And now into the new year...
Nov. 12th, 2009 11:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jducoeur[Finishing the catch-up diary entries.]
Of course, the next question that I just couldn't avoid was: what were we going to do to help with the reign? This became an immediate distraction during the tourney itself as somebody (might have been![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
msmemory, but I honestly don't remember for sure) pointed out that I was the logical person to wind up as Pocket Herald if Edward won. It honestly came as a bit of a shock to me: I've spent so many years insisting "I am not a herald" that I'd never stepped back and looked at it. Sure, I'd run a lot of Baronial courts and a few Royal ones, but always as a fill-in or the only candidate available: I'd always thought of myself as the emergency backup. But now I had to think about it seriously.
Pondering it for a day, I had to admit to myself that it was intriguing. I wanted to do something real to help out: I'm a little burned-out on the things I've been doing, and could use a new focus for while, so helping and working with friends on something this big was really appealing. This was something I *can* do, and fits rather well with my usual fondness for going off and getting good at something new every once in a while. (Both in doing the job, and getting to know and working with lots of other heralds.) So I offered myself into the mix, if TRH wanted to tap me for it.
At this point, I was reminded of one of my personal flaws, that I need to work on. As far as I can tell, I'm a little unusual in being comfortable with almost any level of responsibility in a project. I'm willing to be the autocrat, or just the guy doing the dishes. What makes me utterly crazy, though, is not *knowing*: I like to have a direction to run in, whether it's as a leader or a follower. So the next few days were pointlessly agonizing for me -- having made the offer, I was altogether too desperate for an answer nownownow. I can't in the slightest fault TRH for needing a few days to figure it out -- it was absolutely clear that they had a lot of decisions that were *much* higher on the critical path, and I think they dealt with them in exactly the right order. And they actually got things ironed out astonishingly fast, given the colossal buttload of work they were suddenly handed. But even knowing all that, and intellectually telling myself that I was being asinine, I got remarkably neurotic for a few days anyway. It's an interesting lesson for myself: I've got to learn to deal with the fact that these things do take time.
In the end, they came to a decision that I think was quite insightful: they offered the job to me *and*msmemory, jointly. It hadn't occurred to me, since it's never been split before, but it makes oodles of sense: we often share a brain anyway, would mostly be traveling together anyway, work well together and have different talents and levels of experience in different parts of the job. We're likely to be better at it together than either of us would be individually, and less likely to get excessively stressed-out. And it'll give us lots to talk about over dinner on Date Night.
So that brings us up to the present day. We're starting to think about plans for the next year, and it promises to be exciting: I've been saying for a while that I wanted to start traveling more, and we're looking at a year of a *lot* of out-and-about as we follow TRH on their travels. It'll be a lot of work, but also a lot of fun, and I look forward to seeing folks in person who I've mostly been talking to online...
Of course, the next question that I just couldn't avoid was: what were we going to do to help with the reign? This became an immediate distraction during the tourney itself as somebody (might have been
msmemory, but I honestly don't remember for sure) pointed out that I was the logical person to wind up as Pocket Herald if Edward won. It honestly came as a bit of a shock to me: I've spent so many years insisting "I am not a herald" that I'd never stepped back and looked at it. Sure, I'd run a lot of Baronial courts and a few Royal ones, but always as a fill-in or the only candidate available: I'd always thought of myself as the emergency backup. But now I had to think about it seriously.Pondering it for a day, I had to admit to myself that it was intriguing. I wanted to do something real to help out: I'm a little burned-out on the things I've been doing, and could use a new focus for while, so helping and working with friends on something this big was really appealing. This was something I *can* do, and fits rather well with my usual fondness for going off and getting good at something new every once in a while. (Both in doing the job, and getting to know and working with lots of other heralds.) So I offered myself into the mix, if TRH wanted to tap me for it.
At this point, I was reminded of one of my personal flaws, that I need to work on. As far as I can tell, I'm a little unusual in being comfortable with almost any level of responsibility in a project. I'm willing to be the autocrat, or just the guy doing the dishes. What makes me utterly crazy, though, is not *knowing*: I like to have a direction to run in, whether it's as a leader or a follower. So the next few days were pointlessly agonizing for me -- having made the offer, I was altogether too desperate for an answer nownownow. I can't in the slightest fault TRH for needing a few days to figure it out -- it was absolutely clear that they had a lot of decisions that were *much* higher on the critical path, and I think they dealt with them in exactly the right order. And they actually got things ironed out astonishingly fast, given the colossal buttload of work they were suddenly handed. But even knowing all that, and intellectually telling myself that I was being asinine, I got remarkably neurotic for a few days anyway. It's an interesting lesson for myself: I've got to learn to deal with the fact that these things do take time.
In the end, they came to a decision that I think was quite insightful: they offered the job to me *and*
msmemory, jointly. It hadn't occurred to me, since it's never been split before, but it makes oodles of sense: we often share a brain anyway, would mostly be traveling together anyway, work well together and have different talents and levels of experience in different parts of the job. We're likely to be better at it together than either of us would be individually, and less likely to get excessively stressed-out. And it'll give us lots to talk about over dinner on Date Night.So that brings us up to the present day. We're starting to think about plans for the next year, and it promises to be exciting: I've been saying for a while that I wanted to start traveling more, and we're looking at a year of a *lot* of out-and-about as we follow TRH on their travels. It'll be a lot of work, but also a lot of fun, and I look forward to seeing folks in person who I've mostly been talking to online...
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2009-11-13 01:34 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-11-13 01:38 pm (UTC)(But: I can wait for decisions, quite well...)
(no subject)
Date: 2009-11-13 02:12 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-11-13 02:46 pm (UTC)I *want* to do a lot. I'm sure we'll hit some hard limits along the way. :-)
Basically, though: please understand that whatever I can do, I want to do, and I will support you both any way I can.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-11-14 02:36 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-11-13 03:28 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-11-13 04:34 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-11-13 06:30 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-11-14 02:48 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-11-13 07:52 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-11-13 07:58 pm (UTC)bat, bat, bat. Shortly *before* Crown Tourney I had advertised on the EK Heralds' list for a sempster to take a tabard commission for me. Borrowing one would be an excellent short term solution for us -- especially since now it's both of us needing tabards.
How'd I miss this?
Date: 2009-11-16 09:50 pm (UTC)If youse need a tabard, you can borrow mine (satin; standard cut; EK arms on front, back, and sleeves).
So...will this be "Right Pocket" and "Left Pocket"?
Re: How'd I miss this?
Date: 2009-11-16 10:02 pm (UTC)Re: How'd I miss this?
Date: 2009-11-17 12:15 am (UTC)