storytimewithjoe | Bored at work

OK, today I am bored, bored, bored at work.

I have gotten all of my regular duties done, so that I can focus on a proposal that we are working on. My boss got stuck at his car dealership so I had to reschedule our budget meeting. I have paperwork that needs to be copied, but our copier is on the fritz and not being replaced until maybe this afternoon.

So... I am in the hurry up n' wait phase.

I find myself very reflective today - perhaps it is the Auld Lang Syne mentality.

SCA (politics) - My views of the SCA and the ways in which I play in the SCA have evolved quite a bit since my first event in '89. When I lived in Florida, SCA-involvement seemed much more event-intensive. Probably because so many events were weekend-long events, it seemed like a much more concentrated exposure - in both good and bad ways. The friendships and bonds seemed so much more intense. Of course, so were the politics. Looking back, I am amazed at just how intense and pissy particular people chose to get over really stooooopid piddly things. Yah, my own stubborn-nature contributed towards it, but more often than not, I found myself being forced into reactive mode because low n' behold by the time an issue was called to my attention, it appeared to be a big wildfire. Had it been brought to my attention when it had been a spark, it would have been quite simple to put it out. While Caid has its own quirks and I notice parallels here and there, I have not seen the intense immature knee-jerkiness that I used to experience. And for that, I am very happy.

SCA (Art) - Also ever evolving, while I was in Trimaris, I was "the dance guy" and was usually involved in some embroidery and/or costuming project and starting to get into metalwork. Since coming to Caid, my primary focuses have been in cooking, calligraphy and illumination, and I have dabbled in enamelwork. How the heck did THAT happen?

Friends - One thing I love about friendships - not "acquaintences" but actual friendships - is that time and distance don't matter. I have my friends on the East coast, and new wonderful (and MISCHIEVIOUS AS HELL) friends here in California.

Marriage - Oh, the complexities. Without getting on too much of a soapbox, I don't really care what the government currently says, as far as I am concerned, I am married. (And heck, between the civil ceremony and the church ceremony, we have gone through the trappings more than most people). That being said, Giles and I are not known to have a traditional marriage by any stretch. We have what works best for us. And ya know what I find the most miraculous - it works and we are both so very happy. We are similar in some quirky ways, and different in other quirky ways. We are both bold in some ways, and not in others. I have never felt so completely at ease or relaxed around anyone in my life. One thing about Paul, I never feel the need to put up any sort of pretense or "happy face". I can be myself - utterly, completely, and truly myself. In the past, I have felt the need to always "Step into a role," whether that be "security" role, or "provider" role, or "fixer." With Paul, I don't feel that I have to do a job - I can simply... be.

Now if ONLY I could hit that darned lottery!