Arontius of Bygelswade

.....Psst, don't tell anyone. But Project Runway All Stars premiers tonight (thanks for the reminder, Anne :-)). I know it isn't exactly a very masculine thing to like to watch, but for some strange reason I'm kind of addicted to the show. :-) I should be grateful that Live Journal seems to be primarily populated, and commented upon, by women. I hope Mondo walks away with the prize myself. :-)

.....What this means is that I've got to stop lounging about in front of the computer and get my ass in gear at packing for the weekend. It's going to be tougher than normal since we have limited space inside our Chariot, Florence Radcliff. I'm going to see if I can get everything I can stand with into two 'stuff' bags. Then sneak in a computer bag and my day-pack for 'small' items. :-)

.....It was a near thing getting Friday off from work. Things are gearing up rapidly towards a point in late January where we're going to be assigned three Projects to finish, but only enough people and funding to do two of them. There will be lots of headaches on that one. FY'12 is only one quarter done and we're already at a funding level reduced from last year. Which itself was reduced from the previous year. And we're being told to brace ourselves as the fiscal belt tightening is just getting started. What an amazing thing to witness, this fight for funding.

.....MapQuest is telling me that the drive is supposed to take six hours and sixteen minutes. We're going to take the 8:45 AM Seattle Ferry, thereby missing most of the morning rush hour. Snoqualamie Pass looks pretty clear in the DOT cameras. So, even taking into account a lunch hour, I'm thinking that we'll be at the site at around 5PM.

.....Gotta remember to plug in the phone, the iPod Touch and the camera battery tonight as well. I have my Pelican notes packed. My September Crown stuff packed. My meeting times, places and agendas for the weekend packed. We're going to get munchies for the Friday night Social once we get into Couer d'Alene, so I don't have to worry on that score.

.....Now I just have to decide on what, if any, extras to bring with me to stay busy during the slower parts of the weekend.

.....Damn, the duffle bags are packed away in Lobelia. I guess the 'stuff' bags really will be stuff bags. Oh, well, it'll be a good lesson for me in learning how to think lean.

.....Aaron / Arontius.

.....The trouble with 'vacation' is that, eventually, vacation ends and you have to re-enter The Real World (tm). :-) I am NOT looking forward to getting up at 0400 tomorrow morning and making my way in to the Shipyard. But I don't think I'll be alone in that regard. I think a lot of us will be dragging through the day tomorrow. At least it will only be a three day week. That'll help a little bit.

.....Took a little while this evening to find everything and put it together. The work cell phone, the badge, the beeper. They were all in different places and took a little bit of detective work.

.....The 'to-do' list gathered dust the last couple of days. I just couldn't get motivated to do anything really on it. Mainly read books and explored on the computer. A couple of last trips to Starbucks.

.....Spent a good half-hour or so scraping off the beard-like thing on my face. :-) Certainly does not grow very fast, and was really starting to get to that itchy stage. Desperately need a haircut, but did not get the chance. I'm sure that I'll get at least one hint this week about looking 'professional'. But thankfully, with the change in Operational Officer, and the general rev-up of the work scene, I might escape notice until I can actually get it fixed. :-)

.....The new banner started getting dyed today. The Kingdom checkey pattern is done. The Baronial Populace section is done. Started the black and red blocked pattern on the next section, but basically stopped there as I need to decide on a color scheme I actually like.

.....The dye flows quite a bit differently than the silk paints did. The yellow was really nice and smooth. The red not-so-much so. It had some of the same blotchiness issues that the paints had in large single color areas. It'll be interesting to see if that corrects any when it is steamed and fixed into place. But the 'stiffness' of the silk paints does not seem to be evident in the silk dyes, so they may actually fly even a little easier than the painted silk.

.....I had red, black and yellow borrowed from Madrun, but may want to borrow a blue or a green. Some of components just would not look right if they were painted as planned, so I will have to change the color scheme somewhat.

.....The big wooden frames are not working all that well either. When stretched tight on the frames, any movement of the frames pulls the silk in different directions and can lead easily to rips and tears in the silk. Especially if your silk is stored on this frame over time, like mine is. Ideally, once attached to the frame, the banner should probably be completed in one setting. But I've never been able to clear that kind of space off of my calendar to do that. :-)

.....TBT came up with a nice idea. She sent me a link to a quilt stand on E-Bay. The stand sits off the ground about three or four feet. The fabric sits over the top and locking pieces hold the fabric snugly to the frame so that you can work at stitching. I could see this being used for silk banner manufacture pretty easily. It was made from plastic tubing, so I'm wondering if this is something we can put together ourselves fairly easily.

.....We'll get this banner done though before moving on to the next 'improvement'. :-) Another day or so of painting. Then some repairs. Then setting of the dyes. When will it be done? Maybe March or April. :-)

.....Tomorrow night is the January Business Meeting. Then planning and packing for Twelfth Night. We'll start the year going from zero to warp speed in a matter of days. Really need to clear the cobwebs out of the brain and get a new 'to-do' list going. That'll probably be on the agenda for tomorrow. Along with the monthly Baronial letter and a bunch of stuff for Twelfth Night itself.

