Case in Point

So, my Wicked Witch of the East costume was good to the people who knew. One person, whom I've had some issue with before (we'll call them Pat) insisted, as Pat always does, that they know better than I do and that the socks were red and white not black and white (I looked it up, I know it was right). Pat's cousin was the Munchkin coroner, so Pat says.

In any event, I went up to watch the costume contest, I hate entering them myself because I work hard on my costumes but there's always someone who does something stupid and I never win. It's not about winning, don't get me wrong, it's about the work I do, and the people who win appear to do much less (I make my costumes, they tend to buy them. What's the point?).

Some of my coworkers insisted that I participate, and so I did, and was once again reminded why I don't like to be in costume contests. The person who won best individual? Pat! Because they were calling themselved the 'devil' of my department. It was a completely purchased costume, but because Pat said something dumb and work related, they won. My father won 'lamest,' which is a category that one should only get if they strive for it. He was dressed as the Dread Pirate Roberts. He was only called lamest because everyone mistook him for Zorro (who has a hat and cape, unlike DPR) and no one wanted to admit they were wrong. And that's why I only wanted to watch. (I did see one of my co-workers in a kimono, but she had it wrapped wrong! It should be left over right, the only time it is the other way is when dressing a corpse. She wasn't trying to be dead either. That was a purchased costume too.)

Anyway, there's always next year to not enter.

Happy Samhain

Bigger Bugs

The party was great! And it was so much fun spending time with my friends and their friends in their home. My friend met me at a gas station so I could follow her the rest of the way, because the turn is hard to spot! and I'm glad she did, I would have missed that and the next turn too! They're right by the Susquehanna River, and you can see the water after making the first turn (it was so beautiful, that's what I was looking at that would have made me miss the second turn!). On the approach before the first turn, two towers of Three Mile Island poked through the trees. We had asked if the plant seemed to impact the area, and they said there are just bigger bugs! (Ick!) But I'm so glad I got to join them for their party!

I even got home (it's just about 2 hours) in time to take a nap before dinner. (We were up really late, 2:30 actual time! Who needs an extra hour of sleep when you can stay up and experience a post halloween party slumber party! The two gents in the mix gave out a good bit before the rest of us!)

Dinner was great, even though my brother and sister-in-law have been ill. I hope they liked the Christmas stockings in our clan tartan I had made for them.

I'm ready for a weekend away from my weekend!

Gah!

My mother and I have been trying to scrapbook the pictures I took at my brother's wedding for near a year! We knew it would be an appropriate first anniversary gift, so I made her sit with me while we finished it this morning!

I wanted to be on my way to my friend's house by now, but this had to be done! And I didn't get the other things I wanted to do this morning done.

Now, I need to strap myself into my yukata and be on my way. Have a great weekend!

Oh, and I found the socks last night at Target!

Weekend Plans!

Ok, so, tomorrow, I'm going to visit my friends in PA (they joined us at their RenFaire and ours this year!) for a Halloween party. It's going to be fun! After I get home on Sunday, my parents and I will go to dinner with my brother and his wife to celebrate their one year anniversary!

Somewhere in there, I'll find time to sleep! And don't forget to set your clocks back!

Such a Sweetie

My sweet Callico has been spending most of her nights with me. I love that cat, and she's all cute when she lays on the pillow and purrs into the night. I just wish I could keep the kitten from tormenting her.

I have searched in vain for a Wonder Woman costume. I'll go as the Wicked Witch of the East (you know, the one who owns the Ruby Slippers in the first place) before she was attacked by that house. I just need to find some black and white stripped socks!

My friend from work and I are going out tomorrow, it's been a long time since we've been able to do that! We'll stop by a few places in the quest for socks.

Two More Things

Look at that! Two entries in one day! You should feel shpeshal!

I forgot to tell you. Last night, I spent a lot of time messing with my Geocites site. I learned that an mp3 is a huge file compared to a midi. I found a midi, and I embedded it in my sourcecode. And now you should hear nice soothing music on my Geocites main page. I also adjusted the background image a bit, but I haven't been able to see it yet, because I used up all my bandwidth messing with that mp3! Let me know what you think.

