Md part nove, et fini...2009 is done - and here is the final recap

[Michele/Columbina/Stupina]

I am slowly recuperating from my trip back in time those past nine
weekends. The last one was a doozy. It has taken me this long to
finally capture all the memories from the weekend, so consider it my
holiday gift to you. There will be many details forgotten,
misremembered, or missed entirely. I apologize in advance for any
errors, but there is only so much I can cram into these...so away we
go to that last weekend of 2009...

NOT AGAIN?!?
So they are threatening rain again, but we don’t know when exactly. I
get to site and park near the road as per my normal pattern on rain
days, just to be safe. Once there, I head into Gatehouse. It had
rained the day before, so the stage is damp, but not drenched. I am
able to stretch on the bottom level. I warm up and focus a bit more
time on the physical as the week has been stressful and there is more
tension in my neck and muscles than normal. I do my shoulder stand
into putting my legs over my head and feel my back spasm and be even
tighter than when I started...Joy. This will make the corset fun.
Because they have threatened imminent rain, I braid instead of doing
the normal hair, but I do make the ringlets, as the weather is just
not looking bad.

DEFYING WEATHER
I head to the costume house and Trinket is in early as there is much
preparation. She and I were working hard on Friday to get material
ready for both days and she still has work to do, including a pumpkin
carving. I head in and, as the weather is lovely, humid, and warm,
change into Stupina. I take out the Free Hugs sign as I am thinking
that the crowd will be smallish and that might give me things to do. I
take everything over to the White Hart stopping at Jezzard’s to
discuss an item they have crafted for me and some other things they
are working on for me and my thick heavy hair.

PLUS ONE
Trinket and I set up sound and add in Scapino as he will be joining us
for one more show this weekend. Sound check is odd and we can’t get
it exact as the moisture in the air is heavy and it warps the way the
sound moves. We finish and I head to morning meeting. Nymblewyck
hands me something and I head right back to White Hart to drop it off
with Tiger. On the way, I pass Trinket who asks why I am heading
back. I say something vague about needing props. She bought it, which
is a good thing as this was part of a surprise for her the next day.
I head back and sit down for morning meeting. We are all confused
about the weather and one station said it would rain a bit around 2
and then maybe after 8. This would be perfect for me, but we won’t
know till it happens. Lots of information shared and preparations for
the weekend, then BEEP and we are off to front gate. I stop to drop
off and pick up things again and as I get to the gate, I see the storm
clouds coming in. I hit the privy, but take my mask with me, which I
normally don’t do.

CRAP
When I come out, I face up, and with one minute to gate opening, the
rain starts. (insert many expletives). I take my free hugs sign and
put it on my head. It’s wide enough to give sufficient protection to
the mask as long as the rain doesn’t get crazy. Wesley and I chat
about weather and other amusements and the gates open. BOOM. I stand
and watch the crowd come in...it’s small, because of the rain, but
they are prepared. The grounds are a little sloppy, but nothing bad.
I am just very annoyed about the wet. I can let the sign balance on my
head, which allows me to wave, but I have to hold it when I hug
anyone. A few ask me about my face and if it is protected, and I
assure them it is, or I will leave if it is not.

ON AGAIN, OFF AGAIN
The rain mostly stops and I am able to bring the sign down to actually
hug people. Of course, because of the threat of rain, the sign is a
blessing as I have to move it from top of my head to be visible on
various occasions. The air is more comfortable now. I am wandering
the streets as sitting to do bits is not a great idea. It’s warm
still, but not the steamy quality the morning had and thank god, not
as cold as the previous weekend’s wet day.

