fangirly

You know those dorky superfanboy/girl that show up to readings, shows, or appearances hours before it’s supposed to begin?  Umm, that was me this past weekend.

Neil Gaiman gave a reading at the Cleveland library as part of their Writers and Readers series.   I’ve been a huge fan of his work for a long time –  no way I was going to miss this, my hatred of driving notwithstanding.  I got to the venue rather early because I had expected to get lost on the way there – my sense of direction is unerring!  A lot of other people may have had the same problem –

are other people lost too?

The reading was fabulous!  Neil Gaiman read from the Graveyard Book, and Odd and the Frost Giants.  He is a really good interpreter of his work – you could definitely discern the nuances of the different characters.  Also, I want to marry his accent.

There was a signing afterwards.  I don’t think the event organizers expected quite a turn-out.  I heard later that about a thousand people turned out (the auditorium seats about 600), and people had to be turned away.  The signing was a bit chaotic – it was essentially a free for all in the beginning, with the requisite line-jumpers, loud super-stalkerfans, and people trying to get their entire Neil Gaiman library signed.  Still, it was a mostly laid-back, patient crowd.

fangirl dorkdom

When it was my turn, he had to replace the inkwell on his fountain pen ( I love that he still uses fountain pens!) – and that’s when ny new friend Bonnie snapped this picture.   The signing was supposed to end an hour after the reading, but Mr. Neil was really generous and kept signing for a couple more hours, signing for everyone in line.

What did I get signed?

 

surprise!

My mom was a great cook and baker, but she could be a bit obsessive when she was trying out a new recipe.  When I was a kid, she went through a mooncake phase.   Mooncakes are Chinese pastries traditionally eaten during the Mid-Autumn festival in mid-August or early September.  If I remember my Chinese history lessons from childhood, mooncakes were used to pass along secret messages when the Mings were trying to overthrow the Yuans.

Right.  Mooncake phase.  Every night for a month, she fed us (and unsuspecting friends, neighbors and relatives) the results of her latest mooncake trial.  I still remember vividly the whack-whack-whack of the mooncake mold hitting the thickest book in our house as she tried to unmold the cakes.   Contrary to making me sick of mooncakes though, I love mooncakes! Especially the ones with crumbled egg yolks in the middle.  NOM!   So I was so thrilled to get this in the mail today –

contented sigh

I have the most awesome friends! That blank square in the corner?  Inhaled.

Also, an embarrassment of unexpected of treats!  Unfortunately inedible, but so wee and so cute!  Penny for reference.

we are wee with perfect details

Off to inhale some more mooncake.

 

Back. Not dead. Yay!

It’s been awhile, hasn’t it?

Since the last update, here’s what I’ve been up to, in no particular order –

• recovering from dental surgery.   My wisdom teeth belatedly decided to give me all sorts of problems,  so out they came.  The surgery itself wasn’t too bad – I remember being loopy and feeling high as a kite, but don’t remember anything during.  After a couple of days, am feeling better than expected.  There is of course, the sore jaw and swollen cheeks, and the overwhelming urge to poke my fingers into the gaping holes in my gums (sorry TMI!).  Also, I am getting tired of eating soup.  The ice cream though, is made of win!
• witnessed nasty car accident in San Francisco, complete with on the scene first aid (by me!), getting statement taken by nice policeman, and getting asked stupid questions by rubbernecking passersby.
• went camping at Salt Point State Park.   Salt Point State Park was where the sandstone for streets in San Francisco were mined back in the day.  Also, there were tanning seals and random abandoned safes in the middle of the hiking trail.  Click and see!
  

  sandstone formation

• saw fishies!  And pretty water things! More here.
  

  sea anemones at the National Aquarium

• drove to Detroit for work and to visit Nana, and accidentally ended up on the bridge to Canada.  Without my passport – see part about driving to Detroit.  Ended up having to get my car searched, answering a bunch of tedious questions from the nice immigration folks, and watching the guy in the next car pod getting yanked out of his car and arrested.
• there was knitting.  Most of which have been gifted.  Unfortunately, before I remembered to take pictures.  Except for this – which I made for my cousin Celeste.  Gooseberry hat and wee socks, out of good ‘ol Cotton Ease in Azalea.  Rav deets here.
  

  Gooseberry hat and wee socks

• a renewed commitment to hopefully blog more!  Fingers crossed!

 

no sign

Spring break was spent in the Bay Area.  Catching up with dear friends.  Eating good food.  And then there’s this –

embracing the sky

Drawing me in and making me not want to leave.

No sign of winter there.  No sign of spring here.  At least not yet.

More pictures here.

