domesticat.net

Sea and Sky

Submitted by domesticat on 7 October 2012 - 11:33am

quilt
work

Date:

17 September 2012 - 6 October 2012

Photoset:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/domesticat/sets/72157631640034695

Recipient:

Byron's daughter Ada

Pattern:

New Wave

Level of completion:

Completed and given away

Blog entries referencing this quilt:

Lily

It is axiomatic: every workplace that is partially virtual, and dependent on IRC or chat for department communication, must have at least one unofficial back channel. I, of course, participate in a few of those, and there’s one in particular where we have a rule about not talking about work. (Except, of course, when we do.)

A frequently-recurring topic in this back channel, ever since it was created, was the coworker whose wife learned she was pregnant right around the time the channel was created. I lost count of the number of times someone would say, “Hey, it’s been a while since we asked, how many weeks along now?” and we’d cheer as the number grew larger.

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3 comments

Europe in fifteen photos

Submitted by domesticat on 17 September 2012 - 2:32pm

I shot a lot of photos in Europe. The collection is available at http://www.flickr.com/photos/domesticat/collections/72157631548498001/ and is broken down by city and by theme, but since I’ve been asked a few times, I thought I’d pick just a few photos to tell the overarching story.

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Europe recap: the most obvious ten (or so) questions

Submitted by domesticat on 16 September 2012 - 8:16pm

…and we’re home. This is the unofficial part of the trip that falls between ‘the end of the trip’ and ‘the resumption of real life.’ I am home, and hobbling on somewhat sore and extremely tired legs, and I’m dealing with the oddity that is culture shock in my own country.

On the nine-hour flight back, I tried to think through some of the questions I expected to be asked.

How was it? Amazing. Time stretched in strange ways; in the moment the trip felt long long long, and then the moment I got in the cab to go to Heathrow, I could feel time contracting, making the entire trip feel like one quick blur. I know I spent a week in Germany, and it now feels like five minutes, if I don’t stop to think about it in detail.

Did you enjoy it? Yes.

Were there down sides? Yes.

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Photographer number five

Submitted by domesticat on 2 September 2012 - 5:30pm

I’ll say it. I like Amsterdam, but I don’t love it.

I don’t think I’ll speak of it in the rapturous terms that many others have. We get along, the city and I, but I think we’re meant to see other people. It hit me on the way home; Amsterdam is a city of revelry, merriment, and conviviality. I am alone by choice. We have different intentions, the city and I. I’m glad I came, and I’ve seen amazing things here, but I’m ready to move on to London.

Tonight was the last little bit of proof. I did a minor sightseeing day (only two museums!) and then came back to the flat to rest and nap before going out for night photography.

Tonight, though, I trolled the city and started to doubt that I’d get anything. At all. Everywhere I looked, my camera’s lenses felt empty. I’d taken the 14 tram line south and just come up empty-handed, stop after stop. But, then, a fellow traveler was perfect, waiting for the 14 in Waterlooplein.

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Marimekko haul

Submitted by domesticat on 28 August 2012 - 3:15pm

I’ve been doing some Serious Writing in the meantime but let me just tell you … I’ve survived Germany and France, and am currently recovering from a minor gastrointestinal issue in Copenhagen. Due to the short length of my stay, and the fact that this bug thoroughly kicked my ass for 24h, I won’t see as much of the city as I’d like.

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