Science Monkey

For reals! So it’s been a while since I’ve rapped at ya, for which I’m sorry. I hope you had a nice long weekend, with perhaps a little marching yesterday? I did not march, for I am not much of an activist, mostly because I’m lazy. I don’t have anything exciting to share, but I’d like to ramble a little and let you know I’m not dead.

Emma had a couple of days off (in a row!) this weekend, so we got to spend some nice time together. Much of the time was spent sleeping, as we were both bitten by a tsetse fly, I guess, but at least it was time together. We also dragged her mom bowling on Sunday morning which was hella-fun. I bowled remarkably well, too, which always makes the time more fun. Well, maybe not remarkably well, but certainly above average. For me. Yay. If you ever want to go bowling with us, let me know. We tend to go Sunday mornings after breakfast, when it’s both cheap and empty. Good times.

I worked some more on my scarf, too, finishing another dozen rows or so. It’ll get done, eventually, but not anytime soon. That’s okay. I’ve got the bag sitting on by the couch, so whenever I sit to watch more than five minutes of TV I make myself do a row or two, which I’m hoping will get me in the habit. I’m supposed to get my camera back from my folks tonight, so I’ll try to get a few pictures up before I go to bed. I’ve made a few mistakes but am pleased with how it’s going. Early in the knitting I somehow added a stitch…I think I went through a particularly thick bit of yarn but can’t figure out where. And yesterday I noticed a screwy edge — it had a little indentation in it — and found a loop that I had evidently dropped. Hee hee. Oh well. These little things give it character, right?

Speaking of character, I wore my hat for my walk to work today. I’ve got this really nice, leather hat that I wish I wore more often (visible in my Happy New Year picture a few posts down), but am too much of a chicken to wear outside. Consequently, I wear it while playing WoW on the computer. It was cold this morning, though, and I couldn’t find my knit hat, so what else is a boy to do? I wore my favorite navy sweater, a scarf that Emma made me a few years ago, and my hat and I think I cut a rather dapper profile, if I do say so myself. I caught a few people smiling at me as I walked, but it was smiling in a friendly manner, not a OMG-what-a-tool manner. Or so I choose to believe.

Back to work. Type to you later.

I started on my second knitting project last night, but the first one that I plan to complete. Emma and I went down to our favorite local yarn shop and bought for me some nice, boy color yarn (a deep, rich blue) and a pair of needles. After some preliminary fumbling last night, I remembered how to cast on and then Emma showed me how to actually knit. Woo! The scarf is probably going to be too wide but I don’t care. Well, not too much. I did about ten rows last night and am starting to get it figured out.

I also broke down and ordered my own pair of bowling shoes this past weekend. They won’t be as hot as Emma’s shoes, of course, but I like the way they look. Emma and I have been bowling pretty regularly and really enjoying it. We stink, of course, but it’s fun. Maybe we’ll even join a league one of these seasons?

Okay, time to work. Type to you later.

I’ve been meaning to share these pictures for a while but have been lazy. Emma bought me a knit-a-monkey kit (yay!) and I have started to work on it. Sadly, I think it’s a bit above my skill level at the moment, but I’m excited to work on it.

Here’s me with the kit:

What do you do with this stuff?

Oh! Is chopsticks! Right?

Cast on, huh? I can do that.

This stuff is hard! Or maybe I don’t have great fine-motor skills.

My first night’s progress.

After that step, the pattern calls for increasing by one stitch on the next row. I could not figure out how to do it. Just bumfuzzled me. Oh well. My plan is to learn how to just knit something simple, then come back to this.

Oh, Emma was working on her own monkey at the same time that I was knitting. She, however, can increase.