I went to a yard sale

Bought some books, got home, and realized that I sure as hell have some varied interests.

All I need is Chickens Magazine to top the whole thing off.

But seriously, that ballet book has like a thousand really pretty illustrations in it.

Today, I did Sociology

So those of you who follow me on Twitter might have seen this strange string of texts.
Y'know, I guess it's not strange. I tell you exactly what I'm doing.

But now, in the 25 minutes that I have before my laundry is done, I am going to explain what those tweets were about.

First of all, pretend my friend Josh's name is Jesus. It's not. But we're going to pretend.
Now pretend that Jesus is in a sociology class.

Okay, no, that's stupid. Here's what happened.
Two years ago, I was at a different school, and I was taking a 200 level sociology class, and it was a lecture with 399 other students and it was boring and I didn't like it.
One of the projects we had in 2-something-hundred Sociology was to do a deviant act.

People turn to deviant acts, we learned, when what they want are denied to them through legitimate means.
We were supposed to walk around backwards or in weird clothes or stand backwards in an elevator or something. I wore a blue wig around campus, and was supposed to record how people tried to get me to conform.
...Apparently I didn't pick a very good one because no one tried to do anything.

Fast forward to today. There are some very important things to know about today.
I have two friends, who are a couple, and who are named Jesus and Meg. Meg really likes Shockers candies. The only place on campus to get Shockers candies is in the vending machine. The vending machine, for reasons I can't fathom, seems to think it is out of Shockers candies when it clearly is not.

Simple solution: we break into the vending machine.
People turn to deviant acts when what they want is unattainable through legitimate means.

So we grab a wire hanger and hope that we can use it to simply knock the candies (they're in the second-to-bottom row of a nearly empty machine) out of their rack, tape a dollar to the top of the machine where the restocking man will find it, and be on our merry way.

Problem: wire coat hanger makes a lot of noise.
Solution: act like it doesn't. Act like we're doing nothing wrong.

The room is not crowded, but a lot of students are going through it to their dorms (the two biggest of the six halls in this complex are through this room). We have a table, are pretending to do homework* and one of us is making a lot of noise and sticking their arms in the vending machine slot.

No one said anything. People looked a little bit. Frequently we'd all crowd around and say things like, "Nearly! Oh! Oh, you've almost got it!" We were clearly doing something to that vending machine that we should not be doing.

No one. Said. Anything. My roommate stopped by for a bit and asked what we were doing. I said that we were breaking into the vending machine because the Shockers were broken. She shrugged and walked away.

We did this for two hours.
As we were finishing up, the group of six who had been sitting in the room the whole time asked us what we were doing. We told them the truth.

No one did anything.

So then Sam wrote a note saying that E2 was broken, and if you could ever so kindly fix that, she'd really appreciate it, rolled a dollar up in it, and taped it to the top of the machine where it would fall out if the door was opened to restock the machine, but was otherwise invisible.

As we'd said before we started, if we could pay for the Shockers, we gladly would.
___
*I pretty much can't type homework without wanting to type Homestuck. I have a problem.

Some Ballet stuff

First things first. If you don't follow Adult Beginner, the funniest blog I've read in a long time (I think I've plugged her blog before, so all none of you who read my blog should be following), stop what you are doing and read all of the archives now, because her blog is going to be a bit like this post, only funnier and better and a blog instead of just a post.

So I started reading that blog because I was sort of interested in ballet and that blog made me a little bit more interested, so I after 4 terms of fighting my way into that class and arguing with my schedule, I've finally got a spot in the school-offered ballet class.

The woman who teaches it is a lot more serious than I thought it would be, and when she said that everyone was going to be wearing leotards and pink tight, I was really excited because I like buying clothes.

The first class, no one had proper clothes, and we more or less stumbled around on the barre (except for some of the people who'd taken the class before or danced before and were just miles ahead of everyone else), and there was a moment when I looked in the mirror and realized that even though 80%of us had no idea what the hell we were doing, it was very very pretty.
Then I started wondering about the future of the class, when everyone's properly dressed and sort of knows what they're doing, and how pretty that will be.

