rashid_sca

Fighting Journal: 2

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 02:56:16 GMT

Ugh thank god nobody ever put me in charge of the books... I keep terrible records.

Ok today at fight/war practice here is what I did well:

1) Survival: I went toe to toe with Wulfgar nearly every battle and survived sometimes as many as three of his shots! I feel this is a huge step forward from me being 'one-timed' with every swing of his before and very important for me on the warfield where you can break off, run away and find someone with a bigger sword to fight with you. It came in handy when I had to pull Wulfgar away from his unit a few times, gave my unit a chance to charge in and mess them up.

2) Tying-up: That was what I think I did best at. Because it was mostly new fighters there we were all on a similar level, I could engage them, stay alive and keep them occupied long enough for someone else to kill them or for me to land a shot. It's all about the delay of game.

3) Stamina: I felt like a million bucks by the end of practice and could have probably gone on for longer. This kinda disturbs me considering all I've had to eat in the last two days is crackers and chips... but my energy level was good, my hydration high and I could have gone on again after a brief break.

What I gotta work on

1) Survival: Yup I still keep getting killed. As much as I love my strapped round, I'm gonna make a new shield. I'm going to look around at some designs but definatly something longer. I keep loosing my legs!

2) Throwing shots: Definatly gotta hit a pell-poll and work on my technique. I feel comfortable throwing them, and people usually take it when I land one, but it doesn't feel clean and I'm sure it looks ugly out there. Wanna clean that up.

3) Weapons: Next time I bring more pokey bits to play with! And I really gotta make some proper full gauntlets for my polearm... hmmm...

Fighting Journal: 1

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 07:55:54 GMT

Alright so I've been lax, but here it is...

Last weekend at fight practice I fought with:
Strapped round and sword
Glaive with hook

With the strapped round:
Did a decent job punch-blocking safely, and didn't nerf anyone in the head this time. Got quite handy at blocking Adette's blows and even blocked a few of Allan's. However I was blinding myself with some of the punches, and he stepped in and clopped me on the left with an offside whenever I did. Gotta remember to punch lower.

With the sword:
I learned the wrap shot but found it quite difficult in armour. Might be my weightbelt but I just cannot bring myself to bend that way just yet. I was practicing against the helpless pell-pole out of armour and found the movements much easier. Just have to translate them into movements in armour. Gotta remember to tilt my head, move my feet and use my hips... hmm sounds like I'm practicing something else...

With the Glaive:
Mostly got pwned. Kept pressing without doing anything, and backing away in a strait line. Got a couple good blocks with the lower shaft, still finding my comfort with using the blade end of it. I got one guy with the hook, new fellow. It was a very clean hook, drag and stab to the face. Gotta work on making that faster.

For this coming week:

Alfgeir gave me a one-handed Saracen warhammer he constructed! Yay! New toy! Wanna take that out to play, but I really wanna work with the strapped round with sheild stuff. Back to basics and all that jazz. Oooo but the hammer is perty...

Gonna leave the glaive at home for now. Kinda a pain to pack around, and I'd really only use it for war anyway. Hmm... Warlord's tournament next week...

Rough stuff

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 11:39:19 GMT

Well here I am, at 4:30am penning a journal when I have to be at work in... about 4 hours. Perhaps illustrating why I am so incapable of anything except insomnia might ease my mind.

The worst part is the smell. It's like a cat pissed in a stale milk stain on the carpet weeks ago, and if I open a window my room sucks the smell under the door from my roomates room, where the smell originates. I've brought it up to him at least three times in a month, and he nods or gives some affirmative through the door that he'll do something about it. And maybe I can finally grow that prehensile tail I've always wanted.

The kitchen is also a disaster. I cleaned up after his shit 3 times and said I wasn't gonna do it anymore. It has continued to pile up for two weeks. And my landlady has to show the place off tomorrow to prospective buyers for August.

Had a bit of an awkward July 1st. Friend who was gonna scoop me and my armour up for a party decided he'd rather not after all... 10 minutes before he said he was gonna scoop me up. So $35 and a long cab ride later I get to the party. Well no one wants to fight anymore. I manage to coax one fighter to duke it out with me, and it was all well and good until some things were said and I spent the rest of the night trying to keep cool.

Work is flaying my nerves. Nearly got into a fight with a co-worker over his self-centered behavior regarding the rest of the folk he works with. Eda tells me I do not suffer fools lightly, I guess she's right. I have all the patience in the world until somebody dicks off, then I get grumpy.

Yeomen's is right around the corner. Yaaaay... I would be so prepared if I wasn't juggling this job, frequent trips to the bank, juggling fight practices, trying to find documentation for certain things, wresting rent out of my scum-bag roomate, finding a place to live, keeping my place to live habbitable, and generally just being a frayed knot of stress. I think this year is going to be harder than last. Most of the Sergents won't be there, my dear girl Marilee can't make it... and I have some reservations about my marksmanship. Oh well, better make good use of those practice rounds, and hope I dont break an arrow...

My heart is constantly beating like I just ran a marathon., I'm literally bleeding money hundreds of dollars at a time. I think I'd feel better about this if I knew where it was all going. If I was taking a class to learn a skill or saving up for some big trip but no... it's just living. I've been fighting for a solid year to live on my own, one crisis after another. I think I can feel my control beginning to crack.

Thoughts of War

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 02:06:40 GMT

Well I cannot overstate how much fun I had this war. I got to fight, command, fight, fight, fight rapier, and then collapse in a boneless heap only to be called up by their Highnesses of Tir Righ to get an award of arms. Prince Saverick himself even said he heard good things about me... all lies I say!

I'll recount a play-by-play some other time but I wanted to record a lot of emotions that were, and are, going through my head. First one that popped to mind was how much I wished my lil' Mouse was there with me. She's doing important work with her coffee shop but I still wished I'd had her with me to fight with and keep me warm at night. Plus I think she needs a vacation sooner or later.

One thing I was disapointed in was how I was unable to shake the impending sense of doom I have about my current living arrangements. I am not pulling in a lot of money at the moment, I need to find a new place by August, and I have to become a Yeomen. My biggest hurdle with the later is this darn persona piece. Documentation was never my strong point but documenting arabic folklore is aparently a challenge in and of itself. *le sigh* Aside from that I think I got a good grip of it. We shall see in a month.

