ARDIRI

What Dreams have You Deferred?

I've been thinking a lot about the poem, "A Dream Deferred" by Langston Hughes that I posted a couple of days ago.  Thinking about what dreams I've deferred for whatever reasons: time, money, almost always being in college as an adult (and thus essentially having little to no money to spare), fear of traveling alone even though it is something I have always wanted to do, owning cats (it can be tough to find someone to watch your fur babies for very long), having a significant other, etc.; and I've come to the conclusion that THE BIGGEST DREAM I'VE DEFERRED HAS TO DO WITH TRAVELING.

From childhood, I always imagined myself into the future as a traveler; that I'd go see the world:

• Central America--Especially Costa Rica--La Pura Vida--I would love to return there again and cry yet again when it is time for me to leave as this is a country that you never, ever want to leave.  Oh, and I can speak Spanish--Bonus!

• Burma (Myanmar)--which I've been especially enamored with my entire life after seeing pictures of it as a third-grader in The National Geographic

• Italy--to practice my budding Italian--specifically Sienna, Tuscany, Roma, Ischia, Lake Maggiore and Lake Como, and so much more.

• Spain--to see Gaudi's buildings and to practice the only language I find myself able to speak cohesively besides English.

• Peru--to visit Machu Pichu, Lake Titicaca, the Nazca Lines, and so much more (and to yet again practice my Spanish even more!)

• Patagonia--for wild, adventurous, potentially dangerous backpacking.

• Thailand or Bali--for a bit of luxuriousness beach-lazing and cultural experience.

• Iceland--just because it is the home of Bjork. OK, just kidding, it is more than that: the hot springs, the aurora borealis, the volcanoes, and so much more.

• France--But only now that I've a coworker who will be moving back to Paris next year.  Paris is not a city I want to navigate alone as an "obnoxious" American whom butchers the language of  France every time I open my mouth.

• Morrocco--Just because I am an "Occidental" by by birth and would to love to explore the "Other" (This is so an inside, super-sarcastic  joke based on multiple studies of  Edward Said's book Orientalism.)

• Japan!--Let me go and be absolutely consumer-blotto and have it only abluted by frequent trips to Buddhist monasteries.

• Alaska--only during the Auroro Borealis and with a definite trip somehow, someway (without being eating by Grizzly Bears) to see Mount McKinley.

• Somewhere in the continent of Africa--perhaps South Africa as they seem to make the best wines for their continent (but I could be misinformed).

• The Middle East--Even if it means I've got to wear a hajib or, gods forbid, a burqa. 

So, what is/are your dreams deferred?  Want to win some handsewn goodies--specifically a handmade Aranzi Aronzo's portable tissue cover (scroll down just a bit too see what I am talking about!) just in time for the spring allergy season!   Leave me a comment about your dream deferred and--if it's not too personal or too painful to share--why your dream was deferred. (ETA: Comments close for contest by Saturday, 11:59 pm, May 24th)

Destash Contest #4 Winner...

The winner for Destash Contest #4 is Courtney of the blog So Full of Knit!

FREE! (AKA Destash Contest #4)

This week's Destash Contest's Prize is 3 Skeins of Elann's Super Kydd (Color 2107, 70% Mohair and 30% Nylon, 259 yards per skein) in an icy, winter  gray (with a itsy-bitsy hint of sun-tainted ice blue).  I've come to a full cognizance that I can't knit with lace weight mohair even if it means saving my life, so instead it shall become yours (if you'd like!)

To enter this contest, leave me a comment about your favorite fiction book or autobiography.*  Again--same rules apply as before--mention the contest on your blog and if someone else mentions that they came to my blog via your mentioning it, BAMM!, another entry for you.**  Deadline is Sunday, January 27, by midnight!

P.S.  And if you--the winner--are a textile-loving type of person, I'll likely throw in some fabric with the package--just some different stuff/pieces (probably good for quilting, not yards and yards!)

*Why this specific question?  Because I've started a Meetup Group called The San Francisco Book and Brunch Club and am looking to see what others like to read.

**I will not be able to respond to every entry, but I certainly will read all of the responses!

City Snark

Living in the Haight (and specifically on Haight Street near Ashbury--ya know, the summer of love & drugs area),  I am asked on a daily basis for money, food, clothing, a smile, etc.  I am also told to "F*ck Off!" (literally) on signs that also ask me for spare change.  Anyhoo, long story short, I love the following urban snarkification tools: 

(Image credit: Glarkware.com)
Urban Asshole Notification Cards come with a  super-easy and handy checklist for things such as:

• "Talking really loudly on cell phone while riding public transportation"
• "Littering"
• "Bringing child to R-rated film"
• "Not washing hands after using washroom" (or using alcohol-based hand sanitizer!)
• "Opening car door without looking and endangering cyclists"
• "Not dealing with car alarm"

Counter-Hippie Stop Sign Stickers
My favorite stickers are those that instruct one to stop "defacing stop signs" and to stop "with all the patchouli".

(Image Credit: Glarkware.com)

And for fans of the brilliant HBO series, The Wire, there is the three button (or magnet) multisyllabic "she-eeeeeeee-it":

(Image credit: Glarkware.com)

And in answer to your questions:
1) No, I would not hand out the Urban Asshole Cards--way too passive-aggressive for me!
2) No, I am not being sponsored by Glarkware; I just happen to love these products and wanted to share.
3) And yes, finally yes, if you are a knitter, I shall run a destashing contest this weekend!

Destash Contest #3 Winner...

The winner for Destash Contest #3 is Angela of Random Thoughts on Everyday Boredom!

