Hypocrite December 31, 2006 ~ 1:12 pm
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closedConsidering that I haven’t updated my blog in days, it must be wrong that I am getting pissed that no one else has, either, and that I therefore don’t have any new fun posts to read while I continue the Massive iTunes Upload of 2006.
“Pot? This is Kettle. You’re black.”
PS - I’m now up to The Rolling Stones in the Upload. And yes, my CDs are alphabetized. SUCK IT.
What the hell was I thinking? December 27, 2006 ~ 8:06 pm
Posted by Julie in : About a Julz, Technobabble , comments closedI am systematically importing every single CD I have onto iTunes so I can put them on the new iPod. Several times, I have been dismayed to see that I am apparently missing CDs; they are not in their cases. Where did Disc One of my Clapton compilation go? And where the fuck is my Filter CD??
Even more alarming is that while I’ve pruned the CD collection several times over the years, I still have clinkers in it. For instance, one that I just came across: the soundtrack to Footloose. Dude, what the fuck? All my music cred just went down the toilet to the sound of Kenny Loggins.
Hard Candy Christmas December 26, 2006 ~ 10:17 pm
Posted by Julie in : Fambly, Rick, Technobabble , comments closedThere were supposed to be Christmas pictures here. Really. Pictures of New York City at Christmas, pictures of all the mafioso houses decorated in Dyker Heights, pictures of how my neighbor’s house looks like Christmas threw up on it, all that stuff. But you have to forgive me. Because Mom gave me an 80 GB iPod for Christmas, which is only compatible with my PC, not my laptop. The laptop had all the songs for my iPod mini loaded on it. The PC had jack loaded on it. Thus, my computer can obviously only be used to do iTunes related stuff, not to upload photos to Flickr.
Lest we blame everything on Mom, we should take into account that Rick got me a Bose sound dock and a $50 iTunes gift card for Christmas, so he is equally to blame. Especially since he also took me to the Big Apple Circus yesterday, and so I wasn’t near a computer for two solid days. Rick is now also suffering from the tech time-suck as he figures out the iPod nano I bought him for Christmas (which he has just declared to be the best Christmas present he’s ever gotten - thank you, first freelancing check!). It’s been a hard Christmas here, people. A very hard Christmas. Hope yours were just as hard.
Stream of consciousness post December 22, 2006 ~ 1:40 pm
Posted by Julie in : Craftiness Is Next To Godliness, Random Insanity , comments closedI am not being productive today. I will flat out admit it. I am counting down the hours until I leave the office (three, I’m leaving early) and start a four day weekend. I still need to finish one of the Youngest’s mitts and make some earrings, wrap all the presents, and do some laundry, and then I can kick back and enjoy the weekend. Lisa B and I have plans to go to a movie tomorrow, and I will be spending Christmas Eve with Rick and the girls. And then on Christmas, Rick and I will lounge around all day and watch “A Christmas Story” on TBS until we can’t take it anymore. It will be a wonderful holiday, dammit. Provided I can use the tech support Vince has provided, I will even be able to get the iPod up and running.
I started off the holiday weekend with a bang last night. We got into Knitty City at the tail end of a book reading (while I’m sure it was a lovely book, I wanted to shop, dammit!) and talked to Ron (who taught me to spin on my birthday) and his wife Naomi (she of A Little Red Hen fame) for a bit. The owner of the shop, Pearl, came over to say hi and inform me that they had just gotten some new sock yarn in. She obviously knows me well. In the end I got some Hand Maiden Sea Silk, which is so lovely that I kept petting it all night, some sock yarn from Great Adirondack in “Chilli Pepper” which is just as bright as it sounds, and a skein of Candy to do a hat for my friend Dawn’s baby (she’s due on January 7, so I need to get moving on that). I spent more than I probably should have, but the yarn was so beautiful that I couldn’t pass it up.
