We had planned on starting our structured training classes this Sunday but we didn't have our equipment yet. Next Sunday...

On an awesome note, we had about 25(!) new fighters that stayed almost the entire practice and practice ran long at just over 5 hours.

  On a more personal note, stressful times are ahead.  I failed my Series 63 State Securities Law exam.  I need this to become a banker.  Thankfully I have been allowed to re-take it in 30 days.  This test is no joke and to be honest, there is no good way to prepare.  I am in the process, thanks to Athena, of making more flashcards and simply burning the informationinto my brain.  I have a feeling that the librarie, Barnes & Noble and Borders are going to become a temporary home for me.  Life is hard times right now.  I do not deal with failure very well and I feel as if I have let a lot of people down.  Most of what brings me happiness in life is making happiness in others, so when I do fall it hurts that much more.  I realise this test is about me and me alone but it just kills me I did not pass it.

  We had our first Quad day yesturday which is a huge recruiting time for Wolfpack.  I was unable to attend because of my Series 63 exam but I heard it went very well.  From what I heard from my Scribe (Assyria) and Lieutenant (Sir Fox), we had an enormous turnout.  Something like 25 new recruits, and about half of them want to start making weapons.  I can not wait to get these guys off the ground and coupled with Sir Fox and Sir Kyrians structured training sessions, I believe we will retain most if not all of them.  Faline and Catlin, currently residing at Brotherhood Outpost West 113 have a means in which newbs can come out and socialize with veterans and newbs alike.  Look out Belegarth, Wolfpack is growing!! 

  Now, to the THANK YOU part.  I want to thank Sir Morpheus, Sir Fox, Squire Keichii, and Mekoot Davit for taking time out of their busy lives to make some kick ass new loaner weapons.  Without them, we would not have been able to support such a turn out.  Sir Kyrian and Squire Keichii also deserve another special thanks for making up fliers that we hand out to people in order to peak interest.  Lupus, a newb last year, became an RA and has potentially recruited his entire floor into fighting.  Assyria, thank you for putting so much time and effort into these last few weeks, you have been a vital asset to Wolfpack and myself.  Athena, thank you for all your support, you are my zen. I consider myself lucky to have such a fantastic realm of people willing to dedicate themselves to the betterment of our our local realm and Belegarth. 

  In closing I want to thank a friend and mentor of mine who is leaving us as of today.  Theros, I know you will be back but I will miss you.  Thank you for showing me a path and advising me throughout my journey here and in Belegarth.  I hope I can make a fraction of the impact you have brought to Belegarth and know wherever you go, you will always have support and friendship here.  Take care my friend.

[...]

i had a good time at gencon dispite how much work it was.

Last night i fought SCA and man o man did they wehoop my butt.

i mean i was fighting this girl, she could not miss, i had no answers. hilarious, then i fought several others and finally got some much neede pointers.

 

Been sick yesterday and the day before, so I am taking a few days off from the gym.

  Belegarth, as a national entity will not succeed unless we as the society come together and start working towards a common goal.  Armageddon was so much fun this year but was put down by people who were not even present at the event.  Why has it gotten this bad wrap for being a bastard event in the middle of the summer?  "Because it hasn't been fun sinceArm I." (a frequent answer I have recieved).  My only question is what did you do to make it fun?  Did you go out and pull people to main fire to sing, tell stories, joke with new and old friends like Thorn did this year or did you sit in your campsite drinking wondering what someone else was going to do to entertain you?  I wonder if people realize it or not that Armageddon is the only way the National Organization gets any funding.  Guess what people, in order to keep this sport alive, it needs to have some source of funds.  I know I was not around for the split from Dag but you know what, lawyer fee's need to be paid because as a national organization you need legal representation.  Our sport should have a blanket insurance to protect itself, its officers, and its members.  Either that comes from a huge fucking event that we throw for a week, where people can take pride in their being apart of this organization, or they can sit on the sidelines and not take up an initiative to make it better.  It is so much easier to sit in the cheap seats and criticize.  Since the National Organization can not self sustain off of Armageddon, then I would say membership fees would be in order.  OH GOD NO!!!  I am not saying individuals have to pay the national organization but I believe Realms should be held accountable for investing in this organization.  You want war council representation, you want speaking/voting rights, then earn them by investing in this thing you love so much.  I am disgusted with the attitudes by a lot of people in this sport and it is disheartening.  This sport could be so much better than it is but we sit aside from everything and bicker back and forth.  Yes, it is fun to play politics, but in all honesty, we need to start moving forward instead of sitting back slowly killing the one thing many of us fine enjoyment in.  These are just my own personal feelings towards this topic, this message isn't meant for the people who give a shit and actually try to make things better, you few from the many know who you are.  This is for the people who have nothing better to do than criticize without stepping up and taking an initiative.

[...]

We are now fighting at Hopkins Parkfrom 5 - dark
Mapquest it!

These directions are for the parking lot; the field will be visible from route 23 which is the primary reason we chose this location.

Tell everyone you know. We want this to be a 30 man practice again!

[...]

Because of this interface, I just lost 20 minutes of post.

 I'm disenchanted now

Yeasterday I took off, I didn't go to work, I didn't so much as look at a computer, with the exception of attempting to get a phone number of Mr. Conley for my future mother in law.

