I’m sorry.

I’m curled up in an intellectual fetal ball, hiding from my Internet responsibilities of writing about so many wonderful things (BMFA sock camp with my Mom, Scout’s Indie Swag first shipment, my finished Monsoons, Ravelry—see, I’m so busy I don’t even link anything!). I’ve also been a terrible friend, not replying to emails, or calling or letting people know I’m drowning in work stress and unable to get back to them. (Not a cry for help or pity.)

To make matters worse, I don’t foresee a break to this silence for at least another month. It’s two weeks before a two-week vacation to France, doubling as a synchronized swimming competition. As a gesture of apology, I’m handing you this sunny, candy-coated clip from a French movie (not set in Paris), starring a 24 year-old Catherine Deneuve with a small role (and lots of dancing) by Gene Kelly.

Les Desmoiselles de Rochefort (1967).
If only my life had this much song and free-wheeling spirit! More to come…

My boss just sent this to me. While we don’t do TV commercials, I can see web design work echo’ed here. That said, I do love my job, and our marketing issues aren’t this bad. Warning: naughty words are said.

That’s just a snippet. The entire twelve-minute video can be viewed here.

No, no, Scout, as a matter of fact, they don’t stretch very much. Sure, I had tried it on earlier, but thought that I could squeeze into them. But anything that’s only a few inches of cuff can be wedged over a heel. (You’ve already called me old today, so don’t call my ankles fat!)

Now that I’ve started on the heel flap, I realize this is a lost cause. I already did 84 stitches. Should I go up in needle size? Maybe cast on another 16 or more stitches? I wonder how that will change up the color striping… Why didn’t I read your post on the pain that is Jaywalker?

At least, I’ve enjoyed myself using the yarn. This is the first time I’ve ripped back, nay, scrapped an entire project.

What do you do when your best friend and her fiance are asking you to play hooky to run away to Vegas for a few days? What do you do if they are offering you the chance to see Cirque du Soleil’s “O” for free and see Le Reve for half-price? What do you do if it’s going to cost under $300 for airfare and hotel for three nights? And, what if this was all instigated by the fact that they have not one, but two friends who are in the cast of “O,” one of whom is arguably one the best synchronized swimmers ever, male or female?

Now, keep in mind, you and this best friend are both synchronized swimmers and water is the medium and stage of both shows. It’s true that you’ve already had the pleasure of seeing “O,” but your friend hasn’t and you’d love to share the magic of that show with someone who devoted her childhood to the sport and now is exploring it in her art. Oh, don’t forget that you did a couple of months playing aerialist (rope) at Trapeze Arts circus school. Basically, it’s been your dream to be a performer since you were a child and, ever since you saw it, you’ve wanted to see the backstage and inner-workings of this Cirque du Soleil show.

Sadly, I think my sense of work responsibility and fiscal wisdom will win out. I hope this isn’t a once in a lifetime opportunity. If I don’t write in the next three days, you can find me in Vegas.

…meaning congested. Being judgemental is a permanent condition (ask Scout). I feel a bit better than I did at this time last night, but I suspect I’ll have another few mornings of sore throats and phlegm before this is gone.

Today was the all-day portion of our day-and-a-half company meeting. Now, I don’t mention my company’s name here, but those who know or write me mostly likely know where I work. Suffice to say, it’s a pretty damn cool place. I’m the online marketing department, just a meager manager-level position, nothing too fancy—only me and my staff of one. It’s a friendly place and we get along super well with one another. I’m well-liked and well-known, and not just for being the wacky gay guy who knits (just a few rows on a heel flap in the minimal downtime of the day).

Nonetheless, it’s been a tad stressful this past week rehearsing with the CEO (a lovely woman), the VP of HR (a fabulously biting and dry wit) and working out all the sound, light and stage cues. Knowing the owners and 177 co-workers would be sitting in our auditorium to witness the production made the stakes seem that much higher. When today ended with a sushi and sake/beer/soda hour, I was proud of how the day went and relieved that all the bigwigs and smallwigs were happy with the day. (And it was nice to have sushi!)

In addition to a review of a killer year, an inspirational address about dreams, company awards, a lunch that’s made me farty, videos that ranged from a fancy commercial-esque piece that kicked off the day to a silly, fun-filled recap of events and such, we watched Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth.

Bad leftie that I am (and our company is based in Berkeley!), I hadn’t seen it yet. While I’ve learned a lot about global warming through programs we sponsor (carbon offsets, recycling, composting, worm bins, organic ingredients, sustainabililty, biodiesel, alternative energy, etc.), it was still inspiring. Please rent the DVD if you haven’t already seen it. But, what impacted me more, was how sexy it made Apple Powerbooks look (and Treos).

[It also made me want to go to Mac World next year so I can make such pretty presentations. All of my audio-visual-digital has been self-taught. Trial and error has been the motif for all the mixing/music cutting, podcasting, and video editing. While I could get work to pay for such training (and my work would benefit), wouldn’t it be fun to add some more pizazz to these here Internet tubes?]

Enough about me… please learn how you can make a difference.

I thought I didn’t have anything knitting to share. Technically, I don’t since I haven’t knitted today. I should be working out some hat designs on the new yarn I bought this weekend, but I’m not. They’re sketched and work conceptually, but I haven’t even swatched this wool. I’d like to bust them out by the weekend… but we’ll see.

But then there’s that photo here. Notice how it matches my banner up at the top oh, so well? That’s some custom-dyed sock yarn from Scout of Scout’s Swag. She and I got to talking because of KG. She’s going to be a guest and demo’ing dying your own yarn. From the looks of her work, she’s an expert and I can’t wait to get my hands on that merino!