Folks, this is where I confess something. I’ve now got a yarn stash to go with the fiber stash that started after Rhinebeck. If I’ve got cash and the yarn is calling to me, I’m likely to buy it. Sometime soon, I will take a picture of the stashes - they are not large, but I definitely have enough to keep me busy for a while. Like, um, enough sock yarn for five pairs of socks. And laceweight enough for a couple of scarves. And then there’s the Cascade 220. People, I am a yarnaholic and proud of it. I had sort of forgotten it when I was on carpal tunnel hiatus, but there is just something really freaking cool about knitting string into something. With the handpainted yarns especially it’s fun to watch how the colors flow into each other and combine into a finished project. Yarn is goooood.
Happy Yule! December 21, 2006 ~ 3:56 pm
Posted by Julie in : Craftiness Is Next To Godliness, Deep Thoughts , comments closed
Mulberry hibernates ~ Lake Hill, NY
Today is one of my favorite holidays for the whole year: Yule, or the Winter Solstice. Today is the shortest day of the year. Tomorrow, even though we won’t notice it, the light starts coming back a little each day. To someone who struggles with Seasonal Affective Disorder as I do, the knowledge that we’re getting an extra tiny little bit of precious sunlight is manna from heaven. It’s something to hold onto when it seems like it’s been dark outside forever. In reality, I think that’s what all of the holidays this time are about: the return of the light, and the presence of it even in the darkness. That’s really why we throw ourselves into the whole “decorate your house in a blinding array of Christmas lights” thing. To stave off the darkness. That’s why I leave my Christmas lights up far after Little Christmas is over - because winter without the lights is just too bleak for my tastes.
Tonight, to celebrate the Solstice, Jordana and I are going to a Solstice party at our favorite yarn store in the city. There will be wine, food, singing, and lots and lots of yarn. And who can pass up that kind of a celebration?
Happy Solstice, everyone.
Frog Pond December 19, 2006 ~ 11:55 am
Posted by Julie in : Craftiness Is Next To Godliness, Technobabble , comments closedWhen I got home last night, I discovered that I did in fact have another skein of Cascade 220 to match the first. Apparently I need to do two things: get my fixation with Cascade 220 under control and stop collecting it and ALWAYS check that colors match when knitting in dim lighting.
So, faced with 7 inches of a scarf knit in the wrong color and a skein of the right color, I did the right thing and frogged the 7 inches. I won’t lie, it was painful. But I will be much happier with the finished product since I’ve done it right. The pattern calls for the scarf to be 55 inches long, and it’s currently 47 and a wee bit. I’ve taken the day off to get it finished (what the hell good is annual time if you can’t use it when you want?), and since it’s only 10:45, I’m confident I can get this scarf done, the labels for it and my sis-in-law’s scarf done, everything wrapped, packed up, and to the post office by the time it closes. And while I’m there, I’ll pick up stamps so I can get the Christmas cards out tomorrow. Then I just need to finish four more sets of stitch markers for the girls in my SnB by tomorrow night. Then it’s all downhill, just finishing Lori’s present and knitting some fingerless gloves for the Youngest by Monday morning.
Totally doable.
ETA: Big Brother’s scarf was finished at 3. The whole package for him and the sis-in-law was wrapped, packed, and off to the post office by 3:30. Unfortunately it took an hour waiting in line to get the damn thing posted, but the nice man at the counter assures me that the box will reach them by Friday. This is good. Now my hands hurt.
Anyone who hasn’t sent me their address but wants a Christmas card should click the little button on the right with my email addy and do so. I’m not guaranteeing that they’ll be there on Christmas, but what the hell, you’ll still get a card.
Vince and Boogie, who are obviously my tech gurus: when you use another program to import CDs, is it easy to transfer it all over to iTunes? Because even with the CD error repair on, I’ve still got skips. According to the iTunes forums, this is a common problem with 7.0, but I don’t feel like listening to songs with five million skips. I need a way around. Help?
