I'd be delighted to make that connection for you!

Transferring phone calls is always exhilirating for me. I'm not sure why. There's just something so uncertain about it. I'm pretty sure it's always successful, but you can never be positive. The person you just talked to might have just disappeared, and along with that lost connection there went a piece of their soul. Maybe.

I know. It's just a telephone call, you say. I can't help it. I get carried away sometimes.

I found out the other day that although Mike's family came from Eastern Europe and some of them were even Czech, he had never heard of a Golem. I scoffed lovingly, as I do and he responded with his usual, "You know I don't know about Jewish stuff. I forgot everything I ever learned after my Bar Mitzvah." I never let him forget this. I am not Jewish and for some reason I'm the one that always wants to make hamentashen for Purim and read the Book of Esther and practice the little Hebrew I know and learn Yiddish and so on and so forth. So, we went to the library, where I knew I'd find my favorite book about Golem. It is by David Wisniewski, and it's likely that your library has it. If they don't, they probably have other books by him. They're all worth checking out and at times worth buying. This particular book is called "Golem." Wisniewski does things with construction paper that I would never think of doing. Even if you can't read you should see his work. Although, my suggestion won't go far if you can't read. Mike now has a sense of the Golem and its significance. This makes me happy. After all, even if you don't particularly enjoy the culture you were born into, it's no reason to remain ignorant of it.

Blue Moon sock club is shipping this week. I haven't received anything yet, but I'm trying to remain level headed about the whole thing. It will arrive and all will be well.

And a note to somebody that definitely doesn't read this blog. When you speak Spanish in front of me, no matter how much you try to whisper, I can still understand you. I know what you said. I am not amused, even though I laughed.

You see, it's all about connections. It's not just phones. That's life. You connect with your culture or you don't. You choose another culture to connect with. Sometimes you are dumped off the line and you have to call back and find what you were looking for again. And sometimes you just have to sit on the line and wait a bit for what you need. Sometimes you're on the line and the person talking doesn't realize it. Connections. They're neat. Our lives wouldn't be anything without them. Thanks to those making a connection here. I like it.

Dearest SagePixie,

I don't know you, but you're the only person that reads my blog, I think, so this is a letter for you.

You should go to Denver sometime. It's not so cold right now or even snow covered. There's a lot of sun here in CO. I live in Lafayette, myself, which is near Denver, but not too near. I recently moved from Chicago. It's big change. I'm not adjusting well, but knitting helps, as usual.

Where friendship is concerned, I have moved from the dense population of India to the sparse, frozen deserts of Siberia. I am lonely. I'm not alone, as I have a partner, two dogs and two rabbits, but I am lonely. I don't have anybody to sit with, though. I want to sit and not talk or talk about nothing. Folks to do such things with are fun and my kind of people. I had these kind of people in Chicago. Here in Lafayette, there isn't much, and there aren't many people. I think this is why I have started spending so much time online.

I am making socks for Mike's boss, Chris. She's a fantastic lady. I love her to pieces, so she gets socks. She wears 9 1/2 size shoes. I am excited about the opportunity to make socks for her. She use to get them from her gramma, and hasn't had any handmade socks for a couple of decades.

I did see Stephanie post my response on her blog. It made me giggly for a day or two. She's lovely, I think. I also think you're lovely. I hope you're having a good day.

Love, Hugo

I hope they all go home.

Let's talk about the fact that some of the singers on American Idol are making it difficult to cast on for this sock. Some of these folks are really terrible, and I'm trying to make socks that aren't. Luckily, it's almost over.

Beginnings

I have started my new job. It is exactly like my last job, but better. It is more organized, more reasonable. There are, of course, some of the same problems. Sales folks, you see, will always cause problems, no matter how good their intentions are. Sales folks are unavoidably everywhere. There is more structure and best of all there is backing. There is support. I already know what is expected of me. I know what my projects will be for a while. I know my responsibilities. It feels so good to know my role, instead of wandering around hoping I'm doing fine but never knowing.

MAS is the same, with slight differences. This is, I think, the idea of MAS in the first place. I'm already in love with the item codes. Folks who have never used MAS will not understand. It's probably better that you don't. Your life is most likely better than mine.

