Packages from Canada, interviews, mayhem.

[merimask]

First things first; I received golden_meliades package yesterday!  

It arrived safely in one whole, unblemished piece, which is wonderful since the last time she tried to mail something to me it ended up in the wrong town looking like someone wearing workboots did the rumba on it.  I can't believe it was even returned to her, considering the state it must have been in.  :-(

BUT!  This time everything went according to plan. Yay!  She sent me two books of manga (which was the original plan, as this is a barter for some of my leather leaves).  Mel, being sweet, decided to add a necklace to make things "fair" (I would have been ok with the books, but I LOVE her jewelry so I didn't say no)...and then she made a matching hairstick to go with the necklace!  *happy dance*  I wore them all day...


I find if I braid my hair just a little before I twist it (I have very fine hair) the stick stays in like I GLUED it in place.

She got the colors JUST right.  I love jewel tones with brown and I'm especially fond of aqua blues.  The beads are glass, wood, and (I think) dyed fossil stone.  Lovely!

In other news, a local newspaper is writing an article about me. 

I was interviewed yesterday.  It's just a short article but the reporter is so fascinated with my story that she said she wants to do a longer piece later.  My life has been getting awfully interesting, lately.

Charlotte took the pictures for the article and she's (hopefully) going to get a photo credit in the paper...her first published photo!!   She took those pics of me up there, too.  Funny kid; she says she "doesn't really want to photograph people, you know...".  I guess she wants to be a commercial photographer & do calendars and travel brochures and things like that.  She has a long list of things she doesn't want to photograph and I'm reminded of John Cusak's lines from the movie "Say Anything"..."I don't want to manufacture anything sold or manufactured, and I don't want to sell anything sold or manufactured...".   Yeah, she'll probably have to re-think that at some point.  Fourteen has a way of thinking it knows everything, but you'll notice there are no fourteen-year-olds in the Supreme Court, so...  

I just nod and smile.  It's better for my blood pressure if I do that.  :-)

I might be doing a last-minute show.  It's this weekend and it's a *gulp* Psychic Fair.  In Rochester.  Wha?  Apparently the money is good and they don't have any maskmakers...but I fear the goofy factor might be pretty high.  There are going to be a lot of people waving crystals at my masks, talking about the "aura" around this one or that one...  Hoo boy.

That reminds me of a funny story (my RL friends have all heard this one, but it's my favorite and it bears repeating).

The ODDEST event I ever did in my career as a maskmaker was a pagan festival.  It was called "Starwood" and apparently it was a pretty big event.  Not as big as "Burning Man" out West but still, probably a few thousand people.  Clothing is very optional, at huge outdoor pagan festivals.  They call it "going skyclad".  It's not always pretty and at first, it can be a little distracting.  After a while you learn not to look.

I, of course, did NOT get nekkid.  But, like I said there were a lot of folks wandering around getting sunburns in interesting places.   

A few days into the event, I find myself sitting at my table, under my sale tent, just taking it all in.  Sales were very brisk and the masks were just flying away.  The table was always crowded and things were going well...and suddenly something glittery catches my eye...

This tall, utterly naked guy is standing at my table right in front of me...and I swear he has a drip of something on the tip of his penis!  A...drip!  Just about to fall!  On my masks!  He's chattering away and every time he moves or gestures, I anticipate drippy disaster.  I contemplate handing him a tissue, but how do you tell a potential customer "Excuse me sir...but I think your penis is dripping?".  It's...just not a retail sales situation that presents itself very often.    I just kept staring at this guy's penis, figuring if I could see where the drip falls I can grab a wipe and clean it later.  Finally, he walks away an I breathe a sigh of relief.

Later, I see him in a crowd with that same drip...and I realize it's a piercing.  It's a little silver stud.  Right where a drip might be. 

*facepalm*

That was my first and last pagan event.

Comments

[golden-meliades.livejournal.com]

Lol omg, people just aren't pretty enough to go naked in public, and those who are are just too distracting. And I don't think there are many men in that category at all...their bodies are all hairy and functional rather than comfortable and purdy (if said person is fit, of course).

I don't get the naked thing, really. It's NOT that natural. Animals have skins appropriate for their invironment...snakes don't sunburn. Dogs have fur. Etc. Humans NEED clothes, regardless of whether they look good without them or not. I could see it while swimming or washing, but otherwise...humans are meant to be clothed, for the good of their health. And now that the planet's population is getting fatter and fatter and FATTER, it's just nicer on the eyes, too.

I think I could handle a pagan festival where everyone went swimming naked and possibly took outdoor showers and stuff like that, but just walking around SHOPPING naked? Cooking naked? Etc. No thank you. And I'm one of the smaller crowd of people who does not think it inconceivable to go in public naked, as that kind of thing just doesn't embarrass me. I've done the best I can with what I was given and what is still unappealing is out of my control, so whatever. But I will keep my clothes on while strolling around outdoors, thanks. Anyone heard of skin cancer?

I'll have to put up my pic of your necklace and stick later, it's a close up so the details can be seen from a flat position. I'm really glad they got there in such good time, this time...Shveta got hers, too, so about twice as fast as last time.

[golden-meliades.livejournal.com]

HAHA invironment, that kills me. What was I thinking?

[merimask.livejournal.com]

You know...I've gone skinny-dipping with a few good friends in the past (DISTANT past), and I think in your own fenced in back yard (assuming it's very fenced and very private) there's nothing wrong with a little nekkid.