REHEARSALS
I head backstage a little early (the weather is still iffy) after
stopping by Jezzard’s to discuss some pieces they are working on.
Then, backstage and remove my face. This year, the mask has been
pushing at my teeth a bit, so it’s a bit of a relief when I can take
the mask off and press my teeth back into their normal position. My
lip is also a bit numb and there is a crease on my forehead, but all
that will go away momentarily. I put away the face and we are joined
by SMAdam who has his bodhran and is here to rehearse for the show
tomorrow. We are working on a new song and need his skills for
support as in this one, the drum will be helpful, and he luckily
already knew the song. We run it a couple of times and those who are
backstage are impressed. Just as we are finishing it, another very
special sooper surprise guest arrives and we run though the other 3-
person song for the final show. This one is a bit more amusing to
those listening. They tell us what their favorite verses are of our
more demented material. This makes me happy.

SWITCHING
Today, I am wearing my turquoise blues for the last time, and since
there is a bit of a chill in the air, I decide to wear both skirts,
since tomorrow I won’t be in blue (shudder). It’s a fun look of
layered blue. I stick with the turquoise shirt and blue pantaloons,
since you can never have enough blue. Once I finish the changeover,
Trinket and I go over song/show lists for the day. I go to head out
stopping at DragonWings to pick up Baby Stupina who has recovered from
surgery. She has been totally restrung and looks fabulous. I speed
walk her back to her home base as my hands are full of props and other
things. I get to Tiger’s at record speed and turn to stop at Noblesse
to drop off a bag, then to Tiger’s again to drop off my mug and take
Baby Stupina out for a stroll. Not a long one as I haven’t eaten and
am getting hungry. I walk her back, get my water and head out for a
quick meal. Steak. Quick, simple and protein-y.

DRIBBLING WOULD BE BETTER
I get the steak and go to sit with a few patrons. They are new to
faire and are enjoying the smaller crowds. I tell them this is
abnormal, and it is all because of the threatened rain, which appears
to have left. Whew. Backstage I have been told we keep missing the
passing storms which all head to the north of us. Let’s hope it stays
that way. I head to the pub to get mic’ed up and as the show before
us is finishing, we notice that there is a sudden heaviness to the
drizzle. Optimistically, Mirth says, “Hey, it’s lightening up”...which
was not so. His cheerful blessing has cursed us and by the time we
hit the stage, the rain is steady. Luckily, we have our own mics, so
we turn off and cover the stage mics and stand up under the cover.

SHE’S BLUE
We have the set list with us and start our show, editing as needed.
Trinket comes up late and in blue, cause she likes me and wants to be
like me...::shiver:: We head up to dry ground to continue singing.
Once the first song is done, we see there is a dryish area and try to
head to the main stage...by the end of the second song, it’s raining
again and back up we go. We play this game a lot, but by the end of
the show, the rain has stopped and we offer a dryer stage to the
Rogues.

SOMEONE HATE US
We greet a few patrons who have come to say “Hi”, but as the audience
today is small, the crowd is not crazy. Soon enough, we can head
out. I take out Baby Stupina, do some wandering and see everyone on
the streets, or sort of, as I don’t go far. I head back to get mic’ed
up for the second show. And the rain starts...and gets heavy. The
rain really didn’t like the Pyrates as it always seemed to start
pouring on them. By the time our show should be starting, the deluge
is intense and the sound guy is rushing the stage to turn the power
off. Well, there goes that set list. We de-mic and head up. We call
to the audience to ask which side wants us on their side more as we
can’t sing from the center. We ask the left and get only a few
reactions. We turn to the right and they scream. We tell the left we
are going right, and they begin to boo. Um, sorry, you weren’t loud
enough. We did this before and you are regulars...you should be ready
if you want us over there.

FIGHTING DISRESPECT
We tell them to come over and a few actually do, but a number of them
decide they would rather grumble and pout. We begin by taking requests
on our side. The Captain’s Daughter is first and as we begin, I hear
“MacIntyre” being yelled by the left. Yes, over the rain and stress
from no sound system, we now have to sing OVER the “audience” on the
other side of the pub so this side, who encouraged us, can hear
us. ::Sarcasm:: thanks, left ::sarcasm off:: We continue to bellow
the all-request show (and luckily don’t hear any other songs coming
from left) and by the end the rain has slowed significantly...but
picks up again. It’s cosy and those that are nearby, even those who
clearly haven’t seen us before, are pleasantly responsive. Midway
through There Was an Old Woman, Trinket and I switch sides as she
keeps bouncing from her spider. It’s not something we normally do,
but it seemed apropos today and amusing. Not sure if anyone else found
it funny, but we liked it.