FREE! (AKA Destash Contest #3)

This week's Destash Contest's Prizes are 2 Skeins of Lang Viva Yarn in a milk-chocolate brown color (knit just a bit to swatch) and a hardly-used needle holder that I made:

To enter this contest, leave me a comment about a time when you lost your "Knitting Mojo" (or the urge/desire to knit) and why you think it happened.*  Again--same rules apply as before--mention the contest on your blog and if someone else mentions that they came to my blog via your mentioning it, BAMM!, another entry for you.**  Deadline is Monday, October 29, by midnight!

*Why this specific question?  Because I seem to have lost the desire to knit; most likely due to working all the time, teaching full-time for the first time, going to school to finish up my masters degree, and living in San Francisco at the very same time (which means I am too busy having fun in the city to knit!!!)!

The Winner of Destash Contest #2 and a Small Buffet of Entertainment

The winner of Destash Contest #2 is:
Raven of Trampled by Geese!  (~Raven, I'll need you to email me your address!~)

Film
If you can handle gore and love a bit of tongue-in-cheek humor as well as a tightly-crafted movie*, get yourself to the theater to see Eastern Promises.  It is well-worth the $10.50 ticket price.

*This movie is exceptionally well-done overall, but loses its ooomph in its conclusion.  I honestly think that this movie would have been better as a serialized show on HBO, Showtime, or the like.*

Food
If you live in the Bay Area, or happen to find yourself in San Francisco, make time and your way to ZaZie in the Cole Valley Neighborhood of San Francisco. 

The Weekend Brunch is d-i-v-i-n-e!  John had the French Toast Tahiti (stuffed with caramelized bananas and walnuts) and the Egg Dish which had the most amazing home potatoes with roasted garlic cloves.  I had the Gingerbread Pancakes with roasted Bosc pear and lemon curd.

An important thing to know about this place is the breakfast portions are pretty big--a pancake and one over-easy egg was way more than enough for me!

 

A Tardy Destash Contest #2 & a (Very!) Belated Post on My Dishrag Tag Package

This week's Destash Contest's Prizes are 1 Skein of Manos Cotton Stria in a gorgeous turquoise and a hardly-used DPN needle holder that I made (I store my DPNs in a Mason jar):

To enter this contest, leave me a comment about a pattern that you have knit more than once and the reason as to why you have knit it multiple times.*  Again--same rules apply as before--mention the contest on your blog and if someone else mentions that they came to my blog via your mentioning it, BAMM!, another entry for you.**  Deadline is Friday, September 14, by midnight!

*Why this specific question?  Because my brain is too fried for complicated knitting this week (due to work and school) and I have returned to a favorite, comforting, mostly-brainless knit: the multi-directional Noro scarf.

**I will not be able to respond to every entry, but I certainly will read all of the responses!

As for the Dishrag Tag Package, look at the lovely items sent to me by Gaylen of G Marie Sews:

Isn't that dishrag--ahem, dishcloth is more like it!--cute!  I have been quite hesitant to actually use it because it is so nice! 

I also l-o-v-e the stitch markers she made for me:

Thanks so much, Gaylen of G Marie Sews!

And the Winner is...

• The winner of last week's destash is Alicia of the blog, If Pony's could knit.

• Tune in next Saturday, September 8th, for the next destashing contest!!!

• And in response to the questions about the new job:

I am teaching English at a private elementary school where the students take all their other classes--literature, math, science, computers, social studies, etc.--in a  foreign language.  I am going to be really mum about this on the blog for a good amount of time as I want to get my feet wet first before I start talking too much about work. 

It is also likely that I'll not be posting too much over the next couple or so weeks as I am up to my chin in work and stress.  This is my first time teaching at an elementary school that is not substitute-teaching and this is also my first time teaching "large-ish" groups of students (that is 17-19 kids, rather than 4-8 kids!).

• Knitting just isn't happening at this point in my life.  I was hired directly from my interview last Tuesday morning and went straight into full days prepping for classes at the school and attending meetings.  (School starts after Labor Day.)  I think I literally got one round done on a sock this week--ugh! 

The Puff-Sleeved Feminine Cardigan is essentially done--I just need to find buttons that I like that don't cost as much as the yarn for the sweater itself and sew them on.  Oh, and this sweater certainly needs blocking.  I am ending up happy with the short-sleeve version and I think it will be a great sweater for working as a teacher--yay!

• Oh!  And if life isn't crazy enough, I am taking a class for myself on Cross-Cultural Gender and Sex Studies (sort of related to my thesis topic for my MA in English Literature).  The professor is Hector Carillo (author of The Night is Young: Sexuality in Mexico in the Time of AIDs) and it is basically an anthropology/human-sexuality studies class.  Professor Carillo is fabulous, brilliant, engaging, and quite excellent at running a large lecture (130 students) class.  Luckily the class is not too stressful as it is an undergrad/general education level class and only meets once a week for a little less than three hours.  I am hoping to hide in back and knit during the lecture (as I think better when I knit!).

Wanna Win Some Yarn?

I'm in the process of destashing and thought it would be nice (and fun!) to run a contest and pass my yarn on to a lucky reader.  This week's destash is KnitPicks Alpaca Cloud in the colorway Autumn (100% Baby Alpaca, 440 Yards, Lace Weight):

I'll also be including some handmade stitch markers and likely look through my stash and throw in some more yarn as well!

Interested?  Want some free yarn and free stitch markers--shipped to you on my dollar?  Leave a comment in reply to this post telling me who taught you to knit and the age (or approximate age if need be) at which you learned.  If you post about it on your blog and someone reads about this contest on your blog and notes that in their comment here, I'll add another entry for you!  Then on Friday, August 31, I'll put all the names into a metaphorical hat (i.e. the random number generator) and choose a winner.

So tell me:  Who taught you to knit?  How old were you?