I met a fellow BDer!! [Archive] - Page 3 - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Lariren Shadow

04-27-2009, 06:07 PM

Try telling that to one of my companions, who likes clusters of dead people not even a little. ;)

Cemeteries are bad. I don't like then. Never have. I'm that person. I never played in them as a child nor do I intend to ever in my life. I have weird things about me and my not liking of cemeteries is one of them.

But yes: we hiked up Rivendell also known as Watkins Glen. It was fun, the Were-duckling was fussy at times, but still amazingly cute. Mac scared a bunch of us by going close to the edge of the gorge while carrying the Were-duckling, while I wanted to jump off the side and into the water. I was told no.

After getting to what was assumingly the top, considering most of the other trails were closed, we decided to hike back down and go to lunch at the upper parking lot place. After climbing in the car again and going up, which was fun because Nienna's car doesn't like hills at all. There was a slight fail when Mira and I were looking for the bathroom, and I missed it but it was fine.

Lunch was fun and there was good food and company. Fea and I walked away to throw away the trash and while I saw, from far away, Mac doing the awkward penguin, Fea did not and is forever angry at this fact. We then went back to hiking, which involved going down stairs that, when we came up, would be called Cirith Ungol, across a bridge, which we were sad that Mac was ok crossing because sometimes he's not ok with crossing bridges and we kind of wanted to see it.

Then we were back at the cross roads. Neither Mira, Nienna, Rikae, Mac, the Were-duckling, nor I could decide on a way to go. So Fea choose left, up the hill. To Mordor. Which we then remember was, in fact, left from Rivendell. While climbing we recited a bunch of fun lines, such as remembering strawberries and ribbons in Rosie Cotton's hair, and complained about how our calves were hurting and it was all Fea's fault because she picked the steeper one (she totally did, even though she won't admit it). As we are climbing we stop at a shack. It was named the shrieking shack by use. Further up the path we saw a hanging flower pot with fake flowers. Odd, but we kept going, with our legs hurting and sweating because it also was not as cool up there as the gorge had been. Next we stumbled upon what looked like a shrine to the Virgin Mary. To which we assumed that Fea brought us to some weird religious place. It sort of was as it was a cemetery. Not cool. I stopped. I'll admit it. I don't like them. Not at all. Fea did then kindly run ahead of us so to see if it was worth dragging me past it (thanks by the way). It was not.

Back down from Mordor we went, trying not to trip and die on the way. It was then decided to go right. While doing this we discussed where we would like to live in Middle-earth. A little ways down the path we stumble upon THE REST OF THE CEMETERY. Again I stopped and we just decided, as it was hot and we felt scummy, that this would not do and it was time for ice cream.

Back to the bridge, over the bridge, up the path that lead to Cirith Ungol. Those stairs were nice coming down but going up they were horrible. By this point the Were-duckling was asleep. Into the cars we marched and down the hill to ice cream. It was good.

Everything was fun about the day, it was good to meet Live-Mac as opposed to Skype-Mac. Also want to try a mint and peach drink. It sounds good. Hopefully one day we will come up with the recipe.

Mirandir

04-27-2009, 06:11 PM

Yet, preceding their accounts, I must [like last time] suggest that if any of them say a word about my choice of route, they shall find themselves as permanent occupants of the cemetery we accidentally stumbled upon at the top of a very, very steep hill.

And how, pray tell, did we end up at the top of said very, very steep hill, dear? :D

Feanor of the Peredhil

04-27-2009, 06:19 PM

And how, pray tell, did we end up at the top of said very, very steep hill, dear? :D

I was surrounded, you well remember, by a group of indecisive non-athletes.

I consequently picked the steep path to spite you. :p

Nienna

04-27-2009, 06:30 PM

I consequently picked the steep path to spite you. :p

This is what Fea would like you all to believe. :p

But the trip was awesome and seeing Rikae and were-duckling again was awesome and meeting real-Mac was great. We packed a wonderful lunch and epically forgot the iced-tea... sad... but we remembered everything else. We only got a little sunburned and the gorge was beautiful. We won't go into Fea's epic fail on path choices but pretty much everyone faced one of their fears that day. And there are lots of pictures :D

Lariren Shadow

04-27-2009, 06:34 PM

I was surrounded, you well remember, by a group of indecisive non-athletes.

I consequently picked the steep path to spite you. :p

I will have you know I used to be a good swimmer! And if this stupid school had a swim team then I would have been on it. But no it does not and I was never good enough at softball or soccer for college playing.:p

Of course you picked it to spite us...or so you keep saying.

Mirandir

04-27-2009, 06:42 PM

I was surrounded, you well remember, by a group of indecisive non-athletes.

I consequently picked the steep path to spite you. :p

I'm with Lari on this one. I played lacrosse for three years in high school and various other sports from the time I was a wee lass! Just because the only exercise I currently get is walking up one flight of stairs in the campus center does not mean...I have no idea where I was going with that. :rolleyes:

Lariren Shadow

04-27-2009, 06:43 PM

And I've been going to the gym too!

Feanor of the Peredhil

04-27-2009, 07:00 PM

In reality, I chose the left path because I know the gorge goes much further in that direction, whereas the right path would take us back in the direction of Route 14, which is where we'd come from.

Still, it's nice to pretend I'm spiteful. :)

On a more (or is that less?) serious note, I'm just dying to find out what Mac thinks of us all.

Five bucks says he expected me to be taller. :smokin:

Aganzir

04-28-2009, 12:29 PM

Hey cemeteries are cool. And besides what would be a more suitable place for a Barrow-Downs get-together? ;)

But anyway that sounds like lots of fun. :) Shall we get pictures, too? ;)

Rune Son of Bjarne

04-28-2009, 01:09 PM

Hey cemeteries are cool. And besides what would be a more suitable place for a Barrow-Downs get-together? ;)

Indeed!

It used to be a Copenhagen tradition to go picnicking on Assistens Kirkegård (Assistens Cemetary) and look at the graves.

Thinlómien

04-28-2009, 01:44 PM

But anyway that sounds like lots of fun. Shall we get pictures, too? ;)Yes, we'd like those. ;) And needless to say, I'm envious... but just waiting for the tourist season here... ;)

Kath

04-28-2009, 03:16 PM

Volo and I managed to find a cemetary when we met up. Admittedly it was because we got completely lost but that seems to be a common theme among 'Downer meet ups. :D

Mirandir

04-28-2009, 03:52 PM

But anyway that sounds like lots of fun. :) Shall we get pictures, too? ;)

That, my dear, is a matter you will have to take up with Fea. Or Nienna. Or someone who had a camera that had a battery that functioned for longer than the first five minutes. :p

Feanor of the Peredhil

04-28-2009, 03:57 PM

For once in my life I didn't take 83 million pictures. You'll need to track down [non-Downer] who insisted on taking group shots with her camera, none of which, if I managed it properly, actually show me.

Eönwë

04-28-2009, 04:50 PM

Then we'll just have to go before the Olympics, and leave after. And not buy anything in between.
The summer here will probably be too cold for most of the Americans and too warm for the more northern Americans, Canadians, Alaskans and Finns. :p

TheGreatElvenWarrior

04-29-2009, 02:41 PM

The summer here will probably be too cold for most of the Americans and too warm for the more northern Americans, Canadians, Alaskans and Finns. :pHow warm is the summer going to be?

Macalaure

04-29-2009, 05:16 PM

On a more (or is that less?) serious note, I'm just dying to find out what Mac thinks of us all.

You're all morons you are. :p

Five bucks says he expected me to be taller.

Neither of you is particularly tall from my perspective. ;)

I have to say I was much less nervous this time than over Skype the last time, though that didn't really translate in me being more talkative. The were-duckling took a long time to warm up, too, until she found a new bestest friend in Fea.

Lari summed up the day pretty well. Us being late, gorgeous gorge, Rikae slightly panicky about falling rocks and me leaning over, almost free lunch, running up and down hills for the sheer fun of it, and yummy ice cream.

I can't understand why everyone is complaining about climbing that tiny hill. What's more fun than to walk up 50 meters of altitude difference absolutely futilely? I, of course, only lagged behind to keep Rikae company. ;)

Feanor of the Peredhil

04-29-2009, 05:40 PM

The were-duckling took a long time to warm up, too, until she found a new bestest friend in Fea.

We're buddies. :smokin:

Mirandir

04-29-2009, 07:24 PM

You're all morons you are. :p

Ouchie... :(

Rikae, Mac's being mean to us! :p

Lariren Shadow

04-29-2009, 07:30 PM

You're all morons you are. :p

I second Mira!

Neither of you is particularly tall from my perspective. ;)

Well I'm sorry none of us is as tall as you! And I'll have you know I'm the tallest of all us at Elmira!:p

I can't understand why everyone is complaining about climbing that tiny hill. What's more fun than to walk up 50 meters of altitude difference absolutely futilely? I, of course, only lagged behind to keep Rikae company.

Ok so it wasn't that bad for me. And I mean that in all truth. It was the cemetery. And that it was hot. And of course that was the only reason you were behind us.

Lush

05-05-2009, 04:17 AM

The Squatter and I have finally and officially (with all sorts of important paperwork having been filled out...not really) met!

I was in Scotland & Liverpool last week, and took the train down to the South, and ended up spending a lovely weekend at Squa's, who was the perfect host, and even allowed me to let my inner Grace Kelly loose when we traveled the appropriately lush countryside in his awesome car with the roof down.

We got extremely lucky with the weather, and went all the way up to the Glastonbury Tor! We also visited the local Abbey, where, supposedly, Arthur's tomb was found by monks. Both the Tor and the Abbey are places of power, and you feel it, if you're open to that sort of thing or - especially, like me - writing a book that concerns related themes of magic and mystery and lots of pretty grass.

Squa also took me to see some of the English coast, and introduced me to a drink called port. We talked incessantly for three days and never ran out of things to say to each other, which does, I think, show that not only are we awesome people (if, perhaps, old, dry and dessicated members of the Downs), but that our friendship can exist just as well outside the (green and gorgeous) digital world.

I just want to thank Squa for his generous hospitality, the use of his couch, the toast in the morning (I am one of those airy, irresponsible people, incapable of making herself breakfast, usually relying on Boyfriend for that sort of thing) and all the conversation - and the tour of his library which, I believe, ought to make any Tolkien fan weep. Or drool. Or something.

Pictures are available from my site for your viewing pleasure!

This is Squa considering the distance left to the Tor:

http://nataliaantonova.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/d-tor.jpg

The Tor - how it is today up there.

http://nataliaantonova.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/tor-proper.jpg

Squa and myself - persuaded by a nice lady to take off our sunglasses and stop playing it cool, so we can actually be seen:

http://nataliaantonova.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/me-and-d.jpg

A thoughtful picture of Squa on Abbey grounds:

http://nataliaantonova.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/d-abbey.jpg

And, finally, Arthur's possible grave, with Squa's shadow, a complex metaphor for... something:

http://nataliaantonova.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/arthur.jpg

:D

I am back in London now, but I wish I was still down South, surrounded by Squa's atmosphere of fabulousness.

Rune Son of Bjarne

05-05-2009, 04:39 AM

Sounds like a brilliant trip! I am very jealous!

I like Liverpool, never been to Scotland (but always wanted to). . . I also need to see more of the south, squatter and drink more port.

I should also drink more Porter! (danish stout)

It really looks like it was a great trip and leaves me (yet again) with a longing to cross the sea, oh to sail upon the dark rolling waves and explore new and strange coasts.

Hookbill the Goomba

05-05-2009, 04:42 AM

What the Angband!?! Squatter without a trilby? Inconceivable! :eek: I thought it was stitched to his head.
Those are some almost Barrow Downsian hills you two were on. And there is absolutely NO chance I could misuse them to my own journalistic ends... :p

Anyway, that abbey looks cool! Must go to Bath at some point in my life. But I'm heading to Scotland later this month, which is the other side of the island. And I can't afford much travel. (Other than Oxonmoot, of course)

Feanor of the Peredhil

05-05-2009, 06:12 AM

So funny story:

I saw that Hook's was the most recent post, and sleepily clicked the thread and started reading what it showed me.

I thought it a mite strange that Hooky liked to channel Grace Kelly not because such things tend to even strike my notice but because he's never spoken thusly before, so it seemed out of character.

It wasn't until I read that 'Boyfriend' typically makes 'him' breakfast that I had a quick crisis of inconsistency and looked at who'd actually composed the post.

In my head, ever more, dear Hook, you prefer toast for breakfast, and love cars with no tops.

Hookbill the Goomba

05-05-2009, 11:37 AM

In my head, ever more, dear Hook, you prefer toast for breakfast, and love cars with no tops.

Funnily enough, due to a recent court order and a long standing medical condition, I'm not allowed to eat toast for breakfast or otherwise. And I prefer my cars to have no tops, bottoms or anything else. I like wheels. Unicycle love! :smokin:

Bêthberry

05-05-2009, 12:25 PM

I am back in London now, but I wish I was still down South, surrounded by Squa's atmosphere of fabulousness.

Indeed, well might you speak of fabulous things!

Squatter hasn't aged a bit (must be pickled by all that port he consumes) and you look, well, if you want to go with Grace Kelly, so be it!

But tell us, is he the least bit a driver like Mr. Bliss?

Elmo

05-05-2009, 12:51 PM

Where in Scotland did you go to?

The Squatter of Amon Rûdh

05-05-2009, 01:14 PM

At ten to seven in the evening I was limping like a cripple up to the unsavoury rear entrance of Exmouth railway station, having woken up the previous day with an unexplained injury to my foot. This was a momentous moment: Lush and I have known each other since I joined this forum in 2002; we've taken part in the Yahoo Voice Chat readings that some of you may remember, and we were two of the worst offenders in the infamous Lupercalia thread. Sometimes, I even read her blog. We know all sorts of things about each other, but we'd never been in the same room. I was still getting used to the unfamiliar voice that I'd been speaking to on the phone belonging to someone with whom I've been exchanging e-mails and other communications for the best part of eight years. People look different in pictures; what if I didn't recognise her? Could I gloss over a faux pas of that magnitude?

The answers were respectively: I did, immediately; and of course I could, because I really am that charming. The train arrived just as I did, heralding a busy weekend.

Friday night was expended in catching up. I'm not the best person at keeping in touch, as other forum members will attest; and Lush has been a very busy girl over the last few years. After about an hour I suddenly remembered that I keep drinks in the flat, and that some people like to take in liquids sometimes. Out came the port and two utterly inappropriate glasses, my last port glass having gone the way of all flesh some time ago. I was not allowed to open the 1999 August Ziegler that I've been saving for a special occasion, although it will have to be drunk eventually. "This place looks like a museum," I was told appreciatively. I had to admit that I've put a lot of my personality into it. We accompanied the port with an exotic local delicacy: cod and chips twice. Where Lush lives, I discovered, they still serve it in newspaper, but here they have to use surgical grade sterile dressing paper because of health and safety. We managed to watch Tomkinson's Schooldays too, but only just. It's a long way down here from Liverpool, and everyone needs to sleep sometimes.

Saturday began late, which is just as well as I was the driver for our planned trip to Glastonbury. Somehow I cooked scrambled eggs, which I haven't tried to do in years (to be honest I'm still relieved that I didn't give another forum member food poisoning), and eventually we got going at about eleven. Lush may not think that she can pull off the Grace Kelly look, but I'm not so sure; given the right car, it could be a close-run thing. For some reason I parked miles outside town (I'd never been before) and it's a good thing that the sun was shining. Still, we got there in the end, climbed the tor, listened to some beatniks playing didgeridoos and took in the view, which is impressive. After having our photograph taken for our adoring public, we made our way back down the hill. I wasn't allowed to break my ankle (because Lush can't carry someone my size), so I didn't. At this point, Lush miraculously transformed into a damosel, so I took a picture.

http://bd.athelnet.co.uk/gifs/LushatGlastoTor.JPG

We found our way to the abbey after a couple of false starts and had a wander in the grounds, discussing this and that. We saw a Benedictine monk, but I'd forgotten to charge my phone so there are no pictures of him. It's not easy to keep up with Lush in conversation, but by listening a lot I managed not to look completely witless. She has many interesting stories to tell, as befits someone who has lived in several countries and interviews photographers for a living. I filled in with interesting things that have happened to people I know. The sun continued to blaze down as though Somerset had realised that I wanted it to make a good impression; the trees were covered with clouds of blossom and all in all it was a perfect English spring afternoon, such as I'd usually have to invent. If Lush becomes rich, we may have tea and cucumber sandwiches on the lawn of a house we saw. By this point I realised that my foot had stopped hurting, and that my limp was gone; if not for all that walking I'd probably still be lame.

Saturday evening was spent in my favourite pub, and we ate on a balcony overlooking the sea. That sounds better than it was, because we were freezing when we adjourned inside; it is still May after all. Several rounds later we went back to the flat to sleep off all the walking.

Sunday was spent around Exmouth. Duty called for Lush, so I contented myself with making tea and being a distraction by reading out random things from Mallorn, Tolkien's letters and The English: are they Human (author's answer: no). Once the paying work was taken care of, we walked out to the marina, along the promenade and up onto the cliffs above Orcombe Point, where in my obsessive desire to document the whole visit in minute detail I took a second picture.

http://bd.athelnet.co.uk/gifs/LushCliffs.JPG

In answer to Hookbill, I did wear a hat for this, because I looked like a boiled lobster after Saturday's hiking. It kept blowing off and was a cause of great hilarity, so perhaps I should consider sewing them on. After supper, we took a turn along the beacon to see the houses of Lady Byron (her daughter was the first computer programmer, you know) and Lady Nelson (Exmouth was popular with the jilted wives of national figures), and finished up with an episode of Dad's Army (for afficionados, it was Time on my Hands). Apparently, them Germans make just about everything rather well.

On Monday (a public holiday, as luck would have it) there was just enough time for tea, toast and a bit more conversation before I saw Lush onto the train back to London. As so often when I meet other forumites, I wish we could have had a bit longer, and I certainly hope that it won't be another eight years before we meet again. I just hope that I can survive normality after that concentrated fabulousness.

Lush

05-06-2009, 02:16 AM

HAHAHAHAHAHA - My fringe makes me look like a member of an 80's hair band in that last picture! Awesome!

What the Angband!?! Squatter without a trilby? Inconceivable! I thought it was stitched to his head.

It was unstitched for the purposes of driving with the roof down. Otherwise, I imagine it would have been claimed by nature. :)

It wasn't until I read that 'Boyfriend' typically makes 'him' breakfast that I had a quick crisis of inconsistency and looked at who'd actually composed the post.

I'm sure Boyfriend (who has since joined me in London, and turns 24 today) would love to cook Hook breakfast sometime. Assuming Hook likes eggie-in-the-basket and other delicacies.

Squatter hasn't aged a bit (must be pickled by all that port he consumes) and you look, well, if you want to go with Grace Kelly, so be it!

I think living at the seaside can keep you young - and since Squa doesn't go for irresponsible tanning (unlike, say, Donatella Versace), even more so. I had my Grace Kelly moment in the car, where you couldn't actually see my face (scarf + sunglasses). In real life, as the pictures can attest, I look more like my great Aunt Lina, short for Lenina - named after Vladimir Lenin.

But tell us, is he the least bit a driver like Mr. Bliss?

Nah, he's quite the pro - tight turns in country lanes and all. Having a cool car helps, but a cool car isn't everything. I think if I had a car like that, it would already be in a ditch somewhere, serving as a cozy home for a family of chipmunks.

I have to add that Squa also taught me all about gentlemanship (gentlemancy, gentlemanting, etc.) - quoting from an authoritative volume that states, for example, that no true gentleman has a Rolls Royce, unless it was given to him by an eccentric aunt and he keeps chickens in it.

So all you aspiring gentlemen - you know where it's at.

Lariren Shadow

05-18-2009, 11:09 PM

All right I hope this is where to put this and am putting this up upon Fea's request:

I'm going to be in London starting on Wednesday (leaving Sunday) and, even though I haven't been a member that long, I wouldn't mind meeting people. At the moment the only thing I have planned is getting from Heathrow to The Tower, killing time there and then heading to meet up with Mira, who is also on here, who I shall be staying with. Other than that I really have nothing to do other than silently mope that the British Library's Henry VIII exhibit wanted me to book five days in advance and am going to go to Hampton Court (anyone see a trend here?).

So basically I'm really free except for probably maybe not Friday. My cousin is also going to magically be in London at the same time (we really didn't plan that one).

Kath

05-19-2009, 05:33 AM

I could come up for an evening Lari. Would be nice to meet one of your infamous group! :D Thursday or Friday afternoon/evening I could appear. If you're on a spending spree we could have a meal or see a show or something. If not I'll just camp out at wherever you're staying for a few hours. :p

Feel free to say no if you're not bothered!

Feanor of the Peredhil

05-19-2009, 05:47 AM

Pictures! I want pictures! And lots of stories. :Merisu:

Lariren Shadow

05-28-2009, 06:26 PM

And lo about a week later I am relating the story that is the meeting of Lari, Kath, and Mira.

It begins with the Downs not be as cooperative as one hopes and delaying the day from Thursday to Friday. Which was all right with all those involved, and that meant that Mira and I found the epic (http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y71/LarirenShadow/n1084290153_30344034_6968178.jpg) pancakes (http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y71/LarirenShadow/4147_515962281008_71700876_30855453.jpg) when we were looking for where we were actually going to go the next night.

Then there was the fun text/call/make sure everyone knows where to be game. I had bought a cheap(really cheap) cell phone in London because I learned that a) I actually had no money on my calling card, b) that London pay phones didn't like it when I tried to use it, and, c) that when planning to met up with people texting/calling is always the best thing to do/have.

Met up with Kath at the Baker Street station and waited for Mira to come. She was late from Waterloo station where she had been in line trying to get a seat to and from Wales, but really what's more important is that she came from visiting Hampton Court Palace which is awesome.

Anyway, Kath and I talked by the payphones about everything while waiting for Mira who then came up behind me like she likes to do. Off first to Regents where Mira was staying so I could deposit my stuff so I wouldn't have huge bag with me the whole time(changing where I was staying that night). Then we double checked where we were supposed to go for food(it promised waffles which I knew to be good from before).

Headed back to the tube to head over to where we needed to go. A change of lines later(and me learning that the tube map is laid out with the top being going north and such) we found where we had to be. And we were all hungry. We turned right out of the station...walked a ways and learned that really we should have turned left. Lesson learned: always turn left with Barrow Downers(unless its with Fea and a hill is involved).

Found the restaurant after passing a bunch that would have been acceptable if we couldn't find the intended one. We pressed on for the waffles. In the restaurant we moved from the bar area to where they actually served food and then ordered.

