Show me your knits!

I keep forgetting to post things in the usual places ...

John passed away on May 5. We are having an informal memorial for him today (Saturday, June 2) in the Washington Park Arboretum. We'll meet up at the visitors center just before 4:00 pm - we may wander away from there, but shouldn't go too far. Following the memorial, there will be proper English refreshments and revelry.

I've never really known what to say about this in a forum such as lj, so I'll keep it simple: John had no idea how loved he truly was, and how much he will be missed. I love him very much, and miss him terribly. I hope that all is better now, dr john faculty.

Dear birds:

Shut. Up.

Love,
kim.

( From KEXP's Top 90.3 )

I only have 12 of the 91 albums - even lower than in past years. I have just gotten out of the habit of buying new music - I listen to kexp all day at work, and at home, and in the car, so the cds I'll just listen to in my room sometimes. And I'm pretty over worrying about DRM and other bullshit that might be attached to my electronic music, so I am into buying real cds again, although the idea of adding even an ounce of new weight to my collective monstrosity of personal belongings is - ick. Oddly enough, many of the cds that I bought are on the electronic side (Hot Chip, Junior Boys, The Knife), which isn't the norm for me, but it's nice for some background music and for some get-up-and-go. The other cds that I bought (especially TV on the Radio, The Long Winters, Cold War Kids) are my go-to cds that are on freakin' constant rotation. I love them.

I haven't said anything in a couple of months. I have hopes of going back to fill in the gaps, but this is all you get for now:

Being an adult really kind of sucks.

That's all I have to offer right now.

I have been very busy now that I have a boyfriend on this side of the Atlantic. Highlights from the last week include a lazy morning with brunch and an inorganic BBQ on Tuesday; a softball game and hanging out with Sarah on Wednesday; my grandfather's 90th birthday, a softball game, and Andrew's thesis defense celebration on Thursday; Greg's drunken birthday on Friday; softball and naps on Saturday; hiking Mt. Rainier on Sunday. It was a long and tiring week, with a lot of revelry. So many photos, so little time . . .

I'm quite relieved to have John back, though - we've learned that we like each other even more than we thought we did. [commence barfing]

I've been listening to a lot of different music recently, as John brought back all of his cds that don't overlap with mine. A sweet deal to get a few dozen new cds for free. Additionally, I've been getting back into The Long Winters. I had thought about going to the release concert last week, but didn't, and I've put off getting the new cd, but I really really like the lyrics that John Roderick puts together. Sometimes it takes a long time to warm up to them (some of my initial least-favorites from The Worst You Can Do Is Harm, like Medicine Cabinet Pirate and Copernicus, are now my very most favorites), and I go back and forth, but when it catches me in the mood - magic. And, I've kept the Juana Molina on an almost-daily rotation. Music that gets me really psyched at work includes Daft Punk (from John), the Arctic Monkeys, and Hot Chip. As soon as I stop being skinned, I'll have to look into getting Hot Chip. And I just scored the new Jurassic 5 from a co-worker. Sweet.

Favorite songs of the moment:
1. "Over and Over" - Hot Chip
2. "Un Beso Llega" - Juana Molina
3. "Medicine Cabinet Pirate" - The Long Winters
4. "Copernicus" - The Long Winters
5. "Tricycle" - Psapp
6. "Smiley Faces" - Gnarls Barkley
7. "Destination Vertical" - Masha Qrella

By the time Thursday rolled around, I was exhausted. After a long softball game, possibly the most fun softball game ever, I headed home with Fletcher. Mike came over and played some songs. A good, laid-back night.

Friday I was lazy with Fletcher. It was wonderful.

Saturday was more softball (with Fletcher!), and we won again. In the overcast, humid swelter. The Team Ramrod boys departed from Hyde Park, London, England for Ulaan Bataar, Mongolia. Sweet! Fletcher, Beth, and I headed to Monroe for Joe's BBQ, which was really fun. I got to catch up with Adam (the best storyteller in the history of EVER) and Tammy and Tasha, among others. Good times. Then home, back to the swelter of our apartment.

Sunday was mostly lazy, with a futile attempt to buy a fan (there aren't any to be had in Seattle, thanks) and an appearance at Cait's lawn party. It was nice to sit and talk to Sarah and Alex and to meet some new people. The home. At 11 pm last night, it was 90F in our apartment. 11 pm!!

I spoke to John - well, lots over this whole time, but last night, as he was getting ready to head to the airport. He'll be home late tonight! After another restless night of yucky hot bedroom (really, the only drawback to John's return is the thought of two people sharing one yucky hot bedroom, which is a terrible thought), I went to work this morning, where some beautiful flowers were delivered! Daisies and pink roses, with a wonderfully-cheesy "I Love You" heart-shaped balloon. He rang me from Philly. He's almost home! I know I sound like an idiot going on about this, but . . . it's very exciting.

