gurdymonkey | Pangs and thangs

A bunch of links to Estrella photo albums hit my kingdom e-list today. And so did some "survivor" guilt.

(Pang.) I shoulda been there. (Below, TRM Mari and Gemini looking respectively badass....)

(Pang.) But Rising Sun was so much fuuuuuuuuuuunnnnnnnnnnn.

(Pang.) I should've tried to get over there.

(Pang.) I did, actually. I walked as far as the footbridge over the irrigation dyke on that side of the battlefield on Saturday - the mud was even worse there than on our side (and our side was pretty deep). During a half shouted conversation with Alail, he more or less warned me off.

(Pang.) I didn't see my friends.

(Pang?) I got to see friends I maybe see once a year if I'm lucky - which for me is the whole point of going to an event outside my kingdom.

(Pang?) Six out of ten Westerners will call me Jehanne if I'm dressed as Saionji, two will remember to call me Makiwara (and one of them will mispronounce it), and the other two will say, "I'm sorry, what's your Japanese name again?"

(Pang?) I got called by my Japanese name, mostly pronounced correctly and with appropriate honorifics on a regular basis for four and a half days. (You have no idea what a novelty this is....)

Waitaminnit. I taught two classes, then credited my volunteer hours to the Barony of the Far West. I represented my kingdom (and Asian arts at the same time) at the A&S display. In fact, I represented my kingdom every time someone admired Saionji's garb or enjoyed the whine of the hurdy gurdy and George's silly monkey grin.

What am I feeling guilty about again?

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I will admit, I always felt sorry for the Calontiri camp at Pennsic. They've got great kingdom spirit and patriotism, but they also struck me as very insular. Sure, they did everything together, but if you wanted to interact with any of them you had to go to their stuff, because they were too busy being together to get out and go to other people's parties.

Insularity at Estrella was definitely a function of the weather. My current fitness level does not prohibit covering the distances between our respective camps, but it was just too hard and too treacherous to get around easily this war.

My comment is more to the idea that getting together with the folks you don't see every weekend makes for a much better war...

Hey, I resemble that remark!

It's a "Calontir thing". You know, like The Shield Wall, and singing on the battlefield, and not having any fencers.
Individuals do go out to visit, on occasion, but camping together at war is considered a vital part of the Calontiri experience.

It's easier to think of Calontir not as a "Kingdom", but as a giant household. Or tribe might be a better word. Households exist here, but they aren't very visible or important, unlike some other kingdoms I've lived in (Midrealm, Ansteorra).

I haven't made it out to Estrella yet (been to Pennsic twice, though, a long time ago), but if I had gone, we (my Viking husband and I) probably would have camped with the Calontiri, even though it would have been nice to be among my fellow nihonjin at Rising Sun.

We do fully intend to go out to Estrella at some point, though, once we get better at camping. The thought of getting away from Iowa in mid-winter is just too tempting.

As for Saionji-dono, don't feel guilty at all! You did your service for your kingdom, you were essential in putting together Rising Sun and making it work, and you helped people have a good time. Don't second-guess yourself!

don't most of us mispronounce Jehanne as well? :-)

Quite possibly, being as there's no one alive who actually SPEAKS Middle French....

I don't think your name looks too difficult, but I'm always trying to figure out if it is Saionji (which I probably butchered) or Makiwara

edit - ha didn't butcher it because it's in your post. yay

Edited 2008-02-23 04:40 (UTC)

Makiwara (Mah Kee Wah Rah) is a pun nickname. Saionji (Sigh Ohn Gee) is my Japanese surname because last names come first. Hanae (Hah Na-eh) is my Japanese first name. (Look how CLOSE that is to Jehanne....)

I don't think I would or could ever call you Makiwara-dono. For me, coming from seven years in a karate dojo, a makiwara is a punching board, which you definitely are not.

takadai_no_tora wrote, too much time in the dojo to ever feel right about calling you 'Makiwara' - and for exactly the same reason.

Besides, it amuses me to call you Saionji Hanim - using the Turkish honorific with the Japanese name is cheerfully wrong - but then I'm an adopted Turk and don't ken your heathen ways.

Edited 2008-02-24 03:42 (UTC)

Hai, Iskanderu-dono. ;-P

As you say, the mud kept a lot of us from getting around as much as we should have liked. :-/

And if I may indulge in a bit of selfishness on your LJ, seeing my pavillion as HM Gemini's backdrop makes me happy. :-)

Oh, totally. I said, "Hey, there's callistotoni's pavilion!" It really adds to the look of things.

When I tried to vist you last Pennsic, everyone stared at me like I had three heads when I asked for Saionji. When I then asked for Jehanne (twice, slowly and enunciating), they were able to tell me where your tent was. And that you were out of camp.

*facepalm*

Anyway, do you prefer Saionji or Makiwara?

Of course they did - most of the folks that did Pennsic are people I didn't generally hang out with much before that.

I prefer Saionji, but Makiwara is cool too.

I've seen this term used twice in the last week and I'm not sure what it means: "facepalm". Is this a descriptive shorthand for the ubiquitous Japanese custom/habit of shyly peeking out from behind one's hand as it covers the mouth and nose areas? I'm groping here so help me out ...

http://www.forumammo.com/cpg/albums/userpics/10071/picard-no-facepalm.jpg

GOT it!!!!

And here I was trying to be culturally sensitive. Curses to all that touchy-feely social worker stuff I do all week long.

Sigh.

Pangs and thangs

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