I met a fellow BDer!!

[Brinniel]

Originally Posted by Lommy

That is funny, because everybody says either "you look so similar!" or "one would never guess you're sisters!"

Heh, I have to laugh because that happens to be the same thing everyone says about me and my sister...

Originally Posted by Hookbill

Or we should arrange a meeting of Downers in some random place... How about... Antarctica? The Penguins will be happy.

Ooh..an excellent idea. And Antarctica sounds nice...my dad went there and he loved it.

Originally Posted by Groin

How about we meet halfway, I hear Bermuda is nice this time of year!

Originally Posted by Mith

Are you sure that is a good idea?

They might all disappear.

That's what I was thinking...

Though if you really want a halfway point between European and North American Downers, Greenland would be our best bet. But that wouldn't exactly be fair to our friends from Australia and the Phillipines. Figuring them into the picture, where should we go? Perhaps central Africa....

Even better, I was thinking since we all seem to have such great chemistry....wouldn't it be wonderful if a bunch of BDers moved to some remote location and founded our own colony? It could work...

[Gwathagor]

Originally Posted by Brinniel

Even better, I was thinking since we all seem to have such great chemistry....wouldn't it be wonderful if a bunch of BDers moved to some remote location and founded our own colony? It could work...

We could buy an island, cut off communication with the outside world, and then teach our children Middle-earth myth as fact.

[Volo]

Originally Posted by Brinniel

Even better, I was thinking since we all seem to have such great chemistry....wouldn't it be wonderful if a bunch of BDers moved to some remote location and founded our own colony? It could work...

While some have "Spectre of Capitalism" in their personal titles and others pictures of Karl Marx in their avatars. Hmm... interesting.

[Formendacil]

Personally, I'm just waiting for our first BD wedding, so I can *sort of* justify travelling far and *undoubtedly* spending too much money.

Rikae & Mac?
Eomer & Cailin?

Any takers?

Originally Posted by Thinlómien

He's really not short - just of average height. (180cm or about 6ft or maybe 5'11".) It's Rune standing beside him that makes him short.

That make Nogrod my height...

*attempts to visualise*

Okay, even if I can wrap my mind around that... how on earth do you get used to a fire-eyed demon in the family?

(See Nogrod in the last pic...)

[Rune Son of Bjarne]

Originally Posted by Groin Redbeard

Rune is beginning to look like he's had one to many.

I am still wearing clothes and it is even my own, so clearly I did not have too many.

[Hookbill the Goomba]

Originally Posted by Volo man

this and this, after which I was thrown out of my own house.

Okay, I managed to see the video. This bit intrigued me;

Legate: I'd be surprised if there wasn't a Downer article...
Lommy: OH NO!!!

... When did I become some sort of notorious bogyman?

I think us Downers going to Oxonmoot are going to have to have triple the fun just to compete with this...

[TheGreatElvenWarrior]

Originally Posted by Hookbill the Goomba

Okay, I managed to see the video. This bit intrigued me;

Legate: I'd be surprised if there wasn't a Downer article...
Lommy: OH NO!!!

... When did I become some sort of notorious bogyman?

I think us Downers going to Oxonmoot are going to have to have triple the fun just to compete with this...

Who doesn't like to be in the Downer? I know I would pay money to have an article written about me or have my picture in the news...

But it'd be nice if I could go to Oxonmoot and meet other BDers...

[Thinlómien]

Originally Posted by Hookbill the Goomba

Okay, I managed to see the video. This bit intrigued me;

Legate: I'd be surprised if there wasn't a Downer article...
Lommy: OH NO!!!

... When did I become some sort of notorious bogyman?

You missed the half-amused tone of voice...

[Lalwendë]

Aganzir, that group photo looks like it could be of a Viking Metal band or something. I'm trying to resist the urge to photoshop it

I just can't think what the band would be called. They'd be a bit more like Nightwish rather than Tyr or Finntroll I think due to the contingent of lasses. Maybe.......Barrowtroll, or Wightwish....*groan*







I just posted this as davem and had to swiftly edit...bummox!!!! So no, davem has not suddenly developed an interest in metal, he mostly has to endure it

[Volo]

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

I'm trying to resist the urge to photoshop it

Please don't!

