I met a fellow BDer!! - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Brinniel · 07-03-2008, 12:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Formendacil

I'm pretty sure I speak for the vast majority of Downers in saying I'm "green with envy" (which is funny since... Downers are supposedly always green). To add a peculiar irony to my own situation, if I were to make a concerted effort with the resources of time and money available to me this summer, guess who's there on the short list of 'Downers within plausible reach? Yup, Brinniel.

How about it, Brinn? Care to make me lucky #13* in your quest to pass Esty?

Funny how things work out. When a simple comment becomes something real...

Last weekend Formendacil took that 16.5 hour drive and came to visit me all the way from Edmonton. Even better, he arrived just in time for my birthday so I got to celebrate with a fellow Downer. If Formy wants to share a link to his blog, he make a pretty good summary of the events that occurred over the weekend (which included miniature golf, laser tag, visiting the zoo, watching Prince Caspian, and going to a play).

I admit I was a little more nervous about meeting Formendacil mainly because I didn't know him quite as well as some other Downers and suddenly here I was taking him into my home and letting him meet my parents. But no need to worry- like all other BDer meetings, this one went exceptionally well. Formendacil is a very polite young man and laid back. I could tell he was nervous at first, but that didn't last long. We got along well and had no problem having conversations on just about anything. My mom commented that she thinks Formendacil will make an excellent priest and I 100% agree. Also...for my birthday, he gave me this nice metal sign personalised with my screenname and a fairy. It was so wonderful and thoughtful, I can't help but thank him again for such a great gift. And I'm happy to hear that our meeting has revived his thirst for the BD.

I'm sure you all want to see a picture. (Note: I thought it'd be funny if I put on the ever-so-famous hat. Gotta keep up with tradition.

)

Formendacil · 07-03-2008, 10:22 PM

I was most definitely nervous by the time I reached Brinniel's place, and I blame the long car ride, since I wasn't nervous beforehand, but rather excited instead. However, there's something about being alone in a car, in a foreign country, going somewhere I've never been, for more than half an hour or so, that seems to draw out my paranoid side... by the time I reached Brinniel after a long (but otherwise enjoyable, aside from the paranoia) drive, I was practically shaking. Of course, I also hadn't eaten much...

It was indeed an awesome weekend. Brinniel is quite the concerned hostess, and made certain that at no point would I have been justified in saying I was bored. She was unable, unfortunately, to schedule in weather other than scorching hot, but that ended up not being too much of a problem.

It is decidedly strange to be talking with one's mouth rather than one's fingers about things like Werewolf and RPGs, especially when my normal response from people is one of edging away awkwardly.

Of course, now I want to meet as many 'Downers as possible, but finances and time (to say nothing of my location, which is certainly remote enough--though not that bad if one had the aforesaid time and money) make it rather unlikely this year... though I'm percolating with ideas for next summer.

All in all, a highlight of the summer. Reading this thread in the past, there's always been a palpable sense of how fun it is to hang out with like-minded, kindred spirits, and also of how genuinely nice 'Downers seem to be in person. Meeting Brinniel certainly proved both these impressions true.

Oh, and my blog isn't too hard to find... one just needs to swipe their cursor over my signature.

TheGreatElvenWarrior · 07-03-2008, 11:44 PM

I want to meet someone from the Barrow-Downs, I have started compiling a list of who I would like to meet... another thing that I want to do that will probably never happen...

Anyway, the only Downer I've ever met is Laurinque... But that is because she is my best friend. Of course the only reason she is a Barrow-Downer is because I told her to do it... and I succeeded!

Nogrod · 08-11-2008, 03:23 PM

As teasers I will send you three short clips of our 7-Downers meeting in Finland. I'm sure there will be some pics & such pouring in soon...

It all started well and people were so cute as you can hear.

But then it started getting ugly and the fights started brewing, like this one between Greenie and Legate.

But in the end it all went out of control as one might have guessed... I mean all those werewolf-players in a same small hut in the middle of forest for that long time. Well this sure was inevitable - although I'm not so sure as to what happened in the end. It sounds like they became like even more terrible monsters from the times before time and creation...

Kath · 08-11-2008, 05:02 PM

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?!

Lindale · 08-11-2008, 06:00 PM

I think there's a bio major in my school who's a very rabid fan of BD. *off to cyberstalk*

Honestly though, I don't expect to meet too many here in this country that does not even know too much about British lit except Harry Potter.

Nogrod · 07-14-2009, 02:45 PM

Just looking at the old posts here from last year...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kath

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?!

