the hall to The Kid's room. I left the door cracked a little bit so she could sniff in the room. Lola mewed a tiny bit and that unleashed a chain of hissing and spitting from Lillie. I shut the door, and Lillie continued to hiss and growl. I talked to her through the door but to no avail. Finally, I opened the door and kind of shooed her back down the hall. She hissed and growled at me and went after my feet as I walked past her.

Ok, this may take a while. For the next few hours I alternated petting Lillie, then going into The Kid/Lola's room to pet her, then come back out and pet Lillie. She's obviously annoyed by this other cats presence in the house, but at least she's not at the door hissing incessantly.

This morning I checked on Lola, and when I came back out and tried petting Lillie, she smelled my hands, and started hissing at me and swatting at my hands. Argh. She would have nothing to do with me and so I left for work. This is going to take a while, but fortunately Lola seems to care less about Lillie. I just hope Lillie doesn't turn into a bitter, foul tempered bitch because of this. Doesn't seem like she's too thrilled about the idea of having a friend.

Hopefully, if we take this slowly enough she'll warm up to the idea.

The Obligatory Cat Post

2006-01-30T10:38:00.000-06:00

Or, Kitty Crisis of the Heart.

First off, I gotta say that animal shelters are always truly heartbreaking to me. I had a hard time when the Old Badness and I adopted Amelie and Miette, especially when we went back into the dog area, seeing all those sweet dumb faces in cages. We got a new cat this weekend, and the experience was unusually odd and sad.

The point of getting a second cat was to have a friend for Lillie, The Kid's cat who is four and a half. Lillie's a bit of a goofball, and somewhat moody. She mews at doors constantly and generally sounds pathetic and lonely, even when there are other people in the room. This is all a ruse though, because half the time you go to pet her, and she'll swat at you, annoyed.

On the first trip, I fell for a Himalayan mix. Blonde hair and blue eyes, Kitty was gorgeous and seemed quite friendly and happy to see people. She didn't look like a Himalayan with the ugly pushed in face - her face was traditional, but her coloring was cream with reddish points. We all sort of agreed on her and went home to think about it.

We went back on Sunday, and there were some new cats there, a few of them were interesting but I had my heart set on Kitty. We already knew that she'd be work - with all that hair and all it would mean daily brushing or she'd end up looking like me, and being that she was five and an only cat meant that the adjustment was going to be a lot harder. Then, the worst part. When we were ready to sign off on her, we found out she was surrendered because of litter box problems. That was the deal breaker. We have a lot of extra space but the thought of going through a several month break in period with unknown end results was just too much. Kitty really needed a no cat home with patient owners. I burst into tears and felt like an idiot for getting attached so quickly. It wasn't so much that we couldn't take her, it was the thought that we didn't know how many days she had left, or if someone else would be so taken with her pretty blue eyes before it was too late.

A hold was taken off of another cat I'd noticed while waiting, a young, pretty torbie, Lola, who'd been brought up from the back. (There's about 20 little rooms up front with animals available for adopting, and then there's an unseen place with about 90 cages where the other cats wait their chance at stealing hearts.) They'd put her in a room with another cat, and didn't seem to care, or even notice the other cat. Ok, bonus one, she's good around other cats. We went in to see her, and she started doing somersaults upon petting, and turned out to be a licker and headbutter. Super sweet. We found our new cat.

We didn't want another tabby, and I'm not a huge fan of full on torties, but Lola has really unusual markings - cinnamon tabby with random tortie patches and a white chest spot and white tips on her toes. So, I still get sad thinking about Kitty, but it's for the best, since Lillie is none too happy about the new addition. More about this in Part II.

Taunted with Sunlight

2006-01-18T09:42:00.000-06:00

It's fecking cold out again. In winter, you can always tell the cold days because it's sunny out. The sun was sort of missed, to be honest, and it's a nice change of pace.

Of course I only get to see it for the ride to work, and now I sit in my freezing cold windowless office in the suburbs, iChatting with a friend who has an office downtown who says he's roasting in the sunlight coming through the windows. Mean!

