KNita KNittin'

Count your blessings...

I took a later train today.  Had to make adjustments to my schedule for an after work appointment.  Didn't think it would be any different this morning.  Got to the station fine.  Hopped on the shuttle, and looked to my right at the shuttle waiting area.  I didn't realize what I was looking at at first, and didn't think much of it.  Then I had to look.  I couldn't look long, I was being stared at.  A homeless man, dishevelled and cold had wrapped his feet in perhaps 7-10 layers of what I assume to be newspaper and he must have found some duck tape, because he wrapped his feet up in it.  It was comical in its appearance, but looking at the man as a whole it was hard to laugh.  As I sit in the warm shuttle I began to feel funky.  The shuttle took off, and here I sit.  I just had to put this story down. 

Hot Damn!!!

Now, here's some exciting news.  The Trio played in Santa Cruz this past Friday at The Ugly Mug.  A coffeehouse with a real funky feel and some damn good, miles beyond "Tenbucks" coffee drinks (Dana Street in Mountain View is damn good too!!).  In any case, the gig went well.  Lots of fun and a few friends came over the hill to see me, and some friends already over the hill (excuse the pun) came to see me too!!  I filled the place, it was fun, I was fumbling a bit, but I had a blast. 

Our next gig is in San Francisco at a place called Savanna Jazz.  Never been there, and to by quite honest, I'm scared out of my wits.  Actually it wasn't always like that until today.  For bands who are unknown like us, when we get a gig in the metropolitan areas with big clubs, restaraunts and what have you, we are usually splitting a set with a "house band".  For those of you not into the musician culture, some swankier and big name places have a band that play on "off nights" (mostly during the week) to play for patrons, and perhaps hire a "no name band" during the week to trade sets with.  That's how the gig was originally given to us.  We would play a set, then they'd play a set and back and forth to fill 3 hours worth of time.  That would've been fine.  I have been preparing for that for 3 weeks.  Our manager, just sent out an email.  Apparently, she got a voice mail stating that only WE would be playing.  That means, we have to fill 3 hours by ourselves.  Holy CRAP!!!  I don't know how that happened, but hot damn...how did we get to be such a hot commodity?? I'm sure it was nothing more than the other band couldn't make it, or they couldn't make the appropriate subs...whatever.  It don't matter.  We're steppin' up to the plate.  So if any S.F. Bay Area locals are reading, and you like jazz, stop by Savanna Jazz, on Feb 2, 8:30.  Hot Damn!!

 

JH

Damn,

If it could be any slower at work, I'd be at a dead stop!!  I've been putting off writing for some time, but mostly because my camera batteries died, and I have yet to replace them.  Big news for right now?  New glasses.  Pics to come.  I can see, and I'm very happy.  I'm also very happy that my jazz trio, quartet, or whatever, is getting some gigs.  We'll be in Soquel tomorrow night, San Francisco, next Thursday and Mountain View next Saturday!!!  Moving on up, in the world, right??  I'm having fun, and that's what counts.  What also counts is that this is my last day of work today.  I'm taking tomorrow off!  Yippee!!  We're currently on the coffehouse circuit right now, well, except for the San Francisco gig, but I'm totally loving it  ;)

I've been helping my niece with her New G5 (to be said with envy and jealousy).  She's got this mega machine and doesn't know how to use it!!  AUUGUUGHGHHH!!!  It kills me!!  Anyway, I'm glad to do it.  She's totally going to fall in love with this thing within a month.  She'll never touch another PC for as long as she lives, and I'd love to see it that way.  Can you tell I'm a Mac person??

Ok, This saturday, I'm also going to be participating in something that I've heard about for years.  Me and some friends are going to do the "Pink Oz" thing.  Don't know (or remember) Pink Oz??  Let me refresh your memories....Someone, who smoked an AWFUL lot of dope, apparently started the movie, The Wizard of Oz and Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon simultaneously and apparently, between the music and the video, some crazy ass things happened.  So, we're gonna do that this weekend...sans dope...I think.  :-p  It'll be fun. 

On the knitting front, I'm currently knitting a swatch for the store (since I work there) to be felted for display.  I actually knitted a swatch during my last shift last week, and was also asked to felt one, so I said ok.  I was also wanting to know what the yarn was like when knitted because it was variegated with some deep and beautiful color, offset with some lighter pastel-y shades.  Decided I wasn't so in love with it like I once thought.  Perhpaps it would serve better as a felted thingy rather than the entrelac shawl I will attempt here in the near future...right after I complete my drop stitch shawl.  I'm 2 skeins away from having a wonderful shawl, and can't seem to find the time to get the durned thing done.  I'm gonna drag it around with me for a while this weekend in hopes I'll just finish the damned thing.  I'm gonna start another scarf, finish another hat for my niecey, I've been invited to join an Olympic Knitting cast on party, which I can't physically attend, because I have to work elsewhere, but think I might just make some time to start anyway.  I'm trying to get to making me a sweater here soon.  But the sweater I started, no longer attracts me the way I thought it would.  Perhaps somewhere down the road.  But I've got plenty of patterns.  It's time to start knitting me some tops!!

