Kiss My Knits!

And as I try to get back on my feet after internet issues, I log in to read my Dragonrealms e-mail.

I have 256 new e-mails.

Well, there went my day.

So sometimes when I’m designing new jewelry for Dragonrealms, I look at Ornament Magazine (among others) for ideas.

And I can’t believe I only now realized that the woman on the cover of the Winter 2003/2004 issue has a tree fungus for a hat.

What. The. Hell.

Hope she checked herself for termites after the shoot.

I love festivals.

I love the way everybody backstage works steadily for months, but there’s always more to be done. Everybody gets into a controlled and focused frenzy near the end, being sure everything is ready, and there’s always something that’s not, and then something breaks, and everybody says “okay, what can I do? Who needs help?” and pitches in to get that baby back on the rails.

I love the way players get so excited by all the new stuff, to the point that I’m standing there as a merchant talking to them, and mention that something else has just opened, and they go “OMG WHERE!?” and then take off at a run to check out the new shop.

I love the way we all get so excited seeing players go “THIS ROCKS!” about our stuff, and there’s also the “THIS SUCKS!” about our stuff and even that’s exciting.

I love seeing, at this fest, an entire room full of players in hard hats, pounding girders and generally being giant Doozers, all working together.

I love all the planning and hard work that goes into the lead-up events, and the ways GMs are forced to improvise and change as the players shape the history of the virtual world around them.

I love the rush of altering and managing a list and a room full of people all whispering to you, “excuse me, but…” because they want to be polite, and they are, but they’re also so excited.

I love the sense of urgency, and I even love it when stuff screws up in amazing, unexpected ways and we have to adapt on the fly.

I love the adrenalin surge behind events like this. It reminds me of why I love GMing in the first place.

Dragonrealms, you’re the best, baby.

Well, it’s official. Jayne hat orders are now coming in just a hair faster than I can fill them. I thought it would let up after Christmas, but it’s January and I’m still getting roughly an order a day for finished hats. About an order a day per kit, too. I can knit a wool hat a day and still have a little free time for myself, but the cotton ones take longer, so that slows me down. And of course, some orders are for other things which may take longer, like dice bags or friggin’ huge scarves, and believe me, that scarf is thick and big, it’s not a project I can jam into my bag and take with me wherever I go. Also, I’m screwed should I have to slow down due to illness or injury, something I thought about yesterday when my daughter accidentally caught my fingers in the door at Starbucks. Ouch!

Add to that that I’m so overwhelmed that I’m not able to help with the Merelew event in Dragonrealms as much as I’d like to, and you get back to the whole “free time” issue. I coordinated alterers for the first Merelew festival back in ’99, and wish I could have a bigger hand in this one, but there’s just not the time. (And people, this is gonna be cool. Really.)

I can’t hire someone on at any kind of living wage, so my options are either raise the price and see if that slows demand, or temporarily stop taking finished hat orders. I’m certainly open to suggestion.

As problems go, this is a good one to have, but it’s still a problem!

I got little gifts for some DR colleagues, kind of a “thank you for all your hard work” and had been feeling bad about not mailing it before now. Today I hear that one of those people had a house fire and is obviously out of their home. Glad I didn’t mail it yet. I’ve written them to offer whatever help that I can.

Makes me very grateful for what I’ve got, that’s for sure.

The Arizona Republic’s gift guide is out, and I don’t see the Jayne hat. It could be that they ran out of space, or it wasn’t mainstream enough, or that it’s just in the print version but not the online one. I’ve put out a call for some Arizona Browncoats to take a peek at the physical newspaper and see if it’s there.

That’s disappointing, but it’s not as if I could have handled extra Christmas business. On the up side, everyone whom I’ve promised a hat to by Christmas has either gotten or is going to get their hat in the next few days, so that’s some pressure off. Now on to the people whom I told, “you *might* get it by Christmas, but I can’t promise it.”

Rented and saw The 40 Year Old Virgin last night. It was the unrated version, and holy moly, if I put a nickel in the swear jar every time someone cursed, then by the time the movie was over I would have had enough to actually purchase the DVD. Steve Carrell was brilliant as always. Fun movie, we enjoyed it. And speaking as a woman who has waxed, I enjoyed my husband’s astonishment at watching Steve get his chest waxed. Yeah, see? Not so easy, is it, mister!

Winter weather today, icicles on the car and ickiness all around. I won’t be going anywhere this morning if I can help it. I’m enjoying knitting, though, and also putting lots of juicy rumors and visions in to DR. If ever there were a time to be using those systems, it’s now, with all the events going on. With all the ice, let’s hope the power holds out.

Today I think I’ll make hot cocoa and have a Tim Tam Slam through my lone remaining Tim Tam. Godspeed, little camper!

Next up, get a sitter to come over so we can go see King Kong!

ETA: It’s in the print version! A customer has offered to mail me a copy! Woo hoo!

My favorite Dragonrealms REPORT of the night:

(player): I am being slain repeated by a pinata.

And the thing is, she was!

As the Dragonrealms GMs make preparations for the return of the Merelew, we blow off some steam.

[Nhia] Do the Merelew have an insignia?
[Ghisel] I guess a tunafish can would be out of the question?
[Quarel] A fishstick on a field of white tartar sauce…
[Tribanin] It’s a small tattoo of Flounder and Nemo on their inner thigh.
[Alvy] they have thighs?
[Nhia] You’re so helpful! 😀
[Xadrian] No no no, it’s a grizzled prirate gleefully grasping a handfull of fresh fish sticks
[Tribanin] I can (become a Merelew) and you can come look (Alvy).
[Auriane] You fools. It’s a grizzled old man in a yellow rain slicker.
[Ghisel] lol (Auriane)
[Quarel] The Gortons Fisherman one hand ready to strike and one hand clutching a deep fryer…

It’s gonna be a fun festival. 🙂

More backchannel follies.

[Tvini] Why would you want a spellbook? Traders don’t need spellbooks.
[Ilanya] …
[Ilanya] Why wouldn’t a trader want one, huh?!?
[Tvini] Why would they?
[Wythor] A trader could sell one for a good profit…
[Ilanya] Scholarship, and they’re purdy
[Ilanya] And that too
[Tvini] To smack the yak?
[Tvini] Actually, “smack the yak” sounds like some kind of euphemism.
[Chakram] That a dirty euphamism (Tvini)?
[Chakram] Hehe.
[Tvini] hee!
[Ilanya] See, I’m telling you…
[Tvini] We’re in sync today.
[Chakram] (Ilanya) smacks her yak all the time, don’t you?
[Wythor] You should make that your new signature on the boards. “Go ahead… smack my yak.”
[Chakram] Trying to get it to go faster.
[Tvini] sidles up to the guild butler and says, “So… you wanna go smack the yak?”
[Ilanya] You guys are sick. SICK!
[Chakram] Glad you noticed.
[Ilanya] I’ve been trying not to.

Sometimes I look at my life and all I have to do, and I think, “you know, a leave of absence from Dragonrealms might be helpful.”

Then I have a nice fun wedding like Roxana and Sunhammer’s last night, and I realize that it’s pretty rewarding and I’d miss my DR compadres if I didn’t see them.

I heart Dragonrealms.