Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Gimme A W!!!!!

It's Wednesday and we all know what that means! It's time for The Wednesday Night Bullet Post! Let's have at it!

*It is 7:00 as I write this and, right on cue, my stupid downstairs neighbor has fired up his stereo. It's not so much that it's loud. It's that Mr. Handyman has installed surround sound with speakers mounted on the walls. I know this even though I've never once been in his living room. When you can feel the bass through the soles of your feet for three hours each night, you just get a sense for the downstairs decor.

*I managed to successfully tink back the Invisibility Shawl to the last place where All Was Well. I even managed to knock out a couple of rows after that without a problem. With five minutes to go before my self-imposed bedtime, I decided to try one more row. I was off by one stitch.

*It turns out that I know more swear words than I thought.

*I was awakened this morning at 3:00 by the return of The Cough From Heck. This, I am sincerely hoping, could be heard in the downstairs apartment. I hope this fervently and have no shame whatsoever over this petty desire. I was ungodly tired today, though. It looks like we will be taking the super-strength cough medicine again tonight. On the plus side, the narcotics make me far more tolerant of my neighbor's taste in music.

*According to my site meter stats, I had in excess of 200 hits on my blog yesterday. Well in excess...this is unusual. An investigation was conducted.

*All the extra company yesterday seems to be comprised of people who were stopping by to see who infected poor Rabbitch with the Fall Cold over the internets. And why I am so stinky... If you get a minute, go on over and give the poor girl some of the internet sympathy. You guys are really, really good at that. Better than chicken soup, I tellya! Feel better soon, Rabbitch. And, um...sorry about any possible contagions. I should stop licking my keyboard.

*I'll work on that tomorrow. Tonight, I spilled pizza sauce on the q,a,z and x.

*I solved the shawl problem this afternoon. After much debate, I looked around for potential witnesses, drew the shades then quickly knit two together in the border. It's like it never happened. And it didn't...I expect everyone to stand by me on this. I'd do it for you. I'll let you make fun of me for licking the keyboard if you want.

*I spent twenty minutes this afternoon trying to explain to my Cheerful Young Teaching Assistant what a popcorn popper is. She isn't stupid or anything. She is just comes from an era where popcorn is produced in a microwave or perhaps an air popper if mom has one in the attic. I was attempting to explain how corn was popped "in the before time."

*I am old. If there was ever any question about that, my knowledge of the history of corn popping confirms this beyond any doubt. I once owned a popper with the plate that gets hot and was covered with a domed lid that doubled as a bowl once the popping was done. Oil was involved. This was the height of popcorn technology at the time and I will not be shamed for my having had one in my possession.

*I actually don't even really like popcorn all that much.

*The beat goes on down in the lower levels. I am not a violent person, nor would I ever actually do harm to another living human being if it was within my power to avoid it. But, I may need bail money in the near future. If anything were to happen to this guy, I will be blamed. Please know that I won't have committed the crime. But there will be every reason to point the finger at me. I am looking for volunteers to run the Sheepie Defense Campaign if anyone has a spare minute or two in their days.


I'm all done. I can think of nothing else. Unless you want a continued description of the bass beat and my guesses as to which song or video game is currently being played. I suspect we may have found part of the problem with the concentration during the lace knitting...

Have a great Middle Of The Week, everybody!

SA

23 comments:

Mel said...

I knew immediately whence the uptick in hits. Ms. Bunny was also not online last night at her usual time, so I'm hoping she's not too severely incapacitated. I think you should start dancing to your neighbor's beat. Loudly. After all, you're old enough to remember the Pogo.

Anonymous said...

Heh, those contraptions made THE BEST popcorn, ever!!! Yikes, I remember it well.... Happy Mid-week to you too....

sheep#100 said...

* The downstairs neighbor deserves to have his stereo shorted. Not that I advocate doing the deed, but still he deserves it. A sick Sheepie needs her sleepie.

