conceptual oyster

drifting with the tide...

2007-06-13T09:05:00.000+12:00

this oyster is taking her shell and pearls and moving to less murky waters...
follow me there.

http://conceptualoyster.wordpress.com/

you'll see the same content, plus loads more!!!
see you soon!

O.G.

thrill, nostalgia, and escapism

2007-06-07T03:59:00.000+12:00

my [preliminary] summer reading list 2007

Dandelion Wine
Ray Bradbury

Farewell Summer
Ray Bradbury

A Room of One’s Own
Virginia Woolf

The Witch of the Portabello
Paolo Coelho

The Tenth Circle
Jodi Pilcoult

i'd love to hear want you are reading.
i'm looking forward to a long, hot, lazy summer...

georgia on my mind...

2007-05-30T05:02:00.000+12:00

or,
going...
going...
gone.

excellent times on the georgia coast,
more pics to follow.

happy memorial day!

2007-05-17T07:27:00.000+12:00

WE NEED RAIN!!!

amadeus

2007-04-25T04:59:00.000+12:00

http://www.atlanticballet.ca/en/amadeus/

few days ago, my mom took the O.G. to the ballet here in HP,

it was very nice.

similar to last year's The Wedding, in the respect that it was classical ballet with a contemporary touch.

the production was Amadeus, and it was tops! very enjoyable, although the particular company wasnt' the most technical troupe i've seen. i t was nice, the ballet was nice and it's one of my favorite stories in cultural history.

thanks mom...

family values

2007-04-19T03:42:00.000+12:00

how is raising a pverty-stricken, undereducated,
parentless individual more moral than abortion?

a poem about us?

2007-04-14T03:33:00.000+12:00

Poem: "Unwise Purchases" by George Bilgere from Haywire.
(c) UtahState University Press.
Reprinted with permission.

Unwise Purchases

They sit around the house not doing much of anything: the boxed set of the complete works of Verdi, unopened.The complete Proust, unread:

The French-cut silk shirts which hang like expensive ghosts in the closet and make me look exactly like the kind of middle-aged man who would wear a French-cut silk shirt:

The reflector telescope I thought would unlock the mysteries of the heavens but which I only used once or twice to try to find something heavenly in the windows of the high-rise down the road, and which now stares disconsolately at the ceiling when it could be examining the Crab Nebula:

The 30-day course in Spanish whose text I never opened,whose dozen cassette tapes remain unplayed,

save for Tape One, where I never learned whether the suave Americanconversing with a sultry-sounding desk clerk at a Madrid hotel about the possibility of obtaining a room actually managed to check in.

I like to thinkthat one thing led to another between them and that by Tape Six or sothey're happily married and raising a bilingual child in Seville or Terra Haute.

But I'll never know.
Suddenly I realizeI have constructed the perfect homefor a sexy, Spanish-speaking astronomer who reads Proust while listening to Italian arias,

and I wonder if somewhere in this teeming city there lives a woman with, say, a fencing foil gathering dust in the corner near her unused easel, a rainbow of oil paints drying in their tubes

on the table where the violins he bought on a whim lies entombed in the permanent darkness of its locked casenext to the abandoned chess set,

a woman who has always dreamed of becoming the kind of woman the man I've always dreamed of becoming has always dreamed of meeting.

And while the two of them discuss star clusters and Cézanne, while they fence delicate lying Castilian Spanish to the strains of Rigoletto,

she and I will stand in the steamy kitchen,
fixing up a little risotto,
enjoying a modest cabernet,
while talking over a day so ordinary
as to seem miraculous.

i wnat it all

2007-04-10T04:20:00.001+12:00

Adventure seeker on an empty street
Just an alley creeper light on his feet
A young fighter screaming with no time for doubt
With the pain and anger cant see a way outIt aint much Im asking I heard him say

Gotta find me a future
move out of my way

I want it all
I want it all
I want it all and I want it now

I want it all
I want it all
I want it all and I want it now

Listen all you people come gather round
I gotta get me a game plan gotta shake you to the ground
Just give me what I know is mine
People do you hear me just give me the signIt aint much
Im asking if you want the truth
Heres to the future for the dreams of youth

I want it all (give it all)
I want it all
I want it all and I wantIt now
Im a man with a one track mind
So much to do in one life time (people do you hear me)
Not a man for compromise and wheres and whys and living
Lies
So Im living it all (yes Im living it all)

queen

a few of my favorite things

2007-03-28T08:41:00.000+12:00

Grotesque (noun)
1. art characterized by an incongruous mixture of parts of humans and animals interwoven with plants

i became very fond...almost obsessed with these paintings while in italy,
almost like a good book, i could daydream and lose myself endlessly surrounded by these freschi.

why? i do not know, perhaps, that they contain all the elements i enjoy; nature and architecture, beauty and profanity, symmetry and not, the exotic, the erotic, fantasy, romance and the occasional hint of reality.

out of my shell...

2007-03-17T08:52:00.000+13:00

i've been looking so long at these pictures of you that i almost belive that they're real
i've been living so long with my pictures of you that i almost believe that the pictures are all i can feel
remembering you standing quiet in the rain

as i ran to your heart to be near and we kissed
as the sky fell in holding you close how i always held close in your fear
remembering you running soft through the night
you were bigger and brighter than the snow
and screamed at the make-believe screamed at the sky
and you finally found all your courage to let it all go

remembering you fallen into my arms
crying for the death of your heart
you were stone white so delicate lost in the cold
you were always so lost in the dark
remembering you how you used to be slow drowned you were angels so much more than everything

oh hold for the last time then slip away quietly
open my eyes but i never see anything
if only i had thought of the right words
i could have hold on to your heart
if only i'd thought of the right words
i wouldn't be breaking apart all my pictures of you

Looking So long at these pictures of you
but i never hold on to your heart
looking so long for the words to be true
but always just breaking apart my pictures of you
there was nothing in the world that i ever wanted more
than to feel you deep in my heart
there was nothing in the world that i ever wanted more
than to never feel the breaking apart all my pictures of you

the cure

interesting...but true i think

2007-03-02T02:26:00.000+13:00

When it comes to relationships, you're thinking about what you truly want as opposed to what you've thought you wanted. Take your time before drawing any conclusions, and try to keep your sense of humor.

Take care of the details and plan your next big move. Clean, organize, and throw away things that no longer serve you.

and yours?
http://astrology.yahoo.com/astrology/

one month

2007-02-28T03:47:00.000+13:00

today is one month since sammy passed.
i will start to post again,
but here's an update.

life goes on, but i still miss sam. the days are uneventful and painfully quiet. i miss that tail, his face in the doorway when i get home, and his words.

i stayed in america. high point in fact, not really sure why, i just know that one month ago i was certain it was the thing to do.
work is work, boring and not a challenge anymore. but it helps to support my 2007 debt reduction scheme.

i miss welly tremendously.
matters of the heart are just that and are going as expected for someone 'tender hearted' like myself.

maya is struggling with her weight...

i will also begin soon my 2007 east coast visiting tour and should wrap up in june at amber's wedding where i will be a 5th time bride's maid....and wear my fancy sash and purse i made.

ttfn,
oyster girl

sam ran ahead...and broke my heart

2007-01-29T13:31:00.000+13:00

sam

march 1, 1999-january 27, 2007

i took sam and maya to hike in the blue ridges before returning to new zealand. not sure exactly what happened, but he got sick in the house after he and maya returning from 'checking the grounds' at 142 sparks road.
i let him out to be sick, waited all night for him. then some friends brought him to me the next morning when they found him.
it really sucks because he was the coolest jumping dog in the world.
he finished his awesome life where he started it...

stewarts mountain view hospital in spruce pine.

maya and the oyster girl are heartbroken and gutted.

the zone 2....emo on ice

2007-01-26T07:26:00.000+13:00

highlights from last weeks first annual emo on ice auntie neice nowboard adventure.
brought to by
the letter 'G' for goo goo dolls and
the number 18 for number of rides on the lift in an eight hour period.

highlights include:
-jumping the hump that broke my wrist several years before
-awesome weather
-remembering how much i love this stuff
-some guys believing i was 22
-dinner at scott's pizza place...wait, that was really bad

happy riding ...

bored gypsy oyster...

2007-01-25T06:17:00.000+13:00

i've been living out of one medium suitcase for the last six months.

if i go there will be trouble, if i stay there will be double...

2007-01-23T07:02:00.000+13:00

Darling you gotta let me knowShould I stay or should I go?
If you say that you are mineI'll be here 'til the end of time
So you got to let knowShould I stay or should I go?
Always tease tease tease
You're happy when I'm on my knees
One day is fine, next is black
So if you want me off your back
Well come on and let me know
Should I Stay or should I go?
Should I stay or should I go now?
Should I stay or should I go now?
If I go there will be trouble
An' if I stay it will be double
So come on and let me know
This indecision's bugging
If you don't want me, set me free
Exactly who'm I'm supposed to be
Don't you know which clothes even fit me??
Come on and let me know
Should I cool it or should I blow??
Should I stay or should I go now??
If I go there will be trouble
And if I stay it will be double
So you gotta let me know
Should I stay or should I go??

i think the clash has said it best here.
there was also a church sermon i attended yesterday entitled "you can't go home"

wow, how poignient. and for the first time, and even in a baptist congregation to boot, has the Lord left me with even more indecision. i guess God did create ROS also along with all the other stuff resulting from the garden of eden.

yikes, this is tough.

the zone...monday morning emo

2007-01-23T04:47:00.000+13:00

i'm bridging two generations,
somehow i'm proud of this...

still recalling when the phrase 'emo' referred to emo phillips while listening to emo on the radio...

http://www.fourfa.com/

http://krunk1.xmission.com/~trevin/Emo.html

i'll save 'skr-emo' for another day...
i'm too dark and depressed.
lol

in responce and awareness...

