This weekend I went to the Silver Kingdom Renaissance Festival, where I helped out as a volunteer all weekend.
Yes - it was in the 90's.
Yes - it was crazy ass humid and unbearably hot and sweaty both days.
But, it was also fun! The faire is larger than I had thought it was. There were about 30 vendors, give or take, and they had a nice variety of stuff. There were 3 or 4 costume vendors, 3 leather shops who all catered to larpers, a generic silver jewelry place, yard ornaments, tibetan items, eastern oddities and flint lock rifles, henna tattoos, gel candles, fantasy/medieval art prints, wool works, and a few others that I don't recall at the moment. There was a "Children's Garden" which basically has some games for the kids - beanbag throw, ring toss, fight the dragon, and an obstacle course! Plus drawing and coloring if they want. Fun for the kiddies. And, being a LARP faire, a boffer combat tourney.
I had a great time! It was wicked, hellish hot. Hot like drink a bottle of water an hour hot. So hot you didn't want to eat, but if you didn't eat something you would drop. We had two people leave by ambulance Saturday. The mudman, who was dehydrated, and a patron, who had given blood that morning (and appropriately said she felt pretty stupid as they were waiting for the ambulance to arrive.) So the next day water was available EVERYWHERE and people were actively being encouraged to wear sunscreen, take a break, have some water, etc. Fortunately there were no incidents, though an "almost" one with one of the Lione folk.
I bought a bear. A teddy bear. A Celtic bear, with wode on half his face, holding a longsword and buckler and wearing plaid pants! He is my leetle 'Braveheart Bear' now. :-) SO very cute, I just had to have him. There was some interesting leather armor pieces and sword holders and bracers at one of the booths. But every time I look at leather, I just think, "But Geof could make me that..." and I don't buy it. So methinks I need to talk to him about making me some shit. Bracers and/or a pauldron for now, another bat-utility belt later when I have lost some weight.
When I was looking through my shit for some costume accessories to bring along Sunday (I went home to get a few things and sleep in MY bed with my sweetie and my puppies, not in a sweaty bunk room with 10 other sweaty people...) I found my old bat-utility belt that he made for me. I wrapped it around myself and it was clear just how much I have gained. No way could I have even gotten the belts closed. *heavy sigh* I want to be determined to lose weight. I really want to lose it and I want to stay determined and actually take action and KEEP on the wagon! I think that will be a subject tonight with my therapist.
I will be going to the renfair again this weekend to help out, though my roles will be a bit more structured this weekend. This past weekend they apparently did not expect me at all. So I kind of floated and helped out where needed. This weekend I will be in the green room and the tavern. I hope I don't have to actually COOK. I would rather serve and clean than cook. We shall see....
In the meantime, I am primed for some serious thunderstorms to come and take away this ridiculous weather! I am all for saving the planet and controlling global warming, but I would be so very unhappy if I had to work outside in this heat all day every day!
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Happy BIrthday Buffy!
Posted to my LJ on April 22nd, 2008 at 11:26 pm
Happy Birthday sweetie! Hope you have a great, stress-free day filled with fun and love! It was great that you didn't have a clue about your brunch! It makes the surprise so much better when a person doesn't find out! :-)
I'm glad we have gotten to be better friends this year! Patience and understanding are rare qualities, but you have them in spades (Heh, get it? Card joke!!) and you give them freely. Thanks for being a friend to me! :-) Hugs and smoochies!
Happy Birthday sweetie! Hope you have a great, stress-free day filled with fun and love! It was great that you didn't have a clue about your brunch! It makes the surprise so much better when a person doesn't find out! :-)
I'm glad we have gotten to be better friends this year! Patience and understanding are rare qualities, but you have them in spades (Heh, get it? Card joke!!) and you give them freely. Thanks for being a friend to me! :-) Hugs and smoochies!
sunburn and chocolate cake
Posted to my LJ on April 21st, 2008 at 4:15 pm
I had a TON OF FUN this weekend! WOOOOO! I also had some serious conversation, which is nice, and my brain needs it as well. So it was a good balance of the weekend.
I went to End Of Seasons (Lione) and scripted. Got there as the sun was setting, which is nice and early. It was a nice and easy way to slip back into scripting as I knew I was leaving sometime saturday night to go up and stay with Anya for a brunch on Sunday. So I didn't have to pack the world. Got up there and saw several people I had not seen in some time - yay! Did the scripty thing. Did the hidey thing too, but got over that. Journaled a bit about it though. Maybe I will have an epiphany one of these days - even a small one would be nice. :-) Went to bed with everyone else at about 3:00 am. Watched a little of my new Christian Bale movie - Rescue Dawn. Rough movie. Vietnam POW. Ugh! Next morning, got up for breakfast (yay waffle maker!!) Then did the scripty thing for several hours. Took a much needed nap and did more scripty stuff. Ben was there (B not G) and so was Dell both days. It was nice to see him in a non-playing situation where we could take a few minutes to catch up on life. Like, how's your new infant son?! How is life with a baby and two dogs?! Heh. So that was a welcome thing. Puke showed up too, which I didn't know he had been doing lately. So I was pretty floored about that as well. And I got to see Brandy and Eric as well, who came Saturday to re-build a much-needed gate prop (yep, glad I wasn't playing!) So I did a LOT of catching up with long-time friends. Got to see and hang with Megan as well, which rocked!
Faith and I left for Anya's house at dinnertime. In hindsight, a poor choice, as we were both basically ravenous when we got to Anya's. She said we were like gremlins when we got there. Heh, I wasn't seeing it because I was hungry, but looking back, yeah we were! We hugged and kissed and then stormed the kitchen for leftovers! After eating, the hanging (and showering) began. We hung out casual-like, and had strawberry shortcake for dessert-YUM! We just had girl talk time all evening until our eyelids were drooping and sleep was necessary.
Next morning the mad morning rush was on to get ready and get kids, mother, BB, me and Faith out of the house on time for Buffy's surprise brunch, which was a total success! She was honestly surprised - YESSSS!! We were sure someone had spilled the beans (heh) to her or that she would see the cars in the parking lot. She did not, so we were victorious! A few unexpected faces were there, so that was nice. Got to see Gene and Shell, Rob, Janie, Karl and Allie, Caleb, Cliffy, Jim Pic, April's brother Evan and his wife and, of course, April and Shaun. Shaun's family was also there and that was where the kids had stayed the night before. We had a fine, brunchy time, while desperately missing the Chocolate Fountain, which was apparently out of order (damn them - don't they know that was why we did this?!) There were many stories and laughs and giggles. The kids did magic tricks for the adults. It was lots of fun!
Afterwards, we retired back to April and Shaun's house for chatting, playing wiffle baseball with the kids and lots of Radiant talk. We strong-armed Jim into coming with us, since he was without car, and Cliffy, Evan, Anya, Faith and I also went over. We sat on the deck in the sun (hence the sunburn) talking while the kids ran around the yard burning off the maple syrup and waffles. There was much talk of the next Radiant event, of food, cabin decor and who might and might not be coming. We went out to the street to see Nolan ride his bike, training-wheel-free. He was great and you couldn't tell he had only learned the previous day. After a couple of hours Shaun and Cliffy left with Jim to take him home and go buy a phone for Shaun. Not long after that, BB also left, so that we girls could have girl time, which was what the brunch originally started out as.