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by Volo

Please don't!

All you need are some capes and guitars....maybe a bit of eyeliner.....mua-ha-hah!

Though you could be just resting 'in the green room' of course

[skip spence]

Wow, that seems like a lot of fun!

Some of those pics (esp. post#398 and #400) look like they could've been the album-cover for some 70's progressive rock band haha.

I also recall picking a fight with Rune some time ago. Boy am I glad i didn't go throught with it, that man's a behemoth...

Nice pictures!

[Hookbill the Goomba]

At this year's Oxonmoot there was a great meeting of Downers. A record 9! Here is a picture, stolen from Esty, of 8 of us...



From left to right: (front) Finwen as Beleg Cuthalion and myself as the Professor; (back row) Estelyn Telcontar, The Squatter of Amon Rudh, Rune Son of Bjarne, Kath, Poison Ivy, and Guinevere. Narfforc was ill, apparently, and so was not present. But he was there in spirit. I believe it was gin.

Finwen is the one who got me onto the Downs all those years ago. Her account lies dormant at the moment due to the forgotten password. We've known one another for years, though, off the Downs, and spent far too much time watching Doctor Who and spotting Tolkien references.
I'd met Esty last year at Oxonmoot. She's always very cheerful and I remain intensely jealous of her artistic abilities. Her lecture on Musical Instruments in Middle Earth was excellent.
Squatter I had also met the previous year. He was very much the same old weirdo with a liking for waistcoats. We shared many ridiculous jokes about things like 'Sky deemed boring; government blamed'.
Rune was a fellow I'd not met. Gosh, what an odd person he is. When he wasn't accusing me of being a mushroom, he made pleasant conversation. I was frustrated with him in the quiz, though.
Kath was a surprise. I'd not heard she was coming. So it was nice to meet her. She was very pleasant and engaged in our ridiculous jokes with gusto. Which is always nice.
Poison Ivy, much like her Barrow Downs activity, was more of a lurker. At least with me any way. I didn't get chance to have any real conversations. Which was a shame.
It was nice to meet Guinevere again, thought we did not talk an awful lot. Which is always sad.
I met Narfforc once or twice over the course of the moot. He was, as usual, bizarre and twisted in his humour. Which I loved. Continuing the 'Aragorn and Gandalf went in the van' joke for no real reason at one point.

That's all I can think to say at the moment...

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Originally Posted by Hookbill the Goomba

At this year's Oxonmoot there was a great meeting of Downers. A record 9! Here is a picture, stolen from Esty, of 8 of us...

Ah no. Here goes the record.

But anyway, it looks like you had fun. I say anyway that Downers' meetings should be organised more often, and these Tolkien meetings and festivals are a good reason for that. Or this BarrowDownsCon, or how should it be called, it's been talked enough times to actually indeed make it...

[Brinniel]

Oxonmoot! Hookbill, I must admit your pictures made me miss Oxford so much. It's a beautiful city....and of course the perfect place for a BDer gathering.

Originally Posted by Legate

Ah no. Here goes the record.

Now you know how I felt when you guys managed to break the previous record that was made last April.

But don't worry...we can beat those Oxonmooters again. Perhaps another summer gathering in Finland? With even more BDers, of course. Because we all know Finland is where the Barrow Downs is really located.

[A Little Green]

Oh no, nine! You evil people broke our record

Originally Posted by Brinn

But don't worry...we can beat those Oxonmooters again. Perhaps another summer gathering in Finland? With even more BDers, of course. Because we all know Finland is where the Barrow Downs is really located.

So true. It would be awesome to get some Downers here also next summer. I think I can speak for all of us silli (sic) Finns when I say that everyone willing to come is very welcome.

