Arontius of Bygelswade

.....August was one long month. Let's make a pact amongst ourselves that we'll never do four events in a five weekend period ever again. Shall we? No matter how 'easy' three of those events are represented to be. :-)

.....I have to say though that as predicted September Crown turned out much, much better than I anticipated. My nightmares and anxieties were many, to the point that I was having a difficult time both sleeping and concentrating at work. But none of my nightmare scenarios turned out. Not to say there weren't challenges aplenty. But they were all challenges that could be overcome. And more importantly, everyone who arrived did so with an attitude of working with what they were given and not complaining bitterly about it. Which made things much, much easier.

.....There are lots and lots to write about. The thank you note to the Baronial e-list was incredibly long and it is still missing a large number of people on it. There were a number of people who suddenly 'appeared' when needed, performed miracles, and then faded away. I was working on a naughty peer trick over the weekend and have since decided that I'd rather have this peer trick instead, the ability to have people 'appear' and save my behind when needed.

.....Although, the Stupid Peer Trick (tm) that I was seriously contemplating was kind of funny (only at the moment though). I observed Dame Brighid Ross entering a Biffy and made ready to tip it over on its side. She didn't think that was funny at all and simply said that it emphasized the 'Stupid' part of the name a little too much.

.....There was a Live Journal entry of several weeks ago where I talked about the supposed 'obligation' one might have to include all comers in a Team if you were the Baron or Baroness. Both Brighid and Khalja noted immediately that it set the Team up for possible failure if you ended up including someone who did not work well with a Team. Which is exactly what happened on Team Haggis III. I spent more energy and aggravation on one person than I did the entire rest of the Team combined. That person ended up making mistakes and I ended up truly blowing up at them as we were setting up the event. I've never done that before and never want to do that again. But it was an incredibly valuable lesson in making sure your Team can work well together and with you before you even start.

.....The site itself has a lot going for it, and a lot going against it. I'm really on the fence as to whether or not it would make a good June Faire site. There are parts of the grounds that are as hard as cement. But could we utilize other parts of site better and just avoid the really bad portions? We were a little tight this weekend due to the space taken up by Equestrian Activities. If we eliminated Equestrian and used this area for camping would we then have enough space to work the site? I'm still thinking on that one.

.....We need to get more creative on sites though. I need to make another run at the Port Orchard Airport I think. And this time I think I'll go around the Tractor people and go straight to the owners. It has the risk of ticking off the Tractor people, but if we can get our toe in the door of the site, maybe we can make it work for us. I think I want to make another run at the Howe Farm as well. The Community Group running with it has been unable to go anywhere with any of their plans. Now might be a good time to approach them with ideas on making a little income and working to improve the site.

.....Yeah, I'm already thinking of a Team Haggis IV. But it isn't going to happen in the next year or so. I'm also thinking it might be a Twelfth Night, for which I have another set of ideas I'm combing through. But I need a long break, and I need to concentrate on getting a few things done on the home front.

.....We get next weekend free to sleep in and do as little as possible. The only obligation being the removal of the water tank from the September Crown site. In two weeks is a Book Fair in Seattle. I forget what's happening the fourth weekend, but the fifth is Last Chance. Which reminds me that we have things to get ready for it.

.....The big thing to concentrate on now is TBT's elevation in January to the Order of the Pelican. Can you believe it? I managed to keep my mouth shut about it. That is quite the accomplishment. :-) But I'm rather excited. Plans are already moving forward. We're using Madrun's elevation e-list as a starting point, as well as the Master File from Madrun's elevation as a baseline check-list for everything that needs to be done.

.....If others want to be involved from the ground floor, let me know and I'll add you to the e-list.

.....I'm sitting here and basically staring at a pile of 3x5 cards, filled with 'to-do' lists that have been accumulating over the past couple of months. I should really consolidate them here shortly. But I'm really tired and finding it difficult to concentrate on any one thing for more than a five minute stretch. I'm seriously happy that September Crown was successful. But I'm so glad it is over. August was a really, really long month.

.....Aaron / Arontius.

.....RedBow met TBT and I this morning on our way out the door to Starbucks for our weekend morning ritual. I had completely forgotten that we were going to meet with her to scope out a potential Meeting Location / Fight Practice site. Thankfully, RedBow has good timing. :-)

.....The site is a location out off of Seabeck Hwy between Kitsap Lake and Wildcat Lake. There is a place where the 'Mountaineers Theatre' holds summer theatre presentations. There is also a cabin for meetings with some dormitory cabins nearby. The main cabin is a meeting space for the Mountaineers Group (and others). But it, along with the nearby cabins would make a pretty cool scribal retreat site, or possibly a specialized Ithra site.

.....The main cabin is a little on the smallish side, seating maybe fourty or so. But is a nice place and if the price is right, I'm ready to move Business Meetings there. I'm going to get an e-mail here soon from the POC and we'll see how negotiations go.

.....The cabin has a kitchen included and a little play area just outside, so I think that it might work in a pinch.

.....We walked down to the theatre itself in the hopes that it might be a candidate for a fight practice location. Turned out to be a non-starter though. No covered area and not a lot of vehicle access to the area we had in mind.

.....But the ampitheatre was beautiful. Very steep audience viewing area sloping down to a stage area at the edge of a cliff bordering a salmon stream. The atmosphere was beautiful and the settings magnificent. I bet that plays done in this location go over quite well. I may have to make it a point to go out and see a play there this summer.

.....But we're still on the look out for a new Fight Practice site. Especially one where we could combine meetings and Arts & Science activities in the same venue, during practice. But at this point in time I'm not being terribly choosy. We need a new Fight Practice site before the cold fall season sets into place.

.....Other possibilities are being investigated. Wish us luck.

.....Aaron / Arontius.