Class ends. Shopping time.
Now, in the city where I live, there is a store that sells shoes and leotards and tights. It's called Renaissance Rose, and it also sells everything else in the world, like wigs and fishnets and petticoats and dresses and Shakespearean Insult Gum and you get the idea.
But there's a couple of employees who really know their dancewear shit. There's even a guy who does pointe shoe fittings, but you have to call ahead and schedule an appointment, because most of the time he's working in a Real Dance Store.
But yeah, if you need somewhere within walking distance, and you're buying shoes for a beginning class, and you only want to look at Capezio products, it's a good place to go.

So I walk in there, pick up a couple of leotards that looked like they might fit, got someone to unlock the changing room and tried them on. Ended up with one, size L, Capezio BraTek2, black. Wanted to get more but the first one was $40 and I'm in college. So I guess I get to do a lot of laundry this year. Good thing they made laundry free for dorm students, I guess.

Looked at the wall of dance tights, but there was nothing but white in size JumboLarge and I not really a JumboLarge and I don't want to wear white tights, so I didn't buy anything.
Then came the shoes.
Something you need to understand about me and shoes: I stomp around in size 8 boots all the time, but that's because my feet are weird shaped, and smaller shoes I can't always get my feet through. So I stuff some paper in the toes of my boots and continue my stomping, but I have kind of tiny feet.
So I go to the wall of dance shoes, find the soft ballet slippers, find the adult ballet slippers, and start trying them on. At this point, one of the store employees has figures out that I'm taking a ballet class and don't know what I'm doing, and while the store is far too busy for him to stop what he's doing and fit shoes to my feet, he keeps checking back on me to make sure that I'm getting ones that fit right.
All of the adult shoes are the Juliet shoes, in canvas or leather. I'm not super pumped about this because I know from all my ballet reading (read: not a whole lot of reading) that full soles are better for beginners because they give you something to push against and actually make you work to strengthen your arch. One of the girls in class mentioned that to me at one point too.
But as I'm trying them on, I realize that all of the smallest sizes are just kind of swallowing my feet and looking all unattractive and baggy and I also know from all my not a lot of reading that shoes for ballet should fit tighter than what I'm getting.
Store Worker Ballet Guy pops by, looks at my left foot (which I'm trying the shoes on) and confirms this.
I tell him these are smallest sizes.
He tells me to start trying on children's shoes.
Children's shoes only are stocked in leather, and again in one style. You're buying children's ballet shoes at RenRose, you're buying the Daisy, which is full soled, so I was happy.
So I again try on shoes until I seem to find one that fits, can point toes and nothing is curling under, thing I've found the perfect shoe.
Store Worker stops by again, says it's pretty good, but I should try a half size smaller. Stays there as I awkwardly find another box and pull on another shoe (there's no shoe fitting bench or chair of any sort. I'm sitting on the floor for all of this) and he says it's perfect. I put the kids shoes back in the box, take all my things up to the front to get rung up, walk away $50.75 poorer.

Next class is the following day (for some reason, this is a TuThFr class, which I've never experienced before). Wake up in the morning, still don't feel like P Diddy, pull on a pair of black tights I already have, hair up in a bun, bangs clipped back, feeling like a Serious Ballet Kid.
Get to the dance room, sit down, pull on my kid shoes in the most hardcore adult manner.
Left foot, ON! Everything is perfect, shoe fits like it was made for me. Left foot says, "Let's get down to business. ADULT STYLE."
Right foot, ON! Right foot says, "Hey, dumbass. Remember how I'm a size bigger than Left Foot."
I think, fuck.
So I do the class in socks, spending the whole thing a little uncomfortable because of my semi-exposed ass just being like, right there.
But once again, I have a moment when we're doing something in the center and I realize how pretty this all is, and we still have no idea what we're doing.
What will this class be like at the end of the term?
I have no idea, but I'm excited.

Went back to good ol RenRose, said that when I tried on the shoes they were too small on one foot, they say sorry but since you tried them on at home instead of in the store, I can't return them, so I buy myself another new pair (thankfully, kids shoes aren't as expensive as adult shoes), try both of them on in the store, everything checks out, pay and head home.
My walk home took me past the fabric store, and that resulted in buying some $30 of fabric and ribbons (I could have bought cheaper fabric, but the pattern I loved was only available in 100% silk), walk on home and 5 hours or so later I'd made a nifty little wrap skirt.
ADULT STYLE.

