wildelven

Nightmare Vermont is done for the year.

No more long rehearsals, no more listening to the elevator music version of "the Girl from Ipanema," no more crowds of clueless or belligerent audience members to wrangle, no more running to catch up to the next group, no more bruises, and no more blood on my clothes.

However, this also means no more creepy abandoned gymnasium to play around in, no more spending time with an awesome group of people, no more laughs, no more scares, no more screams, and no more pitch-black maze in a creepy abandoned gymnasium. Did I mention the creepy abandoned gymnasium?

Many, many years ago, I was into theater. There was a small point in time between being embarrassed by everything (elementary school) and when I start larping (high school) where I liked theater. But I hated rehearsal. I still hate rehearsal. It was worth it, as the end result was amazing, but I find it extremely hard to get into character when the environment is wrong. I only really got into it when we had an audience and the stage was set. But that's why larping is so easy for me - it's easy to fall into character when everyone around you is.

Memorizing lines is also irritating. Improv is much better, I think. Give me a character and a costume and some motivation, and I'll do fine.

Oh, and speaking of the creepy abandoned gymnasium, this weekend I was finally able to accomplish one of my goals: I got to run a boffer game in the Olympiad. Not a full larp, but two sets of my variant of Humans vs. Zombies, played in a darkened gym fill of nooks and crannies to hide things and zombies in. About fifteen people showed up to play, and everyone had an awesome time, and is demanding more. I suppose I will be looking into running some kind of boffer game in Vermont...

I greatly enjoyed the con, and will happily tell you all about it, but one thought that has been running through my head.


I met Amanda pretty early in the con, dressed up in a Steampunk/Western outfit and radiating this excitement, this wonder, simply about being there. Which she was. Amanda lives in South Dakota with her folks, and has few people around her who share her interests and values. At Worldcon, she had a whole year of energy to burn while being finally among her tribe again, and this was readily apparent as she drew a number of interesting people towards her because of this radiance, myself included. From what I gather, this is not who she is when she isn't with her tribe, when she isn't with other geeks and nerds and the like. So when Amanda's with others of the tribe, she becomes herself in overdrive. Amanda times ten. It was interesting to see.

She's also a great example of someone who was saved by the internet - it's how she keeps in touch with the rest of the tribe from her remote location. Noting the South Dakota connection, I sicced zarhooie on her.

I wonder now, how different I'd be if I wasn't raised in an area where I was surrounded by people like me, where I could be a gamer and a larper and a sci-fi fan and everything else I am, and be supported in these things by the people around me. Would I be who I am now? Would I even have these interests?

My parents set up a plan long ago that should they ever pass away, my brother and I would have been raised in Florida by my aunt and uncle, and my uncle is not the type to appreciate reading a novel, let alone a Tolkien or Heinlein. Either I would have grown up distinctly unhappy, or become radically different, in an environment such as his household. And this makes me very, very grateful that I grew up where I did, and had the experiences I have had.

I am very glad that I grew up in the tribe.

A bunch of my friends and I got together on Tuesday to watch the Rifftrax version of TRON, and it was hilarious. I have an irrational love for this pre-Matrix vision of life inside the computer, and hearing Jonathan Coulton mocking it amused me greatly.

And it was just in time, as at Comic Con, Disney released a revised version of the teaser for TRON Legacy that came out last year, and now it's finally online in HD. As befitting a sci-fi movie, there's an ARG out for it, too. Apparently, they reopened Flynn's Arcade. Almost makes me wish I lived out west.

-Because the Temporal Void is out, I now have a membership at the local free library here in Burlington. I'm dying to know how much enzyme-bonded concrete is in this one.

-Because of caulay, I now have a toaster. My favorite brand of toaster, even. Thanks, caulay!

-Because of hermitgeecko, I now have a Rock Band t-shirt. She invited me to playtest on Friday, and it was a lot of fun.

-Because I care dearly for amethystmoon, I haven't maimed her roommate (my former). There was a lot of anger and drama regarding the conditions of my moving, and despite my (former) landlord giving me his support, it still isn't resolved. And because of amethystmoon, I have the last of my things from the old place, plus some bonus items.

-Because I have awesome friends, too many to list really, despite the drama listed previously, I had a pretty good weekend.

-And because you might be curious, here's a reason that I'm happy to be living in Burlington. All I have to do is walk down the street to see it.

Xmortis is this Friday, again at TT the Bear's. And this month, it's a pirate theme.

Anyone interested in going? I'll be there.

Last weekend was pretty mellow, but Friday was excellent. While the 7th Sea game started late, it was a lot of fun, and I had one of those rare opportunities to break out in song in the middle of a game. One of the characters, a Montaigne (French) shady type, was referred to as, "men like you". Which was an obvious segue to the Confrontation from Les Miz. :)

More singing occurred at the party afterward, where I was pleased to discover that I had enough of my voice to sing some tunes from Into the Woods, two DaVinci's Notebook songs, and some Jonathan Coulton (but by that time, I started to lose it again). And as you might have guessed, one of the Notebook songs was the one about cheering yourself up.

