Arontius of Bygelswade

.....There are certainly a lot of things happening right now. It is sometimes difficult to keep them all straightened out and moving in the correct direction.

.....Ursulmas last Saturday was actually fun for me. It is not TBT's favorite event, based on past experiences. But for me, it is a chance to meet and talk with people I haven't seen in a while, and make tentative plans for the upcoming year. The intrepid Madrun and Tsuruko accompanied us in Florence, the Wonder Van, and we arrived at a fairly decent hour. Lots of people lent a hand right away and we were set up in no time at all.

.....We had a pretty healthy contingent of people in the martiallate Tournaments over the weekend. TBT and I did our best to make it to all the Dragon's Laire participants to hand out tokens made by TBT. They seemed to appreciate the recognition, and we think it is definitely important to recognize these people. So having done that always makes me feel pretty good.

.....Made the rounds of the Marketplace. I didn't see much that was new and revolutionary. Although I really thought the wool felted hats looked pretty good. Madrun ended up buying one later in the day. If I had a little more free spending money I might have bought one too. Oh, who am I kidding, I would have blown it all on books at Pastiche and threads at Sparrowhawk's. Just sayin'. Maybe it was a good thing I didn't have any real spending money. :-)

.....Attended the annual Western Regional Calendar Scheduling Meeting as hosted by Countess Daedin. Not a whole lot new and revolutionary, although it was kind of nice that everyone seems to be taking a lot more laid back approach towards sharing dates on the calendar. No head bashing at all. I thought it extremely interesting the difference in attitude between all the branches on the I-5 corridor versus us. They all think of neighboring branches as 'just down the road', which they are. We, on the other hand, are a $38 ferry ride away, practically on the other side of the world. Not sure if that attitude can be overcome, especially if gas prices stay pretty high.

.....Presented the invitation to June Faire, drawn by Renart. It looked really nice, so we definitely took a little pride in presenting it. Tried our best to make sure that Renart stayed in the general area so he could receive the gratitude due, or at least see Their Majesties pleased expressions.

.....At around 5PM or so, TBT was DONE and ready to go. We were all a little tired. I could have stayed a little longer. But Ignition was starting their performance and in that closed off hall the air was already starting to become think and heavy. Ursulmas always seems to do a number on my respiratory system. The cold and stifled air, combined with the many bodies in one location. I woke up wheezing a little on Sunday, and definitely feeling slow and run down. Spent most of Sunday recovering.

.....Monday was all about working on e-mails for September Crown, as well as answering questions needed for Pernell to turn in the ACCEPS form. We're almost done with it. Pernell will get all the signatures on it at the Thursday Business Meeting, along with a check to submit, then we'll be live in no time at all. Getting closer it is.

.....Also spent time resurrecting Crier files from the dead hard drive. We had a difficult time opening up the files on the DVD's that Talon gave us. We eventually were finally able to open the first disc; which thankfully had all the correct files on it. I updated the Spread Sheet and balanced all the books for late December and early January. Then finished the Doomsday Report for The Crier with approximately six hours to spare before the deadline on Tuesday. :-) But it is done!

.....The last checks have been sent out for the last paper edition of The Crier. From now on they will be produced electronically, with the handful of paper copies being produced by VPP in Tennessee. We will no longer take part in the production process, other than creating the files. It was sad to see that last check go into the mail. But it was going to happen. I found it interesting that VPP picked up the SCA contract. They have been aggressively pursuing the SCA since Day 1. I'm curious if there are members of the SCA on the VPP staff?

.....Tuesday night was the Social, along with the inaugural meeting of the Textile Guild. I think at least a dozen or so people showed interest in the Guild, so I'm hopeful that it will take off and do interesting things.

.....Oliver was not at the Social last night. I don't remember him saying that he wouldn't, and he didn't send an e-mail yesterday. I need to give him a call and make sure everything is O.K.

.....Tonight is the weekly Fight Practice at the OSSC. I have to remember to pack the armor from the garage into the car. Thankfully I bundled it all up over Christmas, so I only have to grab the one pile of stuff. There are new people who want to experience fighting in the SCA. I hope they like it. :-) We need more fighters. :-) You certainly can't deny the adrenaline rush you get from the hitting and being hit on the field. It can be addicting.

.....Before Fight Practice though, TBT and I are going to make a run to the Silverdale Harrison and meet the newest member of the Barony, born to Jess Dunn and Ehrig this last week. Ehrig made sure we knew last night that visitors were allowed and welcomed. :-)

.....Thursday is the Business Meeting. Friday is the packing for Candlemas. Then Saturday is Candlemas itself.

.....Right now it looks like three entries in the A&S Championship. Two entries in the Bardic Championship. And one entry in the Scholar Championship. All the entries look interesting. It'll be a long day, but fun as well. It'll be really interesting to see how the model works in the Scholar's Championship of having the one entry be 'judged against a standard'.

.....Evening Court is where the new Serjeantry candidates present their Letters of Intent as well. This year looks to be stunning! Possibly upwards of possibly a dozen, or more, people are presenting Letters. I'm a little overwhelmed just thinking about it. It's going to be a busy summer. But I'm supremely excited as well. Just seeing this Program take off like this, seeing the inspiration that comes with it, the energy, the good feelings of Teamwork and Fellowship. I'm extremely thrilled.

.....Then Sunday is our walk-through of the new September Crown site at the Airport. Many of the Team will be there and we'll brainstorm the possibilities. I definitely want to try and narrow the location of Erics in relation to the Royal Encampment and the Marketplace. Then we can build around that. We'll look at ideas on how to utilize the camping space most effectively, and take a look at the parking situation. We had a couple of ideas were kicking around on off-site parking. Bernie came up with an additional really good idea of utilizing the Airport grassy fields as a parking area. We're making the rounds now of finding the right official with the Port of Bremerton who can give us the go ahead.

.....Then it is off to the proverbial races. I want to get as much planned in February and March as we possibly can. In April the prime build up to June Faire will be in full swing and I don't want to mess with that. We'll fly under the radar primarily before picking up altitude again in June. That's why I tried to apply people to Team Haggis III who weren't already eyeball deep in June Faire planning. I didn't succeed fully, but I made some progress.

.....The week that was and will be on electronic paper. Time to get moving on finishing it. :-)

.....Aaron / Arontius.