It's been a while...

Yeah, I've been a slacker. I've been remiss. I've posted nothing of any content, and little of no content, in a long time. Part of the "problem" is that my computer up and bit the big one. Pushing daisies. It's dead, Jim. I have no access to the ether from home, and no time at work. Another part is that I really just haven't felt like it. I haven't been inspired to write down my life's events. This comes, in part, from a shaky start to the year.

In January, I had friends die. One every week, as a matter of fact. It was truly scary. One had lost her job and couldn't afford her medication for diabetes. She ended up bleeding out internally. For heavens sake, don't let this happen again! I don't have much at all, but I will surely see that folks are taken care of!

Then Loki died. We were expecting it, sort of, but it was not easy to bear. She faced her cancer with such bravery, freely talking about it. She was truly a character; one whom I will miss sorely.

I returned to work from Loki's funeral to an email from an unknown source. It was from an old co-worker/friend's brother. I had a bad feeling, and was muttering, "no, no, no, no, no, no..." as I read. Erica had been sorely abused as a child, and had developed multiple personalities to help her deal with all of the stresses of her life. One of the weaker personalities could not stand the strain any more, and she took her life. She was young and bright and vibrant and a thousand other adjectives of positive demeanor. And that light has been prematurely snuffed. There is great injustice in this world. I rely upon the thought that she has finally found peace.

Then the rigors of Hoggetowne came up. It is a large medieval fair here in G'ville, for those who do not know, and is a huge demo opportunity for us in the local SCA. We bring in quite a few new members every year from the fair. It is also our annual fundraiser, bringing in the funds to allow us to operate in the manner to which we have become accustomed. We can afford to meet in a nice area. We can buy new stuff that we need. We can hold events without worrying about starting capital. All of this from Hoggetowne. It really is a lot of work to pull off, and it is tiring. It's awesome, but draining. Oh, yeah, and painful, too. In a severe act of stupidity, I managed to break my arm at the fair. No, not fighting. Just talking about fighting.... I was telling a NSTIW story, gestured emphatically, and hit an armored fighter. I'm really glad she WAS armored, 'cause I'd have killed her... This is one I won't live down for a while.

Then we had a nutcase in the Barony. I won't mention names here, nor details, but needless to say, it was a bit of a nightmare.

Then there was the Equine demo in Tampa. Sheeps had to be there, so naturally I did too. Typically, I worked the Friday eve before, and drove to Tampa. I got out late, so did not arrive until after 6am. Sheeps let me sleep a whole 2 hours before we had to boogie out to the fairgrounds. It was an interesting demo. One of Tampa's mounted police even tried his hand, during a practice session. Then, about half an hour before the actual demo, I found out that they expected me to emcee the thing... I know nothing about SCA equestrian activities, but I managed to wing it. I think it was a fairly good demo, me not withstanding...

Then came Gulf Wars. Couldn't fight, with the broken wing, and all, so I dove into service and worked the whole thing. I worked Troll, retained for Their Majesties, marshalled, water-beared, and even heralded the Champions Tourney. Sheeps got the war crud, and spent most of the war sick in bed. The one bright point came Saturday afternoon. The queen had been pressuring me her entire reign, and hinted she wanted to be involved... As She walked into the royal cabin, I showed her the ring I picked up, and she immediately took it to Sheeps, and proposed for me. Different, I must admit, but got the job done.

Yes, Sheeps and I are getting hitched. We will be holding the ceremony at TMT. Several questions have arose, so let me see if I can answer them. Yes, it is an "SCA Wedding", but it is a real wedding, as well. It will be Saturday evening at TMT. The theme is 13th century, but "best attempt at pre-17th century" will work. No, we are not registered, nor shall we be. Gifts are not required, but if you do so desire, we would welcome gift cards to (in order of preference): Lowes, Home Depot, Target. We have two households worth of stuff that we are combining, so housewares are right out. We're remodeling my old house, so the cards will definitely come in handy. Yes, she is moving to G'ville. When? She works at a school, and will be working through graduation, so it will be the weekend of Art/Sci. We'll definitely need a hand, so if you're around that Sunday.....

Other than that, I don't have much. Sheeps gave me the crud she caught from the war, so I have been fighting that off. I don't blame her, as I already knew I'd catch it any way.... Everyone seems to have it.....

Oh, well. Enough updating, for now. I'll try to do better. Really. I'll Try. Try. No promises, though....