From: owner-eda-thoughts-digest@smoe.org (eda-thoughts-digest) To: eda-thoughts-digest@smoe.org Subject: eda-thoughts-digest V2 #106 Reply-To: eda-thoughts@smoe.org Sender: owner-eda-thoughts-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-eda-thoughts-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk eda-thoughts-digest Friday, April 16 1999 Volume 02 : Number 106 * If you ever wish to unsubscribe, send an email to * eda-thoughts-digest-request@smoe.org with ONLY * the word unsubscribe in the body of the email * . * PLEASE :) when you reply to this digest to send a post TO the list, * change the subject to reflect what your post is about. A subject * of Re: eda-thoughts-digest V2 #xxx or the like gives readers no clue * as to what your message is about. Today's Subjects: ----------------- ET: NJC: EDAS + MM= F U N [Jason Vierling ] ET: a few [Naomi Vaughn ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 02:00:44 -0700 (PDT) From: Jason Vierling Subject: ET: NJC: EDAS + MM= F U N For those of who you hate long, rambling, detailed accounts of EDA exploits and would rather eat your own eyes than be bothered with one...then get snacking because you are now significantly on your way into this one :) This Gathering started as I have started many others, a gentle suggestion, a building of shared enthusiasm, much negotioating, skillfully leaning on others much better organizational skills (thanks Lori), and the inevitable series of succesive examples of Murphy's Law in action. There is a favorite joke of mine that reads like this.. How do you make Fate/God Laugh? Make a plan. Such, in my experience, is the way of Gatherings. I believe this is also why so many Gatherings falter before they happen. The EDA shirt I was going to wear?...spilled my last pepsi on it in the car. First meeting place? No longer existed. The freeway off ramp that would have deposited us on the doorstep of said defunct restaurant (now a hollowed out shell of its former self).....closed. Despite the perilous detour through city streets more confused than David Bowies sexuality, we eventually were all able to meet up bleary eyed and set out onto the path to Gathering history. Ok ok, so I was the only one bleary eyed as I had less than 3 hours of sleep under my belt at that point and very little caffeine at hand (except what was staining my EDA shirt...sigh). Also, unbeknownst to my comrades, I was suffering from not only a sinus infection that had me running a fever of 100+ degrees, but also a most disagreeable toothache that surfaced only that morning (can you imagine the freak I would have been if I was feeling well!?!?). Not despairing, I had vowed Death itself would attend the Gather before I would bow out! (dramatic ain't I?) Anyhoo, we slowly crept behind a Highway patrol officer who seemed quite amused to zig-zag about the freeway like an indecisive jack rabbit toward our destination and yet actually managed to arrive somewhat early at the second meeting point aka Marie Callendars(which amazingly hadn't imploded or been turned into a laundry mat given our luck) Now, I want to leave you with this little bit of advice if you ever a staring down the barrel of a Gathering such as this on a like amount of sleep as I had gotten. Tip #1 DON'T EAT UNTIL YOU ARE BLOATED!!! I admit it. I stuffed myself...breakfast buffet + sleep deprivation = narcolepsy. Simple as that. And that syrup spoon jumped..I swear. It was a suicide. Honestly,I was an innocent victim in it's twisted bid for attention. I almost dove in after it, but I had touched the chalk as well and thought better of it. We were just lucky one of the more faint hearted patrons of the restaurant weren't it's chosen witness. Nuff said. Having sated ourselves on fine food (try the nut cream pie...it's great) and obligatory introductory conversation (plus GREAT amounts of coffee for myself) we ventured on to the park, stopping only to purchase as much in the way of pain medication and film as my change from breakfast would allow. This is where my long winded recounting will diverge somewhat from Lori's (aka the Psych-ed EDA). Tip #2 for a Gathering...don't bring weapons. At the end of Last Years Gathering at MM tragically there was a gang related shooting in the parking lot. Thus this year it was of little suprise to see that Magic Mountain had installed metal detectors at the entrance. Now, I have never thought of my self or those that I surround myself with (family,girlfriends,etc) to be dangerous in the slightest (with the regretable exception of perhaps to myself). As our group (my brother and friend, Sonja and her sister, and I) approached the entrance, Security visibly shifted in their stance and attitude. Like all nervous yet innocent people I immediately began to panic...why was I so worried about this..what was nagging at the back of my brain? All I had in my jacket was my keys, wallet, pain meds, my produce knife, my money...MY DANG KNIFE!!! (I work as a produce clerk and have a rather vicious knife I employ in that use...vegetables deserve no mercy.) Add to this the chain belt,a chain belt, a pallet knife in my bros bookbag(art supply), the fact that Lauren was carrying a veritable slew of sharp bladelike objects in her back pack that she claimed had some sort of "beautification" use, and we realized a hike back to the car was imminent. Sigh. Thus unarmed did we return only to find the metal detectors now almost completely unmanned and those guards that were there so wholly disinterested in the entire process