Recluse Breaks Free

2006-01-16T10:55:00.000-06:00

I've been trying to finish this posting for a while - too distracted.

For the first time in a while, the social calendar was quite full this weekend. Turns out I actually like people.

Friday night started out on a, um, stupid note. It wasn't terrible, just dumb - I ran out of gas on the way to my soccer game. The indicator light was on, I knew I needed gas, but I was running late and thought I had just enough to get there. Nope. About 5 miles short as my Friday the 13th bad luck would have it.

Mr. T and the Kid came to my rescue with 5 gallons of premium. He seemed mildly annoyed and when I appologized he responded with the ire raising "well, it's to be expected, you're just a girl and all" (said in jest) and I replied that if he weren't saving my ass at that moment, I'd be beating his.

The game was ok, I started coughing up a lung so I guess the gunk isn't entirely out yet from being sick a few weeks back. The stale locker room scented air in the soccer arena doesn't help much for clearing out the bronchial tubes either. We all went out for drinks afterwards which I haven't done in a while after a game.

Saturday we headed down to Chicago for a benefit show for the three Chicago musicians that were killed last summer by a stupid person. It was an odd and bittersweet thing. Since I didn't know any of the guys (Mr. T had worked with two bands one of the guys had been in) I felt a little dislocated, but it's still a sad and eerie thing to think that there were people missing from the stage, who weren't alive anymore.

We met a member of the Electrical Audio messageboards and her friend, and ended up getting late dinner with them. Definitely a bright spot to the evening 'cos she rocks.

The next moring we were off to St. Charles to have brunch with a bunch of Hawklist people who make your face hurt from laughing the minute you walk into the room. Bunch of crazy people I tell you, and you wouldn't think it from looking at them. Shooting squirrels in the garage with pellet guns and whatnot. Oy vey.

Finally, after that and a few shopping stops, we went to a friend's place for a Hungarian Paprikash party - and it was delicious. Was sad to learn that they are not going to move to Milwaukee, but Minneapolis instead - because I really like them, and it would have been nice to have them here, but I guess I just have to make it up to Minneapolis more often. A hangover left me pretty out of it, and Mr. T's allergies in a house with three dogs and two cats was getting the best of him and so we left a little early. It was really cool hanging out with a totally new group of people and getting to know them. That should happen more often. That means I have to leave the house more I guess.

To All the Girls I've Loved Before

2006-01-06T12:42:00.000-06:00

I've spent some time the past week or so digging up links to blogs of friends lost, so I thought I'd post a bit of a shout-out to any of you who follow the little link road and find me here.

It's not you, it's me, no really. Something happened that triggered reclusiveness, and an overall withdrawal from everyone known - past and present - over the past couple of years. This is something that I'd really like to remedy. It's a killer thing to have everyone you know spread out all over the country (all over the world?) and so in-person communication is impossible without a lot of cash and/or a lot of travel. Instead, this imperfect digital format will have to do. So please know I'm watching you (ew! creepy!) and thinking kind thoughts of all of you.

It's a mere coincidence that this would seem to be a resolution for the New Year, but it might as well be.

Is it Really So Terrible?

2006-01-05T00:13:00.000-06:00

That even though I repeatedly told myself that I would go to bed early tonight, I'm staying up to watch "Project Runway"? I know Mr. T thinks it's terrible, he hates this show.

Fame Tracker for the Sockmonkey Suit: Part 2

2006-01-02T22:54:00.000-06:00

Met a few friends out at Café Lulu tonight to see the premier of the Rollergirls TV show with all of the Brew City Bruisers gals. The fabulous Ms. Faythe Levine of Flyingfish/Paper Boat Gallery hipped me to the fact that the Sockmonkey is featured in this month's issue of Vital Source magazine! Woo! The same photo on the home page of their site is show not once, not twice, but THREE times in the printed magazine.

This made my day after the mean letter we got from a vendor at work for the sockmonkey Holiday cards we sent out. More on that later.