For those of you who were eyeing the 2006 calendar in my webstore; it should be fixed now. If you should order one and Cafépress still prints 2005, just shoot them an e-mail and they'll send you a correct 2006 version. It's nice to have the right year!

In the Clearing Stands a Boxer

A friend of mine sent me a Yahoo article this morning that said the tiredness I've been feeling at work is called "sick worker syndrom." Often mistaken for a simple lack of productivity, and caused by a chemical called cytokine that is produced from nerve injuries caused by repetitive movement like typing. Nice to know I'm unhappy with my job because of chemicals my job makes my body produce.

I have to put this up, this is from a quiz on listening on MSN:

A friend confides that she is miserable at her job but feels stuck. You:
a. Give her the names of headhunters, addresses for job fairs, etc.
b. Ask her to tell you why she hates her job and what she wants to do next.
c. Buy her another drink and say, "Yeah, work sucks."
d. Tell her how you solved your own career dilemmas.
Your answer: b. Ask her to tell you why she hates her job and what she wants to do next. The correct answer is: b. Ask her to tell you why she hates her job and what she wants to do next.

When a friend confides in you, it's a mistake to assume that she's asking you to solve her problem. "When people are hurting and talk about it, they aren't necessarily looking for a solution -- they're looking for understanding," says Sullivan. Brainstorming and troubleshooting certainly have their place, but it's condescending to try to save the day before you've asked your friend to go into detail about her problem and her plans for handling it. Offering your friend the validation that "work sucks" might comfort her in the moment, but could also be interpreted as a subtle way of saying "Hey, quit your bellyaching. We all have troubles." Your first priority should be to let your friend vent.

The reason I had to share this is because I have a friend (I know you're reading) who might learn something here. Note the passage higlighted in red, you know who you are. (This made me think of you ;) don't be offended or anything!) By the way, our new friend did find his medallion.

Oh, and I think I know why the sadness that comes with the end of faire wasn't there this year. It's because my group actually did keep in mostly regular contact in the off-season. Thanks to a fabulous idea from the first aforementioned friend, we got together at a preset time and place for brunch every month (I've blogged about these brunches before). This allowed us to catch up and spend some time wandering and shopping around Annapolis afterwards. We didn't get a chance to miss our friends because we saw (most of them) frequently. We're going to keep it up this year too, and put it a little earlier so we have more time. What a great idea!

I still need to look into that Wonder Woman costume. Today I'm doing the stuff I like and the 63 jobs of the stuff I don't! They just want me to do everything! Besides, I don't think there's enough time in the morning to get me in a kimono before work.

Cold Too Soon

Is it just me, or is it getting wintery before it should be? (and I'm not thinking about those people in the mountains who have snow!) Maybe because I expect fall days to be crisp and clear with flame-colored leaves against a turquois sky. We had so little rain in September that they say the leaves won't be their natural color for very long, if at all. And we've had so much rain this October that there's not a whole lot of blue sky around. (both months set lack of and rainfall records, respectively!)

I haven't completed another work assignment in a while, I'm wondering if any of you noticed! There is one thing I have left to do, but I require a bit of privacy, and I never have that anymore. This is the thing that really bugs me about working the same or similar shifts as my parents: I don't get the house to myself anymore. That makes it hard to do quite a lot of things. I'm thankful that I can count both of my parents as my friends, but it sure would be nice to have some time alone. I'll finish it eventually, I guess.

I had the worst migraine last night. It was so bad that I got home from work and went straight to bed. I don't want any more of those!

Good Days Sun Shine

Not around here!

There's nothing like a gloomy Monday. (I really shouldn't feel this way about Mondays, I was born on one!)

I'm still doing boring entry-level work. I know all of you people are wondering why I don't quit, but then who will pay my bills? I still have a car payment, and a student loan, and a credit card (that has a couple kayaks on it), and a Dell account. Any takers? I'll quit if I know my credit is covered!

Yeah, it's a silly thing to say. It doesn't help that there's nothing closer to home that I could do other than retail, and I'm not going back to retail! That won't pay my bills either!

Looks like I'm stuck being miserable, and getting handed more work than I can do in a day, and cutting corners just to finish it (shhh, don't tell my boss!). The catch 22 is that I'd probably be spending less if I wasn't so bored at work.

