now I feel silly for having deleted my renn fayre icon
I had asked to leave work early yesterday, but I didn't count on leaving as early as I did. I needed to be able to get home in time to have dinner and arrange myself for Beth's performance night. I left work at 2:50 and decided on a whim to drive to Reed instead of the Beffinacy. I spent the past week or so thinking about how much I could use Renn Fayre to decompress and relax, thinking that there was no way I could make an appearance this year. Well, surprise! There I was, wearing my bright purple scrubs, standing around doing the awkward Professor routine at Thesis Parade.
I drove up and smelled the champagne and smoke and there was my catharsis. I guess I've built up an association with that smell that means now is the time to relax. I recognized far more people than I thought I would, including running into out of town alumni whom I hadn't seen since graduation. I got to give hugs to Kate, Maggie, and Zoe and waved at a few other seniors. Bear dragged me off to eat a pulled pork sandwich, courtesy of the Pirate Camp. And eventually Stacy made it to campus and crowned Kate with a real laurel wreath. A dog at Pirate Camp brought us a huge stick and begged to play fetch. It was all very Renn Fayre. I made it about 2 hours before I started feeling like a sketchy alumna. Stacy and I said goodbye to Kate and then walked across the new bridge while I marveled at the new parts of campus I'd never seen before. And holy cow, the new dorms are kind of gorgeous!
Then there was Beth's performance night! (I'm thinking this event needs a name.) People met up at the Little Church off of Alberta and set up chairs. Chad, Kevin, Sam, and I did a bit of rehearsing of the one-act and got into costume and stuff. The play went off well, though we missed a bit and called for lines a lot. There are a couple of photographs floating around of Chad and I dressed as bugs. Chris and Will did a Steve Reich piece that was alternately beautiful and painful, as only minimalism can. And then there was a lot of singing and piano. I did Debussy's "Il Pleure" and sadly, it didn't come off as well as I would have liked. My breath support is for crap this week because of some unspecified illness, so I botched some of the high and/or long notes. The Sondheim I sang, "So many people," went ok, but again the breathing was a problem. Maybe I'll do them again in a year and see if I can't do it better. I also sang Galinda's song, "Popular" from Wicked, and got a lot of laughs. Woohoo! I can still act a little!
I don't remember what all else was performed, but I know I was totally blown away by a couple of them. Paul did an off the cuff improvisation that left the audience teary-eyed. Katherine sang a piece by Faure that made me fall in love with her. And Vagrant ended the night with a song from Jekyll and Hyde performed a cappella, which left us all wanting him more.
So yesterday I did two things that brought me great joy and satisfaction. And I ended the evening with a good snuggle with Paul. I feel almost up to taking on my full work schedule next week.
Almost.
I drove up and smelled the champagne and smoke and there was my catharsis. I guess I've built up an association with that smell that means now is the time to relax. I recognized far more people than I thought I would, including running into out of town alumni whom I hadn't seen since graduation. I got to give hugs to Kate, Maggie, and Zoe and waved at a few other seniors. Bear dragged me off to eat a pulled pork sandwich, courtesy of the Pirate Camp. And eventually Stacy made it to campus and crowned Kate with a real laurel wreath. A dog at Pirate Camp brought us a huge stick and begged to play fetch. It was all very Renn Fayre. I made it about 2 hours before I started feeling like a sketchy alumna. Stacy and I said goodbye to Kate and then walked across the new bridge while I marveled at the new parts of campus I'd never seen before. And holy cow, the new dorms are kind of gorgeous!
Then there was Beth's performance night! (I'm thinking this event needs a name.) People met up at the Little Church off of Alberta and set up chairs. Chad, Kevin, Sam, and I did a bit of rehearsing of the one-act and got into costume and stuff. The play went off well, though we missed a bit and called for lines a lot. There are a couple of photographs floating around of Chad and I dressed as bugs. Chris and Will did a Steve Reich piece that was alternately beautiful and painful, as only minimalism can. And then there was a lot of singing and piano. I did Debussy's "Il Pleure" and sadly, it didn't come off as well as I would have liked. My breath support is for crap this week because of some unspecified illness, so I botched some of the high and/or long notes. The Sondheim I sang, "So many people," went ok, but again the breathing was a problem. Maybe I'll do them again in a year and see if I can't do it better. I also sang Galinda's song, "Popular" from Wicked, and got a lot of laughs. Woohoo! I can still act a little!
I don't remember what all else was performed, but I know I was totally blown away by a couple of them. Paul did an off the cuff improvisation that left the audience teary-eyed. Katherine sang a piece by Faure that made me fall in love with her. And Vagrant ended the night with a song from Jekyll and Hyde performed a cappella, which left us all wanting him more.
So yesterday I did two things that brought me great joy and satisfaction. And I ended the evening with a good snuggle with Paul. I feel almost up to taking on my full work schedule next week.
Almost.