Pennsic 36 Nihonjin Memories

[mrcunningham]

So, let's see some stories from bushi and babes both bold and blush-worthy!

My personal favorites (specifically Japanese-themed):
- Fighting a samurai knight whose name I don't recall in TJ's Polearm Tourney. His naginata was really pretty, as was his form.
- Being recognized by Countess Joleesha in the Novice Tourney for my new-and-improved kit (pictures forthcoming). I have *such* a crush on that woman.
- Being the first Japanese Warrior of History, even though it's only because Otagiri-dono couldn't get there quite in time.
- Tea and stories in Otagiri-dono's sweet camping house.
- Makiwara-dono's impressive, rain-proof (but not, sadly, mud-proof) hat.
- Sir Tanaka's sickeningly powerful naginata and his beautiful brocade kosode.
- Getting to chat with Nissan Maxima, if not fight him.
- The unidentified samurai fighting pickups late on the field on the last day in the all-black kit that was super pretty.
- Seeing someone from Yama Kaminari on the field in a kato no kesa (who was that?)

So. What're YOUR tales of high Pennsic adventure?

[Sakurai Takamori]

Must....hear....stories

Room ...going faint....need pictures....too.


Glad everyone's home safe....you have a while to recover but then.. . .get posting people!! ;D

Sakurai Takamori

[Saionji Shonagon]

mrcunningham said:

So, let's see some stories from bushi and babes both bold and blush-worthy!

Right. Photos are up at: new.photos.yahoo.com/wodeford/album/576460762405142232

I regret I did not take more - but then I would've had to enjoy more of my war through a viewfinder.

- Tea and stories in Otagiri-dono's sweet camping house.

I am kicking myself that I did not obtain pictures. I am particularly kicking myself that I did not obtain pictures of my clothes hanging to dry on his veranda. See adventure below.

Makiwara-dono's impressive, rain-proof (but not, sadly, mud-proof) hat.

That was the "little" hat too, worn over my kazuki, because the big hat with the veils won't fit into a suitcase.

- Sir Tanaka's sickeningly powerful naginata and his beautiful brocade kosode.

Tanaka is responsible for getting me into the SCA back in AS 30. One of my best friends and SCA "brothers." I am so glad I got to see him and Sofia and their stunningly gorgeous 8-year old, Hana.

- Seeing someone from Yama Kaminari on the field in a kato no kesa (who was that?)

That would've been Saiako-hime.

OK, here we go. A couple of things you need to know:

1. My last Pennsic was eight years ago, when I still lived in the East.
2. This was my first Pennsic doing Japanese, though my friend and bodyguard, Fujimaki did invite me to several of Yumi's kyudo demonstrations and one of Effingham-sensei's class at P-28, so that's sort of where the infection began.

I arrived onsite Friday evening (8/3) after a quick Walmart run with Rosario and settled in at West Royal. It felt a bit odd to be in a "high rent" district of Royal encampments, surrounded by Outlands, Midrealm and Lochac. On the other hand, we were extremely close to the battlefield and "downtown."

The West had two campers from our Barony of the Far West (Tokyo area). Baroness Katherine d'Aquitaine brought all sorts of little goodies with her as gifts and was passing out uchiwa (paper paddle fans), chopsticks and so forth to all and sundry, myself included.

I mostly spent Saturday busking as Jehanne in the merchant areas and prompting people to leap out of pavilions or rush down the street crying, "What are YOU doing here?" because they hadn't gotten my emails warning that I would be in attendance.

EDITS ADDED AS I REMEMBERED THINGS: think it was also Saturday that I ran into Ana and Wilhelm and got asked by not one but two film crews if I would consent to be filmed for their respective productions. George and I will probably end up on the cutting room floor, but why not?

Sunday I donned my summery white linen kosode and wore the Tosenin over it. As the West gathered to process out to the battlefield for Opening Ceremonies, I bowed to His Highness of the Mists, causing my hat and kazuki-kosode to slide right off my head. His Highness cracked up and assured me that this field test meant I would have no further mishaps. It being one of those "Order of Precedence" kind of things, I stayed to the rear with Staffan, bowing deeply as the royalty of other kingdoms passed us. Lots of Kings go blah. West declared for the East.

