s e v e n i s a j o u r n e y

This is Judith, not Stephen. I’m posting this because I thought Tam & Stephen would be interested, and, well, because I can.

OK, so after Stephen left, my life lost all meaning…

No wait. I mean, I went back to Pennsic on Friday and did some more stuff Friday and Saturday. Here’s a further report:

Got to see Feather. Here’s a picture of 3 Mongols. I’m doing my Disney Arab thing. Note: bought North African woven fan.

News flash: one cannot take digital pictures of a dance performance in a dark tent. But that was Turku’s performance Friday night. Picture it… in your mind.

Met up with Dancing Lady Kate at Turku, walked back to her camp (by oversize parking; note to self: when people say it’s a “short walk”, spend time defining your terms) to hang out & wait for the Period Fireworks Display. This started a little after ten and kicked ALL kinds of ass. Apparently the Zambelli family, one of the biggest fireworks companies in the U.S., lives right here in New Castle. After 25 years of driving past Pennsic on rte. 79, they approached the Coopers and asked if they could do a medieval fireworks display. “Hell,” said the Coopers, “We’d pay you to do it!” So they donated their time and the Pennsic fees paid for the materials. They did the fireworks over the main battlefield, with a lot of huge Roman candles and stuff based on the crenellations of the fort, and why it didn’t burn down I’ll never know. A lot of it looked like your modern fireworks (I have a little AVI I’d post but it’d exceed your size limits,) but one thing I loved was these near-to-the-ground fireballs, that went FOOM, and absolutely turned the sky red, and sent a mushroom cloud of smoke into the air. Really, they looked like something had gone hideously wrong, but I’m pretty sure they were supposed to look like that. Here’s one of them starting up.

Lots of people commented that the idiots who packed up early and left Friday were fools to miss this. They also lit up the XXXII on the hillside with red flame. Nifty. We all hope this will now become a tradition.

After that was the O’Choda party, which was low-key and quiet – folks were mostly exhausted, though I did dance, and relate the story of Anne trying to set Stephen on fire.

Went back to hang out Saturday, but everyone was breaking down and bugging out, because there’d been some thunder at 7:30 a.m. and everyone was tired of being wet. Came home for a nap and never went back, because it was POURING rain and lightning by 8:30 p.m. and I decided to be wimpy, though Feather phoned me and invited me out to party in the mud. He’s so sweet. He came by for lunch today before bugging out of town.

Tomorrow I intend to drive by the site and try to take some pictures, if they’ll let me in.

OK, that’s all the news that is news here from Frogtown Hollow, which is about to turn from a social hub back into the lonely desert it is the other 11 months of the year.

judith

So, the lost luggage made it to me, and everythign was fine. But for the longer trip to NZ I want to be sure the bows survive, so better packing is required. In the fine tradition of “the is no kill like overkill” I have begun the manufacture of such a container. The first problem is that the horse bows are rather recurved, so I needed 8″ pipe. Thats pretty darn big. So I went to a plumbing supply store and loaded up with 8″ PVC sewer pipe. With fitted ends it is a 5 foot long blue monter. If my plane crashes the bows will probably survive to wash up on shore later, as the container is watertight. And the seals should be good to at least 160 psi! Woo, overkill!

Of course it weighs a good bit, so I will have to be careful to stay within my 35 kilo weight limit. Hopefully be using a very dense peice of carry-on with all my books and papers I will be able to get around that problem.

And now, off to Sweden! Woo!

SO, Wednesday was my last day on site. Judith and I got in late, after being out to 3 AM with dancing and drumming the night before it is not surprising that the morning went…rather slowly. Only the way in we ran some errands, including pickign up some boxes with which to make a travelling case for the bows. The day was rather low key, walking around and finding the people who had not arrived until then. That evening was midnight madness, so there were no dance parties going on. I picked up my bows from Yumi, got pictures of many people, and we made it home by about 2 AM.

The next morning (Thursday) all the late nights caught up with me, and i felt like hell. This was one of those “barely-functional-Stephen” kind of mornings, but I also had to pack to go home. The big issues was trying to package the bows safely and securely so they could be checked as luggage. As the day went on I felt marginally better, and Judith did a wonderful job at force-feeding me pain killers and toast, in an attempt to get me functional.

