IT'S HERE!!!

My fencing gear arrived last night! *cue choir singing "Hallelujah"* No more loaner gear for me, I now have my very own brand-spanking-new fencing gear to play with. Of course I immediately tried it all on, and it fits quite well. The gorget does indeed overlap the chest protector quite nicely, so I shouldn't have problems getting hit on the tips of the collar-bones. I hung up the smiley-face tennis ball Fritz gave me for doing point-drills and practiced with the sword and dagger a bit. The sword is very light, and seems to have very good balance. Now I'm looking forward to Sunday's fencing practice even more than normal! And, I may have an opportunity to break my gear in tomorrow, as Fritz and I are going to our friend Adi's (co-ed) bachelor party, and he wants to do some fencing that night (hopefully BEFORE the alcohol starts flowing!).

Yay, fencing gear!

Un. Be. Fucking. Lievable.

Via Eschaton, freed hostage Jill Carroll is the Right Wingnuts latest target. An excerpt from the Don Imus show:

MCGUIRK: She strikes me as the kind of woman who would wear one of those suicide vests. You know, walk into the — try and sneak into the Green Zone.

IMUS: Oh, no. No, no, no, no.

MCCORD: Just because she always appears in traditional Arab garb and wearing a burka.

MCGUIRK: Yeah, what’s with the head gear? Take it off. Let’s see.

…

MCCORD: Exactly. She cooked with them, lived with them.

IMUS: This is not helping.

MCGUIRK: She may be carrying Habib’s baby at this point.

…

IMUS: She could. It’s not like she was representing the insurgents or the terrorists or those people.

MCCORD: Well, there’s no evidence directly of that –

IMUS: Oh, gosh, you better shut up!
…

MCGUIRK: She’s like the Taliban Johnny or something.

*Sigh* I shouldn't be surprised by this, considering the Far Right's history of slinging the word traitor at decorated veterans. How ironic that the "compassionate conservatives" are labeling Carroll as a traitor for actively showing the compassion to which they pay mere lip-service.

The Great Crepe Caper

I used to have a crepe pan. A nice, non-stick, T-Fal crepe pan I inherited from my grandmother. I should still have that crepe pan, except it seems to have mysteriously grown legs and run away. I haven't used it in a while, but I know where it was the last time I saw it, in my cupboard. It's no longer there, nor is it anywhere in my kitchen. And I've looked. Oh, have I looked. To my knowledge I haven't loaned it out to anyone, so it's absence is very suspicious indeed. Should you happen to see my crepe pan wandering the streets, or hiding in your cupboard, please send it back to me. I would very much like to have it back.

Fencing Gear!

Today I placed an order for my very own set of fencing gear. I ordered a starter set (armor, mask, gloves, sword), along with a dagger, hood, gorget, and chest protector. The gorget is a new model they're carrying, designed specifically for fencers, with extra protection in front (the one pictured on the website is designed for heavy fighting, with extra protection on the back of the neck). I have no idea what it looks like, but hopefully it'll prevent me from suffering Danica's problem, getting hit between the chest protector and gorget, directly on the collarbones (owch!). They said they'd try to have the equipment out to me by the end of the week, just in time for this weekend's practice!

This weekend was great! Friday I worked a much earlier shift than normal, and that night Fritz and I had dinner at his brother's house. It was a very relaxing evening; dinner was delicious, and we had fun visiting with his brother, sister-in-law, and little nephew.

Saturday we went to Clancy Day in Windsor. I got authorized to compete in single sword fencing, yay me! I can legally compete in tournaments now! And fence in the tournament I did. They ran two tournaments--one a round-robin format, the other a bear pit. Fritz and I fenced in both tournaments, and while neither of us won very much (Fritz won more than I did), we had a lot of fun, fencing quite a few people we'd never faced before. Also, one of the other fencers pointed out a mistake I'd been making, and gave me some advice on how to correct it. I took the advice, and did much better after that. All in all it was a good time. We left after the tournaments were over.

That night we went to a birthday party for one of Fritz's friends, whom I hadn't met before. It was a fun group of people and we had a nice time, though we didn't stay very late. We were both still tired from getting up early for the event and fencing much of the day.

Overall, it was a great weekend; I'm so excited about getting authorized, and can't wait to fence in more tournaments!

Watching: Deadliest Catch on the Discovery Channel
Reading: Phoenix by Steven Brust

Quote for the Day: "New Rule: I don't need a bigger mega M&M. If I'm extra hungry for M&Ms, I'll go nuts and eat two."--George Carlin

Via Amon-hen.com...

Quote for the Day: "Senator, when you took your oath of office, you placed your hand on the Bible and swore to uphold the Constitution. You did not place your hand on the Constitution and swear to uphold the Bible."--Jamie Raskin, professor of law at Annapolis University

Via Mistress Jess, The 23rd Qualm...

The 23rd Qualm (Written by a retired Methodist minister. )

Bush is my shepherd; I dwell in want.
He maketh logs to be cut down in national forests.
He leadeth trucks into the still wilderness.
He restoreth my fears.
He leadeth me in the paths of international disgrace, for his ego's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of pollution and war;
I will find no exit, for thou art in office.
Thy tax cuts for the rich and thy media control, they discomfort me.
Thou preparest an agenda of deception in the presence of thy religion.
Thou anointest my head with foreign oil.
My health insurance runneth out.
Surely megalomania and false patriotism shall follow me all the days of thy term;
And my jobless child shall dwell in my basement forever.

Happy Ides of March! (Beware of men in togas carrying knives...)

Courtesy of Fritz, it's the Tales of the Plush Cthulhu".

Note to self: Add cranberry juice to the grocery list...

Guess who just realized, with four hours left in her shift, that she's developing a bladder infection? Guess who gets to spend the next four hours hoping it doesn't go from "hmmmm...that stings a wee bit" (yes I know, horrible pun, deal with it) to "OH MY GOD, IT FEELS LIKE BATTERY ACID" during that time? (I've had bladder infections progress that fast before, though my last one was considerably less aggressive.) And guess who gets to go to Urgent Care after she gets out of work at 9 pm? Yours truly. Fun. For. Me.

I'm taking bets on how long I'll have to wait to see a doc. How long do *I* think it will take? Well, I'm stopping by my apartment to get a book. I'm thinking Don Quixote.