Ercassesanwi
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Below are the 4 most recent journal entries recorded in the "Holly" journal:
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07:49 am
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Meren Ennostien mi Carnelatina: The Raleigh Renaissance Faire
So the weekend after the move, I decided that on Sunday, instead of continuing to unpack, I should go with ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) firebreatherjen to the Raleigh Ren Faire. And we did.
It was a blast! firebreatherjen wore her pirate-chick costume but insisted on being referred to as a "privateer." I wore my highborn-lady-probably-from-France-or-Italy costume with lots of blue fabric and gold trim. I'm sure we made for an interesting pair. At one point, a vendor asked if we were "a couple." We cracked up, then denied it. firebreatherjen, I informed him, was my bodyguard. He looked at me consideringly and then declared that I did have a body and, therefore, met the requirement for hiring a bodyguard.
Of course, we went to the joust. By the time we got there, however, there were not enough seats. As befitted her role, firebreatherjen allowed me a seat on the stands and sat next to me on the grass, quite a feat considering she was wearing her sword that's too long for her even to walk comfortably. I had fun trying to sit in my layers and layers of skirts and cloak and not spill my lunch, fish and chips heavily doused with vinegar.
We sat without (much) incident, and the joust began. Quickly I selected the knight who would be my favorite. There was Sir Olyssio of Italy (though they mistakenly declared he was from Ireland), Sir Hans of Germany, and Sir Antonio of Spain. I took a quick assessment of their apparent knightly prowess and selected the cutest knight, Sir Hans. (Sir Olyssio was quite the hottie himself, but his hair wasn't quite as long.) Of course, my heartfelt cheering spurred my knight to victory. Afterward, I managed to get a great picture of myself and my handsome knight with his horse. That one may have to be framed.
firebreatherjen and I got to watch some heavy fighting, admire much in the way of fine steel, and watch a man calling himself "Brun" heckle small children. A couple times, a drunken gallant declared us beautiful as we passed him on the street. He was obviously drunk, or he would not have dared to approach my fierce privateer bodyguard.
Later, supermer joined us, and we began to spend money in earnest. Every Ren Faire visit, I usually allow myself one serious purchase. I had considered all morning, and I wanted to purchase a circlet for my forehead. However, the reasonably priced ones didn't fit. You may be surprised to learn that it appears I have a big head. As we were admiring the wares of one vendor, the lady approached me, cocked her head to one side in appraisal of my face, then reached behind her and brought forth an absolutely gorgeous stirling silver circlet with pearls and an aquamarine. She placed it on my head, and -- lo and behold -- I became the Childlike Empress. I pretended to need time to think, but I was hooked. I came back there for my purchase and selected a similar circlet but with a moonstone. (I was on a white kick that day, for some reason. Maybe I thought it would go with more of my outfits, because I always have occasion to wear a circlet.)
supermer bought a nice bodice, which she tried on over her tee shirt. Hers, however, could be considered an investment, as she plans to be a vendor at the Texas Renaissance Festival in the coming fall.
Our day neared its end, and we were once again looking at wares. We passed lots of ridiculously priced clothing, of course, including a well advertised collection of "corset prom dresses." Where were these people when I was in high school? Oh well. We admired for the third time a beautiful black shawl designed with green leaves and a dryad, very Celtic-looking. There was no price showing. supermer asked the vendor, and she said it was $30. I couldn't believe it was so reasonable, and I cursed myself (okay, not really) for having already made my significantly higher-priced purchase. supermer saw my frustration and began to bargain with the lady. She asked for it for $20. The lady would let us have any of the other shawls for $20 but not the Celtic dryad. supermer went to $25; the lady would not have it. We were walking away disappointed when the lady asked, "Would that $25 be in cash?" So I gave in and made two purchases. I felt guilty for spending so much, but I didn't have any true buyer's remorse. I love each of my purchases.
(In fact, I wore the circlet again on Easter with a white Marilyn-Monroe-type dress. It was a definite mixing of eras or some equally heinous fashion crime, I'm sure, but who cares? It was Easter, a good enough excuse. I looked cute. And even though a (older) friend of mine took one look at me, shook her head, and called me "zany" for wearing it, all the rest of my feedback was positive. (Though most people, I'll admit, don't tell strangers, "Hey, I don't like your jewelry.") I got unstinting admiration from one stranger and her daughter and was declared to look "like a princess." A couple at a restaurant table next to us mentioned it would look good on a race of Star Trek aliens. I didn't know how to take that comment.)
We finally left the faire, tired and happy. supermer followed firebreatherjen and me to my new place. I parked, and firebreatherjen and I began to extract ourselves and our costumes from the car. supermer got out of her car, ran to us, and asked, "Did you see him?" No, we hadn't. What did she mean? "You really didn't see him? I waved at him like an idiot until he waved back. He was walking right across the parking lot. I can't believe you didn't see him!"
