My Life Lately
So I guess I'll do actual updates quarterly or so... at least right now that seems to be the schedule.
ANYhoo...
Busy summer. QAL took a break, which allowed me to try and get the house into order. Yeah, I know... it's a never ending process. But with housemates moving out, we have some room to create more permanent storage solutions for our miscellaneous crap-mostly costume- and game- related (mine, and his, respectively, of course). Finally got the rest of my stuffus out of storage, too. Haven't started sorting what's in the garage yet. That's a job for cooler weather.
Working on the dining-room-turned-game-room to give it an adventurer feel. Since many a campaign has begun in a pub, we decided that would make a fun decorating scheme. Walls need painting, but I had what I thought was a clever treatment for the ceiling. I bought a bunch of those straw beach mats and we stapled them to the ceiling for a sort of thatched roof feel. Except you can see the staples. So now we're gonna try to add something (small branches or stained, flat dowels) to mimic beams/eaves to cover the staples. We shall see.
Outside the home, work is still grooving along. I like my boss. She is a lot like my former supervisor in that she knows if you are flexible and humane with people, you get a lot more out of them. Hooray for that. Working on a project that is expanding my skills a bit. Plus, I get to play with Captivate (we're getting Cap3 before end of year!); got my hand slapped for that at Countrywide. I'm mainly working on some enhancements to new hire training, designing labs filled with activities to reinforce learning. So it's a lot of games, role play and such. I'm the lead, and it's going well. There are challenges (reactionary corporate culture, no project management, lack of defined business processes), but my team has a lot of knowledge and I'm doing my best to learn from them.
QAL took a trip to MNRF over Labor Day. It was the first real working weekend for our 2 new members, and they acquitted themselves admirably. When we explained that we had 2 new members, most folks responded, "Really? Couldn't tell." Weather was lovely, if a tad unseasonably warm. (The Royal Navy said that it's because we're so hot. Eeee!) Still, breezes were lovely and, unlike Texas, shade trees made a difference. Plus, once the sun set, the temperature dropped (again, unlike here). Sold a lot of CDs. Generally well-received by patrons and fellow performers. Highlights include:
1) "You're just what this faire needs." "Why are you not here EVERY WEEKEND?" "Glad we don't have to go on after you!"
2) Several complimentary follow-up emails from patrons
3) "My friend came and told me to run-do not walk!-to catch your last show."
4) Pinch-hitting at the Smoker to a rousing reception
5) Tart fart! *points at lebean*
6) The AD thinking we're everywhere, all the time ('cuz we're so recognizeable in Crayon Box, even when we divide and conquer in 2-3 groups it seems as though we're unavoidable)
7) Puppies! They allow dogs; Delia was in a state of near-constant *squeeeeeee!*
8) Hearing the Elizabethan Syngers perform some madrigal chestnuts like Weep O Mine Eyes" and Hark All Ye Lovely Saints"
9) Seeing Bruce! (Did you know he has a hot tub?)
10) The chorus of "Come on Eileen" dropped into the break of a Celtic ditty (hooray for Misplaced!) and trying to follow their rousing set that ended with "Istanbul, Not Constantinople"
11) The Court Revelers' madrigalized version of "Kiss"
Looking forward to a couple guest weekends at TRF (Oct. 11-12 and Nov. 15-16). Also working on a November coffee house date. The hardest of our new pieces is nearly performance-ready, too. It's an awesome, very unique arrangement. The text? Based on Elizabeth Barrett Browning's "How Do I Love Thee?". Can't wait to debut it.
Spent the last 4 days on a shoot for Tempest Productions latest project. It's a spooky/thriller short called, "I'll Take Care of You." The majority of it is set in East Texas (Marshall & Jefferson & Caddo Lake). Stayed at the Excelsior in Jefferson. Lovely, historic place. And because Angie is my friend, I got a room with a claw foot tub. Aaaaah. Can't see it in this pic... but it does show the canopy bed (which I desperately wanted when I was 6).
The shoot was intense, and I had a blast. Learned a lot, too. The crew was great, and the performances were incredible. Will share some production stills as they become available (without spoiling the story, of course!). The climactic scene was on Old Stagecoach Road in Marshall. It's barely one lane, and the embankments are sheer drops of 7-8 feet. Creepy! We were there until 3:30am on Sunday. Haven't been to Caddo in years. It was as wild and gorgeous as I remember. Plus, I got to hang with Team Tempest again. Always a plus.
arbiter_of_cool is wonderful. Was reminded of this last night. Joe's was delivering a pizza bigger than my head just as I got home after 4 long days and 3 hours on the road. Then there was much time spent working my ass groove *grins at sbbish* (and watching Heroes-Oh. Em. Gee!), and blathering as I tried to sort/process the whole shoot experience before bed.
Looking forward to a relaxed weekend. Need to catch up on chores and spend some down time with my favorite Fruit Bat (that's what the Lace dubbed Arbiter when they heard about him demolishing a 4-pound bunch of grapes during the course of an average day).
