fastcloud's Journal

10:19pm: More Stitches thoughts
I forgot to say that I saw part of a style show relating to one of the books being hyped. The garments from the book were being modeled by a few tall, beautiful, and thin (also a bit smug-looking) professional models. I couldn't help contrasting these giraffe-like ladies (all were about 6 feet tall, plus 2 - 3 inch heels, and probably weighed about 110 lbs each) with the Stitches attendees who were passing by, very few of whom were tall and thin (including me).

When one spends hundreds of dollars on yarn for a garment and hours and hours of knitting and worry, one wants to be very, very sure that the finished product will be flattering. I wish that all of the people making the books and doing the style shows would realize this and use real people of real size as their models. A giraffewoman will look good in anything; the rest of us are not that lucky.

3:44pm: Stitches West
Wow is all I can say.

This year I decided to take a class, and was lucky enough to get into Susanna Hansson's Bohus Stickning class (the one I missed last year by procrastinating on registration). This year, thanks to my knitting bud Margo, I learned about the registration opening early enough to jump right in before it was sold out.

This meant, of course, that I could also attend the Market Preview on Thursday night (part of my clever plan). I was lucky enough to be able to take off three days from work, so I had a leisurely drive down (in the rain) to a friend's apt. in Sunnyvale, after which I went over to the Santa Clara Convention Center and spent quite a bit of time finding the well-hidden class registration (different from the Market registration). Once there I had to wait behind only one person before getting my registration packet. Then I waited and knitted until Margo appeared. We had a rather hurried but good dinner at DishDash in Sunnyvale (mediterranean food yum!), then hurried back (in the rain) just in time to join the rather long line to get into the Preview. It moved quickly enough once the doors opened.

( Very long Stitches West 2007 report )

Once again (is it becoming a Stitches West tradition?) there was snow on the San Jose hills, visible from the parking structure. The air was crisp and bracing, especially nice after the stuffy Market.

Today I am resting. I managed to find my copy of _Poems of Color_, the book about Bohus published a few years back, so I can proceed with plans for at least one of the projects I was inspired to do by Susanna's class.

It's raining today, which I am enjoying while thankfully inside and dry. Driving up in the rain last night was an adventure I'm not sure I want to repeat. Now, can I be good for awhile to recover from being very, very bad over the past few days?

12:45am: Sick - again
As if the last cold I had in early Dec. wasn't enough, now I have a new and different one! I sound like Mimi from La Boheme, only I don't look pale and interesting, just miserable. This one started off with the cough from hell and has now morphed into the standard stuffed-up nose. Naturally I have to present a class this week.

This one I think I'll blame on the lovely lady on the local commuter train who plopped down next to me, then proceeded to cough for the entire rest of the ride. If there had been any other seats I would have hauled my exhausted ass to one of them. In any case, every other seat seemed to be filled with a cougher. Public transport - where to go if you *want* to get sick. I'd go to a hospital, but hey - I'm having enough fun with the cold I have now.

4:37pm: Various
First of all, my current girl kitty turns out to be a retriever! I had heard that there were cats that would retrieve, but none of mine ever have. What little miss does is to take away her puffball-on-a-stick toy, play with it out of sight for a while, then bring it back to me so that I can make it go again for her. So cute! Also, as the weather has turned colder, she has discovered that she actually likes to cuddle. Before this she would struggle and give the Squeak of Command to be let down.

Second, on one of my mailing lists, I'm enjoying watching another episode of _When Moos Collide_. It seems that someone is upset because the teacher of her child will not, after all, provide childcare after school, as entitlemoo thinks she ought to do. Other moos weighed in to low about how "Teachers are mothers too, and need to go back to their own childrun at night." Nothing, I note, about the basic selfishness of a parent demanding that someone else do her job - childcare. There were also some comments made about how it would be nice if parents would teach their children basic manners. Then there's the expected whining about how much hooooooooomework poor little Ghastleigh has to dooooooooooooo. Now maybe it's because my parents were both teachers, but they never, ever, ever complained that I had too much hooooooooooomework. In fact they were both pretty pissed if I didn't suck it up and finish it, and it had better be in on time and correct as well. Until I was quite far into my college career I didn't even realize that there was such a thing as an extension on deadlines for papers.

