wow my abs hurt
whew back from a week of camping. my first time camping this long, basically my first time camping. it was pretty awesome. oy, there are so many angles i could come at this from. yeah, i had a great time. yay! i was really interested by the people and the interactions.
this was the largest event, called Ragnarok, put on by a medievil, Lord of the Rings based battle enactment group called Dagorhir.
everyone there was dorks, but it wasn't too dorky. people for the most part weren't in character with back stories and all that.
it's based on fighting with foam weapons [wailed hard enough even a sword made of foam hurts, then there's the danger of running around in the woods like twisted ankles and heat stroke] but throughout the entire event you're supposed to wear garb and drink from tankards, etc.
i didn't fight. but my camp's persona was pirates and gypsies, so i dressed for belly dance all week. i have some weird tan lines thanks to my choli.
i'm ok looking. if there are hot chicks around i get overlooked, not looked over.
i always get hit on at belly dance things, and it's not always flattering. it seems to usually be guys just looking, not individualized attention. like i just happened to set off their radar.
but this week was different. in floor length skirts and tops that bared my midriff, back, and shoulders but not cleavage i was dressed fairly conservatively, especially for the heat. there were a lot of girls wearing just bikini tops and hip scarves for skirts, or tunics or skirts slit up to their hip.
i got a lot of attention from the guys who were looking for anything, as expected. but i got a lot of attention based on talent!
during the parties at nights most camps had a drummer and that attracted girls dacing around the fire. i was selective about where i danced. a jingly hip scarf does not a belly dancer make. if a fire had mostly girls in bikinis running around just trying to optimize the noise from their hip scarves, i didn't step in.
i did step in where the drummers seemed to be better and the girls weren't complete assholes.
the night that really brought me recognition was Mardi Gras on Thursday [thursday?? yeah, i know...] at the biggest camp. they had $9,000 of booze just for this party.
when we first went in i danced around the fire until i decided i needed a drink. i got one and came back to stand at the fire because it was cold out and raining. the guy next to me suggested i join the others and dance. i said no, i had a drink. he suggested it again, i answered that i'd rather drink. he got more persistent. i can't remember if he just annoyed me or actually shoved me but i decided i had to get away from him. but how does one dance without spilling one's drink?
so i placed my tankard on my head and spun around the fire.
i got about 3/4 of the way around and stopped in front of the drummers before anyone noticed me. the next time i stopped in front of the drummers i asked if any of them wanted a drink? they laughed. so i knelt down in front of one of them. he took it off my head, had a drink, put it back and i stood up and danced away!
for the rest of the week i was known as The Girl Who Danced with the Cup on Her Head.
everywhere i went i was followed by whispers of "She's a really good dancer." "Best belly dancer here this year." "Best looking dancer we've got this year."
all through the party, first around the fire then throughout the whole party people stopped to give me beads, specifying they were for my being awesome. i got a neck full and didn't lift my top once.
a day or two later i stopped by a camp to talk to someone before lunch. this camp was full of more of the badass dudes. definitely some of the cooler kids in the class. while i was waiting for the one to finish bullshitting another asked me something about belly dance. i launched into one of my lectures, but he actually listened. my lecture includes demos and the other guys started paying attention. they asked some good questions that i was and wasn't able to answer. they spazzed because apparently as i do moves each of my abdominal muscles pops out individually. at one point one of the two girls camping with them walked by and said something really rude. but these are people i will likely never see again, or not until next year; they don't matter. and no one else reacted so i figured only i had heard her. so i kept on with it until i was finished. i talked to dudley dude and took off for lunch.
at the parties that night i ran into him again and he told me not to mind that chick. the two of them are the only girls in their camp and so while neither of them will screw any of those guys they're used to getting all of the attention. it made them jealously angry for me to come in not only taking the attention but doing cool stuff they can't do. we picked up one of his friends, who unprompted said the same thing. the last night, at the really big party, some guy from their camp who i didn't even recognise said the same thing.
i thought all that was really interesting. i didn't expect any of it. not the venom from the girls, or the compassion later from the guys.