I made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare. Now, to fly from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia I had to go through Boston, of course. Even though US Air flys directly to Philly. And you wonder why they are losing money? Oh, and they lose luggage too. Namely my diffel with all my clothing, and the box with the three new Yumi bows. Now I am waiting to see if they will appear again, and if they will be intact. I leave for Sweden tomorrow, so I do hope the bows make it through intact, I really do.

At least I managed to catch up on sleep a bit, even if I am wearing the same clothes. All part of the adventure. I am glad the passport stays as carry-on, otherwise I would be in much worse shape. At worst I can simply go out and buy some clothes tomorrow morning.

Hey all

Kudos to Stephen’s parents for not having an unlisted number. Stephen is safely in Delaware, sans luggage. He’s currently being fed zucchini bread prior to falling into bed.

You know how they say “It’s raining cats and dogs” ? In some parts of the Midwest, they say “It’s raining pitchforks and hammer handles”, which I think just rolls off the tongue so nicely. In Wales, it rains old women and walking sticks.

Here, they have expressions like “When the wind blows the dog off the chain.” Yep. One of those mornings today.

— 10 days to Snog Week !

So, as per Tamara’s command, I spent much of tuesday searching out pictures of more people she knows, to add to the total experience. Judith and I arrived on site about noon, and split up. I did not see her again until 9:30 as we gathered to board the “Belly Bus”, a mass of dancers in search of a party.

Early that afternoon I ran into Lynne and Kathy on the way to the suspended death tourney. The dead, and winner, were then paraded around the camp on carts accompanied by wailing women. All as a fundraiser for the MDA. Beth was also there, on her way to the dance expo.

I then made my way over to the dance expo that was running all afternoon. Unfortunately I just missed Beth’s Indian dance performace (poo!). I did run into Roth, though.

And of course no virtual Pennsic would be complete without the good ol’ porta-castle. Nothing more fun than trying to go to the bathroom in complete darkness wearing complicated garb! It’s what makes the vacation truely memorable.

That evening at 7 PM Yumi did a neet demo of traditional Japanese archery. The sun was starting to set, but it did make for a very artistic piece. We could not find a willing archery Marshal, but that did not stop us. Yumi talked about the endurance speed shooting they do back in Japan. 10,000 arrows ina single 24 hour period. No rest breaks. Shot at 120 meters, indoors. With only a 5 meter high ceiling. Yerk.

And finally, a shot within the Locleven encampment. Andi and Lynne. I get the feeling Lynne may come to regret that moment of insanity in the future. Or maybe not.

Later that evening we went out dancing to Orlock Oasis, which was having a Haffa. Good music, lots of dancing, with story-telling breaks occasionally. Judith got fired up for drumming eventually, and Anne, Lynne and I had some fun dancing. Lynne went home with sore feet, but Anne and I danced past midnight. Judith kept drumming to near 2 AM, so it was a late night! While I could only remember 7 or 8 steps by mixing them up and keeping a smile on my face I could fool people into thinking I knew more than I could actually remember. I guess that is the secret of improv.

Today (Wednesday) is my last full day. Have to pick up bows and thumb rings from Yumi. Have to do any last shopping and socializing. Tomorrow its off to the airport to begin the Sweden part of this madness. I get 36 hours in Delaware to recover from Pennsic. I hope it will be enough!

Well, Stephen seems to be doing a good job enjoying Pennsic for the both of us. :^)

On this side of the planet, I’ve been keeping reasonably busy.

Sunday I went up to the troupe practice in Paraparaumu, about a 40 minute drive up the coast. It was a most-of-the-day thing, with a potluck lunch, and I had some bananas that were past their prime, so I decided to try my hand at banana bread. Despite the facts that 1) Stephen’s that one who usually does this, 2) I have no mixer, and no measuring cups or spoons, and 3) the oven is labeled in some bizarre foreign system (i.e., metric), it came out just fine. I’ve been told I can stay in the troupe as long as I keep bringing them banana bread. Which is a good thing, because it looks like I’ll finally have something to do with the pile of assorted tribal doo-dads I’ve been gradually accumulating. Woo !

