Notes from the Underground, Part 2

We bring you another special report from HoyaGirl who is still living in a media-deprived existence somewhere in California...

Oct. 23: Day 8 of the Media Fast
Tonight, I made it through the gusset. I have given up all hope of having them done in time for the fall festival on Saturday, but I figure with much perseverance and the total lack of television, I will be able to get them done in time for Halloween next week. I can’t wait to show them off to the students at school!

Oct. 24: Day 9
I lost a lot of knitting time today due to Parent-Student-Teacher conferences. I also kept distracting myself with work. I was doing responsible teacher-y things like writing next week’s assignment sheets, planning my next two science units, and preparing my materials for the rest of this week’s conferences. Maybe I’ll get more knitting time over the next two days since I have fewer meetings.

As a side note: Today was the first day I actually considered turning on the television. I think I just wanted to do something mindless after being at work for so long. It would be nice to have something to listen to in the background while I work on the sock. The DCA wasn’t helping much either when he mentioned over dinner that I have at least two new podcasts out there which have downloaded. I really need a pod fix! Lime? Violet? Christine? Knitty D? Wendy? Help me! I’m detoxing!

Oct. 25: Day 10
I finished the first Pomatomus sock. I even grafted the toe and wove in the ends. Then I stayed up way too late casting on for the second sock. I am determined to have them done in time for Halloween, but still I must sleep…

Oct. 27: Day 12
The second sock is progressing well—I’m already into the second pattern repeat on the leg. Mandatory school meetings are good for knitting, and that’s where I finished most of the work today. This sock will be my main project this weekend, because I WILL have it finished in time for Halloween on Tuesday. I did decide today that, because of their lovely fall colors, the socks will be suitable for wear all the way through to Thanksgiving. The thought seems to have given me a boost in overcoming second sock syndrome and carrying on. I hated the thought of having a pair of socks I was going to wear once and put away until next fall! I must admit that I enjoy the foot part of this sock more than the leg. As with most socks, the foot just flies by and the leg just drags on and on and on. This is STILL the main reason why I will always be a cuff-down girl. Now, back to the sock!

Oct. 28: Day 13
It’s almost our anniversary, so the sock went out to dinner with us tonight. After we finished a fabulous dinner at the Gaslamp Strip Club, we walked over to Starbucks to get espresso instead of dessert. We sat in the window and watched the Halloween revelers walk by in their costumes. We and the sock were amused and appalled by some of the chosen disguises. There are just so many female cop short-shorts outfits you can tolerate in one evening! I made it through most of the heel flap while enjoying my caffeine fix. Tomorrow, the foot!

Oct. 29: Day 14
I finished the heel flap and started working my way through the gusset at church this morning. After a few errands this afternoon, I camped on the couch and knit away on the foot taking breaks only for sustenance and laundry. The DCA interfered with the media fast by continually checking the NASCAR race and the football scores. I figure I’m not really breaking the fast when I’m subjected to programming I wouldn’t normally choose to watch. It was highly tempting, however, and I occasionally thought about surfing for a movie. I finished the toe and grafted it around 9:45 p.m., so I will be able to wear them on Tuesday after all. Icarus was so glad to be dragged out of semi-retirement for a celebratory row or two!

Can HoyaGirl make it through one more week with no TV? Can she continue to live without blogs and podcasts? Tune in next week to find out!