Gah. Too much to remember.

Right. Friday night we went back to the car place and bought the Jetta. It's a nice car, it's got some bells and/or whistles, and Laura really likes it. I got to drive it last night (for the first time) and enjoyed it too, but I don't forsee that I'll spend a lot of time behind the wheel. Still and all, go team us!

Saturday I slept in, then ran errands for a good part of the day. Took the spare Ford keys back to the VW place and handed them over, did a final pass through the car, clicked the gear shift lever a couple times as farewell. Took the mower in (again), and was informed that my current problem *might* be carboretuer, might be a fan thing, but was most likely vapor lock. (The other mechanic there said 'Never heard of vapor lock on this model...') He demonstrated how to clear the vapor lock, a process which requires an acrobat or a couple people. And I took it home to mow. I did some of the front lawn, then the mower died. Tried doing the vapor lock trick and did a little more, tried doing the vapor lock again and did a little more, and so on until the vapor lock thing didn't work anymore. I did the last third of the lawn using the old-fashioned lawnmower (a push mower, no gas involved). Which cuts grass, but jams on twigs and for some reason ignores dandelions.

Sunday I rebuilt three swords and did some armor repair. Watched some tv, watched the rain. Laura and I ran around in DDO for awhile. And Monday night was more DDO.

Tuesday was the Stritch demo. Everyone set up in 'the quad', which is visible from all over the classroom side of things but had little to no foot traffic. The heavens opened around 7:15, just as the six fighters pulled on their helmets and started hitting each other. We all ran inside and finished in the normal practice space, damp and tired. I went home and unpacked everything into the garage, and hopefully nothing's too rusty or moldy.

Last night I dropped Laura off at the Kenosha Starbucks, where we met up with a group of medievalists headed to Kalamazoo for the International Congress on Medieval Studies. They'll be back Saturday night. Home for me by way of some shopping, and I had a nice sausage pizza while I caught up on recorded tv. I was going to go watch The Avengers but mis-timed it and had to be back to do some server work, so that will have to wait. And it was late work, too.

Tonight is opening night of Dream Theatre Company's Peter Pan's Shadow Part 2: Everland, and I figured I might as well go. (I'll go again with Laura and maybe others, but I really wanted to see this one twice if I could.) Tomorrow night I'll probably go see The Avengers. Saturday is a fighter's practice and Ben flies in to O'Hare around 5:30; Laura and the medievalists will swing through to pick him up. And Sunday we have no plans.

Right. Must eat. End of line.

The time has come for us to consider replacing our Ford Focus, for various reasons that I'm not going to go into. It's paid off, or very nearly, and it's in pretty good shape. But that's important background for the rest of this post.

Tuesday night we had a lovely dinner at Little Cancun, then dropped off the car. Since we were there we spent a few hours poking around the Don Jacobs lot. Laura nixed the Scion IQ and the Toyota Yaris, the two small cars they had on the lot. We looked at some used cars and took an 09 Beetle out for a spin, and Laura liked that one. We decided we'd think about it and come back, since we had to come back to get the Prius anyway.

Wednesday the Toyota guys told us that we needed a new catalytic converter and other stuff, and they could have the car done on Thursday. So we stayed home and talked about cars, then played some DDO.

Thursday I took the shuttle to the dealer and got the Prius back, then went home and picked up Laura. We went out for dinner and then visited the VW dealer, where Laura predicted that she would fall in love with a Jetta and it'd all be over. We decided that we couldn't just get a Jetta without also looking at Ford, partly because we expected a better trade-in from Ford, partly because of the price of a Focus vs. a Jetta, and partly because it's just not fair to make up your mind about a car based on how it used to make you feel. (One. How it used to make one feel. Or something like that.) Anyway, we looked at their range of used cars and test-drove a couple Jettas. The dealers could tell that we were struggling and offered to let us take one of them home overnight. And so we did.

So, Laura's just called. She's been tooling around all afternoon in the Jetta, and is *almost* sure. We have more discussions to have. And so on.

This weekend is the Metal Moot and a fighter's practice in Stevens Point. I need to kill some dandelions and do other yardworky things. And so on, like that. I expect that we'll have a different car by the end of the weekend, just in time for Ben to come home. (Which happens next weekend, by the way.)

So, right. Time to go home, and end of line.

