This... I don't... what the... OMG...

Elderly Woman's Hilarious Failed Attempt At Restoring A 19th Century Fresco In Borja, Spain



(Yes, this actually happened.)

I realized I haven't updated what I've been up to the last couple of weeks, but basically it was DC Pride, and then CON.TXT over the past two weekends. I'll include pictures to make it interesting. :)

The weekend of Pride I took off early on Friday so my co-worker and I could use his truck to get a few large items I still had at the old house, including a broken washer and dryer I needed to take to the dump. That went well, but then after stopping for gas I passed my co-worker on the side of the road - he'd been rear-ended in stop-and-go traffic. I felt bad, but he pointed out the other guy's insurance would take care of it, so I stuck around for a while until the cops showed up. Later that night I went to gaming and although there was a little more snark than usual, it was fun as it always is.

Saturday was the Capital Pride parade. I drove up around noon and met up with Asians & Friends Washington at a park in Alexandria for a BBQ and pot luck, which was much fun - quite a lot of people showed up, so I got to meet some new folks as well as hang out with people I've already met (and this is a really, really nice bunch of guys that I'm really starting to look forward to hanging out with every chance I get).

From there I went into town to find parking. My usual spots on the fringes of duPont Circle were, of course, completely filled, as well as the immediate area being cordoned off for the parade. I gave many thanks to Al Gore for inventing GPS, because I was finding areas of DC I'd never driven around before, so it was actually kind of neat. Had to park a bit of a hike away from the festivities, but I figured I need to start getting into shape for walking around Pennsic. :)

I stopped off in the circle to meet up with folks, but apparently they'd changed plans while I was parking, so I went with plan B and hung out on the steps of another member's townhouse, which was right on the parade route and right next to the reviewing stand. In the past when I've gotten tired of things I've tried to find new ways of experiencing them; for example, when the pride festivals got boring, I ran a booth, so it was fun again. I've watched a million parades in my day and was expecting another boring one, but I discovered that standing next to the reviewing stand was QUITE fun. Not only was Lena Lett, the drag queen hosting, incredibly funny filling the pauses in between groups, but she was announcing who each group was, which was really useful since half the time I couldn't see banners or signs or t-shirts from where I was.

Speaking of parades, I've had some queer friends in the past say that pride parades were bad for the community - too much rampant, un-middle-American sexuality, and not enough "normalcy," so it gives us a "bad image." (Insert appropriate amount of eye rolling here, but don't hurt yourselves now!) Not only do I wholeheartedly not agree with such claptrap, but I've been trying to find out if these friends have attended a parade since, oh, 1991 or so. NEWS FLASH - they're BORING. So for shits and giggles I decided to Tweet each group as it went by, and then did a little analysis. From least to most, we had:

5 humanitarian groups
5 healthcare groups
6 sports groups
8 bar/clubs (3 of these had scantily-clad people on them - the horrors!)
10 governmental groups
11 political groups
11 religious groups
15 social groups
29 community groups
35 businesses

Boy, we're a bunch of Radical Fairies out there with cockrings and nipple pasties and leather chaps, aren't we? Oh, wait - no, we're not. The parade was sponsored by, among other such controvertial businesses, a bottled iced tea company, a car rental company, a national bank and a trash removal service. OMG CALL PAT ROBERTSON.

The most lurid thing I saw besides men in Speedos was the live cast of Rocky Horror Picture Show, and the group that got the biggest applause was the Mormons for Marriage Equality group (followed closely by the ususal favorites, PFLAG).

Anyway, I made sure to thank Lena afterwards for being so entertaining. I got a picture:



After that we all went to a great little Thai place for dinner, and again there were quite a few folks that turned up, so I got to meet even more people. On the way home I stopped off and hung out with another friend. Much fun! :)

Sunday I got my hair cut, checked out hotels for my upcoming party, had dinner with a friend from DC who was down in the area and I hadn't seen in a long time, and then went shopping at K-Mart. (I know, so exciting, why don't I update more?)

Work's been a little hectic with the end of the fiscal year coming up shortly, plus I've been putting in summer hours so I can take the occassional Friday off. One night I got stuck on the bridge on the way home in construction and I thought there were worse places to get stuck for a few minutes:



So then last weekend was CON.TXT, a bi-annual slash convention that Stuart (minotaurs) introduced me to 6 years ago. This was my third, but by the end of it was really the first one where I was noticed. :)

I got there Friday afternoon in time for a Doctor Who panel, which is always fun to discuss with slashers and geeks. I checked into my hotel, helped out with some logistical stuff, and then unloaded my games to play while the Friday night dance was going on. We had 4 tables going at the height of it, so it was a good time.

