Thursday, May 26, 2011

scarf for jeff

It's really cold here. Still. I'm actually pretty okay with the alternating cold and hot weather, but it seemed appropriate to put up another project I worked on this winter. I haven't knit anything in probably the past month (and ripped out what I had been working on before that) due to traveling quite a bit and never being quite prepared enough to bring any knitting. But I'm determined not to pretty much completely stop knitting, as I did last summer.

Speaking of last summer...

Last summer, Jeff and I were heading to Whole Foods for lunch when we commented on how incredibly hot it was getting. Weather-wise, I am not entirely opposed to moving to Alaska in order to avoid the scorching, humid heat. I was just telling Jeff how I feel nervous just thinking about hot weather. As he was laughing about yet another irrational fear of mine, he asked if I could knit him a scarf for his birthday. He wanted it black.

Jeff's birthday was a few weeks away in early June, so that wasn't going to work out. In fact, I didn't even get started on this scarf until mid-October. And I also couldn't use black. This color, to me, screams Jeff. I tell him this all the time, but he has the most gorgeous green eyes. Green invariably reminds me of him.
handknit scarf for jeffhandknit scarf for jeff
I really loved working on this for a dear friend. The stitch pattern is pretty fun and easy to remember after awhile. Mostly, I loved that he loved it.

Project Details:
Pattern: Beagle Scarf by Nora Gaughan
Needles: Size 8
Yarn: KnitPicks Andean Treasure (100% Baby Alpaca)- 3.5-4 skeins

Oh, and here's Jeff (with me and Nitin).
And I can't help but mention this:


Tuesday, May 24, 2011

waking up to you

“I will remember your small room, the feel of you, the light in the window, your records, your books, our morning coffee, our noons our nights, our bodies spilled together, sleeping, the tiny flowing currents, immediate and forever, your leg my leg, your arm my arm, your smile and the warmth of you who made me laugh again.”

— Charles Bukowski

^One of my best friends' favorite poets= reading poetry over the phone before bed is awesome.

Steinbeck

"I have always lived violently, drunk hugely, eaten too much or not at all, slept around the clock or missed two nights sleep, worked too long and too hard in glory, or slobbed for a time in utter laziness. I’ve lifted, pulled, chopped, climbed, made love with joy and taken my hangovers as a consequence, not as a punishment."

&

"You see, there’s responsibility in being a person. It’s more than just taking up space where air would be."

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

greatness.

I am so, so, so excited for tomorrow night's game. Also, nervous. One of my non-basketball-fan friends (who is so far removed that he thought the game was tonight) is, I am sure, wondering why I am so nervous. (He didn't specifically ask as we were discussing it...)

Here's the thing. Monday night's game was amazing (I watched it with my brother in a Thai restaurant with two cops because he is too young to get into bars and we don't have a TV. The cops are unrelated to all that). But, the Miami Heat are a talented team. Maybe even great. Great as in greatness potential, not like great, slightly better than good. And we pissed them off. Which was necessary because we are great too. I mean, we dominated them completely. When greatness gets dominated, though, it comes back angry and vengeful. And all that will be tomorrow.

over the phone

"Guess what I ate for dinner... Nevermind I don't think you'll be able to guess."
"Pizza? Pasta? Salad? Rice? etc."
"Are you done?"
"No... a sandwich? Chicken?"
"Yes!"
"Okay, so chicken on a sandwich?"
"No... just chicken."
"..."
"And strawberries, blackberries, and cheese."
"Are you on a paleo diet?"
"What... is that?"
"You're only allowed to eat what cavemen could eat. So it's mostly berries, lettuce and some meat"
"Okay, I could see how it seems like that... but I was just eating some strawberries and blackberries and I thought to myself that I should get some protein... hence the chicken. But I was too lazy to do anything with it."
"...and the cheese."
"Yes. I was craving cheese."
"Really?"
"Pretty much always."
(Your rare laughter)

So... what I'm trying to get across with this conversation is that my plan to cook different and unique meals is going great... not. But I did learn that I eat like a caveman. Day 3 and I have already run out of meal ideas.

you get sloppy drunk, i stay whiskey neat


I worked all winter, I will not fail summer.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

goat cheese-stuffed dates wrapped in prosciutto

Picture from lolfoodie

I am always somewhat discouraged to discover every now and then that I may be a cooking genius. I feel as though I would be very relieved to find that I just don't have the ability to cook and save myself the trouble and pretense by ordering out all the time. And yet, I'm pretty good at copying recipes and following directions exactly. Sure, this isn't exactly displaying a knack for cooking, per se. It's a knack for following procedures. Sure, I forget every three seconds how to chop an onion or garlic, but every now and then... I can make a dish that is pretty good.

