October 28, 2004
Margaritaville
Troy brought in a big box of Jelly Belly jelly beans to share with the office. They used to be separated into neat little compartments that matched a flavor chart. But he decided to dump them into my complimentary bowl (aka the jelly bean receptacle) so now they're all jumbled. So you eat at your own risk -- you never know when you're going to stumble upon a jalepeno jelly bean. Well, I was just transported to Margaritaville by a tiny speckled green bean. The flavor was so limey and smokey. You could almost taste the tequila. Mmmm... I want more.
Posted by criminal at 5:03 PM | Comments (1)
October 27, 2004
1918
No more 1918 chants. The Red Sox are the world champs!
Posted by criminal at 11:45 PM | Comments (0)
Mute
I can't help it. I have to mute the barrage of patriotic anthems during the World Series or I'll go crazy. One has been good, a couple have been nice, and the rest have made me want to cry. Tonight was Scott Stapp. I couldn't hit the mute button fast enough. It almost made me wish the dreaded Ronan Tynan were still around...
Posted by criminal at 10:45 PM | Comments (2)
October 26, 2004
Still Alive
It's been a while since I've written. Work was busy all last week, Friday included. I spent the weekend at Jon's, keeping my distance from the computer. Tia and I watched the Sox take the first two games of the World Series from the warmth of the house while Jon and Steve froze their butts off at Fenway. I battled headaches and various maladies all weekend, but they weren't too bad until Monday morning. I felt like I'd been hit by a Mac truck despite my relaxing weekend. I was better after a day in bed. Excuses, excuses.
Posted by criminal at 8:30 PM | Comments (1)
October 21, 2004
Out of It
Despite the fact that I went to bed happy, I didn't sleep well. Once I finally fell asleep the very noisy heat kicked on, waking me up every time the pipes gurgled and clanked. Which means about every half hour. And have I mentioned that noisy heat is also very hot heat? Hot to the point where you wake up sweating under a sheet and thin coverlet. So in between radiator assaults I was tossing and turning trying to find a happy medium. I had weird blurbs of dreams about baseball and alpaca yarn and my old roommate Ernie's family. When I finally got out of bed, 45 minutes after my alarm went off, I stumbled around for a while, nearly killing myself on several pieces of furniture. After 15 minutes of searching (10 before my shower and 5 after) I finally found my Millar t-shirt only to discover it was coated in cat hair and wrinkled beyond belief. Once I was ready to go to work, I discovered that I couldn't remember where I parked my car. After 15 minutes in the cold morning air I finally found it, just a hundred yards or so up my street. Add all this to the fledgling sinus/throat problems that popped up yesterday. Damn. I could really use a day off.
Posted by criminal at 10:29 AM | Comments (0)
Pinch Me
I must be dreaming because the Red Sox just won the pennant.
Posted by criminal at 12:02 AM | Comments (1)
October 19, 2004
Riot Gear
I've seen police officers at baseball games, but this has to be the first time I've seen officers in riot gear on the field. I can totally understand the concern though. The fans in New York are pelting the field with balls, bottles, and other debris -- one must assume they're aiming at the umpires, who have made a few crucial calls in favor of the Sox, and the players themselves but are just too drunk to actually make contact. I wonder if this sort of thing would ever happen at Fenway?
Posted by criminal at 11:46 PM | Comments (1)
October 18, 2004
Guess Who?
 | You preferred Kerry's statements 100% of the time Voting purely on the issues you should vote Kerry Who would you vote for if you voted on the issues? Find out now! |
Posted by criminal at 11:43 PM | Comments (1)
Who's Your Pappi?
5 hours, 49 minutes. 14 innings. Down 3-1 in the series. Tied up with the Yankees.
Saved from elimination for the second night in a row by the master of swing, David Ortiz.
You've gotta believe.
Posted by criminal at 11:06 PM | Comments (1)
Scrap It
I'm a very crafty person. I like to sew, quilt, knit, photograph, draw, paint, embroider, stamp, design... Well, let's just put it this way: I've never met a craft I didn't like. Until Friday that is.
