Trent the Uncatchable

One Long Fight

Yesterday afternoon Laura had a doctor's appointment, so we left work a little early to get her there. Everything's fine. I dropped her off at home and went back out for prescriptions and groceries, then returned and vaaccuummeedd. And had dinner, and we played D&D.

Laura gets to work from home today (some kind of audit at work, and they gave the auditor her desk), so I drove alone. I believe I'm scheduled to stop by Dahrien's to finish writing up a character, and I'll go there again tomorrow night for more D&D. Thursday and Friday are currently unscheduled.

I wasn't going to mention it, but I might as well - I started a six-week workout thing with EA Sports More Workouts. This one's a little more brutal than the first, possibly because I'm more out-of-shape than when I did the four-week one. Possibly it's just because I'm at the beginning of it, and I don't remember how brutal the beginning of the other one was. So, hurrah ... and now I ache. After *two days*. Yeesh. (It's the lunges. I've never liked the lunges.)

]]> The party fled through rooms they had previously cleared out, pursued by guards. The last door opened into a twenty-foot-wide hallway, which extended an additional forty feet to the north before forming a t-intersection with an even wider one. (They had been referring to that northern hall as 'the boneyard' because it was filled ankle-deep with bones and bone fragments, the site of a previous encounter with some undead creatures and ogres.) Our heroes ran to that intersection, making their stand on opposite corners and hoping to catch their pursuers in a crossfire and turning the hallway into a killing pocket. Chatrilon led Questin and Wonilon up the walls to hide out of sight near the ceiling, Granny Mabel and Daisy went west, and Spugnoir and Anasha went east. Three guards emerged in pursuit moments later and stopped, unsure which way to go - through the door on the opposite (west) wall or to the north and into the boneyard. Two of them chose the door while the third began to return from whence he came - and his ear was torn off by an arrow fired from the shadows. Two more projectiles came from the darkness, slaying him. Daisy charged the two remaining guards, joined by a hail of weapons fire and magic from the other party members. Eventually their foes fell, but as they did so the group was attacked from behind by two additional guardsmen. They did a fair amount of damage before slain as well. And as *they* died, a third group of guards emerged from the door. Four guardsmen took up defensive positions to protect a robed man, and as all weapons fire was focused in that direction two sections of the wall tore loose and lumbered towards the party. Anasha cast a spell which filled a corner of the room which flaming grease, which acts like napalm, and destroyed the guardsmen and the robed figure; as a side effect, it also lit the rock creature. Repeated blows and spells eventually took down their two targets, but not before one of them incapacitated Granny Mabel. Questin provided bandaging and stabilized the elder monk, and the group began travelling towards a room they felt would be safe to bandage their wounds and perform what healing they could.

On the way there, they encountered another group of guards. It was quick work to dispatch them, and upon searching their bodies Daisy discovered a piece of jewelry which made her sick. She smashed the thing, and the resulting explosion rendered her, Wonilon, Questin, and Chatrilon blind. Spugnoir, now the only member of the party with both mobility and sight, led the group the rest of the way towards their destination. Just as they reached the door, they heard a shout...

Heavy Metal

Friday night we watched some Stargate. On Saturday I did chores and errands around town - mailed some things, renewed my library card, cleaned a chunk of the garage, cleaned up and moved the barrister bookcases, dusted and cleaned the interior of the car, tidied the porch, and did some shopping. And watched some Veronica Mars. Laura started out the day feeling good but waned with the daylight; she did some things around the house too and then went to bed. Sunday morning was more of Saturday's activity, then I met Magnus and Annamarie at the Marquette Medieval Society storage room (where the collected Baronial loaner armor and MMS loaner armor lives) to clean. It took a couple hours, but the room is now organized, a bunch of stuff has been disposed of, and Magnus and I both took home things to repair and clean up. There's a lot of stuff in there, of various levels of usefulness; I think the MMS group could put together five or six complete sets of armor from it and get people out on the field, if they were really ready to. They've also got a number of projects which were begun and never finished, which the group could probably complete to make more. So, that's something to look forward to. I also came away with a list of suggestions and follow-up things which I'll address later.

I picked up Thai for dinner, and we finished Stargate SG-1. That is, we finished the series; we still have two or three SG-1 movies to watch. And we've almost finished Stargate Atlantis season 3. At this pace we'll almost have completed the Stargate saga by the time Stargate Universe picks up again. Woo!

Tonight is D&D. Tomorrow I have a dentist appointment (which I need to reschedule). Wednesday is D&D at Dahrien's. Thursday, Friday, and the weekend are clear.

And now, coffee.