NEW GOALS
When we finish, my abs are aching from the intensity of the projection
and my throat is tired from belting so hard. Bleah. Licorice,
water...not from the sky, and we clear space for the Hooligans. I put
on the bouncing hat of dryness and head out. This time, I head over to
The House of Musical Traditions. A few years ago, I thought of
getting a bodhran, but I wasn’t playing music at the time and really
knew nothing about them. Not that I know too much now, but I am in a
better place to learn. I head over and talk to them about potential
drums. I figure we cannot rely on having SMAdam everywhere we go, so
we have to be self-sufficient. I have a hard time hearing the drums
as the weather is so damp, when suddenly staff has to run out to
change the flow of the flood that is about to pour into the shop.
Joy. The one staff person is holding a drum under the warm heated
lamp to see if he can dry it enough for comparison. After a few more
tests, I choose the one I want to get and pay for it. They take it up
into the loft for me to get tomorrow.

DAG NABBIT
As I head over to pay, I see a broken mug on the counter. I don’t see
mine...then I look again, Someone has knocked my mug off the counter,
broken it, and said nothing, just left. Great. I pick up my broken
empty mug and head out to the Pyrate Camp to find out what is going to
happen tonight. It’s still on again off again rain and we are
supposed to start the show early today, so let’s see how that
happens. We get to places and I head to the back of the house to get
the ukuleles for the second song. We all find hooks to put our
instruments so they are off the wet ground. Jack has found a patron,
Anna, who he brings on stage, fills her drink, and puts a HUGE
umbrella in her hands to hold for the show...the ENTIRE show....all 80
minutes of it.

PUB SING SWITCHES
So our first song was going to be in the house, which now that the
system is up, we could do, but it turns out Mirth was too enthusiastic
and the system is already broken down. He even took the plug that
SMAdam needed to plug his system in (since it was ours). Oh crap, I
run to get that and bring it back. Once I do that, it turns out that
SMAdam found another way and didn’t need it after all. Oh well. Now,
we head up for Health to the Company and the ladies sing from the dry
area after the Pyrates got soaked. Drake is urging us forward, but
with 9 women’s voices, we don’t need to get so near the mics. Soon
after we are scheduled to dance on tables. We have cleared the 3
tables under the awning and I take one, Trinket takes a clear wet one
and Rose decides to go “Flashdance” and dance in the pouring rain on
the ground. It all works except for the drunk women who ALSO want to
join us on the tables (not including Malle, she was supposed to be
there). Eowyn has to keep telling them to get down because if one of
us falls, there is insurance, but if a patron does, we don’t.

CHANGES IN THE WEATHER
For the first Interpreters song, we decide to switch to Caviar and not
run through the audience. We sing a bit with Anna and I do a bit of a
bump with her in the song. I decided (as did some others) that she was
helping us out so much, we should play with her and let her be even
more involved with the show, cause seriously, we could not have done
it without her. As I am standing at the back of the stage with all
the other performers (since it was so bloody wet out there and I
didn’t want to stand out in it) I hold Skivee’s guitar up as he goes
into the rain, to keep it dry, and I look toward the lights. You can
see how heavy the rain is reflected in the light making it’s way to
the stage. The audience is grey from the drenching drops. It almost
stops and then starts up again. Jack picks on the person on stage who
said “Oh, we don’t need Anna now, it’s stopping” before the second
deluge wave hit.

A LITTLE DRY
Right before our second song, it finally mostly stops. Trinket and I
have been spending most of the show trying to figure out which
instruments were coming out and if and – and - and...ya know. I am
able to bring down both ukuleles and we head to the stage to do our
full routine. It was nice to see Jack smiling a bit as Trinket plays
“her part.” Once done, back we go and seal the instruments back in
their cases. There are more songs and the pellets of rain are
suddenly not as thick, then not visible at all. We have made it
through the rain, Anna can put her arms down, and we complete the last
song almost dry. Once the show is over, we squish back to the costume
house, taking the back route, which is drier and somewhat better lit.

