Remember our discussion about women taking their husband’s surnames? In the US, a couple just successfully sued the state of California on the basis that it should be just as easy for a man to take his wife’s surname upon marriage as it is for her to take his. And they won! Nice one.
Author: Kris
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Goth Knitting
The Knitting Fame-Whore strikes again!
This past Friday I went to Newtown after work to join Bex and the goth knitters for a stitch and bitch. We were waiting for a journalist from JJJ Magazine to show up to photograph and interview us. He turned up over an hour late, by which time all the real goths had gone home (leaving only me and a couple other not-so-goth Ravelers). He took a ton of photos, so you may see yours truly in the magazine next month wielding a pair of needles menacingly. Anyway, before all the real goths left, Fin took a couple photos of us all. Yes, I realize that the Argyle Kitty Kat Cardigan hardly qualifies as goth… -
Parental Leave Proposal
Wow. I know I’m supposed to be annoyed at the additional tax, but I can’t help but think that this new federal parental leave proposal is a Good Thing. Six months paid maternity leave at full salary? Sweet. And four weeks paternity leave? Hey, it’s more than you get in America. (Right, Sis?) Actually, I wonder if it would be possible to switch it, like if the father intended to stay home and the mother go back to work. Could he have six months leave? (She ponders thoughtfully…)
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SBS Sneaks!
Holy crap! I don’t feel so bad about not getting that job at SBS anymore…
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Foosball
World’s Longest Foosball Table. The guys at work are going to love this… (Thanks Bex!)
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RunningBlog: Good and Bad News
The good – actually GREAT – news is that I know I can run a half-marathon. I know this because I successfully ran 18.4km yesterday afternoon! (That’s nearly 11.5 miles.) And at the end, I honestly felt like I could’ve easily gone all the way to 21km, were it not for my sore back. I ran the distance pretty slowly (you’ll see why in a minute), taking frequent walk breaks and not pushing too hard. Still, I wasn’t far off the pace I need to finish in 2:30. I was well-hydrated and carried a water bottle with me, which I sipped on frequently. I also had my first trial of using an energy supplement. At the 6km mark, I had half a chocolate PowerBar gel and then finished it off at the 12km mark. It tasted like medicated chocolate toothpaste. The biggest effect it seemed to have was mental. At the end of the run, I just felt a lot more clear-headed than I had at the same point last week. I never realized how fuzzy and muddled my brain gets after 90 minutes of running. This time I just felt way more energetic and aware. With regards to my body, I didn’t notice any immediate jolt or anything, but I definitely had more energy in the tank at the end of this run. Like I said, I was honestly toying with going the whole distance. I was still tired and sore, but I didn’t feel like I was falling apart. (I’m also happy to report that the gel didn’t give me any stomach problems, as some people seem to have. I did get a bad stitch at the 7km mark, which I attributed to gulping down too much water to help digest the gel.) So all in all, this was a massive confidence boost before the race in two weeks.
And now the bad news. I’ve caught a cold. I’d been coughing a bit at night last week, but I assumed it was just irritation from the endoscopy. Sunday morning I woke up with the trifecta of headache, sore throat, and stuffy nose. Great. I spent the whole day sucking down water and trying to decide whether I should go for the run or not. I knew that the timing wasn’t that bad, because I’ve got two weeks to shake this thing before the actual race. But this was pretty much my last chance for a really long run, and I felt like I really needed that to mentally prepare. So would running make it worse? Since all my symptoms were “above the neck” (classic runner’s justification), I decided to go for it. So I dosed up on paracetamol and headed out. I took it easy on the run but I was happy to find that I still felt pretty good. My stomach got a little acidic but it was manageable. I even braved a few minutes in an ice bath when I got home to help out my legs. I feel pretty awful today, but I’m still glad I did it. Now I just have to concentrate on getting well as soon as possible. Anybody got any good home remedies for a cold?
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Twisted Flower Socks
Twisted Flower Socks
These socks nearly killed me. After cruising along all summer averaging better than one pair of socks per month, these suckers took me more than two months to finally finish. The pattern is by Cookie A. (designer of the ubiquitous Monkey Socks and instigator of the hated “socks and high heels” photo fad), and the yarn is the Knittery’s Merino Cashmere Sock in the special breast cancer pink colourway. I started off using two 2.75mm circular needles to knit both legs at the same time. I cheerfully dived into the first chart (of three!) and within a fortnight had them up to the heels. Then I switched to chart #2 and polished off the heel flaps. Suddenly… I noticed that they didn’t seem very stretchy. I tried them on and the damn things wouldn’t fit over my ankles! So I frogged them back completely all the way to the start. Eventually i started over on 3.25mm needles, which seemed to work a lot better. I think a big part of that is just that this lace-and-cable pattern has very little stretch. (I kinda wish I’d put more ribbing at the top, because I fear they may sag a little.) One reason for my slow speed was the intricacy of this pattern, and the fact that every single row was different from the last. I found it impossible to memorize, especially as the patterns and charts shift every so often. Another impediment was the yarn itself. I have to say, I wasn’t very impressed. Oh it was definitely soft, but it was also very, very splitty. The spin was such that it actually UNTWISTED as you knitted it (and no, it didn’t matter which end of the skein you used). So I’m not sure how robust they’re going to be in the long run. I’m also a little annoyed with how the color striped and pooled (considering how pretty it was in the hank). It competes with the pattern a lot, don’t you think? They’re definitely soft and cozy though, and judging by my own foot, they’re going to be a perfect fit. Hopefully Mom won’t receive them too long after Mother’s Day… (More details on Ravelry.) -
Political Slacktivism
Political Slacktivism Well, it’s a quarter to 11 and I’m still sitting here in my pajamas… which means I don’t have enough time to get to the Obama photo thingy. *sigh* Although, really, I think I could do more net good for his campaign simply by trying to get my Grandpa to stop forwarding emails bagging him out…
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Biggest Loser Finale
I fast-forwarded through most of last night’s Biggest Loser finale, but I’m really happy that Sam won. He, Alison, and Kerstin did a great job. For me, though, my favourite transformation was definitely Sheridan. Great dress, great hair, great makeup; she looked like a million bucks. I was really pulling for her to win the eliminated contestants’ prize, but Sean had that one in the bag. Did anyone notice of AJ asked Sheridan or Michael about their romance? If she did, I certainly missed it.
