The Chronicles of Liz

I am sick yet again. AGAIN!! For the third time this year!! And none of them have been the plague! If you're not going to get sick with the plague then why bother getting sick. I have also decided that being sick is a good opportunity to chronicle all my ills and misfortunes, etc.

Things That Annoy Liz, Make Her Sad or Just Plain Suck

Having been reminded of Kodiak's (dog) death twice this weak.
Thinking too much about my old home being sold and lived in by someone else.
Stupid co-workers!!
Stupid waking up early!!
Stupid not being supervised when I need supervision!!
It was the last weekend of GARF. I was not there. Enough said.
The convienance store where I was going to buy juice and medicine closed early.
My room is still messy.
I don't get to see my friends nearly enough.
Did I mention being sick again.
I'm not in Egypt.
Sitting by annoying people on the subway who ALWAYS then get off with me at my stop.
I miss my family.
I killed Bill, Brett, Ishmael, Phil and Fhil (years ago but still...)
Stupid Weather Channel not showing the local forecast for 2 days!! Its probably the cable company's fault.
I hate being untrustworthy in RPing games and always dropping out.
I feel stupid.

Now I'm going to lay on my bed and feel miserable. *plays funeral dirge* or maybe *jaws theme* just for the heck of it. *also puts on pirate hat and seats a little white monkey beanie on head*

As Jess has said before, so I will say again "Its all about the hat!" I would like to take a moment to talk about my great hats. First my beautiful brown hat and my splotched green bumbling scholars cap. *le sigh* And then my collection of old felt and straw hats including the hat Maid Marian would have worn if she and Robin Hood had lived in the 1920's and the mock pith helmet that and English lady who didn't know how to dress would have worn into the depths of the Congo. Oh, I can't forget my pirate cap *runs off to put it on* YAY! And my collection of stick felt winter hats and my goofy archaeology hat that people are embarrased to be around me in and of course my ultra cool safari hat that's really my dad's that he hasn't given up yet. I guess I should also include my NPS work hats because they're cool too...even the Smokey the Bear hat. And now that I've seriously digressed.

This post is about the day after Jess's wedding. I had helped Jess pick out her outfits for the weekend and I think she wore just the ( right garb ) for the day after!! I love her garb!! And she knows how to pull it all together so well!! I had laced myself into my bodice that morning and wondered how I was going to ever survive the day, but that feeling of despair passed as I realized I could breath somewhat and got used to the blistering heat. BECAUSE I remembered my sunscreen!! Go me. And I totally didn't get sunburned AT ALL. But I did get a ( turkey leg ). Hee! I think I'm going to just outline the rest of the days events though.

The Pleasures of Ren Ratting

( Penguins ) which I've been told don't really exist at the Lost Boys show. And no one will be able to see them anymore after I....um. Lets just say I've invited the penguins to hang out with Michael's chicken up here in DC!! *weg*

An awesome ( harpist/recorder player ) that I spent the first part of my morning listening to.

Flirting with the ( Cardinal ). I told him I couldn't resist the chance to introduce myself to such a handsome and powerful man of the cloth. I wouldn't have done something like this two seasons ago. I also had some of the Cardinal's nuts....

Eating with Jess, Tommy and Andrew at the Peacock Tearoom.

Seeing the ( Washing Well Wenches ).

Attending a FREE lecture (I was the only taker too! Go figure> by ( Loquacia Verbatim ) on LITERACY (so that we can read the signs to the priveys) MARRAIGE (so that Loquacia can marry an incredibly rich man or a musketeer and thus make Dartanian jealous so that he will want to marry her) and MONEY (because with a large dowry Dartanian will want to marry Loquacia). Someone tell her that I remembered her lectures and I will record them in my new account book as any good scholar/chronicler would do.

Taking a ( goofy ) picture of myself as the Mona Lisa in honor of having seen the DaVinci Code recently. It also makes me want to watch Voyager. Go figure.

I also made sure to attend another protest sing at the Brewer's Pub during which time the parade came by and we all yelled "Kill the King!" (I got a video of that) By the end of the protest sing I had donated enough money to have the king kicked in my honor! SO. MUCH. FUN.

