So about this last week...WOW.
G. and I spent the last week at the Pagan Spirit Gathering, located this year for the first time at Camp Zoe in Missouri - - about 90 minutes southwest of St. Louis, in the Ozarks. This was our 5th PSG, and it really showed us some new things about what PSG could be...
Getting there was more of a challenge than entirely necessary. We had early gate passes for that Saturday, and left first thing SA morning...stopped for a late-ish lunch just west of St. Louis, and when we pulled away, heard this horrific screeching. I got out and looked, and saw one side of the camper had entirely wrecked wheel bearings. The hub was riding directly on the axle, with little pieces of the bearing races kinda wedged in there - - all loosely confederated by the crown nut.
We dropped the camper in a strip mall parking lot and did some Internet sleuthing, to find that the RV places had all closed up for the day...if we meant to get the camper to Zoe, I'd have to just fix it myself. We found a Tractor Supply about 30 miles away, picked up tools and a pre-packed hub and bearing set, and I spent a few VERY FREAKING HOT hours filing the bits of welded-on bearing race off the axle and fitting the new hub.
So now I know how to replace camper wheel bearings. And will be doing that on the other side before the camper leaves the driveway again.
After that, we just got a hotel room nearby and washed the grease off, enjoyed a couple beers and a pizza and got one last air-conditioned night of sleep.
OK, so Camp Zoe on Sunday morning. The hill into the place is ridiculously steep and long, and thanks to the Element's 4-wheel drive we made it in OK...apparently a few other campers had to get help from bigger trucks. We wound around to where Joey, one of our campmates, had set up our site, and found that we were located near the water with this beautiful high stone bluff across the way.
A note about the water. Sinking Creek is what it's called, and when I think about waterways in Wisconsin I think about a little slime, a little algae, lilypads and water weeds and all that. Not so here. This was crystal clear water on a well-worn rock riverbed, right about 65 degrees or so, with a powerful current but only about knee-high...except for the shaded swimming hole just a hair further down, with ferns and trees and such growing out of the bluff over our heads. Oh, what loveliness! I found myself in that water 2 or 3 times a day, and it made the heat really quite bearable. The leech-infested pond at Wisteria is a happily bygone memory.
And the weather...well, off-and-on rain on Sunday and Monday, and torrential downpours Tuesday morning. Our campsite was rock, just like the riverbed, and the water drained as soon as it fell. Some campers further up the hill were not so lucky - - the Satyrs had a 6" lake, and some independent tenters got some hard-won knowledge about placing themselves in a runoff area or too close to the riverbank. One real downside of the rain was that the creek came very high very quickly, and nobody could really go in there safely until Wednesday morning. After that, though, it was clear and sunny and lower 90s. All told, the weather was pretty comparable to PSGs past - - except that the place didn't turn to mud when it got wet.
Camp Zoe itself is a very beautiful place. Hilly, covered in trees, a variety of interesting critters (including wild horses who overnighted in the sweat lodge area)...and the Zoe staffers were wonderful. Actually, G. and I noted that the locals in Missouri that we dealt with - - both in camp and outside - - were really sweet people. And it looks like the love was reciprocated; that site holds 8 large concerts every year featuring the house band (The Schwag, a Grateful Dead tribute band), and the peculiarities of dealing with 2,000 - 10,000 stoned college kids was entirely absent with 900 nature worshippers. All indications are that we'll be at Zoe next year, for which I am VERY happy.
G. and I were busy this year. We coordinated the Womens' and Mens' rituals on Tuesday night, then it was the Spirit Hunt on Wednesday, then the Fire Circle on Thursday, then our camp's luau party on the night of Pan's Ball(s), then the Teens' Ritual and the Community ritual on Saturday...there wasn't a whole lot of downtime at night, and the daytime was planning & talking & river time. This marks my third year of not making it to a single workshop - - even though I sat and looked through the guide and found things I wanted to get to for every workshop slot.
The Mens' Ritual went well - - about 40 in attendance there. My theme was Stewardship, and Nick and Billy Crow did excellent jobs running their breakout groups.
The Spirit Hunt was also very, very good. And as in previous years, I'm gonna maintain silence about what that means. ;)
The Fire Circle was surprisingly "hot" for a one-nighter. Fire Circles at PSGs past have been coordinated by non-Circle people before, and had a different aim & approach...this was very much a Circle Fire Circle Circle, and we got into intense work without delay. G. didn't make it down there, due to an event so improbable it couldn't have been chance: while getting dressed, her father's cremains fell off the top bunk of the camper and landed on her foot, breaking one of her toes. I made it out to about 3:30 AM.
Friday night's party...last year, we had a lounge night party in our camp as an alternative to the Tea Dance. The energy there had gotten kinda too much for us the year before that, so we came up with something a little mellower. This year we went with a vaguely Polynesian tiki theme, and did a lot of decorating (including a pinata with candy, little booze bottles and condoms), then set up a proper bar and made up fruity drinks all night. We topped out around 80 people, and all went well. Things closed up around 2 AM, and a good time was had by all.
So overall: it was an excellent PSG. Owing to the river, and the ability to break out of the heat and just relax in a cool place at will, this was also the first PSG that left us feeling like we had a vacation - - even though we schlepped drums up and down hills and sweated through meetings and all the rest. The spiritual "lift-off" took a little longer than normal - - it took a couple days for us to all find our way in this wonderful new place. I think we've genuinely found a marvelous new home, and that next year will only be even better. And given the sturm und drang that surrounded this last PSG move, I find myself thinking it was all worth it. I thought I'd miss Wisteria. Now I know I won't.
And ending as this one did with the handfasting of Tom and Peggy, in the river on Sunday morning, it was all a comedy too. :)
G. and I spent the last week at the Pagan Spirit Gathering, located this year for the first time at Camp Zoe in Missouri - - about 90 minutes southwest of St. Louis, in the Ozarks. This was our 5th PSG, and it really showed us some new things about what PSG could be...
Getting there was more of a challenge than entirely necessary. We had early gate passes for that Saturday, and left first thing SA morning...stopped for a late-ish lunch just west of St. Louis, and when we pulled away, heard this horrific screeching. I got out and looked, and saw one side of the camper had entirely wrecked wheel bearings. The hub was riding directly on the axle, with little pieces of the bearing races kinda wedged in there - - all loosely confederated by the crown nut.
We dropped the camper in a strip mall parking lot and did some Internet sleuthing, to find that the RV places had all closed up for the day...if we meant to get the camper to Zoe, I'd have to just fix it myself. We found a Tractor Supply about 30 miles away, picked up tools and a pre-packed hub and bearing set, and I spent a few VERY FREAKING HOT hours filing the bits of welded-on bearing race off the axle and fitting the new hub.
So now I know how to replace camper wheel bearings. And will be doing that on the other side before the camper leaves the driveway again.
After that, we just got a hotel room nearby and washed the grease off, enjoyed a couple beers and a pizza and got one last air-conditioned night of sleep.
OK, so Camp Zoe on Sunday morning. The hill into the place is ridiculously steep and long, and thanks to the Element's 4-wheel drive we made it in OK...apparently a few other campers had to get help from bigger trucks. We wound around to where Joey, one of our campmates, had set up our site, and found that we were located near the water with this beautiful high stone bluff across the way.
A note about the water. Sinking Creek is what it's called, and when I think about waterways in Wisconsin I think about a little slime, a little algae, lilypads and water weeds and all that. Not so here. This was crystal clear water on a well-worn rock riverbed, right about 65 degrees or so, with a powerful current but only about knee-high...except for the shaded swimming hole just a hair further down, with ferns and trees and such growing out of the bluff over our heads. Oh, what loveliness! I found myself in that water 2 or 3 times a day, and it made the heat really quite bearable. The leech-infested pond at Wisteria is a happily bygone memory.
And the weather...well, off-and-on rain on Sunday and Monday, and torrential downpours Tuesday morning. Our campsite was rock, just like the riverbed, and the water drained as soon as it fell. Some campers further up the hill were not so lucky - - the Satyrs had a 6" lake, and some independent tenters got some hard-won knowledge about placing themselves in a runoff area or too close to the riverbank. One real downside of the rain was that the creek came very high very quickly, and nobody could really go in there safely until Wednesday morning. After that, though, it was clear and sunny and lower 90s. All told, the weather was pretty comparable to PSGs past - - except that the place didn't turn to mud when it got wet.
Camp Zoe itself is a very beautiful place. Hilly, covered in trees, a variety of interesting critters (including wild horses who overnighted in the sweat lodge area)...and the Zoe staffers were wonderful. Actually, G. and I noted that the locals in Missouri that we dealt with - - both in camp and outside - - were really sweet people. And it looks like the love was reciprocated; that site holds 8 large concerts every year featuring the house band (The Schwag, a Grateful Dead tribute band), and the peculiarities of dealing with 2,000 - 10,000 stoned college kids was entirely absent with 900 nature worshippers. All indications are that we'll be at Zoe next year, for which I am VERY happy.
G. and I were busy this year. We coordinated the Womens' and Mens' rituals on Tuesday night, then it was the Spirit Hunt on Wednesday, then the Fire Circle on Thursday, then our camp's luau party on the night of Pan's Ball(s), then the Teens' Ritual and the Community ritual on Saturday...there wasn't a whole lot of downtime at night, and the daytime was planning & talking & river time. This marks my third year of not making it to a single workshop - - even though I sat and looked through the guide and found things I wanted to get to for every workshop slot.