I'll get back to y'all about how pretty things are later in the term.

Coconut cake, day 1

Day one actually happened a couple of days ago.

Day one was the day when I decided that I needed to make coconut cake.
So I go to the store, get myself some coconuts. The first store I went to didn't have the right kind of coconuts, but seeing as how somehow my town developed with 4 GROCERY STORES IN A ROW that wasn't really a big problem.

Get home, time to stab something sharp through their eyes.
Or...drill through them with a 1/4 inch drill bit on my awesome HAND-POWERED EGGBEATER DRILL (I love that thing too much. It's probably the best thing I ever bought) and drain out the water.

According to Alton Brown, the best way to then get them open is to bake them at 375 and then let them cool. It worked surprisingly well, because not only did the shell crack all over, but the meat of the coconut started pulling away from the shells.

And that was where things got difficult. It took my brother and I about 20 minutes of trying to force the meat out with paring knives (and I broke a paring knife, but it was the cheapest knife we own so wasn't a huge loss) without breaking it before we decided to get some needle-nose pliers. After that, I got all of the shell off in about 10 minutes.

After THAT came getting the husk (the little brown layer that sticks on the meat. I'm calling it a husk) off, and Alton Brown's suggestion of the vegetable peeler was the best ever.

And now came time to grate all of that. I pulled out the trusty box grater (We don't have a food processor. My mom broke the last TWO) and started attempting to grate 1/3rd of a cup for coconut extract, which takes the longest out of everything you need to make coconut cake.

...and two hours later, I had 1/3rd of a cut and a determination to buy a food processor.

And that was day 1. Maybe tomorrow I'll write about day 2 (which was today)

BEDA day 2

I guuess because I want to whine a little bit and it's August 2, I get to do BEDA.

I'm currently working on a buttload of things, including a Korra costume for Chelsea.
I have a headache and I am not feeling all that great.
Woohoo.

Well that was a great start. Nice going, Polly.

I promise i'm working on things.

Since i dropped out of the last term 2 weeks early, i have a lot of homework to make up. This is about 3 hours of work thus far.

April 4: I'll destroy this useless heart.

Today was a follow-up appointment from my wisdom teeth, then a trip shopping with my mom.

For the past couple days, I've been alternating between incredibly happy and pissed off like nothing else, and today was a "everything pisses me off" day.

So then I picked up my brother from school and we decided spur-of-the-moment to go to target, buy nerf guns, and have a war.

It was beautiful.

So then I recorded me playing Portal 2 for a while, and now I'm in a bad mood again but hiding upstairs so I don't need to talk to anyone.

This has been a very strange day. Or week, or something. I don't know. i don't want to write a stupid blog post right now.

Bye, everyone.

Today is Arpil 1, right?

Long story short, My friend Laurel told me to do BEDA, so now I'm doing it, except starting 3 days late because I suck.

So long story short, a bunch of stuff has happened and I don't really want to talk about it. If you know about it, you're one of the people I want to know about it, and everyone else is just going to have to grasp it from what I talk about.

My brother just asked me what my words per minute is typing. I don't know.

Anyway, I think I'm going to play Portal 2 and record it for people, because I don't really know what else to do.

Yeah.

This was a blog post.

Blog every day in April.

What could possibly go wrong?

Meta-spoilers EVERYWHERE

So, as I'm sitting at home (long story) taking advantage of the incredibly nerdy double-monitor setup that this computer has by watching Youtube on one monitor and updating blogger on the other, I've decided it's time for Polly Rants About Stuff.

In this case, Doctor Who.

In this case, Doctor Who Spoilers.

There are rules to the internet. There are rules about Spoilers. One of those rules is that you don't post spoilers on certain parts of the internet. Twitter tends to stay relatively* spoiler-free, you know you don't go on Tumblr until you have seen the most recent thing because there will be screencaps and gifs and audio posts within seconds, and Facebook is where everyone posts information about the episode 4 days after it airs and then everyone gets really upset at them because they think Facebook is the whole internet.

