![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
Because Everyone Else is Doing It...
I thought I should give the Weekend in Review a glance from my own point of view. Because, well, other people are posting about it, how grand it was, etc, and how much they enjoyed meeting new people, etc. and pictures and such. Please don't be disappointed by the lack of pictures, dear Diary. I forgot my camera. It's.. fairly unbelievable that I forgot my camera, considering this was a completely new experience for me, but there you have it. At least I remembered my deodorant and clean underwear. As far as I'm concerned, everything else was negotiable.
So, my story starts out several months ago. Actually, a year ago. One of my dearest friends,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
solcita, asked me what I was doing in the next weekend. "Working," says I. "Why?" She explains about Faerieworlds, which I apologize for (with a swipe to my forehead in relief) since I can't make it - I have to work. It would seem, this one of my dearest friends, learns from experiences. So, a few months ago, this same of my dearest friends (shortly after I moved into the new house, in fact, and have been bugging said friend to come visit me) pings me through AIM and asks me what I'm doing the first weekend in August. "Ah ha!" thinks I. "She wants to come visit my new house! Hurray!" So, I quickly check schedules, find that I'm free, and relay information as such. Never does it occur to me to find out *why* she wants to know what I'm doing the first weekend in August.
So... the details soon follow. I quickly realize I have agreed, without realizing it, naturally, to join possibly my best friend in a jaunt to a town in Oregon I know next to nothing about (and now, having been there for a weekend, I think I know even less about, other than they have a cemetery RIGHT IN THE BLOODY CENTER of a University - what the hell?), to... erm... prance around with people who are pretending they are faeries. Yes, with an e. I am assured it will be fun, and I'm assured I'll have a great time. And all the while, my stomach is knotting, wondering what in the hell I'm going to put on my time-off request form that I hand in to my hospital manager.
I manage to find something to put on the form after ensuring that nobody else *needs* the weekend off (sigh) and realize trying to get out of this will undoubtably hurtsolcita's feelings, as she was seemingly *really* looking forward to me joining her, and we really really needed time together. The week leading up to Faerieworlds (yes, with an e), I was teased about my reluctance to really talk about what I was doing for the weekend (I'm normally not very... secretive), and when I finally admitted what was going on, teased a bit more. Fortunately, my coworkers are kind enough (or perhaps intimidated enough) to relent a bit.
Thursday comes. I have no way to explain how excited I was to go to the train station to collect my package. My Sunnie was staying with me! For the whole weekend! Strangely, despite never having been in the train station before, I even knew where to find her. And find her I did, despite Steve saying, "Where are you going? Do you know where she's arriving?". Sunnie Sense, I tell ya. Or maybe clone sense. No idea. ANYWAY.
We had a great evening with friends, food, sangria (I'll have to relate this tale later), dessert, and then SLEEP. Glorious, sweet sleep. The next morning was a whirlwind of breakfast skipping, manicure and pedicure procuring, swiftly packing and hopping in the car to get to Eugene frantic fun. "You'll never make it by 6," says Steve as we walk out the door at 3:58. In the Prius we pile our stuff, including the snacks collected at a nearby store and a case of water. We were about halfway to Wilsonville when I realized I forgot my camera. Oh well! At 5:57 I call Steve, "We're here at the bed and breakfast. Love you." Yes, it was a jab. Damnit. I made it by 6. IN RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC NO LESS.
I had no idea what to wear or what to do. I mean, hell, I don't even know how to properly apply make-up. So, Sunnie made me up. Dressed, properly hair-flowered, she coaxes me back into the car to drive to the site.
And we drove. And drove.
And drove.
And drove.
And drove.
Eventually, we made it. And we parked. And then we walked. And walked. And walked. And walked. from our parking spot which seemed in the next county from the site. We made it, collected our wristbands, and found out we didn't need to pay for parking. OOps. Too late. Oh well. We wandered in, Sunnie sat in the henna booth waiting for her ritualistic temporary tattoo, while I watched the winged... patrons... make their way around.
I was with Sunnie, which meant every 5 minutes (or less, in some cases), we stopped, were greeted, she was hugged (I stayed hidden) and people wandered on and off and stuff. There were a lot of people. And a lot of wings. I think it was the wings that made me hide.
Eventually came the time to find people for the performance. This was a fire show, which meant there was fire safety, which took up a lot of time. And the performers. And they were supposed to meet at 10 so they could perform at 11. The band ahead of them was still playing at 10:45. 10:50. 10:55 - no end in sight, playing mellow, soothing music (who the hell leads into the next act with mellow, soothing music? That's just performance RUDENESS.) 11:00 comes... and goes. 11:15. 11:25. 11:30. Oh! They're done! Oh wait. They want to do an encore. Soon, they vacate the stage, leaving for the next performers to get started - pushing the crowd back, I simply took a seat near the string players (get near my instrumentalists and I'll break your legs, I will), behind the drummers (hey, it was protection from the fire) and enjoyed the show. Or at least, what I could hear of it - the previous band was tearing down their stage... and not quietly, either. Not to mention, they decided that... we probably shouldn't go past 12:00 - even though *THEY* ran over 1/2 hour. Apparently that means that the next performance has to be cut short. Yeah. The bit of the performance performed, though? Amazing. It was beautiful. And highly appreciated, by the looks of the crowd.