1 step forward, 2 steps back December 18, 2006 ~ 11:11 am
Posted by Julie in : Craftiness Is Next To Godliness, Technobabble , comments closedTwo fine examples of Murphy’s Law:
1.) In anticipation of opening the 80 GB iPod Mom got me for Christmas (which I will not let myself open before Sunday), I spent part of yesterday uploading my massive CD collection. I got through about 30 CDs when I thought “Hmmm, I should listen to one of these.” iTunes had recorded it with more crackles and pops than a box of Rice Crispies. Apparently what I neglected to do was check the “Repair CD errors” box before importing. You guessed it, I’m starting from scratch tonight. This will definitely keep me occupied until the weekend, since by checking the box, I have slowed down the recording speed. *sigh*
2.) Last night I was knitting big brother’s scarf while watching “The Devil Wears Prada” in the glow of my Christmas lights. In other words, it was dim. I reached the end of one skein of yarn and went over to the stash to grab another. I did not compare it to the first skein, since I saw that it was heather blue, the color that I needed. This morning on the bus, four inches into the new skein, I noticed that it was indeed heather blue, but not the same color of heather blue as the first skein. What remains to be seen is if I actually have a skein of the same color as the first one at home (I heart Cascade 220 and tend to collect it, so this may well be the case), or if I accidentally bought non-matching skeins at my LYS. At this point, I think I’ll continue to knit and play it off as a design choice. I will now call it “Asymetrical Irish Hiking Scarf” and repeat my new mantra, “Only Allah is perfect” as I knit it. Because I have to have the damn thing in the mail by tomorrow. D’oh!
I would say “At least all the Christmas shopping is done,” but at this point I think Murphy would consider that “taunting” and call me on it, so I won’t.
TGIF, we’re slap-happy December 15, 2006 ~ 5:17 pm
Posted by Julie in : Academic Office Monkey , comments closedConversation I just had with my boss when she buzzed me on the office intercom:
Julie: Yeah, what do you need?
Boss: Isn’t the word “yahoo” weird? Doesn’t it look like “Yeah-ho”?
Julie: There are two “o”s. Thus the “oooh” sound.
Boss: Yeah-ho. Yeah-ho.
Julie: You’re a yeah-ho. Wait, is that all you buzzed me for?
Boss (laughing): Yeah.
Julie (laughing): You’re a fucking retard!
Boss (laughing uncontrollably): Yeah-ho! Yeah-hoooooooo!
Julie: Dude, I’m hanging up now.
Boss: Okay. Bye.
Stumped December 14, 2006 ~ 4:50 pm
Posted by Julie in : The Girls , comments closedI’m stumped on what to get the Youngest this year. She’s 11, which is a little too old for kid toys, but not quite old enough for teenage stuff. She’s doubly difficult to buy for because she’s got everything a kid could want (literally). She’s athletic but also a tad girly. Books are out because I’ve bought many many many of them over the years, but I don’t know how many she actually reads. For this impossible to buy for kid, I turn to the internet for help. What would you get an 11 year old like this?
Christmas Texting December 13, 2006 ~ 12:44 pm
Posted by Julie in : Rick, The Girls , comments closedThe Oldest and I are getting a joint gift for Rick this year…well, actually more of a tag-team gift. I text messaged her the other night to tell her that I had picked up my part of it, and she texted me back that she was looking for her part of it at that exact moment. Then we had the following exchange:
Julie: I can’t wait to see his face when he opens our presents!
Oldest: Oh, god. there is no comparison to his facial expression the time we got him a cat for his birthday.
[Sidenote: I had heard this story before. Shortly after Rick and his Ex divorced, the kids (read, the Ex, since the kids were little) gave him a cat for his birthday. Since Rick didn't want a cat, and in fact had absolutely no desire to ever own a cat, the cat lasted precisely one week before it was shipped back to wherever the hell it came from. Lesson learned: don't buy Rick a pet. Back to the conversation.]
Julie: No, see, he will be HAPPY to open these gifts!
Oldest: R u kidding?! he didn’t know the meaning of happiness until he saw that cat.
Julie: Riiiiiight.
Good thing we’re only getting him fish for Christmas. 
(And if I have told you what I’m really getting Rick for Christmas, do not mention it here or I will bust a can of Yule Whoopass on your ass - he reads this, ya know.)
