Redwolf's Journal (continued)

Not much noteworthy going on for me, really. Getting back into the routine of work. The fire downtown was big news in Durango, though. I know it's not the first time, but it's strange to think of buildings a few blocks away from work on Main Avenue gutted by fire. Even with the fire at the apartments over the El Rancho a few years ago, it wasn't as visible a loss of property. Been enjoying the game for the most part. I worry a little that trying to play every night people are together is a little much - it's certainly more than the twice-a-week schedule we planned on originally. I'll admit I've wanted to bonk people for playing WoW on the side (and thus being relatively uninvolved in some sessions) when the biggest complaint I've heard is "there isn't enough opportunity for the characters to interact and get to know each other like they should with traveling months at a stretch." The answer tends to be: Okay, well focus and interact more.

So I'm back at home and work. Most of the laundry is done. The camping gear is packed away in the storage room. The blisters are fading, and I feel generally less sore. Of course, now I'm starting to feel a little overwhelmed by getting back to my "normal" juggling routine, but what can ya do? May feels a bit soon for another road trip, but we're committed to that one too. I think my tax return will cover the unexpected expenses of this trip, though I can probably forget those thoughts of a new console or HDTV. I suppose I can say I'm glad I went. It was good to see the faces I saw, and it helped me understand some things on a number of levels. Of course, if I had it to do over again knowing what I know now, I'd be hard pressed not to do something different in order to prevent our little stay in Show Low. Maybe it's good that we don't have time travel and I don't have to deal with that. ;)

So... Estrella War itself. Hmm. Definite good points: - Seeing friends from afar. - Awesome merchants' row. I'm not sure, but it seemed bigger than previous Estrellas. - Learned a little about how some things fit together, such as how siege weapons play a factor in one of the battles (performance determines breaches in a later scenerio). - Quality of company. Josh was great to have around, though it was only his first time and he's not real SCA-active. Sir Asad simply rocks - always full of sound advice and willing to offer what he has to help others readily. - The satisfaction of volunteering and helping out. - New boots that proved reasonably mud-resistant. - Managing to catch Sunday night's bardic (or at least some of it) at the grand pavilion. Bad points: - Not enough time with friends from afar. Maybe 15 minutes around Max and 5 with Cathe. April was around for a bit, though ill (get better!). - The cluelessness of being drafted into volunteering for s

Whoever said getting there was half the fun should be dragged out into the street and shot. - Garfield (?) Leaving late at night with the intent to arrive at a reasonably hour in the morning is a fine plan. Getting stranded along the way is not. In fact, it's generally not a plan at all. Yet, this was just what happened. I took over driving from Holbrook and was cruising right along for a while before, in the dark of pre-dawn morning, the engine started losing power. I downshifted, and that didn't help. The next thing I know, I'm drifting over to the side of the road and gabefinder 's waking up asking me if something's wrong. Her nephew Josh (traveling along with) pulls up behind in his Jeep and we're trying things and looking all over, but the transmission won't seem to engage though the engine itself seems fine. There's something that may be water leaking underneath and a horrid, acrid smell in the air. It's unusually fortuitous, but a police

Weather's reasonably good, so it looks like we're cleared for Estrella War. I look forward to being there and getting something of a vacation, even if it is away from computers. As usual, I'm not so much looking forward to *getting* there. It's somewhere in the neighborhood of a 9-hour drive on a new route, as the current site is on the other side of Phoenix from what we're accustomed to, and we're planning to start that run at about 10pm tonight. There's planning and packing and worrying and fretting. We were going to be caravanning down with several others, but due to mechanical problems and illness, that's been pared down to a total of three people in two vehicles. I'm still tweaked and torqued from shoveling (and now chiseling) snow and ice - I've stretched and strained things that make cranking a steering wheel uncomfortable and I even picked up a nice new bruise on the inside of one arm, presumably from hauling off large chunks of ice tha

I want one.

Birthdays are still odd. Yesterday was... fine. No real complaints, though nothing spectacular either - not that the latter is expected in any way. It's probably a measure of how spoiled my life has been, but I didn't get one present on my birthday. I got a card a few days early, and I know of at least a couple gifts that are either in the mail or awaiting better weather, but nothing on the day itself. Just one step closer to a normal day. Hmm. Maybe the spirits/deities presiding over the weather favored me, as it didn't really snow notably yesterday. This morning, on the other hand, it's all white and powdery once more. Blar.