Seriously, though - if anyone hasn't looked at temperatures around the world and concluded that global warming is a real thing - dude. It is. This is gross. Make it stop.

i saw "an inconvenient truth" last night. sarah reminded me of a softer world and i found one of my favorite strips ever.

i think i broke my shoulder. it seriously hurts when i'm pouring things, or making similar movements. so softball should be grand.

i've spent a lot of time this week catching up with people, and it will only continue. i am exhausted, but better for it.

i am incapable of productivity, but i am trying. the internet notwithstanding.

i may have found one of the things i was most desperately looking for. totally seredipitiously. i feel like the luckiest girl in the world. (uh, work notwithstanding.)

i am knitting. i have no photos now, but soon soon soon.

My body hates me. I'm really frustrated by this.

I have a lot of work to do, and can't seem to get it done. I'm really frustrated by that, also.

My first recent weekend in singledom has been entertaining. Certainly a lot more going out than I am used to. Played darts with Brian, Paul, and Kaki on Friday night. Was woken up by a text message (from England) at 6am on Saturday. Then by a phone call at 10am - um, can't do anything about the lack of nitrogen gas on a Saturday morning. I finished reading my book, got up to hang out with Fletch for awhile, and then took a nap. Fletch, Miguel, Beth, and I went to dinner and to see Pirates of the Caribbean II at Pacific Place. Sunday I slept in again, and then played softball - we had almost a full side at practice, and played a game against another team. Then it was home, dinner with Mike and some air hockey, and some tv with Fletch while The Sims decided to hate me. I'm sorry you're depressed! Geez! Get over it!

It's weird having my "automatic social life" (i.e. John) gone. But we've spent plenty of time on the phone. I'm co-dependent, but in a fun way!

I have more thoughts, but for later. Time for some visas.

Sarah, and others among you who like the kitties: check this out.

What I want to know is how many cats do they actually have? Because it looks like about fifty-million.

So. The US Department of State has issued multiple warnings, the most recent updated yesterday: don't go to Lebanon. There's bad shit going on there, and the potential for more bad shit. No one likes an American, anyway. You should put off your plans.

So . . . perhaps plans are off, now. November is awhile away, but it's possible that the people we would be visiting won't be there anyway, depending on if/how they decide to evacuate.

I got close, though.

Same old life.

It seems that I get to this point, every afternoon - sometime between three and four - when I just change gears. Either I become really productive, or I cease productivity, but whatever I am doing, I change dramatically. And I put on Juana Molina's "Son" and listen to the occasionally-crazy-or-dissonant-but-always-pleasing-and-soothing sounds that she makes.

I finally did a lot of organization in my new office. The first step, that I did last week, was the physical moving of all the shit in here. Which I did, and which was problematic because there's far less desk space, so there were just stacks and crates of stuff that needed to be dealt with covering all available space. I have now gotten rid of the crates, made or reorganized new files, and now everything on my desk is stuff that needs to be done immediately. Which is problematic in its own way, as there are easily a hundred hours of work to do. But - this was the necessary first step, to make my space workable. Like when I was in college - whenever I was procrastinating on inconceivable amounts of work (different than the everyday - like, when I had three 30-page papers due or something similar), I would have to clean first. While it was procrastination, I also couldn't concentrate without it.

I feel like everyone around me is embarking on journeys, both physical and mental (John is going back to England to formally receive his Ph.D.; Justin and Patrick are leaving at the same time for England and for the Mongol Rally; Sarah, Mike, Kate, and others working on inward journeys and personal development, etc.) and I need to do some of the same. I want to be not just proficient, but excellent at my job; I want to contribute to the well-being of the world around me; I want to feel fulfilled, or bettered, as a person; I want to be at the top of my game. I don't know what this means, and I'm really only articulating thoughts that have been in my head for ages, that flit around; but maybe saying it is the first step.

At any rate, best of luck to those who are about to or currently embarking on their own journeys.

Finally, I have posted some photos.


Respectively, these are from the Team Ramrod benefit and from the daytrip to Bainbridge Island that John and I took a couple of weekends ago. Full sets are available via those two links. There's some other miscellany that's new as well.

I still need to add some other photos (more miscellany, the Fourth of July, and some knitting), but this is what you get for now.

Kisses!

PS - I also love Juana Molina.

This is the most adorable thing I have EVER SEEN.

The first photo, with the petting . . . I could die.

The Reindeer Section's "You Are My Joy" was just on the radio. This song is so schmoopy, but I love it just the same every time I hear it. It also played sometime this weekend, while I was reading in bed. It reminds me of all the good things I like about the people I love.

