Mellowbeing

While I’m on a “techy” roll, let me take a few moments to recap what I did the evening of June 7th.
I went to work in the daytime. Left work early with coworkers to go on our very first drunken get together and had free pizza with every drink we bought. But that was an even luckier night – there was a spokesperson from a liquor company present so if we drank something with top-shelf liquor, it was free. So free pizza & alcohol. (You have to see Crocodile Lounge) What could be better?

Showing up to a Google Event half tipsy, that’s what. That night, I was meeting Jessica to see Vint Cerf, “the father of the Internet”, speak at Google’s headquarters downtown (if you consider 15th street & 9th ave. downtown Manhattan”. Apparently Google doesn’t really allow people to talk about the actual events and content of the talk if it’s not an official Google announcement. Welp. All I’ll say is that there was some good empanadas, refreshing water, talk about geeks in a van driving around California, Mars and penguins. That’s right. Penguins.If you’re in the NYC area, I’d recommend going to one of their events. It’s a nice way to spend a low-key evening. Check out their site for future events.

A little over a month ago, I decided to make the change. I switched from Microsoft Windows to Linux, specifically the Ubuntu flavor. I was already running in Mac-only mode at the office so why not ditch the superly annoying and slow OS altogether?
From the Ubuntu.com site:
“Ubuntu is a community developed, linux-based operating system that is perfect for laptops, desktops and servers. It contains all the applications you need – a web browser, presentation, document and spreadsheet software, instant messaging and much more. “

As defined by being “Open Source Software (OSS)”, it’s free . You can download it right off their site and install it within only a few hours. The GUI (graphical user interface) will be very familiar to you if you are a Mac user since Mac OS-X is based on Linux technology and uses the Beryl graphics libraries.
From the Beryl project site:
“Beryl is an OpenGL accelerated desktop that seeks to provide a free, open source desktop experience to the community that reflects the wishes of the users.“

I will have to say that the transition has been very smooth. The user experience is so much better in that the booting of the computer takes only a few seconds and once you are viewing the Desktop, there’s no additional time for programs to be loaded. Whenever you click on a program icon, the program opens up instantly – no long delays like Windows. *shudder*. And if you are a Photoshop junkie like me, there is the Gimp Shop solution which is an open source solution to Photoshop with a skin that makes the application look and run just like the original thing. I’m not a gamer so I can’t vouch for what the capabilities are in that field. Having used Firefox for years now, I’m pretty much set on a browser and Open Office is very good for your writing/spreadsheet needs.

One of the coolest aspects is that everything is customizable. And by everything, I mean everything. I’ve been able to change which shortcut keys to do anything on the system and change my windows styles. Another very cool feature is that all the programs you’ll ever need are already in the repository just waiting for you to click on “install” and you’ll download it and install it within seconds. No more searching websites to see which is the latest version of something you need nor choosing what hardware/software you are using – it’s already done.

Anywho, this is meant to be a small intro for anyone not familiar with the Open Source community and may want to convert… (convert! convert! ) Okay, that wasn’t very convincing. But did I mention it’s free and it’s even prettier than a Mac?

Today I’d like to draw your attention to my new favorite shop on Etsy – Tiger Girl. She makes really cute jewelry and I’m especially liking these:
They’re called “Green with Envy Earrings” and I love them! Very unique beads and of course, I’m a sucker for green things and leaves and flowers :) Check out her shop, you know you wanna.

(Thank you Eggman Studios for tagging me!)

I haven’t forgotten to write about this. I’ve actually been postponing it due to thinking of what to write here since there are many things I could mention but hopefully nothing too embarrassing ;)

1. I have a big sweet tooth. My favorite pastry is strawberry shortcake and I believe Viniero’s (11th Street & 1st Ave. in NYC) is one of the best places to get sweets in the city. Hands down. I’ve been known to go on a “cake run” at midnight – my friend and I refer to this as the “Cake Story”.

2. Even though it’s very geeky, I’ll admit to it. I do collect state coins. I even have a webpage setup so I can keep track of which are available, which I have and which I’m on the search for.

3. My favorite fruit is the kiwi. It’s sour, sweet and fuzzy. One of the strangest fruits and usually pricey but it’s SO good.

4. I was born with grayish bluish eyes which have turned into regular brown eyes. Although when I’m in the sun, they turn medium brown (whoo hoo).

