One of my good friends recently observed that I haven't blogged in a while. It's safe to make such observations from one's sick bed. The flu can't last forever, unless it kills you.
So, I'm a cranky mood, so I thought, what a perfect time to visit Hijinks! I haven't really been up to much lately, so I haven't done any posts in ages and ages. Over a month. Tonight, a local grocery store chain to be unnamed for fear of libel accusations really irked me by having no check out lanes open. That's right, the store was open and there was no one working the registers. What is this world coming to? Instead, they had the self-check lanes open, which are kind of jetsons-y, but really just a big headache inducing mess. Then, I discover that I can't update my antivirus software and have to reinstall it, find correct key, and reregister it, which took ages and ages. I don't want to work FOR my computer. It should work for ME.
Hmmm... What's new. I've got a cat. He's a grey tabby, getting bigger and stripeyer every day. Very feisty compared to the elderly cats I had before. No sign of the mouse lately, though I am sure that I would know if he had caught it.
Knitting less these days, as the darling new cat does not understand that knitting is not a toy. Must wait until he is asleep or otherwise occupied before picking up the needles to work on current project. I am glad that I had the foresight to make a new hat, with big 90s alternative rocker earflaps, before the current cold spell/snow aplenty. Also made nifty wristwarmers from Stitch n Bitch Nation book, very similar to the gloves hobos wear in cartoons. They leave the tips of my fingers exposed, so I think I'll have to pair them with supercheap thin gloves while digging my car out tomorrow. Sigh.
I joined Netflix, after many months of growing disgust at local video rental place. They never had what I wanted in, or just didn't have it. So now, I get my foreign films and BBC comedies over the internet. The only drawback to this plan is the post office. The postal service around here is very slow, possibly involving a donkey. I must remember to ask my mom to mail the DVDs back from the Loop instead.
I've got loads of new music, accumulated over the past few months. Here are a few things I really like:
Keane
the new album from Pink Martini. Very popular with the NPR set.
Gwen Stefani's solo album, as my roommate Ashley predicted
and some other stuff too, which I can't think of at the moment.
The new Bjork is really haunting. It is very reminiscent of the work of her artist boyfriend. I caught one of his pieces at Tate Modern. It makes sense that they are together.
More later.

2004
The big ideas and things I've loved:

My ipod. I bought it to go to Europe and rocked out in the metro in Paris, on a transatlantic flight, at the National Portrait Gallery in London, and on a cheapie bus to Scotland. It is so damn cool! And much better than schlepping around a bunch of cds and batteries.

Liz Phair. Yeah, I know other people have been into her for years, but since I've got all her albums now, I really appreciate this lo-fi rocker's work. Clever, unapologetic, and too cool for school.

Clinique perfumes. There are three different ones that I wear, depending on my mood. I think this is what is called "a fragrance wardrobe". In any case, I like 'em, after many years of not wearing scent on a regular basis because of work.

Scissor Sisters. Glam. Fabulous. Fantastic. Whatever you want to call them, this NY based group is infectous, fun, and poised to be really big. I even recommended them to my dad! My friend Ave introduced me to their stuff when we were getting ready to go out to a hen party in Scotland. It's perfect makeup and hair music.

Newer Wave. If I'd been born earlier, I would've loved The Clash, but instead I listen to The Sounds, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Sahara Hotnights, The Raveonettes, Franz Ferdinand (and yes, they are good enough to back up the pretentious name), Modest Mouse, and the White Stripes. Give me a good beat, guitar, and an edgy growl!

John Kerry. He didn't win, but for a brief time, he allowed me to believe that this country could be more than what it is.

Nellie McKay. Subversive, fun, young, talented jazz singer who was this year's musical it-girl is too hard to describe. She really needs an interpretive dance or maybe a top-shelf mixed drink named for her to really do her music justice. Trust me and buy the album.

Thievery Corporation. Amazon.com recommended their "Richest Man in Babylon" to me for months, but I resisted. Then I heard it. I listened to this album, along with Ryuichi Sakamoto's Chasm in three different art museums in Europe. Fantastic.
You can also find amazing selections by them on the Verve Remixed discs.

Europe. I know, it's obvious. I went there this autumn and now I can't wait to go back! I want to wear heavy eyeliner and smoke French cigarettes, teeter around in kitten heels, wear a smart raincoat and cheap wig, and party with my cousin. I want to go back to London and Paris, and I want to see Berlin and Spain and Normandy. But I'll have to wait until the exchange rate improves.

My cousin Stephen. He uses lots of exclamation marks and has a plummy British accent. I simply adore him. xx

Joni Mitchell. There were a couple of weeks that I listened to Ladies of the Canyon and Blue in pretty heavy rotation. She's good for a rainy day with a cup of tea, lying in bed with the blues, or lying in the grass on a sunny day. David Sedaris apparently went through a period of listening to Hejira all the time. I understand.

Did you know that they give you magazines in the lounges at European airports? Certainly makes it hard going back to the low/no budget airlines in the states! I flew one of them last week to Boston and was disheartened by my bag of pretzels and total lack of legroom. I need to cross my legs and have the space to read big glossy fashion magazines (that I brought myself)!

Color. Yes, color. I wear more of it now. Like blue eyeshadow, which used to be a big joke until Ashley the MAC pro explained it to me. Sheer color. I can wear that emerald green they're showing in Vogue too. It's like line weight in drafting. I think that this is called value or some other vaguely uncomfortable term in design; all I know is it's fabuuuulous!