2007-01-19T06:38:00.000+13:00

it's a shame when you get to that point.
when we were younger, everything was dramatic and at least passionate.
now it's all practicalities.

i guess knitting has become my 'mental rosary' and i forsee lots of knitting in the coming weeks. i think i took up knitting because it's such an anal craft for perfectionists. then i realise i am so loosey goosey with my knitting, so it safely balances out the uptight attitude i have towards all the other areas in my life.
hmm.

btw:
High Point is having it's first inclement weather of 2007.
i realised it was exactly these days 2 (or maybe 3 by now) i travelled to HP to do a sight analysis for my architectural thesis project. that was also one of those years when december and january seemed to hover around the 70 degree mark. then i came to town for this documentation...and there was a significant ice storm. my nephew and i trekked in the cold for several hours, we got lots of bad photos and several good laughs.
i also got a spa facial during both of these weekends,
maybe HP isn't so bad after all.

i knew he would follow...

2007-01-16T09:25:00.000+13:00

for those who know me...

2007-01-10T02:41:00.000+13:00

this is so me:

"My brain likes to run on autopilot as much as possible to free up energy for daydreaming and fantasizing and worrying."
CAP

seriously...it doesn't take much

2006-12-28T05:30:00.000+13:00

please read the article and have a wee think before dismissing it.

http://boomers.msn.com/articleGH.aspx?cp-documentid=376469&GT1=8903

happy holidays!!!

2006-12-25T06:20:00.000+13:00

this year has been one i could never imagine,
happy holidays to all the friends and loved ones
i've met around the world and the ones i count on for being where i saw them last...

peace and joy to each of you,

love,
oyster girl

don't be an ostrich...

2006-12-02T04:57:00.000+13:00

http://www.mtv.com/#/news/articles/1546789/20061129/index.jhtml

grotesques

2006-11-05T03:38:00.001+13:00

Faces of the Grotesque from...

http://www.spamula.net/blog/2006/06/faces_of_the_grotesque_1.html

The adjective grotesque (as Michelangelo kindly explained in a comment further to the previous entry here), was originally applied to the style of the decorative frescoes found in the buried ruins of Nero’s Domus Aurea at Rome. These long-buried chambers were rediscovered in the last two decades of the 15th Century. The strange ornamental designs that were found there ‘featured elaborate fantasies with symmetrical anatomical impossibilities, small beasts, stylised human heads, and delicately-traced, indeterminate foliage all merged into one unified decorative whole.’ Pliny, in his Natural History, recorded the principal artist’s name: Fabullus; recounting how the painter went ‘for only a few hours each day to the “Golden House” to work while the light was right…’

By the turn of the sixteenth century, some artists had begun to incorporate elements of grotesque decoration into their own, contemporary works. The earliest known examples are Perugino’s ceiling of the Cambio in Perugia (about 1500) and Pinturicchio’s cathedral library ceilings at Siena (1502). Other artists were likewsie inspired, among them Filippino Lippi, and Signorelli. Perhaps more importantly, the Chief Architect and Prefect of Antiquities at the Vatican, Raffaello Sanzio, studied and copied these designs, and directed that they be incorporated into the decorative schemes of the Vatican Loggia, the Loggetta of Cardinal Bibiena, and of the Loggia of Psyche at the Villa Farnesina. Much of the work on these projects was executed by Raphael’s assistants Giulio Romano, and Giovanni da Udine. Romano, as noted below, was later a mentor of Giulio Clovio’s… The image above shows a pair of stylised heads from the decorative borders of a pair of pages in Clovio’s Farnese Hours.

In the 1530s, a number of Italian artists were persuaded to join the French court at Fontainebleau, bringing with them a taste for grotesque ornamentation. In the same decade, the first album of prints of grotesque designs was printed. This new style of decoration spread to Germany, and flourished in the major centres of ornamental engraving at Augsburg and Nuremberg. By mid-century, the grotesque had established itself at Flanders, where, ‘in 1555, an artist called Cornelis Floris designed 18 sheets with human faces made up from vegetal elements, some highly stylized, others still recognizable as leaves and fruits,’ which were engraved by Frans Huys in Antwerp. These designs intermixed a dash of Gothic drôlerie into the Classical grotesque. The pair of images above show two of Floris’s designs.

*
It seems plausible that such stylised faces were one of the inspirations behind Giuseppe Arcimboldo’s famous paintings of ‘composed heads’ the first of which date from the late 1560s. The grotesque came to be applied to all manner of decorative arts: ceramics, tapestry, embroidery, furniture-making, jewellery, and so on. Its later, more exaggerated variant found its way back into manuscript-decoration too, notably in the illuminated alphabet in Joris Hoefnagel’s Mira Calligraphiæ Monumenta, exemplified by the pair of images above. More outlandish still were the designs of Christoph Jamnitzer’s Neuw Grottessken Buch of 1610, in which the standard grotesque ‘mask’ is pushed almost beyond recognition, as in the pair of designs shown below.

The vogue for the grotesque extended well into the later 17th century, and, to a lesser extent, into the 18th. The final set of images, below, are from a reprint of an architectural treatise published in Prague, in 1677, by a master-builder named Abraham Leüthner. At least one of these designs is a direct copy of one of Cornelis Floris’s, then over a century old… I scanned both the Leüthner and Floris images from a book entitled Barocke Architektur in Böhmen, published in 1998 by Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt, as part of their Instrumentum Artium series, a previous volume from which, their reprint of Jamnitzer’s Neuw Grottessken Buch, I used for the images immediately above.

*
I scanned the Hoefnagel images from the facsimile edition of the Mira Calligraphiæ Monumenta previously mentioned here, while the details from Clovio’s Farnese Hours are from the 2001 facsimile edition mentioned in the entry below.

Posted by misteraitch at June 10, 2006 10:37 AM

grotesques

2006-11-05T03:38:00.000+13:00

mi scusa

2006-08-17T13:39:00.000+12:00

hi, sorry you had too look at food coma for so long. the reason is this, i was trying to get fancy with the blog a while back and inadvertantly reset all the controls to this blog. now, using the super powerful non-dial up connection at VUW i have finally hacked my way into my own blog, so here's the recap:

i'm continuing to work at the university, by now i have worked in academic setting more than the practice office, so what does this mean??? i dunno yet, but i am returning in 2007, at least i said i was. i may or may not win the lottery between now and then and you could then find me in Fiji, maybe...

so this trimester has been nuts, out of control, but so far i've really enjoyed it, i even got my own office. (this is good to balance out a rough 2006) now we are off to italy to study in Ferrara for about two months. i'm even coordinating my own brand new course (paper in british uni) with a focus on analysis, step two in taking over the world. ( i forgot what step one was) then i will return to NC to love my snuggly pups, and family too.

biggest challenge:
packing....some of you know this about me all too well (melanie, hiroe, you don't to be sooo mean about how many black shirts i take). well, the current air travel status whipped me in shape, and i am all packed for 4 months in one medium sized suitcase. well done.

okay, love hate relationships, you guys know i struggled with the decision to come here, but i did come, enthusiastically, it was hard and may tears were shed. i was bored, i was homesick, and i felt i wasn't accomplishing anything. then some wise well traveled pals had a talk with me, told me to quit trying to live in two places at once. mom reminded me of girl scouts: make new friends but keep the old. those thoughts along with a bit of prayer, painting, retail therapy (a whole nother entry), and hip hop fitness...i made it clear in my own head why i was here, and i wouldn't be here forever, and what i adore of this country! i let myself settle here, at least for now. and you know what?
suddenly, it all fell into place, i began to accomplish work, friends, health, etc...
so now, 8 months later, i was crying as i pack up 'home' for the gazillionth time:
i'm not so ready to leave.
but now, i reach for another goal, i am now with the opportunity to work in italy,
then home for friends and family,
and back to wellington for more in 2007!!!

i'm off for a bon voyage coffee now, can't wait to share a coffee or biscuit with you soon.

Big Kiss, and I love you all,
manch

food coma

2006-07-02T13:24:00.000+12:00

i'm just settling in for a bit of work and mindless internet parusing after consuming a lovely traditional kiwi breakfast at the Brooklyn Bakery and have decided they have the best brekkie in town. (nice run-on sentence)

perhaps i was celebrating italy's advancement to the semi-finals of the world cup...look out kelli and joe. it's going to be italy against germany, might get ugly. or maybe it was just my reward for getting up and at the pub at 6:30 am to watch the game.

but here is what i had:

fried eggs
toast
bacon
sausage
hashbrown and
grilled tomato.

unfortunately, Brooklyn Bakery doesn't serve baked beans...

helloooo...

2006-06-13T09:53:00.000+12:00

incase you've been wondering where all the emailing and blogging takes place...here it is complete with silver travel trunk, twisted palm frand wand made by a vagrant in savannah 2 years ago at least, deck chair along side posture chair, and top notch desk and chest from none other than...SA.

i finished the remix sweater, just haven't mangaged to take a good photo yet.

had another earthquake, and at the moment we are having (for the third day) some massive wind storms, irritating. but funny to see the sea gulls...they actually get blown some times.

latest topic to ponder:

serial manogamy.

think about it.

smiles everyone, smiles...

