putting the knit in shizknit

New LYS, New Project

=============Prologue/Random Thought==========================
Once upon a time, in a place far, far away we all had a time in our lives where we would go about our daily lives carefree, without much heavy burden on our shoulders, responsibilities to fulfill, other than to be home in time for dinner. Unfortunately, we all grow up and out of this age of innocence and enter the chaotic adult world one step at a time. However, there are those who remain in their child-like state, having others hold their hand through life whereas there are others who rise to the occasion out of necessity or motivation.

==============Actual Entry Begins Here==========================
Life has been a complete whirlwind for me lately and I've had a few lovely weeks before chaos begins again, and had some time yesterday to visit a new LYS (local yarn store) that I've been eyeing for the last few months. Amano Yarn on Venice in Mar Vista is just what I've been looking for! A great selection (both yarn and needles), good price and really sweet staff who are not only willing to help but come approach you! Heather, the clerk also informed us of their "open knitting" hours on Wed evening and that we were welcome anytime (she pointed to a big table with 4-5 women working on projects and yakking). With the popularity of knitting/crocheting taking off, its great that we have some more options - all the yarn stores that have been taking advantage of customers with bad service and over-the-top prices need to watch out! The beauties of a capitalistic society.

Before we visited Amano, we stopped at a smaller, hole in the wall store close by that had very small selection and (what I'm worried about) not so great advice. Project is called Angela from the book Hot Knits. I was able to find this super yummy Chunky Misti Alpaca (100% Baby Alpaca) in beautiful yellow which the store clerk recommended as a good stand-in for Rowan Big Wool. Although the weights and yardage match up, I think there's been a mistake. There is NO way that this misti alpaca can be knit on size 17 needles - there are gaping holes so large this project would look more like a doily than a sweater. I did some swatches on 4 other needles of smaller sizes and I'm currently set on using size 10 needles and adjusting the pattern as I go. I'm really a newbie at all this, so we'll see!

woo hoo! I'm going to see U2!!

This whole online ticketmaster ticket purchasing system leaves much to be desired. Look, all I wanted were TWO tickets to a stinkin concert. What did I have to do to get them? One person on another DSL connection with 2 browsers, me with two separate machines with 2 browsers each, constantly refreshing, retyping, re---- but I wasn't about to let what happened at the presale, happen again. In the meantime, this huge bug comes zooming into the apartment, making Mia go crazy as it tries to escape out of a closed window. The bug turns out to be a poor lost hummingbird - the thing was so scared it was actually chirping (who knew they did?). Fear not, as I was able to get two lower level row 16 tickets to see U2 at the Staples Center on April 6th!!!!!! WOO HOO, or should I say, HELLO HELLO!!!!

BTW - I never thought the day would come when I would be spending close to $400 on two concert tickets...and yes, I was able to capture the hummingbird and set it free :)

Cabochon Finished!

Just finished my aquamarine cabochon ring! This one took some significant blood, sweat and tears. Since my last update I did some work on the band, hand filed into a sloping shape, then sawed and soldered onto the cabochon setting itself. This part took some work as I had to make sure they fit together like pieces of a puzzle while maintaining the correct shape for the stone itself. I then filed down the sides after setting the stone, used a hand punch to hold the stone in, then polished. Voila! Next up is a rose ring.

To use or not to use...

I was lucky enough to attend an all-day Edward Tufte seminar, it truly was fantastic. I had never read any of his books before until today, but let me start with commenting that his books are like Apple products - beautiful packaging, colors, and quality with attention to details. We were given a copy of each of his texts which were beautiful to the touch and to the eyes! As minute a detail this is, each page is nice and thick - one of the books had some 3D characteristics as well. I loved his discussion regarding PowerPoint, as he has a very powerful and thought-provoking essay on the Cognitive Style of PowerPoint. I'm still trying to digest it all now (and no, I don't know how many WW points this would be), but overall the message is about focusing on good content, less on the fluff. Kinda like what yo' mama always taught you, and what you wished the boys in HS knew - "don't judge the book by its cover" - cause the popular, beautiful numnut is probably just that!

miffed and such

Hrmph. This is a real crapper - U2 Vertigo concert tickets went on special presale today (yes, you had to pay the $40 membership fee to get a code) and I am currently sitting here, ticketless. I knew we should have gone for the Pit tickets - I'm determined to be dragged on stage by Bono this tour. You know, *I* can be the cute asian girl with a ponytail too!

My new fab liner...