.....Work re-starts on the same day at J.R.R. Tolkien's birthday though. January 3, 1892. Tomorrow will be 120th anniversary of his birth. Happy Birthday, Professor Tolkien! :-)

.....Aaron / Arontius.

.....Wow! The roads are god-awful this morning. But Cassie the Audi did beautifully as usual. I was laughing my head off whenever I saw some stupid pick-up or SUV driver take the road faster than they should in their silly cars and go fish-tailing all over the place. I probably shouldn't have laughed (there'll be some deducted Kharma points for that I'm sure), but I couldn't help it. :-)

.....I was half hoping that the Shipyard would have given us a two-hour liberal leave drive into work, but I knew better. At least it is nice and warm at the computer desk this morning. I wasn't going to come in this morning, but there is too much stuff going on here and my stand-in was looking a little overwhelmed yesterday. :-)

.....I'm outta here at 11:30, work stuff notwithstanding. My hope is to be on the road by 1PM. Even with slowing down for the ice, I think that I might be out at Ocean Shores by 4PM. Looking forward to dinner at the Irish Pub! Then a couple of hours at the Autocrat's Jacuzzi Party (a Dragon's Laire Twelfth Night tradition, don't you know :-)). Mom will not be able to make the trip out with me for the weekend, which is a bummer. Especially why, the doctor has her on some new blood thinning drugs and said the trip would not be good for her and wanted her to stay near home. I so wanted Mom to meet the beloved Laurellen and Rhys this weekend. Sigh! But Renart should be pleased that I was able to put one more hotel room back into the pool. I expected them to charge me for one night at least, but I was told that there was an extensive waiting list and that it wouldn't be a problem to get someone else into the room.

.....Can't wait to see the beloved Laurellen and Rhys. I've missed them terribly. I should have went over to see them at least one day last weekend. But I mollify myself by reminding myself how much I was able to get done at home. Spent about an hour and a half talking with Tamm last night. She is amazing with all her plans and dreams. I don't think that there is anything that she cannot accomplish through sheer will. I put down the phone and was so energized from her conversation that I spent the next two hours packing and cleaning the house. Everything is ready to throw into the van when I get home. My Kingdom Chronicler's report is complete. My Chronicler's Meeting Agenda is complete. My Marketplace emergency kit is complete. Laptop is ready for Rhys to commandeer for the weekend. :-) I can't wait to hit the road!

Don't forget to pack your swimsuits. And be careful on the roads, they really are slick! :-)

Aaron / Arontius.

.....It was a freakishly long week squeezed into three days. I greatly enjoyed having two whole weeks off from work, and it was a nice gift to have a day off in honour of President Ford, but the pile of stuff awaiting my return on Wednesday was monumental. The fun rolled right into today when I was awake at 5AM directing traffic at work from my desk in the computer room dressed in my underwear (although I understandably did not mention my attire to anyone on the phone at work :-)).
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.....By 8AM the crisis was rolling forward at work, so I had some breakfast and started work on The Crier. I made great progress. All content has been pulled and initially formatted. The cover and center pages are in place. The listings have all been updated. Tomorrow I format and drop this month's event copy and place the epistles and I'll be 90% complete. Will only be waiting on the updated Kingdom Calendar at that point. Then .pdf all the pages and send them to Idaho and I'll be done!

.....Around noon I went to the Baronial storage units and pulled material for Twelfth Night (signs and feast gear). Didn't take long at all. Then ran home and got a good start on the three circlet orders I have in the queue at the moment. Completed them all through the rough polish stage. Need only to final polish and then shape them and I'll have them ready for packaging and mailing.

.....Felt the need to get out at that point and took Heather (the van) down to get her oil changed. Then had what's left of my hair trimmed back a bit (even had them trim the mustache a bit). I don't think that I've ever felt this exposed before. :-)

.....Took a trip up to see Brighid and Cedric and had dinner. Brighid made a kale and portabello mushroom dish that was very good. I love portabello mushrooms. I'll have to grab some for a dinner or two this week.

.....We watched the Seahawks game on T.V. (a nail biter 'til the end), then I took off. I was feeling a bit lonely (missing Laurellen a lot), so I stopped at Starbucks and nursed a Sugar Free Cinnamon Dulce Latter (with Soy and an extra shot of espresso). It was very good. Wish I had just gone home though. I played the answering machine and the beloved Laurellen had called looking for me. I almost called back, but thought that calling at 10:30 was pushing it a bit. Sigh! Seattle is too freakin' far away. But I'm sure that Laurellen could use a break from me always taking up her space. :-) But now, on top of having a body full of caffeine, I'm going to be thinking of Laurellen and will not be able to sleep at all. Will have to put the Tele on to some religious channel to help me fall asleep. :-)

.....Aaron / Arontius.