That was when I went to a Creative Memories scrapbooking workshop/party at
Carol's. Here's the deal: you bring a few photos, pay a small fee, learn scrapbooking basics, and use the demonstrator's supplies to make a scrapbook page or two. I managed to scrape up a few photos from my trip home last Easter (Niagara Falls and my dad's wedding) and packed up some of my papers and photo corners. From the outset I was a little apprehensive -- I'm not big on the excessive themes I see in the scrapbooking aisle at my local craft store -- but I was willing to give it a shot. I expected tips on creating balanced layouts and proper cropping of photos. Then she opened her book of examples. Instead I got rounded corners, big ovals with awkward white spaces, and loads of cutesy stickers. I was in design hell. As I struggled to find ways to fit my five 4x6 photos onto a page that wasn't quite the standard 12x12" the demonstrator showed us all the tools we could buy to crop our photos into ovals, circles, and rounded rectangles. Much to my consternation, the rest of the group blazed ahead picking papers and cropping their photos. So the demonstrator took it upon herself to help me, picking up a corner rounding tool and making a beeline for one of the best photos in my spread.
"Why don't you round the corners on this one?"
Nearly choking in utter horror at the suggestion of marring a perfectly balanced and framed photograph. Umm... I think I'd like to leave that one alone.
"What about this group photo?" she said, reaching for another tool. "This other one would make a nice oval."
Maybe I could make that one an oval. Do you have any Navy blue paper I can use as a background?
"And these others too," she pointed out as she handed me a piece of royal blue cardstock 3" narrower than my page that totally clashed with the muted aquas, skys, and navy blue colors in the photos. "It's not quite navy, but it will bring out those colors even better."
What about black? Do you have black? Maybe a soft aqua?
"I have this nice bright turqoise you can use for a border and triangle once you round those photos. And then you can add stickers."
Thanks. I think I'll dig through my own stash of papers... right after I jump out the window.
And on it went. I was able to fight off the corner rounders, but I succumbed to the oval cutting template, using it on two of my photos. I hated them in the context of the page I was making. And the poorly designed whitespace they created? It made me cringe. I was ready to give up, but I couldn't fail at a crafty endeavor in front of my friends. So I kept trying, and in the end had a page that passed muster for the group but left me feeling mentally exhaused and completely uninterested in the world of scrapping. I might try it again some day, but for now I'll be happy with an old-fashioned album with black pages, a few photo corners, a frame or two, and a white pen.
While I'm disappointed that I didn't like it, part of me feels liberated. I'm learning that I don't have to like everything I try and that I don't need to be a master of all realms crafty. Now that I can admit I don't want or need it, does anyone want my unused scrapbook?
Posted by criminal at 6:20 PM | Comments (3)
October 15, 2004
Five on Friday for October 15, 2004
1. What time do you normally wake up? 7:00. And then again at 7:30. The first time is to feed the rather persistent cat. The second time is so that I can just stay in bed and listen to the day's news on the radio.
2. Do you wake up with or without the help of an alarm clock? With. For a while I was able to do it without, but for the last few years my internal clock has been too far off to rely on.
3. Name one thing you must do or have immediately to start your day. Feed the cat. If I don't do it within moments of stirring she'll start knocking things off my dresser or tear up my furniture. I can't even use the bathroom between the hours of 4:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. without her mewing and begging for food.
4. What is your usual breakfast? There is no usual anymore. I used to do fruit and toast or cereal. But these days I'll eat just about anything edible in my apartment. No holds barred.
5. How long after you wake up do you turn on your computer? Once I get to work, about an hour after I get up.
Posted by criminal at 2:41 PM | Comments (0)
October 14, 2004
Knit One, Crochet Too
I keep forgetting to mention that Amy and I started a knitting (and crocheting) group here on campus a few weeks ago. We decided to call it Knit One, Crochet Too! Yes, I know that's the name of a yarn manufacturer, but since we're just a local group with no business aspirations, I figure it's not a problem. It's basically just a bunch of staff who get together to have lunch and play with yarn once a week. We've had a few students show interest, but so far, none have shown up. I even promised William that I'd teach him to knit yarmulkas if he came. There are knitters and crocheters of every skill level, which makes it more interesting. I can drool over cables and help someone with technique all at the same meeting.
Posted by criminal at 4:43 PM | Comments (0)
Oh Guru
You appear to be a Knitting Guru. You love knitting and do it all the time. While finishing a piece is the plan, you still love the process, and can't imagine a day going by without giving some time to your yarn. Packing for vacation involves leaving ample space for the stash and supplies. It can be hard to tell where the yarn ends and you begin.