I was also sad that lots of my friends from Seagirt couldn't make it out to the war, but I understand why. Realisticly I shouldn't have gone but I budgeted some money aside for it. It's hard to make the trip but still I woulda loved to have seen them out on the field. Heaven knows we had enough mead for twice the population of Seagirt so none of us woulda been thirsty.

But it was a strange. I feared there would be some ill feelings this year because of the history the two groups seem to have, but I didn't get even the smallest sense of that. Everyone had fun, everyone was smiling the entire time. It didn't matter that we lost, because we got to pull off a shield charge! We got to fire severed heads from a trebuchet! And we had 72 bottles of mead on hand! Last Sealion I was miserable, this Sealion I didn't want to end.

My guts turned to mush at about 20 minutes before the war started. I could barely strap on my leggings and the thought of climbing into that black steel coffin of a helm made me want to dunk my head under water. It didn't help that the weather was as cloying and sticky as a swamp in summer. I found I couldn't do much more than stand there, gripping my glaive and trying not sway from side to side too much. But after the first battle, the idea of stopping didn't even occur to me. Even after the war point and I told myself 'cool down, you still got rapier', I still went back in for a few more resurections. During the rapier I pushed myself harder. I was only one of three native Seagirtian fighters and I did not want it to be said we won only because of mercenaries. Much to my shame the rapier lasted until well past archery started and I was much much too bagged to fire a bow. Ysane knows me and there is no way she or any other marshall who was half awake woulda let me onto the line. So I collapsed into a chair, pulled a cloak over myself and tried to sort out all these conflicting, stress and exertion induced emotions. By the end of my reprive I knew I was having a really, really good time. I wasn't going to let anything get in the way of that and I didn't.

If I had one big regret, it was that I couldn't shoot. My shoulders and wrist are still messed up though, a reminder I need to use my hips more when I throw shots.

Rigors of being me

Wed, 07 May 2008 07:03:10 GMT

Well lately it seems Sloth is my biggest sin, besides the usual Lust and Wrath and Pride. Spent a lot of time infront of this computer eating all the wrong things. So I've decided I'm going to do something about it! Every time I get up from this chair, I'm gonna do 10 push-ups.

Of course, now I find myself wheeling my chair all over the house now...

Didn't make it out to war practice but I did hear from my mercenary friend from the Summits, Rogan O'Dearg. He says he can most likely make it to the war and fight for us. One more bringer of body counts, huzzah! Funny the people you meet playing World of Warcraft.

My plans for helping Baatu make thrown weapons kinda got side-lined with this roomate thing, as well as the crafting of combat arrows. *le sigh* But we still got time. I'd better get to bed though, got some reading to do about major battles and the like.

War Season! My favorite season!

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 06:50:54 GMT

Well Sealion is right around the corner and we had our first war practice today. In the rain. It was good, lots of fun and lots of people. We practiced tactics, archery, thrown weapons (ouch Baatu) and all sorts of fun stuff. I even got to poke some people with my big long stick. But I am just now realizing how new I am to this whole thing. Gotta understand how it all fits together so I am confident enough to command for Yeomen's. Because I can boss people around and make a convincing case for myself when I know what the hell I'm talking about. I mean stick a paintball gun in my hand and watch me go to work on anyone within earshot. But like I said this is different. These guys know a lot more than me and I gotta absorb it all in a short amount of time.

Speaking of which, oh man does life know how to play games with me. The week after declaring my intent, my roomates tell me they are moving out, my hours get cut at work which will force me into a second job, I have to deal with an enourmous amount of personal stuff AND I have to learn Rapier for Sealion and Clinton, which also means new garb. The thumping sound you hear is my head against the desk.

But I'm gonna do it all. I want the challange of all the work ahead of me so I can look back on this year, look at what I've done and laugh... or pour myself another drink depending on how it all goes.

With the... heh... time off work it's given me time to catch up on my ABCs, so to speak. Been reading a lot about An Tir combat (new and revised) as well as the Rapier combat rules. I'm picking it up fast, but I gotta print out a copy to read. I hate reading from computer screens... bleck so hard on the eyes. I passed on the junior archery marshall's course at Coronet for personal reasons but I'm thinking it may not have been a bad idea to have gotten it after all. Cest la vie.

I'm still not sure where I fit in all of this. I feel like everything is moving in time-lapse around me. April flew by, I hardly noticed my birthday and it shows no sign of slowing down for May. Ah well, better hop on for the ride.

Coronet

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 07:45:17 GMT

Wow what a weekend. I volunteered for dragon/wagon/car director, which placed me very very far away from people. It was a long job, the bugs were everywhere and the traffic actually quite low due to 3 ferry cancellations. Not to mention that part of the woods with the moon in that light was damn creepy, what with my very vivid and ocasionaly gorey imagination. But truth be told I enjoyed the job immensly. I really, really needed some time to myself to just relax, read a book or just stare into space and think. I've been surounded by people every moment of every day for weeks whether it was at work, at home or even with friends. Oh god it was so quiet out there I really felt like I could recharge. Plus I had a job which made me feel all special!

The next day I actually slept late. It was damn cold in the morning and I had to sneak into the tent of two girls I know for warmth at about 7:00am. I passed out for a few hours, but thankfully my job as dragon/wagon/car director wasn't needed, the day trippers were parking up in the upper parking area. This left me free to go roam, say hello and watch the goings-on. For all the wrong reasons I didn't go to archery, but I kept myself busy by wandering around offering dates (the kind you eat!) and grapes to folk, a bit of water bearing and heraldric hassling. That is, being a hassle as a herald. I sat at gate and again, felt good not to be around a horde of people. I got to hang with Lucious again, made war plans with Baatu, walk in retinue with Anastasia, watch Ming and Elina become our new Baron and Baroness (may their rule soak the soil of Lion's Gate red!), spouted the Henry V battle speech, met a nice fellow named Tavis (rapier fighter, must meet at Clinton), got caught up with Sara and Ekaterina, watched poor Tristan give as good as he got in the "buy a figher a life tournament" (I'm fairly sure he was bought around 20 lives...), heard stories from White Hand about his days in Clinton, did some cheerleading for Lord Allan in the Squire's tournament, got Baron James and Iago to sing some famous songs for my newcomer ladies, managed to play skillful diplomat in a very delicate matter, and pledge myself to the new Baroness to become her newest Yeoman. Now if I can just remember how to string my bow...