Heh. Went to a Lost Boys show with Jess, Sarah and Kat. We screamed, cheered, oggled and gushed. And then we tucked money in our cleavage and let Aaron the Moor come and get it! Only... well. I'll leave the only for Jess to tell in her journal since it involves a slightly funny, possibly not good event involving Angus and her sister. I was very proud of myself! I think the percentage of "wench" in me totally climbed to above 35 % this weekend. ( Me and Jess )

I spent my last hour shopping - buying myself a tapestry of a scene with a boat from the Bayeux Tapestry, a new rose for my mom, token Faire gifts for my normal roomies (I'm trying to brainwash them but their incredibly resistant. They WILL BE assimilated), and a little three headed dragon hatchling statue for myself.

Jess, Tommy and Andrew drove me to the airport around 5:30. I was dirty, sweaty, tired and overheated but I got to ( show off ) my bloomers in the parking lot of the Faire though! They had to drop me off at the airport cause we weren't sure what security's reaction would be to their garb!! I caught an early flight, got home early and .... my trip was ended. But at least I have some good pictures of my hat.

(The events of Sunday, May 28)

So... there's this beautiful crescent moon shining tonight out over the neighboring apartment buidlings. Or at least it was beautiful and shining until it started to turn red. And not only that but its been getting increasingly red for the last half hour!! Every time I look out the window its gone even darker! Is this the start of the apocalypse? A martian invasion? A huge scheme to get more people to buy Coke?

Agh! Its gone rust red!! And from there its only a short step to blood red!! *runs for the garlic and is glad she doesn't live in Transylvania County like Murray used to*

Your Renaissance Purity Test Results
You answered "yes" to 77 of 152 questions, making you 49.3% FaireFolk pure (50.7% FaireFolk corrupt).
According to the scoring guide, your renaissance experience level is: A Turkey with Dressing


HAAAA!!!! My purity level has gone down and I am now slightly more corrupt than I am pure!! Thank gosh for this last weekend.

Onto the wedding itself. First of all I don't actually have any pics of the ceremony because I was in the ceremony. But Jess will let us know when the wedding photographer has the official pics up online. We woke up around 8 Saturday morning and I stole downstairs to sneak breakfast upstairs for the bride, while her sister Sarah came up to help Jess with her ( makeup ). Then when we were ready we snuck downstairs, trying to avaoid the groom and I pretended I was a secret agent and used words like "We're clear." It was fun! Until... I realized I didn't have my ticket and set us back ten minutes. However that was the worst that happened that morning. Jess, Sarah and Kat had their hair braided but they wanted me to COMB MY HAIR OUT COMPLETELY in order to get my hair braided so I declined and braided my own hair. Personally I was a little miffed that the professional hair braiders couldn't braid curly hair or that they didn't know how to do simple braids. Anywho. Us girl's had a trailer behind the wedding garden and here's Jess ( before the wedding ).

The ceremony was very beautiful. Family and friends were there and a lot of friends of Jess and Tommy's who were performers in the Faire as well. I walked in on the arm of the best man Andrew (who was pretty nice) and stood behind Jess during the ceremony wishing that the wind would settle a little and not blow her veil everywhere. There was also a bee that almost annoyed me by buzzing around my bouquet. Also. I didn't not lose Tommy's ring which was tied to my dress. I also managed to untie it easily and didn't drop it when handing it over to the minister. The vows were amazing. JEss and Tommy wrote the entire ceremony and their were many lines that went "Will you cause him anger?" and then "Is that your intent?" I want to steal them so I can model my vows after them. Then!! It was time for the bridesmaid's boogie. See Kat and I had deviously conspired the evening before to celebrate the wedding while onstage by doing a fun little boogie. So we got Sarah on board and as soon as the ceremony was officially over and the bride and groom were off the stage KAt nodded, we did a little boogie and the audience burst out laughing. Then I put on a serious demeanor, took the best man's arm and walked off the stage. Jess didn't quite know what happened until later that night when I confessed. Anywho. HEre's a recreation of the ( boogie ) that Kat and I did the next day. ( Here ) is Jess at the reception with David who came down from Ashville. I showed David around the Faire after the reception and told him everything he needed to know to survive the Faire. ( Here ) is me and David at the pub. I spent most of my time at the reception making sure people knew to sign the guest register I brought. Its a photo album that people could leave messages in and then I'm going to add pictures and other momentos I picked up. I also followed Jess around holding her train and making sure she was hydrated as she greeted all her guests.

