tag

So, nobody tagged me, but I thought this might be an interesting post, so here goes... I stole it from Elisa.

10 years ago... it was 1995 and I would have been starting grade 10. I would have been 14, as my birthday isn’t until later. I had been dating my boyfriend for a year (2?) at this point. Hmmm… apparently the life of a 14 year-old is not that exciting, as nothing else pops out at me.

5 years ago... it was 2000, and I was doing a co-op term for university at a small tech startup called Apps On The Web (I just looked them up, apparently they still exist, but not as I knew them). I was getting ready to start year 3 (of 5.5) at university.

1 year ago... I was moving multiple times. I had been working for an NGO in Jericho, Palestine, then returned to Alberta for 2 weeks for my sister’s wedding, then moved to Ottawa to start language training for my new job.

Yesterday… I worked all day, did some cleaning for the impending move, blogged while watching So You Think You Can Dance (this is my idea of a reality show, as I love all things dance related) and knit (another square for the baby blanket, and some more rounds on a modified Sophie).

Today... Work, and then I have my second last soccer game of the season. I don’t usually manage to accomplish anything after soccer, so that’s about it.

Tomorrow… More work and more moving… it’s Friday, so the moving can start in earnest.

5 snacks I enjoy... I’m pretty random in my snacking… I like sweet things (ice cream, baked goods (mmm, muffins), chocolate (especially Lindt Lindor milk chocolate) and gummy candies) and salty things (cheese, pickles, chips, pretzels), but I don’t snack on anything regularly. When I do snack, I always prefer a little bit of the real thing over a lot of a reduced fat/calorie version.

5 bands/singers that I like... I’m really bad about music… I like listening to it, but I don’t often buy cds or choose the music I’m listening to… that means a lot of radio, and only knowing the popular songs, and not knowing who sings what. Honestly, I like so many different things, I would spend a fortune on cds if I bought them all, so I just stick to buying yarn.

Things I would do with $100,000,000... Pay off my debt, buy a house/condo or two (one in Alberta, near my family… I talked to my parents last night, and I really miss being there for daily life), travel the world (extensively), donate to charity, give to family and friends, and invest a lot so that I could only work at things I want to.

5 locations I'd like to run away to... Sub-Saharan Africa, India/Pakistan, Vietnam/Thailand/Cambodia, Italy/Greece/the Mediterranean/North Africa, Latin America… these are actually regions, see above (and yes, I am aware that this covers the majority of the world).

5 bad habits I have.... I procrastinate… a lot…, I’m messy, I’m overly critical… those are the only ones I can think of. I’m actually really bad at forming habits, especially good ones. I can go to the gym every day for months, and if I skip one day, all of that habit-building work is gone, and I never go again (true example).

5 things I like doing... Spending time with family and friends, knitting, reading, shopping (if I’m in the mood), cooking.

5 things I would never wear... tapered pants, stirrup pants, shoulder pads, pleated front jeans, anything horribly oversized. That’s not to say that I haven’t worn these things, but that I will now not wear them again.

5 TV shows I like... teen shows (Gilmore Girls, Veronica Mars, Instant Star, the OC) cop shows (Law & Order, CSI, Cold Case), and some CanCon (Canadian Content: Robson Arms, Corner Gas). (my options are limited, I only have one channel… and it doesn’t have Gilmore Girls or the OC. I only put them down because I used to watch. However, this has shown me that I probably watch too much TV even with my limited options. And that I like to use parentheses too much.)

5 Movies I like.... Fight Club, The Big Lebowski, Dirty Dancing, The Princess Bride, and I have a startling affection for most teen movies (e.g. Mean Girls, Josie and the Pussycats, 10 Things I Hate About You etc. This is also often reflected in my TV viewing habits.)

5 famous people I'd like to meet... As a kid, I was always more interested in the characters in shows than in the actors that played them. I would always daydream about being a character in the show (not an actor playing a character, just someone from that environment). I think I still have that ability to really like a character and still realize that I know nothing about the person playing the character. However, these people always seemed kinda cool to me: Natalie Portman, Julia Stiles, Seth Green, Albert Einstein and Susan Sarandon. Before, I would have added Katie Holmes, but not so much anymore.

5 biggest joys of the moment... No humidity (and thus cool sleeping weather at night), my birthday coming up (yay quarter century!), upcoming wedding of my cousin, where I will see most of my extended family, moving to a new place (this is a mixed blessing), and living on my own for the first time.

5 favorite toys... my laptop, my minidisk player, my camera (although I haven’t used it much lately), my Denise needle set, my cat (that doesn’t quite seem right, but it’s true)

And, since I don't have any pictures of knitting, I thought I'd include interesting pictures from my last trip...
Egypt...

testing

me...

I'm just having fun learning how to post photos. This seems to work pretty well. This picture was taken by my then-boyfriend just over a year ago when we were in Egypt. It was sunset, and I'm looking down at the Nile.