Wow that was a busy weekend, and that's just the stuff I remember! I didn't get to "do" a lot, but I felt like I got a lot out of the event.

Glaive away! Also armoured legs, a very merry yule and complications of the heart

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 09:43:40 GMT

Well months have passed. Been to quite a few events, missed even more it seems.

I came in second at SST for Archery champion. I made new friends and lost some old ones. I've broken hearts, sales records, low expectations and the bank more than once. I've moved out into my own place, away from my folks in more ways than one, and closer to where I want to be in life. I've armoured up and let my guard down. I've wheeled and dealed, spent nights partying like the world would end tomorrow and even bought an iPod. I've thrown a junkie out of the store, I've romanced beautiful girls, I've danced with the devil and danced as the devil. I've caved into getting a cell phone, I've played Guitar Hero, I've seen the fall of friend's dreams. It's been a busy few months.

Won't be going to Estrella... which I'm almost greatful for. It woulda been nuts preparing for it and I really want to train hard at heavy. Since archery is out I need to put my frustration into other things it seems. I built a glaive yesterday and spent most of Wednesday getting pummled for it. I have a real problem with faliure, I've realized. I can't stand not to be good at something. So when I pick up this new fighting style it's like I'm fighting twice as hard: part to learn to get good and part to learn not to suck. Sounds like they shouldn't be mutualy exclusive, but they are for me. I can get so wrapped up in trying not to fail, I forget about dong well. Ah well, one of those things.

But aside from that pole fighting is neeeeat! Totally different style, gotta build up my stamina. I want to learn more, more!

I got a tempting job offer today. I can't go into because the more I think about it the more I want to quit my job, run down there and apply. That's enough for now, just watched King Arthur, had a beer

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 09:23:18 GMT

Yes it's taken me nearly two weeks to put my thoughts to paper, partly because everyone who was there will read this and partly because... well I don't know how to feel.

Cons:
I didn't pass, but strangely not the biggest con of the event for me. Heh to be honest I felt relieved when the Baroness told me.
Gotta work on my confidence and leadership. I know it's in there, but I couldn't bring it out. Heh I'm used to leading newbies in paintball and other such things. So Sgain, Sergent Seth, Lord Allan and Sir Kheron are my troops... that aint intimidating. All comes back to confidence I guess. Something to work on.
Less archery than I wanted. I got my royal round first try, but that was the last time I picked up my target bow that event and I felt kinda sad about that. Also I was having technical problems with my combat bows. One, the strings frayed on my knee cop and the other had frayed serving that made it impossible to shoot. Good thing I had a crossbow...

I learned a lot about myself, as well as all the others in Seagirt. Now they aren't just names and shiny people on the field. Not a day goes by I'm not glad I discovered this group... well except maybe the days after fight practice.

The Shakes

Fri, 27 Jul 2007 07:53:15 GMT

'Twas the night before Yeomen's and all through Tir Righ
Not a gentle was stirring, except for Rashid

His garb was all packed and documentation prepared
His bardic was good, his armour repaired.

But his mind was still frantic, had it been enough?
All the practice and flashcards and chivalry stuff.
His hands were all shaky and his vision was blurred
Was that Saladin fellow a Turk or a Kurd?

Then from inside his own head he could feel such a clatter,
All the heraldry and tactics weighing down his grey matter.
Away to the bathroom he flew like a flash,
Tore open the door and threw up with a splash.
His heart began to calm as drank water slow,
His brain going lucid, he began to let go.

Ok tha's it, no more impromptu poetry. I've got a big, big weekend tomorrow.

Sun, 08 Jul 2007 07:47:30 GMT

Tormentor James the nymph guards the eastern exit (22HP)...

Ok that is the last time I go on a Livejournal Dungeon Adventure.

Ok so Yeomen trials are but mere weeks away. Let's do the list:

Write Up and Persona: Check, sent it in last week. I just sent in my damn name and device registration (Qasim is not an easy name to find, but it was the name of the Prophet's (pbuh) son who died at the age of two). As for the rest of my Persona I think I can answere any questions about him... now answering under pressure is going to make me confuse my mother's name with my brother's name so it will be, at least, interesting to watch.
Archery: Hmm gotta practice before the trials, but given 3 oppertunities to hit 40 points I think I can manage. As for the other weapons... javelin is out 'cause I don't know what the full rules are anymore. So I'm gonna cook up a few throwing axes, hammers and use a crossbow or staff-sling.
Heavy: Ok inspecting the armour has me worried, but I've read my ABCs again and again to know what is legal and what isn't. Wow... I'd never want to go out there in just the minimums.
Rapier: Want to get another crash-course with Cert, but I think I get the gist of it. Carta... seconda...
Heraldry: A synch... everyone was right! Once I got going with the flash cards, there was no stopping me! Just gonna review in the last week before, that is assuming I haven't been reduced to a gibbering maniac.
Games: Working on it. Mancala is down, so is Go. Bocce I need to learn more about and Parchisi I need to learn the medieval background for. Im still flip-flopping on the last one, kinda wanna go for another field game.
Edit - I've settled on Shut The Box and Hoodman's Bluff with the bell varation.
Dance: Shouldn't be a problem as I've been going every week for... like a year now? With the exception of Picking Up Sticks, I can do most if not all of the required dances.
Edit - Sellenger's Round, Carolinga and Childgrove are my dances.... eep.
Bardic: Going to tell funny stories from the middle east! Stories of Nasreddin especialy, 'cause everyone knows Muslims are known the world over for their sense of humour.
Deportment: *shiver*
Military Skillz: Going to do the Battle of Hattin in persona (oh boy don't say toast, don't say toast...). I just need help with the documentation side. I have several books on the subject, so what do I do? Just photocopy and highlight relevent pages?
Castle Design: Probably not a problem, as I've been reading about this stuff since the 3rd grade. Someone forgot to tell me though that I should stop reading those books to get laid in high school... ah well. Also Lord Allan helped a lot with his class.
Seige Weapons: Long talks with Ekaterina and Hucbald should be enough prep work to build on my existing knowledge. Balista/Scorpion: Tension. Onager: Torsion. Trebuchet: Traction.
Combat Leadership: Gonna test it tomorrow when I go paintballing. I have no problem making plans, solving problems and getting people to do what I need them to do (I do it all the time at work), but having Lord Allan, Baatu and all those guys under my "command"... bit intimidating. To be honest I think this is where I'll be weakest. I think I have a good grasp of theory... but everyone knows what happens to plans in the first five minutes of an engagement. Is this a bad time to mention I lost a game of Warhammer 40k to a 10 year old kid with a barely painted Tau army?
Arms and Armour: I would challenge anyone to a polearm naming contest! Thank you D&D 2nd Ed Players Handbook for all the useless, useless polearms! I think I still have Combat and Tactics kicking around here...
Tactics: Tricky but again, I grew up playing Lords of the Realm, Total War and as many strategy games as I could get my hands on. Never could beat Mike Panter at Stratego though...