Wishing you all the best, oh members of my scattered, beloved Tribe. Big love to one and all.
ANYhoo...
Busy summer. QAL took a break, which allowed me to try and get the house into order. Yeah, I know... it's a never ending process. But with housemates moving out, we have some room to create more permanent storage solutions for our miscellaneous crap-mostly costume- and game- related (mine, and his, respectively, of course). Finally got the rest of my stuffus out of storage, too. Haven't started sorting what's in the garage yet. That's a job for cooler weather.
Working on the dining-room-turned-game-room to give it an adventurer feel. Since many a campaign has begun in a pub, we decided that would make a fun decorating scheme. Walls need painting, but I had what I thought was a clever treatment for the ceiling. I bought a bunch of those straw beach mats and we stapled them to the ceiling for a sort of thatched roof feel. Except you can see the staples. So now we're gonna try to add something (small branches or stained, flat dowels) to mimic beams/eaves to cover the staples. We shall see.
Outside the home, work is still grooving along. I like my boss. She is a lot like my former supervisor in that she knows if you are flexible and humane with people, you get a lot more out of them. Hooray for that. Working on a project that is expanding my skills a bit. Plus, I get to play with Captivate (we're getting Cap3 before end of year!); got my hand slapped for that at Countrywide. I'm mainly working on some enhancements to new hire training, designing labs filled with activities to reinforce learning. So it's a lot of games, role play and such. I'm the lead, and it's going well. There are challenges (reactionary corporate culture, no project management, lack of defined business processes), but my team has a lot of knowledge and I'm doing my best to learn from them.
QAL took a trip to MNRF over Labor Day. It was the first real working weekend for our 2 new members, and they acquitted themselves admirably. When we explained that we had 2 new members, most folks responded, "Really? Couldn't tell." Weather was lovely, if a tad unseasonably warm. (The Royal Navy said that it's because we're so hot. Eeee!) Still, breezes were lovely and, unlike Texas, shade trees made a difference. Plus, once the sun set, the temperature dropped (again, unlike here). Sold a lot of CDs. Generally well-received by patrons and fellow performers. Highlights include:
1) "You're just what this faire needs." "Why are you not here EVERY WEEKEND?" "Glad we don't have to go on after you!"
2) Several complimentary follow-up emails from patrons
3) "My friend came and told me to run-do not walk!-to catch your last show."
4) Pinch-hitting at the Smoker to a rousing reception
5) Tart fart! *points at lebean*
6) The AD thinking we're everywhere, all the time ('cuz we're so recognizeable in Crayon Box, even when we divide and conquer in 2-3 groups it seems as though we're unavoidable)
7) Puppies! They allow dogs; Delia was in a state of near-constant *squeeeeeee!*
8) Hearing the Elizabethan Syngers perform some madrigal chestnuts like Weep O Mine Eyes" and Hark All Ye Lovely Saints"
9) Seeing Bruce! (Did you know he has a hot tub?)
10) The chorus of "Come on Eileen" dropped into the break of a Celtic ditty (hooray for Misplaced!) and trying to follow their rousing set that ended with "Istanbul, Not Constantinople"
11) The Court Revelers' madrigalized version of "Kiss"
Looking forward to a couple guest weekends at TRF (Oct. 11-12 and Nov. 15-16). Also working on a November coffee house date. The hardest of our new pieces is nearly performance-ready, too. It's an awesome, very unique arrangement. The text? Based on Elizabeth Barrett Browning's "How Do I Love Thee?". Can't wait to debut it.
Spent the last 4 days on a shoot for Tempest Productions latest project. It's a spooky/thriller short called, "I'll Take Care of You." The majority of it is set in East Texas (Marshall & Jefferson & Caddo Lake). Stayed at the Excelsior in Jefferson. Lovely, historic place. And because Angie is my friend, I got a room with a claw foot tub. Aaaaah. Can't see it in this pic... but it does show the canopy bed (which I desperately wanted when I was 6).
The shoot was intense, and I had a blast. Learned a lot, too. The crew was great, and the performances were incredible. Will share some production stills as they become available (without spoiling the story, of course!). The climactic scene was on Old Stagecoach Road in Marshall. It's barely one lane, and the embankments are sheer drops of 7-8 feet. Creepy! We were there until 3:30am on Sunday. Haven't been to Caddo in years. It was as wild and gorgeous as I remember. Plus, I got to hang with Team Tempest again. Always a plus.
arbiter_of_cool is wonderful. Was reminded of this last night. Joe's was delivering a pizza bigger than my head just as I got home after 4 long days and 3 hours on the road. Then there was much time spent working my ass groove *grins at sbbish* (and watching Heroes-Oh. Em. Gee!), and blathering as I tried to sort/process the whole shoot experience before bed.
Looking forward to a relaxed weekend. Need to catch up on chores and spend some down time with my favorite Fruit Bat (that's what the Lace dubbed Arbiter when they heard about him demolishing a 4-pound bunch of grapes during the course of an average day).
Wishing you all the best, oh members of my scattered, beloved Tribe. Big love to one and all.