Almost (mostly) done. Just a few necklines to finish off, and the new tunics for the war in California will be finished. With, oh, 4 or 5 days to spare.
I might even get time to add some trim to another tunic or two.
A bonus is the extra time to add “war paint” to our fencing masks. Thanks to an airbrush, some paints, and a modicum of artistic talent (yeah, right), we can make ourselves more menacing on the field–or something. More visible targets? Yeah. Okay. There’s that. But still…I get to paint stuff.
There’s still a ton to get done social media-wise, but I think I can manage to wrap that up in the morning. Or something. I don’t even know what to do with that at this point. I may be in over my head, but I think once I get a rhythm down it will jive okay.
On the good-news front, I have a potential beta reader for when I have Book 1’s revisions done–thanks to Twitter. (See what I did there? Social media segue.) You see, just about every day I tweet a few lines from the WIP with various hashtags. These hashtags are kinda like weekly “looky what I can do” things, where authors get to show of nuggets of brilliance in the hopes of…well, I don’t know exactly what the point is, beyond gaining a few followers and maybe some readers when the book is finished. I think part of the point is the inherent narcissism that seems to be rampant among writers. “See how witty I am? Read my next book to see what I can really do when not under a 140-character limit!”
Speaking of narcissistic writers, I had quite the ego boost yesterday when my blog views shot up (relatively speaking) after that nonsensical post about not having anything to post. Who would’a thought? My deep, existential stuff often goes unnoticed, but write a few paragraphs of drivel and it gets devoured. Go fig.
I had something else I was going to say, something of moderate importance…but I got distracted by my own thoughts and whatever it was is now unimportant.
Category: #nerd
Let slip the dogs of war
I’m almost there with the tunics! Thanks to a good friend, I was able to get the tunics mostly done (three have minor things to finish, one complete cut-and-sew left to go) last week/weekend, and hopefully this week I’ll be able to put those last touches on everything.
My husband is diligently planning the food for the event. He’s the resident cook, and we’ve got a decent-sized group that we’re camping with. Between the two of us, the stress is kind of starting to suffocate a little.
Still, stress aside, we’re both excited. I should be able to get my sword barbell for my industrial piercing put in this Saturday, which means I’ll have it for the war! I can hardly wait. 🙂 The piercing is healing well, well enough that I can take my fencing mask off and on with no problems. The only irritation I have is when I wake up, and I think that having the shorter barbell in will make that better because it won’t be able to slide around when I inevitably toss and turn in my sleep.
Work is going to be hectic leading up to our departure time, which will be immediately after I get off of work next Wednesday. One week and some change. I should be able to get those tunics all finished by then.
One week and some change.
And then we’re off to war.
T-minus 9 days
Nine days and counting until my first out-of-state war. Nine days to finish three tunics (one of the four is finally complete, one only needs the rest of the trim sewn down, one is cut but not pinned/sewn, and one hasn’t even been cut yet). I have my hands full, that’s for sure.
Thankfully, I have great friends to help out and make the time pass better. One of my friends has offered use of her home’s space to do my cutting and whatnot, as well as offering her company, both of which I am grateful for. I discovered last week that I tend to operate more efficiently (still slowly, but more efficiently) when I have someone to talk to, gossip with, whatever, than when I’m in my own workspace. I think part of it is that I get distracted by things like my phone, the Internet, and other projects that are piling up as well. None of that is really conducive to finishing these tunics.
My hope is to get the already-cut tunic finished and the not-yet-been-cut one cut and maybe pinned today. That would be a tremendous weight off my shoulders as far as the deadline to finish these. Hell, I might be able to get some trim on a couple more tunics instead of just the one.
The only good thing about this deadline is that it’s taking my mind off the reason for the deadline: the war itself. I haven’t done many rapier melees, and the ones I’ve done have mostly been practice. Okay, almost all been practice. I’ve been told it’s easier when you’re in the thick of it, but that doesn’t do much to calm my nerves about it. So far, I tend to be too slow and clunky on the field, especially compared to my more experienced comrades. Even my husband is much better on the battlefield, but I sometimes wonder if that’s due to his military experience. Hell, most of them have military experience. They know how to follow orders, how to make heat-of-the-moment decisions, all that stuff. Orders process immediately in their mind, whereas I have to think about okay, what was said? Oh yeah, this. So I need to do this. By which point in time the order for “this” has passed and they’re on to another order.