.....Just arrived home from Ocean Shores. It was a good day in most ways, especially as concerns Twelth Night. Renart has put together a good team (we just have to think of a good Team Name and Logo, Renart doesn't want to re-use 'Git 'er done!' :-)).

.....Met THL Eleanor, and her mother Sophia, for the first time. Very nice people. I liked them instantly. Once again, it is amazing how much LJ facilitates friendships way before you ever meet in person. :-)

.....Good tour of the Convention Center. It is a beautiful place. Lots of discussion of where to place things and how to use the space. I think that everyone was jazzed up quite a bit.

.....Went to Frantz glass place in Shelton in the afternoon. Amazing place. I looked through all the lampworking supplies and saw some demonstrations. I have avoided being bitten by the lampworking bug. But I have been intrigued with glassblowing itself for a long time, and even more so after Kingdom A&S this year. I've been trying to avoid the temptation. Too many things on the plate to take up something new. But watching a demonstration today almost made me take the plunge. Good thing I was still suffering from a hangover. :-)

.....Oh, My, God. When I woke up this morning I felt a little fuzzy headed but for the most part I was going 'Great! I escaped a major hangover.' No, I didn't. All day long it was like my brain was disconnected from my body. I could not think in a straight line for more then five minutes. I'd lose my train of thought constantly and had to concentrate hard when someone asked me a question. After the meeting started breaking up I followed Laurellen around as they looked for kites for Rhys to fly on the beach and I am sure she was starting to wonder if I was freaking out on her or something. I couldn't seem to get two coherent sentences together the entire time. Petr and Kierran are dangerous people. If they come bearing a bottle in their hand, run!!! :-)

.....Aaron / Arontius.

.....Today has been one of those 'Crisis Fridays' that happen from time to time around here. It's been a little more interesting than usual in that we had three of them this morning. What makes it even more interesting is that with the Fiscal Year ending in just a handful of weeks, no one has any money. I've seen some pretty creative money juggling today. Just hope that we get everything wrapped up in time for me to get out of here for the weekend. :-)

.....Looking forward to the trip out to Ocean Shores tonight. Renart said that he would do the driving. That was rather nice of him. I still have to throw some stuff together for the weekend though. That's a good reminder to me to get my butt out of here on time so that I can get home and pack an overnight bag. Don't want to make Renart grumpy by making him wait at all. :-)

.....Am faced with a small Crier crisis for the weekend. Part of the file corrupted. I'm not entirely sure what happened. But I may have to rebuild part of it. Hopefully not too much. That'll be Sunday's chore. Still have plenty of time to get it completed and sent off to the publisher. It always makes me anxious though when I cannot get it to the printer by the 10th of the month. :-)

.....Had the chance to speak to Mom this morning at her desk. She is actually thinking of retiring next year. Which floored me. I was starting to think that she was just going to move into her cubicle at her office and set up a bed there. :-) Her department has been reducing for a while now and the new management hasn't exactly been worker-friendly, so she is starting to see the rewards in being able to sleep in with less aggravation. :-)

.....She asked me about Sean, my brother. She hasn't heard from him in about a year now. Which has her a little worried. He was always good about talking to her at least every month or every other month. I'm not so worried. People in the Rogers' clan are not the best verbal communicators. Sean is not much of a communicator at all! :-) He and Dad live on a piece of property out in Sunnyslope and my chief worry is that they might have killed each other some time in that past year and no one has told us yet. Well, I exaggerate, but not by much. If you think that *I* am stubborn, you need to see my Dad and brother. OMG, the most stubborn people on the planet. :-)

.....Thinking about the agenda for the rest of the year. Gotta get the applications finalized for the Twelfth Night Marketplace. I should be able to get those done this weekend. Also gotta get meetings organized for the Scribal Guild. I have volunteers for Scroll Painting. Mariette even has a new charter for the Snapdragons to start passing out. Also gotta get the Ceremonies organized. After the Tourney Season Their Excellencies have decided that what we came up with earlier this year sounded great, but were way long. AFter the second or third Snapdragon given, the verbiage just started sounding endless and boring. I am in agreement with them definitely and will be assisting in drafting up shorter Ceremonies. Should be good.

.....Also thinking about the Bardic Championship in December. I am going to enter, but am not entirely sure of what I want to enter. For sure, I am going to enter a piece as played on my Bass Recorder and Gemshorn. But I'm also 'ruminating' on a dance (Morris maybe). I'd like to enter some Sonnetry, but would have to definitely work on delivery. :-) And if Angharad is one of the judges again? Man, I'm not sure that my ego could stand up to the bruising. :-P

.....Also 'ruminating' heavily on Sargeantry. Really want to enter next year and have started pulling out all my old files on it.

.....Wow! Lunch ended much faster then I thought it would, the phone is ringing constantly again. :-) See you all later.

.....Aaron / Arontius.