I'll try advertising a bit... Come to Finland! We are not evil nor scary. At least, we don't show it if we are

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Originally Posted by A Little Green

I'll try advertising a bit... Come to Finland! We are not evil nor scary. At least, we don't show it if we are

Plane tickets to Finland aren't cheap... poor college student... If the invitation remains open for a few years and doesn't exclude me...

[Gwathagor]

No, they certainly aren't cheap. Upwards of $1000 from Chicago to Helsinki round-trip.

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by Brinniel

Perhaps another summer gathering in Finland? With even more BDers, of course. Because we all know Finland is where the Barrow Downs is really located.

Finland, Finland, Finland, has it all.

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Originally Posted by Gwathagor

No, they certainly aren't cheap. Upwards of $1000 from Chicago to Helsinki round-trip.

I found $898 if I fly out of Boston. But still... Ouch.

[Brinniel]

Indeed, a flight to Helsinki can be quite pricey. But then again, a flight to anywhere these days is rather expensive. But if you really want to go somewhere, you just have to save up your money and patiently wait until you have enough. Take that advice from someone who has no money and still can't get a job. But I determined...

Hmm...I wonder what I have to do to convince some BDers to visit Boston....

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Originally Posted by Brinniel

Hmm...I wonder what I have to do to convince some BDers to visit Boston....

Take one of two routes:

1) attempt to coordinate schedules

2) wait patiently until next summer when I intend to move to Boston

[Rune Son of Bjarne]

Originally Posted by A Little Green

Oh no, nine! You evil people broke our record
So true. It would be awesome to get some Downers here also next summer. I think I can speak for all of us silli (sic) Finns when I say that everyone willing to come is very welcome.

I'll try advertising a bit... Come to Finland! We are not evil nor scary. At least, we don't show it if we are

hahaha!
(I feel wonderfully wicked even though I was also part of the previouse record, surely I am still a swine in your eyes)

Anyways is it not obviouse that the downers of the Oxonmoot and of Helsinki should join forces and personaly I think they should meet on the half way. (Denmark)

Actually I would also be up for a meeting in Boston. . . I need to visit some friends in the states before too long and I really want to experience Fenway.

[Brinniel]

Originally Posted by Fea

Take one of two routes:

1) attempt to coordinate schedules

2) wait patiently until next summer when I intend to move to Boston

1) Coordinating schedules could work, depending on when of course. It's always makes things more difficult when you have school to worry about.

2) There's a good chance I'll be living in Boston next summer, and I'll definitely be here in the following fall.

Actually I would also be up for a meeting in Boston. . . I need to visit some friends in the states before too long and I really want to experience Fenway.

Yes! You must come see Boston, and soon (by soon I mean no later than spring 2010). I actually haven't seen a Red Sox game yet (shocking, I know), so perhaps we can experience Fenway together.

[Thinlómien]

Lommy's handy list of attracting Barrow-Downers to your home city/country

1) Convert all your friends and family to Barrow-Downers. This way, the ones you seek to lure to your lair are attracted by not only the thought of meeting just one lovely person, but many lovely people.

2) Invite people personally and tell them you'd love them to come. Also, give them good reasons why they'd want to come.

3) Once you manage to lure one person, it becomes easier to lure others to come too. Downers get jealous easily...

These tactics have proven succesful...

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Originally Posted by Brinniel

1) Coordinating schedules could work, depending on when of course. It's always makes things more difficult when you have school to worry about.

Precisely. I could make it over in late November when I'm on Thanksgiving break, but would you be there, or would you be on your own vacation? December as well, Christmas break, I could probably make it, but my break generally falls exactly at the worst time for anything...

2) There's a good chance I'll be living in Boston next summer, and I'll definitely be here in the following fall.

Much easier. Every grad school I'm looking at it is in or around Boston. So unless something major changes in the next eight months, you can find me in Boston for the year or two following my graduation.

[Brinniel]

Originally Posted by Fea

Precisely. I could make it over in late November when I'm on Thanksgiving break, but would you be there, or would you be on your own vacation? December as well, Christmas break, I could probably make it, but my break generally falls exactly at the worst time for anything...

