Reconnecting With My Roots

After going to New Wave City the other evening, I've found myself listening to a bunch of my older CDs, and loving every minute of it. Last night I stumbled across a very bizarre interpretation of Duran Duran songs, apparently performed by a string quartet. You can listen to some samples on iTunes, or right here on Amazon.

The other ridiculous thing I did last night was finish up a knitting project, that just turned out silly. My favorite response to my worry, "are the bows too big?" came from Joshua, who said, "Define too big!"

They remain Too Big, which is just as they should be.

Finished Something! Well, almost.

A pair of gloves is *almost* finished. All I need is a nice piece of ribbon and that'll be that. I began them at a grad student retreat on Whidbey Island last year, when a bunch of us decided to get together on a weekend and talk shop. Someone was illustrating a point by saying something about how we're surrounded by X and Y all the time, but we don't take conscious notice of it. Then they said, "For example, we're all, oh I don't know, we're all wearing socks, but we don't even notice things like that."

I stopped the comment and said, "Er, I've actually noticed every one of your socks today."

So anyway, I have these nice gloves to remind me of that day's adventure and that's fun.

Tomorrow morning I get to hang at the social security office to get a replacement card - that oughta be an adventure!

And as for right now: I have me some Peter Murphy on the stereo, and I couldn't be more satisfied.

Girls on Film

I'm going to New Wave City tonight for the first time in, well, a few years. Should be fun - it's Duran Duran night! So I'm heading out into gale-force weather today to get a couple of things I need, most notably...earplugs. This goes well with my declaration that, if faced with the prospect of being trapped on a desert island, the first thing I would want to have is...sunscreen.

You can count on me for health and safety basics.

No, *Really*, a Finishing Frenzy!

I am doing what I can to make FOs out of UFOs, with varying degrees of success. It'd be nice if I had room to block, or at least a steady paycheck to get me some o' them interlocking foam tile things from Amazon that are manufactured for use in baby rooms.

Oh by the way, I am back in the San Francisco Bay Area, slowly getting my life back on track. I am a master (or a mistress, depending on who's asking), and the jobs are sadly not yet rolling in.

It's Been A While...

Erm, yeah.

I got honked at by a truck full of firefighters today. I know the sentiment was equivalent to construction workers on wheels, but still - firefighters!

As I look behind me, I see a minefield. I'm just glad I didn't actually step on any of them.

Guess what I did tonight?

Seeing "This American Life" taped live was awesome - Ira Glass is so swoony in his nerd-riffic sort of a way, and while I enjoyed all three speakers, our local Dan Savage rocked the house. TAL has been doing a cross-country live taping - I think they're doing to same-ish show every time, and the best bits will be edited together for the final, one-hour show to be broadcast soon ("What I Learned From Television"). We were also treated to a live interview with the producer of the upcoming TV show, and to some clips. Everyone has been nervous about the idea of a TAL TV show, but so far it really does look well thought-out. And they promise to keep the radio show going. I'm so naive and innocent that the lights had been dimmed for ten minutes before I realized that this entire tour is a publicity stunt for the TV show. But the kool-aid sure tastes nerd-riffically good.

The first thing Dan Savage did before speaking was to unfurl a piece of paper and say, "Before I do anything else, I just need to vote...(rustling of paper and pencil) number one 'no', number two 'HELL no'." You see, Seattle has this downtown flyover freeway structure (think Embarcadero Freeway) that is destined to fall flat in a major earthquake (think Embarcadero Freeway) and there's been a big scuffle over what to do about it. Word came from Olympia (that's the state capital in these here parts) that the governor was going to issue a decree - rebuild, or do some sort of an underground tunnel. Weeks go by. Finally, the word came down...she's going to let the people have a say. Huh? So one million dollars later, we're looking at a "non-binding" vote. More like a "suggestion".

So you can vote:

a) for both the rebuild and the tunnel
b) for the tunnel and against the rebuild
c) for the rebuild and against the tunnel
d) against the rebuild and against the tunnel

Word just came to me that there's also an option to send in an empty ballot (they're all absentee), because if she's not going to make a decision, then neither are we. Not that our decision would matter, as it is non-binding.

Three cheers for decisive leadership!

Go go deadlines go!

1 - I got a bee in my bonnet this weekend to make Sasha a pair of Fetchings for her upcoming trip to the east coast. I presented them to her at a small dinner party and I have to say it was one of the most wonderful experiences in gift-giving I have ever had. She really likes them, and I am so happy to give a knitted gift to a friend who appreciates the effort and likes the end result. As a bonus, the color looks great on her!

2 - I just found out about a museum conference that will be held on campus at the beginning of May. They want abstracts for paper submissions by the end of March. Guess I have a hard deadline for something real - 20 pages of the paper need to be ready by the end of April. This is all *perfect* timing for my project. (I sure hope they accept my abstract, because I need the deadline!)