But the same people who are so upset by people sharing information about plotlines and quotes and weird little comments are the same people who are often posting the sneakiest type of spoilers: the Meta-Spoilers.

These are the people who search the news sites and the second they find something like x-actor's contract expires at the end of season 2 and y-actor's contract lasts for 4 years and z-actor's just been signed on for 6 episodes in season 7, they will post it everywhere.

I may be alone in this [I may also be very tired because I had to get up super early, I'm on drugs that make me drowsy, and I had a blood test this morning (long story, once again)] but I absolutely hate meta-spoilers. I think they're just as bad as me watching the episode three weeks early because I have connections at BBCA** and telling everyone on the internet what happened.

I like being surprised by things like that.

I like being worried for a character's life without knowing that his actor's contract's good for three more years.

I don't really understand why one type pf spoiler seems to be okay to post, and why the same people who scream, "No! Spoilers," at any plot-related comment are the first to ruin the mystery for everyone else.

___

*compared to Tumbler.

**I do not, in fact, have connections with BBCA. Yet.

Post-thought: I'm currently thinking about tabletop gaming, where there is the Game, the Meta-Game, and the Meta-Meta-Game.

Simply put, the Game is when you all sit around the table and play the game.

The Meta-Game is when you, outside of the game, talk about characters and the game, and share things out of character that you would not share in character.

The Meta-Meta-Game is when you lie about your character in the meta-game to throw other people off.

The game never stops. The game never sleeps. You are always on some level of meta- playing the game.

And you have just lost it.

Combined knitting

Being a self-taught but rather accomplished knitter (if I do say so myself. I've never knitted a sweater, but I have knitted quite a few daleks. So, you know, I kind of know what I'm doing), I was recently surprised to realize that I purl "wrong."

My first thought was, "Fuck you, whatevah, I do what I want," and kept on doing things as I always have.

But then I was working on a new project (working flat for the first time in a long time. I'd gotten used to doing things in the round) and realized that my knit stitches ended up twisted, and while it didn't look bad, I didn't really like it.

So I kept on doing what I'd been doing and I finished my project, and then I did what I have ALWAYS done when having knitting problems:

I TURNED TO THE INTERNET.

And they told me what I had already known.

I was purling wrong.

*headdesk*

So I looked up the right way to purl, and much to my anger it was exactly as I'd been told by the person who told me that I was doing it wrong, and I did a couple of rows of purling "the right way" and realized that I hated it.

See, I purl by scooping, which makes the stitch oriented differently on the needle. I can work complicated patterns without looking, because I can tell by the feel that my purl stitches are these ones and my knit stitches are those ones.

Purling the proper way means that all of your stitches feel the same and I have to do complicated things like counting and looking, which I'm really not interested in doing while I'm watching television and knitting.

So then I found this page and it was like some glorious message was being sent to my brain.

First of all, I was doing everything totally fine. I wasn't purling wrong at all! I had been using a vintage knitting technique. So to the person who said I was wrong, HA. (I'd been doing Eastern Crossed Knitting and just never known it)

Second of all, I found combined knitting, which is my new favorite.

So, long rambly post about knitting and vintage knitting techniques, and now I leave you with a picture of that thing I'm making:

From Tumblr: Questions not usually asked

These sort of things go around Tumblr a lot, but I don't have enough followers to ask me any of these questions, so I'm just going to answer ALL OF THEM on this blog.

Questions not usually asked:

• 1: Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed?
  Open.
  
• 2: Do you take the shampoos and conditioner bottles from hotel?
  Always.
  
• 3: Do you sleep with your sheets tucked in or out?
  Out. Usually wrapped around me.
  
• 4: Have you ever stolen a street sign before?
  Depending on your definition of "stole."
  
• 5: Do you like to use post-it notes?
  I use little scraps of paper. I'm too poor for post its.
  
• 6: Do you cut out coupons but then never use them
  Nope. I save them to my computer and never print them.
• 7: Would you rather be attacked by a big bear or a swarm of a bees?
  OH NOT THE BEES OH GOD NOT THE BEES.
  
• 8: Do you have freckles?
  Yep.
  
• 9: Do you always smile for pictures?
  Not always. Most of the time when people take pictures of me, they're taking them of me in costume, and then it's a matter of if it's in character.
  