it was also interesting that i was actually viewed as an artist or piece of art. i could tell that men were admiring me from afar but no one made inappropriate gestures or comments, at least not directly to me. i felt respected.
this was the largest event, called Ragnarok, put on by a medievil, Lord of the Rings based battle enactment group called Dagorhir.
everyone there was dorks, but it wasn't too dorky. people for the most part weren't in character with back stories and all that.
it's based on fighting with foam weapons [wailed hard enough even a sword made of foam hurts, then there's the danger of running around in the woods like twisted ankles and heat stroke] but throughout the entire event you're supposed to wear garb and drink from tankards, etc.
i didn't fight. but my camp's persona was pirates and gypsies, so i dressed for belly dance all week. i have some weird tan lines thanks to my choli.
i'm ok looking. if there are hot chicks around i get overlooked, not looked over.
i always get hit on at belly dance things, and it's not always flattering. it seems to usually be guys just looking, not individualized attention. like i just happened to set off their radar.
but this week was different. in floor length skirts and tops that bared my midriff, back, and shoulders but not cleavage i was dressed fairly conservatively, especially for the heat. there were a lot of girls wearing just bikini tops and hip scarves for skirts, or tunics or skirts slit up to their hip.
i got a lot of attention from the guys who were looking for anything, as expected. but i got a lot of attention based on talent!
during the parties at nights most camps had a drummer and that attracted girls dacing around the fire. i was selective about where i danced. a jingly hip scarf does not a belly dancer make. if a fire had mostly girls in bikinis running around just trying to optimize the noise from their hip scarves, i didn't step in.
i did step in where the drummers seemed to be better and the girls weren't complete assholes.
the night that really brought me recognition was Mardi Gras on Thursday [thursday?? yeah, i know...] at the biggest camp. they had $9,000 of booze just for this party.
when we first went in i danced around the fire until i decided i needed a drink. i got one and came back to stand at the fire because it was cold out and raining. the guy next to me suggested i join the others and dance. i said no, i had a drink. he suggested it again, i answered that i'd rather drink. he got more persistent. i can't remember if he just annoyed me or actually shoved me but i decided i had to get away from him. but how does one dance without spilling one's drink?
so i placed my tankard on my head and spun around the fire.
i got about 3/4 of the way around and stopped in front of the drummers before anyone noticed me. the next time i stopped in front of the drummers i asked if any of them wanted a drink? they laughed. so i knelt down in front of one of them. he took it off my head, had a drink, put it back and i stood up and danced away!
for the rest of the week i was known as The Girl Who Danced with the Cup on Her Head.
everywhere i went i was followed by whispers of "She's a really good dancer." "Best belly dancer here this year." "Best looking dancer we've got this year."
all through the party, first around the fire then throughout the whole party people stopped to give me beads, specifying they were for my being awesome. i got a neck full and didn't lift my top once.
a day or two later i stopped by a camp to talk to someone before lunch. this camp was full of more of the badass dudes. definitely some of the cooler kids in the class. while i was waiting for the one to finish bullshitting another asked me something about belly dance. i launched into one of my lectures, but he actually listened. my lecture includes demos and the other guys started paying attention. they asked some good questions that i was and wasn't able to answer. they spazzed because apparently as i do moves each of my abdominal muscles pops out individually. at one point one of the two girls camping with them walked by and said something really rude. but these are people i will likely never see again, or not until next year; they don't matter. and no one else reacted so i figured only i had heard her. so i kept on with it until i was finished. i talked to dudley dude and took off for lunch.
at the parties that night i ran into him again and he told me not to mind that chick. the two of them are the only girls in their camp and so while neither of them will screw any of those guys they're used to getting all of the attention. it made them jealously angry for me to come in not only taking the attention but doing cool stuff they can't do. we picked up one of his friends, who unprompted said the same thing. the last night, at the really big party, some guy from their camp who i didn't even recognise said the same thing.
i thought all that was really interesting. i didn't expect any of it. not the venom from the girls, or the compassion later from the guys.
it was also interesting that i was actually viewed as an artist or piece of art. i could tell that men were admiring me from afar but no one made inappropriate gestures or comments, at least not directly to me. i felt respected.