Food came and there was much wonderful conversation. Then came the waffles which were also amazing. Sadly I don't think we have any pictures of the food.

And then we had fun with the coasters (http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y71/LarirenShadow/P1011845.jpg). We also played the game where you have to flip the coaster off the side of the table and catch it in your hand. I epic fail at it where as Kath and Mira are amazing and can get all of the coasters on the table and flip them and catch them.

We then made our way back to the tube, where we had to weave through people on the street and it was fun. Then, upon Fea's request I'm pretty sure I said "PICTURES!" So I took a nice picture of Kath and Mira (http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y71/LarirenShadow/P1011846.jpg)(so yeah, the restaurant is by the Holborn station). And then I tried to take a picture of the three of us and this (http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y71/LarirenShadow/P1011848.jpg) was the best of the three.

Then we headed back to Regents where we played on the free internet there. I was also trying to get in contact with my cousin so I can sleep on her floor. When I got in contact with her and Kath also realized that she needed to catch her train we headed out. And on the way out Mira also stopped for a picture with the kitty (http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y71/LarirenShadow/P1011850.jpg).

Kath and I headed back to the tube and said by when I had to change trains. It was really fun and she is an awesome person!

Rune Son of Bjarne

05-29-2009, 01:31 AM

That was a very well told story.

Sounds like a nice cosy evening, something Kath is a master of, as long as you don't start talking about history. . .

What was it that brought you guys to London?

Kath

05-29-2009, 04:43 AM

Sounds like a nice cosy evening, something Kath is a master of, as long as you don't start talking about history. . .
I coped for a while! I'm glad you have something you're incredibly interested in ... I just got history'd out!

Mira was in London on a school trip. Lari though just decided to come at the last minute!

Lariren Shadow

05-29-2009, 10:03 AM

That was a very well told story.

Sounds like a nice cosy evening, something Kath is a master of, as long as you don't start talking about history. . .

What was it that brought you guys to London?

Heh...yeah I realized, but I was really good at not talking about it too!

I literally decided that I was going to go at the last minute because I could and because I wanted to see all the Henry VIII stuff on display everywhere. Yes, and now I am talking about history.

I coped for a while! I'm glad you have something you're incredibly interested in ... I just got history'd out!

Mira was in London on a school trip. Lari though just decided to come at the last minute!

I understand! And I totally stopped talking about it most of the time! Really I can talk about it a lot ask Fea, Nienna, Mira, and, Brinn.

Kath

05-29-2009, 03:31 PM

Rune and Lari sitting in a tree ... talking non-stop about history! :D

Mirandir

05-30-2009, 06:22 PM

Things we have learned:
*EPIC PANCAKES OF EPICNESS ARE EPIC.
*Fea fails at directions. (Not that that's news :p)
*Lari is much easier to communicate with when she has a functioning phone.
*Mira is fantastic at finding awesome hostels.
*Playing WW with three Downers in the same room talking to at least three more is an interesting experience (to say the least)
*Kath is awesome.
*We need to find dinner places closer to where we are at any given time. Directions should not be necessary.
*Coaster flipping is one of the most awesome things ever and should be made a national sport.
*Wild boar sausages are never a good life choice (for Lari).
*Waffles are yummy.
*We fail at taking pictures.
*Mira epic fails at knowing what doors her key lets her into.
*Yelling at people is an awesome way to make them do what you want.

Feanor of the Peredhil

05-30-2009, 10:08 PM

*Fea fails at directions. (Not that that's news :p)

Not even fair! I wasn't there!

Lariren Shadow

05-31-2009, 09:45 PM

*Lari is much easier to communicate with when she has a functioning phone.

It's true. I also learned I can't function anymore without a cell phone. This is not a good thing to learn.

Not even fair! I wasn't there!

She's just still mad about that unexpected detour from the airport.

Mirandir

06-04-2009, 12:41 PM

She's just still mad about that unexpected detour from the airport.

"Mad" just doesn't cover it. *eye twitch*

Boromir88

06-04-2009, 01:01 PM

Oh please tell me in the kitty picture that is not a Romo jersey! I think I am going to be sick :p

the phantom

06-05-2009, 08:58 AM

Oh please tell me in the kitty picture that is not a Romo jersey! I think I am going to be sick
Heh heh.... Oh, I'm sure she was only wearing it because she was overseas. You know, with the Cowboys being "America's Team" and all, she was just trying to represent us properly. *snicker*

Mirandir

06-10-2009, 09:59 PM

Oh yeah, that was it. Definitely has nothing to do with me being a die-hard Cowboys fan or anything like that. :rolleyes:

Boromir88

06-11-2009, 10:32 AM

Well I think tp was attempting to make me feel better...ugh, America's team my...It's ok though, I know there are defects in all of us, you can't help it that you're a Cowboys fan. :p

Mirandir

06-11-2009, 02:45 PM

And I suppose your a fan of some really really good quality team like the Patriots, huh? :p

Boromir88

06-11-2009, 03:28 PM

And I suppose your a fan of some really really good quality team like the Patriots, huh? :p

haha, anything but that...umm, the Lions happen to be my team, I'm a lifer. I said we all have our defects. :D

Estelyn Telcontar

06-12-2009, 03:05 AM

When I see new posts on this thread, I hope for news of new get-togethers of Downers. Please don't misuse that hope for idle chat - thanks!

http://forum.barrowdowns.com/images/chatskwerl.jpg

Feanor of the Peredhil

06-12-2009, 08:34 AM

When I see new posts on this thread, I hope for news of new get-togethers of Downers. Please don't misuse that hope for idle chat - thanks!

We'll tell you all about it once we send him home, I promise. :)

Feanor of the Peredhil

06-18-2009, 05:21 PM

for in the near future, The Adventures of Formendacil in New England shall be publicized!

In which:

Fea makes [playful] suggestions about Formy's necktie
Fea and Nienna force their over-indulgent slightly-older Canadian adopted brother to carry a humongous couch up dozens of steps for them
A pie is made
Customs makes [sinister] suggestions about Formy's necktieand-

Formendacil playes Nintendo for the FIRST TIME

Nerwen

06-18-2009, 11:08 PM

Customs makes [sinister] suggestions about Formy's necktie

What the-? :confused::eek:

Bêthberry

06-18-2009, 11:31 PM

Formendacil

06-20-2009, 09:35 PM

Wait a minute! Formendacil visits New England and does he go through Toronto? Does he meet with any Downers in that navel of the Canadian gaze?

Like, even a phone call from Pearson Airport would be neat, Formy. Unless you flew direct to Boston. Or connected through Chicago. Or . . . um, well, it sounds like you had fun.

Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa!

*strikes breast*

I did, indeed, fly thither through Toronto--but if I am so disgraced, I shall refrain from mentioning that phonecalls are every bit as easy--or difficult (no number...)--from Edmonton as from the airport.

And yes, there shall be a big, epic post up--probably tomorrow. For tonight, Formy has got residual jetlag, 15 hours of driving in the past 40 hours, and emotional instability to cope with. More anon.

Morsul the Dark

06-20-2009, 10:50 PM

Boston and yet no short run down to RI?! I;m offended:p

Brinniel

06-20-2009, 11:47 PM

Well, Formy went all the way to Boston and couldn't even be bothered to take a short trip to NYC...even when the bus ride would've only costed $15. Silly boy. :p

Formendacil

06-21-2009, 03:15 PM

There is a prevailing belief that all Barrow-downer meetings must invariably be excellent, a belief that has no doubt been greatly assisted by the fact that, as yet, there has not been a meeting reported as a failure. There is, however, no property of the Barrow-downs, nor of Barrow-downers, that makes this a necessary condition of all BD meetings, and though so many visits thus far have been writ with the happy endings of comedy, nonetheless the material is there for a tragedy.

This philosophical caveat out of the way, let me recount the visit of myself, Formendacil, to Feanor of the Peredhil and Nienna, in Boston, which while not a tragedy of Shakespearian proportions, should still not be painted in the colours of too much joy.

The portents of woe began frightfully early in this particular tale. I almost didn't make onto the connecting plane in Toronto (yet again, my abject apologies, Bêthberry, but perhaps it is best, in the end, that you were not entangled in the Doom of the Noldor), for as I was going through U.S. customs to get onto my second flight I was cross-examined by a U.S. Customs agent wanting to know my business in the USA.

"Visiting friends," I answered truthfully.

"How do you know these friends?" he asked, and my mind hit a blank. "We met on the Internet," did NOT seem an adequate response, so I said the first thing that came to my head. "We met in college." It was vague enough to cover a multiplicity of meaning, and eminently plausible, but--of course--mostly untrue. In
the case of Fea, we either met while we were both in High School, or else we had not yet met--and the met that had not yet happened would be, really, post-college, since we're now all allegedly Grad students. I suppose, in Nienna's case, it could be considered true that we met in college, but... really... not true.

Soiled by this falsehood, they let me on the plane, and to add to the deficiencies of the trip, I arrived in Boston a ridiculous mess. Now, this wasn't my first BDer meeting (I visited Brinn in Idaho last year), but I doubt that even after a dozen BDer meetings that I'll be any less anxious prior to first-time encounters--all the more so when, as was the case this time, I'm meeting someone I've become quite well acquainted with (albeit not in person). Fea, at least, has the
dubious distinction of being one of my favourite Downers, Nienna of being all-too-closely associated with her. So, basically, imagine the kind of giddiness that might precede TGEW meeting the editor of the The Barrow-Downer.

Fortunately, my plane wasn't late--meaning I had no extra time to course adrenaline through my veins--and somewhat dazed I followed the stream of passengers from the plane towards the baggage retrieval, only to find Fea and Nienna waiting there.

My first words were fairly clumsy, basically to the effect of "I really don't know how one goes about meeting someone they've already met," and Fea's response was, unhelpfully: "informally." It was perhaps awkward for a minute or two as my mind was more on the imminently arriving luggage, but soon enough we were on our way, with no apparent problem in each other's company. Conversation was much helped along by my mentioning that there had been snow that morning in Calgary (where I'd flown from), that my plane had been de-iced before I took off, and the ensuing outrage of the ladies at the inconsiderateness of Canadian weather.

As mentioned by Fea in her preview post, I did, indeed, have a tie on. I can't really say that I recall her saying anything about it beyond asking if I always wore one (I don't quite...), but perhaps, being a man, I missed out on all the delicacy of delicious denotation in her query. It would be consistent with the tone of the visit for her to have been insinuating I'd overdressed for the occasion, or that I might be weird (I am, but that's not the point).

I should digress and mention that Fea and Nienna no longer live in the mass-Downer location Brinn met them at over the winter, with Lariren Shadow and Mirandir, but they have now moved to Boston to pursue grad studies in their fields. It is also worth mentioning that this move had just been accomplished the day before I arrived. Not that I didn't already know this, for when I was looking with Fea at dates for travelling, we ended up with two more-or-less mutually compatible blocks of dates, and being the gentleman I am, I asked which they preferred. Naturally, they responded that they preferred having the extra manpower during the more laborious transition period at the beginning. Hence, I was to be put to work on my so-called holiday.

The most strenuous task, certainly, involved moving in a couch. Fea and Nienna, you see, did not bring a couch with them from their last residence, so there was a scouring of the thrift stores one morning to rectify this situation, followed that afternoon by the arrival of Nienna's father with his van--a necessary tool for the moving of a couch.

Now, the couch which the ladies selected is quite the specimen (See it (http://www.majhost.com/gallery/Formendacil/Boston/boston20090612004.jpg) with me here. Note the scowl on my face). Quite apart from aesthetic concerns like colour and pattern (which are of negligible concern to those doing the moving), they selected a couch that could, quite comfortably, seat five Feas (or Niennas, but probably only four Formendacils). I can hardly fail to note that these young BDers live on the fourth floor of an elevator-less building.

Of course, if you were to judge by those conditions, you might assume that the reason there was relatively little tourism on my part during the rest of the trip was because I took that long to recover from hauling the couch up the stairs. (Here (http://www.majhost.com/gallery/Formendacil/Boston/boston20090612007.jpg) we rest at the foot of the apartment building, on said couch. I apologize for not re-shooting to centre us more, but Nienna disappeared.) Instead, my weighty task was to be shared, as we had the good fortune to start blocking the stairs just as a couple of young men from the second floor had the back luck to enter the building and volunteered/got volun-told to assist. We didn't break the news though, until they were wedged in around one of the bends in the stairs, that the couch was going to the fourth floor...

Other, earlier, adventures included bodyguard duty as Nienna and I escorting Fea to the Prudential Centre Barnes and Noble for the submission of a job application. Now, according to Nienna, Fea and I were equally useless and going off in the wrong direction, but in my defence, I was just following Fea, until we got lost, after which I was fully committed to our being not-lost, while Nienna slowed down the process by phoning for directions. (This picture (http://www.majhost.com/gallery/Formendacil/Boston/boston20090610002.jpg) shows Fea in the foreground with us industriously moving forward on our side of the street, while Nienna stands opposite, pointing probably at the building next to the Prudential Centre.) We were totally on the cusp of going in not-the-absolutely-wrong direction. I also aver that, while it was raining while we were on the train, it was not when we arrived. Unless, of course, you were walking under trees with water on their leaves, going in the wrong direction.

I blame Fea.

Of course, that particular Barnes and Noble has nothing on the location alleged to exist at Chestnut Hill. I blame the completely absentLariren Shadow for that, since she actually phoned them (well, phoned someone who said they were them) and ascertained that they were hiring, and as it was on the way to Fea's grad school, she and I decided that while we were on a jaunt to see how far the campus was and what it looked like, we would check out the wisdom of that location.

Except... well... we couldn't find it. Not that we got there immediately. Fea, I maintain, got us lost on the hike down to the train--in the rain, but even after we'd been on our feet for probably an hour and a half, and should have just headed back towards the apartment, we ended up walking all around the location it was supposed to occupy, and determined that it was most definitely not there. We weren't lost then, though, as Google Maps confirmed upon our return. It was the bookstore, not us, that got lost, because we were definitely right where it should have been... but where it apparently should have been was a tennis club with high fences. Of course, on the way back, to save our aching legs, Fea decided to take a "short cut." Short cuts make long delays indeed... an extra five minutes for sure, at the end of a long hike, and then, remember, we had those four flights of stairs.

No account of this visit would be complete without mentioning that I made pie. In the midst of being ignored by my serious hosts, I unveiled both a desire for pie and the recipe to make it--an extraordinary gesture on my part, I'm sure you'll agree. Although I would have been content with just apple, and would have rested at that, nonetheless Fea definitely expressed an interest in strawberry-rhubarb pie, which I was gracious enough to indulge, for her own good (she was procrastinating on her first grad school deadline). Was this charity reciprocated? Not exactly... The other, apple, pie was shortly be used to mollify Nienna's father, who is quite fond of it, after they broke the news of the couch they bought--and so we're back to that point in the tale.

Fea thinks there's a story to be told about me playing Nintendo, but I would say that's the real story there is not that I played Nintendo, but that I was harassed into playing Nintendo. I distinctly remember being decidedly non-enthused (http://www.majhost.com/gallery/Formendacil/Boston/boston20090615021.jpg) about the Wii, which on their end simply would not do. However, when I begrudgingly didn't fall asleep, but began to humour them (http://www.majhost.com/gallery/Formendacil/Boston/boston20090615022.jpg), I spent all of ten minutes on Wii Fit before the actual using of the Wii turned into Mii-making (http://www.majhost.com/gallery/Formendacil/Boston/boston20090615023.jpg), which I think that was a Pyrrhic victory at best for the Nintendo evangelisers.

More details could be enumerated, but adventures such as these were the basic staple of the trip, which otherwise included incompatible diets, incompatible worldviews, incompatible sleep habits (I am, it seems, more of a morning person than I give myself credit), and incompatible notions of straight roads.

Which brings me back to the beginning of this post, where I mentioned that not everything about this visit was stellar. When I said that, I do not mean anything I've recounted yet was bad--even though true. Not even the couch moving. No, really, it wasn't until I had to leave that the visit was less than excellent.

You see, Fea and Nienna (http://www.majhost.com/gallery/Formendacil/Boston/boston20090616001.jpg) were so welcoming, and the visit was so excellent generally, and given that it was more an experience of coming to live in Boston than coming to visit Boston, that when time finally wound down and I had to leave... I didn't want to. I had to, of course. I had work on Monday (and money is an unfortunate necessity in the average life), and I had a friend's ordination to attend before that, so I couldn't exactly just forget my airfare and become an illegal immigrant. Besides all of which, I am quite fond indeed of western Canada and the people there, for all that it snows in June.

All the same, it was a very melancholy Formendacil that Fea left at the airport, one who has since been trapped between the certainty of having to go back and visit again and the clear verdict that travel upsets his routine and is dangerous to his mental equilibrium. Also a Formendacil who has had to go from having a social life around the corner in the next bedroom to scattered out and about and on the Internet--which is to say, that, all told (http://www.majhost.com/gallery/Formendacil/Boston/boston20090616011.jpg), I felt like I got along quite well with Fea and Nienna.

(This is an excellent point to note, then, that everything written above is, of course, subject to the caveat that an alternative account by either or both of the ladies may well contradict everything. I take no responsibility for that.)

Postscript

Coming back into Canada, I had to go through Customs again. For whatever reason (I'd be in the wild land of speculation if I were to guess), I got hauled out of the rubber stamp processing line and into the "search his luggage" room in the Ottawa airport.

The first question I got asked, entering the search room was:

"Do you always wear a tie?"

"Umm... well, not always. But often."

(At this point, I'm already grinning because this'll be a good story, but trying hard not to, lest I get strip-searched.)

"Do you have any sharp objects I should know about?" I replied in the negative, only to get asked sharply a couple minutes later why I hadn't mentioned the diabetic needles.

I tried to explain I had thought she was asking about weapons... knives, nailclippers, and whatnot, but whether she believed me, I can't say. Certainly, she seemed to lose interest when she'd exhausted my luggage and not found any contraband.

Having got through customs, I needed something to read on the plane. Not having a copy, I let myself splurge on a hardcover of The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun, telling myself nothing could be more appropriate to end a wholly un-epic, heavenly wonderful, BDer visit than an addition to my Tolkien collection.

As a sign of the barbarity of our times, I challenge you to find and purchase a pen and writing paper in an airport, especially past the security checkpoints. I managed it, but I was about ready to steal napkins.

Feanor of the Peredhil

06-21-2009, 05:03 PM

You couldn't possibly have posted more unflattering pictures if you'd tried.

:p

That being said... You weren't supposed to tell anybody I got us totally lost en route to Chestnut Hill!!!!!!

Now nobody will ever believe in my competence.

Feanor of the Peredhil

06-21-2009, 05:05 PM

I'd also like to point to the chips in that last photo there-

This picture was quite obviously taken before the ever so accommodating and pleasant, completely polite and gentlemanly, kind and courteous waiter stole them from us in an unsubtle attempt to get us to leave before dessert.

Nerwen

06-22-2009, 02:25 AM

The first question I got asked, entering the search room was:

"Do you always wear a tie?"

Now, now, Form, the nice Customs lady was only doing her job. How was she to know that you weren't planning to garrotte the pilot?:D

Nienna

06-22-2009, 08:49 AM

Other, earlier, adventures included bodyguard duty as Nienna and I escorting Fea to the Prudential Centre Barnes and Noble for the submission of a job application. Now, according to Nienna, Fea and I were equally useless and going off in the wrong direction, but in my defence, I was just following Fea, until we got lost, after which I was fully committed to our being not-lost, while Nienna slowed down the process by phoning for directions.

When we left the apartment I asked Fea and Formy if we knew how to get there and they said: "Yes." So I assume that since they were looking at internet maps and such that they did know how to get there.

After quite a bit of wandering and walking away from the road which is supposed to lead us to the building, I decided that maybe we should pause and figure out where we were going. I stopped walking and phoned a friend of mine. Fea and Formy kept walking and crossed the street leaving me alone on a street in Boston. I figured out where we needed to be and then pointed in the correct direction for the others.

I also maintain that the reason Fea and Formy got lost in Chestnut Hill was because I wasn't there to make sure they knew where they were going.

Feanor of the Peredhil

06-22-2009, 02:37 PM

The problem is figuring out which way you're facing when emerging from underground. Formy and I knew exactly which roads we were supposed to be on, however we were having trouble figuring out precisely which direction the roads we needed to be on were.

And Chestnut Hill was only problematic because the patch of land that B&N was supposedly on actually housed a tennis club. Dozens of courts, no books.

The location on Google Maps now is a building that has a pool in the backyard.

We logically concluded that Chestnut Hill is a void which ignores the laws of time and space.

Mithalwen

06-22-2009, 03:07 PM

I am not sure that time and space work the same way with Downer meetings... *has traumatic memories*.

Morsul the Dark

06-22-2009, 04:17 PM

You couldn't possibly have posted more unflattering pictures if you'd tried.
.

I 'm fairly certain you don't have "unflattering" shots, you are a lovely young lady.

Formendacil

06-22-2009, 07:21 PM

Now, now, Form, the nice Customs lady was only doing her job. How was she to know that you weren't planning to garrotte the pilot?:D

Yes, but I'd just got OFF the plane! As far as she was concerned, I was going to walk out into Ottawa and never fly again--and if ties are dangerous, then our national capital is already in big trouble.

I also maintain that the reason Fea and Formy got lost in Chestnut Hill was because I wasn't there to make sure they knew where they were going.

We may have got lost prior to getting to the train to Chestnut Hill, and after the train coming back, but while we were there, we weren't lost in the slightest, though the Barnes and Noble definitely was.

Feanor of the Peredhil

06-22-2009, 07:28 PM

I'm fairly certain you don't have "unflattering" shots, you are a lovely young lady.

Why thank you, sir.

Such a gentleman... Should you find yourself in my pretty city, such a compliment is certainly deserving of a visit over coffee, perhaps with scones involved...

Nerwen

06-22-2009, 11:30 PM

Yes, but I'd just got OFF the plane! As far as she was concerned, I was going to walk out into Ottawa and never fly again--and if ties are dangerous, then our national capital is already in big trouble.

Well, then, you were clearly about to go on a strangling rampage through the streets of Ottawa, just like all those other tie-wearing fiends!

Morsul the Dark

06-23-2009, 05:54 AM

Why thank you, sir.

Such a gentleman... Should you find yourself in my pretty city, such a compliment is certainly deserving of a visit over coffee, perhaps with scones involved...

