I can has new computer?

So, I waited so long to get a new iMac that they released new ones! Lucky me, I splurged yesterday and bought one. It comes standard now with 2gigs of memory and 320gig hard drive, plus a faster processor and oh so much more cool stuff. I spent last night making sure all 3 generations of computers in my house were networked and able to play nice together, such fun! And it's oh so fast and pretty. This beauty won't get stickers like the once that tattoo my G4 laptop - instead, I'm going to sew a dust cover for it so it stays nice and clean.

So, first impressions? Blazing fast! Photoshop CS2 runs like a dream even over Rosetta. I'll be upgrading to CS3 very soon, which I'm sure will up the performance even more. I was able to load and edit 110 raw files lickety-split, which will certainly make a huge dent in my photographic productivity. And what's also great is I think I can figure out how to write it off of my taxes at the end of the year as either an educational or work expense, hells yeah!

For now...back to work organizing my files!

I Rock

This weekend I finally got a chance to try my hand at drumming for rock band, much to the excitement of a drunk gaggle of nerds and video game aficionados at a BBQ. Most everyone was proficient at using the guitar controller, but not so much the drums. I had previously attempted Guitar Hero a couple times before but failed pretty badly, so I was a little hesitant to try out the drum version due to everyone hyping my percussive abilities, and generally I'm not really a video game person. Rock Band is a pretty simple premise - you have guitar, bass, drums, and a singer, or combinations of said instruments, and each player is rated in percentage by accuracy. You can fail a song by missing cues or playing too many notes, and your bandmates can save you up to 3 times.



After watching a few friends mangle some drum solos and attempt to keep time with flashing colored bars, I was coaxed to try it out. I can't remember the first song we played, as I didn't know it, but it was on medium difficulty. But I got through it with 76% accuracy! I think we then proceeded to play Boston and Aerosmith, which I played with about the same accuracy, and somehow managed to impress people. I complained about my wanting to play too many notes, and they decided to test me on Expert mode - so I played the Pixies song "Wave of Mutilation", which I know pretty well. This time, I played solo - and got a round of applause afterwards as I completed with out screwing up entirely. I also got comments on my ability to play lightly and not drown everyone out with the loudness of the plastic pads - go me for technique!

Overall, Rock Band is definitely a video game, and I don't know if I can really get into it, but it's fun and I'll play it again. Playing rock band will not teach you anything about music but the basics of rhythm, though I assume once people don't have the flashing colored bars it might be hard to keep tempo. Well, at least I impressed people enough that they've vowed to come see me play real drums when I have gigs : P

Zombies!

That's what we were this weekend! My mom, brother, and I visited family up in Willits this weekend. We randomly picked a weekend that my cousin was working on a student zombie film, so we were the zombie family extras! Lots of fun, except the 45 degree weather.









We were asked back to shoot again this weekend, but I've unfortunately got way too much stuff to do to drive 3 hours for another shoot. I can't wait to see it when it's finished!

Whew...

This month? It's been busy. I'm finally settled in my new apartment, and as soon as I can be home around noon when the light is really nice and have nothing to do for an hour (HA!) I'll take and upload some pictures! Oh, but it's great, comfy and relaxing.

So what have I been up to?



Now that I have a continually clean kitchen and can cook without fear of strange creatures rising up on their pseudo pods to attack me, I've been baking, cooking, and eating way more fulfilling meals at home. Most recently it was a (much less gringo than usual) version of Chicken Curry, using a free-range organic and tasty whole chicken from Trader Joe's. Combine that with fresh naan cooked in a 500 degree oven on a cast iron skillet, yummy raita, and rice cooked with saffron and sliced almonds, and you have a fucking meal. YUM. I'm anticipating future curries but I need to know a bit more about the spices and quantities; this was pretty successful but I think I'll have to add more onion in the future. A couple weeks earlier, I had a friend over to help me make fresh spaghetti in my Atlas pasta maker, found by my mother at the ever popular Urban Ore. I still have leftover family-recipe tomato sauce in my freezer, and most of a focaccia slab that's now waiting to be turned into breadcrumbs. Oh yeah, Italian sausage and mushrooms were also consumed.

Look - it's pasta drying on my dish rack!



About the recent conversion to carnivorous behavior: Back in November I decided that it was OK to occasionally eat meat if I knew it was ethically treated, i.e. free range / organic and all that good stuff. I was already eating dairy, eggs, and fish on a daily to weekly basis along with vegetarian fare. I know it doesn't really mean a lot now as organic standardization is not really up to snuff, and there are a lot of food manufacturers slapping a big "O" on packaging nowadays, but I can tell when it tastes better. Ethically treated animals are indeed tasty - I think my major reason for going vegetarian years ago (outside of health) was that meat just didn't taste good to me anymore. Lately, tasty critters have been infiltrating my diet, and I've noticed some interesting things happening:

• My stomach is tolerating meat products very well. No stomach aches, *ahem* flatulence (which I'm kind of known for in many circles), or feeling like I'm going to pass out after eating meals.