I attended Solveig-sensei's class on Japanese festival dance in the afternoon, learning "Ina Bushi" and "Kasugayama Bushi." It got warm fairly quickly and I mystified my fellow classmates for a moment or two of vehement squirming until I'd shrugged off both sleeves of the Tosenin so that it was now on koshimaki-fashion. As we dancers rotated around the courtyard at Yama Kaminari, I spotted Our Most Honorable Moderator sitting on the floor at the far end of the clan "living room" busily working on something. The new kusazuri, as it turns out. Saiako-hime got up from wrapping the kato no kesa on her helmet to give me a very big hug and accept the bottle of sake I had brought for the clan. Yumi did a kyudo demonstration before I headed off to find dinner. Thanks to Fujimaki, I had seen this demo a number of times at Pennsic 28, but it's still beautiful to watch.

A few weeks earlier, Kurokamakiri-hime had suggested a sake and moon viewing party for that evening and told me to invite a friend or two. Although it was raining by that evening, I did not wish to disappoint my hostess, so Otagiri-dono, Honda-dono and I set off into the darkness in search of the House of Seven Leaves somewhere down in Block E23. As we reached a section of road that sloped sharply, I stopped, stepped out of my slippery lacquered geta and began padding barefoot down the asphalt. Accordingly, my two escorts tried to warn me of puddles. I cannot help thinking that any illusions Honda-dono previously had of my elegant comportment have been completely destroyed by the reality of my inner three-year-old seizing the upper hand and barefootin' it merrily through a downpour. I got scolded for wandering off to try to read a roadsign at a turnoff without my escort. But surely any self respecting bandit, tengu or kitsune would've been holed up somewhere warm and dry!

We never found Kuro-hime or her party, so we went back up to Y.K.
Otagiri-dono, in gasa and mino, wasn't in terrible shape, but Honda -dono and I resembled water rats. I was ordered to take off the sodden Tosenin kosode as Our Host ducked in the back and came out with something dry for me. A chorus of "uh-ohs" in the dim glare of the flashlight revealed that brown dye had run onto the linen kosode I'd worn under the silk. I gratefully thrust my arm through a layer of flannel lined sleeve and shuddered as I saw the plastic gleam of dull red snakeskin. "Oh no." "Oh, yes." It was The Komodo Kimono, and yes, my dear friends, your favorite wafuku snob wore it in front of the Kami and All The Neighbors. Quite possibly the ugliest bit of gag garb I have seen in my short time on earth, warm and dry trumps wet and muddy.

A cup of tea, a bottle of Mike's Lemonade, some good conversation and the patter of rain on the thatch made for a very pleasant evening. My Host and I, running on Mountain and Pacific time respectively, noticed that Honda-dono was starting to nod, so as soon as the rain slowed sufficiently, I made my apologies and Honda-dono escorted me back to West Royal.

Waking the following morning, to the sight of the Komodo Kimono hanging in all its hideous glory from my lantern hook, I wrote:

Summer storms cannot dampen
These kindred spirits
Gathered in the rain.
Friendly hospitality
Lends new meaning to shared robes.

More later, must rotate laundry and pick up some Dylon Run-Away for that linen kosode.

[mrcunningham]

Hahahaha, the Komodo Kimono! How could I forget?!

[Saionji Shonagon]

mrcunningham said:

Hahahaha, the Komodo Kimono! How could I forget?!

YOU didn't get to see it in broad daylight though. It's quite, er, spectacular.....

Oh, crap! I just remembered, I never picked up the card set that Otagiri-dono gave me.....

[dianet]

Okay, I have got to see a picture of this Kimono. I hope someone got a picture of you in it... for blackmail purposes.. *yeah yeah*

[Shinmen Ukyo]

Oh to have been there....*sigh*

Vicariously,
the Sake and Moon party,
even soft rain has beauty.

[Saionji Shonagon]

dianet said:

Okay, I have got to see a picture of this Kimono. I hope someone got a picture of you in it... for blackmail purposes.. *yeah yeah*

It was dark and all sane people, bandits, tengu, kitsune, tanuki and non-golf-cart-driving creatures of the night were in out of the wet.

Besides, how can anyone blackmail me if I've already confessed wearing it?

Part II of my adventures:

I pretty much alternated days between Jehanne and Saionji.

I forgot to put this in before, but I was playing at Claus the Toymaker's place on Saturday when someone who knew me from Livejournal asked if I would be interested in busking for the Wakefield Cycle Plays on Wednesday. I said yes, she contacted the person organizing the buskers via cellular witchcraft and told me to be at the meeting on Sunday.