Goodbye '05

2005-12-31T19:35:00.000-06:00

Thanks to Brian and Patty for a fabulous pre-NYE party last night. Much fun, so much in fact that I have no real interest in going out again tonight. Mostly cleaning and organizing to make room for a new little space heater in the office. Hopefully that will make the temperature in there workable. Lots of watching Law and Order: CI/SVU as well.

Still working off the hangover of far too many vodka cranberries. Eesh. Anyway, Happy New Year!

New Scary Things

2005-12-20T14:16:00.000-06:00

Have you ever been to an American Girl Place store?

It's the scariest thing you can do a week before Christmas. Thinking about being surrounded by rabid mothers and whining children in an atmosphere fitting for a cult makes me want to stab my eyes out.

Oh the things you learn when you hang out with an 11 year old.

Not Trapped in the Basement

2005-12-15T14:58:00.000-06:00

It has been brought to my attention that my absence from social gatherings has led people to suspect that Mr. T has either killed me and hidden the body, or has me locked in the basement. Truth be told, I've locked myself in the basement. Well, actually not the basement because the basement is Creepy. There's a room down there that I think the former dope growing weirdo previous owner of the building used for sacrifices. From the looks of all the splatters all over the walls, the sacrifices were piÃ±atas filled with tar. They're too big, and it's too much to be resin, but then, he was growing a lot of weed down there so you never know.

Over the past week, after thinking I was getting better I got slammed with a full on sinus infection. I blame it on the little kid in line in front of me at a large Craft store chain whose face was covered in snot. I'm not kidding. Covered. In. Snot. She looked at me like all small kids do, with a mixture of fear and amusement, and I think in that look she Germed me. That's gotta be it. That, or the touching of escalator handrails, door handles, and product that hundreds of other people had touched while Christmas Shopping.

I'm not germ phobic at all. Really, no fear of dirt or other people. Germs are good for you, being exposed to them can make you less likely to get sick. Well, unless they're really BAD germs. You don't want those. Common sense caution and condoms are always called for. I caught a few minutes of the Tony Danza Show as I was leaving for work and Howie Mandell (jesus crap, I can't believe I'm not only writing those two names, but in the same sentence even) was a guest. He's got full blown OCD and can't/wont touch anything. He wont even shake hands. That's fucked up. I have a coworker who is almost that bad and I taunt him by calling his name and touching the bottom of my shoe with the palm of my hand.

Back to the point. I ran into one of my dear friends who has been fearing for my life lately at the post office (another fine repository of germy goodness) and I literally burst out laughing when I saw him. The jig is up! Proof that I am alive!

The Tension Builds

2005-12-13T09:49:00.000-06:00

I have a friend who hates children. More specifically, she hates strollers. She'll hide behind whomever her companion is at the time when she sees them. She did this to me once at the mall, squeaked, and fled, fearing those knee high contraptions of doom would start hunting her. If you spend a lot of time in malls, I could see an irrational fear of strollers becoming a problem.

The task of the weekend was to finish Christmas shopping. Dispite many good intentions for doing mostly home-maders this year, it has ended up being a store-bought holiday. Last night an ambitious project was started in the form of a blanket, but chances are really good that it will turn into Yet Another Scarf as time runs out.

For the most part, going into malls and shopping centers around the holidays is something I'm well prepped for. The lines, the agitated suburbanites, the downright crazy people, and the children, ah yes, the children. You know it's coming, so there's no need for getting all worked up about it, just go in, get it done, and get out. There WILL be a line, so don't be in a hurry. My one near moment of wanting to stab something happened while trying to find baby clothes, size 24 months for my not yet year old nephew/godson. In the mall outside of the entry for JCPenny, there was a line that went on for miles, miles, waiting to get to see Santa. This in and of itself is not so terrible, it was that someone, unseen from my position was trying frantically to get some poor frightened child to smile for the picture being taken, by squeezing what sounded like a dog toy over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over resonating with an echo over the white noise din of the crowd and bouncing off of gleaming linoleum. It was horrible. That was supposed to help? I was only walking past, ready to stab my ears out, I can only imagine what it was like, standing in line for hours with not even the excitement of a roller coaster at the end, just kids scared out of their wits being plunked down on the lap of a total stranger and a loud squeaky toy.

