Genevieve
	Waking	Sleeping	Sign	Repose	Wish
	The gleam in your eyes is so familiar a gleam...

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history of Gen, part deux
2002-02-07 - 3:31 p.m.

Back to finishing My Life So Far...

As stated previously, I had been in the SCA for almost exactly 4 years before I ever officially joined a household in the SCA. As much as I love House de la Flamme and all its components, I am glad that I waited as long as I did. It gave me plenty of time to decide if I even wanted to join a group or not, much less which one. Now, I'm not saying folks were clammering at my door for me to join their household, far from it, but it let me feel like I had a choice by taking my time. The time gave the ability to see the benefits and consequences of various households, or no household at all.

I guess it is pretty important to point out that you don't have to become affiliated with a household in order to gain recognition, or reknown. A lot of it is based on your abilities, how hard you work for the betterment of the SCA in general, and some on your personal charisma. Isobel did not thrive until she had no household holding her back. She was more free simply being supported by her friends. Theodora was never proteged to anyone before she was elevated to the Order of the Pelican. Maybe she never found the right person, maybe she just does what she loves, and it comes naturally from that. Trust me, if you are doing something for the benefit of your local group or the SCA in general, but not enjoying what you do, others will see that. If you don't enjoy what you do, folks may begin to think you have ulterior motives. If everytime you autocrat, you complain of the woes and migraines, well, folks are going to wonder why you do it, and since they likely care for your health, would love for you not to do it so as not to injure yourself. If you thrive off of delegation and organization and love living event to event and can't wait for the next project, folks will see your obvious enthusiasm and note it. Does this make any sense at all?

So, after I became an apprentice, I did two and a half more years in the MoAS office, working with several wonderful crowns, trying to effect some change for the better, and in general doing what needed to be done and what I liked to do. I have taken under a few projects with the household, but have never truly defined myself by that affiliation. Alan is technically a member of the Old Castle Clan, who knew that? (Squired to Xenephon before he got his Pelican.) You do not have to have former affiliations, nor to you have to live and breathe by them. Of course, this also gives you the freedom to have friends who hate each other, but such is life.

This weekend will round out my 7th year in the SCA, and I still kinda like it. ;) I'd like to say I've done pretty well for myself, but really it is the many friends I have made by which I measure my success.

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Okay, next topic.

I'm buying my wedding dress tomorrow morning. This is a big step for me, because certain things can be changed easily (flowers, menu, invitations) but once the dress is bought, you really can't take it back. And no, while I could post a link here to the dress I won't. Really, some things must remain a mystery. :) I think it will be really cool though.

Last night we met with a caterer who came to our house and brought samples of hors d'oeuvres for us to try. Oh man was this guy fabulous. Luckily he was very upfront about not being in my budget and not trying to convince me to break the bank on it. He gave me tips for staying in budget such as making the guest list smaller, types of food that is still good and yet cheaper but filling, etc. I have a few more caterers to check out before all is said and done. Hopefully I can find someone in my price range without having to cut the guest list too much. But this is a warning, I apologize in advance if not everyone gets an invitation, because baby, I'm not made of money, and the snob in me won't let it be a low class cheap party.

Tuesday night Wen, Gina, the girls and I all went out looking at this local bridal boutique to see if there is anything that a local smaller boutique could offer me that I wasn't getting from the big one. Uh, well, the verdict is nope, not missing a thing. First of all their selection was terrible. Okay, so maybe if I was a size 10, I had more options, but the ones I did try on were not quite right, and certainly couldn't hold a candle to the one I truly liked so far. Also, the shop keeper was a little spooky. It was nice that she wasn't overbearing, but for those that have read Harry Potter, you know how J.K. Rowling describes Mr. Ollivander as having huge moon like erie eyes? Well, this woman's huge glasses made her look like that. And I'm not even getting into the poor excuse of a strapless bra that had boning poking out and into me, and the condition of the dresses that were there in my size. :( So, that experience was a bust, no pun intended. Give me my free candlesticks and let me out of here.

We all went to this great sushi place in Rockville, Niwano Hana, for dinner. Some folks of our party are very picky eaters so they ate just rice with soy sauce and yakitori, but the rest of us had sushi, or sashimi in my case. We gave Lauren her first taste of sushi, which she seemed to like despite her first bite as a sushi virgin being into a piece that had too much wasabi.

What's the green stuff? Wasabi, you know, Hot like Wasabi when I bust rhymes, big like Lee Anne Rhimes... Sure... It's very yummy spicy stuff, try a very little bit of it. Trust me.

From there on out it was, wanna try this, wanna try that, and she was like Mikey, Lauren liked it all. Excellent, another convert. She was also brave enough to try the red bean ice cream, I've only ever gotten the green tea, and liked it. Heck even one of the picky eaters liked the red bean ice cream, so she got her own bowl. I had a sample too, and I must say, it isn't nearly as scary as I thought.

I did frighten Gina a bit by admitting that I've had Babs stuck in my head for days now. Evergreen, The Way We Were, and Happy Days are Here Again, have been on continuous play mode on the Headbone radio. Luckily I like Babs, and don't find her spooky at all, so this is pleasant for me. I am however refraining from breaking out into song ala Musical style in the hallways. Don't want to freak out the coworkers and housekeeping staf too much. They might call for the men with the happy-hug-me jackets. Hey, it could be worse. I do have a Carpenters Greatest Hits laying around somehwhere, unless Alan destroyed it...

So, this weekend is the Tourney of Ymir. Tomorrow is getting Scarlett's oil changed, trying on one last time and ordering my dress and then packing to get on the road to Wake Forest, NC. Friday, Saturday and Sunday weather for the event is mostly Sunny and ~60 degrees. This could not suck as much as Ymir normally does. I am excited since it is what I use as my anniversary event to mark my SCA progress. Technically my second event, but much more regular of an event than Ice Castle sadly. Should be a fun little road trip, and many cool things planned for the day, and many cool awards to be handed out. Can't wait!

And with that I look forward to seeing many of you there, and bid the rest of you adieu.

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