I saw _Volver_ the other night. It is such a "men are pigs and dogs" (a sentiment with which I do not disagree right now) movie that I was surprised to see any men in the audience at all. I was actually surprised to see so many people at the movie - it's been out for quite a while now. I thought Penelope Cruz was very good, the other actors as well, and that the story was well-done. And Ms. Cruz is absolutely gorgeous in this film.

It's still nice and cold here, but I keep missing the snow!

11:03pm: Well, dang
Robert Anton Wilson is dead:

RAW website

(Sorry, it's just a regular link because I'm a lazy person tonight).

Reading the Illuminatus trilogy back when I was a newbie SF fan (back shortly after the earth cooled) was just fun, and fnord the experience probably did twist my tiny little mind, thank ghu.

Hailing Eris in memory tonight.

5:38am: Wild and rainy
tonight, so no movie for me. I was thinking of going to _Night at the Museum_.

My new crown and I have been enjoying (cautiously) some holiday goodies (mostly of the candy variety). Naturally, no peppermint puffs for me (anything minty is good and festive), but I should be able to make the traditional ginger cream cookies tomorrow perhaps. I was just too lazy today.

Somehow with all of the tooth stuff and being sick I haven't gotten as much Christmas/Yule/Glitter Day goodness as I am craving. People are so efficient around here that they seem to yank down their Christmas lights at 12:01 am on Dec. 26, which I think is a real pity. The more glitter and lights the better as far as I'm concerned.

Hope the rest of you are having fun!

7:53am: Earthquake again - bleagh
Somewhere there are people who enjoy earthquakes, but I'm not one of them. We had another one tonight right before 11 pm. Naturally I panicked. This is no way to begin the winter holiday! And those cats - well, the boy was acting whiny and agitated, but that's normal for him. The girl has been her usual phlegmatic self, though she did come and see what was wrong when I screamed. And they're calling it a "minor" quake - pfuh!

In other news, I am starting to eat normal food again - nothing sticky or very hard, but at least it's not yogurt. I even started having some Christmas treats!

In case I don't post again in time, happy holidays!

Editing to add that I am really missing Meeri tonight. Even the other two aren't making me feel better about her. Poor little boo.

3:43am: Earthquake!
Man, all I need. We had a small earthquake about 20 minutes ago. Fortunately it seems to have been a snall one, around 3.7 by the original esitmate, not far from Berkeley. The cats did nothing to indicate that there would be a quake - thanks, cats!

In other news I had the final crown installed today. I think it will take a little while for it to be a welcome part of its brother and sister teeth, but I have already tried eating more normally. I'm still
starved, though. Also it is very cold here. I sleep pinned down in awkward positions by the suddently heavy cats holding down the covers. Once again I can see my breath; after all these years here in the Bay Area, I don't think I will ever get over the novelty.

I must say that 2mg of Ativan are very nice indeed for getting through these little life crises.

Hoping all is still where you are

Leslie

9:32am: Peeves
Man, do I *HATE* with a passion those obnoxious "fill out this webform and perhaps if the moon is in the right phase and I feeeeeeeeeeel like it I'll allow your piffling insignificant message through" forms, especially when they are for the business address of someone who wants you to send them money. I can't think of anything more likely to piss off future customers. Way to go - "you are more than likely a spammer, so prove that you aren't by wasting your time. Oh, and give me your damned money too."

In other news, I have had a root canal and also a temporary crown. I somewhat resemble Jaws from the James Bond movies, except for being a little shorter. I still can't eat normally and am very much missing my usual close-to Christmas bakings.