I discovered that the man organizing buskers for the Wakefield project was Kuji Kaoni Musashi of Tengusanji, a yamabushi with a talent for illusion and sleight of hand. My appearance in wafuku threw him slightly because he was expecting a hurdy gurdy player. I explained Multiple Persona Disorder.

Went to a bardic at Enchanted Ground. Too crispy to do anything more than one song, but Cariadoc's stories are always enjoyable and it was enough to sit and listen.

I also forgot to mention that Yumi did a kyudo demonstration at YK on Sunday evening before it began to rain. Thanks to Fujimaki, I had seen this demo a number of times at Pennsic 28, but it's still beautiful to watch.

Monday started wet, but cleared enough for me to attend the Hurdy Gurdy gathering hosted by the lovely and talented Melissa the Loud. She plays a magnificent Hungarian gurdy that makes my little symphonie look like a cardboard box with a stick rammed through the end. Master Robyyan from the Midrealm was playing a very pretty Gotchy Phoenix in tiger maple, but offered me some very useful tips in getting my Minnesinger to cooperate under Pennsic conditions. Being self-taught is NOT all it's cracked up to be and I was grateful for the advice.

More busking. More old friends bumped into, more internet friends met face to face.

The afternoon got a little nicer than the morning had been and I thought it was reasonable to assume I could retrieve my poor kosode. I carefully folded up the Komodo, inserted the poem posted earlier into its folds and wrapped it in a furoshiki.

Knowing that Kuro-hime would be running a meeting at one of the A&S tents at a certain time, I staked the location out several minutes beforehand so that I could make our apologies for missing her Sake and Cloudburst-watching party. "You were out in that? Are you NUTS?" she exclaimed. As if she did not know I was nuts before this......

From there I went over to YK to trade kosode with Otagiri. Mine were dry. The Tosenin was mud spattered to the waist. (No worries. It all rinsed out without damage to the paint or silk.)

Otagiri-dono was still working on his kusazuri. Lacing was being slowed because the pre-punched holes had been gummed up by the wood hardener. Figuring I could either be decorative (which is not my strong point when wearing veil and cotehardie) or useful while we sat and chatted, I offered to ream them out with an awl while he did the lacing. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, yours truly has Officially Worked On An Armor Project.

Had dinner in the food court with Staffan, one of the guys I'm camped with. Ran into Torashi-dono and all three of us sat talking in one of the food tents long after closing time.

Tuesday I wore the flea market re-tread (white with a stippled maple leaf motif in sage, blue and brown) with the Shoot Me kosode worn koshimaki).

Went out, watched some of the Wall Battle from too far away to really see very much. Yama Kaminari's sashimono were easy to spot but I never did see where the West was. Lots and lots of holds called. Wandered over to the eastern end of the battlefield, watched the taiko drummers a bit, met Darter, then booked on back to camp after hearing threatening weather was on the way.

It rained for a bit. Stopped eventually. Staffan and Vampirie agreed to come with me for Solveig-sensei's tea class. We got there a little early and I asked if there was anything I could do to help with set-up. Trying to slice red bean jelly into neat, attractive shapes and arrange them carefully in a bowl on a sticky, humid day without a cutting board or mat resulted in gooey hands and the appearance of a number of ants on the tatami. "No, little brothers, none for you," I admonished.

I had the honor to be head guest. Unfortunately for me, I've got a bunion making its presence known on my right foot and I just could not sit correctly in seiza for most of the proceedings because it hurt too much. Staffan as "Last Guest" served the others and mugged at me from the corner, trying to make me laugh. This is what I get for trying to bring culture to the namban.

Viking Luau at West Kingdom Royal. I'm not a loud'n'crowded party sort of person. Crowds make me twitchy, hearing loss in my right ear reduces me to smiling stupidly and lip reading sooner than the average partygoer, but I figured I'd put in an appearance for a little while. Honda-dono and one of his friends came by for awhile. He asked me about a certain young lady fighter in the Western camp and what his chances were, but I confessed I did not know her well enough to give him any clues and said he would have to take his chances. (I will say, however, that several other of the ladies in camp wanted to know who he was. I took a load off my sore foot and chatted with Duchess Eliana for a bit, then retired to the "family room" sunshade behind the Royal with a couple of the others before going to lie down and listen to the party in my tent because I knew I wasn't going to fall asleep any time soon. It started raining and they kept partying. His Majesty reported that they saw off the last guests and doused the torches at 4:30 AM.