We hung out for a little while and then April went inside. She came out with chocolate cake (with that gooey, fudgy filling) and four forks. WOOO! I actually said, "Now THIS is girl time!!" So we sat talking and ate the rest of the cake together. It was great! There were various mini-melodramas among the kids - who got whom upset, we were mean for laughing at them (we weren't), could we go to the park, knee scrapes, whining and cajoling. Finally, we went to the park closeby for about 45 minutes, let the kids burn off more energy and then went back to the house. Anya, Faith and I took off for Anya's house and then Faith drove me home.
All in all, a fun-filled weekend with friends. Overdue, for sure. And fulfilling as well. Smoochies to my peeps!!
I had a TON OF FUN this weekend! WOOOOO! I also had some serious conversation, which is nice, and my brain needs it as well. So it was a good balance of the weekend.
I went to End Of Seasons (Lione) and scripted. Got there as the sun was setting, which is nice and early. It was a nice and easy way to slip back into scripting as I knew I was leaving sometime saturday night to go up and stay with Anya for a brunch on Sunday. So I didn't have to pack the world. Got up there and saw several people I had not seen in some time - yay! Did the scripty thing. Did the hidey thing too, but got over that. Journaled a bit about it though. Maybe I will have an epiphany one of these days - even a small one would be nice. :-) Went to bed with everyone else at about 3:00 am. Watched a little of my new Christian Bale movie - Rescue Dawn. Rough movie. Vietnam POW. Ugh! Next morning, got up for breakfast (yay waffle maker!!) Then did the scripty thing for several hours. Took a much needed nap and did more scripty stuff. Ben was there (B not G) and so was Dell both days. It was nice to see him in a non-playing situation where we could take a few minutes to catch up on life. Like, how's your new infant son?! How is life with a baby and two dogs?! Heh. So that was a welcome thing. Puke showed up too, which I didn't know he had been doing lately. So I was pretty floored about that as well. And I got to see Brandy and Eric as well, who came Saturday to re-build a much-needed gate prop (yep, glad I wasn't playing!) So I did a LOT of catching up with long-time friends. Got to see and hang with Megan as well, which rocked!
Faith and I left for Anya's house at dinnertime. In hindsight, a poor choice, as we were both basically ravenous when we got to Anya's. She said we were like gremlins when we got there. Heh, I wasn't seeing it because I was hungry, but looking back, yeah we were! We hugged and kissed and then stormed the kitchen for leftovers! After eating, the hanging (and showering) began. We hung out casual-like, and had strawberry shortcake for dessert-YUM! We just had girl talk time all evening until our eyelids were drooping and sleep was necessary.
Next morning the mad morning rush was on to get ready and get kids, mother, BB, me and Faith out of the house on time for Buffy's surprise brunch, which was a total success! She was honestly surprised - YESSSS!! We were sure someone had spilled the beans (heh) to her or that she would see the cars in the parking lot. She did not, so we were victorious! A few unexpected faces were there, so that was nice. Got to see Gene and Shell, Rob, Janie, Karl and Allie, Caleb, Cliffy, Jim Pic, April's brother Evan and his wife and, of course, April and Shaun. Shaun's family was also there and that was where the kids had stayed the night before. We had a fine, brunchy time, while desperately missing the Chocolate Fountain, which was apparently out of order (damn them - don't they know that was why we did this?!) There were many stories and laughs and giggles. The kids did magic tricks for the adults. It was lots of fun!
Afterwards, we retired back to April and Shaun's house for chatting, playing wiffle baseball with the kids and lots of Radiant talk. We strong-armed Jim into coming with us, since he was without car, and Cliffy, Evan, Anya, Faith and I also went over. We sat on the deck in the sun (hence the sunburn) talking while the kids ran around the yard burning off the maple syrup and waffles. There was much talk of the next Radiant event, of food, cabin decor and who might and might not be coming. We went out to the street to see Nolan ride his bike, training-wheel-free. He was great and you couldn't tell he had only learned the previous day. After a couple of hours Shaun and Cliffy left with Jim to take him home and go buy a phone for Shaun. Not long after that, BB also left, so that we girls could have girl time, which was what the brunch originally started out as.
We hung out for a little while and then April went inside. She came out with chocolate cake (with that gooey, fudgy filling) and four forks. WOOO! I actually said, "Now THIS is girl time!!" So we sat talking and ate the rest of the cake together. It was great! There were various mini-melodramas among the kids - who got whom upset, we were mean for laughing at them (we weren't), could we go to the park, knee scrapes, whining and cajoling. Finally, we went to the park closeby for about 45 minutes, let the kids burn off more energy and then went back to the house. Anya, Faith and I took off for Anya's house and then Faith drove me home.
All in all, a fun-filled weekend with friends. Overdue, for sure. And fulfilling as well. Smoochies to my peeps!!
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Happy Birthday Wendela!
Posted to my LJ on April 14th, 2008 at 10:51 am
This is a formal Happy Motherfuckin' Birthday to my oldest friend, Wendy! By "oldest", I mean that this year, Wendy and I will have known each other for 35 (yes, THIRTY-FIVE) years!
We met on the corner of 146th Street and Booth Memorial Avenue in Flushing, Queens. The story goes that I was 3 and she was 4 and I am not sure how we were both on the corner, but it was soon after she had moved directly across the street from me. It was a kind of, "Hi, I'm Linda," "Hi, I'm Wendy," "Let's be friends," "Ok," sort of thing. We have been friends ever since then! There was a brief, summer-long period of turmoil when a third friend caused friction between us, but that was way back in 1981 and long since forgotten. We have gone through times when we didn't get in touch for several months, or a year, and didn't see each other for a couple of years at a time. But as soon as we saw each other we would always say hi the same way, by jumping up and down hugging because we were so happy to see each other again! It was never an issue that we didn't see each other or talk all the time. We would pick up just where we left off, catching each other up on our lives and our families' lives.We lived right across the street from each other for 9 years. When my family moved an hour north of NYC, she would come to visit me for a week or two at a time in the summer and we would try to swing a school vacation during the school year as well. I went to her brother's wedding and she was my maid of honor when I got married.
And four(ish) years ago, she was looking to move out of NYC (finally!) and happened to use my new home in RI as a stopover for a visit to a friend in MA. I took advantage of the time and took her around the interesting Providence sites and somehow got her to fall in love with the state enough that within a year she was living here, 2 1/2 miles from my house! It was, and still is, weird (but great!) to be living so close again.
We are the same age for a month and a half every year, and then she leaps another year forward. So, Wendy, Bi Buv Boo and wish you a happy, happy birthday!!!
BBB,
Blinbla
This is how long we have been friends...
This is a formal Happy Motherfuckin' Birthday to my oldest friend, Wendy! By "oldest", I mean that this year, Wendy and I will have known each other for 35 (yes, THIRTY-FIVE) years!
