Still here

Just a quick note to let everyone know that I haven't forgotten about my blog. I've just been slammed at work and at home, so haven't had time to post any of the most recent stuff that's been going on. I expect I'll put up a report on Gulf Wars as time permits. That is all.

Challenging Times

Ok, so, I'm going to whine a bit here. Sue me. The past week has been rather challenging. It's funny how life decides to throw multiple issues at us at once. Funny "strange", not funny "ha ha". It's not amusing in the least, believe me. To start with, we are frantically getting things together for Gulf Wars, our big, week-long SCA event that starts in about a week. This includes several frustrating projects that have not been particularly cooperative. We've had to drop a lot more money than I'm comfortable with to accomplish our goals, as well. To top that off, I was on call with work all last week, which is always emotionally exhausting. Then, as if the above stresses weren't enough, the transmission in our van self-destructed in a fit of pique. So much for our recently paid off credit card balance. Sure, it is supposed to be fixed before we need it to go to Gulf Wars, but the price tag is enough to make us wince. Oh, and did I mention that Ysabel has bronchitis? Not fun. She had to miss out on going to the Northern Regional Practice on Saturday and was very unhappy about it. I managed to go by loading all of my (and Dougal's) gear into my piddly little car. It was not happy to have to haul that load all the way up to Crossville, TN. The practice itself demonstrated just how out of shape I am, too. I got to try out my new rapier helm, but the silly thing proved to be too heavy for my back and neck to support for very long. Between that and the complicated new dagger guards I'm trying to learn, I have a lovely knot in my back that feels like someone inserted an ice pick right next to my spine and left it there. I need to work on building up my "core" muscles, apparently.

On the good side, the camp bed is done and we have a memory foam pad on the way to use as a mattress. Our rapier students all got to come to the Regional and spent some time fighting each other. They seemed to have a blast and I got to work with Jack and Rayne some, which is always nice. Dougal got a couple more authorizations out of the way and I helped Piers, a new fighter from the Thor's Mtn. group, to authorize, as well. It was a productive day that was only marred by Ysabel's absence and the problem with my helm. I'm no longer on call at work, which is a huge weight off my shoulders. We seem to be on track to have everything ready for Gulf Wars. And last, but not least, I'm not completely broke.... yet. I guess you take the bad with the good, huh?

Meatless Monday

I haven't eaten anything remotely resembling meat so far today. Not out of any moral objection to eating the flesh of tasty animals, but because I was in a hurry and forgot to pick up a lunch at the store this morning. Rather than going out to get fast food (which I am trying really hard to avoid), I just decided to eat more of the stuff I bought for breakfast and snacks. Breakfast consisted of a granola bar (with 5 grams of soy protein) and a cup of peach chunks. Lunch was another protein bar, a different granola bar left over from last week (mmmmm... fiber) and a handful of dried apricots. Unfortunately, my metabolism is that of a carnivore, so I'm feeling really weird right now. Too many complex sugars, not enough protein to soak up the resulting insulin rush. Reality is warping in unpleasant ways.

Sorry, PETA, but ingesting your furry little buddies is a necessity to my continued well-being. Don't get me wrong, I certainly don't take their sacrifice for granted. I'm very grateful to them for giving up their earthly forms that I may live. That said, Meatless Monday is not destined to become a lasting tradition. In fact, I doubt I'll make it all the way though the day without feasting on one of your cute, cuddly barnyard pals. You know what they say, "Meat is murder. Yummy, yummy murder...".

Sleeping Arrangements

We recently decided that, with Gulf Wars looming on the near horizon, we were tired of sleeping on uncomfortable (and seperate) cots while camping. So, we looked around for plans for a DIY camp bed. Having found a design that seemed simple enough for us to put together without a woodshop and major carpentry skills, we headed out to Home Depot to get the lumber. We fully expected to have to cut the boards to length ourselves with a hand saw, a process that I was not particularly looking forward to. Luckily, once we had picked out suitable pieces of former green growing things, we realized that the Home Depot people could cut them all for us in a matter of just a few minutes. I was overjoyed at the amount of strenuous labor that this saved us. We ordered the fastener hardware Monday and are hoping to have the whole thing sanded, varnished and ready to go on Saturday. It will be a huge improvement to our Gulf Wars experience. Who knows, maybe sleeping on a real bed will even keep me from feeling like I was beaten with a blunt object every morning when I wake up. Wouldn't that be something?

Feel the Hate

How is it that I can fight rapier Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday with no ill effects except some residual stiffness, but I bend down to get something out of my closet yesterday morning and end up with a massive knot in my back that is still causing me a fair amount of pain today? Don't know if it's a pinched nerve or what, but it's going to make fighting tomorrow a real problem if it doesn't unkink by then. I'm utterly convinced that my body hates me and does this kind of thing just out of spite.

Ups and Downs

Just when I think I'm getting pretty good at this rapier fighting thing, I have a practice that makes me question whether I should even bother. Consistancy seems to escape me, despite my continued dedication to improving my skills and physical condition. One day I'm unbeatable and the next I'm everyone's practice dummy. It's very frustrating, especially when people are counting on me to be at a certain level. Hopefully, now that things seem to be kicking into high gear with practices and events, the rollercoaster will stop and I won't have the peaks and valleys quite so much.

Midwinter A&S

Midwinter A&S was a lot of fun. We got there around 10am Saturday, helped Cillian and Serona with their Historical Combat A&S entry, grabbed some quick lunch, then fought through the afternoon. Later, Her Majesty graciously allowed Ysabel and I to be part of her entourage at Court, as her Rapier Champions. We skipped out after Court, even though we probably could have stayed for Feast. By then, we were tired and sore and just wanted to go back to Ysabel's parents' place and crash. It's nice to have family in the Atlanta area for when we have events down there. It gives us a place to stay that's reasonably comfortable and gives her parents a chance to hang out with their grandkids more than they would have otherwise.

It was nice to get to fight, but I haven't done that much combat in a few months and I'm feeling it this morning. I fought Jean-Michel for the Iron Ring of Meridies (ie. The Precious). He made the challenge and we agreed to fight Cut and Thrust, rather than standard rapier. Best two out of three bouts, out of which he won two. I think if I had not been borrowing armor that made moving a bit awkward, I would have done better. The rest of the fighting I did was mostly teaching newer fighters standard rapier. I wasn't going all out against them most of the time, but it was enough for me to feel the burn. We have some work to do if we want to be in shape for Gulf Wars.