I'm not knitting a lot tonight... I was turning the heel on my sockapal2za sock and I ended up with stitches left on only one side, so I frogged the heel and did it again. Unfortunately, my hands are limited in their tolerance for knitting at a small gauge, and they are feeling somewhat claw-like today. (Not that typing is that much better). Anyway, what I should really be doing is cleaning/packing, but again it's getting late and I haven't done much. The friends helping me move are going to be in shock when they get here Sunday!

knitting monotony

It's terrible to say this, but I feel like I've been knitting on the same projects forever... It's probably because I have so many projects on the go, and they all have fast approaching deadlines.

Sockapal2za socks - September 15
The Hooded Pullover from Patons' Weekend Retreat book - September 30 - I gave this to my sister for her birthday in May, and am just seaming it now. I started it with yarn from my grandmother (that came with Eaton's ball bands) and ran out after the hood, but before the sleeves. I did show it to her on her birthday, and then made her pick out the contrasting yarn for the sleeves and a front patch pocket.
A mitred-square baby blanket - September 30 - The baby is due on the 13th, but I have to deliver it when I'm out west. It's mostly just the seaming left, although I'm not sure exactly how I'm going to do it. I'm thinking about learning to crochet...
Christmas presents - September 30 - I'm going home for a wedding then, and I'm not sure that I'm going home for Christmas, so I thought it would be good to make my gifts for family and deliver them then. Aren't I a genius? I've finished two Sophie bags, with one more to do, and two Tychus hats for the men (my dad and my brother-in-law) in my life (I think I'm safe, as no one from my family reads this blog.)

Despite being a little bored by the knitting I have available, I keep knitting instead of getting ready for my impending move. I'm only moving up four floors in my building, but I seem to have a lot of stuff! My ex moved out two months ago, and it doesn't seem to have made the slightest difference in the volume of things in my house. And right now? I'm blogging instead of packing. I think this weekend is really going to suck, what with the packing and moving and cleaning all still to be done. At least I'll have help...

whirlwind week

It has indeed been a crazy week... I can't remember when my last post was, so I'll go over at least the past four days. Tuesday I went to Ikea in search of lamps. When my ex moved out, he left a lot of his stuff here until he found a permanent apartment (as opposed to a two month sublet). When he came to pick it up, it turned out that all of the lamps were his. This apartment (and my next one, I move next weekend) doesn't have any overhead lighting, so it has been pretty dark. Today I set up my living room lamp, and it's much better!

Wednesday was the regular Ottawa Knitting Group meeting (the third Wednesday of every month, at the Bridgehead on Third Avenue in the Glebe, anyone can come join us!). A lot of our regular members were out of town, but we had a lot of new faces, which is always welcome. I didn't learn everyone's name (that is definitely one of my biggest weaknesses!) but I had fun chatting. I only brought two projects with me, my sockapal2za socks and a Sophie bag I'm working on for a Christmas present, and they're both in the endless circles of stockinette stage. I'll have to remember to bring a bit more variety in the future.


Suki cat thinks she needs to eat right now... I guess it is after my bedtime, when I normally feed her. She can wait for a few more minutes.

Thursday night, I had my regularly scheduled soccer game. We lost 1-0 to the second best team in the league. Our team would be doing much better if we could just score goals, but then again, that's probably a problem for a lot of recreational soccer team. There are only two games left in the season. I'll be sad when it's over... but I don't think I'm going to make the effort to play indoor this winter. We'll see.

Tonight, I wanted to finish spinning and plying the roving I bought at Knit Knackers two weeks ago so I can take it in tomorrow to show the woman who taught me how to spin my first work (and to buy more roving!) I think I'm surprisingly even, considering this is my first effort. I have a small hank of two ply yarn hanging in my bathtub right now. I still have a lot to learn, though, as I don't even remember the name of the fiber I bought. And I'm thinking of going to Rhinebeck...? I guess I would probably learn more there. While spinning, I watched Shall We Dance, with Richard Gere and Jennifer Lopez. I love movies about dance, and this one was lovely, but I think I prefered the Japanese original. I found it amusing that they had a preview for the original on the dvd.

I'm ba-ack...

Sorry for the lack of posting. I decided that my blog reading/posting at work was getting out of hand, and I decided to stop (for my productivity, as well as my job security). I just got a computer for home, so I can now post again. Which is exciting since I'm hoping to join SP6! Hopefully I will be able to get a digital camera by then too, so I can actually take pictures of my projects.

I should update on my WIPs, I guess. I have just casted on for my seconde Sockapal2za sock, and they are coming along nicely. I am yousing Kroy Socks Orangina for the toe, heel and cuffs and Kroy Socks Paintbox for the rest. The cuff is cabled and the heel is an afterthought kind, so it can be replaced if it wears out. I have had a lot of trouble with these socks since it's the first time I've made socks for someone else, and I'm having fit issues. I'm so concerned about them being too big that I keep trying to end too soon. I seem to have got the measurements right for the first one, so it should be good now.

I have been knitting a sweater for my sister for ages, and I just bound of the arms (knit flat at the same time). Nothing left but the seaming, and knitting a kangaroo style pocket if I have time before October. Other things to finish before October include a mitred-square baby blanket for my cousin and Sophie bags to be included in Christmas presents, as I won't be home at Christmas. I'm hoping to deliver everything in October so I don't have to ship it. And, maybe a present for my (other) cousin for her wedding, if I can think of something suitable. I think that's everything that I'm actively working on right now.