Month: May 2019

It’s 0520 on a Thursday. I’ve been up since about 0230, and ready for the day since about 0330. Just another day in the surgery department, right?

Nope. I’m headed off to war–SCA war, that is. And it’s not in Atenveldt. No, my husband and I are headed to California for Potrero War.

It’s not my first out-of-Kingdom war, but it’s a new one for me, and as of right now I’ll know all of one person there (well, one person who lives in Caid… There will be some Atenveldt people there as well). For the introvert in me, it’s a little nerve-wracking, but I think I’ll do okay. I’ll have a book with me, I have some embroidery to work on, and I’ve promised my fencing teacher that I’ll at least try some tournament fighting. And if all that fails, I can nap in the tent. Lol

The forecast is looking kinda gloomy, with chilly temps at night and possible rain. I hope it’s not as much rain as Estrella had this year! A quick check online shows that it’ll mostly be before we get there and after we leave, but forecasts are notorious for being a little inaccurate. Either way, I’ve got my trusty wool Viking coat for the day and some thermal pajamas for the nights.

Supposedly the cell coverage will be decent, so hopefully I’ll be able to share some photos of the apron dress I made. I’m pretty proud of it (even though it still needs trim and embroidery), and I’m so glad my Laurel showed me how to math out the pattern so I can make more if I want to.

Well, by now the sun is starting to come up, so I’m going to get the book I brought out and read until it’s my turn to drive.

I’ve had an epiphany about my WIP, and it’s all thanks to a podcast I was on the other day.

I was feeling like the third book in my sci-fi series was falling flat, but I couldn’t put a finger on how to vamp it up. Then, the conversation turned to a subject that sparked an idea. Yeah, it means rewriting much of what I’ve already gotten down, but I’m not too far in yet. That means I don’t have to rewrite the whole kit ‘n’ caboodle, just the bits that don’t jive with the new direction.

Once I’ve revised/rewritten up to the point I had stopped before, it’s all new material from there. I’m glad I have a new focus, though, because I think this will add depth and interest to what was looking rather lackluster.

I’m going to get as much done before my trip this weekend as I can, but I don’t think I’ll write on this trip. Usually, if I have a WIP to work on, I bring my laptop and hotspot my phone to save changes to Dropbox. That way, I can work while I camp. This time, though, I have a book that a friend traded me (he’s got a copy of Abnormal) that I can read, and it’s been entirely too long since I’ve read for pleasure. My TBR (to be read) list is a long one, and I need to get to it. I know how important reviews are to an author *cough cough* so I want to be sure to read as much as time will allow.

This weekend is more SCA stuff, but I’m excited to be going this time. We’re going to a different “kingdom” (aka leaving the state), and I’m hoping to have some time to embroider and read while I’m on vacation.

Speaking of embroidery, I’ve now started squirreling and I’m getting my embroidery stuff out before I have this post finished! The project is long overdue, though, and the person I’m making it for has had the patience of a saint when it comes to waiting on my slow ass. Best get cracking so I can have it all done in a reasonable time.

I have few true idols in life. There are some that I look up to because of sage advice, some that I look up to because of their calibre in their field (whether it’s a field that interests me or not), and some that I look up to because of sheer badassery.

Carrie Fisher and Betty White are in the third category. Stan Lee is in the second. But today, I want to talk about a couple of idols of mine who always have words of wisdom when I am working on any art project. I can call on either or both of these men to tell me how to get through any artistic flub, block, or mishap.

I’m talking, of course, about Bob Ross and Tim Gunn.

Most people recognize Bob Ross the moment they see a picture of him. And yes, I realize he’s been dead for quite some time. In today’s media age, though, death less permanent than it may once have been. You see, Bob Ross doesn’t have to be alive to give me words of wisdom. He’s already given them to me–to millions, really.

Happy accidents. That’s right, fuck those mistakes. Make that errant brush stroke, that missed stitch, that “oopsie” into an intentional part of the work. Own it.

I’ve forgotten this advice at times. I get frustrated or upset at my mistakes, but at least in terms of art I can still hold my head high and be proud of whatever my happy accidents have wrought.