After the reception I bolted out into the Faire and watched the Lost Boys and Dexter Tripp and soaked in the feel of the Faire. I was estatic. Around 2 David and wondered down to the pub and Joni Minstrel, whom I had not heard the last time I was at GARF was onstage and singing "The Trees Grow High" which is one of my favorite songs but one I don't hear performed very often. Jess and Tommy were in the procession to the joust and as they rolled by the Brewer's Pub, where we were stationed, Jess tossed her ( bouquet ). To tell the truth I could have defintely caught the bouquet (it almost hit me in the face) but I was too busy chronicling the event! Just like me huh? I also caught up with the newly wed couple ( after the joust ). We all eventually made our way back to the pub for Joni Minstrel's 4 o'clock show where she had a special surprise for Jess and Tommy. Joni (or Lindsey in real life) and Dolph from 3 Quarter Ale had written a special song for the couple and performed it for them as a gift. It was beautiful!! So beautiful. Then they began the sangeet, an Indian custom where traditional marriage songs are performed. Joni did a song about courting and changed the maiden's "golden locks" into "red-gold locks". Then there was a ( belly dance ) and other entertainment. Later at the pubsing the Lost Boys gave Jess and Tommy and advanced copy of their newest song "Scoundrels" - wrapped in teal of course! Then they did the ( garter toss ) and a Jedi Knight caught the garter!!! Hee!!

We stayed at the Faire until AFTER closing and got kicked out by some police men. *bites thumb in their direction* Back at the hotel we played musical rooms and switched our bags around until everyone was resettled in. Then Jess and Tommy finally made an appearance. The Bridal Party got back together and we had pizza for dinner and hung around the room we bridesmaids and bride had been in the night before. I think everyone else went swimming after that but I was exhausted. David deserted us for part of the evening to go to the Invasion Dinner. For someone at his first Renn Faire he sure got around! *wink* And thus ends the Wedding Day or The Bridesmaid's Boogie.

So. This was a long trip, and a tiring one but fun and happy as well. I'm going to divide it into three parts: Pre-Wedding (or Liz's New Bottle), the Wedding (or the Bridesmaid's Boogie) and Post-Wedding (or Its All About the Hat). So let's begin with Liz's New Bottle.

Liz's New Bottle

So I arrived Wednesday afternoon and Tommy picked me up with a wonderful cardboard sign that said Lizard (Lizz-Arhd in pirate speak). Then we went and sat with Jess at work. I was very pleased to be able to see where Jess was working. Ticket sales are fun!! Especially when Jess answered the phone in a British accent. Jess and Tommy took me to the Diner which was ultra-fabulous and then I got to see Jess's apartment. Which she is moving out of but I was really glad to have seen it since she talked so much about it and the area that she lived in. Both Jess's car and Jess's apartment were without air conditioning and it was hot but we were mostly comfortable altough it had been cool in DC so I had a little hard time adjusting. Tommy finally left in the evening and Jess and I rushed to show each other our dresses as soon as he left and then we talked and got caught up. The next day Jess and I did apartment cleaning stuff and went shopping. Which. Is where the bottle comes in. We went to this awesome grocery store and were looking at vinegar bottles and I was trying to replicate this cool bottle Timmy bought Jess from the Faire and then I saw my bottle. A dark olive green bottle of basalmic vinegar with a cork. 10$. We also picked up Sage Darby cheese, blueberries and another type of cheese for ( lunch ). We also picked up party supplies and Jess's garter.