I won't be here for Thanksgiving...I'm actually heading down south the Raleigh of all places. As for winter break, it's hard to say since everyone's breaks are different. Mine starts December 18 and goes on until mid-January...I'll probably be home for most of that, though nothing is set just yet.

Originally Posted by Fea

Much easier. Every grad school I'm looking at it is in or around Boston. So unless something major changes in the next eight months, you can find me in Boston for the year or two following my graduation.

Perfect. Then I can count on meeting you at least sometime within the next year.

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Originally Posted by Brinniel

Perfect. Then I can count on meeting you at least sometime within the next year.

Yes.

Now if only we could get the phantom to travel eastbound... but he so firmly believes that this is where shadows lie...

[Aganzir]

I met Mithalwen, Kath and the guy who be short on Sunday.

Despite some confusion with the times, we eventually managed to find one another. The day was sunny and incredibly warm (22 C according to the weather forecast, but I bet it was more), so mostly we just walked around London. We found a shop that sold foreign candy, and I forced the Brits to try salted liquorice (which is kind of a classic in Finland). They had fun reading the Swedish package labels. In another shop Mith bought fortune cookies. I have lost my own fortune and don't remember the others either, but at least tgwbs's was funny. And when the park we were sitting in was closed, we went to a pub and sat there for the rest of the evening.

They were all very nice people and it was great to meet them. Only I was really tired after a night of four hours of sleep (preceded by a week of seven hours of sleep a night at most, usually not even that much) so I wasn't as social as I might have been otherwise.

Mith was really funny and talkative and sweet, and she brought us white chocolate raisins, yay! She made me laugh more than once.

I had never expected Kath to be quiet, but (and now I join the ever increasing number of people who say this) also she was somehow more talkative than I had thought. She was very nice and funny and easy to talk to. But hey, it's not that difficult to say Hanni!

I didn't know tgwbs very well, but he proved to be a great personality, really funny, a bit crazy and such. He should start visiting the Downs more often again.

[Mithalwen]

Originally Posted by Aganzir

Mith was really funny and talkative and sweet, and she brought us white chocolate raisins, yay! She made me laugh more than once.

It is a bit worrying that I can still be described as talkative when I had lost my voice!!! Clearly I overdid it because on Monday I literally could not speak a word... I am still somewhat silenced...blessed relief for all around no doubt...

[Kath]

But hey, it's not that difficult to say Hanni!

Yes it is! But I'm glad you don't think I'm too strange.

So I guess it's my turn to say what I thought!

Agan was really lovely. She is one of those 'Downers I've had a little less interaction with so I wasn't sure how well we'd get on but she was so easy to talk to. She was a little quiet when we were walking around but then it was noisy and the poor thing had been waiting for us for hours, and when we got to the pub where it was easier to chat we were all talking away quite happily. She is another of these Finn's with fantastic English as well.

Jay is one of those who I've planned to meet for ages, we've just never got round to it! He was just as mad, funny and sweet as he seems online so it was great to meet him. We have hopefully managed to convince him to return to werewolf as well!

As for Mith, she was just as lovely as last time and it was really nice to see her again - plus she gave me more raisins!

[Mithalwen]

Originally Posted by Aganzir

. But hey, it's not that difficult to say Hanni!

I am going to second Kath on this .. it is absolutely impossible :

(after about 7 failed attempts) -

Aganzir "Han-ni"

Mith *whimpering* "Lommie"

Jay was much better but then he is an Oxford linguistician...

After I read Agan's comment at lunchtime I happened to read Treebeard talking about Entish and I think Finnish must be related - "a lovely language, but it takes a very long time to say anything in it". I did feel like I was doing a Treebeard impersonation, sinking into chest voice to get the long pure "a" sound. It doesn't help that most of the languages I have studied are "hastier".