The Mens' Ritual went well - - about 40 in attendance there. My theme was Stewardship, and Nick and Billy Crow did excellent jobs running their breakout groups.
The Spirit Hunt was also very, very good. And as in previous years, I'm gonna maintain silence about what that means. ;)
The Fire Circle was surprisingly "hot" for a one-nighter. Fire Circles at PSGs past have been coordinated by non-Circle people before, and had a different aim & approach...this was very much a Circle Fire Circle Circle, and we got into intense work without delay. G. didn't make it down there, due to an event so improbable it couldn't have been chance: while getting dressed, her father's cremains fell off the top bunk of the camper and landed on her foot, breaking one of her toes. I made it out to about 3:30 AM.
Friday night's party...last year, we had a lounge night party in our camp as an alternative to the Tea Dance. The energy there had gotten kinda too much for us the year before that, so we came up with something a little mellower. This year we went with a vaguely Polynesian tiki theme, and did a lot of decorating (including a pinata with candy, little booze bottles and condoms), then set up a proper bar and made up fruity drinks all night. We topped out around 80 people, and all went well. Things closed up around 2 AM, and a good time was had by all.
So overall: it was an excellent PSG. Owing to the river, and the ability to break out of the heat and just relax in a cool place at will, this was also the first PSG that left us feeling like we had a vacation - - even though we schlepped drums up and down hills and sweated through meetings and all the rest. The spiritual "lift-off" took a little longer than normal - - it took a couple days for us to all find our way in this wonderful new place. I think we've genuinely found a marvelous new home, and that next year will only be even better. And given the sturm und drang that surrounded this last PSG move, I find myself thinking it was all worth it. I thought I'd miss Wisteria. Now I know I won't.
And ending as this one did with the handfasting of Tom and Peggy, in the river on Sunday morning, it was all a comedy too. :)
Under the fold, for those of you who don't care about whatever software I've been playing with of late...
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
...here's what I've been up to.
I'm just now recovering from a week-long Godawful Evil Intestinal Bug, which G. just came down with yesterday. This one pretty well sapped my energy too, so up until today, I've largely felt compelled to sit around slack-jawed - - when not sleeping. It has been a magnificent week for sleep, though.
Work has been a challenge: an automated phone answering system update gone awry. It was coded up by a fellow who no longer works for LargeInsuranceCorp, and who was brilliant but completely uncommunicative. Nobody understood the damned thing, really, and we've spent four nights now in the past two weeks trying to get it to work. For now it's punted into the New Year. Which is good. The downside of off-hours installations going into the wee hours of the morning is that the day OF the installation is spent on checklists, and the day AFTER the installation is spent in an under-slept stupor.
FoxPUC stuff has gone well...we had a 5th Anniversary celebration which brought out the local tribe for potluck and games and kids running around: come to think of it, it was exactly like a family reunion. The Yule celebration went well also...our 6th one of those, and the 5th in a row at the local UU. I counted 72 in circle. My mother came out from Wausau to do a workshop and take part in ritual, which was great! We brought the Sun to them all, one by one, via a 1,000,000 candlepower rechargeable spotlight which I charged off the solar panel mounted on the house...and we brought the energy through them with a pair of crystal singing bowls before and aft.
In other news, it has snowed. A lot. Just shy of 36" this month alone, says the National Weather Service, and I'm running out of places to put it all. It doesn't help that now with Phoebe needing to be let out, I have to keep a much larger area cleared in the back of the house. But still...it's been quite a lot - - approaching excessive.
And as is my wont this time of year, I find my self in review and reflection. 2008 has been a mixed bag: I have much to be thankful for, and I'm still licking some wounds. But overall, things haven't been bad.
I am thankful that the journey to ordination is complete - - though the nature of that service is very much evolving, and is slow in coming clear.
I am thankful that Obama won the election, and that change is on the wind - - though I don't know how much wrecking will need to happen to clear the ground for new growth.
I am thankful that my job and home are secure - - though the work doesn't fulfill any larger purpose.
I am thankful that last PSG was sweet and smooth - - though I mourn the ruined friendships before it, and the upheaval with Wisteria after.
I am thankful that the Fire Circles continue - - though I wish there were more of 'em. ;)
Finally, two holiday-related things...
Somehow, it took until just a few days ago for me to come across the ancient Zoroastrian festival of Yalda, which happens on the Winter Solstice. In Iran, it's celebrated to this day with family gatherings, storytelling, poetry, and the sharing of fruits and nuts...as well as sitting around a short table with a communal woolen blanket over everyone's legs. Even though there aren't all that many Zoroastrians left in Iran (60 thousand out of 7 million), it's very widely celebrated there. I am deeply thankful that those who urged war against Iran just a few months ago did not prevail.
It's been a year since my adventure with the Nativity scene up in Green Bay. Since then...well, the dingbat council President (Chad Fradette) left the council to run for State Senate, and lost badly. The Mayor put forth a proposed policy to disallow any religiously-themed displays, and a couple of people on the Council who obviously did not learn their lesson have blocked it, saying they don't want the city to "sign away their rights". Nevertheless, the Mayor had no stomach for a repeat of last year's mess, and Green Bay has celebrated a holiday season without much drama. Today's Press-Gazette editorial, entitled "It's the season of peace", gives positive regard to Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Yule: "This is a time of year when men and women of all faiths pause to mark our blessings and greet each other in peace and goodwill." And even the rabid local commenters haven't found it necessary to argue.
I count that as victory for everyone.
I'm just now recovering from a week-long Godawful Evil Intestinal Bug, which G. just came down with yesterday. This one pretty well sapped my energy too, so up until today, I've largely felt compelled to sit around slack-jawed - - when not sleeping. It has been a magnificent week for sleep, though.
Work has been a challenge: an automated phone answering system update gone awry. It was coded up by a fellow who no longer works for LargeInsuranceCorp, and who was brilliant but completely uncommunicative. Nobody understood the damned thing, really, and we've spent four nights now in the past two weeks trying to get it to work. For now it's punted into the New Year. Which is good. The downside of off-hours installations going into the wee hours of the morning is that the day OF the installation is spent on checklists, and the day AFTER the installation is spent in an under-slept stupor.
FoxPUC stuff has gone well...we had a 5th Anniversary celebration which brought out the local tribe for potluck and games and kids running around: come to think of it, it was exactly like a family reunion. The Yule celebration went well also...our 6th one of those, and the 5th in a row at the local UU. I counted 72 in circle. My mother came out from Wausau to do a workshop and take part in ritual, which was great! We brought the Sun to them all, one by one, via a 1,000,000 candlepower rechargeable spotlight which I charged off the solar panel mounted on the house...and we brought the energy through them with a pair of crystal singing bowls before and aft.
In other news, it has snowed. A lot. Just shy of 36" this month alone, says the National Weather Service, and I'm running out of places to put it all. It doesn't help that now with Phoebe needing to be let out, I have to keep a much larger area cleared in the back of the house. But still...it's been quite a lot - - approaching excessive.
And as is my wont this time of year, I find my self in review and reflection. 2008 has been a mixed bag: I have much to be thankful for, and I'm still licking some wounds. But overall, things haven't been bad.
I am thankful that the journey to ordination is complete - - though the nature of that service is very much evolving, and is slow in coming clear.
I am thankful that Obama won the election, and that change is on the wind - - though I don't know how much wrecking will need to happen to clear the ground for new growth.
I am thankful that my job and home are secure - - though the work doesn't fulfill any larger purpose.
I am thankful that last PSG was sweet and smooth - - though I mourn the ruined friendships before it, and the upheaval with Wisteria after.
I am thankful that the Fire Circles continue - - though I wish there were more of 'em. ;)
Finally, two holiday-related things...
Somehow, it took until just a few days ago for me to come across the ancient Zoroastrian festival of Yalda, which happens on the Winter Solstice. In Iran, it's celebrated to this day with family gatherings, storytelling, poetry, and the sharing of fruits and nuts...as well as sitting around a short table with a communal woolen blanket over everyone's legs. Even though there aren't all that many Zoroastrians left in Iran (60 thousand out of 7 million), it's very widely celebrated there. I am deeply thankful that those who urged war against Iran just a few months ago did not prevail.
It's been a year since my adventure with the Nativity scene up in Green Bay. Since then...well, the dingbat council President (Chad Fradette) left the council to run for State Senate, and lost badly. The Mayor put forth a proposed policy to disallow any religiously-themed displays, and a couple of people on the Council who obviously did not learn their lesson have blocked it, saying they don't want the city to "sign away their rights". Nevertheless, the Mayor had no stomach for a repeat of last year's mess, and Green Bay has celebrated a holiday season without much drama. Today's Press-Gazette editorial, entitled "It's the season of peace", gives positive regard to Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Yule: "This is a time of year when men and women of all faiths pause to mark our blessings and greet each other in peace and goodwill." And even the rabid local commenters haven't found it necessary to argue.
I count that as victory for everyone.
- Location:home
- Mood:
relaxed
Last night's election results were more than I'd hoped for:
For today: I'm working at home - - plumbers and excavators will be converging in our front yard to replace the sewer line, which collapsed last week after 100+ years of service. Not just that, but we get a new water line as well - - some bright (but now long dead) spark thought it'd be wise to lay that parallel and directly on top of the sewer. So there goes $4,000. Such are the risks of old houses, charming though they may be.
This weekend will be FoxPUC's 5th anniversary party - - we actually opened up in mid-September to the public, but scheduling pushed the celebration back. Looking forward to a day of hanging with my local Pagan peeps. It's open to anyone connected with the PUC - - if you're free, come check out the details on our website and come down!