Mike and I went to a place called Pints Pub in Denver this weekend. There was beer and chips covered in gravy, cheese and curry powder. I plan on making this for myself on a regular basis. It won't be hard, but it will be tasty. We also spent time at a little brewery with Chris and Darrin then later played Simpson's Clue with Chris at her huge beautiful and empty house. I wish I could move in just to keep her company. Chris came over the next day and we played rummy and Trivial Pursuit after Kugel. Trivial Pursuit is much easier when you're drinking rum.

Where yarn is concerned I am fighting with a ball of SWTC 100% bamboo. It is cut in a thousand places, sometimes not even going an inch without being cut. I am angry, but this is what I get for buying from the orphan pile. The orphan pile has never backfired on me before. I'm blaming this one on SWTC. I need to mail Nikki her socks. I miss her.

Things are new, but old. We have started down a road I'm not sure I want to be on, but so far it isn't so bad. I hope it stays this way.

What we do.

Mike and I work in the coffee industry. It, like every industry, has some strange quirks. It has afforded us some oppurtunities, though. For instance, when Mike was competing in barista competitions I was able to knit him some centerpieces as well as dye them in coffee. I've also been able to work with jute bags and other interesting things.

Mike has recently started traveling more. This is wonderful on many levels. He is meeting the farmers that he works with and building relationships. This makes me happy. What makes me happier are the presents that he brings back. He just got back from Costa Rica where he bought me a lovely woven piece. I do no weaving of my own, and although I understand the basics, I'm baffled at how they made this. It is much too long to leave on display at all times, which is a shame. Some day when we're very rich with a loooooooong table I will lay it out. There will be a chandalier with perfect lighting as well, which will make it seem even more beautiful. I'm currently pushing for a trip to Peru. I have wild fantasies about him befriending a herd of vicuna and bringing home all the softness that they have to offer. It could happen.

oh my!

Sagepixie has read my blog. I do believe she is the only person on earth. So, thanks to you, Sagepixie for reading this and for your kind words in the comments.

Today, on St. Valentine's Day, I would like to talk about Mike. Let's address his knitting ability. He knits, and this has made us the center of attention at many a knitting group. We have historically been the two guys that knit. We have been introduced in the following manner, "That's Hugo and that's Mike. They're guys. They knit." The only place this never happened, of course, was at Stitches in Britches. I miss those boys. But, back to Mike. If knitters are wizards and witches and non-knitters are muggles, well then Mike is a squib. He's capable of knitting. He's not the best knitter there, is, though. I constantly have to show him how to SSK and how to do left twists, etc. Because he enjoys cables and items with tons of shaping and color work. I don't mind showing him these things every week. It's kind of fun. What I do mind is the way that he doesn't need yarn or socks or five projects at once. This man starts a project after picking the perfect yarn for it and then he finishes it. It could take him four months to finish a hat because he doesn't knit during every free moment that he has or even while watching tv, but he finishes his projects without ever looking sideways at another skein of yarn. He is strange. And I love him. Nearly 9 years with this boy and he is still peculiar to me.

And for Valentine's Day, here is a bit from Anne Sexton's 'The White Snake'
"He returned to the princess
saying, I am but a traveling man
but here is what you hunger for.
The apple was as smooth as oilskin
and when she took a bite
it was as sweet and crisp as the moon.
Their bodies met over such a dish.
His tongue lay in her mouth
as delicately as the white snake.
They played house, little charmers,
exceptionally well.
So, of course,
they were placed in a box
and painted identically blue
and thus passed their days
living happily ever after -
a kind of coffin,
a kind of blue funk.
Is it not?"

Now, back to the socks. They call to me.

huzzah!

I've just been offered a job which I accepted. This means there will be more money for yarn, but less time for knitting. It's exciting, but a bit sad that this is the way things work out. It also means that I will have money for the Nancy Bush class I want to take.

I'm working on Danica from Knitty (http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter05/PATTdanica.html). I'm pretty sure everybody has made this scarf. I've had zero interest in making it, as there is tons of picking up stitches and ends to weave in. But it is the perfect pattern for my mother's hockey scarf. Her team has a three color scheme, one of which actually makes my mother nauseous, so she asked to not have much of it in her scarf. Danica is thus the perfect scarf for her. I hope to finish this today. This will be the first time I've knitted a pattern while reading it off of my laptop. I usually print it up so I can go wherever I want with it. I feel very chained. It's interesting.

There is progress on Nikki's socks, but may the gods help me if all this stockinette isn't boring as hell. It was good for calming myself before my interview yesterday, though.

