Snippets

Dear Everyone In The Universe:

I know that the winter holidays are coming/here, and this is a stressful, emotional time for all of us. It may be hard to get into the holiday spirit, especially with the economy the way it is.

However, I would like to make a request: Please, during this season at least, think hard before reacting from your gut. Remember that the people with whom you interact are also stressed and emotional. Remember that your hard day is not their fault, just as their hard day is not your fault. Please do not take your troubles out on the people around you. Take some time for understanding--you may be surprised what you get back.

In other words, please, please, PLEASE, play nice. I'm not asking you to be a doormat or just let people be mean to you. I'm just asking you to be extra-conscious of what you say and how you say it as you interact with others during this season. Also, I'm not asking any of you to do something that I wouldn't--I commit, right now, to the valiant attempt of not biting people's heads off, of trying to assume the best of people, of working to stay in the mode of "peace on earth and goodwill toward men/women/others." I hope that this will make this time of year better, not only for those around me, but also for myself.

Thank you.

Okay. This weekend (April 11-12) is a big weekend. I'm going to Lizapalooza, and I'm stoked. Of course, it feels like the entire Pacific Northwest decided that this weekend was the weekend to have their events, too! Here are some of the alternatives:

1) Eugene Library is having their Friends of the Library Sale at the Fairgrounds!
2) Soft Horizons (my favorite Local Yarn Store, or LYS) is having their "Yarn Tasting" event! (I think that's happening on Sunday.)
3) Eugene Knife and Gem Show is also happening in town!
4) If you feel like traveling a bit, Puyallup is having a Truck and Jeep Fest!

Crazy, I'm telling you.

Now, I need to finish my coffee and get some cleaning done.

Thank you, everyone, for your good thoughts and cat-finding vibes! Alex found Loki around 11:30 pm last night in the garage, startled but unharmed, and very dusty. I have no idea where he might have been or how long he was in the garage or whether he got outside and came back in or what, but he's home and safe and pretending nothing happened.

Thank you again! *hugs to all*

Dear mistful:

First of all, you are incredibly amusing. However, you have made me crave stroopwaffels. Today, I was unable to help myself at Trader Joe's. I actually walked up to a TJ's employee and asked her where to find the "Caramel Bites" (mini-stroopwaffels) while my husband was in the restroom, and then I actually told him that they jumped into the cart. He was not fooled for an instant, but I am still having stroopwaffels with my tea. They are not at all good for me, but I think they may be helping my headache.

Love,
Me


Dear Applebee's:

You suck. You continually taunt me by putting good things on the menu and then taking them away. For example, last year, you had this fantastic pesto-shrimp bowl thing that tasted wonderful. It was on the menu for a few months, and then it was gone, never to be seen again. I think that you have changed the menu again in the past week. You took away the rosemary and olive oil fries. I may never forgive you. Also, I was unable to get my tomato and basil soup with dinner, and I have always been able to get that at dinner before. Both Alex and I are very unhappy. When I went to your website to complain, you required me to put in my home phone number. I am not giving you my home phone number. I will call your toll-free number instead and let you know exactly what I think. I will be polite, but I will be firm. Your food is getting blander and blander, and you also removed the blue cheese topper from your steak menu. Our server this evening was not even aware that you had done that. Stop confusing your servers and me by changing your freaking menu for the worse every month or so. You're turning into just another Chili's or Red Robin. You are no longer my default diner.

No Love,
Me


Dear LJ:
Your administration has caused a lot of drama lately by being a bit hole-and-corner about their business decisions. Please tell them to at least be up front. Also, please tell them to keep the things that make LJ special and different from all the other journaling services out there (i.e. basic, ad-free accounts). Remind me to ask what will happen to my account if my paid service runs out. Many of us are wondering if we'll be shifted back to the old basic account, or if we'll be put on a "plus" account. I don't want ads; I came to LJ to avoid ads. This is making me sad--not necessarily the removal of the basic accounts, but the business-speak we keep getting. I feel like your administration doesn't care about LJ's users. I hope I'm wrong.

Much Love,
Me


Dear Me:

Go drink your tea and eat your stroopwaffels. Your cat is demanding lap time.