2006-06-08T17:34:00.000+12:00

amber just sent me this image (me and hiroe) from the beaux artes ball of 2005...
we've all come a long way baby in one year since then.

speaking of babies...hiro had her babe yesterday.
a healthy baby girl and
" it hurt like hell..."

good job hiro!

hurricane warning

2006-05-29T18:01:00.000+12:00

hey, nothing too new here, except that the building handyman has taken to going around his apartment in his birthday suit with the blinds OPEN... his livingroom is a straight shot from mine!

also, it was a sad day yesterday in Welly!!! spirits were quite low after the wellington hurricanes lost to the canterberry crusaders in the final match of the super 14 rugby tourney (i've been following the super 14 for a few months now... http://www.super14.com/)

now, today i was going around on my errands etc...and noticing lots of black eyes, busted eyebrows, and swollen lips....then i remember chatting with a kiwi friend on life in america and new zealand....and her saying that domestic violence, etc...is always quite high following the rugby... go figure...and related to this, if you get a chance to see once were warriors...do it
http://www.finelinefeatures.com/warriors/wasynops.htm

now, i'm quite hungry and will prepare dinner...southern style!

why do i do this?

2006-05-17T11:30:00.000+12:00

okay, so i finished the vest from loop-d-loop inspired by the medeival bodice...
isn't it a beaute!
just too bad it doesn't fit! that's right, too small (subject to be addressed in later blog...) especially around the bust line...this is a first.
so after a few choice words, pouting, and conferencing with the other local knitting gurus...
i'm re-knitting it onto larger needles, only i hope they are large enough to make a size difference...
oh well, such is life...

7.1 out to sea

2006-05-16T23:18:00.001+12:00

http://www.geonet.org.nz/x2568629g_l.html

seriously, keep us in your prayers....for no more big ones and no tsunamis

deep breath.....okay, exhale...20 seconds

2006-05-16T22:52:00.000+12:00

oh boy....
i really want to call home,
but of course it would be the middle of the night and you would be worried if i did...
but we just had an earthquake...
the biggest one yet (that i have experienced), it last a good 15 to 20 seconds...
i know this doesn't seem long...but with the errie-ness of the earth moving beneath you...it's long enough.

i woke early yesterday morning and thought it was simply the wind, but checked below (the link) and it was a quake...a tremor in comparison to what just happened. no everything is fine yet indescribeable, but seriously uneasy feeling...i even have that woozie feeling after an elevator ride.

weird.

(p.s. even the big black housefly living in the walkway is a bit shaken it seems...)

http://www.geonet.org.nz/recent_quakes.html

(p.s.s....in savannah and greenville we had hurricane parties...why aren't we having earthquake parties??? perhaps they come with no real warning....but actually, i think i heard the club down the street just give a big shout....shout another kiwi word)

shout: to buy, to treat one, to celebrate. (ex. we just had a quake...i'll shout you a beer)
http://www.nz-immigration.co.nz/lifestyles/slang-words.html

station identification

2006-05-12T18:02:00.000+12:00

alright, just when i was 'warming' up to the ways of the kiwi...winter hits. it's way cold, i mean cold...i would take a picture of myself bundled, but the cold makes you lazy. so damn the stupborn kiwis and their resistence to the international building code, insulation, and no central heating. yeah, there's only so much tea a person can drink you know. i just found out, that they do sometimes use lambs wool bat for building insulation...which seems a really keen and eco friendly-ish alternative to the pink stuff (and it's pretty)...however, i asked today about the R factor....R2.6. brilliant... no wonder there is an epidemic of 'sick kid syndrome' in NZ, no wonder my neck hurts, and folks are generally grumpy on days like this. that is until they make their ways to the local pub...hotel bristol has a lovely wood burning stove.

aside from shivering in a heatless half a million dollar penthouse...it's great knitting and DVD weather and i think i will pop in a video (5 for 10 bucks for one week) and work my way down the home stretch of a lovely tweed vest...

the management

http://www.wunderground.com/global/stations/93436.html

p.s. currently off the bookshelf: garden of shadows by VC Andrews, it's a prequel to flowers in the attic.....remember that one, talk about teenage nostalgia

quest for kiwi...where the wild things are

2006-05-03T11:10:00.000+12:00

the color is bad, but doesn't this remind you of illustrations of one my favorite books as a child...where the wild things are?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0060254920/002-9184310-7838438

um, this is not a kiwi...
but still a pretty cool bird

a very large mushroom housing brainy, carpenter, and papa smurfs.
my foot as reference

quest for kiwi...the breakfast sweets

2006-05-03T09:46:00.000+12:00

eatting my ( cold ) hot cross bun on Easter Sunday

the pancake rocks later that day

"dude, where's my car?"
and why do I look like the last samurai?

up close and personal with the glacier

gosshhh

2006-05-01T12:00:00.000+12:00

thanks!!!

quest for the kiwi...the sheep

2006-05-01T11:34:00.000+12:00

here they come...

here they are...

there they go...

part one of a made for blog series...the quest for kiwi

2006-05-01T10:21:00.000+12:00

it's going to be ages to get all the photos i want online, so you can look for regular updates for a while...of pics, so you really don't have to read much.

gone walk about...long walk, for an aboriginal its a period of spiritual enlightenment spent alone, a walking trip or tour, gone missing

for the school holidays (apparently an official 'study break'...you'd never know this by the students' stress levels upon returning to class) i finally went on a proper walk about in new zealand's south island bush. the photos are in no particular arrangement (this blog is not orgainisation friendly) but wnat to make a time line...in time

it was so much fun, and the nature more beautiful that description and the photos do no justice...you can't imagine the vastness of space and colour at all,
but here are a few attempts to share...

thank you sheep for your wool that keeps us warm!!!
this is our car, i stepped out to have a look and as you can see, i cannot return jsut at the moment, i never saw so many stressed out sheep in my life...and the dogs keeping them in order! it was really neat, i really thought we were going to get another passenger in the car with us.

finally i got to see real live seals, a plus on our never ending quest for the kiwi...long story, but here these guys were hanging out near kaikoura waiting for the women to return in a few months so they can...you know. but in the mean time, seems they are just hanging out swimming and resting up...they are sooo cute, i love them, however, the odour is X-treme!!!

so here's the crew, simone, amanda, fausto, standing in front of the franz josep glacier. very interesting, we managed to get much closer, but can't find that pic...it was a little scarey at times. it's really reminds me of that christmas special with heat miser and bergermeifter meifterberger...
you know.

this beach was really pretty and relentless, i walked down to the water and found the terrain almost like quick sand...but it wasn't sand at all. a wave got me and i was wet and finding stones in my clothes for the rest of the day.

2006-04-30T18:27:00.000+12:00

* fotos are taking ages to upload...

dear mr.sink...

2006-03-30T19:41:00.000+12:00

just in case mr. sink, my high school guidance counsellor happens to find my blog...
and for those of you in the world who feel inadequate, not good enough, and discouraged:

mr. [gay, orange fake tan, wind surfer wannabe] sink told me in high school that I should think about learning a trade because I wasn't college material...

I thought of this many times throughout these years...particularly when I did graduate from university and later when I completed a masters of architecture...

and now, as I just realised that I have come full circle as I am currently myself, tutoring, not in high school...but university...

oprah would be proud, ... I am.

so remember this when you are discouraged,
and never ever give up on the things you want!

and as for mr. sink...
neh neh boo boo
and
new zealand has WAY better wind surfing than carolina beach!

thanks to everyone in the reefs and coral beds around the world for supporting and encouraging me...
and loving me.

eternally greatful,
oyster girl

primo....

2006-03-27T17:47:00.000+12:00

the primo park i mentioned before...but since blogger screws up my images...you are seeing it now...but don't you want to be here...

at the ballet..too bad you can't see my flash new stockings!

alright...here's what 300 new zealand dollars will get ya at the pack and save...
not to metion the 15 dollar cad ride home,
'cause it's just toooo much for the scooter!

well, here i am, slacking...well, really, i've been busy, and as a result...this has the potential of becoming a lengthy post:

alright..work,
it's good...it's work but i really like it,
and of course, there is the comic relief, just when you least expect it and need it the most.
highlights...realising that 20 year olds are no different than 10 year olds in the classroom...and that the 'paste eatter' in kindergarten grows up to become the glue sniffer in uni. and i had to issue a failing grade...and sometimes...i wing it...while the 'kids' take notes and whole heartedly believe i know what i'm talking about! cool.

why i'm here:
architecture i suppose...you know i love design!!! love it love it love....the freedom of creativity. (side note...i'm going to be working on a competition with simone soon...if i can get the spare bedroom cleaned up enough to work in it....as of this moment, the mouse is fighting with a pile of clothes....clean, yet unfolded)...but, back to the point:
nz architecture...makes the job search in the states seem gastly..side tracked again...

a new waterside park opened recently..and it's great...fantastic landscaping, skate park, primo materials, climbing wall, out door exhibitions...and very orderly...stodgey design like i like!!!!
(yay basic geometry and proportions!!!) it's really a nice place to be and wanted to share it with you.