Interestingly I'll be deep in political enemy territory on Wed. night.. in Cambridge at the Comedy Studio, but Boston is always a lovely place mt fiance and I try to viist at least a couple of times a year, there is a lovely little fantasy shop on Newbury St. the Owner has an Amazing LOTR poster with nearly all the cast's signatures!(Threw that last bit in to avoid the chat squirrels):p

Lariren Shadow

06-23-2009, 02:05 PM

The portents of woe began frightfully early in this particular tale. I almost didn't make onto the connecting plane in Toronto (yet again, my abject apologies, Bêthberry, but perhaps it is best, in the end, that you were not entangled in the Doom of the Noldor), for as I was going through U.S. customs to get onto my second flight I was cross-examined by a U.S. Customs agent wanting to know my business in the USA.

I think that might be something new for Barrowdowners meeting. I was asked a bunch of question when I went to London. Though, to be honest, I was probably more suspicious because of the whole spur of the moment thing.

As mentioned by Fea in her preview post, I did, indeed, have a tie on. I can't really say that I recall her saying anything about it beyond asking if I always wore one (I don't quite...), but perhaps, being a man, I missed out on all the delicacy of delicious denotation in her query. It would be consistent with the tone of the visit for her to have been insinuating I'd overdressed for the occasion, or that I might be weird (I am, but that's not the point).

I know what Fea means about ties...

We were totally on the cusp of going in not-the-absolutely-wrong direction. I also aver that, while it was raining while we were on the train, it was not when we arrived. Unless, of course, you were walking under trees with water on their leaves, going in the wrong direction.

I blame Fea.

Things learned: Fea can't do directions. Also, probably when any of us(that would be Mira, Fea, Nienna, or I) are involved in a Barrowdowner meeting there will be the act of getting lost. It seems to be the welcome thing we bring to any occasion.

Of course, that particular Barnes and Noble has nothing on the location alleged to exist at Chestnut Hill. I blame the completely absentLariren Shadow for that, since she actually phoned them (well, phoned someone who said they were them) and ascertained that they were hiring, and as it was on the way to Fea's grad school, she and I decided that while we were on a jaunt to see how far the campus was and what it looked like, we would check out the wisdom of that location.

Hey! I did talk to someone! Its far from where you guys are! And they are hiring! They do exist they even had the annoying phone message when you called them that tells you the times the store is open! I would also like to know how I get blamed for something in Boston when I am in California.

On another note, I have never seen Barnes and Noble underlined. And I work there. I don't even think its underlined on the business cards...its not I just checked.

You couldn't possibly have posted more unflattering pictures if you'd tried.

:p

That being said... You weren't supposed to tell anybody I got us totally lost en route to Chestnut Hill!!!!!!

Now nobody will ever believe in my competence.

Aw but it wouldn't be right if he didn't say so. :D

Cailín

07-01-2009, 01:50 PM

Though neither of us ventures here often anymore, I still thought that the Downs and its population should know that another merry meeting happened because of the curious ability of this forum to bring people together.

Yesterday I finally had the pleasure of meeting the guy who be short in his natural environment. TGWBS is friendly, charming, goes around barefoot and occasionally bursts into song, and all in all is pretty much exactly like he used to come across here. He showed me around Oxford, managing to act very knowledgeable and touristy at the same time, taking photos of every sight he must have seen many times before. I learned about punting, the structure of different types of concrete and some nonsensical stories about an apparently tropical island called Iceland. If he does ever bother to check this thread, I would like to thank him again for a wonderful time and reassure him that indeed, Oxford is an amazingly pretty place. Hope to see the photos soon. :)

Also, maybe I should quietly mention that I will be in the south of England for another seven weeks and would love to meet some other people whom I know to frequent the area as well. ;)

Mirandir

07-02-2009, 09:01 PM

That being said... You weren't supposed to tell anybody I got us totally lost en route to Chestnut Hill!!!!!!

Now nobody will ever believe in my competence.

WHAT competence, Fea?? After the airport fiasco it's just been one thing after another with you! Please note that when I come visit, I will be listening to Nienna's directions. Not yours. As much as I love you. :D

Nogrod

07-14-2009, 02:45 PM

Just looking at the old posts here from last year...
Is it me ... or does anyone else think that if you ever did plan to go to Finland and meet these nutters you'd have to lose your inhibitions pretty fast?! :DSays one who is coming here in a month... Be prepared! Or well, be prepared to not be prepared... :)

skip spence

08-01-2009, 03:06 PM

A few days back Lommy, Aganzir and their friend - let us call her Goldberry* for she was, much like other two, fair as the river’s daughter - came past my neck of the woods. I first met them at the train station and then, after leaving their luggage, we went on a prompt tour of the city. I’m not sure how many sights the girls actually saw, because most of the time we were walking, walking and talking about a dizzying amount of subjects, from Downs gossip to world affairs. Since Goldberry had developed a caffeine addiction after too many cool and refreshing ice-lattes in the Southern sun I then left them at a local coffee-shop – outside of which Lommy found time for a quick rant about Starbucks - for some personal time.

Later in the evening we took off to what I’d promised to be a “Shire-ish place”. The plan was to have a modest BBQ there, but unfortunately the actual planning was all too neglected from my part, so I showed up with some of the gear required but far from all. We had to make do though and after a walk, rather longer than I had though, we finally arrived at the site.

Shire-ish or no, the hazy evening sun was shimmering over the land as Aganzir and Goldberry to their delight discovered several horses running free. As they walked up to the shapely beasts grazing the tall grass I reached for my camera, but alas, the battery was dead (fortunately Lommy was a hand to make amends). I lit up the 3 Euro use-once grill we bought at the supermarket and started with some veggies and shrooms – Aganzir insisted that mushrooms were a must in Shire – but before even the veggies were done, and with all the rest of the food still uncooked, the crappy 3 Euro grill started to die down. “Blasted!”, I says, and at the brink of disaster it’s decided that we need to start a fire. We all scramble for dry twigs and any other flammables and at the last minute a small bon-fire is achieved. Some minutes later the heat is sufficient to cook the rest of our food, but now there’s an ominous grey tone to the over-cast sky, robbing us of a fair sunset. Just as we start enjoying the food the first cool drops of rain hit our faces, and by the time we finish the meal it’s pouring down, leaving us little choice but to scramble our stuff together and head back under the cover of trees.

All and all it had been a very enjoyable day though. The girls were, much as I suspected, very pleasant to be around, and I look forward to delving deeper into many of the various subjects we only too briefly came around to discuss.

*if there is a member called that, she's not the one I'm talking about

Aganzir

08-02-2009, 04:56 AM

Yes, it happened pretty much as Skippy told it. I would've walked right past him at the railway station had he not come and greeted us with a wide smile on his face, for he looked much younger (and also thinner) than in the pictures. :p

We spent the first half of the day walking around (yes, we also managed to see some sights - the town was beautiful). Skippy took us to a nice botanical garden so we could learn plant names in Swedish (I learnt one but forgot it already), and after a little persuading ("Come on, that tree is just asking to be climbed! And if someone calls the police, you can at least speak the language!"), climbed a tree (http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y62/Aganzir/Reili003.jpg). Then we went to a playground and sat there discussing gay rights (okay we also talked about other things but I can't remember them). And we entertained Skippy by telling jokes about Swedes, and he entertained us by talking Swedish. :)

Grilling was lots of fun (http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y62/Aganzir/Reili012.jpg) (from left to right: Lommy - notice also her new, reddish hair colour, Ms Goldberry - who, despite being a non-Downer, has probably met more Downers in person than most Downers, & Skipper), especially as none of us had done it yet this summer, and the food was very delicious, especially the mushrooms. Skip brought us some magazines and books so we could improve our Swedish, and Lommy managed to read a whole article. :p It was funny when she walked around the place (http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y62/Aganzir/Reili011.jpg) with a years-old National Geographic in her hand and asked Skippy about words she didn't understand.

In spite of the weather being against us, we had a very good time with Skip. He's a great guy with a wonderful sense of humour, plus he never once lost his patience because of our silly jokes (now Lommy will probably come and say, "You mean your silly jokes, Agan?"). I look forward to meeting him again (which happens, incidentally, in about a week).

Unfortunately most of the pictures taken that day (including all the good ones) were on Lommy's camera which mystically disappeared on the last day of our trip, which leaves me with the duty to post a group photo (http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y62/Aganzir/Reili017.jpg) of us. Don't ask me what Lommy is doing. I don't know.

Feanor of the Peredhil

08-02-2009, 08:39 AM

Skip, I'd merely like say: I love your shirt.

Oh, and I'm jealous, of course. Very, very jealous.

Boromir88

08-02-2009, 09:10 AM

I like the shades, very nice...where can I get them? :p I only happen to have a pair of sunglasses I got from going to the Cleveland Clinic, that was odd.

skip spence

08-02-2009, 09:40 AM

I only happen to have a pair of sunglasses I got from going to the Cleveland Clinic, that was odd. Man, that's were I got mine too! No, haha, I'd give you my shades if I could. I won't, however, send them.:p

Skip, I'd merely like say: I love your shirt. Why thank you, dear!

It was funny when she walked around the place with a years-old National Geographic in her hand and asked Skippy about words she didn't understand. That's a great pose by Lommy haha. And I'm sorry about the camera, hope it shows up as mysteriously as it disappeared!

Nogrod

08-02-2009, 03:27 PM

I like the shades, very nice...where can I get them? From Sweden of course... didn't you know the Swedes are the most hip nation in the world? (Notice the Finnish attitude towards Swedes...) :rolleyes:

But it sure is great to have you Skip here in Finland for a "return visit" next week.

And yes, I met a Barrow-Downer yesterday as well!

I had two pints of beer in Helsinki last night with Legate to celebrate his moving in. It was nice to meet him again - and we will be meeting him pretty regularly in the future as he starts his year as an exchange-stipendiate in the University of Helsinki...

So in the future we might not report it every time we meet him... :D

TheGreatElvenWarrior

08-02-2009, 11:36 PM

What is the appropriate manner with which to meet another Barrow-Downer? Running and squealing and knocking them over doesn't seem like the best way to do it...;)

Feanor of the Peredhil

08-03-2009, 06:13 AM

Running and squealing and knocking them over doesn't seem like the best way to do it...;)

When there are airports involved, my preferred method is to size the person up, make sure they're the right person, hesitantly move in their direction, and say something stunningly witty, like, "Hi."

Nogrod

08-03-2009, 09:43 AM

What is the appropriate manner with which to meet another Barrow-Downer? Running and squealing and knocking them over doesn't seem like the best way to do it...;)That might work well with us Finns - and maybe Rune - but I wouldn't recommend you to try that on anyone else... :)

But Fea has something right in there indeed methinks. Like with anyone you meet the first time it is always an interesting situation and surely the first minute can be a bit confusing. But at least with those 'Downers I have met the first time as 'Downers (so not talking about those I knew outside the 'Downs already), namely Brinn, Legate, Rune and Spawn, they have been just great and hearty persons with whom the "odd-feeling" of meeting them the first time has vanished in a minute actually. So at least I have only positive experiences of meeting other 'Downers - and it has been very easy to get comfortable with them in no time.

You're such fine bunch of people!

TheGreatElvenWarrior

08-03-2009, 09:43 PM

When there are airports involved, my preferred method is to size the person up, make sure they're the right person, hesitantly move in their direction, and say something stunningly witty, like, "Hi."Oh, that sounds like a great idea!;)

That might work well with us Finns - and maybe Rune - but I wouldn't recommend you to try that on anyone else... :)Probably not. I will greet any Downer that I meet with another reaction...

Mirandir

08-04-2009, 12:47 PM

What is the appropriate manner with which to meet another Barrow-Downer? Running and squealing and knocking them over doesn't seem like the best way to do it...;)

Depends on how well you know said people that you are about to glomp. For example, Nienna, Fea, Lari, and I did not particularly feel the need to glomp Mac and Rikae (mainly because there was a were-duckling involved and that could have been all bad and the fact that Mac was in a different continent at the time and that would have been somewhat difficult).

I wish I knew what happened when Lari met Kath, seeing as how I was successfully lost in London at the time and my greeting to the two of them was slamming my head repeatedly against the wall of the tube station.

However, when you happen to live with fellow Downers (and have them to blame for joining in the first place) and you happen to go visit after not seeing them for WEEKS ON END and MISS THEM LIKE CRAZY, running and squealing and knocking them over is a perfectly reasonable reaction. :D

Mirandir

08-04-2009, 12:48 PM

Oh, and Brinn got the awkward "Hi" that Fea was talking about when we picked her up at the airport (and proceeded to get horribly lost on the way home, but we won't talk about that).

TheGreatElvenWarrior

08-04-2009, 01:59 PM

Depends on how well you know said people that you are about to glomp. For example, Nienna, Fea, Lari, and I did not particularly feel the need to glomp Mac and Rikae (mainly because there was a were-duckling involved and that could have been all bad and the fact that Mac was in a different continent at the time and that would have been somewhat difficult).

I wish I knew what happened when Lari met Kath, seeing as how I was successfully lost in London at the time and my greeting to the two of them was slamming my head repeatedly against the wall of the tube station.

However, when you happen to live with fellow Downers (and have them to blame for joining in the first place) and you happen to go visit after not seeing them for WEEKS ON END and MISS THEM LIKE CRAZY, running and squealing and knocking them over is a perfectly reasonable reaction. :D
Okay. So if I meet a Downer after a long time of not seeing them, then I can run and squeal all I want, then!
Oh, and Brinn got the awkward "Hi" that Fea was talking about when we picked her up at the airport (and proceeded to get horribly lost on the way home, but we won't talk about that).
Hehehe! Okay, don't talk about it!;)

Thinlómien

08-05-2009, 07:37 AM

I think the best way to greet a 'downer has mostly been "hi, how was your flight?" :D But it is indeed weird to meet people you know yet do not know, but the feeling tends to vanish quite quickly (the better you know the person, the longer it takes, I think).

But speaking of this summer, we - Agan, "Goldberry" and me - were InterRailing around Europe and met Legate, were supposed to meet Esty (but alas, our timetables didn't match) and met Skippy who was wonderful company - well you can probably see from the stories and the pics that we had a lot of fun. And Skip makes it sound like a total misadventure but to be honest the walk he calls long was very short for people who had been walking around different European cities for the past four weeks, the grill that failed was no disaster 'cos it was easy enough to light a new fire and the rain that interrupted us was a very mild and almost unnoticeable one. So it was not a misadventure but a very fine evening. :D

I had two pints of beer in Helsinki last night with Legate to celebrate his moving in. It was nice to meet him again - and we will be meeting him pretty regularly in the future as he starts his year as an exchange-stipendiate in the University of Helsinki...
So in the future we might not report it every time we meet him... I wasn't reporting everytime before either... so am I a criminal now? *shifty eyes*

Estelyn Telcontar

08-05-2009, 07:58 AM

Are we supposed to act surprised that Legate is going to be at university in Helsinki for a year? :Merisu:

skip spence

08-05-2009, 08:07 AM

But speaking of this summer, we - Agan, "Goldberry" and me - were InterRailing around Europe and met Legate, were supposed to meet Esty (but alas, our timetables didn't match) and met Skippy who was wonderful company - well you can probably see from the stories and the pics that we had a lot of fun. And Skip makes it sound like a total misadventure but to be honest the walk he calls long was very short for people who had been walking around different European cities for the past four weeks, the grill that failed was no disaster 'cos it was easy enough to light a new fire and the rain that interrupted us was a very mild and almost unnoticeable one. So it was not a misadventure but a very fine evening. :D

That makes me feel a lot better. But hey, I was really just trying to spice up the story a little bit, make it a bit more TV-friendly if you wish, but it was truly fun. :)

I wasn't reporting everytime before either... so am I a criminal now? *shifty eyes*
Well now, that wholly depends on what it is that you have failed to report, doesn't it? ;)

Legate of Amon Lanc

08-05-2009, 09:20 AM

And yes, I met a Barrow-Downer yesterday as well!

I had two pints of beer in Helsinki last night with Legate to celebrate his moving in. It was nice to meet him again - and we will be meeting him pretty regularly in the future as he starts his year as an exchange-stipendiate in the University of Helsinki...

So in the future we might not report it every time we meet him...
That would be quite exhausting, or then I might just avoid you for all the time to preserve our sanity (and keyboards) ;) Though that would be a pity...
And for the sake of joining the report, I should probably add that it is quite pleasant to arrive to a foreign country and meet with a fellow Barrow-Downer on the same evening. Advice? If you are going to study abroad, pick a city with a fellow Barrow-Downer (or several of them).

What is the appropriate manner with which to meet another Barrow-Downer? Running and squealing and knocking them over doesn't seem like the best way to do it...
If I can bring in my piece of advice, I just remembered my meeting with Brinn, which could be used as a quite good example on how to avoid making hard decisions. And that is, managing it the way that you have really no time to think of how should you greet the person. With our meeting it went like this (as much as I can remember, perhaps Brinn could correct me if I am not completely true to the story): She was supposed to meet me in a hostel, I entered the building, turned right and she was sitting there about one meter in front of me, we looked at each other, I just said "You...?" and she said "Yes." (I believe I continued by saying "Shall we...?" and then we went outside. So you see, quite an easy way to avoid really awkward meetings... :rolleyes: )

But speaking of this summer, we - Agan, "Goldberry" and me - were InterRailing around Europe and met Legate
...and managed to scare some of his friends, for that matter, but perhaps also made them develop a taste for Finnish salty liquorice. Perhaps. Maybe. A bit.

Mirandir

08-06-2009, 04:51 PM

Just for the record, Fea, Nienna, Lari, and Mira are all back together playing Werewolf under one roof once again. And Fea got us lost. Again. Just to point that out. ;)

Lariren Shadow

08-06-2009, 09:53 PM

To answer Mira's question about meeting Kath: It was like, "oh I think that's her!" after she passed me and we sort of had this moment of "hi, I'm *insert here*" and then we started talking. It was pretty natural and such.

Meeting Brinn was an awkward hi then we had talking time about how Fea got her lost and it was all cool.

Meeting Rikae was about the same. We(Fea, Brinn, Nienna, Mira, and I) all showed up at her house and it was like "hi, we're from the Downs...*awkward kitchen time for a little then there was tea*". I think some sort of awkward slight moment is needed when I meet someone....Mac, however, we ambushed on Skype.:D

Kath

08-09-2009, 02:28 PM

Haha yes Lari and I did the sizing each other up thing because I forgot to check the photo page before I left the house and so had no idea what she looked like! I walked past her, walked back, and then sidled towards her in I hope a non-threatening manner until she said, '... Kath?'. After that we got on famously til Mira arrived. :D

Who else? Brinn I recognised straight off because a) I'd told her exactly where to stand and b) she was wearing her infamous hat. That was a case of 'hi! And off we go.'

Rune and Hookbill I met at the same time ... I believe I met them with apologies because of a timing mix up, which is exactly the same way that I met Agan for the first time. Seriously, anyone not from England who meets me, make sure I'm paying attention when we plan. :rolleyes:

Mith I also met with apologies because I'd accidentally sent her the wrong way round Oxford thanks to mishearing her on the phone.

Feanor of the Peredhil

08-09-2009, 02:56 PM

The most awkward thing about meeting Brinn was that her flight arrived early, so I wasn't really paying attention to the people coming in. I was sitting chatting idly with Mira, expecting Brinn to arrive in fifteen minutes or so, so when I looked up and saw her standing there not entirely sure if we were in fact Fea and Mira, there was a brief mental disconnect before my mind processed that I knew what she looked like, the girl in front of me matched the mental image, I knew where she went to school, the girl in front of me was wearing a hoodie from that school... wait, surely it must be Brinn even though it's not quite the right time!

Once it was settled that the Elmira airport's a bit wonky and we sort of realized that one of the deans of our school was standing next to us, and we managed to escape the airport and get marvelously lost in the hills of the Finger Lakes region of NY... It went quite well.

There wasn't really awkwardness with Formy because he's quite identifiable, his flight was exactly on time, and we knew each other rather better than Brinn and I did already. He asked how we should greet, and I said, "Informally." And that set a lovely tone for the rest of his trip.

Meeting Rikae the first time was a little awkward because it was a group of five BDers descending upon her house, but once we all had tea and I'd proven that I'm totally capable of holding babies, everybody loosened up and we became downright mischievous. Meeting Mac for realsies was easy because we'd already met Erika and logged Skype-hours with him. And the wedding was just plain fun.

Really, though? Everybody on here (or at least most people... I hate to say 'everybody' when there's always a chance I'm wrong) is great, and when in doubt, we do all have Tolkien in common, so it's not hard to find something to talk about even if you're not sure about anything else.

But yes: unless you have a prearranged plan to fling yourself at people, you might want to hold back and start with a nice normal greeting. Save the flinging for once you've known each other in person for at least a few minutes. :)

Rikae

08-09-2009, 07:45 PM

I had two pints of beer in Helsinki last night with Legate to celebrate his moving in. It was nice to meet him again - and we will be meeting him pretty regularly in the future as he starts his year as an exchange-stipendiate in the University of Helsinki...
I just saw this - that is so great! :D

So in the future we might not report it every time we meet him... :D

I confess, I don't report every meeting with a fellow 'downer either anymore. :p

TGEW - I've met seven. Mac and Esty got (polite, non-glompy) hugs, while with Brinn-Fea-Lari-Mira-Nienna there was a round of introductions with me being confused about who went with which 'downs persona (having only seen photos of two before) and trying to hide it.

It's an odd feeling to meet someone from the 'downs, like encountering two people (someone you know and a stranger) in one, but sooner or later that strangeness fades away.

Hakon

08-09-2009, 08:36 PM

I think I am one of the only downers that has never met another downer. I know I have not even been a member for 3 months but still.

Formendacil

08-09-2009, 09:40 PM

I think I am one of the only downers that has never met another downer. I know I have not even been a member for 3 months but still.

You're taking it a little hard if you think that. It's more than just a matter of time on the Downs, though that is certainly a part of it. My first Downer meeting (with Brinn: awkward "hi"s in the doorway followed by a rather long evening of non-awkward shared Downer talk) was 3.5 years after I joined the site, my second (alluded to already by Fea) was about another year later.

At current speeds, unless I find someone in driving distance--and, importantly, I'm not playing WW then--isn't likely to be for yet another year--or longer, that's just when I expect to have options. Because, as I was saying, it's more than just time online to be considered, it's a question of other things. Like logistics. There are no major Downers in western Canada, active at this time, other than me. Or, at least, I'm not aware of them.

Even so, I could list several Downers who have been active in theoretical driving distance that I've never made a move to meet. Because, in addition to travel distance, it's a question of who you're comfortable enough meeting. You've noticed already that a lot of the people on this thread have been members for quite some time. More important than the amount of time that they've had to argue Canonicity or lynch each other as Gifteds is how well we've managed to know each other generally.

In my own case, I admittedly didn't know Brinn especially well. She's an older member than me, and went dormant before I joined, and didn't come back until I'd started going a bit treeish myself. But we followed each other's LJs to an extent, so we weren't complete strangers, apart from the Downs, and on the plus side (as I saw it), Brinn had the credibility (and pictures) of having met a round dozen Downers already. The risk was much less on her end--I was meeting her and she had her family and such around. Quite non-threatening.

