bang-bang

As thoughts arise during the day I'll add them here, publishing at the end of the day. In reality I could probably do 3-4 poorly thought out, stupid posts each day. I'm always thinking of random stuff to say, but I can't succumb to the tumblr method of blogging, can I??? Meh.
  • A call from a good friend lifts my spirits despite some unexpected bad news (resulting from very poor judgment on the part of others outside our control!). She asks "what's been going on?" and my answer is "nothing" and I proceed to rattle off a list of upcoming things - travel, Beth's visit, etc. and realize that things are about to start going on. Nice.
  • Uncle Roy sent me a hilarious "copy editor" e-mail full of funny Jay-Leno-esque headlines. I generally don't do forwards (except to re-post some here) - and these were all images that I'm not going to take the time to post... Anyway - I hope you get to see it, and if you want me to send it to you, e-mail me and I will.
  • Woah - The Rocky Mountain News is dunzo.
  • One of my quotes of the day: Today's scientists have substituted mathematics for experiments, and they wander off through equation after equation, and eventually build a structure which has no relation to reality. -- Nikola Tesla
  • My new-ish keyboard that I got for my birthday is already showing signs of wear - the m and n keys are slightly rubbed off on the lower right corners of the letters. Curious. No other keys seem to be affected.
  • Gingie uploaded some funny Owen videos for me. Making me excited to go home for Easter (did I mention I bought my tickets - and we'll be celebrating Gran's birthday - woo!)
Time to sign off and "publish" - very pathetic look into the mind of Mari ... well a small look because goodness knows I didn't write down everything I thought. AAAAAAAH

FWD: Read and Return

I want to live my life in such a way that when my feet hit the floor in the morning, Satan shudders and says, "Oh no, she's awake!"

Each and everyone one of us are going through tough times right now, but God is getting ready to bless you in a way that only He can. Keep the faith.

My instructions were to pick four people that I wanted God to bless, and I picked you. Please pass this to at least (4) people you want to be blessed and a copy back to me.

This prayer is powerful, and prayer is one of the best gifts we receive.

There is no cost but a lot of rewards. Let's continue to pray for one another.

The prayer:

Father, I ask You to bless my friends, relatives and those that I care deeply for, who are reading this right now. Show them a new revelation of Your love and power Holy Spirit, I ask You to minister to their spirit at this very moment. Where there is pain, give them Your peace and mercy. Where there is self-doubt, release a renewed confidence through Your grace. Where there is need, I ask you to fulfill their needs. Bless their homes, families, finances, their goings and their comings. In Jesus ' precious name... Amen.

(If the Lord lays upon your heart to send this to more than four people, you are truly blessed).

Addictive Personality

I like Twitter. I am not constantly reading it - but from time to time I'll peruse. Twitterfall can be addictive though and fun to watch when you've got a second.

However, when I have a thought, see something cool or whatever - I'll fire off a tweet. But I don't use it so much to converse (I don't know a lot of people who use the service, although the whole point is to meet new people and I don't have qualms about writing/communicating to other twitter-peeps, but I just don't take the time I guess).

Sat in on my first beneficial free webinar (have been to some good paid ones, but the free ones are usually just commercials for the sponsors or otherwise too basic). It was some good stuff. Not sure how I'll be able to implement in my work or if I'll find the time to even bring it up, but there you go. (I also sat in on a not-so-beneficial free webinar today - mostly it was background noise while I continued to work.)

But the webinar is why I have been thinking about twitter I guess.

Two crochet projects:

Twin Blanket 1
This is 1/2 of the two blankets I'm making for my grad school friend's twins. This one took forever because of the yarn I chose. And the second blanket will be equally laborious - but too cute, right? The second one will be mostly yellow with small green stripes. We'll see if I can get the second one done before the babies arrive!

XYZ Rippit
This is the bottom of my first attempt at an ABC blanket for my childhood friend's first baby - and I'm going to rip it out and start again because of the wonky corners - I started dropping stitches from the edges - on both sides (even though the left is a little better) - because I'm out of practice in single crochet. Blimey! But this didn't take too long and I want it to be right. Adding the purple on the boxes around the letters is darling, but it makes a TON of ends to weave in ... but I think I'm still going to do it in my second try. I've made this blanket once before, and it took me three first tries to get it right. Hopefully two is a charm for this version. And it's going to be SUPER darling when I'm done.