Don't worry, it's just the rain, honest!

That's a Wrap!

It didn't feel like the last day of Faire.

Usually regular patrons, performers, and booth employees eminate a mixed sense of joy and sadness on this day. We are joyful that the run of the Faire is over, because it's been a long 9 weekends with lots of hard work, and we look forward to the rest. We are sad because there are quite a lot of people whom we care deeply about but only see during Faire time (this is really through no fault of anyone's, it just happens that way, though we always tend to agree that it should not).

You noticed I said usually. It usually feels this way on the Day of Wrong (the Day of Wrong, by the way, was a last day of faire tradition started in California because they also had to strike their site at the end of the run, so it was really wrong to be ending!). People wear strange or out of period costumes to demonstrate the wrongness of it, I even wore a yukata today (it took an hour to get in to! I think I'll have to rethink what I'm going to wear to work on Samhain). But it just didn't feel that wrong this year. I wonder if I'll miss it less in the off-season too. Maybe it's time I find a new faire (ooo, maybe I'll even find one that will cast me!).

I saw a lot of people I was hoping to see and at least two I was hoping to not see for a very long time. And what do you do when someone who was once counted among your best friends says "Hi, I've been looking for you all day" but forgets to say, "by the way, Happy Birthday"? Well, I blog about it, apparently! I don't think he reads this, but if he does, I wonder if he will even notice I mean him. If you're reading, look at what you forgot to do!

Thus ends the weekend report of the Maryland Renaissance Festival 2005.

One More Day

It was rainy and cold and icky. But we were busy! (not breaking any records, mind you, but busy enough.) It's hard to say why, actually, because most of our hats do not take well to the application of water.

My friend described us as the busiest shop in the shire. I think he was right! But that's most days too. (not to toot my shop's horn or anything, but the hats are pretty popular, and we're the only shop to get them!)

And two dear gents came by to visit. Isn't that great? =)

Tomorrow is all we have left...

Talk About a Long Friday

It's rainy, it's gloomy, it's chilly and I really want it to be Saturday.

This weekend is the end of the Maryland Renaissance Festival's 29th year! It barely feels like it's been 9 weeks since we started. Hopefully the weather will clear up!

This is Why I Love Vacation

even a mini one!

Back at work, it comes with all the bleh that work comes with. I can complete about 100-120 requests a day (which is actually quite a lot, when you think about it) and that's on a good day at that, not a Thursday that acts like Monday. Mondays are more like 80 or so. So, they give me 160 requests and expect them to get done in eight hours. And these aren't easy requests either, they tend to involve a lot of phone calls, and therefore take longer.

Maybe I should get a Wonder Woman costume for Halloween instead of the kimono I was planning on wearing....

One More Day

Well, this is it, really.

I went to the dentist (don't be alarmed, just a cleaning, and I happen to like the dentist) and bought a box to keep my aromatherapy oils in, and spent much of the day painting it. Where did the day go, anyway?

Alas, I will be back at work tomorrow. But at least it's just two days before the weekend.

Every week should be like that! Five days off, two days working, and so on. Ah well.

I did some html updating to my main geocities page, and added a couple images to the Photosite. Go find them! Let me know what you think, and all that jazz!

ZZZZzzzzZZZZzzzzZZZzzzz

That's about what I did today. I think I'll just leave it at that!

Moons, Blood, and Days Off!

What a wonderful day to not be at work! (I've got three days of this, though one has a dental appointment in it.)

My morning started with me waking up at 0700 and going back to bed because I didn't have to be up! I did a rigorous exercise, had lunch with my parents at a very nice Japanese steakhouse, and sat around playing with my GBA.

Tomorrow should be more of the same. (And I forgot to tell someone that e-mail is really the best way to reach me, and I was mistaken on Monday being unoccupied.)

Happy Full Blood Moon to you.

I'll Have Another

A bit colder today, but still, perfect in every way.

And thanks to my oldest friend (in terms of years of knowing, not age). I'm so glad you were able to come! We've never had a chance to do anything like that before, and it was wonderful to have you there.

