Moving stuff to Wordpress

For about two years I've resisted.  Even after I got my Blackberry with 50% off data from work.  I figured Blogger was going the right direction with their so-called mobile blogging feature.

Except this feature has not improved at all since the day of its inception.  Now that Wordpress has free Blackberry and iOS apps for easy posting and managing, with integrated photo and video posting directly from my phone, what is the point of keeping an account on an out-dated blogging platform?

I need to express myself on the go, anywhere, anytime.  Sure nobody's really looking but I want my thoughts out THERE, my way, NOW.  Who has time to sit at home and compose thoughts?  If I have time to sit at my computer after a long day's work, I better be playing WOW.

After today, this will be on http://expressionsndiversions.wordpress.com

My Latest Touch Obsession...whyyyy?

Money is NOT the root of evil.

As I get older (29 this year), I am increasingly aware of the importance of not only managing your finances but the absolute need to make investments to *cringe at cliché* - "grow your money".

I always thought naively that it was enough to live day-by-day and relatively debt-free besides regular monthly expenses. You could do what you wanted whenever you felt like, owing nothing to anyone and being responsible solely for yourself - without dragging anybody else down. This philosophy stems from a severe aversion to debt (the origin of which is unknown) and the ratifying notion that money is the root cause of the world's problems. I did however acknowledge that money is a necessity in life. Therefore one should at least have their day-to-day money matters in order.

In today's world this simple financial strategy can get you by most days but it doesn't leave many options when an unexpected life event consumes your Plan B savings (assuming you even have this safety net). To receive a decent salary in this day and age as a contractor or employee, specialized skills, specific potential and higher education are all required. What happens when a person loses their job after investing years into a career? Or when health problems prevent continuation in their current line of work? What happens when your business slows to a halt during a recession and you have no skills or knowledge in anything else?

This could happen to anybody at any stage in their life. Either way you are pretty much screwed. The old (younger) me would've thought it too cautious to live life based on careful preparation for the worst. I would've said that money breeds fear and fear binds us because money is evil*. The current me thinks those are only half truths - just one side of the coin. The real seat of evil is ignorance and laziness. In this fertile ground, all sorts of evil will thrive.

* putting things in terms of good and evil help me to make sense of the world

Money is definitely a necessity in life. To dream and work hard for more in life is natural. To use our God-given intelligence to devise better & smarter ways to attain these goals is "efficient". To attain perfection as close to perfection can be in this life, where we have everything provided for without causing harm to others and the only thing we could worry about is death - none of that is wrong. Current me thinks that it is perfectly okay to want these things. It is also okay not to want them but in order to be stable, independent and perhaps be in a position to aid others– that day-by-day mentality just isn't enough.

I really owe my new found way of thinking to my fiancée who has had a much tougher life than me. Being a natural entrepreneur, he was forced at a young age by circumstance to manage his personal finances well or else forsake his entire future. Commendably, he chose NOT to be ignorant and throughout his life he witnessed other people's "rise and fall". In knowing him I have also met a few people who due to sickness, divorce, starting a family combined with current or previous financial mismanagement ended up losing most of what they worked for in life.

I mean I should've learned that taking care of your money is important simply from observing my own parents since their divorce. I knew it on an intellectual level but emotionally I rejected it. Somehow yesterday while taking the bus to work, it really hit me.

I am making a serious vow here to learn more about actively managing my finances so it will grow instead of diminish slowly, in the hopes that one day that money will either help me 1) retire, 2) send my kids to college or 3) help a familly member or friend in dire need.

Best Eyeliner EVER!

It has been months since I've written anything on my "hobbies" blog but well, I've been fairly busy. In September I started a new job which I actually care about. Since I am a slightly just over the border workaholic, I put in the full official 8 hours and then some, plus a 2+ hours commute there and back. With that and daily chores like tidying up, making dinner, etc. it doesn't leave too much time for leisure. I usually get about an hour or so of personal down time. Either I can sit down, tap away on my iPod, workout, be healthy or pig out to bust stress. OR I could actually go to bed early to catch up on some sleep.

Anyway, the sad point is that I rarely knit or sew now. I still have lots of ideas for all kinds of projects. We bought an Arduino kit for Christmas and I have 2 different programming projects in the back of my head plus the ambitious programming project to simplify things at work which I am really excited about but have no time to do. By the way, I am not a programmer by trade. Now, in my semi spare time during the commute I read free public domain ebooks or listen to audiobooks and frenchpod101 lessons. My French has improved a ton!

