Quad War 2013
Aug. 7th, 2013 12:30 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jamesqI'll be foregoing the usual GBU format. Point format will be insufficient for the important stuff.
First, this was a pretty good Quad War. Not epic, not great, but solidly good. For the most part there were only two negative things that happened to me (both partially, but not entirely, my fault). Plenty of negative things happened to others - it wasn't so much that tragedy occurred as everyone could catch a whiff of it in the air. You'd be enjoying yourself and then there'd be a little reminder. A lot of people couldn't attend because of personal tragedy. Others had a far more expensive time making it due to mechanical difficulties.
None of that affected me personally though. In fact, the logistics of coming to Quad War were quite nice. I got to travel with one of my best friends (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
garething). New friend were solidified by a shared camp (in a prime location) and shared experiences (GD and SE). I got to hang out with lots of kind and generous folks.
The weather was warm and comfortable without being stinking hot. It rained once on Sunday, briefly.
Friday I ended up volunteering at the archery range even though it wasn't my shift yet. Also I did middling-well in both the water jug shoot and the Iron Arrow challenge. Iron Arrow wasn't a team event this year, which was odd. It was fun though, as was the ever-popular water-jug shoot. There will be a variant of the latter at Odin's Playground this year (or so I'm told), so go check it out if you can hold a bow.
Saturday I spent the morning in charge of the range. There my better nature got me into trouble. You see, there was a kid there and he couldn't shoot (no guardian present). He looked like he was going to be trouble so I asked him if he would like to learn how to marshal (while underlining the point that he wasn't get authorized at this event, even if he was a grown-up). My intent was to teach him the basics and have him shadow me, while simultaneously using him as a gofer. Unfortunately, he ended up acting like he was already a marshal (not good, especially when he was distracted by shiny things). I caught shit for this from the Marshal-in-charge. The shit was deserved, so I spent a fair amount of time kicking myself over it. I was later told by a friend that he was snooping around the shed when (he thought) no one was around. Incidentally, the kid already had a poor reputation for this short of crap from earlier events (cf. QW1010). But I like to believe that people can overcome and outgrow their reputations, so I gave him a chance. Sadly it bit me and it made me look bad to a person I respect (the archery MIC for the event).
The last word I had with the kid - and this was prior to the snooping - I told him he wasn't up to marshalling yet, and likely wouldn't be for several years. If he was interested, I said, he should seek out the Borealis archers and make an effort to practice and learn, starting with the Book of Target. And I told RT and BB about this so they could keep an eye out. If I find he hasn't done this, then I'll know he's in it for the attention, not the love of archery.
That evening I got to see some friends get invested as the newest Prince and Princess of Avacal. I'm glad they went with a ceremony of sufficient gravitas, and not some whacky court shtick. I heard rumours of a Star Wars-themed hand-off and I'm rather glad that didn't happen. Also, it makes several obvious jokes that shouldn't be made.
That night I drank all the rum. I had a fun time at the Grotto and I was neither grabby, creepy, or obnoxious! I was, however, ridiculously drunk. Possibly the most I've ever been. I think this because of my inability to stand up correct that night, and the nightmarish hangover I had the next day.
Being hung over when you need to shoot a championship tourney is not good. I somehow managed to get to the range and got a couple practice rounds in. While collecting a wayward arrow I was going over what I would say during the invocation of the lists. Unfortunately, I manage to fuck this up. Every. Single. Time. I. Do. It. Every single time.
So I feel like I'm literally dying, and I'm trying to figure out what to say so that I don't look like an ass. The fog clears for an instant and I realize I'm teetering on the edge of a major anxiety attack. Guess how much that improved my mood. Then I get back to the line and I'm informed that I have to have an inspiration (i.e. someone present that I look to for inspiration) for the championship. First I've heard this news, about two minutes before Their Highnesses show up. Fuck.
I hate having to find inspirations. It's basically imposing on someone and forcing them to put themselves out for me while I fail to impress them. Plus it requires the exact same non-existent part of my brain that other people use for setting up first dates. Thankfully, I've been to plenty of championships where people are "inspired" by concepts. I figure I'd go that route. I'm "inspired" by my love of archery.
So Their Highnesses show up and we line up and say our pieces. I get up to the head of the line, kneel down and proceed to completely cock-up my speech and I'm about ready to shrink down to one inch tall and run into a gopher hole. And then I'm told, no, I can't vie for Champion because I don't have an inspiration. Oh, the Prince has his reasons, and he states them for everyone. I dutifully tell him I understand and go to the back of the crowd. Meanwhile I'm thinking they want a certain kind of person for Champion, a person capable of getting an inspiration, i.e. a person who isn't me.