Perfect Day

Perfect weather and perfect company. What more could anyone want around them?

Not So Short

I thought this was going to be a short blog entry, but then I remembered there's a bunch of stuff planned for the weekend and beyond!

Tomorrow, our friends whom we met at PA RenFaire will join us at ours. I'm very excited, and I hope they will have a great time! Then it's dinner at a nice Irish place.

Sunday, my oldest friend (in terms of how long I've know her) and her boyfriend will be joining us at faire. Then it's Italian for dinner.

Monday, I'm off! No work for me! My dad is off too, and my mother will be home early, so we're going to get sushi for lunch.

Tuesday, I'm off! No work here either! We're going to Macaroni Grill for dinner this day, mom and I both have gift cards.

Wednesday, I'm off! Who needs work? Well, it's not so special today, my dad and I have to go to the dentist. I don't mind the dentist, though.

Doesn't that sound like a great 5-day weekend? I plan to do a lot of sitting around and playing on the computer.

Do you know what tomorrow is? I do..............

Had a Feeling

Ok, you know how I said I liked doing what I call my 'regular work' and that they've been having me do this entry-level stuff for weeks? Well, today they said to go back to my regular work BUT I have to do the other stuff TOO! I had a feeling they would do something like this, but I was really hoping they would not. So, yes, I got done late again. And to top it all off, my dad had to go to the other building, so someone had to drive me there, and he had some work to do here. My official quitting time is 1530, and we didn't get on the road towards home until 1715. I'm usually home by then! Argh! And there was so much I wanted to do tonight!

In other news, a very wonderful person put together some pictures for me as a gift and I just love them. I hope we'll be able to visit each other soon, this five state barrier is getting harder and harder to deal with.

Well, I've got lots to do and less time to do it in! I better get started!

Forgot to Tell You

The yukata and the nagajuban came in on Saturday, and a really pretty statue of Artemis I ordered came in yesterday. I'm waiting from one more thing that I ordered from a shop that is to my benefit to frequent (I've talked about them before, shipping is incredibly slow). The problem is that my order status page says the order is on hold. But I've paid, I followed the instructions in the e-mail to pay with paypal, the money was deducted from my account a month ago. Why is it on hold? I've sent them an e-mail, I'm not sure how else to get in touch with them. I tell you, I'm starting to get fed up with this terrible service. I think I'm going to think twice before ordering anything from them again. This is rediculous.

So, except for the hadajuban (and I've got something that will work for it) I've got a complete kimono outfit! I'm really excited about it, that will be my Halloween dress this year (either full kimono or yukata, depending on the weather, of course). Fun fun!

More and More

Work, that is.

They keep giving me more pages of jobs to process, and each day I've had to stay a little later, and a little later to get them done.

I hate doing that because the longer I stay, the later I get on the road, the more traffic there is, the longer it takes me to get home. (follow that?) Everyday, one of the people who send the other things that I used to be doing (one of the pair who caused all those problems for me in the spring, remember?) complains because I'm not the one doing them. I'm not sure what to make of this person. They can say all these nasty things to a manager, and then sing my praises to me. The first impression I got of them was not bad, but then I see how they act (granted, maybe it's different in a group or under pressure), and then they get all friendly again. I'm just trying to be careful what I tell this person, I don't want a rehash of that trouble they caused me last spring.

In any event, I really don't like this beginner stuff they've got me doing right now.

Dreaming of Somewhere That's Green

Well, not exactly, more like somewhere that's not here. They're calling for more rain tomorrow and it hit me that, while they've taken me off of what I normally do at work, I'm doing entry-level stuff!

I know, any sane person reading this would sure like to know why I'm still here. I don't really know, they've already told me that I've gone as far as I can go in this deparment.. I guess because I can't afford to be unemployed, and refuse to go back to retail, and I never have time to go on interviews, and there isn't an opening in another department that would improve my situation. I can only do what I can do, and if they ask me why I seem to be doing so little, I'll tell the truth. This work is not stimulating. It's like no one here is very happy.

I need to start drinking water again.

Something Fowl

Something in the chicken or the peppers, but I was up for most of the night (except I missed Fullmetal Alchemist again! Not fair!)