Meeting Fea and Nienna was quite a different situation again. I've known of Fea as long as I've been a Downer, and we've gotten to know each other reasonably well--perhaps even quite well--in the intervening years since.

Of course, if there actually were any Downers in "let's go for coffee" distance, I'd probably have met a lot more by now--or tried to. But when the distance you live at is in the "well, we'd best make a weekend of it at least to be economical" you tend to do it with less frequency...

Formendacil

08-09-2009, 09:43 PM

Oh, and because the philosopher in me can miss the completely obvious at times, let me add that while it may seem hardly any Downers have not met someone, if you subtract Downers who already knew each other in real life, the numbers go down slightly (TGEW and Laurinquë for example)... but even then... I highly doubt most of the 3000+ members--even the much smaller number of those who have posted--have necessarily met other members. That they knew of, anyway.

Estelyn Telcontar

08-10-2009, 06:41 AM

I've met a number of Downers, and the greetings are different depending on how well I knew them previously. It is like meeting a stranger whom you know on one level, but not on others. Fortunately, I knew all of them from photos, so recognizing them wasn't a problem. Those whom I knew well from chatting or e-mailing usually ended up getting a hug.

My first meeting with Guinevere was unexpected and curious - we had arranged to meet in London at the place we were staying, so I was walking there with my luggage dragging behind me. I saw someone heading in the same direction and looked more closely, thinking it just could be her. Then I approached her, she looked at me, and we met right on the sidewalk of a London street! The trickiest part about greeting her was figuring out that the convention in countries with a strongly French influence requires a triple kiss on the cheek (or the air right next to the cheek). I was a bit confused trying to remember if it's right-left-right or the other way around. We both survived and look forward to further opportunities to get together again.

I'm always sorry when circumstances are against a meeting, as recently, when Lommy and Agan were near to my home, but I didn't manage to meet them. Why is it that our families think they need our time and attention?! ;)

As to the number of Downers met - yes, it does depend on where you live. A closely populated area or continent gives you a better chance. Another factor is how travel-happy the respective member is, and whether those trips are planned to include opportunities for meeting. (That also involves how expensive travelling is and how much free time one can allot to it.) The third factor is a possible membership in a Tolkien Society and/or attending functions where other Tolkienites can be seen. I highly recommend that - a great way to connect online and real life fandom!

I haven't yet met a Downer at the German Tolkien Society meetings, though some have heard of the site, but Oxonmoot is a great opportunity - and we've managed to get some people there interested who later joined up!

wilwarin538

08-10-2009, 06:53 AM

There are no major Downers in western Canada, active at this time, other than me. Or, at least, I'm not aware of them.

Similarly for me, there are no Central/Eastern Canadians that I'm aware of. Considering Toronto is such a giant city it surprises me that there are no major Downers there, if there was that would be so handy because of my fairly close proximity. Therefore it is likely that I will never meet another Downer...I shall remain a mystery to all. :Merisu:;)

Feanor of the Peredhil

08-10-2009, 07:07 AM

That's what made it easy to meet Rikae: she lives an hour and a half from where we (me, Nienna, Mirandir, Lariren Shadow) went to college. It requires a rather lot more planning to meet others. There are a lot of us, but it's a big world.

Surely, I think, I've met, say... Lhuna, or Encaitare, or Sally, or the phantom. But no. Lhuna's on the literal far side of the world. Sally and the phantom are far away too. It would require an airplane, and somewhere to stay, and time off from work or school, and transportation to all be worked out. Encai is a bit of a special case, since in my head I swear we've already met. I mean... She and my brother attended the same school (though at different times), so when she tells school stories, I know exactly what she's talking about. I was in NYC for quite a while when she was on Long Island. I mean... Surely we've met. Except we haven't. It just vaguely seems like it.

That's just to name a few. You talk to people so long and about such random things (off-site, to avoid the skwerlz), you really do feel you've gotten to know them. It's not so strange to meet up with people you already have a long history with. What's a little more odd (and terrifying, if you're shy) is meeting somebody you'd don't know at all well. But it's still rather rewarding.

McCaber

08-10-2009, 07:19 AM

I'm still all for a Marquette University meetup to see some of the texts Tolkien wrote himself. If anyone makes it out to my neck of the woods, that is.

Lariren Shadow

08-10-2009, 08:08 AM

Rikae

08-10-2009, 09:27 AM

It's not so strange to meet up with people you already have a long history with. What's a little more odd (and terrifying, if you're shy) is meeting somebody you'd don't know at all well. But it's still rather rewarding.

It was actually stranger for me to meet Mac, who I already knew well, then those I hadn't talked to as much. I was too used to him being a mindworm (or a disembodied voice) - it seemed unnatural for him to be a physical entity. ;) But then, I am crazy. :D

Brinniel

08-10-2009, 10:33 PM

Yeah, most of my BD meetings started with an awkward hello, but the awkwardness never lasted long. I usually find that by 10 minutes after the initial meeting (if not earlier), you're talking to each other like old friends who have met many times before. The least awkward meeting was probably with Lommy and Aganzir. They picked me up at the airport, and I recall while they weren't actually jumping and squealing, they looked pretty darned close to it. The most awkward meeting was with Laitoste. She had never been a very active member of the Downs and while I got to know her fairly well through LJ, I barely saw any pictures of her. We decided to meet in front of where the LotR musical was playing (since we would be seeing it later), and considering it wasn't very crowded at the time, you'd think we'd spot one another instantly. But what happened was that we passed by one another and proceeded to stand practically next to each other waiting for the other to show up. We didn't realise it until about a minute of waiting and exchanging awkward glances. Whoops. :D

I think I am one of the only downers that has never met another downer. I know I have not even been a member for 3 months but still.
I remember about a month or so after I joined that several BDers started to meet and I was desperate to do the same since the only BDer I knew was the friend from school who recruited me to the site. In fact, I even stated my goal was to meet a BDer before I graduated from high school, but that was not meant to be (perhaps partly because of my two year hiatus at that time). I was a member for over five years before I met my first Downer, which was Rune. It all depends on timing and convenience. I wouldn't have met most of the BDers I have if I didn't study abroad and travel every weekend. I lucked out with meeting Fea and gang when she invited me to visit when I complained on LJ how I had nowhere to go for Spring Break. She warned me there wasn't much to do in Elmira, but it ended up being the best spring break I ever had. Not to mention that making the decision to visit later earned me two future housemates, which should make my (most likely) final year in Boston much more awesome. :cool:

Considering Toronto is such a giant city it surprises me that there are no major Downers there, if there was that would be so handy because of my fairly close proximity.
You know, considering there are 8 million people in Manhattan alone, not to mention the millions of others in the areas surrounding, you'd think that there would be some BDers living here, but that is not so. Only one BDer lives nearby and that's on Long Island (which I will come back to in a moment). Of course, BDers seem to meet in the most random places. Who would've ever guessed that Finland would be the prime BD meeting spot? And I've had two BDers come from out of the country to visit me in Boise, Idaho of all place. I mean, really. No one comes to visit Boise. Half the people in the United States don't even know where Idaho is. (Whenever I tell someone I'm from Idaho, the first reaction I get is, "I never met anyone from Idaho before.")

Anyway, speaking of BDer meetings, I met a BDer a little over a week ago (on August 1). Encaitare, who is no longer an active member but still lurks, lives in Long Island and while it's not terribly close to Manhattan, it's close enough that it'd be a mistake not to meet. And considering we know each other quite well through LJ and Facebook, of course we had to. There was the brilliant idea that we should take advantage of our freshly turning 21 and go see a burlesque show, so that we did. So she came to my apartment, then we headed off onto an unexpectedly long adventure on the subway (a lot of trains were not running due to construction). We finally did arrive and enjoyed a show containing many things that are not Barrow Downs appropriate (after all, it wasn't exactly a family show). ;) Though I only had two drinks over a span of three hours, I eventually became a little more than tipsy, being the lightweight I am (though I think that martini I had was also very strong). It made me feel like quite the alcoholic, especially standing next to Encai who doesn't drink at all, but I felt a bit better after seeing the passed out drunk people at Penn Station and knew I was nowhere close to that state. After grabbing pizza and ice cream at the train station (we had extra time since Encai missed her train due to subway delays), we made a very quick goodbye and then I headed home with the opportunity to see what Times Square is like at 3am (not a pretty sight). It was a fun meeting and a bit different since I usually meet BDers during the day and well, it was my first time in a burlesque club...so it was an interesting experience. And meeting Encai was not strange at all since I feel I know her quite well through LJ. You'd think that seeing burlesque with a BDer you just met could pose as awkward, but not at all. :P

Attached is photographic evidence of our meeting. Not the most flattering picture, but keep in mind this was inside a crowded NYC burlesque club on a muggy summer night.

Feanor of the Peredhil

08-11-2009, 07:48 AM

Brinn! Your hair! I like it.

One of the few things I regret post-college about my college years was that I spent time in Brooklyn and never quite managed to even instigate plans to meet Encai. Knowing what my schedule was like, it never actually would have worked out, but I still regret not really trying. Mind you, I'd gone dormant at that point, as had she, and when I was in the city my only form of communication out was a cell phone. No computer for four weeks... So it would have been a nightmare trying, but I do still feel bad that I was that close and never managed to find the time.

What I make a point to do now is if I know I'm traveling, I stalk the 'Where do you live?' page to see if anybody is in that area, and then I meekly and shyly PM them, sometimes with the help of others (it was Formendacil that convinced me to PM Pio when I was traveling a few summers ago and I was too shy ("But what if she doesn't like me and doesn't want to meet me?) to do it myself). In some cases it doesn't work out (Pio was going to be out of town the weekend I was nearby, but she recommended some places I should go, to which I went), but there's a solid chance it might, so the tactic shouldn't be discounted.

Since travel can be prohibitively expensive (or I'd have flung myself beseechingly at the Finns by now), one thing to definitely consider really is to just look and see who's conveniently near wherever you're already going to be.

Lush

08-13-2009, 05:21 AM

Hello again everyone. :)

So Squatter actually visited me and my family in Ukraine last month, and I just haven't had a chance to post properly about it.

I was, and continue to be, buried under a solid, immovable mound of work and personal problems (Lush's advice to all children: "Kids, love is not like they say it is in the Disney movies") so it wasn't as cheerful of a visit as one might have hoped. I had to spend vast swathes of my time chained to my desk, while Squa was being looked after by my assorted crazy relatives and the cat. He did, I am delighted to say, live to tell the tale.

Here's what is probably my favourite picture of Squa from the visit:

http://nataliaantonova.wordpress.com/files/2009/08/p1010073.jpg

He's pictured here at the Monastery of the Caves, or Lavra as we call it. We did actually go down into one section of the caves, and barely escaped alive. It was a week-day, but I hadn't counted on the vast amount of tour groups that would be jammed in there, under the earth. The funniest part of our excursion was when we were whispering quietly in English about getting out, and all of a sudden, the girl in front of me (who was also wearing a traditional scarf like I was, because that's what is required - and I only wish I had a picture of that), turned around and whispered, also in English, "OMIGOD, where is the EXIT?!?!?!"

Well, we did eventually find it. Otherwise, I wouldn't be typing this message now, would I?

And Squa looks pretty darn fine in the picture, if I, a spoiled jezebel, may say so myself. ;)

We celebrated my birthday at this little Hungarian place I like. Some cool people came, there was both English & Russian conversation. I don't remember how much was drunk but, at the very least, Squa and I did not have to be carried out of the premises, which is a testament to our fortitude. Or something.

Squa brought us amazing presents - one is presently immortalized on my neck (while its twin is in the jewelry box), one is hanging up on my brother's wall, one I am presently trying to read, one is stoppering a bottle, and one is tucked into an Umberto Eco book.

The pendants that Squa made for me bear my initials - N. A. This is so I never forget who I am, Squa has said. And I'll try not to. I'll really try. :)

I wish it wasn't such a tumultuous visit and I wish I'd had more time to properly hang out with my friend, but I'll never stop being grateful for our friendship, and that makes all the difference.

Thanks to the Downs for introducing us.

Nogrod

08-13-2009, 05:51 PM

Nice post Lush!

Well, we will be saturating this thread pretty soon I'm afraid with pics and what-not. :rolleyes:

But we've had a nice 'Downer meeting going on the last few days here in Finland - and it is still continuing even if Skip left back home in the morning.

So basically Legate moved into Helsinki on Saturday two weeks ago. Rune came last Saturday, Skip Spence on Sunday and Kath on Monday. Then we left for our cottage in the countryside for a few days. Now back in Helsinki we have been hanging around with Spawn as well (this odd "we" being Aganzir, Lommy, Greenie, Volo & myself on top of those already mentioned). Sadly I have now basically daily choir-rehersals (premiere is on the next Wednesday) and can't take part in all the fun but I'm sure the others will fill you up with enough details... :D

So look out for the "ten-Downers in a same picture" -event! (Sadly we couldn't make it into 11 as Annunfuiniel couldn't reach us)

Rune Son of Bjarne

08-14-2009, 03:10 PM

It was an interesting stay in Finland, even though Nogrod declared that I would loose an ego fight against The Phantom.

Anyways I will provide a longer post and photos in a few days, first I have a wedding to attend and then the premier league starts.

Feanor of the Peredhil

08-14-2009, 04:20 PM

It was an interesting stay in Finland, even though Nogrod declared that I would loose an ego fight against The Phantom.

Was that something you were ever doubting?

Rune Son of Bjarne

08-15-2009, 01:38 AM

Was that something you were ever doubting?

It was never something I gave much thought. . . I cannot remember the topic of the discussion, but all of the sudden Nogrod said something like "It would be interesting to see what would happen if you and The Phantom met. . . No, no, you would loose" (The word "ego" might have been in there somewhere)

Anyways, i guess it will have to be a quest of mine to meet the phantom.

Aganzir

08-16-2009, 12:54 PM

Some time last spring I was IMing with Rune, who told me he and Kath had been thinking about a possible Finland get-together (that's how it started, really!). We hadn't really been planning anything, but none of us had anything against it, so it happened that Rune arrived on the 8th, skip spence on the 9th, and Kath on the 10th of August. Volo's family kindly let us borrow their house again, so we spent most of the time there. At times the main group (the aforementioned, plus Lommy, Greenie, Nogrod, Legate, Volo, and yours truly) was joined by dancing spawn and our friend Annina. Unfortunately we didn't manage to meet Annunfuiniel, who is also a Finn.

When I arrived at Nog's place last Saturday, Nog, Lommy, Green & Legate had already picked Rune up from the airport. I can't remember how exactly we spent that day, but I (and Annina) left around 1 am and the others saw us to the bus stop (http://i518.photobucket.com/albums/u350/zmetku/2009/Maria/Zmetku007.jpg).

On Sunday Lom & Green took Rune to Seurasaari (http://i518.photobucket.com/albums/u350/zmetku/2009/Rosta/a6acf6b6.jpg) (Rune, Green, spawn), which is a small and pretty island with old Finnish houses and lots of tame squirrels. I was busy so I didn't come along but went straight to Nog's place later, where I met him and skippy. Soon the others arrived as well, bringing Volo and spawn with them. We played some Paper Telephone, wrote stories the same way, ate, and left for Volo's house. There we played Twister (http://i518.photobucket.com/albums/u350/zmetku/2009/Maria/Zmetku013.jpg), which was lots of fun. The photo features Legate, Greenie, Volo, and Lommy. Nog and skippy slept in a bunk bed. It looked funny.

Kath arrived on Monday. Annina, Rune, Greenie and I went to pick her up, while Nog, Lommy, Legate, skip, and Volo were in another car, ready to head to Nog's family's summer cottage. We were half an hour late because we thought her plane would land later, but luckily she didn't have to wait for too long. And poor Kath had no time to get used to Finland when she was taken straight to the wilderness! Fortunately she wasn't too shocked. Even the weather was (mostly) good and the water in the lake was warm.

This year we hadn't planned any RPG, so we just spent our time doing whatever you can do at a summer cottage. We had a sauna, swam, played cards, rowed on the lake (http://i518.photobucket.com/albums/u350/zmetku/2009/Viouelou/DSC06973.jpg) (skip, Nog & Annina), cooked (http://i518.photobucket.com/albums/u350/zmetku/2009/Rosta/1c8f20e2.jpg)(Nog, Agan, Kath, Volo, Lommy), wrote more stories, went to pick mushrooms and berries, made crepes, enjoyed small, moderate, or large amounts of alcohol (depending on the person), and talked, talked, and talked about topics such as politics, history, religion, the Downs, animal rights in Denmark, sauna clubs, and whether Rune is Ron Weasley or not. It was lots of fun.

We came back to Helsinki on Wednesday and went to eat (http://i518.photobucket.com/albums/u350/zmetku/2009/Maria/Zmetku042.jpg)in a small pub/restaurant (the (mostly) blonde side: Volo, Rune, Green, Annina. The dark side: Lommy, Legate, Kath, skip). Spawn came over to Volo's place as well, so I think we broke the previous record since there were ten of us (http://i518.photobucket.com/albums/u350/zmetku/2009/Viouelou/DSC07093.jpg) (Volo, Green, Lommy, Legate, Agan, Kath, Nog, skip, Rune, spawn. Sorry for the bad quality, but it's impossible to get 10 Downers to stay still and smile at the camera at the same time. Here (http://i518.photobucket.com/albums/u350/zmetku/2009/Viouelou/DSC07074.jpg)'s a better one which also includes Annina). It was a fabulous evening. Kath taught us a cheerleading thing (http://i518.photobucket.com/albums/u350/zmetku/2009/Rosta/e336131d.jpg) (can't remember what it was called. Volo is held up by Rune, Annina, skip, and Kath herself). Then we wrote more stories (http://i518.photobucket.com/albums/u350/zmetku/2009/Viouelou/DSC07061.jpg) (the point was that everybody writes two lines, and the next writer can only see the latter line before writing her/his own two lines. In the photo: Rune, Nog, spawn, Kath, Green, Agan). There were some darn funny ones, and we might post one also here at some point. First we must find a family-friendly one, though. ;) One of the highlights was a real-life werewolf game (http://i518.photobucket.com/albums/u350/zmetku/2009/Maria/Zmetku043.jpg) with 11 players (almost as many as in the first BD WW). Of course we couldn't do much in-depth analysis or anything, but it was very interesting nonetheless, and I think we all agree that skip should start playing werewolf! For the record, three people in the photo (skip, Rune, Nog, Annina, Green, spawn) are werewolves. Can you guess who?

Poor spawn left around 4am, and we others went to sleep. Nog and skippy had to wake up terribly early since skip was going back home on Thursday, but we others could sleep a bit longer. A bit longer varied from 11am (Green) to 2.30pm (Volo). We didn't do very much that day - Lom & Green visited their home to get some more clothes, Kath, Rune & I went to grocery, and then we just played cards (http://i518.photobucket.com/albums/u350/zmetku/2009/Maria/Zmetku049.jpg). In the evening we made food ourselves (http://i518.photobucket.com/albums/u350/zmetku/2009/Rosta/b4719716.jpg) since our favourite cook Nogrod was in his choir rehearsal - pasta, a mushroom-blue cheese-onion sauce, and a bolognese sauce. At least the former was quite good, if I may say so myself.

Then we went out with spawn. We encountered some difficulties since Greenie is still underage and several bars don't let under 20-year-olds in anyway, but we found a nice enough place to sit for a couple of hours. But we left in a hurry because we wanted to catch a bus, and we had walked good 200 metres when we realised we had forgotten Volo! He had gone to the toilet, and although he was there for maybe a minute or two, when he came back the table that had previously been crowded was completely empty. Whoops.

From the bus stop we decided to walk the 30+ minutes it took to Volo's. Kath looked like she was cold, so the gentlemen Rune and Volo lent her their coats (http://i518.photobucket.com/albums/u350/zmetku/2009/Maria/Zmetku057.jpg) (in the pic: Volo, Lommy, Kath, Rune). It made her more comfortable - until we had to walk uphill.
Back at Volo's, we ate the delicious blueberry-raspberry pie Greenie had made earlier that day, and Volo dressed in leather pants and a pink t-shirt (http://i518.photobucket.com/albums/u350/zmetku/2009/Rosta/6ce36665.jpg). Then we went to sleep since everybody (except for me) was tired.

Rune left on Friday. We saw him off to the airport and went back to Volo's just to find that his family had returned from their holiday a couple of days earlier than we had thought. So we packed up and went to stay the last days at Nog's instead. We watched Monty Python and played cards.

On Saturday we took Kath to the Suomenlinna sea fortress. We walked around and ate candy, and Greenie and I went to swim. The others thought the sea was too cold. We also visited our old haunts we've taken every Downer to see - the so-called Barrow-Downs (http://i518.photobucket.com/albums/u350/zmetku/2009/Maria/Zmetku073.jpg) (Volo, Annina, Kath, Legate, Lommy) and Dead Marshes (http://i518.photobucket.com/albums/u350/zmetku/2009/Viouelou/DSC07323.jpg) (Agan, Legate, Lommy, Greenie, Kath, Volo, Annina). Then we found a couple of Downer-appropriate photographing sites: a hole in a wall (http://i518.photobucket.com/albums/u350/zmetku/2009/Viouelou/DSC07313.jpg) and a gravestone look-a-like (http://i518.photobucket.com/albums/u350/zmetku/2009/Viouelou/DSC07303.jpg). Also, Kath stuck her head in a cannon (http://i518.photobucket.com/albums/u350/zmetku/2009/Viouelou/DSC07288.jpg).

Later at Nog's we entertained ourselves by watching the participants of the Helsinki City Marathon (http://i518.photobucket.com/albums/u350/zmetku/2009/Maria/Zmetku081.jpg), who ran right past his balcony. From his flat it's about 1.5 km till the finishing line, so they were quite tired. Then we watched more Monty Python, and when we got tired of it, we went out to a park and introduced Kath to Mr Théodred (http://i518.photobucket.com/albums/u350/zmetku/2009/Viouelou/DSC07368.jpg), whose face has been painted black recently.

This morning everybody slept over, and we woke up half an hour before we were supposed to leave when Annina called me and told she was leaving home now. We managed to get to the airport in time, though, and said goodbye to Kath.

It was a lovely week with amazing people, and I miss them all already. They're so sweet and funny to spend time and talk with. Thanks so much for coming.

♥

(The photos included in this post have been taken with my, Volo's and Legate's cameras, so most of them are consecutively taken by us, but thanks to everyone who took pictures.)

Thinlómien

08-16-2009, 01:27 PM

Nice post, Agan - I must say I have little to add, except for the fact that we got bruised in the summer cottage by playing violent games and that Skip is a stormcrow when it comes to grilling (it started raining again!).