We met on the corner of 146th Street and Booth Memorial Avenue in Flushing, Queens. The story goes that I was 3 and she was 4 and I am not sure how we were both on the corner, but it was soon after she had moved directly across the street from me. It was a kind of, "Hi, I'm Linda," "Hi, I'm Wendy," "Let's be friends," "Ok," sort of thing. We have been friends ever since then! There was a brief, summer-long period of turmoil when a third friend caused friction between us, but that was way back in 1981 and long since forgotten. We have gone through times when we didn't get in touch for several months, or a year, and didn't see each other for a couple of years at a time. But as soon as we saw each other we would always say hi the same way, by jumping up and down hugging because we were so happy to see each other again! It was never an issue that we didn't see each other or talk all the time. We would pick up just where we left off, catching each other up on our lives and our families' lives.We lived right across the street from each other for 9 years. When my family moved an hour north of NYC, she would come to visit me for a week or two at a time in the summer and we would try to swing a school vacation during the school year as well. I went to her brother's wedding and she was my maid of honor when I got married.
And four(ish) years ago, she was looking to move out of NYC (finally!) and happened to use my new home in RI as a stopover for a visit to a friend in MA. I took advantage of the time and took her around the interesting Providence sites and somehow got her to fall in love with the state enough that within a year she was living here, 2 1/2 miles from my house! It was, and still is, weird (but great!) to be living so close again.
We are the same age for a month and a half every year, and then she leaps another year forward. So, Wendy, Bi Buv Boo and wish you a happy, happy birthday!!!
BBB,
Blinbla
This is how long we have been friends...
Rock and Roll!!!
Posted to my LJ on April 12th, 2008 at 11:20 pm
So I went to play Rock Band last night with Louli and company. It was tons of fun! What's the first song that comes on? The Perfect Drug - only my favorite NIN song ever. Micki was singing, but didn't know the song, so they tossed me the mic and I sang the rest. WOO!!!
Some highlights:
"Sorry about rubbing my butt against you."
Gimme Shelter
Conversations followed by appropriate song lyrics
Gimme Shelter
The Mystery Request Set
Evil drummer guy
Beer + southern rock = Aaron sings!
Grateful Dead downloads need to be deleted!
Playing until 2am!! WOO!!
Had a great time, hope to do it again soon!! WOOO!!
\m/
So I went to play Rock Band last night with Louli and company. It was tons of fun! What's the first song that comes on? The Perfect Drug - only my favorite NIN song ever. Micki was singing, but didn't know the song, so they tossed me the mic and I sang the rest. WOO!!!
Some highlights:
"Sorry about rubbing my butt against you."
Gimme Shelter
Conversations followed by appropriate song lyrics
Gimme Shelter
The Mystery Request Set
Evil drummer guy
Beer + southern rock = Aaron sings!
Grateful Dead downloads need to be deleted!
Playing until 2am!! WOO!!
Had a great time, hope to do it again soon!! WOOO!!
\m/
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Happy Birthday Jenny!!!
Posted to my LJ on March 25th, 2008 at 10:14 pm
To one of the strongest, most cheery, giving, hardworking and beautiful women I know!!
May your birthday be lovely and wonderful. May you get many birthday wishes and at least one Very Cool Present. May this be the beginning of a productive year of progress for you in every way - personally, professionally, spiritually, intellectually, emotionally, etc.
Know that there are people in your life that love you and appreciate you and always think that, even with all your foibles, you do a great job living a pretty damn good life!
Love you sweetie! SMOOCHIES!
To one of the strongest, most cheery, giving, hardworking and beautiful women I know!!
May your birthday be lovely and wonderful. May you get many birthday wishes and at least one Very Cool Present. May this be the beginning of a productive year of progress for you in every way - personally, professionally, spiritually, intellectually, emotionally, etc.
Know that there are people in your life that love you and appreciate you and always think that, even with all your foibles, you do a great job living a pretty damn good life!
Love you sweetie! SMOOCHIES!
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
not right...in the head
So here's how you know something's wrong with you.
You make tentative plans with a friend that then become solid. You are going to hang out for a weekend, but not the entire weekend, because the last day of the weekend the friend has family stuff to do. No biggie. The friend can arrive anytime because they are not tied down to a departure time. Loose plans are made to do fun things, but nothing specific or rock-solid.
Later in the week, you get an IM from another friend mentioning something about hanging our this weekend. Just as you are about to say you have plans with visiting friend, they ask if you got the e-mail. So you say no and go check your e-mail. You have an e-mail from a different friend saying something about the friend who is coming to spend time with you (and the one that just IM'd you) wanting to spend time with them.
Here is where things go awry.
Your first thought is: Well, if she wanted to go hang out with that other friend, why did she accept MY invitation?
Then you re-read the e-mail and see that you are also invited, as you are included on the e-mail and also asked if you have other plans already with the visiting friend.
Your next thought is: They all obviously already MADE plans to hang out with each other last weekend when they all spent time together. I was not involved in those plans, nor was I told about them when I spoke to visiting friend. So it seems I am an afterthought.
You try to work through these thoughts and figure out why you feel this way. Clearly a gut reaction. Clearly not entirely rational. But it's the way you feel. You feel like visiting friend doesn't really want to spend time with you, she wants to spend time with the other friends. And the only reason they asked you along was because visiting friend told them she was going to be visiting you. So leaving you out wouldn't be very polite. You try to think about how you could decline and they could go on their merry way and have their desired night out. You feel tiny and unimportant. You feel somehow rejected. It all makes little sense, but it makes total sense. In your head.
Then you write about it in your LiveJournal.
You make tentative plans with a friend that then become solid. You are going to hang out for a weekend, but not the entire weekend, because the last day of the weekend the friend has family stuff to do. No biggie. The friend can arrive anytime because they are not tied down to a departure time. Loose plans are made to do fun things, but nothing specific or rock-solid.
Later in the week, you get an IM from another friend mentioning something about hanging our this weekend. Just as you are about to say you have plans with visiting friend, they ask if you got the e-mail. So you say no and go check your e-mail. You have an e-mail from a different friend saying something about the friend who is coming to spend time with you (and the one that just IM'd you) wanting to spend time with them.
Here is where things go awry.
Your first thought is: Well, if she wanted to go hang out with that other friend, why did she accept MY invitation?
Then you re-read the e-mail and see that you are also invited, as you are included on the e-mail and also asked if you have other plans already with the visiting friend.
Your next thought is: They all obviously already MADE plans to hang out with each other last weekend when they all spent time together. I was not involved in those plans, nor was I told about them when I spoke to visiting friend. So it seems I am an afterthought.
You try to work through these thoughts and figure out why you feel this way. Clearly a gut reaction. Clearly not entirely rational. But it's the way you feel. You feel like visiting friend doesn't really want to spend time with you, she wants to spend time with the other friends. And the only reason they asked you along was because visiting friend told them she was going to be visiting you. So leaving you out wouldn't be very polite. You try to think about how you could decline and they could go on their merry way and have their desired night out. You feel tiny and unimportant. You feel somehow rejected. It all makes little sense, but it makes total sense. In your head.
Then you write about it in your LiveJournal.
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Springy
The weather, that is. Today was, by far, the warmest day since the end of Autumn. Yay! Today it definitely felt like spring was breaking through.
And then it began to rain. Oh well. But it's still very mild out. Gonna get cold again tomorrow night again. C'mon spring!!!