Mom and I were going to kayak today, but the weather was still gloomy and I still wasn't feeling 100%. We went shopping instead, but WalMart didn't have what I was looking for. I need a long flat plastic storage tub to keep my kimono and ecoutrements in. They had the tub, but no lid.

I went with my mother to visit my grandmother, she's been going every week, and I've been wanting to go with her for a while. This was one of those "make the time" things. I love my grandmother.

It was a pretty nice day, considering.

What a Difference the Rain Makes

I had to get my driver's lisence renewed today, because it expires next week! It took about an hour but that wasn't too bad, I guess.

I was right, my booth called while I was on the way home and said not to bother coming in to work because we probably won't have enough customers to make payroll. I was expecting that, so it was not a big deal. And I went anyway, because my friend really wanted to go, because it was single's day (whoop-de-do). She made me get a number and I met some interesting and good-looking men, but I'm just not into that kind of ... get-together. And I'm fine just the way I am. And maybe there is someone with whom I wish I could spend more time. I'm better off without.

I stayed to the bitter end, but I think I should have avoided dinner. We went to the Chinese place that we went to every weekend last year, and I hadn't been there since. It didn't sit well with me.

Influx of Purchases!

Well, nearly everything I've recently ordered on eBay came in today!

My friend's hoop skirt (though I think it will be too rainy for velvet), my obi and geta, and kimono underpinnings. I'm still waiting on a few things, but I expect quite a bit of those will be in tomorrow.

Happy (rainy) Friday!

And Happy Birthday, JC!

I Don't Know What to Say

I'm so bored at work, but I've done all the non-work things I can possibly do to get me through the day. And it's only....? *sigh* This is going to be a long day.

Ebay Happy?

Not really, honest!

Ok, I kept putting off buying a hoop skirt for my friend (she want's me to get it because I know a good place to get one). She asked me about it last night, so I ordered and I hope *hope hope hope* it gets here by Friday and not Saturday when she wanted to wear it. (course, if it's raining like they say, I doubt she'll be wearing it!)

My kimono things have been pouring in. I also bought a yukata (light cotton summer kimono) in red with white and gold dragonflies, and I finally won a nagajuban. (Still no hadajuban, but I can make do). I haven't been able to find a book on hairstyles yet, so I'll have to think of something.

It's coming together!

Nothing Much to Say Today

Look, I rhyme!

I'm tired of doing this work. They're calling for rain this weekend, which means I probably won't be working at the Faire after all (if it's raining, people don't come. If people don't come, people don't buy. If people don't buy, I don't get paid!) It happens at least once a year: there will be one day where I'm asked not to come in because there will not be enough customers. Maybe I will stay home and rest, or go with my friend, or something.

Work is Such a Drag

I stayed late again today, everyday my supervisor seems to give me more work, and I'm still staying late to finish it.

Oh, I think I forgot to tell you!

I found a couple sellers on ebay who had geta shoes and a matching obi, and one who had obi ita, obi makura, korin belt, three koshi himo, and taki socks. (While these words mean little or nothing to you, this means I'm 2 pieces away from a complete traditional kimono outfit. I'm missing the nagajuban and hadajuban, but I'm working on them!)

With that, I'm going to go to bed! And hope I don't have to stay late tomorrow.

The Power of Baseball

It took 34 years for ‘America’s Pastime’ to come back to Washington DC, amid much doubt and scepticism. "DC isn’t a baseball town" they said. "Can it support the team?" "Will there be fans who can support the team?" What they forgot was that DC had a perfectly fine stadium that seats 46,000 people and change, and that people were so angry that their team was leaving 34 years ago that they stormed the field before the last out of the game, forcing their once beloved ballclub to forfeit instead of take the win they had earned.

The Washington Senators left in 1960 to become the Minnesota Twins. An new team of expansion Senators left after a mere decade in 1971, to become the Texas Rangers. Since 1971, Washington and its suburbs have been confined to Minor Leagues or the not-so-nearby Baltimore Orioles. The O’s kept them appeased for a time, but Baltimore is not easy to get to if you live in Northern Virginia or Southern Maryland, and public transportation to the stadium is virtually non-existent.