What Kind of Knitter Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
Posted by criminal at 3:41 PM | Comments (1)
How F**king American Am I?
Posted by criminal at 3:14 PM | Comments (1)
October 12, 2004
Hypothetically Speaking
Here's a question for all of the Red Sox fans who read my journal (or perhaps any fan who bleeds for their favorite team):
While watching tonight's game, the announcers started talking about "Worcester's Own" Tanyon Sturtze. This is his first year with the Evil Empire. WOTS was apparently a huge Red Sox fan growing up, attending opening day at Fenway for ten years in a row. His father is also a Sox supporter. He finally relented and bought his first Yankees cap this week.
My first reaction was, literally, "nooooo." How could the senior Sturtze betray Red Sox nation? But then I started thinking about it. What if I have a kid who excels at baseball? What if he makes it to the big leagues and gets traded to the dreaded Yankees? Or, say he excels at football and gets recruited by Ohio State or *gasp* drafted by the Cowboys... Would I sacrifice my team pride to wear the enemy colors? Could I be a traitor to my team if it my flesh and blood asked me to?
I have to say that I would, especially if it meant something to my kid. But the real question is, would you?
Posted by criminal at 11:14 PM | Comments (0)
October 11, 2004
This Sucks
I just got him with a flood of comment spam. I'll be removing links to my comments so that they won't get any satisfaction from it. And I'll look into upgrading a little more seriously. This could mean separate installations of MT because I can't afford to host the book club site on the new version.
Arrgh. The dirty buggers are creating comments faster than I can delete them.
UPDATE: I'm turning them back on for now. Don't be surprised if they go away again though.
Posted by criminal at 4:30 PM | Comments (0)
The Shoe Search Continues...
On Saturday evening I stopped at the Solomon Pond Mall hoping to find real shoes. Having struck out everywhere else, I put my faith in Filene's and the power of brand names. Aside from running in to Deb (a co-worker from WPI who I often run into while shopping) I ran into some respectable looking shoes. I picked up three of them, including this cute pair from Keds. After waiting for five minutes to get someone to wait on me, I asked if they had any of them in an 11. The man looked at them and said "No. Actually, we only carry up to a 10." My heart crumpled. I can change the size and shape my fat ass, but not my feet. And if I can't walk into a mall and buy anything but a pair of sneakers or $10 almost-shoes, why should I bother going to the mall? I should've just dropped the shoes right there on the counter, but I walked through that maze of unattainable shoes and put them back in their places, fighting the urge to cry. I was so frustrated. I think I will just take my chances and mail-order a couple pair from Track 'n' Trail.
Posted by criminal at 11:38 AM | Comments (0)
October 8, 2004
Please
I changed my mind. I don't want to go to tomorrow's game. Just let the Red Sox get out of the ninth unscathed and put the thing away. Please, please, please.
Posted by criminal at 7:50 PM | Comments (0)
Birthday Girl
It's time to wish Barbie a happy birthday. She turns 23 today, which, as her older sister, makes me feel pretty damned old. I hope she remembers to check her mail!
Posted by criminal at 5:10 PM | Comments (1)
Five on Friday for October 8, 2004
What would you do?
What do you think you would do in the following situations?:
1. You see a dog or cat with a broken leash wandering aimlessly in your neighborhood. Call Animal Control or the Humane society. As much as I care about animals, I don't trust a strange, scared one not to do harm to me. They don't care if I have good intentions.
2. A stranger knocks on your door in the middle of the night claiming he/she has an emergency situation and needs to use your phone. Offer to make the call for them while they wait.
3. You see a car veer off the road and into a ditch. If I have the time and room to pull over, I would get off the road and check on them. If not, I'd have to just call 911 to send people out.
4. You spot a $100 bill on the floor in a store. Ugh. This one is hard. My gut says I should turn it into customer service, but another part would love to keep it. In the end, I'd probably just pass it by.
5. You see a man becoming violent with a woman who is obviously his girlfriend or wife. I'd have to see the situation first. If it were extremely violent, I would immediately call the authorities. They're trained to handle these kinds of situations and I'm just not. If mildly violent, I might consider saying something to the woman -- offering a lifeline or distraction if she needed it. As much as I hate domestic violence, I realize that you can't force a person to leave the situation. You have to offer them the support they need to do it.