      I am getting married. 17 days as the counter ticks down. My Fiance keeps telling me that I am depressed. I guess I am. GenCon was horrible in comparison to last year. Theiris so much PR that could be done for our sport there, and we really waiste the opportunity. Despite, we still pick up several new people every year. Add needing to revise large sections of the site to my failure list. *sigh* Their is a planned workflow for getting to new information via the map. I will move to Beta, maybe today, maybe tommorow, and that will complete the last of the technologies needed to complete the designed workflow of the site. After Thursday, I am taking off until I return from my honeymoon, it will probably be the longest stretch of time I go without fighting, while un-injured since 1997.

      I will be taking some time off from the website soon, wedding and my honeymoon are slowly becoming the only priority on the horrizon. I'll leave the website in those who are very capable's hands. And I am sure I will come back with a renewed vigor about everything, cleaning, and organizing things better and better.

      Officers, BoD, and War Council; Oh My! If you all noticed Winfang Quit, and by quit I mean he came to my practice a week ago today and said, "Just delete my account, I am done". He pointed out an individual who drove him to just quit, I hope she realizes that she drove away one of the best, most passionate fighters I have ever met, as well as one of the few people on War Council who I knew 'got it' in reguards to what it takes to run Belegarth. Currently I will say it is the saddest, on so many levels, individual thing I have ever had to do in reguards to Belegarth. Our President Kyrian, is a very well resolved man, and I have great faith in him and his abylities to continue to keep our buisnes together with out Winfang.  Winfang will continue to play at Avalon, buthas decided to continue his sword fighting career with the SCA, an organization he things is more organized.  

[...]

Years ago it would have been no prob for me to go out on a feild(while in the SCA) and fight all day long with out complaint. Now just breathing winds me lol. I have had quite a few health problems and until just a few days ago was so depressed I could bearlly hold my head up. Then I was told that I was going to gencon by my friends, and told that if I didn't go they would take meout back and shoot me. How could I refuse.(I have always been blessed with wonderful friends)

Once I got there I didn't think that I would beable to do much with a limp, a bad hand, and being in a such a funk, but then I saw these guys fighting with foam weapons and  I couldn't look away. I was like a moth driven to the flame. Angmarth(a kind man and one hell of a showman and fighter), Soth( who smiled all the while and always had a good word to say about some one or someting..and was a bit scarrly fast),  & Wraith( a great fighter and from what I saw at the gamer oplypics a ninja lol) were doing demos for the gencon masses, and doing a hell of a job might I add. I asked Angmarth if he wouldn't mind a cripple getting out there and seeing if he still had any ablility. He smiled and said as long as you can stand and walk out here on your own he didn't mind one bit.

I was so nervious I was shaking. I just kept thinking all I have to do is stand there and not fall over lol. He sent me up against wraith and first swing I throw was a fast and strong down ward swing for his head(stuipd SCA training) they stopped me and told me that that was not so legal(for the fifth time) and as we fought more I started feeling like my old self(granted  a tired in pain and hardly able to move after ward self, but myslef none the less) and I did really well. Even with all the problems and time that I spent away from fighting it all came back to me in a flash. IT WAS AWSOME!!!!!Granted Wraith still beat me like I owed him money but I got a few hits in.

Over the next few days I got to talk to the guys and fight some more getting better each time. I went to the gamer olypics and had a blast. Which by the way if you have never gone you are missing out. When it was all said and done I was out in the stands of the Gladator pit screaming and trying to get the crowd in to it as much as I was. What was most important was I had a smile from ear to ear and feeling like I wasn't as usless as I used to be, feeling like I had strength again, feeling like I could run in to a feild full of barbarians screaming(well limb in screaming and die a horable deth lol)

The guys at the gladiator pit were just as awsome as every one giving a demo, and I would love to name them all but I can't spell all there names lol. Save for Rune( who dispite what they say doesn't suck... though that may have been a chant we got the crowd saying...), Oracle(a guy that made me laugh so hard I shot milk out of my noise... and I haven't drank milk in like 10 years), Fancy pants(it started with an A and he jumped like a grass hopper on crack lol) Bo ( a nice guy who was smiling ear to ear the whole time he was beating on people.... mainly kids and the elderly j/k) , A centrion that for the life of me I can't rember his name( a great guy and a hell of a fighter always had a kind word and a joke), A slighly shorter guy than me with a mohak (whos name I didn't get) was a hell of mace fighter and hell of a good guy, and a man (whos name I also missed) was giving out the riddles in the gamer olypics who will hopefully  always remeber the wisdom I gave him"the answer is always TOAST!"and many many more. They all were all great guys and awsome warriors. I hope I get to see them all agian soon and hope to get to meet you all as well. Until then rember the three most important things in this world Love, peace, And most important of all Chicken grease.... ( again sorry if this is hard to read not that good at spelling or typing)

[...]

Tari and I have been trying to start a new chapter in our school as part of the clubs program.  We've been working on it since 2nd semester of last schoolyear and it seems it's finally paid off... more so than we ever imagined.  We gave orientation speeches the other day and we really expected only a handful of people to even be interested, let alone sign up.  Sooo wanna know how many signed up the first day??  117 and counting!!!  We've already had more sign up, so I'm not sure of a current official count.  I can't wait for our first practice!  Unfortunatley we've already had some concerened parents call in about a "fight" club in school so I've been slowly but surely convincing our school's resident sheriff, who also happens to be a friend of mine, to co-sponsor our club- just in case some one decides to question the legality of what we're doing... sneaky I know ;)  So now we're just waiting to have our informational meeting next Thursday and trying how in the heck we're going to handle 120-150 noobs! :P

[...]