Missing anything?

Wood Working

Wed, 20 Jun 2007 03:26:11 GMT

So after getting so much from Eda (Lilith) these past few months I have jumped at the chance to do her a favor in return. Seems she needs a... thing... made out of wood. Well I must admit I have an aversion to carpentry after my debacles last year but I very well couldn't turn her down and still call myself a man. I mean for God's sake did you see that Gambison she made me??

So she gives me the matereals: wood, hand forged nails and fixtures. It's gotta be good enough for her Parma event. I gotta say working with this sorta stuff makes me nervous, high class wood and hardware and all.

So after using up the two boards that were supposed to be two boxes I now have enough pieces to make one. She forgot to factor in saw curf into her calculations as well as something else musta been screwy because I ended up having to use bits of the other board. THEN I forgot that table saws chew more out of the bottom of the piece than they do on the top so I had to take even more off the second board... but finally after all the nit-picking with the lap joins and bandsawing myself some arcs for the legs... it was looking actually pretty good. Everything fit, I just needed to sand it.

Now I should mention I love classical guitar. Jesse Cook is one of my favorite musicians. So when I discover my dad has a stereo and a burned disc of all sorts of spanish guitar well I just about cried. Here I was sanding and filing and rasping away at these boards and to the onlooker I mighta looked kinda weird. Dancing with the wood, swaying back and forth with it... ahem anyway I got this spruce to fucking glow. I mean sanding this stuff was like massaging a beautiful woman and by the time I was done it looked like ivory.

I'm way way too exhausted and sick to keep working on it but the sweat, the sawdust... it all brought back the best memories I had of woodworking. I almost wish I could do it for a living...

More About the Gambison

Mon, 11 Jun 2007 09:36:33 GMT

Ok seriously I can't get over how good it looks. I mean I just suggested I spray it with green paint and call it done, but Eda (in her infinite wisdom) told me to give my head a shake. We went down to Fabric World and got many, many yards of that glorious green fabric. So green as to make the Prophet (PBUH) jealous!

So I ripped apart my packing blanket gambison and cut out green pieces to match. While I ironed the ties into nice neat little folded pieces, she sewed the whole contraption together. Somehow she made it turn out perfectly and I was literally dumbstruck when she held it up. And as if that wasn't enough, she gave it some billow at the back so it fans out! THIS WAS ALL ON FRIDAY JUNE 9th!!

Eda (Lilith is her SCA name) is an amazing woman, for so many more reasons than this. I'm so glad she and I are so close. But of course to repay such an amazing act of sewing and seamstressing. I'm working on her... thing... all week and I hope it turns out half as well as the gambison did.

Sealion War

Mon, 11 Jun 2007 06:47:43 GMT

It all started Friday. Oh lord did it ever... I'll post about my gambison at the bottom, but suffice it to say Lady Lilith, who was driving me and hosting me for the event, made my weekend. We stopped for supplies, got a Sub, drove all the way out just in time to set up camp before the sky went dark. I saw Sgain (who could miss that mohawk) and handed him a three year old bottle of wine recomended to me from very good sources. "I know this won't be enough to buy you off, but I hope we can share a cup after the war." He hugged me and I thought, well this won't be so bad. I drank it up, introduced all my friends to Lilith and saluted her for all she has done for me this year. Then I crawled off to bed, after closing down Big Blue with the Baroness, and prayed for an early start tomorrow.

Well Saturday was the big day. The big wet grumpy day that nearly started with a heart attack for myself, running to the car, grabbibg my arrows (more on that later) and slaving away to get them taped and wrapped for the war. Then I had to get ready for the war, which meant stealing legs from Baatu (thanks Baatu!), armouring up for the first time, stringing my bow, finding Yanthlos to give him his demi-gauntlet and then running down there to get inspected, then running back to get my cards and full gauntlet.

The war started and we seemed to be sort of out numbered. I was looking around for folk I knew and saw Barak, Seth and Lord Allan strait away as well as all the various Tree Huggers. But no sign of Yakana or Aelfgar... well they called Lay On and the rest is sorta a blurr. I recall missing a lot with my arrows the first few battles, Sir Khiron and I dueling it out (it lasted all of one swing of his sword), Magnus killing William of the Battered Helm with a death from behind, Sgain killing me with a death from behind, getting better at hitting people in the grill and just generally having a blast. Yakana came on the field shortly after the second battle, but no sign of Aelfgar. So I ask, where is Dmitri? Well he's fighting for Lion's Gate? What?!? Well it turns out he has fealty to someone there and Aelfgar chose to fight with him.

I was less than successful in the main battles, but the pick-up battles I finally got the hang of it and every shot seemed to be a good one. Then good ol' Kyle the Japanese pike fighter shouts to his friend "nut him! Nut him!" Sure enough I look down and there's a 12' long pike buried between my legs. I sorta black out and remember saying "Did you really have to do that??" before falling flat on my back. I handed the guy a fist-ful of pistachios after the battle, smiled and laughed with him but I got his face and I'll be seeing him next year for sure.

edit - By that I should say that if I see him coming, my sheild is going strait to my crotch. I don't really have any bad feelings two days after the fact, but man at the time it was raining and cold and it just seemed so uncool but also hilarious. We laughed, I clapped him on the shoulder and it was done. Barak and James are right, ya gotta leave that stuff on the field and not loose your head, or else what are you? A rage case who just finished honking his horn and screaming out the window at old people on the highway? Or are you trying to rise above that mundane drivel and try to live with a better sense of ethics?

