Well. It's been a while.

My apologies for taking so long. I've only just started feeling like myself again, all while getting back in the swing of school, and learning about new teachers and stuff.

I'm glad to be back at school. Isn't that odd? For years and years I hated school and hated coming back.. mainly because I also hated the people and had to take courses I was not interested in. Now I suppose I enjoy being here because I have friends at my disposal, as well as classes I've signed up for because I actually want to learn what's in them.

For the past few days I was feeling so un-me that I stopped knitting. I didn't knit for an entire week. I don't think that's happened since I started. At least not when I had a few projects nearly finished! Finally yesterday I pulled out my needles and finished a scarf I had been working on - thank God, finally the green alpaca yarn is available! - as well as a few rows of my blanket.

You know, I thought I'd feel worse for not finishing my blanket on time. I really did. I pretty much had my heart on finishing this thing on time, and when I didn't I just kind of shrugged it off. "Ehh. I was sick. I'll get back to it. At some point." This is not like me. I do not say "at some point" about something I love. "At some point" implies to me that it's okay if I don't pick it back up. Ever. And for this blanket.. it'd be unacceptable. So I had to (wo)man up and work on it. And I'm glad I did. Even though it's not by last week.

Speaking of.. (well not really but I needed a segue), today's my birthday! As I told my mom earlier, "Wow. This year does nothing for me legally." An odd statement, but a true one. ;) I'm currently waiting for people to show up for a little soiree I'm throwing in my room. Got the cake. Got the pizza. Just need guests. Come one, come all, there's way too much pizza in here!

I hear a knockin' on the door! Gotta go!

xoxo

Hello, lovelies.

Needless to say, the blanket did not get finished. This is not for lack of trying! As I bid you adieu last night (or very early this morning, take your pick) I was unable to sleep for another five hours- again, not for a lack of trying. So I'm running on five hours' sleep. And that sinus headache turned to pain in my eye, which has gone all red and watery. Some time ago, I took my temperature and it is at a lovely 101.9 degrees.

I still need to pack for school and everything tomorrow, but that will happen, I suppose, after visiting the doctor.

Isn't this unfortunate?

Do do do dum-dum do do da!

For those of you who may not realize what my post title is all about, that's part of the Jeopardy waiting music.

So. It's almost midnight. I've been trying (and failing quite spectacularily, I think) for the past hour to fall asleep. And yet I can't. Not too surprising, really, as I fell victim to a nasty sinus headache about two hours ago. So that prevents me from getting too comfy. Then my thoughts keep wandering to what I'm going to need to do when we get home tomorrow. Like, what I still need to pack, and all that stuff. I'm trying not to think about it, I promise, and am trying to think of more pleasant things (like last night's Phantom performance, for instance) but eventually it goes back to wondering about what clothes I'm bringing, or where I put all the miscellaneous yet essential bathroom things when I unpacked at the beginning of the summer.

Unless I work my ass off and am incredibly lucky, I don't think I'll be able to finish my blanket by tomorrow afternoon. In my doze-hazy mental calculator, I figured out that I have roughly 55 rows left. And at 114 stitches a row.. Like I said, hard work and luck will determine if I finish by my self-appointed goal.

Also, I don't know if anyone else heard this rumor, but apparently Eminem died on Sunday morning, by a fatal text-related car accident. Now, I'm pretty sure it's false (the man's had more death rumors in the past nine years than Elvis has had live spottings) but if anyone anywhere has reliable evidence to the contrary, please let me know.

Wish me luck for a good night's sleep!

Viva Las Vegas!

My day has passed in a haze of driving and knitting and smoke and Vegas... And most recently, Phantom.

We left San Diego about eleven thirty this morning.. Got into Las Vegas at about four or so. Managed to do quite a bit of damage on my blanket. I think I should reach my goal of Wednesday afternoon. And if I don't, it'll be very shortly afterwards.

The new Palazzo hotel is just lovely. I'm not staying there, but it's just so pretty that I had to comment on it.

