On Vacation (Sort Of)

I have the best friends in the whole world. Just saying. They've helped me assemble a great refreshments spread for the memorial tomorrow. I have the photo-collage prepared. I have the music set up on my iPhone (and have acquired mini speakers to use with it that have quite adequate sound). I've delivered the text for the "memorial minute". The service runs itself, for all practical purposes. I still have no idea how many people are going to show up, but that was never in my control. All I have to do tomorrow is is an airport pick-up in the morning, pack the food and other paraphernalia (including passengers), get to the site in time to get the food organized before the service, figure out when the most appropriate time for the music is (I was originally thinking as people arrived, but now I'm thinking as background during the socializing afterwards). Pack up and deal with any leftovers. Deliver people back to my place. Do an airport drop-off Sunday morning. Then pack for Maine. At some point after that I may think about Christmas shopping. Or not. We'll see.

And that tickle in my throat better be the after-effects of presenting a training lecture this afternoon. Or else.

The Year in Review

Evidently, according to aryanhwy I came up with a variation on the "first sentences of first posts of the month" meme that involves running them together into a narrative. I guess I'll go with that one.

Dear Mr. Drunken Lobster Man[1],

So it started as a standard travel anxiety dream (although I have no impending trips in the near future). So clearly it's time to start thinking of a class to teach at West Kingdom Collegium in late April. There's nothing to take the stress out of starting the tourney season like the knowledge that your SCA camping checklists will preserve you from egregious logistical failures. West Kingdom Coronation ... now with Emu. [1] I rather enjoy the "menu planning by what's ripe" aspect of the CSA box, but this week I'm getting it from all sides. Take the bunch of carrots and the bag of beets from the weekly veggie box. When you wake up at 9am (for real) from a dream in which you wake up at 10 am and, in a panic, try to phone your friends to tell them you'd misremembered the brunch date at 10 as being at 11, it is a comfort to be able to verify that the (real) brunch date is for 11, not 10. I've been having weird project-stress flashbacks. The final play of this year's Cal Shakes season totally rocked. Spent the evening getting caught up with the CSA veggies. Home again and looking forward to some decompression time before it's back to the family whirl.

[1] Actually the subject line, but too good to pass up.

So the main themes seem to be SCA, CSA, and stress.