Rambling Update

It's been ages since I made a new entry. Much is happening, which is why LJ has crept lower on the priority queue (but still ahead of laundry!).

This was the first week of the month, which is always hellacious in my schedule, this month worse than some. We started Midsummer Night's Dream rehearsals, with a readthru last Sunday, and the first two blocking rehearsals on Wednesday and Thursday. Monday was Baronial Council, where we voted on our response(s) to the Nonmember Surcharge. Tuesday was Eastern Star.

We were supposed to initiate a new member at Eastern Star on Tuesday. I had studied my script, but perhaps not as well as I should have, so I was hoping that we might not have to do the initiation (e.g., if we were snowed out, or if the candidate didn't show). Luckily (?) the candidate was ill, and didn't come. We'll still initiate her, but next month. Meanwhile, the Worthy Grand Matron, Judy Fenner, who is head of all the chapters in the state, decided to pay our meeting a call. This makes our officers edgy, because there's always a feeling that she's critically scrutinizing our procedures. Instead, she was there to present an honorary appointment, a kind of award. To me! Who knew? I was completely surprised, for I think only the second time in my life, by an award (the other: my Silver Crescent). Judy made me Grand Representative of New Jersey, which is a kind of embassy between Mass. and NJ. I get a spiffy gold pin to wear to OES events, and have certain other ceremonial duties to perform such as carrying the NJ flag at the Massachusetts Grand Chapter meeting in May, for the next two years.

Midsummer's rehearsals are going pretty well. People are picking up quickly on their blocking and business. I don't much like the new room we're using - it's a funny shape for rehearsing, to the point where Thursday we used the hall-side long wall instead of the front of the room. Wish we could go back to the room where we rehearsed Shrew and Tempest (which was also closer to the soda machines, and out of earshot of the bathrooms, both desirable traits in a practice-hall). At least it's in a disused area of the campus, with little foot traffic in the evenings, so when Hermia shrieks or Oberon bellows, both of which happen often, we're not disturbing somebody's faculty office hours.

Yesterday, I had planned to drop by the Scribal Symposium little event, just briefly in my capacity as head of the order of the Daystar, to present the award in baronial court. After which I was going to come right home and work on housework and projects here. Justin went off early, to go to symposium classes. But my car wouldn't start. Twice before, the car has tried to not-start, but both times I've been able to persuade it by turning off all the accessories like the radio and heater, and trying again. Ack! So I called Yeliz, as my nearest SCA neighbor, and said "whatcha doin'? Want to drive me to the event?" She came by and tried to jump-start the car, which didn't work, so she agreed to drive me to the site. Quickly, she grabbed herself a set of garb, and off we went. When we got to the site, the Baron says to her, "Gee I'm glad you're here. I need you." What? Well, seems the Baron wanted her to present an award too, as head of the order of Perseus! So she and I each did our thing in court, chatted awhile with people, wandered through the amazing exhibit of scrolls, and eventually home.

I still have heaps of housework, laundry, and other miscellanous projects with which to fill my afternoon. We have two more MSND rehearsals this week, and Arisia is next weekend, so it behooves me to get my backside moving, while I have an actual free day