So I had my heart set on seeing Phantom again here in Vegas for my upcoming birthday. And it happened! I was fifth row center, and it was such a great seat. A bit pricey, of course, but worth every penny. Even though I got sat next to a pair of six year olds. Honestly, who brings six year olds to Phantom of the Opera? Especially to the more expensive seats? Geez.. But anyway, the kids weren't TOO annoying, and I managed to get through the performance with no damage. The kids also let me connect with the very nice gay couple sitting in front of me. Anywho, the Phantom wasn't the best I've seen (that title would belong to John Cudia - soooo wonderful!) but he definitely gave the part what it needed. Christine - and let it be known that I feel catty even typing this - was appropriately weak. Even though Christine is innocent, she needs to have a certain weakness of mind that allows the Phantom to have so much power over her. This actress played it wonderfully. Not to mention she had a beautiful singing voice. :) Raoul is considered a big part, I know, but Raoul (besides being cool to type) seems more of a bit part to me, in the information we're given. There are only so many ways to play "rich noble hates Phantom, loves Christine, must be tenor and tall".

So I'm back in the room and my mind won't get off Phantom.. Hope sleep comes soon!

I shall update soon. Until then-

Later..

So as I said, here's more.

Goodness.. I am still so sore from today's earlier activities.

My blanket was temporarily put on hiatus, so I could focus on being more active, and work on my month-and-a-half scarf. That's why I desperately needed that skein yesterday. I couldn't find that brand at any place near me, so I'm eager to finally finish. I think just a few more rows and I'll be done. Thank God! Then tomorrow on the drive to Vegas (waaay too early, but 6 and a half hours should get me through quite a bit!) I'll continue to work on my blanket. The goal is to still finish by Wednesday.

Ttyl! ;)

Just a note..

Jetskis and kayaks are a lot harder to navigate than they look...

We all toppled off the jetski thing after he pushed us away from the dock.. How embarassing! Then, not to sound like a brat, but I wasn't able to go NEARLY as fast as I wanted to, or as far. Hmph. And I suppose this should have been obvious, but kayaking takes a LOT of arm strength.

That's it for the time being. More later, I'm sure.

3 days later...

So sorry I haven't been here for a few days. It's been a flurry of getting-back-to-school stuff - from hair to brows to picking up books to taking the last chance of the summer to go on vacation.

Here I am, in lovely San Diego. I absolutely adore the Gaslamp District- it seems like one of the nicest downtown areas around in SoCal- definitely including downtown LA (but excluding Phillipe's - yum!). Getting back on track... We walked around Ocean Beach for a while today. We ate at Hodad's, which is this burger joint that's been around since 1969. I think that the ambiance was nicer than the food itself- the burger was all right, but definitely below In N Out on the burger-goodness scale. Yet there was a line going down the block to get in! I don't get it. Anyway, Ocean Beach is full of antique-y shops so we roamed for a while.. I got a magnetic salt and pepper shaker set that is of Snoopy and Woodstock laying on top of Snoopy's doghouse. The roof of the house comes off, and that is where the seperate holes are- one set on the roof, the other "inside" the house. Very cute. I also got a blue glass heart pendant that reminded me so much of the necklace in Titanic... Can't wait for an apropos time to wear it.
After Ocean Beach, we dragged my dad into driving us to a yarn store a few miles away. I got three skeins, one of which I desperately needed.

Tomorrow is filled with (hopefully) water play in the bay, seeing a movie, and having some good food and company. :)

I know that anyone reading this must be on the edge of their seat - (please read bolded and italicized) "but what about the felted purse?!". Yes, I did felt it, it is drying, it is nice and fuzzy and much smaller than it was, thank God. I'm also about halfway through my blanket. My goal is for it to be done when I come home from vacation- in other words, on Wednesday afternoon. It shouldn't be a problem. Hopefully!

I recently re-watched The Birdcage and was reminded of its genius. Go watch it. Now. :)

My bag is done! Finally! It's drying now, with like six Pom glasses stuffed inside it, so it'll shape right. I'm so happy that a: it's done, and b: it turned out well. I'm not sure what I would have done with it had it not become what I wanted it to. Probably gifted it. ;) Just kidding... My next big project is a blanket. Not a baby blanket, like how I did before, but an actual afghan with an actual pattern. And since I learned how to purl more effieciently, it's a lot easier.

Holy crap, I just saw Freddie Prinze Jr. on a Friends episode... knitting. Oh my gosh, that just made my night.

Hm... I can't wait for vacation. Four nights away from here before returning to the mad mad pace of school. And move-in. And seeing my friends again. That'll be fun.

So over the course of an hour or so my blanket has grown by about six inches. I'm very excited about this.