(As a note, I am still sick and starting to wonder if it's environmental factors. Taking allergy meds now.)

The weekend before was a pair of SJ Tucker concerts on Friday and Sunday, and some excellent times at Xmortis. It seems that the Apocalypse theme was extremely popular, as they were turning people away by 11:30 or so. A lot of Endgame players showed up to dance at the end of the world, and while I wasn't dressed for the role, I did end up "modifying" a few people with some of Tesla's EL wires. The dancing was pretty good, and it was nice to get a chance to hang out with spryngsnowstorm.

And there was some late-night Catan on Saturday, which was a nice break to an otherwise boring day.

The weekend before was Intercon, where I played a dashing, handsome, and charming adventurer and dragon slayer, a genetically-engineered bodyguard (who only had to fight a cat), a political prisoner attempting to escape jail (and then the planet), and a Viking berserker. Highlights included, well, being a dashing, handsome, and charming dragon slayer and also winning at the Prisoner's Dilemma without really screwing over the rest of the prisoners. Also, I was happy to see a lot of my friends, although only in-between games.

Weekends good, although at the moment they have little to differentiate themselves from my weekdays at the moment... luckily, my new temp agency just called, and I might have something starting this week. :)

U2 is playing tonight at the Somerville Theater, starting at 9:00 PM.

Apparently, there's a live steaming of the show at the Burren. The Burren has cider and chips and Guinness stew.

This sounds like a perfect combination. Anyone interested in joining me?

Totally unexpectedly (although I should have known better), I was struck again by culture shock. While I figured that I was used to crowds and hotels and craziness, having been back for a number of months, nothing really prepared me for being surrounded by thousands of geeks and nerds and gamers. While I fully intended to just relax and hang out and work a few volunteer shifts, I ended up spending a lot of my time with friends, beagley, twistpeach, and fairylogic in particular.

It was nice to see pixel and auntiemame67, too. And I loved the time I got to spend with the lovely devoken and fabulous shadesong, although it’s never ever enough. Plus, I got to introduce my sweeties to my friends, and my friends to my other friends, and the circle of awesomeness that I am so grateful to be a part of was able to expand.

The odd thing about this year is that I didn’t feel like I participated much. Sure, I went out as Captain Hammer for a bit, proudly wore my Utilikilt and a geeky t-shirt or two, dressed up for parties, illuminated my wolf mask to try and turn a fantasy costume into something "steampunk", and went the Buffy sing-a-long, but I didn’t do much else that was a part of the con. I only went to one panel, where shadesong had asked me to help out, and I barely did any shopping (not surprising, considering my lack of money). But I had an amazing time, regardless.

Among the best things about the con was my birthday present to devoken. Friday night, I slipped a sudoku puzzle into the Arisia newsletter, addressed to her. Upon solving it, she was directed to another friend with another puzzle. And then another, and another. Over the course of the event, she ran from person to person looking for the next clue. (My favorite was the one in German. Of course, Google did a terrible job translating.) During all of this, I went around to as many of her friends as possible to get them to sign a card for her. (If I missed you, I apologize.) At the very end, she got the card and something she’s been asking me for since we started dating: a pony. (A stuffed, boneless pony, but a pony regardless. Thanks to twistpeach and fairylogic for the inspiration.)

The scavenger hunt great fun to set up and execute, and I’m very grateful to everyone who helped out. Next year will be even better, I think. (And I’ll have it ready before the con starts.)

As usual, I met a few dozen new people, half of whom I can barely remember. I got to know a bunch of people better fairylogic, I’m looking at you), and spend time with distant friends (who really should live closer or invent a teleportation device). I wish I could name-drop everyone, but there's just so many of you!

And next year will be even better. One of the lessons I learned was to make sure that I have a room a few weeks before the con, and perhaps even a bed to myself. Also, I should try and prepare those elaborate things like costumes and puzzles before the con starts. (I should have learned this lesson from running a larp, to be honest.)

But I can’t wait to go back. Arisia has become one of those events like Pennsic or a good larp event, where things are a little different from the norm, and it feels like you’ve come home once you get there. And I have to wait a year for the next one!


(Photos up on Facebook if anyone is interested.)

So, a while ago I reserved a hotel room for Arisia, but things fell through and I can't afford it on my own. Sadly, it's a king-sized, so not as useful for large groups, either. Which brings up two questions...

Does anyone want a room with a king-sized bed for Arisia? The reservation is for all three nights. (Or is willing to share - with the right people, I'd have no problem staying there.) I'd rather give the reservation to someone I know and trust than just cancel it.

And does anyone have bedspace for an intrepid returned Peace Corps volunteer? My requirements are calm, reasonably quiet, and good people. I'm staying through Monday, and will help pay for the room.

I am blogging from this high-quality New Year's Eve party in Burlington, VT.