À propos de ce article, I am using a new eyeliner which I am so happy with in every way I just had to blog about it. It's the new Maybelline Eyestudio cream eyeliner. I bought it on sale at $6 plus tax on sale at Shoppers Drug Mart.

The eyeliner is available in 4 colors: Blackest Black, Charcoal, Brown & Eggplant. It comes in a small pot the same as most other cream eyeliners out on the market. The good thing is that it is packaged with a little brush that isn't like the usual eyeliner brushes. Usually when you buy a single eyeliner brush it either has a flattened brush shape with a straight edge or it is a very small watercolor brush with a pointed tip. This one is more like a mini foundation brush, flat with a more tapered edge instead of rounded like most foundation brushes. It lets you build a thick or fine line so it is easy to create different looks. It works very well with the consistency of the cream liner - just perfect.

The cream is also waterproof. It does not smudge at all after a full day. Unlike the liquid liners, it is much easier to work with. With non-waterproof liquid eyeliners, you better not get teary-eyed at a movie, have allergies or god forbid walk in the rain. Sometimes you blink and you'll have black spots at the corners of your eyes. Or with the waterproof liquid liner varieties, a mistake means breaking out all your other tools to rub it off, causing your lids to become red and swollen.

With the Eyestudio liner, when you make a mistake, just a little water/saliva :P will erase it. At the end of the day, it comes off easily with eye makeup remover. No need to rub hard and basically scrape the paint off your face with a cotton pad.

I also want to note that I wear contacts and the Eyestudio liner did not irritate me at all. I even apply it right to my bottom inner lash line - a trick I learned from a makeup artist back in my camera trainee days. Application to the inner lash lines make you look more awake instantly without looking like you have any makeup on. This liner stayed on, no smudging on my bottom inner lash line during allergy season, all day long. I mean it faded a little bit but I am way too lazy to touch up throughout the day. THIS passed all my liner requirements with a thousand gold stars.

Thank you Maybelline for creating such an amazing product. I do believe it is the Holy Grail at the end of my lengthy search for the perfect eyeliner. I know there are really good cream liners out there but they cost so much, I just can't justify spending that amount to feed my vanity! But this is so amazing and affordable, I just had to write about it.

I love it!

* FYI I also got engaged during Christmas and have been procrastinating on the planning.

Hmm...green curry

Shawl for Grandma

It's been quite a while since my last post. No doubt it's because I have not knitted much since winter. You know the usual excuses: summertime, laziness and such.

BamBam has also passed. I found him one day on his back right in the middle of the tank as if he jumped off the red rock to his death. I hoped he was molting but alas after a few days when his tank emitted the foul stench of crustacean death, I decided it was time to do the right thing and clean it out.

I'm visiting my grandmother in Hong Kong in about 5-6 weeks. Planning to send my love by knitting her a cozy and fabulous shawl. Since I haven't experienced a HK winter since I was 7 years old, I posted a note to Hong Kong Knitters on Ravelry to ask for yarn suggestions and patterns. Hope to get some replies soon so I can buy the yarn and get cracking. While it would be nice to have something to knit on the plane ride, ideally I would want to finish and block it before going to HK.

Been mulling over these patterns for now.

Woodland Shawl


Feather and Fan Comfort Shawl


Clapotis

The Moltey Cru(s)

Little Pebbles' antics really intrigued me last night and I couldn't fall asleep so I did some research on various aquatic life forums, webpages, etc. Turns out, they might already be molting.

Molting or moulting is the process by which crustaceans shed their exoskeleton as their body grows. The new shell remains soft for a period before hardening. This process is also known as ecdysis.

It is important during the molting process to provide areas for burrowing or hiding that will shield them from light. The molting process can be stressful (imagine if your body was involuntarily trying to break out of your own skin), especially after shedding of the exuvium, their soft new shells make the little crabbies vulnerable to their surroundings. Their environement should be maintained at the usual temperatures, clean and undisturbed.

From now, if I see BamBam or Pebbles lying on their backs or whatever, I am not touching them at all. What I will do is change their water over the weekend to make sure they'll be alright after they've shed their skin. *sob* They grow up so fast.

Crazy crabs gave me a scare

I went to our little crab shack tonight, turned on the light to see how the little babies are doing. To my horror, Pebbles was smack dab in the middle of the tank, submerged in water, flipped over on her back and by all appearances, dead! I observed for a few minutes and saw no signs of movement. Bambam is hiding out in a corner, staying still but had signs of life.

I ran to my bf and said, "I think the little one is dead..."
He was talking on the phone but he whispered, "Just poke her, she's fine."