I will try to nudge Greenie to post more pictures, I think she has a few hilarious ones (as does Kath).

And most importantly, I had lovely time and I'm missing the lot already.

PS. Seems like others have been having fun too. I love Brinn's new hair, it's cool.

Eönwë

08-16-2009, 01:28 PM

We walked around and ate candy More Salmiakki?
Also, Kath stuck her head in a cannon (http://i518.photobucket.com/albums/u350/zmetku/2009/Viouelou/DSC07288.jpg).
At least it wasn't canon (:rolleyes: Sorry, couldn't resist)

Finland looks like quite the destination for Downs-meetings (probably brings even more Downers than Oxonmoot!) Hope you had fun there.

We seem to be having a lot of these Downs-meetings lately:).

And great informative post, Agan.

Legate of Amon Lanc

08-16-2009, 01:30 PM

I think Agan mostly said it for all of us, I must say that all the times I have met new 'Downers it has been a beautiful experience and even those with whom I haven't been that familiar from before (in this case, kath and skip, and to a certain extent spawn whom I have encountered only briefly during the last summer) turned out to be pleasant companions not only just online, but also in RL. I really hope to see them all again - and if some others can join them, the better (Finland seems to have become a meeting place for Downers anyway).

On Sunday Lom & Green took Rune to Seurasaari (http://i518.photobucket.com/albums/u350/zmetku/2009/Rosta/a6acf6b6.jpg)

That's maybe the only thing to correct on Agan's very precise elaboration - there was not just Lommy and Greenie, but I was there as well (I was the one to take the picture, after all), and spawn joined us - that was the first moment of larger concentration of 'Downers in one place during this meeting before meeting Agan and skip and before Kath arrived. I could note that some of us also went to swim there, and the sea was surprisingly warm. Anyway, I guess the island itself could find its place in BD history, for I am sure all the chat skwerlz nest there. At least we have met several of them (http://i518.photobucket.com/albums/u350/zmetku/2009/Rosta/fa60d570.jpg). Maybe they were sent to watch over us staying true to canon.

Volo

08-16-2009, 01:32 PM

Thank you, Aganzir, for the wonderful post! It does tell quite a lot about the week although you could have left out the photo of me in pink and leather. :eek:

The meeting was really interesting, one finds so many new sides in people when met face to face. Though ironically, skip spence was the only person of the lot I hadn't met before - but neither had I communicated with him on the Downs which made meeting him all the more interesting. While truly fascinating discussions were scarce (and somehow tended to to follow the amount of alcohol consumed), the general atmosphere was at all times really warm and amusing.

Apart from learning a lot about every person there, other wonders for me were the proof-tasty food (both by Nogrod and Aganzir & Co.) and stories. It is fortunate that we seem to share a certain kind of humor and are not offended by even the nastiest of Rune's jokes - though this time he was more of a target to nasty jokes himself.

While I feel like having many friends on the Downs, meeting someone live creates a stronger bond. Thank you for either organizing or flying to meet us. Even while we might not meet often due to distance and expences, I will always keep you in mind when travelling in the area.

PS: Someone - I'm guessing skip - forgot their shorts, towel and toothbrush at our place.

skip spence

08-16-2009, 03:24 PM

PS: Someone - I'm guessing skip - forgot their shorts, towel and toothbrush at our place.

Hey, it's unfair pointing me out like that! Could've been any of us - and I have you know I still have my shorts with me. ;)

The towel and tooth-brush you can keep if you promise not to take any DNA-samples. I will probably post more on here later on.

Nogrod

08-16-2009, 03:45 PM

Thank's for the wrap-up Aganzir!

I'm just echoing what the others have said: it was fun (again) to meet all of you guys!

Everyone's welcome the next summer! :)

Nogrod

08-16-2009, 04:26 PM

Btw. Aganzir already told you Rune was having an identity-crisis here. Well here's what it was about (http://nogrod.xanga.com/audio/b8c123643425/). :D

Boromir88

08-16-2009, 07:41 PM

For the record, three people in the photo (skip, Rune, Nog, Annina, Green, spawn) are werewolves. Can you guess who?
Greenie definitely looks like one, with that sneaky face. :p The rest it's hard to tell. Nog's kind of got a thoughtful expression, one that I imagine he gets when he is innocent and trying to figure everything out. For the other two wolves...difficult to tell, I'll guess skip and Rune. How wrong am I? :D

Back at Volo's, we ate the delicious blueberry-raspberry pie Greenie had made earlier that day, and Volo dressed in leather pants and a pink t-shirt.
Now that is just hilarious. Now if only Volo decided to sport a pony tail, as I used to have a major obsession with anyone who put their hair in a pony tail. :p

wilwarin538

08-16-2009, 07:57 PM

Wow, looks like you all had quite the fun time! I have to say that I'm quite jealous and am very tempted to plan a little trip to Helsinki to get in on the action! :D haha. Love the pictures!

A Little Green

08-17-2009, 04:49 AM

Greenie definitely looks like one, with that sneaky face. The rest it's hard to tell. Nog's kind of got a thoughtful expression, one that I imagine he gets when he is innocent and trying to figure everything out. For the other two wolves...difficult to tell, I'll guess skip and Rune. How wrong am I?Quite wrong, I'm afraid - only one right out of three. I was a wolf, though in that picture I'm already dead. ;)

Other than that, I can only second everything that has been said and add that last week made me wonder how it's possible for all the 'Downers I have met to be such sweet and delightful people. I guess it goes without saying that all of them are funny, kind and absolutely lovely. I'll just add that Kath has a lovely voice, the only fair part of Rune is his hair and if I had an older brother I'd want him to be like skip. :D

I'll post some pictures if I have any I consider worth being posted here or any Agan hasn't posted yet.

Rune Son of Bjarne

08-17-2009, 04:53 AM

I am really starting to dislike Nogrods tendency to secretly record conversations.

skip spence

08-17-2009, 11:13 AM

Guess I should give a brief account of the trip as well. Before leaving, friends were questioning my judgement as I had decided to spend valuable holiday-time visiting "who now?" in Finland of all the places (see, Finland is not very exotic to a Swede nor is Sweden to a Finn I assume). At one point I was beginning to do so myself too but now I'm very happy to've made the journey and met these great people. It's been a long time since I last played hide-and-seek games in dark woods. Too long.

Agan and Lommy I'd met a few week before of course, and they are both very warm and friendly girls that I feel familiar with already. Love you guys (Annina too)! Nogrod is much like his on-line self (though slightly less coherent late at night) and a great out-doors cook. Rune is a top bloke who can hold his liquor quite well (and the rumour regarding farm-house animals is nothing more than a half-truth I'm sure). For some reason I didn't get to know Legate as well as I should have liked to, but I'm hoping to make amends at some other time.

The other people I had had little interaction with on the bd's so I didn't really know what to expect. Volo is a quirky fellow with an interesting fashion sense (as you've seen, no doubt). I've information from credible sources he's been performing miracles involving water! Kath was also a nice new acquaintance I'd like to know better - she is a great conversationalist and an enthusiastic cheer-leading coach. Greenie is a really sweet girl, very smart and mature for her (or any) age. I've already got a little sister or else I'd adopt you as one, but perhaps we can assign you another part? Last, but not least, Spawn is a girl I only met briefly, with little or no one-on-one time, but I'd very much like to change that in future.

Well met all of you and hope to do it again soon!

Now if only Volo decided to sport a pony tail, as I used to have a major obsession with anyone who put their hair in a pony tail. :p
So the day Volo sports a pony-tail your lonely days are over? :p

Volo

08-18-2009, 05:45 AM

So the day Volo sports a pony-tail your lonely days are over? :p

Next time, Boro, next time... ;)

Estelyn Telcontar

09-17-2009, 11:55 AM

I was privileged to meet the lovely and accomplished Nuranar during a recent trip to the U.S. She hasn't been active here in the past years, but I did get "acquainted" with her on the Downs and have continued to read her blog regularly, as we share a passion for fabrics and sewing. We had a wonderful shopping spree, exploring fabric warehouses and other stores, having lunch together, and conversing during the long drives it took to get anywhere in the Metroplex.

The awkwardness of meeting someone you do and don't know lasted only about 1 1/2 seconds at our first greeting; it was very easy to converse with her and great fun to look through bolts of fabrics, some beautiful, some horrible. All in all it was a wonderful experience, very entertaining and even educational; I learned some things about historically accurate fabrics from a very knowledgeable seamstress and reenactor. More important, I feel that I found a friend! :)

Oh, and we did document the event with a photo - I'll send it to the BD photo page for display.

Kath

10-04-2009, 07:25 AM

I can't believe I've not posted about the Finland meet up on here! I haven't have I? I'm not going mad? Well let's assume I haven't and start from the beginning.

I flew over on Monday morning and was not met at the airport with open arms because my meeters had got the flight times wrong. :D Luckily I'd managed to get lost (something that should not actually be possible in Helsinki airport) so by the time I was in the right place I only had to wait five minutes anyway! My meeting party consisted of Rune, Agan, Greenie and Annina. Rune and Agan I had met before so it was lovely to see them again, Greenie was just lovely and when Annina arrived (she was parking the car) she was really nice too.

We then drove for a while to meet the others in a little service station. Nogrod, Lommy, Legate, skip spence and Volo all piled out of the other car and we had a chat in the car park before going to find food. This was the beginning of my time spent trying to learn to like liquorice as it seems to be all Finnish people eat! It never really grew on me though. After a quick catch up with Volo and greeting to everyone else we all got back in the cars and drove to the summer cottage. Agan, Greenie and I had a chat in the back until my sleep deprivation caught up with me and I rudely fell asleep.

Once at the cottage we were introduced to the house, the lake, the boat and the sentinel. I was ridiculously tired and didn't really take in much or talk to anyone until Nog made the most delicious dinner and I got some food in me! After that I completely startled Rune by waking up big time. The last time we met at Oxonmoot I hadn't been very well and had been quieter than usual. This time I was back to my normal self! We all had a big mad conversation round the campfire and then the Finns introduced us to a game called The Guardian. This involved dressing in black clothing, hiding in the woods and trying to sneak back to the fire. I got close but wimped out right at the end and got caught. It was fun but really quite scary! After this my tiredness came back and I went to bed and zonked out. The last thing I heard was Rune shouting something and someone else telling him to be quiet - then it was about midday!

We went out on the boat the next day, with Volo doing his walking on water impression. I was very impressed with Annina's rowing skills, even if she did call us fat elephants. To be fair we weren't really being any help. :p The rest of the day we played seven of clubs (I was dismal at it) and ate chocolate. Oh and tried minty vodka. It tastes so much of mint that you can't taste the vodka which is nice but it also tastes so much like mouthwash that it feels really, really wrong to swallow it! In the evening we again had dinner and a fair amount to drink and then I was introduced to the world of the sauna. It was interesting, but I can't say I'd do it often. Being in the lake was nice though. We then annoyed Agan immensely because she tried to go to bed, I came and bothered her and then everyone else followed me. We had about 5 people on her bed and everyone else on the floor - except Nog who was having a very deep discussion outside.

The next day we went back to Helsinki and stayed at Volo's place. It was nice to have a few creature comforts back! We went out for dinner the first night to somewhere called the Hedgehog's Nest. I just liked the name! The next day skip left us bright and early and we just did some shopping and hung around during the day. Then Agan and Rune made a lovely dinner between them, even if we did overestimate the amount of spaghetti needed, before we headed into town to see dancing spawn. The meet with her was really lovely and we walked around a lot before we eventually found somewhere that would actually let us all in due to age restrictions. We found a nice cafe at which Annina eventually joined us. This was also the time when we accidentally lost Volo. Because Annina joined us when he'd gone to the bathroom we just assumed the numbers were right and we left without him! There is a wonderful picture of Rune and Greenie when we realised - it is posed but it is also exactly what they looked like originally! We managed to find him again and all headed home.

We had to move out of Volo's into Nogrod's after a while because Volo's family came home. His little brother was so cute, he kept bringing us food! At Nogrod's we watched the Helsinki marathon go past and also watched Monty Python and had more lovely food.

Rune left around this time. We all went to the aiport with him to send him off and while we were sitting waiting for his plane we had something to eat and the Finns made him and me read from Volo's maths textbook. I didn't understand a word of it (though I learnt that harma is grey!) but apparently my pronunciation wasn't too horrendous.

One day we also went to (excuse the horrible spelling but I can't remember it) Suormalinna, which is an island near Helsinki. We took the ferry over and then spent some time investigating the island and making Agan look like one of the bodies in the dead marshes. It worked suprisingly well! I stuck my head in a cannon and then we had lots of pictures taken in a barrow. Greenie and Agan went swimming in the freezing waters of the sea - the rest of us weren't quite so mad.

The last night (for me - Rune had gone the day before) was spent in the park with Theodred, climbing things and watching rabbits. In the morning Annina very kindly took us to the airport again (though poor Agan and Greenie had to go by bus) and everyone saw me off.

All in all it was a brilliant week. We did much and I got to know people so well. I found it lovely that all of us managed to get on for the whole time despite being with each other every second of the day!

Nogrod I was glad to find isn't as overwhelmingly philosophical as he can be on here. He was very generous and easy to get on with and while he was very busy he always made time for us when he could.

skip spence I knew nothing of from the 'Downs but he was really laidback and easy to get along with and I would love to meet him again. He apparently also gives a good shoulder massage.

Rune I knew already and he was much like he was the last time I'd met him, only this time I could run away from the history conversations! Also, as I was feeling well this time, I could argue back. :D

Agan too I had met before, but when we met in London we couldn't really think of anything to do so I found this meet better as we had more of a chance to talk to each other. I found it very easy to get along with her and just felt really comfortable with her.

Volo I had also met before and he was just the same, only with fewer shoes.

Greenie I had never met, and out of everyone (bar skip) she is probably the one I had communicated least with on the 'Downs but the second I met her I just found her so friendly and easy to talk to. She is hilarious, everything is 'cute' and now when I find myself saying that word I think of her!

Annina was also very funny. She and Rune have a lovely if violent relationship and it was great entertainment just to sit in the back of car listening to the two of them fight. She was also very generous and drove us all over the place.

dancing spawn was also lovely. It's been a while since I've spoken to her since both of us have gone a bit quiet on here, but apart from being initially bewildered by the stories she was also really easy to get along with.

Legate is much like his online self. I didn't really spend much time with him because he was either attached to Lommy or at school and unfortunately the one time we were really around each other in the RL werewolf game I played a large part in getting him killed!

Lommy was just like she is on the 'Downs and that was lovely to find as I've always got on well with her on here. And you know what? Her nose IS fun to push!

I think that's everything/everyone!

Bêthberry

10-04-2009, 12:57 PM

I'm avoiding the monumental task of posting all my photos of my trip to Oxonmoot and Wessex by posting this reminiscence here.

Five years ago I first met Estelyn and Squatter, and Esty visited me in my home town three years ago, so this meeting with them was both a remembrance and a newal of good times and good friendship. Both have changed so little that we picked up where we left off those years ago. And I must acknowledge that Squatter was a gracious and hospitable host, for he not only chauffeured me to Oxford, but enabled me to see Stonehenge, Glastonbury Tor, Cardiff, and Tinturn Abby, as well as Exeter, where I saw those poems in Old English (the Exeter Book) that years ago I struggled to learn in the original. It was right and fitting for a Tolkien visit that I should do so. I especially thank his family for putting me up and welcoming me warmly.

Oxonmoot brought the pleasure of meeting more Downers, for there we had a Fellowship of Nine--well, the number kept changing more or less, depending on who and how many were visiting the bar. But as Tolkien seems to draw gracious fans, so the Downers I met are all fine folk. Although we missed the "initiation" at the Lamb and Flag (I blame country road traffic; Squatter blames my dawdling at Stonehenge), we quickly made amends at the formal dinner Friday night, which began with the ceremony of facing west and remembering the lost of Numenor and the Valar which Faramir and his company observed. An erudite Faramir Jones was there, with a talkative Poison Ivy, and a mad Hookbill, as well as Estelyn and Squatter. It was as if we all belonged together and our table was never quiet; I noticed that other tables noticed our fellowship. Whether it was for the wit of our conversation or the wetting of our conversation, I cannot say. ;)

Some of us visited the august Telerin Circle where readings of Tolkien's work were undertaken while others took a more Tookish approach to the evening. We lost track of Estelyn, Guinevere, and Poison Ivy and I seem to recall that it was past two am when I said good night to Squatter and Rune.

First breakfast means an early rise at Oxonmoot, so I think it was only Estelyn and Poison Ivy, Faramir Jones and Hookbill, who made it to the mushrooms and tomatoes with me. The day was filled with attending sessions, some of which were superb indeed. It was always a difficult choice when good ones ran concurrently.

We divided up for lunch, as some of us hadn't paid for the meal at Lady Margaret Hall, so we wandered off in search of pub fare, which we found close at hand at the Rose and Crown, a pub over a hundred years old (I suppose that's not such a ripe old age for an English pub) with a courtyard covered in vines still holding grapes. It was here that I had my first chance to talk with Guinevere, who is rather quiet, and here that Rune and Squatter came into their own. I always fancy a good wit and here I had two of them. We did make it back to attend Estylen's session on dragons and parody and Giles, though, so the Tolkien aspect of the afternoon was not lost. I managed as well a visit to the Dealer's Room, where narfforc showed me a Canadian edition of LotR, which I never knew existed. Now I have something to look for in the second hand stores here.

Dinner was al fresco as we ate a barbeque on the garden terrace before many ran off to prepare for the masquerade. Costumes were well done and Downers made us all proud, with Hookbill as Radagast, Poison Ivy as Beruthiel, and Esty as Ioreth all winning awards. Following the masquerade there was a competition between the bar and the entertainment, and I won't say which won.

Sunday morning came very early for some of us, but all save narfforc and Guinevere made it to Enyalie at Tolkien's grave. It is a lovely little ceremony which emphasises more the fellowship of Tolkien's fans than the death of the man himself. We were entertained by Hookbill's imitation of a prone Tolkien--he managed to improve upon his performance as Tolkien from last year and that one had been splendid.

Sunday afternoon meant that Downers convened again at the Lamb and Flag, although Oxford traffic delayed Squatter and me from joining the gang until quite late. By this point, I was tired enough that I forsook a tourist trip around Oxford with Guinevere and simply gave myself over to cider and lunch and more cider. An added treat was meeting Mithalwen, who drove in for the afternoon through harrowing traffic. As a matter of fact, I don't think I ever once heard anything good about traffic in England.

Dinner was a disapointment, as we had planned a culminating Tolkien event at the Mitre, where he used to eat with Lewis, but alas the restaurant had no food, as the delivery had not come through. More could be said about English traffic, but I won't. Those few of us left had to satisfy ourselves with All Bar One, with Squatter and Rune proclaiming that a future Oxonmoot must include a mixed grill. At sometime after 10 pm Guinevere, Rune, Squatter and I said our good byes.

I think it is fair to say that all agreed Oxonmoot was too short. For me, who travelled over three thousand miles, it certainly was, but I made up for it by seeing other sights. Yet now when I read posts here on the Downs, I have a smile and a voice to go along with the words, and feel privileged to have met so many Downers this year. Wyrd willing, there will be more to meet next year.

Mithalwen

10-05-2009, 02:06 PM

All I can say was that it was worth the journey to meet you and (briefly) Guinevere, renew aquaintanceship with Squatter and catch up with Rune (who knows me well enough not to feel the need to be polite even though I brought him beer!). Taking an hour to get out of my home town wasn't an auspicious start and having finally made contact with Bethberry (seems like trying to phone Mithalwen was a major occupation) and most vitally found a parking space after a mere half hour or so circling St Giles, I then had to wait for the end of a learned discourse before I could say hello!

It was lovely to see that the Lamb and Flag was not too different from when it was a favoured Sunday lunchtime haunt when I lived in Oxford many moons ago. However I don't rememeber ever laughing quite so much or so long on previous visits. Rune and Squater are a great double act. And while I can't remember much of details (not due to alcohol... due to the stress of the journey I risked only a half, a measure I would normally regard as homeopathy rather than a drink) ) but I am fairly sure that "Can elves walk on treacle?" was oneof the more serious topics. I do know how to silence a group of downers and shall attend any future gatherings suitably prepared ;) . And no I didn't uncloak. :D

the phantom

11-20-2009, 08:07 PM

A few weeks ago three Downers from Nebraska (Sally, Mnemo, & Phantom) met for an afternoon of fun. But things didn’t turn out quite the way they expected.

First, the Nebraska Downers were pleasantly surprised when Lommy and Little Green showed up, arm in arm.
Lommy & Little Green (http://i825.photobucket.com/albums/zz178/downstp/DSCN5177.jpg)

But there were more visitors yet! To the delight of all, Aganzir, Esty, and Mira (aka "Stick") dropped in as well. Here are all of the out-of-staters pictured together.
Group Pic (http://i825.photobucket.com/albums/zz178/downstp/DSCN5181.jpg) (sorry we couldn't find a Scar doll, Aganzir- hope this lion is close enough)

Unfortunately, they didn’t all get along. Only minutes after arriving, Esty and Mira had an argument that escalated swiftly.
Esty vs Mira (http://i825.photobucket.com/albums/zz178/downstp/DSCN5183.jpg)

As evident in the following picture, reactions to the fight were mixed. Mnemo registered shock, Sally fretted over the possibility of injury, where as Phantom- he seemed amused, if not downright pleased.
Watching the fight (http://i825.photobucket.com/albums/zz178/downstp/DSCN5185.jpg)

The fight ended when Esty snapped off one of Mira’s limbs. Here she can be seen displaying it over her left shoulder as a trophy.
Esty wins! (http://i825.photobucket.com/albums/zz178/downstp/DSCN5186.jpg)

After that things calmed down and the Downers chatted and got to know each other. As shown in this picture, Aganzir and Phantom really hit it off.
Phantom & Aganzir (http://i825.photobucket.com/albums/zz178/downstp/DSCN5187.jpg)

It wasn’t long before they were blowing each other kisses.
Blowing kisses (http://i825.photobucket.com/albums/zz178/downstp/DSCN5190.jpg)

Tired of Aganzir getting all of the attention, Little Green went to great lengths to thrust herself into the limelight. The following picture features her at the zenith of her act, during which, as can clearly be seen, she took off her top. Sally and Duck averted their eyes from the shocking display, but Phantom on the other hand was obviously captivated.
Little Green takes it off (http://i825.photobucket.com/albums/zz178/downstp/DSCN5194.jpg)

Later, the discussion turned from Lord of the Rings to Harry Potter, and Duck shared her controversial theory that all of the spells from the books are real and possible to duplicate. Here she can be seen preparing to cast a spell on Lommy. (And you’ll notice her “wand” is in fact Mira’s arm.)
Mnemo's Magic (http://i825.photobucket.com/albums/zz178/downstp/DSCN5197.jpg)

Soon the talk turned to werewolf, and Phantom and Lommy entered into a heated debate about double-lynching rules. Unfortunately their argument soon crossed into the realm of physical violence. Here Phantom can be seen holding Lommy’s beak shut and threatening to punch her.
Argument escalates (http://i825.photobucket.com/albums/zz178/downstp/DSCN5200.jpg)

But things only got worse from there. Phantom actually picked up Mira and used her to pin Lommy to the table.
From bad to worse (http://i825.photobucket.com/albums/zz178/downstp/DSCN5208.jpg)

Phantom’s behavior warranted a warning from the Mod on site, Esty. She got in his face and told him off quite strongly.
Esty chides Phantom (http://i825.photobucket.com/albums/zz178/downstp/DSCN5201.jpg)

Phantom, however, had no interest in listening to her tirade, and let her know in no uncertain terms.
Phantom's response (http://i825.photobucket.com/albums/zz178/downstp/DSCN5202.jpg) (image edited for obvious reasons)

Under cover of Phantom’s misconduct, Little Green took the opportunity to settle an old score with Sally, leaping onto her from behind and grinding her face into the table.
Green ambushes Sally (http://i825.photobucket.com/albums/zz178/downstp/DSCN5211.jpg)

Due to the group’s appalling behavior, they were unceremoniously booted from the eating establishment, thus cutting short what was a truly exciting Downer experience. Should such an event happen again, you can be sure that it will be captured on film and posted here.