[Otagiri Tatsuzou]

Thatch: Bug Catcher?
Just hang that there
Sun night rain: mino, komodo, and honda
Wet firefly
Wanna peanut?
Enlightened Armor
Cedar Floors and Five Senses
Spears: Male and Female
Engagement and Castle Walls
Arrow Zanshin
Hit 'em high; Hit 'em low
Pull it harder, Solveig
Taste my Juicy Fruit!
Who let the dogs out?
If only I had a brain!
Singing in the rain...
It takes two hands to handle a 12' pole
One for the money, two for the show, Banzai!
Aethelmearc -v- Atlantia: My guitar gently weeps
Kragon on the point
Swimsuit Model
For the want of a gorget
Two chucks forward, one chuck back
On being done
Highrafters like my roof! They really like it!
Standing with the Outlands -> Standing with Calontir -> Standing with the Middle
How I made a girl cry.
On the road again

[Otagiri Tatsuzou]

makiwara said:

Oh, crap! I just remembered, I never picked up the card set that Otagiri-dono gave me.....

I kind of decided for you that you didn't need one more thing to take home. I'm planning on mailing it out to you ...

[Saionji Shonagon]

admin said:

Wet firefly

I forgot! That poor, wet, dying firefly....

Wanna peanut?

Got sake?

Cedar Floors and Five Senses

I thought your cedar plank flooring was made of win. Especially since my ground cloth was imitating a sponge most of the week, requiring the use of geta as bedroom slippers.

Pull it harder, Solveig

How I made a girl cry.

Oh dear.

[Saionji Shonagon]

Part III, shamelessly gacked from my LJ because I wanted to write down as much as I could remember before it all became a blur:

Not surprisingly, given the late night antics of my fellow campmates and party guests, I slept a bit later than I would've liked, grabbed a quick shower, jumped into my clothes, grabbed the gurdy and headed towards Merchant's Row. Had weather conditions been different, my attempt to shill an audience for the Wakefield Cycle performances might have succeeded. However, those out and about at that hour of the morning were busily trying to dry their gear or get necessities at the camp store.

I arrived at the first venue, Runestone Park, as the first play was getting set up. I suspect much of our small audience was comprised of family, troupe members and other supporters. Kuji started things off with some illusions, then "The Murder of Abel" was performed in Middle English. I suppose all that Chaucer has stuck, I had no problem understanding it. Another round of busking happened while the "Abel" team struck off for Venue 2 and the second troupe prepared to present "The Annunciation," also in dialect. "Annunciation" headed for the next venue and it was Judith's turn to busk. I particularly enjoyed her tale of the murder of the Sultan's jester. Then off she went and the puppet theatre of I Marvini presented "The Flight Into Egypt," complete with annotated commentary taken from The Wakefield Cycle For Dummies. Having me follow the puppets was genius. George and I did a bit of shtik with Marvin, then I played some travelling music, accompanied by the inevitable hurdy-gurdy demo. I may be the only performer out there who actually does one, but so few people have ever seen one, I've gotten used to answering questions. (I forgot to pass my bowl. I don't normally like to do this at SCA events, but Kuji insisted - if one busker doesn't do it, the others might not get a contribution.) As soon as "The Harrowing of Hell" was ready to go, I headed off for Venue 2, the amphitheatre near Merchant's Row.

This pretty much summarizes the routine for the day. It was sort of like a ride-and-tie relay, only with performers. I'd catch up to "Egypt," do my thing, then it was off to Venue 3, House Hedgehog, down in one of the E blocks near the lake. They were one of the sponsors who had contributed funds to the Known World Players for this project so I was hesitant to pass my bowl, but one of the audience members insisted on it.

On my way back up hill to the final venue, Aethelmearc Royal, I see a man in a loincloth poised on the edge of a dumpster. "Don't jump!" I cry, "It can't be that bad." Dumpster diving for tent poles is how I met someone I know from another forum. Nice guy who always has something kind to say, and one of the few at Pennsic who goes around with very little on that can get away with it.

At Aethelmearc Royal, the sun was strong and there was a stiff breeze. More shade at the performance venue would've been nice, but I crowded in under the sunshade for the audience for my bit and FINALLY got to see "The Harrowing." Again, this was in Middle English. Rhonwyn was terrific as Satan.

We finished ahead of schedule. I walked over to the food court for a cold drink and ran into Geoffrei St. Albans and his lady. We sat in the shade and caught up with each other for a bit, then I headed over to Yama Kaminari, thinking I'd catch the second class on Japanese Festival Dance. That was a mistake. Solveig-hime has a tendency to talk in hypertext to begin with and sense made soon need lie food down now sorry go camp back dance not can. In other words, I went back to West Royal and pounded down some water and put my feet up for awhile.

