anyone knit?

i used to crochet a bit. i would make silly colored floppy hats for my friends. . . it was fun, and it ate up my spare time. . . but truthfully, my technique was poor.

does anyone out there knit? wanna make me this? i think it’s super cute.

r2 beanie

sometimes a cigar is just a cigar

so i started walking while i was in florida. time to listen to part of an audio book, or some podcasts, or even just music. also trying to recover some strength i lost when i hurt my back last year.

i’m not much on soaking in sunlight, or being outdoors when it’s warm in general, so in florida i would get up early to walk, or go after dark. it was really pleasant. the neighborhood near my aunt’s is very well kept. i only needed to watch out for rogue lawn sprinklers that were better aimed at the road and sidewalk than the lawn.

so now i’m back in northern ny. i’m not so worried about being too warm while going for my walk. i worry about the opposite. i wear silk underwear under my clothes, an extra sweatshirt, scarf, mittens, hat. it’s possible that i resemble randy from ‘a christmas story’. . . i am wearing 4 layers on my chest to keep my core warm. and silly me, i bought new shoes for walking in florida. . . but they are no good here. maybe i should get boots, but i’ve never liked boots. i do have very warm socks, so i mostly need to keep out of frozen puddles.

i now wait for the sun to come up for my morning walk. the temperature has fluctuated from 40° F to just about 0° F. i’ve gone each morning but two since i’ve been back. it’s a small town and the snow plows are out often, but the sidewalks aren’t usually the first thing on the list of areas to clear. at times, when trying to stay out of the way of traffic, i’ve been thigh high in well packed snow. (and yes, i’m short, so thigh high for me might just settle on your shin so. . . bleh.)

it’s great when the small plows clear the sidewalks, but sometimes they do a really good job of slicing an inch above the cement leaving this really slick sheet of packed snow which make it treacherous in a different way. as it has gone so far, there’s usually been a decent meltdown with lots of puddles and small rivers and lakes to avoid. . . followed by a freeze, turning all those waterways into icy hellish walkways. . . then of course, a small snow that lightly covers the ice making for a false security of walking on snow that really turns out to be ice. which sends me right back to walking in the street, jumping into banks of snow when traffic appears. ha, not really, i don’t move for those buggers! let ‘em drive ten feet out of their way to avoid me. ok, unless they have ice too, then i’m getting out of the way.

sometimes i get a little psyched to see skidoo paths on my way, since that usually makes for better traction. sometimes the wind is steady. sometimes it’s steady and in my face both ways. that is just totally not fair. so as i’m on the first half with the wind in my face, i comfort myself by thinking that it will be at my back on my return, only to have the wind change, oh! and pick up snow to leave me in a partial white out with only a quarter mile left. i walked in looking like a short snow covered sasquatch.

i’ve run into a friend who mentioned a couple of paths in the woods, but, i am bootless and orangeless. (he’s the same guy that warned me to wear enough orange to alert the hunters.) so i’ll keep to roads for now. . . even though passers-by can watch me flail as my feet give out from under me on the ice, or wonder what i’m saying or who i’m talking so as i mouth along with lyrics. . . or laugh at a podcast. (i discovered a quick solution to this one, scarves can cover half your face, so now when someone says ‘hello’ i just seem completely rude because i can’t hear them and i don’t respond- and they can’t see the headphones buried under all the layers.)

i guess i could come up with some sort of metaphor to align the difficulties in the walk i take to the difficulties and aimlessness of my current life or something like that. but sometimes a walk is just a walk. . .

making maps

i’ve been playing with google maps. i’m trying to make one that tracks interesting places i’ve been. . . very much a work in progess, but here it is.

hmm. . . sort of a travel blog via map.

been there, done that

help.1

help.1, originally uploaded by ekissam.

this was an interesting day. i thank my friends who responded with texts that kept me in good spirits.

help.2

help.2, originally uploaded by ekissam.

help.3

help.3, originally uploaded by ekissam.

