the trouble with timing and travel

And, no, it's not the same problem.  Really, they each have several.  Anyway.  That really is a terrible entry title.  And a poor Star Trek reference to boot.  I should come up with something better.  Damn my brain.

My watch looks even awesome-er thanks to Photo Booth's comic book effect.

What was this post supposed to be about?  Oh right, watches.  So.  My lovely metal digital Swatch lost its faceplate a couple months ago.  Ever since I've lived in fear of accidently forgetting to take it off before stepping into the shower.  I love this watch.  It's silver.  It's thin.  It's digital.  I refuse to read normal clock faces.  There's no need for that anymore.  Numbers, people, numbers.  My watch still looks great (possibly even better than when it had a faceplate as it's no longer scratched and you can see some of its guts), but it gets slow after a couple weeks and I just know I'm going to drown it someday soon.

Then, a miracle happened.  Or so I thought.  I was walking around Times Square on my way to dinner with a friend a couple weeks ago and I pass the Swatch store.  They should be able to fix Swatches, don't yo think?  And tiny plastic disks shouldn't cost very much.  But, oh no.  Not only can't my watch be fixed at the store, Swatch doesn't even make replacement faceplates!

So now I have no choice.  My current watch's days are numbered.  I'll need to buy a new one.  I did a great deal of internet-scouring and found this super amazing company.  Now, I know what I wrote just a couple paragraphs ago about demanding readability of my time telling devices.  But.....just look at the amazing hotness of this watch.  It may make me a complete watch hypocrite but, as soon as my Swatch dies, I'm buying it in clear.  Yum.

And now for carry-ons.  I'm going to London on Sunday for a few days to hopefully further my quest for employment.  This time I am not going to deal with baggage claim.  It's frustrating and customs at Heathrow takes long enough by itself.  But I always check because, well, I need my shampoo and eye cream.  I was at Linens'n Things the other day and I saw this cute carry-on kit filled with tiny clear bottles and containers.  I'm a sucker for containers in general, but miniaturize them and I'm almost certainly in love.  Now I have an excuse, er I mean reason, to buy them.  I spent a good hour today slowly pour body wash & co into them.  Hopefully I get through security! 

hair adventures, part iv

I've been busy the past couple weeks. I went to NYC (and may soon be moving there, hurrah!). I finally realized my dream of touching an iPhone and bought the coolest expanding file I have ever seen. It's from Target but I can't seem to find it online. So here's a pic instead:


I also finally cut and dyed my hair like I've been threatening to do for several weeks. I chickened out about getting bangs but I did cut off over a foot of hair and donated it to Locks of Love, the organization that makes wigs for cancer patients. And then my mother dyed it purple for me. She's a very nice mother.

front

and side

Let me know what you think of it.

crafty

I've been making a lot of things lately. Cookies, for example. Other things too. Like a website to showcase some of the really incredible quilts my mother has made over the years. And I'm very nearly done with a new 3d purse inspired by a Hobo International bag I saw last month.


I went beach glass hunting on Presque Isle (the same place I went canoing not so long ago) yesterday and, while I didn't find much, I did manage to put together a necklace from a tiny piece of driftwood and a white piece of glass. I sealed and strengthened the wood with clear nail polish.

music, and not much else

I haven't had all the much to report in awhile. I'm working on a purse based on a HOBO International bag I saw in State College about a month ago, but it's still not finished. Of course, I spent the 10th repeatedly listening to In Rainbows. Delicious.

The film Across the Universe finally went onto wide release yesterday so my sister and I went to see it. To my surprise, my favorite comedian, Eddie Izzard, was in it doing Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite

Amazing. Just truly amazing. Too bad the YouTube isn't high res. Go see the movie for that.

I've also been working on a website for my mother which I hope to have finished and approved by her soon, so look for a link possibly next week. Sadly, no progress on the job hunt front. I think it's time for a new wave of applications.

radiohead! woohoo!

Ok, so this post was going to be titled something vaguely witty about my laptop case or Sherlock Holmes or possibly the intersection of the two. However, Radiohead's new album comes out (at least the downloaded version) on 10 October and you can pre-order on their website now! And, apparently, you can name your own price for the download. Fascinating what can be done without record labels.

I went to a tiny town called Mayville yesterday and picked up a complete set Sherlock Holmes stories (about 1300 pages). I've apparently missed both the first two serialized novels and everything after the Hound of the Baskervilles. But that will soon be remedied.


And, drum roll please, I finally finished the laptop case I've been working on forever and ever. This thing took so long because I not only hand sewed the the handle bits but I also had to do all the trim by hand and made an extra small bag for my external hard drive and power supply. All told, I spent about $19 on it and I think it turned out pretty well. The photo album is here.

merrily, merrily, merrily

I finally went canoing yesterday! After months of it raining and things like grocery shopping coming up my mother and I made it to Presque Isle and rented a canoe. It's a good thing we didn't go any earlier in the year. We were only out for two hours and my incredibly white skin turned pink, ruining my nearly eight years of continuous chalky paleness.

We went in search of eagles we never found, but we did take a bunch of pictures of a blue heron. You can see them and pics of various flowers and weeds here.

I took some videos too. Some of them were even artsy. Here are the best.

Paranoia

I've become obsessed with a scary combination of Google Analytics, my e-mail, and the hit count on my instructable. Sadly, only the last one is in anything like good shape. I finally understand all the people I know who are obsessed with checking facebook. I now *have* to check to see how many hits my website gets at least three times a day. And if the hit happens to be from NY or the UK I get all worried over time on site. This is not healthy. I managed somehow to get myself off meaningful quantities of food, I ought to be able to get myself off of this. Oh firms, please just e-mail me rejections and put me out of my misery! I've only gotten responses (sadly negatives) from two out of thirteen (well, fourteen if you count the Apple one that still isn't done). This is what I get for applying to so many.

For extra fun, and to distract myself from my job search, I put a tracker on this page so that means, yes, I know you are reading. I may not know who you are but I know where you live!

In moderately healthier behavior today, I started this instructable. I adapted it a bit and ended up adding a bunch of sewing. I stopped when I got to the hand sewing the handle seams together. Hopefully I'll finish tomorrow. How do I manage to make even my fun activities tedious and time-consuming? I could've written more cover letters.

Wow, this post is super depressing. I should leave you with something happy. Hmmmmm. I guess I'm updating my blog regularly. Aren't you proud?