Archery followed and if it weren't for Seth I might not have shot. After a morning of being damp and cold, fighting, not eating, getting cheap shotted, listening to heavies telling me to take a hit, listening to some very ugly stories about some less than honourable things going on, getting the news that basicly I was at the very least a cheater and at most a danger to the Society... I didn't really feel like shooting.

See, a problem with my combat arrows is they weren't exactly 'legal', as William Arrowmaker (I know I'm spelling it wrong somehow...) pointed out to me. I won't go into specifics 'cause I'm feeling still really, really guilty about it. I felt so horrible because Barak and Ysane had passed them and it was on their heads as well, it would have made me sick to my stomac if there was anything in it.

But luckily Seth, ever the cheerfully blunt one, kicked some sense into me and told me to go eat while I waited for my round. I slammed back some cheese, bread, Gatorade and a banana and went back to the field. I shot only 37, but Seth and William were the heroes with 47 and 65 (if I recall correctly) and thus won the day for Seagirt. In the lucky shoot I think I only hit it once out of 3 arrows, and Lion's Gate took the war point for that. Then the animal (turd) shoot in which I sank 4 arrows into that damn paper mache lion and it didn't fall over! But after we reset the targets, someone (we think William) nocked it over after I shot my third arrow. Another point of the good guys!

After court (Ysane got the Rock award the night before!), in which Owen was fired from being Warlord (poor fellow) and Barak took his place for next year. Barak also got a Baronial favor from the Baron of Lion's Gate for his very, very chivalrous conduct on the field. The story has been told enough so I won't tell it again but Barak amazes me sometimes. Oh and Sealion War? It was a tie for the first time in history! Fancy that...

I crashed at about 8:00pm. I didn't feel up for a party after all the things of the day and more afterwards so I just hit the sack. To be frank I felt miserable and just wanted the day to end. But Sunday was bright and sunny and everything just seemed to melt away. I got to talk with Hucbald and Joe the mailemaker, got caught up with them and we discussed the issue of plague rats... also someone let it out of the box that I can make... things... and now the A&S mistress wants me to make her a... thing... which I am more than happy to after I make Lilith her... things...

I wanted to thank Baatu for his legs and mirth, Sir Khiron for his thoughfulness in teaching me how to die, Yakana for her hugs and mead, Sgain for his kind words, Ysane for running the archery and for all the smilles, Magnus for the helm and the supporting crossbow fire, Yanthlos for standing beside me even when it seemed most foolhardy, Their Excellencies of Lion's Gate and Seagirt for the event, but most of all to my Lady Lilith for sewing a green gambison together in a day because I mentioned I wanted one in green, for helping me to order in my clothes, for directing me while sewing my cloak and pants and assiting me in every other step I took to get to war this year.

Thanks also for the pictures Lilith!
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=825960077&highlight

Oh Boy...

Thu, 07 Jun 2007 07:14:40 GMT

Well in two days I will have the stuffing firmly knocked out of me. Hearing all the horror stories about what happens to archers who don't yield... Also I feel bad for anyone who steps on my arrows out of malice. I mean I'll be pissed, since I've been slaving away on the damn things since Sunday... but I don't think we have anyone that vicious in our Barony. Everyone I've met at practice is fun, jokes around and doesn't take things too serious. Things I hear from Lion's Gate are not as encouraging.

Then again there is something to be said about half of what you see and none of what you hear.

I'm psyched though! My first war! My new cloak! My new arrows! My dancing! Games! And almost all my new friends will be there.

I'm sad Sgain won't be fighting for us, but I won't try and understand the history he has with the Society. He told me he'd fight for whoever made him the best offer, and I know I can exceed what Lion's Gate is offering him... but that's not really the point. I'm glad he's coming out to the war, I'm looking forward to facing him and it'll feel good to split a bottle with him after the war.

My armour is nearly done. I'm gonna wake up tomorrow morning, drill eight holes in my kidney plates then rivet them on quick as I can. Then with Baatu loaning me his legs and my new Archer's gauntlet, I'll be set. OH! AND I got my Arabic order in the mail from Eda today! She buys a lot of things wholesale online for her merchanting at events, so I placed a few orders with her and... oooooo I can't wait to show it all off! Is it still heterosexual to get this excited about new clothes?

Ysane was telling me the other night about shooting flaming arrows into a lake and how a helpful and noble fellow (his name escapes me) was a Yeomen for Lion's Gate and is the inspiration for her going for Yeomen this year. That got me thinking as to who motivated me and it all comes back to Magnus at SST in 2005... at least I think it was that event... anyway he let me pick up a bow, shoot it and really was quite encouraging. He said I was very well and gave me some advanced tips on standing and nocking. He also said I was the spitting image of a Saracen archer when I drew it. I've been in love with shooting ever since. So yeah, it's all his fault!

Ok off to bed. Wake up early, pound out armour, go to work, sleep, wake up and go to War War War!

A thousand curses...

Thu, 31 May 2007 05:36:26 GMT

Just in time for Sealion indeed...

We got new rules for thrown weapons in the Marshall's handbook, basically saying all the missle weapons I've been slaving away on for the last week won't work. They need to have Siloflex handles or rattan handles... which doesn't quite click with me since wouldn't hurling a throwing axe with a rattan handle really, really hurt? And what about javellins? Do they have to be made entirely from Siloflex?

Just... damn it I spent all that time and money and now I gotta chuck it all in the trash. At least my arrows passed muster, although I need to move the APD back a bit farther... but then how will you grip the nock of the arrow when you have a big plastic ring sitting right where your fingers go???

I need some help to understand this 'cause I felt my heart hit the floor when I read the email. I got a lot of questions for the Baron and them on Friday. I want to shoot for Sealion, but I was so hoping to give my friends some missle weapons as well. Hand Aelfgar a brace of axes, a javelling for Yakana so they could be authorized with them. Now I can't, and that's what kills me the most I think.

Armour, Musings of a Shisha Smoking Boy, Dancing

Wed, 23 May 2007 08:37:28 GMT

The cigarette smoking man from the X-Files once said, "Life is like a box of chocolates. A cheap, thoughtless, perfunctory gift that nobody ever asks for. Unreturnable -- because all you get back is another box of chocolates. You're stuck with this undefinable whipped-mint crap that you mindlessly wolf down when there's nothing else left to eat. Sure, once in a while, there's a peanut butter cup. An English toffee. But they're gone too fast, the taste is fleeting. So you end up with nothing but broken bits, filled with hardened jelly and teeth-shattering nuts. If you're desperate enough to eat those, all you've got left... is an empty box... filled with useless, brown paper wrappers."