Just like gadgets, I love buying makeup and stuff. Brushes, colors, tools...ooOOoooHHHhhhh..... Sephora is a very, very bad place for me to visit. Last week there was this older lady in front of me who purchased $650 worth of products and I was very, very jealous. However, I was able to find my new fab, fav product. Smashbox Cream Liner in Image. I've never taken a liking to regular pencil liner - just hasn't worked well with these straight, unfolded asian eyes, and my eyelids do get oily which usually clumps up the color. The eyeliner I've been using the longest is Benefit's Babe Cakes which works with a little water and angled brush. This Cream Liner however, really is gorgeous and smudgeable..... bring some glam, even to these slanted eyes!

The best part about Smashbox cosmetics? The containers come in this black, sleek, almost rubbery container which is very reminiscent to an IBM Thinkpad casing...... :)

The Namesake

Last year, I was given Interpreter of Maladies on my birthday which I have treasured but still lays unread on my dresser. Recently during the holidays, I picked up a novel written by the same author, Jhumpa Lahiri titled The Namesake. I started reading it a few weeknights ago, and was instantly hooked, blessed by this horrible unusual rainy weather in Los Angeles, was able to finish it, just a few minutes ago.

The book is a fictional story of a Bengali immigrant family, a story told from many viewpoints over 2 generations. Although the only commonality I share with the main character, Gogol is of being asian descent (as in, the continent of Asia) the story was personal, one I could have told in surprising similarity, probably paralleling many other immigrants across many cultures. The book begins from the mother's perspective, of being married and leaving her country and her familty - everything she has ever known, to move to America with her husband in an area of few other Bengalis. The description of her loneliness and despair as she stayed at home alone while her husband was at work and the struggles with her new culture is how I have always imagined, never truly known, to what my own mother probably felt and experienced during our first few years in Minnesota. As a young child you are oblivious, I don't recall ever thinking I was different until a self-conscious age in 6th grade, although by that time we were already living here in a largely minority state of California. I can relate to Gogol's feelings of his family in his "home" country - almost like faint whispers of your memory, mostly handwriting in letters and voices on the phone as your physically close family friends and neighbors feel more like family than blood relatives. Of course, the title refers to Gogol's lifelong challenge and inner turbulance relating to his name aesthetically and philosophically. For those who know me, understand.

The brilliance of the novel really sets in at the end, as the family, both generations begin to realize what can be summed up by an old Japanese saying "sume ba miyako" (loosely translated: "once you live there, it becomes home") and just the same, although every trip back to Japan brings a thoughtful longing of "whatifs", I know deep down that my own family - parents, sibling and myself call America home.

New Favorites

My new favorite snacks for the new year (and Weight Watchers friendly too!)

1. Safeway Select Clear, Sugar Free, Caffeine Free, Sodium Free, Sparking water beverage
2. Baked Cheetos
3. Clif Bars - instead of buying the WW bars, I buy these for $.99 at Trader Joes, and cut them in half. This makes two, 2 pt bars which taste great. Try the Apple Caramel Cobbler flavor, its super yummy!

I also signed up for the online resources through the WW's site which supplements the weekly meetings - I bit the bullet because of the neat PDA program they have which helps you journal (probably my biggest vice). It has a nice food search mechanism and points calculator. Online you have access to all the menus (which means no buying their cookbooks!) which I print out and put them in a neat binder. A lot of the recipes are really tasty (i.e. boyfriend eats them). I've been attending now for almost 2 years, and I can't afford to putz around any longer.

Do any of you readers have good suggestions for snacks and foods? :)

Update - I can no longer buy the Weight Watchers Blueberry Cereal. It was so good I ate the entire box in less than 24 hours.

Back to the Plantation

Back to the 'ole bump 'n grind today, some vacations go by so fast it almost seems like all a dream (speaking of dreams, I had one last night where I ate peanut M&M's and I woke up remembering how damn good & crunchy they tasted!). Again, the rain continues, and although this sense of renewal should come with this refreshing bath and tossing of another calendar year gone by, I'm feeling a tad melancholy. But no worries, the sun will return soon, along with renewed optimism for this new year, 2005. We definitely rang it in doing what I love to do most - eat.

We had "from scratch" everything - margaritas, enchilada pie, guacamole, plenty of chips & salsa from Titos and taquitos (yes, Guy made the shredded beef from a chunk of meat). We ate and drank until the cows came home (or until I passed out) and counted down with Regis. Does anyone actually know the words to Auld Lang Syne?