HELLO

I am still alive! And slowly approaching the end of the semester. Get ready, I'm gonna blog the shit out of this fucking blog after next weekend. CURSING WILL HAPPEN.

Also, I'm almost done with my scarf! I don't know if I like it or not, but I will be wearing the shit out of it. (Who says cursing makes you sound dumb?!)

I would post a photo, but my phone battery is dead, because I left my charger in the hotel in Minnetonka, and for some reason I only bought a car charger to replace it, and I don't actually drive that much. So, my phone has been dead most of the past week and a half! I do not miss it at all, except for not being able to easily post low-quality photos of knitting and other such things.

(I should probably cut back on the coffee.)

Zoo Siab Xyoo Tshiab

I'm going to Hmong New Year later today with my friend Laura. My adviser originally suggested attending so that I could get some background for my thesis. They sell different embroidered stuff, so it'll be interesting to see how the craft market fits into the overall celebration, who is buying the products, who made them (or is represented as making them), etc etc. I am totally interested in all of that, but to be completely honest, I am most excited about the food. Okay, also I will probably buy some embroidery and/or cloth, because how could I not? I'll be part of the production/consumption chain that I might end up studying, which will be... weird. Or maybe I will just look at how Hmong embroidery functions in reproducing culture in diasporic communities? Who knows, so many possibilities!

still here!

There are roughly 23 things that I've been meaning to write about (school started this week, there was a shooting at one of my favorite bars, other things too I think), not least among them my guest blogging stint at Presserfoot, and I think that I will finally have time to write about all of those lovely things this weekend. Although I am also planning to do some fabric shopping (lining + muslin for the Presserfoot dress project, solid color cotton for some quilts that I've been thinking about) and also hopefully phone shopping (that new t-mobile mytouch thing!) and probably some cooking and cleaning and such, so there's that. And I should really buy an external hard drive so I can move all 60gb of photos off of my computer (yes, I know, I have a problem). And also I want to get another week or two ahead in planning for the class I'm teaching (TA-ing? is that a word?) and also I have to take classes myself. Which, lame. But yeah, I'm gonna need to do some reading for school. What was I talking about? Never mind! I hope you are having a lovely day. I taught at 8am this morning, and I'm about to go back to campus for a class that ends at 9:40 tonight. FEEL SORRY FOR ME!

Alright, note to self, drink less coffee. Or maybe more?

standing up for us

Haha fuckers, I just joined Sen. Russ Feingold's Cornerstone Committee, which "recognizes those supporters who have committed early on to Russ's reelection and to the progressive values that he has always stood for." And guess what, Russ is all about the grassroots thing, so I didn't have to spend thousands of dollars to join. You should give him money too, especially if you have thousands of dollars. Also! Tomorrow is his Milwaukee County steering committee meeting, you should go! Especially if you have a car, as then you could take me. As it stands, I will probably not be there. Paula, the woman who organizes it, got my name from my parents as they are actually involved in their steering committee; I'm pretty sure Paula thinks I don't exist, as I have been meaning to but not actually going to meetings for at least a year and a half. Um, anyway, hurray for Russ Feingold!

i'm back!

I got back from Jamaica last night. Guess what? It was awesome! Photos to come, once I get around to uploading them. My computer is almost out of hard drive space, so I've got to deal with that somehow. (First world problem!) I'm making crackers right now; the dough is currently resting. There will be photos. Photos, photos, and more photos! I brought back a bunch of small bottles of this peanut-flavored white rum creme, and one of them broke. Everything would have been fine if my suitcase hadn't been overweight; everything got all mixed up when I had to take out 5.5 pounds worth of stuff, and now all my clothes smell like overproof rum creme. (First world problem!)

Time to check on the crackers!

handmade

Oh, dearies, what a week. Craft night was last night; lovely new (to me) people, and I learned three different variations on the Herringbone stitch. I was the only one embroidering; everyone else was making presents because they are nice people who plan ahead and make handmade gifts. I should start holiday shopping soon...

Anyway! Embroidery and history, all day everyday. Have obrovský paper due tomorrow, really think I might be able to get it to a non-embarrassing point by then. (See how I threw in some Czech there? I'M SMART.[obviously, since I only noticed on a second read that I spelled it "check" at first. FAIL.]) It's only 11:35am and already I've finished... I don't know, a page or two. Still! I am working before noon, clearly I have already won the day.

What else? Gmail has a new Tasks list function; totally amazing. That will do until I get my iPod touch/iPhone and am able to obsessively check/update iCal all day. Because obvs that's what I'm doing now, with that little iCal icon inches away from this here text box.

Okay. On to the paper writing. Photos of crappy embroidery to come.

back in mke

Doing schoolwork is so much easier at school. The library is so quiet! Also, it is hot outside! Summer is full of hot weather! I am full of revelations! Not Revelations though.

Back to catching up on video lectures! (No more online courses after this, btw.)

copyright law is totes interesting

I guess. Watching videos of lectures is so much harder than going to the actual lecture. I am not a fan of online courses so far. I don't really know what's going on, and it's summer, so it's a lot harder to care about school. I'm so far behind on reading for my independent study, or at least I feel so far behind where I'd like to be. I'm supposed to hand in an outline on Monday, and while I have oodles of half-formed notions of possibly interesting topics, I haven't really figured out what to focus on or how to organize my thoughts. And I have to write 20-25 pages by August 15th! Fuck dude, I need to work harder. Or smarter--I read a book called Work Smarter, Not Harder while I was in high school. It was all about how to get more out of your study time, or something. Yes, I bought the book for myself; yes, I was a gigantic nerd. I also bought The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teenagers. I didn't just read that, I highlighted it and made notes. And I wondered why I was so unpopular.

Uh, sorry, tangent. I have been doing all my studying at Kinni Lounge (best coffee place ever!), so there is a slight chance I've been drinking too much coffee.

coffee coffee milwaukee!!!

Holy shit, you guys!

Okay, I don't know where to go from there. I'm in Milwaukee, at a non-Starbucks cafe with free wireless, which is not nearly as exciting as where Kira and Max are, but I'm totally okay with that. For reals!

Going to see Propagandhi tonight. I bought tickets before I'd actually heard any of their songs, but I figured Jeb and his friends are going, and I'm all about tagging along with my cousin and his friends, as they are far cooler than me. Plus I figure Jeb has reliably awesome taste in music, so this Propagandhi thing would be awesome. Guess what? It is! They have a song called "And we thought nation-states were a bad idea," so really, how could I not like them? Plus I don't listen to nearly enough loud fast music lately.

Oh! I went to a Dear Astronaut practice last night, and let me tell you, they are fixing to take over the world. You'd best go buy some of their musics RIGHT NOW before it sells out and you'll miss your chance to buy their early work, and then how are you gonna be like "oh, I liked them before they got megafamous"? I recommend The Dark Forest and that's only 60% because I'm thanked in the liner notes (famous by association!!!).

So I'm on my second coffee of the day, and now that I think about it I haven't really eaten anything today, woops!