But that might be the depression talking. That's what the evidence suggests given several people came up to me immediately after the crowd broke telling me that, had they known, they'd have happily been my inspiration.
So I sit down under a sun shade, pound back some water, and feel a great weight lifting from my shoulders. I suddenly have literally nothing to prove to anyone and can shoot the whole damn thing for the fun of it! And that's what I did. As the shoot progressed over the next few hours, and as the ibuprofen/water/electrolytes repaired my brain I felt better and better. And I shot fairly well too. Though for me it was like Who's Line Is It Anyway - the score was made up and the points don't matter. Literally - I got half a point for lobbing two arrows down range without using my bow during a timed end.
The shoot itself was entertaining and I got to shoot SE's combat arrows, managing to hit a helmet in the grill on my last shot of the tournament.
Afterward, I had a much needed nap. Sadly I missed the war bow shoot, which DM said was super entertaining. Evening brought court and it was pretty cool. Finally there was the "Kingdom Kegger", a little get together at the town square where we could ask the powers that be about Avacal's attempt to become a Kingdom. I didn't really have any questions, which didn't stop me from asking the Principality Seneschal what the capital of Alaska was (He said Anchorage, I said Nome. Turns out we're both wrong - it's Juneau).
My opinion on the Kingdom of Avacal? I'm 60% apathetic and 40% for it, mostly because all my friends are for it and I want my friends to be happy.
The sun went down and we got a nice view of the Aurora Borealis. Something I've only seen a handful of times because I'm a city boy. It's a nice feature of our northern land and I think some SCA branch should incorporate it into their name. Maybe a Barony.
I went to bed just before midnight and had a fairly good (and sober) sleep. I awoke refreshed and happy to have been at the event and a little sad that I was leaving without seeing lots more people. Seriously, I'd love to just sit around a campfire and chat in small groups with everyone. But that would take many more nights than we had. At least I managed it with SE and GD, who are awesome camp-mates, and I'm not just saying that because they let me use their shower.
Gareth and I packed our stuff and took off. We missed the Highway Traffic Cafe after party and there were no new notes at the Killam urinal (though last year's messages were still there). An uneventful drive brought us back to Cowtown.
First, this was a pretty good Quad War. Not epic, not great, but solidly good. For the most part there were only two negative things that happened to me (both partially, but not entirely, my fault). Plenty of negative things happened to others - it wasn't so much that tragedy occurred as everyone could catch a whiff of it in the air. You'd be enjoying yourself and then there'd be a little reminder. A lot of people couldn't attend because of personal tragedy. Others had a far more expensive time making it due to mechanical difficulties.
None of that affected me personally though. In fact, the logistics of coming to Quad War were quite nice. I got to travel with one of my best friends (
garething). New friend were solidified by a shared camp (in a prime location) and shared experiences (GD and SE). I got to hang out with lots of kind and generous folks.The weather was warm and comfortable without being stinking hot. It rained once on Sunday, briefly.
Friday I ended up volunteering at the archery range even though it wasn't my shift yet. Also I did middling-well in both the water jug shoot and the Iron Arrow challenge. Iron Arrow wasn't a team event this year, which was odd. It was fun though, as was the ever-popular water-jug shoot. There will be a variant of the latter at Odin's Playground this year (or so I'm told), so go check it out if you can hold a bow.
Saturday I spent the morning in charge of the range. There my better nature got me into trouble. You see, there was a kid there and he couldn't shoot (no guardian present). He looked like he was going to be trouble so I asked him if he would like to learn how to marshal (while underlining the point that he wasn't get authorized at this event, even if he was a grown-up). My intent was to teach him the basics and have him shadow me, while simultaneously using him as a gofer. Unfortunately, he ended up acting like he was already a marshal (not good, especially when he was distracted by shiny things). I caught shit for this from the Marshal-in-charge. The shit was deserved, so I spent a fair amount of time kicking myself over it. I was later told by a friend that he was snooping around the shed when (he thought) no one was around. Incidentally, the kid already had a poor reputation for this short of crap from earlier events (cf. QW1010). But I like to believe that people can overcome and outgrow their reputations, so I gave him a chance. Sadly it bit me and it made me look bad to a person I respect (the archery MIC for the event).
