Day 4, a day late.

It's a day late, but yesterday was just so busy, by the time I got back to the room, I was just too tired to post anything. But I've got even more pictures for you!


This was a two story eating type place. Picnic tables and benches were upstairs as well. Pretty cool! We need one at CRF.


King Henry VIII on his carriage. Note the lack of professionalism in the royal guards. Tsk, tsk.

Town garrison guards. This is as sharp as they looked the whole time I was there.


Siege weapons a-plenty!


I was able to go out on the joust field for some close-up shots of the falconry show. The Harris Hawk there flew right on to that little girls arm. It was awesome!


A shot from the "hedge line" of photographers on the field as Lady Valkyrie the Harris Hawk flew up close and landed on another volunteers arm.


A local Oklahoma vineyard had a booth based in another two story eating area building. CRF really, like, so needs one or two of these. Yay shade!


The stage the belly dancers used. There in the distance you can see one of them undulating pleasantly.


One of the royal guards. There were two there guarding a princess, I think. Guards without weapons? Yeesh.


That's Kae's vendor tent in the middle there and the guy in the blue over there is the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Too many "real" people about.

the hero of canton, the man they call jayne

Tulsa, 3rd Day.

Hot. HOOOOOTTTTT!!!

It was a little warm today. Just a little. But I looked fabulous in my new doublet. I snapped a goodly amount of pictures. Tomorrow I will take a larger number of pictures. OKRF has a pretty sweet site. The town is portioned into different "quarters", such as the Celtic Quarter, etc. I met Adam and Laura, who invited Katherine to help them in their vendor booth. Laura is a quieter woman, but Adam is an...interesting guy. Amusing, though. Tomorrow, lighter clothing. I made the visual presence, time for a day off. Now: pictures!


The local birds of prey show had a constant street presence. That's the first one I saw. A very pretty bird, she is.



This guy's act was a little stilted.



That's me all formal and buttoned tight in my spiffy new doublet. Mmm, custom made grey suede...



A pretty good shot of the May pole right outside Katherine's vender tent.


Ruuuubbyyy!


Another fine trebuchet on the site.


Me a little looser and a lot cooler.


On the site there's a shaded boardwalk. It was a beautiful (and cool!) little hideaway. I will say this about OKRF, it's an awesome site.


And lastly, a pretty good profile shot of me hanging out in Kae's vendor tent. Look at that hair!

i just want one more moondance with you

Day 2, Tulsa

Not much to report, so far. Slept in, which was nice. The Super 8 I'm staying at isn't much, but the king size bed is fantastic. I can lay out alond the width of it and only my feet dangle off the edge. PLENTY of sprawl space. Grabbed some grub at a local greasy spoon called Metro Diner. I think it was one of the places Alene mentioned she liked. Hopefully, We'll all be free to head out to a pub Alene knows and likes. Sounds like an awesome place.

Last night, Katherine and myself were hanging about with Alene at her place when we were all invited to eat barbeque by her parents. And they are a fun bunch, I tell ya what. Alene certainly makes a little more sense now! ;) Snapped a couple of pictures of us playing Scrabble (the excitement!) to share, though.


Here's Alene after I get my crap all settled in the room. She's glad to have finally been able to hang out with some Browncoats, having missed the North Carolina Big Damn Movie Premiere Party.


Scrabble! Sport of Kings! And that's what my draws usually looked. Maybe a vowel. Lots of consonants.


Katherine placing a word. Boy, I tell ya. Scrabble. You can tell we're a bunch of wild ones.


Ok. So maybe we're at least a little crazy.