 

care and feeding of blogs

Since I last posted, I have been to Atlanta, where I spent the holidays with my cousin B. There was much laying about doing nothing, eating good food and trading of family news. There was also a trip to the High Museum to see the excellent Chinese Army terracotta warrior exhibit. It’s so strange to see these in the flesh – I still remember the 5th grade class where we talked about the Chin dynasty and the warriors buried in Xian. More pictures from that trip here.

comparing heights with the terra cotta warrior at High Museum

On to the Bay Area, where there was much laying about doing nothing, eating good food (sensing a theme here?). There was an awesome camping trip to Point Reyes, where it is impossible to turn around and not encounter a breathtaking vista. More pictures of that trip here.

there were sea lions sunning themselves at the beach

 

ta-freaking-da!

Ummm…I sort of fell off the face of the earth, didn’t I?  I think I’ll blame ennui for this one.  Also end of semester grading purgatory and workplace moving hijinks made for an extended stay in crankypants-land.  So there.

Anyway, there were quite a few knitting projects completed since the last update so –

with extra purple for pizzazz!

Pattern: Gentleman’s sock in railway stitch, from Knitting Vintage Socks.
Yarn: Crystal Palace Panda cotton in jet black (2 skeins) and royal purple (1 skein), size 1 DPNs.

These were a present for Oki, who seems to like ’em (huzzah!).   Contrasting purple heels and toes on request.  The yarn has a nice heft and feel to it, but was a bit splitty.  The colors are pretty vibrant and kind of sheeny.  Pardon the somewhat washed out photograph – I wanted to try to show some of the stitch detail and the black was not cooperating. 

 

september summary

Wow, where does the time go? I wish I could say time flies when you’re having fun, but really, this little matter of being employed is a huge time suck. So while time is flying, the fun? Not so much.

At any rate, September’s almost over. Here’s a mishmash of the months highs and lows:

I finally made it to Niagara Falls! I live a few hours drive away from the Falls and have been meaning to go check it out for the longest time. My friends Meg and Jenny (we’ve known each other since grade school!) were visiting from Manila and Niagara Falls was on their must-see list.  I met up with them there, where we joined a large throng of tourists on the Maid of the Mist, got thoroughly drenched and had a great time. The Falls are pretty spectacular, although there was a lot more construction near the shores of the Falls, both on the American and Canadian sides, than I expected.

 

one last hurrah

School started this week. Although I teach in a year-round program, the summer months are typically slower, so I have a bit of a life. But fall and spring terms get really crazy. As a last hurrah before the craziness starts in earnest, I went to Seattle for a few days.

I had a great time. One of the many things I like about Seattle is how lush and green and alive everything looks, stereotypical wet Seattle weather notwithstanding. I mean, who can resist an explosion of color like this?

This trip also turned out to be mini reunion of sorts. My aunt made a last minute trip up from SoCal, one of my cousins was in town for an extended business trip, my globe-trotting 90 year old grandaunt was in town between trips, and two of my friends from Manila (who I’ve known since we were in the fourth grade together) were in town visiting. The stars were aligned this time.

Seattle also happens to be home to many totally random and odd sightings. This was one among many “huh?” moments. Spotted inside a Chinese dimsum restaurant. Maybe because the red in the sign matches the decor?

More photos here.

 

must be something in the water

My little circle of friends and family seems to have come down with a case of baby fever. Gotta be the water.

This is for my cousin B’s little one, who is supposed to make her entrance in a few short weeks!

I’ve made Bobbi Bear before, but he’s so cute I had to make another one! Plus Bobbi II can help scare away the monsters under the bed, or stand guard while the baby’s napping. I used 2 balls of Lion Brand Organic Cotton on this one – I’ve lost the ball bands, but I think it’s the Almond colorway. Size 10.5 DPNs.

I also made some booties and a hat. I was originally planning on making a sweater, but nixed the idea because my cousin lives in sweltering Las Vegas, and is giving birth at the height of summer. The yarn is Debbie Bliss Cashmerino in periwinkle; the patterns courtesy of the good folks at Ravelry. The hat is Vibegrrl’s Bananahead Baby Beanie, (Rav link) and the booties Ruth B’s Perfect Baby Booties. (Rav link)

Knitting for babies is fun because it’s instant gratification! Also I got to use stash yarn for this project – I feel so virtuous. Bobbi II wanted to try on the booties and hat, but he’s a big bear.

 

passing muster

Yesterday, my apartment got “randomly” picked to be inspected by the city. You know, to make sure I wasn’t living in a total hovel. Heh.

At any rate, the inspector shows up at my place promptly at 9 in the morning, digital camera in hand. Proceeds to test the lights and electrical outlets, then snap a bunch of pictures of the fire extinguisher and the fusebox. Casts a critical eye around the apartment –

Inspector: You don’t seem to have a lot of furniture in here.

Me: …

Inspector: Are you a student?

Me: Nah.

Inspector: Oh.  Sometimes, student habits are very hard to break. Very hard.

Me: Are you trying to tell me my apartment is messy?

Inspector: Uh-huh.  You should get better furniture.

Me: At least I don’t have milk crates.