Well, aside from this damn yarn becoming way too stubborn for its own good, I have been excellent this week.
It started really well- a guy who I've really liked for a while now and had a good flirtation with asked me out on Sunday evening. The week can't go badly from there, can it? :)
I think it's going really well. Obviously, it's only been a few days but I'm really really happy.
In other news, my friends and I haven't spoken in about a month now. I still love them dearly and treasure the good times we had, but I am happy not to be going through the drama still.
This upcoming weekend and resulting week and even that following weekend should be loads of fun! Let's see.. Tomorrow will be going to goodwill and getting copies of classic Disney films on VHS for my room, then the Housing Hoedown, complete with mechanical bull! Saturday is going to TO to go to a book signing then heading home. Sunday is going to RENT! I've seen it a few times already, but I still love it! Not to mention it has Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal in the cast.. *happy sigh* Also, Lauren's U2 concert is going to be streaming live on YouTube, so I may try and get back to school in time to download it for her.
Now if only this beautiful silk/wool yarn will cooperate with me, I will be complete.
At least for tonight. ;)
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
My day.
Today was a good day.
I had my typical exhausting 10:30-3 class schedule. I swear it wouldn't be so bad if I had a slightly longer break SOMEWHERE in there. But these classes are really fun, so I don't mind too much. Usually.
So I had a bit of an adventure on the way home. There was supposedly a fifty-minute drive only ten or fifteen miles away from my house, which was utterly ridiculous. So I looked on my GPS for the nearest yarn store.
Yeah, I know, I know. I have plenty of yarn as it is. But this was a new place, and I was only gonna look around, I swear!
So I'm driving around a part of town that I'm not all that familiar with anyhow. It's not dangerous, so I'm not feeling any of that paranoia. It's just when my GPS says I've passed the location over and over again (as I keep doing U-Turns, you know) that I get frustrated and finally figure out where the actual address is. It's in a residential neighborhood. I finally call them. And no, there is NOT a new yarn store. It's a commercial knitting place that only makes gloves. So I got lost for nothing.
Anywho, I made my way back to places I knew and saw that the freeway was still a nightmare, so took Ventura Blvd. Then that got kind of clogged, so I stopped off at my friend's dojo to say hi. It'd been a while, so it killed two birds with one stone. I'd chat for a while and wait out for the traffic to be gone.
Also while there I grabbed myself a schedule, so I'll probably stop by soon so I can get back up to date on my kata. I was trying to fall asleep earlier this week and one of my fail proof plans is that I go through my katas in my head, and the repetition puts me straight to sleep. Well. It appears that my fail proof plan can fail. It would certainly help if I actually remembered my kata. It's been a few years...
So. Yes. It has been a pretty epic day. :)
xoxo-
I had my typical exhausting 10:30-3 class schedule. I swear it wouldn't be so bad if I had a slightly longer break SOMEWHERE in there. But these classes are really fun, so I don't mind too much. Usually.
So I had a bit of an adventure on the way home. There was supposedly a fifty-minute drive only ten or fifteen miles away from my house, which was utterly ridiculous. So I looked on my GPS for the nearest yarn store.
Yeah, I know, I know. I have plenty of yarn as it is. But this was a new place, and I was only gonna look around, I swear!
So I'm driving around a part of town that I'm not all that familiar with anyhow. It's not dangerous, so I'm not feeling any of that paranoia. It's just when my GPS says I've passed the location over and over again (as I keep doing U-Turns, you know) that I get frustrated and finally figure out where the actual address is. It's in a residential neighborhood. I finally call them. And no, there is NOT a new yarn store. It's a commercial knitting place that only makes gloves. So I got lost for nothing.
Anywho, I made my way back to places I knew and saw that the freeway was still a nightmare, so took Ventura Blvd. Then that got kind of clogged, so I stopped off at my friend's dojo to say hi. It'd been a while, so it killed two birds with one stone. I'd chat for a while and wait out for the traffic to be gone.
Also while there I grabbed myself a schedule, so I'll probably stop by soon so I can get back up to date on my kata. I was trying to fall asleep earlier this week and one of my fail proof plans is that I go through my katas in my head, and the repetition puts me straight to sleep. Well. It appears that my fail proof plan can fail. It would certainly help if I actually remembered my kata. It's been a few years...
So. Yes. It has been a pretty epic day. :)
xoxo-
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Pretty random, but...
I'm trying to become more feminine.
Growing out my hair.
Going from "Sam" back to "Samantha".
Getting high heels.
Why?