• 10: What is your biggest pet peeve?
  When someone invites me somewhere and then doesn't take their headphones out the whole time.
  
• 11: Do you ever count your steps when you walk?
  If I'm going up or down stairs.
  
• 12: Have you ever peed in the woods?
  Have some people NOT peed in the woods?
  
• 13: What about pooped in the woods?
  Have you not?
  
• 14: Do you ever dance even if theres no music playing?
  sometiems.
  
• 15: Do you chew your pens and pencils?
  Pens yes, pencils no.
  
• 16: How many people have you slept with this week?
  Big fat zero.
  
• 17: What size is your bed?
  At the dorm it's a twin, at home it's a double.
  
• 18: What is your Song of the week?
  Black Cab by Jens Leckman
  
• 19: Is it okay for guys to wear pink?
  Totally okay.
  
• 20: Do you still watch cartoons?
  Do you NOT?
  
• 21: Whats your least favorite movie?
  I really, really hated Wall-E.
  
• 22: Where would you bury hidden treasure if you had some?
  Lithia Park. Then some random kids would find it and be all o_o
  
• 23: What do you drink with dinner?
  Water, usually.
  
• 24: What do you dip a chicken nugget in?
  Honey mustard, ranch, ketchup, or a combination of the three.
  
• 25: What is your favorite food?
  Mash potato-covered chicken nugget bisciut dipped in barbeque sauce.
  
• 26: What movies could you watch over and over and still love?
  The Princess Bride, Repo.
  
• 27: Last person you kissed/kissed you?
  We're not going into details about this one.
  
• 28: Were you ever a boy/girl scout?
  Nope.
  
• 29: Would you ever strip or pose nude in a magazine?
  How much would I be paid and how many days would I have to diet?
  
• 30: When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper?
  recently, actually.
  
• 31: Can you change the oil on a car?
  Probably.
  
• 32: Ever gotten a speeding ticket?
  Nope. Drive a car that goes a max of 55.
  
• 33: Ever ran out of gas?
  Frequently. It's part of driving my beast.
  
• 34: Favorite kind of sandwich?
  Peanut Butter and Jelly.
  
• 35: Best thing to eat for breakfast?
  Peanut Butter and Jelly.
  
• 36: What is your usual bedtime?
  Peanut Butter and Jelly. Wait. Sorry. About midnight?
  
• 37: Are you lazy?
  Peanut butter and Jelly?
  
• 38: When you were a kid, what did you dress up as for Halloween?
  One time I was a covered wagon. One time I was a tree. Also, I still dress up for Halloween. This year I was an Aperture Science Employee. Two years before that I was a dalek.
  
• 39: What is your Chinese astrological sign?
  Goat?
  
• 40: How many languages can you speak?
  English. Also I can swear fluently in about 5 fictional languages from sci-fi
  
• 41: Do you have any magazine subscriptions?
  I want to subscribe to Photographer's Forum, but not currently.
  
• 42: Which are better legos or lincoln logs?
  L E G O bricks (the correct plural of Lego). They're also more painful to step on.
  
• 43: Are you stubborn?
  Not really.
  
• 44: Who is better...Leno or Letterman?
  Alton Brown.
  
• 45: Ever watch soap operas?
  Nope.
  
• 46: Are you afraid of heights?
  Nope.
  
• 47: Do you sing in the car?
  Do you not?
  
• 48: Do you sing in the shower?
  Do you not?
  
• 49: Do you dance in the car?
  Seriously. Is that not normal?
  
• 50: Ever used a gun?
  Yup.
  
• 51: Last time you got a portrait taken by a photographer?
  SacCon.
  
• 52: Do you think musicals are cheesy?
  Kind of. I like them, but yeah.
  
• 53: Is Christmas stressful?
  Like no other holiday.
  
• 54: Ever eat a pierogi?
  I dont' think so.
  
• 55: Favorite type of fruit pie?
  Peanut butter and jelly.
  
• 56: Occupations you wanted to be when you were a kid?
  Several.
  
• 57: Do you believe in ghosts?
  Yep.
  
• 58: Ever have a Deja-vu feeling?
  Indeed.
  