WHERE TO - TO EAT
We get in to change and the dressing rooms are muddy and grimy from
the weather. At least the flooding is gone and you can actually get to
the rooms. I try to change quickly, but being one of the last ones in
the room, I am running latish. I head out to find a group heading to
Double T and I join them. We end up building an odd “L” shaped table
as people arrive late. I get food that was better than some expected,
but it still does not fill me with glee. I really have to be in the
mood for Double T and I wasn’t. I have them pack most of my food to
go, hoping I will want it more later. Then, home, as tomorrow is a
long day.

THE LAST MORNING
Ghoster is staying over at my house so that we can drive in together.
I have made some convoluted arrangements to get home after the show is
over as I won’t feel safe to drive. I drive to site and head inside
while he sleeps in the car. I get to Gatehouse and start to stretch
out and start a vocal warm up. It’s a bit chilly, so both things are
important. I am finding it a bit harder to focus today. I go to get
changed and start to head out with many missions. The first, on the
way out, is to leave a metal hairpiece and pay for a second one, which
I will come back to get later. I head to sound check.

HOW MANY
For various reasons, there are extra body mics today and they need to
be balanced. It concerns me, but Trinket and I run our stuff fine,
then add in one of our special guests, and a second. We run some
songs for the day to make sure we have a vague clue what we are doing.
I head off to morning meeting. There are many thank yous and pats on
the back. The meeting was almost on time, but then EVERYONE wanted to
thank someone...slowly. I had much to do and really wanted to bolt,
but I waited for meeting to end...then BEEP...and off I go. Back to
get more hairpieces, then drop them off, then gate. Then, the last pee
of the pre-days and BOOM, the gates open for the last time.

HEAD ON OVER
The audience pours in. It’s not our largest audience, but it is much
healthier than the last few days. The crowd dies down after our last
tour of the season, then I go to sit outside to head out some
programs. After about 600, I see the crowd isn’t bad, and I head in
for another mission.

ALL IN THE NAME OF LOVE
So as some of you know, I participate in the Romance Wars. These are a
romantic version of Secret Santa where you get someone’s location,
likes/dislikes, etc. and begin delivering them romantically themed
gifts. They can be as simple as origami or as fancy as a hand made
doublet or more. This year, I have been hitting (the term for gifting
in this game) a 16 year old. This is the first time I hit an underage
person, and it was a challenge. The hardest part was trying to get
more info on her, which I didn’t get to do until the freezing wet
weekend when she didn’t make it into the faire. It wasn’t until then
that I learned that she did like what I was doing, which made me
happy, as most of the guys delivering for me were a big vague or
negative in description of her response. In all the letters I wrote,
they usually ended with something about being her secret admirer.
This time, the last line said “Look up, I am, your secret admirer.” I
deliver her gift and tell her she needs to read it now. She gets
through the main part, but I can tell doesn’t read to the end. I ask
her if she read the signature. She looks back down, then looks back
up and smiles and gives me a huge hug. She thanks me for the fun she
had this season. My job was successfully done! I can woo a 16 year
old girl!...wait, that sounds wrong.

DRUMMING UP BUSINESS
On the way back to the front, I stop by House of Musical Traditions to
pick up my new dry bodhran, then I return to the costume house. I am
getting ready to put it away when Maggie Sansone asks to look at it,
plays it a bit and shows me a few tricks. Nothing like starting out
with the best showing you the ropes. I put it away and head back out
to the street. I grab more programs and head outside the gate.
There, the Head Program Dispenser does her work, but again, it’s not
so heavy that they need me. Instead, I decide to do something I have
not done all season. I head up to the top of the front gate.