So...I am now on Facebook. I was on it for all of an hour today maybe. I already LOVE it one-hundred-billion times more than MySpace, which sucks giant ass. MySpace has a million ads, it is confusing, non-intuitive, poorly organized and, to top it all off, UGLY (if you don't know CSS and have the ability/time/interest to design your own custom page.) Plus, I believe MySpace has adware or spyware for some of their advertisers. They suck. Facebook wins! I will probably keep my MySpace login; it already directs people away from there to my LJ or Blogger page. I state right there on my page that I don't use it.
The WAY I got on facebook is that my old friend Lars is on there and invited my friend Heather. She invited me and now I have 5 friends on there already: Lars, Heather, Nick, my niece and an old lione friend. I am going to tell anyone I know on MySpace to get themselves a Facebook login and drop MySpace. Woo!
Now, I shall settle in to watch some American Idol!! Guilty pleasure! Love this show!
And then it began to rain. Oh well. But it's still very mild out. Gonna get cold again tomorrow night again. C'mon spring!!!
So...I am now on Facebook. I was on it for all of an hour today maybe. I already LOVE it one-hundred-billion times more than MySpace, which sucks giant ass. MySpace has a million ads, it is confusing, non-intuitive, poorly organized and, to top it all off, UGLY (if you don't know CSS and have the ability/time/interest to design your own custom page.) Plus, I believe MySpace has adware or spyware for some of their advertisers. They suck. Facebook wins! I will probably keep my MySpace login; it already directs people away from there to my LJ or Blogger page. I state right there on my page that I don't use it.
The WAY I got on facebook is that my old friend Lars is on there and invited my friend Heather. She invited me and now I have 5 friends on there already: Lars, Heather, Nick, my niece and an old lione friend. I am going to tell anyone I know on MySpace to get themselves a Facebook login and drop MySpace. Woo!
Now, I shall settle in to watch some American Idol!! Guilty pleasure! Love this show!
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Happy Birthday to me
Text from Louli and Rob, LJ message from Jenny, voice mail from Tommy and the kids.
Not bad for before noon.
Thirty-eight. Sheesh. I still feel like a kid sometimes. Happily, I don't really look my age. more from me later probably.
Not bad for before noon.
Thirty-eight. Sheesh. I still feel like a kid sometimes. Happily, I don't really look my age. more from me later probably.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
sore and tired
Went to EOS for the first time and had a great time! I had plot and backstory and everything, it was very cool actually. I will have to thank Angel for that.
Despite being damned tired and thinking I could not trudge another step through the deep powdery snow, I did okay and did not die. Heh. Kidding. Sort of. Anyway, not important. My character was interesting and neat to play, I got to meet most of the people in my throne and quite a few others. There was intrigue and cool stuff.
And a murder mystery to boot. I have to admit, when it happened it was a teensy bit cheesy. But then, it's larping, which is mucho geeky. So I think a little cheese is acceptable.
Anyway, I have some ideas for costume and accessories and I hope to be able to make some stuff for the game before I play again. Pants are a MUST, the skirt thing is not going to cut it. Not for adventuring and not for the concept either.
Anyway, today has been a day of napping and resting. Time to go to bed so I can deal with work tomorrow. Grumble.
Had fun! YAY!!
Thank you to my sweetie and my best friend for helping me go this weekend!
Despite being damned tired and thinking I could not trudge another step through the deep powdery snow, I did okay and did not die. Heh. Kidding. Sort of. Anyway, not important. My character was interesting and neat to play, I got to meet most of the people in my throne and quite a few others. There was intrigue and cool stuff.
And a murder mystery to boot. I have to admit, when it happened it was a teensy bit cheesy. But then, it's larping, which is mucho geeky. So I think a little cheese is acceptable.
Anyway, I have some ideas for costume and accessories and I hope to be able to make some stuff for the game before I play again. Pants are a MUST, the skirt thing is not going to cut it. Not for adventuring and not for the concept either.
Anyway, today has been a day of napping and resting. Time to go to bed so I can deal with work tomorrow. Grumble.
Had fun! YAY!!
Thank you to my sweetie and my best friend for helping me go this weekend!
Sunday, January 13, 2008
The Sexy Pandas!!!!!!! \m/ Wooo!
Posted to my LJ on January 13th, 2008 at 11:27 PM
So in addition to our Saturday exploits, Louli brought up ROCK BAND!! We rocked out all weekend, unlocking over 35 of the 58 songs in the game, at least on EASY. I mostly sang and she played guitar and drums. We ROCKED!!! We got 5 stars on all but about 8 songs. I tried guitar on a few and then drums on a few. She tried singing on a few too. We had a rockin' time and spent many hours this weekend playing. She got it for Christmas from her brother and we had a ton of fun with it! WOO! My sweetie came up and watched for a while. The puppies barked at the drums. We had fun.
And The Sexy Pandas are on the road!!!!
So in addition to our Saturday exploits, Louli brought up ROCK BAND!! We rocked out all weekend, unlocking over 35 of the 58 songs in the game, at least on EASY. I mostly sang and she played guitar and drums. We ROCKED!!! We got 5 stars on all but about 8 songs. I tried guitar on a few and then drums on a few. She tried singing on a few too. We had a rockin' time and spent many hours this weekend playing. She got it for Christmas from her brother and we had a ton of fun with it! WOO! My sweetie came up and watched for a while. The puppies barked at the drums. We had fun.
And The Sexy Pandas are on the road!!!!
Beads and corsets
Posted to my LJ on January 12th, 2008 at 9:33 PM
Louli came up this weekend and we had some stuff to do. 1) Go to Beadworks in Providence to get her some matching stuff so that she could use some of her beads; 2) See about finding a leather corset for her for EOS costuming. Mission #1 - sort of accomplished. She bought some beads, but all stuff that went with each other to make earrings. She didn't get more stuff to go with what she has since she has mostly red and black and has about 20 black and red pieces already. So, no more worrying about using up everything she has. :-) Mission #2 - Not accomplished, but leads were gathered. We went to a shop in Providence called Miko. An adult paraphernalia shop geared towards women. They had nothing in stock, but told us about a lovely little event at the convention center called the Fetish Flea Market. A nice lady named Kat told us that there would be several corset vendors there. We had a hell of a time while she was looking up that information. Some nice boys came into the shop and asked about a special order. There was a conversation about Spring Peepers and driving over them and how they eat each other for no apparent reason. There was discussion of furries and plushies and infant play fetishes. It was probably the most animated conversation I have ever had with a virtual stranger. And ironically, she is a former rennie, 17th and 18th Century re-enactor and knows a long time friend of mine. Heh.
Well, we got some website links and Lou is on the road to owning her very own corset and was able to get a line on replacement pvc pants as well. Woot!
