WIL WHEATON DOT NET: m/ is a hilarious look at the true nature of rock and roll.
So, I have a lot to process and never enough time to do it. Friday and Saturday we ended up playing Shadowfist because our regular plans were thwarted by Bobby Dunn's surprise birthday party, the Arizona Renaissance Festival and Artisans' Marketplace, Tithe of Souls, and Kitty's family emergency. She's back now, and trying to catch up on two weeks worth of missed stuff. You might keep her and her family in your prayers.
Sunday I dragged myself out of bed only to go through mass half awake. I kind of remember something about the choices we make are between those of earthly sinners and those which are Christian, but only because I remember feeling guilty about struggling to stay awake. I should have known better than to stay out until two ante meridian on a day in which I had to attend morning mass.
And it was a good thing that I did attend morning mass, Andrew and Christina didn't come over until sometime around one post meridian. It was good to see Andrew again after so many years. His fiancee was a perfect fit for him from what I saw of her. We chatted at my place for some time before going to dinner at La Fontanella. Afterward we chatted at my place some more until it was past her bedtime. The funny thing is, they met through Yahoo! Personals. He used to look down on people who used the Internet to meet people, due to the drama that was always associated with Internet dating some ten years ago. Times sure have changed!
What was awesome about La Fontanella, besides the food and service, was being able to surprise my friends who are regulars by ordering the calimari with ink. They had never heard of having calimari with ink, and Andrew comes from an Italian family! Luckily, I'm good at finding the truely unusual stuff on menus and trying it. It was excellent. The dye of the ink coloured the the entire dish: calimari, anchovies, and pasta alike. I highly recommend it.
Monday Wayne came over and I made albondigas soup. It was the first time I got to use my meatballer and my crockpot. Both worked wonderfully. It was my first try, and I used turkey instead of beef in the meatballs because the ground turkey was cheaper and healthier. It turned out fairly good.
It was my first real meal on my cleaned off kitchen table. The table hadn't seen the light of day since sometime before I took over as the CopperCon XXIII program director. At least until last week when I finally cleared the rest of it off. Obviously Andrew and Christina didn't notice, but Wayne did. Hopefully I won't let that happen again. At least not to that degree.
Afterward dinner, we worked on Hogwarts Live Action II and Pokemon Live Action IV for Hexacon XIV until he had to catch the bus home. As a group we're hoping that our product is at the point where we can handle two different full-con family-oriented LARPs concurrently. We'll see. Anyone who wants to lend a hand with either or both would be gladly welcomed, pre-con and/or at-con. Just let one of us know.
Today at work a male customer came in wearing a dozen or so mardi gras necklaces. That seemed rather tacky. Then, on the way home I noticed that the streets were busier than usual. I guess we're becoming a major enough of a metropolis that mardi gras celebrations are no longer just at the cajun and creole restaurants, bars, and clubs. Oh well.
Speaking of partying, I guess I shouldn't put off reviewing our trip to the Renaissance Festival and Artisans' Marketplace anymore. I had fun, but I think I would have had more fun with anyone else. Eric was rather negative most of the time, while Aaron and Bill were more interested in girl watching and avoiding being sober. On top of that, Bill and Eric seemed intent on not getting along with each other.
They changed the opening gate entertainment, but I noticed that no one really cared enough to pay attention in the audience. I think their choice to keep the same dialogue until the last couple of years has hurt them in the long run. Now people are conditioned not to pay attention. I heard that they changed up the jousts this year, too. I wonder if they're having the same problem there.
I managed to watch the new Knighting Ceremony, which was a cool thing where the king knights young children and gives them a certificate afterwards. It's cool if you're a parent or of a similar mindset. Bill and Eric could have cared less for it. I think that's a good thing to encourage virtues in the young.
WARNING!!: The Irish Cream milkshake is coffee flavoured!! They don't warn you about that until you've waited ten minutes for the dang thing and you finally taste it. Bill told me that I'd like Irish Cream, but even he seemed surprised that it tasted like coffee. I guess he thought it would taste like Irish Cream liquour. It was bad enough that I had to wait ten minutes while anyone after me who bought another flavour of milkshake was served within a minute of their order. But they should warn you that its a coffee flavoured beverage! Yuck! 
The Pleasure Feast was an awesome value. Six courses, several entertainment acts, a visit from the royalty, and beverages aplenty were definately worth the money. I've heard many negative reviews, but I believe that they are from generally negative people. The Feast Master, his lackey, and the sheriff are a good addition to the cast of crazy festival characters. Each entertainment act is better than the previous one, as is each course of food. The waitstaff did an excellent job, and it was good to see that the trumpeters get to do more than just gate and joust duty. And to top it off you get a commemorative mug and medalion set from the inaugural feast!
I think part of the fun of the feast is in how it all unfolds, so I won't spoil it here. However, I would like to offer counter arguements to some of the complaints. Aaron and Bill complained that they went in drunk and came out sober. First of all, they don't want drunk people leaving, they want happy people leaving. Not everyone is a happy drunk, and not everyone is happy to be in the same room as a drunk. What they should have been happy about was that the amber beer, white wine, red wine, cola, diet cola, non-cola soda, and iced tea were included in the price of the feast. They had refills with each meal at the very least, and if you told a knave or wench that you needed more they came back as soon as they were able with what you requested. The cost of that alcohol outside in the rest of the fair would have no doubt been the cost of the feast on its own, so I don't see how they can complain and claim that they were disappointed in that.
The same arguement holds true to the people who complained about how we got a Pepsi pitcher near us and they didn't. I was vocal enough to ask and they weren't. The pitcher was for the underaged couple next to me and myself, so its not like it was all for me. Some people asked for extra servings of some stuff and recieved it, too. Furthermore, some people asked for a way to take some of it home and were supplied with aluminium foil. Ask and ye shall receive. It's that simple.
Second, yes the waitstaff does solicit a tip at the end of the feast. Look at how much work they've just done for you! Do you really think that the cost of the feast is going directly into their pockets? Just like at any sitdown restaurant, whatever you pay for the meal covers almost none of the cost of the service. They set the places for nearly one hundred guests, serve those guests six courses of food and beverage, and then have to clean up after them. Anyone who would dare question tipping them in my presence will get an earful. I understand the Mister Pink philosophy, but it has no bearing on the reality of modern food service.
The knave and wench who most looked after me were both awesome. The the promised soda never came by during the first course, and I had gone through several glasses of water when I questioned the knave about soda service during the second course. When he realised that the three of us in a row wanted the same thing, he brought us the first pitcher of soda which he replaced as needed (along with his water duties). Meanwhile, the wench had noticed that I was eatting my courses faster than anyone else around me and asked me if I had not eatten all weekend like they had been suggesting to folks. When I countered that I had in fact already sampled wares elsewhere in the faire (the aforementioned milkshake), she was surprised enough that she offered me extra helpings during each of the subsequent courses.
Too bad Bill was too blind to notice that while he was slipping her his phone number she was asking me to meet her at the closing gate ceremonies. I felt rather embarrassed by his feeble attempt, for the both of us. I looked for her at the gate, but I didn't see her before Eric made me leave so that I could be at the Local Convention Program Team meeting that night. As it was, my waiting around still made me twenty minutes late for the meeting.
When I left the Pleasure Feast, I left satiated, but with my goblet full of Pepsi and my other hand with a breadroll. But more importantly, I left with fond memories of a well done banquet and show. Thanks, Fairhaven Feast Hall!
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