Afterwards, I got to meetcopperwise, tanuki_green, saoba, and grillghod. We were introduced, and I stood around chatting with them while Sunnie flitted about socially. (She does that.) I found out we were all B&B neighbors! Most excellent! People to have breakfast with!
..which we did the next morning. We were all suitably horrified by the cutified INSECTS OF DEATH placemats and napkins. (Whoever designed that thing? Way to stick it to the man!) Food was good. Off we were to Faerieworlds (yes, with an e) again! This time, the day was a lot longer, a lot dustier and a lot brighter. And a lot more sun. We wandered, bought stuff (lots of excellent jewelry there!), talked. I joined up with Mia and Ryan again during Gaia Consort's performance, (and got lectured by Barbara that if I haven't peed in the last 2 hours, I haven't been drinking enough - but you don't understand, dear Diary. I just ... have a hard time with port-a-potties. I smiled, nodded, and went back to my dehydrated self, knowing that I can pee in peace when I get back to the room, so timing my water intake to last to then was not difficult) then disappeared to make sure Sunnie was drinking water since, well, she was performing (yes, shut up). After a snow cone (a snow cone emergency, too), some food, water, and wandering, we eventually decided we needed rest.
And we returned to the B&B - me guzzling water like nothing else the whole way back. I happily peed once we got back. After a brief rest, we grabbed food (at a McMenamin's. It was close, so sue me.) and got back to the site once again. It was getting kinda late, but that's ok. The air was nice and crisp, thefairy faerie lights were pretty, and some kid was selling his glow stick for $0.50. We watched the stars (and the perseids), wandered about, bought a few more things, and eventually headed back to the B&B.
Breakfast again brought us great company, hillarious stories, laughter, and generally everything a good breakfast should be. We packed up, and departed the company of Sunnie's great friends (and, I'm fortunate enough to say, my new ones), making our way back to Portland.
In summary, I had a blast. I was scared. I was intimidated. And I'm leaving out a WHOLE LOT of details, but I generally had a great time.
... and I've been sleep deprived since. ;)
So, my story starts out several months ago. Actually, a year ago. One of my dearest friends,
solcita, asked me what I was doing in the next weekend. "Working," says I. "Why?" She explains about Faerieworlds, which I apologize for (with a swipe to my forehead in relief) since I can't make it - I have to work. It would seem, this one of my dearest friends, learns from experiences. So, a few months ago, this same of my dearest friends (shortly after I moved into the new house, in fact, and have been bugging said friend to come visit me) pings me through AIM and asks me what I'm doing the first weekend in August. "Ah ha!" thinks I. "She wants to come visit my new house! Hurray!" So, I quickly check schedules, find that I'm free, and relay information as such. Never does it occur to me to find out *why* she wants to know what I'm doing the first weekend in August.So... the details soon follow. I quickly realize I have agreed, without realizing it, naturally, to join possibly my best friend in a jaunt to a town in Oregon I know next to nothing about (and now, having been there for a weekend, I think I know even less about, other than they have a cemetery RIGHT IN THE BLOODY CENTER of a University - what the hell?), to... erm... prance around with people who are pretending they are faeries. Yes, with an e. I am assured it will be fun, and I'm assured I'll have a great time. And all the while, my stomach is knotting, wondering what in the hell I'm going to put on my time-off request form that I hand in to my hospital manager.
I manage to find something to put on the form after ensuring that nobody else *needs* the weekend off (sigh) and realize trying to get out of this will undoubtably hurt
solcita's feelings, as she was seemingly *really* looking forward to me joining her, and we really really needed time together. The week leading up to Faerieworlds (yes, with an e), I was teased about my reluctance to really talk about what I was doing for the weekend (I'm normally not very... secretive), and when I finally admitted what was going on, teased a bit more. Fortunately, my coworkers are kind enough (or perhaps intimidated enough) to relent a bit.Thursday comes. I have no way to explain how excited I was to go to the train station to collect my package. My Sunnie was staying with me! For the whole weekend! Strangely, despite never having been in the train station before, I even knew where to find her. And find her I did, despite Steve saying, "Where are you going? Do you know where she's arriving?". Sunnie Sense, I tell ya. Or maybe clone sense. No idea. ANYWAY.