Apparently, one of my neighbors is a fellow Rennie (Ren-Faire geek). supermer saw him walking across the parking lot in costume. We all looked around, but he had disappeared. From where he parked (or at least from his path across the parking lot), we surmised that he lives in my building. But I may never find out who he is. I doubt he'll have occasion to don the costume again until next year's faire, and what guarantee do I have that I'll see him then? I may never know who he is, though I may pass him in my yard and in the parking lot. What an opportunity missed!
Tags: renaissance faire, renaissance festival
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12:19 pm
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Costumes, Parties, and Costume Parties
I would have given a Quenya approximation of that subject heading, but, to my surprise, there doesn't seem to be a Quenya equivalent for "costume" or "disguise." Elves are far too direct and stuffy for that sort of thing, apparently.
I have spent the last four weekends (excluding this) wearing a costume. That has to be some kind of record. The first event was the Halloween swing dance. I had an incredible costume idea that dwindled into simply a really cool costume, as the others who had agreed to join me changed their minds. I was slightly miffed. My Halloween party seemed to have been hijacked, but I was determined to wear my costume anyway. The swing dance gave me a chance.
firebreatherjen, my dancing buddy, went as Bad-Ass Red Riding Hood (her terminology). She was adorable in a red cloak and hood, pigtails tied with red ribbon, a black bodice, basket, and very short red skirt. To complete the outfit, she wore knee-high black goth boots, a fang necklace, and a wolf pelt. I went as Sophia, more popularly known as the purple Fantana (Fanta girl). I knew my ridiculous keeping of strange pieces of dance costumes and other weird articles of clothing would come in handy one day. I had a bright grape-colored leotard and matching tights. Over these I wore very, very short white shorts and "suspenders" (hand-made), accessorized with a big white headband, gaudy white jewelry, and some fabulous high-heeled, platform white boots, in which I stand about a foot taller than usual. My wonderful roommie supermer did my makeup, which a friend characterized as a cross between a Las Vegas showgirl and an oompa-loompa. The hardest thing to find for my costume was, strangely enough, a 20-ounce purple Fanta to carry.
The dance was a blast. The most amazing thing was that I managed to wear those horrible boots all night. I had brought back-up shoes and kept telling myself, "One more dance, and then I'll change." I am now absurdly proud of how much abuse I gave my feet that night.
The next costumed weekend was a strange party hosted at my house by our friend Beaz (Amanda Beasely). I can describe it only as a class reunion come costume party, in which guests were encouraged to dress as pirates in the spirit of Halloween and of our senior-year Cornhuskin' theme. (If you don't know about Cornhuskin' at Meredith College, I'm afraid you simply won't understand. I am not about to try to explain it here.) Because we were pirate-attired and eating hamburgers and hot dogs, it was christened a "hook-out." Of course, intelligent Meredith College graduates that we are, we all agree which side to support in the raging pirates-versus-ninjas debate. Sadly, we couldn't get a ninja pinata to bash. The party was still lots of fun, with games like a potato-peeling race and mini can art (in keeping with Cornhuskin' tradition). We did bash a pirate-flag pinata and got lots of interesting looks from neighbors.
I was very excited about dressing up and worked hard on my costume. It turned out fantastic, and I'm absurdly proud that I didn't purchase a single article of the costume and that I borrowed only one, firebreatherjen's bodice. Under that I wore a big, blousey gypsy shirt and tight black dance pants with red-and-green-striped knee socks and some black, square-toed work shoes with buckles that worked surprisingly well for pirate gear. (Cinching the bodice gave me a very old-fashioned figure, narrowing my waist but emphasizing my hips in a way that wouldn't be considered attractive by today's fashion magazines.) To this I added lots of gold jewelry, a chain-link-type metal belt, and a bright green head scarf.
Imagine my disappointment at seeing that our guests were uncostumed. My pride immediately turned to self-consciousness about my own dorkiness. Of course I didn't take off the costume after all the work I'd done and with no idea of any other occasion to wear it. And we got a few good pictures. Oh well. The party was still fun.
The next weekend was the Charlotte Renaissance Faire. firebreatherjen had been encouraging me to go, having already decided to go with some of her friends. I made a trip to go see brukwurm and shadmere and take them. We met up with firebreatherjen and had a great time. Of course, I was in my Ren Faire costume. shadmere ended up wearing my cloak most of the day. It went quite well with his Ghost Busters shirt. I was surprised to find that Ded Bob frequents the Charlotte Ren Fair as well as the Texas Renaissance Festival. I was told there are two Smudges, which there must be, as the Faires' runs overlap.