Dream to Reality

Last night we went home, then Laura ran out to fill a prescription and I ran over to Magnus's house. Where I met up with him and Valerius and Corin, and I watched a whim of an idea become reality. More details after the thing is finished and debuts at Gulf Wars, but ... wow. Valerius drew on some cardboard for a little while, and then cut it out; he traced the results onto a piece of metal, and he and Magnus cut it out with beverly shears. Then Valerius filed the biggest burrs down, and Magnus and I used the grinding wheel to smooth it all. And I doodled on some cardboard, and Magnus used that as the model for the next part. And he put the resulting piece of metal through the roller to give it some curve. And I think it looks pretty darned good. (You'll note, Valerius and Magnus did most of the work. But I contributed where I could. And it was my idea, after all.)

Home afterwards, where Laura and I watched the Daily Show and went to bed.

Tonight we have no plans, I think. I'm slowly coming up with projects for the weekend. None of them involve metal, but some involve wood.

Need Caffeine

Last night was another night of base urges, sewing, and Stargate. Tonight I'm going to Magnus's to pound on metal. And the weekend is free.

I bet I had something more to say, but now I can't think of what.

Breakdown!

Last night I broke down and decided that we would have dinner from Georgie Porgies, as the flavor of the day was my new favorite. I picked up Laura's burger and fries and Earthquake sundae, and far too much White Chocolate Raspberry custard for me. We ate our meals while we watched Stargate - and I had a nice healthy chicken breast and pasta - and then dug into the dessert. On the plus side, it was REALLY TASTY. Also on the plus side, I've satisfied that craving for a long time. On the minus side, of course, custard.

After four episodes of SG1 - and folding laundry, and plotting evil, and sewing a dress - we went to bed. Because that's how we roll.

Tonight we have no plans, so I expect more of the same as yesterday. With far less custard. Thursday I ought to be armoring at Magnus's. And the weekend is free.

Boom!

Last night we went home and cleaned up, and I made some phone calls. And then people arrived and we gamed.

Tonight we have nothing planned ... though I have some things to mail, and maybe I can get them ready to go before the post office closes at 6. Tomorrow night we have no plans ... though there's always fighter's practice in Madison. Thursday night I'll head to Magnus's shop to work on a project. And then we're clear for the weekend.

]]> The party received gifts from The Big God Man (aka Kord), who departed in a flash of light. They exchanged some information and items and continued their exploration. Behind the next door they found a group of guards who were dispatched fairly quickly, and beyond that group discovered another who seemed bent on destruction. One protracted battle later resulted in a hard-won new toy - a javelin which casts chain lightning. As they were in a guard room ("Earth Elemental Reavers", according to the sign) with beds, and they needed to recharge and heal, the party decided that it was time to rest. They spiked both the door at the north end of the room and the door at the south end of the room, and settled in.

As the group slept, Granny Mabel kept watch. She was a little surprised by the knock on the door, but answered it in her own way. A scout announced himself, having been dispatched to check on the Reavers who were late for their shift change. With this news in hand, Granny woke Chatrilon and Questin. They unspiked and opened the door and surprised the scout. Sadly, his orders were not sufficient protection and he was slain quickly and dragged into the room. The group returned to their rest, and were awoken again when a second scout came knocking. He was not silenced as quickly, and may have spread the alarm; when the third knock came, Granny and Chatrilon decided that it was time to move out. As they were waking everyone, a person walked through the door, looked at them, and ran back out. The party fled, and behind them the door exploded into splinters. Staying just a step ahead, our heroes escaped through some doors and into a hallway where they could lay a trap...

We will continue there next Monday night.

Is that a moose?

Friday night was, as expected, a fairly relaxing evening. I did some computer-y things and picked up a pizza, then we watched tv and ate. Four episodes of SGA later we went to bed.

Saturday was Bardic Madness, with all the madness that entailed. We almost managed to keep things on schedule, and even managed to pull things back from a half-hour delay, but somehow it ran late anyway. Still, a good event.

Sunday was regional fighter's practice, which was really only locally attended. (We had one rapier fighter from Madison, but otherwise it was a local practice.) Afterwards, home for dinner where we watched the Olympic closing ceremonies. Complete with giant inflatable beavers and moose.

Tonight is D&D. Tomorrow I'm supposed to go to Magnus's house to work on a project. Wednesday night is fighter's practice in Madison, which I might make it to. And that's our plans for the week. This weekend is That Moot Thingy, which we probably won't attend. (It's a long way to travel for no fighting. Which sounds horrible, but it's true.)

And now, I have yogurt to eat.

Better

Last night we went to the Urgent Care, where Laura saw a doctor and he declared that she has - pending test results and whatnot - viral bronchitis. He gave her a prescription for some heavy-duty cough medicine and antibiotics and sent us on our way. We dropped that off on the way home, and I threw some things in the car and went back out. Picked up the scrip and went to practice.

I was a little late (maybe 20 minutes), and got there just in time to intercept the three other heavy fighters as they were leaving - Valerius was there but not planning to fight, and Geoffrey, Magnus, and Jean decided that they'd rather talk fighting than actually fight. So they were headed to the bar. We talked for a little while, then they went to BW3s and I went home.