Then we all went back to my huge ass room and had long drunken philosophical discussions on FireflyFans.net, Browncoatism, Star Wars, brutal removal of the male genitalia and religion. It's going to be an interesting weekend.

there must be an angel

LIve, from Tulsa

I'm coming to you live from my motel room in Tulsa! Excitement! I survived the cramped spaces and the 6:35AM flight time from Greensboro, no worse for wear. I did have a tasty, if rushed, breakfast consisting of a chicken sandwich and fries with a pint of Guiness(from the tap! TAP!) during my layover in Cincinnati. Cincinnati, by the by, has an amazingly awesome airport. I am, however, less impressed with Greensboro and Tulsa. But oh well. It's 2:25PM, Tulsa local. I'm getting ready to go grab some food and fun for the afternoon. I'll be reporting back in later.

she sends a cable coming in from above

I Kilt a Man in Reno

Jules posted her pictures from Mike and Beth's wedding the other day, and I thought I'd share a couple of them with you!


That's Jules there next to me. She's a demanding photographer. Took four takes and three people behind the camera to get one good enough for her. I forget I have tree-trunks for legs sometimes. But isn't that a smashing kilt?


And here we have Sparky running over an old, kilted man with a cane.

You can see the rest of the album Jules shot here.

just to watch him die

The Countdown

In less than 36 hours I will be on my way to Oklahoma. This is a very exciting time! I find myself having trouble concentrating on work, imagine. All my thoughts are geared toward getting ready to go! I need to clean my room tomorrow, and then pack some things. Then pack all my toiletries and such Wednesday night. I plan on being at the airport at 5:30AM. Why? Because my flight is at 6:30AM. But Justin, you say, you hate mornings. I do indeed. But it was $150 more for a later flight in the day. Yeah. Save $150 and get up early. But I'm a little nervous. I've never flown all by my lonesome. And the last time I did fly was with my dad and family pre-9/11. However. It's 2006. And I'm not a terrorist. I did check and confirm that I can take my sword so long as it is in my checked luggage and declared. So yay that. 31 hours, 30 minutes until my flight leaves.

This weekend was quite fun, all told. Mike's wedding was, perhaps, the most fun I've had at a wedding, ever. It didn't hurt that I was amongst a lot of friends. All the groomsmen looked smashing. Black tuxes with long coats and high collars with old-fashioned western-esque ties and vests in a deep red. Mike had the vest, no tie, and a Mandarin collared jacket. The bridesmaids had simple black dresses with a white and black silk/satin shawl. Beth lookd absolutely gorgeous. A simpler snow-white strapless dress. The top portion had bead-work on it. The dress flowed out nicely with a short train in the back. Mike was smiling the whole time, of course, with this curiously red complexion that I could only assume was nerves. But they were a fine picture of young marital bliss up there. I remembered, also, how much I miss Sacred Heart. It's the Catholic church Mike and Beth had their wedding in. It's a beautiful building. I've always felt very much at ease there. My kilt was a bit of a hit amongst most of the ladies there. Which is always fun for me, not usually being the center of female attentions like that. Nothing serious, but a lot of that age old question. Heh. The reception was fun, but being held at Mike's church, lacking in the open bar. But that's ok! After the reception, I hung out with John and Lenore, and saw their comfy little house, then back up to Greensboro. There we joined Chris, Doug, Hugh, Fisher, and Tim! at TGIF for terrible service! Then out to the gazebo for a drink and smoke with everyone, which was lots of fun. Also during the course of the day, I took apart, cleaned and reassembled my cane-sword. Seems the handle and tab had shifted, causing the inability to open the thing I had been troubled with for so long. But fixed! And it was really good to see so many people from back home. I even shook hands with Seth Farris. For those who know me, that may come as a shock.

Sunday. Work. Hungover. But that's what happens when you drink too much for too long and have to open the next day. Also, the allergies started to hit me Saturday. That didn't help the morning any. But I survived. And then I fixed Doug's PS2. It's always fun being able to do things like that. But I love taking apart electronics and reassembling them. And I discoverd a fruit juice cocktail concoction. Half a glass of cranberry cocktail and half a glass of OJ. Yum!

they got me on some medication

Birthdays

24. Not usually a significant number to reach in years. And it's really not. But it is another year. How did I get this old so fast? Wasn't I just 21? I'm not old enough to be 24. In recent weeks, I've been looking back at my years since high school. All the wrong turns I took, the mistakes I've made. In the last year, I think, I've finally started to turn things around for myself. I've started to correct the mistakes I made. But, of course, it's a lot harder and longer than if I'd just done the right thing from the start. But I'm ever stubborn, which, ultimately, could spell my downfall if left unchecked. But enough of that.