It is also finally nice and cold here. I may even need a coat tomorrow.

11:56pm: Woe is me; funny commercial
Well, the day I've dreaded for years has finally arrived: I bit down on some pizza and crunch went a tooth. It's broken though so far not giving pain (knock wood, pray to all the big and little gods), and I have a call in to a dentist who is supposedly good with wuss-ass extreme dentalphobes like me. I am praying (and I'm not religious) that he is accepting new patients. I have my instructions all written out and an agreement made with a friend for what to do if I do develp pain that requires an emergency visit, and fortunately I currently have dental insurance and have the forms and numbers ready.

Between bouts of terror I am trying to figure out what to eat. I have yogurt, Slimfast, Ensure, applesauce, bananas, and a fiber supplement, and I was able to eat scrambled eggs this morning. I am racking my brains for other safe things to eat but am too scared to be thinking very rationally, so if there are any suggestions, I would be more than happy to receive them. I had wanted to lose weight but so not this way. I unfortunately do not have a blender.

Before all this happened I caught a commercial for a car (the Fusion I think) that was hysterical: Couple is in the car, obviously on their first date, and the bio-clock-ticking breeder wannabe female says something like "You'd make a great father for my children." Hapless male immediately has a quick montage vision of some
un-Kodak moments and quickly rids himself of the female. I was cracking up.

8:07am: Kittens!
Today I got to go to the kitten store! I didn't get any new kitties, but it was a near thing. Seldom have I seen so many cute kittens together in one place. This is a local rescue group which has a storefront where they have many adoptable cats, kittens, and dogs on display. They were all adorable, of course, but I was especially taken by the fuzzy white kittens (so cute that they looked artificial, only they were moving), the tiny tortie darling and its equally adorable mother, the two kittens in the small cage I didn't even see until one very imperiously announced its presence, the grey and white kitten with beautifully ticked fur, and finally the buff kitten draped over the neck of its very patient mother. I wanted to take them all home with me.

I also got to see _The Queen_ with Helen Mirren. She did a wonderful job, and the corgis stole every scene they were in. Parts of the film really made me cry. It's too bad that Rex Harrison is dead, as he would have made the perfect Prince Phillip - James Cromwell gave it a good shot, and ordinarily I like him very much, but I wasn't entirely sure about his performance. Such a luxury, too - I have been on vacation so was able to go to a sinfully luxurious afternoon matinee.

11:58pm: Train part deux
The past three days have been the most physically unpleasant since I was sick 13 years ago. I don't respond too well to my routine being disrupted, which it definitely has been.

( And why was that? )

I honestly don't know how I survived the past three days.

6:14am: Dear Moo on the train:

It was hard enough to have to be on a train at all during peak commute hours, but my day was made ever so much better when you wrestled your brat in its huge stroller onto the train, elbowing your seatmate out of the way with your brat in your lap, and leaving the Stroller of Doom in just the right place to make the lady in the wheelchair have a really hard time in positioning itself.

Then we were treated for the entire fricking ride to you telling your brat, in loud "Look at me doing the Hardest Job in the World! Aren't I speshul? And isn't my brat cute? You should bow down and worship us both" tones, every single last fricking thing that was happening on the train. I guess it never occurred to you that most of the people on the train were a) trying to sleep (like me), b) reading QUIETLY TO OURSELVES, or c) working, and that your stupid, inane, and entirely unnecessary monologue was not appreciated. I'm sure you thought that the glares that came your way were not meant for you, but I assure you, they were.

Way to go, hon, and what a sterling example to your chyld about having consideration for others.

12:24am: The usual
Today I was lucky enough to have both free time and gas in the car (and let me add as an aside that I was not meant to have to pump gas with my own hands, nor to ride on public transport, both of which I have to do with distressing regularity), so I went to check out the huge new JoAnn's (fabric and craft store) which has opened nearby. I think three of the smaller ones were smushed into this huge new one. Right now it is fairly clean and well-organized, but I expect that won't last too long.

