Two weeks
Last week was busy, go figure. Monday and Wednesday nights were Opera rehearsal, which was actually great fun - I was on the same light board that I used at StOlaf, and it felt like coming home. My fingers even remembered where the buttons on the keypad were, and writing new cues was just a blast. Tuesday night I spent at home with Laura. Thursday was fighter's practice, which was okay but not fabulous. Friday night was the Opera, then a few hours of nap, then a very early morning drive to Rochester for Coronation. And then I drove home and slept for a few more hours before a matinee of the opera.
Coronation was good fun. I stood court as Mikey's backup herald - he's recovering from a cold and wasn't sure if he'd have enough voice for the whole court, so I stood by to tag in. I received a King and Queen's Cypher for my service, but more importantly I had a front row seat to see my friends receive their awards - Fiona got a Cygnus and a Cypher, Hamish got a Tyr, and Alinore and Damiano got Court Baronys. And, of course, Zig and Liz stepped down and Liz got a duchy. And Zig got Nunavut. And Vlad and Petranella are now King and Queen.
The opera went well - no missed cues, no unexpected cues. I have the music still in my head as earworms. The final performance will be lit by someone else, and I need to provide them with a light plot which I expect to finish today. So, there's that.
Monday night this week I relaxed at home. Tuesday was Curia, which was uneventful. Wednesday night I went to practice in Chicago, where I had quite a good time. I fought Lauren and a new fighter whose name I didn't catch, and Kith (who said I was showing improvement), and Seamus. Seamus asked what my plan was, and I declared that I expected to die the first couple passes 'cause I wasn't going to protect my head very well, but by the time I was too tired to fight I should be able to hit him once or twice. He gave me A Look, and informed me that we were going to turn, take five steps, count to three, and turn. And then we would approach and fight, and give each other our best fights. And we did, and it shook something loose in my head. (I mean, not like a concussion. I mean, it helped me focus.) And he still killed me twice before I killed him, but I stabbed him in the face. And it felt good.
Thursday night's practice wasn't as good. Only four of us put on armor - me, Tommy, Akira, and Amber. While I fought Tommy, who has far too much energy, I realized that I wasn't using my hips to throw shots *at all*. And once that was in my head I didn't do particularly well against anyone. I also decided that I was standing still too much, though I think I was moving my feet on Wednesday night. Maybe it's time to go back to buckler.
Tonight will likely be computers with my wife. Tomorrow is our Baronial Champions moot, and maybe I can work myself into a frenzy for it. (Better: maybe I can actually *warm up* before the tournament for a change.) Sunday is a day of building sets in Chicago.
Sigh. I was just cataloging the things I want to do before tomorrow's moot and idly scratching at an itch. Which is an armor bite on my tricep. Which hurts. And then another one, which is a blister on the back of my knee - I replaced a strap and haven't worked out just how tight the new one needs to be, and if it's not right then it forces a blister. *And* someone hit me in the back of the hand. Rrrr.
Right. End of line.
Coronation was good fun. I stood court as Mikey's backup herald - he's recovering from a cold and wasn't sure if he'd have enough voice for the whole court, so I stood by to tag in. I received a King and Queen's Cypher for my service, but more importantly I had a front row seat to see my friends receive their awards - Fiona got a Cygnus and a Cypher, Hamish got a Tyr, and Alinore and Damiano got Court Baronys. And, of course, Zig and Liz stepped down and Liz got a duchy. And Zig got Nunavut. And Vlad and Petranella are now King and Queen.
The opera went well - no missed cues, no unexpected cues. I have the music still in my head as earworms. The final performance will be lit by someone else, and I need to provide them with a light plot which I expect to finish today. So, there's that.
Monday night this week I relaxed at home. Tuesday was Curia, which was uneventful. Wednesday night I went to practice in Chicago, where I had quite a good time. I fought Lauren and a new fighter whose name I didn't catch, and Kith (who said I was showing improvement), and Seamus. Seamus asked what my plan was, and I declared that I expected to die the first couple passes 'cause I wasn't going to protect my head very well, but by the time I was too tired to fight I should be able to hit him once or twice. He gave me A Look, and informed me that we were going to turn, take five steps, count to three, and turn. And then we would approach and fight, and give each other our best fights. And we did, and it shook something loose in my head. (I mean, not like a concussion. I mean, it helped me focus.) And he still killed me twice before I killed him, but I stabbed him in the face. And it felt good.
Thursday night's practice wasn't as good. Only four of us put on armor - me, Tommy, Akira, and Amber. While I fought Tommy, who has far too much energy, I realized that I wasn't using my hips to throw shots *at all*. And once that was in my head I didn't do particularly well against anyone. I also decided that I was standing still too much, though I think I was moving my feet on Wednesday night. Maybe it's time to go back to buckler.
Tonight will likely be computers with my wife. Tomorrow is our Baronial Champions moot, and maybe I can work myself into a frenzy for it. (Better: maybe I can actually *warm up* before the tournament for a change.) Sunday is a day of building sets in Chicago.
Sigh. I was just cataloging the things I want to do before tomorrow's moot and idly scratching at an itch. Which is an armor bite on my tricep. Which hurts. And then another one, which is a blister on the back of my knee - I replaced a strap and haven't worked out just how tight the new one needs to be, and if it's not right then it forces a blister. *And* someone hit me in the back of the hand. Rrrr.
Right. End of line.