help.4

help.4, originally uploaded by ekissam.

help.5

help.5, originally uploaded by ekissam.

this is your brain

this is your brain, originally uploaded by ekissam.

i actually wish this book was longer. you should read it. . . who ever you are reading this blog. . . you should read this book. it's FANTASTIC. especially if you happen to love music. . . like me. :)

endor?

endor?, originally uploaded by ekissam.

got any suggestions for when you've gone for a walk in a park and suddenly look up to find yourself on endor?

degobah?

degoba?, originally uploaded by ekissam.

or how about when your aunt's back yard turns into degobah?

tree.1

tree.1, originally uploaded by ekissam.

so if you are in safety harbor, florida. you might wanna check out this tree.

tree.2

tree.2, originally uploaded by ekissam.

isn't it just sort of wonderfully whimsical?

danger

danger, originally uploaded by ekissam.

what are people doing in these parks to warrant this sign?!

dali.1

dali.1, originally uploaded by ekissam.

um, so, to put it lightly, i'm now a new dali fan. if you're in the tampa area and you have a chance to get to st. petersburg. . . even if you think, 'eh, who can look at dripping clocks for that long?'. . . .

no no no, so much more than dripping clocks. get thee to the salvador dali museum. i'm now all about locating the animation short that he did with disney.

blast

blast, originally uploaded by ekissam.

i ran into a familiar face. forrest is on tour with Blast! and they were coming through town, so i stopped by for a show and a short visit.

really?

really?, originally uploaded by ekissam.

find the hidden symbol.

i was helping sara put away her christmas decorations.

i get it, it was the 70's and everything was psychedelic man. . . but who do they think they were fooling with this 'candle and holly' ornament?

dad's morning

dad's morning, originally uploaded by ekissam.

its christmas time, only there is no snow to shovel in florida. so dad sat in front of an open door with a cup of coffee watching deer approach.

the set up

the set up, originally uploaded by ekissam.

ok, seriously. we got the idea from this: http://xkcd.com/249/
(go there now :)
and this: http://xkcd.com/chesscoaster/
(ok, go there too)
we wanted to attempt it. and we knew from being in disneyland, that they take a picture on space mountain. we even knew approximately where and when. we formulated plans, where to procure chess pieces and glue. do we do a whole set?- eh, too many pieces, maybe just the two kings fighting it out. maybe we can make the whole thing from paper? that would fold seriously flat and wouldn't be difficult to carry around all day.
then we opted for something similar. dan would string playing cards together and it would look like a floating card trick. i could easily set up a cats cradle with some shoe laces. so we made a quick stop at walgreens before driving to disneyworld.
we planned to take turns for the camera, taking the ride a couple of times, even planning a dry run to figure out where the camera was etc.

this is the only picture that exists. and i didn't even get a shot of him holding it up. it looked good.

space mountain in florida is sadly different from california. no red hot chili peppers, no flashing crazy lights, no double seats, and no picture. dan held the cards and i held a 'pondering' look nearly the entire ride. . . err. dammit.

florida also doesn't have the holiday 'nightmare before christmas' haunted house.

guess we'll have to make due. . . in the happiest place in the world. . .

for the record, it would've looked really cool.

epcot

epcot, originally uploaded by ekissam.

dan had never been to epcot. we were little kids when we were here together last. i had been back about ten years ago with some friends from college. and then there was dan's and my trip to disneyland just this past spring. it was important to get to epcot first, since he had never seen it. it turned out to be just a little disappointing. the lines were unbelievable when we rolled in. we didn't start plowing through rides till after 10pm in the magic kingdom.
our first attempt resulted in a two and a half hour line wait to get on some space ride. there were all the signs to make sure you were in good health and what not, but i kept thinking, 'it's disney, how bad could it be?'
well, after 2.5 hours waiting, we had a three minute ride that both dan and i nearly felt faint on. the g forces were impressive.
we walked around a bit, but then headed to find less crowded territory in another park after we ate at epcot.