Posted by criminal at 1:55 PM | Comments (0)
Crazy Idea
How nuts would I be if I had some of Tia's hair spun into yarn? It's not like she doesn't have enough. Jon and I have joked about it from time to time. Especially those time when we comb her and come away with a giant pile of fuzzy fur cast-offs. And from what I've read, it would be pretty luxurious, like fine angora. Wendy, of Wendy Knits and felted kitty pi fame, had some spun from her long-haired cat and it made me start thinking about it a little more seriously. A woman in Missouri will make a half-ounce sample for $5 (Rover's Comb) and a company in California, VIP Fibers, will do loads of it for $5 an ounce, plus shipping. I might just have to try it...
Posted by criminal at 1:40 PM | Comments (0)
October 7, 2004
Pooped Pup
I'm so tired. I really shouldn't have stayed up to watch the Red Sox play. I barely made it through the sixth inning and I should have gone to bed before the game started. Ever since I got sick a few weeks ago, I feel like I've been dragging myself around. To make matters worse, I said OK when Amy asked me to go to the lunch-time abs class with her. It was like Tae Bo and Abs of Steel all rolled into one. I found that my muscles were ready to do it, but my body wasn't. Sounds strange, huh? Well, it felt strange. I had the strength to do the lunges, push-ups, crunches, and kick-boxing but at times I could feel my body begging more oxygen and relaxation. I stuck it out though, completing about 75% of the class. Now that it's over, I've got that jello-y feeling I'm used to after workouts, but also a head-spinning fatigue that's entirely new.
Posted by criminal at 2:13 PM | Comments (0)
October 6, 2004
Gimme Heat
I finally have heat. Perhaps a little too much though. The heat in my apartment kicked on for the first time around midnight last night, filling the building with the clanking of hot pipes and the smell of steam radiators. Although it was too hot within minutes, it kept the place from getting cold in the season's first hard freeze. We also had heat at work when I arrived. 82 degrees of it by the time I left for lunch. It's bearable with the windows open, but even still, the warm air blowing down from the ceiling makes me very sleepy.
Posted by criminal at 1:48 PM | Comments (0)
Comment Crazy
I'm going to attempt to fix this comment problem, so if comments are screwy for a while, I appologize.
UPDATE: Well, I can't fix things the way they suggest in number two. Apparently this fix is for a newer version of MT that actually references mt-comments.cgi in the config file. So I'm playing around with it.
Posted by criminal at 9:39 AM | Comments (2)
October 5, 2004
I'm All Spammed Out
For the last few days I've been fighting comment spam on Flogging. The numbers are up over a hundred a day now and it's getting annoying. First I banned the IP. Then I made commenting a little more difficult. This weekend I disabled comments on every entry, which wasn't much of a loss to me, since no one had ever left a legitimate comment there in the first place. I thought that would take care of the problem, but the stuff is still flooding in. They're obviously exploiting MT's comment script in a way that I can't stop without drastic measures. I don't care about Flogging enough to do much about it, but there are no safeguards here or in the book club site. So I could either upgrade MT or rename some of my scripts and change the config file (even being technically savvy, I'm always scared that I'll screw up something in a config file and make everything go kablooey). It sounds like the latest release of MT solves alot of these problems by letting you put limits on the number of comments someone can post and authorize every comment. It also has a bunch of other swell features, but I would have to purchase an unlimited personal copy because my blogs have more than five authors. As much as I love MT, I'm not sure if I'm ready to drop $100 on the new software. Until I'm OK with that kind of commitment, I guess I'll just have to get my hands dirty.
Posted by criminal at 3:22 PM | Comments (2)
Stewing
Since the air is so cool this morning, we decided it would be a good day for soup. So we headed off to the Campus Center in search of a warm and satisfying lunch. And what did we find? Beef stew! I was so excited about the the fall food hitting my mouth that it took me several bites to realize it was nothing more than hyped goo. There were a couple chunks in it, but it was mostly a disturbingly salty pile of glorified gravy. I cannot fully express my disappointment. I assure you that I will be making a batch of homemade beef stew to rectify the disservice I did to my tongue today.