those of you who know me, have lived with me, have shopped with me....know i have hip hop, gangsta tendencies....i have a not so secret crush on..you know...snoop dogg...and ...well, let's leave it at that...oh, and sometimes i like to play dress up...
anyway...i have found a home (ghetto) away from home (ghetto)...
i can get my freak on by way of Les Mills Body Jam classes..it's so fun...learning to shake what my momma gave me...we aren't talkin nsync pop and lock jive ....it's the real thing....i could be the next..shakira or the chick from pussy cat dolls, oh yeah....it's like 'breakin' meets 'west side story' meets 'compton'...
i might upload a video...worth a chuckle.

finally, only in nz...
do ballet and rugby comingle.
went to the ballet...a contempory nz ballet in the traditional form, it was great...you can read the story from the linke below...
but it was too cute seeing the traditional haka, scrum, and locker room put to a ballet...
it was a great experience...especially since i talked my way into a 'student rate' ticket!
the theater was quite nice as well:

http://www.nzballet.org.nz/wedding.html

that's about all to report for now and i need to check on the meat loaf...american comfort food, yummy..
if any of you can send a recipe for homemade mac and cheese..i'd love it..no kraft blue boxes here.

later

p.s.

i forgot to mention...we have some serious tranny prostituion just outside the building...maybe i can get a photo for show and tell

e doroto

2006-03-11T10:57:00.000+13:00

it's golden!
i finished this long ago,
but just now photographing "triple lutz"...
and here is what else is going on at the moment:

the gold medal in the event of olympic knitting,
triple lutz knitted by oyster girl for team italy

and it's gold!

and here we have triple lutz and another contemplative pose (notice we now have a television).

the pattern is from loop-d-loop and i knit it with rowan cotton tape. very cool stuff. i'd been fondelling it at knitworld for some time...and it was just perfect for the project.

if the weather holds...i 'll wear it for easter and note, i've finally moved away from beige and green!

here's genovesey, cast on for about the fourth time,
but i made the design decision, and i'm sticking with it.

less is more...

and for a bit of instant gratification, i took a book from the library
(simple knits for cherished babies)
and worked up these for an expecting friend:

1. they are so tiney and cute, so cute

2. it's a color

3.i've never done a sock type project, it was quick and fun.

they were made from some very fine fiber of wool and silk by patons (i think it's patons...too lazy to get the label)

and that's what i'm up to. i bought last year nine balls of cleckheaton mohair for a patter i was 'in love with'...well, i fell out of love with it, and am currently contemplating how to alter the pattern so i'm excited to knit it again, it was quite an investment.

also, there are the regular things of life, working, washing, etc....

but no pictures of that at the moment.

ciao!

blogworthy?

2006-03-05T15:44:00.000+13:00

hey, i've been seeing these for awhile..finally i got one:

You've been tagged. so here it goes...delete my answers and replace with your own and send it back to me and on to other friends!

Four jobs you have had in your life:

1. Max' Mexican Eattery
2. "clean"...after hours office cleaner
3. artist/assistant/etc..... (X4)
4. architect..(X2)

Four movies you would watch over and over

1. Swiss Family Robinson
2. The Big Chill
3. The Little Mermaid
4. Amadeus
.
Four places you have lived

1. Thomasville, NC
2. Greenvill, NC
3. Savannah, GA
4. Wellington, NZ

Four TV shows you love to watch

1. Grey's Anatomy
2. Sex and the City
3. Biography
4. Desperate Housewives

Four places you have been on vacation

1. Bahamas
2 British Iles
3. US Virgin Islands
4. Mexico...(never again)

Four Web sites you visit daily
(regularly...not actually daily for me)
1. eBay
2. youknitwhat.blogspot.com
3. yahoo horoscopes
4. yahoo mail

Four of your favorite foods
1. Japanese
2. Mexican
3. Southern/Soul
4. choc-o-la-ta-te'

Four places you would rather be right now
1. Tropical vacation
2. NYC
3. under a palm tree (with tropical beverages)
4. considering the massive cardio class i jsut took...i'm fine at the 'puter

Four friends I am tagging that I think will respond
1. esma
2. kelli n.
3. meridith
4. mom (at least will try, hee hee)

sunday march 5, 2006

2006-03-05T14:43:00.000+13:00

nothing much to report at all...
i'm irritated today...the wind gives me anxiety, it's so irritating.

well, i'm just going to catch up on other people's blogs.

later

golden

2006-03-02T10:10:00.000+13:00

p.s.

2006-02-17T11:36:00.000+13:00

(random wellington google image)

just a quick post script on a few other items...sans camera...dang it...
first, after the chinese new year festival we went for a quick beer..in good kiwi nature at a restaraunt called arizona next to with the intercontinental hotel...apparently a fancy abode.
and guess who/what pulled in...
'fiddy cent's' tour bus...this is not PC i know, but it was good to see some brothas and shorties.
enough said on that before my blog gets shut down.

wednesday, as if i haven't enough years of education under my belt...i went back to high school,
that's right. night school at wellington high school, taking an italian language course, e molto bene e bravo bravo....there's me and another young girl whom recently married the stereotypical italian and la professoressa says she will teach us the good stuff...then there was a moment when the class was silent and looking at one another, and sure enough, there was a tremor.

finally, yesterday, out for a bit of exercise and there's a big hullabaloo going on at the harbour. there is the volvo around the world sailing race, a pit stop in wellington, and we were there as these fancy boats started coming in...we saw team abn-amro from the netherlands come in....it's really interesting and will try to get some pictures before they take off on sunday because, to me, it's also quite amazing how well they park these boats in the harbour. cool,

off now for a [paid] training session for my latest architectural endeavor...what a year it's been.
so, check out the links below for more info.

recent earthquakes:
http://www.geonet.org.nz/recent_quakes.html

volvo ocean race:
http://www.volvooceanrace.org/index.aspx?bhcp=1

wellington high school:
http://www.cecwellington.ac.nz/

dixie

2006-02-16T12:14:00.000+13:00

happy valentine's day

2006-02-15T13:52:00.000+13:00

(my photo won't post)

http://www.pictureframes.co.uk/pages/saint_valentine.htm

summer slackin

2006-02-15T13:05:00.000+13:00

casting on and getting the first couple rows of genovesey done
(lookin a bit girthy eh)

a natural born scout leader,
'follow me people, i'm certain the seals are just beyond this pass"

amanda hufford stars as olivia newton john in Look What I Scored in Porirua on Waitani Day (yes, that is a straw retired tourist hat...but my head was getting sun burned)

so cool and reflective on the shore...
too bad the stallion didn't offer to carry my helmut, it's heavey, but at least this time i don't look like...you know (with the helmut)

the interislander ferry coming back to welly from picton through cooks straight

week one back in the under world (can you technically call NZ 'downundah') and summer is in full swing, although you can tell by pics that the temps aren't so different, but sun is out and it just feels like summer. also, i'm back to posting at the internet cafe, so forgive the layout...these computers are really irritating.

so, to make a long story short, well shorter, i will quickly run over my first week back...

as usual, didn't have my camera with me when anything good happened, like the Porirua festival on waitaingi day and the Chinese New Year festival in Wellington...we did however have the camera in hand when we went seal hunting, only to find no seals.

so, monday back, we headed out on the train to porirua where there are allegedely a plethora of bargains to be had, we needed to do a BIG grocery run so we set out to the big stores in porirua. that morning i had gone exercising and realised the town was shut down...then remembered from my international day planner, it was waitangi day in NZ, i told sim and he realised...YAY no work today...so we set out to porirua by train for the big bargains...we arrived and there was a ferris wheel, the rainbow, etc...all kinds of food, music, dancing, a skateboard competition...it was a wonderful festival celebrating the diversity of the community there...so...we bought not the first grocery item that day, but had a blast.

the rest of the week continued as usual, until we set out saturday to do some rollerblading along oriental parade...fun and bun firming, went to return the skates and here comes a lady with flags to give out, then one of the liveliest and most fesitve parades i've ever seen...so there is saturday....and sunburned.

sunday, off to find the seals by red rocks in island bay...we tramped for hours through the wind and sum, to find out that the seals left and in october and won't be back until october or so. and...i sat next to Rigor Mortis...the dead NZ opossum...weird, didn't look like US opossums, poor thing, looked like he literally stopped dead in his tracks.

and lastly, and probably leastly, the knitting olympics....i cast on early or late, i dunno because they air around 7 am here. i frogged all progress but will try and start again tonight after my italian class.

check out the web links below:

http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/Gallery/treaty/
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0601/S00134.htm
http://www.chinesenewyear.org.nz/
http://teamitaly.blogspot.com/

after 32 years

2006-02-13T19:22:00.000+13:00

'more fun than a barrel of monkeys'

seriously,
i don't get it...
seems monkeys contained in a barrel would be less than fun,
wouldn't they panic, fight...

krunk

2006-02-05T09:58:00.000+13:00

krunk-

1. Originally derived from the two words: "crazy drunk", crazy, off the hook, insane
2. Severe intoxication or getting drunk; a very fun or enjoyable time
3. used to describe something cool, hip, or fashionable

application:

dude, did your girlfriend make those gauntlets??? that's krunk!

question:

the album nasty girl released in 2005, i don't get it, since Notorious B.I.G. died in the 1990s
hmmm...that's krunk.

oppositedaygroundhogday

2006-02-05T08:52:00.000+13:00

back in NZ..nothing much changed here..the weather slightly,
actually, it's great when it's cooperative, but now it's that same ole same ole is it a rainy day, sunny day, overcast??? noting really...makes it hard to dress or decide what to do.