The Montréal Expos joined the Majors in 1969 amid massive social change in the region. They had decades of poor records, and decades of greatness. For some time, fan attendance capped at 10,000 (a big jump from the 7,000 average they held). In 2004, Major League Baseball announced that the Expos were moving to Washington with a 29-1 approval vote. The sole nay vote was cast by none other than O’s owner Peter Angelos. On October 2nd 2004, Brad Wilkerson scored the last Expos Home Run. The next day, Jamey Carroll put the very last Expos scoring run under his belt.

Then they traded a few, packed everything up, and came to Robert F Kennedy Memorial Stadium, a cozy park with moveable stands designed for baseball, football, or soccer, and the current home of the beloved soccer team DC United. This move marked the first team relocation in MLB since 1972, when the new Texas Rangers found their new home.

In one season at RFK, the new Washington Nationals experienced a sold-out victorious home opener, and learned that the fans know how to make the whole stadium shake. They enjoyed a 10 game winning streak, first place in the National League East, and continued to put a solid product on the mound at RFK. The All-Star break started this fine team’s slump to finish the season with a solid .500 record.

But did that stop the crowds? The Nat’s pull their fans from DC, Virginia, and Maryland. An easy, if crowded, ride on the Metro or a short drive from the Capital Beltway drew more than 2.7 million fans to RFK over the course of the season. Fans continued to fill the stadium, cheer their players, and make the moveable bleachers of RFK rock and resound through the concrete walls. The team has requested that the new stadium in the works be designed to shake, even though they’re usually made specifically not to!

For the Love of the Game

This is all that baseball did for Washington, but what did baseball do for me? For starters, I never knew that my mother was a fan. Only this year, she told me stories of how she and a friend would go to Senator’s games with a neighbor, she followed the game on her scorecard, and like so many others, was sorely disappointed when the Senators were swept off to Texas. The Nats came here, and we were going to ball games again. We had the O’s farm team, the Bowie Baysox, a short drive away, but we ached for Major Leagues. If you had asked me, I would have said I was an O's fan, but I went to a game about once every 3 years. I went for the atmosphere more than the game. We joined the Nats craze, we all have merchandise to fill a closet. In one season, I learned something about my mother that I never knew. I also learned terms I had never heard or never understood before. Now, I know what it means to hit for the cycle, I understand the intricacies of a baulk and a pass ball, and I know the importance of the batting average and ERA.

In addition, I know the players on my team, by first name. Nick is my reigning favorite, I saw him make a spectacular catch during the home opener which prompted me to take notice. Jamey can run the bases like his feet are on fire. Brad can hit the ball out of the park when he wants to. Gary is super at setup. And the Chad the Chief can save them all, but he tends to work better with the pressure of a few men on base.

36,000 fans showed their support on October 2nd 2005, cheering to a depressing 9-3 loss, putting the Nats at their 81-81 record for the season. We didn’t lose it, when the game was over, we roared under sapphire skies like we had just broken records. We had, after all. I saw the first last game in Nats history. Fan attendance staggered the team, 2.7 million is a lot compared to what they drew in Montréal.

I saw five Nationals’ home games this season, and only the last one was a loss. I’ll be back next season, with my official hat, t-shirt, teddy bear, and flag. 4-1 looks like a pretty good record to me.

And while they spent a good deal of their last game thanking the fans, I don't think they realized what their presence did for the people of this city and its suburbs. Thank you, Nats, for what you've done for us.

Not a Lot of Lederhosen

Thank goodness, what a strange garment that is!

Oktoberfest for a Renaissance Festival is an excuse to get drunk (and this is different from other RenFest days how? Oh, right, lederhosen).

On the bright side, the shop were I work had a wonderfully busy day with a booth full of buying drunks! Those are the days we like.

But, most of us don't care for Oktoberfest, and it looks like all the faires in the area have it the same weekend, so we can't seek sanctuary elsewhere. But I've got that game tomorrow!

I had too much tea at dinner and can't sleep, but that's alright. We're babysitting Ichus, my brother's cat, this weekend and I had to prod him out of my room this morning. I hear him eating now, that's a good sign that he's settling down.

At least we were lederhosen-free!