Says 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

Gwathagor · 08-11-2008, 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nogrod

As teasers I will send you three short clips of our 7-Downers meeting in Finland. I'm sure there will be some pics & such pouring in soon...

It all started well and people were so cute as you can hear.

But then it started getting ugly and the fights started brewing, like this one between Greenie and Legate.

But in the end it all went out of control as one might have guessed... I mean all those werewolf-players in a same small hut in the middle of forest for that long time. Well this sure was inevitable - although I'm not so sure as to what happened in the end. It sounds like they became like even more terrible monsters from the times before time and creation...

Blast...the TARDIS doesn't seem to be translating for me today. I can't understand a word of this - especially that last clip.

There were words in that cry.

Brinniel · 08-12-2008, 12:05 AM

Ha, that last clip especially made me crack up. It sounds like it started off as wolves and gradually turned into monkeys and apes. Then at the very end, I think a tiger might've eaten a wolf...or maybe it was a hyena. Apparently whenever Downers are placed into the Finnish woods, they turn primitive...

But really, listening to those clips made me miss all seven of you a million times more. I have to go back, and I'm looking to see if there's any possibility that I can within the next year...

Btw, I'm hoping to see tons of pictures soon, either here or on Facebook.

Aganzir · 08-12-2008, 05:58 AM

So, as some of you might know, Rune and Legate just spent about a week in Finland.

Lommy and I came back to Helsinki a day after Legate arrived. The first night we spent at Nog's, then we went to Volo's house since his family was away. We had to wake up terribly early, but everybody wanted to come to fetch Rune (who arrived on Monday) from the airport anyway. In the end there were seven of us in one car, and it was neither quite comfortable nor legal.

Most of the time we (Nog, Lommy, Greenie, Volo, Rune, Legate, me and a friend of ours, Annina) were at Nog's family's summer cottage in the middle of nowhere: we played an RPG in which the characters got minor calf wounds and fell off trees and broke their bones all the time, fought with staffs and other interesting weapons (in one of the clips Nog posted, Greenie and Legate were just fighting and accidentally broke a glass), played cards, pushed Lommy's nose, played live werewolf, misheard things &c. It was great fun.

We returned to Helsinki on Saturday, pretty tired - I don't think we ever went to sleep before five o'clock in the morning. On Sunday we met also dancing spawn and had therefore a meeting of eight downers. Rune and Legate left on Monday.

Rune almost broke my nail, but otherwise he was very nice.

Also, his sense of humour was great, but that was what I expected anyway.

Legate was smaller (and stronger) than I had thought him to be, and he provided us with a lot of amusement by pronouncing Finnish words.

Also spawn was sweet - it's a pity that she hasn't been more active lately.

Anyway, it's less than 24 hours since they left, and I miss them already (and you too, Brinn).

And we have a plenty of pictures - I'm sure they will be posted somewhere soon.

07-03-2008, 10:22 PM	#2
Formendacil Dead Serious Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Perched on Thangorodrim's towers. Posts: 3,328	I was most definitely nervous by the time I reached Brinniel's place, and I blame the long car ride, since I wasn't nervous beforehand, but rather excited instead. However, there's something about being alone in a car, in a foreign country, going somewhere I've never been, for more than half an hour or so, that seems to draw out my paranoid side... by the time I reached Brinniel after a long (but otherwise enjoyable, aside from the paranoia) drive, I was practically shaking. Of course, I also hadn't eaten much... It was indeed an awesome weekend. Brinniel is quite the concerned hostess, and made certain that at no point would I have been justified in saying I was bored. She was unable, unfortunately, to schedule in weather other than scorching hot, but that ended up not being too much of a problem. It is decidedly strange to be talking with one's mouth rather than one's fingers about things like Werewolf and RPGs, especially when my normal response from people is one of edging away awkwardly. Of course, now I want to meet as many 'Downers as possible, but finances and time (to say nothing of my location, which is certainly remote enough--though not that bad if one had the aforesaid time and money) make it rather unlikely this year... though I'm percolating with ideas for next summer. All in all, a highlight of the summer. Reading this thread in the past, there's always been a palpable sense of how fun it is to hang out with like-minded, kindred spirits, and also of how genuinely nice 'Downers seem to be in person. Meeting Brinniel certainly proved both these impressions true. Oh, and my blog isn't too hard to find... one just needs to swipe their cursor over my signature. __________________ I prefer history, true or feigned. Last edited by Formendacil; 07-25-2008 at 09:29 PM. Reason: Prepositional Clause addition clarification

07-03-2008, 11:44 PM	#3
TheGreatElvenWarrior Mighty Quill Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Walking off to look for America Posts: 2,230	I want to meet someone from the Barrow-Downs, I have started compiling a list of who I would like to meet... another thing that I want to do that will probably never happen... Anyway, the only Downer I've ever met is Laurinque... But that is because she is my best friend. Of course the only reason she is a Barrow-Downer is because I told her to do it... and I succeeded! __________________ The Party Doesn't Start Until You're Dead.