For a change the most annoying person in the place was an adult. Somehow this woman with a shopping cart always seemed to be in the aisle I wanted to be in, and once even shoved me aside to get where she wanted to go. I hate that. It didn't help that the aisles were barely wide enough for one cart.

This didn't mean that the usual Coughing Kid (tm) was absent, though. Today's little annoyance was especially vigorous - his croupy cough echoed through the entire huge store, completely unfettered by any parental abatement, for the entire time I was there. Way to go, spreaders of Kidplague. Let me know where to send the bill for the doctor, the pills, and the sick time.

I almost forgot to add - my aunt died on Tuesday, a little earlier than they expected. My parents are in Philadelphia for the services. I was not close to this aunt, so it has been sobering but not overly distressing. Mostly I am concerned about my dad and grandmother. I am also grateful for my family's sake and for the others in Florida that Ernesto was not as strong as was feared.

2:38pm: Damn, damn, damn.
I just learned from Sacredchao's lj about the potential hurricane problem in Florida.

Yesterday I learned from my mom that my aunt in Miami has entered hospice and is not expected to live beyond 10 days. She has a blood disorder. I have never been very close to her, but I am worried about my cousins, my 92-year-old grandmother, and my Dad.

On the other side of the fambly, my step-aunt found a lump in her breast, had surgery, and is waiting to hear what it is.

And my brother hit the downhill side of his mid-40s just last week. Man, do I feel old.

11:43am: Grumping
It's too hot. I don't even want to know how hot it is outside because it is already too hot in here.

Also, I have a cold. Now I couldn't say for sure where I picked up this cold, because my knitting bud had one, a couple of people at work have had them, and I sometimes take public transport, which usually sounds like a tubercular ward at any given time. But my prime suspect is my coworker's darling little boy. Said DLB was brought to work at the beginning of last week, sounding like he was coughing up a lung, and as we all know, DLBs (and Gs) do not yet have the Cover Up when Sneezing and Coughing technique down to a science. When I asked my coworker if the DLB was sick (because sick DLBs and Gs belong at home in bed, not at work with 100 people to whom their diseases and parasites are 100% transmittable, unlike the pets who are forbidden to be in our workplace), he said "Oh no, not at all." Of course, I also know (from the complaints of other coworkers) that childcare facilities do not accept children who are sick, which is perhaps why my coworker had his DLB with him. Unlike my other coworkers, this particular one does not usually inflict his offspring upon us, even though they are usually quiet and well-behaved.

In any case, I've had little sleep for about 5 days now, I am weak and dizzy, and my chest hurts from all the coughing I am doing. I've had to miss two days of work so far and am quite worried.

Also, I had another package stolen from my doorstep, this time despite the "Hold at Post Office" notice on the package, which the letter carrier chose to ignore. They have to read the address to know where to leave the package, so why can't they read and put into practice the instructions? Anyway, I will prosecute if I find out which of my lovely neighbors has been committing mail theft.

6:09pm: Sick again
After a brutal couple of weeks (too many running-around, high-stress days, followed by the same on one of the weekend days), I have fallen sick - achey, sinus problems, etc. It's so hard to know what is allergies, what might be a sinus infection, and what is stress-related. I want to eat better too. And I want to have more fun! The event on Saturday involved entirely too many (as in more than zero) brats and their probable illnesses (it wasn't my event, so I had no say in the attendance of the brats). Plus it was the hottest day of the year, so all of the running around, dealing with computer equipment, moving stuff around, etc., just compounded the fun. Still, it was for something that really needed to happen (a memorial service for a co-worker's late wife), so it was worth it. I guess.

Gogo slept up near me in bed for the very first time the other night! It was very exciting. She is becoming slowly more affectionate.

