Pennsic musings...

[kellan_the_tabby]

I didn't make it to Pennsic this year.

I _went_ to Pennsic, mind you. I arrived there on Land Grab Day, we set up the tent and all that, we helped our campmates set up. There was shopping and working at Herald's Point and hanging out with friends and all the usual things. But it wasn't _Pennsic_, not the magical experience I remember from years ago.

It hasn't been for a while, I think. I haven't gone to a class in a few years; my reason, or at least my stated reason, the first year this happened, was that the class schedule was in such disarray that it wasn't worth trying to go to a class; likely it wasn't going to be happening when the booklet said it was. But I'm suspecting now that it was a symptom of a larger lack of assgetoffingness, as I've been calling it recently.

There were reasons for this to not be a good war, mind you. It was hot and sticky most of the time. I'm the hell out of shape. There were a few relationship issues with which I wasn't best pleased. It was a longer War than usual for me, and I always burn out close to the end of the stay anyway. And I came down with a cold fairly early in the second week, just when things got busy.

Last year's War was, to put it bluntly, a screaming clusterfuck, and I went into this one expecting some of the same issues to rear their ugly heads. They didn't, but I'm not sure that I find this reassuring, given the situations at hand. Yes, I'm deliberately being vague here; either you know what went on, or you don't. I don't think anyone I know had a good War last year, though; and that was weighing on me going into this year.

That's not all of it, either. And I don't know what the rest is. Maybe part of it's the number of merchants I just walk past these days, because I _know_ they won't have anything I'll be remotely interested in buying. Maybe some of it is the rising level of rudeness, and the dropping number of people who are willing to volunteer to make everyone's vacation run. Some of it, I'm sure, is because of the burnout that hits me when I visit Herald's Point. I _can't_ consult there these days. It's loud and busy and my brain shuts off. I can about manage to color, and that's really the only useful thing I did there this year. Whic makes me feel rather a jerk, because there's so much more that needs to be done.

I walk down the streets and see people in lovely authentic garb that is just beautiful to see...and then the next ten in stuff that's so modern that they're barely even making an attempt...or in just plain mundanes. I saw more people in mundanes this year than ever before, I think, and not just when they'd just gotten on site, either.

I look through the class listings and see people who I _know_ don't know their stuff teaching - and very popular classes, too, in which they're spreading their just plain _wrong_ information to lots and lots of people who apparently can't be arsed to crack open a book and realize that said teacher is full of shite.

I see whole groups of people who aren't even in the SCA (nor a similar group; I'm not talking about Markland, here) showing up and using our event as a backdrop for their own little games. I have no problem with these games; if I had time, I'd play some of 'em myself. But I don't walk onto a football field with skates and a stick and try to play hockey in the frozen Gatorade.

All of these are things that happen at other events, but not at the same scale as at Pennsic. 'Only Pennsic is worth the amount of bother that only Pennsic requires', but I'm starting to think that for me, not even Pennsic really is, any more.

---

It wasn't a _bad_ war, mind you. The relationship difficulties were pretty much ironed out early on. The expected difficulties did not, in fact, happen. I bought some pretty cool things, and I got to make boom repeatedly.

I finally got off the nut to officially (as official as we ever are, anyway) apprentice to baronadhemar. There's a bit of related news there, too, though it's not mine to tell (I'll edit here when it gets posted, though). I now have a cool crowned-A badge, which I've been wearing on my t-shirt all weekend, 'cos I'm like that.

I got to see some people, though not as many as I'd wanted to. What with one thing and another I barely got to spend any time at all with liamstliam, nazrynn, siobhan1214, shalmestre, sister_devora, or torin3; I didn't even get to see cellio or sirtanaka at all, though baronadhemar had an awfully amusing conversation with the latter over a radio one day. I had more time with mrgrumpybear, baronadhemar, pedropadrao, and dr_zrfq, but in none of those cases was it enough. And I could have had more time to spend with people, but I spent too much of it sitting in camp reading, or just lying in bed not-sleeping. I did a lot of that, when it wasn't too hot for even that. Just couldn't be arsed to get up. Laid in the tent with my eyes closed, or staring up through the smoke hole.

And I missed my giselle0002 and my meradudd terribly.

Right now I just want to stay home next year. Go to Europe instead, or Colorado, or I dunno, something the hell else.

---

I'm writing this Sunday night. My fingers are starting to hurt, and I need to be able to type tomorrow; so I'm going to stop. I may post this tomorrow, or not. We shall see.

Comments

[siobhan1214.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I'm with you. We didn't catch the Pennsic "spirit" until the beginning of the second week. And the attacks pissed me off (Kill the infidel!)

But I'm very glad that you and Grumpy apprenticed to Adhemar. Congratulations :) Boom!