More Yarning

2005-12-09T12:54:00.000-06:00

Finally getting around to making some Christmas presents. This weekend will probably be all about Christmas shopping. This year seems to be pretty easy, the lists from my family are all pretty simple.

Last night my friend Liza and I went to a huge yarn shop to match up some other yarns to this lovely handspun, hand dyed yarn, from a woman in California who does the most incredible spinning, which I've had for a while now. It's been sitting because I didn't want to make Yet Another Scarf. I think one will become a sweater and the other a large rectangle wrap. I'm open to ideas though, so if you got any, lemme know.

It snowed all night last night, and besides issues with getting my windshield cleared off, the drive to work this morning was great fun.

Yup

2005-12-08T15:41:00.000-06:00

Still cold. So cold I can't wash the Miata which is coated in a thick layer of salt. Salt! I hate salt. Why can't we use more sand? Or make people use snow tires? Snow tires are the best thing EVER.

Time to take it to the carwash. I'm afraid of automatic carwashes ever since last winter, when I got stuck in one when it just stopped working with my car coated in soap. I rocked back and forth, waited, and finally sheepishly opened my door. Nothing. Looked around to make sure I would run over anything, and then exited the building. After a second attempt and yelling at the mean, stupid man at the gas station's counter, I ended up driving to another gas station with a car wash to finish the job. That sucked.

I need to take a picture of me in my shawl skirt. It's a big triangle that I crocheted last year, that I wrap around my waist and tie there as a lapghan because I'm sick of taking it off and putting it back on everytime I get up from my desk to pee or get more hot water for my tea. Cold, so cold.

Global Warming My Ass

2005-12-07T09:00:00.000-06:00

I know, I know, Tuvalu is sinking, but it's goddamn cold out.

Weekend in Review

2005-12-04T22:43:00.000-06:00

The past week I haven't really been feeling well. Just kind of on-going overtired and minor sinus stuff which means lots of headaches. Whee! Spent one night after work going through supplies and Mr. T got this lovely shot of me trying to keep warm while re-winding half used skeins of yarn. Very unfortunate hair that night.

A second item sold from my Etsy Shop yesterday which was fabulous. Very exciting. This should be pushing me to produce more stock, but after processing the order in the morning, and going to the post office to send stuff out, I had to go up to Fredonia to deplete the town of its electrical supply by setting up my parent's Christmas tree which has somewhere around 5,000 strings of lights on it. The ambient temperature of the room goes up about 10 degrees when they plug that sucker in. This is a long standing tradition in our family, my mother's obsession with having a well lit tree. Every branch gets wrapped with one string each of white and colored lights. Mercifully it's a fake tree, the kind that kind of folds open which makes this process much easier and only leaves my arms minorly raw from the scraping of plastic pine needles.

We dined on sloppy joes and potato salad since my mom has been feeling ill as well. This run of chemo isn't agreeing with her, and she was recovering from a day of dry heaves. She was able to eat a little bit which was good. I think she got a spot of food poisoning from turkey leftovers. Her immune system is compromised, so any little bit of bacteria will wreak havoc on her system, you know, because I'm a trained doctor and can diagnose things like that.

After getting toasty in front of the blazing hot tree, I headed off in the middle of a snowstorm to go to a work-related party. This annual piss-up is an "Appreciation" party for one of our clients. The turn out was much smaller than previous years, probably due to the road conditions that in most places required a brave driver and/or snow tires. Fortunately for me and my tiny rear wheel drive convertible, I have both. The drinking was kept at a reasonable level and the innapropriateness was manageable. Nothing too terrible. I did get a vodka tonic dumped on me at the end of the night when I tried tackling one of my bosses because he stole the small toy rubber chicken I'd shoved in my coworker's cleavage. (She'd pulled it out herself, he didn't go diving in for it.)

There was an inexplicable coin operated vending machine with monkey stickers and rubber chickens in it at the bar where the party was being held. The surrealness of this scene just barely beat out the discovery of a whole pig being roasted on a spit out back, and my later consumption of a small piece of it, and immediately regretting it. Just can't eat something that has a face. Can't do it without regret. Not a vegetarian mind you, but if there's a face on it when served, no go.