FLIPPING FOR FLEXIBILITY
This is my first time up here all season. I miss the silly spot. I
throw one leg up over the wall and stand on the other as I chat with
those entering. I joke that they want to enter quickly as my game is
to see how quickly the mud on my shoes dries and who it will fall on.
I sing a bit, but it’s more one-liners and throw aways. After a
while, my leg gets tired and the other is losing circulation. I flip
the top leg up over the wall peak and down, then the other up over the
other side/s peak and in the same spot as the first leg. It’s good to
be flexible. I do this for another 3-4 times before it’s time to
leave. As I get down, I see Fairy Godmother’s chair is open and decide
to sit in it and chat with people walking by. I have a quiet
conversation with one little girl before she moves on. Finally, its
time to bid Stupina goodbye for the last time in 2009. I head to
backstage and begin the last switch.

WHERE IS EVERYBODY
I start to change as Trinket and I are waiting for the other
performers to stop by to run our stuff once more. Neither of them
make it. We sing through our parts of everything backstage. We kinda
talk through the ideas for the shows as I get changed and we both
primp a bit. We head to the White Hart closet, pull out props, run
over logistics, and find we are running late. I head back to get a
steak on a stake, eat it in about 3 minutes flat, then rush back to
the pub. I shouldn’t have worried, we get the stage for our first
show about 5 minutes late. Sadly, this means we have to cut a bunch
of material. This was our “greatest hits” show, so we aren’t going to
get to do some of these songs till next year.

PRETTY(?) IN PINK
So Trinket takes the stage and I am standing in the back. She sets up
and calls to me. From the back of the house, I tell her I look stupid
and I am not coming out. She tells me I look great and I pouting come
on stage...in pink. Ok, it’s burgundy, not hot pink, because I look
AWFUL in pink. We cut two songs from the set as we are going through
and have to sing a high paced version of Parting Glass, but at least
we clear on time to pass the stage to the Rogues at 3:30 after
reminding the audience that they second show is the unscripted one.
There is much rejoicing.

LAST WALKIES
I have some time between shows after greeting people, so I head over
to Tiger’s ostensibly to take out Baby Stupina; however, while there,
I go over the logistics for a special delivery during the last show.
We wander about with the kids. It’s crowded, so I really don’t go far
at all, but the audience is amused by her. Soon enough, it’s time to
head back. I hang up my stuff and when I get to the White Hart, I am
seeing double, while Trinket asks me to check on the other special
guest. Off I go to the Pyrate encampment to make sure the boys are ok
with the girl stuff. They are and I am shooed away.

THE UNSCRIPTED SHOW
It’s time, and luckily the show before us ends on time. We head up to
the stage to a large and enthusiastic audience. We are a bit nervous
as we start. I see many pink people in the audience. We remind the
audience that this show is NOT scripted, we only have ideas and away
we go. We start with our new Filk based on the 5 Constipated
Men...however, ours are Consummated. There is much laughter and I
forget to hold for it. I need to give the audience time to breathe
and laugh. Something to re-learn.

CHANGING GEARS
For the next song, we bring up SMAdam, who plays Bodhran. He joins us
for the traditional song, I Am Stretched on Your Grave. We are still
working on the harmony and I am ready to take it back to the drawing
board, but we have something in the works there. I think the audience
was surprised that we went for a serious song in this show, as it is
notoriously comedic, but we switch gears for the song. Just to throw
people off. All about killing yourself after your love dies... a
happy celtic type of traditional. It goes over well after a few well-
placed jokes about banging the drum (mer).

A REUNION OF SORTS
Then, Trinket tells me that Blissmas came early and the entire family
came out. I see people scattered about in Pink, Will McQuinn, our old
CDCB and his lady (and he in a neck cast), and more. She brings ups
Bauble and they squeal...I pull out a “Help” sign. They talk about
how much I look like their mom, being so big and all, the only one
that can fit into that big dress. In order to get a semblance of
order, we bring up CDCB and while there, he gets cuddly with Bauble.
Trinket cries that he is hers and grabs him and plants one on him...I
then say they don’t know how to do it right, grab him and dip him in a
kiss (yes, we rehearsed this a lot...the dip, not the kiss, since he
was concerned I would drop him...oh, he of little faith). He stands a
bit dazed...And THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is how you get broken.