Jess's family arrived later in the day and us girl's took off for Jess's ( Bridal Shower ). Which was a little difficult to arrange from DC and small but very fun. Especially after the spontaneous ( Mariachi Band ) showed up and played three songs for us including La Cucaracha and the Wedding March/Funeral Dirge. Jess got lots of cool stuff including a castle shaped cake pan, candle sticks and candles (from me) towels, Pirates of the Carribean M&Ms and tons of other cool stuff that I can't remember. Jess's sister Sarah came up with some games and we played bridal bingo while Jess opened her gifts. I totally cheated and added wrapping paper, towels, more towels and bows and ribbons to my bingo sheet. She also brough the most awesome white ball cap that said "Bride" on it. Jess wore it for the next two days!! It was awesome. Friday we had to get ready to move down to the Invasion Hotel near the Faire and then actually get down there. Jess and I had an awesome time singing Lost Boy songs on the way down. We (the bride and bridemaid's Sarah, me and Kat)got ( manicure's ) and ( pedicure's ). Then we went to the ( rehearsal ) at Faire after hours!!! The minister was really funny and it was cool seeing the faire deserted. Then the ( rehearsal dinner ).

To end the day Jess, Kat (one of the bridesmaids) and I stayed up really late. I think Jess was a little nervous and I was just being my regular night owl self. Anywho. KAt and I shouldn't have been introduced because we are evil together. We did ( mud masks ) and Jess threatened to kill KAt because KAt got an annoying song stuck in her head. We sang "warrior" though and finally fell to sleep.

Thus ends the pre-wedding portion and Liz's New Bottle.

I'm so tired. And I just keep getting more tired. I might have to go to bed before 1030 tonight!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! Somebody help me. I need to go drink more liquids. I think I'm dehydrated. And its making me crabby and unsociable. I need to go to bed. My Renn Faire/Jess's Wedding post must wait yet another day.

Still not King.

I think its amusing how many sci-fi show icons are switching roles. I mean... Mitch Pileggi, Claudia Black, Ben Browder, Conner Trineer and, umm.... what's her name that played T'Pol, have all showed up on Stargate! I won't even go into cast switches on other shows. Its kinda amusing.

Jess is married. Liz is tired. Visit the link below for wedding day photos (but not of the actual ceremony because I was kinda on the stage during the ceremony...) More of the day after and Faire in general later.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/themysteriouspiper/album?.dir=c700re2&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos

Jess makes me wake up at 10AM every morning!!

So I'm doen in Atlanta for Jess's wedding. I flew in yesterday (Wednesday) and got to go see Jess at work. (Ticketing selling is very exciting!) We've spent most of Thursday taking care of old furnitura and other moving out of the apratment related stuff, although the real fun begins tonight and tommorrow for the wedding. I bought the coolest stuff today!! A plastic, inflatable Pirates of the Carribean sword from the party store and some plastic lizards for my Faire favors. I also bought the most awesome smallish vinegar jug with a little finger handle on it which I can tie to my belt at Faire. I got the idea from a really expensive one they're selling at Faire that I wanted only I didn't want to spend 35 dollars on it. Its dark green and just SO COOL.

Jess and I took turns oohing and aahing over each other's dresses last night. Her dress is so beautiful!! I'd like to think my dress isn't SO bad looking. It turned out rather nice. Its hot down here but we have the fan's going and Jess and I have had several chat/gossip sessions and are getting caught up quite nicely. But I have Faire fever. One and a half more days.

I am a A Topaz Dragon!

Hey, I took the http://dragonhame.com online Inner Dragon quiz and found out I am a Topaz Dragon on the inside.

In the war between good and evil, a Topaz Dragon tends to walk the fine line of Neutrality....
When it comes to the powers of Chaos vs. those of Law and Order, your inner dragon is a risk taker and answers to no one....
As far as magical tendancies, a Topaz Dragon's nature does not lend itself well to the ways of Magic....
During combat situations, whether by spells or by claw, your inner dragon will do whatever it takes to get the job done....
The Topaz dragon makes it's home on temperate islands and coastal regions. This particular gem dragon is widely known for it's impish behavior and charm.'
Unless something specifically interests or affect them, topaz dragons tend to be indifferent to happenings about them.'
When born, a topaz dragon is a dull yellow-brown in color, infused with streaks of blue. As the dragon ages, its scales harden, darken and become translucent and faceted. A topaz dragon shines brightly, giving off rays of amber and blue light.
'
This Dragons favorite elements are: Topaz, Beauty, and Charm