Beyond that, now that Samhain is over, we're starting to turn attention to FoxPUC's Winter Solstice happening 12/14. That'll be at the UU again, as the last 4 years. More on that soon!
Oh yeah, and Samhain last weekend at Circle - - that was very, very good. The Witches' Ball was a whole lot of fun, with G. and I dressing as Dennis & Selena. ;) Photos once I locate some. Beer flowed, dances were danced, lols were lol'd. The next day's ritual was good, the Labyrinth was good, the people were well-behaved...and the weather was ridiculously nice for Samhain. 60s? WTF? I ran a slideshow for the Sunday open house, which was well-received - - about 600 images from 1983 up until mid-October this year. That was a colossal undertaking, and very much worth it...I LOVE going through old photos like that.
All told, things are good. A notch poorer than expected, but...very good indeed.
- Obama won! w00t!
- Steve Kagen was re-elected over John Gard, a particularly odious bit of Republican fluff.
- Penny Bernard Schaber won my local State Assembly seat - - and well-deserved. She's my kind of lefty.
- Chad Fradette (the guy who put the nativity on Green Bay City Hall) lost badly in his State Senate race - - getting 34%. And tonight, the GB City Council meets in full session to finalize the new "secular displays only" policy.
For today: I'm working at home - - plumbers and excavators will be converging in our front yard to replace the sewer line, which collapsed last week after 100+ years of service. Not just that, but we get a new water line as well - - some bright (but now long dead) spark thought it'd be wise to lay that parallel and directly on top of the sewer. So there goes $4,000. Such are the risks of old houses, charming though they may be.
This weekend will be FoxPUC's 5th anniversary party - - we actually opened up in mid-September to the public, but scheduling pushed the celebration back. Looking forward to a day of hanging with my local Pagan peeps. It's open to anyone connected with the PUC - - if you're free, come check out the details on our website and come down!
Beyond that, now that Samhain is over, we're starting to turn attention to FoxPUC's Winter Solstice happening 12/14. That'll be at the UU again, as the last 4 years. More on that soon!
Oh yeah, and Samhain last weekend at Circle - - that was very, very good. The Witches' Ball was a whole lot of fun, with G. and I dressing as Dennis & Selena. ;) Photos once I locate some. Beer flowed, dances were danced, lols were lol'd. The next day's ritual was good, the Labyrinth was good, the people were well-behaved...and the weather was ridiculously nice for Samhain. 60s? WTF? I ran a slideshow for the Sunday open house, which was well-received - - about 600 images from 1983 up until mid-October this year. That was a colossal undertaking, and very much worth it...I LOVE going through old photos like that.
All told, things are good. A notch poorer than expected, but...very good indeed.
- Mood:
busy
Obama won. What an excellent, excellent first step.
Yes, we CAN look forward to tomorrow being better than today. Words fail me.
Yes, we CAN look forward to tomorrow being better than today. Words fail me.
- Mood:
jubilant
Pass it on...
Copy this sentence into your livejournal if you're in a heterosexual marriage, and you don't want it "protected" by the bigots who think that gay marriage hurts it somehow.
Copy this sentence into your livejournal if you're in a heterosexual marriage, and you don't want it "protected" by the bigots who think that gay marriage hurts it somehow.
Less than 2 weeks before the elections, and sha-ZAM! My tribe goes off into pondering what it means that next year's PSG won't be at Wisteria.
I'm not interested in talk about why it went down like it did, or why we didn't get a final year out there to say farewell to the land. "Why" doesn't help.
I certainly have my regrets about it all; never again will I participate in a Hunt in Hickory Grove, nor drum a procession from Bonfire to the Stone Circle, and I don't foresee having space enough in my vacation time to find my way out to SE Ohio...not if we mean to start getting to other festivals like Sacred Harvest or Heartland or Starwood. There's good odds I'll never have occasion to set foot there again, and that's a sad thought.
And yet...Charles Darwin pointed out that "It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change."
The new PSG site (no, not sayin' where) has some really intriguing possibilities and some definite limitations. It's certainly much more accessible than the Appalachian foothills, at least for most of my peeps. I'm looking forward to helping craft a new Gathering, and something tells me it won't be too many nights in before the camp "lifts off" again. We're good at that.
In other news:
I'm not interested in talk about why it went down like it did, or why we didn't get a final year out there to say farewell to the land. "Why" doesn't help.
I certainly have my regrets about it all; never again will I participate in a Hunt in Hickory Grove, nor drum a procession from Bonfire to the Stone Circle, and I don't foresee having space enough in my vacation time to find my way out to SE Ohio...not if we mean to start getting to other festivals like Sacred Harvest or Heartland or Starwood. There's good odds I'll never have occasion to set foot there again, and that's a sad thought.
And yet...Charles Darwin pointed out that "It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change."
The new PSG site (no, not sayin' where) has some really intriguing possibilities and some definite limitations. It's certainly much more accessible than the Appalachian foothills, at least for most of my peeps. I'm looking forward to helping craft a new Gathering, and something tells me it won't be too many nights in before the camp "lifts off" again. We're good at that.
In other news:
- The Work Weekend went off very well. Circle bought a 40' shipping container for magazine back issue storage, and Dan put in shelving racks...and last weekend, we filled it. Most of the back issues are out of the barn lounge, except for those partial boxes the office staff is saving to restock over the winter, and about half of the boxes from the center of the loft came down. We could fill another container with what's left in the loft, though.
- I'm in the midst of a massive photo scanning project for Circle's 25th land anniversary; last weekend I brought home 9 thick binders of photos going back to 1983, and I'm scanning them now for a presentation to be held at the Open House on 11/2. For sake of time, I'm scanning entire photo pages at once, then culling out the best for the slideshow...I'll get the rest of them out later. I have to say I'm glad the digital camera revolution happened when it did...some people (lookin at YOU,
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
swampwitch ) sure were prolific back in the day! :) It's been interesting, seeing these photos from when I first started coming to Circle...
- Mood:
accomplished
I can't imagine how many keystrokes are being expended on this election, or the depth of the fatigue that poor, abused readers like yerselves might be feeling. Not that this stops me. :)
So we watched the debate last night (for posterity: the last Obama - McCain debate)...didn't come away with many surprises. The really interesting thing was that in an election year which seems to be hinging on substantive issues more than personality...well...the interesting part of this debate was personality rather than the substance. McCain was a pissy, kvetching old-timer slumped into the bar with a half-empty pilsner glass of Stroh's and an empty bourbon shot glass beside him, where Obama was focused, contained and willing to drop in a wink to the non-Cro-Magnon crowd by using the word "profligate". It did make for less cringeworthy viewing than the Biden - Palin debate, certainly.
As of 6 PM tonight, though, it all became academic in the Paxton household. That's when our completed absentee ballots went in the slot down at the Post Office. From this moment on, literally every fragment of campaign effort expended on our behalf is wasted. Which leads me to note...I volunteered a lot for the Kerry campaign, and noticed a lot of wasted effort. Our call lists were old (and often included the deceased), and the flyers & mailed literature was pretty even between the parties. Not so, this year. I'd read about Catalist, a massive lefty data warehousing operation started up by Harold Ickes (Pres. Clinton's deputy Chief of Staff), and how they were assembling the most complete data mining yet seen on the progressive side of the fence...and I noted that back in June, we had a knock on the door from a canvasser with a Palm Pilot and a clipboard full of bar-coded names and addresses. She confirmed that we were still there and still likely Dem voters...and here's the result:
- Regular (but not overly frequent) emails from the Obama campaign, and much better than the begging spam that Kerry-Edwards sent out.
- No phone calls from the Democratic side.
- About 1 flyer/week in the mail on behalf of Penny Bernard Schaber, who's running for State Assembly.
Damn near no wasted effort.
On the other hand, we're getting multiple daily robocalls from the Republicans, and quite a lot of flyers from all levels of Republican races...not to mention third-party smear flyers mainly pointed at Ms. Schaber. Not that it matters: our votes are in.
Finally: I had a "wtf?" moment on the way to work - - clap yer eyes on this collection in a front yard on Oneida St:
We have Obama and McCain, Kagen and Gard (US Congress race), and one of the weirdly large signs for Jo Egelhoff (who's running against Schaber) that have been spread all over town. I don't know if it's kids, marital disagreement or dueling tenants...but I can't say I've seen anything like it.
<sigh> 19 days, is all.
So we watched the debate last night (for posterity: the last Obama - McCain debate)...didn't come away with many surprises. The really interesting thing was that in an election year which seems to be hinging on substantive issues more than personality...well...the interesting part of this debate was personality rather than the substance. McCain was a pissy, kvetching old-timer slumped into the bar with a half-empty pilsner glass of Stroh's and an empty bourbon shot glass beside him, where Obama was focused, contained and willing to drop in a wink to the non-Cro-Magnon crowd by using the word "profligate". It did make for less cringeworthy viewing than the Biden - Palin debate, certainly.
As of 6 PM tonight, though, it all became academic in the Paxton household. That's when our completed absentee ballots went in the slot down at the Post Office. From this moment on, literally every fragment of campaign effort expended on our behalf is wasted. Which leads me to note...I volunteered a lot for the Kerry campaign, and noticed a lot of wasted effort. Our call lists were old (and often included the deceased), and the flyers & mailed literature was pretty even between the parties. Not so, this year. I'd read about Catalist, a massive lefty data warehousing operation started up by Harold Ickes (Pres. Clinton's deputy Chief of Staff), and how they were assembling the most complete data mining yet seen on the progressive side of the fence...and I noted that back in June, we had a knock on the door from a canvasser with a Palm Pilot and a clipboard full of bar-coded names and addresses. She confirmed that we were still there and still likely Dem voters...and here's the result:
- Regular (but not overly frequent) emails from the Obama campaign, and much better than the begging spam that Kerry-Edwards sent out.
