Alright people, I need a headcount. Thursday night is the Steampunk Optional Crazy Costumes Encouraged Romp (or S.O.C.C.E.R. for short) Night. If you're planning to join us at the Melting Pot, I need a response here or a call. I currently have four, count 'em, FOUR people who have said they'd be there (that's including me and Noel). Not feeling the love for my 40th birthday party, people. If you're just going to meet us on the street after for S.O.C.C.E.R Night, I need to know that too. I'll be in full steam regalia and will be wearing gloves so I don't give anybody any chance of getting the plague from me.

So, I am turning 40. And that only happens once. To celebrate, we're having a pub crawl on Thursday, the 19th. The party will be suiting up in steamy gear, and the festivities will be led by the nationally known Marquiche, King of Jesters and Jester of Kings. We will be starting at The Melting Pot for gooey cheese and desserty noms at around 7:30 on 6th St in Austin (I'd like a headcount for that, natch). But that means that around 9, we'll start at one end of 6th St and try and drink and party our way down it. If you're interested and can make it, drop a comment here and I'll tally everyone. I know that other people should be trying to arrange this, but you know what? I DON'T CARE! Let's do this thing.

For my friends at faire and all of that, we'll do something interesting Friday and/or Saturday night out at site... I hope. Wed, the 18th is my birthday and I'll be spending that getting totally meat-high at Fogo. But Thursday night, I would really enjoy a big 'steamy-punky-optional' (I mean, I'll be dressed up, but you don't have to) pub crawl that starts with sinful tasties at the Melting Pot downtown (just the appetizer and dessert courses) and then moves on to sinful tasties at the pubs we crawl to down 6th St... yeah, it's a Thursday night but we can all be nice and tender at work on Friday... my 40th birthday only happens once, people!!!

If you'd like to join in the Thursday night festivities, let me know here or call or whatever. Sound like a plan?

You know that time when you know you should get out of bed, but you just want that few more minutes of sleep? Of course you do. I would like you to put yourself there right now... I'll wait.

Ok. Snug in bed? Sorta covering yourself back up because the cruel cruel world is outside the blankets and seriously, all you want is a few more minutes before having to put on the big boy pants and go to work? Perfect.

BOOOOM CRASH APOCALYPSE!!!!

You have just experienced my morning. This morning, around 6 something o'clock, a tree fell on the house. A big tree. A big fucking tree. A big scary fucking tree.

No reason. No high winds, no torrential rain, no little girl and her little dog Toto coming for a certain high end pair of footwear. The best I can figure, the tree decided to finally let the house know how it felt about it, got itself all drunk and then got a little handsy before passing out in a sprawling heap over our bedroom.

Oh yeah, did I fail to mention that? Not just the house. The tree fell directly crossways across where Noel and I sleep. If it had made it through the crossbeams in the attic, it would have crushed us both.

Whoever laid down the juju evil bad bad curse on me? (I site both my knee and the tree that the target is me... crap, it's a rhyming curse...  A Seussian death curse? NGAH!) Please knock it off. I really don't think I deserve the whole crushed to death thing.

So. Life has been interesting. I have been really behind in posting, as well as my payments to oh, everyone. But this is about the squee kinda posting, so I'll talk about that.

Costuming

My King of France costume for faire is fantastic! My codpiece shoots fireworks!!! (and I  will pay the costume off eventually... heh)
The Mini-Me costume looks great on my Dauphin (and he seems to LOVE it, which is wonderful...)
All of my Steamgear for DragonCon is still in full working order, and I'll be able to run around comfortably in it
I have the beginnings of a post-Apocalypse costume that will just have to do, but I LOVE my gun
Noel's stuff all looks AMAZING, and she has a new green dress that's just gorgeous, as well as her truly amazing Peacock coat

Book

My beta readers haven't gotten back to me yet, which is starting to make me twitch, but I've figured out a few things I know need to be done (namely, chapter breaks and a few scenes need fleshing out). And it's not like I've had any time at all to work on it. I did get the next two books outlined, which doesn't suck. SO I really just need to write my book synopsis as required by all the different publishers, and we'll see.

Work

It's work, I've still got it. I get paid.

Faire

I have been blessed with a brilliant group with fantastic instincts and a lot of talent. My only regret is that my job at faire is split between them and teaching dialect to the food boothies, which is very very important and I'm taking it seriously.