Leslie

9:47pm: Moveeee!
It's been a while since I actually saw a movie in a real theater, so it was nice to see _Kinky Boots_ today in the nearby art movie house. This was a fun little movie apparently based on a true story. The acting was good, the story affecting, the settings wonderful (London, Northampton, Milan), and it was totally porn for shoe and boot lovers. Best of all, if there were any sproggen in the picture, I don't even remember them. Seeing how shoes are made was also interesting.

There was a trailer for _Inconvenient Truth_, which did indeed look as scary as the voiceover was trying to make it sound. Nowhere in the trailer was the word overpopulation used overtly, but the implication was there.

9:14pm: Good book
I just finished reading _The Saddlemaker's Wife_ by Earlene Fowler, one of my favorite authors and one who does not automatically think that kids = an unmixed blessing. The lead character in her regular mystery series (Benni Harper) is a fencesitter at the very strongest and possibly will be childfree throughout the life of the series. The lead in this new book, Ruby McGavin, does seem to want to have kids (though thinks she may be too old to meet, marry, and spawn in time), but not in the OMG MUST HAVE TEH BAYBEEEEEZ way.

Anyway, Fowler seems to have the knack of writing characters that are fully human and flawed yet sill interesting and sympathetic, though her villains still tend to be a little one-dimensional. As one reviewer wrote, you want to find out what happens to these people. It did bug me a bit that there were so many right-word wrong-place spelling errors in this book. Hint to authors: Spell-checking != proofreading.

I also braved the outer world to get a few errands done. I'm throwing a puppy shower for a coworker on Monday (a little black lab/Border(line) collie mix, with the most adorable baby pics ever), so I had to go o out and get presents and wrapping stuff, and now will need to make a card. I also had to get a bed wedge as piling up the pillows isn't cutting it any more. If that isn't about the most awkward thing ever to try to maneuver through a store and into a car.

Also went to Trader Joe's for various items, including some of their delicious hummus. Why they don't just put it up in 55-gallon drums I'll never know. Those little tubs are inadequate for my consumption needs. They also have the bestest thing ever - Perlini, which are little pea-sized fresh mozzarella balls - too cute and totally delicious. They taste great with pasta, garbanzos, TJ's bruschetta sauce, and a touch of balsamic vinaigrette for a cool and light warm-weather meal. No, I don't have stock in Trader Joe's but wish that I did.

While on the errands I checked with the rescue place (local Pet Food Express with local adoptions) just in case I would get lucky again and find another Aby (yes, I'm still looking even though I have Gogo). No such luck, but there was an enormous fuzzy black and white boy, and a very kvetchy exotic-looking grey and white kitten who will probably have copper eyes when fully grown. Both were very cute. There was also a long-haired mama with about 6 adorable fuzzy kittens, including one that looked like a himalayan. Oh, to be able to adopt them all.

Now Japhy is wandering around the condo howling and knocking things over. What a lad.

6:36pm: Home again
I'm a few days back from the trauma of visiting my parents, including the Horrible Little Boys (the golden nephsproggen). As sproggen go they are ok though way too high energy, but the problem is that my parents, particularly my mother, literally cannot comprehend that they do not need to be included in every last activity when I am visiting, or that I am not as stupidly gaga over them as she is. Luckily my SIL is as sensible as they come, or these little boys would become truly horrible. Already they are terribly spoiled, and I am afraid it will come as a great shock to them to learn that the universe does not, after all, revolve around them.

While there I did get to visit a fabulous yarn store in Meridian, a former private home converted into a yarn store. Every nook, cranny, and converted closet was stuffed full of the most wonderful yarn. I naturally had to have some, plus I found the long bamboo circular needles I couldn't find before my flights. BTW, my knitting on bamboo needles when through both flights without a single comment, though I did get asked a question by a fellow passenger, who had packed her knitting in her checked bag. She seemed chagrined.