The last word I had with the kid - and this was prior to the snooping - I told him he wasn't up to marshalling yet, and likely wouldn't be for several years. If he was interested, I said, he should seek out the Borealis archers and make an effort to practice and learn, starting with the Book of Target. And I told RT and BB about this so they could keep an eye out. If I find he hasn't done this, then I'll know he's in it for the attention, not the love of archery.
That evening I got to see some friends get invested as the newest Prince and Princess of Avacal. I'm glad they went with a ceremony of sufficient gravitas, and not some whacky court shtick. I heard rumours of a Star Wars-themed hand-off and I'm rather glad that didn't happen. Also, it makes several obvious jokes that shouldn't be made.
That night I drank all the rum. I had a fun time at the Grotto and I was neither grabby, creepy, or obnoxious! I was, however, ridiculously drunk. Possibly the most I've ever been. I think this because of my inability to stand up correct that night, and the nightmarish hangover I had the next day.
Being hung over when you need to shoot a championship tourney is not good. I somehow managed to get to the range and got a couple practice rounds in. While collecting a wayward arrow I was going over what I would say during the invocation of the lists. Unfortunately, I manage to fuck this up. Every. Single. Time. I. Do. It. Every single time.
So I feel like I'm literally dying, and I'm trying to figure out what to say so that I don't look like an ass. The fog clears for an instant and I realize I'm teetering on the edge of a major anxiety attack. Guess how much that improved my mood. Then I get back to the line and I'm informed that I have to have an inspiration (i.e. someone present that I look to for inspiration) for the championship. First I've heard this news, about two minutes before Their Highnesses show up. Fuck.
I hate having to find inspirations. It's basically imposing on someone and forcing them to put themselves out for me while I fail to impress them. Plus it requires the exact same non-existent part of my brain that other people use for setting up first dates. Thankfully, I've been to plenty of championships where people are "inspired" by concepts. I figure I'd go that route. I'm "inspired" by my love of archery.
So Their Highnesses show up and we line up and say our pieces. I get up to the head of the line, kneel down and proceed to completely cock-up my speech and I'm about ready to shrink down to one inch tall and run into a gopher hole. And then I'm told, no, I can't vie for Champion because I don't have an inspiration. Oh, the Prince has his reasons, and he states them for everyone. I dutifully tell him I understand and go to the back of the crowd. Meanwhile I'm thinking they want a certain kind of person for Champion, a person capable of getting an inspiration, i.e. a person who isn't me.
But that might be the depression talking. That's what the evidence suggests given several people came up to me immediately after the crowd broke telling me that, had they known, they'd have happily been my inspiration.
So I sit down under a sun shade, pound back some water, and feel a great weight lifting from my shoulders. I suddenly have literally nothing to prove to anyone and can shoot the whole damn thing for the fun of it! And that's what I did. As the shoot progressed over the next few hours, and as the ibuprofen/water/electrolytes repaired my brain I felt better and better. And I shot fairly well too. Though for me it was like Who's Line Is It Anyway - the score was made up and the points don't matter. Literally - I got half a point for lobbing two arrows down range without using my bow during a timed end.
The shoot itself was entertaining and I got to shoot SE's combat arrows, managing to hit a helmet in the grill on my last shot of the tournament.
Afterward, I had a much needed nap. Sadly I missed the war bow shoot, which DM said was super entertaining. Evening brought court and it was pretty cool. Finally there was the "Kingdom Kegger", a little get together at the town square where we could ask the powers that be about Avacal's attempt to become a Kingdom. I didn't really have any questions, which didn't stop me from asking the Principality Seneschal what the capital of Alaska was (He said Anchorage, I said Nome. Turns out we're both wrong - it's Juneau).
My opinion on the Kingdom of Avacal? I'm 60% apathetic and 40% for it, mostly because all my friends are for it and I want my friends to be happy.
The sun went down and we got a nice view of the Aurora Borealis. Something I've only seen a handful of times because I'm a city boy. It's a nice feature of our northern land and I think some SCA branch should incorporate it into their name. Maybe a Barony.
I went to bed just before midnight and had a fairly good (and sober) sleep. I awoke refreshed and happy to have been at the event and a little sad that I was leaving without seeing lots more people. Seriously, I'd love to just sit around a campfire and chat in small groups with everyone. But that would take many more nights than we had. At least I managed it with SE and GD, who are awesome camp-mates, and I'm not just saying that because they let me use their shower.
Gareth and I packed our stuff and took off. We missed the Highway Traffic Cafe after party and there were no new notes at the Killam urinal (though last year's messages were still there). An uneventful drive brought us back to Cowtown.