as to have allowed Robo-Cop to walk thru unchallenged. We found the others a half hour later and of course the remainder of the group was well rested and ready to proceed. It was at this point that I wished death would show up so that I could borrow his scythe to lean on. Needless to say, we pressed on. I have to give Jaime credit for coming up with the most innovative way of recording for posterity the moments of the day. She brought a tape recorder. There is something about a tape recorder that begs a performance of Jewel songs...and performances she got(jewel-like and otherwise). I fear what is on that tape and I beg the forgiveness of all who are subjected to my segments therein. I was in pain, on drugs, and generally caught up in the goofiness/caffeine induced mania of the day. Kudos to Ryan for pointing out the continuity errors made in our representations of comic book characters and the general convo there about (we will get you to the heaven that is Comic Con my brother...never fear). Having stated that, I would like to also say that if you ever get the chance to run around a major amusement center with a foam rubber superhero mask strapped to your face all the while striking dashing poses and uttering such nonsensical phrases such as "Greetings Citizen" or "With my super speed I could just speed thru the solid matter that is this crowd and see if the line ahead is too long." or "Damn forgot my power ring AGAIN!!" or "What else do you use that golden lariat for Wonder Woman?"....have your friend shoot you the moment you start. Sigh. Sleep deprivation + SURGE + foam superhero masks + bathrooms foggy with a suspicious cloud of "Wacky" smelling smoke = Public Spectacle of Rediculous Proportions. Which leads me to Tip #3... Never call in sick to work from a public restroom on a borrowed cell phone while wearing a foam superhero mask and enduring the sonic might of jet propelled roller coasters reverberating thru said facility and your skull. Not only do you have to down play your need to be at work, explain jet screams and flushings of toilets,but also the occaisional random person exclaiming "GREEN LANTERN RULES!!!" at your rather silly appearance. It was a hard sell even for a veteran EDA such as myself... so I might have tarnished my wings a bit..it happens. BTW Thanks again Tony..you saved the day for me by loaning me your phone...I swear I only set it next to the chalk for a minute. The rides were all we had hoped (those saps stuck on Riddlers might have had a differing view..heh heh) and even a bit more (FreeFall...never,ever again...bleah!). The snacks were great and now Jaime can say thanks to yours truly that she now knows the wonderment and delicious satisfaction that only a churro can bring.Sigh...I love churros! Anyhoo, on to the darker side of park employees.... Tip #4 NEVER, EVER, TAKE OR TRUST DIRECTIONS FROM A MAN NAMED MILT!!! It is my firmly held belief that all persons so named are born pranksters and love victimizing trusting innocent sleep deprived super heros. We soon left to pursue the wild goose chase(there being no shooting this time to slow our progress) that was Milt's directions. He was no doubt rolling with laughter at the thought. Shame on you Milt. I believe it was a combination of my intense guilt of having misdirected our group so horribly and my intense hunger that caused my mind to fabricate the mirage that was the CoCo's sign. Sigh. But I redeemed myself by accosting the night desk clerk at a local hotel (he was a hard egg to crack,but he was no Milt) until he revealed to me the true path to Denny's and off we went. It was at Denny's that our fatigue became apparent and at the end of our meal (which was cold, wrong, and generally typical of Denny's *sorry Robbie*) we said our heart-felt good byes and renewed our closeness with many hugs and generous handshakes vowing to meet again as soon as our worn bodies/budgets would allow. Various suggestions are in the works involving birthdays, Faires, perhaps an LRC (Jaime is singing Don't ...for sure..you're booked in dear :]) and what not..but I have rambled enough for now. Look for much less hallucination laden recountings (yeah right,sleep is for wimps...LOL)as summer progresses...and perhaps you might seek to add your names and spirits to these events and the tales to come from them. Excelsior! Take Care Angels, Jason V & Sonja M Ps "My name is Inigo Montoya...prepare to Gather!" ;) PSS We miss you all already.... _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: 15 Apr 99 14:23:42 CDT From: Naomi Vaughn Subject: ET: a few hey angels...here's just a few short ones i wrote recently. i hope you all are well, bye. :) love, naomi - -- morning comes thin and I, too tired to rise am left to my artifical night, alone w/ my misunderstandings - -- you tell me not to think about it / but how can I not think about it? / "it" is you / and I think about you. - -- love admission / over hangover cure. / this raises / doubts. - -- stop - I'm sitting here / thinking, / I wonder what it feels like / to be someone / who passes you by. - -- 2am - 13apr99 night stretches long in effort to steal away all problems brought to face by light but your burden's too heavy now for even the stars to carry so it drizzles into another day ____________________________________________________________________ Get your own FREE, personal Netscape WebMail account today at http://webmail.netscape.com. ------------------------------ End of eda-thoughts-digest V2 #106 **********************************