DragonCon

OH HOLY JEEBUS!!! Noel and I fly out on Thursday evening and I can not WAIT! I get to see friends we really only get to see once a year, our dear Sasha (hopefully she'll come for Texgiving again though) and our Lord Emperor (who we shall support by wearing our armbands he so graciously sent us) just to name a couple. Patrick FRIGGING Stewart and William Muthafuggin Shatner and an absolute host of others are guests this year. I have a great vintage poster for Terry Gilliam to sign, and I'm really just wriggling with excitement pretty much constantly. I wish there was a way to call into work dorky for a week...

Home

I live in a beautiful house with a beautiful girl, what's not to love about that? She's freaking the Hell out about school (having JUST STARTED Grad school... terrifying!) and it's making her day to day life twitchy, but I can understand that completely and am just floating along while letting her know that I am here in whatever way she needs me, whether it's to look over papers, help her write them or just shut up and make sure dinner is ready and keep the house tidy.

So life is life, and the good bits outweigh the bad.

Book: 90k words and climbing, close enough to the end to taste it. I should have my first draft done by the weekend, do my reread and edit next week and have it out to my beta readers by the next weekend. While it's out, I'll write up my basic outlines for the next four (yep, 4) books in the series and their synopsis. I'll also write up the book jacket blurb and the best fun ever - the About the Author. HEH. I will also put the base outlines together for the children's book series I would like to write - ALL of this so I can go to a publisher and go "LOOK AT ME! I'M NOT A ONE SHOT WRITER! YOU CAN MAKE MONEY OFF ME!"

Costuming: I'll finish up my codpiece this week, which finishes my TRF costume except for the white tights I've got to pick up somewhere. DragonCon costumes are all in place except for the Post Apocalypse Punk stuff, but that shouldn't be too rough to piece together. I lalalalove my new Cthulian hand, it's so creepy. Loves it.

Weight Loss: Coming right along, but not nearly as fast as I want. But that's the way of the thing, I spent a good 35 years packing on the pounds and can't expect them to just go away in a few months.

Life in General: Good, loved the long weekend in Cozumel. Scuba is absolutely amazing and I'm truly addicted. But other than that, life has been busy and is about to get even moreso with TRF quickly approaching to consume my weekends.

Money: Never enough.

Travel: See Money.

So, I log onto Facebook last night to see that I have urgent messages from my birth mom to call right now! ( So, I call. And shit gets weird... )

So yeah, that was my day.

It has been a hell of a long time since I posted an everything that's going on post. ( Cut for the uninterested... )

Much love,
Ben

It seems that David Carradine was found dead in his hotel room in Bangkok this morning. And that totally royally completely sucks. I grew up watching Kwai Chang Caine. You will be missed.

A-Kon was a LOT of fun... and I'm sure I'll put together a much better, more comprehensive post. I'm just going to say that first off, Friday night was a great way to start our weekend. There was a Steampunk Ball, and we showed up with most of the group in their Arcana outfits, with me in my circus barker suit and Mechanical Hand (Mark 2). We looked crazy fantastic, and the picture taking was rather frenzied. The next day, we got up rather ridiculously early, and the crew of the Delirium of Grandeur was in particularly fine form. We added Captain Penny Dreadful to the crew, and she was an excellent addition (with steampunk winged jetpack and first mate Michaelangelo teddy bear, no less). I will link pictures as soon as they start showing up online. But walking around was a step-step POSE kind of thing all day. We managed to make quite an impression on Jennie Breeden, so *fingers crossed* Noel will finally have gotten herself into the Devil's Panties! (I know that sounds really quite suggestive, but... it's a life goal of hers that may have happened, and that would be SCHWAY cool). I also reconnected with an old friend of mine from the jousting days, and let's just say that there might be some REALLY cool stuff in the Ben's future involving extensive travel. (good JuJu from everyone would be greatly appreciated on that one...) We eventually went back to the room, got geared up in the Arcana (now with Sister Z!), but it was a weird time of night and most people were in concerts or out, so not nearly the crowd or reception I had hoped for. We went to a bust of a party, then a nice mellow party where we got some drinking done and hanging out accomplished, so that worked out alright by the end. Sunday was a lazy shopping day, and we eventually packed up and headed home. Again, I will post a thorough step by step account of the con later, but now I just want to say.... BOOT SPATS FTW!