I may have now tied Stephen’s record for “appearances on New Zealand TV”, as Monday’s class was filmed for some bits on the news leading up to the Hossam Ramzy concert this Friday. The first half of the concert is going to be local performers, including a band made up of, among other people, the guy who drums for our class and Tim and Liz, the oud and violin players I met (and contra danced with) way way back at that birthday party I went to at Molly’s the first week I was here. So the band had their single rehearsal together at our class Monday, while we improvised and the crew filmed. I hope somebody gets the spot on tape, and that none of us look like dorks.

Last night, Chris, Natasha, and I went out to dinner, then to see Eddie Izzard, who was, as expected, hilarious. Tonight or tomorrow, I’ve got another dance class, then Friday kicks off four and a half days of Middle Eastern music and dance. I figure by the time I recover from that, Stephen will be here !

— 12 days til Snog Week !

Monday at Pennsic was fabulous. We came into the site around noon, knowing we would be there all day. The weather was fine but cloudy to start. There was a moment of “you have to be kidding!” when it started to rain as we approached the site, but the showers were very light, and lasted only a minute or two. So the site actually got a day (sunny even come afternoon) to dry out. This was a good thing. They had opened a arking lot up by the battlefield, as the main parking lot was too muddy to be passable (something we could attest to after our nnarrow escape the night before).

After getting some food in Ye Olde Food Court we split up. Judith went to hook up with Anne and do some shopping, I went off to prowl on my own. I spent a good chunk of time chatting with Yumi and Kay. Kay (his wife) is really interesting. She just wrote a book on thumbrings (picked up a copy), and she is an academic with a specialty in anthro/history of religion. Many long and enjoyable conversations ensued. I was also looking for advice on good packaging materials so I can take the bows as checked luggage. Looks like I will be out looking for empty muffler boxes this morning before heading into the site.

At 6 PM we (Anne, Judith, Elizabeth and Marion) went to a bellydance performance by the Desert Moon Dancers in the performance tent. It was very interesting. They had a male dancer (Dinsdale) who was quite good, and it was interesting to see how differently his performance was choreographed, even though he was using the same basic moves. He had much better shoulder control than I, something I must work on.

Then we made our way over to Locleven for dinner, a very tasty beef chili. We hung out chatting until dark, at which point Anne and Karl headed back to EK Royal to put the kids to bed. After another 30-40 minutes Judith and I followed. We hung out at EK Royal until the kids were finally asleep. (Listening as Lucan had a conversation with his household about the differences between Masters at Arms and Knights, and the meaning of oaths and featy- deeply fascinating. It also made me think a good bit about the horde and our own internal honor and loyalty structures.)

Then Anne, Judith and I got dressed up, and went out dancing. At this point those of you who know me well will start to think that I was either (A) under the influence of too much coffee, or (B) an imperfect alien-clone replacement. The three of us walked around looking for dance parties. We started around the lake where we found Mardi Gras going on. I walked up to their gate gaurd and announced “we are dancers, let us in”, and they did! The fire circle was packed tight, the fire was hot, and the drums seemed to have two competing tempos. Even so it was fun for awhile. People were very drunk. I danced with one woman for awhile who was enthusiastic, but didn’t know much bellydance. So she tried to follow my lead, laughing all the while. It was a hoot. There was also a guy who kept yelling “use manly hands!” at me. Every time he did so I danced at him in a girlier and girlier fashion. It was a hoot!

After Mardi Gras we stuck our heads into another packed party, but decided to move on. We evntually found a smallish party (40-60 people, 6 or so drummers) up on the hill near Locleven (what was formall Tuchux hill before they were banished). We probably spent a good hour there dancing. Most of the women were just dancing with themselves, though one woman early on was willing to dance with me. So Anne and I started dancing together a good bit. A year of classes where i had been trained to follow her lead meant that I could match what she was doing in so-close-to-realtime it looked planned. It was really fun. Though at one point we were doing a banding-over-backwards snake arm, where I was behind Anne. Unfortunately the fire was behind me. As I straightened back up I whispered “burning! Burning!” to Anne, and quickly cameled to a cooler location. But all good performances have the risk of imolation, right? :)

Once the drummers left, we headed out to the sarengeti in search of more parties. It was after midnight at this point. But it was dead quite, no sounds of drums to draw us in. So we called it a night. I went back with Anne to EK Royal to pick up Judiths basket, which had the car keys. Lucan was still talkign with a bunch of his household people as we came in. Anne told them that we had just gotten back from fire-circle hopping, at which point I gave a quick shimmy. The knight I was standing behind bent his head back to give me a look, and gave a jerk of surprise saying “that wasn’t what I expected”. Hoot!!! Pretty darn funny.