Hard to beat that. Especially as I am largely feeling irritated by other things that are going on. Nice to have such a visceral reminder of love, and loving.

I haven't even updated in July yet. If there is something true about this journal, it is that I suck at writing in it. But I suppose I write in it the most when I am all angstly and emo, so there are worse things.

Some thoughts:

1. Seattle is indeed a very beautiful city. We had a lovely day trip to Winslow over the fake-holiday weekend, and a nice weekend this past one, going to softball and wandering around. Oh, and being at work.

2. I feel hopelessly behind at work. I moved into my new office, and in the process of moving, found about a million things that I had put aside and never dealt with, only to find them weeks/months later. D'oh. Also, being sick for a week (and missing three days of work) didn't help me catch up. But I came in a bit over the weekend, which was of slight utility.

3. I am a little sad that the World Cup is over. As much as I had sort of stopped caring once England was out, it was nice to have something to tune into that I knew other people all around the world cared about. The final was neat, except for Zidane being a douche at the end. Watching people get swept up in it was exciting. But the Euro Cup is in 2008, and Leeds starts next month, so I'm sure I'll get to learn ALL ABOUT THAT.

4. I absolutely, unequivocably need to get back into shape. Being limited as to which pants I can wear is NOT ACCEPTABLE. Look for mentions of running here in this blog. If they are not here, grab that cookie out of my hand and throw it on the goddamn ground.

5. I like people. They are mostly good. I especially like seeing people I don't get to see much, but think of often.

6. I like John. I am sad that he is going to England at the end of the week, but it does give me a little over a week to get caught up with friends who I see far too little of for my own liking.

7. There are too many things I want to do. Whenever I have down time at home, I want to read AND knit AND play on my computer AND tidy up AND nap AND do other crafts AND . . . there is not nearly enough time. Not to mention all of the things I do not do outside of the house.

8. I am going to stop spending so much money. I am going to save for vacations and for the future and for stuff that isn't so NOW NOW NOW - excepting yarn and functional investments (hello, bedframe?) and the like.

The plan for the rest of the day:

1. Make John entertain me until my softball game.
2. Play softball from 6:30-7:45-ish
3. Have Fletcher drive us home
4. Get in the car, drive to Magnuson Park, and go swimming until swimming becomes old or we become cold.
5. Run an errand on Capitol Hill on the way home.
5a. Have dinner at Taco Bell.
6. Sleep.

GENIUS.

and it was.

Still have photos to upload. Not knitting much - the heat and the stress and the heat and the tiredness are killing the knitting urge. Also killing the urge was the making of dishcloths to give to my mom and the making of socks for a birthday and the potential making of stuff to auction that didn't happen. Also, trying to read a bit more.


I have gotten fat - my sports seasons ended from the spring, I got into a new relationship and was dining out a lot, I got stressed out from work . . . right. Put at least ten pounds back on. BUT - I played three hours of softball on Saturday, and while I felt sore as hell yesterday and still a bit today, I think that this is a good impetus to start with the working out again. Softball again today and Thursday, and hopefully beach volleyball starting next Wednesday. And swimming with John. And running. I am determined to lose this weight again, plus the additional ten pounds that I hadn't lost the first time, before the end of the summer. Also because I have to look good in a fancy dress in November.

The Team Ramrod benefit last Thursday went well. It was nice to have the scooby gang largely back together, which simultaneously reminded me how we are all mostly the same despite the fact that all mist mostly different. Of my original count of six, there were three. In the secondary, there were two. In the tertiary, we had a full count of . . . three?, that I know of. The point being that I don't really know at all. In many ways, I felt superfluous and disconnected, but I admit to having expected that, to a certain degree. So - perhaps no big surprises, in the end.

In other recent events: still trying to get together with Sarah. Went to the Solstice Parade with John, who thought it was pretty bizarre but fun. Celebrated his 26th birthday, his first outside of England/in America. Had my mind thoroughly blown by the Psapp/Juana Molina/Jose Gonzalez show, where I got the Psapp setlist. Have watched lots of World Cup, most notably the England games at an increasingly-crowded George & Dragon.


That's mostly it for now.

Currently in love with:
1. Juana Molina
2. "Where Does The Good Go," Tegan and Sarah
3. my housemates
4. being tan (I know, I know, sunscreen, I get it)
5. the idea of being in shape (again, but even better)
6. my softball glove
7. potential

Come to Cafe Allegro, 4002 University Way NE 98105, for good music, a charity benefit, and to see my shiny, happy face. TONIGHT! 8pm.


( For the full story . . . )

I have a sneaking suspicion that my life will be dominated by World Cup football for the next month.

Hopefully I'll get a lot of knitting done.