http://Dragonhame.Com

So it occured to me the other afternoon as I enjoyed a walk from work back to the Metro station with the sun glaring into my eyes because I forgot my hat, that for the past 8 years or so my jobs have all required me to drive towards the east every morning for work and drive into the west to go home. Every freakin' year!!! I always had the sun in my eyes for those long 45min to 1 hr drives to Charles Towne Landing or Drayton Hall!!! And now To the Frederick Douglass House!!! WHY??!!! *cries* The main stipulation for my next job will traveling west in the morning and east in the evening. GAH!

So. I am sick of getting into spats with my co-workers because we misunderstand each other or get on each others nerves and then I apologize to make sure that I continue to get along with my co-workers and I never get any apologies back. Plus I always get talked down too and ragged on for any mistake I make but I never even complain about how shabbily my co-workers perform their duties or the mistakes they made. Waht's most frustrating is the people who are on the same level as me that talk to me like they're my supervisor. I love my job but I hate my co-workers, but everyday I have to pretend to be their friend.

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We had two GREAT groups come through the site over the last two days. Not only were they on time and had good behavior but they were good because I did them the way programs should be done. My site doesn't have a good policy set up for tour group reservations or programs and its been driving me to the brink of insanity to see how shabbily and inefficiently groups are treated when they come through. I gave a great tour to some really smart, inquisitive 5th graders yesterday and MY schedule got a 120 people through the site in 1 hr today!! And that's tough. I really enjoyed it. I need a good group tour every now and then to rejuvenate me.

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Grade Watch: Final Tally 3 A's. 4.0 for the year. Shouldn't I get a year's supply of free Pepsi's?

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I'm working my way through the Babysitter's Club Series. I won 55 including the Super Mysteries from Ebay and they came last week!! Yay. I love these books and my Girl Talk books. Two awesome series and they're just as good at 25 as they were when I was 15.

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Liz having trouble working full time. Too much real work. Too many days getting up at 7:00AM. Why do I have these schedules every summer? I need to stop working weekends, holidays and early summer hours.

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I was walking through Costco the other day and all the furniture-like objects they were selling were remarkably similar to the furniture in my SIMS game. Including a really weird Italian fountain.

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Make me stop typing and go to bed!! Must sleep and return to work. GAHHHHH!!!! I've been brainwashed by Martians!

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Hee. Funny story. Slightly irreverent though. So my grandmother died last year. She was cremated and my cousin Jenny has the ashes. And she's been doing funny things with them. For example shaking the box and singing "Shake, Shake, Shake...Shake your Grandma!!" Which. Is totally hilarious. Jenny thinks Grandmother Jean would think it was funny. I agree. But. Her husband Brian did the FUNNIEST thing ever. He stuck a post-it on the box that said, "Let me out of here!" When Jenny told me that I had to lie down on the floor I was laughing so hard. Grandmother Jean would be happy that we weren't mooning over her ashes. This reaffirms my belief though that although Jenny is my coolest cousin, she's also not to be trusted. I always watch my back around her. We both got our sense of humor and our deviousness from the same side of the family - our grandmother's side!

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PS the Great sunworshipping baboon? It comes from a picture one of my roommates brought back of an Egyptian statue in the British Museum. Yay Egypt.

Grade Watch: Day 13, Two A's down. One to go. 4.0 grade point still intact. Nerdily reputation still intact.

I found the subject of this post amusing for several reasons...#1 It contrasts with yesterday's post subject. #2 I was wished a happy mother's day many times on Sunday although I am NOT a mama. #3 It relates to this post. See below.

My life in Washington, DC is now complete. I have a place to live, a job, school, an internship, three good bookstores to shop at and finally, FINALLY, a Walmart. I finally found a Walmart. IF you don't know how essential a Walmart is to my pathetic existance lets just say that besides being the only place I can get crafts AND fabrics, its also the store I get my underwear from. Its been cray not having access to their fabrics and yarns though!! Anywho. I discovered the Virginia public transportation system which takes off where the DC system leaves off and besides gaining access to a Walmart I can now go to Applebee's and an Outback Steakhouse too!! I've been really wanting Applebees. AND when I was in Walmart I found two really cool things. First - Dinosaurs Seasons 1 & 2. NOT THE MAMA!!! Mwaaaaahahahahahaha. I also found the newest Blackmore's Night CD!!! *dances* I was dumbfounded. How did a band as cool (and as non-mainstream) as Blackmore's Night get into Walmart? It was a sign that I should continue shopping at Walmart.