I'd been fighting a chest cold all day, so I decided to skip breakfast and the morning panels I wanted to go to and slept in instead. I eventually got up, got something to eat, and hung out at the con for a while, helping wherever needed and meeting some new folks. I hit another Doctor Who panel, went to dinner with brak666, went back to my hotel room to rest for a minute... and woke up around midnight, so I missed the video show. :( Still, I needed it, and I think it actually prevented me from getting *really* sick over the weekend.

Sunday I made it in time for breakfast and the art show auction, and managed to win a piece even though ceciliatan tried to outbid me (foolish woman!):



It's my second piece by digitalwave, and although I have no interest in the fandom (it's "Supernatural"), I like the way she does wings. ;)

After that I went to an Avatar/Korra panel, volunteered some more, checked out of my hotel, and went to the dead duck panel (their hiss & purr). I made it home, collapsed with the kitties, and tried to get better.

One thing I did do at the con was to create my own white-faced whistling duck (of which I am their king):



Alas, whatever I fought off over the weekend gave me bronchitis. Last year I let my cough go way too long and it drove me crazy, but this time I recognized it quicker, so although I was feeling good Monday, I felt crappy again Tuesday, so I called out sick and only got up to go see my doctor, who gave me a cough suppressant and an antibiotic (so far I don't need Prednisone like I did last year). I'm sure it'll be gone in a week, but I'm determined to make sure it's over and done with before Pennsic.

This weekend is gaming, an AFW dinner, and hopefully my packing dry run for Pennsic (new car, no idea what will and won't fit). The following weekend is my party, then no plans for July 4. I have my traffic court date the week after, and then it's All Pennsic, All The Time until I leave on the 27th. :)

tl;dr - PEEKCHOORS!

So what's new with you? ;)

When taking a commission and rudely demanding extreme (as in, months-long) patience (and getting it) from those who have already paid you and seen nothing, it is unwise to scream, "NOW NOW NOW!" when they are so enamored by your work that they request a second, more costly commission but cannot pay you right away. This is a good way to accomplish several things at once:

1. Piss them off.
   
2. Have them withdraw the commission.
   
3. Make for unhappy customers that BLOG about you.
   
4. Make you out to be a hypocrite.

When *you* needed more time, it was granted; when *they* need more time, you should be equally as patient, especially considering how patient they were the first time. Moreover, you have other commissions you can work on (or, as you prefer to think of them, get paid for) in the meantime (I mean, it's not like you've even gotten close to starting it yet, as there are about 10 people listed in front of them).

There are lots of talented artists out there, bub. You're good, but you're not that good. And here I thought we had a good rapport...

Didn't get nearly as much done last night as I wanted to, but oh well. One more seam on the pants and they're done, and then I suppose my priority is the trim on the outift I'm making for the Ball. If I have time I'd like to start on the banner of my device, but I'm not sure if that outweighs another pair of pants or the Middle Eastern robe I want to make (not to mention all the repair work I want to do). Blah. We'll see. Gabbo is also delivering our stuff from Uncle Rashid, so at least I'll definitely have new stuff to wear.

I'm contemplating bringing my sewing machine with me. The odds of me sitting in the Barn sewing are pretty slim, although it would give me a chance to sit with Theaddy which would be fun. I'm thinking it's more likely I could spend an afternoon at Gabbo's merchant yurt, especially since they put him under the tree in the merchant area, and usually a bunch of other folks hang out there during the day. Since Q doesn't arrive until the second week, I think I could carve out an afternoon to get some stuff done, but we'll see - I'm always in full "do as the mood strikes you" mode at Pennsic. :)

Finishing up stuff here at work. I'll have everything documented and cleaned up, but I don't think I'm going to quite get all the work finished like I'd like, but it's all good. Everybody understands.

Meanwhile, you people are too lazy - post more, dammit! I need distractions! :P

(Oh, and I commissioned some artwork yesterday. Nothing spectacular, but I think I'll enjoy it. Yay!)

By the by, if anyone's interested in seeing some of Q's doll work, his first auction is up on eBay. We're hoping for many, many more. :)

From crankyasanoldma, New York memories in Lego. I wish I were creative enough to do one for Philly, or San Diego.

Ganked from brak666:

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So, anywho, Gaylaxicon last weekend.

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So meant to post about the weekend.

Thursday we had a date night, so we went food shopping and had dinner at Cici's. Hoo baby, we're a wild pair. Friday was spent mostly catching up on TiVo and chatting with friends.