[I used Picnic on Flickr to edit that second photo ... first time, and it was really great/easy - although of course all I needed to do was crop, but what a great option to not have to crop offline and then re-load/replace a picture once you see it online and see something (like your feet) in the picture]

On my sidebar here I've got shared items from my Google reader. But I am toying with the idea of re-using that content into blog entries ... since I usually make a [snarky] comment about whatever item I'm sharing.

How about these:
Time to close up shop and get to dinner and then crocheting. Silly girl.

Basketball Dreams

My mom told me the craziest story about the high school girls' basketball coach at my HS alma mater. I wonder if it was covered in the local paper or if it's just a small town gossip thing, but yowza.

Today Shawn and I went to an NYU women's basketball game - we missed the men's game that was the first part of the double header. They played Emory university. The boys lost by 1 and the girls won by about 10 points. The girls are so unconditioned - they can't fast break or even move on the court as much as I (in my infinite wisdom) think they should be. But they won, so what are you going to do?

There are dancers and cheerleaders at the games, and I find myself comparing them to the cheerleaders and dancers of OSU. The OSU girls were always so coifed and made up - heavy make up that was clear to the audience/crowd. Plus the OSU cheer squad had men cheerleaders who made things more interesting and could do more inticrate and higher throws. The NYU dancers though are the ones that really fall flat, imho. They have sloppy ponytails (yeah, I know, look who's talking but I'm not a dancer in front of people) and little make up. A stark contrast to the glittered and curled girls of OSU. BUT I also know there are differences - OSU girls could/were televised (NYU doesn't even have cameras at typical games it seems). Just interesting contrasts.

The NYU pep band played Green Day's "Basketcase." I remember Sarina singing this in the locker room when we were in middle school/early high school. So this song is EASILY before the current NYU undergrads' time. Weird that they play it, at least to me.

And the weirdest/random thought I had while walking to the game was the sudden realization that I couldn't remember the "high five" elements that a good news story needs to have. Wracking my brain and I think I can remember them correctly: News, Scope, Impact, Context and Edge. Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's right. For what it's worth.

Now to finish up the first blanket for my friend's twins - it's taken me SO many weeks because I used such small thread. I'm not sure how I'll bring myself to make the mirror image one for the second twin ... but I know I will. I just hope I can get the second one done before the babies come! And I have another project to start and finish for another friend's baby girl - an ABC blanket - before I can get back to the bedspread project...

FWD: Money Angel

A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events,
and outcomes.

Can’t hurt… and the picture is precious!

Hope she works for you!!!

You have just been sent a Money angel!

Pass her to two people, and be rich in four days.

Pass her to six then be rich in two days.

I am not joking - you will find an unexpected windfall.

If you delete her, you will never know how she works - she really does
work like magic!

NO Pass Backs. Just pass her on.

Well - maybe a couple people will see this on my blog. :)

Sleeping Beautiful

Take Back NYU! Week - basically a group of student protesters overtook the NYU cafeteria - which is about 3 or 4 blocks from our apartment. (I didn't even know there WAS an NYU cafeteria.) I followed the story on NYU Local - a student-run Web site. It was also on Gawker - some pretty funny snark about the situation.

I'm not officially part of the NYU family, but I reside, for all intents and purposes, on their campus. My sleep was disrupted by the shouts of protest - and it sounded so much like an athletics event. And there's my thought - "A HA!" What NYU students need is a sports team where they can scream and holler together. There are 30K kids here - and they have nothing athletically unifying them. I know this is a middle-of-the-country idea and isn't at all possible here, but that thought came to mind while I laid in bed listening to the roars on Thursday night.

The TBNYU! list of demands were a mix of rational (I guess) and ridiculous. Their first demand was amnesty (Gawker commented - if you want that, stay home, no problem) - but they also wanted something about Gaza and sending old projectors to a school there (???). The main issue, however, seemed to be that they want to see the books - the money.

Here's what I say - you go to a private school. You can go to a state-funded school and find out all about your university finances.