Tim Gunn is another art idol of mine–and while this one is living, he’s also someone I’ve neither met nor interacted with. So how does he give me advice?

He tells me to make it work.

How is that not inspiring? And for anyone who’s seen him on Project Runway, he doesn’t say it in a pushing, bossy, or degrading tone. Ever the gentleman, he says it in the classiest way possible.

Even when he’s not too sure about the work in progress that he sees, he’s still encouraging.

“Carry on.” He will tell you to carry on because he’s giving you the chance to prove him wrong.

“Happy accidents,” “Make it work,” and “Carry on.” Sage words from top men in the realms of art and fashion.

How can I use these words to get me through my daily life? Well, in healthcare, you can’t really make accidents happy. You can’t always make it work. But carrying on? Hmm… that one may require reinterpretation. Perhaps not interpreted as “carry on with the mistake that you’re making”–more like “carry on despite any mistakes”? I don’t know. They’re not my work idols, after all.

I think I might try to find (or design) some kind of embroidery that harnesses these three phrases, something I can hang in my house with pride.

Speaking of pride, my Laurel gave me the best compliment today after I told her about my latest “make it work moment”–She said Tim Gunn would be proud of me.

That was the boost I needed today.

So get out there. Make art. Make accidents. Make it work.

And carry on.

Okay. I normally don’t get political, or get on a soapbox about current events–but this shit has got to stop.

I’m talking about using a young man’s death to further one’s own political agenda. Yeah, it’s happening, and it makes me sick.

You have probably heard by now (unless you live in a cave somwhere–in which case, how do you get a good wifi signal??), but let me refresh your memory: a young student, just 18 years old, died in the process of trying to stop a gunman from shooting up his school. You may think well yeah, but what does that have to do with agendas? Let me tell you.

This student, as I said, was 18. He was, by law in most states, an adult…but because he was a student, people are calling him a “child” and using his tragic story to push their anti-gun rhetoric. This, in my book, is not okay.

Think about it: He knew that rushing the gunman would be risky. Dangerous. Deadly. He knew it. But you know what? This “child” made a very adult decision: risking his own life to save his classmates. And, when I look back at it, I can totally see how it might have played out in his head. He probably thought of himself as an adult, not a child. Yeah, to me–at almost 40–18 seems like forever ago. It seems so young. But for this “child”? Probably not so much. What fresh 18-year-old isn’t constantly thinking about how old they are, how they’re finally an adult? Able to vote, to serve, etc. To die, if need be. And I bet that’s what he was thinking. He was thinking about how he was an adult and his friends and classmates were mostly “children,” and he probably made a choice to sacrifice himself for them–because that’s the adult thing to do, right?

Okay, so it’s probably not the best decision. It’s never wise to rush an armed person unless you’ve had training in how to properly subdue and disarm them. I didn’t say it was a wise decision; I said it was an adult decision.

But I’ve seen many people who are focusing more on this young man’s student status, thus giving them the ability to dramatize the tragedy by calling him a “child” and demanding stricter gun control legislation. People are using this man’s death to put heat on the government and demonize the NRA…by saying he was a child.

Now, I’m not saying he wasn’t someone’s child. Everyone’s a child in their parents’ eyes, even after they’ve reached that magic age of maturity. That doesn’t give others the right to use his death to push their ideals.

To that young man, I say “Well done.” I’m not going to say that we should ban guns. I’m not going to say that the government is at fault. The government didn’t send that shooter into a school. The NRA didn’t endorse the shooter. Stop. Using. Someone’s. Death. To. Push. Your. Own. Agenda. Do I need to say it louder for the people in the back?

I know who the hero is in this story. I also know who the villains are.

They’re not the government. They’re not the NRA. They’re not the gun-rights lobbyists.

They’re the gun-control lobbyists. They’re the ignorant masses who want to diminish one man’s sacrifice to get their way. They’re the people who can’t get past their own self-righteous causes to see a man’s true worth.

One man. One brave man.

Kendrick Castillo, I salute the man you were. You didn’t get a chance to grow up into the man you could be, but you were grown-up enough to know right from wrong, and to put others’ lives before your own.