Cuz it's hard to be seen as female when my hair is spiked and I'm called Sam, wearing tennis shoes. If any one of these was different (probably name and/or hair), I probably wouldn't care.
As it is, though, it's hard to change.
You see, all my teachers and friends know me as "Sam". My hair is at an awkward length. I'm self-conscious at the click-clack of my heels.
I know I'm conforming to traditional gender roles and expectations. But I don't know what else to do.
Maybe I'm taking the easy way out. (Though try telling my poor feet that!) It would be one thing if I truly considered myself this girly-girl. But I don't. I only consider myself the most feminine one in my group at the moment. I don't mind doing any of this change, truly and honestly.
I'm just not all that excited or passionate about it, either.
---
That was from a little while ago. Most of it is still applicable to me now, a few weeks later.
I've just been through my notebook, and BOY, do I go off on tangents a lot in my notes. The notes are for classes, no less! For my own use, but still, I don't even need to read "Why the hell is everyone so against the Jews? Someone please explain." when looking at my notes for World Drama and Theatre! Especially when the section of the world we're looking at is Central America..
Or, or..
"Selling arms: limbs vs. guns? :) "
"Green exit signs make sense. Green = go, so it's like go NOW if there's an emergency"
And by far the most random one yet:
"This girl sounds like Megan Mullally."
It'd make sense if I had a note saying where that note was, or what I was doing. But I have no flipping clue!! And now I'm wondering if whoever it was sounded like Megan Mullally from Will and Grace, or from Young Frankenstein. There's quite a difference!
But now I'm going off on a tangent about my tangents. Crap.
In other news, I am just so happy, I could burst. The last few days have been so SO awesome. More later, if anything really happens. ;)
I am not pleased, though, with being stuck in a stagnant situation. I also do not know how to react to lies. They are someone's opinion about me, but they are not true at all.
Anywho. Knitting update:
Sunday night I made another pair of fingerless gloves. I usually use cotton, but since it's getting cooler and I had this fairly small ball of a wool/angora blend, I thought I'd use it. And I'm SO glad I did. They are navy blue and soft and warm and getting all fuzzy.. Note to self: do not EVER put these in the washing machine!
As for my shirt: I'm still only at eight inches for the back. All last week it just kind of sat at the foot of my bed on my trunk, but hopefully its hiatus will be fairly brief. Well, maybe not. I just picked up a bunch of yarn to make a care package for a friend going to Iraq next month. (Hi, Dylan!) Now to find the patterns... It's hopefully gonna be awesome.
The blanket: I know, I know, why the hell don't I have this thing done already?! Well, right now, it's sitting across the room in a fairly opaque bag so I can't see it glaring at me. "Damn you Samantha! I only have six rows left! Have some sympathy!" The only problem is that I made a mistake a few rows back and I have to rip it out.. I hate hate HATE ripping stuff back. Anyone who says they enjoy it is a big fat liar! And it's not something I could just continue with.. no. It's like this six-foot long afghan, and this gaping hole is at the end because I dropped a stitch or some nonsense.. it would be stupid to let it continue. I just have to bring myself to rip it back. Once we're past there, smooth sailing ahead! (And I can use those needles again, thank God.)
So this weekend I made a scarf. Nothing new. Except this scarf is bright pink. And it has three textures: one like ribbon, one like really smooth fleece, and one like feathers. It looks good in the 1x1 ribbing I gave it... it's just not that attractive of a scarf for anyone over, say, eight. Which is why I've decided to give it to the daughter of a family friend, for Christmas. Mainly because she's the only one who has even a remote chance of wearing it.
Also this weekend, I bought sock yarn and a book, and brought all two sets of my double pointed needles back to school with me. I chose a pattern that doesn't call for a heel (cuz I'm intimidated as hell as it is!) and cast on. Let it be known, I despise double pointed needles. With a passion. Yet somehow, to my left there is a small triangle of purple yarn attached to three of those suckers, with a fourth (as the guide) to the right of my keyboard. (Note: I had to stop because the yarn kept getting tangled up. I unwound and rewound for two hours tonight. Not all that fun, let me tell you.) I'll see what the fuss is, see if I can stand DPNs at all, and keep my feet all nice and cozy this winter with socks I made myself.
That part of it is attractive, I must say.
Okay, well.. I think that's all for the time being. I'm gonna go watch Monk now. :)
Bye for now!
Growing out my hair.
Going from "Sam" back to "Samantha".
Getting high heels.
Why?
Cuz it's hard to be seen as female when my hair is spiked and I'm called Sam, wearing tennis shoes. If any one of these was different (probably name and/or hair), I probably wouldn't care.