After a rain delay, Their Majesties held court. I didn't feel I had contributed anything to the war effort at that point so I did not leave my seat when they named pretty much everyone else Defenders of the West. However, I here confess a few cynical thoughts that participating in a five mile hike in turnshoes carrying a eight pounds of hurdy gurdy for a full day of period entertainment of the rest of the Known World does not match up to plying the Known World with drink until 4:30 AM, which is why George and I are not Paragons of Merriment and the party crew are. That, and the fact that all I'd had to eat that day was one turkey and cheese roll-up, made me apologize to Vyncent that I could not wait for the lovely meal-plan dinner they were going to serve because I was going to gnaw off a limb.

I grabbed some faux Chinese food from Delights of Cathay, inhaled it on a bench in the little "garden" behind Billy and Charlie's and then got up to play some more, next to Acanthus Leaf Designs. Midnight Madness had begun. A man walked down the road, saw me, grinned. I grinned back. He hesitated. I called, "Caught you smiling." He stopped dead, then came over and said, "Sorry, it's just that you look a lot like someone I used to know back east." "Well, Ransom, that would be because I am someone you used to know back east."

I lapped both sides of Merchant's Row with the gurdy. Being able to walk and play is sort of my party trick. It assures that I tend not to wear out my welcome with the merchants and I always keep an ear out for other performers, stop playing as I walk through their sound shadow, then start again as soon as I am reasonably far away. Met another contact from the same forum as Dumpster Loincloth Guy, as well as a young lady who plays Celtic harp who is moving to Santa Cruz this fall.

Played in front of Claus' booth again, hung out a bit with Loriwyn, got to chat with Sabel for a bit and Loriwyn and I were going to try to jam, only Wolgemut showed up to play for dancing in the barn, so that idea was hosed for the night. Torashi-dono wandered by looking very handsome in his green kataginu kamishimo. Why is it all the men I know who do Japanese all are (a) attractive, (b) live too far away to play with and (c) are all married or with someone? It is Just Not Fair.

Thursday. I heard a mighty clatter, look left into Outlands Royal and sure enough, it's Otagiri-dono in the clanging kusazuri that he means to replace. "If it's Thursday, it must be Japanese," he quipped, observing my stripped kosode and obi, before marching out to fight with his own kingdom.
Rain, rain and more rain. Lots of it. I hiked my kosode high, completely waterlogged my waraji-zori.
Staffan, being the kind of guy who spent all week running around camp battening down tents and such, dashed to Merchant's Row with an umbrella to rescue Eliana. Poor guy spent most of the week soaked.

So we sat inside West Royal. A lot. I had beer at one point because it was raining and the cooler with the water in it was in the "family room." During a break in the rain, I went out with Her Majesty and some other ladies to Pillaged Village. HM needed some tokens, I just needed to get out of that tent for awhile.

His Majesty returned with French Foreign Legion caps with the West's arms on the back flaps for all the fighters. It's so wrong, but who can argue with Royal Whim?

Vyncent and Vittoria's dinner was delicious and the company was congenial, but all that rain made me need to get out of there. Since Saiako-hime had invited me, I spent the evening over at YK sitting in the Clan "living room" with Otagiri-dono, Erin, Alejandro and various other folks whose names I didn't know. I finally introduced myself to Ogami-sensei. "I hear you have a really big hat," he said. I had to explain that the really big hat had to stay home because I couldn't get it in my luggage. "Next time, drop ship it to me!" Erin offered. Otagiri-dono said he felt like a lousy host because all he had were some nuts back in his hut. So I pulled a 300 ML bottle of Wandering Poet and some plastic cups from my haversack and began to serve it out. "Poet" may be my favorite sake, smooth, light and clean. We discussed a possible Tousando party at Estrella or Pennsic and I offered to help out with it. As always, Otagiri-dono escorted me back to camp at the end of the evening. Shortly after, Eliska came looking for me. "There's a lady here looking for you!" It was Ana. Ana was glowing. Ana had been dragged out of the class she was teaching, taken to vigil and then made a member of the Order of the Laurel for her poetic talents. I am so pleased for her. It is well deserved.