We had a great evening with friends, food, sangria (I'll have to relate this tale later), dessert, and then SLEEP. Glorious, sweet sleep. The next morning was a whirlwind of breakfast skipping, manicure and pedicure procuring, swiftly packing and hopping in the car to get to Eugene frantic fun. "You'll never make it by 6," says Steve as we walk out the door at 3:58. In the Prius we pile our stuff, including the snacks collected at a nearby store and a case of water. We were about halfway to Wilsonville when I realized I forgot my camera. Oh well! At 5:57 I call Steve, "We're here at the bed and breakfast. Love you." Yes, it was a jab. Damnit. I made it by 6. IN RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC NO LESS.
I had no idea what to wear or what to do. I mean, hell, I don't even know how to properly apply make-up. So, Sunnie made me up. Dressed, properly hair-flowered, she coaxes me back into the car to drive to the site.
And we drove. And drove.
And drove.
And drove.
And drove.
Eventually, we made it. And we parked. And then we walked. And walked. And walked. And walked. from our parking spot which seemed in the next county from the site. We made it, collected our wristbands, and found out we didn't need to pay for parking. OOps. Too late. Oh well. We wandered in, Sunnie sat in the henna booth waiting for her ritualistic temporary tattoo, while I watched the winged... patrons... make their way around.
I was with Sunnie, which meant every 5 minutes (or less, in some cases), we stopped, were greeted, she was hugged (I stayed hidden) and people wandered on and off and stuff. There were a lot of people. And a lot of wings. I think it was the wings that made me hide.
Eventually came the time to find people for the performance. This was a fire show, which meant there was fire safety, which took up a lot of time. And the performers. And they were supposed to meet at 10 so they could perform at 11. The band ahead of them was still playing at 10:45. 10:50. 10:55 - no end in sight, playing mellow, soothing music (who the hell leads into the next act with mellow, soothing music? That's just performance RUDENESS.) 11:00 comes... and goes. 11:15. 11:25. 11:30. Oh! They're done! Oh wait. They want to do an encore. Soon, they vacate the stage, leaving for the next performers to get started - pushing the crowd back, I simply took a seat near the string players (get near my instrumentalists and I'll break your legs, I will), behind the drummers (hey, it was protection from the fire) and enjoyed the show. Or at least, what I could hear of it - the previous band was tearing down their stage... and not quietly, either. Not to mention, they decided that... we probably shouldn't go past 12:00 - even though *THEY* ran over 1/2 hour. Apparently that means that the next performance has to be cut short. Yeah. The bit of the performance performed, though? Amazing. It was beautiful. And highly appreciated, by the looks of the crowd.
Afterwards, I got to meet
copperwise, tanuki_green, saoba, and grillghod. We were introduced, and I stood around chatting with them while Sunnie flitted about socially. (She does that.) I found out we were all B&B neighbors! Most excellent! People to have breakfast with!..which we did the next morning. We were all suitably horrified by the cutified INSECTS OF DEATH placemats and napkins. (Whoever designed that thing? Way to stick it to the man!) Food was good. Off we were to Faerieworlds (yes, with an e) again! This time, the day was a lot longer, a lot dustier and a lot brighter. And a lot more sun. We wandered, bought stuff (lots of excellent jewelry there!), talked. I joined up with Mia and Ryan again during Gaia Consort's performance, (and got lectured by Barbara that if I haven't peed in the last 2 hours, I haven't been drinking enough - but you don't understand, dear Diary. I just ... have a hard time with port-a-potties. I smiled, nodded, and went back to my dehydrated self, knowing that I can pee in peace when I get back to the room, so timing my water intake to last to then was not difficult) then disappeared to make sure Sunnie was drinking water since, well, she was performing (yes, shut up). After a snow cone (a snow cone emergency, too), some food, water, and wandering, we eventually decided we needed rest.
And we returned to the B&B - me guzzling water like nothing else the whole way back. I happily peed once we got back. After a brief rest, we grabbed food (at a McMenamin's. It was close, so sue me.) and got back to the site once again. It was getting kinda late, but that's ok. The air was nice and crisp, the
Breakfast again brought us great company, hillarious stories, laughter, and generally everything a good breakfast should be. We packed up, and departed the company of Sunnie's great friends (and, I'm fortunate enough to say, my new ones), making our way back to Portland.
In summary, I had a blast. I was scared. I was intimidated. And I'm leaving out a WHOLE LOT of details, but I generally had a great time.
... and I've been sleep deprived since. ;)
with an e!
(I'm really glad you had a good time. You put up with me so well.)
Re: with an e!
... "Um... yes?"
Hee. The poor kid looked horrified.
no subject
And next year we're buying you wings. *g*
no subject
I have Apples to Apples now! It's Sunnie's fault! I can bring it over sometime!
no subject
is this something in particular for the NW? :)
no subject
I mean, for fuck's sake - they have a CEMETERY IN THE MIDDLE OF A UNIVERSITY. That's just ASKING for people to have sex on graves in the middle of skipping class!
no subject
no subject