* I stopped in the middle of a row on the Aran (::gasp::) because I just don't want to make a mistake and don't want to discover how many swear words I know.

* The yellow goo is good.

* Yay for hits. Boo for infections. Ask me how I know this.

* I know about the traditional popcorn poppers. We are not old. The CYTA is just very wet behind the ears.

* Pizza sauce is sticky. Tomorrow's post maaaay haave lots of odd letters mixxxing aaaround in it, eh?

B. said...

Hey Sheepie,

When I was growing up, we had one of those air poppers that you throw the kernels in the tall machine and the popped corn comes pouring out of this ingenious little spoutn on the top. And, on the lid, was a little metal tray that heated up from the hot air below and it melted the butter to pour on your "air-popped" popcorn. Trouble was, if you weren't paying attention, that little metal tray got pretty hot!!! Ouch...

With regard to your noisy neighbour...you need to install your own stereo system with HUGE sub-woofers "conveniently" laid face down on your floor. And then just crank it!

Anonymous said...

I like Mel's idea of dancing loudly to your neighbor's beat. Maybe Mia will let you borrow her clogging shoes. :)

I, too, remember those corn poppers. Before that, we used to pop corn in a pan (with a lid).

mehitabel said...

We used to pop corn in a wire mesh basket which needed a lot of shaking and would usually catch fire if one wasn't paying attention. I still love popcorn, though! I also had a very ugly frying pan with tight lid which made the best popcorn!
And when I was a kid, one of my favorite stories was the one about some kids who hid in the barn when they were attacked by Indians (I am old enough to have had non-PC readers) and chased them away by popping corn, which sounded like guns. Hey, there was a great dearth of reading material in the pioneer days!

April said...

I too remember popcorn poppers. I am 28 - and don't think that counts as old.

Jeanne said...

My sister still uses her air popper sometimes. Although I love nuclear snacks, I really miss Jiffy Pop. I loved shaking that thing across the stove burner and watching the space-aged foil thing balloon up.

Sorry about the Cough From Heck. I hope it resonates loudly enough to startle Mr. Stereo.

Anonymous said...

You can still find Jiffy Pop in stores sometimes. We love to take it camping to pop on the camp stove. And Orville Reddenbacker's is showing retro commercials featuring the famous "my corn is blowing the lid right off the popper" claim. Maybe your TA doesn't watch enough TV.

Rabbitch said...

Yes, I'm guilty. I'm also still sic but not to the point where I'm plotting your demise any longer, so you're safe.

Um, and I still make popcorn in a pot on the stove. I am so ancient there is moss growing on me, I'm pretty sure.

Anonymous said...

I came via Rabbitch but I liked your blog so much I stayed :)

Mia said...

"in the before time" ::laughing::

That pretty much sums it up.. but fear not.. you have company :)

Anonymous said...

I think you need to fight fire with fire as far as the neighbor is concerned. When he turns off his stereo you should turn yours on, speakers face down on the floor. One of us "old" people (cough cough) could put our hand on a Partridge Family album. Did I ever mention that I'm a bit of a pack rat?
Karen
http://nothingbutknit.blog-city.com/

Anonymous said...

I like Mel's idea; dance; dance LOUD!

I had one of those popcorn poppers, too. I also have to explain things like that to my coworker who is VERY MUCH younger than me. It really does make one feel old :(

K2tog? Who? When? Where? I know nothing about any K2tog.

Cursing Mama said...

Recently I saw something billed as a nostalgic popcorn popper at T@rget - it was this

http://tinyurl.com/2a58mz

I went home & cried for a while and then decided some stupid teenager (I think they may all have this affliction) must have been responsible for that line.

Anonymous said...

Back in my before time I lived with 2 roomies in a basement apartment directly underneath our landlord's apartment. Being the young hip chicks we were, our stereo volume tended to creep upwards. Our landlord, who was in his 60s at the time and had made his living for his entire life by being a landlord, i.e., he was very good at it, came down and asked if we could hear his TV. No, we replied, wondering if he was deaf or just weird. Neither can I, he said. Turn down your music. Which we did. And never allowed it to blast the [presumed] rafters again.