I see the logic in that very clearly now, and many days last year I felt exactly like he did when his life-long dream of becoming a published author were flushed away when his only accepted story in 30 years was published in a porno mag with a "different ending." A dear friend once told me I suffer from being terminally unique, but I don't think so. I know there are many, many people out there with problems far worse than mine. Some recover and lead healthy lives, my friend being one of them. The thing I suffer from is that nothing like this has happened to me before, I have no frame of reference from which to draw inspiration. I don't get that, "I've had worse" reaction. But oh well, things are starting to be on the upswing.

I've got a good headstart on my armour. I got my plastic tombstone cut and wrapped in suitably non-blue material. Alas the glue did not hold very well on the edges, so I've now drilled many, many holes along the edge and am wrapping it with thick, tough yarn to hold it in place. I've got the leather strapping to keep it onto my body, rivets and punchers and all sorts of goodies. Now if I can just figure out how to hitch my elbow and knee cops to these old pads I found...

I'm back on speaking terms with my complicated female companion. We had a long talk and she understands me a little better now, poor girl. She knows the only thing I fear more than octopi, squid, robots with human brains and zombie clowns is being confined, losing my independance. So the idea of going to all my events in her tent without any space of my own is Anathema. I need my own tent, I need my own space, I need to be alone whenever I want to. Selfish? Yeah probably but I think I'd rather be selfish and happy and enjoy the time I spend with her, than selfless and hating her for bending me to her whims.

In other news I got into the Lord of the Rings game from Games Workshop! Ohhh man I got some sweet deals, free models of Elendil and Isildur as well as two free Kings of Men models with my purchase of a Haradrim plastic kit. I'm gonna convert one of the Kings of Men into a suitable Haradrim lord (just add turbin and bend the sword) and then one day get a Mumukil to crush those nasty Hobbitses! Ahem...

So dancing has been a gas lately. I'm really having fun with it now that there is less pressure. Ok there is pressure, but I can handle the Yeomen dances. Anastasia is a magnificent teacher, very patient and fun to dance with! I would have been without a partner most of tonight if she hadn't consistantly dragged me off my poor, over-worked backside. It was a bit reassuring to practice these dances with her, as she wouldn't have let me make a mistake, not that I made many tonight! So I bought her a raspberry donut in grattitude... which I really, really hope didn't explode in her bag later this evening.

How Things Turn Out...

Sat, 05 May 2007 09:00:12 GMT

Wow what a week of work! I don't even remember the first half of it I was so busy, but I think on Wednesday I helped Lord Allan move into his new place, which is a pretty cozy house lemme tell ya. Reminds me of the first house I moved out into, older but sturdy with plenty of space for all his hobbies. He's asking me to take notes this Monday when we do "Ask A Sergent" at the Baron's place. Funny thing is I was able to get all of his pop-quiz questions right tonight.. Got me psyched up to see what else I might actually have in this cavernous space between my ears.

I lost the bet with Seth the week before, as anyone who has seen my chin can attest. It was good to shoot with something to loose, Seth is an amazing archer as usual (he aint champion for no reason), it was even a gas afterwards at my pathetic yet amusing attempts to hide my new defortmity (note: I tie a turban about as well as I shoot when I'm rattled). I can't believe how many people keep telling me that I look so much better without the goatee, and I can't believe that they don't understand I frankly don't care how they think I look. I mean I get a lot of good-natured ribbing about it, ("If you needed a beard to think, you have bigger problems!") but it gets a bit under my skin when people say I should do this, or they're glad I did that because they think it's better.

If I look like a fool in a bad suit, my socks don't match or my fly was undone I'd want to know because in those situations I'm trying to fit in and look "good". But my face, my hair and my style are mine. I don't have the sleekest clothes or the best hair style, but I'd rather be dead than give up my self-image for the sake of looking "good" for girls or anyone else, even my friends.

If I didn't want to shave my beard, I wouldn't have. I woulda said, "no thanks Seth, I won't take that bet." He woulda called me a pussy for a bit, then we woulda kept shooting and I'd be cool with that. But I wanted to take the risk, I wanted to keep my word and frankly I wanted to show him I could put my money where my chin was. Truly I pitty people who do and wear and look the way that is fashionable at the time because "that's what everyone is doing". If you aren't comfortable with how you look outside, how can you be comfortable with anything else about yourself? Now when Seth wanted to go double or nothing for my ponytail, I told him exactly how I felt about that.

Canucks game was painful to watch, but it was a good season. We made it all the way to the 2nd round which no one thought we'd do. Oh and Luongo, you could block a Balrog in that net.

The Twins and Andy are starting to get me back into Warhammer, but oh lord do I ever have a lot of skeletons to paint still. Damn Tomb Kings, if I have to dry-brush one more fucking piece of bone I'm gonna break all the flying clear bases for Pat's Teradons. And if you play any Games Workshop games you know what a dick-move that would be.

Still waiting on help with armour, but I got a lot of good advice from everyone at the Social tonight. Especially Saheb, who really knows his wax. The thing is I don't want to just dive right into this matereal, as it cost me a pretty penny. I'm waiting until I can get some hands-on assistance, someone who can help me not make the mistakes I was going to make.

So I've totally fucked myself with a very special person in my life, but to those who know me that should come as little surprise. The most generous, intelligent, witty and beautiful woman I've yet known felt very strongly towards me and I had to push her away. She wanted things from me I couldn't give her, and I tried to tell her so all along. When I told her up-front this past Wednesday I did not want to be her boyfriend, I knew I had to do it to be fair to her and me, but I also felt like I'd lost something good in my life forever.

My rant about how I feel towards relationships is in another journal and hidden under lock and key but suffice it to say I do not like it. I abhore the word love and I'm routinely disgusted by how it can so quickly turn to possesiveness, jealousy and guilt. I do not want a steady relationship, I want friends. Friends for me are much more valuable, I can trust them implicity, push them around and be pushed and not have it hanging over our heads. We can heap abuse on eachother, say exactly what is on our mind and then laugh and go for beer. With a girlfriend you always have to be on your guard, you can never tell her everything because in the back of your mind you're always saying, "what if this ends and she knows this about me?" You laugh or scowl and say "Fuck this guy has commitment issues," but think about all the shit that came out of the woodwork when two of your friends split. I mean they just burst like a damn sometimes, spewing out every horrid detail regarding the other person that they can string into a cohesive sentence. I've seen it with two of my best friends and their girlfriends, I've had it happen to me, so why would I want to see it again?

