Huge yarn- wip

What will this huge yarn become, I wonder.... stay tuned!

I'm baaaack!

Well that was an experience; the AHA conference (American Historical Association) taught me many things. My actual presentation went well, and thanks for all the encouragement guys! One insight gained: Professional Historians drink... a lot. Maybe that's par-for-the-course for most academic disciplines/ professions? Anyway, I subsisted on bar food and alcohol for three days; I ate almost no vegetables and a whole lotta hamburgers and fries. (And even though I had so many hamburgers at bars etc, I had to stop at In-N-Out... so good!) By the time I came home on Monday morning, I realized that I really missed rice and had to have a donburi (Japanese rice bowl)!

San Diego was so much fun too, I wish I had more time to explore the city. As it was, I stayed in this really economical (but nice!) hostel/hotel/YMCA (yes, that is pretty much how they advertise themselves!) The hotel was called 500 West, and if you don't mind a simple room and sharing bathrooms, it was perfect! At around $50 bucks a night, minutes away from the Gaslamp and Little Italy districts, America Plaza Trolley Station and Horton Plaza Shopping Mall, the location was really great for the price.

500 West Hotel... A Hostel/Hotel/YMCA; right on Broadway!

The America Plaza Trolley Station... literally 1 minute walking distance from 500 West hotel! An all day pass was $5

Although I was mostly busy with conference stuff and networking, I did manage to escape on a trolley to seek out a JoAnn's and Michaels in Loma Point/ Loma Square. Yes, I am that much of a craft nerd (plus we don't have JoAnn's or Michael's in Hawai`i!) Unfortunately, neither place really had what I was looking for; I seem to remember them having much prettier fabric and expanded selections of yarn/ crochet supplies a few years back... maybe it's the recession.

Although JoAnn's and Michael's were a bust I did manage to sneak in a flea market; Kobey's Flea Market on Sport's Arena Boulevard. I found a couple little things; a vintage (Mexican?) hand-embroidered piece of fabric for $3, some quartz crystals for $1 and this cute little pin that I thought was vintage until I flipped it over after I bought it (for $2) and found that it was stamped "avon." Ha! It's still super cute and sweet though :D

You Stay Classy San Diego.

Have you guys seen Anchorman? I love that movie! I'll actually be in San Diego for the weekend to attend the American Historical Association Conference (I'm presenting a paper... 15 minutes of reading to scholars, huzzah!) It's going to be quick and dirty; fly in and fly out but I'm really nervous nonetheless. I'm still finishing up my paper! It's kinda exciting too; I've never been to San Diego before! I'll tell you guys about it when I get back!

Happy New Year! Calendar January 2010

Hiya people, and Happy New Year! I hope everyone's celebration was good; I popped a zillion fireworks (as is tradition here in Hawai`i). According to Chinese Zodiac, this year is the year of the tiger, raarr; more on that during Chinese New Year in February.

Here is the first calendar for 2010; thanks so much for responding to the informal poll I had guys, it was really helpful! Based on the results and with thesis obligations, calendars this year will be computer illustrated (I'm so glad many of you like them!). I'll try to make them a little more complex than they have been; there will also be a developing storyline, centered around two main characters: Oscar the Bear and Scout the Rabbit. Oscar has moved to a new town in Apple Valley, and he and Scout and all their friends have a blast exploring and finding things to do. So expect to see Oscar and Scout in every calendar, having lots of fun around town and through the seasons!


Here is January's calender's description:

"Oscar the little bear has just moved to a new town; he's lucky he's already made friends with Scout the pink bunny (she's quite fond of guava jelly) and Ollie the Tiger (he particularly enjoys sunshine). Since it's the start of a new year, the three friends thought they'd celebrate by playing with fireflies!"

To download calendar (with the best quality), view the picture as its original size, then save the picture to your computer. Then you can set the picture you've saved to your computer to your desktop background!

kappa baby

I didn't get my sister anything for Christmas; we kinda decided we'd buy each other stuff after Christmas. So for the interim period I gave her this little kappa (so she'd have something on Christmas morning!). Kappas are Japanese water spirits who are a bit naughty and who love cucumbers. He's different than my other kappa- he has pink cheeks, little green legs instead of chicken feet and a yellow (instead of just green) pad on his head. She really likes him!

Christmas Eve Eve

Hiya people; sorry I haven't kept up with the blogging, I have the flu (I'm pretty sure it's not piggy flu). Anyway, I'm feeling much better today so I'd thought I'd blog a bit.


I received these wonderful presents from some very dear friends of mine; Nia sent me this utterly kawaii necklace made from beaded hello kitty animals and bells. Needless to say my bird heard me unwrapping this (hem hem, before Christmas) and came running over to investigate the jingling! And Deuce, Chloe and Donna sent me a yard of this truly fabulous aranzi aronzo fabric and pin... which I absolutely adore! These gifts were so thoughtful and kind, I just wanted to send a big thank you to the gift givers, as well as you all during this holiday season!


I also wanted to share this really sweet true story, which actually happened today. My mom is a skills trainer at an elementary school near our house; for those of you who don't know a skills trainer works one-on-one with special needs children. Currently she is paired with a little boy who has Down Syndrome. Almost every day during recess, she and the boy would go see the construction that was happening next door to the school; the boy loves trains, planes, tractors and trucks. Anyway, this was the boy's absolute favorite thing to do and he would get so excited and smile and wave, and some of the construction workers would smile and wave at the boy, which would make him even more happy. My mom thought this was very nice of the construction workers, so she sent a thank you note to their company, explaining how special it was for the boy.

Very early this morning (I was still sleeping... sick and all) my sister heard knocking on our door. It was a construction worker! He had brought the boy a small jar of cookies and two huge calendars full of trucks and tractors from all of the construction workers!!! Can you imagine? Such thoughtful Christmas presents for an unknown little boy from swaggering manly-men construction workers, not to mention all the trouble they took to get it to us to give to the boy!!! Anyway, it really touched my heartstrings and reminded me what Christmas is all about.