11.30.2007

nostalgia

i know what you're all thinking, two blogs in one day?!? i guess i'm feeling writerly. i'm sure that this is just the "shiney and new" aspect of this new blog, and it will fade over time. i will write in spirts where i post three times a day, and then won't update for months after that. but you're my friends, and will forgive me.

anyways, what is it about this time of year that makes so many people nostalgic? is there something in the fall air, the decaying leaves, that subconsciously reminds us of our own mortality? or perhaps it's a sick twist on holiday traditions, christmas is, for me at least, very seeped in the past. as such i tend to think back to long-forgotten christmases every year around this time. it's a depressing habit because it seems that no christmas will ever be as epic as that christmas when you were a little kid, when you didn't have to fight shoppers and balance your checkbook to get other people gifts, you just made them with your crayons. when you were hoping beyond all reason for that one.perfect.toy, and when you opened it on christmas morning everything just fell into place. the year becomes sealed forever in your memory as being somewhat of a christmas nirvana, that you'll never reach again.

some older friends tell me that this is not true, that when i have children of my own i will feel this excited, feverish anticipation of christmas once more; if only reflected in my children's smiles. but that seems far into the future, and rather intangible for this holiday season... doesn't it?

even my perfumes have become nostalgic as fall edges into winter, and the wheel of the year comes rolls and closer to it's pinnacle. my latest order from black phoenix alchemy lab was as follows:

antique lace
laudanum
seraglio
r'lyeh
nyarlathotep
ouija

i'm particularly excited to try r'lyeh, described on the site as "a hellishly dark aquatic scent, evocative of fathomless oceanic deeps, the mysteries of madness buried under crushing black waters, and the brooding eternal evil that lies beneath the waves." those of you who understand my feelings reguarding atlantis will completely see how this could be nostalgic for me.

11.29.2007

funny how plans don't pan out like they should...

instead of working on the hemlock ring blanket, as i'd hoped, i find myself knitting jerod flood's koolhass from IK's holiday gifts magazine.

why you ask? koolhas is one of the few things that programmer requested for christmas. and he didn't just say "savvy, knit me a hat." nono, he looked over at my computer one day while i was on jared's blog, saw said hat, and said "that's pretty neat." he also picked out a gorgeous color of yarn for the project, knitpicks wool of the andes in heathered sapphire.

i've also cast on julie anderson's booga bag for my sister's christmas present. it's a quick and easy, mindless knit. i expect to finish the actual knitting part this weekend. i'm not sure how long it will take me to felt it though, as i have no washing machine at my disposal. : /

11.26.2007

defending lolita (aka i'm always saying the wrong things)

i find more often than not, that when it comes to the internet i'm always saying the wrong things. my problem seems to be that i rely far to heavily on sarcasm in my everyday speech, and in type, sarcasm comes out all wrong. without the inflections in my voice, the hint of a smile on my face, my sarcasm gets misinterpreted as being obnoxious, self-absorbed, or just plain creepy. i'm always sticking my keyboard in my mouth, so to speak.

most of my favorite books are a bit controversial, but nabokov's is probably the most notorious. lolita is kind of disturbing, if you just look at the basic plot. but that's what makes nabokov such a brilliant writer. he draws you in, and makes you start to feel for one of what should be the most vile of anti-heros, humbert humbert. the reader begins to sympathize with humbert, despite of themselves. not to mention that nabokov was famous for playing literary games. there are so many other things going on on top of the basic story, so many literary allusions and subtleties that you could read the book a hundred times and still not understand everything that navokov has going on. it's a beautifully written, not too graphic book about a very disturbing subject. but it's nothing like people think.

anyways, i tried to defend the book to an internet friend recently with little or no success. i feel really bad about this, probably worse than i should. i'm an english major, and i should be able to acurately articulate (in the written word) my feelings reguarding literature without creeping anyone out.

:sigh: like i said, i'm always sticking my keyboard in my mouth. i should probably wait to discuss anything that i feel truly passionate about (such as russian literature) until i've actually meant a person.... : (

i should also get back to writing my presentation.

11.21.2007

packages!

today i got my new harmony wood needles from knitpicks.


they're soo smooth, and the colors are wonderful! i'm really excited to try them out. they will be broken in on my long-awaited hemlock ring blanket!!
that is, after i finally finish this:


poor 'tasha

my poor puppy got loose from her chain and hit by a car last night. she's black, and the driver said that she just came out of nowhere. he very kindly brought her back to us. we had to take her over the the emergency vet hospital for them to sedate her and give her some x-rays. they've told us that she has a broken shoulder blade and nerve damage down her right front leg. our only options are to let it heal on it's own and see if the nerves repair themselves, or get a surgery ($$$$) that the doctor said wouldn't definitely cure everything. so we've decided to just let her rest and heal and we'll see what happens. if you could, send some good thoughts her way?

11.19.2007

give me turkey or give me death.

well here we are again kids, racing ever-close to homemade, stuffing-filled poultry goodness. dear god, but couldn't we all use a break? i don't know about you, but i'm exhausted.
on the knitting front, i'm still tugging away at elya's diamond and smocked baby blanket. i was hoping to finish it this past weekend, but i didn't get the chance. instead i was stuck on my couch with my lappy, trying to focus on various graphics/ papers that are due soon. :sigh: maybe over break i'll finish it.

11.17.2007

new and exciting!

after having worked on this all day, i'm ready to throw in the towel and call it a blog. (or a waste of a saturday....) it's not nearly as good looking as i want it to be yet, but i'm still a big confused about how to edit the code here on blogger.