Shawn was surprised that the offending protesters (those who wouldn't leave - just a handful) lost their NYU housing. Guess what? Dorm living isn't a right - it's a privilege and you sign a code of conduct contract. And a two-day protest shutting down a campus building is a clear violation of that contract.

Anyway - I have no business talking about this, but it's happening in my own back yard. I don't understand it all, and I really don't want to. But for once, I find myself on the side of "the man." And just want the whole thing to go away... We'll see.

I got a comment about the Jane Seymour "open hearts" necklace. Here's a picture:

You're telling me that doesn't look like a woman's chest on the top and a woman's behind on the bottom? Yes, spatially I guess it doesn't make sense because the boobs and butt are on opposite sides of a woman - but this is what I see when I look at these pieces of jewelry and it creeps me out a little. I know that says more about me than the jewelry, so there you go.

Moving on.

[Review] Eat Pray Love

Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read this book in less than a week - which is how I love to read - swallowing chapters whole. I avoided this book because of its commercial success, but I really shouldn't do that. Things are popular for a reason, and I'm never going to be someone whose tastes veer away from the norm. So, I liked this book a lot - especially the spiritual parts - meditations and such. I need to be more cognizant of my own efforts to love my self. Definitely recommend others read this. Good stuff!

View all my reviews.

sluggiest tuesday ever

Bad things that I've done/have happened SO FAR today:
  • Awoken to intercom buzzer after Shawn has left for work (I know I should have better sleeping habits and be up-and-at-em earlier) - it's the window repair guy, sent to fix the window that's been broken as long as Shawn has lived here and that he reported at that time. No notice that someone was going to come fix it - let alone first thing in the morning.
  • I welcome this workman stranger into my home while wearing PJ's and a hastily thrown on sweatshirt to save face (or save something else, if you know what I mean)
  • It takes TWO HOURS to fix the window - which involves breaking the window entirely, leaving it effectively open for 1.5 hours (brrr ... and did I mention I was still in my PJ's? hard to get dressed when you live in one room and there's a stranger IN that one room), and an overwhelming chemical smell that he said was the silicon/caulking stuff.
  • Two work things that made me want to crawl into a hole - one just a circumstance and the other totally my fault - nothing bad will happen but I just hate it.
So it has been a bad, bad day. I need to go out to the post office and mail off some birthday gifts to my Feb. 23 birthday girls. Really all I want to do is turn out the lights, crawl under the covers and wait until it's Wednesday, which will hopefully be better. Right? Right? Right?

[In the grand scheme of things, I DO know these are petty, stupid complaints but it's been a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day for me]

What I Love ...


Shawn Owen SI Ferry
Originally uploaded by silvermari
On Twitter someone suggested posting a picture of something you love on Valentine's ... I couldn't remember my Flickr password to share this one of my Valentine husband and sweet baby nephew - on the Staten Island Ferry last summer. Aren't they CUTE?! My precious moo - hoo's.

Ads I Hate: Open Hearts


I think this jewelry looks like two parts of the female anatomy - boobs and butt. And I think it's gross. (How's that for juvenile and unpersuasive?) The ads themselves rub me the wrong way too - mostly that she's so proud of a swirled mark being turned into jewelry. That said, I loved Dr. Quinn - a favorite show I watched with my grandparents when I was a kid...

Shakesville has a series called "Assvertising" - less about commercials or advertisements that annoy them and more about such things that exploit women/are offensive for some reason. Here's the latest about McDonald's ads targeting Starbucks "elitism" - with links to the previous 41 (!) Ass-vertising posts they've previously done.

Jezebel also has a similar series (Badvertising), which co-incides with my loathing of specific commercials, such as the Oreo Cookie 100 Calorie pack TV ad - which is absolutely insane. (Because really? REALLY? If women want a snack, they'll just go buy it - not chase down a guy in a truck for it - and that's not even the real problem with the ad... Jezebel says it better than me anyway/always).

And in the spirit of not ALWAYS being negative, a couple ads (or at least ad-lines) I've liked recently (literally laughed out loud when I saw both of these):
  • Match.com: "I'm just a goof, looking for her ball."
  • Monster.com: EMT falls backwards at sight of blood. VO: "Need a new job? We can help."
Interesting that they're both traditional TV ads for web sites. Two point oh no.

