Thoughts On This Friday.

[arontius]

.....It was an interesting day all around. I went into work this morning eagerly anticipating 'the plan' as proposed by NAVSEA through the Mid Level Boss yesterday. Only to find out that there was no single 'plan', there were as many plans as there were Commanding Officers involved in the whole issue at work. By the time we held our big Telecom at 1100, we had been directed by two different Commanding Officers to go in two different directions with their personal plans. Chaos is still alive and well.

.....But I was missed, even if I was only away for a day and a half. For some odd reason I have been providing the steady center point around which all of these 'plans' were revolving. The person who received all the direction from the various leaders and passed out everyone's personal parts in this play as needed. Without me to be there as this play's producer, chaos ruled the day and no one knew what particular direction in which to go. It should have been a sad thing, but I felt strangely good in knowing that I was wanted. Go figure.

.....Although that still means I'm back to work on Monday. I've been told that I'll be there through at least Wednesday morning before they consider releasing me to use my Must Leave. But I did receive my copy of my disapproved Leave Application, which I think I'll frame. It's the first time I've ever seen something like that. :-) Now I just have to follow through and make sure my leave really does get restored next year, supposedly sometime by March at the latest.

.....Learned a lesson on the whole Coronet thing today. For the past month now I've been thinking of this gig as an extension of being a Seneschal. My approach has been that consensus should be the overarching theme of the day, with the rule of law being applied first and foremost. But, really, that's why you have a Seneschal in the first place. The job of the Coronets is to provide leadership, which means making the tough decisions sometimes. Those decisions that don't have clearly defined rules to back them. Defending those decisions can be a scary thing too. It's amazing how short a time it was before TBT and I started finding ourselves out on that proverbial limb. But I'm rather glad that it is happening now, and not later. I needed to learn what the difference was before it smacked me in the face in the middle of June Faire or some other high stress happening. And now that I've had this level of epiphany, I can work through it and maybe, actually, learn something while I have the chance. I'll have to make this transition my mantra for the next couple of months until it becomes more subconscious.

.....Had a list of things to get done, but TBT and I went and saw a movie instead. We saw 'The Voyage of the Dawn Treader'. Even though I like C.S. Lewis, I certainly do not have the fanaticism about his works that I do Tolkien. So it was easy to enjoy this movie and suspend my usual interrogations. :-) In some way the movie was very hard to watch. I've read it many times and know it very well. The movie only really hits some of the highlights of the book, and completely re-writes others. Although visually, it is rather a beautiful film. It reminds me a lot of the recent remake of 'Alice In Wonderland' that Tim Burton directed. Something that was very beautiful, but lacked a real and cohesive story.

.....That's rather sad as the critics have not been all that pleased with it and the audiences have not really been attending in droves. I was kind of hoping that 'The Silver Chair' would make it into theatres eventually. It would be a difficult movie though. Much of it is done in very drab settings, with a lot of dark dialogue. 'The Voyage of the Dawn Treader' is probably the last of the Narnia books that could make an easy transition to the big screen. Although as I type that I think I could be wrong as 'A Horse And His Boy' would make a good adaptation as well. I guess we'll see.

.....Saw a preview for 'Thor'. It was cheesy, but intriguing at the same time. I may have to go and see it. I'm still trepidatious though as it could easily be another 'Clash of the Titans'. It certainly had that look to it and I found myself listening for Liam Neeson voice. :-)

.....Off to bed now, but thinking of the 'to-do' list for tomorrow. A couple of circlets top the list, along with maybe my Sekrit Santa gift. I've no clue what to get my recipient as I know them not at all, and haven't found out much with google-stalking. Guess I'll have to shoot and hope for the best.

.....But I get to end the day with cooking by Petr and Kierran. Mmmmmm, always a good thing. :-)

.....Aaron / Arontius.