September 2014

Hello Loves of my Life,

Here is the first of many I hope.  May this Journal find you well and content, and leave you just a little more (insert emotion here) than you were when I arrived.

It’s what my parents are calling it, and I can’t think of a better title.  I am headed around the country, performing and working, "living the dream" as they say.  I packed up my truck for two months of adventure, with three different lives.  Atlanta Convention, Tortuga life, and Handyman tools.  I brought way too much crap, but this is how we learn, I suppose.  Fortunato is way better at “economy of space” than me, and I am righteously mocked for it.  😉

Anyway though, with truck packed I met up with my friends early Thursday morning to hit the road!  First, to Dragon*Con!  NERDS! ASSEMBLEEEE!!!

This is my fifth year attending this Labor Day Weekend Science Fiction/Fantasy convention in Atlanta.  It is a gathering of over 50,000 of the best kind of nerds, geeks, fans, and all around great people.  The cosplay is astounding, the panels are hilarious and highly educational, and the camaraderie is indescribably awesome.

I go with a group of friends from Tampa and Miami, and they are a wonderful group of human beings.  This year they all got together and made Pip-Boys— if you don’t know, these are wrist computers from the game series Fallout— which were retro-fitted for their cell phones.  They then hooked them up to bluetooth speakers and headsets, so they could all walk around and blast music, or still talk on the phone.  I was blown away by the craftsmanship, and super jealous.

I reprised my now slightly internet famous Ronald McJoker mashup costume, accompanied again by my lovely Wendy-Quinn, and the newcomer this year, Starbucks Ivy!!  We spent the day walking around like rockstars, and posing for pictures amongst the teeming throngs of incredibly talented and inebriated people.

Other costumes of mine included a Renaissance Cavalier, which is basically my Tampa Ren Faire getup, and a 9 Feet tall Jack Skellington.  All hail to the Pumpkin King!  I brought my stilts with me, and finally was able to put together a halfway decent Jack with the help of my friends at Spirit Halloween Store.

All good parties have to end at some point, though. When Monday rolled around, we all woke up, dusted the fur off of our bodies, rubbed booze out of our eyes, and started the trek home.  Everyone else in my party went back south, but after dropping my dear Starbucks Ivy at the airport, I turned my eyes northward...

Next stop, a small town in North Carolina, to flex my real estate muscles.  The family owns a two acre section of land that will very shortly break ground for a mountain vacation home.  I was headed up to have a face-to-face meeting with the designer/builder to help establish the relationship and get everyone on the same page.

She couldn’t meet with me till Wednesday morning, so I got to camp out on the property for two nights.  I arrived Monday night to a brand new gate with a code at the entrance to the neighborhood, SURPRISE!  However, after many phone calls back home to try and find the code, there was a moment straight out of the movie Spaceballs, and the gate swung open.  I parked my truck and rolled out my sleeping bag in the bed, and fell asleep under the stars.

Perfect temperature, no bugs, comfy bed, woke up with the sun.  I explored the town and found the local general/hardware store, and had a wonderful time studying my Tortuga script, and setting up my hammock tent for the next night.  Right now my family is only the second group to be building in the subdivision, and the other neighbor is away on business, so I have the place all to myself!  What a fantastic way to start my troubadour excursion in earnest.  Smooth sailing from here on!  Right…?

1:30 am - I awake to the sound of rain gently falling on my tent fly.  I check my hammock, everything is dry, no water coming in.  Cool.  Back to sleep.

2:00 am - I awake again, something feels wrong.  I shift my weight to sit up, and slosh most of the 2 inches of water I’m in out of the entrance hole of the hammock.  My hammock is now a very crappy hot tub.

Apparently my rain fly did not have a sharp enough slope to it, and so instead became a basin, and when it got too heavy, it just started pouring that water directly into the hammock.  🙂  My sleeping bag did a fantastic job at being waterproof, like it should, so I was completely unaware of the slowly forming pool.

After many loud curses, even more laughter, and frantic trips to the truck and back, I managed to get myself dried off and my stuff safely secured. I then passed out in the truck cab for the remainder of the night.

I made it to the meeting on time, if not a little sore and rough looking, and after a lovely chat with our designer, I turned North once again!

The drive was smooth, and Michigan welcomed me with open arms in nearly every sense.  I arrived at the KOA around 11pm and was greeted by my brother Fortunato who helped me get settled in.  My first few days I met all the great people with whom we share camp.  Wren and Liam took me around the town to see where all the important things were.  Our neighbours Joe and Chris were fantastic company, and I immediately felt at home.  The “Renny” community is truly a family, one that I am happy and humbled to be a part of.

My first weekend was amazing.  I watched my brothers perform on Saturday, and quickly tried to learn the lightning fast cues and ins and outs of these incredibly talented people I now get to work alongside.  Everyone was excited to see the “new and fresh” Tortuga, and once more, I felt at home all over again.

Sunday found me on stage for the very first time.  After a warm welcome from Fortunato, we made people laugh with our classic Robin Hood Tale.

I have never been adverse to quiet alone time.  In fact, I thrive very much on it. I prefer to have an either completely full schedule, or absolutely nothing to do.  So this cabin life suits me just fine.  Having Monday through Friday off is pretty fantastic, and I have gotten to do quite a few fun things with friends in the downtime.  I like lists, so here is a list of the things.

-Mini-golf

-Visiting an apple orchard and getting cider and doughnuts

-Building drum stands for the drummer of the Vodka Family

-Bizarre Bazaar at the Faire site Monday Mornings

-Rescu Rally & Cast Party

-Being kidnapped and dragged around Michigan

-Lovely home cooked dinner and Stitch n’ Bitch costume repair

-Card games in a halfway built haunted house

-So many bonfires

-Meeting lovely people from around the world, even!

There are more that I’m sure I can’t remember…  I really should write these things down as they happen… You would think I would do that, with this journal and all.  Don’t judge me, I’m new.  😛

What’s something fun you did this week?

Yours In Service,

Pahl (Valentine)