- No phone calls from the Democratic side.
- About 1 flyer/week in the mail on behalf of Penny Bernard Schaber, who's running for State Assembly.
Damn near no wasted effort.
On the other hand, we're getting multiple daily robocalls from the Republicans, and quite a lot of flyers from all levels of Republican races...not to mention third-party smear flyers mainly pointed at Ms. Schaber. Not that it matters: our votes are in.
Finally: I had a "wtf?" moment on the way to work - - clap yer eyes on this collection in a front yard on Oneida St:
We have Obama and McCain, Kagen and Gard (US Congress race), and one of the weirdly large signs for Jo Egelhoff (who's running against Schaber) that have been spread all over town. I don't know if it's kids, marital disagreement or dueling tenants...but I can't say I've seen anything like it.
<sigh> 19 days, is all.
- Mood:
mellow
This is a strange autumn already.
As with the last few, I feel (and very much welcome) the spiral turning inward for winter. This was a good summer, though short, but the festival season is always difficult in ways. So I feel the relaxing of those obligations, which is good.
And at the same time I share in the excitement and dread of current events. How badly will the economy falter? Am I really as secure in my job as I thought a couple months ago? Is anyone really secure? Will Obama win this thing? Can we afford otherwise? And if he wins...will it help?
My heart goes out to those celebrating Samhain festivals the weekend after the election. Given the large preponderance of Paganfolk who look like they're personally invested in voting Democratic this year...well...how do you plan a festival happening 4 days later which could be soaked in either jubilation or despair?
In other news:
As with the last few, I feel (and very much welcome) the spiral turning inward for winter. This was a good summer, though short, but the festival season is always difficult in ways. So I feel the relaxing of those obligations, which is good.
And at the same time I share in the excitement and dread of current events. How badly will the economy falter? Am I really as secure in my job as I thought a couple months ago? Is anyone really secure? Will Obama win this thing? Can we afford otherwise? And if he wins...will it help?
My heart goes out to those celebrating Samhain festivals the weekend after the election. Given the large preponderance of Paganfolk who look like they're personally invested in voting Democratic this year...well...how do you plan a festival happening 4 days later which could be soaked in either jubilation or despair?
In other news:
- We now have a dog in the haus. At last, we have a year-old bichon frise/poodle mix (named Phoebe)...and she's wonderful. The cats are very slow in warming up to this development...it's been 2 weeks now, and only today did I see Sol & Myrrh amiably napping in sunny spots adjacent to Phoebe. Click here for my Flickr photostream, if'n you want to see photos...
- I finally made the jump into the digital SLR world, with a Nikon D60. Most of those recent photos you see there in my stream are the inaugural photos from that. It's very fast, and the image quality is great. Yes, it's physically the largest camera I've carried around since my film camera days...but oh, is it worth it. For those of you who care: I have an 18-55mm lens and a 55-200 - - both with vibration reduction. In the 35mm world, that translates to a span of 28-300. In the digital point-and-shoot world, it's an 11x range.
- Last year, I spent the last weekend of September at the Appleton Octoberfest...with over 100,000 people and a lot of bad beer. This year, I spent the same weekend at the New Glarus Oktoberfest...with over 1,000 people and the best, freshest New Glarus beer I've ever had. Mmm. Beer.
- Mood: happy
So in last night's debate, McCain talked indignantly about the $3,000,000 that Obama put in an earmark for "an overhead projector".
Turns out...that was to rebuild the Adler Planetarium in Chicago. That money was for an up-to-date projector at the heart of the whole thing. Not - - not - - something McCain might use to display transparencies.
Pretty amazing bit of omission there...don't mess with my planetarium peeps!
Turns out...that was to rebuild the Adler Planetarium in Chicago. That money was for an up-to-date projector at the heart of the whole thing. Not - - not - - something McCain might use to display transparencies.
Pretty amazing bit of omission there...don't mess with my planetarium peeps!
IF the federal government really doesn't matter to peoples' lives, for good or ill, and
IF the Vice-Presidency is a largely meaningless, figurehead sort of job which couldn't be expanded to have real power, and
IF any moderately intelligent person could adequately learn the things necessary to do the job well in a few weeks,
THEN Sarah Palin is a perfectly fine choice for the Republican ticket.
Needless to say, I don't believe any of the three "if" statements above are true. But any one of them is quite enough to disqualify her, based on the godawful performance G. and I watched last night at the Biden - Palin debate.
See, the thing I don't understand about the Grover Norquist / Newt Gingrich / Karl Rove / Lee Atwater approach to governance is that...well...if government genuinely doesn't have any value, then why are you paying it any mind at all - - let alone expending tremendous effort and money trying to get people who think like that elected? I can't escape the feeling that this whole "government is the problem" mentality is a fabrication designed to get as many voters as possible to stop paying attention while they raid the till.
I've been trying to get my head around this for a while, why the nomination of Sarah Palin irritates me so...and I think what really gets me is that she's nothing more than a carefully-targeted distraction, when what's actually called for is a fully-rounded person who is capable of stepping into a very important job. It's that deep contempt for the act of governance which was carried over from the Bush administration, and which has landed us in this mess we're in now...
I have cautious optimism that Obama will win this thing. I feel better about it, 4 weeks out, than I felt about the Kerry-Edwards campaign. And if he does win, I sincerely hope he brings a deep respect for the job of governing, and can inspire that respect in others. I am so very, very tired of cynical emptiness in high places - - which is all that the Sarah Palins of the world have to offer, and which enablers like John McCain endorse out of desperation.
Makes me wonder about this upcoming Samhain, as we all act out the Hanged Man archetype. It's not all that common that so many people have so much to look forward to (or dread) on that first Tuesday in November.
IF the Vice-Presidency is a largely meaningless, figurehead sort of job which couldn't be expanded to have real power, and
IF any moderately intelligent person could adequately learn the things necessary to do the job well in a few weeks,
THEN Sarah Palin is a perfectly fine choice for the Republican ticket.
Needless to say, I don't believe any of the three "if" statements above are true. But any one of them is quite enough to disqualify her, based on the godawful performance G. and I watched last night at the Biden - Palin debate.
See, the thing I don't understand about the Grover Norquist / Newt Gingrich / Karl Rove / Lee Atwater approach to governance is that...well...if government genuinely doesn't have any value, then why are you paying it any mind at all - - let alone expending tremendous effort and money trying to get people who think like that elected? I can't escape the feeling that this whole "government is the problem" mentality is a fabrication designed to get as many voters as possible to stop paying attention while they raid the till.
I've been trying to get my head around this for a while, why the nomination of Sarah Palin irritates me so...and I think what really gets me is that she's nothing more than a carefully-targeted distraction, when what's actually called for is a fully-rounded person who is capable of stepping into a very important job. It's that deep contempt for the act of governance which was carried over from the Bush administration, and which has landed us in this mess we're in now...
I have cautious optimism that Obama will win this thing. I feel better about it, 4 weeks out, than I felt about the Kerry-Edwards campaign. And if he does win, I sincerely hope he brings a deep respect for the job of governing, and can inspire that respect in others. I am so very, very tired of cynical emptiness in high places - - which is all that the Sarah Palins of the world have to offer, and which enablers like John McCain endorse out of desperation.
Makes me wonder about this upcoming Samhain, as we all act out the Hanged Man archetype. It's not all that common that so many people have so much to look forward to (or dread) on that first Tuesday in November.
- Location:Home
- Mood:
cold
Last week started out oddly, as it was the annual meeting for my team at LargeInsuranceCorp. People started flying in on Saturday, and for five days it was all shop talk all the time, sometimes with added dashes of alcohol. The daytime programming was a predictable series of Powerpoint presentations and such; we deployed foam pirate hats when needed, and the 6'10" guy from Spokane successfully ducked all the exit signs (unlike last year).
Tuesday night most of us went to the PAC for a live-action locally-produced stage version of Rocky Horror...that was interesting. They did hand out little bags of props at the door, which was nice. The sound was terrible, which was OK because not a lot of the singing was on key. Since Rocky-style heckling was officially encouraged, those of us who'd wasted some of their youth on learning the show back in the day had the chance to dust off what they could recall...much to the chagrin of the rest of the audience! It seems that just about nobody out there had ever experienced one of these things before, and they had no idea what was going on. Oh well. I don't think I'll ever have the chance to be that obnoxious in the PAC ever again.
So they all flew out on Wednesday, with their pirate hats and their hangovers, and after work that day G. gets a call from a lady she'd been corresponding with on Craigslist...we headed down to the parking lot of the outlet mall in Oshkosh, and there obtained a dog.
Yes. We now have, in addition to five cats, some fish and a hamster...a year-old poodle/bichon frise cross. G. named her Phoebe, and Phil actively hates her. The other cats vary in their reactions from indifference to mild fearfulness, but this is completely messing with Phil's shit and he's not afraid to let us know. Since then, most of our mindspace has been occupied with dogstuff: getting accessories, working out how one properly walks a dog, realizing belatedly that no, this thing doesn't purr...and wishing her hair would grow a little faster, that the godawful haircut the last owner gave her would grow out already.