(All joking aside, we did indeed meet up for several hours and we had a great time. Lots of laughs, plus Mnemo introduced us to D & D via a Barrow-Downs campaign that she wrote herself. It was a blast!)

Mnemosyne

11-20-2009, 08:28 PM

Phantom failed to mention that his scuffle with Esty resulted in his nearly being smothered by her skwerlish minions.

Ah, well. It was an experience which no camera will ever be able to capture. Not even with surround sound.

Feanor of the Peredhil

11-20-2009, 08:36 PM

Fabulous. Very amusing. I'm a bit sad that Stick lost an arm... And that the phantom beat up on Lommy... But such things happen.

Morai

11-20-2009, 11:25 PM

I find it amazing that such an epic event took place at Arby's. I Love the censoring of that filthy finger/hand. :Merisu:

Estelyn Telcontar

11-21-2009, 04:21 AM

Phear the might - skwerlz rule!!

Thanks for the great photos - this former Nebraskan would have loved to be there with you.

Aganzir

11-22-2009, 07:18 AM

Hahaha that's brilliant! :D The topless Greenie has got to be my favourite, though. ;)

However I strongly object to being a pink lion with a heart-shaped mane! :Merisu:

Hookbill the Goomba

11-22-2009, 01:12 PM

the phantom? Without a bow tie? Impossible! :D

Excellent pictures, tp! But you know exactly what I'm going to do now... :p

Inziladun

11-22-2009, 03:24 PM

Mnemo looked very accomplished with the wand; as if she was in Flitwick's class practicing her Banishment Charm. So what magical substance forms the core of the Mira-wand? :p

Feanor of the Peredhil

11-22-2009, 05:04 PM

So what magical substance forms the core of the Mira-wand? :p

Love. :) Or pancake batter.

Hakon

11-22-2009, 05:42 PM

Mnemo looked very accomplished with the wand; as if she was in Flitwick's class practicing her Banishment Charm. So what magical substance forms the core of the Mira-wand? :p

Probably a hair from whoever made the wand and I am guessing that it was Phantom. It would explain why he is wearing the hat in all the pictures.

Mnemosyne

11-22-2009, 06:13 PM

Actually it's a single tenuous fiber from a Balrog's wing. Nebulous, and of dubious canonicity, but it works darn well for fire spells. There is, after all, something very magical about an ambiguous description... :smokin:

Mirandir

11-23-2009, 10:31 AM

Is it terrible that I can't decide which answer I like best? I mean, pancake batter is pretty magical but I do loves me my fire... :p

Mnemosyne

11-23-2009, 01:54 PM

And despite all this you seem pretty cavalier about the loss of an arm... :eek:

Feanor of the Peredhil

11-23-2009, 04:01 PM

It's just a flesh wound.

Mirandir

11-23-2009, 05:49 PM

^ what Fea said. :D :cool:

Gwathagor

11-23-2009, 05:59 PM

Who knew a meeting of Downers could be so eventful.

Kath

11-23-2009, 06:05 PM

Who knew a meeting of Downers could be so eventful.
Mith ... whenever I try to meet anyone! :D

Looks like you three had a great time though, you definitely have to come for the New Year meet up!

Gwathagor

11-23-2009, 06:12 PM

Speaking of which, I've been kicking myself for weeks that I can't afford the plane ticket. You all had better find a Gwath avatar (I suggest that statue of The Dying Gaul - Roman copy or otherwise) or votive candle to stand in for me.

Hakon

11-23-2009, 06:19 PM

Would someone care to explain to me what this big New Year meet up is?

Gwathagor

11-23-2009, 06:23 PM

It's a dark ritual.

satansaloser2005

11-23-2009, 07:11 PM

It's a dark ritual.

What he said. *is sad she can't make it, for knows it will be epic* I'll have to send something to be in my place or something. Although I do have a webcam now. :Merisu:

Mirandir

11-23-2009, 07:38 PM

What he said. *is sad she can't make it, for knows it will be epic* I'll have to send something to be in my place or something. Although I do have a webcam now. :Merisu:

You can send the cookies you owe me as a stand-in. :p

Mithalwen

11-24-2009, 06:33 AM

Mith ... whenever I try to meet anyone! :D

Yes and when you are not there I inherit your problems *shudders at the memory*.

I am sending a Mithstitute to Bostonmoot....

Boromir88

11-24-2009, 08:21 AM

Would someone care to explain to me what this big New Year meet up is?

Well I maintain that it is the gathering of the greatest minds that has taken place in the U.S. since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Apparently Gwath will have you believe it's a super-secret cult that is meeting to further their agenda to take over the world. They will leave lots of indistinguishable clues through secret symbols, and that way when world takeover is complete, they can mock everyone for missing all the signs right in front of their faces. :D :p

Feanor of the Peredhil

11-24-2009, 08:45 AM

Well the symbols clearly aren't going to be much of a secret if you just go and tell everyone about them. Borangutan, I'm voting you off the island for explaining our evil scheme in too much detail. That makes you into an aspiring Bond villain, and everybody knows that if the bad guy explains his evil plan before sealing it into place, a secret agent will escape and ruin the plan. Duh.

the phantom

11-24-2009, 10:52 AM

I find it amazing that such an epic event took place at Arby's.
Are you kidding? Arby's is epic! Curly fries dipped in BBQ.... mmmm....
Phear the might - skwerlz rule!!
Indeed, they certainly made their presence known at our gathering. During Duck's D&D game our characters actually had to fight a pack of chat-skwerlz. Thankfully we didn't have to fight their boss (Esty, of course) due to the fact that we managed to have a five minute completely on-topic discussion regarding the Ent-wives in the midst of the battle. It was awesome.
The topless Greenie has got to be my favourite, though.
Yes, definitely an inspired pic idea. :D
However I strongly object to being a pink lion with a heart-shaped mane!
Heh heh- well, just assume you died your hair and styled it especially for this event.
But you know exactly what I'm going to do now...
I'd be disappointed if you didn't. ;)
you definitely have to come for the New Year meet up!
Shhhh.... No one's supposed to know I'm going.

Oh, and just letting you people know, these pics aren't the end of it. There is also a video from Arbymoot!

I may post it tomorrow if you're all very very good.

Boromir88

11-24-2009, 02:09 PM

Oh...wait, so we were serious about creating secret symbols for a world take over? My bad. I thought that was just a red herring for the other, other plan. *zips mouth and crosses fingers hoping weather is kind enough to allow for that plan* :D

Feanor of the Peredhil

11-24-2009, 02:48 PM

That's it, big mouth, snow is going down the back of your shirt. :p

satansaloser2005

11-24-2009, 07:52 PM

the phantom? Without a bow tie? Impossible! :D

Excellent pictures, tp! But you know exactly what I'm going to do now... :p

And I've another one you could use as well....*cackles*

wilwarin538

12-28-2009, 08:44 AM

Oh, and just letting you people know, these pics aren't the end of it. There is also a video from Arbymoot!

I may post it tomorrow if you're all very very good.

Whatever happened to this video?? :p

Mnemosyne

12-28-2009, 11:09 AM

*prods Sally*

satansaloser2005

12-28-2009, 02:19 PM

*prods Sally*

What? You know where it is, you silly wench. And you have my password. What's stopping you? ;)

ETA: Oh, all right then, I'll be the man....erm, chick.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTECCGtY_bQ

Feanor of the Peredhil

12-28-2009, 04:20 PM

"So you call her Spanish."

Yes!

Loslote

12-28-2009, 04:26 PM

I automatically pronounce everyone's name with a Spanish accent. I speak all foregin languages with a heavy Spanish accent except English and - you guessed it - Spanish. :rolleyes:

satansaloser2005

12-28-2009, 05:29 PM

"So you call her Spanish."

Yes!

Hehe. I still love what fea means in Spanish. I don't remember why, but I was talking to some friends and happened to mention you (so Tum or Mnemo must have been there). The person looks at me for a moment and I just kind of snickered before I explained that that had nothing to do with it.

*dies*

I wanna be with you people! Take me to your leader!

*whines*

Feanor of the Peredhil

12-28-2009, 06:10 PM

Hehe. I still love what fea means in Spanish.

Ditto. It always amuses me.

I wanna be with you people! Take me to your leader!

*whines*

No worries. I've been whining, pouting, and all other sorts of irritating whimpering noises since Saturday. Just ask Nienna, Formy, B88, and Mirandir: I've been calling them every few hours just to feel like I'm involved.

satansaloser2005

12-28-2009, 07:17 PM

Ditto. It always amuses me.

No worries. I've been whining, pouting, and all other sorts of irritating whimpering noises since Saturday. Just ask Nienna, Formy, B88, and Mirandir: I've been calling them every few hours just to feel like I'm involved.

Lol. But you can hang out if you feel better (right?). I'm screwed.

*whines, pitches a fit*

I say next year I just stow away in someone's bags and go 'missing' for a week.

Nogrod

12-28-2009, 07:20 PM

Loved the video Sally, Mnemo & phantom! :D

We need to redo that on the next summer!

Eönwë

12-30-2009, 10:10 AM

Brilliant video! This is the sort of general craziness that happens in every BD meeting, isn't it? :D

Also, I'm glad you didn't try to pronounce my name: "Ee-on, Ay-ohn ... Steve!" :p

the phantom

12-30-2009, 11:44 AM

I still think it was unwise to let out that you've "woken up in worse than Phantom's back yard". It shattered our image of you as a well behaved sort of person. :p

And Eonwe- I'm quite angry that your idea didn't occur to me. Now the video feels incomplete.

Eönwë

12-30-2009, 12:20 PM

And Eonwe- I'm quite angry that your idea didn't occur to me. Now the video feels incomplete.

I'm sorry about that. :p

And what about Ibrin?

Thinlómien

12-30-2009, 02:01 PM

Hahahaa, loved the video, kids. :D But I'm quite impressed by Mnemo's correct pronounciation on many things. Although, she of course still has an American accent. ;)

Now I'm really looking forward to shoking people with my Finnish pronounciation of stuff. :smokin: (maybe we should make a video of our own with the Finnish colony here...)

satansaloser2005

12-30-2009, 08:36 PM

Hahahaa, loved the video, kids. But I'm quite impressed by Mnemo's correct pronounciation on many things. Although, she of course still has an American accent. ;)

Now I'm really looking forward to shoking people with my Finnish pronounciation of stuff. :smokin: (maybe we should make a video of our own with the Finnish colony here...)

Heh. I'd love to hear it. As it happens, we also (if I remember correctly) had a discussion on how to pronounce your actual name. I think I lost. :rolleyes:

The Might

12-31-2009, 10:12 AM

... and that's why I chose a name easy to pronounce correctly. :D

About pronunciation, as long as it's Elvish I try and stick to it, I hate the movie "Elvish" stuff like Seleborn etc.

Surely however, if we're talking full names and not nicks, the best one has to be Ibrîniðilpathânezel.

Idea: make videos of yourselves trying to correctly say Ibri's full name and the one that does the best receives... maybe a guest appearence in a P&A episode if Hookbill could arrange that. :D

Feanor of the Peredhil

12-31-2009, 10:27 AM

Phantom and I have actually tried Ibri's name, and it might be saved somewhere. It sort of fell into incoherent mumbling...

Mirandir

01-01-2010, 12:14 PM

Cannot WAIT to get to the epic Bostonmoot posts. I was considering starting now, but there's still massive apartment cleaning to be done (Glirdan and I are about to tackle the fridge :eek:) and could simply just not do it justice in my current state. You should all look forward to it. There's a wereduckling involved. :p

Feanor of the Peredhil

01-01-2010, 01:55 PM

Yours truly has now had her cheek kissed by Glirdan, Shasta, phantom, Formy, Rune, and B88.

Now don't you wish you had come?

Boromir88

01-01-2010, 02:16 PM

So Mira just commandeered Boro's stuff and feels the need to point out that Fea got a bit more than that last night. :P From yours truely. Yeah, you're jealous. :D

Laurinquë

01-02-2010, 04:47 AM

That is an absoluelty wonderful video! TGEW and I have our own private pronunciations for user names, some of which sound quite similar to yours. I would love to see someone take a stab at my name as well becuase I really have no idea how it should be pronounced. Like Loslote I usually tend to favour Spanish, being the only language other than English I have any ability with, but 'Laurin-K' just sounds coarse and unmelodious.

Shastanis Althreduin

01-02-2010, 10:18 PM

satansaloser2005

01-03-2010, 03:17 AM

wilwarin538

01-03-2010, 05:06 AM

Sally that is pretty much the best video ever.....and there is clearly a w, but I love you anyway. :D

Greatly excited for the Bostonmoot posts!!!

Feanor of the Peredhil

01-03-2010, 02:34 PM

So Mira just commandeered Boro's stuff and feels the need to point out that Fea got a bit more than that last night. :P From yours truely. Yeah, you're jealous. :D

Mira, shh. Don't tell them you and I smooched when the ball dropped! They might get ideas.

Mnemosyne

01-03-2010, 02:55 PM

Mira, shh. Don't tell them you and I smooched when the ball dropped! They might get ideas.

Get? Fea dear, we already have ideas!!

Feanor of the Peredhil

01-03-2010, 03:02 PM

Oh my.

:Merisu:

Loslote

01-03-2010, 06:50 PM

Glirdan

01-03-2010, 07:51 PM

Yours truly has now had her cheek kissed by Glirdan, Shasta, phantom, Formy, Rune, and B88.

Now don't you wish you had come?

Fea....was I perhaps slightly....oh I don't know.....not all there, to put it simply?? Because if this was in reference to New Years, I don't remember doing that.....

Cannot WAIT to get to the epic Bostonmoot posts. I was considering starting now, but there's still massive apartment cleaning to be done (Glirdan and I are about to tackle the fridge ) and could simply just not do it justice in my current state. You should all look forward to it. There's a wereduckling involved.

That fridge was a pain...And if no one believes us that we cleaned, check the Facebook group!! I have documented evidence!! And that wereduckling of ours is going to turn out to be a force to be reckoned with when she starts playing Werewolf! :eek:

Boromir88

01-04-2010, 03:24 PM

*Save* For the first epically long Bostonmoot post...and since I don't have the time yet to explain all the great Downers I met and spent time with at the moot, here are a few highlights.

1. I challenge Fea as the most directionally inept getting lost trying to follow the "baggage claim" signs at Logan as well as getting marginally lost in the city of Boston with Glirdan.

2. Rune calls me a wanker and thinks I need to explore pubs more, as my idea of the lunatic irishman who talked to us, was actually quite normal.

3. Myself bragging about probably the most delicious turkey you will ever see (sorry Enca :p). And overall a fabulous New Year's Eve dinner, compliments to Celuien (who defeated the turkey's neck and gizzard), Glirdan, Brinn, Lari, and assistance from many others.

4. Mira taking too much delighti n pounding pretzels and chicken.

5. Form wanting to marry me, with lots and lots of glomping between us

6. Everyone slipping into bad english accents, and taking up words like "rubbish" due to Kath.

7. Did you know wilwa loves Boston?

8. community calls with sally.

9. Fea managing to be sick the entire time (and of course the absolute worst time)

10. Many, many werewolf games which include the evil, but most adorable, wereduckling. And you guessed it, a fake ranger reveal by me countered by Shasta.

Plus

11. the phantom...uncloaked. :rolleyes:

But most of all, remembering rule #3. Programming yourself to stop calling Christian (and everyone) Mac/by their 'Downers name. Now reprogramming yourself to stop typing Christian, when you want Mac. :p

Glirdan

01-04-2010, 06:48 PM

But most of all, remembering rule #3. Programming yourself to stop calling Christian (and everyone) Mac/by their 'Downers name. Now reprogramming yourself to stop typing Christian, when you want Mac.

No!! That rule was specifically set up for the phantom!! Come on Boro, do you not remember the 5 rules that Mira and I had set up?

Rule 1 - Don't get hit by the T

Rule 2 - Don't get hit by the OTHER T

Rule 3 - Don't get hit by oncoming traffic

Rule 4 - Don't get hit by the OTHER oncoming traffic

Rule 5 - Don't get hit by the incredibly long stretch of oncoming traffic as you're crossing to the 7-11

:p

And the funny thing is not even a day there and I almost broke Rule 3....Yay for being a putz!! :D

Celuien

01-04-2010, 08:28 PM

Rule 1 - Don't get hit by the T

Rule 2 - Don't get hit by the OTHER T

Rule 3 - Don't get hit by oncoming traffic

Rule 4 - Don't get hit by the OTHER oncoming traffic

Rule 5 - Don't get hit by the incredibly long stretch of oncoming traffic as you're crossing to the 7-11

:p

And the funny thing is not even a day there and I almost broke Rule 3....Yay for being a putz!! :D

I think we all almost broke rule number 3 and 5... and I'm pretty sure I almost broke rule number 1 a couple of times.

And that was the most epically delicious and picture perfect turkey I've ever seen! I'm definitely stealing your secret method, Boro!

the phantom

01-04-2010, 08:33 PM

11. the phantom...uncloaked. :rolleyes:
I definitely don't remember doing anything of the sort. Did someone spike one of my drinks? :eek:

Feanor of the Peredhil

01-04-2010, 08:39 PM

I definitely don't remember doing anything of the sort. Did someone spike one of my drinks? :eek:

Well I remember.

:Merisu:

Nogrod

01-04-2010, 08:52 PM

*coughenvytoallthatcough*

But heh, let the good times roll! :D

wilwarin538

01-04-2010, 09:10 PM

7. Did you know wilwa loves Boston?

Do I ever, it was amazing there, and I was so excited to be there the whole time! :D

11. the phantom...uncloaked.

How I wish this were actually true. :p :Merisu:

Mirandir

01-04-2010, 09:23 PM

How I wish this were actually true.

