May 13, 2005
Ryan Takes on the Seattle Metro Bus System
Belated Monday Afternoon Note: Had a little hiccup on the blog system side today, so no posting. Will post tomorrow, Dear Readers.
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I am a great believer in buses as an ideal form of mass transportation. In Seattle, at least, they are clean, efficient, convenient, and almost always on time; they get a lot of cars off the road, the remaining traffic is someone else’s problem, and, on rainy days, especially if you’ve got your knitting with you, they can be borderline cozy. Or, at least, those were my rose-colored memories of the hundreds of bus rides I took before I changed jobs and started driving to work...Before Monday’s bus ride to the conference when the bus driver—not a passenger, the driver—argued loudly, viciously, and incessantly with himself for the duration of the 45-minute drive...Before Tuesday’s bus ride when a passenger got on wearing a shiny yellow-gold helmet for no reason and billowing, flapping, brightly colored patchwork pants, one leg of which was cut off above the knee, again, for no reason...Before Wednesday’s bus ride when, at the station, I had to navigate my way around a man who barked. Like a real dog. And a lot.
And now those rose-colored memories have officially vanished, to be replaced by the more-accurate memories of the year I commuted on a bus that stopped by the courthouse, a juvenile detention facility, the city jail, and a men’s homeless shelter. I now remember in excruciating detail how every ride was an olfactory, visual, and sociological...er..."adventure."
But the conference and the otherworldly bus rides are over; back to my car, my commute, and my quiet, safe office with its lack of gold helmets, barking men and mentally unstable bus drivers. The technical communications conference consisted of hundreds of mini 1- to 1.5-hour seminars that one could select from and attend. I won’t bore you with the details, except to say that the most interesting was the seminar conducted by a profoundly deaf and blind woman who is a senior technical writer at an aerospace company in Colorado. She demonstrated how current technology allows her to read printed documents, read the information displayed on her computer monitor, edit online documents, and use her phone—all without being able to hear or see. Fascinating; impressive; humbling. (Trivia of the Day: Did you know that Ball Aerospace is the same company that makes the Ball canning jars?! It’s not so weird when you realize that it all has to do with air and pressure and rigidity and tensile strength, but still, I was gobsmacked.)
On to my latest knitting adventures!
Last summer, at my first knitting garden party, Dear Reader and neighbor Melinda contributed some mystery yarn to my natural dyeing efforts. The yarn never got used for its original intended purpose but a couple of weeks ago, inspired by the Kool-Aid dyed mittens and socks contributed to Dulaan by June, I Kool-Aid tie-dyed the mystery yarn. I used whatever Kool-Aid I had handy which turned out to be five packets of Black Cherry and two packets of regular cherry which, together, made a satisfyingly dark, reddish-black, evil-looking concoction.
Here is the finished skein, looking very much as if a large animal had bled to death, albeit meticulously and calculatedly, from one end of the skein to the other. I was not impressed; in fact I could barely touch it, it looked so awful.
Thing started to look up when I wound the skein into a ball and the colors redistributed themselves...
...and got even better when I knitted a swatch...
...and even better when I made these Dulaan socks. How slick is that candy-cane-like swirl?
The Dulaan Garden Party:
So far, I have the following attendees:
Perclexed
MaryB
Kim
June
Rose
Rebecca
Patti
Martha (who is driving all the way from Spokane!)
Maybe Diana for the last hour
Maybe Kit
If you want to attend, just email me. If you've emailed me but your name isn't on the list, lemme know. And if you’ve already RSVP’d but haven’t received address or direction info from me, again, lemme know.
I hope everyone will be able to drop by for a read on Monday, when I will have a most amazing and moving story and some equally amazing and moving photographs to share with you, thanks to Dear Reader and Brigade Member Marylee.
Love the socks! That yarn definitely looks better knit up. I am in my home stretch for Dulaan stuff. Only have a little over two weeks before I have to mail it. Two pairs of mittens to finish and a scarf. Then that leaves me 6 more things to reach my personal goal of 20 items. Can't wait to see the final count!
Posted by: Sheri on May 13, 2005 01:30 PMSheri, you da' man! Er...woman!
Posted by: Ryan on May 13, 2005 01:33 PMOk, I love the yarn. Really do. And the fact that you had black cherry and cherry Kool-Aid on hand means I could visit you and feel right at home. Those and the occasional strawberry flavor are the only flavors allowed in my house.
And I still wanna come to the garden/knitting/Dulann party. When are we starting that commune again?
