De-Briefing.

Well, I thought I would have a lot of time for writing during my trip.  Actually, I spent an awful lot of my free time chatting/crafting/drinking/fiddling, and very little of it reading and writing.  Even less doing 'rithmetic.  And now that I am trying to re-adapt to the modern world, where there are e-mails to answer and groceries to buy and laundry to do, I am watching the Olympics and wondering why in the hell Bob Costas is interviewing the president.  And trying to reconcile my desire to bellydance to the music on the Target ads with my desire to not look like a complete asshole.  In other words, I am noticing that the Real World doesn't make any more sense than the Fantasy World I have just returned from.  Which is kind of a relief, and kind of makes me wish I could go back to the World in which I never hear the sound of a bicycle bell nudging me off of the sidewalk so that some dude can ride by in illegal comfort while I walk in the mud.  Thing #1 I miss about the Middle Ages: Chivalry.

 

So anyway, none of this means I don't plan to write about the experience, because if I have ever had anything worth writing about, it was Pennsic.  However, I will have to write in a slightly different way than I had originally planned: by memory, rather than by moment.  So, I will write one letter about each day, in retrospect.  I hope to do this quickly, as I've already found my memories fading after just over 24 hours back in my proper context, and I want to get as much into words as possible.  I thought my horoscope for today was strangely appropriate:
When you travel back through your memories today, nostalgia can overtake you, reminding you that something is missing at home. But the real work is to take what you have in life now and project that into the future rather than regressing into your past. Lean on your most reliable friends for the emotional support you need.

It's been a long time since I felt like a vacation changed me.  And while I don't expect those reading this to really understand how that happened, I hope that over the next few posts, you will try.  Rest assured - there is a lot...and I mean a LOT...of silliness to come, and if you know me at all, you know that that is EXACTLY why it had a fairly profound effect on me.  Community theater got me through grad school because of the escapist nature of acting; there is nothing, repeat, NOTHING more escapist than going to Pennsic.

 

So I invite you to tag along with me.  Welcome to War.