Other than the anticipation, I’m pretty darn tired… and it’s not terribly late yet. My throat hurts and my body may be hoovering on the precipice of a cold. Stress has got me run down, that and late nights at the office. I skipped swim practice tonight—don’t tell my coach.

Originally, I was supposed to have a dress rehearsal for our company meeting tonight. We had it last night instead, but I just wasn’t in the mindset to hop into the pool. Now that I think about it, I’m not going to be in the mood to swim Saturday, as I plan to have a good time on Friday night at our holiday party.

Paul, 900 yards is great! Drink lots of water and keep moving. Maybe swim again in a day or two? When I was running tons, a swim the day after was my favorite thing for helping sore muscles. But, since you’re just coming back, watch out for the shoulders and increase your distance gradually. A little bit more regularly is way better than a whole bunch and getting laid up with injuries.

I’m sorry I never called to arrange a meeting last weekend when you were in town. Were I not horribly sick, I would have gladly met you and my demise at your handiwork and the Socks of Doom. Instead, I await my death via post.

Last week was gastrointestinally challenging and culminated in a cold that hit me like a truck. I was down for the count on Saturday, so much so that I didn’t swim at a fundraiser where my team was performing. Putting on a brave face and holding my tummy, I stoically pressed play and stop at the appropriate times on the iPod. Afterwards, a nap and a gradual return to eating. God bless miso soup and plain spaghetti with a bit of butter and salt! It’s so rare that I don’t want to eat.

I still don’t know what caused my upset gut. I feel lucky, having never experienced bloating and pain like that up to now. (Sorry for the graphic details, but to read me is to know me.) Was it the spicy shrimp curry at Vik’s (stick with the veggie dishes!) on Wednesday? Or the shock to my system from the raw kale and friends at the vegan Cafe Gratitude (I am gaseous)? Or was it the atypical two beers with dinner on Friday?

After my intestines returned to their normail size, there was the congestion, sore throat and general run-down-ness of a cold to contend with. I must have finally caught what C was suffering through all week. Nothing a few days of herbal teas and a lot of rest couldn’t fix. Sunday was the worst, but I was feeling it through Wednesday of this week.

Now, I’m back in fine form. I’ve returned to knitting, though not socks, as I still haven’t received my target’s target’s target’s work. This week I made what I consider to be my best hat to-date from the farm wool. Betsy’s hoodie calls. M still hasn’t told me what color she wants for her special FU mittens. The socks begun on the way to the farm need a heel flap. And, I’m fielding phone calls from my mom as she begins her first pair of socks after a 35+ year hiatus from knitting.

If you haven’t already sent them, I’ll be in Portland (well, Beaverton) from Thursday night until Sunday morning. You could kill me on your own home turf, but I guess that loses some of the stalker-fun quotient of you being in my town. Oh well. I’m just looking forward to a dandy new pair of foot coverings.

Your Target

Well, that was a surprisingly long lull between posts. You get a dog, you work life explodes, you stop knitting completely, and then you stop writing.

But then there’s a three-day weekend, which was supposed to be a five-day vacation to Eugene, OR to visit your partner’s parents. Due to overdue crap at work, you reschedule your flight to a day later and fly up on Friday morning, joining said partner who flew up the day before. After writing a few emails in the airport at 6:40am, there’s not really any more work you can do on the plane, so you bust out your knitting. Sheer bliss for the short flight and all weekend long.

A return to my first sock, from Cat Bordhi. When I last left the sock, it was time to begin the toe. Just 2″ or so to go. It’s done and and I’m an inch into the cuff of its partner. It feels great to be back.

That’s me in the photo, waiting for BART from the airport. I’m wearing the aran sweater I got at last year’s Stitches West from Philospher’s Wool. I wanted to knit a classic, and I ended up with a beauty with sleeves a smidge too long. Oh well, it keeps me warm.

Two things kept me sane throughout the past month:

• Project Runway. Thank you, Dan for posting those images from the final collections.
• Janie. I love having a dog. It takes up all of my free time, but damn she’s cute.

damn you, eBay, and your wiley, economically-priced yarns! I must stop bidding on you. (not to mention other things like selvage jeans, stupid premium denim.) so, I didn’t get the Noro Kureyon… but I keep going back to the "Buy It Now" chunky Rowanspun.

I have more than enough yarn as is. plenty of stuff given to me by the aforementioned dear friend. lots of leftovers from past projects. a whole sweater’s-worth once I’m finished the current cardigan, not to mention the first sweater that I’ve resigned myself to rip out. then, there’s that fleece to be spun for a yet unnamed project. and, this weekend’s outlet mall purchase of a XXL handknit sweater to rip for many balls-worth.

there will never be enough time or money to knit everything that my little heart desires. eventually, I’ll have to prioritize my newfound interests with the classics I want to knit up on. just because a coworker/friend gushes about a certain Japanese beautifully-dyed yarn, doesn’t mean I need to seek it out immediately. I have yet to earn the right to knit cashmere.

I need to go on a yarn diet. no more purchasing, online or off. no requesting freebies. then, I’ll create a schedule for future projects and the stash I have. once that’s done, there’s reading to do (how many knitting books do I own and have never cracked???) and judicious selection of more projects.

how do people maintain jobs, or social lives with knitting? when is it appropriate for an intervention? can one tackle big projects like home-buying, starting a business or writing a book and balance those lovely little sticks and fiber?

maybe I should just start up a second project to feel more productive…