Posted by: Stalker Angie on May 13, 2005 01:46 PMAngie, I'm afraid you'll have to take the fact that I had Black Cherry and Cherry Kool-Aid in my house with a grain of salt. The only reason they were even IN my house was because they were intended for use in dyeing all along; we are not, I'm afraid, sisters-in-preferred-Kool-Aid-flavors.
Hey, maybe you could get a temporary, oh, say, week-long assignment to your office here, coincidentally around the time of the Garden Party?
Posted by: Ryan on May 13, 2005 02:45 PM*whimper* You don't like Kool-Aid? *sniffle* I guess that's alright...I'm sure you'd stock up for me if I were to hitchhike to your house....in true stalker fashion.
And please don't tempt me on the whole office re-assignment for a week thing. It's gonna take weeks for me to get the idea out of my head as it is. I'm already thinking up very plausible excuses as to why it would be a neccessity and how much it would improve my work skills. My position used to be stationed up there and the folks who did my job are still up there so I could get some very valuable training....do you see what you've done? Besides, in all honesty, you do not want me around if I have to be away from T for a whole week. It's pathetic. After about 3 days I start getting weepy. I am so whipped. *sigh*
BTW, missed you this week. :)
Posted by: Stalker Angie on May 13, 2005 03:05 PMI will be glad to visit in spirit! And I should get to be an honorary member because I know how to pronounce Spoke-Can correctly. :)
Posted by: Anne on May 13, 2005 03:32 PMI am SO very impressed with those socks! I must admit I would never have thought those gorgeous socks would have been knit from that skein. How about that!!!
Although I think that riding a bus can be handy, years ago, after working all night in a hospital, I had the unfortuneate luck to fall asleep on the bus ride to my apartment, and, apparently, my head fell onto the shoulder of the woman next to me. She stood up and screamed at me, and accused me of being on my way to work in unfit condition,etc. I was too sleepy to defend myself against her tirade.........
Urk, Jenny. Your experience sounds *awful.* I've never experienced anything that bad although many years ago, at a bus stop, a berserk man slapped TMK because, well, he wanted to stand where she was standing. Not a good day. Then there were the experiences I had in the New York subway system...but let's not go there. Blech.
Posted by: Ryan on May 13, 2005 04:26 PMShocking what yarn can go and do to your expectations. I just adore the candy stripy socks. Well done!
Posted by: julia fc on May 14, 2005 06:29 AMJust finished -- or thought I finished -- a pair of striped kids mittens for Dulaan. Hope I have enough to make 2 more - I ended up making two right-hand mittens! Grrr!
Posted by: Sheri on May 14, 2005 07:59 AMI love those socks! They turned out awesome. I'm still working on projects and bought some yarn to make my first "real" pair of socks (instead of baby practice socks). But now *sigh* I want to dye yarn and make my own stripey socks. I really don't need another hobby but those are just too cool for words.
Posted by: Mira on May 14, 2005 08:20 AMI love the dye job. That turned out so great!
My kids love to help with the Kool-Aid.
I had to laugh at your bus ride, I just got done posting a similar adventure on my blog. It ended with a passenger peeing on my leg...
I was glad I didn't have my knitting that day...
Posted by: Tina on May 15, 2005 06:22 AMGreat looking socks Ryan! I'm not sure how I feel about the yarn but the socks are spiffy!
Posted by: CarolineF on May 16, 2005 05:55 AMCan we share a little of the compassion we have for the people in Mongolia with the people in our own space? Although I know it's easier to feel for someone when they are not pissing on your leg or barking like a dog, still, all these people sound very sad. They are more than just an inconvenient "adventure".
Posted by: LaurieM on May 16, 2005 09:10 AM***microphone blowing noises*** Testing, testing.
Ryan sez that bc of the peeling away of a layer of spam protection (what's the SPF for THAT?) maybe religious zealots posting from a variety of grimy internet cafes in Mongolia will be allowed through. Let's see.
Posted by: Cuzzin Tom on May 16, 2005 06:16 PMWell, gooolly! It worked!
I've been cheering on all you Dulaanettes from here in Ulaan Baatar. Could you hear me?
I'll have a very intense story for all of you soon, especially the "scam accuser". I also have the germ of an idea for next year, involving a much more clandestine project for the children and others living in the unremitting, freezing hell that is North Korea. Stay tuned.
Posted by: Cuzzin Tom on May 16, 2005 06:32 PM