Message I sent my mom in an email about the trip that amused me greatly:

Am attempting a dangerous journey to Walmart involving the public transportation systems of two different cities. If I am not heard from after several days asume that I have been devoured by cannibals and am lost in the depths of Fairfax Co, VA. DO NOT attempt rescue. End communication.

I spent the earlier part of my day at my internship at the National Air & Space Museum. Its pure research at this point and boy amd I having a ball! I've been looking through files, cataloguing their contents, rearranging files, creating bibliographies of resources, doing web and book research to build up files and make them current after I get done rearranging them. I met two curators in the Space History division (as opposed to Aeronautics where I work) and one of them is going to help me get some artifacts for the exhibit and the other found a bunch of old files for me to look through. Fun! *coughs from the dust covering the files* *cough, cough* Very fun! I shall bore all my friends and loyal reader's with more obscue historical details relating to my internship at a later time. Consider it a promise or a threat as you like. *weg*

You know when I was about 12 years old I went through a really bad time with depression and temper tantrums and Mom has told me in these later years that she truly didn't know what to do with me. I know she was really unhappy during that time because of me. I know that my journal entries during that time were all about how much I hated my mother and I wished she would die. And then things finally began to smoothe themselves out and I came out on the other side a very different person. A person my mom says she's very proud of. She's also glad I'm not in jail right now which is where she saw me at this age when I was younger.

My mom gave me her family's thin lips and the "Youorski" tone (that's a very bad thing), but I missed out on her fashion sense (Wes got it). I got her community planning gene though!! My mom is wonderful at pulling together healthy, happy, substantive community events and apparently I am too. Wonderful that is. At the planning thing. Community planning. I just can't help myself. Like mother, like daughter. In fact when I was speaking to my boss today she asked if I could start thinking about an employee training system for customer service. Guess what my mom's new/current position at the hospital is? Yup. Customer service. So Wes can have the keen fashion sense!! And the stupid height thing which I always wanted. I'd curse him but its his birthday today and he has cake (2 to be precise) and brownies. Anywho. I really enjoy this part of my inheritance from my mom. She has a wonderful work ethic and there is nothing more satisfying than working with people to do something for them whether its getting them healthy or sharing history with them.

And of course everyone says I look like mom too. I should remember to burn that journal one of these days.

(Side note: Grade Watch, Day 12, One A down. Two to go. Still got the 4.0!)

So, usually by this point in good ole SC its been in the 90's for a month or two. Here in DC? Its cool and cloudy and dipping in and out of the 60's. Is this how most of the world outside of the hot/humid south lives? I'm not sure if I like it or not. I kind of want it to be warmer but I know the dread of continuous humid, 95-105 degree weather. I'm so confused with these mild temps!!

Its all good though. I met the Rwandan Ambassador today and helped his daughter with a project. And I casually mentioned my outstanding 5th grade report on Rwanda. Heh. *weg* Ah, the people I meet at my job.....

PS The autosave on LJ TOTALLY ROCKS!!!!!

Ummm....pie. And fishcakes...fishsticks. Wait!! Didn't I buy fishsticks? I don't remember eating them. Hmmmm. *dashes off*

Wow. I just got one of my final papers back. I was slightly worried about it but I got an A and a lot of really good comments!! A LOT!! My class of about 11 were working together to produce an evaluation of a local exhibit from the development of the evaluation to the collection and analysis of the data to its presentation to the sponsoring museum. Our final paper was a critique of the whole project. One of the comments my teacher left me was: "And many students pointed your participation out as being particularly helpful to the process". It feels great to get positive feedback from your teachers but, especially now when I'm having problems with my coworkers, it feels even better to get it from my peers.