Sunday was a pleasant enough day, I think. I called my mom, since I couldn't make it home. Then she came up after I got off of work, and I got to have dinner with her, Randy, Jerod, and Jenna. We all came back to the apartment, opened cards, laughed and hung out for a little bit. It was pleasant, if low-key.

Monday, work. Boy. Got into an argument with Scott, who instead of just making himself the boss over Renny and the Geek Squad is now actually the boss over Renny and the Geek Squad. Oy. Because the ENTIRE REST OF THE STORE is incapable of selling Geek Squad services, causing us to not make budget, Scott is determined to ignore the rules and MAKE us go out onto the floor to pick up the rest of the store's slack. And still do our jobs. With less hours. And poor coverage. Set up for the fail! Yay! But it's ok. I bought the DVD of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. Glee! I came home, took a nap. Yay nap! Then Chris and I hopped out for a bit so I could buy some boots. See, I needed a taller than flat shoe for my kilt. Because I plan to wear it to Mike and Beth's wedding on Saturday. I don't get to break out the kilt near enough. I need to fix that. So I found me a pair of nice, brown, steel-toe clod-hoppers. I prefer the term shit-kickers, but that's not as clean in wording, is it? And crap-kickers is just lame. Waffle-stompers! Yay Doug! I miss that cartoon. Then I came home and ate the leftovers from dinner Sunday night. Mmm, Chicken Alfredo. Went to bed early for me.

Tuesday. Slept until 4. Man. My bed was sooooo comfy. Cool sheets, the fan, the darkness, the weightless-y feeling of the firmwave waterbed. Though I suppose I could have gotten up at 1:30 when I first opened my eyes. I had intended to just sleep a few more minutes. But that turned into 2 1/2 hours. Like it always does. But I'm well rested! Chris cooked some turkey and stuffing veggie bake in a box stuff. Nothing special, but tasty. Went out to sing some karaoke, and I actually sang a song. Gasp! It was Stevie Ray Vaughn's Sky is Cryin', by the by. And then I came home and watched Advent Children. Whee, what a day.

I'm pretty much costing for the rest of the week. Mike's wedding is Saturday, and I'm excited about that. Mike and Beth have been together for years now. It was about time anyway. And I'll get to see everyone down Salisbury way, which is always fun. And I don't dress up often, little call for it, really. So another rare chance for me. Then it's a few short days of work and next Thursday it's off to Oklahoma for 5 days! Whee!

can't ya see the tears roll down my nose

The Cat Who Liked Ranch Dressing

No, it's not the title of the next Cat Who... book by Lilian Jackson Braun. What it is, however, is my cat's strange tastes. He won't drink leftover milk from a bowl of cereal, like the rest of the cats I've ever owned do. Nor does he like ice cream. But he will, however, engorge himself on the bits of ranch dressing leftover in a salad bowl, or any left over pasta sauces. Silly cat.

So Adam got me a copy of Elder Scrolls VI: Oblivion. Oh. My. GOD. Such a sweet game. And the first game to ever give my Radeon X1300 Pro a workout. Granted I am dealing with a setup that's around a year out of date for top of the line. I've maxed out the hardware I've got. But my word is it pretty. With a guest voice spot by Patrick Stewert, even. Which, really, you can't go wrong there. And the story is shaping up to be as thick and complicated as Daggerfall and Morrowind were. Which is just excellent as far as I'm concerned. The only problem I've noticed is that the ridiculously realistic environment and my resolution, it makes it realistically difficult to see everything! Jiminy! Go buy it!

love at first sight

pwn'd

I am such a loser. No posts in, what, a week? Sheesh. Is my life so boring? Or could it be that I've actually found things to do that aren't my computer? Pah! Blasphemy!