*gag*

So I started making my LJ post about this shenanigans so I could use vulgar language and whatnot, but then decided that passing out with my computer in my lap would be a really terrible idea. Thus, you can have the two whole paragraphs that I wrote before coming to that conclusion (censored, of course. This is a family site, after all). :D

~~~~

So this epic adventure of epicness begin for me on Saturday December 7th, 2009. After an epic reunion with Nienna at South Station, Formendacil and Boromir88 also glomped just to mock us and because they're mean and nasty people. :p I told John to "stop being a...*insert mean word here*" and made him carry my bag which we later decided weighs more than Shasta. The four of us quickly bonded and determined family roles. Nienna was the mother, Form was the father, Boro started out as the brother, but was later re-roled to grandfather because he eats so damn slowly, and I was the only child. We were a nice happy family for a few days until we had to go pick up Rune at the airport.

So we trooped over to Logan Airport, where Boro and I threw around Tony Jr. (my football) by the escalators until some random sketchy man going up tried to block it, which distracted Boro and resulted in getting nailed in the crotch with the football. It was quite hilarious, if I do say so myself. Finally Rune got off his plane and found us (not to difficult with the sign that said ++Rune, although he later claimed he never saw it). He was more clean cut than we expected...but that's not surprising considering we were half expecting to see a tall blonde with epic hair wearing a Viking helmet (the tall blonde part was right).

Later that night I punched him in the face. That's your teaser for tomorrow. :p

wilwarin538

01-04-2010, 10:07 PM

*gag*

Luvs her Stick dearly. :Merisu:

Shastanis Althreduin

01-05-2010, 08:19 AM

And you guessed it, a fake ranger reveal by me countered by Shasta.

I dunno, Boro, I'm concerned that we may be overshadowed by the Shasta/Diamond fake-Seer extravaganza. :p

wilwarin538

01-05-2010, 10:10 AM

I dunno, Boro, I'm concerned that we may be overshadowed by the Shasta/Diamond fake-Seer extravaganza. :p

That sucked. I mean you were wonderful at it, but for me it sucked, I wish you had killed me and let Phantom make the decision instead. :rolleyes::p

Glirdan

01-05-2010, 01:12 PM

I dunno, Boro, I'm concerned that we may be overshadowed by the Shasta/Diamond fake-Seer extravaganza. :p

Hehehe....Yes...Eeeeeeeeeeviillllllll!!!! T'was the shenanigans to end all shenanigans!! And now Di is going to strangle you...Wait!! I got a picture of that happening!! :D :p

Boromir88

01-05-2010, 01:16 PM

Glirdan, I was going to mention that, but that was yours and Mira's idea, thus felt you should be the ones to explain it. As for the rule 3 I was talking about, it was difficult programming myself to call people by their real names, if I have not had much interaction with the person outside the 'Downs. Now, it's all about reprogramming myself to not type Devin. (Except for Rune and Kath, who made it easy on everyone. :p)

And by the phantom uncloaked...I mean the man behind the mask was revealed. I have no idea what Fea and wilwa are talking about. :p

I dunno, Boro, I'm concerned that we may be overshadowed by the Shasta/Diamond fake-Seer extravaganza.~Shasta
True. That was quite fantastic of you, poor Diamond.

Feanor of the Peredhil

01-05-2010, 03:40 PM

And by the phantom uncloaked...I mean the man behind the mask was revealed. I have no idea what Fea and wilwa are talking about. :p

Er... um... *blushes*

Nothing. I meant nothing.

:Merisu:

Boromir88

01-05-2010, 05:45 PM

Where to start on all the lovably insane people I met? I will try to go in the order that I met them, but after the first few days, everything is a blur. I would come back to Kelly's and Brinn's to only meet 3-4 new people sitting around. :D

Form and Nienna picked me up at the airport. Actually my first interaction with Nienna was her receiving a call about me being lost in the airport. This would only be the first call about being lost she would get. The second occured at the corner of Beacon St, and a street that began with W, then spotting the Green Line T to "North Station." Form tried to give us directions, but Glirdan and I were only marginally lost as we were able to retrace our steps back safely to enjoy Mac's potato pancakes. Glirdan's documented our adventure, by taking random pictures, so he can share the pics.

Nienna was very much like the mother of the get together, the one with a plan of epic proportions. Sometimes the execution of the plan failed, but overall she was an extremely commodating and giving host. She was probably worried about having to leave Form, Mira, and I in the apartment for a while because of work (and the "how do you turn off the fire alarm texts" definitely didn't help). However, we soon showed her she had nothing to fear, leaving us to take care of the place, and clean in her absense...even though Form forgot to turn off the stove when learning how to make pasta.

Form was almost exactly as I expected. He likes to come off as a curmudgeon, but is the most laid back and caring person I have met. He was also like a parent in many ways, always willing to listen and willing to help. This may be biased because he wanted to steal me away, to cook for him, and our glomps were quite fabulous. I even thought I saw him at the Cleveland airport yesterday, but alas I was going crazy with miserableness at leaving the moot.

Mira, Mira, Mira...considering her first words to me, which are very un-family friendly and demanding that I carry her bag (that did in fact weigh more than Shasta, because I had Shasta on my back at one point), also getting slapped in the face once, she was a most fabulous sister...ehm grand-daughter :D. I don't know if I've met anyone who shows her love so violently...it's really disturbing. She should see someone who can help her with those issues, the way she attacked the pretzels and chicken (thanks for the help though) was scarring. We were able to come to a few agreements about football too, which was surprising, seeing as she is a fan of a team I detest, who's QB has yet to show he can win a championship. Without question, the best moment was the first dinner (with Form and Nienna). I was glad to hear there was a possibility she would not have the jersey of the over-hyped QB I mentioned above, suddenly she whips off her sweater and there it is. The face of disgust I made was priceless, and it was so good, it can't be replicated nor captured by a camera.

Next comes the great Viking, aka Danish, aka Rune. Out of the four of us there, I was probably the least nervous about meeting Rune, because we have had some nice, long conversations on-line. When he first got off the plane, and on the train ride he seemed a little dazed and quiet...probably because of jet lag and coming to realize he was in Boston. But once he loosened up with a few beers he was a blast to be around for the rest of the trip. An absolute joy to talk to and go to the pubs with, and he can even make boring grocery shop runs entertaining by his excitement over the price of meat. Dragging me away from telling Kath a story to show me the price of a piece of steak and going on for the rest of the time about how in Denmark you couldn't get meat for that price. I regret missing the next grocery store run with him, where he literally skipped to the meat. :p Another funny moment with Rune, at the liquor store where he mistook the penny/change jar as a tip jar for the cashier. (Don't worry, Rune, I don't think you have to worry about insulting the man).

That same day Brinn was getting Kath from the airport, and so my first meeting with them took place at the apartment. Brinn is a lovely super-talker who knows how to make great desserts and stuffing. I didn't get much time with Brinn until my last few days where we stayed up late playing cards, and I regret being a bummer about not exploring Boston more. The cold winds made walking around Boston too unbearable for me. I thank her much for burning the Glee soundtrack for a lot of us, because that will provide hours of entertainment for me once I get my back to my laptop.

Kath, is just a charm and beautiful person. It was hilarious when she first came and started talking to Rune. All of the americans sat and listened to the two with thick accents talk and argue. I don't know how to describe it better, but Kath showed that it was perfectly ok to be mean to the Dane. Whenever you meet someone new, you're pretty nervous how you can interact with a person and you don't want to come off as offensive. At first, that's how I was with Rune, but Kath comes in to show it's just Rune, it's ok. Umm, but I will not discuss how she forgot there was a Ranger in the WW game she modded, which as Shasta posted in the Grimoire, made me rather cranky. An honest mistake of course, and our somewhat tipsy convo using Word on Nienna's computer made up for it. Plus, she introduced me to all new kinds of card games!

And that is all for now, sorry the rest will most likely have to wait a few days.

Shastanis Althreduin

01-05-2010, 08:50 PM

Just so you know, this post is reserved for me and I call dibs on Kath's exploding-biscuits-debacle. :p

Feanor of the Peredhil

01-05-2010, 11:03 PM

Kath

01-05-2010, 11:09 PM

Heh - yeah ... the Ranger thing. New rule for live games definitely needs to be: the mod must find out who the Ranger is BEFORE Night 2 starts. :D Otherwise these things will happen! Well, they will if I'm playing anyway. :o

Glirdan

01-06-2010, 04:18 PM

If it was appropriate to post Glirdan and my trip to 7-11 for the necessary props for his proposal to Wilwa, I would call dibs on that.

However, all I can comfortably say is this:

Glirdan and I are both accomplished actors.

Indeed we are Fea, indeed we are!! :D It is a good thing that it this is a family site or else there would have been MANY inappropriate posts from us now AND then!!

Oh, and for all those who knew me when I first joined the Downs some four years ago...Everyone at the moot can attest to this.....I am this hyperactive in person! :D :P

Formendacil

01-06-2010, 09:40 PM

I'm not yet fully rested from my incredible trip to Bostonmoot, and given that I didn't get a good sleep last night because I was dreaming that I was still there and was reliving having to leave, it may be a while before I am fully rested.

Certainly, it'll be a long time before I've fully sorted out what all happened. Bostonmoot came at a rather awkward time in the broader scope of my life, as I've been attempting to discern for the past semester and a bit of the summer, whether I'm heading the right way in life. Bostonmoot definitely had an impact on that, and hopefully for the good, but in the meantime I have a lot of mental and emotional baggage to unpack.

Enough about me, though--this post and thread should be about meeting other Downers, not meeting yourself in their company, even if that should happen.

Starting then with the Downers I already knew:

Nienna was every bit as awesome as I remembered. Insofar as we've been best chat-buddies most of the past few months, as I wormed my way ever so slightly into the ongoing planning and organizing of the Bostonmoot, it was great to see her in person again, and be best real-life buddies for a few days--subject to amused tolerance and the approval of various other actual real-life buddies. She's got to be something of a saint--or at least one of the most patient people I know--for putting up with and organising the whole lot of--and working some of those days to boot.

Feanor of the Peredhil deserves a round scolding for getting sick and not showing up until the day before she had to start school, meaning I hardly had any time with her, and when I did, I had to share her with the majority of the Barrow-downs... who are nice people and all, but hard to compete with in terms of shiny.

Brinniel also suffered from general lack of contact with on this trip. Part of this is because I am definitely an early riser--I was first to bed (the household curmudgeon) and first to rise (the household coffeemaker), more or less, the whole week, and Brinn is definitely a nightowl who sleeps in. We also have somewhat different attitudes towards doing things--Brinn is a sightseer, do-stuff-er, and I'm more of a moss-gatherer... so we didn't interact a whole lot on this trip (which is actually true of a few Downers...), but it was good to see her again, regardless, and her hospitality as the other resident hostess was also appreciated.

...and that's it for old Downers. Each of my three was present. Now I have so many more than three. In the order of meeting them, then:

Boromir88 is awesome, just for the record. He's one of the workhorses that kept the Moot running. He was in charge of our awesome turkey, cooked a number of other meals, and did half the cleaning during his stay, singlehandedly. He's not only a reliable cook, though--he's an awesome cook! And a more or less fun guy generally. While I don't think we had tonnes of overlap in terms of expressed interests, we got on fabulously well. I mean, we were glomping for fun (aka to annoy Nienna and Mira) within 4 hours of meeting. Boromir's pretty much the exact ideal in my head of a perfect brother-in-law... given that actual brother would probably be too squabbly.

Mirandir, too, is practically family now, in my books. Of course, as one of Nienna's roommates from last year, there wasn't complete newness when she sidled into our group. With no offence to the awesome Downers who came later, the 24 hours after Mira's arrival were probably my favourite part of the trip, as we drifted along in domestic/familial calm. There was no drinking then, or partying generally... just making meals, and making pies, and eating meals, and watching TV, and just hanging out. For someone who starts getting lost in groups larger than 6, because he can't focus, and who isn't a super-partier, it was awesome. Of course, Mira is just awesome on her own two feet, and had she come later in the week, I'm sure she'd still be my favourite. Whether or not she'd be my new adopted daughter, is another question. Definitely missing her, but also glad she got to stay the unplanned extra two days until I left too.

Rune son of Bjarne was our most exotic Downer--if Danes are exotic--and, I admit, I wasn't looking super-forward to him showing up, both because he was the first interruption of our awesome family, and also because I knew he was expecting to really get along with me... and I wasn't sure that we would. And, at first, I definitely thought that Rune was crazy over-the-top, with his random, wild, European humour and outgoing personality. By the end of the week, though, he'd definitely proven his point--we did get along quite well. In a weird way that's impossible to explain, he was both completely as I had pictured him after a lot of time knowing him online--and hugely different from his online persona.

Kath is simply a dear--an absolute dear. She's got the most amazing accent--Rune's is nice too, but not nearly so lovely. She is also just a lovely person. I didn't get to spend as much time with her as I would have liked--this becomes a quickly familiar story--but towards the end of the week, I did get more, even if never any real one-on-one. More Kath needs to be a staple of the future.

Diamond18 was not exactly what I was expecting. I'm not sure what I was expecting, because she looked like Diamond's pictures, could well have written Diamond's LiveJournal, and definitely seemed to recognize Boro and I when we picked her up. Unfortunately for getting to know her, she's a bit of a quiet Downer in a party that had a few loudmouths *looks guilty* Diamond definitely belongs on the list of "people I didn't get to spend much time with."

Encaitare--also a Downer I wanted to spend more time with. I feel a bit guiltier with her than most Downers I didn't hang out with maximally, both because she spend a chunk of the trip making me a hat, and because she was one of my favourite online Downers that I wanted to meet at the Moot, and while she proved to be every bit as awesome in person as I'd expected after the online version, I don't really think we spent much time together at all. Still feeling a bit guilty that I didn't see her off, but I've been wearing the hat almost daily since, and it is a great comfort in my dreary, cold, Canadian, life.

the phantom... well... the phantom is still a bit of an enigma, as I'm sure he intends. He didn't stay at the apartment, but had the sense (and money?) to afford an hotel, so he didn't get as much of the full-immersion bonding as the rest of us. I also daresay that the first couple days, he was deliberately presenting a bit of a deliberate protective façade of his online persona. It got relaxed after that, and I think he ended up comfortable with the lot of us... but I lost track of him as we reached maximum capacity... The difficulty was that, on the one hand, he generally only came to us, so I could only see him at the apartment, where one-on-one with anyone was easily lost, and also because when things got that crazy I either needed to escape or power down, and as the phantom was only around then, there wasn't much interaction. We also don't have tonnes of things in common, other than the Downs, but it's not as if we managed to discuss everything we do.

Glirdan and Wilwarin came in together--they are best friends in real life--and they are awesome. And I don't just say this because they augmented our Canadian stats at the Moot, or because they travelled 18 hours one-way on a bus to meet us... but because they are. Glirdan is full of energy, full of fun, and can honestly be everybody's best friend. He's also an amazing cook, and fully complemented the Boromir Team in the kitchen--both in making epic meals and doing entirely too much of the cleaning.

Wilwa is also adorable. I got more one-on-one time with her than most of the later arrivals, because I planned a couple of minor excursions to get out of the craziness of the apartment in the afternoons, and since they involved bookstores and libraries, they were tailor-made for a Wilwa. It was also really nice to find someone who agreed completely with my rural Canadian appreciation of Boston's awesome ambiance.

Shastanis Althreduin looked only a bit like I imagined--unlike most, I hadn't formed a proper mental image of him from pictures, chiefly because his Facebook profile picture is non-revelatory, and because I'm too lazy to have looked for more. He's awesome too. I was a bit afraid that I'd been too harsh with the whole "Shasta is a Werewolf, certainly!" thing, but he took it and ran with it, and he is now my official favourite WW. We didn't --again-- get much time to know each other, as individuals, but within the context of the whole party of us, I think I know him rather well. Whether he feels the same... you'd have to ask him.

Lariren Shadow and Alonariel came in together from California, and because Lari is the four of the roommate Downers that started with Fea, I sort of felt like I knew her, once I finally met her. I think we got along well, in the interaction we did have--a similar appreciation for snarky comments towards "popular" literature, and perhaps a similar attitude towards needing common sense in doing things. Because she arrived as late as she did, I didn't get a whole lot of time with her--again--but like Kath, she cropped up a bit more towards the end.

Alona is a dear. Yes, I know, there were a lot of them about. Not my fault! It was a sneaky pleasure to meet my other WW partner (with Nienna) from my last, and victorious, WW game, and also to "adopt" her as a younger sister for Mira. I got a bit more time with her, because she came along for one of the aforementioned bookish trips with Wilwa. It's lucky for me that she never dragged me into a store, put on a pouty face, and held up a desired article, because I may have spoiled her if she had...

Celuien was a Downer that has been sorely missed from activity on this site, so I made sure I was with the welcoming party to see her in, and as her farewell escort out, when she became the first to leave on Jan. 2nd--but apart from these two instances, I didn't get a lot of time with her, which is a pity, because she's a lot of fun to talk to, one-on-one. I was afraid, since she's so quiet--I daresay the quietest of our lot--that she would get lost and not have as much fun during the Moot, but she said she enjoyed it as I saw her off, and I am inclined to think she told the truth. Though definitely quiet, there were moments when it was clear she was enjoying getting lost in the shuffle.

I think I only met Rikae and Macalaure--and their were-duckling--after we got back with Lari, Alona, and Celuien from the airport. Or, rather, later that same day, because my first Wilwa expedition (Boro was also along) was after the return from the airport, but before Fea arrived, and Rikae and Mac only made their first appearance then. Unfortunately, they suffered from the phantom Syndrome--they had a hotel room--wisely, for the duckling--and thus were generally only around when things were craziest. So I don't really remember talking with them much at all, directly. But I did get to see them together, and with their little girl, and they are an adorable couple, with an adorable baby, and I'm just extremely impressed that they were willing to immerse themselves in a full-fledged cauldron of young craziness. Not that Mac and Rikae are old... but there's a certain reliability that comes with marriage and children that is absolutely lacking in the rest of us, it seems. Of all the Downers present, I probably spent time with them the least, which is a definite pity. I liked what I saw... but I mostly only saw, and didn't get to talk/hear.

And... I think... that's the lot, but there were so many, I'm almost afraid I've lost one. That'd be a pity... but, really, it's a sign of how awesome things were. I can't wait to see each and everyone of you again--and those of you who didn't come? I can only guess that you're just as awesome. Someday...

Formendacil

01-06-2010, 09:52 PM

As an addendum:

It was a real privilege to be on the welcoming committee for so many of you. As the first out-of-towner to arrive, I had the opportunity and volunteered for it, to meet people at the airport or train/bus station, and I'm glad I did. It was fun travelling with old companions to get new ones, and always exciting.

However, I'm even more privileged that, when I had to leave, although I had to be at the airport such that we left at 6:00, I had the entire apartment (sans only a Fea who was sick and had to go to school) coming to see me off. Granted, I suppose, I had to share you with Boromir, but even so--I felt very loved, and while it was unnecessary, I thank you all again for it.

alonariel

01-07-2010, 01:47 AM

While pulling an all-nighter before we have to drop off Kath and Rune, we came up with the brilliant idea of having quotes do the talking ;)

Rune
"How do you play Sh*thead?" -Lari
"You need a sponge, five eggs and a tiger." -Rune

Alona
"Daniel Radcliffe needed prosthetics when he went on stage." -Kath
"Really?!" -Alona
"He's not actually...a woman." -Kath
"No, I know! But I thought maybe he was a bit self-conscious..." -Alona

Kath
"I'm on drugs!" -While playing Trivial Pursuit

Lari
"When I call you a whore, it means I love you."

Boro
"I like cheesy broccoli!" -Coming out of a dead stupor on the T

Shasta
"No, those are too big for you." -Glirdan
"Well you should know, you slipped one on me last night!"

Form
"I'm the pervy seminarian."

Mira
"Wifey!"

Nienna
"Children, children. Don't die crossing the street." -Our group-appointed Mom

Glirdan
"Rune, my Danish lover!"

Wilwa
"Hey Philip, I'll give you a French kiss!"

Phantom
"We should change the definiton of overwhelming to the phantom."

Mac
"WEREWOLF!"
"Darth Wader."

Rikae
"I'm scared to blink!" -While playing Murder

Were-duckling
"Nein."

Fea
"It's the one picture where i look half way decent, not sick or unconscious in Philip's lap."

Encai
"Sketchy puddle!"

Celuien
"BDers 1, Turkey 0."

Feanor of the Peredhil

01-07-2010, 07:30 AM

You've forgotten "Darth Wader."

wilwarin538

01-07-2010, 10:12 AM

Those are amazing quotes, even though I think I may not have been there for half of them, but the other half are hilarious! :D:D:D

Rikae

01-07-2010, 11:07 AM

Ah yes. Darth Wader.
http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs186.snc3/19338_1106075511314_1809578607_219675_3528827_n.jp g

He actually has a few rules of his own:
1. Don't break the T.
2. Don't break the other T.
3. If you have a parking space in Boston at 7pm on New Year's Eve, hang on to it like "Fee" to the Phantom. Even if it's five miles from where you want to be.

4. Wear your awesome boots (Darth Wader always complies with this rule).

wilwarin538

01-07-2010, 11:29 AM

He actually has a few rules of his own:
1. Don't break the T.
2. Don't break the other T.
3. If you have a parking space in Boston at 7pm on New Year's Eve, hang on to it like "Fee" to the Phantom. Even if it's five miles from where you want to be.

4. Wear your awesome boots (Darth Wader always complies with this rule).

ahahahahaha. I love this, how did I miss this? I definitely always followed rule # 4! :D

Shastanis Althreduin

01-07-2010, 12:43 PM

ahahahahaha. I love this, how did I miss this? I definitely always followed rule # 4! :D

So did Encai. :p

Lalaith

01-07-2010, 01:36 PM

Really enjoying all of this. Just one thing.
She's got the most amazing accent
Kath doesn't have an accent. You lot have. :Merisu:

Feanor of the Peredhil

01-07-2010, 01:41 PM

I certainly do now, Lal. I got roundly scolded for some spelling 'errors' in class this morning, I can't seem to call it an apartment any more ('flat'), when I'm angry, I must be angry, neither mad nor p*ed; also has transformed into as well; and I find myself eating crisps instead of chips, and chips instead of fries!

Thankfully I had a nice case of laryngitis for the duration of Bostonmoot, so my roving accent was inaudible.

Glirdan

01-07-2010, 02:20 PM

Shasta
"No, those are too big for you." -Glirdan
"Well you should know, you slipped one on me last night!"

BAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Not even going to touch that one!! :D

He actually has a few rules of his own:
1. Don't break the T.
2. Don't break the other T.
3. If you have a parking space in Boston at 7pm on New Year's Eve, hang on to it like "Fee" to the Phantom. Even if it's five miles from where you want to be.
4. Wear your awesome boots (Darth Wader always complies with this rule).

I can't believe I missed this!!

I would give my synopsis on the wonderfulness of what is Bostonmoot 2009/10....but sadly, as is the case and is most often my legit reason for not posting to Werewold ( :D ), I am little swamped in school and extra-curriculars. I will hopefully (crossing fingers tightly) get to it at some point this weekend, however, as there is much to say about everyone!

Oh, and before I forget...

Glirdan and Wilwarin came in together--they are best friends in real life--and they are awesome. And I don't just say this because they augmented our Canadian stats at the Moot, or because they travelled 18 hours one-way on a bus to meet us... but because they are. Glirdan is full of energy, full of fun, and can honestly be everybody's best friend. He's also an amazing cook, and fully complemented the Boromir Team in the kitchen--both in making epic meals and doing entirely too much of the cleaning.

This honestly just made my night!!!

wilwarin538

01-08-2010, 08:57 AM

Ok I think it's my turn to write out as much as I can remember:

So Glirdy and I departed from home at 12 am on last Tuesday morning, got off in Ottawa, then got on another bus to Montreal where we got on yet another bus. The border held us up for an hour and then we finally, at 7:30 pm (do the math there, that makes it 19.5 hours) arrived at South Station in Boston!!!!!! We were quite excited, and up until this point still didn't really believe we were actually going, until we looked out the bus window and saw 4 lovely people holding a sign that read "--Devin, ++Vanessa". We got our stuff and very happily ran over to meet Mira, Form, Boro and Nienna. A long T ride later, with some interesting commentary from Mira and lovely Boro carrying my luggage for me, we arrived at the appartment!!!

Rune, Kath, Brinn, Shasta, Enca, Di and Phantom were all there, and we stayed up very late and had a great time and I shared Brinn's room with her and Enca and Kath for the whole week.

The next morning (wednesday) I woke up to find that a few people had run off to the airport quite early to pick up Alona, Lari and Celuien. (I really hope I'm not getting people mixed up, who arrived when is still a blur to me from that first day, haha, I can't remember when Rikae and Mac showed up, I just know they were there on the wednesday). Boro made eggs, which I did not eat because it was too early for me, but they smelt lovely. Then him and I and Form decided to go on a little excursion and ended up at Barnes&Noble, which was amazing and I could have stayed there the whole week.

