June 27, 2006
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flaming ass of fire!
it's that time of year again, children. the time of year when i am in "perky-mode" and i must write the obligitory post-psg-post.
in my ripe old age of 23, just on the brink between wisdom and senility, i have come to learn to never ignore my instincts. so i went on my week-long pagan festival camping trip with dan... prepared for rain. and boy did it rain! it wasnt like the year they dubbed "pagans in the mud" but it was pretty soggy. and i am apparently awesome at keeping everything, for the most part, dry. except for things in the cooler inside ziplock bags that do not do such a great job of keeping water out, afterall. including, but not limited to, my coffee for the fae. but i am an idiot for putting it in there in the first place. so. i can accept that. and the chaos faeries did not punish me for being a bad perky. so i am still awesome for knowing it was going to be a wet week. it rained just about every day, sometimes torrential, sometimes just a sprinkle in the morning, but i was prepared, damnit! prepared!
also, a tip for people going on loooong drives, bring a book. and read it. out loud. it makes everybody happy, and the flatlands of illinois and indiana seem somewhat less dull. thanks to pam for the idea.
deadly spiders are bad. especially brown recluses and black widows. when they are on your leg or arm, respectively.
my week in general can be summed up in about a thousand words but i can narrow it down to one. fire! most of our time was spent practicing spinning poi, taking poi workshops, and finally, on saturday night, me getting up the courage to actually spin with fire. it was amazing. not only did i have a crowd of supporters, who cheered for me as i stepped out in the fire spinning zone and lit my poi, but also cheered for me when i lit my ass on fire (take a moment to read that again for clarity, if you are just skimming.)... and also cheered for me again when i finally extinguished my poi... and then about 6 people ran up to me and gave me big hugs. benji, whos advice and compliments on fire spinning i take the most seriously, even said that it was one of the best virgin burns he's seen.
i will have pictures soon to post on here. man. talk about a rush. terrifying, liberating, and empowering... one of the scariest things i've ever done. people say when you light up your poi one day and you are NOT scared... it's time to stop. so that's encouraging. because it scared the shit out of me.anyways it was wonderful to see all of my favorite pagans... pan, river and bearle, steve, nataraj, crow, shelly... and as usual, i made a ton of new friends as well as strengthening the friendships i had already made. next year, river invited dan and i to camp in chaos camp, which to me is an honor and will make next year even more exciting. i won't forget the sacrificial peeps!
there are so many other things to write about... but i think they will have to come at a later time. right now i am consumed with laundry and cleaning, and being at "home."
the 51-week supply run is under way again, and next year will be better than the last, and i hope it will always be that way.