[Aganzir]

Originally Posted by Kath

She was a little quiet when we were walking around but then it was noisy and the poor thing had been waiting for us for hours

Haha, I was only one hour too early. Better that than to be on the train a day too early though, I guess...

Originally Posted by Mithalwen

"a lovely language, but it takes a very long time to say anything in it".

I suppose that's why we have developed so many slangs which shorten the words terribly.

Anyway, here's the pic Mith took of tgwbs, Kath and me in the evening.

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

that anything said by Brinn or Mira about me getting us so spectacularly lost en route home from the airport last week that a fifteen minute car trip down NY-17 took over an hour and a half... is utter rubbish.

They are inventing it all. Yes, they may include many believable details, such as, "she missed the exit and decided to take back roads instead," or "I tried to called Kelly in a panic, but by then Fea had driven out of range of cell phone service!!!" but as I said before, these things are simply untrue.

Any mention of the pretty deer that we had to stop for, any discussions about how we cheered when we met with roads that had painted lines again... should be met with a raised eyebrow, as we all know that I - Fea - never get anything wrong.

Of course then we got home, and more or less settled in.

For about fifteen minutes.

At which point my only non-Barrowdowner room mate (how did this happen!? Kelly is Nienna now!) ran outside to greet her father and sister; her sister (age 14) would be staying with us for the weekend.

A few hours after Nienna and Lari got off of work, more of our friends arrived for the weekend! Brinn took it like a champ, I'd merely like to add: when I first invited her down for spring break, I had no idea we'd be splitting the bathroom eight ways over the weekend.

"It'll be insane until Sunday afternoon," I said upon learning how many people would be here,, "and then it will die."

And lo! On Saturday Night of the first weekend, we went to my favorite pub, and that was good.

It was hard getting us all to behave long enough to hold still for a tasteful photograph that barely involved tequila in any way, but - from left to right - Lari, I, Mira, and Brinn did in fact manage to hold still for photographer-Nienna while our various friends looked on in amusement.

It wasn't long after - a few hours at most, of french fries and cocktails- that I went to the bar to buy a drink for one of the girls, only to return with two drinks in hand! The flannel-clad smoke-scented drunk fellow at the bar had insisted I try what he was drinking.

Eyebrows raised upon my return. Why did Fea have this spare double shot of bourbon in her left hand? She already had a concoction that tasted - cloyingly - like bubblegum. I briefly explained.

Have you heard of awkward turtle? Well, it was a bit more awkward than awkward turtle... With nine young women around some pushed-together tables in a pub with a band and a spiky haired bartender, this uninvited and thrice-declined drink signaled the commencement of an awkward hurricane, in which awkward turtle (me), awkward palm tree (the as yet unintroduced Libby), and awkward balloon (Nienna) all get blown around in an awkward storm!

The next morning, we made art.

As is typical for a Sunday in the Household of the Peredhil, we went to the ceramics studio on campus and made things out of clay. Nienna, Mira, and I went straight into teacher mode, as Brinniel and all three of our non-Barrowdowner companions had never thrown clay on a wheel before!

As Nienna wandered and taught widely, I moved in closer for more tailored teaching. Elbows in, girls. Show that clay who is boss! A little bit wetter, that's the trick. And then, once I'd satisfactorily thrown a few porcelain cups of my own, Nienna settled in next to Brinniel to trim a bowl and to offer aid that was barely needed. Brinn learns fast. She's certainly better at bowl-making than I was when Nienna first taught me.

And then... well, then the week exploded, as school weeks are inclined to do. With all of us busy but Brinn, the apartment exploded a bit as well. There were some classes skipped, some groceries purchased, some meals cooked (you'll have to ask the others for a review of my cooking), until on Friday I brought Brinniel to the Corning Museum of Glass, mostly so that I could take pretty pictures of her making things.

A visit to the Peredhil Household, you must understand by now, means obligatory art making. You see this very brave gloved hand? That was a Brinniel hand that was working with glass that was hotter than lava! You read that right: when that molten glass came out of the oven, it was over a hundred degrees hotter than your average lava flow.

