NaNoWriMo!

In a moment of insanity, I have joined a community of similarly crazy writers who will each write a 50,000 page novel during NaNoWriMo. It's a national event to get writers to go ahead and write a novel, rather than equivocating and saying it will happen eventually.

Now, I hardly expect to create a Pulitzer-worthy novel--in fact, I would be happy if I simply finish with a novel in hand! But I do love the ambitious quality of the movement, and so I have joined it.

Ravelry, Love, Socks, and Chai Tea

[for non-knitters, there is non-knitting-related content further down!]

Having explored Ravelry's functionality further since my initial post, I can safely say that it is an amazing resource and community. It's a brilliant idea and so useful when creating something new. I wanted to knit Monkey [a Knitty pattern] but the pattern is written for a top-down sock. I prefer to knit socks toe-up but wasn't sure how the stitch pattern would appear upside-down. A quick search on Ravelry for completed Monkey socks revealed multiple pairs of sucessfully knitted toe-up socks with a charming upside-pattern. Rather than trawling Google results to find a specific modification on the pattern, I could access a veritable cornucopia of finished socks with notes on the yarns chosen and the changes made. Fantastic!

Ravelry's photo sharing settings require Flickr, so I have obtained an account [hence the sidebar addition]. I've posted photos of my new Victorian wristlets, one completed monkey sock, and some sundry items.

Yesterday was a delightful day as I drank chai tea and read a new cookbook, Veganomincon. It's funny, clever, and full of new recipes to try. It has even convinced me that I ought to expand my spice rack beyond the boring cinnamon, pepper, and ground ginger that I currently own. I'm put off by the cost of spices, but when they are available in bulk in a nearby store, I really have no excuse to stock up on at least some small amounts...

Besides several books, my latest reading material has been my dear friend Lauren's blog, Writings in Cursive. How could I not love the blog of a history major studying abroad in Scotland? Her writing is excellent and she takes wonderful photos, so everyone should go visit and enjoy her blog.

Ravelry = True Love

This week is crazy thus far, but I have to share my joy because I am finally on Ravelry! I got on the waiting list back in June or July and today, I received my invite at last. I hope to get a nice link in the sidebar menu eventually, but for now, my username is sparrowlight if anyone is on there. : )

Second City

Last night the legendary and incredible comedy troupe Second City graced our campus with their presence.

Beyond sketches, songs, and strange skits, a good portion of the show was improv--a ridiculous situation if there ever was one. How people can stand on stage and whip out lines after lines of dialogue or hysterical actions without knowing beforehand what they will have to do is beyond me. Certainly, they can practice with weird prompts during the rehearsal, but it's impossible to predict precisely what a group of [crazy] college students yell out.

What made the show particularly brilliant was that the troupe clearly either researched Davidson first or talked to students beforehand. They referenced Davidson's culture and events, which made the show even funnier. Also, for the last act, they brought Oops! on stage--Davidson's own improv troupe, who held their own with the professional group.

It was strange to have that event be on a Wednesday night, when it felt more like a Friday night type of event, but it was a great interlude to the week nevertheless.

Humanism, Carpe Diem, and Love for C.S. Lewis

Today was the first day of classes after the summer break; it's excellent to re-enter the world of academia. Both my French class (on contemporary France--current events and the like) and Humanities should be great.
The title of this post concerns this morning's lecture in Humanities, given by Dr. Randy Ingram of the English Department, who gave an introduction to the Renaissance and humanist thought before we began our first reading. He delivered a lecture full of enthusiasm, passion, and genuine enjoyment of the topics (or so it seemed). It is not easy to attain and hold the attention of eighty-odd college students whilst discussing Renaissance thinkers' fascination with antiquity or humanist motivations for study or other historical topics, unless the group of students are all personally interested in those areas of study. Nevertheless, Dr. Ingram managed to not only instruct the class, but he was also entertaining, making references to Chaucer's "The Miller's Tale" and The Colbert Report. I had a personal moment of glee when he quoted C. S. Lewis, but I enjoyed the entire lecture.

Clutter, Messes, and Stuff

I keep stuff. I have notes from French classes in high school, articles from theonering.net that I printed years ago, and enough fabric to clothe an army. My Mac isn't much better--so I have three Word documents for one essay, PDF articles from the Stone Age, and files for programs that I've uninstalled.

Although I can argue that the piles on the floor are "organized," the motto my mother taught me for years comes to mind as I survey the chaos. "A Place for Everything...and Everything in its Place" reverberates in my mind. A little creative clutter is good for some projects, but mentally it's difficult to function in an extremely messy space.

All this points to one thing--a determination to get tidy and stay tidy. It's sort of appalling how much stuff I have accumulated over the years. I read these "get organized" blogs--like Declutter It! and unclutterer, but the fact remains that reading blogs posts does NOT clean my room. It can give me ideas on how to be organized, but will not do my work for me. At the end of the day, I have to keep things tidy...not my computer.

I'll report on my progress (hopefully not lack therof) on the Great Get Organized Project. I'm working on implementing the principles of David Allen's Getting Things Done, so that should help as well.

My Apologies, Paired with news

First of all, I am appalled at myself that I have not posted in so long. I certainly planon improving my writing schedule to prevent this sort of extreme lapse in future.

That said, here are a few updates--

1. Hunter's blanket is 100% finished! I will be giving it to him next weekend (not the one in two days, the one after that) and plan on having a full photo shoot.
2. Sockapalooza 4 is partially wrapped up. I sent Michaela her socks and to my delight, they fit her well and she likes them. What a great ending! I'm still waiting on the socks from my pal, who did send me an entertaining email.
3. I'm soon to start another Harry Potter scarf. This will be my four (!) HP scarf, in Gryffindor colours for my little sister.
4. The manly socks for my younger brother are finished too--they fit him well. I hope to sneak in a photo session soon.


More to come soon...



[edited 13.03.08 to add photo of sock-in-progress. Sorry for the strangulation effect with the yarn twisted like it is -- the socks are in good health, I promise.]