Love,
Me

To Do Tonight:

1) Write 100-point test on Classicism and Romanticism for students to take on Wednesday.
2) Correct "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment" worksheets. (Done for one class)
3) Knit and drink tea.
4) Call my husband, who is in California enjoying himself.
5) Take Tylenol PM.
6) Sleep.

I hate colds.

Just taking a quick break from writing lesson plans to announce:

I'M ON RAVELRY!

Look for me under sockpirate. I'll be setting up my berth soon.

That is all.

1. Mundane Name:
Amanda.

2. Mundane Job:
Student; Aspiring English Teacher. I don't get paid for writing or knitting or any of the other fun things I like to do, so they're not technically jobs.

3. Persona name:
Angharad Bach is my primary persona. There are a couple more wandering around.

4. How did you come up with your name?
I wanted to be early Welsh. Angharad is the grandmother of one of my favorite fantasy characters (Eilonwy, from The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander, which is based on Welsh mythology) and is documentable. Bach is a descriptor that means "the small," and a friend of mine picked that out for me at my first event. I'm short. It suits.

5. Where and when did your persona live?
Late 12th-century Wales and England. She's on pilgrimage to Jerusalem at the moment.

6. What is your Known World Location?
Kingdom of An Tir

7. What kingdom do you consider to be your home?
An Tir. I've never really played anywhere else.

8. How long have you played?
I've been playing since 1994. I was 16. (Whew, time does fly!)

9. How did you get started?
I had this boyfriend who had a friend who was in the SCA, and he was looking at playing, so I went along. My family came to my first event with me because they were worried that I was getting into a cult. Hee.

10. Why did you join?
I was hooked from the very beginning. I've always loved the Middle Ages, and I am a complete and total geek. It was a place where I belonged, which was very important for a wacky, geeky high schooler who was starting to wonder if there really was such a place.

11. Have you registered a name?
No, but I have the paperwork!

12. Have you registered a device?
No, but I'm in the process. I just have to turn in the paperwork!

13. What awards have you been granted? In what kingdom did you receive these awards?
All An Tir: Adiantum Baronial Brownie, Summits Arts Grail, AoA (2), Jambe de Leon.

14. How many events do you attend each year?
About 4-5 on average.

15. What is the best event you have ever been to?
I really enjoy Egil's, especially when I'm working (oddly enough). The best event, however, was probably the Amergin's where I met alysaundre. It was lovely and relaxed and had splendid results.

16. what is the worst event you have ever been to?
I don't think I've had a truly bad event. There were elements of certain events that made me grouchy, but nothing that wasn't resolved satisfactorially.

17. What event do you make it to every year?
Egil's and Amergin's!

18. What event do you refuse to go to?
Events that conflict with those two.

19. Who is your favorite person to hang at an event with?
I have a lot of favorites. Nearly all of them are on LJ. Hee hee!

20. What activities do you participate in?
Scribal, bardic, fiber arts, service. Also, running around like a small, erratic, babbling Snitch. (That would be a Harry Potter Snitch, not someone who talks about people. I'm generally very discreet.)

21. What activity would you like to learn?
Costuming. The history of same. More knitting. The history of same. I'll try just about anything I can get my hands on.

22. Are you a marshal?
No, but I've considered it.

23. How many tents have you had destroyed at events?
Zero, to date.

24. Has your garb ever caught on fire?
No, I've managed to avoid that one.

25. Have you ever woke up in a strange person’s tent?
If you mean "strange" as in "unfamiliar," then no. If you mean "strange" as in "a little bit odd," then yes, often. My husband and I are both a little strange.

26. Do you have a pavilion?
YES!

27. Are you a peer?
Nope. I'm nowhere near ready.

28. Do you ever want to be a peer?
Sort of. It would be nice to be that good at what I do, and I like teaching. But that's a long way in the future, and it would be more of a signal of recognition than a goal.

29. Is a coincidence that peer rhymes with beer?
Probably. But good beer is a good thing.

30. Are you a squire, apprentice or protege(e)?
Not officially, but I love being a student!

31. Who would you like to be squired, apprenticed or protegee'd to?
I'm not sure if I have time for that kind of commitment while I'm in grad school. However, there are lots of people I'd love to learn more from--fearga, Ketterlin, katanubis, hinkie, corvideye, and countess_e, just to name a few.

