and another five
Sep. 27th, 2009 06:24 pmAlso on March I was tempted to say to
mushroom_maiden, whom I'd not yet met in person when we had this conversation, "Ok, I haven't actually replied to the other friend who gave me words yet, but I am curious to see what you will come up with for me. :-)
I should be able to make time for writing such posts in a week or three..."
It turns out that I was a touch optimistic, since it has been more like six months than three weeks, but so it goes sometimes...
1. SCA
The SCA has been a constant presence in my life for somewhere around 27 years now (I'm not positive precisely when during high school I found it, since I was at the same school for six years, and time spent at a single location tends to blend in my memory as all one time, which could explain why I like to move around every three years, give or take, so that I can better tell *when* a specific memory was). The SCA is an excuse for way too many hobbies, and has been the place I have met the vast majority of the people I care about (and since many of my Steller friends played Purwydd/SCA when we were there, I suppose that subset can count in the above "majority"). The organization, for me, isn't just a place to indulge my interest in history/archaeology, play dress up, make cool things, and hit my friends with sticks (or inspire others to do so), it is also the continuity that I bring with me as I move from one place to another. The SCA sub culture, while different in every branch of the Known World, is also similar enough everywhere that no matter where I go I have friends I've not met yet (and, often, some I have) waiting for me. Just this weekend I met a couple from Calonitr, who joined the SCA around the same time I did, and it was such a joy to enter their house and feel promptly at home and comfortable with them. We have ever so many shared experiences and interests, though this is the first time our list of Kingdoms in which we've lived have overlapped. Despite the scar tissue I'll always carry from the problems I had with some of the individuals in Tassie who very nearly made me leave the SCA, I think that the organization is, by and large, the best thing that ever happened to me. If not for my finding this strange group to take me in when I was forced to leave the warmth and comfort of the Steller nest, I don't think I'd be as happy, well adjusted, or as skilled in as many diverse things as I am now.
2. Love
One of the most important resources in the world, and one of the most delightful, for the more you give away, the more you have to give. There are ever so many people in this world for whom I feel love, at some level, and it brings me joy to have met each and every one of them. I may be enjoying being "single" at this time--for the first time in my life I'm not dependant upon anyone to help support me, and I'm enjoying making all of my decisions as to what to do/where to go, and when without having to coordinate with the needs/interests/desires of one of my partners, yet the love I still feel for everyone with whom I've ever been romantically involved still strengthens me and makes me a better person.
3. Stars
Are one of the things I miss living in Milan. The night sky here, on a cloudless night, might show the moon, and perhaps a particularly bright planet, but it is rare that I can distinguish more than a handful of stars. However, having grown up in Alaska, where stars are a seasonal phenomena, I don't mind it as much as I might have done if I'd always lived places where one could see stars-year round, and not only in the winter.
4. Open smiles
Bring much joy. Even reading those two words brought a smile to my face, and the mere act of smiling makes one feel happier. Like love, the more smiles you offer to others, the more you have to give, and the more that others will be inclined to offer them in return. Have you smiled today? Even during times of darkness and despair in our lives, there are usually little things worth smiling about, and I hope that one and all receive honest, open smiles today, and every day.
5. Dancing
Yes, please! I love to dance--active movement is fun, music is divine. The flowing patterns created by the movement of people across the dance floor, spinning, twirling, skirts extending out ever so far from one's body! And I'll get to dance with others again on Tuesday, when we start up the local SCA dance practice! I am so looking forward to this!
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I should be able to make time for writing such posts in a week or three..."
It turns out that I was a touch optimistic, since it has been more like six months than three weeks, but so it goes sometimes...
1. SCA
The SCA has been a constant presence in my life for somewhere around 27 years now (I'm not positive precisely when during high school I found it, since I was at the same school for six years, and time spent at a single location tends to blend in my memory as all one time, which could explain why I like to move around every three years, give or take, so that I can better tell *when* a specific memory was). The SCA is an excuse for way too many hobbies, and has been the place I have met the vast majority of the people I care about (and since many of my Steller friends played Purwydd/SCA when we were there, I suppose that subset can count in the above "majority"). The organization, for me, isn't just a place to indulge my interest in history/archaeology, play dress up, make cool things, and hit my friends with sticks (or inspire others to do so), it is also the continuity that I bring with me as I move from one place to another. The SCA sub culture, while different in every branch of the Known World, is also similar enough everywhere that no matter where I go I have friends I've not met yet (and, often, some I have) waiting for me. Just this weekend I met a couple from Calonitr, who joined the SCA around the same time I did, and it was such a joy to enter their house and feel promptly at home and comfortable with them. We have ever so many shared experiences and interests, though this is the first time our list of Kingdoms in which we've lived have overlapped. Despite the scar tissue I'll always carry from the problems I had with some of the individuals in Tassie who very nearly made me leave the SCA, I think that the organization is, by and large, the best thing that ever happened to me. If not for my finding this strange group to take me in when I was forced to leave the warmth and comfort of the Steller nest, I don't think I'd be as happy, well adjusted, or as skilled in as many diverse things as I am now.
2. Love
One of the most important resources in the world, and one of the most delightful, for the more you give away, the more you have to give. There are ever so many people in this world for whom I feel love, at some level, and it brings me joy to have met each and every one of them. I may be enjoying being "single" at this time--for the first time in my life I'm not dependant upon anyone to help support me, and I'm enjoying making all of my decisions as to what to do/where to go, and when without having to coordinate with the needs/interests/desires of one of my partners, yet the love I still feel for everyone with whom I've ever been romantically involved still strengthens me and makes me a better person.
3. Stars
Are one of the things I miss living in Milan. The night sky here, on a cloudless night, might show the moon, and perhaps a particularly bright planet, but it is rare that I can distinguish more than a handful of stars. However, having grown up in Alaska, where stars are a seasonal phenomena, I don't mind it as much as I might have done if I'd always lived places where one could see stars-year round, and not only in the winter.
4. Open smiles
Bring much joy. Even reading those two words brought a smile to my face, and the mere act of smiling makes one feel happier. Like love, the more smiles you offer to others, the more you have to give, and the more that others will be inclined to offer them in return. Have you smiled today? Even during times of darkness and despair in our lives, there are usually little things worth smiling about, and I hope that one and all receive honest, open smiles today, and every day.
5. Dancing
Yes, please! I love to dance--active movement is fun, music is divine. The flowing patterns created by the movement of people across the dance floor, spinning, twirling, skirts extending out ever so far from one's body! And I'll get to dance with others again on Tuesday, when we start up the local SCA dance practice! I am so looking forward to this!