Well well! I love weekends!
Fridays are my favorite days of the week simply because some of my best friends and I get together to game. Afterwards, we all went to get something to eat and then came back to Billy's to watch Sydney White. Great movie!
Saturday was meant to be more than it turned out to be. Ty had a fun shoot to kick off the start of the year at his place. Food, door prizes, the whole shebang. Evan and Billy wanted to show up, but neither one did. On the up side, I got to practice until I started hitting ping pong balls at twenty yards. (PUSH, dummy!)
Sunday was a lazy day at the Johnson's. Evan and I went to see Rambo (great guy flick!) and afterwards, Evan and I went back to my place to shoot for a while. He's coming along wonderfully.
There's nothing much else to say. The weather has been relatively mild, so I might try going past Lichterman's on Teusday for a while (it's free on Teusdays after 1!). It's not quite Spring or Summer yet, but it would be nice to walk and think and daydream and listen to the music. For Christmas, my dear lady gave me a special edition of Lord of the Rings, which I've been re-reading, and the images of the forest delightfully won't leave, and I keep remembering the pull, the intense desire of the deep woods. Soon, the leaves will come back, and I will return to the realms of my dreams...
Monday, January 28, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Fond Memories
Well, now it HAS been a week since my last post, and I'm trying to think of all the things that's happened since then.
The SCA event over the weekend went pretty well. I don't think I taught my class quite as well as I could have, but Master Erik talked to me later, and said "You teach well." I was flattered that he enjoyed what little part of my class he got to sit through. The next event I go to is going to be a little one day thing here in Memphis called Candlemas Collegium, where I'm teaching another class.
Candlemas will mark my seven year anniversary since my very first event. A lot of things have changed since then, and I like to think I've grown up quite a bit since then. It would be another year before I would meet the Johnsons at my graduation, and a year after that, I would go out to Colorado and meet Lanelle for the first time.
If you haven't noticed by now, I'm in a reflective mood at the moment. For those of you who know my dogs, I've got mighty sad news. Scotty died last night. We heard he'd been hit by a truck, so Dad went down and got him, and Mom called my brother and me. In a way, I'm kind of glad it was this way. Scotty's eyes, ears, legs and back were all going, though to my knowledge, all his internal organs were in pretty good working order, especially for his age. He was the oldest dog we've had in a long time. He came to us when I was in 4th or 5th grade, so he must have been around 14 or 15. If my math and memory are right, and if he'd been a newborn pup when we found him (which he wasn't) he would have been somewhere between 98 and 105 in dog years. I think I'll just be making it easy on my memory and calling him 100.
God, he was a good dog. Kind of ornery at times, stubborn and persnickety, and when he was older, we sometimes called him crotchety or grumpy, and I heard mom occasionally call him grouch, or the Grinch around Christmas. But we did love him.
Anyone who knows me knows I don't cry. To give you an idea, the last time I cried was in the airport last January when Lanelle went back home to Colorado after spending three weeks down here with me. Before that, there was an instance when Dad was still assembling his plane in Florida, but came home for some holiday or other. When he left, I cried on the way home. Before that, the only time I can remember crying was when I went to see The Last Samurai for the first time in theaters. In that big, final, climactic battle scene, when they charged the Gatling guns, and it went into slow motion and the music swelled, I thought about those men, and who they were, and why they were dying, and what for. I buried my face in the neck of my date and bawled like a baby.
I didn't cry last night when I got the news. I didn't even cry this morning when I passed Scotty's body in the garage and I said goodbye. But the farther from home I drove, the bigger the lump in my throat got, until finally, at the corner of Humphrey and Houston Levee...it began to snow. It was those tiny little things that look like grains of salt and don't stick, but man, it was enough. It didn't help that I was listening to Josh Groban's "Prayer" at the time, either.
I don't believe animals are capable of conscious thought. I believe the emotions we see them display are reactions to instincts...but I want to believe. If I took it too far, and believed that animals had free will, then that would mean that they could sin, and that Jesus would have had to die for them, too! But I still enjoy the thought of seeing them all again, someday. Tic, Lady, Tramp, Dandy, Suzi, Gearhardt, and now Scotty. My family and I have been truly blessed. Hopefully, we will continue to be so for many years to come.