[sister-devora.livejournal.com]

The attacks were part of why I just wasn't as thrilled with this Pennsic, and yes, I too saw folks strolling around the merchants dressed in jeans and t-shirt. Grrrr. Maybe my tolerance is getting lower, maybe it was that one of them was actively rude to me while I was volunteering, but the jingle bunnies annoyed me more this year.

Maybe if I go next year, I'll arrange it such that instead of going to my parents first and Pennsic second, I'll reverse that and avoid the last few days which drive me even more nuts than the rest. Frankly, the best part of Pennsic for me this year was probably the absurdly overpriced resort we stayed in when we got driven to it by a storm, my exhaustion, and bad signage.

[prelley.livejournal.com]

I wasnt able to go to pennsic this year (buying the house and all), but I like getting there on the thursday of the first week and leaving the wednesday or thursday of the second week. I seem to get the best of both worlds, some of the quiet and some of the war. I try to limit myself to one or two classes (something I absolutely must attend and one jsut to be goofy about).

But I know what you mean about last year, I couldnt wait to leave.

[pedropadrao.livejournal.com]

The muggy weather was an overarching factor, I think. No matter what I wanted to do, I had to take in the fact that I really haven't been working out as much as I should, so I'd have to bet on drinking more water, going slower, &c.. The magic wasn't there, except for a brief bit on Friday at sunset, when all the clouds in the East were aglow; I compared it to the pre-Raphaelites, & others thought it was more Maxfield Parrish.

I also saw lots of people who seemed to have no idea of what Pennsic's all about. I don't really want to think about the unpleasant notion of period police (tm), but people wearing a teeshirt (even a Pennsic XXXIV one), jeans, & sneakers or latex bondage accoutrements need to have somebody yank them aside & tell them that there's a difference between a bona fide attempt at garb that springs from ignorance & not giving a damn. ISTR that someone has said that as time goes on, Pennsic looks more & more like "Burning Man" & less like an SCA event. I don't want Pennsic to be the East Coast's answer to "Burning Man", but the SCAdian mindset is not comfortable with bouncing people out when they can't be bothered to dress period or sell period stuff. It's labelled "unchivalrous", & we've been conditioned to shy away from that label.

I also wonder when the Great Pennsic Fire will happen. It's not that I saw anyone doing something pyro-imbecilic, but when one sees non-fighters clomp about in knee-length black leather boots with platform soles on a scorcher, one has to wonder what other dumb stuff they're capable of doing because they haven't got the common sense of a flea.

Dunno about classes & unqualified instructors. I was a fool & didn't take any classes. I need to plan better. :-(

[nazrynn.livejournal.com]

First, congratulations on apprenticing-thingy. Welcome to the green belt collective. :)
Second, apologies for not being able to slow down and/or divert missions for more than a moment to wave hello and greet one another like normal people (will you be going to Coronation?).

Third, the recent histories of attacks on women at Pennsic had me skittish about even entering and leaving the heart of the Serengetti to shop in the area by the Cooper's Store alone. Bloodguard's Ladies Night Out also included an escort, dressed in drag, which was reassuring. But overall, I can't say as I would want to go take a wee in the middle of the night in certain areas of Pennsic, if I had to go.

Next year

[zachkessin.livejournal.com]

Come visit us in Israel! We are running this tour thing :)

Sorry about your pennsic.

[wanderingpixie.livejournal.com]

Congratulations on the official relationship thing. I'm sorry you didn't have a good War. *hugs*

[dr-zrfq.livejournal.com]

the burnout that hits me when I visit Herald's Point. I _can't_ consult there these days. It's loud and busy and my brain shuts off.

Maybe your reaction is more sensible than mine. I know I've told you how I manage consulting in general, and doing it at the Point is qualitatively much the same, just a little more intense. But it takes a lot of emotional energy to do that, and I had very few resources with with to recharge it. Many many fervent thanks to wanderingpixie, but I know she knows that it wasn't really enough, and I didn't expect more (or even as much as she gave!).

I didn't see you nearly as much as I'd have liked. And another possible source just kind of dried up and blew away, and I'm not sure why, and that's really all I can say about it right now.

So perhaps I should have stayed away from the Point more -- except that I know how things would have gone if I had. Which ties in to your next bit...

I can about manage to color, and that's really the only useful thing I did there this year. Whic makes me feel rather a jerk, because there's so much more that needs to be done.

I hear you -- and it's in part that feeling of guilt that kept me coming back. (That, and the fact that so much of my potential recharge is tied up in the Point...) I really think we need to talk about this as a group, to see if we can avoid burnout better.

I may respond some more to this when I have had more chance to digest it. In the meantime, *big hugs*.