Monthly Archives: May 2005

Book Meme

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I’ve been (uh, er, more or less) tagged for the following book meme from Tigers in Red Weather.

1)Total number of books in your house:
I was going to estimate by feet, but unlike some, I own a lot of children’s books, and they’re usually thinner. Plus my copy of Infinite Jest hasn’t arrived yet, and it’s 7 feet wide. I’m going to say that I own around 100 books. See, I’m a librarian’s daughter, so I’ve grown up borrowing, and borrow I will until I die.

Although as I am not a librarian myself yet, I haven’t catalogued my collection – give me two year. Post LIS, I will be able to tell you EXACTLY how many books I have.

2)The last book you bought was:
I just bought a knitting reference book for mastery – The Knitter’s Book of Finishing Techniques by Nancie M. Wiseman. It hasn’t shown up yet though.

3)What was the last book you read before reading this?
I just finished reading Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I hadn’t read it before, and I’m going to see the movie on Tuesday with Yason.

4)Write down 5 (or 6) books you often read or that mean a lot to you.
1) The Little Prince. I have a tattoo of him, for Cripe’s sake. Favorite book ever. If you ever need to borrow a copy in German, Portugese, or French, let me know.

2) I’ve read all the Harry Potters, and I’m gnashing my teeth waiting for July 16 to come around. I went to the downtown Chicago Borders for the midnight release of book 5, and that was tons of fun. Too bad I won’t be in the city to see hundreds of people streaming onto the El with a giant green book in front of their faces.

3) My friends and I all went through that phase where we bought multiple copies of Cunt to give to other friends.

4) I think The Time Traveler’s Wife might end up being a lifetime favorite. Some of it has to do with the circumstances of when you read a book.

5) I’m a big Roald Dahl fan. I love everything I’ve read of his, except The BFG.

6) You know what? With the exception of The Battle for God, I will read just about anything, especially if I get to sit outside in the sun to do so.

5)Who are you going to pass this onto and why?
I’d pass this on to el sig oth, but he hasn’t posted since 1983. Therefore, the most logical people to ask are Jake, as he DOES own Infinate Jest and is the most literate person I know (“Can I show you something in a Dilillo?”); Allison, because I end up reading her books anyway (still have Tropic of Cancer!); and Alena, because I’m obliged to (saysters).

Wasn’t this fun?

Seatbelt, shmeatbelt.

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Hey all. I managed to crash the server that is the cozy home to jeaun.com, Jake’s blog, and my own dear spot. It was awful. Friday went waaaay slower than usual. Plus it was beautiful outside, and I was stuck here until AFTER 5. Travesty.

After work I changed into what I consider to be a very cute outfit, complete with low pigtails and a Mets cap, and met up with the Angela.* As I was driving, windows down, radio up – Q101 surprised me by playing just the right song. All of a sudden, I’m hearing the into to The Impression that I Get by the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Now, a catchy upbeat song like that is exactly what a girl needs driving in the sunshine on a Friday afternoon, but this particular song (and the whole album) have a special place in my heart – reminding me of the dubbed tape that sat in the outside tape player that my sister and I would listen to over and over as we rollerskated on the tiny patch of concrete driveway. Tiny circles to the left … Ah. So I dug the album out, and listened to it all weekend. Very pleasant.

If you saw me this weekend (and none of you did) you’d think I’d started grad school already. I went to the library on Saturday and checked out every knitting reference book they had. I’m not kidding. There is a splay of books in front of my couch, and I finally know how to make an invisible increase.

You’d think I’d know this stuff, but I never really paid attention – as long as the mitten worked, I didn’t care if there were bar increases. Now, NOW I have to care. On the upside, I’ll be able to kill you with knitting, as I will be a KNITTING MASTER.

I think my swatch yarn will get here between this Friday and next Friday, and in the meantime, I’ve been fooling around with acrylic, just faking the swatches to see if I know what I’m doing. Chomping at the bit.

