I Weigh More than a Duck, ergo, I am not a Witch

This year's Gimli Event was fun. Mostly. Too many people who usually make it didn't (abacchus and _aura_, Sun_in_Her_Hair) Brannie_bird and Dan, and Siegound and Rachelle -- well, those are the ones whose reasons for not going were more money/time off than Other) and at least one newbie I thought would have had a blast. Of course, we also had some newer people and new out-of-towners who did get to come out, so it all balances.

Good archery; two decent shoots plus some fun goofing around. I even did alright. I also found out for sure that one can shoot mongol style and fire a combat arrow (Aka a golf tube with a tennis ball on the end.) The lake was considerably nicer than last year and cool but not cold (by my standards), so I got to go in for a while. I sang around the fire, in an admittedly woefully thin bardic circle. (Partly because the bardic stuff didn't tend to start until late, so we lost some singers due to the desire for sleep.)

Also, in court I got an award, for archery, (Colin got two awards! One for service, the other for fabulous garb, aka his "fancypants" and hats). I also became the official herald. Tao_of_erec how4ever, had been bragging a little too loudly about the fact that as soon as I took over he'd ahve nothing to do, so the HM Hrodir promptly made him the Royal Herald of the event. Hee. I just had to do the Baronial side, which is easier and doesn't involve getting hit with pillows or mocked by the King. Granted, Erec gave as good as he got. As he would. He is, after all, EVIL. He says I'm not evil too, due to my becoming a Herald of my own free will.

I've found the "fire" (Sparkler) arrows getting less exciting, though I still shot one teamed with Cristina; she recently got a super-cool if tiny traditional Korean bow. I'd borrowed an identical bow so I'd have the chance to check it out, and since we were not only shooting the same bow but had been given the same archery award in Court, it seemed to make sense as a set. But I actually had more fun watching it, rather than my usual hoping for a second round.

On the other hand, in some ways, the tower burning was better this year. Colin built his mini tower a little more sturdily this year, so less smoke crept out the sides, and less air got in other then right at the bottom, so at first, it was acting like a chimney - billows of smoke out the top and nothing through the sides. Even when the sides started blackening and smoking through.

A couple of us took turns trying to blow more air into the bottom to speed the process. When I did this, once side crevice promptly ignited, leading Tao_of_erec to start accusing me of witchcraft*; not helped when, later, I aimed to do the same thing on the other side of the tower -- at exactly the moment the top finally ignited into massive flames. Whee! This got perpetuated through other things, from my gloves to... well, whatever tao_or_erec or others could come up with. It also naturally tied in nicely to erec's attempts to claim I was Evil. (Admittedly, Erec did give me a massage that did some painful at the time but nice afterward massage type things to the bad shoulder that left it tender as only professionals previously had. so he's not all evil.)

I did wind up in a bit of a sour mood for a portion of Sunday night - oddly enough, not at the moments I was accused directly of being bitchy and argumentative, but afterwards, partly out of sheer confusion that several things I said seemed to be being taken wrong -- in several different locations and contexts in a row. (I also had a stretch earlier that night where I managed three particularly dirty but totally unintentional double entendres in a row, that was just too damn funny.) One of the things I did figure out why it was taken wrong, but by then it was better not bringing the subject up again. One I think I figured out, and did have a chance to at least speak to the hurt party and ensure she was okay, though she was reticent about details and I preferred to talk happier subjects.

I know what I want most next year is for all the people in town and out of town who usually go but didn't make it to come out next year, and make everything extra splendid.

...Of course, some friends of mine are talking about having their wedding that weekend (Though nothing is firm yet). I really hope they have it sooner, or later, because several of the in town people I most want to convince to make it out to Gimli next year will be not only invited but in the wedding party. Rrrargh! Of course, they have no reason to take the SCA into consideration, but It's not for the sake of the SCA I hope they change it - it's for my sake and my wholly selfish desire to have all the cool people around me -- at BOTH occasions.


*As stated in the last post, old style medieval -- or at least Monty Python -- witchcraft, not Wicca.