Which leads me to Friday night, once we'd returned from Corning.

Early in the week, Brinniel had noticed Lord of the Rings Trivial Pursuit, DVD Edition sitting on one of our bookshelves. Friday night, we sprawled on the living room floor for a nerd battle of epic proportion.

"It's not the Misty Mountains..." you might hear hesitantly thought aloud.

"Ered Nimrais, guys, Ered Nimrais!"

"I can't remember," the occasional Barrowdowner would groan, at which point another might yell out, "The answer is 'doubt'!"

One of my favorite moments was surely Mira joking that she ought to do herself in for not knowing the answer to a question we all obviously knew but her: the answer was Denathor.

I doubled over in my chair in a fit of giggles, "Are you going to do it while on fire by throwing yourself off a cliff?"

I tell you all this, yet the highlight was certainly yesterday's road trip to visit Rikae and half of Mac's genetic material.

We packed up our various purses and items of import, doubled back for a forgotten iPod so that we need not listen to Cindy Lauper on the radio, and followed the applicable Finger Lake north for a little while.

Upon arrival, we thought it best to acclimate our favorite little 'Downer-in-training to the terror that is Glaurung. She is a braver one even than Brinniel, who faced an art making process that burned hotter than the fires of Mount Doom! The child feared the avatar of Glaurung not even a little. Not even when it began to sing!

Of course a group photo with SkypeMac was obligatory, particularly given the amount of time we spent teaching him about awkward turtle. In honor of Lommy, Mac is now the world's leading expert on awkward penguin. I consider it a great tragedy that I did not manage to video Bubbles as he performed each awkward movement we described for him.

In effort to show you how difficult it is to organize a group photo of such proportion, I humbly offer my favorite of the batch, in which we are not all looking at the camera.

Of course in such instances wherein people must cram together as Nienna admonishes them to hold still, certain close relationships develop: Mac and I, it appears, shared a few accidental longing glances. I happen to believe, and others perhaps agree, that the most appropriate caption for that image is, "Fea haz cheezburger! Big Mac no haz cheezburger." This is, of course, subject to debate.

And now, I leave the details to the others...

[Lariren Shadow]

Originally Posted by Feanor of the Peredhil

that anything said by Brinn or Mira about me getting us so spectacularly lost en route home from the airport last week that a fifteen minute car trip down NY-17 took over an hour and a half... is utter rubbish.

They are inventing it all. Yes, they may include many believable details, such as, "she missed the exit and decided to take back roads instead," or "I tried to called Kelly in a panic, but by then Fea had driven out of range of cell phone service!!!" but as I said before, these things are simply untrue.

As I am neither Brinn nor Mira I can be trusted with what I say. She did get them horribly lost. Yet it turned out to be a circle. For about an hour. During which Mira freaked out a lot and Brinn actually, apparently, took it in stride. I was only there for the frantic phone call to Nienna.

And lo! On Saturday Night of the first weekend, we went to my favorite pub, and that was good.

And thus followed the first and second commandment of the pub: thou shalt do tequila shots and thou shalt consume massive quantities of french fries.

The next morning, we made art.

As is typical for a Sunday in the Household of the Peredhil, we went to the ceramics studio on campus and made things out of clay. Nienna, Mira, and I went straight into teacher mode, as Brinniel and all three of our non-Barrowdowner companions had never thrown clay on a wheel before!

Since when did it become the Household of the Peredhil? Twoish other Downers live there as well (I say twoish because Mira generally tends to spend more time in our cottage than in her own room). There are plenty of other names to call it! Besides Benjamin 1!

And then... well, then the week exploded, as school weeks are inclined to do. With all of us busy but Brinn, the apartment exploded a bit as well.

Stupid History of England paper...and senior sem paper...crap I need to work on that. I plan to die in the following week.

Early in the week, Brinniel had noticed Lord of the Rings Trivial Pursuit, DVD Edition sitting on one of our bookshelves. Friday night, we sprawled on the living room floor for a nerd battle of epic proportion.