Well.. I'm gonna log off for now. Question: What are anyone's thoughts on the Fiddler on the Roof movie? I saw the play when it was local, and loved it. Is the movie different/better than the play?

Ehhh..

Okay, so the fair was kind of a flop. Not that I managed to get in. No, instead, VC decided to be really stupid and say on the freeway "fair exit here". So I get off the freeway and there is nothing telling me how to get there. There are no signs at all anywhere. Bad planning right there... Six U-turns later, we finally find the correct road. And the lot is full. And there is no way in hell that I'm parking in Ventura- I've too much paranoia for that to be a good idea. So then we're driving around lost for an hour and a half. By this point I'm so tired of the whole thing, I know the fair won't make up for it. I'll be cranky and ruin the others' day. So I turn my car around and drive us away from that whole nightmare. I'm glad I did.

So I got my textbooks for next semester. There's quite a few of them!! I don't know how I'll keep them all straight. There'll be a way.

Um.. I haven't quite managed to felt my bag yet. That'll come tomorrow, cuz my hair appointment got moved to Friday instead of tomorrow. But everything's still all attached, so I'm happy about that.

Haven't watched a movie yet today, so I can't make any advice on what's good to see. But just in general, Clue is excellent-with Tim Curry, Madeline Kahn, and a bunch of others. :)

Well!

So. I just watched Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore act out the most memorable hand job of the 1990s. That's right. I just saw the movie "Ghost". Holy CRAP it's good! Still haven't gotten over seeing the sensuality of the clay. I shall never look at a pottery class the same way ever again. But the other aspects of the movie were great too. I mean, Whoopi Goldberg can never go wrong. Seeing the "supernatural" and the responses to it in this were great. The penny balancing.. what a thing to do to prove that he was still there, hm?

In other news, I finished my purse today. Now I just need to find the time to put it and a pair of jeans/ a towel into the washing machine and felt it. Hopefully it'll shrink - it's practically down to my knees, and quite wide as well. But it's all sewn together and everything, so I'm pleased about that. It should be done and felted and everything by the end of the week - maybe I'll bring it on vacation! That'd be nice...

Wondering if there's any iPhone apps for blogspot. Shall look into that now.

Hmm.. sorry it's short - I'm still a bit numb from Ghost. See it, if you haven't already. If you haven't - shame on you, it's been 19 years! ;)

First Post!

Hello to anyone who may be reading this.

Why did I suddenly decide to make a blog, and hopefully stay with it, now? Really, I blame a little story called Julie & Julia. If you haven't read/seen it, please do so. It was really incredible. I think that ranting to something, even if it's just to myself via blog, will be relaxing in its own way.

So I am a knitter, as the title says. Apparently it's hip now? IDK. I never knew that, just thought a few months back that it sounded like fun. I thought, why not pick up a hobby that there is actually something that comes out of it? Can't spend my whole life in front of a computer like the rest of my generation. I need concrete evidence that I am doing something with myself, not just an image on a computer screen. Ironic, then, that I am starting a blog. Ha.

My latest project is a purse. I've made one before, but this is not a little half-assed clutch. It is a tote. A messenger bag. Something that you do NOT want to mess around with. I've been working on it for about a week now and have the body done, and the attached button-flap. I would have had it done a lot faster, but I ran out of yarn for the body halfway through and it took me a few days to muster the energy and the will to go to TO and pick up another two skeins of the necessary yarn. (Oh, and why is it "skein"? Shouldn't it be "skien"? I mean, i after e except after c, and all that? Ah well.) And anyway, it took me like five tries to get the button-flap ready. Each time I thought I'd have it right then be proven wrong. Very frustrating. No matter now, though, I managed to tame that wool beast!

Now I'm going to work on the handles. Ugh, another trip to TO may be necessary. I really want this purse done by tomorrow, as I'll have like no other time this week to work on it. Tomorrow: Nothing. Tuesday: going to the VC fair with a friend and her mom and aunt. Wednesday: hair appointment up in Santa Clarita. Thursday: back to the oral surgeon so they can inspect my wisdom teeth holes. Friday: pack, both for school and for vacation, because Saturday-Tuesday of next week: vacation! Two days in San Diego, two days in Vegas. It's gonna be fun. :)

All right.. I think that's it for now. I'm sure there's more ramble in me, but this is fine for first post. Can't give away all my secrets all at once! LOL