When whimsy goes bad

When we first moved to North Queen Anne we didn't realize how close we were to Fremont. The thrill of being between 2 nice neighborhood centers was invigerating. Plus we were very happy that we were so close to Lake Union. We even thought that it was nice to have a cute bridge to cross. And it adds to the beautiful urban landscape.

Well that whimsical highlight was short-lived, at least from David's perspective. An old friend used to have a saying of which I will paraphrase, 'Don't put things you don't want to happen into the Universe (either verbally or in thought)'.

The cute drawbridge that connects us to the Fremont neighborhood goes up very often, especially during the summer, to let tall ships pass. It was a novelty for us at first that David quickly grew tired. And I truly believe that because he dislikes having to wait for the bridge to return to its crossible and prone position, 99% of the time that he comes close to the bridge the familar boat horn blows, the bridge warning bells ring, the blockacade drops and up goes the drawbridge. The percentage for me happens a lot less. I understand that I have no control of the situation.

A few weeks ago I captured this lovely pic:



Maybe David could benefit from following my friend's saying, don't you think :-)?

There Are No New Ideas

So I'm taking my 2nd and 3rd knitting classes this weekend with Debbie Abrahams. She's in town from England promoting her latest book, Design Your Own Knits in 5 Easy Steps. The first class I took with her was a few years ago back in Oakland at Article Pract (I miss my old LKS) on finishing techniques that I absolutely loved. Debbie and her sister were fantastic.

I have had this idea for an Asymmetric Argyle Sweater Vest running through my head for probably about 3 years. I figured now's my chance to take a stab at designing my first knitted garment, and maybe something that no one else has ever done before.

Ummm, yeah right is all I can say.

I was perusing and reading a post on a co-workers blog about the latest Knitty issue so I figured I'd check it out. Lo and behold guess what I found in the issue? Yup, a men's sweater vest with an asymmetric argyle pattern. Sure it's not exactly what I was thinking of. But 'fuck' was the first thing out of my mouth. Admittedly I had this silly idea that maybe my first design would be sooooo coool and 'original' that I would submit it to Knitty, and it would be approved for an up and coming issue.

Arghhh! I'm reminded of what my art history professor said in one of her boring lecture halls, 'there are no new ideas'. That was hard to hear as an art major. Maybe that statement is true but it won't stop me from striving for originality.

BTW, I have been knitting but been too lazy to post my progress. I finished a lace/cable knit scarf and am getting close to finishing my first attempt at knitting a women's sweater for my sister-in-law Cheryl. I'll try and post pics in the next few days.

Quick Observations: Macho Truck

Is it me or are you scratching your head the same way I did when I saw what was hanging from the back of this truck?


(taken with my crappy cell phone camera through my dirty windshield)

I mean I know that there's a mystique that trucks are tough but WTF are those orange things?

iCan't

I'm soooo disappointed. My trip to the AT&T Wireless store was fruitless. It was my understanding that I could upgrade my phone every year since I was on a special corporate plan. There is one detail that I was unaware of; there are only certain phones which fall under that policy and an iPhone is not one of them.

So, unless I'm willing to pay $400 for an iPhone (which I can't justify), I have to wait another 9 months before I'm eligible for an upgrade for a phone that doesn't fall in the corporate discount agreement. AND even once I'm eligible I won't get the cost savings break on an iPhone and the data plan.

My hopes and dreams for a better designed phone, ability to have a "real" web browsing experience on the go, and just an all around fun experience with a cell phone have been sadly squashed. I'll have to reevaluate in 9 months. Who knows maybe by then there will be better designed Smartphones, and maybe a better designed Windows Mobile software. Or I simply might grow tired of being at the whim of constricting contracts and corporate rules and just say f%@# it and get the iPhone anyway!

iGotta

I've been coveting the iPhone ever since it came out. But I opted for a Blackjack because of it's Outlook Exchange capabilities. While having access to work email and appointments can be a godsend, it can also be a curse. AND, surfing the internet on a Blackjack is just plain bad. I may as well be back in the early 90s surfing the internet on a 14.4 modem with a web browser that can only display in simple html with 8bit graphics.

So now that the new iPhone has Outlook Exchange there's no holding back. I mean why not have a *toy* that is also a productivity tool? Why not infuse some extracurricular activities with a phone?

iGotta have one!

Quick Observations: Cars & multitasking

I've written before in my old blog about the art of multitasking in cars. But today was the first time that I saw a woman plucking the grays from the top of her head while we were waiting for the Fremont Bridge to go down. What was odd was that she wasn't simply pulling the hairs out with here fingers, she was actually using a tweezer. It was almost like she was planning on using the time in her car to do the plucking.

Quick Observations: Squirrel Sabotage

I really think that the reason squirrels were put on the planet were to distract dogs from pooping; at least that's the case for Trixie.