ZIRCONIA BRAMAGE
We send him away and the ladies mention their cousin, the mauve sheep
of the family, who has been ostracized (my word, not theirs) has
finally been welcomed back in the fold. They welcome Zirconia to the
stage to sing one of their favorites songs from mom...a Spiritual.
Oh, Zirconia...yeah, she was sort of familiar...I mean, she was
blonde, in a pink skirt and dress, and a moustache....oh, and African-
American. If you saw him or the pics, you know who it is...if you
didn’t, just suffice to say, you should have been there. Zirconia and
the girls bounce about giggling and I run down the line to reset
them... Bauble “and we’re back”...Trinket “And we’re back!”...Zirconia
“And we’re black!”. The audience goes nuts. For those of you who
thought I was surprised, shocked, or thrown off guard by this person
or what s/he said, um, well, we had been planning this bit since late
spring...and that particular line was gifted to us last year from
prior CDCB when Trinket lost her voice and this same performer joined
me for the audition show. We have been waiting to figure out just
when we could use it....yes, some jokes are worth waiting that long.
Agree?

SWING LOW...INTERPRETER’S STYLE
After enough hilarity, Bauble runs off to amuse CDCB and the 3 ladies
(?) who are left sing a filked version of Swing Low Sweet
Chariot...Drop Low, Take Care of it. It gets some good laughs and
Zirconia heads off, arm in arm, with a terrified looking CDCB who has
taken good advantage of our Help sign. Back to the show at hand as
Trinket forgets our previous CDCB’s name...this inspires us to sing of
how we “never call our sweethearts by their name.” Very sage advice.
Soon enough, it is time for the show to end. We bring Bauble back for
the last rendering of The Parting Glass and say goodbye. Amidst the
cheers of our friends and fans, we close our last show of the season.

THINGS TO DO AND PEOPLE TO SEE
We leave the stage and meet a crowd of people who wish to speak with
us after the show. We are gifted with chocolate, laughter, stories,
thank yous and more. We have many things we still need to do today
though, so after signing CD’s and chatting, soon enough, I take my
leave. This is now the first time I am able to drink since July. I
go to the bar to purchase a libation, but the lines are so long, and
it’s 5:20, so I don’t have enough time before pub sing is going to
start. I can live without, as there are other things that are MUCH
more important to get to, so I leave, figuring it can wait for another
time. I head over to the Pyrate Encampment to make sure of the
evening plan.

THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS...AND FRIENDS
I arrive to find JHutchins with a glass of red, which he offers me. I
don’t know if he had planned to give it all to me, or he took pity on
my empty tankard, but he kindly pours most of it in. It smells lovely
and the taste is good. I am still missing the most important thing
though. I am then gifted by a delivery of a container from Tiger that
I had hidden at her booth that morning. I thank her profusely by
giving her one of these decadent pieces.

LIKE THE FIRST TIME, ALL OVER AGAIN
I then sit to have my first chocolate since July 27, not that I am
counting or anything. A few have gathered for the show. I am just
that used to people being amused by the intensity of my reaction.
This year, just the smell of the chocolate makes me cry. There is
photographic proof of this. It’s that damn good. I bite into it and
the wine disappears like a faint memory. THIS is tremendous. I cry
and giggle and bounce a bit. I missed chocolate. I share some of the
gift with others who have either been especially kind, or I know will
appreciate this treat. They are equally impressed, cause it’s that
good. Then, it’s places for the show.

FINAL PUB SING, 2009
The show starts with high energy and table dancing among other
things. It’s crowded and people are standing in my normal spots and
partially on top of each other. I try to clear the way a bit, but
there is no point tonight. I am dancing around more and trying to keep
moving as not block anyone’s view for too long. I end up staying
closer to the stage as it seems to be the safer spot. I am not used
to drinking anything but water during a festival day, so I am getting
a bit dehydrated and keep looking for someone with water in their
cup. I am able to find those I need before it’s time to sing.

