I need a fairy godmother.

[gurdymonkey]

Or maybe sponsors.

Scratch that. I wouldn't be curing cancer, or feeding the hungry or doing anything other than enjoying my hobby. Why should I expect other people to give me their money just so I can play? (Plane and rail tickets alone would cost a few grand. Not to mention things like passports, visas, event expenses, and so forth. Or getting enough time off to travel. As it is, I have to fly back to NJ in a week so I can go through the contents of the attic and figure out how much of it I want to ship out here because my sisters ganged up on my Dad and he's selling the house and moving into a condo. (Airfare, car rental, boxes, postage....)

Sigh. One can dream....

Comments

[ladycelia.livejournal.com]

Would something like Kickstarter be an option for fundraising to get to this?

[gurdymonkey.livejournal.com]

No. I'd die before I'd beg people to pay for me to enjoy my hobby.

[ladycelia.livejournal.com]

I understand that sentiment, truly, I do. But I also believe that what you do goes way beyond hobby and that you really do educate people, and that's something entirely different.

[gurdymonkey.livejournal.com]

The logistics are mildly daunting - fly into Moscow (or Vladivostock or even Beijing) and take the Trans Siberian railway, so we're talking DAYS of travel before and after the event.

Of the options, Moscow takes the longest (I have to fly to New York and go east), but I could at least meet up with some Sengoku.ru member(s) and travel to the event with them. This was "Sanjiro's" proposal when we first chatted about this after their event in 2010. (Can we say getting thoroughly pickled on the train? I knew we could.)

There's no way I can do it this year anyway. I don't have enough vacation time.

[reynardine.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that festival does look awesome!

Do not envy you having to go through your dad's stuff. We've had to do that three times in the past 10 years--when my grandfather died and they sold that house, then my grandmother died and the family sold her house, and then my parents downsized to move back down to Texas to be near my brother and the grandkids.

Got a lot of furniture/art/power tools, but hauling it up north was a major effort, plus it was an emotionally wrenching job. I fear I am overly materialistic and my feelings tend to get tied to objects.

[gurdymonkey.livejournal.com]

Actually, when I moved out here, I left several boxes of books and some photo albums in the attic. I think there may be some kitchen things as well. Some of the books I will want to keep (which means repackaging it and hauling it to the PO or nearest UPS store), and it'll be nice to see Dad, but flying east and back pretty much sucks up an entire day in each direction any more.