So, cdnfighterchic and I reconned after work on Friday, both of us being able to leave early, and headed out to Trillium Wars. The first best thing was we arrived just after all the rain had fallen, so we got to stay dry all weekend. Thanks to tradesman, there was a tent waiting for us, and the weekend was great.

I got to spend a lot of time with good friends, new and old, and laugh a lot. I really like the people from new Ben Dunfirth -- they have the enthusiasm and joy from playing that I really enjoy being around.

Now I'm on vacation this week for the kids, and it's been reasonably relaxing so far. Lots of pool time, and hanging out. With Ren having hurt himself, there are a few more chores around the house for everyone, but no big deal,

I'm looking at some go-karting on Thursday. Can anyone recommend a good place in KW? There's always Bingeman's, but I'm open to alternatives ...

Just did a timeline overview of my staff here at work, and various things we've implemented over the last two years. I'm happy to say that in the last two years, I've quadrupled our staff on my project, and in that time, I've nearly tripled their productivity ...

Nice to see I'm pointed in the right direction, eh? :)

location: Work mood: accomplished

So, I dragged my sinus-clogged, sicky self out to Lady Mary and gave it my all yesterday in the tourney. And I'm pretty happy with how I did. I made some pretty bonehead moves against Siegfried and Kaylah, but when I focused, I did well in the other fights.

If I had some endurance, I might have done a little better. But I made it far enough to satisfy my first tournament outing in a few years.

The best part? People asking me 'wow, you're doing well ... how many years have you been fighting?'. And answering 'twenty ...' :)

location: Home mood: sore

Halloween weekend was madcap and full of blah time with all of us having a nagging cough, but the kids had fun, got lots of candy, and i got a nice long nap this afternoon.  We did trick or treating in Hamilton, and went to a halloween party in Kitchener, and spent Sunday relaxing (well, as much relaxing as one can do when your 10 year old son has three friends over).

Back to the grindstone tomorrow morning!

location: Home mood: tired

Thanks to Alex the Photographer!  There are some pretty awesome pictures of my kids having fun at Melee.  

Yes, Alex had that goofy grin on his face the whole time he was fighting, and while Katie looks petite and behaved, you should have seen her leading the pack of bunny rabbits later that day ...




 

location: Home mood: pleased

So,

I have a list of b-movies to subject entertain my guests with tonight ... suggestions?

Army of Darkness
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Hawk the Slayer
Joe's Apartment (just kidding, Evan)
Man With the Screaming Brain
Sword and the Sorcerer

I've also thought of going and renting Mutant on the Bounty

Any other fine gems out there people want to suggest?

So, I managed to find at Fabricland black and yellow checky fabric! Whoo!

Project #1 - I want to make a 14th century style surcoat ... something that's relatively tight over my armor and looks flashy. Can anyone point me in the direction of a good pattern?

I found the greatest userpic that I just had to requisition.

"It's all fun at first, with the ooh and the aah, but later, it's all the running and the screaming ..."

Which Muppet are You? created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as The Great Gonzo You might be far out there, but you sure know how to have fun! People love you for the wacky things you do! Whoopeee! The Great Gonzo 100% Kermit the Frog 88% Sweetums 63% Janice 63% Animal 50% Robin the Frog 50% Statler and Waldorf 50% Pepe 50% Miss Piggy 50% Fozzie Bear 50% Rowlf the Dog 50% Sam the Eagle 50% Rizzo the Rat 50% The Swedish Chef 25%

So today, Y and I went to the warehouse that is keeping the recovered items from our house.

It was really hard to deal with.

The thing that hit me hardest were the things that had been entrusted to my/our care by people who are no longer with us -- my father, my grandfather, Fiona. These people entrusted us with sentimental items that cannot be replaced, and even if they can, they won't be from their hands.

Fortunately, there are many things that have been saved -- a box or two of photos, a scroll or two, some photo albums only partially melted, a couple of books from Fiona's library, all sorts of financial and personal paperwork (including Y's immigration/landed status papers!), and such. Some of it is water damaged, and some of it is charred, but it's better than having nothing.

They did save the dining room set, all the dishes, the feast gear (which was in the feast gear box which did not survive being wood), and the pots and pans. They were untouched.

They'll have more for us to go through in the next week or so.

Also, I've talked to Y -- she hasn't logged on to her email in a while, and says it's too hard for her to do so right now. She asked me to thank everyone who has sent her an email of support, and she'll try to respond when she is able.

location: Work mood: depressed

Hi guys,

Y and I have just met with the insurance adjuster, and I have a better understanding on how this works. In the next couple of weeks, the hotel will be replaced with a rented house or such until the house is rebuilt.

So - at that point, people who have been offering pots and pans, clothing, furniture, and such stuff will be taken up on. Apparently the insurance pays a depreciated value of what it will cost to replace things (because not everything in the house is new -- reasonable). So, if people have things that they aren't using, it makes better sense to accept offers than have to buy everything new, and run out of insurance money.

With luck, Y and the kids will be settled into a house within a short while and life can start getting back to normal. Y says thank you to everyone who has offered friendship and support.

When there is a place to put stuff, I'll let you all know. If I have any other developments, I will let you all know.

