Withdrawn

I've been having a hard time feeling any desire to connect with the rest of the world lately. My soul yearns for alien landscapes far removed from the mundane reality of my day-to-day existence. I crave the exotic, the esoteric. I am a wild spirit confined, a dreamer forced to wake up from a dream of golden possibility. I want to experience something fey and beautiful. I want to be lost in an enchanted wood. I want to soar on the wings of a dragon. I want to stand on top of a wizard's tower and command the raging tempest. But, no. Such is not my lot in life. It's hard to accept, sometimes, but what else can I do?

Geek Fail

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No Idea

It's interesting that with everything that has happened lately, I can't seem to think of anything to blog about. Maybe it's a mental block, a deep-seated reluctance to share my thoughts and feelings with others. Maybe I'm just so overwhelmed that choosing a topic is beyond my frazzled brain's ability. Well, since there is so much, let me sum up. We finally closed on refinancing our mortgage! Yay! What a hellish experience that turned out to be. But, it's done, our monthly payment is lower and we did fix some things on the house that needed fixing.

In other news, we've been going to SCA events practically every weekend for the past month. We have one more this weekend that our group is hosting (which means a lot of work, rather than play) and then we are done for a few weeks, I think. As much as I like the SCA, it will be nice to take a break and do some mundane things that we have been putting off. The event we went to last weekend, Tavern Brawl, was a blast. I ran the rapier fighting there, even though it wasn't our group's event. It went fairly smoothly and there were some hilarious antics that we will remember for quite some time.

Yesterday was Mabon, the Autumnal Equinox. It's a harvest festival in many Pagan traditions. Though I don't observe such holidays with rituals or anything, it still has an impact on me deep down where I keep my limited spiritual awareness. Autumn is here and the weather is about to turn. Cooler weather is forecast for this weekend and it's not likely to hit the mid-80's again for quite some time. This makes me sad, for I am a heat-loving creature. But, the Fall Season has it's own charms, I suppose. I'll just have to make the best of it.

There, I guess I did have some things to talk about, after all. I feel strangely better now. How odd.

International Literacy Day!

Today is International Literacy Day! Books have been my life long friends ever since I read the Hobbit at the tender age of nine. They have taught me valuable lessons about life, kept me company when I felt utterly alone and taken me on grand adventures of the imagination. The ability to read is a precious gift that I'll never cease to treasure.

Late Summer Blues

I can feel it coming. The weather is still warm, but my bones can sense the chill that will soon take over. Already, it feels a little strange to be wearing shorts outside. I know it's purely a mental thing, but in my head I'm already shivering. Don't get me wrong. There are a lot of things that I like about Fall. The trees changing colors, bedecking themselves in fiery hues of red, orange and gold. The harvest themes that spring up in peoples' yards and in the stores. The foods associated with the season. And let's not forget Halloween/Samhain, which is honestly my favorite holiday. But, despite all that, Fall is a season of death and decline, by its very nature. Life hunkers down and prepares to endure the unforgiving Winter. The nights grow darker and less friendly, like a jilted lover turning her back on the Sun. It is a season of endings, filled with reminders that all good things eventually turn to dust. As we pass from the lanquid, golden days of Summer, I feel betrayed by fickle Nature. Cast out from the warmth and light to endure once again the fell twilight of Autumn.

Captains Courageous

Another Tourney of the Foxes has come and gone. For those who aren't familiar with it, Foxes is an event that is put on by the folks down in the Shire of Vulpine Reach (Chattanooga, TN) every year about this time. What makes it noteworthy (at least to me) is the team rapier tourney. In the past, this has consisted of three person teams, but this year, they changed it to five person. So, myself and my old teammates, Captains Ysabel and Feador, recruited two new members, Captains Thomas O'Toole and Mikolaj Pilypas (I hope I spelled that right). We dubbed the new team "Captains Courageous". Now, I'm happy to say that we chose very, very well. Everyone fought with great spirit and skill and we landed another victory in the melee tourney. After the official tourney, we got all the Captains together (except for Cap'n Grimm who was marshalling) and did a "Captains against the world" melee. Ended up being 9 of us vs. 15 of them. I died to a very sneaky shot from Jack Marvell (I may be instructing him a little too well), but in the end, we still had two Captains standing. The rest of the day was devoted to pick up fights and socializing (and chocolate fudge cheesecake!). It was a great day! They are few and far between, lately, but so, so awesome when they happen.

Oh, and special thanks to Ursus and Svana for putting us up Friday night. Y'all are the best!

Thing in the Woods

Lessons learned (or reinforced) at Thing in the Woods:

1) Against a highly skilled opponent, even the smallest misstep will cost you the fight.
2) Against a less skilled opponent, in a tourney, do not play around. Kill them quickly and move on.
3) Torrential rain followed by blazing hot sun equals a truly disgusting environment in which to do much of anything.
4) The wanton display of pale, hairy man-belly can be forgiven in the event of #3, but only for short periods.
5) Sometimes, you do get recognized for the good things that you do.
6) When receiving accolades, don't try to be funny. Just keep your mouth shut and accept gracefully.
7) Women are fey and dangerous creatures (no, I will not elaborate).
8) Peach lemonade is among the most vile concoctions dreamed up by Man.
9) Having a screaming headache in the middle of a loud, crowded restaurant tends to make Corbin anti-social.
10) Everything hurts more on the second morning after.