*Hey – Anglea is almost at her goal for the Avon Breast Cancer walk, which is astounding considering she didn’t start fundraising until the last minute. Props and dormers for Kat and Jake for donating monies. For the rest of you – it’s not toooo laaaaate!

For All Y’all with Fanny Packs and Pony Tails, C’mon

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Sometimes, I kind of like it when decisions are made for me. It takes the pressure off choosing an option, and means that I won’t be at fault for what happens.

I’m going to stay in Waukegan for the summer. Yeah, I know, I’ll miss a bunch of good stuff, but who else are you going to run to when you want to go to 6 Flags? Huh? Nobody.

Last night when I got home, I found the most beautiful manila envelope waiting for me. I have the instructions for the master knitter program.

Seriously, I don’t know if you understand how happy this made me. I’m so excited. I danced around my apartment a while, then read the instructions three times. I can’t wait to start. I emailed the Yahoo Group of master knitters-in-progress to ask if anyone wanted to be a mentor and answer the pesky questions I know I’ll have. Even better than that, a couple of Level 1 starters asked if we could have a support group, and talk our way through the whole thing. I’m so excited. That’s the best idea ever. I’m sure I’ll work faster knowing that there are others I am working with, and I won’t be banging my head against the wall because I don’t understand the directions.

Did I mention I’m excited?

In the News

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Texas House Bans ‘Suggestive’ Cheerleading : on Yahoo! News

… bawdy performances are a distraction for students resulting in pregnancies, dropouts and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

Let me tell you a little something about suggestive cheerleading. Cheerleaders and sex have gone together as long as there have been organized sports. There’s the stereotypical slutty-cheerleader thing, and there’s the unattainable-by-geeks-sex-goddess thing.

As a high school cheerleader (random Sonya fact: I was the captain) I realized that wearing a short skirt and flashing my bloomers were not really helping the team. I suppose performing a half-time dance routine kept the massive crowds at Calamus-Wheatland Jr./Sr. High from rioting, but even when I couldn’t come up with one good reason why I was a cheerleader, I knew that I had generations of the same cheerleading rituals behind me.

There’s a fine line between erotic dancing and popular dance moves theseadays. I don’t think there would be many high school squads nationwide that would pass the Texas criteria for non-sexy dancing.

There’s also a fine line between cheerleaders as a pep squad, and a bunch of girls who are on the cusp of sexuality and have been given a tool with which they can wield this power: cheerleading will always be sexually charged until they start wearing stripey pants and stop being eye candy … at which point they will stop being cheerleaders.

Awful dreaming

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I slept horribly last night, not really falling asleepasleep until 6 or 7 – at which point I dreamt that Jen and Dan had a party up at their new place in Rogers Park, and the new apartment was part of a renovated high school, so when we got there we went to the gym to watch a high school basketball game. I decided to leave early, so I went back to their apartment to grab my stuff. My arms were both full, so I had to leave their door open. The hallway was unfinished, and there wasn’t a railing around the balcony that overlooked the floor below. Jen and Dan’s beagle puppy ran out the front door, briefly changed into a white fluffy kitten, then back into a beagle, and out of fright careened around the balcony space and leaped off the edge. I could hear it -thunk- on the floor below, and ran down the steps to see if it was OK. I couldn’t find it, and then I surprised it around a corner, and it was scared and jumped off THAT floor to the floor below. I’m in hysterics because I’m slowly killing Jen and Dan’s dog. I run down the flight of stairs and find the dog waiting patiently for me. He has little spatters of blood all over his coat, but he acts fine. I look at his eyes to check for dilation, but he seems fine.

Then I woke up, and it was 9:16. I don’t know what happened to my alarm.

Leaping beagle puppy
No Sonya, don’t hurt me!

Whine about work

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I’m in a weird place with work. (I’m not in a weird place at work – in fact, I’ve moved cubes to a larger space, which is great for my growing silkworm farm.)