Updates for everyone! My promotion is assured, provided the powers that be don't do something incredibly retarded and bring someone from outside the department, (or worse, the store), to take over the senior position in Geek Squad when BOTH the current seniors take the big vaya con Dios in about 30 days or so. Adam's last day is this Saturday upcoming and the other senior is in Colorado training for his government job because his temporary security clearance passed. Security. Clearance. Government job. Yeah. He's not long for Geek Squad work. ON TOP of that, San, the first Geek Squad Supervisor cum Double Agent will be moving back to California to go work for the video game company he used to work for out there as a project manager. Lots of room for the young upwardly mobile professional! I could be the DCI( Geek Squad Supervisor) within a year, if things go like the seem like they might. And that would be totally sweet.

In other news, Chris' band had a gig Friday night. Though technically I could call it Chris and Lani's band, but no matter how awesome Lani was Friday night (which she was. She totally wailed.) I'm still inclined to call it Chris' band. And they rocked. Lani's debut went swimmingly and she did a bitchin' version of Alanis Morrisette's You Oughta Know. Many people from across the land came out to the gig. Our friends the Sheltons made an appearance as did my brother. And we had an awesome time, as Jerod and I usually do when we get together.

Which brings up an interesting point. How is it that my brother and I get along so well when so many brothers(es) I know don't? Most brothers I know bicker and quarrel almost constantly, never seeing eye-to-eye, never getting along, persistently jockeying for position and superiority. Is it maybe that Jerod and I worked that out a long time ago and never even realised it? I think he knows I can take him in just about anything. I'm bigger and stronger and most probably (though only by the tiniest bit) more intelligent. But of those things only in the littlest bit. I'm only a couple of inches taller, a shirt size broader in the shoulders and torso, marginally tougher, a few points of difference in the IQ. He, however, is more socially skilled ( or rather, practiced), and more amicable. He's cuter, though. He's the Face of the two of us. The Aaron to my Moses. We're both retardedly lucky in how gifted we are in all things. Appearance (even if he is Face, I'm no Steve Buscemi), strength, intelligence, wisdom, charisma, health, toughness. I've often stated that there is no foe that could stand against the two of us. We are brothers and friends, we work well with each other, compliment each others respective gifts. Are we so weird? Food for thought I guess.

it's not fair to deny me the cross I bear that you gave to me

Head Splitter

So I think I just experienced my first migraine headache today. Or maybe it was just the mother of all headaches. Woke up and dragged myself into work. I wasn't in pain yet, but I remember waking up and thinking 'Man. I got a bad feeling about today. Maybe I should just call in.' But I'm trying to be Good Little Work Ethic Boy. So I went in at 10 like I was supposed to. Then it hit me. Around 10:30. Felt like someone had wrapped piano wire around my head and was tightening it. On top of the stabbing pain all up and down the left side of my face. I was finally able to track down some ibuprofen around 1PM. And it was about 1:30 before the mind-numbing pain turned to a dull throb. I was able to go home a couple of hours early because Steven came in from working the Furniture Market for a little while. And I promptly slept for four hours. Woke up feeling much better, though occassionally the dull throb returned for a few minutes throughout the evening. Whee. But I survived. I've had worse headaches, but those were combined with ear infections and high grade fevers. Certainly made work unpleasant. And man. My neck and shoulders. I need a massage. Any volunteers?

she named me Dale Darrell Waltrip Richard Petty Rusty Austin Bill Irving Gordon Earnhardt Smith Johnson, Jr.

Shock!

What type of Fae are you?

Boom. That is all.

Find your Celestial Choir

Ugh. More of the Tired.

