Yes, I Know Its Long

In talking to a friend, I was reminded that, all things considered, I'm pretty spoiled. True, I am living in part on both my savings and the goodwill of my parents. But how many people can claim to have enough of either to do so? They put me up for two years while I looked for work, and even now still take care of some of my expenses, such as a cell phone. I remember hearing on the radio not long ago that before welfare, families would take care of each other. Whatever else there was, there was support. I still have that, and love, too. I already knew this, but I had forgotten. I know my whining evokes not a little resentment, so I'll try to refrain. There's better stuff to write about anyway. Like Renn Faires!

(And Dave, I made a joke in my previous post at your expense. It was not malicious, but I feel it might have been in very poor taste. So to you and all who might have been offended on your behalf, I apologize.)

This past weekend I went with Arnold, Beth, Dave, and Hope to the Carolina Renaissance Festival in Charlotte. Hope rode with me, as I was planning on visiting with Jeromie and Liz in Greenville and needed my car. More on that later. We drove up on Friday afternoon and stayed in a Ramada a few miles north of Charlotte.

Through a series of online messages and e-mails, I had arranged to meet up with a girl I had met at DragonCon, Kaysha. She had been cosplaying an anime character I recognized when I first saw her (which was automatically endearing) but had also been exhausted, so we didn't really get to talk. Having found so much in common through our exchanges, though, we were both looking forward to some face-to-face conversation.

She found me outside the gate getting my ticket and greeted me with a curtsy that I returned with a bow. Ah, Renn Faires. She also presented me with the surprise gift of her copy of "Till We Have Faces" by C.S. Lewis, a retelling of the tale of Psyche from the point of view of her ugly older sister and one of the few books by Lewis I haven't read. So, we were off to a pretty good start. :)

Once inside the Faire proper, everyone went their own ways. Arnold and Co. headed one way and I walked with Kaysha to the joust she wanted to see with her friends. I felt bad about leaving my Charleston friends, but I had expected that I would be spending the day with Kaysha whoever may come or go.

At first, it was awkward. Neither of us seem to be the over-talkative type, so there was a lot of silence. Not uncomfortable silence, but since this was a rare occasion for us to talk in person, I felt the pressure of trying to make conversation. Fortunately, there was plenty of material all around us.

We wandered and shopped for a bit after the joust, talking about ourselves and anime. We both particularly liked the booth selling bamboo instruments. We ran into Arnold at the music pavillion and sat listening to drums, bagpipes, and something with an H that looked like a gourd. It was then that Susan Hickey appeared. I have been listening to her CD at Arnold's every chance I've been able to get, and here she was mere feet from me. By the time I requested "Humours of Whiskey" she had drawn a crowd. I promptly bought a CD when she was done.

After the performance we ran into some other friends. Then everyone went their own ways again, with Kaysha and I returning to shopping. She told me she wanted to find 'pointy things', by which she meant weapons. I smiled. We soon found some, at the Starfire Swords booth. They were well-balanced and generally lightweight weapons used in mock battles, so they had no edge to speak of but were designed to be bashed against each other. They had a nice selection. I particularly liked the scimitar.

We ended up circling Faire by the time Kaysha got hungry for some steak (I think my belt was too tight to allow my own stomach any hunger). It was a good thing, too, since by that time they were out of everything else. We sat while she ate and talked about costumes and cosplaying when Arnold walked up and was glomped by a complete stranger. I was disbelieving at first, but it had apparently been happening to him all day.

We found our way back to the last act of the joust (whose outcome was not hard to predict), and then got to watch the R-rated version of the Tortuga Twins show. Lots of penis jokes, innuendos, and butt in our faces on the side seats of the stage. It had begun to get cold with the sun having set, so I took Kaysha up on her offer to share her cloak. Lemme tell you, that's a nice cloak.

And so the Faire ended and all attending made their way out. On our way, Kaysha and I mused over when our next meeting might be (with no clue between us) and hugged before we said goodbye. It was then time head to Greenville. Since I was going alone, and since Jeromie offered dinner, I left straight from the Faire, although I did feel guilty not eating with the friends I had abandoned all day.

It was my first time in Jeromie's house, and it was nice. Instead of a separate living and dining room, it has a single L-shaped room that runs the front and side of the house. Eating and talking with he and Liz was the perfect wind-down from the Faire (although all I could talk about was Kaysha). We then surfed the Net in front of the fire (with Jeromie showing me new vids from Twilight Princess *drool*) and listened to Liz tell the ghost story 'Taleybone'.

Sunday started off normal, with DCF and lunch with friends. Then it came time for me to leave in hopes of catching the tail end of Hope's birthday celebration. Along I-385, though, my right rear tire exploded. As I had already used my full-size spare on a flattened tire a few months ago, I had to put on a donut and head to a Goodyear to buy some replacments. It didn't take as long as I thought, and I got back to Chaz Town in time to have some leftover cheesecake at Hope's and watch Hitch with her.

The tire demon wasn't done with me yet, though. As I was about to go in to the Ports Authority on Tuesday I found that my left rear tire was flat after taking in a vagrant screw. So it was back to the tire place that evening for yet another new tire. As it stands, I have one tire on my care that yet lives. I hope the incense and slain squirrels I leave by it every night are enough to appease that angry auto spirit.

So that's it. This weekend doesn't look quite as exciting, but I'm rather happy about that. I hope to relax a bit and work on some things. Still, my mind turns to Kaysha.

I was amazed while talking to her at how much we have in common. Heck, she even shares my taste for kidney beans! We were both a little nervous the whole day at the Faire, so as much as I enjoyed our conversations, I know there's SO much more for me to learn about her. I think that's what excites me most of all. She's still a mystery. I take something of a risk writing this, since I know that Kaysha reads my blog now. And what will she think, I wonder? I daren't say. I do not know where any of this will lead, and I don't want to build expectations on the foundation of mere fancies. I have spoken my heart, as much as it can grasp these things.

Ah, before I forget:

Kaysha's deviantART gallery

Dave's Renn Faire pics

Enjoy, and thanks for reading.


Twilight out.