If my timing is correct, I think the week following the Ren Faire was roommie supermer's birthday. I planned a surprise party for her. I was so excited. I called around, got an evening on which our good friends could agree, and then called to arrange to have her sister help me abduct her from work that evening. "Will that be before or after Mom and Dad take her to the Cheesecake Factory?" the sister asked. What?!?! I then spent several frantic minutes, maybe hours, trying to get at least one of her parents on the phone to get their permission to steal their daughter that evening. (Did I mention this was all the night before my planned surprise party?) I did finally manage to get her father, who released her with good will.
I kidnapped her from work and took her to the Longhorn Steakhouse where we met friends and gave her presents. It was a lot of fun. I felt excited all day, as if it were my birthday and not hers. I guess it's just fun to surprise Mer.
My final costumed weekend was last weekend when we celebrated the release of the fourth Harry Potter film with a costumed Harry Potter party at our house. Everyone came as a character. Roommie supermer came as Professor Trelawny, with lots of beads and shawls and big glasses. Her sister came as a disgustingly pink Umbridge. I went as Moaning Myrtle, wearing a classic Hogwarts schoolgirl outfit, robes, and white makeup to appear more ghostly. Even though I drew a nice tear on my makeup, firebreatherjen declared that I looked far too happy to be Myrtle, even going so far as to claim I was hyper, which I'm sure my readers cannot believe. firebreatherjen came herself as Tonks, complete with metal-studded collar and pink wig. All of our many, many guests came in costume, but only the four I've mentioned were brave enough to wear the costumes to the 10:20 showing of the film.
Wow, this entry is getting long. I'll top it off by saying that I spent Thanksgiving with my vegetarian sister and rich, Yankee brother-in-law. No turkey for me. It wasn't bad, though. I also got to see my little sister (newly turned vegetarian, I learned) and nephew Isaac, the most beautiful boy in the world.
I have pictures of all of these costumes on disk, but I'm not sure how to post them on LJ. Anyone think he can explain in very simple, Holly-understandable terms?
Current Mood:  happy
Current Music: Harry Connick Jr.'s "Little Drummer Boy"
Tags: costume, renaissance faire, renaissance festival
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09:37 am
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Ainarenya: My Vacation
I'm back home, once again in the "real world" after my week vacation. (Does it annoy anyone else that working to earn money is the "real world," not traveling and learning and thinking and fellowshipping?)
The Texas Renaissance Festival was wonderful, as it always is. Sadly, the Bold and Stupid Men, my favorite show from last year, seems not to have returned. Everything else was there. I got to walk around a recreated European Renaissance-era marketplace in wonderful cool weather while wearing my Ren Faire costume with my hair cascading freely down my back. I got to try mead for the second time. I got called "milady." I got to do it all with my best friend and a bunch of nerds. And with one interesting addition.
My set-up blind date was as interesting as I had anticipated. I had already been prejudiced against him by our one phone conversation. He didn't disappoint. His large frame, lip ring, and tattoos presented a vivid contrast to our mostly skinny, clean-cut, nerdy neatness. These externalities (new word?), of no real import in and of themselves, only made obvious how he didn't fit with us in various other ways. He didn't like dressing up, and he saw fit to tell me so when I was the only member of our group in costume. (Later, everyone else in the group agreed that they would dress up with me next year.) He was less than enthusiastic about everything that excited us, following along like a puppy but not speaking much or initiating any activity himself, despite all my promptings. He did show a spark of enthusiasm about ordering some frothy alcoholic beverage when I got my mead. I tried to find out what interested him, but I couldn't find any topic of mutual interest between us. I wondered why he persisted in staying with us when he didn't seem to be having any fun. Maybe he felt obligated. He had failed to bring along a friend of his own, as I had suggested, so that he wouldn't be the odd man out and so that they could go their separate way if we ended up not hitting it off. I'm sure the lack of interest is mutual, as he hasn't called me since.
I wish I'd been set up with James' (best friend's husband) friend Frank who accompanied us. He was nice, quiet, cute, and nerdy. He quoted The Princess Bride within an hour of my meeting him. Oh well.
After the Ren Fest, I hung out with my best friend and then went to stay with my aunt in Houston. I was at their house with my aunt and uncle, their son and his wife, and my uncle's sister and two children, who were staying because their house had hurricane damage. Needless to say, I slept on the couch. I went to thrift stores with my aunt and bought hardback books for under five dollars each. (My suitcase was overweight on the flight back.) Then I went to visit my oldest sister in Kirbyville.
The oldest sister has a husband and a nearly-two-year-old son Timothy. They had just returned to their home, since their power had just been restored after the hurricane. I tried to help my sister straighten up her house, mainly by trying to entertain and placate the little one. He is adorable and an imp. I love him. He is quite frustrating. His favorite word is "no." When he says it, the hearer can gauge his displeasure by the length of the "n." He did manage to wear me out dancing, but to him, "dance" means for me to hold him on my hip and for me to dance.