Good times (or bad, as the case may be).

Thirteen

In honor of Friday the 13th, something scary (image from yesterday, I play around way too much on the computer after work):


Looks like this site could be a way to make digital photos into cartoons (a la our 2008 Christmas Card, although I did that myself in a photo editor)...

Five Simple Things I Like

A post today on Productivity 501 has got me thinking - what are five simple things that I like? And to be honest, this is kind of hard. Not because I want expensive, extravagant or luxury things (give me a bedbug-free life and I'd think I was a queen), but because I am so negative these days. Like wading through murk of my own making - or something like that.

1. Webcamming with Owen - did this last night and we had fun stealing each other's noses through the Internet. He was too cute eating his cookies - but he couldn't share, since I'm "just on the computer, silly."

2. In the spirit of Valentine's, a smooch from Dr. Walker (and we're talking my husband, not my undergrad English professor who gave me the only B of my OSU career - let's talk irony - but that's another post entirely)

3. A completed crochet project. There is nothing more satisfying than finishing a blanket, especially for a baby, and knowing all the time, love and energy that went into it.

4. Hot black coffee. I have been remiss and not making myself java lately - and I miss it. The dark bitter taste and smooth richness going down my throat.

5. A piece of white page and a freshly sharpened pencil (or full fountain pen). Sure typing and blogging is fun, but there's something comforting and nostalgic about writing in long hand. I take notes and scribble here and here, but I do still make time to write in a regular journal, although they take me longer to finish each book since I supplement with electronic musings. In fact, I finished a beautiful leather-bound book last week - chronicled just under 3 years of my life and was a Valentine's present from Shawn in 2006. I also love a stack of notebook paper - that gave me a thrill even in high school, trying to write stories or notes to the boyfriend.

So I guess it doesn't take much - and this was a good exercise (and my list is confirmed by the fact that the five things - Owen, Shawn, Crochet, Coffee and Writing - are already tags for posts on this blog). You should make a list of five simple things you like too!

FWD: The Banana Test

There is a very, very tall coconut tree and there are 4 animals, a Lion, a Chimpanzee, a Giraffe and a Squirrel.


They decide to compete to see who is the fastest to get a banana off the tree.



Who do you guess will win?



Your answer will reflect your personality.


So think carefully . . .

Try and answer within 30 seconds. Got your answer?

Now scroll down to see the analysis.













If your answer is:

Lion = you're dull.
Chimpanzee = you're dense.
Giraffe = you're a complete moron.
Squirrel = you're hopeless.


A COCONUT TREE DOESN'T HAVE BANANAS.
Obviously you're stressed and overworked.
You should take some time off and rela

Metallic

Sitting in the apartment/office/home/whatever - and am suddenly overwhelmed by a metallic smell. I've smelled it at least once before - either this week or last - and thought nothing of it. But now my Scooby senses are tingling (that's a thing, right?).

Yesterday I went to mail my valentine cards and man got on the elevator on the 4th floor - he was a worker I didn't recognize and had on a white Hazmat-type suit, plus booties over his shoes and a mask. I saw another similarly suited dude at the service entrance to our building when I walked past... I didn't have the nerve to ask them or the doorman what was going on. BUT ...

All I can think is bedbugs on the fourth floor. AND now that I can smell this metallicy awful smell - with the knowledge of the suited workers - I am guessing that the apartment directly beneath ours is being sprayed for bugs, which means, of course, that the bugs that were in our apartment have migrated down. Perhaps this could have been prevented if the apartment below ours had been informed of OUR spraying?

Whatever the case, I find myself more and more disgusted with our building management and the utter disregard for tenants' safety and general well-being. I've been feeling massively depressed for a few days and I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Maybe the chemicals are leeching into my system and making me even sadder then I might normally be. I should get out more, but I've known that for a while.

Horoscope

Ominous? No - because I'm conscious of all my growing frustrations...

You may be more willing to put in extra effort this year to get ahead professionally. Today, however, you might be tired of all the hard work. Pay careful attention to your feelings, for if you are unconscious about any growing frustrations, they can create problems down the road. Holding them in might be okay for a short while, but could lead to unexpressed resentment or even an emotional outburst. Sharing your feelings with a friend now should help to alleviate the tension.