My usual lengthy time in the used bookstores was cut short because my mother just had to have the boys over for dinner one night, which meant making byzantine arrangements for picking up the boys from school, feeding them, and getting the tae kwon do uniform from the boys' home for one of them. These kids are scheduled from the second they get up to when they finally go to bed, with my parents enabling the whole fragile structure. Picking them up from school was like visiting the seventh circle of Hell, with screaming children flying everywhere. I blessed my sterility as I cowered in the car.

So now I'm home, and have decided that I probably won't be posting to ASCF any longer. I do wish there was a comparably easy way to keep in touch with those I consider friends, because I will miss it and them, having been on Usenet for a long, long time. But I have less and less in common with those who seem to be infesting the ng now, so figured it was time to go.

Leslie

9:03pm: Could it almost be a good day?
First of all, I was lucky enough to be able to take a vacation day.

Second, it actually snowed! While I haven't seen it falling yet, there was definitely snow in the hills, quite low down. It was so beautiful. It's also nice and cold, finally. This winter has been so warm that I haven't even seen any frost.

Third, I had a great time at Stitches West, the knitting conference/show/market thing. A former coworker, with whom I seem to have a mutual enabling agreement, was there, and I ran into an old friend. Plus there were so many pretty things and they'd redesigned the market to make it easier to actually, like, get into the booths, even with the billions of people who were there. There were still strollers and one brat in a backpack who was literally shrieking like a car alarm - so uselessly stupid for all concerned.

So, one for the memory book, I guess. Maybe I will see snow falling tomorrow.

Now I want french fries, for some reason.

10:30pm: Song
I'm writing a song to be sung to the tune of _Nights in White Satin_:

Cats with white tummies
Never keeping them hid


That's as far as I've gotten, but I solicit additions. This song was inspired by my own Gogo, of course,
as well as my old cat Misty, who also could never keep her huge white tummy under a bushel.

1:29am: The cold is still hanging on
...two weeks later. I get so tired that I fall asleep where I'm sitting; luckily I haven't had to drive anywhere.

It's raining again and it's nice to listen to, but I hope the floody places aren't flooding again.

On BART the other night I was reading a book about pet loss and, of course, crying about Meeri. This very typical-looking business man leaned over and said that he was sorry for my loss (I guess it was hard to miss the combination of book title and tears running down my face from 3 feet away). Anyway, I was so surprised and touched - usually mental states other than the norm only get a reaction of annoyance on BART. I thanked him, but it is hard to know what to say in such circumstances that doesn't sound trite or condescending.

In other news, Gogo tried to take my eye out last week when she got annoyed at being held too long. If I hadn't been wearing glasses... She did manage to nick my nose though.

8:52pm: Deep thoughts
My favorite blog when I need a photo to woodgie coo over (I know, a disgusting habit, but a girl must have some vices) is

http://www.cuteoverload.com

One of the recent entries was a totally cute pic of a panda with an entirely apt caption with a *ghasp* naughty word in it. Nachorally, somebody was able to comment despite her panties being in a complete bunch about how she didn't want any vulgar language to be on the site (someone else's personal blog, mind you), because then she could no longer allow chyldrun (I believe she was a teacher) to see it.

( More nattering behind the cut because it goes on for a bit )

So you go, Meg. Keep up with the irreverant captions and the cute pics, and piffle on those who can't take the time to deal with their responsibilities.

9:24pm: This cold
is stealing my life. I've had to be away from work for two days, and while I'm grateful to have sick leave, it still worries me to be away. I can't do anything but sit or be in bed and be miserable - I can't even clean up or read, really - no concentration, and when I cough it hurts my head.

Worst of all, I have to change my travel plans. I was supposed to see my folks over this weekend and am too sick to fly, so I will probably have to pay for more tickets and try to rearrange a bunch of work stuff.

Having a body is certainly inconvenient. I keep wishing I could leave my head and lungs at the vet's for treatment and get on with life using some loaners.