Tonight I think we'll go to bed nice and early. Tomorrow is Bardic Madness, and it looks like Laura won't be going. Sunday is a regional fighter's practice, and Monday is D&D.

And now, work.

Snow and sickness

Last night I drove home in a sudden blinding snowstorm, across the scary bridge, watching people spin out and gazing at the cars in the ditches. I got home after about an hour. Laura was feeling better, so we watched some Stargate before she went back to bed and I shovelled the driveway. And went to bed.

This morning we made it about halfway to work before Laura decided that she wasn't really well after all. So we went home, and then I came in to the office. Tonight is fighter's practice, though I might take her to the Urgent Care first. (Not that she's at death's door, more for a doctor's note. And maybe it will turn out to be something that drugs can help.) She's pretty sure she won't be well enough for Bardic Madness this weekend, though. I think we'll be fine as far as retainers, but Bardic Madness is a big event for her. And that's a sad thing. :(

But now, on to work.

Force push!

Laura's still sick, so I spent another night at home being quiet. Being quiet and killing my opponents with my psychic powers in the basement (in Red Alert 3: Uprising). Because that's how I roll. When I wasn't turning my enemies into clouds of steel and blood, I kept Laura supplied with soup and hot drinks. Though, to be honest, she had to refill her soup bowl herself.

Tonight is D&D at Dahrien's - unless Laura's sick enough that I stay home with her. And tomorrow night is fighter's practice. And this weekend is Bardic Madness.

Unnatural reduction of speed

Last night I ran some errands to take care of my sick wife, then watched some tv. And finally went to bed. It wasn't a very exciting evening, I'm afraid.

Tonight will probably be a repeat - Laura was still sick this morning, so I'll pick up some comfort food on the way home and we'll have a quiet night. Tomorrow night is D&D at Dahrien's, and Thursday is fighting. And Saturday is Bardic Madness. (All of which is subject to change depending on who's sick when.)

Whoosh. On to work.

Waffley goodness

As expected, Friday night we watched some Stargate and packed. Saturday was Fighter's School, and I enjoyed it - I got to play in the melees for almost an hour, which was fun. And I started shaking off some of the rust from my instincts, such as they are. (In other words, I died more than I should have but I started remembering things.) After the event we went to the Kegslayers' and hung out for a while, then went home.

Sunday Laura wasn't feeling well. I drove back to Madison and joined some other SCA folks for brunch at Samba, which features an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet complete with waffles and three kinds of meat. I should have done my homework before the trip - since I had no passenger to navigate for me, it was tough to find the place and tougher to find a place to park. But I managed. (Now, of course, I'd have no problem.) But the food was worth the trip, and I learned a bunch about the bar business. After food I went home, stopping for groceries and whatnot along the way, and did some things around the house. And wrapped up the evening with Veronica Mars, and went to bed.

Today there isn't as much snow as I had feared. Laura's still not feeling well, so she's stayed home; I braved the weather and drove in to a fairly quiet office. We cancelled D&D for tonight, but I have a different D&D game starting on Wednesday and fighting on Thursday. And oh so much work to do before then.

So, right. To it!

Plans

Last night we watched the last few SGA episodes on the disc and broke the barrier with The Pegasus Project: The first episode in which the SG1 and SGA teams fully integrate. And it was a treat.

Tonight, some shopping. Then maybe more SG1. And packing for tomorrow's event. Tomorrow, said event. Sunday is up in the air - we're been invited to a brunch thing in Madison, and we have tickets reserved for Shiny Boxes ("A play about boredom, sex, bacon bits, demons, and women who kill") and Aleta (A play in memories. A boy's father is absent, his mother is overpowering, his girlfriend is well-intentioned, and he has finally snapped.") in Chicago. But it's hard to say this far in advance if we'll go. (I know it seems strange to not know our plans a couple days in advance, but ... there are factors.)

Zoom!

Maybe Someday

Last night was a relatively quiet night at home. Laura did some sewing and I did a brief spate of work on the computer. We watched some SGA, putting season two away and pulling out season three. After a few episodes of SGA we'll be back to SG1, and then we'll change shows as we finish each DVD. And won't that be nice?

We have no plans for tonight, or for tomorrow, other than to prepare for the event this weekend.

Sorry I'm concise today. I've got some work stuff to work on.

And that's the deal.

Raxaphonic!

Last night was Curia, followed by dinner and some Olympic hockey. Tonight we have no firm plans, but I might get together with Ben online. Laura and I are up against a two-part season finale of SGA, so we're trying to save it for a time when we have an hour and a half to sit and watch; that hour and a half hasn't materialized since Friday night. Then we'll be into season three, and we'll have caught up to SG1 and the disc-swapping can commence.

I'm also into the final stretch of First Lord's Fury, the last book of Jim Butcher's Codex Alera series. I've got 65 pages to go, and it's due back tomorrow. The question isn't whether I'll finish it before I have to return it, the question is what else I'll put off until it's done.

I'm still a little sick. This is bound to balance itself out at some point...