JH

TAG!! I'm it....

So it seems Nathania has tagged me...Good thing too.  I just ran out of things to do at work!!  Heh Heh.

So here's the deal. Instructions: Remove the blog in the top spot from the following list and bump everyone up one place. Then add your blog to the bottom slot.

 
one by one
Cj's Knitting Basket
Emy's blah blah blah blog
Purls Beyond Price
Knita Knittin

Select 5 people to tag:

So, Dani, Michelle, Emily, GaiaGal (who I haven't talked to in many months!  Hi!) and The Beekeeper's Granddaughter!!  If any of y'all have been tagged already, just lemme know....

Here goes...

What were you doing 10 years ago?

Taking my last semester of Classes in Boston at the Berklee College of Music!

What were you doing 1 year ago?

Getting used to being back on the West Coast after 8 months and working at a j-o-b being an Admin. Assistant to a real jackass! 

What were you doing 1 hour ago?

Doing Admin Assistant stuff...

List five creative things you want to achieve this year:

Begin playing my violin/viola with jazz improv, begin a sweater, work on my bass playing, Get some more gigs in San Francisco, Make a living doing my music

List five snacks you enjoy:

Frito's, 'Nanas (with roasted peanuts...yum!) Tort Chips & Salsa, raw veggies, anything DARK chocolate (I like my chocolate like I like my men...yummy!!)

List five things you would do if money were no object:

in no particular order:
Travel (Germany, Italy, Greece, Africa)
Buy a house near (if not on) the water...Santa Cruz, Soquel, Monterey-ish, perhaps a summer home in New England
Get a trainer
Buy instruments (particularly a Korg Oasys...DAYUMM!!!)
Buy houses and pay off loans for all family members.

List five bad habits:

Eating (well, eating more than I should...)
Scratching (I have eczema)
Judging people (Like who am I to talk!)
Not keeping my room or the house in order
Not practicing my instruments!!!

List five things you like doing:

Knitting.
Eliptical machines
Singing/playing.
Movies
Baking. (though I haven't done it in a while..perhaps banana bread is in my future!!)

List five favorite gadgets:

Korg D8, Cell phone, iPod, eMac, the cute little cleaver/cheese slicer

Name one thing you like about yourself:

My dreads...and me, of course  :)

A new drink...

OK, I didn't blog about the party we had this past weekend.  There's a reason for that.  I had a gig.  I played at Dana Street Cafe in Mountain View to a packed house.  Very fun.  I came to the party afterward, and was beat, but it was good to have all those folks and food around.  After all the cleaning was done (thank you Robin and Mike) we ended up with a GALLON of Chai Tea.  Now, what in the name of GOD can you do with a GALLON of Chai??  I like chai a lot, but a GALLON??  What up widdat??  It just so happens that my mother was not partaking in the Hagen Daas Vanilla gallon I made her buy so she could sweeten up her eggnog.  She totally didn't even use it (and she calls herself sophisticated).  So, I took it, with her blessnig (along with a lot of booze) just days before the party.  So, after the party we have this GALLON o' Chai and in the freezer sits a gallon o' Vanilla Hagen Daas.  Hmmm.  What to do, what to do....Robin then finds a recipe for Chai shakes....You heard me, CHAI SHAKES!!!  I know it's not all that new, but to not have to go somewhere to pay for it is pretty cool.  Throw a little chocolate in there....LAWDAMERCYHALLELUJAGAWDDAMN!!  Best shit in da WOILD, I tell ya!!!

In other news, The California Tax Franchise board is trying to get me to file for 2004 when I don't meet the minimum amount for filing.  They're trying to say I need to fill out a "Part Time Resident" form. I remember making sure, last year, that I called to find out, and was told I DID NOT have to file. I'm wondering who I go to for this.  Anyone got any ideas???

Still making hats.  One down, 1 and 1/2 to go.  Waiting for lunch, and totally waiting for Friday.  We love them 3-day weekends!!  FREE AT LAST, FREE AT LAST!!  (Sure, I bastardized the saying, but he's still a great dude.  GO ON WIT YO BAD SELF MAR'IN!!)
JH

Hats...