In other news:
Reading through Kevin Kelly's blog a few weeks ago, there was an interesting musing on the quality of friendship as expressed through online social networking; the criteria for calling someone a friend on Facebook or LJ etc. is rather different than it is in real life. And there are added complexities: some people won't participate in whole classes of social networking sites, not because they're not that into you, just that they don't have the time/interest.
So that came back to me during an interchange with one of my friends (who I last saw in person at PSG), over a Facebook friending recommendation gone awry - - there was some shared history that I was oblivious to which meant that no, there wasn't gonna be any friending happening there. Bound to happen eventually, and I'm kinda surprised it hasn't happened earlier. No grand drama, just a reminder that hey, these folks have deeper and richer histories than you might be aware of.
Which led me yesterday morning, about 3AM (after Phoebe woke me up) to do a few hours of musing in Excel on all those people I have some sort of electronic link to: I chose my GMail contacts list, then friends lists on Facebook, MySpace, LJ and LinkedIn - - and sat down @ worked out how I was connected to them, and how I'd describe them. The way it seems to me, these are social bookmarks - - I know many more people, and can find them online, but these are the ones I've chosen to have on a list to contact readily somehow. So some figures:
- I list 166 people, all but one of whom I've met in person.
- 94% of them are Pagans, or Pagan-sympathizers. 63% of them I've met through Circle, and 31% are local to me.
- There's an absolute firewall between this list of people and the people I know at LargeInsuranceCorp. Exactly zero crossover.
- I've shared a meal with 83% of them, and am quite certain I'll see 21% of them within the next month.
- I have email addresses for 96%, and am Facebook friends with 40%. LJ friendship is lowest, at 9%.
- LinkedIn is the outlier in who I'm connected with, having 29% people I've known through workplaces.
- I'm wary of less than 5%, and haven't seen 22% in at least 2 years.
What this all means about the world I don't know, except to say that I'm enough of a loser to count my friends in Excel - - then to blog about it. There's lots more to mine out of this, I'm sure. It'd be interesting to do this again in a few years and see what changes...
Tuesday night most of us went to the PAC for a live-action locally-produced stage version of Rocky Horror...that was interesting. They did hand out little bags of props at the door, which was nice. The sound was terrible, which was OK because not a lot of the singing was on key. Since Rocky-style heckling was officially encouraged, those of us who'd wasted some of their youth on learning the show back in the day had the chance to dust off what they could recall...much to the chagrin of the rest of the audience! It seems that just about nobody out there had ever experienced one of these things before, and they had no idea what was going on. Oh well. I don't think I'll ever have the chance to be that obnoxious in the PAC ever again.
So they all flew out on Wednesday, with their pirate hats and their hangovers, and after work that day G. gets a call from a lady she'd been corresponding with on Craigslist...we headed down to the parking lot of the outlet mall in Oshkosh, and there obtained a dog.
Yes. We now have, in addition to five cats, some fish and a hamster...a year-old poodle/bichon frise cross. G. named her Phoebe, and Phil actively hates her. The other cats vary in their reactions from indifference to mild fearfulness, but this is completely messing with Phil's shit and he's not afraid to let us know. Since then, most of our mindspace has been occupied with dogstuff: getting accessories, working out how one properly walks a dog, realizing belatedly that no, this thing doesn't purr...and wishing her hair would grow a little faster, that the godawful haircut the last owner gave her would grow out already.
In other news:
Reading through Kevin Kelly's blog a few weeks ago, there was an interesting musing on the quality of friendship as expressed through online social networking; the criteria for calling someone a friend on Facebook or LJ etc. is rather different than it is in real life. And there are added complexities: some people won't participate in whole classes of social networking sites, not because they're not that into you, just that they don't have the time/interest.
So that came back to me during an interchange with one of my friends (who I last saw in person at PSG), over a Facebook friending recommendation gone awry - - there was some shared history that I was oblivious to which meant that no, there wasn't gonna be any friending happening there. Bound to happen eventually, and I'm kinda surprised it hasn't happened earlier. No grand drama, just a reminder that hey, these folks have deeper and richer histories than you might be aware of.
Which led me yesterday morning, about 3AM (after Phoebe woke me up) to do a few hours of musing in Excel on all those people I have some sort of electronic link to: I chose my GMail contacts list, then friends lists on Facebook, MySpace, LJ and LinkedIn - - and sat down @ worked out how I was connected to them, and how I'd describe them. The way it seems to me, these are social bookmarks - - I know many more people, and can find them online, but these are the ones I've chosen to have on a list to contact readily somehow. So some figures:
- I list 166 people, all but one of whom I've met in person.
- 94% of them are Pagans, or Pagan-sympathizers. 63% of them I've met through Circle, and 31% are local to me.
- There's an absolute firewall between this list of people and the people I know at LargeInsuranceCorp. Exactly zero crossover.
- I've shared a meal with 83% of them, and am quite certain I'll see 21% of them within the next month.
- I have email addresses for 96%, and am Facebook friends with 40%. LJ friendship is lowest, at 9%.
- LinkedIn is the outlier in who I'm connected with, having 29% people I've known through workplaces.
- I'm wary of less than 5%, and haven't seen 22% in at least 2 years.
What this all means about the world I don't know, except to say that I'm enough of a loser to count my friends in Excel - - then to blog about it. There's lots more to mine out of this, I'm sure. It'd be interesting to do this again in a few years and see what changes...
- Location:home
- Mood: chipper
- Music:Beck, "Loser"
Has it really been 10 weeks since my last post? I suppose it has. A brief update, then:
Green Spirit:
That went very well. I coordinated the festival and G. did the rituals (kind of our regular division of labor in that regard), and we had about 100 in attendance. Mike Nichols was the featured speaker and...well, the workshops were great, the weather cooperated unusually well, the kids ran around and had a good time, and there were no real disasters.
Pagan Pride Day:
...yeah, that didn' t happen. Not one of my high points of this year, certainly. I cancelled that in mid-July for a number of reasons...part of it was community involvement, and a BIG part was my own over-extension. That's something I'll be thinking over this winter, certainly.
Wedding:
No, not my own. That was 11+ years ago, and looks to be holding up well thankyewverramuch. We were contacted in the spring by a young couple who wanted us to marry them (to each other), and The Day happened in mid-August. It was our first one, and it went pretty well. A weirdly high-budget affair east of Green Bay, it happened on a horse farm and involved a carriage ride and dove release and the whole fairytale thing.
The week before it was a mad scramble in our house, getting robes together - - we thought there might have been something at the Ren Faire, but no...it came to the Monday before the event, and a grand dash to find 19 yards of something nice. That death-march successfully concluded, I got the pieces cut out and realized that some of them were cut to the wrong side - - so a panicked drive back to JoAnn in Green Bay. And when it came to sewing...well, we had an elderly ("Made In West Germany") quasi-industrial Pfaff which couldn't keep thread tension for ANYTHING, and certainly not with mildly stretchy polyester. So a quick trip to a local sewing machine dealer and $500 later, and I was happily and quickly pulling things together with a Viking Husqvarna.
Yes, I am sufficiently secure in my masculinity to admit to the blogosphere that my first Husqvarna purchase was a sewing machine rather than a chain saw.
Fire Circle:
Words I never dreamed I'd say: "Selena, I'm sorry we burned down the shitter." Let me backtrack.
It's hard to talk about Fire Circles meaningfully, in the same way it's hard to talk meaningfully about the Spirit Hunt at PSG. That whole uncommunicable mystery thing; yes, you do just have to be there to really get it. I can say things like "I got a lot of work done there", which is true, and it wouldn't make sense (at least not the right kind of sense) to most of you. And what's worse about mysteries: the harder you try to condense the experience into words, the more of them you use, the more the experience becomes the words instead of just being what it was. It's a loss all the way around.
So what little I can say: we had about 40 people there this time, and an excellent cadre of drummers, and a whole lot of people ready to do some intense personal work, and a whole lot of people acting with astonishing generosity of spirit in nurturing each other. It was an EXCELLENT Fire Circle, as these things go.
Thus it came to the last night: I got up a little early (around 11:15PM) to go take some long-exposure photos of the space. Coming around the side of the barn, I saw things were unusually bright by the Fire Circle area and wondered why...and then the farmhouse bell rang, and people started yelling "Fire!" So I started running, and Reed comes streaking past me just wearing shorts...we rounded the corner, and saw...well, the porta-potty ablaze. By that point, it had collapsed entirely into a burning puddle of plastic - - with the front panel laying face-down across the path. 20 or so gallons of water later, and it was out. The best hypothesis is that the tiki torch leaned over and set it on fire...I say "best hypothesis" because really, all that was left was a puddle of melted plastic with embedded turds. Click here for a representative photo, if'n you want to see....
It took a while to get the group's energies back in order after that. No surprise there. :) That whole panic/fear thing...most of us on-site ran up there, not having any idea what we were running up to. Interestingly, it took us a very long time to get the central fire stoked once the Circle started - - like the antipathy to fire had run so high that it took a while to bring it back to equilibrium and allow that element some space. And after 2 nights of pushing each other to more emotional openness, that surge of adrenaline-fueled emotion was very potent indeed.
Interesting linguistics: when running back downhill to let people know what was up and get some tools, the phrase that just came out was "The shitter's on fire!" It seemed to have taken off...that bit of rusticity struck a chord.
And...well, we were in a metaphorical space too. Several people thought the original cries of "Fire!" was just a particularly ill-advised way of letting people know the Circle was beginning, and they were a little pokier than they otherwise might have been...and the next morning around breakfast, we had some intriguing and heavy conversations about how that entered into the shamanic "truth" of what was going on. We'd been laying aside our metaphorical shit all weekend, talking about giving it to the fire, and here we have the fire consuming the literal shit right on cue.