I found the tweezers we use to feed them fish flakes with and poked. No movement.
I gently picked her up by her claws and there may have been movement. Or it may have been the joints just moving due to gravity. Finally I flipped her onto her legs right out of the water onto their big perching rock. Well, she didn't collapse but there was scarcely any movement I still thought she was dead or at least very sick.

Finally I picked up a bunch of fish flakes and dumped it right in front of her. Slowly, very slowly, she stirred and jammed a huge piece of fish flake into her mouth, chewed a little and stopped moving again. Maybe she's just sleeping but now there's a big piece of fish flake sticking out of her mouth.

What strange little creatures they are!

Introducing BamBam & Pebbles

Okay I don't actually have pictures of Pebbles but BamBam is quite photogenic, don't you think?


I also caught BB eating the garlic shells I flaked in there from last night. It doesn't look like they've touched the peas but at least one of them is eating. Bf also put in a tiny bit of ground beef & bacon today and he said BB was picking at it. So thank goodness they are eating and hopefully Pebbles is getting some food in her as well.

The Crab Shack

I don't know what posessed us to do so but we now have a 5 Gallon tank with 2 Red Claw Crabs setup in our bedroom. We ventured out on Sunday after an early lunch intent on running errands for the rest of the day. After the neccesary trip to the local grocery store we were immediately sidetracked and visited several nurseries. Somehow, this lead us to Petsmart where they had Red Claw Crabs for sale for only $3.99.

Perhaps it is simply because the price is right or we wanted to blow some money on a budget. We decided if we could set them up (crabs and all) for under $50 then it was a done deal. We ended up driving across town to a bigger fish store in search of a better price on tanks & accesories. We scored the tank for around $25. As for the pump, we had an old one at home so we didn't need to buy it. Then last night I went back to Petsmart and got water conditioner for $3, aquarium salt for $2, thermometer for $3, finally $8 for 2 crabs totaling $16. That's only $41 in all plus tax!

We tried feeding them ground up peas but they might've been adjusting to the environment and did not eat. Tonight I will go over to my mom's to steal one of the tiny fish that hatched in their pond last summer, have her donate some fish food and then BamBam & Pebbles are good to go. Thanks to Matt Staroscik's site of centralized information on the little critters, we were able to set up their new home in record time!

I'll try to take some pictures tonight, they're so awesome!
Both our roommates think they are gross...

That's pretty knit!

KnitMap lets you find yarn shops all over the US, Canada and UK. Users can comment and help keep the site updated. You can post pictures, comments, ratings. It specifically lists what type of store it is, whether it has has seating, refreshments, classes or just strictly yarn.

Found this little gem while bored, even though I haven't knit seriously in ages. Longing for it. I commute an hour and a half each way now to work and my fingers are itching except my brain keeps shutting down and fall asleep. Maybe I should bring a little something, especially when winter time comes. It'll keep my hands warm...maybe.

I dream of Knitting

It seems like I haven't really knit in a long time. No active projects on hand. Everything that are on needles are side projects. I still surf Ravelry, Knitty and all the usual sources for inspiration but time is too precious now. My sister is getting married in about two weeks and a week Saturday I will be on the way to Southeast Asia to visit relatives then to Bali where her small and intimate ceremony will be!

Months back I had thought of knitting her something but I really didn't know what and had I decided what to make, there wouldn't have been time. I am stuck wondering how to spend the money I allotted for her wedding gift...I am terrible. It will be a last minute gift or just a chunk of cash. Maybe I will knit her a closed pouch, with the cash in it. That way it will last forever AND it's sentimental! Just like she wanted!

Anyways. I love the videogame series of Katamari Damacy. Doesn't this look like a Katamari?

Not bad huh?

I think I could've used a finer weight yarn to make them more delicate. They turned out pretty nice though and my mom loved them. So it's a month and a half late, whatever. Everybody's happy.

O pretty pretty!

I just cast on for a pair of mesh gloves for my mom's birthday. Yes...it is WAY belated considering her birthday and party was this past Saturday. To be fair, I only found Eunny Jang's free pattern from Interweave Knits website 2 days before that and I just can't seem to find time to knit, nothing inspired anyways. I ended up choosing a lavender mercerized cotton yarn over what I originally intended, which was to try out something bamboo/silk. However, I think this will work out very well and my mom will love them.

Since my last dreary post, I have kept my head out of the water by knitting something simple and repetitive with all the left over yarn from bf's Swelling Skull toque & roommate's 1up Mushroom Headband. It's the circular shrug by Julia Allen (pattern here). The choice of colors is not that nice but meh, I need to do something with all that leftover yarn and I need another sweater/vest/anything to keep warm around the office. I don't really care if it's "ugly". The only problem is that I probably have to order more of the yarn to finish it off. So that'll be my second old faithful running project aside from the Never-ending Afghan.