I promise to post photos when Mike comes back from Costa Rica with my proper camera.

There are a few other projects that I have sitting next to me, but there's no reason to mention them. I will mention, however, that in my interview yesterday I was asked where I saw myself in five years. I couldn't help but respond with the Mitch Hedburg joke, "Celebrating the fifth year anniversary of you asking me that question." I guess it worked. Thanks, Mitch, it's a shame you've left us.

worries and celebrations

Mike, who you've not met, yet, is in Costa Rica. I get a bit insane when he's away. He is the person that keeps me in check, frowns at me when I've spent all my money on yarn, goes stiff in the back when I've bought yet another book that I will never open again after finishing it, cuts me off when I've had too many gin and tonics (which isn't hard since he's the one that makes them for me), etc. So, he's in Costa Rica, and I'm not only expected to keep myself under control, I have our dogs and rabbits to take care of. Usually he does the bulk of this. What this means is that I have to act like a grown up. This is fine. I can do it.

I started out being an adult after I dropped him off at the airport. Driving home from Denver International Airport was my first foray into driving here in CO. On our drive out here from Chicago, I stopped driving in Nebraska due to my need to knit and nap. So, the driving went well, although it was a bit scary, as the roads were dangerous at the time. For some reason, throwing dirt on top of snow and ice makes driving conditions a bit safer, but not by much. I miss the salted streets of Chicago. Sure it rusts your car, but at least you don't think you're going to die at any moment because nobody's car is gripping the road and dirt is constantly being kicked onto all of your windows. After this I made a trip to the Social Security office and to the DMV. I found out that although the federal government will recognize that I am male, the state of Colorado needs me to go see a doctor first and have them fill out a form. This means my driver's license will have to wait until I have medical coverage, because I'm not going to pay a doctor a bunch of money so that I can get a driver's license.

All of that sitting and waiting and being responsible translated into me needing a trip to Shuttles, Spindles, and Skeins, the nearest and most stocked yarn shop I've ever been to. Mind you, it's not that close to where I live. This is mainly because Mike, in his attempt to find a place centrally located, managed to place us far away from everything instead of far away from a few things and close to the rest. We'll deal with this when the lease is up. I went for some yarn to make my mother a scarf. Her hockey team changed their colors and she's still wearing her old scarf to the games. She feels that she is the focus of much staring and giggling because of this. I think she's crazy. Everybody there is drunk and most likely giggling at some nonsense like their own flatulence. Alas, I will make her this new scarf, since she has made two of her own attempts and is still at the point in her knitting where she can't knit.

While at Shuttles I found some Koigu that I felt needed purchasing. When I finish the other two pairs of socks on needles I'll get to this. I also found in the orphan pile some Dalegarn Tiur. Two skeins in goldish and two skeins in redish. I became more than excited when I saw these. They will make a nice pair of Gryffindor socks and also some other little whimsies. After all, it's about time to get started on my Harry Potter knitting. I only have 6 months until movie 5 and book 7. I am worried that I didn't get enough yarn, but also worried that I spent too much money. I am excited, though, because I have a very promising interview on Thursday at 1pm. If I get this job, maybe I can take the class with Nancy Bush in March, if the class isn't full by the time I have the money. Perhaps there will be other oppurtunities. I have hope. Not just for this, but for many other things.

I have just made a terrible mistake.

A wonderful, glorious and terrible mistake.

I received the email tonight from Blue Moon. They told me there were openings, that if I hurried I'd be able to sign up for the Sock Club. I spent only an hour or two staring at the payment page wondering if I should enter my information and jump into the $210.00 lake that is the Sock Club.

Normally this decision would be very simple for me. Normally I would blink once, then sign up immediately. This time around I have no job and very little money. I've been filling in here and there for a few clams there and here, which means I have a bit of money. All of this money should be spent on paying my insurmountable debt. Instead, I somehow managed to rationalize that the Sock Club was more important than said debt. Hopefully I will soon have a steady income to validate me.

Tell me you understand. Please.

In the morning Mike will wake up and say, "Hugo, what did you do?" I will shrug and avoid eye contact. This is a yarn purchase that is not exactly easy to hide. I can't hide the Sock Club behind the movies or behind my other yarn.

You're not judging me negatively, are you? I'm very responsible. I really am. I just have certain weaknesses. Yarn weaknesses.