Just Stuff

I think my addiction to SL is broken, and I think my interest in it is waning.

The only reason I logged on today was to talk and visit. I don’t need to be on SL to do that. I should find out how many of “my people” have Skype.

In other news: no Northfarthing Faire this August. This is for many reasons; chief among them is the fact that “Because we did one last year” is not a sufficient reason to do it this year. Another is that I don’t want to draw more people in. The hell with that. It’s just going to be more drama. Oh boy, let’s invite more drama. I think not.

I don’t know, I’m starting to ask myself more and more “Why do I do this?” and more and more the answer is something that can be had with another, less laggy, less memory- and time- consuming, less drama-laden medium.

The Myth of the Mighty Elven Event Planning Goddess

The Elf knelt upon the ancient black floor of the abbey, a thin cushion protecting her knees from the chilling stone beneath. Her heart fluttered with anticipation. Behind her, the entire populace of the village had assembled, wearing their finest garb. By the foremost pew, Archimides stood, pride making his chest swell. Clover held a drowsy Petal in her arms, the latter fidgeting with the ribbons in her copper hair. Mistletoe briefly looked over her shoulder toward them and smiled.

A fanfare sounded. Quickly Mistletoe turned her eyes back to the patch of floor before her, trying her best to be reverent amid the excitement that coursed through her veins.

In a sweeping motion, the Lord of Northfarthing entered the room. He, like all the rest, was in his best finery; a silver sword in a scabbard bedecked with blue and topaz jewels glinted at his side. He took his place at the podium, just in front of where Mistletoe knelt; a dusty illuminated book sat open, waiting, its gold-leaf pages bearing the words he would soon read. A hush fell over the crowd.

Yesterday’s Festival – or, the Swan Naiant

I’m reminded yet again that Mistletoe’s personal arms should feature a swan naiant (swimming).

What everyone saw yesterday (up until the Crash From Hell in the middle of Cat Agus Cu’s set…) was a smooth-running and fun festival. Some new people have gotten an interest in fencing and joined the local fencing team, the archery tournament went over as planned, people got refreshments and enjoyed them during 2 and a half great shows, I hope the merchants got visited… all in all, a really fine and enjoyable time.

A couple of my closest friends get to see a bit more of what goes on behind the scenes. I get tired and frazzled, I get a fear of every possible thing that can go wrong, but I pretty much have a handle on things.

Archimides, god love him, sees every panicked motion of the feet below the surface of the water, so to speak. In order for the swan to glide so gracefully and apparently effortlessly over the water, those webbed feet are paddling to beat Jesus. It’s exhausting, nerve-wracking, even tearful sometimes. I’m so grateful to have someone who sees that side of things–because I trust him enough to show him–and is as supportive and patient and helpful as I could ever hope for. The “wind beneath my wings” is such a god-awful maudlin cliche. Archimides is much more than a god-awful maudlin cliche to me; he’s truly my partner and best friend and the single most important asset on my side in both the planning and execution of this and other events.

Pics from Today’s Concert

Today our fairegrounds were graced by the presence of Atheene Dodonpa, who performed songs from the Roma for an appreciative crowd. Pictures follow (click to see larger).

I’m overdue.

For posting, and for a lot of other stuff. I’m overdue for altering a garment to help out a customer who asked a few days ago (no I haven’t forgotten!), I’m overdue for switching all the vendors at the shop over to the new 2.5 that Hippo has put out, I’m overdue for organizing the shop the way I want and getting out the products that are collecting dust in my inventory. I’m overdue for recording at VERY least a demo CD for our band. I’m sure there’s lots of other stuff too and I can’t even think of it right now.

That’s not to say I haven’t been productive. I have. Between clear-the-air conversations (themselves having been overdue), building new stuff, rearranging and consolodating prims, and the ongoing Deputy duties that I’ve taken upon myself, I have been busy busy busy. We had a gig yesterday at a new venue, and it was great, very good crowd.

But just to make it even more interesting, I’ve finally managed to get a RL job. Nothing much, just part time and $8/hr, but it’s a source of income and I’ve not been gainfully employed in about 8 years now so this is a good thing. What’s awful is that it’s got me wondering if it’s enough for me to be able to sustain the sim. Yes, to put the rumors to bed, there is talk of the sim changing hands to mine. However it’s not going to happen unless & until I can afford to maintain it on my own, and right now that’s not even in the realm of possibility. So for now it’s staying put where it is.

Incidentally I just ran some numbers. Definitely still impossible. Rents really barely make a dent in the monthly tier fee.