Saturday I ran some errands - dropped some stuff off to be delivered to DTC, visited Half Price Books in Northbrook - and then went to the Moot. The five of us with armor fought, and I think I took third. (Jean and Murdoch were first and second, Ambrose and Fiona took fourth and fifth or possibly fifth and fourth.) I stuck around for feast and court, and was called up to receive a map case (marking me as a member of the Castle's Commanders, an award I received in December) and then again to be thanked for my work taking notes at Curia for the last few years. As I already have all of the Barony's service awards, and to riff on a running theme, I received a jar of Awesomesauce. (I'm waiting for pictures.) Then I helped clean up and went home to my wife, and we watched some tv until bedtime. Sunday I did more errands and chores and finished up some tv series and mostly relaxed. And hey presto, there's the weekend.

Last night I helped the Marquette students take their armor back to the storage room in the Physics building, which was an interesting challenge - four fighters' worth of stuff has migrated into the back room of the practice space, which is generally unsecured, and then sort of exploded. I provided them with some rubbermaid tubs into which they sorted the individuals' gear (though I miscounted and only had three for four fighters), and they packed it all up; I then drove it all back to the Physics building for them. Though I drew the line at carrying the loads down the stairs. Then back to fighting, where I joined Magnus, Murdoch, Corydon, Akira, Randall, Jean, Ambrose, and Grimm already in progress. After fighting I went home while the rest of the horde closed out Sobelman's, and we chatted with Ginger for awhile before bed.

Tonight we're taking the Prius to the shop. Tomorrow night we're probably picking it up again. Thursday and Friday we have nothing planned. Saturday is, in no particular order, Free Comic Book Day, the Metal Moot, and Eastern Regional Fighter's Practice. (Three hours away, 'cause I'm going to look this up later, and site opens at noon, so it's daytrippable.)

Right. Time to take the car in. End of line.

Last night I went home after work and then turned around and came back. Stayed until about 4:15, then went home for a couple hours of sleep. Now I'm back at the office, treading the carefully caffeinated balance between jibbering incoherently and catatonia. Which is also the balance between nail-in-the-skull headache and the inability to focus on anything long enough to complete a sentence.

I recall that after the last all-nighter I declared that I was getting too old for this. I'm not sure the nap helped.

To top it off, the 'check engine' light came on as I drove home last night. I called this morning and set up an appointment for next week, which is soon as they can get me in. It's also time for the oil to change. Like the times. Which are, you know, a-changin'.

Otherwise, tonight will likely consist of me going to bed earlyish. (Stupid head, though - if I get too much sleep I'll wake up with a migraine. If I don't get enough sleep I'll develop a migraine over the next week or so.) Tomorrow is Spring Court, whose details are a little vague. And that's all we have planned, as far as I know.

Right. I should get some lunch. Today is Nacho Typical Friday, apparently. Or maybe that's the sleep deprivation talking.

End of line.

Last night we ( gamed. )

Then we forced our guests to watch the first couple episodes of Corner Gas and kicked them out. My favorite line from the game was when Laura described Daisy (the Barbarian with a low intelligence) and her experience with alcohol: Daisy smashed.

Tonight I'm going home, dropping off the lawnmower, and coming back to work for a little while. Tomorrow we have nothing planned. Saturday is Spring Court. And that's as far as my brain goes.

I've left a message with Ross Land Care to talk about the lawn, and we'll see how that goes. And I bet there's more, but my brains are running out of my ears.

Last night (Tuesday) I picked up Akira and we went to Stritch for practice. Corydon, Murdoch, Ambrose, Akira and I suited up and whacked each other for awhile and a bunch of other folks did embroidery and watched. (Albrecht and Gabrielle were both there, but not in armor.)

Tonight is D&D. Tomorrow I'm working late - probably going home and then coming back to the office. Friday we have nothing planned. Whee! And Saturday is our Spring Court moot.

I still haven't taken the lawnmower in to get it serviced (again). The landscaping service which has covered for me in the past is no longer mowing lawns, so I'm going to ask the guy across the street (the side of his truck says Ross Landscaping, but google doesn't bring me any contact information for that). I guess I get to knock on his door. Or else get close enough to his truck to find the phone number/website/contact info, which means standing in his driveway, so I might as well knock on his door.

And now, end of line.

Last night (Monday) was fighter's practice. Magnus, Murdoch, Grimm, Leone, Jean, Randall, Akira, Corydon, Tig, Tommy (just in from Falcon's Keep), and I were in armor and a number of people observed, including a couple fighters who weren't in armor. It was a pretty good practice, overall - we pulled out a variety of weapon styles (I stuck with buckler), and served as fodder for Murdoch as he practiced for Crown.

Tonight is practice at Stritch. I'm sore and bruised, but that's par for the course. Tomorrow night is D&D, Thursday night I'm working late (possibly even going home and then returning to the office), Friday night we have nothing planned.

