Right...so...Solstice rocked! :)
Got to the painting party around, what, 8:30? Ish?
Got painted up in pretty simple tiger stripes--just black lines on my bod--then milled around saying hi to the folks I knew, some from out of town, some I hadn't seen in a year, and generally just got social, had my picture taken once or twice, you know.
When the parade got started, that's when the real fun began. One guy on a skateboard got wiped out by a truck that didn't yield properly; he was okay, but kinna pissed. They got the license of the truck in a photo; d'know if anything will come of it.
Otherwise, we got to the parade route without incident, really. A few folks joined up with us en route, which was kinna cool.
Along the way, I only saw a few folks I knew. mara_pauline was in the back of the crowd near the beginning of the parade route, I know that. Saw one or two peeps from my dojo; I don't think anybody from Quantum Martial Arts is on my LJ, come to think of it. Was surprised to not have spotted lathe26 and Demonika; usually, they're pretty prominent along the parade route...
Of course, the real highlight was seeing rakeofdoom and meekmistress and the two kids; they'd tagged the street with "K8" in street chalk for me, which was totally flattering. I was quite please to see them; thanks, guys! :)
I'm sure I'm forgetting someone else I saw, the parade is a bit of a blur.
One other thing that happened, tho...my rollerblades lost a wheel. I guess the bolt it was on came loose and out popped the wheel; I went right over it with barely a bump, the crowd reacted with a collective, "Whoa!" and then I turned around and picked it up. Had to carry the thing the length of the parade route after; it didn't really diminish my enjoyment, tho.
Got to Gasworks park and milled about, had some food, had my picture taken repeatedly, socialized, you know. Had one guy do almost a mini photo-shoot in the gasworks part of the park, which was kinna interesting; I have his e-mail addy and will post pics when I can.
After a while, I got dressed and headed back up toward meekmistress and rakeofdoom when I bumped into virtual256, who hung out with me until I got to the others; good too see you again! :)
Hung out with the crew until pretty much, well...now. kierin723 joined us for dinner and drove me home.
Turns out that I got sunburned, which doesn't normally happen. And I got tanlines in the shape of my paintjob, so now I have tiger stripes etched into my skin. Heh; that'll be interesting to explain to folks in the coming months, I'm sure! :)
And the burns don't really hurt or anything; I barely feel 'em at all. And when they fade, they'll probably be DARK underneath, if experience is any indicator.
All in all, a pretty good day. Bed now, tho; tired.
Got painted up in pretty simple tiger stripes--just black lines on my bod--then milled around saying hi to the folks I knew, some from out of town, some I hadn't seen in a year, and generally just got social, had my picture taken once or twice, you know.
When the parade got started, that's when the real fun began. One guy on a skateboard got wiped out by a truck that didn't yield properly; he was okay, but kinna pissed. They got the license of the truck in a photo; d'know if anything will come of it.
Otherwise, we got to the parade route without incident, really. A few folks joined up with us en route, which was kinna cool.
Along the way, I only saw a few folks I knew. mara_pauline was in the back of the crowd near the beginning of the parade route, I know that. Saw one or two peeps from my dojo; I don't think anybody from Quantum Martial Arts is on my LJ, come to think of it. Was surprised to not have spotted lathe26 and Demonika; usually, they're pretty prominent along the parade route...
Of course, the real highlight was seeing rakeofdoom and meekmistress and the two kids; they'd tagged the street with "K8" in street chalk for me, which was totally flattering. I was quite please to see them; thanks, guys! :)
I'm sure I'm forgetting someone else I saw, the parade is a bit of a blur.
One other thing that happened, tho...my rollerblades lost a wheel. I guess the bolt it was on came loose and out popped the wheel; I went right over it with barely a bump, the crowd reacted with a collective, "Whoa!" and then I turned around and picked it up. Had to carry the thing the length of the parade route after; it didn't really diminish my enjoyment, tho.
Got to Gasworks park and milled about, had some food, had my picture taken repeatedly, socialized, you know. Had one guy do almost a mini photo-shoot in the gasworks part of the park, which was kinna interesting; I have his e-mail addy and will post pics when I can.
After a while, I got dressed and headed back up toward meekmistress and rakeofdoom when I bumped into virtual256, who hung out with me until I got to the others; good too see you again! :)
Hung out with the crew until pretty much, well...now. kierin723 joined us for dinner and drove me home.
Turns out that I got sunburned, which doesn't normally happen. And I got tanlines in the shape of my paintjob, so now I have tiger stripes etched into my skin. Heh; that'll be interesting to explain to folks in the coming months, I'm sure! :)
And the burns don't really hurt or anything; I barely feel 'em at all. And when they fade, they'll probably be DARK underneath, if experience is any indicator.
All in all, a pretty good day. Bed now, tho; tired.