This week at work has been utterly craptastic.

Sunday - Day off. Not on the schedule. Still have to come in at 8 bloody AM for a freakin' meeting. And Renny still gives me crap about not being in uniform. Rah.

Monday - Closing essentially by myself because the person who is supposedly closing with me feels the need to go work the computer sales floor leaving me the sole CIA in the precinct.

Tuesday - See Monday.

Wednesday - I had to spend half my day working in Car Audio. Because, apparently, no one else in the ENTIRE GORRAM STORE knows a GORRAM thing about Car Audio but me and their closer called out. God forbid they try to get someone to come in and cover the shift. Instead a collection of managers and the girl who opened decided, in committee, to send me over there. One of the managers was Renny. The Geek Squad supervisor of Stupid. He knows that sending me out there is going to make the precinct short-handed. Does he care? Does anyone who is making the decision without even asking if I want to go out there? Hell no. Why would they? There is a small silver lining to all this. I closed with Adam. Which means we got a whole lot done, even with me being gone half my shift. Also, working with Adam means talking to Adam. Talking to Adam leads to the mention that, get this, my Geek Squad Senior training (so as to replace Adam when he leaves) starts Saturday.

Oh yeah. Imminent promotion and raise. But I'm still worn out. Blah.

I started taking a multivitamin today. I still need to eat better, but this will help keep the nutrition there. We'll see if this has any effect on my being in a few days after it's really hit my system. I'll certainly be pleased if it helps me feel less worn out all the time.

do you -you!- feel like we do?

New Toys

So my old Chieftec power supply was getting, well, old. And I needed a new mouse. So today after clocking out I went and took a look at what we had to offer in price for a new power supply. The old box was a 2-80mm fan 430W PSU. All told, a really good power supply, especially after I replaced the crap fans that came with it. But my box has grown beyond the scope of efficiency with the power supply I had. Enter the Antec Neo HE550. 550 watts of power. MODULAR design, which means I don't have a bunch of power cords I don't need that I have to tuck away somewhere. There are many benefits to this power supply.

1) The modular design means there's less crap stuffed in my case, so there's more air-flow, which helps keep the temperature down and increases the efficiency of my machine.

2) More wattage. Power supplies work best at around 60-80% load. More efficiency, less power needed. Also, this is a higher efficiency model, so it produces less heat AND runs more quietly than my old unit.

3) Getting the unit meant I had to unplug everything in my rat's nest of a PC. So I went with that all the way and took out everything, motherboard included, and blew out the whole case, clearing out all the dust. Then I rearranged all the cords to tidy things up and help the flow of air.

All told, I think Skywarp's pretty pleased with the arrangement. And my mouse is pretty rockin', too. Supposed to last 6 months on 2 AA batteries. We'll see if that holds true. But my old mouse I was pretty happy with when it lasted a few weeks before the need to switch, especially with the rechargable batteries. But hey, 6 months is 6 months. And it came with a pair of Energizers, so it frees up ALL of my rechargables for other things.

In money news, comfort is mine! The employee stock purchase program has netted me an extra $700 or so, which should be arriving my way sometime next week. I need to do something productive with the money, but I don't know what, yet. But if nothing else, this check has guaranteed my trip to OKRF in late May. Huzzah!

love and darkness and my sidearm

Wireless Optical Mouse the First, RIP

Let us all observe a moment of silence for my wireless optical mouse. It is dying and serious fast. Annoying, but timely, actually. I've only had the thing for about three years, so really, it was about time. Most real mice only live this long. And this is older optical and wireless tech. Weaker, flimsier. It has served me well, but even after disassembling and cleaning the unit it's still not working right. But I get paid in a few minutes AND I work tomorrow, so I can get a new mouse to replace. I still like wireless and optical, so that won't change. T'was a good mouse, English.

i alone tempt you

Tired. Is it the Weekend Yet?

