[Elfsea] first SCA exposure LONG

ThoraOdottir at aol.com ThoraOdottir at aol.com
Thu Oct 31 09:44:32 PST 2002


--
[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
My first experiences in the SCA can best be summed up with the line "Well
dear, you had better enjoy this event cause it is the last one your dragging
my tail to."  I think I related that line to my husband at least three times
before I retired it cause I knew I was full of ca-ca.

I had heard of the SCA back in '91 or'92 from a friend of mine in tech
school, but I did not find a group till the late '90's.  I am not sure what
year I started playing.  My first event was Beltane up at Camp Cimmaron.
Let's just say things did not go well and I don't speak of the experience
anymore. : )   My second event was Ansteorra's Twentieth Year Celebration
(ATYC).( If anyone can tell me what year this occurred in I would be quite
grateful. I could finally tack down a starting date for my SCA life. ) At
this event we were supposed to meet a couple of online friends of my husband.
 We got there on Saturday in the early afternoon.  We spent the next two
hours driving around and around the Canton site looking for our hosts banner.
 When we just could not find it we found a place to camp.  This is were the
second uttering of the "Well dear,..." quote took place.  We finally settled
down and were able to make it too feast...which was delicious.  We got to see
some court which at the time I thought was neat but kind of intimidating.
(Basically I am a real chicken$ # ! + when it comes to even the thought of
any kind of public speaking.)  That event turned out well in the end, but we
never got to meet up with our hosts.  They had car trouble and had to turn
back.  I still thank them for coaxing us out regardless.  We might not have
come except for the thought of a familiar person there.  The sad thing is we
cannot remember there names or location.  My husband thinks they may have
been from the southern region. They were going to surprise me for my birthday
as it was very close to that date.  If this sounds familiar please contact
me. We would love to get a chance to meet you afterall.

The third and I believe last utterance of the "Well dear,..." quote came at
Defender 2001.  That is when I realized (as I was standing in the woods with
a flashlight and an axe at 1:30AM trying to set up my camp) that most of the
problems had at events were caused by my own or my husbands bubbleheaded
planning so I retired the quote.

In between the second and thrid utterances there were a number of splendid
fuctions I attended.  Elfsea Baronial Colleges, Dragon's Fire Tor Yule Revels
and Guardians, fighter practices and scribes and illuminators gatherings
around Elfsea.  Those are what bolstered me up and helped me realize just
where my "Well dear..."'s were coming from.  I got to experience the fun and
camaraderie of just hanging out with ya'll without all the pomp and
circumstance of a big out of town event.

What finally set the hook and reeled me in was Guardian of the Tor X (2001).
I had attended some events and while I enjoyed sitting under a tree watching
my kids play I was getting a little bored with events.  Someone came up to
our camp and reported that our feastocrat was in desperate need of help.
That is when I handed the kids off to the husband and struck out on my own.
I had a wonderful time up in the kitchen with Lord Ian and the others (too
many new names at one time to have them all sink in).  I felt needed and
appreciated and useful.  From then on I have made sure to have a baby-sitter
so my husband can have fun too and have been having a great time since.

I guess the moral of this long winded story is...Even if you are trying to
block out memories of your newbie experiences, keep trying. Sooner or later
you will wise up and find your way. It's worth it.

Lord knows I couldn't imagine my life without you all now.

Thora Olafsdottir

Dragon'sfire Tor



More information about the Elfsea mailing list