A few final thoughts on my trip

[eveglass]

Thoughts on Cooks & Bards

I must say, I probably enjoyed Cooks & Bards almost as much as I enjoyed Pennsic. It will probably go down as my #2 event of the past year. I loved the classes, I loved the people, and I loved the circles. The food was great too. I have also picked out areas I need to work on, in terms of my own bardic stuff:

- Solo performance style: make sure hand gestures are appropriate and varied; learn to project properly; slow down fast songs so people have time to react to the lyrics
- Group performance style: learn to harmonize properly
- Repetoire: add period and period-style songs to my repetoire; add stories (and learn to tell them properly)
- Song-writing and story-writing: learn to write melodies; learn some riddles

Yes, it seems like a lot, but I'm actually quite pleased with how far I've come in the last three years. My repetoire has increased at least four-fold, and now contains songs appropriate for nearly every occasion (albeit with a lack of period-style stuff). I've written about twenty pieces suitable for the SCA, six of which I like enough to perform in public. My voice is stronger than it was, though still not as strong as I'd like it to be. And I am becoming known as part of the bardic community of the Known World (at least, on this side of north america). All told, I'm very happy.

Someone once asked me about my thoughts on SCA awards. My response: I don't care. Sure, it would be nice to one day get a Troubadour (the East Kingdom's award for bardic), but even if I never do, I won't stop singing. I perform because I love performing, not because I want a cookie. I get enough gratification when people are smiling and clapping at the end of my piece. I'll be especially happy on the day I hear one of my pieces performed by someone else, but I can wait for that.



Thoughts on Toronto

Now, let me make one thing clear from the get-go: I'm not moving back to Toronto. I'm likely not doing a PhD (at least not for the foreseeable future), and I don't want to work in Toronto. I love Montreal; it is my home. I don't want to leave it again.

That said... there are aspects of Toronto I really miss. I miss Massey. I miss everything about Massey: the buildings, the location, and especially the people. I truly miss being surrounded by smart, ambitious, interesting people on a daily basis. I miss our conversations. If I were still living in Toronto, I would be there all the time. Alas, I'm not.

I also miss (oddly enough) Latin. I've lost most of my Latin over the last six months, and it would take a moderate effort for me to get back to the level I was in April. I haven't had a need for it lately, and so I've let it fall by the wayside. If I were in Toronto, I'd try to audit the PhD Latin course, and maybe paleography as well.

Finally, I miss my gaming buddies. Whether we were just getting together to watch Babylon 5, or whether we congregated around a hex-map to roll some dice and steal some treasure, they're a great group of people.

My solution to all of this is to have my gaming buddies, my department, and Massey all move out to Montreal, but that's probably not feasible. Nor are all those reasons enough to convince me to move back to Toronto. But I miss them nonetheless.


Okay, so that second half was a bit melancholy for 9 am. I should probably get to work on the stuff that needs doing today. TTFN!

Comments

[joane.livejournal.com]

My solution to all of this is to have my gaming buddies, my department, and Massey all move out to Montreal, but that's probably not feasible. Nor are all those reasons enough to convince me to move back to Toronto. But I miss them nonetheless.

Sub in "Halifax" for "Montreal" and "Montreal" for "Toronto" in there, and you have me. I understand.

[manganese.livejournal.com]

There aren't any Latin courses in Montreal you could audit? I'm surprised McGill doesn't have any...

[eveglass.livejournal.com]

There probably are; it just hadn't occured to me. At the very least, I know the people in Toronto, and I don't know the people in Montreal who are teaching. I may look into it for next semester, depending on how the job hunt goes.

[nearlyvalkyrie.livejournal.com]

What a neat weekend :-) And so many way-cool people and way-cool classes! I'm sad I had to miss KWBaC, but the gig with the band was very beneficial helping us reconnect as a group, so I can't complain too much.

And I fully agree on the awards - being the *performance* arts, I'm much happier playing to an involved and excited audience who cheer at the right points and clap at the end. If you enjoy performing for performing, and not for getting the mythical points towards a cookie, you'll go far less crazy ;-)