The SCA event over the weekend went pretty well. I don't think I taught my class quite as well as I could have, but Master Erik talked to me later, and said "You teach well." I was flattered that he enjoyed what little part of my class he got to sit through. The next event I go to is going to be a little one day thing here in Memphis called Candlemas Collegium, where I'm teaching another class.
Candlemas will mark my seven year anniversary since my very first event. A lot of things have changed since then, and I like to think I've grown up quite a bit since then. It would be another year before I would meet the Johnsons at my graduation, and a year after that, I would go out to Colorado and meet Lanelle for the first time.
If you haven't noticed by now, I'm in a reflective mood at the moment. For those of you who know my dogs, I've got mighty sad news. Scotty died last night. We heard he'd been hit by a truck, so Dad went down and got him, and Mom called my brother and me. In a way, I'm kind of glad it was this way. Scotty's eyes, ears, legs and back were all going, though to my knowledge, all his internal organs were in pretty good working order, especially for his age. He was the oldest dog we've had in a long time. He came to us when I was in 4th or 5th grade, so he must have been around 14 or 15. If my math and memory are right, and if he'd been a newborn pup when we found him (which he wasn't) he would have been somewhere between 98 and 105 in dog years. I think I'll just be making it easy on my memory and calling him 100.
God, he was a good dog. Kind of ornery at times, stubborn and persnickety, and when he was older, we sometimes called him crotchety or grumpy, and I heard mom occasionally call him grouch, or the Grinch around Christmas. But we did love him.
Anyone who knows me knows I don't cry. To give you an idea, the last time I cried was in the airport last January when Lanelle went back home to Colorado after spending three weeks down here with me. Before that, there was an instance when Dad was still assembling his plane in Florida, but came home for some holiday or other. When he left, I cried on the way home. Before that, the only time I can remember crying was when I went to see The Last Samurai for the first time in theaters. In that big, final, climactic battle scene, when they charged the Gatling guns, and it went into slow motion and the music swelled, I thought about those men, and who they were, and why they were dying, and what for. I buried my face in the neck of my date and bawled like a baby.
I didn't cry last night when I got the news. I didn't even cry this morning when I passed Scotty's body in the garage and I said goodbye. But the farther from home I drove, the bigger the lump in my throat got, until finally, at the corner of Humphrey and Houston Levee...it began to snow. It was those tiny little things that look like grains of salt and don't stick, but man, it was enough. It didn't help that I was listening to Josh Groban's "Prayer" at the time, either.
I don't believe animals are capable of conscious thought. I believe the emotions we see them display are reactions to instincts...but I want to believe. If I took it too far, and believed that animals had free will, then that would mean that they could sin, and that Jesus would have had to die for them, too! But I still enjoy the thought of seeing them all again, someday. Tic, Lady, Tramp, Dandy, Suzi, Gearhardt, and now Scotty. My family and I have been truly blessed. Hopefully, we will continue to be so for many years to come.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
That Durn Old Saddle...
Ok, so it's been almost a week since my last post, and one would think enough has happened in that time to write about. Actually, except for school starting, and the whole process that entails, it's been quiet enough to bore a hole through an oak.
I suppose it might be worth reading if I talked a bit about my classes. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning, my first class, Greek, starts at 10:20. Because it's a thrice-a-week class, it's only 55 minutes. After that, on Monday and Wednesday, my next class, Victorian/Edwardian Britain, starts at 12:40. Later, Atlantic World History starts at 5:30. On Tuesday and Thursday, the only class I have is Colonial American History at 9:40. Because these last three classes are only twice-a-week, they are each an hour and a half.
I've got a good feeling about this semester. There are breaks between each class that will come in handy for studying and getting work done. The teachers are good, too. I've had two before, and the other two aren't bad.
Other than that, the only thing I can think of to write about is Lanelle's Mouse.
She's had one in her room for weeks, and it's been keeping her awake at nights, so Doug set some mousetraps. I hate those kinds of traps. They rely on strangulation, which is slow. The much more humane thing to do is poison, since the rodent simply goes to sleep and never wakes up. The problem with this is that by then, the mouse has walked off somewhere to sleep, and after it dies, begins decaying in a hard to reach place, much less easy to clean. In any case, however the mouse died, it died. The problem is that the trap was set in plain sight, and when the trap went off, Lanelle was able to see the whole thing. She was understandably reduced to tears, and now there's another mouse in her room. I pray this one is resolved better.