Louli came up this weekend and we had some stuff to do. 1) Go to Beadworks in Providence to get her some matching stuff so that she could use some of her beads; 2) See about finding a leather corset for her for EOS costuming. Mission #1 - sort of accomplished. She bought some beads, but all stuff that went with each other to make earrings. She didn't get more stuff to go with what she has since she has mostly red and black and has about 20 black and red pieces already. So, no more worrying about using up everything she has. :-) Mission #2 - Not accomplished, but leads were gathered. We went to a shop in Providence called Miko. An adult paraphernalia shop geared towards women. They had nothing in stock, but told us about a lovely little event at the convention center called the Fetish Flea Market. A nice lady named Kat told us that there would be several corset vendors there. We had a hell of a time while she was looking up that information. Some nice boys came into the shop and asked about a special order. There was a conversation about Spring Peepers and driving over them and how they eat each other for no apparent reason. There was discussion of furries and plushies and infant play fetishes. It was probably the most animated conversation I have ever had with a virtual stranger. And ironically, she is a former rennie, 17th and 18th Century re-enactor and knows a long time friend of mine. Heh.
Well, we got some website links and Lou is on the road to owning her very own corset and was able to get a line on replacement pvc pants as well. Woot!
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Playing catch up - old posts unposted...
Because I want this blog to match my LJ for those who like one format over another....I wanted to make sure I am cross posting. I neglected to do so for my December posts, so here they are.
*****************
This is for Louli!
Dec. 20th, 2007 at 3:38 PM
This is like what we saw the other day, though the kid we saw was not NEARLY as perfect as the kid this guy saw. I thought you would appreciate it.
Article on 'Guitar Hero 3' impossible song!
And by the way, it is a REAL SONG by a real band, not just written for the game. :-)
Love you Louli, you're my Guitar Hero!
=====================================
I hate being a girl
Dec. 17th, 2007 at 9:26 AM
Really, there's nothing else to say about that. Even only every three months, it still SUCKS!!!!!!!!!
=====================================
Each Day Is Stupider Than The Last
Dec. 12th, 2007 at 3:12 PM
I didn't think it was possible. But it is. The lack of skill being displayed by a person hired as a System Administrator is just amazing to me. The guy is not even FAKING it. He just bumbles through one task, taking hours to troubleshoot the problems he creates by making some change on the Exchange, Domain or File Servers, and then moves on to the next fuck up.
And because his boss (my other boss) is not technically adept either, he DOESN'T KNOW THE GUY IS A BUMBLING IDIOT WHO IS SCREWING THINGS UP!!!!! The two of them know enough to take this network DOWN. And frankly, I hope they do. It would make my life SO much easier. But that won't happen. Bumbler will screw things up here and there, small enough that he can cover them or explain them away as a "necessary change", and things will continue status quo.
This job has become crappy really fast.
======================================
Parties!
Dec. 3rd, 2007 at 2:37 PM
Okay, I have taken two weeks for this one, but here is the link to my pics of Caleb's fun filled Wild West party!! Yeee-haw!!
My Flickr set of Caleb's party pics
More pics to come. Next it will be Marcy's birthday! Woo!
Sadly I have no pictures from the annual Boston outing because I broke the LCD screen on my camera and I don't know if it is actually taking pictures now. Grumble. *feels stupid*
====================================
Belated Friday Post
Dec. 3rd, 2007 at 2:13 PM
I was going to write about this Friday night, but I think I just needed to shut off the week and be done with it.
So my co-worker and I were asked to come in on a Saturday to "clean up" our area and the front room of the server rooms (sort of an ante-room, or could be a test station area if set up correctly.) We agreed and made arrangements between the two of us for a day and how long we would work, etc. So Friday, we go to our stupid "refresher" session on Outlook and how to archive (I learned exactly one thing) and at the end of the meeting, which ran long - past my co-worker's 4pm leave time - boss guy talks briefly about us coming in the next day. I joked that my co-worker said he would see me at 6:00 am, and that my response was, hope you like working alone! Then boss guy says, well, we'll see the progress Monday then. Just as I was about to agree and get out of there, he says, "I took pictures."
Me: "..."
I just stood there looking at him for a moment. I asked, "You took pictures?" with a look of disbelief, and a slight smile on my face. Smiling, he said, "Yeah! So we will be able to see the Before and After and how they look." He mentioned something about having to report to someone on it, blah blah. But at that point I just walked out, still with the dumb smile on my face. Because at this point in the week, I was just going to fall on the floor laughing hysterically. I just couldn't fathom his ridiculousness anymore.
I walked down the hall and spoke to my co-worker. "He took pictures?!" And he said yes. That he had seen boss guy come around with a camera and take pictures of the area next to our cubicles during the week. Also, that boss guy had come into the server room and started to tell my co-worker HOW to clean up in that room earlier in the week. Not what he wanted where, but how - in terms of method - to clean up. At that point I just had to stop talking about it.
He took pictures of the area we were cleaning up this weekend. This guy is unbelievable.
*****************
This is for Louli!
Dec. 20th, 2007 at 3:38 PM
This is like what we saw the other day, though the kid we saw was not NEARLY as perfect as the kid this guy saw. I thought you would appreciate it.
Article on 'Guitar Hero 3' impossible song!
And by the way, it is a REAL SONG by a real band, not just written for the game. :-)
Love you Louli, you're my Guitar Hero!
=====================================
I hate being a girl
Dec. 17th, 2007 at 9:26 AM
Really, there's nothing else to say about that. Even only every three months, it still SUCKS!!!!!!!!!
=====================================
Each Day Is Stupider Than The Last
Dec. 12th, 2007 at 3:12 PM
I didn't think it was possible. But it is. The lack of skill being displayed by a person hired as a System Administrator is just amazing to me. The guy is not even FAKING it. He just bumbles through one task, taking hours to troubleshoot the problems he creates by making some change on the Exchange, Domain or File Servers, and then moves on to the next fuck up.
And because his boss (my other boss) is not technically adept either, he DOESN'T KNOW THE GUY IS A BUMBLING IDIOT WHO IS SCREWING THINGS UP!!!!! The two of them know enough to take this network DOWN. And frankly, I hope they do. It would make my life SO much easier. But that won't happen. Bumbler will screw things up here and there, small enough that he can cover them or explain them away as a "necessary change", and things will continue status quo.
This job has become crappy really fast.
======================================
Parties!
Dec. 3rd, 2007 at 2:37 PM
Okay, I have taken two weeks for this one, but here is the link to my pics of Caleb's fun filled Wild West party!! Yeee-haw!!
My Flickr set of Caleb's party pics
More pics to come. Next it will be Marcy's birthday! Woo!
Sadly I have no pictures from the annual Boston outing because I broke the LCD screen on my camera and I don't know if it is actually taking pictures now. Grumble. *feels stupid*
====================================
Belated Friday Post
Dec. 3rd, 2007 at 2:13 PM
I was going to write about this Friday night, but I think I just needed to shut off the week and be done with it.
So my co-worker and I were asked to come in on a Saturday to "clean up" our area and the front room of the server rooms (sort of an ante-room, or could be a test station area if set up correctly.) We agreed and made arrangements between the two of us for a day and how long we would work, etc. So Friday, we go to our stupid "refresher" session on Outlook and how to archive (I learned exactly one thing) and at the end of the meeting, which ran long - past my co-worker's 4pm leave time - boss guy talks briefly about us coming in the next day. I joked that my co-worker said he would see me at 6:00 am, and that my response was, hope you like working alone! Then boss guy says, well, we'll see the progress Monday then. Just as I was about to agree and get out of there, he says, "I took pictures."
Me: "..."