it's the world summer sevens championship now...all night hoards of painted, drunken chants to their team loyalties...
oddly...england beat samoa and that got me down....the equiv. to the seahawks pounding the panthers. but don't hate the game...hate the playas...right?

as far as my olympic dreams...the chance for a gold may be steimied (spelling?)...i have a killer back problem, it hurts even post the blog!!! it's all very nancy kerrigan...but i hope to recover in time for the games.

my heart is broken...you can imagine why as i stare at the photo of maya and sam.

the blog may slow down a bit...this dial up situation is a pain.

oh, major update...we have a television!
cool, but no channels really, but at least we aren't watching dvds on the computer screen.

i don't know what it is...but, i've been listening to r&b lately...
i dunno

p.s.
thanks for the great comments...and due to overwhelming responce to 'glamour mandy'...i may be forced to make a regular segment of flashback mandy

senior glamour

2006-01-31T16:22:00.000+13:00

for those of you who need a little sparkle in these dark days of winter...
or those who remember senior drapes, clinique, guy smiley, g.s.jr, or just need a chuckle down memory lane...

p.s.

my teeth look so big, and note the ET fingers

olympic dreams

2006-01-31T04:36:00.000+13:00

seems i am going to be knitting for team italia in the knitting olympics
updates to follow

link to knitting olympics:
http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/olympics2006.html

team italia:
http://teamitaly.blogspot.com/

the project:
'genovesey' afgahn

the challenge:
1. getting the project overseas
2. personal handicap (major jet lag)
3. first project with:
a. cabling
b. verticle color change

big bro

2006-01-25T03:48:00.000+13:00

http://www.freetostitchfreetobitch.org/

looks like good ole american values are everywhere these days.
busy body americans looking for something to fill that chip on their shoulder just can't mind their own bees wax...gotta sue somebody, raise a fuss...

i can say to americans...shut up! be thankful for what you have and learn to support one another as a nation so we keep our liberties in tact.

speaking of our national liberities...
the 1950s had the beatniks, 1960s and 1970s...flower power...
well, its fiber power for the new millinium...so in it's honor
and to stamp out those nasty undesireables...
here's a good old fashioned boycott....

wwjd...what would jerry do

2006-01-24T16:20:00.000+13:00

Must be getting early, clocks are running late.
Paint my love a morning sky, it’s all cold.
Dawn is breaking everywhere, light a candle, curse the glare
Draw the curtains I don’t care, but it’s all right

I will get by, I will get by, I will get by, I will survive.

I see you’ve got your list out, say your piece and kiss off.
Guess I get the gist of it, but it’s all right
Oh well anyway, sorry that you feel that way.

Every silver linings got a touch of grey
I will get by, I will get by, I will get by, I will survive.

It’s a lesson to me, the ablers and the beggars and the thieves
The abc’s we all think of, try to win a little love.
I know the rent is in arrears, the dog has not been fed in years
It’s even worse than it appears, but it’s all right

Cow is giving kerosene, kid can’t read at seventeen
The words he knows are all obscene, but it’s all right

I will get by, I will get by, I will get by, I will survive.

Shoe is on the hand that fits, that’s all there really is to it
Whistle through your teeth and spit, but it’s all right

Oh well a touch of grey, kinda suits you anyway,
That’s all I had to say, but it’s all right
I will get by, I will get by, I will get by, I will survive.

It’s a lesson to me, the devils and the east and the free
The abc’s we all must face, try to save a little grace.

even though this is an incredibly joyous moment in my life as an oyster (for those who may be guessing, you'll find out in good time), much like my shell...the late grateful jerry states...every silver lining has a touch of grey. it's that same ole bitter-sweet chocolate, the yinyang of life, the cutting oyster shell surrounding the succulent delicacy.

the truth shall set you free as we preach in the south, and denial will get me nowhere. i have realised and am in the midst of accepting that i am leaving my country (odd that this is something i dreamed of for years, and i now leave with apprehension). i am not going for a visit to nz, i am moving there.

it's almost like sending off a loved one at a funeral wake...a feeling of loss, mourning your familiar life. shedding the mundane objects that made your house a home and closing that shell around the delicate oyster.

sure, i'll be back...but when...and to what...

for now,
oyster girl in the world...hoping for a gentle warm tidal pool to call home.

dog days

2006-01-21T19:49:00.000+13:00

Been spending some much needed quality time with my hounds...it's great. Santa brought them 'credit cards' for a day of beautification and the Petsmart groomers...they cashed them in today and got their hair and nails did, in dog world, it's perfectly acceptable for sam to do this as well as maya.

They (and I) had a blast, they were first doted on for three hours of groomer...they loved it, got a freebie (the neckercheifs), shiney new tags, and a one hour shopping spree. maya was taken with the pink barbie shearling tennis ball, sam showed a little intrest in a furry mallard duck. They were both impressed with the selection of food products

but in the end settled on two cows' hooves and and gingham sqeaky dog that was completely destoyed within minutes. they were entranced throughout the night.

Today, they seem a bit depressed. Not sure if today is a let down from yesterday, but maybe it's the dreary weather. They've moped around all day, maya barely begged at dinner. I think they are also mad...as I began to make my upcoming travel arrangements.

I hope they will make room for me on the bed...

more sweet than bitter

2006-01-21T19:25:00.000+13:00

but here's a bitter sweet moment:
you know pride and prejudice, the 'jo sharp singlet' i had warm fuzzy feelings to...and now on the blog?

well, my mom was bugging me all this time how she wanted one, i started to try and make her one for christmasmas, but didnt' , and i kept sayin "why dont' you make yourself one",,,yado yada.

okay, well, i made the straps too long, and of course when i sewed them on, i sewed them to make sure they would never come undone...so i went to her this morning and asked if she had any idiea how to get them out so i could shrten them, of she was like oh boy,,,,see, by now it's all felted together. and she said let her try it on...oh gosh, it fits her fantastically...small enough on her that it clings just enough to show shape but not bulge out..you know?!?!?

so long story short, my mom is now the proud owner of the pride and prejudice sjs! and i have no completed handknits to wear (out of the house)...hense the bitter sweet...but it may give the solution to what to do with the sparkly patons crap i got at HL, and relieve the color anxiety i've had since my sister said, 'nice sleeve, but you need to move on from this color...' in reference to the sleeve completly blocked, now unravelled...cause it was too large...i finally learned the lesson...just do it, check your gauge!

so we {my mother and i} went to 'thursday night knitters' at barnes and nobles...we were both skeptical, but i was like what else were we going to do...it was hilariously interesting. not the hippest bunch of knitters, but nonetheless entertaining...

poor mom, she's really doing well with her fledgling project, but i keep finding dropped stiteches that we missed before, and all i can do is just sew it up...but it's lionbrand woolease so i can hide it...

check this out for wool
www.KnitPicks.com

(she tried it on while cooking breakfast, and it's insideout, but still looks better on her...above, you can see i look like an amorphic worm)

fancy

2006-01-19T11:27:00.000+13:00

my rather fabulous friend since the first grade is a bagstress.
this means she creates custom handbags, etc... she made this great one of a kind notions case out of kiwiana fabric I brought over from NZ.

it's great and if you like it too, you can visit her website below and contact her.

http://www.designsfancythat.bigstep.com/homepage.html

a year in yarn

2006-01-17T15:47:00.000+13:00

This past year can be described as a knitting project...a colorful scarf perhaps to warm your neck as you walk through a cold city. Broken hearts were healed as a project took shape, new and existing relationships were knitted forming tighter bonds than before...and as with most of my projects, mistakes were made. Bad color choices were made and some projects simply unravelled. In the end, necks were warmed, chances were taken, and gifts (of all sorts) were given.

I've picked up wool and needles from time to time throughout my life starting, like many others, with my aunt, later, on my own... with never a completed project, always with frustration and defeat. However, most recently, with the a patient and supportive group of friends willing to see me through my first completed projects...and seeing one another through the daily trials of life.

So, with one thesis completed, I was free to indulge in some zen knitting and embark on my 'world journey'...I arrived in New Zealand and at Breakneck speed found myself working in a local architecture firm and making weeking pilgrimages 'down mount everest' into Cuba Mall's Left Bank to the largest stash of wool I've ever seen. I know, an unlikely pair...the hardness of architecture and the softness of knitting...but it's the yinyang of life. Again with the patience and kindness of those at KnitWorld , I graduated from the basic garter stitch scarf to sumptuous fibers, intricate designs, and my first completed garmet. This by the way only had to be unravelled once.