I really find myself becoming a huge fan of Eunny Jang's work. Her other design in this quarter's Interweave Knits is the Katharine Vest. Absolutely beautiful! I love how her designs are classic, fine and modern all at the same time and they always perfectly showcases her design abilities. She is an amazing designer.

Weddings & things

So I've got a couple friends getting married this spring. I am very happy for both loving couples and excited for them to start their new lives together. If any of you read this, please don't be offended by my cynicism. It is not towards marriage itself but more so towards the culture of gift giving or in our day and age: gift requesting.

I understand that the idea of the gift registry should minimize duplicate gifts thus making it easier for family and friends to provide the couple with the essentials of living together. However, in these consumerist times of ours, these registries are designed so that the couple can ask for specific items available at the store of their choice. Let's face it, when given the choice to ask for what we want, don't we always ask for the things we don't really need but would be nice to have? Usually the things we can't afford if it came from our own pocket? Obviously, friends & family still have the option of getting something outside of the registry or simply giving a cash gift but really, what does a couple need to live together? Is the latest, high tech kitchen gadget going to help sustain a marriage? Don't get me wrong. I understand that modern technologies can reduce the stress at home by easing certain household duties. But will the fancier dinnerware make for a better transition into married life?

Why can't these registries be designed so that the couple simply asks for specific categories of items? Such as 1 set of bed linens, 1 x comforter, 2 x pillow shams, knife set, pots & pans, vacuum cleaner, etc. Then family and friends can check off what category & specific item they bought so someone else won't buy the exact same thing from the same category. It's all still a surprise.

It just gets to the point now where I think many couples know they don't need anything and it's not like they are greedy but making a registry is too easy. You think, maybe friends & family really want to give you something but feel that giving cash is tacky or insincere, so they might as well put something down. That is crazy! Cash is probably amongst the top causes of problems in marriages. It shouldn't be that way, no, but certainly I would say having a fuller savings account reduces the stress a hell of a lot more than having a house full of stuff you barely even use.

I really think everyone should just write cheques to the couple. It's way more practical & it's easy. The couple gets to go through the first steps after marriage of making decisions together about their money, learning to balance the give n' take. Since likely before the ceremony, most of their decisions regarding the marriage is about other people's money or they had the decisions made for them. Now, they have to be their own self-managed, self-sufficient operation to build a successful and prosperous relationship with the gifts of love, money and good wishes offered by family and friends.

I would hope that no one really gets married for the gifts & money. I just think this minute difference in the registry system would make for a purer start for their wonderful new life.

Progress to Zero

I'm kind of in a rut, crafts-wise. Whatever shit I am knitting has stopped for almost 2 weeks. I want to sew, but it's hard to find time and be relaxed about it. Seems like I am making mistakes and being forgetful with generic things and by god, I think I have been called moron/stupid about a dozen times in the past 4 days alone.

Sorry. It hurts and I just want to cry except crying will only make it worse. Then I want to punch/kick and destroy something. Or I just want to lie in bed all day guilt-free and hold my dog forever. I hate these times...

Whorling Dervish

Who knows how this started but for the past week I have been obsessively looking up sources for cost effective spinning fibre even though I don't have a clue on how to spin. Of course, those who know me or have read my blog know how chinsy I am with yarn & knitting supplies. By god, I love doing it but simply cannot justify the cost!!!

I suppose it's because I am at that point where I am simply unsatisfied with the quality of cheap yarn but nice yarns (merino, cashmere, bamboo, silk, alpaca, etc/) in pretty colors costs so much dough!!! But I want it... *pout* How can I justify $12+ for a 50g skein when a sweater will probably require 12 skeins? Luckily I may never have the attention span to knit up a full sweater but that's another matter to discuss.

So somehow...I was probably on Etsy looking at handspun art yarn listings, somewhere thrown in there were rovings or top listings. I had no idea what that meant. So I Google'd it, got interested, read up on handspinning and it didn't seem too hard. It looks like something that just requires practice and experience paired with good raw materials. Then the perfect looking spindle for someone like me came along and I can't get over this new found obsession and question: To spin or not to spin?

After some extensive research on the cost of fibre available online and from nearby alpaca farms, it seemed that after shipping, spinning & dyeing, your own yarn will be cheaper. However, considering the effort, cost of spare time & labour, not really by that much? I really sat down and crunched those numbers.

