Pleasant surprises

Seaman's Cap

Yarn: Cascade 220 Tweed (90% Peruvian Highland wool, 10% Donegal; worsted weight)
Color: 7625 (tan with black and white flecks)
Needles: US 6 and 7 circulars
Stitches: 102

If making this hat in essentially two sessions is any indication, I've rediscovered those old knitting superpowers. I worked on this Sunday night, knit a couple rounds during lunch yesterday, and finished it off tonight. I'm stunned, really. This was remarkably easy to knit, even if 102 stitches in k1, p2 for 27 of the first 28 rounds was kind of tedious. All it took was getting in the zone and knitting away.

I'm bursting with pride over this FO. I think it looks fantastic. The design on the crown is pretty cool. (Photos tomorrow.) It feels soft and warm. The fit is snug, and the length is perfect. The brother getting this hat for Christmas better watch out that I don't take it back. I love it.

Knitting this hat so quickly was totally unexpected, which is one reason why I'm so happy with it. Maybe this will be a week of pleasant surprises. This makes two days in a row.

Last night I decided to head downtown early to get a decent parking space for the Spoon concert. Across the street the Blue Jackets game was starting at the same time doors were opening for the show. I'd noticed that three opening acts, all local, were on the bill. Rather than stand around forever waiting for two bands I'd never heard to go on stage, I thought I'd see if I could score a cheap seat for the hockey game and then go to the concert.

Now, I don't have much experience with scalpers, but I knew this was a rare case where I would be in a position of power. Ultimately I didn't care if I went to the game. My intention was to buy a $10 seat in the top rows, but I figured it couldn't hurt to see what those trying to unload tickets were offering. I made a point of not getting any additional money from the ATM and even took a few bucks out of my wallet. You could say I did all right.

A weeknight game wasn't going to be in high demand, especially with the team struggling of late. Plus, it was bitterly cold, so the traffic outside the arena was practically nonexistent. A half hour before the game I approached a scalper out of curiosity. I told him he probably wanted more than I had, but he was willing to talk. (Of course he was.) He wanted twenty dollars for what appeared to be a season ticket holder's seat. I told him I was pretty sure I didn't have that much--I knew I didn't--but he was willing to wait for me to check. I showed him I only had fifteen. He accepted.

I walked in pleased to have landed a lower bowl seat (face value: $72) for a price lower than anything the box office sells except for the ten dollar tix they put out two hours before the puck drops. There was that momentary fear that the ticket might be counterfeit, not that I had any reason to believe it was. The ticket taker scanned it, and I walked straight ahead to my seat.

As you can see, I had a pretty good view. I was a dozen rows from the glass directly behind the goal. It's easily the best seat I've ever had. I got a much better sense of the speed and violence of the game from where I was perched. Oddly, it wasn't as loud except for the keen smack of the puck against the glass. I couldn't even hear the goalie banging his stick on the ice to signal. The game was a bit of a snooze, and the Jackets lost in a shootout again. I got my money's worth, though.

With the game extended to an overtime period and shootout, I was a little concerned that I would miss the start of Spoon's set. Not to worry. I walked into the sold out show at 9:50 just as the third opening act was taking the stage. It was a general admission show, so I did the best I could in finding a view of the stage without forcing my way through the crowd. I claimed a spot in the wings and figured I'd naturally drift to a better location as the mass pushed forward. (When all was said and done, I was about ten feet closer than where I started.)

Spoon went on more than three and a half hours after the doors opened. Ugh, club shows. They played a tight 80-minute set concentrated on their last four albums. "The Ghost of You Lingers" and "I Summon You" were chill-inducing even though I was weighed down with cold weather clothing in a packed venue. The audience was more talkative than I would have preferred, but that was to be expected with the five dollar ticket price. In other words, the guy near me who had been carrying on a conversation the entire time until he exclaimed familiarity upon hearing "The Underdog", a single receiving local airplay, seemed more the rule than the exception. Whatever. Great band, good performance, and exceptional ticket price.