As it is, though, it's hard to change.
You see, all my teachers and friends know me as "Sam". My hair is at an awkward length. I'm self-conscious at the click-clack of my heels.
I know I'm conforming to traditional gender roles and expectations. But I don't know what else to do.
Maybe I'm taking the easy way out. (Though try telling my poor feet that!) It would be one thing if I truly considered myself this girly-girl. But I don't. I only consider myself the most feminine one in my group at the moment. I don't mind doing any of this change, truly and honestly.
I'm just not all that excited or passionate about it, either.
---
That was from a little while ago. Most of it is still applicable to me now, a few weeks later.
I've just been through my notebook, and BOY, do I go off on tangents a lot in my notes. The notes are for classes, no less! For my own use, but still, I don't even need to read "Why the hell is everyone so against the Jews? Someone please explain." when looking at my notes for World Drama and Theatre! Especially when the section of the world we're looking at is Central America..
Or, or..
"Selling arms: limbs vs. guns? :) "
"Green exit signs make sense. Green = go, so it's like go NOW if there's an emergency"
And by far the most random one yet:
"This girl sounds like Megan Mullally."
It'd make sense if I had a note saying where that note was, or what I was doing. But I have no flipping clue!! And now I'm wondering if whoever it was sounded like Megan Mullally from Will and Grace, or from Young Frankenstein. There's quite a difference!
But now I'm going off on a tangent about my tangents. Crap.
In other news, I am just so happy, I could burst. The last few days have been so SO awesome. More later, if anything really happens. ;)
I am not pleased, though, with being stuck in a stagnant situation. I also do not know how to react to lies. They are someone's opinion about me, but they are not true at all.
Anywho. Knitting update:
Sunday night I made another pair of fingerless gloves. I usually use cotton, but since it's getting cooler and I had this fairly small ball of a wool/angora blend, I thought I'd use it. And I'm SO glad I did. They are navy blue and soft and warm and getting all fuzzy.. Note to self: do not EVER put these in the washing machine!
As for my shirt: I'm still only at eight inches for the back. All last week it just kind of sat at the foot of my bed on my trunk, but hopefully its hiatus will be fairly brief. Well, maybe not. I just picked up a bunch of yarn to make a care package for a friend going to Iraq next month. (Hi, Dylan!) Now to find the patterns... It's hopefully gonna be awesome.
The blanket: I know, I know, why the hell don't I have this thing done already?! Well, right now, it's sitting across the room in a fairly opaque bag so I can't see it glaring at me. "Damn you Samantha! I only have six rows left! Have some sympathy!" The only problem is that I made a mistake a few rows back and I have to rip it out.. I hate hate HATE ripping stuff back. Anyone who says they enjoy it is a big fat liar! And it's not something I could just continue with.. no. It's like this six-foot long afghan, and this gaping hole is at the end because I dropped a stitch or some nonsense.. it would be stupid to let it continue. I just have to bring myself to rip it back. Once we're past there, smooth sailing ahead! (And I can use those needles again, thank God.)
So this weekend I made a scarf. Nothing new. Except this scarf is bright pink. And it has three textures: one like ribbon, one like really smooth fleece, and one like feathers. It looks good in the 1x1 ribbing I gave it... it's just not that attractive of a scarf for anyone over, say, eight. Which is why I've decided to give it to the daughter of a family friend, for Christmas. Mainly because she's the only one who has even a remote chance of wearing it.
Also this weekend, I bought sock yarn and a book, and brought all two sets of my double pointed needles back to school with me. I chose a pattern that doesn't call for a heel (cuz I'm intimidated as hell as it is!) and cast on. Let it be known, I despise double pointed needles. With a passion. Yet somehow, to my left there is a small triangle of purple yarn attached to three of those suckers, with a fourth (as the guide) to the right of my keyboard. (Note: I had to stop because the yarn kept getting tangled up. I unwound and rewound for two hours tonight. Not all that fun, let me tell you.) I'll see what the fuss is, see if I can stand DPNs at all, and keep my feet all nice and cozy this winter with socks I made myself.
That part of it is attractive, I must say.
Okay, well.. I think that's all for the time being. I'm gonna go watch Monk now. :)
Bye for now!
Friday, October 9, 2009
This is new..
So today, I woke up late after seeing Medea (at UCLA with Annette Bening- very good!) and decided to go to lunch with my mom and one of her coworkers. We had sushi. It was yummy. ;)
After, I went to my local Lenscrafters to pick up my contacts. I swear I don't know why they keep on this one man. He's been there for a really long time, and he's always rude.