Friendships may lapse for a time and fade, but they rarely end completely unless both people want them to, or there is some calamitous event. Relationships can be cut short suddenly or slowly, with lots of warning or with none at all. I trust my best friends with my life, I can barely trust a significant other with my DVDs.

Ok so it looks like part of the rant escaped. I know I have some rant traps around here somewhere... I wanna delete all of that 'cause in retrospect it doesn't really explain what was going on between me and her, and how we arrived at this juncture. But meh, if you really wanna know ask me or speculate idly. It's on my mind, I wrote it down for a reason... maybe.

Again sleep escapes me

Wed, 18 Apr 2007 13:37:52 GMT

Well after an all-nighter of tossing and turning again I get to go to work in... five and a half hours. To top it off I have to go to archery and get some easy beer off of Seth. Ok it won't be easy to say the least, and now that I think of it I dunno if I really want beer. Alcohol is fast loosing it's appeal.

The story is if I beat Seth in a 20 yrd Royal Round I get a case of beer. If he wins I shave my chin. Heh I've had this beard for... years. I'm quite fond of it, and I'm not sure why he'd wager against that... but regardless I thought it would be a good exercise in shooting under pressure. No pressure is greater than the loss of my favored facial hair...

Heh I'll be sorry to see it go, if I do loose. I dunno why, maybe it's because of why I started growing it or maybe it still harkens back to the fact that I think my chin is deformed. Ah well, it'll grow back, and at least it aint my pony tail.

Aside from that and getting back to dance, things haven't changed. I'm getting more responsibility at work, which I think just translates to insufficient reluctance on my part. Money is going to be the death of me I swear, the lack of it and the desire for it. If everyone just had a one time bonus of like $1000 I think it'd make life a lot easier. With that kinda cash I can afford to start saving a little money after I move out. Had a nice talk with my manager about it actually, heh he thinks if I put $50 in a jar every month it'll add up. Well it would, and it's flawless advice... except I've never carried more than a few bucks from cheque to cheque living alone. And Heaven help me if I suddenly have to pay for something like a prescription or a new bike or clothes... and I can say goodbye to any new garb or projects I've had planned... Too little sleep. Try again now.

Cert-ified.

Sat, 14 Apr 2007 07:30:05 GMT

Well this past Wednesday I spent shooting my usual arrows (not doing great, I gotta remember to trust my instincts). But also I recieved several phenominal gifts! It's like it was my birthday or something! Oh yeah...

First Magnus has finished my helmet! Ooo it's so bling! It has been remarked to resemble either Magneto (Turstan), Boba Fett (I think Baatu) and now that the nose has been pulled forward a Cylon (thanks Seth). But lord in heaven it looks magnificent! Everything I wanted and good peripheral vision. I've padded it and I'm getting a padded coif to go inside as well. Now I just gotta poke some holls in it, string a chin strap and a turban to it after I prime and paint it. So let's see: Barrel, blue foam, leather, wax, frying pan, more leather, helmet, hockey gloves, weight belt... all I need is rivets and time!

Ysane also brought a sling to archery practice. It fires tenis balls, but we all need some practice with it before it becomes a threat. Later on Cert also aproached myself and Ysane, saying that we needed to know more than just bendy bows and arrows to pass Yeomen's. So he handed us each a pack of throwing knives! Ooo for lack of a Thrown Weapon marshall we would have probably started chucking them at the cardboard target right there! So now we have to study up so that at least one of us is capable.

Later, after having nearly busted two of my arrows (seeing sparks fly off the target when you hit it is never a good thing), I went to the back to see how Puck was farring with the Megolomania from Lithuania, Cert! Well soon Wulfgar followed and next thing I knew Wulfgar was fighting Puck and that left Cert with just... me. So he threw me a sword, got me suited up and I did everything I could to remember how to stand and thrust that he taught me the previous weeks. Well to say he turned me into swiss cheese would give you the wrong image. Think of swiss cheese used for a gatling gun accuracy test. That's how many holes he put in me.
But I had a lot of fun and he said my control was quite good for a beginner. Yes sir, no flailing wildy for Rashid. No I was calm and controlled while he killed me againg and again. Strange how that just fueled my enthusiasm for more...

Well I wrapped my rattan and am looking for a fellow to make me a wire mesh basket hilt. I'm thinking I want the top to have a prong that sticks out a little bit along the back of the blade to fascilitate the secure wrapping. Also at the base I'd like to be able to secure the hilt with a bolt and nut sorta thing, so that way when I break my rattan I can easily pull off the hilt and put it on another stick of any reasonable size.

Insomnia

Mon, 09 Apr 2007 11:08:05 GMT

Ya know I'm a bit of a Megadeth fan... and I also love the movie Fightclub. What do the two have in common, besides a disapproving look from my mother? Well both have a little to do with Insomnia (a song and a plot device, respectively).

Those two things sorta sum up how I've been this last week. My eyes are scratchy and red and swollen, I can't seem to sleep or stay awake, I have a hard time recalling things that happened because... well I'm not sure if they did happen. I get maybe 4 hours of actual sleep, the rest of the time I just toss and turn and grit my teeth. Something about loss of consciousness vexes me these days. It seems the more I relax, the stranger I feel. I remember some bad times of last year more vividly then I think, fuck every one of those 365 days seems to haunt me.

Today is my 23rd birthday and I've asked for nothing. But of course there is no way I will get nothing from my parents, so they're giving me cash in whatever amount they care to spend. Probably $50 or so. It'll go well with my bonus from work and the savings I've had accumulating for years I never knew about. I'll probably ship it up to Thomas to pay him the rest of what I owe him for the bow and a new set of arrows. Heh which is another depressing thing, turns out combat archery is a bad joke in the SCA. Those fiberglass, ultra-safe baby toys they call War Arrows apparently fly like coked-up geese. I have definite stats on the golf tube arrows now, and from what I hear from other sources on the fiberglass arrows with blunts and anti-bounce devices, they aren't much better. And at possibly $10+ an arrow, I'm realizing I shoulda bought a crossbow. I gotta find a way to make it work though. Hmm ponder ponder ponder...