Some things to consider:
1) Raw fleece requires washing & carding (lotta work) and you lose about half the weight after the process.
2) If you choose to wash & card yourself, you must have the tools to do it, the price of which varies depending on ease & efficiency of machine/tool(s).
3) You have the option to send raw fleece away for processing into rovings.
4) You will probably knit with at least 2 ply which will be another spinning process.

So...here're my backwards calculations:
Worsted Weight @ 12 wpi (wraps per inch) - 1 lb (16 oz) = 900-1200 yards
Compare to: 1 x Worsted Merino 50g/100yd @ approx. $5/ea x 12 = $60

2 lbs raw fleece @ $10/lb = $20
wash/card yourself = free -or- Process at mill into rovings @ $1.5/oz x 16 oz = $24
16 oz x $3/oz rovings-to-spin-to-yarn = $48

Savings:
ALL DIY $60 - $20 = $40
Buy raw fleece, send away for process to roving = $60 - $20 - $24 = $16
Buy rovings to spin = $60 - $48 = $12

** If anyone thinks these figures are way off, please comment. They are the results of my "research" & bargain hunting online for lowest/average pricing. By the way, these calculations did not take into consideration the cost of shipping if you were to purchase materials & services remotely.

Is it worth it? Well I don't know just yet. Unless I find better deals to start with I'm not sure I will allow myself to start this hobby. I just have to fight the urge to buy that Trixie Spindle... Honestly, it seems like a helluva lot of effort. Surely spinning enthusiasts will say otherwise. I guess my only other concern here, is feeling kind of silly (even though I am sure I will love it if I tried) when my bf sees me pick up another "useless" hobby, doing something that the Industrial Revolution basically eliminated however many years ago.

Curiously Lacey

I have several projects that need to be started & done before I can allow myself to purchase new yarn but for some gosh darn reason I just don't want to start them yet. I somehow became interested in lace construction. I read up on Eunny Jang's articles, thought I got a handle, attempted to draw a simple lace chart which turned out pretty disastrous even after several tries...so now I am just doing small swatches of patterns from Knittingfool.

I don't know if it's just me but usually the end of the row is slightly wrong or something. Anyways, I've knit up 3 different patterns so far across 28 stitches. It's interesting how they come together where established left or right leaning columns will continue to sway surrounding stitches in the new pattern.

Knit bottom up obviously but listed top to bottom:
3) Overlapping Waves (10 rows - multiple of 6 + 4 st)
2) Diamond Spanish Lace - (8 rows - multiple of 8 + 4 st)
1) Travelling Vine - (12 rows - multiple of 8 + 4 st)

Current Crafting Tally $$

Knitting Tally - At last check in October, this was at approximately $360. I haven't done much since then but let's see what else is new (gotta keep tabs on myself):

$360 - previous tally
$5 - buttons for cable bag
$5 - Sean Sheep yarn
$15 - Christmas presents yarn
$35 - misc. Sale yarn (gloves, dog sweater)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
$420 TOTAL / 15 Projects = $28/project
11 months since start = $38.18/month

Sewing Tally - While not much has come of this hobby, the tally is considerably higher due to the startup costs for notions. I definitely plan on sewing more soon. My skills blow right now, need practice...

$110 - sewing notions & Halloween fabric (pilgrim, turkey, machine cover)
$20 - Terry Cloth (pj pants)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
$130 - TOTAL /4 projects = $32.50/project
3 months since start = $43.30/month

Wonderful & Icky Weather

It's been T-shirt weather for 2 days now and all the snow has melted resulting in mashed green grass & muddy floors (and a little extra in my backyard from the dog). All that is gross and dead is now exposed from under its white blanket yet it is too early for spring. The ickyness will remain for at least several days but it's not like I'm motivated to go frolick about outdoors. When will the mild winter nights with light flurries come so that we can finally go use our Night Boarding Pass? When?!

The headband for roommate has finally been started. I did about a third of it, decided it was too messy and clumpy doing it all in the round, so I frogged all the colorwork and reworked it the same way I did the Skulls hat. Looks waaay better. Here's my sorta chart:

Also, we are ripping up most of our bathroom because of a piece of rotten wood under the shower step due to minor leakage. Bf is gonna install a new base & walls for the shower. We're getting a new vanity counter top, sink, cabinets & doors. The walls wil be repainted and he will rip up all the existing floor tile and yippy I will be re-tiling both the floor and the shower! It'll be a big, fun & intimidating project but I am very excited! It'll also be something nice for us to plan, work on and finish together. It'll be a first! Gotta do lots of research and color scheming, wheeeeeee!!!