Working for the Weekend

Ah, what a great weekend it was.

As most of you are probably aware, my main hobby is the SCA. It has had a great impact on my life and is a great deal responsible for making me the person I am today (for whatever that's worth...).

This past weekend was Martinmas Moot, the Coronation of our new King and Queen, and also the occasion of the Crown List, to determine our next King and Queen. A bit unusual in that the were both held the same weekend, but we're trying to get the schedule normalized, so things should be on a more regular keel after this.

My Jeep is in the shop, so I relied upon my squire for a ride to the event. Krista had gone down early, as she was merchanting, and Tanis and I both had to work, so we left a little later. The only problem is that Tanis' main mode of transportation is his motorcycle. I had no problem riding pinion, but really wanted to get him a sign for the back of his jacket that read "If you can read this, then my knight fell off..." Well, apparently, my ride was a subject of great amusement at the event. There was even a small contingent waiting at the gate to watch us ride in. What's so funny? Okay, so it was a little amusing... But I had a great ride, and enjoyed it. So there.

Friday evening was spent setting up camp, attending the last court of Baldar and Asa, and then back to camp for a bit of a relaxing evening with friends. It seems that our camp is the place to be, anymore, so that's where people head to party and hang out. We don't mind extending the hospitality, but it's still strange to think that we are "it".

Remember the tale, many posts ago, of the drunken girlfriend (someone else's) that I ended up putting to bed in my tent, and she ended up nearly pulling a Jim Morrison, and expunged her stomach all over my stuff? Well, she showed up (though, luckily, was staying in another area). She spent most of her evening flirting with anything that was male and had a pulse. A couple poor schmoes bit into the routine, and were like puppy dogs following her around. It really was quite amusing. And the best part was that near the end of the evening, she went away! Yay! My new air mattress was safe from the ravages of the technocolor yawn.

By the time all the 'guests' left, it was approaching dawn, so I hit the tent for an hour's nap, before the day's activities began.

Baldar and Asa began the day by meeting with dreadful accidents, and luckily enough for us, Gaston and Judith were there to take over. A short court ensued, the bulk of which was the various orders swearing fealty. Everyone received a nice little token, which was a hinged ball on a ribbon, and inside was various mottos, in Latin. Kind of like a medieval fortune cookie! When the landed Barons were called forth, His Majesty mentioned that, being landed, we deserved more than a simple token, but would have to wait until the evening court, as the items hadn't made it down to the area yet. This gave me a bit of pause for the rest of the day...

Then it was off to watch Crown Lyste. It was a good day of fighting, and Earl Gregory and Countess Maisie were the victors, and were made Prince and Princess. Duke Odo came in close second. It was long, but enjoyable.

I then had a bit of time on my hands, and strongly considered taking a nap, but such was not to be. To much activity going on. The Crown's chatelaine was apparently searching for me, but found Tanis, and gave him a couple of feast tokens to give to me. The King wanted his Baronial coronets to sit at high table. I was actually looking forward to having stew, in camp, with the guys, but was stuck. My Baroness was leaving early, so I had to find a "date". Viscountess Elitha is an old friend, and had once invited me to sit with her at high table (back when I was "attached" - the rumors flew fast and furious - Get a life, people! We ate dinner!). I'd found out she was eating alone, so I returned the favor and asked her to sit with me. Now that she is attached, and I am not, we thought it'd be great fun, and both await to hear what rumors crop up next.

But I digress... First was the evening court. The landed Barons got called up to recieve their tokens, which turned out to be large, concrete Triskele paving stones. They're kind of cool, actually. It turns out that each of the Barons had came up with the same idea, individually, on the way back from standing in front of the thrones... We all wanted to make molds of the triskeles, and pour a bunch more, and make a happy little Trimarian walkway/patio/whatever. Great minds.....

After feast, I had to rush off to the knights' meeting, an event I'd been anticipating all day. Having slept so little, and not gotten a nap, I almost nodded off, several times, during the meeting, but managed to make it through to the end, when an order of business came up that I was extremely interested in. That item came up, a vote was called, and the knights and Crown all ajourned, and headed, en masse for my encampment, which was, as previously mentioned, the place to be, so was quite crowded. We entered the camp, and a court was opened. The knights went forth and found my squire, Shea, and brought him before Their Majesties. It was announced that the knights discovered their number to be one too few, and asked Shea to join them. The crowd went nuts. It was definitely a popular decistion. He will stand his vigil at Gulf Wars, and there take on the trappings of the knight.

This is what one lives for. These little moments... These times when our "children" grow up and make good. It was very emotional. It was the moment when years worth of work finally pay off, and the end result is all that you'd hoped it would be.

I found myself a mug, and raised a glass with my soon to be ex-squire. The mood in the camp was certainly celebrational, and the camp was filled with friends, but I was too tired to enjoy it. I had a couple of beers, mingled with the crowd, but couldn't really make the most of it, as I was too wasted (from lack of sleep, not beer...). When I almost fell asleep standing up, I decided it was definitely time to hit the sack. I am usually a light sleeper, and can't rest when so much activity is going on, but had no problem this night. I was out in seconds...

The next morning involved getting up, getting packed, and heading home. No, I didn't home on the motorcycle - I got to ride in the comfort of Krista's Cherokee, which is a good thing, as I slept most of the way home.

I managed to have a relaxing, enjoyable weekend, spend time with friends, help my squire achieve elevation, and got to see some people that I really wanted to see, even though I didn't get to spend nearly enough time with them. An all around good time.

All in all, a definite check mark in the excellent column.