Thanks for being our friends.

mood: thankful music: Tariq - Not Just a Waiter

I'd like to thank the people who have offered to help with the Worst Week Ever (tm) -- in fact, I'd like to thank the people who are *demanding* to help -- it means a lot to have friends like this. The insurance people have got the basics covered, so food and shelter and cars and basic stuff is covered, but there are many things that are sentimental and hard to replace that are hitting home.

So, if you are looking to help, here are a few things that would make life better for my family:

- someone to replace Alex's Wolf's Cub Scroll
- some Barbie stuff or stuffed animals for my daughter (likes them a lot)
- *any* pictures of the kids you can get copies of - we are going to miss the pictures
- any Andrew Greely novels for Yvonne (likes them a lot too)

That would help a lot. Thanks so much.

mood: determined music: I Won't Back Down - Tom Petty

It's not my week ... my house just burned down.

Everyone is okay.

mood: crushed

Just got back from Pennsic so I can work this week ... my weekend was disrupted by a car accident on the way down. A kid in a pickup truck slammed into me at about 130 kmh, and spun my smart car around and did all sorts of bad things to it, but everyone was okay.

The smart car popped a bunch of plastic panels, the passenger side airbag went off, and the front passenger wheel is on a bit of an angle, making it not possible to drive.

I'll hear from the dealer and my insurance on Monday on what happens next. I've never been in an accident before, so this is sort of new to me. Until then, I have a rental, and I'll try to get my (fixed!) car next weekend.

I spent a good deal of the weekend dealing with the car, and insurance, and such. But Boy is my new hero, driving out to get me at 1am on Friday night, and take me back to Pennsic.

location: Home Again mood: thankful music: Ramones - I Wanna Be Sedated

Because courtly made me

If you read this, if your eyes are passing over this right now, even if we don't speak often, please post a comment with a memory of you and me. It can be anything you want -- good or bad. When you're finished, post this little paragraph on your blog and be surprised (or mortified) about what people remember about you.

location: Work mood: tired music: Def Leppard - Promises

Hey all,

So, at a challenge of theagentx from Feast of the Hare, it looks like I'm going to try to tackle another class on "things we just shouldn't talk about openly" in the SCA. For those of you who recall, last year I headed up a class of debunking the black box of a peerage meeting, and how peers behave.

This year, I think I'll be teaching a class on diplomacy, negotiation, and power in the SCA. I want to have a frank discussion of how to wield authority as an officer, deal with household and peerage politics, gracefully lose some battles, try to influence the SCA to get out of it what you want without being a jerk, handle conflict, rumormongering, personal grudges, and come out an honest decent person at the end of the day.

So, as a sounding board, what are some issues and subsequent resolutions to these issues that might be discussed to help people in the SCA? The lines are now open, and we are accepting callers...

location: Work mood: quixotic music: Placebo - Every You Every Me

So, I got to herald at Crown again this weekend, and boy, am I a bumblemouth!

I'm realizing that heralding a court and other forms of public speaking or performance is something that takes practice, and lots of it. Not having seriously heralded in a while, the brain synapses aren't firing in the patterns I want them to.

It's the opposite of not fighting in a while. With fighting, the brain says "go!" and the arms do the molasses shuffle. With public speaking the brain says "am I wearing shoes?" and the mouth spits out all sorts of random babble.

But I'm having fun, mostly.

location: Work mood: determined music: Danko Jones

So, I have an SCA question, that deals with copyrights. Any ideas would be appreciated.

I have in my possession the majority of Baroness Fiona's heraldic library. Many many heraldic books. Some are photocopies, some are originals. It totals about 200 books. While I'm enjoying the use of these books, they'd be better used if I could share them with other heralds in the SCA.

This is a wealth of information I want to share. However, I can't just loan out books and hope they come back - we all know how that will go. I'd love to make copies to loan out (so the original is safe), but then we are getting into copyright issues. I'd love to scan the books and have printable copies, but there are more of those darn copyright issues.

Does anyone have any suggestions on a good way to share this info? I'm up for any good ideas right now.

Thanks, guys!

mood: listless

So, since all the cool kids are doing it ...

I want to know things about you. I don't care if we've never talked, never liked each other, or if we already know everything about each other. I really don't. You are obviously on my list, or found my journal, so let me know with whom I am friends, or who reads this stuff!

1. Your Middle Name:
2. Age:
3. Single or Taken:
4. Favourite Movie:
5. Favourite Song:
6. Favourite Band/Artist:
7. Dirty or Clean:
8. Tattoos and/or Piercings:

HERE COMES THE FUN ... ... ...

1. Do we know each other outside of Live Journal?
2. What’s your philosophy on life?
3. Would you have my back in a fight?
4. Would you keep a secret from me if you thought it was in my best interest?
5. What is your favourite memory of us?
6. Would you give me a kidney?
7. Tell me one odd/interesting fact about you:
8. Would you take care of me when I'm sick?
9. Can we get together and make a cake?
10. Have you heard any rumours of me lately?
11. Do you/have you talk(ed) crap about me?
12. Do you think I'm a good person?
13. Would you drive across country with me?
14. Do you think I'm attractive?
15. If you could change anything about me, would you?
16. What do you wear to sleep?
17. Would you come over for no reason just to hang out?
18. Would you go on a date with me if i asked you?
19. If I only had one day to live, what would we do together?
20. Will you post this so I can fill it out for you?

location: Home mood: sick music: Green Day - American Idiot