I'm back to teaching the kids TKD now, too. Same old, same old. Handbells have started back up again. There's an SCA event on Saturday I'm teaching at. Sounds like everything's picking back up again.
I suppose it might be worth reading if I talked a bit about my classes. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning, my first class, Greek, starts at 10:20. Because it's a thrice-a-week class, it's only 55 minutes. After that, on Monday and Wednesday, my next class, Victorian/Edwardian Britain, starts at 12:40. Later, Atlantic World History starts at 5:30. On Tuesday and Thursday, the only class I have is Colonial American History at 9:40. Because these last three classes are only twice-a-week, they are each an hour and a half.
I've got a good feeling about this semester. There are breaks between each class that will come in handy for studying and getting work done. The teachers are good, too. I've had two before, and the other two aren't bad.
Other than that, the only thing I can think of to write about is Lanelle's Mouse.
She's had one in her room for weeks, and it's been keeping her awake at nights, so Doug set some mousetraps. I hate those kinds of traps. They rely on strangulation, which is slow. The much more humane thing to do is poison, since the rodent simply goes to sleep and never wakes up. The problem with this is that by then, the mouse has walked off somewhere to sleep, and after it dies, begins decaying in a hard to reach place, much less easy to clean. In any case, however the mouse died, it died. The problem is that the trap was set in plain sight, and when the trap went off, Lanelle was able to see the whole thing. She was understandably reduced to tears, and now there's another mouse in her room. I pray this one is resolved better.
I'm back to teaching the kids TKD now, too. Same old, same old. Handbells have started back up again. There's an SCA event on Saturday I'm teaching at. Sounds like everything's picking back up again.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Home again, in love again...
I was right. Leaving was harder than being left. I have never seen a flight so clearly, before. We climbed to 30,000 feet, and I did not once lose sight of land because of clouds. I have come to the conclusion that everything is more beautiful when you're in it. Above it, there is a sense of dispassionate longing. "It looks nice, but I wish I could actually be there." It's the same with pictures. Nothing beats being there back at the place you were, or back in the arms of someone you love.
Back home was nothing big. Mom and Dad both have the bug, and I think I'm getting it, too. We just stopped for dinner before going home. The next day saw me killing time until I picked up K.C. and joined Mike, Liza, Hutch, and Dave over at Billy's for gaming! THAT was fun! But gaming always is. It's a chance to live out adventures, albeit through our imaginations, but still, when we do it together, it's a lot more fun than by ourselves.
I shot again, today. I was on, too! 30 yard shots were easy, today. It's amazing. Every single time I pick up a bow, I am reminded how much passion I have for it with a jolt that is alarming. It's as if I forget the depth of that love until I handle the suede grip again, and feel the sweet, sweet tension in the string mounting higher and higher in my shoulders and back, against my fingertips, my smile getting wider and wider until I finally release! There is nothing quite so beautiful as an arc. Whether it be the bend of a longbow, the flight of an arrow, or the curve of my love's lips in a smile, I am hooked, addicted hopelessly to the shape.
Speaking of Lanelle, I would like to ask that she is prayed for. The doctors say that her hypER-thyroidism has switched to hypO-thyroidism. It's annoying to Lanelle, more than anything else, but I hate to see her so irritated, and so I ask that prayers go up for both her and her doctors.
Today is my best friend's birthday, and I must go and shop for him. I'm still divided over whether to get him something I know he'll want, or something I think he would appreciate. Maybe I'll get him both! Stay tuned!
Back home was nothing big. Mom and Dad both have the bug, and I think I'm getting it, too. We just stopped for dinner before going home. The next day saw me killing time until I picked up K.C. and joined Mike, Liza, Hutch, and Dave over at Billy's for gaming! THAT was fun! But gaming always is. It's a chance to live out adventures, albeit through our imaginations, but still, when we do it together, it's a lot more fun than by ourselves.