We returned and before I could even get my boots off a bunch of people were heading out, so I decided to tag along! Kath, Brinn, Enca, Celuien, Rikae, Mac, Wereduckling and I all took the T downtown in search of a pastry shop which we eventually found and proceeded to butt infront of everyone else in line, but very discretely so no one noticed us, and I got some lovely chocolate cake. We eventually headed home because the Wereduckling was tired, but she had been marvelously well behaved, the best baby ever! :D

We all stayed up late yet again, and I believe we played Werewolf. The following day, the Thursday, was yet another excursion. Mira, Alona, Form and I took the T down to the Public Library to meet Nienna who was finishing work, and we had a nice little lunch. Then Form was kind enough to give me a quick tour of the older part of the library, because it was amazingly gorgeous and I could have stayed there all week. Then we met back up with the girls and went off to a comic book/cd/movie store and afterwards Alona and I found a little shop where we both spent alot of money and Nienna's feet got all wet and cold so we had to buy her new socks and Alona was put on Puddle Watch and then we headed home!

This being New Years Eve everyone got dressed up, I hadn't found a dress that would be easy to pack so I just went with dress pants and a blouse, but everyone else looked amazing!!! We stayed up late and watched the ball drop and I think played more WW. Many good times were had.

The following day it was decided, by Nienna, that we would have to leave at 11 am sharp to go to the Science Museum, and most of us were ready on time but we ended up going in seperate groups anyway. Some of us who had gone early had to meet up with Form, and then we had a little lunch and then met up with a bunch of others and we all went to the Harry Potter exhibit at the Science Museum and afterwards had lunch. Some decided to leave afterwards, but some of us chose to stay to look at the rest of the museum, which was so much fun and I could have stayed there all week.

We all kind of got seperated from each other and at one point Kath, who was in a different group then me, wanted to get in contact with me so that we could all leave. She texted Boro saying something like "We can't find Wilwa, what's her number?" so Boro told this to Glirdan, who immediately panicked thinking they had lost me and I was off by myself somewhere (when I was really with a few others), and he was sure my mother would kill him. Kath felt terrible later for the misconception. I thought it was all hilarious.

Then we all stayed up late once again and had a great time, and Shasta totally messed with me during a WW game and I won't ever trust him again. :p The next morning, bright and early, Mira, Boro, Form, Rune, Shasta and Alona all came along with Glirdan and I to the bus station to see us off. We got there quite early so we had some breakfast and then our goodbyes were heartbreaking. We couldn't stop hugging each other and didn't want to leave at all, but we were finally forced too. We of course immediately began to text each other and continued to do so randomly for the next 20 hours of our bus ride.

Boston was amzing and I could have stayed there forever.

I had an amazing time, so much more then I ever would have expected. I don't think I've ever connected with so many people so quickly, and loved so many people so much after such a short time. It was an amazing group, everyone was so great, and I felt very comfortable around all them. I want to go again, and I want to be able to see everyone again, and I definitely won't ever forget it. It was all so fantastic. :D

<3

Boromir88

01-08-2010, 02:22 PM

Ok, so I'm going to use this time to talk about Celuien and her amazing defeat of the turkey. Glirdan and I tried to give it a tug, nothing worked. We went to get Mac to try and he says something along the lines of "Does it require violence?...ok" But by the time we come back Celuien triumphantly shows us the turkey is defeated (http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs133.snc3/18041_381226685510_644350510_10317958_4482028_n.jp g)! (You may of course steal my method, I am no Smaugeur when it comes to cooking :p)

Celuien was pretty quiet, and that always made me suspect her in WW, especially when she sat next to Enca, Enca just sat there knitting a hat and asking random questions. However, without her assistance this amazing nad fabulously epic turkey (http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs133.snc3/18041_381226880510_644350510_10317984_3977599_n.jp g) would have never made it to the table (http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs133.snc3/18041_381226890510_644350510_10317985_2248087_n.jp g). In fact the entire dinner from Glirdan's mashed potatoes to Brinn's stuffing was a real nice New Year's Eve meal! And of course...cheesy broccoli at Panera!

(Photos courtesy of Devin)

Glirdan

01-08-2010, 03:33 PM

Okay, so I've had a little more time then I thought to put this together (seeing as I decided for the benefit of not only myself, but those around me that school would be a bad idea as I'm sick with a cold that seems to have been brought upon by Sauron himself). So, I will try my best to remember everything....

As Wilwa has already recounted, we traveled together on a bus from way up North in Canada....well, not WAAAAAAY up North, but North in our province (which is rather cold I might add)....for about nineteen and a half hours. Now I bet most of you would think that this is an incredibly long, and arduous amount of time to be spending with one person on a bus...And usually I would agree. Yet, as most of you know by now, Wilwa and I are actually best friends in reality, yet we hardly get to spend time with each other as our schedule's often conflict. So really, this long bus ride ended up being a wonderful time for us to sit around, chat, catch up, and most of all....SLEEP!! Yet, had my traveling partner been someone else, I don't think I would have had nearly as much fun nor gotten as much sleep as I did. There is a reason why Wilwa and I are best friends: she is a wonderfully awesome, caring, intelligent, and perfectly fun person to be around, as the others have already recounted. She is, in fact, the reason I originally joined the Downs and is also the reason I went to Boston and thus in turn responsible for my return here!! I love her like she is my sister (and if you ask her family, we pretty much are!!) and spent the entire bus ride there with her chatting amiably about things that were going to happen when we got to Boston, and who was going to be meeting us at South Station when we got to Boston, and how we could still not believe we were going to Boston. That was a big one that never really quite sunk in for either of us I believe....

Yet I digress. When we arrived at South Station, about an hour later then expected, we were greeted by the sign --Devin, ++Vanessa (that's right, I live to see another day people!) and the four smiling faces of Boro, Formy, Nienna and Mira, along with a rather...extravagant story told by Mira, one which I will not tell here.

I would go into the story of what I had done once we got back to the apartment, but Wilwa covered that already. And if you also noticed, her and I were not together very much, for as Form has already mentioned, I was part of the cleaning and cooking crew...Which meant I did a lot of grocery shopping and spent a lot of time at the apartment. However, on the few excursions I did manage to go on, there were wonderful stories and with amazing people and amazing memories in each, and I captivated most of them with my camera. If you want to see them, check out the Bostomoot page that's up on Facebook, for I would much rather tell of the amazing people.

Now the best place to start would be the beginning, and that would be Nienna in this case - one of our two lovely hostesses and one of the four amazing people the picked Wilwa and I up at South Station. Ni has got to be one of the sweetest, most caring people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. When I found out that her, Form, Boro and Mira were going to be waking up early to go to the airport to meet some other Downer's that were flying in, I volunteered to go. Yet she had said no. "You're one of the new arrivals, you're not expected to do anything." were her words as I recall. Yet, because of certain early riser *coughFORMcough* , I was up early anyway and accompanied them. Yet I digress....again....After countless WW games together and her yelling at me on Facebook to get my passport, it was amazing to have finally met this incredibly amazing Downer.

Formy was another of the four Downer's that greeted us at the station and was, to be completely honest, nothing of the sort that I had originally imagined him to be. He was better! Smart, witty, funny, and a great personality. Yes, all of this is definitely seen here on the Down's. But in person, it's so much more.....je ne sais quoi for all you Frenchies out there! I will say, out of all the Downer's that were going, he was one of those I was most anxious to meet as for me, he always held an air of mystery whilst I was talking to him, and all I wanted was for this mystery to be solved! And if you want a good laugh, get him to talk about his version of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight!

Now on to the final two who were there to greet us. Let us start with Mira. For me, a rather recent addition to the Barrow Down's family, one that obviously came whilst I was on hiatus...ugh...I mean....on leave of absence :p I knew before we left that there were going to be a few members I had never heard of or talked to before, so this was a rather nerve racking experience for me and I did not quite know what to think when we disembarked and I saw a face that was unfamiliar to me. Yet those fears were quickly dispelled as Mira flew off into a rant. About what shall remain anonymous for the safety of all those there! This crazy, fun, loud, obnoxious, sometimes overbearing, caring, secretly sensitive, beautiful young woman would soon become one of the few people that I spent most of my time with. All of our sparknotes conversations, cleaning/gutting the fridge and freezer out on New Year's Day. And I can't forget the T ride back from the airport after picking up Celuien, Alona and Lari, where Mira attempted to get some well needed sleep. And her pancakes were phenomenal! She was also a part of the cleaning and cooking crew for the duration of the moot. She was also one of the five people that accompanied Wilwa and I to South Station on the Saturday to see us off, which was a rather sad adventure, when we played one last game of Werewolf before catching the bus. And the entire time, she clung to Wilwa's leg, and clung to us as we were trying to get on the bus.

The last one (and this will be the last person I schpeal about for today) that was there to greet us was also one of those five who was with Miraas Wilwa and I departed the moot. Boromir88 has been a long time friend of mine on the Downs and was one of those I was most anxious to meet in person for we co-modded a few Werewolf games in out time together and he and I became rather good friends. He was just as I had always imagined him to be: fun, funny, outgoing, witty and caring all at the same time (something most of us Downer's seem to have in common). He was another one of the few I spent most of my time with, seeing as we were the part of the cleaning and cooking crew. and most of my excursions involved him. Our first excursion to the airport on my very first morning their was one with many laughs, even though we were all ( as in Mira, Form, Ni, Boro and myself) quite exhausted. For just like Mira, Boro decided to try and take a nap on the T ride back to the apartment....And he managed to. Yet as we were passing the Panera, and we were discussing the food there, Boro wakes out of his stupor with a cry of "THEIR CHEESY BROCCOLI IS DELICIOUS!!!" Definitely a memory of epic proportions as we were all close to tears of laughter after this. There was also The Epic Adventure of Boro and Glirdan Getting Lost in Boston ( I think this should be turned into a story book!! :D ) with many laughs for us and laughs at us as we found our way back to the apartment. And as I mentioned earlier, he was one of those who saw Wilwa and I off. And let me tell you, this guy is a softy that made me start balling (don't worry, you're not the only one to blame here :p ) as we were leaving the Station.

Anyways, I think that's a long enough post for now....I'll get to some of the others sometime this weekend....I hope!!

Encaitare

01-08-2010, 04:01 PM

So did Encai. :p

I'm glad you made this connection before I had to. XD

Enca just sat there knitting a hat and asking random questions.

I was crocheting, goshdarnit, I thought we had established this!

I don't think I'm going to make an epically long post about everyone, but I just want to say that each and every person there was fabulous.

Nienna and Brinniel were excellent hostesses and plan-makers!

I was not expecting to encounter musical theatre enthusiasts like Shasta and Glirdan, but hey, that's just how my life seems to roll no matter where I go, and I love them both dearly!

My air-bed sharers Kath and Wilwarin were the best roomies ever! Such sweet girls, both of them.

phantom was a pretty chill guy with a scary good memory for WW games, and it turned out we had similar musical tastes, which was cool.

Formendacil kept blowing my mind with his somewhat suggestive sense of humor, which I had not been expecting at all. One of the more hilarious surprises of the trip. :p

Rune was a darling as always, and tolerated my teasing of him with great patience (or maybe it was just because he was stuck under other people for most of it.

Mirandir was a sassy lady and a lot of fun! <3

Boromir was so charming and a great cook -- while I didn't get a chance to try the turkey, his cheesy eggs were dee-lish!

Mac and Rikae were just lovely people all around, and little Annika was a joy to have there. Someday she will dominate us all with the power of cell phones!

Diamond and Celuien were both pretty quiet but very sweet. :)

Fea was awesome and gorgeous, I wish you had been feeling a little better, girl! Next time, right?

Lairen and Alona were two lovely girls who I sadly did not get to spend a lot of time with, but it was a pleasure to meet them, and I'm hoping to get to know them better next time.

I love my Boston family and wanted to stay in Apartment 23 forever and ever.

alonariel

01-08-2010, 04:11 PM

Then him and I and Form decided to go on a little excursion and ended up at Barnes&Noble, which was amazing and I could have stayed there the whole week.

Wasn't the B&N there amazing?! I probably could have set up shop in one of the many stacks and been content to live there for a very long time.

We eventually headed home because the Wereduckling was tired, but she had been marvelously well behaved, the best baby ever! :D

Agreed! She puts all the five-year-olds I work with to sore shame!

Mira, Alona, Form and I took the T down to the Public Library to meet Nienna who was finishing work, and we had a nice little lunch. Then Form was kind enough to give me a quick tour of the older part of the library, because it was amazingly gorgeous and I could have stayed there all week. Then we met back up with the girls and went off to a comic book/cd/movie store and afterwards Alona and I found a little shop where we both spent alot of money and Nienna's feet got all wet and cold so we had to buy her new socks and Alona was put on Puddle Watch and then we headed home!

That store Chemistry was absolutely terrible for my bank account, but now every time I look at my new shiny wallet or the couple DVDs I bought at Newbury Comics, I smile, think of you guys and it's so worth it - though it does make me sad that there are no puddles here in Lafayette that I can spy out and warn people from stepping in.

Then we all stayed up late once again and had a great time, and Shasta totally messed with me during a WW game and I won't ever trust him again. :p The next morning, bright and early, Mira, Boro, Form, Rune, Shasta and Alona all came along with Glirdan and I to the bus station to see us off. We got there quite early so we had some breakfast and then our goodbyes were heartbreaking. We couldn't stop hugging each other and didn't want to leave at all, but we were finally forced too. We of course immediately began to text each other and continued to do so randomly for the next 20 hours of our bus ride.

That was SUCH a hard goodbye. I think I deliberately made myself sleep for the next several hours after you guys left so I could avoid balling my eyes out some more.

Feanor of the Peredhil

01-08-2010, 04:38 PM

Fea was awesome and gorgeous, I wish you had been feeling a little better, girl! Next time, right?

I'm glad I managed to pull off a bit of awesome and gorgeous while sick. For those who don't know, I was diagnosed with strep throat the day after Christmas and had to delay my travel plans until I was no longer contagious. Finally starting to feel better, I made my way to Bean Town and caught the worst cold of my life and spent the rest of the Moot laryngitic and barely conscious. When I say barely conscious, I mean that this (http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs194.snc3/20165_107314612612276_100000012124034_191987_59968 50_n.jpg) is a perfect synecdoche of my Moot experience: surrounded by incredible people who were having fun... and not quite getting the full experience due to being metaphorically and literally asleep.

:rolleyes:

Next moot? I will NOT be sick. And hopefully I'll also not be required to be gone from before dawn 'til long after dark each day.

You guys were so wonderful for humoring sick-and-pathetic Fea.

Can you imagine? A group of Barrowdowners together for days, and Fea is conspicuously silent.

wilwarin538

01-08-2010, 06:17 PM

Next moot? I will NOT be sick. And hopefully I'll also not be required to be gone from before dawn 'til long after dark each day.

You guys were so wonderful for humoring sick-and-pathetic Fea.

Can you imagine? A group of Barrowdowners together for days, and Fea is conspicuously silent.

It was really aweful, and terribly depressing. Though you did still manage to look lovely despite your sickly state.

I won't let you be sick next time, you were one of the ones I did not get enough time with, and I won't allow that a second time. ;)

Mirandir

01-08-2010, 08:16 PM

It was really aweful, and terribly depressing. Though you did still manage to look lovely despite your sickly state.

I won't let you be sick next time, you were one of the ones I did not get enough time with, and I won't allow that a second time. ;)

And if her being nice doesn't do it, I WILL BEAT YOU INTO HEALTH. <3

Err...I mean...I'm not violent... :smokin:

Glirdan

01-08-2010, 08:21 PM

And if her being nice doesn't do it, I WILL BEAT YOU INTO HEALTH. <3

Err...I mean...I'm not violent... :smokin:

Haha!! And if THAT doesn't work, we'll take another trip to the seven eleven!!! :D

Kath

01-08-2010, 08:40 PM

Err...I mean...I'm not violent... :smokin:

Whatever you say wifey!

Diamond18

01-08-2010, 11:33 PM

I'm impressed to see the posts recapping everything, but I don't dare try to attempt it. I think I prefer to communicate in knowing winks with the Downers who were there and lord it over everyone else. I mean, what?

No really, it was an amazing week, very intense for me because I was so out of my element, but I don't think I could adequately put the whole experience into words. This was the first time I met everyone (with the exception of Rune, who visited me two years ago). Some people I felt I knew rather well, whether from interacting on the 'Downs in my active days, or from LiveJournal, Facebook, or Instant Messaging. There were a few who I didn't know well, and some I didn't know at all.

I felt as if I "knew" Kath, Brinn, Fea, phantom, Form, Celuien, Encai, Mac and Rikae from various interactions. I <3 you all already, and am so glad I got to meet you in the real live physical world.

I recalled Glirdan, Shasta, and Boro from 'Downs interaction, but knew absolutely nothing about who they are in real life. Boro in particular was nothing like I imagined him from the 'Downs! I imagined someone older and far more serious. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that he is, in fact, awesome. :) Glirdan and Shasta were amazing as well. I <3 you guys.

That leaves Nienna, Wilwa, alona, Lari, and Mira as people who were essentially Brand New to me upon meeting them in real life. They were awesome. I must admit that I was terrified of Mira in the beginning, probably because the first day I walked in on a conversation/argument about her having punched John and then Rune. :p But Rune should be punched whenever possible, so it's all good.

Diamond18 was not exactly what I was expecting. I'm not sure what I was expecting, because she looked like Diamond's pictures, could well have written Diamond's LiveJournal, and definitely seemed to recognize Boro and I when we picked her up. Unfortunately for getting to know her, she's a bit of a quiet Downer in a party that had a few loudmouths *looks guilty* Diamond definitely belongs on the list of "people I didn't get to spend much time with."

Correction: I recognized YOU. ;) Even after Boro introduced himself I didn't know who he was, due to my being deaf from the plane's descent. So there was an awkward few moments of "Yay Michael! Aaaaaand... other dude..." before it registered. Anyway, yes, the great not-secret of Diamond18 is that she is really a shy, quiet, socially awkward person in RL. I can do well in a smallish group, but not so much in a group of 20.... That may be the one thing I really regret about the trip. Many people left before I felt like I'd gotten a chance to have a proper conversation with them. Some people I barely talked to at all, and others I talked to only in the big group setting. While I did a lot of quietly observing I would have loved to have interacted more. But then, it did not help that I was still very sick the first few days and had painful sinus headaches much of the time, so was more or less out of it. Still, I very glad that I dragged myself to the airport and toughed it out. It was so worth it.

PS It was really difficult to convert everyone into Downer screen names for this post!

Mirandir

01-09-2010, 01:01 AM

I must admit that I was terrified of Mira in the beginning, probably because the first day I walked in on a conversation/argument about her having punched John and then Rune. :p But Rune should be punched whenever possible, so it's all good.

Erm...have I apologized for that yet? Not that I actually remember it happening, but I apologize for terrifying you straight off. While I'm making apologizes, sorry Glirdan and wilwa for putting you through that rather...erm...intense rant five minutes after you got off the train.

Rune totally deserved it though. :p

Diamond18

01-09-2010, 06:37 PM

No worries. It's funny to me now.

wilwarin538

01-09-2010, 07:01 PM

While I'm making apologizes, sorry Glirdan and wilwa for putting you through that rather...erm...intense rant five minutes after you got off the train.

Don't even, it was hilarious. :D <3

Nienna

01-09-2010, 09:48 PM

I’d like to begin by saying that these two weeks were probably the best I’ve ever had. They were definitely the best that I can remember. It was at times stressful and saying goodbyes were terrible but it was definitely fabulous and epic.

Now a list (this feels a little bit like WW) in order of appearance:

Form – was and is as fabulous as ever. We met in June and have been chatting online so he’s on the list of people I know but was super excited to see anyway. I don’t believe we ever got lost and I’m sure he’s happy that he didn’t have to help carry a couch this time. He was a big help with menial tasks like peeling potatoes and he fabulously cooked dinner for me, Mira, and Boro on their first night here. Though he did need step-by-step instructions on how to cook pasta (http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs162.snc3/18965_260096635934_740905934_4760003_3010664_n.jpg ) and also needed a frantic “OMG MICHAEL YOU DIDN’T TURN OFF THE STOVE” (our stove is gas so there was an open flame). He also sang us the Canadian National Anthem. It was epic.

Boro – got a little lost at the airport and had to call me so that we could say that he pretty much walked past us. We also only required 3 forms of picture ID so that we would know it was really him. I was instructed and asked quite nicely to wear red to the airport so I indulged and was greeted with a Boro wearing a sign that read: “Looking for the Lady in Red”. After we brought him home and got him settled in we went out for lunch and then to the store where we tried to purchase some alcohol but had to come back because Formy forgot his passport and they wouldn’t take a strange Albertan drivers license. We then had to walk back up and down the hill to my apartment but thankfully it was really warm outside. We even managed to make it back in time to go pick Mira up from the bus station. The four of us (Boro, Mira, Form, and I) were also a happy family and had a pretty epic grocery shopping trip (http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs162.snc3/18965_260096630934_740905934_4760002_3560527_n.jpg ). Boro was our fabulous cook. He made wonderful turkey and chicken and was pretty much amazing. He also spent more time than was necessary cleaning (not that I’m complaining at all… I really appreciated it). Boro was nice, caring, funny, and a great listener. He’s on the list of people I’m making move to Boston just to be near me… which happens to be a pretty large list.

Mira – is one of my lovely Elmira people and I love her to pieces. I was really excited we got to spend a lot of quality time together and hopefully we didn’t get too clique-y on people. When we got to the bus station to pick up Mira her bus was running a bit late so we just hung out and then she arrived and we glomped (http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs162.snc3/18965_260089895934_740905934_4759966_4035428_n.jpg ). For those of you who do not know what glomping is there is running and jumping and hugging involved. Form and Boro decided that it would be fun to mock us so they glomped as well. We were not impressed. Over the course of the meet we had some wonderful chats and she was part of the epically fabulous cleaning and cooking crew. Her pancakes were fabulous though I do take a bit of credit at it is my favorite pancake mix which I made her buy and bring.

Rune – was next to arrive and he effectively ended our “family” that you’ve heard mention. Mira was a bit sad but he quickly found his way into our hearts. We picked him up at the airport (http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs162.snc3/18965_260105190934_740905934_4760042_1090221_n.jpg ) and Mira and Boro threw a football (Tony Jr.) around while we waited. His plane was a little delayed so thankfully we checked the status before we left to go get him. Sadly Rune and I didn’t get very much one-on-one time but from what interactions we’ve had he’s an amazing and caring person. He very kindly brought me a few books from Denmark and it was very touching that he thought to bring me something. He quickly became known as the Dane or even the Danish (hehehe) and it seemed like he fit in with us quite well. Rune is actually still in the states and stopping back here again before flying out so I look forward to a little more time to get to know him.

Kath – was picked up at the airport by Brinn who was flying in at pretty much the same time. Our first interaction, then, wasn’t until they arrived at the apartment. Even though it has been mentioned a lot I’m going to reiterate how amazing and wonderful Kath is. She has a fabulous sense of humor and gets along well with everyone. She also has absolutely no problem lying to your face, which makes WW and other games with her tremendous fun. Kath also has a fabulous way of putting Rune in his place and as soon as she arrived it was hysterical watching our Europeans interact (http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs182.snc3/18965_260112380934_740905934_4760050_5380803_n.jpg ). We’ve also picked up many of her fabulously British phrases and words because they are just more fun. At the beginning of the Meet we were having a serious debate about Soda vs. Pop and soda was inching out just a tad bit when Kath chimed in with “fizzy drink” … needless to say that even though there was only one person who called it fizzy drink that became the new term. Kath is a lovely person and she now has a special place in my heart.

/Part One... images courtesy of Form.