• 59: Take a vitamin daily?
  Not really.
  
• 60: Wear slippers?
  To class.
  
• 61: Wear a bath robe?
  From the shower.
  
• 62: What do you wear to bed?
  PJ pants and oversize t shirts.
  
• 63: First concert?
  Rockstar Mayhem 2008.
  
• 64: Wal-Mart, Target or Kmart?
  Peanut butter and Jelly.
  
• 65: Nike or Adidas?
  Peanut butter and Jelly.
  
• 66: Cheetos Or Fritos?
  Depending on mood. Fritos if the bag has been opened.
  
• 67: Peanuts or Sunflower seeds?
  Sunflowers.
  
• 68: Ever hear of the group Tres Bien?
  Nope.
  
• 69: Ever take dance lessons?
  Yep.
  
• 70: Is there a profession you picture your future spouse doing?
  Peanut butter and Jelly.
  
• 71: Can you curl your tongue?
  yep.
  
• 72: Ever won a spelling bee?
  Nope. Semifinalist in the 7th grade geography bee.
  
• 73: Have you ever cried because you were so happy?
  yeah
  
• 74: Own any record albums?
  Monty Python.
  
• 75: Own a record player?
  My dad does.
  
• 76: Regularly burn incense?
  When I'm at home because it pisses off my family.
  
• 77: Ever been in love?
  Have you NOT?
  
• 78: Who would you like to see in concert?
  Great Big Sea. I think they'd be amazing live.
  
• 79: What was the last concert you saw?
  VidCon
  
• 80: Hot tea or cold tea?
  Hot
  
• 81: Tea or coffee?
  Tea
  
• 82: Sugar or snickerdoodles?
  Sugar with sprinkles
  
• 83: Can you swim well?
  Yes in that I don't drown, no in that I'm graceless.
  
• 84: Can you hold your breath without holding your nose?
  yep. I can also plug my nose with my upper lip.
  
• 85: Are you patient?
  I WANT TO BE DONE WITH THESE QUESTIONS NOW.
  
• 86: DJ or band, at a wedding?
  DJ
  
• 87: Ever won a contest?
  a Guess How Many Candies in 7th grade.
  
• 88: Ever have plastic surgery?
  nope.
  
• 89: Which are better black or green olives?
  Graber olives
  
• 90: Can you knit or crochet?
  Both, but better at knitting.
  
• 91: Best room for a fireplace?
  The Fireplace Room.
  
• 92: Do you want to get married?
  Not right now, but someday.
  
• 93: If married, how long have you been married?
  Peanut Butter and Jelly.
  
• 94: Who was your HS crush?
  Peanut Butter and Jelly?
  
• 95: Do you cry and throw a fit until you get your own way?
  Not really. If it's worth it, I will argue until everyone gives up, but it's rarely worth it.
  
• 96: Do you have kids?
  Nope.
  
• 97: Do you want kids?
  No kid should have to grow up knowing that I was their parent.
  
• 98: Whats your favorite color?
  I like blue a lot. However, I'm more likely to buy something pink than blue.
  
• 99: Do you miss anyone right now?
  Yes.
  

Okay, so that's 99 random questions about me. So we're done.

Back at school

So I've been back at school for quite a while.
I've been doing small updates on my Tumblr, but I really like having a serious blog time here, and I feel like right now is a good time for a new update on my life.

Classes are going well. Script analysis, physics, Shakespeare (we're reading Hamlet and Twelth Night, and my professor is amazing), and photography are the classes I'm taking, which translates to: Lots of reading, lots of homework, lots of reading AND homework, and many many hours spent in the studio.
Add Wardrobe Crew when that starts up and kiss all of the free time goodbye.

I've also been helping out one of my friends with a sculpture project, meaning that I'm spending pretty much all of my free time sewing spoons onto a shirt (it's complicated).
Anyway, this isn't going to be as long of a blog post as I thought it was going to be, because my alarm just went off telling me to get off the internet and do some getting dressed and things like that.

So, everyone, I'll see you all later. I think I'm going to be updating this a bit more, but as it's been quite a while since I last updated, I thought no news was better than some news.
Sentences. Yes.