I shot again, today. I was on, too! 30 yard shots were easy, today. It's amazing. Every single time I pick up a bow, I am reminded how much passion I have for it with a jolt that is alarming. It's as if I forget the depth of that love until I handle the suede grip again, and feel the sweet, sweet tension in the string mounting higher and higher in my shoulders and back, against my fingertips, my smile getting wider and wider until I finally release! There is nothing quite so beautiful as an arc. Whether it be the bend of a longbow, the flight of an arrow, or the curve of my love's lips in a smile, I am hooked, addicted hopelessly to the shape.
Speaking of Lanelle, I would like to ask that she is prayed for. The doctors say that her hypER-thyroidism has switched to hypO-thyroidism. It's annoying to Lanelle, more than anything else, but I hate to see her so irritated, and so I ask that prayers go up for both her and her doctors.
Today is my best friend's birthday, and I must go and shop for him. I'm still divided over whether to get him something I know he'll want, or something I think he would appreciate. Maybe I'll get him both! Stay tuned!
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Bittersweet
Well, I leave tomorrow afternoon, and I suppose it's time for a recap/fill you in on what's been going on since my last post.
Mostly, swing! Lanelle took me to a place in C-Springs called the VFW (I have no idea what it stands for) and we just had some fun swing dancing! I met new friends there, and started actually improvising new steps. Lanelle and I found our personal dance song, "Fire" I have no idea who that's by, either. Afterwards, new friends, Lanelle and I went to a surprise birthday party, and then all got home very late. Last night, we went to something even better! There's a swing place in Denver that nine of us drove up to (in two cars, obviously). Because of parental preferences, I got drafted to drive one of the cars, and Lanelle, her friend Karen, and the new friend, Gabrielle (Gabby) were with me. The rides there and back were almost as fun as the dance itself!
The place we went to was called the Mercury Cafe, and man, it was packed out! I swear, the swing contingent here in Colorado is two things: very talented, and very large! At the VFW and the Mercury, Lanelle and I danced with several different partners each, and had much fun. Lanelle introduced me to a great old man named Joe. He said he'd been swing dancing ever since he was a teenager in Brooklyn. I asked him when that was, and he said 100 years ago. He was one of the best, yet relaxed dancers out there, and every girl he partnered looked good. He has a talent for putting people at their ease, even when in awkward positions, and he knows how to treat a lady with dignity and respect. I was given many pointers.
Today, we go to Miramont Castle for the tours with Lanelle's father. After that, we just hang out, enjoying my last full day here. I'll be home soon, folks, and though I love you all dearly, I cannot say that leaving is without it's enormous dose of vinegar to accompany the sugar of seeing you all again. This will be the first time since Summer of '06 that I leave Lanelle instead of the other way around, and I'm kind of curious to see how everyone manages it, including myself. There has never been any doubt as to how close she and I have become, but strangely, I think being left behind is easier than leaving. At least, that's how I think it will be. I can almost already sense the enormous feeling of guilt that I had not told her enough how much I love her, or how many things we had left undone or unsaid. But, I suppose that's what cell phones are for these days. It doesn't compare, but I suppose I'll have to take what I can get.
Mostly, swing! Lanelle took me to a place in C-Springs called the VFW (I have no idea what it stands for) and we just had some fun swing dancing! I met new friends there, and started actually improvising new steps. Lanelle and I found our personal dance song, "Fire" I have no idea who that's by, either. Afterwards, new friends, Lanelle and I went to a surprise birthday party, and then all got home very late. Last night, we went to something even better! There's a swing place in Denver that nine of us drove up to (in two cars, obviously). Because of parental preferences, I got drafted to drive one of the cars, and Lanelle, her friend Karen, and the new friend, Gabrielle (Gabby) were with me. The rides there and back were almost as fun as the dance itself!
The place we went to was called the Mercury Cafe, and man, it was packed out! I swear, the swing contingent here in Colorado is two things: very talented, and very large! At the VFW and the Mercury, Lanelle and I danced with several different partners each, and had much fun. Lanelle introduced me to a great old man named Joe. He said he'd been swing dancing ever since he was a teenager in Brooklyn. I asked him when that was, and he said 100 years ago. He was one of the best, yet relaxed dancers out there, and every girl he partnered looked good. He has a talent for putting people at their ease, even when in awkward positions, and he knows how to treat a lady with dignity and respect. I was given many pointers.