So, my sister tells me I haven't been blogging much, so I'll humor her. 

Today, we talk hats.  I've made 3 in the past 2 weeks, and have 2 (possibly 3) more to complete before the end of this month.  I've crocheted 2 (Noel, and Reigna), and knit one (Nathan).  I'm knitting another one, that will go to my nephew, Zack, and still have to get Ashley's on the needles too.  She wants one to match the heart scarf I gave her for Christmas.  Nile might want one, but I'm not sure about that just yet.  Seeing as the hat takes a total of perhaps 6 hours to do, it's not that big of a deal.  I just need a color, Nile!!  Out with it!! Don't be afraid to pick something [your choice of color]-ish either because there are plenty of variegateds to use too.  Anywho, so that's pretty much all that I'm concentrating on for right now.  I should have pictures from the D.C. contingent, but they're seriously lacking at the moment!!  (It's just for motivation, guys...we talk like this to each other ALLLLLL the time.  Don't we, girls?!!)  :)

JH

Kittens and Cats...

By the way, in case you didn't know, my roommate and I have recently decided to keep the 2 (not so) feral kittens we've had in our care for a few months now. We're a 4 cat household!!  Here are some pics.  So cute!!

JH

Happy New Stuff!!

Happy New Year to one and all!!  I don't know about you, but I just wasn't into the new year this year.  I didn't want to go somewhere, get tanked, and pass out at someone else's house, or worse, get tanked and wanna go home so bad I gotta force myself to stay, sober up, and then go home.  Screw dat.  Of course, I wouldn't have to get tanked, but it's the only time of the year I allow myself to do so.  I sat home, crocheted, with a G&T and watched the tube.  Relaxed, no crap to deal with, no one to wait on.  It was fabulous.  Ahhhh!! 

One thing I'll say about the holidays, is that I really do enjoy being with my family.  I bitch about them a lot, but I really do love them quite a bit.  We may have our differneces, but we tend to just resolve it with each other and not have things linger with us. It's pretty nice and makes for some wonderful holidays.  For instance, for the past 2 weeks, off and on, we've been gathering at my mother's house to play Bid Wist.  Now for those of you who don't know Bid Wist, it's kinda like spades.  A lot more fun, if you ask me, though!!  Our family has a lot of fun together, and you have never heard family talk shit to each other like this.  It's so much fun, full of laughs!! 

Last night we got together at my brother's house in the Hayward Hills.  He and his partner love to entertain, and we are always glad to oblige.  He's got a great house!! So, my sister from Washington D.C., brother and wife from Vancouver, WA, mom, other brother with daughter, and myself got together for a wonderful pork roast dinner. 

My sister, who is a tour guide in D.C. has been very vigilant about making sure my father gets his due after his passing in 2001.  My father was a Tuskegee Airman (click here and scroll down to "Flying with Neeta" if you want his actual story).  One of the first black pilots in the Air Force.  Unsung heroes who accompanied our bombers overseas.  She has lobbied for his legacy to continue on in the annals of history.  His uniform and trunk now reside at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Library in D.C., my mother was invited in his stead, to the unveiling of the WWII memorial as a VIP.  She's done a wonderful job.  Last night, she gave her this: My father's name is to be inscribed on the National Aviation and Space Exploration Wall of Honor at the Smithsonian.  How cool is that??!! My sister rocks!!

This is a picture of my brother Bill.  I just wanna put him in here because he's so cool.  Love him to death!!

Now onto the knitting!!

Remember Charlotte??  Well, here she is: I've been working on her a lot lately, but had to stop, to catch up with Christmas gifts...several of which I have IOU's out on.  I have 3 more hats to do!!  Oh well!!  But she's alive and well and lookin' fine.  I had a little trouble with her just before I put her down, but think I've remedied it.  It's amazing how much you learn working with lace.  I know what to look for and how to find my errors.  Thank God!!  I'd be in hell otherwise!!

My Shawl is getting longer and expect to be done with her in about 4 skeins.  Hopefully.
I love her colors and can't wait until I can get her off the needles. Not much to report here!!

I crocheted a hat for my niece last year.  I gave it to her this year from christmas.  Yeah.  I'm pretty bad like that.  But her sister came with her to be with the family and loved her sister's hat so much, I had to make her one.  So....
There it is.  Now the thing is, I have to get to the Post Office this week and mail it out!!  I won't let the same thing happen to her like I did to my other niece.  I just got lazy is all.  Won't let it happen again!  I promise, Reigna, It's coming!! 

So, I think that does it.  If I forgot soemthing, I'll blog again....if I don't get too busy!!  A new year!!  Good thing !!

JH