Woke up this morning with a headache that wouldn't go away. Spent most of the day just hanging around the house. Packaged up an order, watched a bunch of crappy movies that I've already seen a bunch of times. Nice to not do much of anything, and my goal tonight is to go to bed before midnight. I'd been hoping to make something with the beautiful selection of beads I picked up Friday night but then got all wrapped up in finishing something I've been crocheting while watching Grey's Anatomy and realized it was getting late.

So here we come full circle to why I haven't made much of anything this weekend. I'll also blame a lot of it on the arctic temperature in my workspace. So cold, the bottoms of my feet hurt from the floor/permafrost layer. Maybe tomorrow night I'll make sure to turn the space heater on as soon as I get home from work. It just sucks to shiver all day at work, and then come home to more cold. Not good for productivity at all. Maybe have to look into getting some timers. One for the space heater, and another for the espresso machine so that it starts heating up before I get out of bed.

Making Sales... Finally!

2005-12-03T00:39:00.000-06:00

I sold my first item online today from my Etsy Shop! Hooray!

It was one of these bracelets, which have been the most popular item of the pieces that have been for sale at a boutique downtown called Lela.

It may have to do with the fact that someone picked the matching necklace for a "Featured Item" on the home page of Etsy. Since then, the traffic through the shop has skyrocketed, but sales are still slow. As in, one in the past four months. It's all good though, if business were booming, I'd never get over the illness I've been battling for the past week and a half. I hate being sick.

Mr. T turned to "Hard to Kill" and then went to bed. Mean! Just watched the scene where Steven Seagal performs acupuncture and moxabustion on himself. I'm pretty sure you can't do that. You especially can't do that on your own back, while you're sitting, meditating. Now he's getting it on with the chick the geeks created in "Weird Science" who is wearing shoes that are way too big for her. Look at that, her heels are lifting out. I hate this movie. I'm going to sleep.

Fame Tracker for the Sockmonkey Suit: Part 1

2005-12-01T11:28:00.000-06:00

Well lookie here, it appears the Sockmonkey Suit got a mention of sorts in the Shepherd Express, not just once, but twice! The Shepherd is the local left leaning weekly pub for those not in the know. It has long been my favorite weekly paper of all the places I've lived in, so of course I'm chuffed to see my painting and suit up there on the top of the page. Sweet-ness!

Kind of makes the lugging of a living room worth of furniture up two flights of stairs, getting covered in dust, and having to interact with people for two days almost worth it. I'm kidding, I kid. It was a fantastic experience, I'm just not sure I'm going to make a career out of craft shows. If it happens, it'll be with much less, and/or lighter furniture. That, and everything has to fit in the bed of Truckasaurus. Next time around will probably be a lot easier to deal with since the hard stuff like making signs, and constructing the backdrops from pvc pipe and 12 yards of fabric (that was a total score at $1.25 a yard!) is all done.

I've got note cards and 1" pins of the painting for sale if anyone is interested, and of course, Sockmonkey Suits are for sale. I've got a pile of them. $300 gets you a suit of socky-fun. If you want to use them for your perverted "furry" conventions, don't tell me, I don't want to know.

Thank you, Thank you, to the Paper Boat Ladies for organizing the event, you girls are the awesomest-est.

First things first

2005-11-15T16:28:00.000-06:00

Like the pile of notebooks that are half started diaries of my youth, this new blog is bound to end up unused, unloved, and unread.

It doesn't help that after doing a couple years worth of online "journaling" in my early twenties, the appeal of displaying my lack of writing skills, while also being totally self-serving and talking about myself, has dried up and disappeared. Looking back on those journals is really quite humiliating. It's nice to have that as a reference for an ever more cloudy memory for a life long gone, but mostly, it's just embarrassing to read about the pining and the indecision.

So we see how this goes. Welcome, and how can the spellcheck for Blogger not know the word "blog". I'm not kidding.