Now I’ve gotten myself all worked up over it again. Geez. I guess I should put down the laptop and get my fabric and thread together. I’ve got a lot of work to do.
Heralding in change
As I delve deeper into my “medieval” life, I have the urge to design some kind of heraldic crest for myself. Why? Partly because I’d like to play around with design, partly because I just want a cool symbol for me.
My persona is named after a valkyrie that is associated with swans, which may not sound very imposing, but swans can kick ass when they want to. So I searched The Google for Viking-esque images of swans. I found a cool one that I’d like to use, but I thought I would still *try* to come up with something on my own. I’m terrible at actual Viking/Celtic knotwork without copying, but I can make stylized stuff that’s somewhat decent. So these are what I’ve come up with so far:
The top one is the copy design, with a sword behind it (because rapiers). The bottom one is my own design. I like my own design, but it’s not really a “Viking” style, and it doesn’t lend well to adding a sword or other item to it. I mean, I kind of can, but I’m not sure on it…Kinda dig it, kinda don’t. Still sketching on that one. What do you think?
It looks better now that I’ve gotten the swords on there, I guess. So the next question is, do I want to even go for a heraldic crest at this point? I’ve only been playing about five or six months…is it too early for a crest? My “persona” might not be fully formed yet. I dig the idea of the swan because it’s both graceful and a bit aggressive. Though I’m not the most graceful person, I can, in rapier at least, be more than a bit aggressive. But is that who I want to “be”? I don’t know, but I think I might’ve kinda maybe sorta talked myself into it with this post.
What does everyone think? The not-quite-Viking-esque swan with swords or the copycatted-Google-image with a sword? I am digging the not-quite-Viking one more and more as I look at it, but I’m asking what you think….
En Garde
Okay, I’m going to flat-out say it: I fucking love swords.
I wasn’t too sure about longswords at first; the first time I practiced with one, it was unwieldy and awkward, and I couldn’t get the forms right. I was so frustrated I burst into tears because of all the new input that just wouldn’t click. This elbow here, that arm there, and never mind that it feels weird or is a little painful. I was sure I’d never enjoy that form of swordfighting. Last weekend’s tournament proved me wrong.
Yeah, I had only picked up a longsword for the first time a week before the tournament. Yeah, my form sucked. But in two best-two-out-of-three rounds I managed to get one “kill” and one “double kill.” Granted, those were with different fighters and were both after I had already lost two rounds so they really didn’t count for the purposes of the tournament, but they counted to me. I was up against fighters who had years and years of practice, so just being able to hit them at all is, at least in my opinion, quite the accomplishment.
I did relatively well in the rapier tournament too, getting at least one kill or one double in each round (except against my husband lol damn his 6’4″ reach!), so I will take those as “wins” as well despite my two-out-of-three losses in each round. Again, aside from my husband I was paired against fighters with much more experience than I have–and even my husband had some experience with “modern” fencing when he was younger. So as the noobiest noob in the tournament, again, I did pretty well. To be able to kill or double kill against more skilled opponents is a great feeling, especially for me. I’ve never, never been good at sports. At all. And now I’ve found a sport that feels almost natural.
It helps to have the support of my local rapier community (and close friends), whose advice and opinions I deeply respect. For them to encourage me and tell me how well I fight given my skill level–it really makes a girl feel good.
Soon I’ll have a rapier of my own to practice with, which should help me a bit. The one I’ve been borrowing is a fairly short blade (so even with my freakishly long arms I don’t really have any bonus to reach) and this one that I’ve ordered is a couple of inches longer. A couple of inches might not sound like much, but in at least one fight last weekend I would have doubled versus lost if not for those two inches. I have to give that opponent props for halting the round until she could trade her regular-length sword for a shorter blade once she realized I was wielding a short blade to even things out. I’m 99% sure she saw how close I had been to reaching her and wanted to make the fight more even-sided.