In the week following the Circle, I was greatly pleased to see Peggy re-working "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" into "The Popping of the Richardson Shitter"...don't be surprised if you see someone whip out a piece of paper and sing it at an upcoming Bardic Circle!
Green Spirit:
That went very well. I coordinated the festival and G. did the rituals (kind of our regular division of labor in that regard), and we had about 100 in attendance. Mike Nichols was the featured speaker and...well, the workshops were great, the weather cooperated unusually well, the kids ran around and had a good time, and there were no real disasters.
Pagan Pride Day:
...yeah, that didn' t happen. Not one of my high points of this year, certainly. I cancelled that in mid-July for a number of reasons...part of it was community involvement, and a BIG part was my own over-extension. That's something I'll be thinking over this winter, certainly.
Wedding:
No, not my own. That was 11+ years ago, and looks to be holding up well thankyewverramuch. We were contacted in the spring by a young couple who wanted us to marry them (to each other), and The Day happened in mid-August. It was our first one, and it went pretty well. A weirdly high-budget affair east of Green Bay, it happened on a horse farm and involved a carriage ride and dove release and the whole fairytale thing.
The week before it was a mad scramble in our house, getting robes together - - we thought there might have been something at the Ren Faire, but no...it came to the Monday before the event, and a grand dash to find 19 yards of something nice. That death-march successfully concluded, I got the pieces cut out and realized that some of them were cut to the wrong side - - so a panicked drive back to JoAnn in Green Bay. And when it came to sewing...well, we had an elderly ("Made In West Germany") quasi-industrial Pfaff which couldn't keep thread tension for ANYTHING, and certainly not with mildly stretchy polyester. So a quick trip to a local sewing machine dealer and $500 later, and I was happily and quickly pulling things together with a Viking Husqvarna.
Yes, I am sufficiently secure in my masculinity to admit to the blogosphere that my first Husqvarna purchase was a sewing machine rather than a chain saw.
Fire Circle:
Words I never dreamed I'd say: "Selena, I'm sorry we burned down the shitter." Let me backtrack.
It's hard to talk about Fire Circles meaningfully, in the same way it's hard to talk meaningfully about the Spirit Hunt at PSG. That whole uncommunicable mystery thing; yes, you do just have to be there to really get it. I can say things like "I got a lot of work done there", which is true, and it wouldn't make sense (at least not the right kind of sense) to most of you. And what's worse about mysteries: the harder you try to condense the experience into words, the more of them you use, the more the experience becomes the words instead of just being what it was. It's a loss all the way around.
So what little I can say: we had about 40 people there this time, and an excellent cadre of drummers, and a whole lot of people ready to do some intense personal work, and a whole lot of people acting with astonishing generosity of spirit in nurturing each other. It was an EXCELLENT Fire Circle, as these things go.
Thus it came to the last night: I got up a little early (around 11:15PM) to go take some long-exposure photos of the space. Coming around the side of the barn, I saw things were unusually bright by the Fire Circle area and wondered why...and then the farmhouse bell rang, and people started yelling "Fire!" So I started running, and Reed comes streaking past me just wearing shorts...we rounded the corner, and saw...well, the porta-potty ablaze. By that point, it had collapsed entirely into a burning puddle of plastic - - with the front panel laying face-down across the path. 20 or so gallons of water later, and it was out. The best hypothesis is that the tiki torch leaned over and set it on fire...I say "best hypothesis" because really, all that was left was a puddle of melted plastic with embedded turds. Click here for a representative photo, if'n you want to see....
It took a while to get the group's energies back in order after that. No surprise there. :) That whole panic/fear thing...most of us on-site ran up there, not having any idea what we were running up to. Interestingly, it took us a very long time to get the central fire stoked once the Circle started - - like the antipathy to fire had run so high that it took a while to bring it back to equilibrium and allow that element some space. And after 2 nights of pushing each other to more emotional openness, that surge of adrenaline-fueled emotion was very potent indeed.
Interesting linguistics: when running back downhill to let people know what was up and get some tools, the phrase that just came out was "The shitter's on fire!" It seemed to have taken off...that bit of rusticity struck a chord.
And...well, we were in a metaphorical space too. Several people thought the original cries of "Fire!" was just a particularly ill-advised way of letting people know the Circle was beginning, and they were a little pokier than they otherwise might have been...and the next morning around breakfast, we had some intriguing and heavy conversations about how that entered into the shamanic "truth" of what was going on. We'd been laying aside our metaphorical shit all weekend, talking about giving it to the fire, and here we have the fire consuming the literal shit right on cue.
In the week following the Circle, I was greatly pleased to see Peggy re-working "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" into "The Popping of the Richardson Shitter"...don't be surprised if you see someone whip out a piece of paper and sing it at an upcoming Bardic Circle!
...on watermelons, and I find out that taken all together, melons, squash and cucumbers are known as "curcubits".
That word is too much fun to be restricted to vegetables. It just sounds fun, though you can't say it very fast without sorta gurgling.
In a world with any linguistic justice, curcubits:
In other news: work has been intense ever since PSG. Not bad things, just very, very many things. And now the rush is on for Green Spirit. That's coming together well, and as always it surprises me to see how much stuff we Paganfolk can cram into a three-day weekend.
This weekend we head out for camping with some friends...I've avoided DEET so far this year, but do not believe I'll have that fortune this weekend. So it goes.
That word is too much fun to be restricted to vegetables. It just sounds fun, though you can't say it very fast without sorta gurgling.
In a world with any linguistic justice, curcubits:
- are like the little red pieces in salad dressing, except they're in assorted flavors like radish, grape or rubber.
- will be hanging from the rim of the glasses for next season's trendy drink.
- are lined up lovingly on the shelf in any otaku's bedroom.
- aren't yet available at Target, but you can get most varieties at ecurcubit.com
- are fully bio-degradable and unbeknown to most contain an embedded marigold seed, thus explaining the rash of wide-spread unexpected marigold sightings in urban areas.
In other news: work has been intense ever since PSG. Not bad things, just very, very many things. And now the rush is on for Green Spirit. That's coming together well, and as always it surprises me to see how much stuff we Paganfolk can cram into a three-day weekend.
This weekend we head out for camping with some friends...I've avoided DEET so far this year, but do not believe I'll have that fortune this weekend. So it goes.
- Location:work
- Mood: relaxed
OK, time to get to it...
This was a peculiar and wonderful PSG. It's pointless to say I've never had one like this before, because I've never had two alike...but this was REALLY a very different festival.
The hardest work happened before I or G. or any of our campmates left for Wisteria; some unexpected lessons in reconfiguring Tribe, with some unexpectedly heightened emotion too. To a degree, we all came together with nerves rubbed a little raw. Interestingly enough, as I talked with people in other camps, it seems we weren't alone in that experience.
So it came to pass that we loaded up the Element and the camper with more stuff than we've ever taken before. Unlike the last three years, though, it wasn't all fragile & fussy ritual goods -- just heavy things. The drive out was entirely uneventful...as always, we overnighted in the Athens Wal-Mart parking lot and did our ritual Bob Evans sausage gravy extravaganza on Sunday morning before driving in.
Novelty right up front; the old space had a new road bisecting it, so two of our campmates who arrived on setup held space for us all across the street. So not only was it a different place, but...it wasn't all set up in advance. We came in to a largely open grassy field, and together we all built up the camp that afternoon. Several of us remarked on the sense of ownership which came from that - - it was very good, having all of us make those decisions together and hoist the shelters together, hanging the mirror and stringing the tarps and setting the altar according to our own respective notions of bliss.
Weather throughout the week was just unbelievable. It was pretty typically warm on Sunday and Monday (mid-upper 80s), and then three great waves of rain came through. After that...highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s all the way until Saturday, with sun and gentle wind. Just amazing. I think that had a pretty substantial effect on the mood of the gathering: people were getting good sleep, and dehydration was a far smaller factor.
I wonder also what effect the changes on the Guardians may have had. It was interesting that the more militarized, police-and-sheriff contingent was far less visible than the EMT/Medical contingent, and that at the same time things were more relaxed. Correlation is not causation, I know, but it's at the very least an interesting parallel.
Neither G. nor I made it to a single workshop this year. We made very few last year, and felt bad about that...and we felt just great about missing all of them this time. Missed opportunities and all, but...we also conserved our energy and actually enjoyed being there.
Next year will be different for us, a little at least. We meant to take it easy this year after last year's effort on the Community Ritual and other things. Next year, we'll be bringing the stuff to put Alchemy Camp back on the map - - and doing more work on behalf of the community too. I'm excited about that. And really, that's about the best I could ask for - - that after spending that time there, I'd have no hesitation about doing it all again.
Overall: despite the heartache leading up to the festival, everything went well. Maybe it was that we'd already walked some fire together before it started; I ended up camping with kind, respectful, honest and joy-filled people this year, and as a consequence it was a very, very good PSG.
This was a peculiar and wonderful PSG. It's pointless to say I've never had one like this before, because I've never had two alike...but this was REALLY a very different festival.
The hardest work happened before I or G. or any of our campmates left for Wisteria; some unexpected lessons in reconfiguring Tribe, with some unexpectedly heightened emotion too. To a degree, we all came together with nerves rubbed a little raw. Interestingly enough, as I talked with people in other camps, it seems we weren't alone in that experience.