"It's not the Misty Mountains..." you might hear hesitantly thought aloud.

"Ered Nimrais, guys, Ered Nimrais!"

"I can't remember," the occasional Barrowdowner would groan, at which point another might yell out, "The answer is 'doubt'!"

One of my favorite moments was surely Mira joking that she ought to do herself in for not knowing the answer to a question we all obviously knew but her: the answer was Denathor.

I doubled over in my chair in a fit of giggles, "Are you going to do it while on fire by throwing yourself off a cliff?"

Now Mira's selfesteem is crushed even more. And it is my game. Because I need to state that. And it was hilarious playing. It should be done more often.

I tell you all this, yet the highlight was certainly yesterday's road trip to visit Rikae and half of Mac's genetic material.

We packed up our various purses and items of import, doubled back for a forgotten iPod so that we need not listen to Cindy Lauper on the radio, and followed the applicable Finger Lake north for a little while.

I get it! You don't like Cindy Lauper and I should have given you my iPod sooner! I was half asleep at the time!

Upon arrival, we thought it best to acclimate our favorite little 'Downer-in-training to the terror that is Glaurung. She is a braver one even than Brinniel, who faced an art making process that burned hotter than the fires of Mount Doom! The child feared the avatar of Glaurung not even a little. Not even when it began to sing!

And then it had to be hidden from Mira, who kept trying to attack people with Glaurung and not amuse the 'Downer-in-training.

Of course a group photo with SkypeMac was obligatory, particularly given the amount of time we spent teaching him about awkward turtle. In honor of Lommy, Mac is now the world's leading expert on awkward penguin. I consider it a great tragedy that I did not manage to video Bubbles as he performed each awkward movement we described for him.

Yes, it was fun teaching SkypeMac the awkward movements. And I think we should use awkward penguin all the time. Hehehehe Bubbles oh how that is going to be so much fun later.

In effort to show you how difficult it is to organize a group photo of such proportion, I humbly offer my favorite of the batch, in which we are not all looking at the camera.

But there does exist a picture of all of us looking at the camera, even Bubbles.

It was a pretty fantastic week. I really have nothing else to add, considering I spent much of it either working or doing work for classes.

[Thinlómien]

I'm soooooooo envious. Seriously. But I'm glad you had fun.

[Kath]

I am ridiculously jealous - but very glad that you all had a great time.

[Mirandir]

Originally Posted by Lariren Shadow

Now Mira's selfesteem is crushed even more. And it is my game. Because I need to state that. And it was hilarious playing. It should be done more often.

Mira has no self esteem. Mira NEEDS no self esteem. Grr.

Originally Posted by Lariren Shadow

And then it had to be hidden from Mira, who kept trying to attack people with Glaurung and not amuse the 'Downer-in-training.

Fantastic job you did hiding it, too. Under the table in plain sight was a bloody brilliant place for it.

Originally Posted by Feanor of the Peredhil

that anything said by Brinn or Mira about me getting us so spectacularly lost en route home from the airport last week that a fifteen minute car trip down NY-17 took over an hour and a half... is utter rubbish.

You, my dear, are rubbish. But of the very pretty variety, of course.

All in all, a fantastically fun week.

[Rikae]

It was, indeed, tons of fun meeting Brinn, Fea, Lari, Mira & Nienna! Something about Skype seems to bring out people's goofy sides; that plus six downers and a snake-toy, and you can imagine. Or see - I think Fea has a video...

They even brought me birthday presents - Brinn made a tasty pie (and I don't mean that in a wolfish, cannibal sort of way) and Fea some amazing handmade (downer made!) bowls. They taught me some - er, sign language, and I in turn taught them a little German... *evil snicker*

Lari left out my favorite two photos, so here they are:

Mac realizes he is the only guy among half a dozen women...

- and -

Annika overpowers Glaurung with her hypnotic gaze.

[Thinlómien]

Rikae, those photos are priceless.