My last night at my sister's place, we invited over my crazy aunt and perfect uncle and their two children, whom I haven't seen in almost a year. We grilled steaks and shrimp. (Yum.) I had never before de-shelled and de-veined shrimp. I am now an expert.
I didn't sleep on a bed my whole vacation.
Now I'm back. This morning I got ready, went out to the car, turned the key, and nothing happened. I then remembered that my car had a spot of trouble starting the Friday that I left. I had popped the hood, looked without understanding at the mechanisms of the engine, closed the hood, tried again, and the car had started. No such luck this time. I had time to update this morning because I'm waiting for AAA to come and check out my battery. I shouldn't have to replace it, as I had it replaced five months ago. I found my receipt to show them.
While I was at my sister's, she got a call to say that my mother and grandmother, who is visiting in NC, had a spot of trouble. Landscapers at my mom's house had left a large pile of dirt in her steep driveway, a pile she didn't see until the last minute as she was driving up in the dark. She swerved to avoid the pile and hit her house, just about totaling her car. My grandmother has a broken arm, but she still wants to go back to her hurricane-damaged home in Beaumont, Texas, since she heard that her power is on.
On that note, I hope you all had a good week while I was out gallivanting.
Tags: dating, family, renaissance faire, renaissance festival, vacation
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06:10 pm
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Meren Ennostien The Renaissance Festival
And you thought I'd forgotten my Quenya, didn't you?
Actually, that's probably wretched Elvish grammar. Anyway.
First I will say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my favorite roommie supermer! It is today that she turns twenty-two, and the lucky girl gets to do so in Texas.
I had so much fun this weekend! The roommie and I went to Texas to visit her friends from study abroad in Ireland and attend the Texas Renaissance Festival. I cannot begin to express how much fun we had. I shall regale you with some of the highlights.
All of us went in costume, and any costumed event is that much more fun. The first things Mer and I did on arriving was to take a picture with a very large, very dark and scary Nubian executioner, whose name I later learned was Sholo. He stood silent and menacing while we timidly approached and asked if we might take a picture with him. Without a word, he planted his sword (about the width of my arm) in the ground, took each of us by the torso, and riveted us to each side of him. Mer also got a picture with a guy we dubbed "the cuddly man." He wore black armor lined all over with silver spikes. She says he hugged as hard as our executioner.
As I would not be there for Mer's birthday proper, I had to do something at the Festival. I had spotted a large, ugly man wearing long braids, makeup, and a black corset who walked around carrying a sign declaring him a "strumpet for hire." The prices listed next to each service he might perform had been cut in half. I hired him to sing "Happy Birthday," Marilyn-Monroe-esque, for Merrily. We actually managed to take a video of most of it with Mer's digital camera. Sadly, we are laughing so loudly that we nearly drown out his breathy voice. He kissed Mer and left a large lip print on her cheek.
One of the last shows we attended was a Scottish song-and-dance group called "Tartanic." They performed in an open round, so we, sore of foot, decided to spread out my cloak and sit on the ground near the front. The leader informed us that we would have a great view, and we soon realized exactly what he meant. Yes, his kilted costume was as authentic as most Scots are reputed to be. It was the most obvious during his rendition of the Highland Fling. We got lots of attention from him. At the beginning, he stripped off his jacket and threw it at us, smiling lasciviously. At one point, he danced past Mer and flashed her (as if she hadn't seen enough during his Highland fling). He "invited" me forward to dance with him for a bit. At the end, when Mer went to return his jacket, he said he would swap it for "a kiss and a really sweaty hug." She declined, but he offered her his cheek. When she went to kiss him, he turned and kissed her right back. He then decided to use his sharpy, nominally to autograph CDs, to write "Tartanic, XOX" on one of us and "Highland Ho" on, of course, myself. The only pieces of exposed skin in our costumes was the neckline. As we left, an English guard near the gate spied our "brands" and told us never to grant such liberties to Scots.
Sadly, I can't record everything of note. I tried mead for the first time and loved it. It makes me happy that I like mead. I feel a stronger connection to the warriors of Anglo-Saxon poetry. We saw several shows, my favorite of which was a new show called "Bold and Stupid Men." We saw a man play a medieval instrument called a carolan (sp?) with a piano-like keyboard that operated very small to very large bells. I think it weighed several tons. Of course, I saw Ded Bob. The joust was the only disappointment. There is no more black knight to love or white knight to hate. The knights were one English, one Spanish, one German, and one French.
Of course, time has escaped me. Fare you well!
Tags: renaissance faire, renaissance festival
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