I just stood there looking at him for a moment. I asked, "You took pictures?" with a look of disbelief, and a slight smile on my face. Smiling, he said, "Yeah! So we will be able to see the Before and After and how they look." He mentioned something about having to report to someone on it, blah blah. But at that point I just walked out, still with the dumb smile on my face. Because at this point in the week, I was just going to fall on the floor laughing hysterically. I just couldn't fathom his ridiculousness anymore.
I walked down the hall and spoke to my co-worker. "He took pictures?!" And he said yes. That he had seen boss guy come around with a camera and take pictures of the area next to our cubicles during the week. Also, that boss guy had come into the server room and started to tell my co-worker HOW to clean up in that room earlier in the week. Not what he wanted where, but how - in terms of method - to clean up. At that point I just had to stop talking about it.
He took pictures of the area we were cleaning up this weekend. This guy is unbelievable.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
More fun...
I am a Help Desk IT Tech. My job description includes Desktop computer support of all types - Operating System, Application/Program Support, Network issues, Hardware issues - you name it and if it happens to a computer, I resolve it. I have been at this job for a year and have been providing technical level customer support for almost ten years.
As a side note, no, I do not have a degree or certifications (yet.) But in every office job I have held, I have ALWAYS become the "go-to" person for the computer. How do I print this, how do I use my e-mail, how do I change this setting, how do I make this program do this random thing. I help my friends and family with their computers (except my dad and brothers, who are also tech geek folks.)
Next week we are migrating our Exchange e-mail server to the Main I.T. Dept e-mail server. So we have to help our users clean out their e-mail boxes and archive stuff so the mailboxes are as small as possible for the migration.
So, I get an e-mail today from boss guy saying that the e-mail "guru" from the Main I.T. Department "has graciously agreed to review the email archiving features of Outlook with us (the IT staff) so we will be prepared for our information sessions next week."
I nearly fell off my chair. I was so insulted that my boss actually thought I needed a refresher course, in E-mail management and archiving. And I was offended for my co-worker because he is quite knowledgeable as well. I sat with my head in my hands for several minutes and then decided I needed to try and say something about it.
So I wrote back, "Do you really think this is necessary? I mean, this is something (my co-worker) and I do every day with people. I have a thorough understanding of using archiving and personal folder files (.pst files). Just asking." Mind you, I ACCEPTED the meeting request, even though I did not agree it was even necessary.
So I get back, "I believe there are multiple ways to achieve the same results, so Id like to use this session to understand each method and to collectively select one method that we can all use. In addition, he will review the utility that copies archives from the local drive to the network so we can decide if we want to implement this feature."
The utility review was actually going to be helpful, but he didn't bother to mention that the first time around.
So, in essence, this is what he was saying to me:
"I don't care if you think you know about archiving. I don't and since I have never asked you to provide me with a full explanation of archiving, I don't believe you know what you think you know about it. The Main I.T. Dept is god, so we should learn from them. Plus I don't know anything about it, so I am hiding behind you guys to learn from someone professional instead of asking my underlings to teach me something. Plus we will actually learn something that we need to know (archive copy to network for backing up), which I failed to mention in the meeting request. Thanks for remaining the peon that you are, Boss Guy."
Yeah, banner week for me here at work.
As a side note, no, I do not have a degree or certifications (yet.) But in every office job I have held, I have ALWAYS become the "go-to" person for the computer. How do I print this, how do I use my e-mail, how do I change this setting, how do I make this program do this random thing. I help my friends and family with their computers (except my dad and brothers, who are also tech geek folks.)
Next week we are migrating our Exchange e-mail server to the Main I.T. Dept e-mail server. So we have to help our users clean out their e-mail boxes and archive stuff so the mailboxes are as small as possible for the migration.
So, I get an e-mail today from boss guy saying that the e-mail "guru" from the Main I.T. Department "has graciously agreed to review the email archiving features of Outlook with us (the IT staff) so we will be prepared for our information sessions next week."
I nearly fell off my chair. I was so insulted that my boss actually thought I needed a refresher course, in E-mail management and archiving. And I was offended for my co-worker because he is quite knowledgeable as well. I sat with my head in my hands for several minutes and then decided I needed to try and say something about it.
So I wrote back, "Do you really think this is necessary? I mean, this is something (my co-worker) and I do every day with people. I have a thorough understanding of using archiving and personal folder files (.pst files). Just asking." Mind you, I ACCEPTED the meeting request, even though I did not agree it was even necessary.
So I get back, "I believe there are multiple ways to achieve the same results, so Id like to use this session to understand each method and to collectively select one method that we can all use. In addition, he will review the utility that copies archives from the local drive to the network so we can decide if we want to implement this feature."
The utility review was actually going to be helpful, but he didn't bother to mention that the first time around.
So, in essence, this is what he was saying to me:
"I don't care if you think you know about archiving. I don't and since I have never asked you to provide me with a full explanation of archiving, I don't believe you know what you think you know about it. The Main I.T. Dept is god, so we should learn from them. Plus I don't know anything about it, so I am hiding behind you guys to learn from someone professional instead of asking my underlings to teach me something. Plus we will actually learn something that we need to know (archive copy to network for backing up), which I failed to mention in the meeting request. Thanks for remaining the peon that you are, Boss Guy."
Yeah, banner week for me here at work.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Catching up
It's been a couple of days, I know. I totally did NOT make NaBloPoMo. I missed 4 days now. Not in a row, but still. But let's not count our chicks yet.
Turkey day was yummy and good times. Spent with sister-in-law's family, my brother, my parents and my sweetie. Friday was the annual trek by my sweetie and my sis-in-law out into the Black Friday ridiculously early morning madness. They had a good time, as usual. There was talk of someone among us going and waiting outside Best Buy at midnight to try and get a good spot in line for a $200 computer or a $400 laptop, but that never happened.
My nephew is getting bigger by the minute it seems. He is a cutie for sure though. Very smiley and responsive for 3 months old!
And on the way home we stopped in CT for a special girl's birthday party at Molly Darcy's in Danbury. It was great fun, as usual. Part of the funny was that homestarwannab just turned 21, and made the HUGE mistake of challenging a friend of ours that just cannot be matched for alcohol consumption. We headed home at about 18 shots. We actually haven't heard from him yet, so we are wondering how he fared the rest of the night. I am betting he had THE hangover of his life the next day. Or maybe today, that's how much he was drinking!
Sunday was quiet. Today was back to work - yuk. I hope the week flies by. I am already tired of work!
Turkey day was yummy and good times. Spent with sister-in-law's family, my brother, my parents and my sweetie. Friday was the annual trek by my sweetie and my sis-in-law out into the Black Friday ridiculously early morning madness. They had a good time, as usual. There was talk of someone among us going and waiting outside Best Buy at midnight to try and get a good spot in line for a $200 computer or a $400 laptop, but that never happened.
My nephew is getting bigger by the minute it seems. He is a cutie for sure though. Very smiley and responsive for 3 months old!
And on the way home we stopped in CT for a special girl's birthday party at Molly Darcy's in Danbury. It was great fun, as usual. Part of the funny was that homestarwannab just turned 21, and made the HUGE mistake of challenging a friend of ours that just cannot be matched for alcohol consumption. We headed home at about 18 shots. We actually haven't heard from him yet, so we are wondering how he fared the rest of the night. I am betting he had THE hangover of his life the next day. Or maybe today, that's how much he was drinking!