:D

P.S. - I want this gig so bad I can taste it. I'll know more Wed.

Ok, so... just a quick breakdown of costumes and stuff that I KNOW we're doing for A-kon, more for my own sanity than a post, but it's nifty and we're show offs, so...

TO BE COMPLETED 

New fangs for Jonathan - Thursday night tentatively
Captain Samuel Taineous new mechanical light up hand of DOOM - finishing glove tonight, possibly making gasket to connect it to bracer)
Jack's second set of temp claws - tonight! Hopefully the next ones will be the custom metal ones... SQUEEEE!
Clean up and repair on weapons, collar and pauldron - tonight

FOR THE CON

Friday night - me in my pimptastic blue velvet Victorian, bowler and silver goggles with all my silver accessories, perhaps even a mask, Noel is currently undecided, potentially wearing Jack just not AS Jack, or perhaps her silver full Victorian, since it is a fancy dress ball.

Saturday day - SKY DOGS!!! The Delierium of Grandeur will sail again, with Captain Samuel Taineous and Captain Helena Gaskit and Captain Perci LNU and Captain Doctor Mechanic M.D., D.D.S. ,M.T. 

me - captain's coat, new hand, bracer, topper, leather vest, watch, stripey pants of doom w/ suspenders, gunbelt, boots, glove
Noel - helena's gear, corset, hand, leg, gunbelt, hip flask, hat and monocle, coat choices
(Perci and the Doctor... make yo lists!)

Saturday night - The Arcana Imperii - Jonathan Harker, Jacqueline du Rippier, Henrietta Jekyll, Lawrence Talbot

me - Jonathan's robes, new fangs, gun, rosary, last rites kit, collar, pauldron, makeup, contacts
Noel - Jack. no, really. I mean, I could list dress, underskirt, blades, hat, goggles, veil, etc..... but really... the checklist for Jack is... Jack.
(Again, Henrietta/Eleanor and Harry Larry... make lists!)

Sunday - who the hell knows.. maybe I'll wear actual anime stuff, like my Taicho from Bleach!

We own the movie Iron Man and  apparently loaned it out at some point... any idea who might have it?

Wistfully watching the rain fall. Feeling my shoulders loosen every time there's a low rumble of thunder while listening to Louis and Keely sing. It's that kind of day.

I know that you and yours read this. Give us a call tomorrow night, as Noel still wants to do the Brass Belle thing! It was really good meeting you on Perth, and we're looking forward to A-kon.

So on Friday we headed on down to Rockport, to go to the family beach-house for Easter weekend. We got out there pretty early, checked into the hotel Noel's parents had so thoughtfully booked for us (too many people, including babies, at the beach house) and headed over for family fun. The drunk mommies (tm, patent pending) were drunk, and much fun chattering was had by all. We headed back to the hotel and crashed early, then slept in, ate breakfast, and hung out until the parents came to the hotel and we all went shopping for clams, shrimp, crab, etc... good times! The parents ran off with all the purchases so we could have lunch, met up with Noel's cousin Jessica and ate at the Boiling Pot. Om Nom Nom crab boil (of course, the potatoes and corn were the best bits, since they absorb SO MUCH FLAVOR from the cooking liquid). I drew a picture for the wall which entertained both me and the staff, and we headed back to the beach house. Noel's mom had me move a big ass busted tv, and we got it down and into the truck. They took off to go recycle the thing (and called and told us that they had bought us the grinder attachment for our KitchenAid! WOOHOO!!) Then Noel and I started just poking around the big garage, looking for rusty old things or bits of brass to make steamy hoohaw out of, and I found an accordion! Noel stared in horror at my right hand ( I thought it was just fear of me weilding an accordion) and she says, "It's gone!" I look at my hand, and my signet stone has fallen out.

FUCK!

