I hope so, because right now I’m feeling more harassed than anything else. I want to enjoy being on summer vacation, dammit!

One of my favorite methods of procrastinating with papers is to think, “Hm, I need some new music to write to,” and then I’m off for an hour on iTunes . Today, as I’m downloading three albums, I thought back to the first time I ever bought three albums at once (actually, they were tapes, it was the 90s). I had really fallen under Queen’s spell after Freddie Mercury’s death because of “Wayne’s World,” and remembered that I liked their song “Another One Bites the Dust” even though it got me in trouble with nuns when I was in kindergarten, so I bought their Classic Queen album. I listened to that thing constantly, and was very glad that it listed which album each of the songs on it came from, because it was very obvious to me that I would have to own all of Queen’s albums.

My allowance was like $40 a month at the time, so it was no small thing when I decided that I would be getting three of their albums at once. I was going to be broke for the rest of the month, but by God, I would have new music to listen to! So I persuaded mom to take me to the mall, and we walked into the Sam Goody shop, where I picked out A Kind of Magic, The Miracle, and Innuendo, all snug in their giant plastic anti-theft devices (I really hope those were recyclable, because there must have been millions of those chunky things, remember them)? Mom asked was I sure I wanted to spend that much money all at once, didn’t I want to wait and get one later? Of course I didn’t want to wait! I wanted them all, right now. And I bought them, plunking my $30 down and then walking out of the store, sublimely happy with my purchases.

The three albums I bought today don’t have a lot in common with Queen–they’re all alternative acts, for starters, because I’m finally going over to that dark side–but they made me think of that day, the first day that I bought three albums at once because they were all brilliant and I had to have them. My first experience with impetuous consumerism, which has become a theme in my life: “I Want It All” has been my theme song for years, people. I’m lucky I didn’t get a credit card until college and that my credit card debts are all paid off. Well, except for what I charged on my Gap card yesterday, which I will pay off sensibly when I get the bill.

And now that these new albums have downloaded, I guess I’m going to work on this paper. Maybe I’ll listen to those three Queen albums today while I work…

Good things did happen on the vacay, and I have to keep reminding myself of that. For example, in spite of the 87 straight days of grey skies we seem to have had this June, Mom and I went to the circus at Coney Island. That was fun. We also went to Sagamore Hill to visit Teddy Roosevelt’s home, which was awesome. Jordana and I found a wine bar in her neighborhood on Friday and I discovered a really great local honey wine, then we went to the Botanical Gardens, then to Celebrate Brooklyn with Thabiso. These are all good things, but on the whole the impression this vacation left me with was “not restful.” And then I came back to work yesterday to find out that we’re expected to be in the new office in the new building on July 20, so now we are stressed out about that. I think I need another vacation.

5 More Friends

So, behind the cut, photos.

This picture was totally staged: Rick scared the birds into flight.

Rick in the Gulf of Mexico.

Rick asking me to get him a beer.

My lizard, chilling by the pool.

I went to Disney World and took no pictures of Mickey, just of birds.

I call this one “Tempting Fate.” And yes, it was that dark and misty at the beach that morning, this isn’t underexposed.

There had been a huge downpour the night before we went to the beach at Tampa, and all sorts of cool things had washed up, including this urchin. Cruelly, I only had a half hour on the beach before we had to get to the airport. It was over way too soon.

I got some really great gifts, too. A WooLee Winder and a gift card to my favorite knitting store in the city from my mom. Gift certificates to the Brooklyn Academy of Music so that I can see Patrick Stewart doing the Scottish play from Jordana. Rick is buying my plane tickets to and from Florida. And I bought myself some stylish Merrell boots last night because I needed some waterproof and insulated boots. That reminded me of being a pirate. Arrr.

I’ve taken tomorrow off and I have no idea where that’s going to lead me. Rick might come down, or I might go up to Massachusetts. If I don’t do that tomorrow, I have big plans for yarn shopping and catching a movie. I’ve already seen Sweeney Todd, but I might go again just for the “By The Sea” sequence, which is brilliant. Or I might see National Treasure 2.  I think a day to catch my breath is just what I need. Hope you all get one as well.

How was your Christmas?

Rick’s ma’s socks weren’t finished, since I spent Saturday afternoon/evening with Lori, watching the play she’s in, and then going to the movies to see Atonement. (Which was wonderful and now I want to read the book – the Oldest has been telling me what a brilliant book it is for a while now, so I guess I have to give in and buy it.) Yesterday I spent a very windy day inside cleaning house. Not fun, but it needed to be done. In the evening I picked up the knitting and made it through the heel of the socks, which means I’ll finish them today. Then the mittens, then Rick’s other present, then Lori’s present (Lori has been warned that she will not get hers until after Christmas, and she’s cool with that, especially after I told her I would make her earrings as well and let her pick out the stones.)

And so here we are, a week out from Christmas Eve, and I might well still be fucked. But at least I’m resigned to it.

Aimee: Hey, did you knit the (some pattern) with (some number of stitches)? Because I’m doing it, and it doesn’t look right. Too small.

Julie: Yeah, I did that. I added 10 stitches to make it bigger. And you have to knit it longer than the pattern says or it won’t fit.

Aimee: Cool.

Yeah, then later, I realize that the number of  stitches Aimee had mentioned (protected here because the recipient of (some pattern) reads the blog occasionally) didn’t sound right. So I texted her and told her maybe I fucked up and cast on too many stitches, so don’t listen to me and just cast on however many the pattern calls for plus an increment of stitches. And then I got back from lunch and looked at my project page on Ravelry and realized that I had not in fact knit (some pattern). I had knit (some other pattern). So I just texted her that.

Since when does staying up until 12:30 and wrapping and packing Christmas gifts like a mad dervish screw with my mind like this and make me into a space cadet? I must be getting old…