Sunday was quiet. Today was back to work - yuk. I hope the week flies by. I am already tired of work!
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Good Times
I am having a great weekend, and it's not even over. I am having good family time with my brother and sister-in-law and my niece and nephews.
My sweetie and sister-in-law got up at 4:30am and did their annual Black Friday shopping excursion. Many bargains were gotten and many purchases were made. The employees at Toys'r'us were the most organized, the employees at Best Buy were the nicest and Staples was a nightmare with pushing shoving and rudeness.
I stayed home and slept until they pulled into the garage at 10:30 am. Woo!! And tonight we girls went to the movies and saw Enchanted. A very good choice, I must say. Cute, romantic, FUNNY and good music. Worth seeing.
Today was sort of a musical kind of day actually. We watched Legally Blonde, the musical. They had it on their DVR from an MTV performance of it. VERY funny and catchy. I think I need the soundtrack now. (oh. my. god. ohmygod you guys!) Sounds like a Christmas gift to me....
Anyway, tomorrow I see friends for a birthday night out and then head home at some ungodly late hour (because the ride is 3 hours from Danbury, so any way we do it, we will get home after midnight.) Should be fun!!
My sweetie and sister-in-law got up at 4:30am and did their annual Black Friday shopping excursion. Many bargains were gotten and many purchases were made. The employees at Toys'r'us were the most organized, the employees at Best Buy were the nicest and Staples was a nightmare with pushing shoving and rudeness.
I stayed home and slept until they pulled into the garage at 10:30 am. Woo!! And tonight we girls went to the movies and saw Enchanted. A very good choice, I must say. Cute, romantic, FUNNY and good music. Worth seeing.
Today was sort of a musical kind of day actually. We watched Legally Blonde, the musical. They had it on their DVR from an MTV performance of it. VERY funny and catchy. I think I need the soundtrack now. (oh. my. god. ohmygod you guys!) Sounds like a Christmas gift to me....
Anyway, tomorrow I see friends for a birthday night out and then head home at some ungodly late hour (because the ride is 3 hours from Danbury, so any way we do it, we will get home after midnight.) Should be fun!!
Sunday, November 18, 2007
party time...excellent
Last night I spent some time with my girlies and went to a friend's birthday party. Every year there is a theme and this year was no different. It was Wild West! There were some great costumes there! There was the saloon whore with the shiner that she got from the priest, the miner, the cowgirl in her union suit gun slung low on her hips, the undertaker, the Indian running the craps table, lots of reg'ler cowboys, a burlesque dancer, a bible thumpin' mormon, and lots of others.
There were two contest, the first to figger out some cowboy talk and the second to answer questions about the host. Everything you got right got you more chips for gamblin'. There was craps, blackjack and roulette. There were shootin' duels out on the porch. Later in the night there was dancin' too. And of course there was liquor, and lots of it.
A very fun night with some people I haven't seen for a while! Yee-haw!!
There were two contest, the first to figger out some cowboy talk and the second to answer questions about the host. Everything you got right got you more chips for gamblin'. There was craps, blackjack and roulette. There were shootin' duels out on the porch. Later in the night there was dancin' too. And of course there was liquor, and lots of it.
A very fun night with some people I haven't seen for a while! Yee-haw!!
Friday, August 24, 2007
saddened by the passing of a personality
When I got to work Monday morning and checked on LJ, as I normally do, I read a post from a friend who mentioned that she had read in someone else's LJ that Perry DeAngelis had passed away. I looked around and found it, though there was not more information. I checked with Lou as she is a longtime friend of the family and she had also heard about it from another friend.
I am so sad about this.
Perry was one of the founding board members of LIONE Rampant along with 6 other guys from NH and MA. They decided to start their own game after playing the only other one around at the time, NERO. They had their own ideas, each of them, and wanted to put their creative minds together and make their own game.
He wrote and played some of the most memorable events/characters/creatures/modules in my LARPing career. To this day, his penchant for making up the most bizarre, poorly-statted, late-night micro is infamous! At the final event of the LIONE 3 campaign this July, I gave one of the present board members a brick together with a roll of duct tape and called it "The Honorary Perry DeAngelis Award" - because this board member (Lee) always played the most evil, most conniving, most surprising characters in that campaign. I thought of it off-the-cuff the day before, and now I am so glad I did it. It's just a testament to the contribution that Perry made to that game and to the lives of the people who played it.
I was not in contact with Perry for the last few years. But when I searched Google on his name I found a lot of people who were. He was active in the New England Skeptics Society. I remember when he and Steve founded that and it was just them. There were a lot of listeners and members of the group that have been touched by his death, even though they never met him.
Skeptics Guide to the Universe-Main Page
Skeptics Guide Message Boards
Steve Novella's Blog and comments
One of the posts was from Perry's close friend Evan:
Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 3:31 am Post subject:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey all,
Forgive my intrusion on this thread, but unlike Rebecca and Steve, I don't have blog or another place to type a few words.
I am going to save my deepest thoughts and recollections about Perry for the next show that we record. But I must say that reading all the posts here, at Steve and Rebecca's blogs, and the SGU fans site today has been both amazing and very difficult at the same time. Your words of kindness and expressions of heart-felt grief has brought me to tears several times today.
I just got home from an impromptu gathering at Steve's house with about a dozen of Perry's closest friends along with his sister Celeste. We hugged, laughed, told story after story over a delicious beef dinner that my wife prepared in Perry's honor (thank you Jen, my soulmate forever!), drank a little wine, laughed some more, told more stories .... you get the idea. It was a little strange, but there seemed to be no time for our tears of sorrow - we just wanted to talk about Perry as much as we possibly could, and we did so for hours on end.
It's here at my computer that I find myself wet around the eyes as I read every word that has been typed. Its kind of surreal. I can't say that I can't believe Perry is gone, only because he suffered for many many years with multiple diseases, and we knew that this unbearably sad day would have to occur. But what I can say is that your outpouring of raw emotion, kindness, and love is heart-felt, warming beyond words, and incredibly astute. I met Perry in 1986, and I admired him within about 2 minutes of talking to him. A life-long friendship was born. As I read all that you have written, I think back to my first moments of being in Perry's company and I say to myself "Yes, I know exactly what they are talking about and how they feel."
I can't thank you all enough for your words and thoughts. You're the ones that are helping make this agonizing pain bearable. Please continue to express your thoughts and feelings. This is extrememly theraputic for Steve, Bob, Jay, Rebecca, myself, and Perry's closest family and friends. I'm off to find a fresh box of tissues.
Evan
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And words from someone else who knew him as well:
John's post
Perry will be missed by a lot of people for a lot of reasons. You don't have to be a close friend to miss someone when they are gone.
I am so sad about this.
Perry was one of the founding board members of LIONE Rampant along with 6 other guys from NH and MA. They decided to start their own game after playing the only other one around at the time, NERO. They had their own ideas, each of them, and wanted to put their creative minds together and make their own game.