32. What is your war cry?
SHINY!!!!!

33. Have you ever been pulled off of the field for your safety?
No.

34. What is the funniest thing that has ever happened to you in armor?
Does fencing armor count? If so, it would be "killing" the guy who had been flirting with and annoying me all day. That was amusing and satisfying.

35. Have you read corpora?
Not yet, but I'm planning to. Shouldn't "corpora" be capitalized as a proper noun?

36. Circlets, how do you feel?
They are useful and pretty. Do not use them to hold your veil on--it will give you the mother of all headaches.

37. What household(s) do you belong to?
Peacehaven.

38. If you could change one thing about the SCA what would it be?
I'm having a hard time articulating the change I'd like to see, but it has to do with awards. I think that many awards, including AoAs, are given out so often and in such numbers that they cease to really feel special. But that trend often depends on who's wearing the Crowns and Coronets at the time--some people give out lots of awards, and others give out fewer. I just think that awards should feel very special to the person who is receiving them, and effort should be made to make that happen. I don't have a solution, however.

39. What is your favorite part of the SCA?
There are lots of people who "get" me and who I "get." We're all part of the same tribe.

40. What is your SCA Goal for the next 7 years?
Go to events and learn as much as possible! Also, get to know people better.

Lots has been going on, and I really hate being up at this time of the morning. Class seems like such an inconvenience right now, getting in the way of getting important stuff done. Ah, well. It's a small price to pay at the moment, and I do start teaching in the fall.

I'm taking my ORELA (middle-school general knowledge test, for you non-teachers) in mid-August. It'll be nice to have that over and done with.

The weekend before last, we had our SCA Arts and Sciences social at our house. It was fun, and it meant that the majority of the house is clean now. (Some of it needs to be neatened, however.) I taught my fearga's 12-year-old daughter, K, to knit. She picked it up right away and is now knitting a Harry Potter scarf in garter stitch. I am more pleased than I can possibly say. fearga tells me that K has now knitted about 6-8 inches on her scarf, and her grandmother has taught her how to purl. ^_^

That same day, Alex taught K how to use the lathe, and K turned a Harry Potter wand. I fully expect her to bring both to the Harry Potter celebration for the book this weekend.

Other people did other nifty crafts, and it was a good, relaxed time.

Scribal work continues apace. We still have charters to paint, and Alex and I are working on a rush project for Coronation. It's actually a lot of fun. We just have painting to do on those, as well, and then they're ready to send on their merry way.

I also went to my cousin's wedding last weekend. It was fun, and the two flower girls and the ringbearer were very entertaining as they emphasized all of the reasons why Alex and I did not have small children in our wedding. The ceremony was short and sweet, the bride and groom both looked lovely, and I have good feelings about their new life together. I also got to actually chat with my grandmother and grandfather on my father's side, who I almost never get to see. That was very pleasant. Grandpa talked a little bit about coming over to Oregon from Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl years when he was nine. I'd love to hear him tell more stories. I also saw many of my other relations on that side, as well as my "Uncle" Fred (Dad's best friend). It was really nice to be able to talk to all of these people and catch up with them.

vesta_aurelia is coming over this weekend! *SQUEE!*

Gotta go and try to get some homework done now--and get coffee. Coffee is vital at this juncture.

I just want to take a moment to register the fact that I am delightfully overwhelmed. I have a gown to create by December, and I have most of the fabric for it. (Must finish designing the surcoat.) At the same time, I need to clean at least part of the house today, and possibly knit another pair of baby booties. (Baby shower tomorrow.) I need to do laundry. I also need to sit down and spin. I'm never going to get any better at spinning unless I actually do it.

What I really want to do, however, is design fair-isle socks based on stained glass windows and medieval jewelry. I want to knit these little gems and wear tiny works of art. And then I want to do a little dance.

Obsessed? Maybe a little bit.

Also, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's Knitty Gritty episode aired again yesterday, and it should be on my TiVo. I need to watch that.

Happy Birthday, hlmauera! I hope it was brilliant! *snugsnugs*

Happy Birthday, katiefoolery! I hope it is brilliant! *snugsnugs*

May both of you have very, very happy times now and in the future.

Love Always,
ME.