That said, I can't IMAGINE just disrobing in front of strangers. What's more, the attitude of said nekkid people was...bordering on confrontational. They were so willing to hang it all in your face with multiple justifications and it seemed like REALLY militant nudity to me. It took some getting used to, I can tell you that. I think there is a high quotient of exhibitionists among nudist groups.

I saw a few peple who will haunt me, probably forever. One woman looked almost EXACTLY like some kind of Earth Mother Goddess figurine...almost perfectly round. Her breasts literally hung to her knees and were SO massive that each skin pore had stretched to the size of a pencil eraser. She must have weighed about 500 pounds, and that's a conservative guess. It was...almost frightening.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the hairstick/necklace combo. You could sell these for a lot of money.

[shvetufae.livejournal.com]

Don't forget that you knew us when. . .*grin*

You look all mysterious with the black top and sunglasses. I like!

And the festival story is hilarious.

[merimask.livejournal.com]

Hee! It's not that big a deal. But thanks (and HOW could I forget you guys?)

That's my favorite goofy thing that's happened to me. Second only to my "Coffee at Shoney's" story...which I think EVERYONE has head twice (but I love it!).

[paynesgrey.livejournal.com]

Congrats on the article!

Ah, pagans. I adore them. We're having a Faerie Festival here in So. Elgin in August. I'm not creative enough to contribute crafts but I'm totally going to mix it up and support the local artists. I'm still looking for just the 'right' athame for my altar. :P

[merimask.livejournal.com]

Hee! Thanks. :-) It's no big thing really, but any pulicity is good.

Everyone was quite nice and seemed awfully friendly...I just couldn't get used to all that sunburned flesh! It was upsetting.

[kls-eloise.livejournal.com]

My god, I just embarrassed myself by giggling maniacally in my cubicle. But given what this department is like, they probably only think that I've finally snapped.

I remember my first "public nekkid people" experiance. We were at Northern Region War Camp a little up the Northway in Warrensberg, NY, and it was hotter than an oven. That site has a lovely swimming hole - a moderately quick flow down out of the mountains. Cold! My favorite type of swimming. No one told me that it was "clothing optional." I distinctly remember coming around the corner, feeling my eyes bug out and thinking "EYE CONTACT!!! MAINTAIN EYE CONTACT.

A psychic fair in Rochester. God, I wish I could see that one. I anticipate a VERY high goof factor. And drama. LOTS of drama. I think you're going to get a lot of unsolicited sharing. Be sure to bring back stories!

[merimask.livejournal.com]

lol...oh man that week at Starwood. It was an eye-opener. I suppose compared to that, this weekend will be a walk in the park (a CLOTHED walk in the park).

I went to an SCA event like that once, too. It's always the people you LEAST want to see naked who decide to park their naked selves in the swimming hole. No. Just...no.

[indigos-angel.livejournal.com]

*sporfle*

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

Seriously, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

ZOMG!!!!! Yeah, that would be a rather interesting situation. I wouldn't be worried about the sale, *being me* I'd rather be have my wares not *dripped* on, but that's just me. Yet how do you go about telling someone, *Hi! I wasn't staring at yer bits or anything, but as it happened... *uhm, do you need a Kleenex???* And all you'd want is him opening up a convo with you, to *show you what it was all about* lol

"Hey lady, you wanna check out the piercing on my bits????"

I love the stick, and congrats on the piece!!! YAY!!!!!!! YOU'RE GOING PLACES!!!!!!!! *other than a nude festival I hope... ;p lol

[merimask.livejournal.com]

lol...it was a damn funny situation, and what could I do? The funniest part was how I just couldn't stop staring at his junk. If getting attention was the object of getting the piercing, well then it worked.

[ermine-rat.livejournal.com]

burning man...think you might come on out sometime?

[merimask.livejournal.com]

OMG I would LOVE to. There's something like 40,000 people at that, right? More maybe? It'd be a HUGE event for me. Do you go?

[ermine-rat.livejournal.com]

not yet, but someday (concerns about the toddler friendly aspects), and i have many friends that go....

[smillaraaq.livejournal.com]

It's a little silver stud. Right where a drip might be.

*chortles*

Must've been a Prince Albert done with a short curved barbell so you could only see the little ball on one end of the jewelry. That should be enough information if you wish to search for pictures to confirm my remote diagnosis. ;)

And your koi nobori and tiny daruma went in the mail yesterday, so keep an eye on the mailbox! Silly me, I forgot to snap pics before shoving them into an envelope, but these guys are a little similar in terms of the colors and balance of white on the scales:



The ones at Ginza seemed to have crisper printing to my eyes, and the eyes in particular are much fancier, multiple rings of warm colors including what looks like a bit of shiny gold paper or foil. But that at least will give you a rough idea of what's coming. House of Rice does have 12" AND 24" windsocks if you're still looking for smaller ones to add to the display, although they only sell the tiny ones in sets. I'll eventually be going back to Ginza at some point for a big black carp to go in my living room, so if there are any other little oddments you've been hunting for, just make me a shopping list!

[merimask.livejournal.com]

lol...you're probably right about the piercing. And no, I don't have to look it up...it's already burned into my memory. ;-)

Ooo! Those koi look so cool. Yeah that's exactly what I was thinking of. Yay!

I might get the small ones...I don't mind buying them in sets because I think they look so neat. I love to fly kites, and some of the little ones attached to the kite string & sent up underneath my big parafoil would look spectacular. A row of multicolored fish in the sky!

[smillaraaq.livejournal.com]

And forgot to add...check my journal, the music I promised you is waiting. :)

I will be sorting through dog pictures Very Soon to see what few I have of Zeus are the best to work from. Worst comes to worst I may even just scribble out a bad schematic of markings and color density to supplement the photos...