Yes I'm still here

It's been so long since I've posted that I don't know how to get back into this, other than by sharing some nice, meaty, random, factoids about myself:

1. I own a vest that once belonged to James Hetfield from Metallica and a pair of pants once owned by Topper Headon, former drummer of the Clash. I have worn both garments numerous times and they are tiny. I'm guessing James never wore the vest [care to comment, Dana?] because it looks like it could barely fit his head. It appears to have been a gift from fans. The magic marker scrawl on the back, now barely discernable, read "To James from the German bangers!" Apparently Topper wore the pants when he had a huge drug habit around the time London Calling came out. (and I'm sure I'll never fit into them again. If you ever see me wearing them, an intervention is definitely in order. They are black denim with some kind of black rubberized reptile print and some rhinestones that make it uncomfortable to sit down) This is a photo of the person who gave them to me, taken by Helmut Newton.

JASSARA, Rue Aubriot, Paris, 1977

2. I have smoked cigarettes since I was in junior high school, but never enough to where I thought I needed to quit. Never first thing in the morning, never a pack a day. If I can smell a burnt butt I can't sleep, and I am repulsed by the smell of it on my clothing. I recently had the same pack for two months before finally throwing it away because the remaining few were completely stale.

3. I have been called beautiful, but am dismally unphotogenic at least 80% of the time.

4. I can't stand raisins, bananas, yogurt, cilantro, blueberries or shellfish of any kind.

5. I have tattooed at least 50 people including myself, all by hand (no machine).

6. I was very uncomfortable around dogs when I was a child. The ones I knew were either terrifying or crusty.

7. On April fool's day 10 years ago I shaved my head and was disappointed to discover that it isn't perfectly round. Ha ha.

8. I have four unfinished sweaters that I stopped knitting after completing the body and one half of one sleeve. I'm working on a fifth.

9. There are 1,000 origami cranes hanging from the ceiling in my bedroom.

10. I was on my school gymnastics team in 6th grade (1980). Our mascot was the penguin, and our ill-fitting uniforms were blue and green. The mascot has since been changed to the Titans or something macho like that.

Here are some pictures from my recent visit to SF. I finally finished Jeffrey Boyce's second sweater after months of cajoling. It was a huge pain in the butt because I was using something machine made with serged edges as a model. The round arm holes were the biggest challenge. I am also a little irked by Jeffrey's dad's interest in pimping my knitting services to his friends. He swears I could make "so much money". Hah.

Ocean Beach now has a whole section with really pretty sparkly black sand that smells kind of like petroleum. Dennis swears it's always been there but I don't believe him. He says it couldn't possibly be from the (56,000 gallon!) oil spill because "they" would never let people on the beach if that were the case. Anyway, this is my attempt at capturing it on film. I have absolutely no idea how to photograph anything black in daylight with a digital camera. I am not a fan of the damn things anyway (digital cameras, not black things). I'm convinced that they are why I look like crap in pictures now.

I got to stop by the only place I know of to buy my favorite preserved mandarin peel snacks. It's on Noriega and 22nd Avenue. The one in the black foil pack is the good one. The other things I decided to try, and they are not good.

This is the stump of the big tree they cut down on Sanchez Street, right outside my friend's house

I finally finished my first toe-up sock. I wonder how many months it will be before I have a pair.

Unfortunately I didn't get a shot of Lisa Anne Auerbach - my very first Ravelry friend to have met in person. She was cool. I'd like to meet her again.