And so it goes. End of line.

Friday afternoon I headed home a little early, threw some things in the car, and drove to St Paul. I arrived about 10 and chatted with my hosts, and got to bed at a relatively decent hour. The next morning I drove to the event.

I was one of the last fighters to arrive. The layout of the day was described as a warlord tournament with a small twist. A normal warlord tournament begins with one-on-one combat, and the winner becomes the 'warlord' of the two-person team. The two-person team then fights another two-person team, and the losing team joins the winning team to form a four-person team led by the initial warlord. The four-person team then fights another four-person team, and they combine to form an eight-person team. And so on. The twist this time was that we began as a two-person team, one with a sword (the warlord) and the other with a shield. I asked Rigo, one of the only other people without a partner, and we teamed up to fight Kaydian and a guy whose name I didn't learn. And we won. And then we fought Moth's team and beat them. And then we fought another team and beat them. And then the three remaining eight-person teams fought each other in a round-robin format until one team was declared the least successful and was divided between the other teams. We fought a few more scenarios with that mix until everyone was tired, then switched over to fighting pickups and finally all went home. At the end of it all Rigo was the victorious warlord, and had a trophy to say so; as his partner from the beginning he gave me the other half of the prize, a foam axe. Really, he did some very intelligent things as warlord, assigning tasks to the team members which emphasized their strengths and used them to achieve the victory conditions. (For many of the fights the victory condition was to kill the warlord - as soon as the warlord was dead the fight ended.) He knew that he's fast and agile, and that I've got a solid defense but am fairly static, so for the first fight he used me as a wall from behind which he could snipe at our opponents. For the next fight, same thing - the other shield and I served as a wall (the pin) and he and Kaydian hid behind us, popping out when they could to kill the other team (the envelopers). As the ranks grew larger he built more elaborate offensive units, skirmishers, counter-chargers, and so on, but basically anchored everything on a shield wall which could lock tight and occupy the enemy. And I got in some good pick-up fighting as well, and chatted with a couple of my household brothers, and generally had a pretty good day. After the fighting I zipped off to the rattan store and bought some staves. And hit the road, and was home just after 11.

Sunday I did chores and ran errands, like any normal Sunday. Discovered that the lawnmower is doing the same thing it did last summer - it runs for about a minute and then chokes and dies - which Farm and Fleet declared was a stuck-open valve in the carburetor. And I would have thought they'd have fixed that last week when it was in the shop for a tune-up. So, back to the shop for that. Harrumph.

Tonight is fighting. Tomorrow is more fighting. Wednesday is D&D. Thursday I'm working late. Friday we have nothing planned, and Saturday is Spring Court. And that's the haps.

Right. On we go. End of line.

Tuesday night I went to the dentist, then drove up to Stritch for Curia. And then home to watch tv with my wife. Last night we cancelled gaming so that I could get some things done around the house, and I did so; we also watched the last episodes of Full Metal Jousting and an episode of Top Shot. Oh, and I re-built a couple swords which will come in handy this weekend. (Both swords need to be replaced. Good thing I'm going to the Cities, home of the rattan store. Since I didn't have new rattan I used the old stuff, which should get me through the weekend...

Tonight, more errands. Tomorrow I expect I'm driving to St Paul, and on Saturday will attend THACO. Might be tech on Sunday, might not.

And so it goes. End of line.

Last night was a decent practice. Ten people in armor (Me, Magnus, Jean, Akira, Grimm, Leonie, Seamas, Armond, Murdoch, and Randall), a few heavy fighters who weren't, and some observers. As well as three or four rapier fighters. I had a really good warmup and did well against Murdoch, but then we started a buckler bearpit and I started sweating. And I decided that I need to do more than get a new arming cap - which means sew one, I think, as opposed to purchase - I also need to swap out the foam in my helmet. 'Cause once the sweat starts running into my eyes it gets hard to concentrate. Also, I'm not very good with a buckler. End result, I've got more bruises. And after practice I went home and we watched the Top Gear season premiere. (Not a planned event, it just kinda happened.)

Tonight I'm going to the dentist and then Curia. Tomorrow night is D&D. Thursday we have nothing planned, and Friday I expect to drive to Minneapolis for THACO. Sometime between now and then I'd like to rebuild my swords, now that Magnus has repaired my basket hilts, and it would be lovely if I took care of that arming cap thing. Maybe I can glue in some new foam before Friday too. I dunno.

Right. Reports to file. End of line.