That’s another thing about rapier, at least in my experience so far: chivalry. If there’s any uncertainty about a hit (because with some of the armor it’s hard to feel a hit or feel if the hit was “good”) there’s discussion and concession. Sure, there’s the occasional jerk who won’t acknowledge a perfectly good draw on the side or who will declare a double when you yourself didn’t feel a damn thing, but so far I’ve found that to be rare. The majority of rapier fighters, good rapier fighters, will fight honorably. And that’s super cool. How often in other sports do you see knock-down drag-out screaming matches or even physical fights? Well, I’ll tell ya, rapier is not like hockey. We don’t throw down our swords and lay into each other. Nope. Civilized, man, civilized. That’s the way to be.
I’m going to an event in a couple of months where I will know probably only one person outside of my local “circle” of rapier fighters. That should prove interesting, as I’m accustomed to the fighting styles of my friends and haven’t had much experience fighting others. I’m actually looking forward to it though; the more varied styles I can fight against, the better I’ll get.
Bring it on!
Step it up
I bet you thought this was another Pokemon Go post…well, you were wrong!
It’s getting to be about a month & a half until we leave for Dragon Con, so I need to step up my work on our cosplays. Tick tick tick. The timer’s running out. I still have to put the lining on the Shatterstar coat, cut the pieces for the corset (& everything else that I haven’t started yet), sew the shit together, & learn how to use my serger to sew Spandex. Oh, and there’s the fabrication of the weapons and painting of my boots once they’re ordered & shipped. So yeah, gotta step it up.
I think I’m going to go into the sewing room & start cutting the pieces for the corset. Since I’ll need to order the boning (as soon as I know the lengths I’ll need), I should probably get started on that next. Then it will be on to the shrug I’m going to make, and then all the Spandex stuff.
When I made the Naruto cosplays it took me less than a month for both of them, but they were less complicated. These involve a lot more work, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed. I’ve got to alter almost every pattern I’m using, so it’s going to be tough. I also need to lose weight before Dragon Con so things fit better, but I think I’ll be okay on that front.
Oh yeah, I’ve also got to do some alterations on my husband’s Star Wars/Doctor Who mashup cosplay & the Naruto cosplay. So there’s that.
Tick tick tick.
Poke-splosion
After just four days of playing Pokemon Go (with a break one day due to extreme exhaustion after work), I have to admit that this game’s addictive.
I don’t play “to win” (capture gyms, etc), but it’s a good game to get out and get exercise and potentially meet new friends. Since I mostly farmed in WoW, it’s kind of like that for me, only with walking and being outdoors. I “catch” the Pokemon, get experience, etc. I’m getting a good mile and a half plus every day that I go out and play in the evening (or morning on the weekends)…now if I could just find an app that had a fun way of getting you to eat better or eat less…but I don’t think anyone’s come up with anything like that. Maybe a game where you get special perks for eating veggies and lose those perks when you eat ice cream. Or something.
Until I went to the local park (we’re in a pretty small town, so there are only a few places that have multiple pokestops and whatnot to catch Pokemon & collect pokeballs), I didn’t realize exactly how popular the game was. I mean, I know tons of people were talking about it, but I didn’t expect the sheer numbers of people wandering around looking at their phones, talking about the Pokemon they were trying to catch.
I also didn’t expect the sheer numbers of adults playing the game. Like, vastly greater numbers than the kids. I know that Pokemon started when I was a teenager, so there are a lot of adults my age or younger who basically grew up with Pokemon. It’s yet another blast from the past in this golden age of nostalgia.
I’m hoping this Poke-splosion helps me lose some of this extra weight, or at least tone up a bit. It would be nice to have the corset that I’m making for Dragon Con fit a bit better. It would also be nice to have people quit asking if I’m having a baby. I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t try to be diplomatic with my answer. I just say “No, it’s just fat” and get on with life. I used to try not to hurt people’s feeling and not make them feel bad for asking, but eff that. Maybe people should feel bad for assuming that any woman with a belly is pregnant.
How did I get from Pokemon to preggerbellies? What can I say? That’s just how my mind works.
Off now to get ready for work. Maybe on my lunch break I’ll go for a walk & try to catch a few more.
Caught by the balls
Yeah, it happened. I hate Pokemon but I wanted to get involved in walking like my husband has been with this new Pokemon Go craze (and I wanted to walk with him), but I couldn’t find an augmented reality app that I liked that I could use while we went walking. So there it is. I have a Pokemon Go account. I’m level six. I gotta admit, the avatar’s pretty cute.
