Q&A, Part I

[arontius]

.....Last night was the first Question-And-Answer session for the Baronial Polling. I was actually a little nervous leading up to it as I never know what to expect from the crowd. It didn't help that The Big Boss had called me into the office earlier in the day for a grilling. I was already on edge and very tired from having not slept very well the night before. Not a good combination going into the Q&A. But as TBT mentioned, we had grilled ourselves fairly decently the night before and were feeling generally comfortable with all the 'standard' questions.

.....I think my nervousness stemmed mainly from the 'prickly' and tense feelings I've been getting from the populace lately. Change is never easy. Especially when you consider that we're changing from something that proved successful to something that is new and unknown. That's bound to create uneasy feelings.

.....The VFW Hall was warm, but not unbearably so. The alternative was to drag out all the chairs to a shady portion of the lawn. But none of us were incredibly willing to go to that level. So we set up shop in the Hall itself and waited for 6:30 to arrive. I brought a couple of cases of water left over from June Faire, but Talon and Jenae took the prize by bringing a box of frozen Otter Pops. I think they went over well with the audience.

.....A good turn-out actually. I think there were somewhere around sixty people in the Hall. With others drifting in and out on a regular basis. We hadn't canceled Fight Practice itself so there were a number of fighters out on the ball field as well.

.....The questions really were all standard. The Sargeantry question started off the evening. Then all the standard event questions. June Faire. Children's Activities. Awards. I think all the candidates did well. Everyone had at least one witty and intelligent point to make over the course of the evening. Even me. :-)

.....I was dragging though, and tired, and my brain was rather mushy. I was grateful for TBT taking the bulk of the load for this one. I jumped in on several occasions, especially if I had a point I wanted to make. But for the most part I tried to make sure my answers didn't ramble into incoherence.

.....Master Ralg was the moderator for the affair. He definitely has a style much different than what I would have used. I can see the reason why he chose the free-form questions, but it made answering awkward at times as the candidates had to shuffle a bit before someone launched into a start for answers. But it worked.

.....The only tough question for me wasn't even part of the public Q&A. It was asked in private. I was somewhat taken aback by it at first. But it was a very valid question and I made sure to answer it as best I could. I was asked about my Time Management skills. On at least one occasion last year I was responsible for an activity as Seneschal, the case in question being the September Crown bid. It looked as if I waited until the last moment and lost the bid for the Barony due to my lack of follow-through in the bid preparation. If I let this item slide due to poor time management, how could I hope to cope with the time demands of being a Baron?

.....That sounds harsh, but I honestly do not think it was meant derogatory manner. I think it was a legitimate concern. I doubt the person knew all of the background information. But I'll own my errors completely in this case. I approached the September Crown bid in a very blasé fashion. I had the site locked up and it was a site of which we're very familiar. I waited until the last minute to put the package together because I really thought I had the event bagged, so why put more effort into it than I needed to put into it?

.....That was a major mistake on my part. The final bid looked hurried and it was rightfully rejected when compared to the bid turned in by Glymm Mere. Definitely a lesson learned for me and I have been more serious when dealing with contracts and event information ever since.

.....But to answer the initial question, I had already given thought to how I would handle Time Management as Baron. First of all, all the accumulated jobs with which I still run would have to go bye-bye. Primarily being Seneschal, but also the exchequerate duties belonging to The Crier (which is in transition now in any case) as well as my secretarial duties for the Western Regional Pelicans. All the little things actually add up to a great deal of time spent each week in support of the SCA. I know that. But I also know that being a Baron is a full time job. It would have to be my focus and I would take that seriously.

.....Plus, if I were one of the chosen my first duty would be to find help! Someone to support scheduling and reminders, as well as paperwork, to ensure that nothing does get dropped. I haven't been the best at parceling out duties to people to help me as Seneschal. That habit would have to change.

.....The person who asked the question seemed like they were satisfied with my answer. I don't know if that was in a good way or not. But I was honest and straight-forward. That's the best you can do.

.....I started feeling emotionally better as the evening wore on, but more and more tired. By 8PM I was starting to get a little loopy. I'm glad it wrapped up by 8:30. :-)

.....All in all a positive experience, like TBT says. I'm actually glad I answered the questions I did on the Baronial e-list as it gave me a little preparation in what to say.

.....I was also reminded by at least one person how idealistic a person I am. I mentioned the term 'Arthurian Romance' at least a handful of times. I referenced Tolkien and made mention of 'chivalric attitude' at least once. Idealism can blind you if you are not careful. But it can create the most magical of experiences if you allow it to do so. Those 'magical experiences' are what I crave most in the SCA.

.....And realism? That's TBT's specialty. :-)

.....I'm not looking towards the next Q&A with dread anymore. The picnic setting should be a good one as well.

.....Aaron / Arontius.

Comments

[rebecca-of-dl.livejournal.com]

My favourite part was when you referred to Laurellen as a "fragile delicate flower". But then her claim to be a fluffy kitty as almost as good. You did great. All of the candidates did wonderful.

[gwen-the-potter.livejournal.com]

snork sputter!
"Fluffy Kitty"
bwahahahahahahahahaha!

[brighidross.livejournal.com]

I think you are too hard on yourself..and you know how I feel about the question you were asked....

Time Management...

[hrollaug.livejournal.com]

No, you know nothing about time management, but a thing. That's why you do it for a living...

Of course it hasn't stopped you from over committing yourself.

[imdonnan.livejournal.com]

This is probably an unpopular mindset but the Baron and Baroness positions are figure heads and not directly accountable or responsible for the business end. So time management skills (for business) are not as required as it would be for an officer.

However, by social convention we want the B&B to lead the charge and set the focus for the group. Being late for meetings not keep up with guilds would be a political no-no.

What I am saying is being Baron is a different job than an officer position. Both are needed but different skills are required to be successful. Kind of like the difference between being an MC and a theater manager.

Being Baron will mean that you will be very much on stage all the time with every hand twitch viewed. :)

[pernell-camber.livejournal.com]

All the candidates are good so I'm content. I just assume the rest of the barony is as well. I haven't been as active lately so you would have a much better idea of what is going on. Perhaps since you are in the running for Baron people are coming to you with stuff and asking you questions that are triggered by old wounds or unhappiness? Do they actually expect you to make them completely happy, or are they just seeking the comfort of you listen to them? You are good at hearing people out. Plus, if we are gathered somewhere for an hour or two to ask questions, it would be impolite if people didn't come up with questions.

You have put together so many successful bids that it seems sensible to put a little less effort into each one to test and see how much effort actually needs to go in to a successful bid. Why beat yourself up when you were doing something sensible?

I don't know what the exact job descriptions are for Baron/Baroness and Seneschal. I'm just used to seeing what they accomplish. I imagine that what they do is usually a result of what their strengths and weaknesses are so the job gets done well. It would be interesting to see a Baron/Baroness & Seneschal who aren't in the same social group, but if they work well together wouldn't they automatically end up in the same social group because of the amount of communication they would have to have with each other? Hmm.

Rambling.