Then I headed back home. It's probably 2:30 at this time. Yet somehow, when my dad came home just now, I realized I'd been knitting for nearly three hours! This is not a big deal in my house - I'm always knitting. So why am I so shocked?
I was cabling.
To you non-knitters out there, a cable is the braid you see on various knitted pieces. Cabling is therefore the process of making said cable. I've tried it before but it always came out miserably. You could barely make out the cable pattern from the rest of the area.. There's more, I'm sure, but I blocked it out. ;)
But anyway, today I got home and decided after doing some reading that I would try again.
And it looks beautiful.
It takes a lot of concentration, as does anything, when you first learn it. That's why I was so surprised to see that three hours had gone by. I am hungry now, so the knitting's going down now and pizza's being ordered and we're going to watch Ghost Town with Ricky Gervais. Gonna be fun!
TTFN!
After, I went to my local Lenscrafters to pick up my contacts. I swear I don't know why they keep on this one man. He's been there for a really long time, and he's always rude.
Then I headed back home. It's probably 2:30 at this time. Yet somehow, when my dad came home just now, I realized I'd been knitting for nearly three hours! This is not a big deal in my house - I'm always knitting. So why am I so shocked?
I was cabling.
To you non-knitters out there, a cable is the braid you see on various knitted pieces. Cabling is therefore the process of making said cable. I've tried it before but it always came out miserably. You could barely make out the cable pattern from the rest of the area.. There's more, I'm sure, but I blocked it out. ;)
But anyway, today I got home and decided after doing some reading that I would try again.
And it looks beautiful.
It takes a lot of concentration, as does anything, when you first learn it. That's why I was so surprised to see that three hours had gone by. I am hungry now, so the knitting's going down now and pizza's being ordered and we're going to watch Ghost Town with Ricky Gervais. Gonna be fun!
TTFN!
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Keep your sunny side up, up...
Boy, I'm glad I waited til tonight to post this. Hell, I'm glad til I waited til JUST NOW to post.
Otherwise, anyone who's reading may have gotten a face full of dramatic angst and ramblings. Now, you get a positive outlook on, well, still ramblings. But the angst is gone, so that must be a nice change.
I know it is.
What I made my mind up to do last post is working. I am happier. Yet oddly that makes me sad. As I said before, it was a difficult decision to make, but one healthier for my peace of mind. I'm saddened that it's working and that it was even necessary in the first place. If that makes sense. No? Well not really to me either, so that's okay.
As to why I'm so happy I waited? My iPod has been of great comfort to me over the weekend, and I have fun putting together random compilations. I am a great Broadway fan(atic), so my music is mostly (all) soundtracks. And yet I put side by side two songs that made me feel better about things in general: "So Much Better" from Legally Blonde the Musical, and "Astonishing" from Little Women the Musical. (I swear, I didn't go alphabetical by album title. This randomly really happened.) So I got pulled up in the joy and exuberance of "So Much Better". It's a cheerful little tune, basically saying 'fuck you, world! I'm gonna do what I'm gonna do, and there's nothing you can do to make me feel less than I am!' Which is wonderful to feel, I must admit. Then "Astonishing" came on. I've had the songs on this particular playlist memorized for at least a year, so I can kind of half sing along, half do whatever I need my attention on. Yet somehow, I guess my psyche wanted me to tune in for this:
"I thought I knew him / Thought that he knew me / When did it change? / What did I miss?"
Which, to those in the know, will see how closely it actually follows my real thoughts.
Then the real hope of the song came through:
"I'll find my way / I'll find it far away / I'll find it in unexpected and unknown / I'll find my life in my own way / Today
Here I go / And there's no turning back / My great adventure has begun / I may be small / But I've got giant plans / To shine as greatly as the sun
I will blaze until I find my time and place / I will be fearless, / Surrendering modesty and grace / I will not disapear without a trace / I'll shout and start a riot / Be anything but quiet / Christopher Columbus, I'll be Astonishing / Astonishing / Astonishing / At last"
To me, this came out loud and clear. Just like Jo March, I will follow my passions and my dreams. I can do it, and I don't need flakes to pull me back from my full potential.
So fuck you, world! Look out! I'm gonna do great things, and no one can stop me!
Otherwise, anyone who's reading may have gotten a face full of dramatic angst and ramblings. Now, you get a positive outlook on, well, still ramblings. But the angst is gone, so that must be a nice change.
I know it is.
