Daily Writing Challenge - Austentacious

On December 16, 1775, Jane Austen was born. Now, in the year 2014, 239 years after the author was born, today is marked as the very first Jane Austen day.

I remember my first introduction to the world of Austen. It was 2004, the lights in the classroom had been dimmed and the small 12" TV hooked up to a corner of the ceiling started playing classical music. We only watched small excerpts of the 1995 BBC miniseries based upon Pride and Prejudice but from the moment I heard Elizabeth tell Darcy that he could not have insulted her in a more despicable manner, I knew I had to watch the rest.

Ever since that first introduction, I have read and re-read the novel a multitude of times and played the videos in the background as I studied an interminable number of times and yet still I do not tire of the story. There is something alluring about Elizabeth's independent nature and her tempestuous relationship with Mr. Darcy that cannot be explained. She is pert and sarcastic, with a witty nature that draws others to her, In contrast, Darcy appears to be aloof, cold and intolerant of the stupidity of others. Yet, they are perfectly matched. *sigh* Truly, one of the best historical romances I have ever read and a classic at that.

Today, as part of the daily writing challenge, I draw upon the world Jane Austen grew up in, the country of her heritage. Today, it is not so much a writing exercise but an exercise in humor, in craft and the incorporation of historical events.

As I am sure many of you have encountered, the slogan KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON has permeated even American society. But at the beginning, it was a motivational poster created by the British government in 1939 to rally the public in preparation for the Second World War. This was the third of such posters created; however, never printed. The other two read "Freedom is in Peril, Defend it with all your Might" and "Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness, Your Resolution, Will Bring Us Victory."

A number of parodies have evolved from the initial campaign but the idea behind the posters remains. The slogans are often motivational or serve to create a following.

Today, the challenge is to create your own KEEP CALM poster. A number of sites are available to create your own posters, the one I used is the Keep-Calm-o-matic.  You can link it to a social media account or make your own with anonymity.

Here are some of my creations which tie into interests or have a loose association with events or people from my life.

In honor of this day

For my knitting buddies and Ravelry

Because who wouldn't want a cuddly ball of fat?

A TARDIS on a train

TARDIS on a train. :D What I wouldn't give to see that while I'm gallivanting around England. Granted, that's not exactly commonplace even if the show is filmed in the UK, but hey, a girl can dream.

Sorry, ladies and gents, but this TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimension in Space) is knit and not manned by the Doctor. I know, I know, what a disappointment. But I promise you, this story is a bit epic.

So I was traveling up to Epsom one Saturday several weeks back on a short stop to visit a friend and gift him with a handknit TARDIS hat. I had to travel up to London anyway for a birthday dinner and why waste a perfectly good day travelcard which includes all of London's six zones. (Yes, I realize there are no names, but I figure while reading the book Watching the English, I should be a bit awkward and English about the whole matter since, my dear readers, you may not be exceedingly close to me, and well, for those who are well acquainted with me, you know all the sordid details already.)

Back to the story at hand...

I switched trains from Worthing at Clapham Junction and headed toward Epsom. On the train between Clapham and Epsom is when this little episode occurred. I sat with my back to the closest door opening of the car that I was in with my bag to my right. There were perhaps ten stops or so until Epsom.

About three stops after we left Epsom, I noticed a guy get onto the train. Trains are actually one of the best places to people watch. And when you have an easy project on the needles, watching people becomes additional entertainment hidden by the fact that it seems like you're fully focused upon your knitting. People always seem to stare when I KIP (knit in public) but this was pure audacity on the part of the new passenger. I could see him watching me from the corner of my eye, so finally, I looked up and met his eyes.

Clearly, he wasn't ashamed because he didn't bother to look away. Seeing as he seemed interested, I pulled out the finished TARDIS hat I had in my purse. The knitting in my hands was the hat for me. Since I had bought two balls of blue, and I only dipped into the second ball for the last few decrease rows of the top and the bind off, I figured there should be enough yarn to make a hat for me. The black and white I had plenty of; it wasn't a problem. Okay, confession time, I had the urge to steal back the first hat I finished despite promising it as a present.

When a guy (truthfully, anyone, male or female) says that he's going to wear a handknit TARDIS hat if you make it and then also promise not to throw it into the washing machine (yes, I would consider murder if that happened) and handwash it when needed, clearly they are knit-worthy. So I couldn't take the hat back. But this was the finished hat I threw at my watching stranger.

