my IPJ recap
i'll try (and probably fall short) to summarize an amazing 4 days.
3 words: oh. my. goodness.
okay, i suppose y'all deserve a bit more description. *gryn*
i managed to gather and pack all the Temple of Caffeina stuff (plus my own personal camping gear) in 3 days, from sunday night when skitzdal helped me get all the ToC stuff outta indigo93's storage unit. i'm very thankful that my household just got done(?!) moving, and we had plenty of huge plastic tubs to pack stuff into. unfortunately, that also meant that it was easy to overlook one tub of pantry-goods that was set aside in the garage on wednesday night. ah well, i'd say we did pretty well without it.
the trip down was fine except for one major goof-up on my part -- i left my change-purse/wallet in the restroom at a Shell station just south of Temple/Belton, and we didn't realize it until we got to Round Rock. my absentmindedness cost us about an hour or so of travel-time and the $240 i had for entry-fees and remaining groceries and travel-costs, but my change-purse was returned with my drivers-license and bus-pass still in it, at least. due to the amazing generosity of brother zayin93, the weekend progressed regardless; and due to the fabulous folks attending IoPanJam, who contributed VERY kindly to the donation jar, we were able to keep the coffee flowing and the food cooking for all you beautiful people!
it was an incredible weekend (did i mention it was amazingly glorious?). granted, the dampness of the weather made for some challenges, but luckily we had no torrential downpour and the stage sheltered the Temple quite sufficiently. the whole jam was very cozy and wonderfully laid-back, like the best of family reunions -- long-time friends and siblings, familiar regulars, and a handful of newcomers (like great_enochio and yalith), too. i so love IPJ, not just for the opportunity to spend the whole weekend outside, but mostly for all the fantastic folks who grace us with their presence and energy.
on the downside, i certainly felt the consequences of last-minute preparations, since i was not NEARLY as organized behind-the-counter as i _should_ have been. i take a certain amount of pride in trying to never say "sorry, i don't have ". so not having a can-opener, scissors, dry-erase markers, proper chocolate-syrup-serving-bottle, enough mugs/plates/etc. ... well, i just felt a bit inadequate as a result. (tho i know everyone would claim i more than made up for it in other areas.) also, because i did all the original packing, i had to do all the unpacking and subsequent re-packing on my own. this was a BAD idea. note to self: do not do this again! next time, colored stickers on everything to match stickered tubs, and packing lists on the tubs (for non-stickerable items and clarity). delegation = good. easy with forethought.
many thanks to contentlove, lionserpent and omegabaphomet for organizing IPJ! and many thanks for allowing/providing me a way to be of service. i _honestly_ cannot imagine a better way to spend my time (sadly, i have to settle for doing this just once a year.)
3 words: oh. my. goodness.
okay, i suppose y'all deserve a bit more description. *gryn*
i managed to gather and pack all the Temple of Caffeina stuff (plus my own personal camping gear) in 3 days, from sunday night when skitzdal helped me get all the ToC stuff outta indigo93's storage unit. i'm very thankful that my household just got done(?!) moving, and we had plenty of huge plastic tubs to pack stuff into. unfortunately, that also meant that it was easy to overlook one tub of pantry-goods that was set aside in the garage on wednesday night. ah well, i'd say we did pretty well without it.
the trip down was fine except for one major goof-up on my part -- i left my change-purse/wallet in the restroom at a Shell station just south of Temple/Belton, and we didn't realize it until we got to Round Rock. my absentmindedness cost us about an hour or so of travel-time and the $240 i had for entry-fees and remaining groceries and travel-costs, but my change-purse was returned with my drivers-license and bus-pass still in it, at least. due to the amazing generosity of brother zayin93, the weekend progressed regardless; and due to the fabulous folks attending IoPanJam, who contributed VERY kindly to the donation jar, we were able to keep the coffee flowing and the food cooking for all you beautiful people!
it was an incredible weekend (did i mention it was amazingly glorious?). granted, the dampness of the weather made for some challenges, but luckily we had no torrential downpour and the stage sheltered the Temple quite sufficiently. the whole jam was very cozy and wonderfully laid-back, like the best of family reunions -- long-time friends and siblings, familiar regulars, and a handful of newcomers (like great_enochio and yalith), too. i so love IPJ, not just for the opportunity to spend the whole weekend outside, but mostly for all the fantastic folks who grace us with their presence and energy.
on the downside, i certainly felt the consequences of last-minute preparations, since i was not NEARLY as organized behind-the-counter as i _should_ have been. i take a certain amount of pride in trying to never say "sorry, i don't have ". so not having a can-opener, scissors, dry-erase markers, proper chocolate-syrup-serving-bottle, enough mugs/plates/etc. ... well, i just felt a bit inadequate as a result. (tho i know everyone would claim i more than made up for it in other areas.) also, because i did all the original packing, i had to do all the unpacking and subsequent re-packing on my own. this was a BAD idea. note to self: do not do this again! next time, colored stickers on everything to match stickered tubs, and packing lists on the tubs (for non-stickerable items and clarity). delegation = good. easy with forethought.
many thanks to contentlove, lionserpent and omegabaphomet for organizing IPJ! and many thanks for allowing/providing me a way to be of service. i _honestly_ cannot imagine a better way to spend my time (sadly, i have to settle for doing this just once a year.)