What I made my mind up to do last post is working. I am happier. Yet oddly that makes me sad. As I said before, it was a difficult decision to make, but one healthier for my peace of mind. I'm saddened that it's working and that it was even necessary in the first place. If that makes sense. No? Well not really to me either, so that's okay.
As to why I'm so happy I waited? My iPod has been of great comfort to me over the weekend, and I have fun putting together random compilations. I am a great Broadway fan(atic), so my music is mostly (all) soundtracks. And yet I put side by side two songs that made me feel better about things in general: "So Much Better" from Legally Blonde the Musical, and "Astonishing" from Little Women the Musical. (I swear, I didn't go alphabetical by album title. This randomly really happened.) So I got pulled up in the joy and exuberance of "So Much Better". It's a cheerful little tune, basically saying 'fuck you, world! I'm gonna do what I'm gonna do, and there's nothing you can do to make me feel less than I am!' Which is wonderful to feel, I must admit. Then "Astonishing" came on. I've had the songs on this particular playlist memorized for at least a year, so I can kind of half sing along, half do whatever I need my attention on. Yet somehow, I guess my psyche wanted me to tune in for this:
"I thought I knew him / Thought that he knew me / When did it change? / What did I miss?"
Which, to those in the know, will see how closely it actually follows my real thoughts.
Then the real hope of the song came through:
"I'll find my way / I'll find it far away / I'll find it in unexpected and unknown / I'll find my life in my own way / Today
Here I go / And there's no turning back / My great adventure has begun / I may be small / But I've got giant plans / To shine as greatly as the sun
I will blaze until I find my time and place / I will be fearless, / Surrendering modesty and grace / I will not disapear without a trace / I'll shout and start a riot / Be anything but quiet / Christopher Columbus, I'll be Astonishing / Astonishing / Astonishing / At last"
To me, this came out loud and clear. Just like Jo March, I will follow my passions and my dreams. I can do it, and I don't need flakes to pull me back from my full potential.
So fuck you, world! Look out! I'm gonna do great things, and no one can stop me!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
So.
I made a rather radical decision last night. I shan't go into the details, but I will say that I hope my life will soon feel more normal, less out-of-control. Less bad drama. More respect and happiness.
I know it'll be for the good - things can only go up at this point - but it's still a hard choice to make, and I fear it'll be even harder to abide by.
Please let me have strength of will. Patience would also be nice. Clearness of sight (maybe inner sight - though some Visine wouldn't go too amiss! ;] ) would be best. I need to see what I can and cannot do, and the consequences of those actions.
This week seems to have been full of unfortunate revelations. I need a vacation.
Knitting update: I don't remember if I shared that I got the yarn necessary to finish my blanket. Well, I did. And I only have nine rows left - all knit stitch, which is so nice. As for the shirt - I have half of the back (below the armholes) finished. It's quite an easy repititive pattern. I just hope it fits, in the end. Also - there's this lovely lovely mohair-wool combination yarn I have that I had no clue what to do with.. then my second revelation of the night came through - make a lacy scarf! (It doesn't have enough yardage to do anything else.) This will be my first foray into anything lacy. I generally prefer larger (US 10+) needles, ribbing, or even just garter stitch.
So this'll be interesting.
EDIT: I tried the lace pattern with the yarn I had chosen out and it became itchy as hell. I don't think the mohair reacted well with the holes in the pattern.. It is a nice pattern, though, so I'll just choose another yarn.
I know it'll be for the good - things can only go up at this point - but it's still a hard choice to make, and I fear it'll be even harder to abide by.
Please let me have strength of will. Patience would also be nice. Clearness of sight (maybe inner sight - though some Visine wouldn't go too amiss! ;] ) would be best. I need to see what I can and cannot do, and the consequences of those actions.
This week seems to have been full of unfortunate revelations. I need a vacation.
Knitting update: I don't remember if I shared that I got the yarn necessary to finish my blanket. Well, I did. And I only have nine rows left - all knit stitch, which is so nice. As for the shirt - I have half of the back (below the armholes) finished. It's quite an easy repititive pattern. I just hope it fits, in the end. Also - there's this lovely lovely mohair-wool combination yarn I have that I had no clue what to do with.. then my second revelation of the night came through - make a lacy scarf! (It doesn't have enough yardage to do anything else.) This will be my first foray into anything lacy. I generally prefer larger (US 10+) needles, ribbing, or even just garter stitch.
So this'll be interesting.
EDIT: I tried the lace pattern with the yarn I had chosen out and it became itchy as hell. I don't think the mohair reacted well with the holes in the pattern.. It is a nice pattern, though, so I'll just choose another yarn.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)