Friday, Baroness Katherine hauls a huge furoshiki full of more Japanese swag out and puts it all out on a table in the Royal. I claimed the furoshiki itself as it was a lovely piece of shibori and a pair of snips, insisting I didn't want to hog things and that someone else should have a shot at the goodies. "Do you know someone who would appreciate this?" She produced a suito (gourd canteen) with an orange cord. I knew who I had to pass that onto and told her I would do so. (We finally found a taker for the lacquer box, but I still ended up with a brand new pair of pawlonia geta because nobody else wanted them.)

As the West's "Legionaires" marched out of camp down Servants' Path, I began to sing "La Marseillaise," in a strong voice. Who knew I would remember the lyrics?

I did more busking. I was hoping to jam with Loriwyn, but that never gelled. She had a gig out in the B blocks and was long gone, but I copped a bit of shade and had a cold drink and chatted with Galen for a bit. I also scored the last few yards of some nice brown linen from the fabric lady who had reduced prices so she wouldn't have to take it home.

Solveig-hime had rescheduled her incense class, so I went over to YK. It was just me, Genbei-dono, Torashi-dono and his lady (whose name I cannot remember). Had it been a real incense ceremony, the guests would not have seen the preparations, but Solveig-hime demonstrated the arrangement of charcoal and ash to get the aromatic woods properly heated. I love aloeswood. I've promised a scouting mission to Japantown at some point to see if I can find reasonable sources for tea and incense ceremony supplies to replenish her stock.

I handed off the shopping bag to Otagiri-dono, who went wide eyed when he saw the suito. Katherine included her card so he can thank her properly. He was fretting about misplacing his cash (he found it later while packing). I wanted to get dinner and change into wafuku, I was hot and wanted those damned stockings off. I said I was going back to WK to change and would meet him by the ATM. Then he refused to let me pay for my dinner, which was raspberry cobbler with ice cream. You know, sometimes you just have to have dessert for dinner and this was one of those times.

Solveig-hime's students presented three short kyogen (comic plays) and did a creditable job. "Oh, you have to stay for Karaoke night!" she said. Hachirou came out in a Beadazzled white "Elvis" kimono with huge sleeves and MC'd the proceedings. First there was a Norman Knight pinata for the children in camp to swing at. Then, in honor of the Clan's 20th anniversary, the karaoke theme was 80's tunes, sung with Badu Japanesu Accent, Verry Roudry and With Fearing. While I did not get tapped to perform, Otagiri-dono is probably never going to let me live down the fact that I was singing along. "So, what do you think?" Ogami-dono asked me when the prizes had been awarded. Me: "I shavu regs for dis?"


Saturday was tear-down. Took a couple hours for the sun to get high enough to start pulling down tents, but I dragged my groundcloth out and laid out my towels and helped Thea inventory and box camp supplies for storage. Alan and a very tired Niall loaded the truck. Edith had to leave early, so I took care of getting her tent down and stowed. Otagiri-dono, drippy haired and fresh from a shower, showed up looking for me. He helped me get my tent torn down and packed before heading back to Colorado. Finest kind, him. I am very glad we got to spend more time together this Pennsic.

Pittsburgh to Chicago flight was uneventful. Chicago to San Francisco was an hour late and overbooked. If we'd come in on time, I could've taken BART to Oakland and gotten home with a $20 cab fare. Instead I had a $67 cabfare from SFO. Oh, well......

[Sakurai Takamori]

Saionji wrote: (snip) We discussed a possible Tousando party at Estrella or Pennsic and I offered to help out with it.

Tousando party at Estrella??!! Tell me what I can bring.
Just checked the Estrella fund and I'm $400 up towards the airfare......
Will have travel-edition fighting and camping rig but should have room for other stuff if you need anything else brought out.
(Plus coming from Canada I can officially bring duty free!!)

Let me know if I can assist.

Sakurai Takamori

[solveig]

Noble Cousins!

Greetings from Solveig! Leaving Pennsic somewhat overheated and exhausted sometime Sunday afternoon, I eventually arrived back at my squalid apartment sometime shortly after 6:00 AM this morning. I did enjoy meeting some folks from here. And, yes, Otagiri dono is very charming. Oh yes, I too wore the iridescent kosode one chilly evening.

[Saionji Shonagon]

veejay said:

Tousando party at Estrella??!!

Slow down, tomodachi! What part of "possible" did you not understand? If we make this happen, I promise we'll keep folks posted. ;D

I'm toying with the idea of going down to Great Western War in Octorber (near Bakersfield, CA). Anybody want to get together there?

S.