[Review] Atonement

Atonement Atonement by Ian McEwan


My review


rating: 2 of 5 stars
Again, shouldn't have picked a book just because I'd seen the movie. It was well written, I'm sure, but the annoying plot (basically the central THING that happens in the book) drove me crazy and left me trudging through this book - not a good sign. I'd much prefer devouring.


View all my reviews.

Ads I Hate: Valentines

So I'm always making lists, and I started one while watching TV recently of commercials I hate. Thought about making it into a regular feature - since b*tching and moaning are the name of my game. So we'll see. Then I saw this ad on my AOL login screen and thought it deserved a place on the list too. Since it's the week of Valentine's (and why the ad was up in the first place), I thought I'd blog it.



And the reason I hate this ad is NOT because of the sniffle-inducing cat in a weird, non-natural position. It's the fact that Valentine's Day should be a deadline or something for getting a date. I hate, hate, hate it. I can handle the commercialism - God knows our economy needs it - but it's ... implying that a woman's worth is defined, at least on this one day, on whether she has a date WHO WILL SEND HER FLOWERS. Give me a break. Flowers die, which is beside the point. I just think there are more appropriate ways to promote/advertise an online dating service.

~M

Wordle

Wordle: SilverMari

Domesticity

Have been meaning to do a brain dump. I used to write long updates about my life, what I'd been doing, etc. and send them to people from all aspects of my life (lives perhaps) - but I haven't done that since well before I moved to NYC. Maybe I'm not doing anything? Maybe I let blogging serve as the de facto outlet for such writing? But some people who received the "Mari's So-Called Life" e-mails don't read my blog (or don't have e-mail - my mom printed copies for some of the folks at church).

On the home front, we've been slowly re-setting our apartment for comfort. We finally purchased a new comforter (try sleeping with a throw every night when the temps drop well below freezing) - it's an overpriced thing from the Manhattan K-Mart. But it's sufficient. We also trekked to Ikea last weekend and got a Poang chair. It's black framed with a black cushion. It's a glorified lawn chair, I know, but we got the cheapest model/combination that wasn't hideous, and I've finally got a place to sit besides the bed (Shawn doesn't mind sitting in the office chair, but after sitting in it all day every day, I like a little change of pace for my TV watching and crocheting).

Speaking of TV, I have fallen in love with Friday Night Lights. I mean IN LOVE. It's horrifying actually how much I like this show - it could be on par with my love affair with My So-Called Life. If not, definitely like it as much or more than Felicity. FNL reminds me of the good parts of home and my high school life - athletics, crushes and such. Plus the accents just wrap around my heart. Not sure they're entirely accurate, but maybe someday I'll find out. Keep dreaming.

I've got three big work projects. I could write a lot about work, but I won't.

I don't think the heat is working in our building - or something. I've got the windows closed and it's FREEZING. Generally I have to keep the windows cracked to let out some of the oppressive heat from the radiator - if that's even what it is. Meh.

Tired of writing snippets all day so going to change the time and publish. Grrr.

[Photo] Oldie but Goodie


Originally uploaded by silvermari
Man, look at this little kid. This was late 2005 - in a hat I crocheted for him. I made Gran a matching one, which was too small of course. His fit like a glove. I love the toothy smile and the pure joy in his face. I love this kid beyond measure.

Sleep for Cash?

How sad is it that I momentarily considered doing this? (Only problem is I have a day job!)

(18-40 Female )
Participant profile Women aged between 18 and 40 who are willing to come and sleep at the Museum during its opening hours to the public. Volunteers who can make a long-term commitment and who have current valid health insurance will be given priority. The New Museum will cover the cost of a visit to each participant’s regular doctor as well as a prescription for a sleeping aid. Participants will have to come to the museum by 11:45 am, consume a sleeping aid, get into a bed installed in the exhibition space, and sleep as many consecutive hours as possible.
The New Museum seeks participants for Chu Yun performance.

Just a crazy thing that comes across in my RSS feed and I felt the need to share.

Want to Order a Crochet Hat?

Thanks for your interest in silvermari crochet hats . Most of what I make are sized for infants and toddlers, although I can size up and dow...