I was hooked and the following months were filled with sketching, speculating, planning, and experimenting...Knitters are everywhere, they come in all sizes, shapes, genders (some questionable), styles of knitting, preferences, but in the end, we are all the same with a few minor adjustments...for example:

at Knit New York, you find punk rock knitters, your 'typical New Yorker', and knitters in drag. Also, this boutique is great for the odd boyfriend or husband in tow as it has a full service espresso bar and cafe...this is not to undermine the beatiful color choices and European pattern books.

in Philly, you find Loop, the Ikea of knitting. The boutique is small, minimal, and slightly goth. A sort of 'cut to the chase' , efficient (yet very helpful) knitting boutique stocked with the softest of cashmeres and smoothest of silks...and here you will find the Kate Spade of need carriers. Here I discovered Crystal Palace circular needles and highly recommend them.

the Yarn Lounge is in Richmond, Virginia. Here, you enter a wool shop exuding southern hospitality and lots of hand spun wool and partially knitted projects in every nook and cranny...complete even with your typical southern hound dog. Here you can pick your new muse, plan it up with whom ever else may be in the shop, then have a seat on any of the compfy sofas and begin clacking your needles.

the sites:
http://www.knitting.co.nz/site/page_affix/toaffix_location-wellington/

www.knitnewyork.com

http://loopyarn.com

www.theyarnlounge.com

projects

2006-01-17T14:57:00.001+13:00

caught red handed...
at kirkaldie and stains department store

pride and prejudice...jo sharp singlet from jo sharp kid mohair

G-L-O-R-I-A...
mohair scarf for simone's mother

the common cold...shoulder shrug out of cleckheaton country...nice wool, but it's a bit scratchy

gleeming at Knit New York...

street smarts...cowl and wristwarmers from adrienne vitadini trina

dolly llama...mom's scarf, made from touch wool from new zealand

survey says

2006-01-17T05:12:00.000+13:00

here is a knitters' survey I found floating on the web...

1. List your finished objects, or just list your favorite FO.
multiple scarves, shrug, tube scarf, singlet, and wrist warmers

2. List your works in progress:
a Rebecca pattern, basically it's a scarf with sleeves and a cushion cover

3. What skeletons are in your knitting basket?
the wool from my 'experimental sweater' that never materialised and i suppose the project I started when I was about 10 years old.

4. What's your favorite project?
I love the scarf I gave my mom for Christmas this year...if she regifts it, I hope it comes to me

5. What project(s) will you never knit again?
I haven't been in the business that long, but I'll have to say the 'experimental sweater'

6. What was your major knitting accomplishment for the last year?
knitting beyond the garter stitch scarf!!! and i completed a garment!

7. What's your favorite yarn from the last year?
jo sharp comfort kid

8. What's your favorite yarn overall?
there's just something about mohair...i don't know what it is, but i likes it!

9. What new knitting techniques have you learned?
sl, k, psso....with this, the possibilites are endless

10. What are your knitting goals for 2006?
start and complete cleckheaton double-breasted jacket, and i fantasise about a blanket . oh, and i would like to make a dainty cardigan or shawl with a little bling knitted into it...
some random beading.
intarsha type experimentation
affording the color schemes i love

11. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand?
i think I am, but Hobby Lobby definitely has its place in the world too!

12. Do you spin? Crochet?
no, somehow, it seems too old timey for me

13. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
right now, a cardboard tube with corks on the ends

14. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
about a year, give or take, and i think i've just moved beyond beginner

15. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
no, but i should (lol, amber knows what i mean!)

16. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
duh, i'm a chocoholic!!!

17. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?
sew, needlepoint, paint, and I like making my own stationery. I was a jeweler in a previous chapter of my life.

18. What kind of music do you like to knit to?
retro 80s euro-trash (spandaeu ballet), classical, and post modern rock (soundtrack to Lost in Translation), well, actually, I don't even have a radio, so i listen to what ever i checked out from the library.

19. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?
i keep going wtih sage-y greens and aquas, but i really wnat to go with a deep red...and chartreusse.

20. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
my family puts the Funk in dysfunctional, but we wouldn't have it any other way. I have two awesome dogs that I cry for, they are in foster care now, but you all know that.

21. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
I live in scarves, wore ponchos until I saw a photo of myself in one, and i look stupid in hats. I don't have any mittens

22. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?
like i said, something about mohair (it's very forgiving) and i just used this silky blend...it was interesting.

23. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
synthetics, and anything that looks like Fruitty Pebbles cereal

24. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?
I've just completed a 12-step program for knitting obsessions...no, I have to say at the moment, seeking out the knitting scene where ever I travel

25. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
you can be so experimental and cheeky with scarves

26. What are you knitting right now?
didn't I already answer this...wrap sweater and cushion cover

27. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
of course I do

28. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?
i've just conquered my fear of circulars, so i'm into them now...you can knit in bed on a cold morning

29. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
bamboo. but i also like the retro vibe of anodized aluminum

30. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
no, plus, it gives an excuse to visit the yarn shop (i don't know what a swift is)

31. How did you learn to knit?
first by an aunt 20 odd years ago, and recently by friends

32. How old is your oldest UFO?
gonna say the sweater vest started when I was about 10 years

33. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?
maya and sam

34. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
none, but I like to look at Interweave Knits and LOVE Selvedge

35. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on?
Jo Sharp and Rowan books (the cool ones), Last Minute Knitted Gifts, and Alterknits...the photgraphy is great and the projects good

36. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
button holes would be some handy knowledge

37. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
no, a US size 7, but jo sharp has a pattern for the most luxurious mohair socks...so cozy.

38. What are your favorite knitting weblinks?
http://www.youknitwhat.blogspot.com

*if you would like to answer the survey and paste it into my comments, email me and I will forward you the survey!

wishes for a happy holidays and a peaceful new year

2005-12-25T07:07:00.000+13:00

Merry Christmas Milad Majid Glædelig Jul Mo'adim Lesimkha. Chena tova
Froehliche Weihnachten Tchestita Koleda; Tchestito Rojdestvo Hristovo
Rehus-Beal-Ledeats Buone Feste Natalizie
Shinnen omedeto. Kurisumasu Omedeto Meri Kirihimete
Neekiriisimas annim oo iyer seefe feyiyeech

a few more photos

2005-12-22T13:23:00.000+13:00

apartment

2005-12-22T07:43:00.000+13:00

in no particular order...

2005-12-19T19:16:00.000+13:00

bananas in pyjamas...are walking down the street

simone and amanda with wellington in the background

my zen spot

'the big guy' in wellington

2005-12-19T18:56:00.000+13:00

my new hair cut and michael j. fox waiting for guests to arrive at our soiree..and waiting..and waiting...

home sweet home, i happen to like the minimal look

wellington cable car

home sweet home

2005-12-19T18:18:00.000+13:00

tree made of 'jandles'

the 'little drummer boy' performing for his saturday afternoon audience in cuba mall

cuba mall

"...you talkin' to me..."

excuse me, where is venetto street?

2005-12-18T17:13:00.000+13:00

an oceanic cave...very little mermaid

looking over marlborough sounds

conquering my fears...crossing a swinging bridge, maximum load= 1 person

ode to beamer, gentleman and his dog

2005-12-18T16:37:00.000+13:00

"some help pleeeeese..." rowing in the marlborough sounds off the south island of

new zealand

the interislander ferry from wellington to piction.

very early and very cold.

looking over queen charlotte sound.

2005-12-18T15:44:00.000+13:00

furneaux lodge in queen charlotte's sounds on my birthday, watching the national championsip match between the north island's auckland team and the south's otago team. i was pulling for otago, they got smothered by auckland...but simone and dined on fine wine, fish, and chips for dinner...fuel for the tramp to follow nest day.

ode to beamer...bronze of dapper man and his doggie in lampton quay in wellington (next to a very lovely shoe store).

view of surf to mountain in the south island...the picture does no justice to reality!

bougquet of wildflowers i picked on the way home from work...that's right, cala lillies, lily of the valley, and poppies growing in the wild. i have no idea how they stand up to the wind.

advent calendar for 2005

2005-12-09T16:03:00.000+13:00

http://www.smile-a-day.com/advent-calendar.shtml

Christmas Down Under

2005-12-08T14:25:00.000+13:00

I'll be home for Christmas.....and not only in my dreams....
I am making a list (so I don't forget anything), packing my sleigh (three suicases), feeding the reindeer (paying a fortune to the airlines), and will be in High Point, North Carolina on the 14th of December...hope to see you!

This is a little blurb I found and wanted to share it with you as I attempt to update my blog with photos. The last bit about the phone calls is so so true!

enjoy!

