3/10
The tama for the second round of cord for my Laurel have been wound.
Took my first Japanese lesson today.
3/20
And then I stopped keeping track. And I didn’t post at the one week mark. Sigh. I am still working on things. Let’s try a project based approach for the rest of this post so we can get caught up.
Kumihimo – I now have half of the second cord for my Laurel complete. I hope to have it finished by the end of the month so I can send it off in time for the anniversary of my belting in April. Explanation of belting: the day that I became an apprentice. Apprentices wear green belts. I was presented with a fan, not a belt, because belts aren’t very visible with what I usually wear. Unfortunately, my apprentice fan was lost during Gulfnado. That still makes me very sad. And I still need to make a new green fan. I draw some comfort knowing that my proposed device (which has been sent off for approval and registration) honors my apprentice fan and my Laurel. On a fan vert a escallop argent, or a white scallop shell on a green fan. My Laurel has a white scallop shell on her device.
Saishi Class – I’ve read through a paper comparing Korean and Japanese hairstyles and have been able to glean a bit of information from it. I still need to transfer the notes to my class notes document. The paper made some interesting points on the magical beliefs concerning hair and delineated the influence of China on both the Korean peninsula and the Japanese islands.
Language – I’m studying Japanese every day. I’ve learned some hiragana, and my vocabulary is growing. I’m delighted that I’ve started to develop an ear for the language, and my pronunciation is improving.
Training – I’m also exercising every day with an eye toward fighting in the SCA. There’s a quote from Miyamoto Musashi that helps me focus, “You can only fight the way you practice.” Now. I will be quite honest that training to fight is not at all something a respectable kuge (court noble) woman would do. But it’s an element of the SCA that I have always been drawn to, and if we’re being brutally honest, I want to do ALL THE THINGS.
1000 Tanka – This project brings me so much joy. I’ve been writing poetry, specifically tanka every day for almost 5 months. Current count is 374. I’m still on track to finish on time.
There is no shame in Small steps along the journey The path is the same
Whether the footfalls are fast Or not is of no matter
A&S Champion – Oh, yes, this is it’s own project now. I have a deep desire to do the best job I possibly can (in all things, but especially this public facing position). I see part of my job as inspiring the people of the East Kingdom to explore the arts and sciences. To that end, I have devised a challenge. April is poetry month. I am inviting the East to try writing poems. I will post a prompt each day, and people can respond to that prompt with a poem that may or may not be inspired by the provided word if they feel so inclined. It ties in nicely to two events that are upcoming, the Laurel Challenge and Exhibition (at least one of the challenges is for poetry) and Bardic War. I’m already receiving support/encouragement from the MOAS office. It is my hope that people will use the opportunity to explore poetry appropriate to their persona.
The video of the panel I was part of has not yet been uploaded to the East Kingdom YouTube Channel. Once it is, I’ll share the link.
Travelling Outfit 2.0 – I’m slowly taking in the paper I found. Fascinating information. Once I finish it and then read it again, I’ll have quite a bit to say about it. I just want to absorb it and then figure out how it can improve my documentation and deepen my understanding of what it was like to be a Heian noblewoman. It’s also exciting to learn new things about this outfit without the pressure of perfection and a deadline. Ok, so maybe there’s a little pressure, but just a touch.