Posted by criminal at 2:10 PM | Comments (0)
October 4, 2004
Kitty Hat
I didn't have time to mention it, but I knitted Ainsley a cute little kitty hat for her first birthday. It was a great way to occupy my hands during the debate last Thursday. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of the adorable little thing, so hopefully Amy will have some of the tot wearing it. I used two strands of Red Heart Baby Teri in white, which has two acrylic strands and one fleecy nylon one, on size 10.5 dpns. Originally, I was hoping to knit her this fuzzy hoodie with Polarspun or Pixie but I couldn't find either yarn locally and didn't have time to order it anywhere. A few frustrated days later I found a simple pattern for a toddler hat with ear flaps in an old knitting magazine and decided to adapt it by adding a couple kitty ears. Although I'm not a big fan of acrylic yarns, the Baby Teri was perfect for the job. It makes a super soft and cuddly fabric. I have quite a bit left (250 yds white, 200 yds pink) but I'm not sure what to make with it.
Posted by criminal at 9:44 PM | Comments (0)
One of Those Days
I was kind of hoping that the car crap would be the worst part of my day. After all, it wasn't really that bad, just disheartening. Work, including our staff meeting, went well this morning. We even had Indian for lunch, which is almost always a good thing. Amy had a "winter wonderland" brainstorm for our upcoming open house which lead us to a bunch of great ideas for frosting the office and our guests. Then I got a call about one of my current projects. We're about 90 percent finished, with just a few tweaks and text needed here and there. And now "the client" (for lack of a better word to describe the people we work with) is starting to change his mind. I spent nearly an hour explaining and re-explaining some of our basic design and content philosophies. I want this site launched and out of my hair by the end of the week, but if we have to face-off over every piece, we'll never be finished.
It's a good thing I have a guy like Jon in my life. When he found out about the car and my foul mood, he sent me a dozen mini roses. They're so cute and cheerful that it's hard to frown for very long in their presence. So all is not lost. I just hope there's heat in my apartment tonight.
Posted by criminal at 5:35 PM | Comments (1)
My First EKG
I went to the doctor on Friday morning, as scheduled. She asked me a bunch of questions, poked and prodded my chest and back, listened to my heart and lungs, and sent me for a couple tests. I had a chest x-ray to rule out any lung clots and an EKG to check my heart. She wasn't able to find anything out of the ordinary so she suspects it could be just a muscle strain or acid reflux. I'm doubful, but I really don't know what else it could be either. In any case, I have been feeling much better, so it's moot for now.
Posted by criminal at 3:59 PM | Comments (0)
Breakin' the Law
My car was broken into last night, although broken may not be the best word for what happened. You see, I can't find any evidence of forced entry. No broken windows, no puncture marks, no scratches on the doors, just missing toll money, a big mess from my emptied console and glove compartment, and a hackey sack from Subway that I've never seen before. Which leads me to believe that my remote keyless entry is on the fritz again. I'm certain I hit the lock button after moving it up to make room for Jon's because I'm pretty anal retentive about that. Maybe I have to start checking every door and pressing the lock button twice to hear that reassuring horn beep. I suppose that wouldn't really make any difference if the locks are being screwy. On the plus side, they didn't take any CDs (although what thug in their right mind would want a Dolly Parton tribute CD?), documents, or even the Red Sox hat sitting in the back seat. Just a couple bags of toll money, most of which is Canadian. I'd love to see the looks on their faces when try to spend that.
Posted by criminal at 3:50 PM | Comments (0)
October 1, 2004
Debatable
even though my vote has been locked in since birth, I made sure to watch the debate last night. It has pained me to see Kerry take so many lumps in the media recently. It was nice to finally see him give a few for once. While there was no knockout punch (and really, who even thought there could be?), Kerry obviously won the debate. He was everything the president wasn't: calm, collected, and thoughtful. For the first time in ages, he seemed more likable than the president. It's too bad that this election won't be based on likability and ability. It's all about policy now, whether people will admit it or not. I think the votes come down to how you see the world and the way you see yourself in it. Those who feel comfortable with Bush are the same people who feel that the needs of America are most important, that support preemptive war to rid ourselves of terrorism and tax cuts that give immediate results and gratification. The people who see America as an important part of a global community and place great importance on diplomatic efforts and government programs to keep everyone safe and healthy are going to find themselves aligning with Kerry. Those who see things in black and white versus those who see shades of gray. It's an oversimplification, I know, but it's how I see it.
Posted by criminal at 3:05 PM | Comments (1)