For the majority of Australians, Christmas Downunder has all the glitter, tinsel and razzmatazz of a Christmas in New York, London Paris or Vancouver. The major difference is one of WEATHER....Christmas Down Under is never White. Snow has rarely fallen if ever on this date, Down Under. We have during past Christmases experienced all the seasonal variations of a Summer Down Under.....electrical storms, floods, hailstorms, cyclones and bushfires. But 80% of the time we are blessed with blue skies and depending on our Australian location, temperatures ranging from 25-38 degrees centigrade. Currently it is Summer Down Under and daily temperatures range from 30-40 degrees centigrade on the mainland. Tamania is always slightly cooler.
Christmas is special to the majority of Australians for it is our Summer Holiday season and students especially are "wrapping" up their school year. That means sitting for end of Semester tests or exams and waiting for their results, as well as getting ready for the Summer Holidays. For the majority of Australian students this means ...SUN....SURF....SHOPPING. For students it means an end to homework and school studies and the beginning of lots of time for family, relatives and "mates". Our neighbours, the "Kiwis" or New Zealanders are actually the first ones to really celebrate the joyous day of Christmas. New Zealand is the first country immediately west of the international date line. So we're sorry most of American friends have to wait an extra day for Christmas.
So how do we REALLY celebrate Christmas? You must remember that Australia, though huge in size, has a population of just over 18 million people. Our country is a harmonious mix of many ethnic groups. Our backgrounds are very varied....our people have connections with England, Scotland, Ireland, Northern Europe, Italy, Greece, Spain, France, Middle East, Vietnam, China, Japan, Thailand as well as North and South America. So you can imagine that each of these national groups brings the colour ,customs and festive rituals of the Christmas celebrated in their respective homelands. As Australians we are able to appreciate culturally diverse Christmas celebrations.
However, up until 30 years ago, our Christmas celebrations were heavily influenced by our original Anglo-Celtic influences. The English style of Christmas served as our model for celebrating Christmas.......right down to the traditional roast turkey and steamed pudding in over 35 degree heat. Today with the huge influx of overseas migrants our Christmas celebrations are heavily influenced by the ethnicity of families involved. Common sense is prevailing today in terms of weather. Traditional dinners have been replaced with family gatherings in back yards, picnics in parks, gardens and on the beach. For many, it is the occasion to be with friends and relatives, to share love and friendship and not to forget, the exchange of gifts in the traditional manner. For many, it is of course a time to enjoy and consume massive quantities of food. A typical Christmas menu could include seafood, glazed ham, cold chicken, duck or turkey, cold deli meats, pasta, salads galore, desserts of all types, fruit salad, pavlovas, ice-cream plus Christmas edibles of all varieties such as mince pies,fruit cake, shortbread, chocolates etc.
There has been a suggestion that "Swag Man" take over Santa's franchise Down Under!!! There is a lot of concern about Santa Claus perhaps suffering heat stroke whilst Down Under. "Swag Man" wears a brown Akubra, a blue singlet and long baggy shorts. He spends all winter under Uluru with his merry dingoes and then at Christmas time, he gets in his huge four-wheel drive and sets off through the red dust to deliver his presents.
For those interested, the first official Christmas Down Under was celebrated on the 25th December,1788 at Sydney Cove by Reverend Johnson. After the service, Governor Arthur Phillips and his officers dined heartily, toasting the King of England and his family. But for the majority of the first white inhabitants...the convicts....there was no change to their regular menu... bread rations only. The only goodwill which seemed to have been displayed was to Michael Dennison. He was a convict who stole a pound of flour from Martha Pugh. He was sentenced to 200 lashes by the whip. But since it was Christmas, only 150 were delivered.
Currently everyone is beginning to get ready for the "silly season". Everyone is busily planning Christmas break-up parties. Children are writing letters to Santa Claus. Decorations are being bought and set up. Shopping centres and malls are experiencing record breaking crowds. In homes, many of the traditional Christmas rituals are being followed. Many children are helping to decorate the family Christmas tree. We have yet to follow the American ritual of getting "real" Christmas trees......though some do use gum tree branches. Children are learning Christmas Carols so that they may be sung at festive occasions such as public "Carols by Candlelight" and school concerts. Christmas stockings are being hung in homes....though fireplaces are in short supply. Cards galore are being written and posted. Everyone awaits.......the anticipation is high!
It must also be mentioned that with all the glitter, tinsel and razzmatazz.......Australians consider Christmas a time for remembering the true meaning of Christmas.........a time for remembering the birth of Jesus and the spiritual meaning of Christmas . For many, Christmas will begin with families attending a mid-night mass. 70% of Australians are either Catholic, Anglican or Lutheran. After the mid-night Mass, a little sleep is attempted. For many, the children in various households, wake up the family at dawn. Gifts are unwrapped and the joy of Christmas begins. For many with relatives and friends overseas, it is a mad scramble to get an early phone call to relatives worldwide.

http://www.the-north-pole.com/around/index.htm

hotdogs and heartburn

2005-10-06T18:43:00.000+13:00

a new zealand hotdog is very different from an american one.
i found this out when i went to the 'town' for lunch the other day...

i wnated a bit of home you know...so i saw hotdog on the menu and ordered.

i sat down and waited for the thing to be ready, i was called to the counter, handed my dog, sat down to find a very large sausage lightly battered and deep fried...and i don't mean like a corndog either.

and to top it off...ketchup was two bucks!

i've been making sure to pack lunch since then!

Finally

2005-10-06T18:16:00.000+13:00

not a great photo, but this is the sub-division. I like it.

the landscape behind the elementary school.

yay!!! Pacific architecture, I love it…sometimes kitschy…but this is the architecture SCAD-enites only see in textbooks. Before you even think it…the helmet is because the scooter was the transportation mode for the day! No ‘T’-Rex tee shirt underneath…making the effort to look normal.

Sim and I at Oriental Bay the mainland, I guess, behind us.

Oyster girl here on the coast along Oriental Bay, I am staying somewhere up the hill behind me. Thank goodness I opted to make the coat fit in the suitcase.

17 september 2005

2005-10-03T16:31:00.000+13:00

Okay, I didn’t get this posted when I thought I would, so here’s the update. First, apology to my family, I was calling, going by the time on my computer…them I realized I was calling at 4 30 AM..so I stopped the call. The pictures above are from my favorite day in swellington yet. The weather was fantastic! Cool and windy, but given the past two days….it was great. So, we did some site seeing on the scooter, fun, had brunch, a cheeseburger….open-faced, and I learned that chili refers to something made from chilis…no ketchup, meat and beans. But good.

Today, Monday, I continued the search for work in offices, seems there might be some contract work…which I am growing accustomed to. In the morning I went on a field trip with Sim’s class to a town called Seatoun, precious town. This is where a lot of Hollywood types are relocating their families (king kong, lord of the rings, etc…being filmed here). There is an incredible development going up, this is a subdivision I don’t mind! These perfect little homes by the sea (looking towards a beautiful mountain across the bay) starting at $860,000.00 NZD (roughly half million USD I guess). Then to the actual field trip, Seatoun Elementary School, it was great, actually built successfully and functionally with praise from the community were things professors always told me…’that’s not right, you can’t do that’!!! It was a darling school built on a former military base, and the kids really sweet, really encouraged to learn, no padded time-out rooms here. It was really similar to The States, t-tiney chairs in the media center, reading well, crappy diagrams on the windows, and foursquare on the ‘black top’.

Then, I was off for more interviews and phone calls. But on the way to retrieve my agenda on top of ‘Mount Everest’ (which by the way, the other day when I arrived at the top, I discovered I had a bloody nose)…I was just so curious, so I thought I would do some cultural research at KFC…Kiwi For Chicken, much to my dismay NZ KFC does not search biscuits or cole slaw…sigh. Then, harangled (I just made up this word) by many other sales people…I suppose because it was a very slow, very cold, very damp Monday afternoon. Needless to say, I am very perfumed, moisturized, my eyes are done up like Tammy Faye Baker, and yes, I even managed to get Dermalogica samples.

So, this is where I am now, talk to you soon…m

friday, 23 september

2005-09-15T13:43:00.000+12:00

first to respond to a couple questions...

after 8 tries (and half the pack of wool), i got my lace pattern going on the scarf...i cannot keep up the concentration for the entire scarf, so 4 rows of a lovely border...then knit. the should be interesting.

about sammy, i love him, i miss him, and hiro too always wished he could become a real boy...i should've named him pinocchio...trying to become human!!! i sense over our telepathic wave...he's going for a young john travolta thing.

as to pizza, i think i actually saw a dominios thingy on top of a delivery car, but certainly not like the states, more crepes places here than pizza.

patesserie (sp) is like a bakery/confectionary/coffee shop....and mmmmm mmmm good!

the scooter...definitely a slegggggghammer!
oh, i saw a ND-yessssssss tee shirt. and some cute (well, bratty)school girls in their uniforms rattling off ND one-liners!

now,
okay, after a busy week...i am at ye olde internet cafe, adn forgot my dang flash stick!
with the pictures, etc...but i promise this weekend. hoping to go to the coast if the weather holds on sunday...so, will catch up then.

this week, went to a fancy gym with sim's 'concession'...was interesting, in many ways NZ really seems a utopia, and this gym experience supported this theory. (however, i was really sore the next day after 'body ballance' a combo of tai chi, yoga, and pilates)

then, i have met some peeps! yay, i'm meeting for coffee! in two hours!...at least it's someone to talk to.
these people i've met...are like me...here wondering the streets having followed their 'partners' here. and we will get together and chat on all the same things....it was the perfect comic relief talking to the american...who has been here 4 weeks....how much reading, yoga, shopping can you do before you lose it...yeah, so yesterday, i roamed the streets again, visited the mac counter (34 bucks for eye shadow here) and arrived at home pretty as a peacock! and can tell you EVERYTHING about the new fall line.......(thank goodness i am meeting for coffee today)

this morning, i got a firmed up offer to work...it's tough, i'm going to be working with engineers, and the job requires some travel to that's cool, and i am possibly going to do some post occupancy work at the american embassy building..cool. (oh yeah, i am supposed to register there....so little time)

and finally, swing lessons were really fun, glad we are doing it. we are going to watch the pros this evening (unless the rain comes and i wimp out) and tonight, i will try to prepare prawns...the herculinian shrimps!

take care!
later,
m

Thursday 15 of September

2005-09-15T13:15:00.000+12:00

Feeling a bit out of place at the moment...
the weather turned...cloudy and damp.

I miss the independence of having my own social set, and I miss you all and the dogs!!!
I keep thinking I need to take them out...

about the fabulous mohair...i suck at knitting anything other than the straight knit and purl, but I continue the scarf, well, the fancy pattern became embellishment just on the ends. and back to knit and purl...it's mindless.

a few new zealand-isms:

"....and bob's your uncle!"- meaning and there you have it.

the accent is odd and i'm warming up to it.

one doesn't have a boyfriend or girlfriend here...you have a 'partner'...very PC and efficient for all lifestyles I suppose.

architecture firms here ROCK!

the basil is not good to me...it seems to taste more like cilantro.

