The Party is Over...

It actually ended about a month ago, which really sucks for me. No more embroidery while working. Consequently, I am really far behind with my blackwork. Not only is there no more embroidery while working, but I can't even have it on my desk. Period. All the stuff (toys) I have ast my desk are mostly harmless. There is a glow in the dark skeleton pez dispenser, a griffin, 3 small rubber duckies, a deck of cards given to various people by one of clients, a paper airplane, and various other things inlcuding a miniature keg about 2 inches tall. All of this stuff is apparently fine because I'm not likely to play with these while I'm working. I'll have to change that but it might make me look a little nuts. But then again, I work in the health insurance industry, and I'm in the SCA.
I might get a very small x-rated toy for my desk and putting it somewhere that is hard to spot and seeing if anyone notices. What I really don't get is the 21 year old who can plaster her desk with magazine cut out pictures of rap stars and "Sexy" written in marker with arrows pointing to said rap star. So that is okay, but not my embroidery.
What is with that?
Maybe I should write "Sexy" on a piece of paper and have it pointed at my embroidery. Maybe then it would be okay.
What I really think this is the inability of most people that I work with to multi-task. I have been asked over and over again by multiple people how I can embroider and work at the same time. Embroidery requires about zero thought for me. Most of my co-workers have trouble just doing their jobs, judging by how often I have to tell them the same things or train them in things they should already know. I have to go through claims training. A 2 1/2 hour training session in how to read claims in our processing system. Yippee. I am on a help line at work. Other reps call the help line for HELP. I help other reps with what they can't figure out, and I have already made a few suggestions about what to train the reps on based on the same questions I answer over and over and over again. So why do I have to take claims training if I help other people most of the time? Stupidity. And a waste of my time. At least I don't have to answer the phone during that 2 1/2 hours.

My New Quill Article

Why I like the 16th Century More
Constanza de Sevilla
The 16th Century gave us Shakespeare, world exploration, expansion of empires, and (my favorite) the first actual flush toilets.
They were not, however the first toilets in existence. There are records of toilets throughout the world, including one found in a grave in China. Flushing Ancient Egypt’s toilets involved buckets of water instead of having it piped in. Earthenware pipes still in use today drained them. Rome’s sewer system, cloxa maxima, made of stone seats with a hole in the center, was built over channels of water for drainage.
In 1189, London had a sewage system called garderobes. They could be public or private toilets. Private garderobes emptied by pipes into a pit, moat or river immediately outside the building where they were. Public garderobes emptied directly into the Thames, making it smelly and unsanitary.
In 1530, close stools became the most modern convenience. It was simply a chair with a padded seat, handles for travel and a pot that required emptying, often out the window or door. Those who could not afford a close stool used a bucket, cistern or just the street.
Leonardo da Vinci developed plans for water closets for the castle at Ambrose of Francis I, but they were considered nonsense and were never built. These plans included pipes inside the walls and vents that went up to the roof.
In 1596, Elizabeth I’s godson, Sir John Harrington, wrote an article called “Plan Plots for a Privy of Perfection.” Even though his invention worked, it leaked and was poorly ventilated. Sewer gas continuously leaked into the powder room, where the Queen would keep bowls of fragrances and herbs to battle the smell. Elizabeth I was so happy with the invention, that she had a copy of the article bound and hung next to her water closet. So, not only did we see the first toilet, but maybe the first reading material to go along with it. Harrington’s invention was ridiculed, and he never built any more than one for himself and one for the Queen.

http://inventors.about.com/ (search for “history of flush toilets”)

A Midsummer Night's Dream

I went to see the 1:00 pm production today with a co-worker, and it was just an amazing, incredible show. Of all the characters, Oberon and Helena were the best. Helena's facial expressions and voice inflections were wonderful, especially when she was arguing with Hermia. Oberon was just entertaining all around, and he looked really good in his costume.
I nearly fell off my seat with laughter during the play within a play. The entire production was 3 hours nine minutes long, and I wish that once it was over, that I could immediately see it again. We had 5th row seats and I'm glad we weren't closer to the stage. It was worth every penny to see it. I would go again in a minute.

3 1/2 Hours at Lillies

Yep. I went for 3 1/2 hours. The really odd part is that in that amount of time, everything that would normally happen at Lillies did. I had a drink, went shopping, did some embroidery, complained about the heat and made a dirty joke. TJ needed to drop off his things for By My Hand, so I kept him company for that trip. It took twelve hours and I had to get up at 3 am. I'm really missing being there, but it was just too hard to get there. I only have one good hand due to an injury so I can't lift anything and I have finals. I'm now done with finals, so I'm going to finish up hte Tudor corset I've been working on, do some embroidery, and I'll get to see a Midsummer's Night Dream on Sunday. Today I spent about 2-3 hours vacuuming and scrubbing out the interior of my truck. Exciting. Yipee.
And tonight...there will be tequila. Even if I have to drink it alone.

The Return of Dance

Rosanore, Tosten and I have got together to come up with a plan for dance practices in Nordskogen! I have high hopes for this. Even if I only teach one person, I'm teaching something. Each of us is going to focus on a specific type/time period. Rosanore is taking the Inns of Court, Tosten will be doing English Country (and maybe out of period), and I get Italian dances. Each moot night we will have a mini-ball so people can practice. What this allows everyone, including the teacher, is to focus on one kind of dance each week and not just get a few minutes to try out one dance, but to really learn and memorize the steps. Many of the Italian dances are complicated to say the least. There is 15th and 16th century, they are longer, have lots of steps in various orders, and the few times that people get to them makes them harder to remember. I haven't done my favorite, Spagnoletto Rigolatto (affectionally called Spaghetti Rigatoni by me), in well over a year. I hope I remember it.

Sunshine and Hail

Saturday night there was a not so wonderful storm. We had hail and sunshine at the same time. Only in Minnesota. I now have hail damage on my pickup. Yeah. I don't even think I'll be making a claim for it.
I'm so far behind on all my projects right now that it isn't even funny. Part of the reason is I have to wear a hand splint on my right hand for a month because of a ganglion cyst. The bad part of it is that it puts pressure on the nerve and is causing some numbness in my right thumb. The splint is an attempt to avoid surgery, which I don't think is going to work. It feels better after wearing it, but the splint is really uncomfortable to wear. I can't bike to work, and I can't find my card to get into the gym at work. The only other solution is to walk to work. Ick. I'd rather bike anyway.
I'm not going to Lillies because of a number of circumstances. It makes me feel like I've been conspired against. By what, I don't know.