Text messages. I didn't even have my phone configured to send them until September, but now I'm hooked! Sometimes, much cheaper than a phone call, more discreet, more expedient. And a lot more fun!

My Doc Marten mary janes. They're brown and they were popular when I was in high school. Still, I love em because they're versatile, foot shaped, and withstood many kilometres of hiking around. They're not exactly cutting edge, but I could probably run in them if I had to and they don't weigh a ton like my DM boots.

and a lot of other things as well!


Things that brought me down in 04:

The election. 'Nuff said.

Having to tell people that I'm Canadian while traveling. I don't want to listen to tirades about George Bush or the war in Iraq while I'm on vacation.

The war in Iraq. Clearly, this is not going to end well. One of my college friends saw this clearly in 2001, and I can still hear him say it when I watch the news.

The end of the yellow brick road.

The disappointing outcome of my R2 sweater. I had that yarn shipped from overseas! The sweater resists blocking, has an oddly triangular shape to it, and is unflattering. So much for edgy knitting.

Guilt trips and passive-aggressive behavior. But that's hardly exclusive of 2004!

All good things must come to an end. I leave this place on Monday, but I'm only just getting a sense of the place. The night sky at the opera is amazing. The moon is so large and near, surrounded by numerous stars. And the mountains! I love a mountain on the horizon. Funny, considering that I never had that until adulthood.
This morning, I discovered two more pouches in my suitcase. It was like Christmas! They don't increase the overall capacity of the bag, but they are neat.
I have a bruise the color of a blueberry above my left knee. I regarded it for a moment, puzzled as to its origin, until I remembered that I dropped an amp on my leg on Monday. Amps are heavy, though this one was relatively light. Damned inconvenient place for a bruise.

Wow, I wish that I could get a list going in my side column, but every time I insert the code in my template it does nothing or looks weird. Oh well. Here are a few things that I'm into these days:
*Nellie McKay. If you haven't heard her work, you should check out Get Away From Me.
*Stereolab. How have I only just discovered their work? Maybe I was put off by the pretentious name.
*Pink, though not today because I have a little sunburn on my face. Wearing pink really brings that out.
*My new suitcase, which was made by Drop, a company that makes bags for skateboarders, snowboarders, et al to carry their gear. It is so well designed, big without being mammoth, and it's my favorite color--blue! It was a total steal too, I realize now that I've checked out a couple of the travel stores around town. Luggage isn't cheap, unless you want cheap luggage.

I took a stab at the little R2 ponch I've had planned for a while. The idea was to work on it during my marathon trani ride, but I got impatient. So, that sock I have stashed in my office continues to languish. I didn't get very far on the ponch, because the rag yarn is hard to push around on my big bamboo circs and it quickly became clear to me that the designer grossly underestimated the amount of yarn required. Well, shit. I'm going to begin on my Phildar wraparound cardigan instead (think DVF).
I bought a French textbook/workbook for immediate to advanced French speakers. It annoys the shit out of me, but I will soldier on. I need a bit of a refresher so that I don't sound like an idiot whenever I open my mouth. That's the frustrating thing about speaking a second language; you'll never have the same vocabulary or facility as you do in your mother tongue. Today, I did an exercise in which I had to describe the aftermath of a car accident. None of the juicy stuff, like the cause or circumstances of the crash, but a laundry list of injuries. I hope that there are some useful phrases deeper in the book.
My roommate moved out today. I'm a little sad. Sad that she's gone and sad that there's still a lot to be done around the apartment. Half of our lamps don't work. I have to replace several light bulbs if I don't want them taken out of my deposit, including one of those damn specialty globes that people put around mirrors. I can't get too upset about buying lightbulbs. Maybe it's just stress about moving soon. I am looking forward to my trip and not having nosebleeds all the time, but the logistics of the whole thing are a big headache.
I've got my ipod fully reloaded. I added the audio version of Bill Clinton's autobiography (abridged), intending to listen to it on the train. I'm already about half way through it. He really gets bogged down in details, but it has a very conversational tone. Maybe I wouldn't feel that way if I were reading the text instead of listening to it. I've still got several books to read on my journey: A Moveable Feast (so far, so good) Orwell's Down and Out in London and Paris (probably depressing, but classic, and not in any book club), and The Great Gatsby. I recently had a wonderful conversation with a neighbor and friend about why people shouldn't read GG in high school. It's one of those few, shimmering novels that people read during adolescence and rarely reread. What a shame. So that is how I hope to keep myself entertained for three days on a train. Three days!

I'm wearing my hooded sweater for the first time. But I'm wearing it without the hood. I am sooooo pissed. This is the second time that I've had a major problem with a pattern from the Yarn Girls book. The hood is dinky. Crazy small, even though I made it larger than the pattern directed. Were you to see it, when I tried it on in front of the mirror, you would dissolve into peals of laughter. This is really disappointing for me, because I've wanted to make this sweater since I first bought the book a couple of years ago. Now I know better. I might make another hood, with help from my excellent mother, of a completely differently design. I can't believe that I spent so many hours on that dinky little hood! Seriously, it would only fit someone with a head the size of a coconut! I thought about taking the project to their store to see what they had to say about it, but they were very defensive about corrections to their patterns in the past. Fortunately, the sweater looks good without the hood, but it's not the same.
I'm working on reloading my ipod. Well, some of it is new material, like the new Ryuichi Sakamoto cd. It's very time consuming, even though it doesn't have to be recorded in real time like the minidisc. Now I understand why people use services like podload, which initially struck me as being very lazy. I'm not putting anywhere close to my whole collection onto my ipod now, and it's taking ages. Ah, well.