08-11-2008, 03:23 PM	#4
Nogrod Flame of the Ainulindalë Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Wearing rat's coat, crowskin, crossed staves in a field behaving as the wind behaves Posts: 9,308	Just a few soundbites As teasers I will send you three short clips of our 7-Downers meeting in Finland. I'm sure there will be some pics & such pouring in soon... It all started well and people were so cute as you can hear. But then it started getting ugly and the fights started brewing, like this one between Greenie and Legate. But in the end it all went out of control as one might have guessed... I mean all those werewolf-players in a same small hut in the middle of forest for that long time. Well this sure was inevitable - although I'm not so sure as to what happened in the end. It sounds like they became like even more terrible monsters from the times before time and creation... __________________ Upon the hearth the fire is red Beneath the roof there is a bed; But not yet weary are our feet...

08-11-2008, 05:02 PM	#5
Kath Everlasting Whiteness Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Perusing the laminated book of dreams Posts: 4,533	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?! __________________ “If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”

08-11-2008, 06:00 PM	#6
Lindale Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: midway upon... in a forest dark Posts: 975	I think there's a bio major in my school who's a very rabid fan of BD. off to cyberstalk Honestly though, I don't expect to meet too many here in this country that does not even know too much about British lit except Harry Potter. __________________ The heart does things for reasons Reason itself cannot comprehend. - Blaise Pascal Legal Madness.

08-01-2009, 03:06 PM	#8
skip spence shadow of a doubt Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Back on the streets Posts: 1,125	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 __________________ "You can always come back, but you can't come back all the way"* ~ Bob Dylan

08-12-2008, 12:05 AM	#10
Brinniel Reflection of Darkness Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Polishing the stars. Well, somebody has to do it; they're looking a little bit dull. Posts: 2,983	Ha, that last clip especially made me crack up. It sounds like it started off as wolves and gradually turned into monkeys and apes. Then at the very end, I think a tiger might've eaten a wolf...or maybe it was a hyena. Apparently whenever Downers are placed into the Finnish woods, they turn primitive... But really, listening to those clips made me miss all seven of you a million times more. I have to go back, and I'm looking to see if there's any possibility that I can within the next year... Btw, I'm hoping to see tons of pictures soon, either here or on Facebook. __________________ Nolite te bastardes carborundorum

08-12-2008, 05:58 AM	#11
Aganzir Woman of Secret Shadow Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: in hollow halls beneath the fells Posts: 4,511	A very short summary So, as some of you might know, Rune and Legate just spent about a week in Finland. Lommy and I came back to Helsinki a day after Legate arrived. The first night we spent at Nog's, then we went to Volo's house since his family was away. We had to wake up terribly early, but everybody wanted to come to fetch Rune (who arrived on Monday) from the airport anyway. In the end there were seven of us in one car, and it was neither quite comfortable nor legal. Most of the time we (Nog, Lommy, Greenie, Volo, Rune, Legate, me and a friend of ours, Annina) were at Nog's family's summer cottage in the middle of nowhere: we played an RPG in which the characters got minor calf wounds and fell off trees and broke their bones all the time, fought with staffs and other interesting weapons (in one of the clips Nog posted, Greenie and Legate were just fighting and accidentally broke a glass), played cards, pushed Lommy's nose, played live werewolf, misheard things &c. It was great fun. We returned to Helsinki on Saturday, pretty tired - I don't think we ever went to sleep before five o'clock in the morning. On Sunday we met also dancing spawn and had therefore a meeting of eight downers. Rune and Legate left on Monday. Rune almost broke my nail, but otherwise he was very nice. Also, his sense of humour was great, but that was what I expected anyway. Legate was smaller (and stronger) than I had thought him to be, and he provided us with a lot of amusement by pronouncing Finnish words. Also spawn was sweet - it's a pity that she hasn't been more active lately. Anyway, it's less than 24 hours since they left, and I miss them already (and you too, Brinn). And we have a plenty of pictures - I'm sure they will be posted somewhere soon. __________________ He bit me, and I was not gentle.

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