• My sugar cravings and pint of ice cream or two per week habit have gone away completely. I've been able to turn down sweets - shocking!


• I've lost weight and have more energy, but this is probably a product of slightly increased exercise, and a decrease in carb and sugar consumption. I also don't feel as hungry or want to snack all the time, and smaller meals fill me up.

I discussed this with a friend who is the same blood type, similar age, and also a recent carnivore convert - and she had the exact same conclusions. Since she's in a program studying Chinese medicine and acupuncture, and is generally very aware of health and her body, I trust her opinion. I've been a vegetarian off and on for the last 10 years, with varying degrees of strictness, and I finally feel now that I will not go back as it's not necessarily the most healthy option. Now, this does not mean that burgers and fries are going to be staple in my diet. On the contrary, this allows me more freedom in the kitchen, and when I occasionally go out to eat I don't always have to choose the vegetarian option, which is most of the time not vegetarian at all! Right now, for my body, I feel it's OK to eat animal protein 2-3 times a week. Other days, vegetarian is the best option. I've heard it many times before, now to beat a dead horse: It's all about moderation, people.

Other than food and nesting, I've been playing with the bands 2x a week, and we're gearing up for recording and a couple of gigs lined up. Exciting! I feel like I have my rhythm and energy back after the last 4 lackluster months. There is also small progress on the photography front - for the first time in months, I've been shooting at least a few days a week, and shot another wedding a few weeks ago which I still have to finish editing and send off to the lucky couple. I hope to do another bit of a shoot this weekend at my Cousin's place, where she's helping shoot a student Zombie film. We'll see if I can shoot without getting too much gore on my camera, as theoretically I'll be in the film too.

One thing I've not been doing much of? Unfortunately, knitting. It's for the best though, as it's now approaching summer (not that we really have one in the bay area), and I need to take a quick break to work on other projects. However, I have been working on a few knitting patterns, and eventually I'll finish the garments, write up patterns, and distribute for testing.

'Till then, Ciao!

Netflix withdrawl

I would like to express my utter frustration and rage at the Netflix site outage. I'm sure they are losing a lot of business as it's been down all freaking day! I just discovered the wonders of Netflix last night (well, I know about it, but had not signed up or explored until yesterday) and was totally thrilled, adding tons of movies and shows to my queue. That is, until this morning, when I checked the site to add a few things, and it was down. "Ok, it will be back soon," I mused. 7 hours later it's still down! GRAWRRR! This had better not effect the delivery of LOST season 3 to my mailbox tomorrow. And when the site is up, I had better be able to add MST3K to my queue, dammit. I just want to watch some movies while I knit!

In other news, I finally signed up for cable internet, so hopefully I'll have a modem by Saturday so they can install it. Soon I will have connectivity at home...Wheee! I did get to play around with an EVDO WiFi router this weekend thanks to work, and it's pretty neat. Unfortunately I can't keep it all week as we need it for testing. This would be a great device for traveling - anywhere Sprint Network goes, you can have WiFi and net access. You could probably even use it in the car with an AC converter. Sweetness. It's amazing what technology can do these days, and how swiftly one can become frustrated and angry due to lack of said technology.

No offense to knitting blondes...

A highway patrolman pulled alongside a speeding car on the freeway. Glancing at the car, he was astounded to see that the blonde behind the wheel was knitting!

Realizing that she was oblivious to his flashing lights and siren, the trooper cranked down his window, turned on his bullhorn and yelled, “PULL OVER!”

“NO!” the blonde yelled back, “IT’S A SCARF!”

Sanctuary

I finally spent a night in my new casa last night! It feels great to be in my own space. I realized after not staying in my old house for over a week that it was making me sick - coughing, sneezing, wheezing, feeling miserable. I've been really ill off and on with respiratory distress for the past 4 months. I still don't feel 100% better but am about 95% there, with no more wheezing and haven't used any allergy medication in 2-3 days. Woo hoo, now I don't feel so decrepit! I've warned my ex roommates about the possibility that there is toxic mold in the house, but we'll see if they do anything about it. I'm powerless, as I was not on the lease.

Anyway...that's all over now! I have a huge studio to live in! Despite my exhaustion from moving all day Saturday, I manage to get my kitchen unpacked and the beginning of my workspace setup. I'm hoping to section off the bed and my workspace so it's not immediately visible as I walk in the door - I think a clean living area will help keep the feeling of sanctuary and inspiration. Since my yarn was already packed in clear totes, it was easy to find, and I've already started swatching for a new sweater now that my first one is already done...

In any case it's a relief to be done, and know that I have much more room for creativity and sanctuary.