Last night we went on an hour-and-a-half long walk, mostly spent searching for “points of interest” (or whatever they’re called) and catching different Pokemon.
Am I addicted to the game already? I’d like to think I’m not; I mean, I’ve only been playing for half a day. And it’s not like I’m going outside at 4:30 in the morning because I’ve got a wild urge to catch Pokemon. Sure, if one shows up in my apartment I’ll grab it, but I’m not going to go looking for them this early in the morning. Yeah, we went out late last night–“late” being around 8:30 to 10:00 pm–and spent the time searching for and catching Pokemon. I probably got more exercise in that hour and a half than I have since Phoenix Comicon. I certainly got the most number of steps in a day since then.
It was kind of funny…as my husband and I were standing on a street corner next to a church in the dark, with another Pokeplayer next to us, a car full of young guys–probably early to mid 20s–pulled up to the corner. When one of them leaned out the window to holler at us and ask what we were doing, I half-expected some jeering or taunting or at least him yelling “Fucking nerds!”…but none of that happened. He simply asked what we were doing…so, being the proud nerd that I am, I said, “Pokemon, man!” His reply? “Pokemon Go? Hell yeah!” That’s right. The quasi-thug hanging out the car window was a Pokefan. Who knew?
I was surprised by the sheer number of people in our small town who were wandering around late at night to play this game. Given that there isn’t much of anything in the area we were walking–especially nothing that was open for business–there were still random groups of people walking and chattering. Occasionally we’d find a car full of people playing, driving around to the different points of interest or “gyms” and playing there (one car had small children in it, so I assume the parents didn’t want them walking around that late at night), but most of the people we passed by were walking.
Good for Pokemon. They got nerds to get out of the comfort and societal safety of their homes and go out into the world and be active. We even chatted with one or two people briefly (not counting Car Guy).
Will this interactive motivation to get moving stick? Will I continue to play and get more exercise? I’m not sure. I tend to lose interest in things like this relatively quickly, but we’ll see.
For now? I gotta catch ’em all. Or something.
De-con-pression
Yeah, yeah, the con titles are getting old. This should–maybe–be the last one…for a while. Possibly.
So as my husband and I decompress from the convention, we’re catching up on TV that we missed and discussing our next cosplay pairing for Dragon Con in September. Being that I have an awesome husband and mom, I’ll soon own a new serger and be able to sew knits and Spandex for more cosplays. We also attended several panels on cosplay design and creation, so we’re hoping that gives us a start on accomplishing bigger and better cosplays.
You’ll be seeing progress photos as my husband and I get to work, partly because I get super excited and geeked out over it all, and partly because I like to see the progression myself. It’s fun to see what started out as, say, a couple bouncy balls from the toy section in Wal-Mart to a larger-than-life prop gourd that got tons of compliments during Phoenix Comicon.
We only have a couple of photos of our cosplays so far, so I’ll wait and see if I find any more of them before I post the “finished” looks here. (I put “finished” in quotes because we’re already brainstorming ways to improve on our first attempts.)
On to interview transcription and article writing! (That’s right, I didn’t forget that I was attending as a member of the media) 😉
The excitement is Con-tagious
That’s right, this afternoon I leave my humble abode for Phoenix Comicon 2016! I’ll be in cosplay the first three days (I’m wearing my Talk Nerdy With Us t-shirt Sunday–shirts available at talknerdywithus.com), and I’m hoping to get photos galore of all the cosplays, as well as live tweeting and (maybe) Periscoping some panels.
I’ll be representing Talk Nerdy With Us as well, with my sweet press badge:
Official, and flattering lol
So excited to be going to the con as press, and extra excited because it’s my fifth year in a row at Phoenix Comicon. Each year I go I get more and more thrilled to be there. It’s even more fantastic this year because my little sister is coming with. I can’t wait to introduce her to the addiction that is Con Life.
Of course, there will be the blistered feet, the blistering heat, and the unending exhaustion…but that’s half the fun!
See y’all later! I don’t know if I’ll have time to post any blogs this weekend, but I’ll definitely have an update Monday with all the fun I had! 🙂