Today, we go to Miramont Castle for the tours with Lanelle's father. After that, we just hang out, enjoying my last full day here. I'll be home soon, folks, and though I love you all dearly, I cannot say that leaving is without it's enormous dose of vinegar to accompany the sugar of seeing you all again. This will be the first time since Summer of '06 that I leave Lanelle instead of the other way around, and I'm kind of curious to see how everyone manages it, including myself. There has never been any doubt as to how close she and I have become, but strangely, I think being left behind is easier than leaving. At least, that's how I think it will be. I can almost already sense the enormous feeling of guilt that I had not told her enough how much I love her, or how many things we had left undone or unsaid. But, I suppose that's what cell phones are for these days. It doesn't compare, but I suppose I'll have to take what I can get.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Snowbound (actually, more like snowpunched)
They say that skiing is the fastest way to get to the bottom of a mountain... this is a fallacy. As I discovered yesterday, the absolutely, positively, bar-none, no doubt speediest method of attaining the base of a large matter of earth is by falling!
Ok, so I didn't do as much falling as all that, but I did fall several times. It wasn't enough to keep me from trying, though! I'll start at the beginning. The day before yesterday, Lanelle, Shauna, one of her friends and I went malling, and then went over to Lanelle's dad's for dinner, cards, and spending the night so that we could get up early and drive two hours to go skiing! Aven's been snowboarding before, so he went off on his own right away, while the rest of us got outfitted with rental equipment. Shauna wanted to try snowboarding for the first time, so she went off to the lessons area while Lanelle and I started my skiing trials on the bunny slope. I didn't fall on that one! After we had gone up and down a half dozen times, we took a break for lunch, and then Lanelle and Aven took me to the top of the mountain, which had several different runs going down, with multiple difficulty levels. I took the one Aven loved so much, called "Molly Mayfield." It's a green, for anyone familiar with the color ratings.
That's when the fun really started. I did perfectly well until halfway down the slope, the green turned into a blue! It looked like the snow dropped off a cliff, but as I got closer, my eyes opening ever wider and my heart climbing ever higher into my throat, I saw that it wasn't a drop off, but just a steeper slope. I stopped, gathered what few wits were left, and pushed off.
I must have been going fifty, sixty, seventy...thousand miles an hour! Then Lanelle passed me. She was swishing gently back and forth, her poles lifted carelessly a few inches above the snow. I could practically hear her humming with boredom.
Well, needless to say, that's where I got my first lessons in the feel of packed snow against my face. But it just couldn't keep me from riding the interminably long ski lift back up to the top! We had much fun. By the end of the day, my quads and knees were killing me, and this morning, my calves are reminding me that they are still alive and well. The wonderful wonderful thing was, though, that we hit the hot springs afterwards! Ohhhhhhhhhhhh, man! There are two pools, one cooler than the other, and a steam room that goes up to 135 degrees, though it stayed mostly around 110. I stepped inside and thought I was back in Memphis in Summer! There was nothing more therapeutic for any of us!
On the way home, we stopped in a place that had no light pollution for many many miles, and looked up at the stars. I had never been able to see the Milky Way so clearly!
Today, I'll be working with Lanelle at the sushi bar, doing simple stuff like running food out to the tables. I'm kind of nervous, but it won't last too long. Who knows what tomorrow will bring! Keep watching!
Ok, so I didn't do as much falling as all that, but I did fall several times. It wasn't enough to keep me from trying, though! I'll start at the beginning. The day before yesterday, Lanelle, Shauna, one of her friends and I went malling, and then went over to Lanelle's dad's for dinner, cards, and spending the night so that we could get up early and drive two hours to go skiing! Aven's been snowboarding before, so he went off on his own right away, while the rest of us got outfitted with rental equipment. Shauna wanted to try snowboarding for the first time, so she went off to the lessons area while Lanelle and I started my skiing trials on the bunny slope. I didn't fall on that one! After we had gone up and down a half dozen times, we took a break for lunch, and then Lanelle and Aven took me to the top of the mountain, which had several different runs going down, with multiple difficulty levels. I took the one Aven loved so much, called "Molly Mayfield." It's a green, for anyone familiar with the color ratings.