So it came to pass that we loaded up the Element and the camper with more stuff than we've ever taken before. Unlike the last three years, though, it wasn't all fragile & fussy ritual goods -- just heavy things. The drive out was entirely uneventful...as always, we overnighted in the Athens Wal-Mart parking lot and did our ritual Bob Evans sausage gravy extravaganza on Sunday morning before driving in.
Novelty right up front; the old space had a new road bisecting it, so two of our campmates who arrived on setup held space for us all across the street. So not only was it a different place, but...it wasn't all set up in advance. We came in to a largely open grassy field, and together we all built up the camp that afternoon. Several of us remarked on the sense of ownership which came from that - - it was very good, having all of us make those decisions together and hoist the shelters together, hanging the mirror and stringing the tarps and setting the altar according to our own respective notions of bliss.
Weather throughout the week was just unbelievable. It was pretty typically warm on Sunday and Monday (mid-upper 80s), and then three great waves of rain came through. After that...highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s all the way until Saturday, with sun and gentle wind. Just amazing. I think that had a pretty substantial effect on the mood of the gathering: people were getting good sleep, and dehydration was a far smaller factor.
I wonder also what effect the changes on the Guardians may have had. It was interesting that the more militarized, police-and-sheriff contingent was far less visible than the EMT/Medical contingent, and that at the same time things were more relaxed. Correlation is not causation, I know, but it's at the very least an interesting parallel.
Neither G. nor I made it to a single workshop this year. We made very few last year, and felt bad about that...and we felt just great about missing all of them this time. Missed opportunities and all, but...we also conserved our energy and actually enjoyed being there.
Next year will be different for us, a little at least. We meant to take it easy this year after last year's effort on the Community Ritual and other things. Next year, we'll be bringing the stuff to put Alchemy Camp back on the map - - and doing more work on behalf of the community too. I'm excited about that. And really, that's about the best I could ask for - - that after spending that time there, I'd have no hesitation about doing it all again.
Overall: despite the heartache leading up to the festival, everything went well. Maybe it was that we'd already walked some fire together before it started; I ended up camping with kind, respectful, honest and joy-filled people this year, and as a consequence it was a very, very good PSG.
- Location:work
- Mood:
giddy - Music:clattering keyboards
We got back from PSG this afternoon, G. and I, and...WOW. That was a satisfying week.
The extremely-condensed uber-quick report, since I'm wiped out from unloading:
The extremely-condensed uber-quick report, since I'm wiped out from unloading:
- The weather was indecently good. 80s on Sunday and some of Monday...then a succession of three good storms...then...MID-FREAKIN-70S AND CLEAR SKIES UNTIL SATURDAY! Completely unheard-of wonderfulness for that time of year in that place. On the other hand, a big ugly storm cut Shel's Saturday night Community Ritual short, and delayed Incus a couple hours.
- Overall, the festival was in a very good, mellow, friendly frame of mind. I heard of a couple of small and easily handled dramas, and I hear that the Guardians were "borderline bored". Which is about everything I think we could hope for.
- Some excellent personal "heavy lifting" work at the Sacred Fire Circle on Wednesday/Thursday, and the Hunt was tremendous.
- Our camp settled quickly and comfortably into a groove, and I don't think I could have asked for a kinder or gentler-spirited (yet perceptive & organized) bunch of campmates.
- Location:Home
- Mood: content
Here's what I learned by observation out of Large InsuranceCorp's training room #5 window Wednesday afternoon:
IF you...
I don't think most of the building got much done the rest of the day. Our trainer tried mightily, Goddess bless her, but we weren't really in the headspace anymore.
IF you...
- Leap, presumably while tripping balls, out of a friend's father's Escalade on a busy 4-lane artery about a mile south of the high school whose classes you've cut that day, then...
- Wade into the tall grass at the edge of Large InsuranceCorp's lot and remove your shirt and shoes, then...
- Jog gaily across said Large InsuranceCorp's large green field with a panting (not quite as fit) friend in desperate pursuit, then...
- Stop out at the other end of Large InsuranceCorp's lot, unzip and pee on the lawn, then...
- Jog gaily back toward Large InsuranceCorp's building when three uniformed police officers come out to investigate said mischief above, then...
- Jog so much more effectively gaily than Appleton's finest donut-eating policemen that you just about make it to the building...
I don't think most of the building got much done the rest of the day. Our trainer tried mightily, Goddess bless her, but we weren't really in the headspace anymore.
- Location:work
- Mood:indescribable
It's been an interesting six weeks. Why should it be otherwise?
I and G. were ordained at Circle's Beltane festival...it was a very wet weekend, and we had the ceremony in the temple room instead of up at the Stone Circle. It was perfect. I'm still integrating what that all means, and expect to be doing so for some months to come. One thing it definitely doesn't mean is that we're pulling back from Circle. It was interesting that a few people asked about that; the notion that once the prize of ordination is achieved, there's really no reason to keep going. That struck me as a substantial misunderstanding...ordination means that we're more tightly bound to the life of that community, not less so.
About 2 weeks after that, I came down with this horrendous bronchial thing which pretty well took my energy for a while. I even called in sick to work, and missed the Memorial Day Fire Circle. G. got it too, though it didn't last as long for her. That's pretty well over now, though. I headed back to the gym on Thursday.
PSG preparations are coming along well - - this time two weeks from now, we'll be settling in at Wisteria. The garage is full of gear and labeled bins, and I'm not yet sure how that'll all fit in the car. There was some unexpected drama getting to this point; the bulk of it coming from people who aren't going to be at the event. A lot more could be said here, but won't. Sooner or later, you gotta get that dirt off your shoulder.
So coming up...well, PSG, then Green Spirit, then the Fox Valley PPD. It's the busy season now, and we're in the thick of it from now until mid-September. It lightens up after that...and it occurred to me the other day that the night of January 20 - - Inauguration Day - - would be a fine day to hold a proper house party to mark the end of the Bush era. That's a happy thought.
I and G. were ordained at Circle's Beltane festival...it was a very wet weekend, and we had the ceremony in the temple room instead of up at the Stone Circle. It was perfect. I'm still integrating what that all means, and expect to be doing so for some months to come. One thing it definitely doesn't mean is that we're pulling back from Circle. It was interesting that a few people asked about that; the notion that once the prize of ordination is achieved, there's really no reason to keep going. That struck me as a substantial misunderstanding...ordination means that we're more tightly bound to the life of that community, not less so.
About 2 weeks after that, I came down with this horrendous bronchial thing which pretty well took my energy for a while. I even called in sick to work, and missed the Memorial Day Fire Circle. G. got it too, though it didn't last as long for her. That's pretty well over now, though. I headed back to the gym on Thursday.
PSG preparations are coming along well - - this time two weeks from now, we'll be settling in at Wisteria. The garage is full of gear and labeled bins, and I'm not yet sure how that'll all fit in the car. There was some unexpected drama getting to this point; the bulk of it coming from people who aren't going to be at the event. A lot more could be said here, but won't. Sooner or later, you gotta get that dirt off your shoulder.
So coming up...well, PSG, then Green Spirit, then the Fox Valley PPD. It's the busy season now, and we're in the thick of it from now until mid-September. It lightens up after that...and it occurred to me the other day that the night of January 20 - - Inauguration Day - - would be a fine day to hold a proper house party to mark the end of the Bush era. That's a happy thought.
- Location:home
- Mood:
sleepy
...I have nothing really pressing at the moment. Not that there aren't interesting things that have happened of late, just that I'm not in a headspace where I want to compress them into words. And yet, I want to say...something. So I'll steal a meme from coyote_eyes which was in turn stolen from ladyhawker . Yeah. That's the ticket.
01. Are you taller than your best friend?
Yes.
02. Do you have a favorite type of pen?
Black ink, fine point, but not a gel ink.
03. Look at your planner for tomorrow, what’s going on?
Five conference calls. Which I think I'll take from home.
04. What color are your toe nails usually?
Toenail color. I painted my nails once for a Halloween costume, and hated, hated, HATED the feel. Never again.
05. What was the last thing you highlighted?
My cellphone charges on the last expense report. (gods. i am such a corporate tool.)
06. What color are the curtains in your bedroom?
Beige, with reddish birds on brown vines. This all matches the wallpaper. All of which came with the house. If I had to make the choice myself, it'd be good-quality metal Venetian blinds.
07. What color are the seats in your vehicle?
Light gray, with dark gray accents. Boring, yes. But I, unlike you, can hose my car seats off. Muahahaha!
08. Have you ever had a black and white cat?
Nimue (the eldest) is primarily black, except for the white patch on her chest. Does that count?
09. What is the last thing you put a stamp on?
Payment for G's student loan bill. The very last one (after 12 years of payment) will be around next Imbolc.
10. Do you know anyone who lives in Wyoming?
Yes - my boss from the computer store I worked at in Missoula 10 years ago.
11. Why did you withdraw cash from the ATM the last time?
Lunch. I ran out of ready-to-eat Indian food from that wonderful place run by the Sikh fellow down the road.
12. Who is the last baby that you held?
My stepbrother's youngest, Andrew. I'm really bad at it.
13. Can you spell well?
Perfectly. I do not use spellcheckers, and went to the WI state spelling bee in 8th grade (dropped out on 'hexafoos' - who uses THAT word?!?).
14. Do you like Cinnamon toothpaste?
No. To quote Amy Winehouse: "What kind of fuckery is this?"
15. Pick one: Miami Hurricanes or Florida Gators?
It's unfortunate that Florida, being a pendulous flaccid wang hanging off the east coast of America, feels the need to label its collegiate sports teams with names suggesting natural perils.