THE WEEPIES
The final pub sing is always emotional. It’s the last chance for
everyone to be able to enjoy each other’s company, in some cases, for
9 months, for others, forever. For this company might never all meet
here again... Half way through the sing, it’s time to make everyone
cry. We start with “I Come for to Sing” and I end up the one crying.
I wrote that verse last year, and it truly speaks from my
heart...including the humorous part in the beginning. You are our
family...dysfunctional, crazy, sometimes embarrassing, but joyful and
supportive. I thank you for that from the bottom of my heart.

A LOVING GOODBYE
I found out during the day that Drake Mallard was saying a permanent
goodbye to the Pyrates and festival today as he is off to pursue other
endeavors with his lovely lady. We will all miss him. I will miss the
showtunes, for sure. They offer him a tribute, which is also touching
and sad. The show is running long, but Trinket and I do make sure to
sing “The Parting Glass” one more time. It’s odd to hear the audience
go silent, but sing along. Thanks to all of you, it’s a great
sensation to literally feel you with us when we sing. Then, there is
a pie tribute to Soupy Sales. I take some of the chocolate cream off
of Jack’s face, cause it’s chocolate. They find key lime for his
majesty. I worthy tribute to a very funny man. The final song is Wild
Mountain Thyme...the final final (since there is always time for JUST
ONE MORE SONG)...is Boatman, which gets a standing ovation. As all
things, the end comes, the lights go out, and festival is over for
another year.

THE MAD DASH
While I know I will be taking most things home tomorrow, I do need to
get a few odds and ends to go home today and rush to the back to
gather things then hurry to the costume house. Everyone is trying to
get done and out. I am running late and am asked if I can stay, but
my time isn’t my own and I have to say no for once. Luckily, the boys
are running later and I am out before them. I put on slightly nicer
clothing and head out to meet Scapino to ride to Gordon Biersch. In
the car, I change into nicer shoes. We park, head in and find a
different group to sit with than planned. I get their eggrolls,
tilapia (I think), and some vodka/cranberry juice as their cosmos were
bleack-y for my taste. But more importantly, I bounce.

THE TABLE DANCE
There are many small tables of people and I am bouncing from group to
group saying hello, being silly, chatting and catching up. This fills
my little ADD heart. I find out that at 5:30 there were already pics
of Zirconia up on facebook (untag, untag, untag) and people are
logging in on their iPhones to show pics around. I am offered some of
a coworker’s chocolate peanut butter pie...WOW...quite good, even
better off your fingers (my own, not anyone else’s, sorry to spoil
the fun). Finally, around 12:30, Scapino and I leave. It was a fun
night with great stories and memories made. I hate to leave as it
means faire is truly over, but that is the way it must be till next
year.

THE AFTERMATH
Once home, I crash. Ghoster is crashing over that night as he is still
recouping from a bit of a tough week. Next morning, I head over to
site to get things. I unload my part of the costume house into my
car, then head to the White Hart. There I meet up with Hemloche and we
joke a bit as I load up the closet, forgetting the silver extension
cord on stage. I hope that SMAdam picked it up and will bring it back
to me for next year...hope hope hope? Next, I gather Baby Stupina
from Tiger’s. Once done, I pack, park out front, then head over to
the Bizarre Bazaar. I meet up with Lynda and she, the original CDCB,
his lady and I head out for sushi after much conversation and
comraderie on site. MmmMMMmM. The rest of the day is errands,
unpacking, laundry and more .

Thus, the 2009 MDRF festival season and its tale draw to a close. It
was an exciting, exhausting, and wonderful time. Thank you to all of
you for all the memories. Let’s do it again next year!

Till next time...
Michele/Columbina/Stupina
Teatro! When all you need is a little cheese
The Interpreters...we'll be back!
www.taskmaskers.com
www.cdbaby.com/cd/interpreters