Gads, am I tired. Don't got to church for so very long, and then BAM! Sunrise service AND the regular service. Like, holy cow or something. Then, of course, I get home and stay up into the wee hours and get up and open on Monday. Then I'm up till 6 this morning, two hour nap and open again. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to my midshift tomorrow. Noon thirty. Oh yeah. Sleep is good.

Easter candy is also good, but very bad for me. I need to be rid of it swiftly so I can get back to trying to eat better.

Oh! And I bought the new (well, not-so-new, but new to me) Franz Ferdinand album. It is good stuff as was the last one.

you could have it so much better

A Fear of Dreams

I'm dreaming again. Real honest to God dreams. Not the prophetic images of the mundane future, no Signposts. Just...dreams. Which might explain my seeming abject refusal to sleep. I don't like these dreams. They're to potent. Hopeful. And ultimately painful. Oh sure, while I'm in them, I'm taken back to a less...complicated...time. Old wants played forth in a fairy tale world. And I smile. Just in time for it to whisk away in a cloud and I am left alone and bitter, a slight taste of bile in the back of my throat. I thought I left these dreams in my old hometown. I could have sworn that I had finally accepted the reality of things. I'd really much rather my subconscious, which was so laborious in it's attempts to remind me of reality when I believed in these dreams, would pick a story and stick to it. I don't need or want these dreams anymore. It's hard enough living my life without the added weight of hoping for the impossible. My heart's just not strong enough these days. I'm too set in my ways, too aware of the truth, and too afraid to defy it. But who could I tell these dreams to? Who would understand? Most would scoff, and tell me I'm a fool for these dreams. Well meaning, yes, but I know the fool better than anyone. And I don't ask for the dreams. Or better yet, let me tell her about them so I can pick at the wounds that are just starting to heal. Yeah, you know, the ones I made? Yes, that'd be brilliant. Oh! Or better yet! Allow myself to fall into hypocrisy! "Hey, yeah, just wanted to call after not calling you for months because you never return phone messages to anyone, really, to say I've been having dreams about you again!" And immediately, I become that creepy, awkward 17 year old wuss-monger I used to be in High School. Yeah. That's a brilliant plan. It all is.

See?! THIS is why I hate these dreams. Make me think a bunch of really stupid crap. Hate it.

there must be an angel...

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, Over.

Right. Weather. WTF, mate? Sunday April 9th, 2006. Forecasted high: 61. Forecasted low: 34. The hell?!?!


you're as cold as ice

Weekend Update

Um...yeah. Quiet here. Rayne's moved in and starting to settle. All with no drama, thank the Lord. I've today off, which I promptly wasted away in sleep and laying out by the pool for the most part, whee. Now that it's warming up into spring, I'm ready for it to be warm enough to swim. That's really all I've got right now.

Wait, there's a little more. Yes, I'm fine. No, I don't want to talk about it. My previous entry was a public message on a private matter intended for one person as a public admission of wrong doing. They know who they are. There's no need for me to go on about it, so stop asking.

if i ever lose my faith in you, there'd be nothing left for me to do

Penitence

I'm sorry. Those are weak and overused words. Their power faded through abuse after abuse. I was supposed to be better than that. I really thought I was. I didn't know, I didn't realize until it was too late. I was so convinced that what I was doing was for the best. And then you showed it to me. That little trinket. And I realized, oh how I was struck by exactly how wrong I was. I commited a grievous sin, and I, of all people, didn't even know what I had done until after the blow was struck. Trust, shattered. A priceless friendship left in tatters because I didn't stop to think. I had forgotten. I took for granted. I became something I had always despised. Thoughtless. Callous. Calculating. The English language, I daresay any language lacks words with enough power, with enough resonance to convey the absolute horror I feel for what I have done.

And all this is just empty words in the face of what I have done. I wish to God I could take back what I did. And I lay myself before you, begging for a forgiveness I don't deserve. What else can I do?





I am so very sorry.