Everything around me is in flux right now. A lot, and I mean a lot, of people are leaving London Drugs for other things (cops, education, to get away from the scandal...) and some of the people who might be replacing them are... less than enthusiastic employees. One moves so slowly I almost want to hitch a plow to him and till the fields and the other has nothing nice to say about anyone in the store. Not like me at all mind you, I'm Mister Optimistic. But they're just kids and will probably grow out of it. I just hope they do it before I loose my mind.

Ok what else what else... OH! I finally got my pickle barrel! That's right ladies, gentlemen and Seth you will soon no longer be able to hassle me about my lack of protective body armor. I hope within the month to be having my clock cleaned, my bell peeled and my butt handed to me by the best Seagirt has to offer! I had a cunning plan for a suit of lamellar armor styled after the rounded rectangles you see in a lot of Arabic portrayals... but it's a big blue barrel! I'll just stick some cloth to it, rivet it together and call it Even Steven. As for a shield, I'm thinking something small and round so it won't get in the way of my archery. I've got a plan, you see as to how to wear what into battle. Of course we all know what happens to plans in a battle...

Funniest Iranian Comic... ever

Sat, 07 Apr 2007 10:54:14 GMT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haz3i35vV8A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J09ngNip5zE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ9xhi8-mkA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flNd3mAwgWQ

Best for last...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwEPC6Fuzms

I've Got A Plan!

Wed, 04 Apr 2007 10:26:43 GMT

Well it hit me at about 4:00am yesterday morning and it was all I could do to not jump up and write it down. I know how I'm going to present my battle for my Yeomen trial. The battle: The Horns of Hattin. The medium: Sock puppets.

Bear with me now. I get some socks (decent socks that don't say FUBU on them, so I can at least try to pass them off as 'period'), put tabards and crowns and beards and such on them to distinguish the characters: Guy of Lusignan (King of Jerusalem), Raynald of Chatillon, Gerard of Ridefort, Raymond of Tripoli, Balian of Ibelin (looking as little like Orlando Bloom as I can make it), and of course Sultan Saladin. I'll use them to describe the conflicts of the characters that led to the battle as well as the general deployment of troops (with the help of filler socks for the troop deployments).

Sgain said I should try to be interesting.

Oh and I gotta call Axis Chemicals tomorrow and ask about those black barrels...

Fun With Heraldry

Tue, 27 Mar 2007 07:52:03 GMT

Ok I know what they say about idle hands, but I think I'm about to show what an idle mind does when not put to it's proper use in a thoughtless job. So here I was stacking toilet paper thinking about heraldry, the thing I think will be the biggest problem for me at the trials. I can't even remember how my train of thought went but I eventualy cooked up this monstrosity...

Argent, three serpents erect vert. for those of you who aren't heralds that means a white field with three green serpents. Three snakes on a white field, a plain field... snakes on a plane?

I swear if my device doesn't pass I'll punish the college of heralds with this!

Daffodil

Sun, 25 Mar 2007 06:51:02 GMT

Oh sweet merciful God and all her wacky cousins what day. First I didn't get much sleep the night before, then we were a bit late getting there (myself going with Lilith and Lisette the hat maker), then I was scrambling around with nine different people chatting, shopping, catching up on old times. At court myself and Ysane presented our letters of intent (or in my case, what felt like a small essay of intent) and then listened while a heckuva lot of people were honoured and cheered for. I can see how it might be a tad boring, but I think it's cool that for a few minutes everyone cheering for someone who's done us all a service or helped progress 'the game' a little further. I mean, it's the least we can do, eh?

After court let out and I stopped hyperventilating over the ink smudge on the last sentance of my letter of intent,I had a very nice lunch with Lilith (mmmm humas and dates and Persian bread...) then it was off to gate! Or so I thought and this is where I think the day got a little weird. Hakim, who will be leaving us (so sad *sniff) for Lion's Gate, comes over to me with a big hearty hello. We chat for a minute before he says something about needing bodies. I sorta stammer and stutter something about gate and Ekaterina going to kill me, but when a man who can pull a 300lbs crossbow with his bare hands has his arm around your shoulder, you do what he wants. He strong-armed me into assisting with marshelling for the heavy lists for about an hour which was really kinda cool. Two Saracens, officiating those fighting for the honour of defending Seagirt! It looked really cool on film, I imagine. He gave me a very good run down about what to do, and he'd actually be making most of the calls unless I saw something he didn't. But Baatu sharked in later and I was free to shoot my brand new pointy sticks!

Ahhh Thomas of Appledoor, as soon as I find a song to filk in your honour and get Lisette to sing it for me you're gonna wish you'd never have been so helpful. He sold me a magnificent set of arrows (ohh sooo perty) which shot very well. I ranked 4th out of 17, and the guys above me one was a kid training for the Olympics and the other two have been in archery for about 30 years and MAN were they amazing! 76 points in a Royal Round, and aparently that's a light day for Kennith. William the arrowmaker was 2nd and I believe the kid's name was Henry. He was like... 10 years old or something and he shot like he'd been doing it since he could crawl.

After the second court, in which I slightly botched a dance and I'm sure I'll never be forgiven for it and I never should be so help me God I wish I'd never been born Catholic, I buggered off with Aelfgar, Turstan, Dimitri and a whole slew of other people. That's what you call a group of people in the SCA, right? A slew? Anyway we took off to the Prarie Inn for some drinks and bites. Kelsey, the leader of our soon-to-be fighting company (maybe) got the Gut Buster Burger and MAN was it a lot of burger. He got about 2/3rds done before he threll in the towel. There was enough of that burger left to ride home on. But after that, and even before that I was sorta in a pale and exhausted so we went back to the site, I chatted and bought Turstan the drink I've owed him since... forever (still owe him a few more, damn it), sat and chatted about the Seagirt Tapestry. I talked with Lilith and Thomas for a long, long time about the history of the SCA and a lot of the ups and downs and downs and ups of heavy combat. Man alive do I want to shoot a bow in war now!

Anyway it's almost midnight and I would like to at least TRY to sleep for a few hours before something wakes me up tomorrow moring. Peace and I hope everyone had fun!