He wrote and played some of the most memorable events/characters/creatures/modules in my LARPing career. To this day, his penchant for making up the most bizarre, poorly-statted, late-night micro is infamous! At the final event of the LIONE 3 campaign this July, I gave one of the present board members a brick together with a roll of duct tape and called it "The Honorary Perry DeAngelis Award" - because this board member (Lee) always played the most evil, most conniving, most surprising characters in that campaign. I thought of it off-the-cuff the day before, and now I am so glad I did it. It's just a testament to the contribution that Perry made to that game and to the lives of the people who played it.
I was not in contact with Perry for the last few years. But when I searched Google on his name I found a lot of people who were. He was active in the New England Skeptics Society. I remember when he and Steve founded that and it was just them. There were a lot of listeners and members of the group that have been touched by his death, even though they never met him.
Skeptics Guide to the Universe-Main Page
Skeptics Guide Message Boards
Steve Novella's Blog and comments
One of the posts was from Perry's close friend Evan:
Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 3:31 am Post subject:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey all,
Forgive my intrusion on this thread, but unlike Rebecca and Steve, I don't have blog or another place to type a few words.
I am going to save my deepest thoughts and recollections about Perry for the next show that we record. But I must say that reading all the posts here, at Steve and Rebecca's blogs, and the SGU fans site today has been both amazing and very difficult at the same time. Your words of kindness and expressions of heart-felt grief has brought me to tears several times today.
I just got home from an impromptu gathering at Steve's house with about a dozen of Perry's closest friends along with his sister Celeste. We hugged, laughed, told story after story over a delicious beef dinner that my wife prepared in Perry's honor (thank you Jen, my soulmate forever!), drank a little wine, laughed some more, told more stories .... you get the idea. It was a little strange, but there seemed to be no time for our tears of sorrow - we just wanted to talk about Perry as much as we possibly could, and we did so for hours on end.
It's here at my computer that I find myself wet around the eyes as I read every word that has been typed. Its kind of surreal. I can't say that I can't believe Perry is gone, only because he suffered for many many years with multiple diseases, and we knew that this unbearably sad day would have to occur. But what I can say is that your outpouring of raw emotion, kindness, and love is heart-felt, warming beyond words, and incredibly astute. I met Perry in 1986, and I admired him within about 2 minutes of talking to him. A life-long friendship was born. As I read all that you have written, I think back to my first moments of being in Perry's company and I say to myself "Yes, I know exactly what they are talking about and how they feel."
I can't thank you all enough for your words and thoughts. You're the ones that are helping make this agonizing pain bearable. Please continue to express your thoughts and feelings. This is extrememly theraputic for Steve, Bob, Jay, Rebecca, myself, and Perry's closest family and friends. I'm off to find a fresh box of tissues.
Evan
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And words from someone else who knew him as well:
John's post
Perry will be missed by a lot of people for a lot of reasons. You don't have to be a close friend to miss someone when they are gone.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Controversial posting
So, I am going to post about depression. This post is protected because I don't need strangers prying into and commenting about my personal issues.
The two articles linked in this post, which I have lifted from the website of the illustrious Dooce (read her site if you a)like to laugh, b) have or have had a small child, c) appreciate bluntness and bizarre observations, or d) like dogs) are two of the best personal accounts of depression and what it feels like that I have read. I have read (or started to read) many books on the subject. I have been to counseling, though I am not seeing a therapist at the moment. I began taking antidepressant medication about 3 1/2 years ago (or so). My moods were really out of control and I would get very upset very quickly (either angry or crying). I was under a tremendous amount of stress at the time, which exacerbated things a lot. The combination of taking the meds along with getting my birth control pill adjusted so that I get my period only 4 times a year (seasonale is the best birth control pill EVER!!!) helped a lot and my moods are mostly settled. Note: the second thing is because I get some really heavy duty PMS based moodiness - bizarre thoughts, enhanced moods, feeling "weird" - PLUS physical PMS symptoms as well.
I have never experienced the "numb", or "dull" feeling that some people who have been on antidepressants describe. I certainly do not feel that way now and have not since I have been on meds.
I was very hesitant to go on meds for one large reason - my mother. My mother has issues. ADD, some OCD, mildly bi-polar, depressive. She has been on meds for several years now. She doesn't acknowledge her conditions as illnesses, never has. It's just "how she is, okay?" She is hard to get along with and it's a crap shoot as to how she will be when you talk to her or see her. Most of the time her world revolves around her. Anyway, I digress...the point is this. I don't want to become her. If I thought I was too much like her, I don't know what I would do. Leave normal society and go be a hermit somewhere. NOT subject the world to me, to that. So, for me, going on meds was just another step towards being like my mother.
But the meds have helped ME and things in MY LIFE, so now I have owned that part of it and there is none of that trepidation any longer.
Why am I talking about all of this? Because I need other people to know. I know some people who have dealt with depression, and some people who have never had to really experience this lovely miasma. It is beyond difficult to explain to someone who does not understand how this is, what it is like, how it feels...and most important WHY. Not why do I have it...WHY can't I get over it, why do I STILL feel this way, WHY can't I just move on.
Please read these two articles and try to understand WHY.
Article #1
Article #2
The two articles linked in this post, which I have lifted from the website of the illustrious Dooce (read her site if you a)like to laugh, b) have or have had a small child, c) appreciate bluntness and bizarre observations, or d) like dogs) are two of the best personal accounts of depression and what it feels like that I have read. I have read (or started to read) many books on the subject. I have been to counseling, though I am not seeing a therapist at the moment. I began taking antidepressant medication about 3 1/2 years ago (or so). My moods were really out of control and I would get very upset very quickly (either angry or crying). I was under a tremendous amount of stress at the time, which exacerbated things a lot. The combination of taking the meds along with getting my birth control pill adjusted so that I get my period only 4 times a year (seasonale is the best birth control pill EVER!!!) helped a lot and my moods are mostly settled. Note: the second thing is because I get some really heavy duty PMS based moodiness - bizarre thoughts, enhanced moods, feeling "weird" - PLUS physical PMS symptoms as well.
I have never experienced the "numb", or "dull" feeling that some people who have been on antidepressants describe. I certainly do not feel that way now and have not since I have been on meds.
I was very hesitant to go on meds for one large reason - my mother. My mother has issues. ADD, some OCD, mildly bi-polar, depressive. She has been on meds for several years now. She doesn't acknowledge her conditions as illnesses, never has. It's just "how she is, okay?" She is hard to get along with and it's a crap shoot as to how she will be when you talk to her or see her. Most of the time her world revolves around her. Anyway, I digress...the point is this. I don't want to become her. If I thought I was too much like her, I don't know what I would do. Leave normal society and go be a hermit somewhere. NOT subject the world to me, to that. So, for me, going on meds was just another step towards being like my mother.
But the meds have helped ME and things in MY LIFE, so now I have owned that part of it and there is none of that trepidation any longer.
Why am I talking about all of this? Because I need other people to know. I know some people who have dealt with depression, and some people who have never had to really experience this lovely miasma. It is beyond difficult to explain to someone who does not understand how this is, what it is like, how it feels...and most important WHY. Not why do I have it...WHY can't I get over it, why do I STILL feel this way, WHY can't I just move on.
Please read these two articles and try to understand WHY.
Article #1
Article #2
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