LindyHop Swing lessons were fun...hopefully we will continue...but they have it all wrong when they think they are familiar with the southern Shag...(...carolina girls....best in the world....)

everything is 'for sure'....

it's very stylish and trendy here, seems a VERY young city, food is good, really good.

oh, and i guess maybe we are a little prudish in the south...some things shock me as they are referred to so openly...such as...i popped into a patesserie yesterday for a cookie....and right next to the gingerbread men, they had, well, i cannot say.

alright, enough for now...
oh, yeah, um...here we go again...
seymore is making a documentary....so imagine this:
our weekend plan is for me, yes me, to pilot the scooter while seymore videographs Wellington's architecture....

...and Bob's your uncle!
m

K-New Zealand

2005-09-14T13:27:00.000+12:00

It's day three, and all is well,

I cannot really check email daily, and have to go at this point to 'internet cafes', so Conceptual Oyster seems the best plan to date. Thanks everyone for actually looking at it and replying...

not sure yet how to best post pictures...well, haven't taken any anyhow...but seen lots of things to take them of...such as the local Bed, Bath and Beyond, the orange juice with the same label as minute maid...but called Kerr, and the hi-tec KFC, etc...

Here are the highlights...well, this isn't exactly a third world country...and i'm glad to have teh comforts of home...but next time, i'll just buy lotion here...it's heavy to travel with and spilled on my coat!
the apartment is much 'homier' now that i switched somethings about...it's very tiney though, also very sunny, which is good. can't wait to post a picture of it...it's f-ugly form the outside.

oh, eureeka, the mayonaise!
well, there is a brand in the same packaging as Dukes...but again, of another name. But none of this matters anymore because:
I doscovered oilio....different varietes! Yessssssss! It's mayo with a kick...great on everything, last night i dressed a salad of green beans and tomato with it! yum yum....and also had fresh grouper...you can't believe teh exotic items in the grocery....that we only read about in Martha Stewart Living! Actuallly fun to go grocery shopping, then of course, you have to lug it up 'Mt. Everest', I don't want to spend money on a taxi, and i need the exercise!

Next, I found the equivilant to the Dollar Tree...The Two Dollar Store...very handy...

Now, many of you will be jealous here:
I found the mother load...of yarn that is...I went there again today, and started a new scarf...with beautiful mohair...that was only the equiv. of about three bucks a skein USD. and the needles they have...oh boy.
and, i am actually trying a new pattern on this on...of course, it took all three employees of Knit World to get me through six rows...and then sugested i pay, take it home and see what I could do overnight.

Now I am making the job contacts, keep your fingers crossed.

Last night I really started to miss Sam and Maya, so thanks for the updates...and thanks for loving them!!
Seriously, Thanks!

I need to go eat now, and rest...
hopefully going to a dance lesson tonight!

p.s.
the weather is beginning to wain...good thing for the sweaters!

love to you all.
m

Dateline S-Wellington

2005-09-12T10:35:00.000+12:00

estimated time in Wellington to date:
approx. 47 minutes

long haul flight:
a very long 12 hours since the nasty british woman beside me spilled an entire bottle on water on my seat (thus a moist flight), kept taking my arm rest controls and my pillow

euro-trash spottings:
2

weather in Wellington:
agreeably sunny and cool in the shade

residence:
much potential, but as of the moment, messy and obviously a bachelor's pad

hair:
oily

new luggage:
heavy, one puncture, one missing handle, and a laseration

general outlook:
sunny, Wellington is much better the second time around and with the sun shining. A few fleeting thoughts of: okay, i'm here, why the heck am I here, and what do I do now? But should be a good experience.

Here I Go...

2005-09-10T16:27:00.000+12:00

okay,
i'm off...next stop Swellington!

Passenger Liability

2005-09-09T15:23:00.000+12:00

one more day until departure...

packing has taken a turn for the better,
I finally have the suitcase closed and latched.

i've stock piled toiletries and reading material...
i've devoured much of the reading already.

can i justify a trip to barnes and noble for another fix?

Bachelor Gourmet: Weiners and Rice

2005-09-09T03:06:00.000+12:00

ingredients:

white rice
1 package hotdog weiners
ketchup
brown sugar

method:

cook rice as instructed

cut weiners in bite sized pieces and sautee in pan,
add ketchup,
a bit of brown sugar
and cook until thick sweet sauce is formed.

serve over rice

Procrastination

2005-09-08T04:47:00.000+12:00

Three days and counting...
so much to be done, som many people to see...but mostly, i just wnat to snuggle the pups...and they are so snuggly.
i'm trying to organize my packing efforts...but so far, i've just created a mess of my mother's home. she hasn't said anything yet...but i wonder how many times she has rolled her eyes when she cannot park in her garage and, well, i'll try to post a picture of 'my room'. maybe i will get her licquered up and i will prepare dinner tonight...risotto stuffed tomatoes i think and some fruit compote. good to be cooking again.

i wrote a poem once about oysters, i loved it, everyone thought it was about sex, it was simply about an oyster in the ocean....i wish i could remember it.

the weather is fantastic here! i love september and october most of all.

i really am excited to leave now...a little nervous my luggage is too heavy and that seymour and i will just observe one another like an aquarium situation...but i'm motivated, anxious, and becoming bored.

i'm really irritated that my former institute of learning, SCAD...purchases smart boards on a daily basis....but cannot manage to actually bind our thesis books...so i am to present to the family and friends who supported me a stack of paper bound with a dollar store bull clip...so official.

so i bought a set of meauring cups so i could follow my 'american' recipes, but somehow, i'm to cheap to fork over the one dollar for measuring spoons...

A.I.B.

2005-09-07T12:30:00.000+12:00

The Adventures of Allied International Babes:

*names may have been changed to protect the innocent
*facts may have been changed because it makes the story less boring

Part I: I'll keep it brief

Much like the Power Puff Girls, Charlie's Angels, and the girls from 'The Facts of Life'...there is a society of young, intelligent, and irresistible women in the world. Roswell has the UFOs, Salt Lake City has the polygamists, and believe it or not...Savannah has the elite group of Allied International Babes.

One does not aspire, study, or plan to become an A.I.B...the State Department of Motor Vehicles handles this matter. You will know you've been appointed to membership of this group upon registering your personal vehicle and receiving the appropriate plates. At this point, you may still not be aware of your new societal status.

A seemingly innocent friend, we will call E, declared one day, after tailing my vehicle, that I too was an A.I.B....explaining the rest would follow.

As a group, we blend inconspicuously to your world. We knit with you, we are in your pilates class, we even work and study with you. We take out role very seriously and must have a plane ticket, passport, and affidavits ready at all times for any situation that may arise.

Part II: even more brief...

This is what they do...they began by socializing you with other A.I.B.s, friends of friends of friends. Then you realize your social circle are merely clones of one another representing the world...you know who you are out there.

Next you are having two hour long conversations at coffee shops that you used to order "to go please..." Next, you are preparing the lasagna you have been promised all this time...then the trans continental flights, the language lessons...Finally, you too are putting your furniture, plates, the basics into storage and reducing our entire daily routine and shoe collection to two checked bags and a carry-on. You are officially a full-fledged A.I.B. and you have been called to duty. This is your job and you perform proudly it gladly with enthusiasm. You are the few, the irresistible...the Allied International Babes.

P.O.D.S.

2005-09-06T10:42:00.000+12:00

Hey, all of you out there.....
Why didn't you tell me about PODS before the UHaul and storage fiasco...

For those of you who may be moving soon, check this out :

http://www.pods.com/

A.I.B.

2005-08-30T02:24:00.000+12:00

coming soon:
the adventures of Allied International Babes
or Globalization and the Merging of Western Civilizations.

Noodles Aren't Just for Pasta

2005-08-15T05:09:00.000+12:00

I'm not one of these aristocratic snobs that turns their noses up towards the "salt of the earth". In fact, I embrace folk culture, knowing that often these people are far more in tune with their environs than we pop culturists. These folks are at the root of human existence, they are the ones who have made our educated lives possible.

However, I recently watched a documentary entitled Okie Noodling. (it aired on PBS promptly after an ad for TIAA Cref -supporting those working in cultural fields and just before the History of Ketchup) These people are idiots! (I know this is in stark contrast to my last post...but if you, too, have seen this program you understand) These people are risking their lives to catch cat fish with their bare hands by wading around in swamps, flooded quarries, and collapsed highway infrastructure.

I learned this term 'noodling' as I was watching the local new broadcast here in sunny Savannah and they announced a law had been passed making noodling legal in the state of Georgia. Not knowing what noodling was...I set out to 'research' as many of you reading this know I am prone. The more I learned, the more I wish I did not know. This sport, I find disturbing.

And as for Georgia, with so many homicides, crimes against humanity, and drug trafficking...Could resources be better spent cracking down on real crime and not exploiting ignorance and catfish?

http://www.okienoodling.com/

Dali Lama

2005-08-10T19:00:00.000+12:00

Too often we spend our time and energy judging others for their faults or for what they are not giving us. We do this without ever looking at ourselves, our own faults, or what others may be needing from us. We call it spoiled, selfish, or simply conceited.

My guess however, is that even the best of us, our personal friends whom we admire, those leaders of faith, and our public leaders...haven't they once put self indulgent thoughts at the forefront of their giving minds and bodies?

We walk through this world keenly focused on our own pain and disappointments without ever considering those burdens that we have placed on others.