I’ve been trying to scheme my way out of living in Waukegan for the rest of my duration at Abbott. There are three things that are good about living here.

1. There’s a pool
2. Angela Duff
3. 6 Flags is 6 miles away
4. Not going to get as hot

Yeah, I know it’s hard to weigh all of it, but by comparison, I’m missing

1. Wings at Cleo’s on Mondays
2. Movies in Grant Park on Tuesdays
3. Kickball on Wednesdays
4. Dancing on a Thursday night
5. Impromptu weekday Trivial Pursuit games
6. Not having to drive into the city on Fridays after work.
7. Ahem. Jason. Ahem.
8. A good yarn store.
9. Other friends

So I’ve been trying to get Abbott to let me work from home – there’s absolutely no reason why I can’t – considering how everything I proof is electronic already. In fact, it probably takes more time to print out a hard copy and walk it over to me.

The thing is, the longer I wait, the longer my “you must give us 30 days notice” clause is going to force me to pay rent in June. Grrrrr.

I also see that what I’m asking for is really not something remotely (no pun intended) needed. It’s just that I’m starting to go crazy again sitting in a cube, unable to knit, wishing I was near a window of some sort. Or a hole. Or a chunk of antimatter.

Then again, my asking will only irritate my boss – I doubt I’d be fired over it, and although not working for two months is a hugely stupid idea before one goes off to grad school, but I’m considering it …

He Looked Like Chris Cooper

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I have Koufax’s Saturdays Alone stuck in my head, and it’s been that way since I woke up.

Last night I dreamt that I was living with Jason and Jake in a really really big room in a small town somewhere I’ve never been. I drove into the parking lot of our, uh, room and a guy jumped out of nowhere and tried to attack me. I tried running him over, using sweet Grand Turismo-style moves, but he disappeared. I went inside, and he followed me. Dude looked like Chris Cooper and I tried to run away, but I noticed he was trying to rob the place, so I turned around and tried to talk him out of it. I was trying to surreptitiously take a picture of him with my cameraphone, and realized I should call 911.

I’ve never called 911 before, and in my dream, I accidentally hit 944, and I have to redial. When I get an operator, she asks where I am, and that’s when I realize that I don’t know. I mean, I live there, but we must have just moved. I explain that I’m west of the Circuit City, east of the grocery store, and on the south side of the street.

Chris Cooper leaves before I can do anything, and I go find Jason and Jake, asleep on a bed. I’m mad at them for not helping/saving me, but the police come in a brown car and tell me they’ve apprehended a suspect.

That, my friends, is when I woke up.

Niddy Noddy

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This weekend I finished the poncho I decided to make last week. I knew my gauge was off, but the thing ended up being much much longer than necessary. I’m not too worried about it, because I have a six-foot mom who likes ponchos.
I'm wearing the largest poncho, ever

This poncho, and the slightly too-large needles I used for it are the reasons I went crazy and purchased the Denise Interchangeable Needle kit. It came in the mail this weekend while I was in Iowa. It’s so pretty. I pet it last night before I went to bed. I’ll soon have the first level’s worth of work to do for the master knitter program, and I will be SET. Denise Interchangeable Needle Kit

Also this weekend my dad helped me make a niddy noddy. They can look much more fancy schmancy than this, but all I really needed was a rudimentary tool for my pursuits. Dad seemed to be impressed that I could chopsaw my way through a 2×4 and leave the marking line.
A kniddy knoddy

I think I’m going to take a break from knitting for a couple of weeks, until my masterer kit arrives. (For some reason, I feel this sounds kind of like the real estate tapes referred to in Garden State.)

My plan for THIS week is to ravage the local thrift stores for sweaters that have nicey yarn I can reclaim, especially since I’ll be needing nice yarn to make all these swatches for the mastery.

The largest poncho, ever