16. Last time you went to Six Flags?
I last went to Great America in 1984, while it was still owned by Marriott.
17. Do you have any wallpaper in your house?
Lots. Original when we moved in: dining room, living room, foyer, master bedroom, both bathrooms, dressing room. Replaced after we moved in because it was too hideous for words: library, kitchen, back lobby.
18. Closest thing to you that is yellow?
A can of Lemon Pledge. Why the hell do I have a can of Lemon Pledge on my desk? G? Did you put that there?
19. Last person you gave a business card to?
A technical rep from the Israeli head office of the call recording company we signed a contract with last fall.
20. Who is the last person you wrote a check to?
Entity: St. Norbert College. Person: the dentist.
21. Closest framed picture to you?
An oil painting of an eggplant, Swiss cheese, and two tomatoes. It sucks, but it's original.
22. Last time you had someone cook for you?
I am presently cleaning the bowl involved in the filling of a French Silk pie G's making. These are the best possible French Silk pies. I am very, very lucky.
23. How many emails do you get in your inbox daily (excluding spam)?
My main email gets 50-75. Various group emails (Circle, FoxPUC, Fox PPD) get 1-10/day. Another 75-100/day at work.
24. Do you play air guitar?
Air drums. But I play them very melodically.
25. Has anyone ever proposed to you?
Yes. You didn't ask if I accepted, though.
26. Do you take anything in your coffee?
No.
27. Do you own any Willow Tree figurines?
Had to Google that too. No. Fuck no. Please. jesus.
28. What is/was your high school's mascot?
A Cardinal.
29. Last person you spoke to from high school?
Spoke to? That would be Kelli...something or other, trying to organize a 10-year reunion. I lived in Montana at the time, so I declined.
30. Last time you used hand sanitizer?
Portapotti at Circle last weekend.
31. Would you like to learn to play the drums?
I already do, though not to any professional standard.
32. What color are the blinds in your living room?
Light green. It's a Roman shade which I think I'm going to have to re-string this weekend, as the cords nearest the pull have come apart again.
33. Last thing you read in the newspaper?
A physical newspaper? People buy those? The last time I picked one of those up was in the dentist's office a few weeks ago.
34. What was the last pageant you attended?
Life's Rich Pageant. Oh wait. Was that an R.E.M. album?
35. Where is the last place you bought pizza from?
Papa Murphy's Take'n'Bake. OMG wonderful pizza, and cheap.
36. Have you ever worn a crown?
Last year at PSG - - our camp did a tiara shenanigan thing at Morning Meeting one day, and I wasn't perfectly clear on the concept.
37. What is the last thing you stapled?
Five copies of my proposal for reworking the real-time call center statistics for all three sites, about 7 hours ago.
38. Did you ever drink clear Pepsi?
Once. That was enough.
39. Are you ticklish?
Yes. Don't you dare.
40. Last time you saw fireworks?
Last 4th of July, in Neenah.
41. Last time you had a Krispy Kreme doughnut?
Oh...years now. I never got into them.
42. Last person that im'd you, and you actually responded?
G. - - I'm running an illicit chat server at work for my team and for select others.
43. Last time you parked under a carport?
Spring of 1998 - our rental house in Alberton, MT.
44. Do you have a black dog?
No. Never had.
45. Are you an aunt or uncle?
Step-uncle to two.
46. Who has the prettiest eyes that you know of?
G. Hands-down.
47. Last time you saw a semi truck?
Walking home from dinner at Old Bavarian.
48. What is the last song you belted out in the car?
Incus, "Water Sign"
49. Do you have a little black dress?
No. Not my demographic.
50. What do you WISH your middle name was?
I'm OK with "Joseph", my actual one. I never use it for anything. It's like asking what I wish my car was named - - doesn't actually influence the world in any perceptible way.
coyote_eyes which was in turn stolen from ladyhawker . Yeah. That's the ticket.01. Are you taller than your best friend?
Yes.
02. Do you have a favorite type of pen?
Black ink, fine point, but not a gel ink.
03. Look at your planner for tomorrow, what’s going on?
Five conference calls. Which I think I'll take from home.
04. What color are your toe nails usually?
Toenail color. I painted my nails once for a Halloween costume, and hated, hated, HATED the feel. Never again.
05. What was the last thing you highlighted?
My cellphone charges on the last expense report. (gods. i am such a corporate tool.)
06. What color are the curtains in your bedroom?
Beige, with reddish birds on brown vines. This all matches the wallpaper. All of which came with the house. If I had to make the choice myself, it'd be good-quality metal Venetian blinds.
07. What color are the seats in your vehicle?
Light gray, with dark gray accents. Boring, yes. But I, unlike you, can hose my car seats off. Muahahaha!
08. Have you ever had a black and white cat?
Nimue (the eldest) is primarily black, except for the white patch on her chest. Does that count?
09. What is the last thing you put a stamp on?
Payment for G's student loan bill. The very last one (after 12 years of payment) will be around next Imbolc.
10. Do you know anyone who lives in Wyoming?
Yes - my boss from the computer store I worked at in Missoula 10 years ago.
11. Why did you withdraw cash from the ATM the last time?
Lunch. I ran out of ready-to-eat Indian food from that wonderful place run by the Sikh fellow down the road.
12. Who is the last baby that you held?
My stepbrother's youngest, Andrew. I'm really bad at it.
13. Can you spell well?
Perfectly. I do not use spellcheckers, and went to the WI state spelling bee in 8th grade (dropped out on 'hexafoos' - who uses THAT word?!?).
14. Do you like Cinnamon toothpaste?
No. To quote Amy Winehouse: "What kind of fuckery is this?"
15. Pick one: Miami Hurricanes or Florida Gators?
It's unfortunate that Florida, being a pendulous flaccid wang hanging off the east coast of America, feels the need to label its collegiate sports teams with names suggesting natural perils.
16. Last time you went to Six Flags?
I last went to Great America in 1984, while it was still owned by Marriott.
17. Do you have any wallpaper in your house?
Lots. Original when we moved in: dining room, living room, foyer, master bedroom, both bathrooms, dressing room. Replaced after we moved in because it was too hideous for words: library, kitchen, back lobby.
18. Closest thing to you that is yellow?
A can of Lemon Pledge. Why the hell do I have a can of Lemon Pledge on my desk? G? Did you put that there?
19. Last person you gave a business card to?
A technical rep from the Israeli head office of the call recording company we signed a contract with last fall.
20. Who is the last person you wrote a check to?
Entity: St. Norbert College. Person: the dentist.
21. Closest framed picture to you?
An oil painting of an eggplant, Swiss cheese, and two tomatoes. It sucks, but it's original.
22. Last time you had someone cook for you?
I am presently cleaning the bowl involved in the filling of a French Silk pie G's making. These are the best possible French Silk pies. I am very, very lucky.
23. How many emails do you get in your inbox daily (excluding spam)?
My main email gets 50-75. Various group emails (Circle, FoxPUC, Fox PPD) get 1-10/day. Another 75-100/day at work.
24. Do you play air guitar?
Air drums. But I play them very melodically.
25. Has anyone ever proposed to you?
Yes. You didn't ask if I accepted, though.
26. Do you take anything in your coffee?
No.
27. Do you own any Willow Tree figurines?
Had to Google that too. No. Fuck no. Please. jesus.
28. What is/was your high school's mascot?
A Cardinal.
29. Last person you spoke to from high school?
Spoke to? That would be Kelli...something or other, trying to organize a 10-year reunion. I lived in Montana at the time, so I declined.
30. Last time you used hand sanitizer?
Portapotti at Circle last weekend.
31. Would you like to learn to play the drums?
I already do, though not to any professional standard.
32. What color are the blinds in your living room?
Light green. It's a Roman shade which I think I'm going to have to re-string this weekend, as the cords nearest the pull have come apart again.
33. Last thing you read in the newspaper?
A physical newspaper? People buy those? The last time I picked one of those up was in the dentist's office a few weeks ago.
34. What was the last pageant you attended?
Life's Rich Pageant. Oh wait. Was that an R.E.M. album?
35. Where is the last place you bought pizza from?
Papa Murphy's Take'n'Bake. OMG wonderful pizza, and cheap.
36. Have you ever worn a crown?
Last year at PSG - - our camp did a tiara shenanigan thing at Morning Meeting one day, and I wasn't perfectly clear on the concept.
37. What is the last thing you stapled?
Five copies of my proposal for reworking the real-time call center statistics for all three sites, about 7 hours ago.
38. Did you ever drink clear Pepsi?
Once. That was enough.
39. Are you ticklish?
Yes. Don't you dare.
40. Last time you saw fireworks?
Last 4th of July, in Neenah.
41. Last time you had a Krispy Kreme doughnut?
Oh...years now. I never got into them.
42. Last person that im'd you, and you actually responded?
G. - - I'm running an illicit chat server at work for my team and for select others.
43. Last time you parked under a carport?
Spring of 1998 - our rental house in Alberton, MT.
44. Do you have a black dog?
No. Never had.
45. Are you an aunt or uncle?
Step-uncle to two.
46. Who has the prettiest eyes that you know of?
G. Hands-down.
47. Last time you saw a semi truck?
Walking home from dinner at Old Bavarian.
48. What is the last song you belted out in the car?
Incus, "Water Sign"
49. Do you have a little black dress?
No. Not my demographic.
50. What do you WISH your middle name was?
I'm OK with "Joseph", my actual one. I never use it for anything. It's like asking what I wish my car was named - - doesn't actually influence the world in any perceptible way.