Re: popcorn. I'll see your popper-with-a-hot-bottom-and-domed-top and raise you one black-metal-pan-with-a-twirly-handle-in-the-cover. My parents used one in the 50s, and when I moved into my first apartment I bought one for myself. It made better popcorn than anything else I have ever tried. Why I eat nuked popcorn now is beyond me.

I say, send that Cough From Heck to Abu Dhabi. You could just tuck it into the box with Nermal. Or maybe you should just send it to your downstairs neighbor. That'd show him.

Anonymous said...

I think there will be popcorn tonight. A Club aluminum 4-1/2 qt pot makes a nice popper. If I had a penny for every kernel of popcorn I ate in college and grad school (made from my electric popper, of course) -- well, let's just say there would be lots of upgrades around here.

Susan Ripley said...

Hi,

My name is Susan Ripley and I apologize if you have already received this message from myself or an associate. I am gathering knitting and crochet patterns for the 2009 Pattern-A-Day Calendars from Accord Publishing. I am contacting you today in the hopes that you will submit a pattern or hang the attached flyer somewhere in your store or post it to your website / BLOG /pod cast to let your customers and friends know about the design contest and the chance to get their designs published. You could also email the flyer if you have a mailing list. Patterns are accepted from individuals, shops, charities and yarn companies. There are no restrictions and the patterns can also be something that is currently being distributed for free. You maintain all ownership – you just give us permission to print and distribute.

Some of the yarn shops that have worked with us in the past have also offered fun pattern design/writing classes. This is a great way to get customers into your store while taking advantage of this great contest. $500 will be awarded as First place for both calendars; there are also 2nd and 3rd place prizes; and all contributors whose patterns are used will receive a 2009 calendar.

In addition, it can be great advertising. Every pattern you submit will have a credit to the designer along with a link to their website or blog. If you are a yarn company or store, your store name is listed as well as the designer’s name.

Please go to our website at http://www.knittingpatternaday.com and learn more about the submission requirements and our contest. The contest deadline is December 15th, 2007. If you have any questions, please contact me and I will gladly answer your questions. If your email program stripped the PDF, you can download the flyer at http://knittingpatternaday.com/images/designcontest.pdf

Thanks,
Susan Ripley

--------------
Susan Ripley, Creative Director

Ripley Designs, Inc
1860 Sandy Plains Rd
Suite 204-186
Marietta GA 30066

phone: 678-540-9205
fax: 678-302-9965
cell: 404-964-5882

website: http://www.ripleydesigns.com
“Providing graphic and web design services to the Atlanta area.”



Helen said...

I'm quietly contemplating the sorts of activities you could start to enjoy that would provide reciprocal noise annoyance levels to your downstairs neighbor.
I'm thinking, maybe... a pogo stick? it's good exercise...
or.. hmmm... something that would automatically pound the floor at a non-conforming beat?

debsnm said...

Please, let me send my kidlet - she is death on people who don't have the sense to keep their music to themselves. She has gone down the street at midnight to tell off a neighbor who's music was way too loud (I was sleeping through the drama). Turns out he thought she was someone who's "peeps" had awoken him the night before. When she assured him that neither she nor I had any peeps, he turned the music down. Imagine, thinking we'd have those nasty marshmallowy candy things around! HARUMPH!!!

Donna Lee said...

I am old,too. I know this because I used the phrase "like a broken record" to an intern today and she looked puzzled. I forgot. Mp3 players don't skip.

Ruth said...

I had one of those poppers ... it was my prized possession freshman year at college.

You could melt butter in it, too.

Unknown said...

My downstairs neighbors are very loud too, though it's hard to tell some days whether they are fighting or, uhm, wrestling. Either way they knocked one of my pictures off the wall.