I still lack the comfort and ease in a kitchen that one might associate with a true cooking genius, and I still don't have a lot of helpful kitchen accessories, but... I do feel pretty encouraged that this is something I can develop. One of my goals for the next few months is to begin the process of developing some go-to comfort dishes. I'm hoping that as the summer progresses, I feel that I can grow an arsenal of simple and tasty dishes to turn to for guests and even myself.

I know that the key to creating a sustainable process (aka, such that I will keep cooking for myself) is to ensure that the recipes I choose have ingredients that are versatile... and that I can find at the grocery store. I'm not one to be searching for an exotic seasoning I can use one time. Also, I know that the recipes I choose need to not only taste great to me (and my personal taste is something I know very well, so that is helpful), but also will not take eons to make and will not make a huge mess. So these are key.

I started today with a pasta that I have completely fallen in love with. Can't wait to share. But for now, I am drooling over these goat cheese-stuffed dates wrapped in prosciutto. You know how I was saying I know my taste? This is exactly what it is.

I'm pretty excited about this... I feel like I haven't properly challenged myself in awhile.

except independence

“Degrees of ability vary, but the basic principle remains the same: the degree of a man’s independence, initiative and personal love for his work determines his talent as a worker and his worth as a man. Independence is the only gauge of human virtue and value. What a man is and makes of himself; not what he has or hasn’t done for others. There is no substitute for personal dignity. There is no standard of personal dignity except independence."

-Ayn Rand, The Fountainhead

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

a few thoughts for today

A friend posted this article on Facebook today. It's called Paper Tigers: What happens to all the Asian-Americans once the test-taking ends. Longest article of my life, but a lot of these ideas pass through my mind and I think are part of what people who think about the Asian-American experience think about. Beyond that, I haven't had enough time to process it more specifically.

And after tonight, I needed this:

"Don’t be afraid to be a fool. Remember, you cannot be both young and wise. Young people who pretend to be wise to the ways of the world are mostly just cynics. Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it. Because cynics don’t learn anything. Because cynicism is a self-imposed blindness, a rejection of the world because we are afraid it will hurt us or disappoint us. Cynics always say no. But saying yes begins things. Saying yes is how things grow. Saying yes leads to knowledge. “Yes” is for young people. So for as long as you have the strength to, say yes."

-Stephen Colbert

Saturday, May 7, 2011

coffee & cheese

Most beautiful picture ever?
Except for maybe this one.

Friday, May 6, 2011

true kindness.

"I was a goth in high school," said the most clean-cut man I knew.

The thought passed through my mind that perhaps he didn't know the stereotypical concept of "goth." Maybe he was that guy. Striped collar shirt under a sweater with khakis guy who thought he used to be goth. He was not. "I used to apply pale foundation, have long hair, and black nails." He was my teacher and I was a student in his senior English class, but I fell to the floor laughing. And he laughed vaguely, laughing at my laughter. And now there's this article.

I'm so proud to know him.

huckleberry friends

IMG_4963
(My neighbor became the view outside my window when I lived in Florence)

"Let nature do the freezing and frightening and isolating in this world. Let men work and love and fight it off."
-Jack Kerouac

dream maker, you heartbreaker.


so gorgeous

Moon river, wider than a mile
I’m crossing you in style some day
Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker
Wherever you’re goin’, I’m goin’ your way

Two drifters, off to see the world
There’s such a lot of world to see
We’re after the same rainbow’s end, waitin’ ’round the bend
My huckleberry friend, moon river, and me

Thursday, May 5, 2011

quiet girl, by langston hughes

I would liken you
To a night without stars
Were it not for your eyes.
I would liken you
To a sleep without dreams
Were it not for your songs.

how do we do this?

i don't know, but let's figure it out.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

wintersong mittens

herringbone mittens
It's May. And yet, today I found myself wearing my winter jacket. I had been hesitating posting these since I didn't want to jinx anything, but since the weather is already jinxed, what is there left to lose?