So, I don’t know, maybe in time for the faire in August we’ll see if it’s more possible for it to be sustainable at my end. I feel bad, really, I wish I could take it off his hands tomorrow. It’s pretty evident that the boss is burning out hard here. I try to help, I try to take on as much responsibility as I’m able/allowed and also do all I can to make it vibrant; so that not only do people want to rent and stay here, but also so that just maybe he can love it again.

Had a good talk with Is yesterday actually. She wishes she could afford to buy a proper quarter sim or so for Hotlanta. It would give Hotlanta the setting/traffic it needs and it would be able to flourish and expand without it being at the expense of Northfarthing’s prims, scripts, people, etc. But it’s a catch-22; they’re not making enough where they are to be able to move to where they can make enough.

Guys, if you go to Hotlanta, do me a favor and go out of your way to tip Is. She is there day after day after day, never takes a day off, picking up slack for hosts, pushing events, trying to keep people in line, and doing so at the expense of her own business that she wants to run. She barely sees a dime from the house tipjar, so please, help her out you guys. Neither she nor I ever wanted for SL to become an unpaid job.

But speaking of day off, today is mine. Talk about things that are overdue! If you break it, fix it yourself. If you leave it, pick it up. If someone gives you grief, Constable Tel has all kinds of fun ways to deal with it. Otherwise, have a happy Sunday.

Cat Agus Cu LIVE Today, 4PM SLT

Come join us for a slightly later than usual show today at the Green Dragon Inn in our beautiful hometown of Northfarthing. Cat Agus Cu–me and my RL hubby Archimides Skytower–will play an hour of Irish and Scottish traditional music, some jigs and reels, drinking songs, and some cry-in-your-ale ballads, and maybe some surprises as well. Bring your friends and we’ll see you at 4PM SLT (7PM Eastern, Midnight GMT) at the Dragon!

About the venue: Northfarthing is a non-Gorean medieval(ish) sim. Period garb is not required, but appropriate covering is. Dance machines, poseballs, and limited seats are available.

Well I’ve gone and done it…

There is now a Northfarthing blog at http://northfarthing.wordpress.com . If you’re part of our sim, or want to be, go on over and have a look.

A Northfarthing Blog?

What do you think? Cool idea? Waste of time?

Evil Hits a Wall.

Evil Mistletoe keeps vigil outside DonPaul’s cell.

Not a lot of RPing tonight, but there was a wee bit.

There’s an individual in the sim, BabaYaga, who is just so pure and innocent and good that I (L. Foster) can’t help having a soft spot for him. And so when Evil Mistletoe encountered him, I just couldn’t be evil in his presence. He’s just so sweet and childlike, all “Mist look not well” and “I’m scared…” and doe-eyed and…

Evil Mist would have insulted him, bullied him, something. I just couldn’t do it, even knowing it’s just in RP. So I found a distraction and left.

See, I suck at evil.

Reflections on Pretend Evil

I’m up at OMG:30, thanks in no small part to the cat. Good thing the little shit is so cute or he’d have been our emergency food supply long ago.

But. I’ve spent a lot of time going over RPing yesterday in my head–something I so do not get to do enough of–and I was thinking a lot about the challenges of playing an evil character. It’s both simpler and harder than I would have originally thought.

Simpler, in that there’s a very fine line that separates good-guy me from bad-guy me, as I’m sure there is in most people. Mostly that line consists of the decision of what to do about the thoughts and emotions we all have. Good guys keep a cool head, try not to let emotion overcome them, and act in a rational and compassionate way; usually while keeping the deepest, darkest parts of those thoughts and fears to one’s self. But “bad guys” don’t have/use a compass or a filter. They indulge those darker desires and feelings, make it all about themselves, and disregard consequence (unless it affects them directly).

Which brings me to what makes it more difficult. In my usual mostly-good-guy time, my deepest desires stay–well–deep. Inside. In the privacy of my own mind. To bring them out, to indulge them, to be evil Mistletoe, is really much more vulnerable. It’s no longer “does she have a crush on him or what?”; it’s now “HOLY CRAP she wants him to do WHAT?!” It’s really only a short step between perfectly normal human(oid) feelings and twisted unhealthy obsession. But in that short step is usually a nice, strong wall, which I find a real challenge to traverse.

It’s also kind of funny, in that evil Mistletoe is all about herself. What does this town owe me, how will I get what I want out of it, etc. When in fact, I, L. Foster, am doing this whole thing to involve the community in RP and the hunt, as well as promote local businesses. So I doubt evil Mistletoe will be too convincing; but if she is, just remember that it’s only Pretend Evil and for a greater good.

Good luck hunting today. It should be a real challenge, and I hope a lot of fun.