Today we will bring the digital camera again and try to get some more Pennsic pictures.

Because Tamara could not make it to Pennsic this year, Stephen and Judith pictures present- The Virtual Pennsic. Come shopping! Slog through the mud! Sit hot and tired in the shade! Its everything Pennsic could bring you, now in electroic form!

This year the temperatures have been moderate, in the 80′s mainly. But every afternoon has brought rain showers, heavy at times. This is starting to oversaturate the ground in places. Everyone still says they prefer a cooler wet Pennsic to blazing heat. If the rains continue for a few more days they may change their tune.

So, I was also here to pick up bows from Yumi. The first picture shows the new design for his horse bows. Fascinating how the design has evolved in 10 years from when I bought mine. The second picture shows some of the many other varieties of bows he has available. The most dangerous were the super-pretty horn and sinew bows. If not for the rather steep price tag I doubt I could have resisted. I will be going back today to get fitted for a tumb ring. Woo!

Part of virtual pennsic involves allowing Tamara to shop remotely. Here is a sample of some of the shopping images she is getting. The one merchant I have found so far with a nice selection of central asian jewlery.

And finally a bit of rest time back in the Locleven camp. The first shows Anne and little baby Marion. The other shows the tired but otherwise happy Stepehen.

More to come tomorrow!

So, here I am in lovely New Castle Pennsylvania, getting ready for my third day at Pennsic. It is interesting to note some of the changes in the 9 years since I was here last. Much larger, of course, with people camping everywhere. What were neighboring farmers fields are now crammed with tents and cars. In the more established camps there is a much higher level of infrastructure. Lots more period pavillions. Lots of yurts. Most of the larger camps have their own gas powered how water systems, using either a hot water tank or an in-line heater so they can have their own hot showers. Likewise the larger camps have big and highly rganized kitchen areas. Many more camps now have large and ornamental gateways.

Judith and I have been splitting our time between EK Royal where Anne and Karl live and Locleven. It was a bit odd to be sitting around the table last night Lucan and probably a bunch of other EK muckity-mucks. Being homeless at Pennsic does lead to a very different experience. We (Judith and I) dont have some central camp where we can just sit and chew the fat with our firends all day. We must search out entertainment, whch means I have explored more of Pennsic in the last 2 days than in any of the 3 previous visits.

We did drop by horde camp, only saw three people we recognized. Colamr (with a new lady and a spudlet), Irina (of bunny-clubbing fame) and Sip. The really amusing frightening thing is that both Colmar and Irina recognized me… with the line “Oh, yeah! The pants!” Be afraid. At least those wonderful pants are safely packed away in New Zealand, waiting to be unleashed on an unsuspecting nation.

I bough my new bow from Yumi. I also picked up the one Chris ordered, and to prevent too much envy I got one for Tam, too. Woo! Now when we get down to NZ we will have to buy a property with a range sufficient for very long range shooting. And maybe some horses, since we will all have horse bows. :)

By far the most exciting moment last night was getting back out of the site. The repeated rain storms had turned the parking lots into a muddy mess. I thought we would have no problem, as we could go down the hill we were parked on and out the bottom exit (which then connected to a better sand road). So we arrive at the parking lot around midnight, and find a minivan trapped in the mud at the bottom of our aisle. Yikes. I belive my words were “oh you have to be s**ting me!”. The only way out was up a 100 meter mud slicky. So we walked the course. The center was churned mud, no traction. But the cars were parked on basically intact grass. We determined that if we could edge along the car bumpers and stay on the grass we might have a chance. Judith took the wheel, and by god we made it. A harrowing moment. We were giddy afterwards, driving through the dense fog (follow that big rig… wait where did it go? Ahhhh! Ghost Truck!) we were more than a little giddy.

Tonight Anne, Juidth and I plan to get dressed up and hunt for dancing parties. Woo!