5. As a kid, I wanted to become a nun. Probably because I was surrounded by nuns (started going to Catholic school at the young age of 3 1/2 til freshman year of high school). By the time I was in the 5th grade, I was on my way to be a pediatrician or obstetrician. Early high school, I was going to be an architect. By college, I started off as a Computer Engineer. Graduated as a Computer Scientist. It’s a long way from being a nun to a computer geek. hah.

6. I met Mother Theresa. No, really. While I was in the 8th grade, she was invited to visit my school (St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral in downtown Manhattan). She gave us all her blessing and I was literally a foot away from her as she walked out of the auditorium towards the end of the service. I didn’t want to be creepy like the rest of the people and refused to reach out and touch her shoulder.

7. I really like the song “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” by Rod Stewart. I will have to sing it in karaoke again. :)

Seven bloggers I’m tagging (do it!):
Cat Bishop
Crafty Daisies
Future Girl
Haasome
Jared KS
N-oy-U
Tiger Girl

Your instructions:
1. List seven random facts/habits about yourself
2. Choose another seven bloggers to tag and list their names in your blog
3. Leave your seven tagged bloggers comments to notify them of their tagging and to direct them to your blog for tag instructions.

As a part of my blog, I like to promote my favorite shops. Not only because these individuals have amazing merchandise but also because the shop owners are incredibly friendly and awesome people themselves. I don’t expect to really have an ‘audience’ for my blog but if you do happen to be reading this entry, I encourage you to visit Red Dime Vintage at her myspace profile. [she sells cute vintage clothing so take a peak]
Several months ago, she purchased a pair of long, black wristwarmers. I’ve been meaning to make up a customer appreciation page on my actual website but since that isn’t happening anytime soon (the day will come when it’s actually live and running..) I will be using this medium to show my appreciation. Here’s Jesseica in a beautiful B&W picture posing said wristwarmers.

I’ve decided to take a week off from work because I honestly just needed a break. I haven’t taken a real vacation in quite a while. Weekend day trips (which turn out to be 8 hour rides to Atlantic City..) are awesome for the soul but sometimes, you just need a longer relaxation break.

In order to celebrate this week of bumming around, I have put up a Sale on my Etsy shop, have promised myself to update this blog once a day as well as work on my website (mellowbeing.com) in addition to actually finishing “work” work as well as schoolwork. I promise it won’t be an unproductive week. I’m also looking forward to the Museum Mile Festival this Tuesday (tomorrow)! 3 hours of free access to any museum along the 23 car-free blocks 5th Avenue between 82nd & 105th.
So I know the real reason you’re reading this blog. To see the finished pirate wristwarmer! (yes, singular.. just started working on the 2nd one last night..) It’s made of black and white 100% cotton yarns with my own pattern (who doesn’t love drawing on graph paper with a pencil and eraser in hand?). Voila!
And last but not least, a good friend of mine found this awesome illustration of me on Deviant Art. I should find out the artist’s name and give the person the proper credit. (Update, pacman23’s link Thanks, Will.) If you’ve ever wondered what I’d look like on a day when I feel sporty, this is pretty much it (according to my friend, it is uncanny how similar this girl is to me, including the uberly long “trademark” legs):

This scarf definitely reminds me of water, skies and trees. The pattern I used, although very simple, is very beautiful and gives this scarf a texture of almost like it having ripples. For anyone who wants to achieve this effect, it’s k2, p2 for 2 rows and then reverse it to p2, k2 and reverse after another 2 rows, etc. (thanks to Haasome who taught me this). It’s a handy pattern for times when you want to maximize your yarn use. I had recently acquired one skein of this beautiful silky, bamboo yarn but I didn’t know where to get another (it was from a destash sale) so I had to somehow extend this one skein into a full project. Using a ribbed pattern would require more yarn so using this easy technique maximized the length and width of each stitch.

Anywho, it wasn’t until I started to take pictures of it that I realized what it reminded me of: a Monet painting. After several tries to capture the real texture of this scarf, I noticed that the incredibly blurry pictures were actually beautiful..something like a Monet painting.. I’m now in love all over again with this finished piece :)

p.s. For those keeping up with my blog, I did finish one of the pirate wristwarmers! Will be posting pictures of that very soon. This has indeed been a productive weekend crafty-wise.