Saturday it was pouring rain so I slept in, but we did get our butts in gear and headed up to Annapolis for the Maryland Ren Faire, where we met up with Tyrvan, who got us in and toured us around a bit, including showing us backstage to see revkellyshannon. Whilst out and about I was molested by amywon, and then we ran into Finn, who escorted us for the rest of the afternoon. It was the first permanent Ren Faire I'd been to - even all those years in PA I never went to theirs, and I went to a weekend one in San Diego once, which doesn't quite count - and I have to say I was impressed. It truly did look like what Pennsic would look like if it were permanent and we let in looky-loos (if Pennsic were permanent and just for us, I'd move there!). It was a beautiful setting and there were a lot of really lovely people. I went in garb, but Q wimped out and went naked, which serves him right as he was wearing wussy sneakers and I was wearing my big waterproof boots, and there was mud everywhere (we were actually quite lucky that by the time we got there the rains had finally passed, and there was a LOT of it on Saturday). We didn't buy anything, but it was fun to see the many merchants, watch a little bit of the jousting tournament, sample some of the various foodstuffs they'd come up with, and just walk around and enjoy the ambiance. Afterwards we went to Applebee's for dinner, and poor Q had had a few too many, so he all but passed out before we even got to the car.

That was actually about it. Q had to work Sunday, so I slept in and spent the day putzing around doing chores and whatnot. Conjecture was also this weekend, but I haven't heard how my artists did (I sent work from Thalia and akirashima).

The work week has already been a grind. Work's been crazy since we're down one person, and it's only now that we're into the groove of the semester that I don't quite feel like I'm drowning (of course mid-semester grades and a big due date are looming, so it's only a matter of time before I'm awash again).

This Friday there's an LGBT pot luck that they're trying to do as a regular thing, and we know a few people who are going, so we'll check that out. Next weekend is Gaylaxicon, which is just going to be awesome, of course. (Something else is happening next Wednesday, but I'm sure it's nothing important.) After that we've been invited to a bowling party in Baltimore later in October, we're not quite sure what we're doing for Halloween yet, and we're already starting to think about Thanksgiving and beyond (like a December trip to WDW with Mom, but we'll see how things go).

Hope everyone else is doing well. :)

Two more pieces of artwork I got at Pennsic. The first was a commission from a friend of akirashima's, a young budding artist (and very sweet girl) named Amy, who was taking commissions, and after I saw what she'd done for Derek and Lucien I liked it so I figured I'd do my part to support the arts:

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The second was when I discovered Tobias was a budding artist himself and asked him to draw me something. What I got was a reenactment of me and Quincy at the San Diego Zoo when I discovered why I was the king of the white faced whistling ducks (ask if you want the whole story):

( SFW and funny, tooCollapse )

Plus, you know, GIP. Finally found a winged man graphic I liked for an icon (not that I don't have a ton of winged men pieces to choose from these days). Still need to come up with an art biz icon.

Stay tuned - I bought two more prints that should be arriving by mail soon!

Edited to add: Some of the replies are NSFW. Just so's ya know.

So I haven't posted about the slash con I went to, or Pride, or our anniversary...

( A tale of gayocity, six guys, and 175 women...Collapse )

So all in all a lovely weekend, even if I didn't find anyone who shared my fandom, nor did I get inspired by anyone else's. However, I must give a shout out to the VERY friendly and welcoming slashers, including the bright and sparkly justacat, the highly amusing barbana, and the proud new owner of an Adipose, brak666. Thanks for a great weekend, and many thanks to minotaurs for both the membership and letting me hang out with him all weekend. I've no doubt that I'll attend another slash con soon, hopefully the next one in San Diego at least, and hopefully some of the folks I met will come to Gaylaxicon this year in DC.



*Not that it was all that hard - ask me about my fandom!

Quincy's busy matting and bagging two new pieces of his artwork for Gaylaxicon this weekend, and I just finished putting everything together for Thalia's artwork as well. (She did fairly well at Conjecture last weekend - sold half her pieces, which isn't bad.) Now I need to pack and get everything ready to head out tomorrow after work.

Alas, we're driving - I'm usually pretty good at managing airfares, but none of my usual mojo was working this time, and I couldn't get anything cheap (and flying with two people instead of one becomes costly - accursed homeowning!). Ergo, we're driving at least half of the 10-hour drive Thursday night, and the rest Friday morning, which is good, because I'll get there in time to hang the art in the Art Show myself. We'll have to leave Sunday morning, alas, since neither of us gets off for Columbus Day and we'll have to be back at some reasonable time, but it's all good. I missed Gaylaxicon in 2006, and I really did miss it, so it'll be good to get back and see some old friends again, meet some new ones (looking at terracinque), and share a room with defenestr8or and catch up with him.

So I'm packing the last couple disks of Deathly Hallows to finish that up, and Q's packing his iPod full of Spice Girls, since he just got tickets to their show in December in Las Vegas. Not sure if we're both making the trip or if he's just gonna go with his fag hag, but either way I know he'll have fun seeing his divas.

Then, when I get back, all in a row, minotaurs, jsciv, mike14780, and someone else (who was it?) are all coming into town (well, DC) over the next couple of weeks. Whee! It'll be great to see everyone, but man, it's gonna be a little crazy for the next few weekends. Hee!

Who on my friends list has an account on Deviantart please? I wish to see more of your work. :P