This was no cheap replica in glass, this was an obsidian, hand carved signet ring. So the search began, everywhere. We didn't find it. I went inside, hoping beyond hope that the stone had slipped into the back of the truck when I had put it back there. They get back, and it's nowhere to be found. I mope, Noel keeps searching the ground everywhere, nothin. In a fit of desperation, I go back into the garage and there, under the lip of the bottom stair is a little black cockroach. But it's not. It's THE STONE! WOOT! Much relief and smiles all around, and we go in and I (after washing my hands, of course... I mean, ew garage floor ew) start making dinner. There's a LOT of prep work that goes into making a paella, and in the 'in-between' times, I cranked out a New England style clam chowder, since we over-bought on clams. After finishing the paella (clams, lump crab, colossal shrimp) on electric burners (BOOOO!) it had a couple of spots that burned rather than just caramelizing (upset me far more than the people eating, but such is the life of a chef) but all in all it was tasty. The chowder? GONE. Everyone just kept coming back to it and getting 'a little more of that chowder'. Heh, such is the way of things. Always. Dish you spend hours on? "That was good." Dish you make as an afterthought because you have the ingredients? "OM NOM NOM NOM" Ah well.

All in all, a fantastic Easter weekend.

Ok, I think that subject pretty much encapsulates my feelings on the matter. We had great movers who FLEW through the move and got everything to the house in the same condition it left the old apartment. We've managed to get most of the stuff out of boxes, or at the very least we know what's in the boxes that are left. We are walking distance from Zilker, and SoCo, and I am looking forward to exploring the area. Also, I can not WAIT to start writing again, but I made a deal with myself not to write until we were fully unpacked. We have to do a grocery run desperately, because part of the deal on the move (for me, at least) was that once the last box is unpacked and put away, I would be changing my diet back to the 'You Are What You Eat' diet, and Noel is joining me on that. She'll also have the added benefit of working outdoors since she starts her new, ridiculously high-profile dig on Monday. So it should all time together rather well. Eat crap through this weekend, Sunday go shopping for healthy things, make some hummus, a good portable quinoa salad for taking to work, etc. Soooooooo, speaking of healthy food, let's talk about the UNHEALTHY stuff I'll be making soon. We ate some AMAZING food in Venice this time around (and no, I'm not talking about the pepperoni pizza with french fries), and the chef in me says it needs to be done. New house, real kitchen, etc. The current plan for the menu is as follows, and please remember that even with each course being a relatively small portion, it's a marathon meal... serving prosecco with the antipasti and dessert, with a simple Italian white with the entire meal since it's Venetian.

Antipasti of prosciutto, fresh pulled mozzarella, tomatoes, basil and 20 year old balsamic vinegar
Risotto con pesche ala Romano
Handmade spaghetti al nero con seppi (squid ink pasta) with cream sauce
Seared filet of trout, dredged and pan seared in clarified butter with lemon
Dulce (haven't decided)

I labored over whether the meal needed a red meat course, but to be honest, I'd rather stay with the sea on this one. If I did a meat course, it would probably be an osso bucco, and seriously, who has room for that? However, if it's just not dinner without a red meat, I can make it happen. Opinions?

Seriously though, it's not like this will be the last time I cook...

No date is set for the dinner, but for my fellow Austinites and those others to whom I've talked, we can start thinking about a date. If you'd like to pitch in by picking up the wine, or contributing to the costs, it wouldn't be shot down. :-D

NEW HOUSE!

Our pictures! http://s167.photobucket.com/albums/u146/silverfox_k12/Venice%2009/    WOOT! And we'll post the steampunk pics later today.

And a picture of the purse. I promise.

They caught the slimeball! Meaning there will be an update on the show. Which had BETTER include a retraction, so I don't have to get all lawyer on their asses...

We had another fantastic day running all over Venice and Murano, and Noel bought some glass vases and such, the best binoculars in the world, THE TACKIEST PURSE IN THE VURLD (no seriously...) and various and sundry items. We had a pretty good nero a seppie pasta, and a pretty crappy meal at a tourist spot on Murano, tons of great pizza (including a pepperoni and FRENCH FRIES slice... no, again, I'm not kidding) and gelato several times a day. We bought cheap prosecco and drank it while eating cookies in bed. In other words, we had one hell of a good time and were sufficiently worn out by the end of it all to nod at each other and say yes, vacation completed. Then we had to get up at OH GOD o'clock to catch all of our flights. And then, Ben fell down a flight of stairs. Ow.  Then we flew for 26 hours of flights, connecting flights, missed flights, taxi rides and layovers. Then we got home and died. The end. So no travel for us for a while.... OOoOoOOO look at THAT Travelzoo deal...