I Weigh More than a Duck, ergo, I am not a Witch

This year's Gimli Event was fun. Mostly. Too many people who usually make it didn't (abacchus and _aura_, Sun_in_Her_Hair) Brannie_bird and Dan, and Siegound and Rachelle -- well, those are the ones whose reasons for not going were more money/time off than Other) and at least one newbie I thought would have had a blast. Of course, we also had some newer people and new out-of-towners who did get to come out, so it all balances.

Good archery; two decent shoots plus some fun goofing around. I even did alright. I also found out for sure that one can shoot mongol style and fire a combat arrow (Aka a golf tube with a tennis ball on the end.) The lake was considerably nicer than last year and cool but not cold (by my standards), so I got to go in for a while. I sang around the fire, in an admittedly woefully thin bardic circle. (Partly because the bardic stuff didn't tend to start until late, so we lost some singers due to the desire for sleep.)

Also, in court I got an award, for archery, (Colin got two awards! One for service, the other for fabulous garb, aka his "fancypants" and hats). I also became the official herald. Tao_of_erec how4ever, had been bragging a little too loudly about the fact that as soon as I took over he'd ahve nothing to do, so the HM Hrodir promptly made him the Royal Herald of the event. Hee. I just had to do the Baronial side, which is easier and doesn't involve getting hit with pillows or mocked by the King. Granted, Erec gave as good as he got. As he would. He is, after all, EVIL. He says I'm not evil too, due to my becoming a Herald of my own free will.

I've found the "fire" (Sparkler) arrows getting less exciting, though I still shot one teamed with Cristina; she recently got a super-cool if tiny traditional Korean bow. I'd borrowed an identical bow so I'd have the chance to check it out, and since we were not only shooting the same bow but had been given the same archery award in Court, it seemed to make sense as a set. But I actually had more fun watching it, rather than my usual hoping for a second round.

On the other hand, in some ways, the tower burning was better this year. Colin built his mini tower a little more sturdily this year, so less smoke crept out the sides, and less air got in other then right at the bottom, so at first, it was acting like a chimney - billows of smoke out the top and nothing through the sides. Even when the sides started blackening and smoking through.

A couple of us took turns trying to blow more air into the bottom to speed the process. When I did this, once side crevice promptly ignited, leading Tao_of_erec to start accusing me of witchcraft*; not helped when, later, I aimed to do the same thing on the other side of the tower -- at exactly the moment the top finally ignited into massive flames. Whee! This got perpetuated through other things, from my gloves to... well, whatever tao_or_erec or others could come up with. It also naturally tied in nicely to erec's attempts to claim I was Evil. (Admittedly, Erec did give me a massage that did some painful at the time but nice afterward massage type things to the bad shoulder that left it tender as only professionals previously had. so he's not all evil.)

I did wind up in a bit of a sour mood for a portion of Sunday night - oddly enough, not at the moments I was accused directly of being bitchy and argumentative, but afterwards, partly out of sheer confusion that several things I said seemed to be being taken wrong -- in several different locations and contexts in a row. (I also had a stretch earlier that night where I managed three particularly dirty but totally unintentional double entendres in a row, that was just too damn funny.) One of the things I did figure out why it was taken wrong, but by then it was better not bringing the subject up again. One I think I figured out, and did have a chance to at least speak to the hurt party and ensure she was okay, though she was reticent about details and I preferred to talk happier subjects.

I know what I want most next year is for all the people in town and out of town who usually go but didn't make it to come out next year, and make everything extra splendid.

...Of course, some friends of mine are talking about having their wedding that weekend (Though nothing is firm yet). I really hope they have it sooner, or later, because several of the in town people I most want to convince to make it out to Gimli next year will be not only invited but in the wedding party. Rrrargh! Of course, they have no reason to take the SCA into consideration, but It's not for the sake of the SCA I hope they change it - it's for my sake and my wholly selfish desire to have all the cool people around me -- at BOTH occasions.


*As stated in the last post, old style medieval -- or at least Monty Python -- witchcraft, not Wicca.