That's when the fun really started. I did perfectly well until halfway down the slope, the green turned into a blue! It looked like the snow dropped off a cliff, but as I got closer, my eyes opening ever wider and my heart climbing ever higher into my throat, I saw that it wasn't a drop off, but just a steeper slope. I stopped, gathered what few wits were left, and pushed off.
I must have been going fifty, sixty, seventy...thousand miles an hour! Then Lanelle passed me. She was swishing gently back and forth, her poles lifted carelessly a few inches above the snow. I could practically hear her humming with boredom.
Well, needless to say, that's where I got my first lessons in the feel of packed snow against my face. But it just couldn't keep me from riding the interminably long ski lift back up to the top! We had much fun. By the end of the day, my quads and knees were killing me, and this morning, my calves are reminding me that they are still alive and well. The wonderful wonderful thing was, though, that we hit the hot springs afterwards! Ohhhhhhhhhhhh, man! There are two pools, one cooler than the other, and a steam room that goes up to 135 degrees, though it stayed mostly around 110. I stepped inside and thought I was back in Memphis in Summer! There was nothing more therapeutic for any of us!
On the way home, we stopped in a place that had no light pollution for many many miles, and looked up at the stars. I had never been able to see the Milky Way so clearly!
Today, I'll be working with Lanelle at the sushi bar, doing simple stuff like running food out to the tables. I'm kind of nervous, but it won't last too long. Who knows what tomorrow will bring! Keep watching!
Thursday, January 3, 2008
The Forgotten Birthday
Why, bless me, but I forgot to write about her birthday! This was another one of those "help best by staying out of the way" days, although I did take quite the pleasure in helping string lights from the rafters! Other than that, I kept Aven occupied again, this time with the book that Lanelle got me, and someone else got him: "The Dangerous Book For Boys!" I've always wanted to learn three things: American Sign Language, Morse Code, and the Phonetic Alphabet (you know; alpha, bravo, charlie, delta, etc...) This book has the latter two, and I've already memorized the Phonetic. Aven and I started writing messages to each other in Morse, so it's fun practice! My other favorite pages are the ones about tripwires and pressure plates! My own, homemade security system! Or minefield, depending on your purpose...
Meanwhile, Lanelle cooked like mad, and what we didn't have, we went out to shop for, and we must have hit close to every shop in town, and we still didn't get all the stuff we needed in one trip! Unfortunately, out of all the people she invited, only one person actually showed up, but she brought a friend, too. We did much swing dancing, and we enjoyed all the food she made, though it was a ton, and we had way too much leftover! Added to that was a birthday cake, two different flavors of ice cream, a tiramasu, and a veggie plate! All of that was in addition to all the sushi and tempura she had been making all day.
But that was it! Didn't go out somewhere special, didn't watch any movies...but it was still a lot of fun!
Meanwhile, Lanelle cooked like mad, and what we didn't have, we went out to shop for, and we must have hit close to every shop in town, and we still didn't get all the stuff we needed in one trip! Unfortunately, out of all the people she invited, only one person actually showed up, but she brought a friend, too. We did much swing dancing, and we enjoyed all the food she made, though it was a ton, and we had way too much leftover! Added to that was a birthday cake, two different flavors of ice cream, a tiramasu, and a veggie plate! All of that was in addition to all the sushi and tempura she had been making all day.
But that was it! Didn't go out somewhere special, didn't watch any movies...but it was still a lot of fun!
Filler Stuff
Ah, the lazy day! Wake up late, watch a movie, eat lunch, go take care of business! It's like a Saturday in the middle of the week! The movie we watched this morning was MI3. I enjoyed it, all except for the multiple double crossings, and all. I don't go to movies to have my brain fried! I go to be told a story!
That's why I love the other movie we saw today! "Enchanted!" This was the second time Lanelle and I each saw it, so we knew what was coming, but we still giggled! After that, we went over to her father's house and finished the end of "At World's End" and then just sat and talked good talk. Yet another good day!
That's why I love the other movie we saw today! "Enchanted!" This was the second time Lanelle and I each saw it, so we knew what was coming, but we still giggled! After that, we went over to her father's house and finished the end of "At World's End" and then just sat and talked good talk. Yet another good day!
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