Taking it in his hands, he looked it over thoroughly before moving across the aisle and into the seat facing me. And if you haven't noticed yet, yes, it's true, not a single word has yet to be spoken.
"Did you make this?" He turns the hat around in his hands, feeling the yarn.
"Yeah, it wasn't hard." I push my stitches onto the cable and stretch out the bottom of my work in progress to show him. "I'm actually making another one for me. I really wanted to keep it after I finished it, but I figured that would be mean since I promised it to my friend."
"It looks hard. It's really amazing." His accent makes him sound sincere; definitely not British, I think to myself.
"Really, it's not." I'm smiling, an unfortunate habit of mine when I don't know what to say. But my watchful stranger doesn't seem to mind. In fact, he doesn't seem to want to let go of my knitting or move.
Unfortunately, his stop comes up and he hands the hat back to me.
"This is my stop, I guess I'll see you around..." The farewell is mildly awkward, but then again, we never truly introduced ourselves, another one of those little things that make the whole situation so English.
"Yeah, see you later." I bend my head back over my knitting with a knowing smile. Definitely one of the most amazing things to happen on a Saturday morning. And it definitely made my day. Getting hit on because I was knitting on the train. The best part was that I didn't know it was going to get even better.
About two seconds later, my watchful stranger popped his head back round the seats.
"Do you have time for coffee?"
Oh how I wished I could have said yes, but I had already made plans.
"I'm sorry." His face fell. "I have to meet a friend for lunch."
"No, no. It's okay."
I wished I could have said yes, but I made plans for lunch and I was late as it was. Granted, it didn't make a difference to my mood. The little exchange had already made my day. 

So, how was that for a TARDIS on a train? Here's a picture of the finished blue box the Doctor travels in.

For those of you who are not following some of the crafting crazes of popular culture at the moment, let me just say that knitting is not just for little old ladies. Knitting might seem like something grannies do in their rocking chair while sipping tea and having cucumber sandwiches, but oh no. It definitely does not have the same connotation anymore.

After all, I did get hit on by a guy while knitting on the train. As the Doctor would say to this little adventure - Allons-y!

It's All Relative

So I don't think I've ever really exposed the exceedingly dorky side of me on this blog as of yet. Granted, the random medical school related stories are fairly nerdy in themselves, but this is completely unrelated to learning and school. In fact, this is definitely extracurricular. ;)

What in the world am I blabbering on about? First, let's start at the beginning.

I was 18 and it was our second trip back to China. We had just gotten home from a banquet and it was midnight or so. Our parents were still downstairs entertaining guests but my brother and I had been shooed upstairs to go to sleep (as if we were actually going to do that). Instead, we turned on the tv and tried to find something in English. After a few weeks in China and only each other to talk to, it was getting to the point that we didn't want to watch any more Asian dramas.

Guess what we end up watching? I vaguely remember the episode, but I clearly remember the Doctor and Martha. It was my very first introduction to Doctor Who and I loved it. We watched two episodes that night but it would be another few years before I got back into it. During undergrad, I caught random episodes but it wasn't until starting medical school and meeting one of my best guy friends that I got back into it.  In the span of the next two years on Sint Maarten, I watched all of the episodes available for the current reincarnation of Doctor Who.

And you know what? It was amazing. While I haven't always been a lover of pure science fiction, the quirky nature of the Doctor and the adventures with his Companion have an element more of fantasy than science which draws me in like a fly to honey.

I fell in love with David Tennant, the 10th Doctor and it was a while before I could find myself enjoying the series as much. It was still good, the stories were still enthralling and the terror of finding stone angels hiding in the corners of the shadows still kept me on my toes, but I missed his blue suit, the messy hair and the way he was so quintessentially the strange but incredible man I could completely see myself following into the threads of time.

Now I find myself laughing along with Matt Smith, the 11th Doctor and I can't imagine him without Amy and Rory. His erratic nature is very different from David Tennant, who was more stoic but oh how his emotions ran deep; Matt is more the fanciful dreamer, a smile always at his lips but harboring enough wisdom and power to destroy a race if needed to protect those under his care.

Alright, so that's enough dorky gushing for one day. But no worries, there's a definite reason for this post. Just wait for the next one, which hopefully gets written soon. I do realize that I'm about two weekends behind in stories at the moment but the next will be full of knitting, train rides and things you never thought would happen (well, something I didn't think would happen at least).