I knit these in December, which meant that my hands were very cold in November and December since I refused to buy perfectly warm $2.99 gloves. I loved this pattern by Elli Stubenrauch. It was my first time doing colorwork and reading a chart, both skills that I felt I had, in theory.

My goal was to use yarn I already had and I finally settled on Misti Alpaca Worsted and Berocco Vintage Wool. I loved the combination of the wool and alpaca because the alpaca makes it warmer and softer but the wool is sturdy and keeps the mittens from stretching out. They received quite a bit of abuse this winter- gripping bus poles, being dropped in dirty melted snow, picking up snow for snowball fights, etc. And they held up exceptionally.

I added a few more rows than called for in the ribbed cuff for extra warmth and would probably have decreased the number of stitches because the cuff ended up being way too loose for me.

And I HAD to make the tops of the thumbs removable for texting purposes. I try to save time by responding to texts while I'm waiting for buses.

These mittens received so many compliments that by the time the bartender was calling me, "Mittens," it was a little bit ridiculous.

close-up

Project Info:
Yarn: 0.5-ish skein Misti Alpaca Royal (I think- this was very old) in white; Berocco Vintage (Purple)
Needle Size: ?
Pattern: Herringbone Mittens by Elli Stubenrauch
Modifications: Removable Thumb Tops; Additional Rows to the cuff

Needs-to-be-updated Ravelry Project Page.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

can't help it if i want to kiss you in the rain


I sang this song to a friend yesterday... it was absolutely, every ounce as embarrassing as you might imagine it'd be. I don't think I really blush, and I'm positive that I was blushing.

You know how you should do one thing a day that scares you? Or maybe that's just me. This was totally my thing for yesterday. I'd rather jump out of a plane. (I say that now)

Monday, May 2, 2011

you're lovely; and so what, you're still lovely


why: a conversation

Should I quit school and be a fashionista?

I'm not sure what being a fashionista entails. Also, I think my skill is not singing as much as it is lip synching, air guitar, and making the radio loud enough to mask my voice.

Why are you suddenly doubting your singing? I'm not positive what is involved with being a fashionista either, but while reading the newspaper today, there was an article about a fashionista and it seems like she was just giving advice about fashion and finding what looks good. I too could come up with random tips. It sounds like the people who tell you to use eggs on your pimples.

I think I just re-evaluated my singing talents in an effort to find my niche. I wanted to share my findings. Given your distaste for vanity I feel fashionista is not the best career for you. Although I'm sure you're more than capable of dispensing glamour tips.

It's more the idea that I can give people confidence and make them feel better about themselves with something as simple as flattering clothes that appeals to me. And a little bit being able to procure ridiculous advice.

What makes you think there aren't hundreds of other women that want to do the same thing? The difference is that for some people that is the best they can offer society whereas you would be taking the easy road. Which I know you do not like to do.

Fine, side job? I will divide my time between being a doctor, being a fashionista, and listening to you sing (whether privately or in a band or to a radio). Sounds good?

Time management will be an issue but I think it can work. You write a weekly online article on fashion and beauty tips. Easy. Your primary job is school/medicine. The rest of your time will be spent attempting to seduce me. If you are successful, I will sing.

...Do you even know what seduction is?

I think I do.

what am i, a farmer?

I just started watching 30 Rock when I was in the depths of a frigid winter and I still haven't seen Season 4 and the beginning of Season 5, but I watched the first three seasons with an urgency with which I haven't watched many shows. Most of the time, I feel I should probably not rest until Jack Donaghy is my man.


Re: Paul Pierce's headbutting in yesterday's game (which I did not get to watch), I may have responded, What are we, barbarians? when I heard about it.